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Abiotic Factor News

First Look at Cold Fusion

[h5][color]Greetings, esteemed colleagues![/color][/h5]
Summer is fast approaching and the weather is soon to heat up. Well, we can’t have that so let’s cool things down with our first close look at some Cold Fusion content. This one is a doozy, and it’s just a fraction of what we’ve been pulling out of our science brains.

Put on your coat, eat a spicy Royal Pepper, and make sure you’ve communed with the █████ ██████ and let’s head to…

[h3]Residence Sector[/h3]


Something is causing Residence Sector to fall well below optimal living temperatures…


Is this the result of an experiment gone awry? An incursion from an unknown Anteverse, perhaps? Maybe it’s just the consequences of your actions made manifest. The important thing is that you must science your way through it to see this journey to an end. Or at least, that would be the hope, wouldn’t it?


[h3]The New Upgrade System[/h3]
We’ve all been there. Your favorite armor or weapon was crafted long ago when you were just a wee, unhatched egghead – and it’s now out of date for the current foes you face. You may love the buffs but not the numbers once you’ve delved to deeper levels of the Facility and you wish you could upgrade that trusty Tech Spear or improve that Makeshift Armor. In science, we try not to wish. We create, we strive, and we test. And the culmination of this work is the Enhancement Bench, and it can surely make your dreams come true.



Building this new station (unlocked around Manufacturing Tier) will give scientists access to an upgrade system for weapons, armor, and a few other item types. For weapons alone, we have about 15 to 20 permutations in the works, but don’t quote us on that exact number - we’re still working out a few of the details.

[h3]Haters and Gatekeepers[/h3]
An additional bonus of the Enhancement Bench is that any military-grade weapons you send through this process will come out the other end with substantial improvements, and no more biometric locks. These firearms will often be a bit more science than military and can even change the way the weapons operate, dealing additional damage types and changing them from the more rapid-fire bullets.


Upgrades are optional and not always the immediate best choice - sometimes they’re aimed at specific playstyle preferences! If you prefer the original design, you can still proceed as normal.

Speaking of proceeding as normal, what about that one military-tier gun you keep asking for?

The Gatekeepers utilize a tier of weapon we classify as Artifact weapons, which essentially means you’ll need to find another tier of Biometric something or other. Why didn’t we say Biometric Armwraps? Because we’re not doing Armwraps for Tier 3 military weapons. We’re doing something better.



[h3]The Amnesia Threshhold[/h3]
We’ve heard a demand for resetting characters after you begin. Here’s an IMG below that surely has nothing to do with that.


This feature will be available to anyone at any time, unless the host has disabled it in their Sandbox Settings.

[h3]Weathering the Storms[/h3]
Cold Snaps, Rolling Blackouts and a mysterious Black Fog have all been reported throughout different areas of the Facility. Surely nothing to worry about.



Stay observant and please report any strange weather phenomena to your Sector supervisor.

[h3]Base Assaults[/h3]
On top of our existing plans, we’ve heard a lot of feedback about base assaults and how they just… Kinda stink. Portal Storms are working largely as intended, but there are several cases, mostly non-Pest related assaults, where they will simply spawn inside your base or in the same spot over and over. We’ve done some major overhauls to how bases are detected, looking instead for “gatherings” of furniture and things that seem to constitute your outer walls. It’s all pretty complicated stuff, but this should give you a rough idea of some of the methods we’re using.


While this will never be absolutely perfect, we expect assaults to feel a lot more unique and varied, and starting, generally, well outside of your base. We’re also working on some other quality-of-life, such as a waypoint showing which base is under attack, and little things of that nature.

Now, you’re probably wondering; what happens if my base is UNASSAILABLE? What if I, the genius scientist that I am, have made a base so impervious (or so tiny, crammed into a little ventilation shaft) that no enemies can possibly get to my location? Well… That is a bit of a problem, isn’t it?

[h3]Leeches[/h3]
There are reports of instances of another entity from, we presume, Anteverse 17. IS-0211 found leeching on batteries and power supplies… It doesn’t seem to react until bothered, but it’s certainly going to be a problem from time to time. … We’re sure you’ll sort it out, scientists.



[h3]Trashcans Can Be Used As Trashcans[/h3]
The title says it all. But if not, here’s a GIF.



[h3]Various Other Things[/h3]
There’s a lot more coming (including paintable T2 beds) but we’re not going to reveal any of that stuff right now. Not even in some kind of GIF format.



[h3]Core Keeper x Abiotic Factor[/h3]
As you may recall, in Dark Energy there was an Encroachment from Anteverse 299 (though some of you may refer to this colloquially as the Core Keeper universe). Well, it looks like Anteverse 299 wasn't done with us yet, and we've heard reports of stray portals from Cascade opening inside the Forgotten Ruins of the Core Keeper underground. We encourage all scientists and explorers to check it out.
But be careful! We heard an Electro-Pest or two might be loose as well.



Thank you for reading this Status Report and furthering your scientific knowledge. We are very much looking forward to seeing you in the Residence Sector!

[color]Onward -- to science.[/color]

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

[h3]You can also join the Research Division today on Steam![/h3]
https://store.steampowered.com/app/427410/Abiotic_Factor/

Peer Review #5

[h5][color]Greetings, esteemed colleagues![/color][/h5]

GATE needs its Keepers just like scientists need their art supplies. In this Peer Review our talented colleagues have seen the Gatekeepers in a whole new light and decided to make them into muses! Enjoy this amazing art!

Mystagogue Sketch by floortank.avi on Steam
Witch by Ardaku on Deviant Art
Invaded by eobard on Reddit
Special by Kailunsite on Steam
Jotun & Chieftan by SPINE on Steam
Mystagogue by Drehende Toilette on Discord
Chieftan by lobotomized on Steam
Lego Jotun by CalamariSteve on Discord
Fear by NoRed on Discord


Thanks to our scientists of the arts for their consistent efforts in the creative field!

[color]Onward -- to science.[/color]

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

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

Q&A Vlog 3

[h5][color]Greetings, esteemed colleagues![/color][/h5]
It’s been some time since our last Q&A vlog so Design Director Zag and Community Manager Criss put together this video to remedy that!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[h2]Some Q’s and Abbreviated A’s[/h2]
For those who are sick of hearing Criss and Zag’s voices, here’s an abbreviated version of the Q&A’s from the vlog!

[h5]Q: Will you be releasing on consoles?[/h5]

A: Yes! In case you missed the announcement, we are releasing on PS5 and Xbox series S and X. We'll have crossplay so you'll be able to play with Scientists across all platforms if you'd like or you can opt out if that's not your thing.

If you're worried about any networking issues or other problems with this change, don't worry, that's already in the game! So if your stuff's still working, you've passed through the veil of unsure-ity.

[h5]Q: Will the price of Abiotic Factor be going up?[/h5]

A: Yes, this is very important! The price will be going up sometime in the near future. We've expanded the game a lot during Early Access and we think the price should reflect that. We will be having a lot of sales and other opportunities to get it cheaper until then, so make sure you check those out and scoop it up.

And, as is our way of doing things, we'll let you all know well before that price increase takes effect.

If you happen to be reading this between March 13th-20th, we’re on sale for 20% off RIGHT NOW as part of the Playstack Steam Spring Sale! 🌸

[hr][/hr]
[h5]From here on out this Q&A will contain [color]SPOILERS[/color] about current late-game content, so if you haven't finished the Dark Energy content yet, we'd recommend caution![/h5]

[hr][/hr]

[h5]Q: Will you guys fix that weird issue in Security Sector where the hint for the next objective is hidden by the door you can't get through until you complete that objective?[/h5]

A: Fine! Yes, we messed up a little bit with our level design. Yes, we'll fix it. Gosh! Fine! Moving on moving on!

[h5]Q: Will there be new enemies in Cold Fusion?[/h5]

A: Oh yeah, there’s going to be a heap of new enemies! Well… there’s going to be a few new enemies. At least a handful of new enemies. Yes, there will be new enemies! You're going to see maybe some new troop types from the Order. You might even see some old… remixes, let's say. And maybe even some entities.

[h5]Q: Are we going to get some Gatekeeper weapons or Tier 3 Armwraps?[/h5]

A:I'll do you one better. We're going to actually ditch the idea of Tier 3 Armwraps. We'll keep Tier 1 and Tier 2 but we have a whole bunch of plans involving weapon upgrades and allowing you to unlock the biometric locks on those weapons when you upgrade them. We've even got some armor planned that may have integrated Armwraps… So that is actually a big reveal. I'm just going to leave it right there for now, let you think about that a bit. Let you chew on it.

[h5]Q:Is there going to be another Leyak?[/h5]

A: You worry too much.

[h5]Q: Jetpack or Jump Pack?[/h5]

A: You know I actually like the Jump Pack better. You can really negate fall damage quite well with it. But hey, listen. We may rebalance some stuff. We may shuffle some items around. You're going to definitely see, at 1.0, a few items will end up earlier in the game and some might end up later in the game. Will the Jetpack end up later? Probably! Will the Jump Pack end up earlier? Probably! As far as which one's really better I think that's up to you guys!

[h5]Q: Will you keep working on Abiotic Factor after 1.0?[/h5]

A: We do have content planned after 1.0. We're just not done yet, we've got the main story we want to finish up but there's a lot of other stories we want to tell and a lot of other places we want to go and our characters need to go places and you need to go places. And you know we’ve got to add more items and fun things to do. To say we have big plans would be underselling the big plans that we have! Science never ends! I mean, it might one day but not for a long time.

[h5]Q: Anything new to tell us about perks in 1.0?[/h5]

A: Along with adding a new maximum skill level of 20, we are adding a lot more perks. We also found some gaps we want to fill with perks. We feel some of the perks kind of aren't the best so we're going to be looking at some of those. We do have a lot of perk thoughts percolating, if you will.

Some say that IS-0017 may get some use. WHAT does that have to do with perks? Well, that's for me to know. That’s it, that's the end. Next!

[h5]Q: What are Home Worlds?[/h5]

A: Ahh Home Worlds… That big old mystery on the road map. Many theories abound! Home Worlds are optional, smallscale portal worlds primarily used for base building or just a nice place to call home away from the hustle and bustle of the Facility and other hostile antiverses.

The first Home World we'll be delivering will be featured as a portion of the Supporters Edition, that so many scientists have requested for 1.0. So stay tuned for more information about the Supporter’s Edition, Home Worlds and quite a lot more later this year.

[h5]Q: In Cold Fusion, are we going to another Facility?[/h5]

A: In a manner of speaking, yes. Much like Dark Energy, we went to another Facility. But let's just say that the GATE Cascade Research Facility is not done with you yet.

[h5]Q: What is Residence Sector?[/h5]

A: Residence Sector, you say! The GATE Cascade Residential Sector, it's uh… it's where the scientists sleep. And maybe watch movies. And nothing bad has happened there! Up to and including frosty interdimensional nonsense and space time upside-downery.

You won't need a flamethrower!

[h5]Q: Are we going to be able to toggle our Transmog?[/h5]

A: Oh yeah, you can toggle your transmog in the next update. There'll be a little button next to your equipment slot that'll let you turn it off and see the equipment you're actually wearing without having to go back to the Transmog Station.

You also will have a button to toggle off your headlamps and NVGs ‘cuz I know a lot of helmets don't really work with them. We can't just set all those up by hand so we're just going to give you a button to decide if you think your scientist looks cool or not. Is that all right? Is that cool? Okay, cool, great. Bye. No wait, we're not done yet, sorry.

[h5]Q: Are old areas going to be updated at 1.0?[/h5]

A: There's a few places in the Dark Energy content we felt didn't quite get enough beauty so we're doing some beautification passes.

There may also be some other pathway changes and some other minor things but overall we're pretty happy with the GATE Cascade Research Facility, we just want to keep making it a little prettier, a little more fun and a little bit more faciliter.

[h5]Q: When can I milk the Tarasque?[/h5]

A: “Stop it. Stop it. Stop. I'm walking away. I'm done. I'm done!” - Zag

[hr][/hr]

Thank you to every scientist of enjoying Abiotic Factor. If you have any more questions feel free to drop them here or ask us on Discord! And if you’d like to leave a positive review, we promise not to feed it to the Coworker. We don’t promise he won’t eat them of his own accord though.

[color]Onward -- to science.[/color]

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

[h3]You can also join the Research Division today on Steam![/h3]
https://store.steampowered.com/app/427410/Abiotic_Factor/

Spanish Localization

[h5][color]¡Bienvenidos, estimados colegas![/color][/h5]

At long last, we’re encantados to announce that Latin American Spanish is coming to Abiotic Factor in our next major update 1.0 - also known as Cold Fusion!

Prepare yourself, because it’s getting súper frío.

[h3]Current Planned Languages for 1.0[/h3]

  • English
  • Japanese
  • French
  • German
  • Portuguese
  • Russian
  • Simplified Chinese
  • Traditional Chinese
  • LatAm Spanish


We’d love to continue expanding Abiotic Factor’s localization over time, but it’s also quite expensive given the word count, and that includes the Compendium, which still needs to be localized before launch.

We hear a lot of other languages requested, and as always, we’re looking to our scientific community for feedback and we’ll try our best to meet those requests. Why, even the other day, Dr. Stern suggested to us that he sees Esperanto as being one of the world’s leading languages by the year 2000! We’ll see if he’s right.

That’s all we’ve got to report for today as the team dives back into work on the next major update.

[color]¡Adelante - a la ciencia![/color]

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

[h3]You can also join the Research Division today on Steam![/h3]
https://store.steampowered.com/app/427410/Abiotic_Factor/

Peer Review #4

[h5][color]Greetings, lovely scientists![/color][/h5]

Ahh, love. That feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when you meet that special someone’s eyes and they pause to stare longingly into yours. Then they collapse in on themselves and retreat into another dimension until your fated paths cross again.

If you agree then IS-0091 is your soulmate and this special Valentine's Day Peer Review is for you!

Beautiful Crochet by Western7273 on Reddit
Hydroplant by Raszard on Reddit
Leyak Lamp by Demon_Hyper on Steam
I ❤️ U by PhilosPHX on Steam
From left to right:
Leyak by claire_dragoness on Discord
Janet Doesn’t See by Schmoseph on Discord
Leyak Appears by CHMcat on Steam
For Your Eyes Only by cartoonmeat on Discord
Jump Scare by nephriticusjade on Steam
Home Sweet Home by 星露谷养猪厂总经理 on Steam
Hug by fishie on Discord
From left to right:
Shy by moat on Discord
Leyak by John Army on Discord
Leyak-chan by Giant Hat on Discord
Thule & The Leyak by Dezurii on Discord
See You by PhilosPHX on Steam


Alright, that’s enough love. Plug the X-Ray Turret in. Don't forget to wear your Valentine's Day themed tie (added in last week's Bonus Update) we’ll see you in the next Peer Review!

[color]Onward -- to science.[/color]

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

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