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Beta 22 - 22.1 Release Notes / "The Forsaken Flagship"

Hey everyone!

Devlog #79: https://youtu.be/VIRNC3R83Uo

Beta 22 is now available! It focuses on creating end-game content for the W.D. Corporation Faction. The update includes multiple missions leading up to the climactic “Forsaken Flagship” mission.

Besides that, we’ve done a lot of work related to hand-held weapons. The weapons should feel nicer when looking around. We’ve also worked on the heavily requested feature of two-handed weapons. All grenade launchers should now come as two-handed weapons, as well as the Burst Pistol (now called the Burst Rifle) and the Hand Cannon (now called the Splitshot).

We’ve also reworked weapon ammo by adding an additional feature. You can now reload weapons anywhere as long as you have an ammo clip in your inventory. Holding R will reload the gun you currently have equipped.

An ammo clip will spawn in the ammo crate each time a fuel capsule is consumed (either via jumping or recharging programs). The crate won’t store more than one ammo clip so remember to pick them up! This new ammo system has allowed us to rework some of the existing ammo amounts certain guns have, so be on the lookout for those changes as well.

We’ve also added the ability to send items directly to other crewmembers. Captains can use this system to better equip their AI bots, and players can use it to send items or resources quickly to one another.

Beta 22 also includes various additions, improvements and fixes!

WD Content (potential spoiler warning!)

-New Mission Sector: WD Weapons Demonstration Area
-New Mission Planet: AOG Secret Hideout
-New Area: WD Control Room (located within WD HQ). Requires special security clearance to access.
-New Mission Sector: The Forsaken Flagship
-New WD Mission: Track Down Security Drone (acquired through long range comms, requires WD rep 5 minimum, crew level 3 minimum, near WD sectors)
-New WD Mission: Weapon Demonstration (acquired through long range comms, requires WD rep 6 minimum, crew level 5 minimum, near WD sectors, mission ‘Track Down Security Drone’ completed)
-New WD Mission: Planet Bombardment (acquired through long range comms, requires WD rep 7 minimum, crew level 7 minimum, mission ‘Weapon Demonstration’ completed)
-New WD Mission: Report to Sullivan Vorcolp / The Forsaken Flagship (acquired through long range comms / NPC ‘Sullivan Vorcolp’ in the WD Headquarters Control Room, requires WD rep 10 minimum, mission ‘Planet Bombardment’ completed)
-New WD Mission: Additional Tasks (acquired through NPC ‘Oskal Shardes’ in the WD Headquarters Control Room, requires mission ‘The Forsaken Flagship’ to be in progress)
-New Weapon Type: Unstable - This weapon’s upgrade bonus will degrade every few jumps, these normally start at +5 and crews will need to occasional upgrade them if they want to keep that +5 bonus.
-New Weapon (unstable): The W.D. Heavy - Held with two hands. Capable of firing powerful shots at long ranges. If the projectile doesn’t kill on impact, the force alone will likely push the target back.
-New Weapon (unstable): The S.P.I.K.E.R. Prototype (Sporadic Point Industrial Kinetic Energy Reducer) - Held with two hands. Creates a field of ice when fired. The ice deals damage to enemies traversing through it, and it also slows them down.
-New Weapon (unstable): The I.M.P.A.C.T Prototype ( Internal Manifold Projection Arc / Combatant Thrower ) Generates a powerful force effect to keep enemies from approaching you.
-New Creature Variant: Adamantine Drones - These creatures have been genetically modified to withstand incredible amounts of damage.
-New Creature Variant: Waste Wasps and Crawlers - These creatures have also been genetically modified to grow bigger and more dangerous.
-New Creature: The Impossibility - A sphere of mysterious force that seems to feed on the bodies of its foes. If an Impossibility kills a crewmember, it will regain some of its health.
-New Creature: Large Infected Crawler - A larger, more imposing version of the Infected Crawler.
-New Creature: Infected WD Crewmembers (Male and Female) - These individuals are lost to the Infected and will attack anyone on sight.
-New Creature: Mindslaver - This large Infected organism instinctually cultivates infections.
-New Creature: Heart of the Ship - This parasite uses a ship’s own energy source as fuel to grow and spread.
-New Enemy: Bandit - Can be any faction or race
-New Enemy: Elite Bandit - A stronger version of the Bandit.
-New Ship enemy: Infected Drone - A security drone that has been corrupted and controlled by the Infected.
-New Ship Enemy: Infected Fighter - A fully formed Infected Fighter grown from the chassis of an infected drone. It is capable of launching spore pods.
-New Ship Enemy: Infected Grappler - An orgasim that will defend a newly forming infected ship.
-New enemy spawning system - Will occasionally spawn enemies out of sight, which then attack the players. Used on the Forsaken Flagship Mission Scenario.
-Improved Infected Spore Pods - Better about tracking and connecting to ships
-Improved Infected Crawlers - Much better about boarding ships. They also have a proper death animation now.
-9 new NPCs for Weapon Demonstration mission
-6 new NPCs for Planet Bombardment mission
-11 new NPCs for Forsaken Flagship mission
-3 readable logs in AOG Secret Hideout (Planet Bombardment) mission location
-4 readable logs in Forsaken Flagship mission location
-New dialog for some NPCs at W.D. Headquarters in reaction to certain mission completions

Additions

-Two handed weapons have been added. They function similarly to pistols.
-New Ammo System: Guns can now be reloaded on the fly. Pressing and holding [R] will start the reloading process. You must have an ammo clip in your inventory to reload. The ammo clip will be consumed during the process. This only reloads the gun you currently have equipped.
-New Kickback System - will slightly move your aim upwards when firing certain weapons.
-New Item: Ammo Clip - used to reload weapons
-Ammo Clip configured to randomly appear in general stores
-Some Ammo Clips have been added to the Wasted Wing Scenario
-New Ship System: Ammo Drop - By expending a fuel capsule (during a jump or program recharge) an ammo clip will be formed in the ammo crate. Pressing [R] will pick it up.
-New System: Send Item - Players can now send items to other crew members. Sent items will appear in their inventories. Players can send any item they currently have in their inventory. Players can also send items to Bots. The captain can also use this system for bots (you can have a bot send you an item it is currently holding).
-New Notification: You will be notified if an item has been sent to you.
-New Notification: You will be notified when a weapon in your inventory degrades (for unstable weapons)
-New AI Behavior - AI will prioritize the weapons they use in combat based on the numbering in the equip slots (AI will tend to favor a weapon in slot 2 over slot 4).
-New AI behavior - AI will attempt to get better positions during combat

-New sound effects have been added for the new content
-New networking implementation for flight packs. Players in flight should look much smoother and less laggy.
-New additions to internal campaign editor
-Added a visual indicator for voice chat above characters in the world
-New Character Visuals: Male and Female WD Executive Uniform
-New Character Visuals: Male Commander Uniform
-More variation in space backgrounds
-Added a system for the Teleport Screen to display when teleportation locations are obstructed
-New Talents: Quick Reload I & II: General talent to reduce reload time

Changes

-The Heal, Mini, Fire-Killer, Pulse, Repair and Stun Grenade launchers have updated art assets, they are now two-handed weapons.
-First person weapon visuals have been improved, with less movement and wonkiness when looking around.
-First person scanner has also been improved.
-Some weapons can now hold more ammo.
-Pulse Grenade Launcher damage has been reduced
-The Hand Cannon has been changed to the ‘Split-Shot’ and is now two handed.
-The Burst Pistol has been changed to the ‘Burst Rifle’ and is now two handed.
-Slightly changed end credits sequence
-Edited dialog of NPC ‘Remhan Zesho’ at W.D. Headquarters
-WD Hub NPCs should have different dialog if you are not aligned with the WD faction
-Added some more props to the Captain’s Quarters section of the Estate
-The Burrow, Cornelia Station, Ant Colony, Artifact Planet 4, Bandit Base, Bandit Caves, FB Delivery Mission 2, Cave Planets 1, 2 and 3, Lava Planet 1, Mining Station Planet, and Toxic 3 have gotten some improved textures.
-Some tweaks to Infected Carriers
-Made some tweaks to AI navigation which should help them from getting stuck in certain types of environments
-Tweaked the inventory object system to help show larger items in the display
-Manually charging programs will now also refill ammo supply

Fixes

-Fixed a UI issue related to abandoning missions
-Fixed an issue on the Roland related to equipping auto-turrets from the expanded ship component menu
-Fixed an issue with a WD mission giving Fluffy Biscuit Co. reputation
-Fixed a root motion issue with an NPC in the W.D. hub
-Fixed animation on NPC ‘Bolgath’ at the Burrow
-Added a credit reward to WD mission “Remove Obstructions”
-Fixed a collision issue found on the WD Annihilator
-Fixed a lighting issue on the snow observatory planet
-Fixed a bug with dropping and picking up items on ships
-Fixed an issue with a mesh on lava planet 1
-Removed seasonal props from the Roland-Class starship
-Fixed a visual issue when interacting with the Barber station at the WD Hub.

Looking ahead, Beta 23 will include end-game content for the Alliance of Gentlemen Faction, nicknamed “The Madman’s Mansion”!





Beta 22.1 Release Notes

Beta 22.1 should be out now! It mainly focuses on some bug fixes that have been reported. We also made some slight tweaks to gun combat based on the feedback we got on our last update.

We’ve also taken some time to update our trailer since our last one was filmed with version Beta 1. We hope you like it!

Link to new trailer: https://youtu.be/J3Zl97oGoN4


Changes
-Slightly tweaked how damage works for players and crew bots
-Tweaked space background at Outpost 448 (Sector 0)

Fixes
-Ammo clips should no longer be seen as equippable or upgradeable items
-CU stop asteroid mission should work better in regards to the destructible columns objective
-Fixed an issue with the Twister enemy type


Thanks for your time!

Best,
The Leafy Games Team

Beta 21.6 - 21.8 Release Notes

Hey everyone!

Beta 21.6 is now available! We’ve added a few new systems focused on getting us to be more informed as developers. We’ve added in an optional analytics system to help us start getting a clearer picture about how the game is played and what we might need to work on more.

We’ve also added an in-game bug reporting system which may make the reporting process easier for some. We have a field to include an email address if you’d like the possibility of us contacting you with potential workarounds or further questions. Just know that if you don’t include an appropriate way for us to respond we may not be able to tell you of known ways to resolve common issues quickly.

Additions
-Added optional analytics to help us be more informed, especially when making balancing decisions
-Added in-game bug reporting via the main menu or escape menu
-Added an option to use a virtual cursor instead of the default hardware option, this is primarily for those having cursor issues like the ones reported on many Linux machines.
-Added an option to abandon missions
-Added a hardware incompatibility menu that can detect a common video card issue and inform the player automatically of a possible workaround

Changes
-Keeper Beam overall damage reduced
-Starmap now shows filled diamonds for visited sectors and unfilled diamonds for unvisited sectors in the galaxy
-Oculus plugin updated for better compatibility with newest versions of Oculus software

Fixes
-Fixed a collision issue found on the WD Cruiser
-Fixed a culling issue found on the WD Cruiser
-Fixed collision and potential root motion issue on storm planet
-Fixed rotated chair on Roland
-Fixed an issue with radiation areas that could cause them to work improperly







Beta 21.7 Release Notes

Beta 21.7 is now available! This fixes a pretty serious bot issue that managed to make it into the previous build. Thanks to those who’ve been sending in reports!

Fixes
-AI crew bots should no longer start falling and dying when they go out of sight
-Bug reporting menu now should always unlock the cursor so you can use and close it






Beta 21.8 Release Notes

Beta 21.8 is now available! It contains some fixes based on user reports. Thanks everyone who is sending in reports and feedback!

Beta 21.8 also includes a possible fix for an issue that caused the game to not start on certain hardware. It seems so far the first-gen Intel Core processors are the most commonly affected but any processor without the AVX instruction set could have been affected. Let us know if anyone who had game startup issues after Beta 21.5 is still experiencing the problem on this build. We are unable to fully verify the fix since we don’t have the appropriate hardware on hand and we thank you for your patience in getting this sorted out.

Fixes
-Possible fix for issue with Oculus integration on certain older hardware without AVX support that caused the game to not start
-Fixed bug in the intruder alert system that caused it to report false positives in certain situations (Fluffy Biscuit crews, investigator drone from cargo inspection)
-Fixes to AI targeting for the fight with The Source in the Wasted Wing
-Possible fix for rendering / game issue on artifact planet 1



Thanks for your time!

Best,
The Leafy Games Team

Beta 21.5 Release Notes

Hey everyone!

Beta 21.5 is now available! It’s an update focused on fixes and some changes based on player feedback. Thanks for the reports and suggestions!

Changes
-AI Priorities menu has been tweaked to make it easier to edit/update bot behaviors when they might be changing quickly. Priorities now sort themselves on a fixed timer to allow for easier selection
-Grim Cutlass will be more deadly and overall tougher at higher chaos levels
-Caustic Corsair will be more deadly at higher chaos levels
-Scanner Mode: Research Materials talent is now unlocked by default and no longer needs to be researched
-Ship log should now contain the reason your ship was flagged in cases where it may be unclear
-Autosaves should no longer be created while in a race
-Look at IK tweaked for players sitting in the captain’s chair

Fixes
-Sylvassi stats tweaked to have slightly less starting armor (12 to 10)
-Internal/hidden missions were incorrectly showing messages and announcements
-Fixed issue with SteamVR input processing that made it impossible to process scrap while using SteamVR controls
-Fixed voice chat / microphone not working on newer versions of macOS
-Fixed visual issue with your arms and hands disappearing if you were pointed up
-Look at IK is now disabled for yourself to help prevent animation issues

Thanks for your time!

Best,
The Leafy Games Team

Beta 21.4 Release Notes

Hey everyone!

Beta 21.4 is now available!

Additions
-New Sector Type: Scrapyard - This station sells unprocessed scrap. Some pieces of scrap are more expensive than others to capitalize on more desperate crews. The more expensive scrap components don’t come with any additional benefits. These sectors also include a repair depot.

Changes
-Seasonal props have been removed from the game

Fixes
-Fixed an issue relating to certain items when dropped onboard ships
-Ion Storm visual on starmap should work better when loading from a save
-Removed the delay on the Asteroid mission, this should help prevent crews from warping prematurely and allow them to be brought to the CU supply station for a new reactor core
-Players are invulnerable for a short period after teleporting
-Fixed a few minor issues found on Mueva 7
-Fixed an internal error that could occur when starting a new galaxy
-Fixed a networking issue that would sometimes not display unlocked teleporter locations to clients after loading a save

Thanks for your time!

Best,
The Leafy Games Team

Beta 21 - 21.3 Release Notes

Hey everyone!

Devlog #78: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8oWRPRtc_c

Beta 21 is now available! This update adds new end-game content for the Colonial Union faction. The next big updates after this one will be adding end-game content for the W.D. Corporation and Alliance of Gentlemen factions.

To see the new content, you’ll need to be playing on a Colonial Union crew with a fairly high CU reputation (more details discussed in the devlog). The chain of events start with a special assignment to stop an asteroid from colliding with a planet. Successfully completing this mission and keeping a high reputation will allow your crew the chance to be given a special assignment by the commander of Outpost 448!

We’re very excited to add more end-game content to the galaxy. This update has been in the works for a while, but we’ve managed to solve a lot of interesting problems and build a nice set of tools to help us make content like this faster. We’d love to get your thoughts on the new content and let us know if it’s appropriately challenging!

If you’d like to experience the new content without any spoilers we recommend not reading any further.

Additions
-New Weapon: Held Beam Rifle - Similar to the healing beam. This weapon focuses on higher damage output and forgoes healing effects.
-New Weapon: Stun Grenade Launcher - Explosion can stun most enemies, stopping them in their tracks for a short time.
-New system for planetside fires - these do not spread and cannot be extinguished.
-New door type: Seamless Security Door - Opens when the crew is in possession of required item (such as a keycard).
-New door type: Quarantine Door - Door remains closed until all enemies within a given space are defeated.
-New system for spawning enemies - Enemies can now spawn when a player enters a specific area.
-New system for respawning enemies - Certain enemies can now respawn on their own.
-New slider for camera shake - From 0-200% camera shake intensity, you can find the slider in the game settings.
-New system for in-game cutscenes - Used sparingly for the occasional cinematic moment.
-New system to illustrate mission difficulty - If a mission has a suggested crew level and your crew level is lower, it will first appear red, then turn to yellow and finally look normal when you’ve reached the specific level. This is to illustrate when a mission may be especially difficult. This is will mostly be used for the end-game content but will likely be used with other missions over development.
-New system for automatically jumping ships to specified sectors, used primarily for unique story moments.
-New system for timed mission objectives - Used to add some tension to important moments or fights.
-New threat system for special enemies that track damage over time by certain players, and can target the individual currently dealing the most damage

-New Content: The Commander Center of Outpost 448 - Located on the second tier of the station. Inaccessible until ‘Report to the Commander’ CU mission has been accepted.
-New Content: Sylvassi Research lab - Located in the Sylvassi Quarter of Outpost 448
-New Content: Asteroid Level
-New Content: The Wasted Wing

-New Creature: Experiment 72
-New Creature: Stalker
-New Creature: Infected Scientist
-New Creature: Advanced Paladin
-New Creature: The Source

-New CU Mission: Stop Asteroid Crash (assigned via long range comms at CU rep 7 by CU sectors)
-New CU Mission: Report to the Commander (assigned via long range comms at CU rep 9)
-New CU Mission: The Wasted Wing (assigned by NPC Commander Darine Hatham in Command Center)
-New CU Mission: Retrieve Data Pad (assigned by NPC Alarick Soun in Command Center)
-New CU Mission: Eliminate Stalker (assigned by log in Wasted Wing)
-New CU Mission: Eliminate Infected Scientists (assigned by NPC Mat Kornoan in Wasted Wing)
-New CU Mission: Retrieve Medicine for Vilvard (assigned by NPC Noemi Prast in Wasted Wing)

-15 readable plaques and logs in Wasted Wing
-22 NPCs added for CU Wasted Wing mission
-2 NPCs who discuss Sylvassi lore added to research lab in Sylvassi Quarters of Outpost 448
-New NPC Uniform: Colonial Union Commander

Changes
-PiBot should be better at entering repair depots
-Ground combat internal values tweaked, players now take less damage overall
-Enemy humans / bandits aiming routines tweaked, this should make them slightly less accurate overall
-Garlic Biscuit should now have correct inventory visual
-NPCs will now look at the player whose turn it is in Liar’s Dice
-Crew AI will now look at players
-A few security additions have been added to the game
-During a disconnect, host will try to autosave game
-Talents have now been grouped into class specific and general, locked talents are displayed at the bottom of the list
-Crew allowance should be faster to set for captains
-Default Camera shake has been adjusted / strengthened
-Player armor has been slightly reduced overall
-The Wasted Wing station has been moved to a seperate close range sector- it’s still visible from Sector 0 but you’ll need to perform a jump in order to reach it. The sector will be jumpable when you have ‘The Wasted Wing’ mission active.
-Changes/Additions have been made to dialog of the following Outpost 448 NPCs in reaction to the Wasted Wing: Jin Saineg, Remi Hocklan, Ranchelle Fieaque, Yondia Dremera, Vera Scems, Lesia Driay, Bain, Viar Tothim, Ide Fellus, Ena Sekra, Safia Neyonus, Weise Quel, Iresa Youls, Daza Susarin, Degoh Gervam
-Changed dialog of Outpost 448 NPCs Remian Folstera and Gusiva
-The new stalker creature has been added to the crashed Roland mission.
-Food items and research materials should weigh less in your inventory, allowing players to hold
more of them.
-Gun cooling talent strength has been reduced
-Replaced dead body meshes on Tall Rock planet and Ant Colony planet
-Changed some visuals on the Ant Colony planet
-Further reduced angular drag on Roland-class ship
-The system for choosing Long range mission assignments have been tweaked
-Internal AI system that can allows bots to adjust flight distance based a specific creature.
-Tweaks to how bots use jetpacks. They now only use them when targeting a location on a different nav mesh ( i.e unreachable by foot or very uneven surfaces )

Fixes
-Backup CPU scaling is fixed and is no longer overpowered due to a double scaling math bug
-Fixed a collision issue found in the Outrider
-Fixed an issue that wouldn’t fully display longer lists of inventory items
-Potentially fixed an error that occasionally killed bots after teleporting
-Fixed a bug that prevented talents from fully syncing / unlocking
-Fixed a bug with the Intrepid item upgrader
-Bots should appropriately target ground turrets
-Turrets should be able to damage and kill enemies in Sand Scar Arena after players lose
-Fixed an issue that would break lighting inside of room interiors when resuscitated as a human
-Fixed a visual issue found in the captain’s quarters on the Fluffy One
-Fixed a visual issue with the ExoSuit helmet exterior and interior and supply tank on human characters
-Fixed an issue with ‘Investigate Unmanned W.D. Unit’ mission not giving rewards for completion
-Fixed a root motion issue with NPC Ide Fellus in Outpost 448
-Fixed an error that allowed non-captains to edit bot inventories
-Fixed a bug that did not properly show class preview in VR
-Fixed a bug that had AI try to heal crewmembers with the incorrect tool
-Fixed an issue found on the Outrider that would limit music played to ambient only
-Two sectors were being spawned in the base galaxy that should have been restricted to specific missions.
-Waste planet 2 (radioactive one) has been reworked and now has static radiation scrubbers instead of patrolling NPCs
-The Grim Cutlass / Intrepid Night Variant is no longer preventing players from using their flightpacks
-Further removed possibilities for fires to appear in strange places on the ship. As there are quite a few ways fires can spawn on ships, we’ve applied additional checks to all of them to hopefully ensure fires don’t appear in strange places.
-Jumbo Biscuit now has better visual and description.
-Boarding bots should now be less memory intensive
-More checks in-place to prevent AI from using locked teleporters on planets

Thanks for your time! If all goes well, the next main update will be focusing on the end-game content for the W.D. Corporation faction and its climactic mission titled “The Forsaken Flagship”.





Beta 21.1 Release Notes

Beta 21.1 is now available! The Wasted Wing should properly load and the Sylvassi biology lab should render correctly.

We occasionally have content that only shows up in internal builds, which allows us to make public builds quickly without having to manually remove parts of the game that aren’t ready yet. The Wasted Wing sector was listed to only show up in internal builds and when we did our tests with the public version we were loading saves made on the internal version, so we didn’t catch the issue.

This should now be resolved, and people loading their saves with the Wasted Wing mission active should now see a sector to jump to. Thanks for bearing with us!

Fixes
-Wasted Wing sector should properly load when the mission is active
-Sylvassi biology lab should render correctly now






Beta 21.2 Release Notes

Beta 21.2 is now available! We fixed an issue with the Wasted Wing not spawning when loaded from a pre-21.1 save. Sorry for the trouble!

Changes
-Loosened the timing restrictions for processing scrap, the timing window is about 30% bigger.

Fixes
-Wasted Wing sector should properly load when the mission is active when loaded from a pre-21.1 save
-Fixed a timing exploit possibility with the item and component upgraders






Beta 21.3 Release Notes

Beta 21.3 is now available! We have worked on a fix for missions improperly failing after loading a save. This caused any non-CU missions to fail upon load among other potential issues.

Fixes
-Missions should no longer improperly fail after being loaded from a save in certain conditions




Best,
The Leafy Games Team