Ostranauts News

Hey Folks!

Ostranauts v0.6.6.9 is now available on Steam, and your clients should be updating shortly.

It includes several fixes for inventory bugs, a crash and a corrupt save fix, new manuals, and some improvements to AI and crew management.

• Removed NPC option to quit with no reason.
  
• Added 1 hour honeymoon period to new hires, where they won't quit.
  
• Added follow and stop following commands to crew.
  
• Changed AI to always ignore work tasks generated by context menu when not on work shift.
  
• Added log message to alert user why AI is ignoring work task if due to non-work shift.
  

• Fixed a bug that caused the inventory ground grid to have incorrect blocker squares, which could result in dropped items being lost.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused inventory item rotation to be wrong if non-zero when another item swapped with it.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused inventory item to be unplaceable in new position that overlapped old position plus different item.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused item to appear on ship even when not inside/part of the ship.
  
• Fixed a bug that let crates fit inside crates.
  

• Added Environmental Control Systems Certification Guide to manual.
  
• Added PDF versions of manuals.
  
• Added manuals to loot tables.
  
• Changed Polaris and Holden Patch manuals to have logos.
  

• Fixed a bug that would create a corrupt save file if container or room had NaN as a temperature change amount.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused game to crash due to trying to load music too many times at once.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused overdue dockage fees with OKLG to get stuck on the player, repeating forever.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused nav station NAV/PAN toggle to get stuck in PAN mode when docked.
  
• Added special row for trade UI to represent items that are wanted but player does not have.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused coolers to cool when set to AUTO and not connected to a sensor.
  
• Added code to help soundtrack chooser avoid repeating same track twice in a row.
  
• Changed alarm lights to be brighter, so they illuminate the room a little.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused items inside a stack to show context menu options.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused hidden objectives to play sound when completed.
  
• Fixed a bug in main menu that caused button audio to stop working after first press.
  

AI should be a little less hair-trigger on quitting now. And work vs. free-time consistency and messaging should be better. Also, you can order them to follow you now!

Several inventory bugs were fixed in this patch, as well. Some would cause missing or misoriented items, others would get stuck, or be inaccessible. This patch should reduce the frequency of all those issues.

We have a manual for environmental systems now! You can find it both in the usual manual UI buttons on the main menu and escape menu, as well as in the shops. Plus, our in-game manuals have PDF versions in the game data folders now, in case you had trouble reading them in-game, or wanted to print them.

Finally, we have several other fixes and improvements to the game, including a crash fix, a save corruption fix, and some pesky docking fees that would persist in error.

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 v0.6.6.6 is now available on Steam, and we're calling it the "Time Is Money" Update.

It includes a total economy rewrite. You now start with a ship mortgage, and payments due each 6 hours. The boneyard is larger, and the closer derelicts have already been picked clean.

To make matters worse, K-Leg's not buying the good stuff anymore. But you heard of a fixer there who might.

[h2]For best results, you are encouraged to start a new character.[/h2]

Old saves should still work, but will miss a lot of the new features and content.

It's a pretty significant patch, so I've broken down the change list into sections.

• Added mortgages to starting ships, with payments due each 6 hour 'shift'.
  
• Added code to show preview of ship in career kiosk, with mortgage info.
  
• Added shift tracker UI element below time and date.
  
• Changed the finance UI to show 6hr 'shifts' instead of full days.
  
• Added code to move debts into next shift with a penalty fee if unpaid at end of shift.
  
• Added warning messages and objectives 5 minutes before each shift end to tell player debts are due.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused the finance UI to show expenses as revenue.
  

• OKLG supply kiosk now only buys and sells limited, low value items.
  
• Added fixer NPC to OKLG to buy more valuable items from player.
  
• OKLG fixer and bartender can now be traded with via conversation.
  
• Trader NPCs and kiosks now change what they buy and sell over time.
  
• Trader NPCs and kiosks buy and sell at different prices, and these change over time.
  
• Changed trading UI to have separate pages for buying and selling, to reduce confusion.
  
• Changed trading UI to show items a vendor will buy even if player doesn't have them yet.
  
• Changed trading UI to hide irrelevant buttons and info on items that are not available.
  
• Added asterisk indicator next to slotted items in trade UI.
  
• Fixed bug in OKLG refuel kiosk that allowed selling gases and liquids to station.
  

• Changed OKLG boneyard to be larger with more ships closer in.
  
• Changed OKLG boneyard to have less valuables closer to station, and more further out.
  
• Added code to switch off power in non-reactor derelicts.
  
• Added spare screen item to loot tables.
  

• Added 6 new ships to possible derelict types.
  
• Added 4 new encounter screens.
  
• Added special item to game.
  
• Added Sob Quietly as a social move.
  
• Added audio beep in pressure suit helmet when O2 sensor trips.
  
• Added warning message to player log after loading an older save with potential compatibility issues.
  

• Removed random data PIN cards from all ships.
  
• Added new button on nav station to show log entries, including door lock PINs.
  
• Fixed bug in locks UI that disables all lights when changing locked status.
  
• Fixed bug that caused doors to close when locked via control panel.
  
• Added better feedback to door opening failures.
  
• Changed doors and other open objects to have label (Opened) instead of (Open), to avoid confusion in context menu.
  
• Added audio effects to locked, powered doors.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused loose doors to block installed door airflow in some orientations.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused doorways to be walkable even if there was a hole there.
  

• Changed shipeditor so right clicking clears the cursor OR deletes item, not both. (And in that order.)
  
• Changed shipeditor so right clicking clears selected tiles OR deletes item, not both. (And in that order.)
  
• Fixed bug that caused ship editor warning dialog to appear multiple times per session.
  
• Changed ship editor drop down to truncate with ellipses for clarity when long names are similar.
  

• Changed consumable (orange) social moves to succeed more often.
  
• Changed pressure suit helmet O2 alarm to trigger at 16kPa instead of 20kPa.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused task tooltips to show irrelevant or bad data.
  
• Changed pry, bash, scrap, install, repair tasks to have more consistent feedback and tooltips.
  
• Changed starter 'death sled' ship to be more survivable.
  
• Fixed smack around social move having strange emotional loot.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused time-based changes to reset on any ship player docked with. (E.g. trade schedules)
  
• Fixed a bug that caused game to never reuse existing NPCs even when it was supposed to.
  
• Fixed a bug that could cause a null error when attempting to stack an object on a null object.
  
• Changed OKLG supply kiosk art.
  
• Changed nav station use point to be bottom center tile, instead of bottom right corner tile.
  
• Changed the esteem penalty for choosing to eat food to be lower.
  
• Changed all new drink pouches to contain water only. Used drink pouches can still contain anything.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused social combat to pause unexpectedly.
  
• Fixed delay when placing stack in inventory.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused low power battery to fail all install/uninstall actions.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused clicking items in inventory screen to behave strangely when fast forwarding time.
  
• Fixed a typo in Premigenial Make field.
  
• Removed objectives for unpowered items except nav station.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused container to absorb item on ground if placed on top of it.
  

You can probably see why this one patch so long to prepare :) Lots of interconnected changes!

The biggest change is how money works. You always start with a mortgage now (you'll see it with your new ship preview in character creation), and you'll have to make payments on it each shift. Each shift is 6 hours. Miss a payment? Penalties will be applied.

And getting money is harder now, too. The boneyard is bigger, meaning ships are farther apart. The ones closest to K-Leg have already been picked clean, but they're better farther out.

Furthermore, selling salvage just got harder. K-Leg's official supply kiosk won't buy the good stuff anymore. (Why would they? It's their junkyard!) They mostly buy the stuff that's not worth their time to salvage. Floors, walls, scraps, and loose items that might help other scrappers. But the prices are robbery.

There is a fixer on K-Leg now, though. And if the timing is right, they just might be looking for the items you've got...

Apart from that, we have new ships, some new encounter screens, a couple new items and new UI features. Door locks now work correctly (no more PIN cards all over the floor), and you can check the nav station for PIN codes.

Overall, it should start to feel more like a game now, with goals and obstacles. (Reminder: Best to start a new save/character!)

And as always, we love hearing what you think! Tell us how your run goes. What works for you? What is or isn't fun? What do you want to see next?

Thanks for reading, and I won't keep you any longer. "Time is money," after all :)

Best,
Daniel Fedor
Founder, Blue Bottle Games, LLC

Hey folks!

We have been very busy working on the next Ostranauts update and we're about ready to show it off.

We'll be streaming a preview of the next Ostranauts patch tomorrow at 3:30pm PDT
Other timezones here

We'll be live on both the BBG discord server in the dev stream voice channel and over on our Twitch. Follow us there to get a notification when we go live!

See you tomorrow!

If you missed the last stream you can watch it here:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Hey folks! Last month we released Fragments from the Ostracon #1, showing off more lore from the joint universe of NEO Scavenger and Ostranauts. We were very happy to see how much you enjoyed the stories and we're excited to bring you the next pages!

We've set up a mailing list so you can receive Fragments directly to your inbox, before we post them online. You can sign up here.





“Hey Cap! Did you hear about this dogman shit?”

“What? No. What?”

“Dogman”

“I heard you the first time.”

“Look, here: this footage came from one of the Galilean moons in a nearside orbit, so probably Europa. No idea how it got past the garbage they broadcast at the Porto Nuevo blockade, but it did. Maybe it was tightbeamed? Doesn’t matter, the point is: a Martian food tug grabbed it way the fuck out, near Hangzhou orbital, and those guys passed it along to someone with loose lips. Now people are sharing it like crazy. I caught it on broadbeam from god knows where, like an hour ago.”

“Okay. And?”

“And...dogman! Dogmen even. There’s a whole package of stuff, but the footage I’m looking at now is...something else. The video is sort of grainy but the audio is clear as day. Listen.”

“Put it through to my PDA. Waiting. Got it.”

“Cap?”

“...jesus.”

“I know! Keep watching, I’ll pause it. Right...there!”

“Where?”

“Right there! You don’t see that?”

“See what?”

“The dogman!”

“I see a black splotch”

“C’mon cap. Use your imagination. Let me scrub a bit. Look: it’s like, walking. Starts on two legs in this cabin: ...walk, walk, walk, over to here, walk, walk, walk over to there. Then it turns its head, here: charges. Four legs this time! Charge, charge, charge, towards that guy in the pressure suit, there? Who, uh…”

“Explodes?”

“Something like that.”

“And this is a dogman?”

“Yeah! That’s what everyone is calling it, anyway.”

“Huh. XO what do I always tell you?”

“Don’t sleep in my pressure suit.”

“No, about the comms.”

“Oh. Stay off the broadbeams?”

“And?”

“This came from the broadbeams.”

“He’s learning! Now focus up. We’re just a few thousand clicks out from OKLG. I advise you to not pass that footage along. It’s obviously doctored. Let’s be good stewards of the system’s information ecosystem, shall we?”

“Yeah. Fine.”

“Good. I’ll be in my bunks if you need me.”

“Roger. I’ll be out here. Just going to read some of this other stuff in the package...”

--END TRANSMISSION











(Read and download in full size: https://imgur.com/a/2X3EbhZ )

EDIT: Here's the stream recording in case you missed it: [previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]


We'll be streaming tomorrow at 6 pm PDT (other time zones here) on Twitch AND our Discord. Set your alarms!

This time around, BBG Community Manager Charis (that's me) will be picking up some flying tips from Dan and desperately trying not to crash.

Thank you to everyone who filled in the survey, we should be good to go with 0 audio issues this week and you have helped us pick a new streaming time to try out! Hopefully this will suit the majority of you better.

See you tomorrow!

If you missed the last stream you can catch up below!
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]