Star Vortex News

As I continue to work towards an Early Access release a lot of the content mentioned in this news will not be accessible in the demo (which ends at the end of Sector 1). Having said that, lots of testers and streamers have access to the full version now this is what's new!

[h2]Forgotten Faction[/h2]
While the Phantoms have become bitter and isolationist in their old age there are some of them who take a more optimistic look at their race's future. Meet their genocidal / galactic dominating cousins, the Forgotten! These guys are now hanging out in Sector 3 and will not be happy to see you.



[h2]Secret Faction[/h2]
There is a third completely new faction hiding away in Sector 3. You'll need to find these guys yourself as I don't want to spoil anything. They have unique ship parts, artwork and music and you wont see them hanging out on the main menu either!

[h2]Rescue Encounters[/h2]
The problem child of my encounters, I'm still working to make these less frustrating. For now, they give double rewards like Elite encounters due to their increased difficulty. Some players may still wish to avoid them though.

[h2]Infected Seed[/h2]
I still get questions about this item all the time from new players. As such, Species-XI will no longer show up in your playthrough until after you have found a waypoint. Hopefully this will alleviate some of the confusion when the mission says to use it on a waypoint as they'll have seen one.

[h2]Quality of Life / Bug Fixes[/h2]
One streamer pointed out that it was annoying to have to re-click your weapon to continue firing after triggering boost immunity. I hadn't noticed but once highlighted it was hard to not notice it. This is now fixed, so it works the same as dodging.

Many more fixes and changes below. Next update will hopefully include the Sector 3 elites and bosses. Then I'll take a bit of time to balance it all before diving in to Sector 4 content!



New Features / Content

• A new faction of Phantoms (Forgotten) is now present in Sector 3.
  
• Species-XI now have their own foothold in Sector 3.
  
• Added some secret stuff to Sector 3.
  
• Added 1 x Primary Weapon.
  
• Added 2 x Achievements.
  

Balance Changes

• Rescue encounters now grant double rewards like elites.
  
• Pantheon scouts now correctly have -50% hull.
  
• Flora scouts now correctly have -50% hull.
  
• Reduced all base enemy damage in Sector 2 by 12%.
  
• Reduced all base enemy damage in Sector 3 by 20%.
  
• Overcharge Thruster now drops with Item Salvage instead of Thermal Resistance.
  
• Reduced recharge delay on Photon Shield from 4s down to 3s.
  
• Increased max shield of Aegis Shield by 10%.
  
• Skeran Moths (repair) will no longer show up in encounters before level 10.
  
• 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.
  

Quality of Life / Accessibility

• Species-XI will no longer show up before a player has reached a waypoint.
  
• All encounters that don't match the primary faction for a sector now show a border.
  
• Updated Polish translation data.
  
• Invader arrival message now specifically says Species-XI to avoid confusion.
  
• 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.
  

Performance

• Fixed some colliders that were incorrectly being fed into the physics system.
  
• Reduced overheads when spawning ships by ignoring slots in designs.
  

Bug Fixes

• Some elite enemies had incorrect hitboxes which have been fixed.
  
• Level achievements should no longer become desynced with game values.
  
• Shield types of Flora, Pantheon and some Shadow ships are no longer incorrect.
  
• Item duplication when moving the item being modified in the Assembler is no longer possible.
  
• Auto lasers no longer flicker in random directions when de-activating.
  
• Developer tools being used will once again disable global achievements.
  
• Console level command now correctly grants achievements.
  
• Species-XI cockpit no longer has an incorrect green light.
  
• Elite previews in navigation now fit more nicely in the box.
  
• Fixed keystones not saving in gateways if not playing in English language.
  
• Fixed Species-XI transports not dropping infected seeds.
  
• Fixed a display error in the HUD mission helper when tracking multiple enemy ships in a row.
  
• Fixed null reference in GetDamageData() when unequipping Seed Cannon.
  
• Fixed null reference in ShowReplaceModifierDestroyItem() when rapidly destroying items.
  
• 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.
  

Well then, it's finally time to continue on the content treadmill. I took a slight detour after getting lots of feedback to make some much needed improvements but as release date approaches it's time to focus.

[h2]Sector 3[/h2]
You can now explore Sector 3 in the full version of the game if you're a tester. It features a unique layout, new Flora ships and weapons, and brand-new music. However, some content is still in the works. elite abilities, bosses, the alternative Phantom faction and another undisclosed faction are not included yet. Some missions, achievements, and story elements are also still to come.



This is an early version of Sector 3 but you're welcome to check it out if you're itching to get to a higher level or check out some of the Flora weaponry and fleet.

[h2]New Weapons[/h2]
The new Flora faction come with an additional 11 completely new weapons. While these are mostly acquired in Sector 3 all item drops have a small chance to roll from the global loot table. Meaning you can totally get these in the demo if you look hard enough. You're also likely to see them in the background of the main menu from time to time



[h2]Design Rules Change[/h2]
Some players requested they be allowed to design ships without a central part so this requirement has been removed. The rule now is that you must have parts that intersect the two central lines, shown in green in the screenshot below.


This means the design above is now valid along with lots of other unique looking ships.

[h2]Old Sectors[/h2]
Nothing much has changed with the generation of Sector 1 and 2 but behind the scenes it has. This means complete encounters in your old saves will have a broken layout. While you can continue to play these if you wish you can also hit Regenerate to get a new sector map.

There is a fix for an old Assembler bug in this update as well that should prevent some item duplication issues. Along with a slight increase to enemy speed in Sector 2 and many more changes listed below.

Warning: If you play on harder or custom difficulties 'Faster Movement' enemies just got wild, so let me know how that goes!



New Features / Content

• The first draft of Sector 3 content is now in place.
  
• Added 1 x Thruster.
  
• Added 1 x Shield.
  
• Added 1 x Primary Weapon.
  
• Added 2 x Secondary Weapons.
  
• Added 1 x Auto Special Weapon.
  
• Added 3 x Special Weapon (One is NPC only).
  
• Added 1 x Passive item.
  
• Added 1 x Grapple Gun.
  
• Added 1 x Legendary item.
  

Balance Changes

• Black market items will now always match the player's level regardless of sector.
  
• Enemies in Sector 2 are now 50% faster increasing to 100% faster in Sector 3.
  
• Fast movement on harder difficulties now makes enemies boost into weapon range.
  
• Damage from debuffs is no longer blocked by boost immunity or phase shifting.
  
• Skeran Moths (repair) will no longer show up in Sector 1 before level 8.
  
• Increased delay on redeploying destroyed drones from 4 to 6 seconds.
  
• Orb Drone Bay charges reduced from 6 to 4 but damage increased.
  
• Roach Drone Bay charges reduced from 8 to 6 but damage increased.
  
• Mothership now shows Short Range PDLs.
  
• Radioactive debuff is now removed when the ship reaches 1 hull.
  
• Hit and run AI now continues to accelerate when in range.
  

Quality of Life / Accessibility

• Central part requirement for ship designs has been expanded to be central lines.
  
• Missile launchers now show DPS instead of damage for easier comparisons.
  
• Caches can now be opened by hitting the interact keybind or shooting them.
  
• Encounter rewards below the 'Ignore Items Below' setting are now ejected.
  
• Sector difficulty display in navigation now must be clicked to be seen.
  
• Further updates to the Polish translation.
  
• Credits panel is no longer run through automatic translation.
  
• Polish translations have been updated again.
  
• Console debuff command now supports setting DPS value of status effects.
  
• Renamed turret special weapons to bays instead of launchers to avoid confusion.
  

Bug Fixes

• Players can now receive critical hits when they have the Corroding debuff.
  
• Items upgraded to legendary can now correctly roll 0 to 2 global modifiers.
  
• Fixed display issue where minibars would flicker out of position.
  
• Fixed bug where some upgrade points could not be removed despite being valid for removal.
  
• Fixed a bug where the tutorial would sometimes link to encounters that bypassed Novus Prime.
  
• Fixed issue where the player would not save before respawning when mothership destroyed.
  
• Hitting F1 to F4 at the same time will no longer open uninitiated panels.
  
• Hardcore players can now respawn if the mothership is destroyed in a boss fight.
  
• Fixed an issue where legendary passive items couldn't be equipped.
  
• Unlock slot achievement is now correctly awarded when adding a slot to your ship.
  
• Purchasing the same item multiple times from traders is no longer possible.
  
• Sector generation is now slightly faster and less likely to do multiple passes.
  
• Fixed null pointer in AttachedAIShip.CopyFlightLeaderAI() when Crystal Prism destroyed.
  
• Fixed item duplication bug in assembler when dragging items from storage.
  
• Moving items in to temporarily empty slots in the assembler is now blocked.
  
• Fixed incorrectly named mission that is given before you travel to Sector 3.
  

A smaller update this time but there are some critical bug fixes and improvements I wanted to get out as soon as possible.

[h2]Slot Changes[/h2]
Sometimes players make suggestions that seem completely absurd, then you think about them for a bit and you realise they have a point. One such suggestion recently was from Bellatrix in our Steam Community regarding slots.

The slot unlocking system was kind of pointless. A lot of people got confused by it, especially when they had to then add the slot to their design. This has all now been streamlined.



Slot resetting no longer exists so there is no cost. You simply get a specific number of weapon slots based on your level and you place them in your ship design as you wish. As a by-product of this, each upgrade tree now just gives you one generic slot and you can also get 4 x primary slots which was not possible before.

I did toy with the idea of removing slot types entirely and just making them weapon slots, but they all have very distinct behaviours and having types allows for better organization on your ship designs.

If you had a ship design with more slots than you were allowed you'll need to edit it to put the correct slots up to your limit when you load your save. You haven't actually lost any slots.

There are some critical bug fixes, balance changes and other minor improvements detailed below. I'm hoping to begin work on Sector 3 content next week!



New Features / Content

• Slot unlocking has been entirely removed and will now be free to change in ship designs.
  

Balance Changes

• Halved the cost of medium/large consumables and capsules.
  
• Halved the cost of upgrading equipment rarity.
  
• Reduced severity of upgrade reset costs at higher levels.
  
• Reduced squadrons in the third wave of the Assembler rescue from 3 down to 2.
  
• Increased hull of Assembler by +25% for the rescue mission.
  
• Removed early-game Locusts with Plasma Blasters due to high damage.
  

Quality of Life / Accessibility

• Equipment now shows its level in the top-right corner with the locked status moved to the bottom.
  
• ESA now prompts new players to edit their ship design before undocking with the mothership.
  
• Edit ship design button is now yellow and shines the first time a player visits the mothership.
  
• Reduced the thickness of laser weapons as it makes combat look cleaner.
  
• Human translation progress is now shown in entry count as word count was misleading.
  
• Modifiers that cannot be transferred now explain the reason in their tooltips.
  
• Removed screen shake from inferno cannon projectile impacts.
  
• Added a few slightly different sounds to ship explosions.
  
• Increased screen shake from ship explosions.
  

Bug Fixes

• Hyperdrive jumps can no longer be canceled after the countdown reaches 0 seconds.
  
• Weapons forced into cargo by slot removal no longer mess up cargo arrangements.
  
• Fixed lock icon remaining in place when items are dragged out of slots.
  
• Fixed sandbox ship designs displaying slots in a weird order.
  
• Tutorial arrow that directs you to mothership/gateways no longer shakes on lower framerates.
  
• Rescue target reticle no longer shakes on lower framerates.
  
• Effectiveness modifier can no longer be replaced on passive items.
  
• Fixed incorrect tooltip on the ignore consumables setting.
  
• Friendly ships summoned by beacons now earn experience when they destroy enemies.
  
• Fixed bug where smaller explosion screen shakes would cancel out larger ones.
  
• Fixed spawn command in console not working on main menu.
  
• Enemy ships in sandbox can now have any slots as their level is ignored.
  
• Fixed error in TakeItemStorage() when dragging items out of storage during assembly.
  
• Fixed bug where recent black market purchases could not transfer their modifiers.
  
• Fixed death surge modifiers not appearing on drone or turret weapons.
  

I've gained a lot of new testers this past week, and with that comes a lot of new bugs. Here's another quick hotfix for some of the issues they've found.

Oh, and HAKIMODO, a streamer from Poland, has finished off our human-translations for Polish! They're still being worked on, so you might spot a few errors in the older translations.

HAKIMODO's YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@HAKIMODO/

Hope everyone is having fun, more updates are on their way!



New Features / Content

• Polish is now fully human translated.
  

Balance Changes

• All legendary items can now have a chance to drop with required level modifiers.
  
• Increase Rarity option in Assembler now unlocks at level 8 instead of 6.
  

Bug Fixes

• Blocked transfer of modifiers onto weapons they're not valid for, like shot/chain count.
  
• Fixed bug where the player could get stuck in the wall of the Skeran Hunter's trap.
  
• Fixed issue where assembler highlighting not using required level modifiers.
  
• Fixed issue where assembler highlighting would sometimes reset itself.
  
• Fixed issue where legendary stats would sometimes decrease on the first upgrade.
  
• Fixed navigation breaking in the ship designer, mostly on the Steamdeck.
  
• Dialog about picking a control setup no longer plays when using a controller.
  
• Aiming now works correctly with a controller during tutorial during 'primary weapon' stage.
  
• Requirements in trade panels now update when upgrades are changed.
  
• Dragging items into trade to sell them no longer triggers item swaps inside cargo.
  
• Navigation highlight no longer shows on skip cutscene button when using a controller.
  
• File browser when using a custom avatar can no longer delete or rename files.
  

Below is our official roadmap. This will be kept up to date as best I can and represents my overall plan of major features for the game.

The two things at the top will hopefully be done before we launch in to Early Access. The rest will be worked on during Early Access in preparation for our 1.0 launch.

Join us on Discord if you want to get involved or have any questions:
https://discord.gg/ePgg7qgs4b