PULSAR: Lost Colony News

Devlog #85: https://youtu.be/ewhIVnx86yU

Hey everyone!

Beta 27 is out now! It adds an in-game tutorial called the Academy. This update was surprisingly challenging to put together. Turns out ripping apart a starship and exposing all of its systems in a controlled way is a little complicated. The Academy is now available from the main menu. We decided on having it be a single-player experience so each player could learn at their own pace. In the spirit of teaching, we’ve also implemented a tip system and a tooltip system which we explain more about below.

Besides that, we’ve added a way for the captain to remove the purchasing limits on ship components. This should allow the captain to delegate more of the component shopping to their crew if they want to.

We’ve also added the possibility of moons to show up around the planets. These are just visual additions, but we hope you like them!

Additions

• The Academy: This is a single player tutorial experience to get new players familiar with the various systems and roles of the game. The goal is not to be a fully comprehensive overview of each system but rather give new players a bit more confidence and understanding before joining a live game.
  
• In-game tip system: These tips will show during the loading screen after joining a game as well as when you are respawning in an atrium. They will first cycle through in order and then choose from the pool of tips randomly. If you have ideas for any tips you think people should see, please send us an email here: [email protected]
  
• Crew Purchase Limits: The captain can now disable crew purchase limits if they want their crew to participate more in the purchasing and selling of ship components and other high-price items. Crewmembers can only install components by swapping them through the “Compare” option in the store. Otherwise the captain must still install them. By default, limits on crew purchases are active, but the option can be checked off at any time through the captain menu.
  
• New captain notifications for crewmembers buying and selling ship components
  
• Moons: This is a purely visual addition, but planets now have the chance to generate moons which can sometimes be seen from space and the planet surface.
  
• Tooltips: Players can hold ALT to unlock their cursor. This functions similarly to holding SPACE, but it will also display various tooltips when hovering over certain screen systems. This should hopefully be useful for quickly referencing or refreshing one’s knowledge of the screen systems.
  
• GX Database: The GX Database, which provides general information about ships and hazards in the galaxy, can be accessed again from the “Search” section of the scientist’s computer screen.
  

Changes

• Made some changes to the frozen base planet, requiring players to use their scanners to navigate the mines more.
  
• Improved the visuals for the bridge teleporter location in the Forsaken Flagship
  
• Added a new area to the Burrow. It will play more of a role in a future update.
  
• Cursor is no longer locked when game is loading
  

Fixes

• Fixed an issue that could sometimes occur if multiple crew members attempted to process the same scrap simultaneously
  
• Fixed a lighting issue found on the Fluffy One starship
  
• Fixed a VR bug that wouldn’t correctly orient repair guns and fire extinguishers
  
• Fixed a Steam issue regarding the ban list showing unknown names
  
• Spotlights no longer illuminate planets
  
• Fixed a fire generation issue in the Too Close to Star scenario
  
• Fixed a visual issue that could sometimes appear with the sensor dish
  
• Fixed a possible performance issue relating to planets
  
• Fixed an issue with cheat detection that could potentially cause false positives
  

Thanks for your time and feedback!

Best,
The Leafy Games Team

Hey everyone!

Beta 26.5 is out now! This update was mainly focused on fixing a few low level networking issues we found which may have been causing connection problems in certain circumstances. We also slightly tweaked the ThermoCore reactor stats to help make it more manageable.

In a future update we’re planning on adding in-game tips during times like loading or respawning. If you have any ideas about topics we should cover or where new players could use additional advice, please let us know either by making a comment below or emailing us here: [email protected] Thanks!

Changes

• Fire-killer grenades no longer have an effect on reactor temperatures.
  
• Tweaked various stats regarding the ThermoCore reactor, which reduce its heat output and help make the reactor more manageable.
  
• The ThermoCore reactor’s stat for output references its maximum output now.
  
• Heat output now affects core stability. More output will cause more instability when the reactor is in critical temperatures.
  
• Overclocking now affects core stability. An overclocked reactor will cause more instability when the reactor is in critical temperatures.
  

Fixes

• Fixed some issues with secured games that could cause connection issues in some rare circumstances. Could prevent clients from joining a game until the client was restarted and cause the host to drop a game if a player who was previously the host joined them.
  
• Fixed an issue with private games that could cause some desync issues for some clients.
  
• Fixed an issue with the character customization menu not properly displaying the page arrows.
  

Thanks for your time and feedback! We hope everyone stays safe and warm this season!

Happy Holidays,
The Leafy Games Team

Hey everyone!

Devlog 84: [previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Beta 26.4 is out now! This update includes a few new additions as well as some fixes.
We’ve added a new Sector Commander, the Deathwarden which can be found in W.D. Space. It’s flagged as an enemy to all, so WD crews can attack it without losing rep.

We’ve also added the ability for Engineers to overclock their reactor. This instantly increases the amount of output the reactor has but also builds heat very quickly. We’re interested to hear what you have to say!

Besides those we’ve also added a few other things and tweaked a few more.

Additions

• Added new system to allow captains to reclaim their ship (in the event it was stolen or unclaimed in any way) without having it become flagged.
  
• Added an Overclock option to the reactor screen. This greatly boosts the reactor’s potential output but also increases heat output significantly. Should only be used with coolant or it will overheat your reactor very quickly.
  
• New Sector Commander: The Deathwarden: A larger, more violent deathseeker that is constantly emitting overcharge and comes equipped with lighting turrets and a slowly repairing hull.
  
• Combat Levels: Ships in the game now have an estimated combat level which is calculated by comparing all of the ship’s installed components. You can identify a ship’s combat level if your sensor rating is high enough, and you can see your own ship’s combat level by examining your own ship through the sensor screen. These ratings are estimations solely based on ship components, and don’t consider talents or other factors.
  
• New Ship Component: Deathwarden Hull - Unique to the Deathwarden, has hull repairing tech.
  

Changes

• Made some tweaks to the Starmap for VR players
  
• The Healing Beam Rifle now uses ammo and heals quicker
  
• Fire Extinguishers no longer cool reactors. When we first added this, we thought it would be a neat secret feature, but since it encourages a playstyle that’s not particularly engaging we removed this effect.
  
• The Lightning Turret’s chance of turning off ships when dealing hull damage has been reduced by half
  
• Added some additional ammo clips and Revitalizing Syringes to the Wasted Wing
  
• Names / health UI of players tweaked to show crewmember health bars when a healing item is being used. The health bar also now flashes green when healed.
  
• Overclocked Null Point Reactor renamed to Reinforced Null Point Reactor
  
• Tweaked mission text for WD mission ‘Defend Mining Base’, removed one hostile ship, increased credit reward, and increased jump count requirement
  
• Chat window text now fades away after a period of idle time, it reappears if a crewmember sends a chat message or the player begins to write one.
  
• Tweaked visual effects for Sylvassi Swordship beam attack. Also added sound effects.
  
• Internal tooltip system improvements and fixes
  
• Certain ship components are now flagged to not drop, these are particularly relevant to the ships they belong to and weren’t meant to be used by player crews (I.E Super Inertia Thrusters)
  
• Tweaked explosion visuals for some handheld guns
  
• Tweaked projectile visuals to the Splitshot weapon
  
• Tweaked the Default AI priorities: The Engbot a higher priorities for fully starting the ship again before repairing systems
  
• Fuel and coolant will now be more expensive at higher chaos levels
  
  

Fixes

• Made some improvements to the kick menu to make it clearer when a kick is also a ban
  
• Fixed the ship destruction camera
  
• Fixed an issue that could make your player character invisible during class selection
  
• Fixed an issue that allowed pilots to use their jetpacks while piloting
  
• Fixed an issue with the Caustic Corsair dialog not accepting an exact 5000 credit bribe
  
• Fixed a visual issue involving a mesh on the Outrider
  
• Fixed a networking issue with Morley Morpalti’s ship component store in Cornelia Station
  
• Fixed a ship hailing issue related to the Caustic Corsair
  
• Players can now atomize research materials while the system is currently researching a new talent
  
• Fixed an issue with the ship racing music if the ship was on Green Alert
  
• Fixed a few out of bounds issues in the Wasted Wing
  
• Fixed a collision issue found on some of the windows of the Outrider
  
• Fixed an issue with ships not showing up in some of the UI in some situations
  
• Fixed a ship networking issue that caused some ships to rotate and stutter on clients
  
• Fixed an issue that could cause enemy ship deaths to register twice
  
• Fixed an issue with AI pathing on the snowy terraforming planet
  
• Fixed a visual issue on the WD Destroyer
  
• Fixed a password window issue that would cause it to incorrectly appear when joining the game lobby
  
• Fixed an issue that prevented players from sometimes dropping items on planets
  
• Fixed a visual issue with warp that was causing it to not fully show up
  
• Fixed a visual issue regarding the “Sword” attack for the Sylvassi Swordship
  

Thanks for your time and feedback!

Best,
The Leafy Games Team

Hey everyone!

Beta 26.3 is out now! This update includes a few fixes to VR and ship racing! We’ve also dropped the rule that crews can only try each Ion Race once. While the previous implementation may have been more realistic, this way is more convenient and less prone to misunderstandings.

Besides that, we’ve also made some large changes to how Steam VR bindings work. The default bindings for both the Vive and Rift controllers have been updated, and players should now be able to use the Steam controller configuration system to quickly customize their bindings. We’ve also made bindings for the Index, though we don’t currently have knuckle controllers to test them on, so we can’t entirely vouch for them. That being said, players using the Index should be able to customize those bindings however they wish.

Additions

• Added some additional information regarding kicks and bans (as well as how to reverse them) in the kick confirmation menu
  
• Crews can now re-try the Ion Races after losing. They can retry by reloading a save made during the race or leaving the sector and returning.
  
• Added the ability to activate personal cloak for Sylvassi characters in the Order (Z) menu
  

Changes

• Tweaked the Interceptor’s shower doors so that they open further away, and it’s less likely for players to run through them
  
• Changed the position of the captain’s log screen on the Interceptor so its action prompt doesn’t interfere with the captain’s locker action prompt
  
• Made some changes to what information loads first when a level is loaded.
  
• Tweaked turret rotation math to possibly yield smoother results in certain circumstances
  
• Tweaked the default VR control bindings and removed some legacy requirements from the system
  

Fixes

• Fixed a dialogue issue with an NPC in Outpost 448
  
• Fixed an issue on the storm planet regarding creatures in a zero oxygen environment
  
• Fixed an issue with research materials spawning beneath a terrain on the kiln seed mission planet
  
• Fixed an issue with the Balmy Gloom objects on toxic planet 1
  
• Fixed a missing material in Dutain’s Garage (Race 1)
  
• Fixed an issue involving saves made on the racing levels not loading properly
  
• Fixed an issue that would reset the player ship mid race if a player joined the game
  
• Fixed a VR camera issue with the new dialogue windows
  
• Fixed a VR issue with the player character model showing up when the Tab menu opens
  
• Fixed a few issues that might have caused some voice chat problems
  
• Fixed an issue that might have been causing warp drives to show incorrect range when loading a save
  
• Fixed an issue with damage tracking that caused runs to be flagged as not eligible for the Pacifist achievement when the player ship had not dealt any damage
  
• Fixed a VR issue that prevented players from navigating the Starmap
  
• Fixed an issue related to tracking and networking mission objectives for players joining ongoing games
  
• Fixed a networking issue with long range dialogue, mission dialogue and objectives during initial ship syncs
  
• Fixed a visual error related to certain mission objectives requiring crews to visit planets
  

Thanks for your time and feedback!

Best,
The Leafy Games Team

Hey everyone!

Beta 26.2 is out now! It seems we’ve forgotten to mention one of the other additions we made to the game when Beta 26 first came out. We’ll add it here.

You can manage your ban list much easier now by going into your game settings and clicking the manage bans button. If you kick someone and want them to rejoin your game, you’ll need to go to this menu and remove their name from the list.

Additions

• Controls menu will now open SteamVR bindings window to allow for those controls to be customized in VR
  

Changes

• Tweaked the location of the Ship Component upgrade station on the Interceptor. It’s now to the right of the status screen in the cargo area, which may make it easier to find.
  
• Raised credit reward for WD mission ‘Remove Obstructions’
  

Fixes

• Fixed a small visual issue with the virus shop interior
  
• Fixed an issue with Outpost 448 NPC Wilta Trem’s dialog range
  
• Fixed an issue with missing materials in a general shop
  
• Fixed some issues with floating assets on purple storm planet
  
• Fixed an issue with a floating object in space in first artifact planet sector
  
• Fixed an invisible NPC (Silaya Ovon) in Cornelia Station
  
• Fixed an issue with Outpost 448 NPC Ghogran Varseil’s dialog
  
• Fixed a collision issue on the Long Range Warp Station Interior
  
• In-game bug reports should now submit more information (active bindings file, game settings, etc) to help us track down issues faster
  
• The report a bug button in the escape menu should now work
  
• Fixed some small internal errors being reported by analytics
  
• Fixed a minor nav mesh issue found in the CU Command Center
  
• Fixed a few lighting issues found across Outpost 448
  
• Fixed an issue that could show the outdated SteamVR controllers binding controls / inputs for in-game messages
  
• Fixed an issue that would kick bots on the Civilian Ship upon their death
  
• Fixed an issue on the Civilian Ship where the respawn timer wouldn’t start at the appropriate time
  

Thanks for your time and feedback!

Best,
The Leafy Games Team