This Means Warp News

This Means Warp’s first big content drop launched a few weeks ago (full details here), and we’re now hard at work on loads more changes as part of Update 2!

[h3]What are you working on?[/h3]
The full feature list for Update 2 will be revealed soon, but in the meantime there are three big areas we’re focusing on:

• Mission variation
  
• Quality of life improvements
  
• Crew AI
  

Most of Update 2 is based on player feedback, including many features that have been directly requested by the community. If you’d like to have your say, join us on Discord - your suggestions may well make it into the next update!

[h3]How has the Early Access roadmap changed since launch?[/h3]
This Means Warp’s Early Access development roadmap was shaped based on Alpha and Beta player feedback, but with the influx of new Early Access players we now have even more ideas and suggestions to integrate into the game!

The most common request around launch was for more replayability, so Update 1 was adjusted to feature a lot of additional content once you’ve completed the main story. Update 2, on the other hand, focuses more around areas that can become tedious after many runs (hello “Skip Intro” and “Inspect Item” buttons!).

We have more updates planned in the future, and will continue to adapt the changes based on input from This Means Warp’s community.

[h3]When will Update 2 be released?[/h3]
Exact date TBD, but we’re aiming for late June 2022.

[h3]Any other news?[/h3]
We were very excited to see our “Best Upcoming Game” award arrive in the post, and if you're looking for some cool new games to try, we're also participating in the Dreamhack Beyond Festival for the next week!

- Fixed an issue causing game to crash if player had equipped the Bouncing Bombs ship mod and a bomb landed on the player ship at the same time as an enemy was destroyed

In the six weeks since Early Access launch we've been working feverishly to bring lots of new content to This Means Warp. We're delighted to announce that Update 1 is available NOW, along with a 20% discount to celebrate Steam's "Going Rogue" festival!

Update 1 contains a wealth of new features for This Means Warp, including a series of unique gameplay scenarios, new ship colors, new enemies, missions, modifiers, and more. Check out the full details below.

If you've been thinking about picking up This Means Warp, now is the perfect time to jump in! Many of the new features in Update 1 are based on feedback from our community, and we'd love to hear what you want to see in Update 2. Join us on Discord to chat to the developers directly, or drop a comment on the Steam Discussions board. See you there!



[h2]New Game Modes[/h2]
[h3]4x Gameplay Scenarios[/h3]
Test your skills in 4 curated gameplay Scenarios that challenge you to think differently about your tactics and strategy.

Each Scenario also comes with a unique Ship Tint to unlock, allowing you to customize the colors of your ship.



[h3]Custom Mode[/h3]
Create your own challenge with a new Scenario Creator tool that allows you to set variables and define your own custom parameters before starting a run.

[h3]Nightmare Difficulty[/h3]
Push yourself to the limit with a new infinitely scaling difficulty mode. Climb the ladder to see how far you can reach!

[h2]New Features[/h2]
[h3]Crew Progression[/h3]
Your crew now level up as you progress, gaining XP and developing their skills throughout a run. Recruiting crew members also now has more differentiation and variation each time you play.



[h2]New Content[/h2]
[h3]Enemy Ships[/h3]
The number of late-game enemy ships has been greatly expanded, with 4 new layouts (plus additional variants) to add more variety to battles towards the end of a run.


[h3]Missions[/h3]
Explore the ruins of an ancient civilization in a new event mission and a new minigame!



[h3]2x New Ship Modifiers[/h3]
Rain down destruction with the new Fire Ammo Ship Modifier, or defend against those pesky Fire Beams with an automated Extinguisher Ship Modifier.



[h2]And More...[/h2]

• Lots of bug fixes
  
• Performance improvements
  
• Chat filtering controls
  
• Balance tweaks
  

New Features

• Scenario game modes
  
• Custom scenario mode
  
• Nightmare difficulty
  
• Ship colors can be customized
  
• AI crew members level up like players
  
• Chat filtering can be disabled
  

New Content

• Shields Up! scenario
  
• Power Overwhelming scenario
  
• Double Tap scenario
  
• Bombs Away scenario
  
• 4x enemy ship layouts
  
• Temple Rune minigame mission
  
• Temple Reward encounter mission
  
• Fire Ammo ship modifier
  
• Extinguish ship modifier
  
• 5x Steam achievements
  

Other

• Enemy crew size increased on late-game ships
  
• Bug fixes
  
• Player stats not syncing after resuming online multiplayer
  
• Steam achievements sometimes not triggering
  
• Repeater bullets disappearing if multiple capacity upgrades installed
  
• Shield ship mod positioned above intended target
  
• Lots of smaller fixes
  
• Performance improvements
  

It has been 2 weeks since This Means Warp launched into Early Access, and what a 2 weeks it has been! We wanted to say a huge thankyou to the thousands of people who have played the game, offered suggestions, or left a review for This Means Warp!

We have been watching a lot of gameplay and listening to all of your feedback. It is incredibly gratifying to see so many people enjoying the game, and there’s one comment that comes up again and again - you want MORE!



The good news is we have lots of plans for additional content during Early Access! You can check out the roadmap on the Steam page for details on the longer term, but in the short term we’re delighted to announce that UPDATE 1 WILL LAUNCH ON MAY 2ND 2022!

We’re currently finalizing exactly what we can squeeze into the update, but here’s a quick peek into the list so far:

• New “Scenario” game modes
  
• New “Custom” game mode
  
• New crew levelling system
  
• 2x New missions
  
• 2x New ship modifiers
  
• 4x New enemy ships
  
• New “Nightmare” difficulty
  
• Lots of bug fixes
  

In the meantime, we’ve also been tweaking balancing based on your experiences with the game:

• 4.01 (18th March): Increased difficulty ramp for 3-4 player groups, increased health and charge speed of final boss, buffed enemy bot move speed.
  
• 4.02 (28th March): Increased difficulty of easy mode, buffed late game enemy weapons, increased frequency of unique mechanics on Boss 2 and Boss 3.
  

Exciting times! If you want to chat about future updates and help shape the game, join us on the Outlier Discord. See you there!