In The Black News

[p]Big thanks to LT Gaming for covering the demo as their review of In The Black has now passed 100,000 views! Many players have also discovered the game through Steam Next Fest — we’re thrilled to welcome all the new pilots to the community! [/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]Since the video went live, the demo has already received a major update (see our Oct 11 Patch Notes), including:

- New Drone Sweep mission (includes co-op)
- Improved projectile accuracy
- Added UI Tour system for new pilots

The public demo will remain permanently available and will continue to receive updates as we address requests and issues, including targeting feedback, controller configurations, key bindings, and HOTAS improvements (we will also be adding head-tracking support for the demo in the future).

Want a little more background on the studio and the game? You can watch our latest livestreams on the game's YouTube channel (the devs also provide some gameplay tips!): https://www.youtube.com/@InTheBlackGame/

We plan to fast-follow Next Fest with our Early Access launch by the end of the year, pending player feedback from the demo. Early Access will include multiplayer gameplay, additional ships, weapons, and maps as we expand the experience.

Thank you to everyone providing feedback in the demo through the in-game system (press F8), and please keep it coming! You are also invited to the game's Discord server to chat with other players and the devs: https://discord.com/invite/intheblack See you In The Black![/p]

[p]Greetings, Mercs!

We’ve just released a new Demo Overview video on YouTube! A huge thank-you goes out to Nathan, whose brilliant work helped bring this video to life.[/p][p]We plan to create more content like this, along with shorter videos focused on tips and tricks to help the community get the most out of In The Black. Let us know what you think — your feedback helps us deliver the kind of content you want to see.[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]Thank you, and fly safe![/p]

[p][/p][h3]Gameplay Updates[/h3][p]New Drone Sweep Mission (CO-OP / Singleplayer)[/p]

• [p]Added a brand-new Drone Sweep mission to the Contracts lineup.[/p]
• [p]Players work together to clear waves of autonomous drone defenders in low-orbit combat zones.[/p]
• [p]Improved spawn logic and round progression to ensure smooth cooperative play.[/p]

[p]Weapon Ripple Fixes[/p]

• [p]Fixed an issue where ripple-fired weapons could mis-sequence or skip valid launchers.[/p]
• [p]Ripple timing and cooldown behavior are now consistent across all multi-weapon setups.[/p]

[p]Projectile System Improvements[/p]

• [p]Projectiles now register impacts more reliably when fired at high velocities, improving railgun and kinetic weapon accuracy.[/p]

[hr][/hr][h3]Camera & Targeting[/h3][p]New Feature: Auto Target Zoom (ATZ)[/p]

• [p]Settings can be adjusted in Settings → Targeting.[/p]
• [p]Switch between Manual and Auto options[/p]
• [p]Manual[/p]
  • [p]While in ATZ, use the Weapon Cycle action to fine tune your zoom magnification.[/p]
    • [p]Weapon Cycle: Scroll Wheel or D-Pad Up / Down.[/p]
• [p]Auto[/p]
  • [p]Dynamically adjusts zoom based on your current target’s distance.[/p]
  • [p]Manual ATZ settings and functionality persist in Auto mode for fine tuning your final zoom magnification.[/p]
• [p]ATZ Aim Sensitivity[/p]
  • [p]Automatically scales Pitch / Yaw control sensitivity based on ATZ magnification.[/p]

[hr][/hr][h3]UI & Experience[/h3][p]New “UI Tour” System[/p]

• [p]Need help navigating the menus? Click the “?” button in the bottom-right corner of the main menu.[/p]
• [p]The new UI Tour highlights key features and menus for new players.[/p]

[p]Main Menu & Hangar Updates[/p]

• [p]Integrated the new UI Tour into the Hangar and Contract interfaces.[/p]
• [p]Refined menu layouts and improved callout clarity for better readability.[/p]

[p]General UI Polish[/p]

• [p]Improved visual consistency during menu transitions and button animations.[/p]

[hr][/hr][h3]Other Improvements[/h3]

• [p]Build and logging stability improvements across client and server.[/p]
• [p]Minor performance optimizations and debug cleanups for upcoming test builds.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Greetings Mercenaries,

Have you heard the news? In The Black has released a demo! A historic moment like this deserves an occasion…a new Livestream perhaps!

We will be holding a Livestream to commemorate this achievement on Saturday, October 11, at 11:00 AM EDT. You can watch the stream on our Steam, Youtube, and Twitch channels!

Along with playing our new demo, we will be joined by Jack Mamais and members of the Impeller Studios team!

Come join us to celebrate this milestone and to await the inevitable full release of In The Black. We will be showcasing our new demo, and sitting down with our developers to discuss their work on this amazing game.

We hope to see you Saturday, until then, stay safe out there![/p]

[p]Post-Match Enhancements[/p]

• [p]Post-Match scenes now display real squad data instead of placeholder/random squads.[/p]
• [p]Full squad performance is tracked and shown, including correct squad names, members, and top squad highlights.[/p]
• [p]Top squad determination now uses actual performance stats, falling back to legacy behavior if no squad data is available.[/p]

[p] [/p][p]Squad & Team System Overhaul[/p]

• [p]New client-to-server squad handshake system ensures consistent squad membership and team placement.[/p]
• [p]Squads sync live to the stat tracker, ensuring Post-Match and Match History reflect accurate compositions.[/p]

[p] [/p][p]UI & Quality of Life[/p]

• [p]Added a Steam icon in the hangar and footer bar; clicking it opens the ITB Steam page.[/p]
• [p]History panel ordering fixed – results now display in proper chronological order.[/p]
• [p]Updated button styles for Steam and Discord links to match ITB’s icon set.[/p]
• [p]Minor polish to emissive lighting on station gantries for better balance with ambient light.[/p]

[p] [/p][p]Fixes & Stability[/p]

• [p]Fixed an issue with armor welding where the simulation root mesh could sometimes be invalid during ship construction.[/p]
• [p]Various backend improvements to squad tracking, Post-Match data flow, and stat propagation for more reliable match results.[/p]

[p] [/p][p] Steam Deck Controller Layout[/p]

• [p]Improved steam input control scheme to fix some of the mapping issues when using a steam deck.[/p]