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Star Vortex News

Echoes of the Past (v0.5.50)

[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]
Patch Notes
[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]

Hotfix (v0.5.30)

[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]
Patch Notes
[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]

Early Access Preparations (v0.5.25)

[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]
Abridged Patch Notes
[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]

Release Date Set: July 28th

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]Trapped in a hostile sector of the galaxy, your fleet is scattered and humanity’s future hangs by a thread. You’re their only hope![/p][p]Star Vortex enters Early Access on July 28th. Your journey is only just beginning.[/p]

HUD / UI Overhaul (v0.5.0)

[p]This is the second MAJOR update of the year, and this one was a lot of work. I've pretty much rebuilt every single user interface panel in the game. I wanted to get this done before we go into Early Access so here it is. Lots of quality of life changes and bug fixes also made it into this one.[/p][p][/p][h2]UI / HUD Overhaul[/h2][p]Hopefully, this new look has more of a sci-fi feel. I never really heard anything positive about the old design. I remember one streamer saying it was functional, but now it's a bit prettier while retaining that functionality.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Avatar Rework[/h2][p]I've always outsourced the avatar artwork as they're far beyond my art skills. Our artist at Hunted Cow Games Karolina has been working hard on making them more memorable. Obviously, we plan to add a lot more during Early Access, but hopefully this is enough for now. You can still import your own if you don't like the ones we've made so far.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Item Notices[/h2][p]Whenever you pick up a rare or legendary item, it'll now pop up in the bottom right of your screen in a quick notice. This was a suggestion from Splattercat back when he reviewed the game and it makes picking up items more fun. I've also moved the Achievement notices down into this new section.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Assembler Improvements[/h2][p]You will now see a preview of changes when upgrading equipment, so you can better judge if it's worth the cost. In addition to this, I've added a 'Reset to level 1' option for items. The thought behind this is if you find a cool weapon but don't want it on your current build, you can reset it to level 1 and throw it in global storage for your next playthrough.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Upgrade Improvements[/h2][p]I've finally found a system that works well for controller AND mouse/keyboard so here it is. It's now much easier to scan through upgrades and see what they do regardless of your controls.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Language Removal[/h2][p]I've removed Italian, Korean, Simplified Chinese and Spanish from the list of supported languages on the store page. They're still in the game, but as they're entirely AI translated, it feels a bit underhanded to list them as "supported".[/p][p]All languages will be fully human translated before we launch into v1.0 but as content is changing quickly, it's very expensive to keep on top of human translation with so many languages.[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p]The official release date for Early Access will be announced next week with the release of our new trailer, so keep a lookout for that![/p][p]There may be a few bugs with the number of things I've changed, but the hotfixes should be coming thick and fast, so please report anything on the Community pages or Discord. Enjoy![/p][p][/p]
Patch Notes
[p][/p][h3]New Features / Content[/h3][p]• New UI skin is now implemented across the game with a new font.[/p][p]• New HUD is now implemented with more of a sci-fi feel.[/p][p]• Rare items and achievements are now shown in the bottom right of the HUD.[/p][p]• Added 4 x Schematics design icons.[/p][p]• Added 1 new player avatar and refreshed the existing 4 with new colors.[/p][p]• Outcast's dialog has been rewritten to reflect their updated backstory.[/p][p][/p][h3]Balance Changes[/h3][p]• Hull regen is now paused when a ship has boost invulnerability.[/p][p]• Halved the range of Barrage Launchers from 500m down to 250m.[/p][p]• Fleet locations are now treeted like waypoints and will not have rare loot nearby.[/p][p]• Surge modifiers can now be transferred regardless of the damage type of the weapon.[/p][p][/p][h3]Quality of Life / Accessibility[/h3][p]• Some achievements are now hidden until earned to avoid spoiling content.[/p][p]• Increasing item level in the Assembler now shows stat changes it will receive.[/p][p]• Increasing item rarity in the Assembler now shows how many modifiers it may receive.[/p][p]• Removed storage borders from item displays as they served little purpose.[/p][p]• Added a 0.2s delay to item tooltips to make navigating the interface feel nicer.[/p][p]• Tooltips on upgrades now show on selection to allow for quicker viewing.[/p][p]• Add/remove point buttons on upgrades are now below for easier navigation.[/p][p]• Items can now be moved to and from storage by holding SHIFT when clicking them.[/p][p]• Gateways now have arrows showing which direction they'll take you.[/p][p]• Numbers for hue and saturation can now be typed directly into ship design boxes.[/p][p]• Higher level parts can now be dragged into ship designs they'll just be invalid.[/p][p]• Cone weapons now emit particles on hit and look more impressive.[/p][p]• Adjusted post-processing bloom effects to look cleaner and less overwhelming.[/p][p]• Removed enemy names from targeting as not relevant to combat.[/p][p]• Removed segments from mini bars as they were kind of useless for judging toughness.[/p][p]• Doubled the speed of ship explosions and added some more particles.[/p][p]• Rescaled many UI elements to better fit longer text in for better language support.[/p][p]• Control bindings displayed on buttons are now hidden when a button is disabled.[/p][p]• Menu background artwork will now stay a single colour to match the last update.[/p][p][/p][h3]Bug Fixes[/h3][p]• Various fixes when navigating the UI with a controller or keyboard.[/p][p]• Controller navigation around ship slots in the equipment panel now works as expected.[/p][p]• Consumable hotkeys now work correctly regardless of language.[/p][p]• Fixed some cone weapons firing invisible projectiles.[/p][p]• Fixed null pointers in CopyFlightLeaderAI() when destroying modular enemies.[/p][p]• Fixed bug where dropped item name plates would sometimes not appear.[/p][p]• Fixed a null reference when cancelling out of a sector jump.[/p][p]• Tags no longer show on hidden black market weapons.[/p][p]• Behaviour button no longer shows on hidden black market auto specials.[/p][p]• Fixed incorrect display of numbers in some languages.[/p][p]• Rescue ships now jump away in the direction of the fleet after being saved.[/p][p]• Assembler rescue now correctly shows Engineer Relios in the HUD display.[/p][p]• Fixed rescue countdown in HUD displaying extra decimal points after time remaining.[/p][p]• Removed broken hue-shifted pixels in the EMP's item artwork.[/p][p]• Fixed bug where some panels would not be aligned correctly inside the mothership.[/p][p]• Fixed HUD enabling too early during the tutorial.[/p][p]• Camera now moves instantly during Echo cutscenes far away.[/p][p]• Schematics will no longer spawn with Effectiveness or Required Level modifiers.[/p][p]• Cooldown modifiers can now be moved to or from Displacement Thrusters.[/p][p]• Achievement for clearing a sector is now awarded and will be added retroactively.[/p][p]• Fixed bug where some upgrade points would not remove despite being valid for removal.[/p]