Underspace News

Welcome back starchasers! It's been a hot minute since I dropped a hot steaming patch onto your laps, how you holding up? Doing okay? Want to go back to sleep under the covers?



That's fair. But let's talk patch stuff.

We're aiming for our next big milestone update: Intergalactic Architecture is still on its way. We're aiming for a mid-March drop for it, and most of the interior models are complete, they just need implementation and decorating. We've also got lots of new ships coming, along with cockpits and everything.



As for this current and latest patch, it's pretty small. Don't judge me too hard (my cats already do that), because it comes with a big new feature.



That feature? Multiple missions at once!



This was one of our most requested features that was actually implementable, and was originally meant to come with Faces in the Fog, but due to the sheer amount of work involved in making it happen (a lot of mission stuff was based around the assumption that only one mission happens for a player at a time) it took a while to get there. By default, you can take up to three missions at once (this may change in the future), and your previous saves won't load missions you're already on (but will still load correctly).

Are there going to be some crazy issues with this? Gee, I sure hope so, I was amazed it even worked to begin with. Anyway, onto the patch notes!



[h2]NEW FEATURES[/h2]

• Jump collapses now have an hour long cooldown to prevent repeated trips into the abyss. This doesn’t apply to guaranteed void holes (such as Hardturn and black holes).
  
• You can now accept multiple missions at once! By default (and for the sake of balancing) you can take a maximum of three missions now.
  
• As part of this multi-mission overhaul you can now track individual missions, which makes them display update messages and waypoint to any objectives (if it’s a mission that does that).
  
• Battleships now drop a whole host of equipment upon exploding, which you can loot and use for whatever sick purposes your heart desires.
  

[h2]CHANGES AND REBALANCES[/h2]

• Mild optimizations done to AI ship logic.
  
• AI weapons now report their use and cooldown times instead of energy usage.
  
• Retooled aspects of the Choir’s elite mission to work better.
  
• Mission objective messages when launching to space now have a slight delay and wait for your ship to be oriented before displaying.
  

[h2]FIXES[/h2]

• Fixed issue with tutorials cutting into cutscenes. I’m stupid sometimes.
  
• Fixed issue where the Motherlode bounty couldn’t be completed.
  
• Fixed some issues with dungeon meshes.
  
• Fixed hazard reduction skill calculations, in order to make them work properly and more consistently.
  
• Fixed issue where Gammus could not be selected as a racetrack sponsor.
  
• Fixed some ships that were scaled wrong in hangars.
  
• Fixed issue where some campaign ships could be sold via the quickaction menu.
  
• Fixed issue where the engine customization UI section wouldn’t properly reflect the player’s engines.
  
• Fixed dialogue typos in various high level quests.
  
• Fixed some display issues when you couldn’t accept missions.
  
• Fixed issue where opening the radial menu wouldn’t close some on-station UIs.
  
• Fixed issue where some map elements wouldn’t clear when zooming in on a system.
  

Starchasers! Anarchs! Those weird guys in Peerless that keep fighting over explosive cubes! Come one, come all, it's 2025 and our first patch of the year is now live. Is it the big update you've been anticipating? No. I posted that recap like a week ago, I can't spurt out seventeen planets in that time, even if I didn't sleep. I don't sleep anyway, because of this orange asshole.



and this black dweeb.



Anyway, a few new things in this patch, but it's mostly a lot of fixing and fixing and fixing. And fixing. But there's some straaaaange things happening out in space. Stranger than usual, I mean.



Check out the notes below.




[h2]NEW FEATURES[/h2]

• Scanner damage, autoturrets, and AoE explosions can now take down NPC drones.
  
• Screenshots are now saved into their own dedicated subfolders.
  
• Odd things are happening in the depths of the Veil…
  
• Added animations to nebula clearing walls.
  

[h2]CHANGES AND REBALANCES[/h2]

• Spaced out the time before an autosave, to prevent loads from loading you into trapped station areas.
  
• Redid some minor details on various stations.
  
• Reworked the Megaborble to behave closer to similar hazards.
  
• Did minor optimizations to minefields and asteroid generation.
  
• Did minor optimizations to ships and ship components.
  
• Lodestones now have a scanning icon that indicates you’ve already scanned and looted the lodestone in question.
  
• Optimized many space dungeons.
  
• Dungeon artifacts and crafting items now have unique cargoboxes.
  
• Changed the size of some special asteroids.
  

[h2]FIXES[/h2]

• Fixed issue where Voidscreamer Ds had lower shield damage than intended.
  
• Fixed issue where some intermediary campaign quests wouldn’t complete correctly if their dialogue was interrupted.
  
• Tried to fix Heist of the Year (again), hopefully it’s not screwy this time.
  
• Fixed some grammatical errors on the Marching Star.
  
• Fixed small softlock on Off-Track.
  
• Fixed issue where The White Fleet’s quest markers were all wiped out. I have no idea how the hell this happened.
  
• Fixed issue in some quest cutscenes where characters wouldn’t stop or start their talking animations.
  
• Fixed issue where the Megaborble wasn’t able to be encountered in storms. Have fun.
  
• Fixed issue with early activations of campaign mission 8.
  
• Fixed issue where engine lights when cruising would sometimes deactivate.
  
• You can now clear controller keybinds and they will properly reflect if they’re a hold, doubletap, etc. You know how it is.
  
• Fixed coloring issue with the Civilian Freighter’s engines.
  
• Fixed issue where storms could spawn in places that didn’t have nebulas. They can grow to there, but they won’t spawn there, normally.
  
• Fixed some sound issues with cloaking devices.
  
• Fixed issue where the quickmenu wouldn’t let you access things with just a cloaking device.
  
• NPC drones will no longer detect you while they’re cloaked. They’re like babies, they have no object permanence.
  

Welcome Starchasers! Happy New Year, hopefully things work out for you, those New Year Resolutions get resolved, you work off that eggnog hangover, etc, etc. I’d waste your time with this preamble, but you and both know you’re here for the real meat of this yearly recap so let’s get into it!


2024 was a huge year for Underspace. Mostly because, you know, it was actually our first official release, albeit in Early Access. We saw a huge boost in sales, engagement, community growth, and all those metrics that washed-up bald actors on social media sites talk about instead things like if they’re proud of the actual thing they made. We even got printed articles about the game, which is neat.



Following that big ole release and all the celebration and communal good vibes and cake, things moved onto to post EA-Launch support. We’ve had about 37 patches since the game first launched, featuring across the board improvements to optimization, gameplay, controller support (though why you want to use that I’ll still never figure out), and more, as well as tons of new features often submitted or based on feedback from you in the community.



2024 also saw the release of both our roadmap and the release of two of our planned Early Access roadmap updates. The first, Gods & Corpses, brought the undead world of Gravecity, alongside with a huge host of improvements to many late game bosses, new weapons, and more.



The second milestone update, Faces in the Fog, was our biggest update yet, and brought in a huge amount of new quests, full storylines for party members, a bounty hunting system, and a ton more things that I’m probably forgetting because I ran myself ragged getting that thing out in the first place.



Past that, we’ve had a few smaller updates and new goodies that have filtered in as this year chugs to a close, including full cockpits, summonable weapon platforms, and more.



But that’s just what’s been done. You’re here to know what’s going and what’s going to happen next.


As you may have noticed from the roadmap there was a bit of a schedule slip. After the launch of Faces in the Fog I realized that I was nearly destroying myself and falling apart at the bolts. I’m old now, my back hurts. I have things and living creatures that require that I still exist and breathe, so the name of the game for the later milestone updates was to take it slower.



Because, for one thing, they’re also massive MASSIVE updates. Wanna get into them? Yeah? Cool, glad we’re on the same page.

First off is Milestone #3, Intergalactic Architecture. This is one of the largest level updates to the entire game. Milestone #1’s centerpiece was a single planet. Milestone #3 aims to add around fifteen of those.



Being focused on planet and stationside content, it also will add new features such as whole shopping districts in major locations, increased character customization, tons of new dialogue and news stories on stations, and player housing with full interior decorating.

Intergalactic Architecture will also see the first new flyable ships added to the game (something players requested), this includes the new lines of Corporate and Washer Missionary fighters (with appropriate bonuses), but also unique ships such as the Champion’s racing scout and the Rival’s strange otherworldly craft.



We’ll be aiming to drop this update early 2025.

Our final milestone update, and the one that’ll mark the release of the game is Milestone #4: The Soulchaser Endeavor. This of course, brings forth probably the game’s most anticipated and requested feature: online multiplayer.

Of course what’s multiplayer without something to do in it? Not very good multiplayer, I’d say. The Soulchaser Endeavor features its own unique main quest, which serves as a separate story set after the events of the singleplayer main quest. This questline is centered around multiplayer activities, and features a lot of dungeon delving, worm avoiding, and boss crushing.



But fear not, for in multiplayer you’re not just one middle aged Vauldwin merchant out to reclaim his fortune, as you’re able to pick from multiple different races with full character customization for all of them.



If you have an internet connection/no friends/social anxiety, don’t worry. This last update also includes an offline version of multiplayer, which we call Freeplay. This lets you do the same amount of race customization, pursuing that questline, but is less multiplayery.

We’re aiming to drop this mid 2025, but an important thing to note is that a lot of this final update will be spent in beta testing, which means depending on how spectacularly broken it is things could take some time. We want to launch multiplayer in a state where things work, you know?

And between all these there’s also a smattering of other things, like increased mod support, pets, performance improvements, voice acting, and so on. No screenshots for these, so have some cats.



And that’s all for this recap! We’ll be aiming for a smaller patch this month to address various issues, plus add some new little goodies here and there.

Hello starchasers! Did you have a good The Game Awards? Did you see that trailer without any gameplay? Yeah that sure was a trailer. Did your favorite game lose? My cat's favorite game lost and now he's overcome with despair.



I'm sorry to the both of you, but maybe you should play better games, like Underspace.

Anyway, this is possibly our last patch for the year, and it's a good one. All our patches are good, mind you.



There's a lot of new little QoL things here, most of these requested features. Whose procrastinating on doing the big milestone update? Not this guy, no sir.
Anyway we've made rare skill reset items that can be used now. These aren't replacing the NPCs that can also reset your skills, it's just another option on top of that.



I've also added a way to define a controller override for controller presets. Again, not sure how crazy this'll get. There's a reason the game screams MOUSE AND KEYBOARD RECOMMENDED every chance it gets.



There's new UI stuff now too, such as star system descriptions displaying known stations and any active bounties.



Finally, on the subject of new models, Shadowspear now has better models for his weakpoints and the Loco Star finally has a proper cab fit for an engineer. Not a conductor. Conductors don't drive the train. You should know this by now.



And lots of other things. This is honestly a pretty featurefilled little patch, so check out the full notes.



[h2]NEW FEATURES[/h2]

• Added door sounds to animated opening doors.
  
• Added lots of intermediary quests between campaign missions that tell you to go get stronger or wait a bit, to help teach players about the concept of delayed gratification.
  
• Added attacks to big kill and structure demolition… structures. You know what I mean.
  
• Added new skill reset items, single use objects that let you reset your skills anywhere. They’re rare drops from wrecks, quests, or able to be crafted at endgame levels for a high cost.
  
• Added a controller preset override, which allows you to specify a pre-existing layout for any controller plugged in. Not sure how crazy this’ll get, I don’t use controllers.
  
• The Loco Star now has its own cockpit model.
  
• Star system descriptions now display known stations and current bounties.
  
• Amaron will now appear as a potential starchaser ally after finishing Off Track.
  
• Creon will now appear as a potential starchaser ally.
  

[h2]CHANGES AND REBALANCES[/h2]

• You can now individually clear or reset specific keys.
  
• Increased the number of missions that can be offered at any given time.
  
• Keypad animations are much faster now.
  
• Redid the lighting on many Washer stations to better fit the atmosphere of the faction in question.
  
• Redid details in Oldjarri Church.
  
• Changed the weakspots for Shadowspear to be more visible rings and adjusted the hitbox for them.
  
• Player achievement text now tracks the number of storm hazards you’ve seen and is slightly more readable.
  
• Campaign missions now count the same as completed random missions in code.
  
• Increased the speed and mining rate of all mining drones, and removed their energy degeneration.
  
• Changed some scenery in smuggling stations.
  
• Reduced the spawn distance of some storm hazards.
  
• Assassination missions will no longer be offered if the player is not at least neutral with the shake down faction in question and if the faction in question is able to spawn in the star system.
  
• Rampage missions no longer require enemies to be killed in the same system where the mission was taken.
  
• Changed certain faction mission offerings.
  

[h2]FIXES[/h2]

• Fixed issue where the cycle weapon group button wouldn’t work.
  
• Fixed issue where Brute Innovation would spawn the item too close to the player.
  
• Fixed issue where quest finales could be interrupted by things like pirates, gods, car warranty scams, etc.
  
• Fixed issue where keypad sounds were too quiet and mixed up.
  
• Fixed issue where email login UIs couldn’t be tabbed through.
  
• Fixed flickering lights in customization hangars.
  
• Fixed various flickering lights in places.
  
• Fixed bartender NPCs that weren’t tending bars.
  
• Fixed issue where Rust Drones had bad hitboxes.
  
• Fixed issue where Rust Beams could hit your detection sphere.
  
• Fixed issue where mission 15 dialogue could close prematurely
  
• Fixed text culling issues in the Ijuni fighter cockpit.
  
• Fixed issue where some menus could be accessed even when the game was paused.
  
• Fixed issue where Ancient Secrets would pop up too early.
  

More cats to close out the year? Fiiiiiiine.

Welcome starchasers! It's the Steam Autumn Sale (which takes place in the heart of winter for some reason) and predictably, we've got a patch just in time for you. I know you love patches, in the same way Mimosa loves her mechanical duck toy and Prince loves his string.


This update's got a few new tidbits that I finally got around to doing. No it's still not the big milestone update, seeing as that includes a lot of huge stuff like full planetside interiors, it obviously takes a lot of doing. But there's still some neat things!




You ever make use of drones, autoturrets, or those fishing platform thingies that heal you (did you know that?). Well been completely changed in how they function. Rather than actively draining your energy, they now work off an active time amount followed by a cooldown. This leaves your AI skill a bit more useful.



We've also got a new weapon type, one of our most request types: summoning pods. These launchers pump out weapons platforms that attack your nearby enemies, but their health decays over time. Again, your AI skill increases the time they're able to stay alive.



There's also been some lighting changes. Turns out there's some old code from like five years ago (back when lightning wasn't actual lightning) and it was causing issues. Now it's not. Very atmospheric.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Finally, you kept wanting to see more activity throughout space, so now there is! Asteroid fields, nebulas, and the deep reaches of space now have encounters for various space pirates, smugglers, and more.



Onto the patch!



[h2]NEW FEATURES[/h2]

• Total overhaul of how AI and the AI skill works. AI now no longer drain energy, but instead have a maximum amount of time they're able to be active before they go into a cooldown. The AI skill now increases the amount of time the AI can be active. Mining drones are unaffected by this change (as they don’t drain energy to begin with).
  
• Added summoning pods: These are missile launchers that go into your AI slot and can be used to temporarily summon forth weapon platforms that attack nearby enemies. These platforms decay over time, with your AI skill affecting how long they can stay active. You can find a variety of these pods sold through stations across the galaxy, with a special few able to be crafted with… certain materials.
  
• Station descriptions now include a list of the equipment sold at the station. Remember: You asked for this.
  
• Points of interest that haven’t been found now have a new scan pulse icon, to help colorblind players.
  
• Increased ship presence: Pirates now inhabit many forgotten corners of the galaxy, and if you’re off the beaten path in nebulas and asteroid belts you’ll often encounter them.
  

[h2]CHANGES AND REBALANCES[/h2]

• Train lines are now colored based on inbound and outbound services. There will be no service to Miami.
  
• Conceptual primers now stack.
  
• Several crafting items are now special items instead of cargo items, and are held in your overall, nonspecific ship inventory.
  
• Made scanning for the courier ship in Long Legacies more reliable.
  
• Adjusted drop tables of knowledge items to base 10% (down from 30%).
  
• Adjusted drop tables of repair items dropped by NPCs. Tier 3 ships now have a base 5% chance (up from 1%) tier 2 ships now have a base 3% chance (up from 1%)
  

[h2]FIXES[/h2]

• Fixed some text culling issues with the Apocalypse’s cockpit.
  
• Fixed culling issues where some nebulas still showed objects.
  
• Fixed some rendering issues aboard Battleship Greatclaw.
  
• Fixed old as balls lighting issue with lightning in storms. Ambient lighting during a storm should generally have smoother transitions now.
  
• Fixed issue with drop tables for several larger ships during random missions.
  
• Fixed some secret dialogue where the speakers were incorrect.
  
• Added better restrictions to the Omadaz to prevent docking on it.
  
• Fixed some mismatched icons and names in the Bigger Picture.
  
• Fixed issue where out of system waypoints wouldn’t work if you had ever discovered a space leviathan.
  
• Fixed issue where you could quickload a savegame mid-jump, causing issues.
  
• Fixed issue where the Volatile Planetoid would play a victory sting, even if you didn’t actually beat the boss.