Earth Analog News

Hi players,

Aaand, another patch :) This one focuses on guidance: a Help dialog has been added containing info and tips on flying, mining and what to do in case you get stuck. With the added beacon reveal scanner getting stuck should be mostly a thing of the past.

• new: beacon reveal scanner: performs an expensive (fuel-wise) high energy scan to locate the next beacon which is then added to the HUD. This will really help in case you're stuck.
  
• new: help screen for I'm Stuck, Flying, Mining and general tips.
  
• changed: added some more information and hints in some of the quest story pieces.
  
• changed: control mapping dialog: changed "scale" to "sensitivity"; values are now also displayed at 1 decimal precision to indicate the possibility of entering fractional numbers.
  
• changed: forward scanner color echo color now indicates the selected resource: blue for H20 (fresh water), pink for He (fuel) and white for Fe (iron).
  
• changed: various story segments are now more clear/helpful.
  
• changed: cube field: decreased the chance of the beam following you.
  
• changed: beacon appearance.
  
• changed: increased low fuel/water alarm intervals to 5 mins.
  
• fixed: save/load game did not work on cube field planet.
  
• fixed: Luyten b: wind forces were not reset to calm even though the HUD said so.
  
• fixed: issue causing the ship to spin when exiting a portal.
  
• fixed: a tutorial soft-lock issue.
  
• fixed: the first beacon was visible and active during the tutorial.
  

I will now start working on TrackIR support and preparations for a revamp of the computer UI controls.

nkm

nkm

Hi fractal-explorers,

Another bug-fixing and balancing patch, based on player feedback:

• changed: tutorial: improved directions.
  
• changed: breakdown: now only engines, thrusters and resource tanks can suddenly break down, and only during flight.
  
• changed: breakdown: decreased the chance of a system suddenly breaking down.
  
• changed: breakdown: the alarm is only sounded for flight critical systems (i.e. engines and thrusters).
  
• changed: computer: the selected system will still show the blinking broken animation when it's broken.
  
• changed: newtonian flight model: speed limit now depends on thruster level.
  
• changed: adjusted beacon HUD visibility ranges for specific beacons. E.g. first beacon is now shown from a very large distance.
  
• fixed: the tutorial would advance if
• any* system was repaired while only repairing the drill should advance the tutorial.
  
• fixed: asteroids: shader compilation error on AMD gpus causing physics and collision issues.
  

The next patch will focus on help and guidance.

Thanks for the feedback! Keep it coming ːsteamhappyː

nkm

Hi,

Couple of minor fixes in response to user feedback:

• fixed: sound effects volume setting was not stored properly.
  
• fixed: discrepancy between forward scanner results and depth scanner results.
  
• fixed: drilling results UI label overlap.
  
• fixed: asteroids: orb was visible on the HUD from the start.
  
• changed: asteroids: no more landing needed for the first beacon.
  

nkm

Hi there,

Today's patch focuses on some flight model changes that should make flying a little more forgiving. There are also some improvements regarding guidance and control mapping.

• changed: reduced collision damage by 90% for Normal difficulty.
  
• changed: flight model: activating retro now resets thrust to 0%.
  
• changed: flight model in space: increased retro thrust by 40%; added a 50000 kmph speed limit.
  
• changed: flight model in atmo: increased retro thrust by 500%.
  
• changed: control mapping listener now selects the input with the highest amplitude.
  
• changed: the anomaly alert on Proxima Centauri b now comes a bit earlier.
  
• changed: Cube Field: added HUD indicators for the first switch, the beam. Improved the hint. Game now indicates whether the ship is in the beam's path.
  
• changed: added instructions in the drill and repair screens.
  
• changed: if drilling fails (=target depth not reached) you receive only 25% of the yield
  
• changed: drill result dialog now displays speed factor and whether target depth was reached.
  
• fixed: issue where pressing keys in modal dialogs caused other dialogs to appear.
  

Next up: more guidance and gameplay tweaks. And dark energy improvements.

Thanks for your feedback!
nkm

Hello players,

The following update focuses on some general improvements as requested by players as well as some bug fixes and polishing.

• new: sound effects volume setting.
  
• new: added 1920x1200, 2560x1080 and 3840x2160 resolution options.
  
• new: HUD throttle indicator.
  
• new: a descriptive HUD message when using the forward scanner.
  
• changed: decreased roll thruster force by 33%.
  
• changed: lay-out of the settings dialog.
  
• changed: HUD labels are now more descriptive in general.
  
• changed: portals are now displayed on the HUD once discovered.
  
• changed: increased portal size by 300% on GJ 1061 a - interior.
  
• changed: decreased Ixo LOD-popping.
  
• changed: exiting free-look mode will now reset the cursor to the center.
  
• fixed: keys pressed to exit dialogs were also processed as flight control inputs.
  
• fixed: another AMD-specific shader compilation issue.
  

Thanks again for your feedback!

nkm