Ostranauts News

Hey Folks!

Ostranauts v0.12.0.8 is now available on Steam, and your clients should be updating shortly.

This is a hotfix to our recently released "Rate My Ship" update that fixes several bugs and issues reported by players. Namely, some AI crew fixes, barter zone QoL enhancements, and ship docking/undocking fixes.

Saves from v0.12.0.0 and later should work. If you were experiencing issues in the older save, this patch may fix some, but others may persist depending on the cause.

• Added code to the trade UI to show all items on the sell screen, instead of just the items vendor wants to buy. Unwanted items are marked accordingly.
  
• Fixed a bug that prevented Fixer/trader from seeing wanted items inside unwanted containers.
  
• Fixed a bug that prevented barter zones from appearing if they were on unowned ships.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused docking fees to continue accruing after selling a derelict.
  
• Fixed a bug that allowed player to dock with hidden/despawned ships.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused derelict ships to be immovable if player used ferry to get to them.
  
• Fixed a bug that allowed AI to attempt to equip invisible game system objects for fun. (E.g. loot spawners, conversational topics, all of outer space)
  
• Changed AI to it would only attempt to quit the crew while docked at a station.
  
• Changed AI so it won't complain about work as often when it is dissatisfied.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused quitting crew member to load old social combat UI.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused upset crew to just stand next to the player without doing anything.
  
• Fixed a bug that could cause officer to get stuck when replying to player, especially when player said they don't know why they were stopped.
  

Several of this patch's fixes address the trade UI and barter zones. Players should now see an updated trader UI that shows all items in the barter zones, including items the trader won't buy. Items which are not sellable will be listed as "Not Wanted," and the rest can be sold normally.

This allows us to show not only items on the floor of your ship, but also items in bins, racks, crates, and dollies, even if those containers aren't directly sellable. This also fixes the issue where it seemed like a barter zone wasn't found by the Fixer, when it was instead seen as empty because it only contained containers at the surface level which the fixer didn't want.

We also fixed a few more docking/undocking related bugs, including another situation that could lead to docking fees continuing after selling a derelict. Docking with despawned or hidden ships is also now prevented, and we added a fix which prevented piloting a derelict after ferrying to it.

Finally, we added a series of fixes to the AI for crew. AI should now pester the player less often when dissatisfied with their job, and will only attempt to quit now if the player is docked at a station. We also fixed the old social UI that would appear when they do so.

Another fix addresses crew that would just stand there and do nothing next to the captain when dissatisfied with their job, and even a bug that cause them to grab ahold of anything in the universe, tangible or not, when bored (including the entirety of outer space).

As always, there's plenty more for us to fix, change, and add! And we'll be continuing in roughly that order. In the meantime, let us know if this patch helps you out, as well as if it reveals new problems!

Best,
Daniel Fedor
Founder, Blue Bottle Games, LLC

Hey Folks!

Ostranauts v0.12.0.7 is now available on Steam, and your clients should be updating shortly.

This is a hotfix to our recently released "Rate My Ship" update that fixes several bugs and issues reported by players.

Saves from v0.12.0.0 and later should work. If you were experiencing issues in the older save, this patch may fix some, but others may persist depending on the cause.

• Fixed a bug that causes docking clearance to get messed-up when attempting to dock with an already docked vessel.
  
• Fixed a bug that could cause NPC ships to never undock from derelicts, making some gigs impossible.
  
• Fixed a money exploit loophole when buying and selling derelicts without visiting them.
  
• Fixed a bug that prevented docking to owned ships if the transponder was off.
  
• Fixed a bug that could cause nulls when hacking a door.
  
• Fixed a bug that could cause ghost ships when undocking from an NPC ship.
  
• Fixed a bug on the Ferry UI that always showed OKLG as the destination.
  
• Fixed a bug that could cause AI ships to try to elude player after granting docking clearance.
  
• Fixed a bug that spawned purchased ships too close to another ship to be reached safely.
  

Several docking fixes in this patch! There were a number of edge cases we didn't cover in our code that needed fixing, and thanks to player reports, we were able to find and fix those.

Buying and selling derelicts also exposed an infinite money loophole that, while lucrative, sort of spoiled the fun of the game. So we patched that to help keep the game balanced.

And a few other sundry bugs were found and fixed in this update.

As always, there's plenty more for us to fix, change, and add! And we'll be continuing in roughly that order. In the meantime, let us know if this patch helps you out, as well as if it reveals new problems!

Best,
Daniel Fedor
Founder, Blue Bottle Games, LLC

Hey Folks!

Ostranauts v0.12.0.6 is now available on Steam, and your clients should be updating shortly.

This is a hotfix to our recently released "Rate My Ship" update that fixes several bugs and issues reported by players.

Saves from v0.12.0.0 and later should work. If you were experiencing issues in the older save, this patch may fix some, but others may persist depending on the cause.

• Fixed a bug that caused AI to open/close airlocks and factory reset door locks for fun.
  
• Fixed a bug that lost items that were attached to the cursor in the inventory UI when it closed if there was no space to drop it.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused the AI Auto button to show wrong status when switching characters.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused gigs to use the player as the client.
  
• Fixed a bug that prevented carrying an uninstalled switch.
  
• Changed traders/fixers to have a more obvious 'Offer to Trade' option on them.
  
• Changed courier gigs to have fewer expensive items, and local deliveries to have only cheaper items.
  
• Changed gig Nexus to always have at least one local gig that doesn't require undocking.
  
• Changed PDA text to better describe its capabilities.
  
• Changed recon gig text to mention PDA can be used to take photos.
  
• Changed gig Nexus UI to pause game when opened.
  

Most of these address some of the bugs or quality of life issues players have reported recently.

The AI one was an old familiar friend with a new face: AI doing insane things for enjoyment. While last time it was endlessly toggling a lamp on and off, this time it was a bit more serious. Fortunately, it wasn't hard to fix once we found the cause: we forgot to label door opening as off-limits for AI fun-times.

There was also a fairly serious item "ghosting" bug that could happen if there was something stuck to the cursor in the inventory screen when it closed. If that item had no space to drop, it would disappear. So this patch includes a fix to ensure that item continues to exist.

The gig neXus system also got a batch of fixes, largely aimed at helping players stuck on the station without funds to undock. This should ensure that there are always local gigs to run without undocking, and importantly, they don't cost $300k to start anymore. (Oops!)

We also added a few text changes to the recon gig type to make it clearer you don't need to buy a camera to complete it.

The Fixer and other traders now have a green 'Offer to Trade' action on them, since the blue action would sometimes be hard to see without scrolling. And the switch can now be carried in hands or dragged.

As always, there's plenty more for us to fix, change, and add! And we'll be continuing in roughly that order. In the meantime, let us know if this patch helps you out, as well as if it reveals new problems!

Best,
Daniel Fedor
Founder, Blue Bottle Games, LLC

Hey Folks!

This one's just a quick patch to fix an issue with the undocking tutorial. It turns out that tutorial could suddenly stop after targeting OKLG.

This hotfix addresses that issue, and any new game started after this hotfix should see the tutorial normally.

Safe flying, all!

Best,
Daniel C. Fedor
Founder, Blue Bottle Games, LLC

Hey Folks!

Ostranauts v0.12.0.4 is now available on Steam, and your clients should be updating shortly.

This is a hotfix to our recently released "Rate My Ship" update that fixes several bugs and issues reported by players.

Saves from v0.12.0.0 and later should work. If you were experiencing issues in the older save, this patch may fix some, but others may persist depending on the cause.

• Added code to pause game after save is loaded.
  
• Added code to make factory resetting a door lock cause criminal penalties.
  
• Added code to make hacking a lock via UI cause criminal penalties.
  
• Added code to prevent pirates that are friends with player from mugging player.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused all the air in a space station to get sucked out when an NPC put on a helmet during fast-forward.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused ships to continue accruing docking fees if sold while docked.
  
• Fixed O2 alarm and power notifications when docking with a derelict.
  
• Fixed action button list not updating when target changes mode. (E.g. door open/close, item on/off)
  
• Fixed a null which could occur when undocking and immediately re-docking.
  
• Fixed a bug that prevented picking up or dropping loose passenger seats via the action buttons.
  
• Fixed a bug that allowed AI to try and use any item as a hygiene item.
  
• Changed the Examine Dead Body gig to handle targets that are not actually dead.
  
• Changed the Volatile Prize Ship design to be worth more.
  
• Changed Lilliput starting ship option to be less common.
  
• Changed exercise condition to show training progress sooner, so players notice it is doing something right away.
  
• Changed descriptions of new starter ship in career kiosk to explain their differences better.
  
• Changed descriptive text on some items for clarity.
  

As you can see, a lot of fixes and quality of life changes in this batch! One notable bug fix has been plaguing us since at least a year ago: the space station atmo suddenly disappearing when fast-forwarding. This turned out to be caused by NPCs putting a helmet on and removing it too fast for the atmo code to keep up, and should now finally be fixed! Let's see if that has any impact on the number of dead NPCs on stations.

We also added criminal penalties for attempting to hack doors, as that appears to be a popular pastime for some entrepreneurial players. Plus, pirates that are friends with the player will no longer mug them on sight.

We finally added code to pause the game immediately upon loading a save, so you can safely step away to grab a coffee while your game loads. (We're also investigating whether or not we can make the Autosave less disruptive. No promises yet, but there's potential!)

Another fix prevents those annoying O2 alarm and power notifications from appearing every time you dock to a derelict. While a fix to the action button UI means you won't have to re-select an item after switching it on/off, or changing it's mode.

A lot of these are fairly minor fixes, but combined, we hope they make a pretty good boost to player quality of life. And just in time for the weekend!

As always, there's plenty more for us to fix, change, and add! And we'll be continuing in roughly that order. In the meantime, let us know if this patch helps you out, as well as if it reveals new problems!

Best,
Daniel Fedor
Founder, Blue Bottle Games, LLC