Forever Skies News

Greetings scientists!

Thank you for all of your initial feedback following the changes we made to the Combat Update (EA.1.6.0)

Here are the patch notes for everything we have addressed today:

[h3]CHANGED:[/h3]

• Crossbow Level 2 name changed to Improved Crossbow.
  
• Crossbow Level 3 was removed.
  
• The Crossbow’s Spread during Crouch changed from 0.25 to 0.4.
  
• Improved Crossbow’s Magazine Size changed from 6 to 8.
  
• Improved Crossbow’s Spread during Walk changed from 0.8 to 0.5 .
  
• Improved Crossbow’s Spread during Sprint changed from 1.0 to 0.65
  
• Improved Crossbow’s Spread Recovery Speed changed from 0.7 to 0.9.
  
• Improved Crossbow’s Spread rises after Shooting changed from 0.34 to 0.25.
  
• Improved Crossbow crafting moved to Upgrade Station
  
• Crossbow’s ammo display’s visuals changed.
  
• Chitin Armor’s durability increased from 4 to 8 hits.
  
• Eelair Fruit Seed growth time changed from 8 to 5 minutes.
  
• Crossbow, Armor, and Backpack Upgrades’ descriptions changed.
  
• Poisoned bolts name changed to Poison Bolt.
  
• Poison Bolt now requires Crossbow Bolt to craft.
  
• Modish furniture set’s names changed to Retro-futuristic.
  
• Mantis enemy’s scan information changed.
  
• Scavengers Printer’s name changed to Artifact Trade Station, the description also changed.
  
• Adjusted output position for printing items in Artifact Trade Station.
  
• All items available to be bought in Artifact Trade Station should now be visible. There is currently no distinction between tiers.
  
• HUD Log messages changed for Artifact Trade Station to suit the device’s use.
  
• Tech Sliver name changed to Tech Fragment.
  
  Small Backpack Module crafting recipe (CR) cost changed Chitin: 50-> 50
  Moss: 50-> 30
  Plastic Scrap: 15 -> 15
  
  Medium Backpack Module (CR) cost changed Small Backpack Module: 70 -> 1
  Liquid Neon: 25 -> 10
  Fibreglass: 50->50
  
  Large Backpack Module CR cost changed Medium Backpack Module, 0 - > 1
  Liquid Neon: 0 -> 20
  Fibreglass: 0 -> 50
  Tech Fragments: 50 -> 0
  
  
• Basic stamina allows to run 18s instead of 10s and hit 12 times instead of 10.
  
• Stamina doesn’t regenerate during knife swing.
  
• Mantis jump spawner has a proper mesh, animation, SFXes and VFXes
  
• Improved VFXes when a player hits an enemy (both a Mantis and a Webling Larva).
  
• Dead Mantis corpse disappears after gathering all Chitin resources from it.
  
• Both combat locations further level design and level art updates.
  
• Glass Shards do not infect with Hemorrhage Virus anymore.
  
• Hemoglobin Purifier Study Recipe and Crafting Recipe now need Summer Balm fruit.
  

[h3]FIXED:[/h3]

• When the player puts on or takes off the Armor or the Backpack, it should not affect the flashlight’s icon anymore.
  
• The Tactical Pet Set (Black) can now be unlocked in the Artifact Trade Station.
  
• Prestige bar is not visible anymore in devices other than the Artifact Trade Station.
  
• Artifact Trade Station can now be scanned.
  
• When the player has items in the backpack and uses sort, the backpack will not get locked anymore when all the resources from it go into the Player’s Inventory.
  
• Chitin Armor prints as a box, instead of a flashlight.
  
• Moving an item from Storage box to Backpack should not crash the game anymore.
  
• Backpack does not disappear anymore after loading a save.
  
• Armor does not disappear anymore after loading a save.
  
• The already destroyed Charged Growth Blockade should no longer re-appear after loading the save.
  
• Corpses found on the New Nature Territory & Wild Habitat locations should no longer have “Noah’s body” scan info.
  
• Low stamina knife swing is no longer broken.
  
• Player now keeps their temporary immunity to a virus after death.
  
• Charged Mine and Stun Mine no longer stuck to walls.
  
• Immunity Booster study recipe (SR) is no longer obtained by gathering Chitin from Impious Mantis Corpse - it has to be researched via Virus Sample Analyzer.
  
• Icons were replaced for: Siren Crown Fruit, Dust Firecracker Fruit, Dust Firecracker Seeds, and Moss Needle.
  

[h3]KNOWN ISSUES: [/h3]

• Combat locations can still spawn in the mountains. We recommend flying to another location of the same type, if this is the case.
  
• On the Wild Habitat location, when the player enters the arena for the first time, there should be only one Mantis. The second Mantis that jumps out from behind the wall shouldn't be there at that moment
  
• Hitbox for picking up Dust Firecracker plants from the Small Garden Pot is not precise and it might be tricky to harvest those.
  
• Artifact Trade Station’s mechanics are still a work in progress.
  
• Artifact Trade Station’s model is a placeholder.
  
• Blueprints already printed in the Artifact Trade Station’s will still be present in the device. Printing those again will result in an empty Memory Card.
  
• To sell anything at the Artifact Trade Station’s, player has to have space available in their Inventory. There is currently no error visible when the player tries to sell artifacts with no Inventory space.
  
• The Crossbow upgrade lvl 2’s mesh is identical to the regular Crossbow.
  
• The Wild Habitat location has been modified and is still a work in progress.
  
• Low vitality bars and viruses’ visual effects sometimes stay on the screen. This is fixed by going back to the main menu and loading the save again.
  
• Chromatic Aberration seems to affect Crossbow’s ammo display.
  
• The Studies tab information for objects found on the new combat locations.
  
• Moss Needle cannot be scanned.
  
• Dust Firecracker cannot be scanned.
  

Thats all for today, keep sending in your feedback!
- Team Far From Home

Greetings scientists!

We’ve just pushed a massive amount of content and changes to our Beta Branch which you can now play for yourself.



Some of you have noticed that this beta has lasted a little longer than previous ones. We’ve been cooking some changes to what we first released based on your initial feedback.

We also wanted to try reward players willing to come back and give us more feedback which you can read about below. So let's get into what we’ve been up to.



[h2]WHY WE'RE TAKING MORE TIME WITH COMBAT[/h2]

Back in late July, we launched the beta for our next update. The overall sentiment from players was that it was fine and that we added some decent content to the overall game loop.

However, we felt we wanted to create something a little better than just "fine". We genuinely value and take into account player feedback so we saw this as another chance to truly show that. We went over all beta gameplay feedback again and together the team mapped out what additions and improvements could be made with an extra month of development time.

We’ve made some massive changes and feel we’ve added some great features and changes not just to combat, but the whole game loop.

[h2]WHAT IS BEING ADDED/CHANGED?[/h2]

The changes/additions we decided to implement can be sorted into 1 of 3 major categories:

1. Combat Overhaul Improvements to Crossbow, ammo types and traps. Suit upgrades - armor and backpacks. Mantis has improved player tracking, logic with new attacks and animations, including a ranged attack.



2. New Locations Overhaul
Mantis “arena” completely revamped from scratch, expanding the size & scale of the area. Visual improvements made to both new locations, making them easier to navigate. New high-voltage gates added to locations.



3. New Mechanic (Scavengers Printer)
A completely new mechanic/system was added to both new locations. Trade artifacts found in the world for others to complete your collection. Earn “Tech Sliver” to increase your Prestige and unlock new reward tiers.



You can see the full breakdown in the patch notes further below.

[h2]SOME ADDITIONS TO THE BETA ARE WORK IN PROGRESS[/h2]

While playing the beta you will notice that some elements are whiteboxes/missing textures, which while they function as intended, still don’t have the finished visuals, textures etc. We wanted to test this content with our players sooner than later to see if we’ve hit the mark so we decided to release this to testing now. Rest assured, missing textures will be added very soon.

At this stage, we're mostly interested in your feedback about the changes to combat and all the new content additions, (listed below) and less interested in bug reports. Gameplay feedback is the priority right now.

Backpack tiers and armor can now be discovered and unlocked in the new locations.

[h2]NEW UPDATE RELEASE WINDOW[/h2]

With all these additions, changes, and additional time for community feedback, we of course needed some extra development time. We opted to give the part of our team working on this the whole of August to make these improvements.

Therefore as it stands, this update will launch into the main game in early September.

Use Charged Bolts to clear pathways blocked by Growth Gates

[h2]SEND FEEDBACK AND STAND A CHANCE TO WIN 1 OF 10 STEAM GIFT CARDS WORTH 25 USD[/h2]

We know that taking time out to provide in-depth feedback is time-consuming, especially for content we've had available for some time now.

So as a thank you to those who are helping us make the game better for everyone, we have put together a raffle where 10 beta testers who fill out the feedback form for the latest beta update will be sent a digital Steam gift card equivalent to 25 USD

[h2]REQUIREMENTS:[/h2]

Please play the latest beta update and when once you have experienced the bulk of it fill out this feedback form

[h3]➡️https://forms.gle/PW9kYc7MjGdVktBx9⬅️[/h3]

[h2]HOW ARE WINNERS SELECTED?[/h2]

We will select 10 survey participants at random and will assess their feedback to see if feels legit and was filled in with actual intent and thought. So please don't just give everything a 10/10 as this will indicate to us this wasn't filled out with thought or intention to help.

The 10 winners will then be contacted by us via Steam where they will need to accept a friend request from one of our dev accounts.

[h2]STEAM PROFILE REQUIREMENTS EXPLAINED:[/h2]

In the survey you see we are asking you to provide your Steam username and set your Steam profile to public. We are doing to so that we can:

1. Be sure you own Forever Skies
2. Can see the number of hours you've played in total
3. Allow us to send you your Steam Gift card

We are doing this to avoid rewarding people who simply submit answers to try win the gift cards and also to ensure we can get you your gift card if you are selected.

Details on how to change your profile privacy settings are here:
https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/588C-C67D-0251-C276

If you are not open to changing your profile to public for the duration of this raffle, we totally understand and you are of course still welcome to provide feedback on the beta. However, if your name is picked in the raffle we will need to pick someone else in your place if we can't find and view your Steam profile.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

[h2]Patch notes[/h2]

NEW CONTENT:

• Mantis ranged attack added
  
• Crossbow Upgrade, level 2 with 10 bolts magazine size
  
• Crossbow Upgrade, level 3 with 20 bolts magazine size
  
• Destroyed Webling Larvae Nest model added (source of Chitin)
  
• Scavengers Printer device available on the Wild Habitat and New Nature Territory locations
  
• Prestige - Player reputation system (Scavengers Printer-related)
  
• Tech Sliver - currency used in the Scavengers Printer
  
• Artifact Lure
  
• Backpack Upgrade Small (module level 1 - 5 additional slots)
  
• Backpack Upgrade Medium (module level 2 - 10 additional slots)
  
• Backpack Upgrade Large (chitin suit - 20 additional slots)
  
• Chitin Armor Suit Upgrade
  
• Charged Growth Gate
  
• Throwable Mines range indicators added
  
• New player parameters - damage resistance & virus resistance
  
• New Inventory slots - Armor and Backpack
  

CHANGED:

• Mantis combat behaviors, parameters and animations improved
  
• General Crossbow handling and performance improvements
  
• Wild Habitat location - new level design overhaul for mantis arena
  
• New Nature Territory location level design overhauled
  
• Webling Larvae Nest model and VFXes updated
  
• Improved look of the Siren Crown plant
  
• Improved look of the Dust Firecracker plant
  
• Improved look of the Moss Needle Plant
  
• Printer-type devices will now display blueprints in alphabetical order
  
• Player Inventory Upgrade Slot now contains icons instead of names
  
• Dust Firecracker now grows on Wild Habitat locations & Eelair Plants now grows on New Nature Territory locations
  
• Study for Charged Bolt received after scanning Charged Growth Gate
  
• Explosive Bolt / Mine name changed to Charged Bolt / Mine
  
• Pickable Dust Firecracker plant changed to Dust Firecracker Seed
  
• Motion Detector item now gives Motion Detector study and Charged Mine study
  
• Pet Tactical Set in now possible to unlock in the Scavengers Printer
  
• Modish Set is now possible to unlock in the Scavengers Printer
  
• Artifacts are now available to buy through the Scavengers Printer
  

FIXED:

• Speed Booster effect name fixed to Mobility Booster
  
• Traps are not destroyed by an airship movement anymore
  
• Dust Firecracker plant now gives seeds upon harvesting
  
• Siren Crown plant now gives seeds upon harvesting
  
• Cozy Furniture set models’ LOD adjustments
  
• Missing scan materials for various objects added
  
• Advanced Access Module icon fixed
  
• Missing Fiberglass Database description fixed
  

KNOWN ISSUES:

• Hitbox for picking up Dust Firecracker plants from the Small Garden Pot is not precise and it might be tricky to harvest those.
  
• The Scavengers Printer mechanic’s are still in heavy development.
  
• The Scavengers Printer model is a placeholder.
  
• The already destroyed Charged Growth Blockade doesn’t save its state and will re-appear after loading the save.
  
• Prestige bar is present in all Printer-type devices (Fabricator, Ship Workstation, etc). This bar should only be visible in the Scavengers Printer device.
  
• Blueprints already printed in the Scavengers Printer will still be present in the device. Printing it again will result in an empty Memory Card.
  
• To sell anything at the Scavengers Printer, player has to have space in their Inventory. There is currently no error visible when the player tries to sell artifacts with no Inventory space.
  
• The Crossbow upgrade lvl 2 and lvl 3 mesh is identical to the regular Crossbow.
  
• Corpses found on the New Nature Territory & Wild Habitat locations have “Noah’s body” scan info.
  
• The Wild Habitat location has been modified and is a work in progress.
  
• New Nature Territory & Wild Habitat locations may have incorrect entries in the study.
  
• The Tactical Pet Set (Black) can’t be unlocked in the Scavengers Printer.
  
• Low vitality bars and viruses’ visual effects sometimes stay on the screen. This is fixed by going back to the main menu and loading the save again.
  
• Mantis Corpse in the Vault is not disappearing after collecting all of the chitin
  

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Thats all for now, scientists.
Let us know what you think of the new content!
Speak soon!

Hello Scientists!

We just wanted to give you a quick heads-up that we're part of the From Poland With Love Steam event!



[h2]What is the From Poland With Love Event?[/h2]

Put together by our Polish brothers and sisters over at Untold Tales, the event celebrates the creativity and innovation of Polish game publishers and developers. There are 27 Polish devs or publishers taking part with over 80+ discounted games, plus a handful of some great upcoming titles.

The event runs from August 12th to August 19th, 2024 with discounts ranging from 20% to 80% off. Check out the full event here:

[h3]➡️https://store.steampowered.com/sale/FromPolandWithLove2024⬅️[/h3]

[h2]Who is Taking Part?[/h2]

Here's the full list of our Polish comrades taking part:

11 Bit Studios, Anshar Studios, Awaken Realms, Bloober Team, CD Projekt Red, Creepy Jar, Different Tales, ECC Games, Eremite Games, Ex Vivo Studios, Far From Home, Flying Wild Hog, Frozen District, Galaktus, IMGN.PRO, Noobz From Poland, One More Level, Phobia Game Studio, PJ Games, Reikon Games, Slavic Magic, Sonka, Techland, The Farm 51, Untold Tales, Vile Monarch and Tomasz Wacławek!

[h2]Forever Skies Help The Planet Bundle - 25% Off[/h2]

We're taking part with our Whale and Dolphin Consveration bundle so even if you already own Forever Skies, you can use the bundle to get 25% off our charity item DLC with all proceeds going to the WDC team.

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/40918/Forever_Skies_Help_the_Planet_Bundle/

- Team Far From Home

[h3]Greetings beta test scientists,[/h3]

We have more fixes and improvements to the EA.1.6.0 build currently on beta. Please find the full details below:

NEW CONTENT:

• Added info about possibility to change difficulty during game
  
• Added the correct icon for the wrecked Crossbow
  
• Added new icons for seeds(Dust firecracker, Eelair Fruit, Diver Pearls, Summer Balm fruit, Siren Crown fruit)
  
• New Mantis aggro animation
  
• New Radial Menu UI (item wheel)
  
• New Mantis charge attack and recovery animations
  
• Added sounds for bolts and mines.
  
• Add icons for Modish Furniture Set (armchair, shelf, sofa, table) and Periodic Table poster
  
• Added “explosion effect” On enemies
  
• Added “poison effect” On enemies
  
• New Advanced Medkit texture
  
• New Stagger Trap VFX
  

CHANGED:

• Player is invisible to Mantis when hiding inside the pipe
  
• Tweaked Webling Larva animations
  
• Mines can now react to explosions(Adjusted mine explosion to trigger additional mine explosions)
  
• Mantis head movement changed when charging
  
• Updated the Chronic Hemo Fever and Hemo Fever entries to indicate that they can be contracted from Mantis
  
• Updated the scan information for the living Mantis to indicate that it is vulnerable to both crossbows and knives, not just knives.
  
• Dead Mantis’ now grant 3 chitin, each body part grants max 1, recently killed Mantis now grants 4 chitin
  
• Mantis damage and HP have both been buffed
  
• Change name of the item from "Moth Aquarium" to "Moth Vivarium"
  
• Tweaked Crossbow animations
  
• Updated Radar icons for new combat locations (Wild Habitat, New Nature Territory)
  
• Moved the position of Noah's tablet in the Infected Garden.
  
• Remove Medical Reagent from new combat locations (Wild Habitat, New Nature Territory)
  
• In the Studies Menu, items from the new combat locations have been moved from 'Lift Variants' to the new category 'Dust Territory.'
  

FIXED:

• Fix for improper ammo setup if you change ammo type right after shooting
  
• Fix for a situation when the game froze during loading a save from beta
  
• Cutting knife when on slow stamina should now be synchronised
  
• Throwing a mine during ship movement should work
  
• Webling Larva should spawn in Underdust: Suburbs
  
• Fixed a bug where interactions on the Virus Sample Analyzer stopped working if the player fell asleep.
  
• Fixed the issue with the device's “ghost” when the player moved another device
  
• Fixed disappearing pet clothes when the player died in combat
  
• Fixed the bug where the pet didn't return to its bed after the ship moved
  
• Mantis will return to patrol behaviour after player death
  
• Player character won't slow down after crouching and using the crossbow
  
• Killed mantis won't be revived after loading the game
  
• Webling Larva will play correct VFX on hit now
  
• Fix Holding mine in crouch has a wrong idle animation
  
• Fixed study names for traps and bolt
  
• Fixed the issue where Fiber Glass was not being properly recognized after scanning in the study
  
• Hold progress indicator will display when holding Z to move object
  
• Fix for Improper ammo setup if you change ammo type right after shooting
  
• Modish set collision fix
  
• Stairs collision fix(stairs are now easy to walk on)
  

KNOWN ISSUES:

• Languages other than English still lack translation
  
• Some icons and final names are still missing
  
• Combat locations can spawn in the mountains. If this happens, the collision of the mountains can block off some of the locations’ areas.
  
• If the game is played from an older save (from the ending of the 1st Underdust questline up to creating the plant's hologram), there might appear some issues in the progression. We recommend starting a new save or playing on a save in which the main questline has already been completed to avoid these problems.
  

[h3]Greetings beta scientists,[/h3]

We just released a hotfix for the current beta content (EA.1.6.0). This includes fixes for many of the issues you, our awesome community reported, but also includes a bit of new content too.

Here are the full details...

[h2]NEW CONTENT:[/h2]

• Pet Tactical Set (headwear, footwear, backpack): Camo
  
• Pet Tactical Set (headwear, footwear, backpack): Black
  
• Crafting from Storage is now available on the Research Station
  
• Cozy Furniture set added
  
• Added VFX for the Poisonous and Explosive Bolts
  
• Added VFX to the Decoy, Explosive Mine, and Stun Mine
  
• Added Controller Motion Input for ADS (this option can be disabled in the Gameplay tab in Settings)
  

[h2]CHANGED:[/h2]

• Periodic Table Poster from the Infected Garden can now be picked up
  
• “Stairs Room” name has been changed to “Staircase”
  
• New hostile enemies added to Underdust: Suburbs
  
• New meshes, materials, and animations for Decoy, Explosive Mine, and Stun Mine
  
• Combat difficulty re-balanced (work in progress)
  
• Mantis gameplay improved, fixed some issues when it was blocked during combat
  
• Improved Mantis melee attack animation
  
• Icons added for the majority of new items
  
• Liquid colour changed on Liquid Neon’s icon
  
• New resources added to the Underdust: Suburbs
  
• “Chirping Decoy” name changed to “Decoy”
  
• “Throwable Mine” name changed to “Explosive Mine”
  
• “Stunning Trap” name changed to “Stun Mine”
  
• The pet will now disappear when the player enters combat, and will re-appear when it’s safe
  
• Webling Larvae Nest now grants Chitin when destroyed
  
• It’s possible the player can get infected with Hemorrhagic Fever when being hit by a Mantis
  
• Changes in FOV for Sprinting and ADS
  
• Breathnut oxygen balancing
  
• Quest descriptions for the tutorial area corrected to fit gameplay changes (Engine scan)
  
• Slight changes to the mesh and animations of the Webling Larvae Nest
  
• Separated Move and Pick Up actions, they now are bound to different keys
  
• Renamed Forbidden Garden to Wild Habitat
  
• Renamed the Neon Plant to Glowweed
  
• Renamed the Sulfur Plant to Dust Firecracker
  
• Renamed the Moss Plant to Moss Needle
  

[h2]FIXED:[/h2]

• Performance improvements to the new locations
  
• Airship Builder: Expand Balloon crafting from storage issue fixed
  
• Underdust: Tunnels’ tablet now gives research for Crossbow & Bolts
  
• Advanced Access Module study recipe should be unlocked by scanning Access Terminal
  
• Engine rotating after relocation bug fixed
  
• Added material to the vines around the New Nature Territory
  
• Improved visibility of some of the new resources
  
• Collision from nearby mountains should not block the player from accessing the new locations now
  
• Removed duplicates from the Small Town Location’s Scan Progress
  
• Removed Fiberglass panel from Locations Scan Progress
  
• Mantis should no longer grant “Praying Mantis Corpse” scan information while still alive
  
• Various typos fixed
  
• During “Get the Immunity Booster” quest, the exclamation mark on the Radar now disappears once proper resources are collected
  
• Improvements to enemy navmesh on combat locations
  

[h2]KNOWN ISSUES:[/h2]

• Languages other than English lacks translation yet
  
• Some icons and proper names are still missing
  
• Combat locations can spawn in the mountains. If this happens, the collision of the mountains can block off some of the locations’ areas.
  
• Throwing the Throwable Mine, Stunning Trap or Chirping Decoy inside the Airship is broken
  
• The radial UI is a work in progress
  
• If the game is played from an older save (from the ending of the 1st Underdust questline up to creating the plant's hologram), there might appear some issues in the progression. We recommend starting a new save or playing on a save in which the main questline has already been completed to avoid these problems.
  
• Holding mine in crouch has a wrong idle animation
  
• Webling Larva doesn’t work on Underdust: Suburbs
  

Thats all for now, thank you for continuing to support the game with your valuable feedback.

Team Far From Home