Abiotic Factor News

[h3]Greetings, esteemed colleagues![/h3]

The time has come for another update full of features, functionality, and… Well, a heck ton of fog! You’ve all been very patient, and most of you didn’t collapse into a black hole while waiting for the next update. Great work, you.

[h2]A Small Summer Discount[/h2]

Abiotic Factor is on sale for 20%, starting RIGHT NOW, and on through until the end of the Steam Summer Sale on July 11th. Let your friends know it’s time for their Summer Internship to begin!



[h2]NEW UPDATE - 0.8.2 - "The Fog From Flathill"[/h2]

With that out of the way, time to get into the thick of today's update. We’ve heard some strange new sounds around the Facility. It’s time to figure out what that’s all about.

[h2]New Feature: Weather[/h2]

As the catastrophic events unfold, the climate inside the sprawling GATE Cascade Research Facility will change periodically, with new types of weather appearing as you progress through the story. However, don't fret, because the Facility’s robust climate control systems will eventually take care of these problems; they shouldn’t last more than a day and shouldn't appear too often. Let’s look at what meteorological issues you might encounter.

[h3]Fog[/h3]

As the fog seeps in from micro-perforations, you may encounter more than mere water vapor. If you find one of the Puppeteer's misbegotten creations, we can offer very little insight – or help. IS-0407 is a truly unknown entity and field research is largely up to you.



[h3]Radiation Leak[/h3]

From time to time the deeper reactors in the Facility may leak, but the air purification system and other leakage failsafes should kick in after awhile. Until then, keep cozy in those hazmat suits and don’t forget to take your iodine!



[h3]Airborne Spores[/h3]

There are many toxins found within the myriad of Anteverses accessed by GATE, and these spores are no exception. As the spores spread, you may encounter more fungal-touched enemies than usual within the Facility, and you might want to don something to keep your lungs fresh in the interim.



[h3]What Wonders Lurk Within?[/h3]

The Cacophonous and Ornate crates can now be opened… if you have the right key. We leave it up to you to find those. They can be a bit rare, but we feel you’ll locate them soon enough.


Inside these chests you’ll find some new resources granting access to new recipes and perhaps, even a trinket or two. There's a little more here than meets the eye, and we'll leave it up to our dedicated scientists to unravel the mysteries within.


Strangely, the GATE Security Crates still seem to be locked up tight. Maybe Warren is hiding something, but we imagine he's not going to cough it up for a few more weeks, at best. Classic Warren.

[h3]Gun Repair Kits[/h3]

Sure, you’re an incredibly smart scientist. You can make projectile weapons from office supplies and alien parts! But you could never quite figure out how to repair manufactured weaponry for some reason… Well, Dr. Smartiepants, that changes today!


Occasionally, you’ll stumble across a Light Gun Repair Kit, found in certain chests or dropped from the occasional combatant. With these kits, you’ll now be able to repair found firearms after (or before) they break from overuse.

[h3]Beards![/h3]


You’ve been so busy inventing, exploring and surviving that it’s amazing you’ve manage to keep your beard shaved for this long. But no longer! You will soon be able to grow a maniacal mustache or a bountiful beard. There are several styles now available and we're excited to see which facial hair is popular among scientists these days.

[h3]Proud to be a Scientist![/h3]

We’ve got a whole bunch of new ties for you to choose from! From cheesy chemistry teacher to sophisticated socialite, whatever side of your scientist you want to express we’ve got you covered, and in a dazzling array of colors.



[h3]Inventory Sorting[/h3]



Tired of sorting your inventory by hand? There’s a sort button now. Feel free to keep doing it by hand though if you’re that kind of scientist.

[h3]Brain Sync[/h3]

Share all of your known recipes, journals, and Compendium entries in just one action with this extra useful invention!



Once you’ve found all the ingredients for the Brain Sync, be sure to set one up in your base so you can store those genius brain blasts and share them with your colleagues. They’re sure to be grateful for your scientific breakthroughs!

To store recipes, take a seat. To gain all the recipes stored by others… take a seat as well! Don’t worry, this will only tingle a little bit.

[h3]Colorful Commune[/h3]

Get out those paint brushes!


You can now paint your rugs! Not only will painting them add your favorite color to the fabric, it will give it a unique pattern as well. No longer are you stuck with that old default textile. So give them all a try and find the floor decoration that’s right for you!

That’s not all: we’ve also added painting to the Crafting Bench, Beds, Shelves and a few other things you might find within your home.

[h3]Craftable Barrels[/h3]

Foraging for naturally occurring barrels is now a thing of the past! Craftable barrels are here! Now you can hoard as many fluids as you need to keep your base, kitchen and garden at fully functioning capacity. And you can paint them, too!



[h3]Some Profession Changes[/h3]

In our ongoing efforts to change up professions and make each choice a bit more meaningful, we've done a couple things. Many professions, such as Gardening, now gain extra XP for crafting items related to their profession. Medical items used to give First Aid XP to everyone, but now give extra XP only to medical professions (e.g. Epimedical Bionomicist) when crafted.



Additionally, more professions now start with unique gear. We've added a handful of new gloves!

These professional gloves are:

• Lab Assistant Gloves
  
• Gardening Gloves
  
• Construction Gloves
  
• A secret fourth one that you can find around the Facility, particularly in Labs.

[h3]In the Mood for Food[/h3]

As we prepare for our first major Facility expansion in the upcoming Crush Depth update, we did some major food rebalancing, which you can read more about in the full patch notes (linked below) but for the tasty (or not-so-tasty) highlights:

• Many foods that require 0 steps or fewer steps and less time are now a lot less powerful. You can no longer survive (as comfortably) by cramming yourself full of snacks and bad soup.
  
• Speaking of, Bad Soup is no longer as powerful. It comes with 2 portions and has a pretty high chance to make you sick.
  
• Carbuncle Pizza (it's what you think it is)
  
• The Glowing Gâteau

Chef it up, cooksmiths.

[h3]Bench Warming[/h3]

We didn't really have to make a whole section for this, but we're going to anyway, because we heard your feedback, and we sure felt the heat from the community on this one. You can now toggle the Bench Warmer on and off on your Crafting Benches. You're welcome, hot stuff.



[h3]A Ton of Bug Fixes[/h3]
We also fixed a ton of bugs in this update, perhaps some also in preparation for things to come. Or because we love you and we want you to be happy. It's definitely at least one of those things.

We'd like to remind everyone to continue to use the in-game bug report form - it's quite helpful! We have received over 5,000 player bug reports and to that we say, THANK YOU. Many of the bugs fixed in this update were submitted by scientists like you. You can see all the bug fixes in the full patch notes, linked just below.

Be safe out there, scientists.

[h3]This has been a taste of the major highlights, if you're looking for the FULL PATCH NOTES, click the highlighted words to the left and surf the web over to the full list.[/h3]

Be sure to update your dedicated servers and as always, please keep submitting your bugs through the in-game links so we can keep working on improvements.

[h3]Regarding the major summer update - Crush Depth[/h3]
As you know, our bigger summer update is well underway and it will be landing sometime before the end of Summer - exact date to be determined. That update will be chock full of new stuff which we discussed a bit in our First Look at Crush Depth blog and we have a lot more to show - on the way. Until that time, do try to stay safe in the fog, and remember to treat your fellow scientists with kindness, compassion and the occasional pipe club bonk, if they really, really deserve it.

Thank you for all your work in the GATE Cascade Research Facility!

Onward -- to science.

[h2]Join the Scientific Community![/h2]

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[h3]Join the Research Division Today![/h3]
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[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]
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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]
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