Icarus News

[h2]Greetings, Prospectors![/h2]

In this update, we’re going to talk about expectations around our first Beta Weekend, discover who is in this month’s Creator Spotlight, and how to enter our exciting Gleam competition to win some sweet Logitech G gear and Steam Wallet funds!

[h3]Stay confident in the beta process![/h3]

From 5pm 27 August PDT you will touch down on Icarus’ soil for the first time and explore the Forest Biome! The surrounding areas are blocked off by invisible barriers where you will be warned if you get out-of-bounds. Storms will come and go, but are purely cosmetic in nature.

Check out our Quick Start Guide for tips and tricks on how to get underway in your first session!

We’ve heard how eager you are to get into the game, build your first cabin and make your first hunt! These are some incredibly special moments for you as new players, whether you are taking part in our beta, or choosing to wait until launch day.

For our beta players, context matters and so you should expect to encounter bugs and performance issues. We are prepared to work on these so that each beta weekend is an improvement upon the last, but larger issues may not make it in until launch day.

Please make sure to report any to us. Read more about how to do this, here.



[h2]CREATOR SPOTLIGHT[/h2]
We love supporting all creators whether they have small, medium or large communities. This weekend, you will get your first chance to stream and create your own VOD gameplay content around Icarus. We’ll be watching as many folks as we can, so keep it up, and maybe you will be showcased for our next Creator Spotlight!

[h3]Introducing WIRED_GAMING[/h3]

“Wired” has been regularly uploading gameplay, tips, tricks and impression videos to YouTube around titles in the survival genre for the past few years! We’re impressed by his level of enthusiasm and dedication to continuously create new and engaging content, including his recent videos about Icarus. We recommend checking out this video of his below!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
“I love all things survival from space to zombies, Icarus caught my eye earlier this year and I've been following the development ever since. The survival aspect with storms and a timer add to the difficulty and make it stand out from the crowd. I can’t wait to get stuck into different biomes and what looks to be a nice lengthy progression system.” - Wired_Gaming

Go subscribe to Wired's YouTube and follow him on Twitter!



[h2]WIN LOGITECH G GEAR AND STEAM WALLET FUNDS![/h2]
Prospectors, you could win yourself some sweet Logitech G peripherals and Steam Wallet funds by taking part in our gleam.io competition in celebration of our first Beta Weekend! We have prizes for our runner ups too!

Our #1 Winner will receive:

• $750 (USD) Digital Steam Gift Card
  
• 1x Logitech G PRO X Wireless Headset
  
• 1x Logitech G Pro X Superlight Wireless Gaming Mouse
  
• 1x Logitech G Powerplay Wireless Charging System
  
• 1x Logitech G915 TKL Keyboard.
  

First runner up will receive:

• $500 (USD) Digital Steam Gift Card
  
• 1x Logitech G PRO X Headset (wired)
  

Second runner up will receive:

• $250 (USD) Digital Steam Gift Card
  
• 1x Logitech G PRO X Headset (wired)
  

There are a bunch of ways to enter, so make sure you check it out here.

Entries are now OPEN and close at the end of our second Beta Weekend on 12 September at 10pm Pacific Daylight Time.

[h2]ICARUS MERCH IS ON THE WAY[/h2]
We have Icarus themed mouse pads and enamel pins which will soon become available! Keep an eye across our socials and future steam posts for more details.

[h3]GLHF![/h3]
There's only one more day to go, Prospectors. Thank you so much for your support this far. Keep a lookout for our updates across the weekend by following us on Twitter @SurviveIcarus. We will update everywhere else as necessary.

We also have a Discord server! Find friends and chat with our community! Discord.gg/SurviveIcarus

- Lorii

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1149460/ICARUS/

[h2]So you’ve pre-ordered Icarus? You can try our Beta Weekends[/h2]

Everyone who has pre-ordered Icarus on Steam will gain access to our Beta Weekends, which happen every second weekend. In between these weekends you won't be able to access the game. To play, look for the Icarus Beta app in your Steam Library (this is different to the Icarus app which will unlock for our full launch).

[h2]When are the Beta Weekends?[/h2]

They're every two weekends and unlock new content each time:

• 28-29 August - Forest
  
• 11-12 September - Storms
  
• 25-26 September - Arctic
  
• 9-10 October - Mission (NEW)
  
• 23-24 October - Desert
  
• 6 - 7 November - Missions
  
• 20-21 November - Community
  

We’ve structured our Beta Weekends to add more content each time so you can give us clear feedback on each new feature. Once each Beta Weekend is over, we listen to community feedback and do our best to work on any critical fixes before the next Beta Weekend or before our full launch!

For more detail on the content we've planned, see our previous Steam post here.

Some features will be added at our full launch, after our beta period has finished. Exotic Matter, the mysterious elements that caused Icarus’ terraforming to fail, won't be available for you to mine until launch but when you do they'll earn valuable items in the orbital workshop. Outposts, ideal for uninterrupted base building, will also only be available to play after launch.

[h2]What time do they start?[/h2]

[h4]Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) 5pm Friday through to 10pm Sunday[/h4]
[h4]Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) 12am Saturday through to 5am Monday[/h4]
[h4]New Zealand Time (NZT) 12noon Saturday through to 5pm Monday[/h4]

To include as many time zones as possible they last for a bit longer than 48 hours.

If you try to play Icarus outside these times, you’ll see a message explaining that you cannot connect to our servers - in which case, wait and come back for the next scheduled Beta Weekend.

For real-time updates and when you can play, please follow our Twitter here.



[h2]Prospects[/h2]

The prospects you can play will last for the duration of each Beta Weekend.

If you are successful in your prospects and use your dropship to head back to the orbital station, your character's progress will be kept across each Beta Weekend. This includes your tech and talent tree unlocks, but does not include your planetary inventory. Surviving is easier said than done, so be careful! However, there might be some character wipes during the beta or before launch. Remember though, everyone who has pre-ordered Icarus will receive at 10% XP boost for the launch week so your progress will be faster.

If your character permanently dies, cannot be revived, or you decide to leave your prospect entirely at any point -- you can begin another, fresh prospect from the orbital station.

If you want to quit the game mid-way through a prospect, but wish to resume the same prospect later, you can! Just access the in-game menu and quit. When you launch Icarus again, pick that same character and you will be taken back to that prospect.



[h2]Characters[/h2]

There are three character slots available for you to fill! The character level cap and Tech Tree tiers will gradually increase throughout the Beta period.

We’re granting you the opportunity to play around with different talents across different characters during our Beta Weekends! Depending on how you wish to experience Icarus, we would recommend that you spend the first weekend levelling up one character first so you can get into a good rhythm and up your chances of survival.

You cannot share the same Prospect between your three characters. Only one can play a prospect at a time.



[h2]Teaming up with other Prospectors[/h2]

While there are benefits to playing Icarus alone - like becoming a well-rounded and independent prospector - you can also play with your friends!

Currently you can add prospectors to your game session via Steam’s Friend List interface. Please bear (no pun intended!) with us as we look into more avenues surrounding this.

Join our Discord here and find folks to play with in our #LFG (looking for a group) channel. Our community is thriving with people eager to get stuck-in, and those who wish to help others.



[h2]Follow us for regular updates[/h2]

We will be communicating updates in real-time to make announcements regarding:

• When each Beta Weekend goes live
  
• Server status information
  
• Known issues and solutions
  
• Shared media from content creators
  
• When each Beta Weekend ends
  

+ more via our social channels
Discord Twitter Facebook

Unless there are any game-breaking issues, we plan to resolve any bugs throughout the week outside of Beta Weekend activity.

[h2]How to report problems and provide us with your Beta Weekend feedback[/h2]

Icarus is ready for its players! We need your fresh set of eyes to test and play the game. We’re committed to listening to our community so we can develop Icarus to ensure the best possible experience for you on launch day.

Please report bugs and other issues at https://icarus.featureupvote.com

Our devs read these tickets and you can see tags with more detail around its state and progress. Feature Upvote is user-friendly and easy to use without having to log in or make an account.

We have channels within our Discord server where you can discuss Icarus and any issues with other players, but please note we will be monitoring the Feature Upvote page for official reports.

[h2]Streaming and VOD content is encouraged![/h2]

Whether you are a seasoned or newcoming content creator, we would love for you to show your Icarus gameplay to the world. Keep in mind that Icarus is in Beta, and we are proactively working to squash all bugs and performance issues that arise and that are reported to us.

Our Community Manager Lorii and other developers will be keenly dipping in and out of your channels across Twitch, YouTube and Facebook, saying hello and enjoying your gameplay! We may be streaming Icarus on our accounts too!

Content creators can apply for a beta key through our Rainmaker or Woovit campaigns.



[h2]Tag us in your content![/h2]

We want to see your gameplay, clips, screenshots and memes as you pump them out online. Tag us @surviveicarus and use our hashtag #surviveicarus so we can see your work!



[h3]It's a Beta... [/h3]
New Zealand, where RocketWerkz is based, went into an unexpected covid-19 lockdown just as we were preparing for our Beta Weekends. There has been a small disruption as we move all of our developers to work from home until it is safe to return to the office. We ask for your patience should any bumps in our development arise as a result of this.

So are you counting down the days? We are! These Beta Weekends hold a crucial part in Icarus’ game development, because of you, our players and our community. We look forward to diving into each weekend with you.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1149460/ICARUS/

Cooperating as a team is integral to everyone’s survival on Icarus, especially towards end-game content. Assigning specific duties or roles to each player with their relevant skill set could be the difference between dying from thirst, starvation, exposure, spontaneous animal attacks -- or a majorly successful Prospect where everyone reaps the rewards and makes it out alive.

[h2]Preparing your team for a triumphant Prospect[/h2]
The value of a well thought-out Talent and Tech Tree can be everything when playing in a crew. Having an array of unique skills across each player in your team will benefit everyone!

Depending on how many people are in your cohort, “gathering as you go” is always a safe option to ensure everyone can cover themselves in the event of a tight-squeeze or surprise. Allocating the core tasks like Mining, Hunting and Building to specific players will save time over the duration of the prospect! Just make sure you pool your resources into a shared inventory space like a chest or crafting bench, so everyone has access to the cooked food, resources and building materials that everyone has contributed.



[h3]Do you enjoy using the pickaxe?[/h3]
Mining, mining, mining. There is a lot of mining needed for your survival on Icarus. First and foremost -- Oxite. This is found in abundance, thankfully, but you will need to mine a substantial amount for your team so nobody dies of asphyxiation. Stone is everywhere, and crucial to early stage crafting and Two Tier building. If you are the allocated miner, you’ll find your inventory weight increasing drastically, so choose Talents that help you carry more and not slow down. A large chest will be of huge value, and you may find yourself running to and from it as your inventory fills up. If you get into a good groove your team will thank you for it, and your efforts will be seen in the items they are able to craft.

[h3]Is building your thing?[/h3]
Whether you’re the lumberjack, miner, or not, you will need a decent amount of wood and stone to craft a home large enough to fit your cohort plus any benches, tables or furnaces inside. Ensuring your home has a strong foundation, walls and roof is essential during Icarus’ harsh storms. Perhaps you can craft a Repair Hammer and Fire Whacker for each of your team so you can defend against the storm together.

[h3]Are you set on crafting items for your group?[/h3]
Even though your teammates may be out there gathering resources en masse - crafters also need to contribute. Armour is integral to prevent exposure damage from the harsh elements on Icarus as you explore the Forest, Arctic and Desert biomes. Make sure you have enough time to create an armour set for each of your team with the leather and fur that your hunter has collected. You will also need to prepare other survival tools like oxygen and water bladders before you all venture out to the next biome.

[h3]Do you consider yourself a chef?[/h3]
Whether you’ve acquired the game meat, fish, berries and other food items yourself - or have a dedicated hunter or gatherer - doesn’t matter. You will need to be fast to cook some of these items before they expire or rot. Meat especially needs attention and can be cooked over a simple campfire. Berries are great for restoring both your hunger and fluid intake and all players should carry these. You can also bake bread and other baked goods with specific ingredients and the right crafting equipment. Food can offer buffs to your stamina and health, while hot and cold drinks will help restore your temperature.



[h2]Have you set ground rules for your cohort?[/h2]
While we don’t have a dedicated PVP feature, friendly fire does exist, and fellow prospectors may find shortcuts or make decisions at your expense. As you have seen on our Community Streams, friendly fire isn’t encouraged but is definitely possible. This could happen via someone chopping a tree down onto a teammate’s head or an arrow to the knee. Intentional or not, good communication is key. Keep an eye on those in your crew, and whether their actions are authentic… or suspicious.



[h3]Work together, have fun![/h3]
Playing with IRL friends is a great way to get a head-start on Icarus as your teamwork and communication should be so much easier! On the other hand, finding and playing with teammates via LFG requires individual players to come together and work cohesively. But this is a fantastic opportunity for specialised prospectors to fit into the gaps of a team and step-up when needed. Icarus has been designed to suit both the socialite and the lone wolf!

We hope you’ll form many new gaming friendships, and grow stronger ones, on Icarus. The amount of new memories you can gain by playing a prospect together is infinite, and we cannot wait to hear all about them! Both triumphant and… disastrous.

Join our Discord! Discord.gg/SurviveIcarus and follow us on Twitter!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1149460/ICARUS/

There was no PUBG when Brian Hicks and Jordan Tayer conceived the Survivor GameZ, a last-player-standing tournament for DayZ. But in 2012, The Hunger Games was an international movie phenomenon, and Tayer couldn’t stop talking about its potential...
Read more.

The extraterrestrial survival game Icarus may have just made RPS's list of top games in August but, oh dear. It's now delayed until November, actually. It will still be playable for some folks next month though, it turns out. RocketWerkz have announced that they'll be running a handful of beta weekends for pre-order players focused on different areas of the game beginning at the end of August.

Read more