Exogate Initiative News

Greetings Gaters!

We can finally announce that the new patch will launch on 26 March 2024, bringing new base invaders, defenses, weapons, and much more! Finalizing this patch has taken longer than expected for our small team, but it’s also the biggest gameplay update yet, with more content coming than previously announced.

We’ll elaborate more in the launch day post, but for now, here’s a little glimpse of the key new features in action:

Space invaders!

It won’t be much longer now, and we look forward to welcoming you back through the Exogate soon!

Safe travels,
Maxime MILLET
Creative Director, Xeno Bits

Greetings Gaters!

Development on the next patch is progressing smoothly here at Xeno Bits HQ, and we’re confident we’ll have it in your hands very soon.

Last time we looked at the new kinds of Sqarb invaders you can expect to see in your base; but of course, with new invaders come new defenses to light them up!


Exogate branded and ready to rock

Pistols now replace Assault Rifles as the core weapon for your soldiers, with rifles becoming an upgrade in the tech tree - alongside two brand-new weapons: the Plasma Launcher and the Railgun!

Your full loadout now looks like this:

• Pistol: Basic sidearm, favored when assault rifles are unavailable
  
• Assault Rifle: Powerful automatic rifle, favored over pistols
  
• Plasma Launcher: Deals damage over a large area by launching a deadly plasma shell - useful for dealing with crowds of enemies
  
• Railgun: Deals massive damage but takes time to reload, due to its high-velocity firing mechanism - useful against shielded enemies
  

You can also now enhance weapons with two types of upgrade: Smart, which add AI-assisted targeting systems, and Heavy, which use tougher materials and higher-grade ammunition. Expect damage dealing and firing rates to increase with each upgrade.

And that’s not all: Did we mention automated Turrets, which can be upgraded in the same way? Place them at strategic locations, station your soldiers safely behind the front line, then watch them turn those empty corridors into shooting galleries!


There’s no need to stay frosty with automated sentries on the lookout


We’re also adding Security Blast Doors and Shielded Guard Posts to the build menu. The gate room already has a blast door of course, but now you can build them anywhere in the base! They’re more heavily armored than regular doors, and will automatically lock out non-authorized personnel.

Shielded Guard Posts do exactly what you’d expect, providing cover so your soldiers can snipe those pesky Sqarbs as they go past.

There are a few small surprises we haven’t told you about yet, but we’ll save those for the Patch 0.8.7 launch day post - which is coming very soon!

Thank you for your continued support of the Initiative. We’ll see you soon through the Exogate!

Safe travels,
Maxime MILLET
Creative Director, Xeno Bits

Greetings Gaters!

There hasn’t been much news from us lately, but that’s because we’ve been hard at work on the content for the next update, which we can now begin to share with you.

As we mentioned in the last roadmap progress report, the next patch will focus on new invader types, and new defences and craftable equipment to deal with them. This time though, let’s take a closer look at the new invaders:

[h2]The Sqarbs Diversify[/h2]
Here’s what you can expect in terms of new enemies and how they’ll play:

• New units: 3 new types of Sqarb will invade through the Gate, in addition to Drones, each with their own unique gameplay strategy
  
• Reactive challenge: the quantity and type of units in each invasion will adapt based on how you handled the previous invasion
  

Let’s look at each of the new units in turn, along with the Drones you’re already familiar with for comparison:


Sqarb Guardian: A heavy defensive unit, which protects other nearby Sqarbs with an energy shield


Sqarb Warrior: An aggressive combat unit, which escorts other Sqarbs and attacks gaters on sight


Sqarb Swarmer: A small attack unit that follows Drones and attacks power generators, using the energy to replicate itself


Sqarb Drone: The core of the Sqarb army: attacks power generators, breaking through locked doors (and sometimes walls) to reach them, and defending itself if attacked

So there you have it - more Sqarbs pouring through the Gate, and a little more on your XO’s plate.

Next time we’ll take a closer look at the new defenses and equipment you’ll have at your disposal, to stem the tide of invading Sqarbs. Look out for that as we move towards our Q1 release for Patch 0.8.7.

In the meantime, please continue to share your thoughts and feedback with us, wishlist or review the game on Steam, and spread your appreciation far and wide! We’re eternally grateful for all your support.

We’ll see you again soon through the Exogate!

Safe travels,
Maxime MILLET
Creative Director, Xeno Bits

Greetings Gaters!

Exogate Initiative is on sale for 25% off during Steam’s Capitalism and Economy Festival, from 8 to 15 January.

Let’s celebrate the Committee funding that helped Rudy Cobb realise his dream of exogate technology, and that helps new XOs get their Initiatives off the ground - before they have to rely on self-made moolah from writing patents and mining rare materials! Because as it turns out, the best things in the universe aren’t free.

Money makes the world go round - and exoplanets too

So if you’re yet to pick up the game, this festival could be a great time to step through the Exogate, maximize those bottom lines, and keep the Committee sweet! Check out our latest content update and roadmap progress to see where we are and what’s coming next. Head to the store page if you like what you see.

Meanwhile we’re hard at work on the next major content update to the game: expect new types of invaders, and new weapons and equipment to deal with them! We’ll be sharing more on that in the coming weeks.

Safe travels,
Maxime MILLET
Creative Director, Xeno Bits

Fixed issue with teams starting mission in loop