Lightyear Frontier News

[h3]Howdy exofarmers![/h3]

The team has been hard at work, grindin’ out lots of excitin’ changes and new items for our first update, and it’s finally here for y’all to dig your P.I.C.K. Axes into! We’re incredibly grateful for all of your feedback and suggestions – and with the Making it Home update, we’ve tackled some of your most requested features!

[h3]Emotes[/h3]

• Added Emotes to both the Exofarmer and the Mech
  

[h3]Photo Mode[/h3]

• Added 8 new settings
  
  • Added 18 new stamp options and more positions
    
  • Changed the "Cinematic Mode" setting to "Frame" and added 4 additional options
    
  • And more!
    
• Now pauses time if playing in single-player
  

[h3]Quality of Life[/h3]

• Added ability to quick deposit items into storage constructs
  
• Added ability to relocate existing constructs and holograms, accessible via the recycling mode
  
• Added ability to sort items in storages and player inventory
  
• Added auto-run feature
  
• Added ability to place stamps in the Map Menu
  
• Added information on the map what tool upgrades are needed for progression
  
• Added inventory weight indicator to the HUD
  
• You can now put items into holograms and storage constructs by picking them up and physically moving them there with the P.I.C.K-Axe
  
• Added "Hands" option to the Exofarmer Tool Wheel
  
• Made it clearer when new findings are found while exploring ruins
  
• Added a tutorials section to the Database menu
  
• Increased Lola's visiting hours
  

[h3]Settings[/h3]

• Added accessibility settings for "Single-stick Camera" and "Swap Sticks"
  
• Separated "Ambience" and "UI" into their own volume settings (Were previously affected by "SFX")
• Made controller vibration adjustable in a range instead of a simple toggle
  
• [PC] Added support for AMD FidelityFX™ Super Resolution 2 (FSR 2)
  
• [PC] Added support for Intel® Xe Super Sampling (XeSS). Only available when using DX12
  
• [PC] Added graphical setting preset (Low, Medium, High, Frame Breaking)
  
• [Steam] Added graphical setting preset (Steam deck)
  
• [Steam Deck] Added support for automatically showing a Virtual Keyboard when relevant
  
• [Steam Deck] Updated default settings for a smoother experience out of the box
  
• [PC] Removed ineffective dynamic resolution settings
  
  • These settings didn't do anything since Unreal Engine 4 doesn’t support dynamic resolution on PC
    
• [PC] Adjusted anti-aliasing settings
  
  • "Medium" is now fast TAA (temporal anti-aliasing)
    
  • "High" is now high quality TAA with reduced ghosting
    
  • "Frame Breaking" is now very high quality TAA with significantly reduced ghosting and massively improved image quality with reduced resolution scales, but a sizable performance impact
    

[h3]Decorating[/h3]

• Added wall-mounted decorations
  
• New decorations and mech parts can be found at Lola’s shop
  
• Bush Sprouts are available at Lola’s shop
  
• New decorations can be found by discovering items
  
• The Gnome is now paintable
  

[h3]Visual polish[/h3]

• Added Exofarmer animations when moving in the Mech
  
• Fuel and speed gauges on the Mech are now animated
  
• The moon is now a unique model instead of a white dot
  
• The mech will now lean slightly in its turn direction when running
  
• Constructs built on flat surfaces will no longer have a foundation
  
• Holograms and Storage constructs now play an animation when items are added to them
  
• Updated the textures for the Clothesline and made it paintable
  
• Updated clover visuals
  
• Updated the landscape grass texture
  
• Tweaked physics of loose items to be somewhat less bouncy
  

[h3]Performance[/h3]

• Significantly optimized shaking of destructible objects being damaged. Could previously cause severe performance drops on certain systems, e.g. Steam Deck
  

[h3]Various changes[/h3]

• Made daytime longer
  
• Looking at objects requiring a tool now reveals the required upgrade
  
• Wildlife now goes to sleep later
  
• The Egg treasure model has been replaced with a Pinecorn
  
• Removed the ability for Storage buildings to provide Coziness
  
• Hid clock HUD element while in a late-game area
  

[h3]Bug fixes[/h3]

• Fixed the "PIP-3R Ambient Dialogue" setting not being saved between play sessions
  
• Added even more measures to resolve upgrades not being applied for clients
  
• Made the DLC entitlement check more reliable on Xbox and Windows Store
  
• Fixed bug where Wingleaf Palm didn't drop sprouts
  
• Fixed issue where Mission objectives weren't sorted correctly
  
• Fixed bug where the merchant wares were unlocking faster than the intended design
  
• Fixed issue where AI navigation would sometimes choose very strange paths
  
• The Ranch Arch construct now correctly contributes to Coziness
  
• Fixed clients being able to shoot more seeds than they have in their inventory if doing so rapidly
  
• Clients can no longer join sessions where the host has not finished loading the game world
  
• In-world location indicators are now more responsive
  
• Constructs being interacted with can no longer be recycled
  
• Added missing physical material to all types of foliage
  
• Fixed performance dropping significantly when moving the mouse and changing a photo mode setting simultaneously
  
• Fixed several minor issues regarding loading, saving and adjustment of game settings
  
• Fixed actions not working when being rebound to certain keys
  
• Fixed Fractalite deposits not shaking when damaged
  
• Fixed depth of field, vignette and film grain effects not working in photo mode when using lower post-processing settings
  
• Fixed issue where the Exofarmer's head rotation could not be seen by clients
  
• Fixed construct menus not closing if their associated construct was destroyed
  
• Fixed recycling mode UI not displaying all available actions
  
• Fixed items sometimes spawning beneath the ground when recycling a construct
  
• Fixed issue where the Exofarmer's upper body animations would be missing when not holding a tool
  
• Reduced hitching when opening construct selection menu
  
• Fixed some construct holograms appearing as partially filled before being placed
  
• Fixed multiple issues with rain not falling properly or at all
  
• Fixed menus closing when the merchant departs if the merchant had been interacted with that day
  
• Fixed construct holograms accepting contributions even before being placed. These items would disappear if the placement was cancelled
  
• Fixed fences reverting to their default paint after having been targeted for recycling
  
• Improved collision on multiple constructs
  
• Players can no longer interact with objects that are behind solid geometry
  
• Fixed construct recycling conditions not appearing to update properly sometimes, e.g. when a player stops interacting with a construct
  
• Fixed the crafting time of the first Grinder recipe crafted on a given day not being correctly affected by wind speed
  
• Fixed mech engine sounds and exhaust effects often not triggering properly
  

We hope y’all are gonna love this update as much as we do! Steer your mech on over to our Discord server and let us know what y’all think. If you run into any troubles, be sure to holler using the in-game feedback tool – it really helps us out!

See y’all in the Frontier!



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Howdy, exofarmers! Can y’all believe the Making it Home update drops tomorrow?! We’re practically jumping outta our boots with excitement!

[h3]New Additions to Photo Mode[/h3]



Today, for our final devlog before the update, we’re sitting down to chat with Cornelis – Lead Technical UI Designer, Writer, and Co-Founder – about the new features coming to the in-game Photo Mode.

Howdy, Cornelis! What kinda things have you been wrangling with on this project?

I’ve been taking the lead on the design and development of the new updates and additions to Photo Mode! This involves figuring out what settings and features could add the most value, before prototyping these and testing them internally. After seeing what works (and what doesn’t…), I begin the final implementation and involve artists and programmers where needed.



Tell us about all the new updates to Photo Mode, will ya?

Nine new updates and additions are coming to Photo Mode with the Making it Home Update:

1. Stamps: We've upped the ante from just two stamps to a whopping 20!
   
2. Stamp Position: Choose from nine different spots on the screen to place one of those new stamps.
   
3. Frame: What was once "Cinematic Mode" is now "Frame" – with four extra options added. More ways to frame your epic shots!
   
4. Player Signature: Give yourself some well-deserved credit by adding your Player ID to your screenshots.
   
5. Composition Grid: Easily line up those perfect shots with a handy 3x3 grid overlay!
   
6. Camera Path: Save up to 15 camera positions and create a smooth sequence by pressing play. Perfect for capturing the action!
   
7. Mech/Exofarmer Emotes: Strike a pose! Use the new Emotes Feature to activate emotes in Photo Mode and pose your character just right.
   
8. Mech/Exofarmer Emote Position: Emote animations are frozen in Photo Mode to make it easier to get the desired shots. Now you can position them exactly where you want!
   
9. Time Freeze: When entering Photo Mode in single-player – time stands still! Characters and effects freeze in place, making it easier to capture dynamic shots.
   

Wow, that's a lot of new features! Wrangling those into shape must've been quite the task. What's been the biggest challenge?

One of our main goals with the Photo Mode – and also its greatest challenge – is to keep the experience as approachable as possible. Virtual photography can quite easily get convoluted and complicated due to the endless possibilities in the form of ratios, alignments, lights, values… to only name a few. We don’t want to scare any curious newcomers away with too many options! But we also want to give our community as many fun and interesting settings as possible, to allow them to take the most expressive shots! This balancing act is, and will probably continue to be, the biggest challenge to overcome.



Now, how are you hoping to see our community use these new features?

Aside from new cool photos, I’m hoping to see a lot of interesting videos and GIFs due to the new Camera Path and Time Freeze features! I think there are a lot of opportunities here to make really dynamic-looking content in poses and positions we haven’t seen before.

To wrap this up, what can we hope to see in Photo Mode in the future?

There has been some testing on having the exofarmer character’s head follow the camera position, allowing more selfie-style photos – which I think could be very cool! So here’s hoping we get around to it in the near future!



What features are y'all most excited about? Hop on our Discord channel and let us know! And for the love of mechs, do NOT forget to tune in for the new update tomorrow, ya hear?!

Happy farming!


TL;DR

Nine new features are being added to the in-game Photo Mode with the upcoming update, including more stamps and stamp positions, frames, the ability to add your Player ID, composition gridlines, camera path ability with up to 15 camera positions, mech and farmer emotes with emote positioning, and time freeze upon entering Photo Mode.




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[h3]Howdy, exofarmers![/h3]

We’ve got BIG NEWS for y’all. We’ll be Making it Home by June 26th!

That’s right! Our first big update, previously known as Mini Update 1, is landing on your edge of the planet in just 2 days! This update comes with some of YOUR most requested Quality of Life improvements – and a heap of new decorative items to discover and build!

Get excited for:

• Better storage and inventory management
  
• Map markers
  
• Farmer and mech emotes
  
• Plantable bush sprouts
  
• New mech sets
  
• Wall-mounted decorations
  
• And more surprises!
  

We’re also squashing bugs and tweaking some features, including daylight time and Lola’s visiting hours.

Now, mark your calendars and set your alarms. Steer your mech over to our Discord server and let us know which new features you’re most excited about! We can’t wait to see what y’all create with this update.

See you in the Frontier!



[h3]Frequently Asked Questions[/h3]

Q: Will this update add story progression?

A: While we are hard at work continuing the story and bringing y’all more regions to explore, this update is focused on adding QoL improvements and new items.

Q: Will you add interiors to the game?

A: We hear y’all, and we know this has become a popular request! It’s something we’ve definitely been considering. However, due to the complexity in the way we’ve originally designed our game, we’ve decided to prioritize other features for now.

Q: Will the in-game days be longer?

A: We’ve tweaked the settings to extend daylight time and shorten the nights, giving y’all more time to get your daily tasks done before the dark settles. The overall real-time duration of an in-game day remains unchanged. While we’re exploring the possibility of lengthening the day, we first want to hear what y’all think of this new adjustment. We’re listening to your feedback!



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[h3]1,000,000 Thanks[/h3]

Y’all, we can hardly believe it – we’ve hit the mighty milestone of over one million unique players! That’s a whole lot of exofarmers roaming the Frontier! From the bottom of our rusty ol’ hearts, THANK YOU for playing, sharing, and enjoying Lightyear Frontier!

We’re over the moon excited to continue the journey to full release together with y’all. Stay tuned for more news about our first update, landing on your edge of the planet really soon!

Happy farmin’!

Howdy, exofarmers! As we continue our journey and approach our first major update, we want to address some of your feedback and concerns. Today, our CEO, Joakim Kopriva Hedström, is here to update y’all about our monthly mech sets.

[h3]Available For All, Forever[/h3]

“As of today, we are making the May mech set retroactively available for anyone logging into the game. In addition, we will make both the May and June mech sets available forever going forward.

We hear your feedback loud and clear, and I want to personally apologize for missing the mark with the monthly skins.

Our intent had been to give you a reason to pick up and play the game between our content releases, but instead it had the opposite effect, making people feel discouraged if they missed the first one and anxious about missing future sets even if they had claimed it. I'm truly sorry for creating this negative experience.

Going forward, any future mech sets we had planned for monthly releases will instead be baked into regular game updates. We might still utilize the mailbox functionality to unlock new rewards in the future (like seasonal mech sets and decorations) but they would then be permanently available from that point on.

Thank you to everyone who shared their feedback on the monthly skins. Throughout Early Access we will continue to strive towards the goal of making Lightyear Frontier the best it can be, and that is only possible thanks to the vocal passion of you, the player.

Our next step in improving the game comes with the Making it Home update, which is now in its final stages. We can't share a release date until the build has completed certification, but we are aiming to have it out before the end of June.

Thank you for being ever so patient with us and continue to give us your feedback, we appreciate every word!

Joakim Kopriva Hedström - CEO"





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