Slipways News

Things are quieting down a bit on the bug front, so this is just a small patch, covering the following issues:

- UI: Having a controller attached could still cause weird problems due to left-over experimental controller code in the game. This code should now be fully dormant and should no longer cause issues with controllers plugged in.
- Isolated sectors: Runs with this sector type should now have the "borrowable" technologies correctly randomized according to the sector seed. Before the fix, they were always the same for all runs.
- Ranked: A problem was fixed that would have prevented tomorrow's seed from working correctly.

After these fixes, the version numbers should be up to v1.3(b1053) on Windows and v1.3(b1054) on Mac.

Here's another day of post-release hotfixes, fixing the following issues:

- Dendr mission: The mission goal failed to trigger if you were at the exact required amount of genes or culture. You no longer need 103% effort to complete the mission.
- Vattori mission: Some connections to phase shifters were incorrectly disallowed as crossing a rift.
- Vattori mission: The connection preview between planets did not take rift edges into account.
- Dendr mission: Pinned colonization options failed to disappear when a vault was built on a planet, causing all sorts of problems.
- Run records: Some campaign resource icons failed to display correctly in run records.

After these hotfixes, the version numbers should be up to v1.3(b1050) on Windows and v1.3(b1051) on Mac.

If you've been paying attention, you might have noticed that the game has updated quite a few times since the release of the third update. This was due to various hotfixes being applied, as usual, to fix various small bugs discovered shortly after release. Nothing like hundreds of people playing the game to shake things out!

Here is a list of things fixed so far:

- Ranked: There was a problem that prevented scores from uploading for about 10 hours after release. This is now fixed, and if you reopen ranked, your scores should reupload without any additional trouble.
- Crash: Building a Ba'qar hubworld in their campaign mission resulted in a crash because the wormhole was missing and this confused the poor hubworld.
- Crash: Some very old saves made with previous versions of the game failed to load with a full crash. They no longer do that.
- Wormhole: Speaking about wormholes, it used to not notice when you invented a tech increased your probe range. It should be more observant now.
- Void Synthesizer: Used to do weird things when fed with energy with "Energy-Driven Industry" invented. Will now refuse to consume things that don't sit well with it.
- Hyperdense Architecture: Behaved incorrectly when paired with other projects on the same planet using Orbital Engineering. Should now play well with others.
- Empathic Links: Incorrectly interacted with undo when invented, allowing you to have the cake and eat it. Or rather have your science and... eat the people? Something like that.
- Excess Perk: Behaved inconsistently when manual assignment of resource was required. Now it will give the bonus to the first connection that *could* deliver the second resource, even if it doesn't get delivered immediately.
- Sector quirks: Interference had its score modifier going the completely wrong way.

After the hotfixes, the version numbers should now be up to v1.3(b1043) on Windows and v1.3(b1044) on Mac.

I can't believe it: it's here! 😱

The final update to Slipways is now available! Enjoy the third act of the campaign and the newly added techs and perks, and when you have the time and inclination, dig into the brand new modding feature.

To celebrate this release, Slipways is going on a 30% sale for two weeks across all the stores. The update itself is free and available to all existing and new players of the game.



Now, with the preliminaries out of the way, let's dig into the new stuff!

[h3]The final act of the campaign![/h3]

This one includes five brand new missions, in which each council member tackles the oncoming cataclysm alone.

Each race has a unique way to approach the problem, and the missions highlight their philosophical outlooks, their strengths and their unfortunate weaknesses. They also happen to be tons of fun!

[h3]Modding support![/h3]

This one is a doozy and I can't wait to see how it goes from here! On my end, I made sure that the engine is as flexible as possible: you can make sweeping changes like adding new game modes and new council races, but also smaller mods that just feature a single quirk or tech.

The game is fully integrated with Steam Workshop, so sharing these mods should be easy. There are also examples and documentation available to get you started. Should you need help, there is also a new #modding channel on the game's Discord server.

[h3]Even more stuff![/h3]

The update features a new exciting tech for each race with mechanics that haven't been seen before: like the ability to double up resources sent between two planets, or a project that doesn't even cost money to build.

Each race also gets a fifth perk to take them in a new direction, and as usual, there are also new sector quirks and random events to shake things up.

[h3]Highscore tables in ranked![/h3]

Ranked is also getting an upgrade! Starting today, the top scores each week are going to be publicly shown and (if you want to provide it), your name will be visible there at the top for all to see.

You will also be able to peek inside other people's ranked runs, effectively loading a save that shows you the state of their sector just before the run ended. This feature will be limited to "retired" weeks, so you're still on your own when it comes to the current challenge.

[h3]Other smaller improvements[/h3]

There is tons of smaller stuff as well, but let me just list a few things that I think will make some of you really happy:

• you can now pick sector quirks directly on the sector select screen, so you don't have to spend long looking for your chosen setup
  
• there is a new option for date display in settings that just shows you directly how much time is left in the run
  
• in endless mode, you can now right-click perks and techs to change them to whatever you want
  
• the ingame music now has an optional remastered version, which is closer to how it sounds on the official soundtrack, with more punch and definition
  

[h2]Exit, stage right[/h2]

You're probably eager to try the new things out, so I won't keep your here much longer. I'll just let you download the update (which Steam should already be doing) and sink your teeth in it. Let me know what you all think on Twitter or Discord, and until then...

See you around the galaxy!

Hey everyone,

I'm thrilled to announce: the third and final big update for Slipways is coming out on June 23rd, just in time for a nice sale happening across all the stores. If you've been waiting to pick up a copy for yourself or a friend, this will be the best and cheapest opportunity to grab one!

If you already own the game, I hope you're as excited as I am! May this new update bring you joy during these coming months, be it on vacation or after a hot day at work.

[h2]What's in it?[/h2]

Let me refer you to the previous post, which has a nice buletted list of things planned for the update.

Things have been going well and I'm happy to tell you that all five campaign missions are done and are now going through internal tests. I might be biased, but I feel this batch is the best one yet in terms of variety and gameplay.



The modding support is also coming along nicely. I just finalized Steam Workshop support yesterday and basic mods are already working well. I'm still improving the modding experience and adding more flexibility to the engine.

Most of the smaller gameplay additions are also ready. There are some cool new techs and perks for all council members, plus quite a few fresh sector quirks to shake up the game in standard and ranked.

Speaking of other gameplay modes, I'm also planning some smaller surprises for those of you who prefer ranked and endless. These are still waiting to be implemented, but there is a pretty good chance they'll fit into the schedule.

That's where we're at! Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some code to write, which means...

See you around the galaxy!