Star Vortex News

[p]Having finally finished Sector 3 I took some time to reflect on some of the suggestions I'd received. I was forced to ignore them while prioritizing content but now a couple of them jumped out. The turnaround time on them is a reflection of how important I feel they were.[/p][p][/p][h2]Level Upgrades[/h2][p]When playing the game it quickly became confusing trying to decide what to do with equipment you didn't want. Either you sell it for credits, use it to upgrade the level of another item of the same type or pull a modifier from it. I'm hoping this change will help address that.[/p][p][/p][p]Items can now be upgraded for a cost in credits with no additional item requirements. This removes it from the decision-making process. Now when you get an item you don't want all you have to decide is whether you want it self for credits or keep a modifier from it.[/p][p][/p][h2]Schematics[/h2][p]When playing your storage would quickly become a mess of items you were keeping for one modifier or another that you planned to use later. Then finding the modifier you wanted or even remembering why you kept an item to begin with was a bit of a nightmare. This is to try and solve that problem.[/p][p][/p][p]You can now purchase blank schematics from the Mothership. These schematics can be given a custom color/name and each holds up to 6 modifiers of any type including duplicates. Schematics are free to transfer modifiers onto and are not destroyed when modifiers are taken from them.[/p][p]This should allow you to bring some order to the chaos and sort modifiers you're keeping in your storage. You can also find and purchase pre-loaded schematics on your travels or even gamble for them on the black market.[/p][p]Some additional bug fixes and improvements were also included, full details are below. Enjoy![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]New Features / Content[/p]

• [p]The cost of increasing equipment level doubled but destroying an item is no longer required.[/p]
• [p]Added schematics that can be used to freely store modifiers for later use.[/p]
• [p]Schematics can be given custom names and colors.[/p]
• [p]Blank schematics can now be purchased from the Mothership.[/p]
• [p]Preloaded schematics can now purchased from Traders.[/p]
• [p]Random preloaded schematics can now be purchased from the Black Market or dropped by enemies.[/p]

[p]Balance Changes[/p]

• [p]Weapon recharge rate is now reduced by -30% when boost invulnerability is active.[/p]

[p]Quality of Life / Accessibility[/p]

• [p]Complete side missions now display above incomplete story missions in the mission panel.[/p]
• [p]Higher rarity sell all buttons now remain active if lower rarity items are in your cargo.[/p]
• [p]Updated Polish translations.[/p]

[p]Bug Fixes[/p]

• [p]Fixed missing encounter rewards at Verdara in Sector 3.[/p]
• [p]Verdiction leaves no longer grant experience in Sector 3.[/p]
• [p]Left modifier selection no longer resets when changing the right modifier in Assembler.[/p]
• [p]Unscanned items are now dimmed when modifying equipment.[/p]
• [p]Basilisk now spawns stretched out instead of curled up in a ball.[/p]
• [p]Friendly ships in Warzone encounters now display sensor arrows off-screen.[/p]
• [p]Ship designer now only zooms with the mouse wheel when your cursor is over the main design area.[/p]

[p]That's the bosses finally done for Sector 3 and balanced. I say they're balanced but with the amount of meta gaming and build customization going on by the time players get to this Sector it's hard to say. Let me know if anything seems crazy hard or easy.[/p][p]This obviously comes with all the missions, achievements and story-line elements you'd expect making Sector 3 finally content complete and ready for launch.[/p][p][/p][h2]Early Access In July 2025![/h2][p]I'm now happy to say we'll be launching in to Early Access in July! The exact date will be announced near the start of the month.[/p][p]It looks like it'll launch with Sector 1, 2 and 3 for now. I don't want to rush Sector 4 as it'll be the conclusion to the main storyline and set the stage for the end game systems. I'd love to have the full story concluded for the launch but at the same time I want the ending to be awesome and that takes time as a solo-developer.[/p][p]Just to be clear about what you'll be getting. I expect there will still be around 20-30 hours of content depending how quickly you rush through it and you can hang out in Sector 3 and farm some things while you wait for Sector 4 to release or try some different builds / weapon combinations.[/p][p][/p][h2]Other Highlights[/h2][p]Just to quickly run through some of the key changes besides the new content.[/p]

• [p]Early game (level 1 to 10) now has a gradual increase of enemy damage to give players more time to master dodging and setting up their build.[/p]
• [p]Enemy ships coming out of phase shift or hyperdrive jumping in now get a 1 second delay on weapon activations.[/p]
• [p]Bosses can no longer be spammed with electric debuffs to stop them attacking as they get the same diminished returns players get.[/p]

[p]There are a few known bugs with this update that I found during my balance testing tonight so expect a hotfix in the next week, nothing major though. Have fun![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p] New Features / Content[/p]

• [p]Flora bosses have arrived in Sector 3 along with storyline, missions and achievements.[/p]
• [p]Added a new storyline character who shows up for the first time in Sector 3.[/p]
• [p]Extra Echo encounters added to Sector 1 and Sector 2.[/p]
• [p]Echo is now hanging out in Sector 3 doing things.[/p]
• [p]Added 1 x new type of Secondary Weapon.[/p]
• [p]Added 1 x new type of Special Weapon.[/p]

[p]Balance Changes[/p]

• [p]Early game enemy damage has been reduced slowly increasing up to level 10.[/p]
• [p]Bosses now have diminishing returns on disabled debuff the same as the player.[/p]
• [p]Reduced crazy long-range of Thorn Launcher compared to other weapons.[/p]
• [p]Reduced overall level of Sector 3 encounters, so there is more varied level content.[/p]
• [p]Other ships hyperdrive jumping in or unphasing now get their weapons disabled for 1 second.[/p]
• [p]Blight now has Leech Guns stolen from the Phantoms in Sector 2 and additional dialog.[/p]
• [p]Enemy lasers no longer damage before they're fully charged, player lasers are unchanged.[/p]

[p]Quality of Life / Accessibility[/p]

• [p]Added indicator to dialog to make it clearer if ESA / Player are speaking privately.[/p]
• [p]Rewrote all Junker dialog and some of the clunkier dialog around side factions.[/p]
• [p]Reduction of light intensity on player ships is now smarter and uses part distances.[/p]
• [p]Enemy ships no longer have their light intensity reduced.[/p]
• [p]Ship design now displays color names to help those with color blindness.[/p]
• [p]Removed 0.5 second delay on gaining control after hyperdrive jumping.[/p]

[p]Performance[/p]

• [p]Improved performance of critical hit rolls on all weapons.[/p]

[p]Bug Fixes[/p]

• [p]Core panel can no longer be opened while hyperdrive jump is in progress.[/p]
• [p]Fixed mirrored weapons doing slightly less damage since the last update.[/p]
• [p]Turrets now correctly stop shooting when the parent ship has boost invulnerability.[/p]
• [p]Shadows that show when dodging no longer flicker lights on the ship.[/p]
• [p]Fixed bug where hitting escape during Echo cutscenes would not pause them.[/p]
• [p]Instagib developer setting no longer causes extra loot to drop from enemies.[/p]
• [p]Animation on Identification Web no longer detaches from structure when it jumps in.[/p]
• [p]Fixed Overgrowth Flora template containing invalid slots.[/p]
• [p]Enemies will no longer boost after you if you're still in their weapon range.[/p]
• [p]Shards launched from seeds will now correctly increase their hull with weapon level.[/p]
• [p]Fixed some projectile previews showing in incorrect color in item stats.[/p]
• [p]Fixed music stopping at Eden when enemies attack the fleet.[/p]

[p]So, the version numbers were getting ahead of themselves. With Early Access fast approaching being at 0.9 made it look like a full release was a short time away but it's certainly not.

While the game will be fully playable at launch. There are still a ton of things I want to add, not least of which is mod support and maybe even multiplayer. So I've rolled the version back to 0.3.9.

When Sector 3 is done we'll hit 0.4.0 and from there, every big milestone will bump the version closer to 1.0.0. This changes nothing about my plans it just reflects them more clearly.

[/p][h2]Fleet Improvements[/h2][p]You'll no longer find the Black Market in the Mothership, this didn't make a lot of sense anyway. It'll now be tagging along in a separate vessel as I'm sure Admiral Gideon would not approve.


The Assembler now also deploys an Identification Web when it arrives. Simply fly near this structure and it'll scan every item in your cargo. It's sadly far less chatty than Deckard Cain was though.

Everything else for this update is just quality of life and small fixes. More content coming in the next update!

[/p][p]
New Features / Content[/p]

• [p] Regressed version number to better reflect work remaining to be done.[/p]
• [p] Rescueing the Assembler now also adds an Identification Web to your fleet.[/p]
• [p] The Black Market is now located in a separate fleet vessel.
  [/p]

[p]Balance Changes[/p]

• [p] Impaled and Radioactive status effects now tick down shield before damaging hull.
  [/p]

[p]Quality of Life / Accessibility[/p]

• [p] Tooltip for Boost Invulnerability and Impaled updated to reflect current mechanics.
  [/p]

[p]Bug Fixes[/p]

• [p] Fixed display issues with some bosses in the missions panel and mission helper.[/p]
• [p] Mirroring primary weapons no longer doubles your chance of triggering On Crit effects.[/p]
• [p] Secret elite ship in Sector 3 now correctly accelerates when using Smog Exhaust.[/p]
• [p] Hidden X item in the Assembler is now correctly reset when changing modification types.[/p]
• [p] Thruster sound effects no longer persist once thrusters are de-activated.[/p]
• [p] Fixed a bug where some sound effects were fading too quickly.[/p]
• [p] Fixed null reference in WorldController.OnOverlayActivated().[/p]
• [p] Items from non-active storage tabs can no longer be switched into slots.[/p]

Another content update on the road to Early Access.

[h2]Sector 3 Elites[/h2]
The new Sector 3 elites have now landed. I did a quick run-through balancing them all so they should be challenging but not impossible now.



I wont include any details as I don't want to spoil too much but they should all present unique challenges.

[h2]Double Loot[/h2]
The drop rate for different, rare and legendary items has been doubled across the board. The original drop rates didn't work as well now crafting has put a larger demand on items so enjoy the extra loot!



[h2]Grapple / Impale Changes[/h2]
Projectiles that impale and grapples have been changed to penetrate shields. I wanted to get rid of the 'blocked by shield' mechanic to make internal shield builds more viable. They can now be removed by triggering boost immunity or using a displacement jump.

Many more balance changes, quality of life improvements and bug fixes below. I've tried to keep the later stuff a bit more vague to avoid any major spoilers. Next up will be the Flora bosses for Sector 3. Have fun!



New Features / Content

• Added 1 x Special Weapons.
  

Balance Changes

• The central path through Sector 3 no longer contains different/rare rewards or rescues.
  
• Increased hull/shields of the secret ship that shows up in Sector 3.
  
• Secret ship no longer shows up if other enemies are present.
  
• Hull Leech (On Crit) modifier now spawns particles like Leech Laser and Leech Gun.
  
• Increased speed of leech particles by +50% when traveling to their ship.
  
• Encounters behind a locked gateway can no longer be invaded by Species-XI.
  
• Short Range PDL now gains +1 range at every level.
  
• Long Range PDL now gains +2 range at every level.
  
• Doubled the amount of legendary, rare and different items that drop from all sources.
  
• Grapple guns and impale weapons now ignore enemy shields and pass through them.
  
• Boost immunity now removes grapples and impaled objects.
  
• Displacement boost and dodge now removes grapples and impaled objects.
  
• Boost immunity now triggers from velocity or after 0.5s if you're slowed by grapples.
  
• Hemlock now has fixed phase times when cycling attacks to make pulse more predictable.
  
• Overgrowth now has a Tornado Launcher and another new Special weapon.
  
• Hawthorn now deploys small Weaver ships with grapple guns.
  
• All sector 3 elites have had their balance slightly adjusted.
  
• Reduced range of Auto Caustic Lasers used by Flora to 175m.
  
• Increased hull of Pantheon Horizon (Elite) by +25%.
  
• Increased hull/damage of Shadow Blight (Elite) by +33%.
  
• Increased range of Sector 3 elites lasers from 175m to 220m.
  
• Increased damage of Horizon Vibrance by +25%.
  
• Reduced damage of Shadow Carrion by -25%.
  

Quality of Life / Accessibility

• Weapons no longer have to be re-activated after boost invulnerability.
  
• Seed for the sector is now shown on the navigation panel.
  
• Item type icon is now shown in the bigger image when viewing an item.
  
• Smog Exhaust and new special weapon now toggle on/off when activated.
  
• The game will now pause when the Steam overlay is opened.
  
• Invulnerability cheat now actually makes you immune to damage instead of increasing regen.
  
• Improved quality of glow and lighting effects.
  
• Steam now uses the built-in keyboard when available.
  
• Updated Runtime File Browser used for importing custom avatars.
  

Bug Fixes

• Fixed Phantom ships not emitting lights from their cockpits.
  
• Fixed Corrosive debris not correctly spreading in Sector 3.
  
• Secret content no longer spawns in the background of the menu.
  
• Fixed bug where unlocked gateways would not remain unlocked across game loads.
  
• Non-storable items no longer temporarily vanish when trying to place them in storage.
  
• Clicking destroy item will now clear the X disabled slot in the assembler panel.
  
• Developer tool 'complete path' now gives you correct simulated enemy ship drops.
  
• Fixed bug in rescue encounters where other ships would jump away as it ends.
  
• Combat music during the secret ship fight in Sector 3 now ends when combat is over.
  
• Small ship image no longer flickers on screen when exiting ship design.
  
• Shrunk down the ship preview in the mothership panel so it fits more nicely.
  
• Enemies using grapple guns will no longer get stuck on random objects.
  
• Fixed bug where Xenosis and Necrosia had the wrong Species-XI elites.
  

I've made the decision to shift our release date back to Q3 2025. I know some of you are excited for the release and I appreciate your patience! My priority is to deliver a complete game as we enter Early Access that I can then build upon over the years to come.

Having said that the official release date will be announced at the start of July and I'm confident it will be sooner rather than later.

Thanks for your support!