Ostranauts News

Your voice matters! Voting season is upon us, and the best way to see the changes you want most is to make your voice heard.

That goes for Ostranauts, as well!

With the current game features finally in a place where we can play longer sessions, folks are turning their attention to what's next. And while we have some ideas of where we could go next, we thought it would be a good idea to see what our spaceship captains thought.

That's why in today's patch, there is a very special new feature: Feature Voting!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Starting with today's build, and for the next two weeks, you'll find a voting kiosk in the game's starting area. And for players already finished with character generation, there's also a PDA button labeled "Vote" on the screen's left side.

Using either option will open this UI:



where you can preview each of the features we are considering next by rolling over them. When you've decided on which one appeals to you most, simply click it, and your vote will be logged!

Vote as many times as you like, and we'll simply count the last vote you cast.

Voting will remain open for two weeks, and we'll send a reminder around before we close the polling to catch anyone who missed it.

So get on out there and vote! Make the world a better place!

And while you're at it, vote on an Ostranauts feature, too :)

Best,
Daniel Fedor
Founder, Blue Bottle Games, LLC

Hey Folks!

Ostranauts v0.6.3.3 is now available on Steam, and your clients should be updating shortly.

This patch enables precision item dropping placement, more save backups, a fix for the temperature spike and pod getting stuck after undocks, plus more!

Specifically:

• Changed inventory ground grid to represent actual item positions, and allow precise item placement.
  
• Changed save slots to keep up to 9 previous save files.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused runaway high temperature/pressure due to a precision underflow.
  
• Fixed pathfinding bug that would try to walk into holes in floor near destination.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused containers to disappear if placed inside themselves.
  
• Changed nav station to alternate between displaying vessel registration ID and vessel name.
  
• Added code to reject undocking clearance if fees unpaid.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused refueling kiosk not to deduct cash from player.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused refueling kiosk to ignore N2 fees.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused other ships to reset control panels, loot, and canister contents if game saved while undocked.
  
• Changed inventory UI to work with any selected crew member.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused smaller ships to get stuck to bigger ones if player docked while on small, but undocked while on big.
  
• Changed price of He3 fuel to be more affordable.
  

You can now choose where items drop on the ground via inventory UI. Save files are now backed-up up to ten versions. And I'm hoping this is the last of the temperature/pressure spike fixes.

Station refueling now actually charges you money, and you cannot undock without paying :)

Several significant bugs were fixed, too, which could cause anything from missing items on derelicts, to pods getting stuck to you after undocking. Plus several other tweaks and fixes.

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 v0.6.3.0 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