Star Vortex News

[p]Well, this is my first ever live update so this is a bit terrifying. The launch has gone fantastically, far better than I could have hoped, so thank you to everyone who took the plunge and joined us for Early Access.[/p][p]I spent the night before launch reading negative reviews of some of my favourite games, trying to prepare myself for the fact that some people will not like your game no matter how good it is... but I never could have anticipated that I'd get this much positive feedback.[/p][p]So again, thank you to everyone for your support, feedback and bug reports. I hope I've managed to address some of it in the update below, if not, it'll almost certainly be coming soon.[/p][p][/p][h2]Rescues + Consumables[/h2][p]Depending on your choice of weapons, Rescue Encounters can be pretty easy or impossible. I've been trying to balance them for over a year. This latest change should help a bit more with that. Whenever you use a consumable on your ship, whether it's a capsule, hull nanobots or a shield battery, it will now also apply the same effect to the friendly rescue ship.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]This friendly consumable sharing now also applies to allies in warzone encounters and any ships you summon with beacon weapons.[/p][p][/p][h2]Sector Regeneration[/h2][p]It's come to my attention that some players didn't realize you can regenerate your sector. As you're loading in, there is an option to change your seed or just regenerate your existing sector. This will reset all the encounters to an incomplete state so you can do them again, useful if you want to farm bosses or elites for certain types of weapons. Everything about your ship stays the same (level, upgrades, items, mission progress, achievements, etc). It's just the sector that refreshes. You also keep any Waypoint encounters you've unlocked so you don't have to start from the very beginning each time.[/p][p]I've added a couple of prompts in game, one below the sector generation once you've completed 20% or more. Another below completed encounter rewards in the navigation panel.[/p][p][/p][h2]Bug Fixes[/h2][p]Nothing else was super exciting, mostly bug fixes. I've reduced Black Market prices by 33% so that should help save you a few credits. Enemy hit boxes have been moved about and mostly expanded to make things a little easier to hit.[/p][p][/p][p]Oh, and your control bindings will reset, as I've moved where they are saved as some players had errors saving them to the computer's registry.[/p][p][/p][p]As always full notes, are below, in-game and on our Discord. Thanks again for playing, more to come in the following days.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]New Features / Content[/h3][p]• Any consumables used now also apply to friendly rescue, warzone and beacon ships.[/p][p]• Global achievements can now be earned regardless of difficulty settings.[/p][p][/p][h3]Balance Changes[/h3][p]• Reduced price of black market items by 33%.[/p][p]• Sector 2 and 3 bosses now spawn out of range of a player who hyperdrive jumps in.[/p][p]• Doubled the repair rate of friendly Conclave Sparks.[/p][p][/p][h3]Quality of Life / Accessibility[/h3][p]• Reviewed every enemy hitbox in the game, increasing the size of most, re-aligning some.[/p][p]• Replacing modifiers will now default to empty slot selection when opened.[/p][p]• Drones now show their total DPS increased by having more drones.[/p][p]• Drone item stats now display in a more logical order that mirrors other weapons.[/p][p]• Added two prompts to explain to players how sector regeneration works.[/p][p][/p][h3]Bug Fixes[/h3][p]• Replacing modifiers will no longer leave empty modifier slots locked.[/p][p]• Unequip button now correctly shows on equipped weapons.[/p][p]• Hyperdrive jump is now correctly faster if the rescue encounter has been failed.[/p][p]• Multi-sell key bindings can no longer be exploited to sell the same items multiple times.[/p][p]• Scroll wheel now correctly works on scroll views when the mouse is over an item.[/p][p]• Automatic lasers and PDL weapons no longer try to shoot through indestructible objects.[/p][p]• Saving new data will no longer fail if old data has become corrupted.[/p][p]• Console now behaves properly when activated on a Steam Deck.[/p][p]• Fixed some settings on Steam Deck that should not have been displayed.[/p][p]• Corrected some incorrect translations in Simplified Chinese and Polish.[/p][p]• Fixed FileNotFoundException when loading custom avatars.[/p][p]• Fixed InvalidOperationException when using Black Hole gun.[/p][p]• Possible fix for SlotDisplay.DisplayEmptyDisable() null reference.[/p][p]• Trader vessels are now correctly 50% larger than their base size.[/p][p]• Fixed a misaligned message that displays when auto-repair triggers.[/p][p]• Fixed null reference in WarzoneStar.SetComplete().[/p][p]• Fixed issue with missing console logs at the start of the process launching.[/p][p]• Fixed controller navigation of alternate designs in the ship designer when not unlocked.[/p][p]• Fixed controller navigation around the equipment display for enabling slot linking.[/p][p]• Moved control binding save data from registry to JSON file in AppData folder.[/p]

[p]Well that's it, the game is now out in to Early Access after about 5 years of development. It's been a wild ride that I hope will continue for many years to come. This is not a fully polished and complete game but don't let that put you off! Full details on the state of the game are below so you can make an informed decision about whether to jump in today![/p][p][/p][h2]State of Star Vortex[/h2][p]The game is at a point where I believe it's genuinely fun and the core systems are all in place. The current storyline spans Sectors 1, 2, and 3, with around 20-30 hours of gameplay depending on how thoroughly you explore and how many side missions you complete. Ship design, crafting, weapons, enemies and upgrades are all in although I still hope to expand upon them in the future.[/p][p]Sector 4 is in development right now and not in the game yet. This will wrap up the story-line and setup the endgame systems. The current plan is to use Void Rifts as customizable instances that will challenge your builds and allow you to obtain rare and powerful weapons.[/p][p]I'm launching into Early Access now because I'm happy with the state of the game and I want player input when designing these endgame systems. Your feedback will shape how they work and hopefully help me make them as fun as possible.[/p][p]I've been updating the game every 2 to 3 weeks for the past year and plan to keep that pace going until we're out of Early Access. If you're up for the ride, I'm glad to have you aboard.[/p][p][/p][h2]Bundles, Bundles Bundles![/h2][p]If you don't already own some of the other fantastic games in this genre, or even if you do, expect some big discounts on these bundles. Make sure you check them all before purchasing Star Vortex![/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]Star Valor will be releasing it's new and first ever Base Build DLC today to coincide with our launch so there has never been a more exciting time to pick it up![/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]Reality Break will be at it's highest ever discount to coincide with our launch so if you can't decide which Action-RPG to get why not get both?[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]Astronomics are launching their Better Bots Update today and is definitely worth checking out if you're a fan of strategy games.[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]Nova Drift obviously needs no introduction but if you some how missed it's release to 1.0 it's a essential purchase for fans of the space shooter genre.[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]Genome Guardian is a turret roguelite survival game with some great weapon combinations and loads to unlock.[/p][p][/p][p]This is hopefully just the beginning off the journey and I hope you enjoy it![/p][p][/p]

[p]As we roll into Early Access, my main goal is to show the direction this game is heading. I'm just one guy, so content takes time, but I've been working hard to make sure you can experience the full range of what Star Vortex has to offer.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]With this final pre-launch update, I think I've hit that milestone. One of my biggest gripes was that combat could sometimes turn into endless kiting in circles while slowly chipping away at enemies. It worked... but it felt repetitive, especially in Sectors 2 and 3.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]So with this update, I’ve added the final piece of the puzzle: giant set pieces scattered throughout the galaxy. These hint at deeper lore but also double as tactical terrain. You and your enemies can use them for cover, break line of sight, and force more interesting encounters. No more wide-open shootouts. Time to use your surroundings.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]I hope you're ready for Monday. I hope I’m ready for Monday. If you’re joining us for Early Access, let me know your feedback, bug reports, and thoughts. Expect a busy week of hotfixes and updates to come![/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]New Features / Content[/h3][p]• Ships can now collide with asteroids and other debris, hindering movement.[/p][p]• Giant set pieces will now spawn in some encounters to act as obstacles and cover.[/p][p]• Enemy AI will now try to avoid bumping into larger obstructions.[/p][p]• Displacement thrusters will now jump you cleanly through obstructions and debris.[/p][p]• PDLs now target regular asteroids when there is nothing more important nearby.[/p][p][/p][h3]Quality of Life / Accessibility[/h3][p]• Improved debris display on radar so more representative of their shape and size.[/p][p][/p][h3]Bug Fixes[/h3][p]• Fixed issue where displacement sounds would play on a loop instead of once.[/p]

[p]Just a quick update to fix a few bugs and translation issues. Managed to squeeze in a couple of smaller Quality of Life changes people asked for as well. Enjoy![/p][p][/p][p] New Features / Content[/p][p]• Early access roadmap can now be seen from the main menu.[/p][p][/p][p]Quality of Life / Accessibility[/p][p]• Confirmation added when selling/discarding starred favourite items.[/p][p]• Items can now be quickly sold using the right mouse button.[/p][p]• Steam input should now be completely supported.[/p][p]• Small lines are now displayed in item modifier lists to highlight empty slots.[/p][p][/p][p]Bug Fixes[/p][p]• Fixed incorrect reward item backgrounds showing in navigation.[/p][p]• Fixed ship class names not translating in ship design.[/p][p]• Faction names shown next to ships in navigation now correctly translate.[/p][p]• Drone names are now correctly translated in item stats.[/p][p]• Fixed translation of metres shorthand in Simplified Chinese.[/p][p]• Fixed NullReference in GameShip.MoveItemStorage().[/p][p]• Fixed NullReference in AutoDestroy.OnEnable().[/p][p]• Fixed NullReference in GridLayoutGroup() when selling multiple items.[/p]

[p]That's another update out for the full game. I've stopped posting game news about every update as we approach our Early Access, as I don't want to spam too much, and they're coming thick and fast. If you want full patch notes, you can find them on our Discord or in-game, but below are some highlights.[/p][p][/p][h2]Comparison Tooltip Fix[/h2][p]When comparing items, you should now find the comparison tooltip to be much more functional and obvious as to which direction it is comparing. No matter what you mouse over, it'll always compare the item you're hovering over to the ones you currently have equipped in those slots.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]This makes for some lengthy tooltips as you get higher level, but they should be much more useful.[/p][p][/p][h2]Quick Sell Toggle[/h2][p]When quick selling items, you now get some handy checkboxes as tooltips in case you want to exclude anything from the list. You can also now favourite items more quickly by hitting the F key when they're selected, and this will exclude them from quick selling entirely.[/p][p][/p][h2]Translations[/h2][p]Our translators have been hard a work with 子辰spenda and HAKIMODO bringing both the Simplified Chinese and Polish up to fully human translated.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]It bears repeating that all languages will be fully human-translated before we exit Early Access, and I'll be doing what I can to keep them as playable as possible as we add new content.[/p][p][/p][h2]Demo Removal[/h2][p]We're just 10 days out from the Early Access launch! To stay focused on making the best version of the game possible, the demo will be coming down from the store soon and won’t be updated on other platforms for now. Don’t worry though, it'll be back sometime after launch.[/p][p][/p][p]Below are the more important highlights of the last 5 updates. You can see full details in-game.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]New Features / Content[/h3][p]• Comparison tooltips now compare to all your equipped items, not the display item.[/p][p]• Simplified Chinese has been fully translated by 子辰spenda.[/p][p]• Polish translations updated again by HAKIMODO.[/p][p]• Quick sell now shows more details and allows individual toggling of items.[/p][p]• Added 3 x new hidden achievements.[/p][p][/p][h3]Balance Changes[/h3][p]• Rescue waves now arrive at set distances from the friendly ship to avoid loss by bad luck.[/p][p]• Halved the rate at which most rescue encounters spawn.[/p][p]• Rescue ships will now try to slowly stay near the player.[/p][p]• Reduced frequency of Warzones in all sectors by -25%.[/p][p]• Added some shorter Warzones with only 2 waves.[/p][p]• Reduced enemy Shadow Blights now Leech Guns from 4 down to 2.[/p][p]• Reduced damage of enemy Shadow Blights Stringer Missiles by 72%.[/p][p][/p][h3]Quality of Life / Accessibility[/h3][p]• Added new setting 'Background Darkness' if you struggle to see the action.[/p][p]• When replacing modifiers, equipment without any valid options for transfer is now dimmed.[/p][p]• Binding added for favourite toggle. Defaults to F for keyboard, left stick button for controller.[/p][p]• French, German and Polish language passes complete fixing text placement and length.[/p][p]• New setting added on Steamdeck to disable the native keyboard for text input.[/p][p][/p][h3]Bug Fixes[/h3][p]• Fixed issue where tooltips would not show on laptops with touchscreens.[/p][p]• Fixed bug that was stopping required level modifiers from spawning on items.[/p][p]• Mission received dialog now correctly plays when entering a new faction's space.[/p][p]• Audio sources will no longer be incorrectly removed when the limit is reached.[/p][p]• Bindings now display correctly on the pause menu in Asian languages.[/p]