Starbase News

[h2]Progress Notes Week 16[/h2]
[h3]April 19th - 23rd[/h3]

Hello everyone. Here are the progress notes of week 16 of 2021!

Please note that the "Progress Notes" are different from the Starbase Alpha "Patch Notes". Progress Notes are snippets from the development team and what has been worked on during the previous week, and many of the features might not be present in the current or upcoming builds of the Closed Alpha. Some features, especially in the design portion, can be subject to change as the development continues.

[h3]Design[/h3] Features

• Legacy visual instructions removed from Mining job
  
• Mining Backpack fixes tested, work on fixing bugs continues (backpack keeps collecting ore even when full)
  
• Usability improvements for Easy Build Mode designed
  
• Usability improvements for Material Point Scanner designed
  

User Interface

• Ship tutorial controls have been reworked
  
• New tutorial UI for starting tutorial and choosing tutorial phases has been designed
  
• Design for Company bank features continues
  
• Company access control design has been worked on
  
• Company missions permissions access control logic has been updated
  

Stations and cities

• Kyanite and Shale lifted higher in OKI 2 ship shop, seat mechanisms no longer clip into the floor when canopy is opened
  

Other

• Devices: A set of 10 Duct parts have been made available: Ducts are for creating resource networks and can be used to replace cables and pipes
  

[h3]Code[/h3] Gameplay

• An issue where some objects in space would move when player approached them has been fixed
  
• Occasional issue with items flinging when ungrabbing them has been worked on
  
• Beam welds close to each other in a connecting beam result in frame integrity connections between ship frame beams, reducing the need for corner attachment plates
  
• Thruster parts should no longer block their thrusters in tiny ships
  
• Jointed grabbed objects colliding with the environment has been fixed (once again)
  
• Support for printing start, printing finish and error sound effects have been added to large and small 3D Printers
  
• Animations, audio and bugfixes for tripod weapons have been worked on
  
• Sound category support for audio signal devices has been completed
  
• Work on Audio Signal Device Mark II-B ("jukebox") has started
  

User Interface

• Work on implementing company bank accounts continues
  
• Work on crafting UI continues, work on module crafting function has started
  
• Work on Mission personnel -page has started
  

[h3]Art[/h3] Animations and Emotes

• Aim animations for player operating the tripod have been made
  
• Tripod autocannon reload animation has been worked on
  

Stations and Cities

• Level art for planet city bridge slot has been finished
  
• Landing/takeoff hologram signs have been added to help better guide players to landing platforms both from space and from the ground
  

Other

• Factory area assets have been added (not yet fully implemented)
  
• Snap issues for duct pipe assets have been fixed
  
• The raised part from intersections in the bigger intersection beams has been removed
  
• New cliff material for moon type 2 (City moon)
  
• Viper armor set textures and paintjobs have been updated
  
• 25 player tag icons have been created
  
• Exorium processing unit rework has been completed
  
• An issue with Whiplash and Antigel Rifle projectiles spawning behind the weapons at low frame rates has been fixed
  
• Tripod Autocannon VFX has been updated
  
• Laser Cutter's spark and burning metal VFX have been reworked
  

[h3]Gallery[/h3]


Don't forget to check our official Starbase forums and our blog for more pictures and videos of the weekly development.

Until next time! 🪐

[h2]Progress Notes Week 15[/h2]
[h3]April 12th - 16th[/h3]

Hello everyone. Here are the progress notes of week 15 of 2021!

Please note that the "Progress Notes" are different from the Starbase Alpha "Patch Notes". Progress Notes are snippets from the development team and what has been worked on during the previous week, and many of the features might not be present in the current or upcoming builds of the Closed Alpha. Some features, especially in the design portion, can be subject to change as the development continues.

[h3]Design[/h3] Features

• Mining Backpack fixes have been tested, building/fixing now works with materials in backpack without tether connection to ore crates
  
• Mining Backpack UI tweaks have been designed, material stack size will be shown in slots when hovered over (1/1 normal stack size, 1/8 small 216kv stack).
  
• Large Generator asset improvement has been designed, module cores need to be accessible with Universal Tool
  

User Interface

• Design for station building tutorial has started
  
• New asteroid belt tutorial has been worked on
  
• Design on company bank statement, ship and station access rank rights has been worked on
  

Stations and cities

• Ship shops added to Empire Outpost B, Empire Outpost C, Pirate Base and Moon Fast Travel gate stations
  

Other

• Floating lamps and their holders on Lot Designer modules have been fixed
  
• Work on solid version of pipes and cables that can transfer resources and data continues
  

[h3]Code[/h3] Gameplay

• Objects and players now receive damage inside Plasma Thrusters
  
• Bug fixes have been made for Tripod weapons
  
• Work on ship tutorial continues
  

User Interface

• Implementing company bank accounts has been worked on
  
• Work on Company Ships have started - Ship Manager code has been refactored to make implementing Company Ships easier
  
• Tag manager UI has been worked on and support for tag icons on the server have been added
  

In-game Designers

• Foundation modules should now work properly with station refactoring
  

[h3]Art[/h3] Animations and Emotes

• Leg behavior when player flies has been improved
  
• Work on tripod animations continues
  

Stations and Cities

• Generic Spaceship shops have been finished
  
• Interior shots from one of our skyscrapers as our level artists are now decoration everything in the city slots. As a base model, most interiors are colorless as they can then be colored according to ownership
  

Other

• A snapping error with the ship diagnostic scanner has been fixed (should now snap correctly from the sides with the sockets as well)
  
• Exorium Tank: LODs have been added to the assets
  
• Icon has been added for "Launcher mount small turntable"
  
• VFX work on weapons continues
  
  • Updates to Antigel Rifle shoot, projectile, hit and reload VFX have been made
    
  • Updates to Whiplash shoot, projectile, hit and reload VFX have been made
    
  • New reload effect for Whiplash has been added
    
  • Work on Tripod Autocannon VFX has continued
    
• Various large component assets have been added to the game, which are still conceptual in design terms but are intended for bigger ships
  
• A pipe duct set for alternative ways to declutter big piles of pipe or cable has been added, this set would go into the grooves of the beams (work in progress and not yet implemented)
  
• Scope model for tripod attachment has been worked on, this would be used for many optical needs that a heave weapon would require such as magnification
  

[h3]Gallery[/h3]

Don't forget to check our official Starbase forums and our blog for more pictures and videos of the weekly development.

Until next time! 🪐

A new Starbase Feature video is here!

The traditional way of designing ships in Starbase in the Spaceship Designer can take a while to get the hang of. Thus, we’ve added an Easy Build Mode where you can get started with designing your own ships more easily. This video explains how exactly Easy Build Mode works.

https://youtu.be/pbNJhjUppm8
See how a ship is built using the Easy Build Mode by watching Starbase - Easy Build Mode Feature Video above!

Join the discussion on the official Starbase Discord.




And don't forget to wishlist Starbase on Steam!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/454120/Starbase/

[h2]Progress Notes Week 14[/h2]
[h3]April 5th - 9th[/h3]

Hello everyone. Here are the progress notes of week 14 of 2021!

Please note that the "Progress Notes" are different from the Starbase Alpha "Patch Notes". Progress Notes are snippets from the development team and what has been worked on during the previous week, and many of the features might not be present in the current or upcoming builds of the Closed Alpha. Some features, especially in the design portion, can be subject to change as the development continues.

[h3]Design[/h3] Features

• Mining Backpack changes have been tested (two dedicated ore slots added and ability to store ore in normal slots)
  

User Interface

• Company stations access control design has been worked on
  
• Ship controls, mining in space and building tutorials have been worked on
  
• Work on Auction House design for crafting continues
  
• Station Manager can now be used to control who is able to see your station transponder
  
• Station Manager can now be used to resign your station
  
• Player station and lot transponder Settings have been moved from Station Manager to Settings menu
  

Stations and cities

• Moon City should no longer float above the planet surface
  

Other

• Solid version of pipes and cables that can transfer resources and data has been worked on
  

[h3]Code[/h3] Gameplay

• Tripod weapon rotations have been worked on
  
• Work on Easy Build Mode continues
  
• The implementation of Spaceship tutorial has started
  
• Station building multiplayer has been worked on; work on permissions continues
  

User Interface

• Crafting UI has been worked on
  
• Fixes have been made to the mail system; the issue with loading the inbox, when it contained mail with a lot of attachments, has been fixed
  
• Interface for sharing spaceship access rights to others has been implemented, backend support still needed
  
• The Station Manager has been worked on
  

In-game Designers

• Cargo Beams & Cargo Frames are no longer erroneously active in Spaceship Designer
  
• Automatic thruster naming no longer groups connected triangle thrusters
  
• Decal painting has been worked on
  

[h3]Art[/h3] Animations and Emotes

• New unarmed and rifle prone transitions finished, animations for others weapons to come
  

Stations and Cities

• Skyscraper entrance module 3 (light and dark) has been updated to Moon city
  
• Additional art has been added to Work Hub's job hall modules
  

Other

• Work on polishing Viper armor set textures has continued
  
• Cliff materials for Moon type 2 and 4 have been worked on
  
• Large thruster connector has been updated to fit the station grid
  
• VFX updates for Antigel Rifle and Whiplash weapons have been worked on
  
• VFX work on Autocannon Tripod has started
  

[h3]Gallery[/h3]


Don't forget to check our official Starbase forums and our blog for more pictures and videos of the weekly development.

Until next time! 🪐

[h2]Progress Notes Week 13[/h2]
[h3]March 29th - April 2nd[/h3]

Hello everyone. Here are the progress notes of week 13 of 2021!

Please note that the "Progress Notes" are different from the Starbase Alpha "Patch Notes". Progress Notes are snippets from the development team and what has been worked on during the previous week, and many of the features might not be present in the current or upcoming builds of the Closed Alpha. Some features, especially in the design portion, can be subject to change as the development continues.

[h3]Design[/h3] Features

• Triangle and Box thruster nozzles now affect thruster's total thrust
  
• Buying blueprint chips with custom blueprints has been tested and improvements were designed
  
• Design for registering spaceships as owned if they have been built outside of Spaceship Designer has been started
  
• Free-form building in moon has been tested and improvements have been designed
  
• Design for solid version of pipes and cables that can transfer resources and data continues
  

User Interface

• Company medal awards and medal creator have been designed
  
• Company ship access control has been designed
  
• Using premade parts for Ship Designer purchases has been implemented
  

[h3]Code[/h3] Gameplay

• Universal Tool optimizations have been made - Asteroid material queries should not cause FPS deflation
  
• Ship transponders color code have been expanded to stations and lots
  
• Two new ore slots have been added to mining backpack
  
• Tripod functionality has been worked on
  
• The objectives of the Demolition job tutorial have been revamped: All tools spawn right at the beginning and all four ships have separate objectives
  
• Being able to restart the tutorial after completing it without first resetting the progress in the settings have been fixed
  
• Jobs not being in tutorial mode after relogging with the tutorial active have been fixed
  
• The Demolition job tutorial now shows usage hint for the currently active tool
  

User Interface

• Page for editing mission settings have been worked on
  
• Ship Manager's Access page has been worked on
  

[h3]Art[/h3] Animations and Emotes

• Work on new prone transition animations continues
  

Stations and Cities

• Windowed submodules have been updated in grid slots
  
• Skyscraper Roof module 04 has been finished
  
• Old window assets have been replaced in Skyscraper roof modules
  

Other

• More rocks have been added for Moon Type 4
  
• Rock spawn logic adjustments have been made for Elysium
  
• Salvage collector asset has been created
  
• Inventory icons for station and ship blueprint chips have been created
  
• Auto snap icon for Ship Designer has been created
  
• Relative sizing of all explosive propellant VFX have been updated, visual and optimization updates have also been made
  
• Significant optimization/rework of remote explosive VFX when multiple detonations are combined up close
  

[h3]Gallery[/h3]


Don't forget to check our official Starbase forums and our blog for more pictures and videos of the weekly development.

Until next time! 🪐