Abiotic Factor News

[h3]Greetings, esteemed colleagues![/h3]
It’s time for another check in from us, especially with an update right around the corner. In this Status Report we’d like to focus on the patch coming before Crush Depth. Let’s part some of the fog, shall we?

[h2]Weathering Ahead[/h2]
How’s the weather outside? Well we wouldn’t know, but we do know that something strange has been happening inside the Facility.



Varying airborne phenomena have been documented throughout the halls of the GATE Cascade Research Facility. What these different environmental patterns mean is as of yet unknown. Research teams will need to do some onsite reporting to figure out what this means for the Facility. We look forward to your reports.

[h3]Keep Your Face Warm[/h3]
GATE has decided, in light of recent events, that staying clean-shaven is no longer a requirement for its researchers. This change in policy will be implemented soon.


It appears Abe has already gotten in on the trend.



[h3]Inventory Sorting[/h3]
Sorting by hand getting you down? Thankfully our top scientists have almost cracked inventory sorting technology! They’re on the case as we speak and you’ll be able to reap the benefits from their research incredibly soon.



[h3]Brain Sync[/h3]
Have you dreamt up an invention or found some information that’s too good not to share? Share that “Eureka!” moment with your colleagues using the Brain Sync! If you can gather the materials for it, this invention makes sharing all of your known recipes, journals, and (some) Compendium entries a breeze. Just sit down, pop your head in the scanner and dump all the info you have while receiving whatever is stored in the machine.



[h3]More Paintables[/h3]
We’re adding a bunch of new paintables to the game. This is a small selection of them, but you can extrapolate the available data.



[h3]Crates?[/h3]
Does anyone know what’s up with these crates?


I’m sure it’s not related to whatever's going on here. Or maybe all of these things are linked? Hmm. That sounds a bit crazy, if you ask us.


Thank you for enriching your mind with this Status Report. There is, as always, more to come. And thank you for all your hard work in the GATE Cascade Research Facility!

Onward -- to science.

[h3]If you’ve been enjoying your time at the GATE Cascade Research Facility and are able to safely make your way through the spores to the Steam page, please leave us a review![/h3]

[h2]Get Involved![/h2]

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[h3]Join the Research Division Today![/h3]
https://store.steampowered.com/app/427410/Abiotic_Factor/

Salutations, colleagues!

We have released a hotfix to solve two issues with saving on Dedicated Servers.

Please update your game and servers when you get a moment away from scientific study.

v0.8.1.10202 Hotfix Patch Notes

• Fixed an issue with autosave timer taking longer than intended when rehosting the game, which sometimes resulted in autosaves not occurring for a very long time.
  
• Fixed dedicated server saves becoming corrupt if the server is saved and restarted without any players joining.
  

Sorry about that. This is Criss by the way, and since you came all this way, I smuggled out this teaser of the next update for you guys. Don't tell Zag.

[h3]Greetings, esteemed colleagues![/h3]
Greetings a second time to those joining us from Steam’s Open World Survival Crafting Fest! We’re happy to be part of this festival and if you’ve wandered in from there, don your GATE-approved labcoat and please be seated!


Do you love chopping down trees, making campfires and foraging for berries? Well, too bad, because you’re trapped in an underground research facility with no clear way to the surface. You’ll have to get a little more inventive! Think you can handle it?

You’ve arrived on the right week, because in this Status Report we’re going to take our first look at the major summer update planned for Abiotic Factor. Before we get into that, let’s answer a couple burning questions many people have asked us.

[h2]Short Q&A[/h2]

Q: Are there any updates between the major roadmap updates? Yep. Not only have we already dropped several updates, we have more content-rich updates in development as well. Keep your eyes peeled, we might even say something about that in this very report!

Q: When is “Summer”? Aren’t you folks in New Zealand which is in the Southern Hemisphere? Yeah nah, since the majority of Earth’s population lives in the Northern Hemisphere, we are treating all roadmap estimations as Northern Hemisphere, meaning the United States / Europe summer is the summer we’re talking about. That means sooner, rather than later. We will announce the exact Crush Depth date when we’re ready, and there’s a bit more coming before that too!

Q: Are the major updates going to be the only updates furthering the story? No, smaller updates will often add story content or integrate with the story, however they will typically focus on improving quality of life and adding features within the existing areas, rather than major expansions of the Facility or additional portal destinations. We’ll talk more about one of those medium-sized updates near the end of this report.

Let us begin.

[h2]A First Look at Crush Depth[/h2]

The most obvious of the major changes coming this summer in Crush Depth are the new expansions to the GATE Cascade Research Facility. You’ve scrambled over cubicles in the Office Sector, you’ve survived Manufacturing West, and you’ve probably opened one too many locked doors in the Labs. What’s next?

[h3]News Sectors to Explore[/h3]

Reports from inside the Defense Sector are few and far between since the incident began. More colloquially known to GATE Cascade staff as the Security Sector, this area remains, for now, shrouded in darkness.


There is a bit more light to shed on the Hydroplant beyond, however. Within this cavernous space runs a road, abreast the massive concrete complex simply referred to as the Dam.


The dam, nominally, holds back a monumental volume of water referred to by the enigmatic Gatekeepers as the Darkwater. The scientists, on the other hand, give it a far less foreboding moniker – it is simply known to them as the Cascade Reservoir and it is the blood pumping through the heart of the Facility, generating significant amounts of power and cooling for the experiments conducted herein.


Administration and living spaces cling to the cliffside.


Energy capture experiments are practiced out in the Reservoir, thanks to the shielding properties (and cost-savings) of liquid water. But it’s no easy swim and the normal means of ferrying seem to be largely absent in the wake of recent events.

[h3]Passage Par Les Portals[/h3]

One of the best kept secrets of Crush Depth is that scientists may find themselves in several more far-flung locations, perhaps well beyond the provincial and into “la majesté,” as the French might say. Nestled well above the treeline amid snowy peaks lies the GATE Voussoir Facility. (That’s pronounced “Voo-Swah,” by the way.)


If you find yourself on this snowy retreat, please remember to bring something warm. We have a feeling the reception certainly won’t be.


You may have many questions, but only trudging through the snow will yield those answers.


Remember to keep warm this summer.

[h3]Fun, Dangerous, Both?[/h3]

To the skies, rocketeer! Science could never catch up to your adventurous spirit, but it’s sure getting close! Research into jetpacks is well underway, letting you reach new heights, both underground and beyond!



[h3]The Utility of Sport[/h3]

While the twisting tunnels and rubble-filled roadways of Cascade have become narrowed through chaos and carnage, there’s always room for more utility. Sports utility, that is.


Getting around with friends and cargo requires something a bit more hardy than a forklift or security cart. You need the SUV, and judging by the state it’s in, it needs you too. Like the other vehicles, you’ll need to find a way to get it running. Once you do, it’s yours.

[h3]Stay Awhile[/h3]

Something wholly absent from the roadmap, and announced for the first-time ever right here in this report, is an activity sure to bring you food, contemplation and the occasional useful resource.


We look forward to sharing more about this, and other details regarding Crush Depth, soon. That wraps up today’s first look at Crush Depth, the major summer update. But before that time arrives, there’s something else we need to deal with first.

Dr. Ross tells us she believes the Flathill Containment System has degraded substantially, and it’s much worse than we feared. Apparently someone took many of the power cells out and it’s destabilized the entire containment system. We aren’t sure what repercussions this will have, but… Say, have you noticed it’s been a bit foggy in the Facility?


Troubling, to be sure. Hopefully we can get to the bottom of this in the very near future.

Until then, onward -- to science.

[h3]If you’ve been enjoying your time at the GATE Cascade Research Facility, feel free to drop us a review! They keep us satiated and warm during the cold nights in the cubicle farm.[/h3]

[h2]Get Involved![/h2]

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[h3]Join the Research Division Today![/h3]
https://store.steampowered.com/app/427410/Abiotic_Factor/

My last few weeks with Abiotic Factor have been a cure for survival crafting burnout. I thought I'd never want to look at another crafting bench again, but it turns out, all I really needed was a genuinely fresh perspective on survival crafting to get on board. What first drew me in was Abiotic's setting, a post-disaster underground lab inspired by Half-Life's Black Mesa facility...
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