The Last Starship News

[p][/p][p][/p][p]Alpha 16 is here! It doesn't seem like long since Alpha 15 was released, but the pace of updates continues. We have a brand new exterior painting tool that we think you'll absolutely love, along with new crew furniture, asteroid cracking, and lots of small changes and fixes.[/p][p][/p][p]Here is the video demonstrating the new features.
[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p][/p][h2]New Ship Painting Mode[/h2][p]A new painting mode has been added to the shipeditor.[/p][p]The painting mode allows you to colour the exterior of your ships.[/p][p][/p][p]What can be painted?[/p][p]    - Hull / Habitation / Scaffolding[/p][p]Paint can be applied diagonally, allowing up to 2 colours per gridcell. Scaffolding can only have 1 colour applied to it per cell.[/p][p][/p][p]Eyedropper tool:[/p][p]While using the painting tool, if you press the shift key, you will switch to the eyedropper tool. Using the eyedropper tool, you can select any point on your ship, and the paint tool will select the paint applied at that spot.[/p][p][/p][p]Paint Palettes:[/p]

• [p]Paints are stored in a palette, and can be dynamically altered after they have been applied to your ship[/p]
• [p]Palettes can be exported or uploaded, for easy reuse[/p]
• [p]Palettes can be imported from palette or ship files[/p]
• [p]Arena mode will also apply a simple paint palette to each team, ensuring they have matching colours. This overwrites the standard paints, as well as the base unpainted hull colour[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]Asteroid cracking[/h3][p]You can now crack any asteroid into smaller parts by targetting it with Cannons.[/p][p]This will generate new mineral patches on the new smaller asteroids.[/p][p]Nb. This only works on asteroids that once contained mineral patches.[/p][p]Cannons will fire on manually targetted asteroids even when 'Battle Stations' is not enabled.[/p][p]    [/p][h3]Furniture[/h3][p]New cosmetic furniture is available to buy from any good trading post. Crew will use this furniture to relax when they are not needed for work.[/p][p]There is also a Pot Plant which takes some time to grow. It will slowly die if there are water or oxygen shortages on the ship.[/p][p] Nb. The pot plant does not actually consume water or oxygen.    [/p][p]  Added Table, Chair, Sofa, Small Table, Pot Plant[/p][p]   [/p][p][/p][h3]
Translation Work[/h3][p]- Updates to German (Thanks to Michael Wäsch)[/p][p]- New translations:[/p][p]    - Turkish[/p][p]    - Norwegian[/p][p]- Exposed 'Accent Insensitive Search' and 'Translator Search' in the Other settings.[/p][p][/p][h3]Small Changes[/h3]

• [p]Research for Stargate Phase 6 and 7 components are slightly cheaper[/p]

• [p]Research for Stargate Phase 7 is now hidden until Phase 6 is unlocked[/p]
• [p]Empty tanks reset their held resource when empty[/p]
• [p]Tiddlets will hop towards the port in Tiddlets 1[/p]
• [p]Removed the confusing weapon FIRE/HOLD button in the tactical screen.[/p]
• [p]Gatling guns will now target drones repairing hostile ships[/p]
• [p]Gatling guns will now automatically fire during meteor storms, without requiring 'Battle Stations'[/p]
• [p]Destroyed drones now leave behind a processor and some scrap metal[/p]
• [p]Auto-trades can now be disabled per ship from the ORDERS menu[/p]
• [p]The settings menu has been redesigned and categorised into Visuals / Audio / Gameplay / Other[/p]
• [p]A new micro tutorial helps players to activate Battle Stations mode for the first time when required[/p][p]    [/p]
• [p]Exit saves - The game will now automatically create "exitsave.space" when you quit a game for any reason[/p][p]    [/p]
• [p]UI Highlight bounce effect - All UI buttons now bounce slightly when highlighted.[/p][p]Nb. You can disable this effect from the settings menu[/p][p]    [/p]
• [p]There is now a Command line tool to calculate ship stats, as requested by Zenrath.[/p][p]Run the game with the command line "--calculate-ship-stats {path to ship/folder of ships}"[/p][p]Stores results in appdata save folder.[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Bug Fixes[/h3][p]    - Fix Andromeda Project Part 3 unlock text including Phase 6[/p][p]    - Fix install jobs not being assigned on newly created ships until a reload[/p][p]    - Fix DSI Part 1 not taking stargate frames from storage crates[/p][p]    - Fix incorrect station name in DSI Part 2 objective[/p][p]    - Fix multi-system simulation sometimes being enabled on modes other than Boldly Go[/p][p]    - Fix storage crates getting stuck in dumping mode[/p][p]    - Fix some mission objectives not being shown in the mission summary[/p][p]    - Fix ships rescued in survival mode sometimes not having any crew[/p][p]    - Fix resolution and language scrollbars not scrolling in game settings[/p][p]    - Fix auto-sold items sometimes not cancelling when an auto-trade is cancelled[/p][p]    - Return ability for players to decide if a ship thumbnail is exterior or interior[/p][p][/p][p]    - Issue #242 - Key bindings can now be edited in UI and also in keybindings.txt.[/p][p]    - Issue #487 - Unable to complete distress mission[/p][p]    - Issue #496 - Crash Loading a Save Game in OS X with Rescue Mission in progress.[/p][p]    - Issue #518 - Disable manoeuvring thruster keyboard shortcuts when in the editor / install menu.[/p][p]    - Issue #519 - Stargate vanishes after Phase 7[/p][p]    - Crash when creating a storage crate if its contents no longer exist[/p][p][/p]

Alpha 15 is released! We've continued work on all three of our major game modes - Survival Mode now has entirely new jumpgates with their own missions at the end of each sector, Arena mode has been expanded to support different types of ships within each fleet, and the Industry mode has been expanded to Stargate phase 7 with the introduction of an entirely new and unexplored sector, filled with valuable new minerals and all new dangers.

There is no video for this alpha, but we plan to release Alpha 16 AND a video in about a month.

We hope you enjoy playing our game!


Survival mode, Continued
Each sector now has a massive Jumpgate in the final system. This Jumpgate is how you make the longer distance jump to the next sector.
You must bring all of the ships in your fleet into the Jumpgate and then align together, before you can activate it.
However, the Jumpgate is not always immediately available.
As you progress further and further in Survival Mode, more and more problems will occur with the Jumpgates. In these cases a special mission will be created for the sector, listing the steps that must be completed before the Jumpgate can be used.

Common problems that prevent the jumpgate from being activated:

• You must Pay a transit fee
  
• Damaged. You must repair the gate using Drones.
  
• They require a set of specific components to repair the gate. You must acquire or fabricate them.
  
• Pirates running a blockade on the Jumpgate. You must eliminate them and prevent further damage.
  

Nb. Thanks to Johnny Struggles for the Jump Gate ship design.

Arena mode, Continued
You can now create battles between multiple different types of ships on each side of the fight.
Each type of ship will spawn in its own column at the start of the battle.

• New display at the bottom of the screen compares the relative strengths of the two fleets.
  Ships are compared on their trade price AND on their combat rating.
  
  
• There is a new GENERATE button that will automatically create a roughly balanced opponent
  
  
• The following research is unlocked for all ships in arena mode:
  
  • Drone Speed 2 (drones fly twice as fast)
    
  • Drone Intelligence (drones collect resources in batches)
    
  • Track Speed 2 (tracks are three times as fast)
    
  • Robot Arm Speed (robot arms twice as fast)
    

Stargate Project, Continued
Work continues on the epic Stargate Project.
The project can now be completed up to and including phase 7.

• Phase 5 (The power-on test) now unlocks access to an entirely new and Uncharted sector!
  
  • Once the power-on test is complete, the stargate must be continuously supplied with 100MW of power to remain open
    
  • From this point onward you can jump ships to the Uncharted sector to explore and gather materials
    
  • There are new minerals and gases that are only found in this Uncharted Sector.
    
  • Collecting them will unlock further research projects to refine them.
    
  
  
  
• Phase 6 requires you to refine a small quantity of those new minerals and gases.
  You will first have to complete a couple of research projects
  You will need to bring the refined resources back to the home sector to supply them to the Stargate Project.
  
  • Neubidium Ore -> Neubidium Ingot
    
  • Zeleon Gas -> Stable Zeleon
    
  
  
  
• Phase 7 is a much more complex and involved production cycle, requiring a large quantity of advanced materials.
  These materials are fast to produce and come in large quantities, so automation (rather than crew labour) is the way to go.
  
  • Zeleon Energy Cell
    
  • Neubidium Capacitor
    
  • Lots of the new resources will be required
    
  • By phase 7, hostile elements will have moved in to claim the valuable new resources
    

New Exterior Rendering
We are developing a new method for rendering the exterior of all ships

• Exterior of ships are now lit from a common direction, and have simple normal maps for surface details
  
• Texture filtering on exterior textures much improved
  
• Added a pencil outline to all ships
  
• Improved rendering of scaffolding to be sharper when zoomed out
  

Steam Cloud Saves
Steam Cloud Saves are now enabled on all platforms.
When making a new save game you will now see a tickbox to enable saving to the cloud

Localisation

• New translations have been added
  • Dutch
    
  • Italian
    
  • Polish
    
  • Brazilian Portuguese
    
  • Russian
    
  • Swedish
    
  • toki pona
    
• - Lots of improvements to Spanish translation.
  
• - Issue #418 - Missing apostrophe in English for tutorial_stargatescreen1
  
• - Issue #419 - Inconsistent nomenclature for scrap (metal) in tutorial_smelterssalvage
  
• - Issue #420 - Inconsistent capitalization of "TRADE SCREEN" in tutorial_fleettrade
  
• - Issue #422 - Inconsistent term for refined Tilium (English) - tutorial_miningsuccess
  
• - Issue #423 - Inconsistent capitalization of "Tilium Crystals" in blackhole_part2_return1 and blackhole_part2_return2
  
• - Issue #424 - Inconsistent space (or lack) in "Qz 247"
  
• - Issue #425 - Incorrect capitalization of "brother" in English blackhole_part3_setup4
  
• - Issue #428 - Incorrect spacing in ellipsis in Tiddlet strings
  
• - Issue #430 - Awkward use of "Dr." title in tiddlets_part2_return2
  
• - Issue #431 - Missing space after ellipsis in tiddlets_part4_random_swanson
  
• - Issue #432 - Inconsistent capitalization of "marketplace" in dsi_part1_phase2_xcall4
  
• - Issue #434 - Missing space after ellipsis in dsi_part2_thirdpartcomplete3
  
• - Issue #444 - Missing possessive apostrophe in English text for object_engine_description
  
• - Issue #463 - Logistics jam, things just stop sometimes until you turn it off and on
  

SMALL CHANGES

• Scaffold now adds a small mass to the ship
  
• Survival mode is now unlocked by completing ANY story episode in Boldly Go mode
  
• External equipment will no longer block incoming shots once it has been destroyed. (Prevents an impenetrable shield of destroyed solar panels)
  
• Drones can now patch holes in severely damaged ships
  
• Add a placeholder thumbnail to save files and ship files without thumbnails
  
• Game save thumbnails images are created on load if they are not found
  
• Ship thumbnails images are created on load/import if they are not found
  
• When docked ships are exported together, they are all included in the thumbnail
  
• Track install preview now matches selected orientation
  
• Robot arm install preview now matches appropriate length and rotation of installed robot arm
  
• Low power warning bolts are no longer shown when power has been turned off from the powergrid
  
• Automically deactivate tactical mode when clicking prepare jump
  
• Auto-trades can be cancelled while the delivery shuttle is on its way
  

COMMUNITY AND OFFICIAL SHIPS
Lots of fixes for the following common problems:

• Fix Equipment embedded in walls
  
• Fix Ladders exiting into walls
  
• Fix Doors not filling gap
  
• Fix Interior cells outside of ship
  
• Fix Armour not attached to ship
  

BUG FIXES

• Fix being able to separate ships in FTL on Survival mode
  
• Fixed: Sometimes loot would be spawned at completely the wrong place when a ship explodes (bug with storage crates)
  
• Fix for rendering objects at the wrong position in Tactical View, when they were stored in a Container (would appear floating in space)
  
• Fix gas collector in DSI Part 2 not being present in system
  
• Fixed an issue with Oxygen being lost rapidly on large ships with lots of airducts. Each airduct was over-providing, resulting in lost oxygen.
  
• Fixed an issue where selling items would not decrease the value of a ship until the items were delivered.
  
• Fixed an issue where selling a ship with active logistics transfers gave you the value of the items and still continued the transfers.
  
• Fix where auto-orders would not calculate ship stock correctly for non-containers (e.g. drones and spacesuits)
  
• Fix drones being counted twice in logistics menu if they are stored in a storage crate
  
• Fix for light space dust around asteroid belts becoming thick, heavy space dust after saving and reloading
  
  
• Issue #339 - Shuttle doesn't leave under specific circumstances
  
• Issue #397 - Assembly Tables on ships built at Shipyard retain their loaded components and build histories, should be empty/ zero
  
• issue #421 - TranslatorAssist setting doesn't affect tutorial dialogs
  
• Issue #445 - References to systems don't use S*X
  
• Issue #447 - Robot Arm and Storage Crate stuck in a loop
  
• Issue #451 - Drones dropping logistics transfer items when they shouldn't
  
• Issue #458 - Robot arms not unloading
  
• Issue #449 - Other ships can obscure the editor when loading Creative Mode
  
• Issue #465 - Fix Ship over 100% damage not destroyed
  
• Issue #470 - Hydroponics Gardens still draw water when powered down
  
• Issue #474 - Engine deleted by Ship Editor: Delete hull function
  
• Issue #488.1 - Nothing ships can now only be created in a Ship Yard and cannot be FTL jumped.
  
• Issue #493 - Zoom limits not working when using Q and E
  
• Issue #495 - Infinite Money Glitch - can buy new ship for free and then sell for millions
  
  
• Crash in when Fighter about to be launched and there is no free space.
  
• Crash in calculating the value of a ship that has a boxed storage crate.
  
• Crash when guns look for cell to attack on zero width or height ships.
  
• Crash when an object is unloaded from another object that is not equipment. Validate save game for correctness. before loading.
  
• Crash when a drone carries out logistics orders after completing another mission.
  

Alpha 14 is ready to go and is a massive new update!

Who has the best ship design when it comes to combat? We've created an entirely new ARENA mode in which you can battle fleets of ships against each other, and answer that question once and for all.

We've finally solved the problem of pipes crossing over each other, and we've introduced a new AUTOTRADE system that lets you automate the process of buying and selling common items whenever you visit a trading post.

On top of all of that, we've turned our attention back to the original SURVIVAL mode, and embarked on a major reworking. Survival mode is now more of a challenge intended for experienced players, but is also more balanced. Your ultimate objective is the safe evacuation of as many civilians as possible - and to that end, there is now a new DISTRESS CALL mission in which a ship under attack needs urgent assistance. Destroy the pirates and you have a choice - take the reward money, or welcome the rescued ship into your fleet. More mouths to feed, more of a burden on your fleet's vital resources, but also more capabilities, and more cabin space for your survivors.

Here is our video demonstrating all the new features:

https://youtu.be/q28rHubv52M?si=bqmjEDrT_Ug_L0uM


= NEW FEATURES

• Arena mode
  • A new game mode available from the main menu.
    
  • You can choose any two ship designs, and watch them fight it out to the death.
    
  • You can choose 1v1 or set how many of each ship design to include in the battle.
    
  • You can choose to control the Green team if you wish, or watch an entirely AI v AI battle.
    
• Pipe Crossing
  • Pipes can now optionally cross over each other without touching.
    
  • You can click on any pipe crossing to toggle between two pipes connected, or two pipes crossing over.
    
  • Pipes can be removed without disturbing cross pipes.
    
• Auto-Trade
  • You can now create automatic rules for buying and selling of all resources and equipment.
    
  • Click on the triangle at the end of each trade item row to set this up.
    
  • You can set values to buy when below, or to sell when above a specific quantity. You can also ctrl-click to set 'Buy All' or 'Sell All'.
    
  • A new entry in the Trade window shows all currently active autotrade rules.
    

= Language support

• The game now supports translation to other languages. You can change the current language from the Settings screen.
  
• If you'd like to help us with translation, click the new 'Help us Translate' button from the main menu.
  
• New translations:
  
  • German
    
  • Spanish (Thanks to EMAP0707 for this translation)
    
  • French (Thanks to FABISIMS for this translation)
    
• Text input has been much improved, you should be able to input characters from any language provided that the game font supports it.
  
• The Vector Text font has been updated to support French, Spanish and German directly.
  
• Fallback to the default font for other languages.
  
• Different keyboard layouts, such as French (AZERTY) are now supported.
  
• The tutorial and interface will show the new key bindings for your keyboard layout.
  
• You can now type accents in the game.
  

= SURVIVAL MODE UPDATED

• Survival Mode has been revisited and has undergone some major changes, with more still to come in future alphas.
  
• The intention is to make this a more complete game mode, with a clear objective and slowly escalating challenge.
  
• It is designed for experienced players, and should feel quite different to 'Boldly Go' mode.
  
• The ultimate aim is to evacuate as many civilians as possible through the STARGATE, before it too is destroyed by the expanding anomaly.
  
  = Starting conditions made more generous:
  • You can start with any hull up to a value of $1.5M (increased from $1M).
    
  • The starting budget remains at $150k.
    
  • Hulls need at least one Docking Port and at least one Cabin space.
    
  • You can also start with the "BUILD NEW SHIP" option, which places you at a shipyard with $1.5M in cash to build your own vessel.
    
  • Your first delivery will contain a 'starter kit' containing any critical equipment/resources you don't already have (engines, reactor, ftl, airduct, loaders, supplies, crew).
    
  = Critical resource shortages
  • Critical resources (Fuel, Food, Water, Oxygen, FTL charges & Ammo) become much more scarce (and expensive) as you progress through the sectors.
    
  • In addition, critical resources will become much more scarce and expensive when close to the rim of the Anomaly.
    
  • Beyond sector 5 there will be virtually zero critical resources available for sale, anywhere.
    
  • Recycling and Production within your fleet are your only hope of long-term survival.
    
  = Civilians
  • You can now collect civilians from any colony or shipyard, and they will pay for a place within your fleet.
    
  • The number of civilians available will increase as the Anomaly expands, and the money offered will also increase.
    
  • The count of rescued civilians will be your final 'score' in survival mode (eventually).
    
  = New 'Protect' mission
  • A new mission type that occurs up to once per sector. It will be visible in the Sector Map as a DISTRESS CALL marker.
    
  • A ship is under attack, and they won't survive long without your assistance.
    
  • Your task is to intercept and destroy the pirates, before the stricken ship is destroyed.
    
  • If you succeed, you are given a choice: You can take the reward money, or the ship can join your fleet as a permanent member.
    
  = Other survival mode changes
  • The old (obsolete) Tiddlets storyline has been removed.
    
  • The Stargate project and all associated research is no longer available in Survival Mode.
    
  • Introduced some new starting ships in the 'New Game' screen.
    
  • The New Game screen now shows useful ship stats: Total Mass, Total Cabins, Hull Value, Armour coverage.
    
  • Ice Comets are now more common (one in MOST sectors), and now release 5x as much water ice per shot when mined.
    
  • Rebalanced food & water consumption, waste recycling, water purifying, hydroponics, and ice grinding.
    
  • All have been made more efficient, consuming less and producing more.
    
  • All recycling starts at 66% efficient, and can be upgraded in the research screen, up to a maximum of 100% efficient.
    
  • New research to increase crop yield from Hydroponics and unlock schematics to manufacture Hydroponics Gardens on an Assembly Table.
    
  • Made fuel production via Metreon Gas more forgiving. Gas refining takes less time and is more efficient, producing more output.
    
  • Hostile ships will no longer respawn in systems marked "HOSTILE" on the map. Once they're gone, they're gone.
    
  • The sector jump screen now shows you a count of the total number of survivors within your fleet. This will eventually be your final score.
    
  • The sector-wide 'Destroy All Hostiles' mission has returned.
    
  • You will receive a cash bonus after clearing out each hostile system in the sector.
    
  • This is a very dangerous but lucrative mission.
    

= COMBAT CHANGES

• Deflectors will now count toward the Combat Rating of a ship.
  
• Gun Turrets will no longer autotarget exterior scaffold.
  
• Gun Turrets set to AUTOTARGET will now pick targets in advance even when out of range or out of their field-of-fire, lining up their shot in anticipation. They will fire earlier and more reliably. This applies to Player and AI controlled ships.
  
• This should fix AUTOTARGET turrets being far less effective than manually targetted turrets.
  
• Evasion has been rebalanced. The benefit tails off at higher speeds, approaching a maximum of 90% for the fastest and most nimble vessels.
  
• You can now disable the auto-slowdown effect during combat, from an option in the Settings menu.
  
• Fixed a bug that prevented cannon shells & railgun slugs from impacting exterior equipment.
  
• Fixed issue with Weapons Consoles not being manned on AI driven ships
  

= BUG FIXES

• Parallax rendering of Boxes fixed.
  
• Industry (Mining) missions item collection fixed when ship has more than one docking port.
  
• Option to cancel the deal with X in DSI not present in pre-Alpha 13 saves
  
• Fix tiddlet jump ranges displaying when not in a system with a ship containing tiddlets.
  
• Fix storage crates not having contents wiped when fabricating a ship.
  
• Fix negative quantities sometimes appearing in containers taken from crates.
  
• Fix "Drones Deployed" warning in FTL tooltip showing
• X instead of the number of drones.
  
• Fix formatting of prices and balances over one billion.
  
• Fix ship value inconsistencies between fabricating and selling a ship (there may still be a small difference as the sell price is rounded.)
  
• Fix Tiddlet Farm being sellable in The Trouble With Tiddlets Part 3.
  
• Increased metallic mineral trade availability during construction of Stargate phase 2.
  
• Fixed the player sometimes receiving free ships if an NPC ship with docked ships arrives in a system.
  
• Fixed certain episode ships (Tiddlet Farm, Short Hopper) not restocking on critical resources, leading to crew dying. Seen in #353.
  
• Issue #344 - Can't turn in trouble with tiddlets part 3.
  
• Issue #350 - Storage crates do not work with mission cargo (storage crates no longer store mission cargo to avoid cargo getting mixed up between different delivery missions).
  
• Issue #351 - Items in Storage Crates not counted towards mission achievements.
  
• Issue #352 - When the game is paused, the stargate still rotates.
  
• Issue #353 - Trouble with Tiddlets Part 3: Tiddlet Farm has mostly dead crew.
  
• Issue #359 - Logistics drones can't be moved via logistics menu if one docked ship doesn't have a logistics drone bay.
  
• Issue #361 - Can't pay X, no option given.
  
• Issue #366 - Can't progress past Stargate Phase 4 if Andromeda Project Part 3 is unlocked before starting DSI part 2.
  
• Issue #372 - Crash when trying to load a storage crate but no slots are available
  
• Issue #375 - Resin/Isotope objectives in DSI part 2 sometimes don't update.
  
• Issue #377 - Storage crate shows wrong spacesuit sprite.
  
• Issue #382 - Memory Leak in Vertex Arrays
  
• Issue #383 - Missions require ranks greater than the maximum rank
  
• Issue #385 - Deep Space Industrialists - typo in character text.
  
• Issue #390 - Can't turn on battle stations when you only have deflectors installed
  
• Issue #402 - Tiddlets 2 can be assigned to ship that is not player-controlled
  
• Crash in Tiddlets Part 3 if Short Hopper runs out of charges or the FTL Drive is dismantled.
  
• Fixed components salvaged from derelict ships having a quantity of 0, which made them impossible to sell
  

= NEW COMMUNITY SHIPS - thank you!

• JOHNNY STRUGGLES - Defense Platform Mk4, Grumpy Sardine + Lots of updates.
  
• RAKRENT - DRX Anvil, DRX Torana, DRX Monaro + Lots of updates.
  

Alpha 13d is a hotfix update that should fix the following issues.

Please note that for episode fixes, it is necessary to play from before the bug occurs (the save game isn't automatically fixed once the bug has occurred).

• Crash in Tiddlets Part 3 if Short Hopper runs out of charges or the FTL Drive is dismantled.
  
• Crash in Introduction Tutorial
  
• Fix negative quantities sometimes appearing in containers taken from crates.
  
• Fix "Drones Deployed" warning in FTL tooltip showing
• X instead of the number of drones.
  
• Issue #344 - Can't turn in trouble with tiddlets part 3
  
• Issue #350 - Storage crates do not work with mission cargo. As a temporary fix, storage crates no longer store mission cargo to avoid cargo getting mixed up between different delivery missions. Old cargo will also get cleared.
  
• Issue #361 - Can't pay X, no option given
  
• Issue #366 - Can't progress past Stargate Phase 4 if Andromeda Project Part 3 is unlocked before starting DSI part 2.
  
• Issue #372 - Crash when trying to load a storage crate but no slots are available
  
• Issue #375 - Resin/Isotope objectives in DSI part 2 sometimes don't update.
  
• Issue #377 - Storage crate shows wrong spacesuit sprite.
  
• Issue #382 - Memory Leak in Vertex Arrays
  
• Storage crates should be cleared when Fabricating/Importing a ship
  

The Last Starship Alpha 13 has been released!

We have added a new high-tech defensive weapon system - The Deflector Beam - that can deflect incoming cannon shells, a total game changer in serious engagements. But use them carefully because they will drain your power reserves quickly without a proper reactor setup behind them.

New Storage Crates can be used to tidy your ships and factories, and to facilitate better automation of production lines for the Stargate Project. And we've expanded the Research tree with tons of new options to speed up drones, mining lasers, tracks, smelters, and robot arms.

Here is the video showing the new content:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HKSXeGuSHc

Full list of changes in Alpha 13:

NEW STORY EPISODES
Work continues on a series of hand-crafted story episodes, designed to pull new players into the game and provide some excellent adventures for existing players.

• The trouble with Tiddlets, Part 4
  The final part of the Tiddlets saga is ready to play.
  
• Deep Space Industrialists (continued)
  
  
  
  • Stations in DSI are no longer taken away from the player when the episode is completed successfully.
    
  • The contract with Alexander Elistar can now be terminated by the player, ending the episode. (The button is in the contracts screen.)
    
  • The Stargate Project can now be independently unlocked in the Research screen, bypassing the DSI episodes entirely.
    
  
  
• Black Hole Sun - Part 3
  New sound and music added for the climactic rescue in BHS Part 3.
  

Storage Crates
Two new pieces of equipment to facilitate better organization of products in your ships.
The Storage Crate is 4x3 and has a storage capacity of 70 items or stacks.
The Small Storage Crate is 3x2 and has a storage capacity of 36 items or stacks.
Storage Crates can be accessed by crew or by robot arms.

Right-click on a Storage Crate to set its properties:

• Choose the product to store inside. Note: Storage Crates can only store one type of item.
  
• You can use the plus and minus controls to set a limit on items to be stored inside.
  
• There is a tickbox for 'Crew Loading', which permits crew members to load items in. (Otherwise only robot arms can.)
  
• There is a tickbox for 'Crew Unloading,' which permits crew to take items from the crate. (Otherwise only robot arms can.)
  
• There is a toggle for controlling priority:
  
  
  
  • Prioritize Zones: Your crew will store items in storage zones until they are full before using this crate.
    
  • Prioritize Crate: Your crew will store items in this crate in priority to storage zones.
    
  
  
• The recipe for storage crates can be unlocked from the Research Tree, meaning you can fabricate your own.
  

Deflector Beams
A new defensive technology that deflects incoming cannon shells using an energy beam.
They have a maximum range and angle as with any turret. The nearest incoming cannon shell within that cone will be diverted.
Deflector beams use a great deal of power when they are deflecting and can be easily overloaded with too many incoming rockets.
Deflector beams cannot be purchased. They must first be unlocked in the Research Tree, then fabricated on an assembly table.

NEW RESEARCH
The research tech tree has been heavily overhauled, with many new research items added.

• Drone batch gathering - drones will gather up entire stacks of a resource before returning to a drone bay.
  
• Drone top speed (1.5x/2x).
  
• Drone Assembly recipe (build your own drones!).
  
• Track Speed (2x/3x).
  
• Robot Arm Speed (2x).
  
• Mining Laser Accuracy - each blast releases twice as many minerals.
  
• Increased Metallurgy bonus to +50% and +100% (Smelters produce more output from the same input).
  
• Reactor Efficiency (1.1x) - increases the power output of all reactors.
  
• Fixed bug with researched performance boosts not reloading properly.
  
• New component: Processor (Copper + Precious Metals).
  
• You can now fabricate your own Logistics Drones! Requires Frame, Motor, Coil, Lens, Processor.
  
• Fabricating batteries now requires precious metals.
  
• Stargate phases are now locked behind three tiers of research (or can be auto-unlocked by completing the DSI episodes).
  
• Older saves will automatically have all 3 tiers of the Stargate research unlocked.
  
• Storage Crate assembly is now found under Logistics.
  
• Deflector assembly.
  

SMALL CHANGES:

• When losing control of a ship (e.g., selling a ship, getting it destroyed), all non-episode missions assigned to it are failed.
  
• Episodes can no longer be assigned to ships from other episodes (e.g., A.J.E Foundry).
  
• FTL toolbar icon now shows alignment progress for jump.
  
• Jumps that are ready can be performed by right-clicking the FTL icon.
  
• Research toolbar icon now shows progress towards current research.
  
• After completing the tutorial and making your first FTL Jump, Cmdr Harken will call you with a request for help.
  
• All mineral patches now contain 100x as many minerals as before.
  (Note: 'Boldly Go' mode already had this setting, so this only affects Creative/Survival/Free Roam modes.)
  
• The recipe for Deuterium now produces twice as much Deuterium as before.
  
• Stable Isotopes are now faster to produce (4 secs instead of 6).
  
• Some additional items will now be found at derelicts: Ingots, Deuterium, Components.
  
• In the Trade Window, if you search, the list shows ALL items that match that search filter, ignoring any category you have selected.
  
• You can now right-click on any item moving on a Track to remove it from that track. The crew will then store it appropriately.
  
• The Fuel Loader can now be rotated.
  
• Track now takes 3 seconds to assemble, down from 10 seconds previously.
  
• The range of weapons is now shown as a light circle when highlighting that weapon.
  
• You can no longer use the REPAIR option at a shipyard if there is active combat underway in that system.
  
• Hostile ships will now launch fighters quicker.
  

BUG FIXES:

• Fix wrong mission being accepted when more than one can be accepted in the mission summary window.
  
• Fix inability to enable battle-stations when a non-friendly ship is selected.
  
• Fix incorrect tutorial highlights during FTL stage of the introduction tutorial.
  
• Fix passengers getting stuck before being collected by shuttle on passenger missions.
  
• Fixed issue with Flight Recorders sometimes being completely unsalvageable, blocking the Wolf mission chain.
  
• Fixed issue with hostile ships unable to fire their weapons (ship exported with auto-target disabled on those weapons).
  
• Improved performance for AMD GPUs.
  
• Fix issue where an abandoned drone would drop unsalvageable cargo in free space.
  

New community ships added to the base game - thank you!
JOHNNY STRUGGLES - Mini Beast