Galaxy Pass Station News

Hello everyone! We're actively continuing to work on the game. This week, we've focused on game performance issues, as well as improving the balance, and we've also fixed some bugs.

The list of enhancements and fixes is massive. We've gathered the most significant changes without delving into technical details.

New
+ Added signs for Venerians.
+ Added signs for Robo-kittens.

Balance Changes
+ Parasitic beetles can no longer summon or use elevators. This wasn't our intention.
+ The probability of different criminals appearing at the station has been doubled.
+ Cyber-scammers, Kleptomaniacs, and Pranksters now commit crimes more frequently (previously they hardly ever did).
+ Reduced the reward for document checks by 20-30%.
+ Effects of technologies that increase document check rewards have been reduced.
+ Noise and smell effects no longer affect visitors when they're in rooms with elevators.

Performance Improvements
+ Constructing rooms and items no longer causes game lag.
+ Optimized and improved the pathfinding algorithm for station inhabitants.
+ The game's sound system has been enhanced.
+ Notifications that appear on the right now operate more efficiently and don't go beyond the screen limits.
+ Eliminated some memory leaks that could lead to game freezes after long gaming sessions.
+ Accelerated and optimized the system that displays noise and stench effects in rooms.
+ The starry sky in the game has been optimized, which previously could cause lag.
+ The system displaying the thoughts and conversations of visitors at the station has been optimized.
+ The game localization system for various languages has been optimized.
+ The speed of the station's fire system has been optimized.
+ Other game performance improvements, which are hard to detail due to their technical nature.

Fixes
+ Drone effect area settings are now saved after loading game saves.
+ Fixed a bug in the shortest path search for visitors and drones. Sometimes they could choose a non- optimal path.
+ Fixed a bug displaying wanted criminals in the Terminal and in the criminals' window. For some alien races, this did not work correctly.
+ Noise and smell levels in rooms can no longer go negative; for beauty levels, this is correct.
+ Fixed some bugs that made it impossible to load some game saves.
+ Fixed a bug where some labels mistakenly persisted from a previous gaming session.
+ Fixed some translation errors for various languages.

[h2]What's Next?[/h2]
We still have a lot of feedback from players; we read everything and take everything into account. It doesn't matter where you write it, be it on our Discord server, in Steam reviews, or in the game community.

Most likely, there will be another patch with fixes and improvements next week. Then, at the beginning of October, we'll release an update with new content.
Check our roadmap here: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1571990/view/6740255587971456514

P.S. Share your impressions, suggestions, and objections in the comments. We'll be happy to respond.

New
+ Introduced 2 new technologies for improving the work speed of worker drones.
+ Added the ability to change the drone's area of operation through charging stations.
+ Added a "Verified" tab in the window showing all station visitors. This tab provides a list of visitors whose documents have been checked.
+ Added indicators and explanatory text for civilization ratings: Intelligence, Usefulness, and Friendliness.

Improvements / Balance
+ Initial drone speed upgrades in the technology tree have been increased by 5%.
+ Removed visitor influence on object characteristics that visitors can't interact with (e.g., drone stations, generators, etc.). Previously, you could sometimes see these stats when hovering over such objects.
+ Visitors with a mood level above 48% will now never complain about being in a bad mood when their documents are checked. In all other cases, the likelihood of a complaint depends on the "Mood" level—the lower it is, the more frequent the complaints.
+ Hired staff now ignore rule signs for different species and races. This change addresses previous confusion and ambiguous situations.
+ Replaced the "Usefulness" civilization rating icon for better clarity. The "Thumbs Up" icon was misleading when the rating was negative.
+ Updated the "Second Contact" description to include information that it is an endless game mode.
+ Changed the unclear term "PAX" to "Passengers" on the flight board, as the old term was understood mainly by people in the aviation industry.
+ Doubled the speed of transitioning between screens for enhanced user convenience.
+ Visitors now express their displeasure in understandable phrases in all languages when they see a lot of trash around, instead of just saying "Boo!"
+ Reduced the volume of CRT screen effects by 35% in the Terminal and the Rest Room (some players found the loud background noise uncomfortable after extended play).
+ Increased the likelihood of receiving a negative review when large amounts of trash are visible.

Fixes
+ Fixed an issue where some names wouldn't fit within the Visa and would overflow.
+ Clarified the text on how to check Zubonoids. Their levitating devices can indeed vary according to the game's lore.
+ Reworked character dialogues that mentioned document errors to avoid confusing players.
+ Fixed the name and description of rule signs for Pharaoids.
+ Fixed a bug where a radio call would trigger while checking documents.
+ Fixed a bug that prevented the game from unpausing after document checks.
+ Fixed a bug where documents would disappear during checks.
+ Fixed a bug related to the highlighting of invisible document areas near the scanner switch.
+ Fixed a bug that led to excessive rewards for mistakes.
+ Fixed a bug where old texts and inscriptions were not deleted from the previous playthrough and appeared in the new one.
+ Fixed the construction animation of some objects.

[h2]What will the next patch be?[/h2]
We will make the next patch that will improve the performance of the game on large stations with a lot of visitors.

[h2]Want to become a Beta tester?[/h2]
Visit our discord server (https://discord.gg/fUZFwtTCJ6) and read the information in the beta-testing channel. There you will find instructions on how to play the early beta versions of the game.

We are glad to present you our preliminary plans of the game development for the fall. We would like to present you the roadmap in the form of beautiful pictures, like other developers do, but we don't have time for that, we will just describe everything in text. Our artist is drawing new art for the game, he has no time =).

[h2]Start of October 2023[/h2]

• New technologies and items to suppress odors and noise in rooms - humidifiers, air purifiers, etc.
  
• New items for the station - large and small aquariums, unusual wall-mounted functional items like clocks and signs.
  
• Special technology and items for the station that will better optimize the delivery of the "Battery" resource to items.
  
• Expanded technology tree in the drone ability improvement category of the station.
  
• New morning events from the most negative to the most positive. There will be some unexpected surprises waiting for you.
  
• New small events during the day to diversify each new playthrough.
  

[h2]Mid-November 2023[/h2]

• New robotic race, information about which is even already in the game, the main thing is to look for it carefully ;)
  
• Did you like the robot kittens? More unusual "creatures" will be added as a new race.
  
• New items "Canvases for painting", you will be able to draw your own unique picture and place it in any room.
  
• New Game Mode. Many users ask us for different game modes. It may be a free sandbox mode, but we are still gathering feedback from you to determine what we should do.
  
• New morning events, we will continue to add them to diversify each new playthrough.
  
• New types of signals in Project C.E.T.I., not related to the races described above. You may have already met something similar in this project. We will add more of these things.
  

[h2]Weekly/Daily Patches and Fixes[/h2]
According to your feedback we will continue to fix the game, especially important things that we need to fix first:

• Performance issues on large stations with a lot of visitors.
  
• Problems with missing documents during checkout mode
  
• Improving game balance in late stages.
  
• Solving problems with elevators, drones and logistics. Mostly balance and possibly additional technology.
  
• Fixes for minor bugs are also very important.
  

[h2]Players' wishes[/h2]
We pay close attention to feedback. Even though our game is not in early access, we want to actively update it by listening to player feedback. We want to make the game a sandbox, where every playthrough is unique, creating unusual situations and stories.

We are working on the game with the artist full time. So expect our updates and patches soon.

You can leave your wishes in comments or on Steam community forum..

We are very pleased that many people enjoyed the game. We've collected a large amount of feedback from you.

Some bugs were found in the game, and we've worked hard to fix them as quickly as possible.

Critical Issue Fixes:

1. Fixed a performance issue that occurred with a large number of visitors in one room.
   
2. The game no longer lags when a large number of visitors arrive simultaneously.
   
3. Fixed some critical bugs with the fire drone. Sometimes fires never stopped.
   
4. The elevator now operates more efficiently and doesn't wait for a large number of visitors to start moving.
   
5. Hired workers have become less lazy and now adhere more strictly to their schedules.
   
6. Visitors no longer ignore signs that prohibit them from entering a room while they are sitting and waiting for their turn for a certain item at the station.
   

Gameplay Improvements and Balance

• Clerks and bureaucrats no longer significantly increase the station's appeal.
  
• The progression of the station's interest has been improved to prevent the game from becoming chaotic in the later stages.
  
• Reduced frequent flight arrival notifications; there will now be fewer of them.
  
• Couriers now only call during the initial days to avoid distracting the player. In the later stages, they may still occasionally call.
  

Minor Improvements and Fixes

• Removed extra unnecessary text that occasionally appeared at the bottom of the station (in space).
  
• Now when you click on a room, you can immediately see the levels of beauty, noise, and smell.
  
• In the first contact event, the Flight Board now opens one in-game day earlier.
  

🚀 Get ready for an unprecedented journey into the heart of our game!

Join us tomorrow as we celebrate the official release of Galaxy Pass Station with a developer-led live stream on Steam! Be one of the first to witness the gameplay, mechanics, and secrets that make our game an experience you won't want to miss.

👾 What to Expect

• Exclusive first-look gameplay by the developers.
  
• Tips and tricks to give you an edge in your own gameplay
  
• Live Q&A session—get all your burning questions answered!
  

How much will the game cost?
$10 for the US, and about 10 euros for Europe. For the first 7 days you will be able to buy the game at a 15% discount, for $8.5 or 8.5 euros.

What is Galaxy Pass Station?
It's controlled chaos full of aliens. Prepare to meet a variety of extraterrestrial beings, each unlike the other. The station will become both your home and your workplace.

Your task is to prove that humanity is worthy of a seat in the galactic government. Don't let this chaos lead to the downfall of mankind. Who knows what to expect from these aliens?