Ostranauts News

Hey Folks!

Ostranauts v0.6.3.0 is now available on Steam, and your clients should be updating shortly.

A lot of fixes to the jobs/tasks system this time, to make them resume better after abandoning or saving/loading. Also, ship resupply at K-Leg!

Specifically:

• Added code to re-task placeholders if they are abandoned during install.
  
• Added code to restore unclaimed tasks on loading save file.
  
• Added code to restore placeholders on loading save file.
  
• Fixed a bug that prevented bulk jobs from working on certain object types. (E.g. repair Ryokka walls)
  
• Added vessel resupply services kiosk to OKLG.
  
• Added periodic restocking of supply kiosks.
  
• Changed wall and floor scrap and damage loot to include more small parts.
  
• Changed repairing walls and floors to require fewer small parts.
  
• Added crates and small parts to supply kiosk.
  
• Fixed a bug that would crash game if NPCs were lacking relationship data.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused AI to choose different item to install than the one player chose. (E.g. install wrong battery)
  
• Changed nav station to allow maneuvering while docked to a non-station, but still warn user.
  
• Fixed a bug that allowed players to pilot OKLG after installing a nav station there.
  
• Fixed a bug in GUITrade which showed debug item names.
  
• Fixed a bug in GUITrade which showed money spent at supply kiosk as income.
  
• Added code to lower current UI if something else cancels the interaction that raised it. (E.g. power outage, kiosk restock)
  
• Fixed bug that caused comforting music to be played when undocking with a derelict.
  
• Added price to batteries.
  

The big change here is the job system, which should now survive abandoning mid-task as well as saving and loading. You should be able to safely "paint" jobs like install and repair around the ship and have them survive until canceled or completed.

OKLG now has a refueling kiosk, as well, which lets you top-up your ship's reactants (if applicable), gas canisters, and batteries. The supply kiosk also restocks at midnight now, so you can get hard-to-find items again later if they go out of stock.

And speaking of hard-to-find items, small mechanical parts should be less of a pain now. Fewer are required to repair walls and floors, they are more likely to drop, and you can buy them in bulk at the supply kiosks.

There are several other, less-exciting fixes, too. But they should all add up to a smoother experience.

One thing I'm watching closely is pathfinding. Now that tasks work better, I'm noticing more pathfinding issues. Particularly if there are a lot of holes or damaged floors near the target. This will require more fixing, but in the meantime, you can usually nudge the AI into a nearby tile to get it back on track.

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 v0.6.2.9 is now available on Steam, and your clients should be updating shortly.

Atmo fixes continue in this build, as we try to plug all the holes in the thermodynamics sim still giving people grief. Plus several other changes and fixes.

Specifically:

• Fixed a bug that would cause insta-death when putting a helmet on at certain game speeds or higher.
  
• Fixed a bug that would cause rooms to generate heat if an open door or damaged wall split them into two.
  
• Changed thresholds for gasping and ebullism conditions to be more in line with reality.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused AIs to try and complete tasks on ships after undocking with them.
  
• Changed AI ship collisions to cause no damage for now.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused derelict airlocks to be missing some loot.
  
• Fixed a bug that left helmet attached to cursor if moved from slot directly to ground grid.
  
• Changed save info screen to show duration in larger units than seconds, when applicable.
  
• Fixed a bug that incorrectly plotted orbits for objects with a high eccentricity.
  

Two more major thermodynamic bugs were found and fixed in this patch, mainly involving rooms that were split by a door or other gas exchanger. A race condition on helmets has also been fixed, hopefully resulting in fewer spontaneous combustions of wearers donning them.

Police ships no longer cause damage when colliding. Just noise and shaking. At least until we get them under control (and make them more meaningful).

Some derelicts were missing loot, so you'll likely see more spare parts on them now. And there were some other minor improvements and fixes, as well.

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 v0.6.2.7 is now available on Steam, and your clients should be updating shortly.

Some significant changes to the timer system in this patch, aimed at reducing cases of sudden hypoxia and temperature/pressure spikes, plus other changes.

Specifically:

• Fixed a bug that would cause hypoxia due to a timer sync loss.
  
• Fixed a bug that would cause Nausea to loop endlessly.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused room gases/temps to spike when door uninstalled.
  
• Added ability to uninstall sinks.
  
• Added button to randomize player name in character creation.
  
• Added buttons to fine-tune player's facial features during character creation.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused strange relationships if player renamed themselves after gaining contacts.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused tooltip to appear in all control panels after using supply kiosk.
  
• Fixed a bug that could cause errors if objective tried to stack on another objective and one of them had a null property.
  
• Changed starting room temperature to be comfortable, instead of cold.
  

This patch includes a major change to the way sim timers update, to avoid cases like the sudden hypoxia that would appear on players. We'll be watching this patch closely, as such a major change is inherently risky. However, several hours of testing so far seems to show it working as intended.

There are also some fixes to nausea getting stuck on players, and gas stats spiking when uninstalling doors between rooms.

Character customization got a boost, with the ability to now randomize name, and fine-tune appearance. Plus, the sink can now be uninstalled!

And the usual attendant smaller fixes feature in this patch, too.

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 v0.6.2.6 is now available on Steam, and your clients should be updating shortly.

We may finally have a fix for the crazy atmo pressures and temperatures, plus several other annoyances and potential game-corrupters.

Specifically:

• Fixed a bug that caused game to crash if selected save file was not found due to saveinfo mismatch.
  
• Fixed a bug that could cause crashes to occur on loading a save.
  
• Fixed a bug that would cause crazy gas pressures and temperatures if low framerate mixed with high fast-forward.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused humans to prefer breathing from canisters underfoot, instead of own suit or room.
  
• Fixed a bug that could cause game to misbehave or crash if AI changed relationship status with null.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused relationship participant names to be swapped in log updates.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused EVA battery to lack PickupItem action.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused EVA battery and O2 bottle to stop updating after loading a save file.
  
• Fixed a bug that allowed names to be infinitely long, resulting in performance issues and crashes.
  
• Changed save slot prefab to have smaller text size, to fit text better at lower resolutions.
  
• Fixed bug that caused warning to get stuck on nav screen if maneuvering while clamped.
  

One of the big ones this patch is atmo bugs. Some players were still seeing weird atmo pressures and temps, and this may have been more common when low framerate combined with fast-forward. A few record-keeping tweaks should hopefully see the end of that issue!

AI was also trying to breathe out of canisters if players got too close, so that had to be guarded against. And the EVA had some bugs involving their batteries and O2 bottles.

Finally, there were a handful of less common bugs that, nevertheless, could cause strange game behavior or crashes which are now fixed.

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 v0.6.2.5 is now available on Steam, and your clients should be updating shortly.

While a few game-stopping bugs are fixed here, a lot of these are more subtle, or take a while to end the game. Plus, some quality of life changes.

Specifically:

• Fixed a bug that could cause conditions to increment on save/load due to side effects accumulating each load.
  
• Added ability to uninstall unpowered and damaged nav stations.
  
• Added button to clear proximity alarm.
  
• Fixed bug that caused AI to quit repairing after delivering supplies to target.
  
• Fixed a bug that sometimes caused player ship to appear inside Ganymed 1036 after loading a save.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused derelicts to drift far away from K-Leg after docking and undocking with them.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused inventory items to become diagonal.
  
• Fixed a bug that would cause social combat to be stuck with no choices if NPC failed to choose reply.
  
• Fixed a bug that would cause social combat to be stuck with no choices if NPC died.
  
• Fixed a bug that allowed social moves involving dead people.
  
• Fixed a bug that would cause inventory tooltip to remain stuck after item under it was removed.
  
• Fixed a bug that allowed player to glitch through closed doors.
  
• Removed nav station course correction check task for now.
  

One of the big ones this patch is also the most subtle: side-effects were being reapplied each save/load cycle, which could cause all sorts of symptoms on characters as games got older. One of the most obvious cases was overheating being stuck on the captain, despite normal atmo temperature. Hopefully, with that fixed, we'll see fewer late-game deaths and other weirdness.

Also, you can now clear the proximity alarm! And uninstall nav stations and RCS thrusters while they're off!

AI will resume repairs after delivering items. Socializing should cause fewer soft-locks. And several other issues addressed.

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