Starbase News

Early Access is here! We are incredibly excited to launch Starbase in Early Access after more than a year in Closed Alpha. The game is still in an alpha stage as we are missing features and gameplay loops, but our vision is starting to come together and it's time to open up the game to the whole community! We have an Early Access promise of 2-3 updates every month, and as outlined in our roadmap, we will introduce major new features like Capital Ships and Station Siege to the game in August-September. See you in the stars!

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


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The Early Access version of Starbase allows players to design, build & modify spaceships, explore the universe, form social connections, and earn money by mining, gathering, crafting and selling resources. The players can start building their home stations and begin the expansion of the Starbase universe.





Details about the August and September updates, as well as the whole 2021 Roadmap can be found below.



After a short period of tranquil mining, ship and station designing and building, as well as relatively small scale pvp engagements, the post-launch period will quickly start to heat up. The August updates will introduce Moon Bases & Mining and the massive-sized Capital Ships, while the September update that introduces Siege Mechanics will send the world into full-scale calamity, as player stations will become fully destructible and capturable.




Full sized (4K) version available here: http://cloud.frozenbyte.fi/index.php/s/kzcr5C3rIZRFH1w/download

Keep up with Starbase development progress, upcoming features and latest news:

• Join the official Discord
• Read the latest announcements on the Starbase forums
• Sign up to the mailing list

After a long wait, Early Access is finally starting next week on Thursday, July 29th at 6PM EEST / 8AM PT / 3PM UTC. Starbase will be priced at 32.99€ / $34.99 / £27.99, and kicks off with a weeklong 10% launch discount.

When Early Access begins, the Starbase universe will be a blank canvas ready to be populated. While many new core gameplay features such as the tech tree, crafting, ship easy build mode and station easy build mode will be available on release day, we want to be clear about the state of the game at launch. Starbase launches into Early Access in a clear alpha stage, however the core features are well established and there's fun to be had for sure. Now is the time to finally open up Starbase to a bigger population and see how everything comes together. The scale and scope of the game will quickly start to show as we update more massive features to the game every two weeks in August and September, like Capital Ships and Station Siege mechanics!

Many important gameplay loops are coming to Starbase shortly after launch. The idea behind the major content updates is to ease players into the big new features, and by introducing them a few weeks apart with planned dates announced, everyone will have time to prepare for their arrival.

Details about the August and September updates, as well as the whole 2021 Roadmap can be found below.

[h2]The Next Major Updates[/h2]



After a short period of tranquil mining, ship and station designing and building, as well as relatively small scale pvp engagements, the post-launch period will quickly start to heat up. The August updates will introduce Moon Bases & Mining and the massive-sized Capital Ships, while the September update that introduces Siege Mechanics will send the world into full-scale calamity, as player stations will become fully destructible and capturable.

[h2]Complete 2021 Roadmap[/h2]


Full sized (4k) version available here: http://cloud.frozenbyte.fi/index.php/s/kzcr5C3rIZRFH1w/download

We hope to see you next week!

[h2]Progress Notes Week 28[/h2]
[h3]July 12th - July 16th[/h3]

Hello everyone. Here are the progress notes of week 28 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

• Blueprint projector
  
  • Configurations for adjusted asset with blueprint chip support
    
  • Iterating on design plans to support blueprint filler feature
    
• Design for the Capital Ship docks has been refined
  
• Improvements for Station Easy Build Mode have been designed
  
• Starting Job rewards tweaked to match Early Access economy settings
  
• Starting Job weekly reward caps set
  
• Crafting data for station parts reworked. A lot more can now be crafted while using less materials.
  
• 13 new Easy Build modules for spaceships have been added, including:
  
  • Modules with batteries
    
  • Large Propellant Tank modules
    
  • More Ore Crate modules
    

Stations and Cities

• Komatsu (Tier 1) removed from Sunny Ship Center
  
• T35-B Initium and Modulus removed from Oki 2 ship shop
  
• Moneyman moved from Oki 1 to Oki 2
  

User Interface

• Easy Build Mode HUD design has been worked on
  

In-game Designers

• Rails and Rail devices are no longer available in the Spaceship Designer. Rails Layer also has been removed.
  

[h3]Code[/h3] Gameplay

• Fixed bolting "boltlessly connecting" components in the Spaceship Designer
  
• Fixed Large Generator not using all the power available to it
  
• Fixed radiators not working with Large Generator
  
• Adding Tripods to the Spaceship Designer has been worked on
  
• Implementing the Capital Ship shield generator for fast travel has been worked on
  

User Interface

• Increased the input character limit to have more room for certain characters (ó, ä, ö etc.)
  

In-game Designers

• Removed the lag spike that occurred when entering the Spaceship Designer or when test flying a ship in a ship shop
  
• Scene view window now lists modules in alphabetic order
  
• Fixed many module related actions' undo functionality not working
  

Audio

• Synchronised Pickaxe hit sounds have been worked on
  

[h3]Art[/h3] Animations and Emotes

• Work on melee running and walking animations continues
  
• Sprint animation blending improved when running into and against obstacles, such as walls
  

Other

• Fixes to numerous muzzle and hit VFX not attaching correctly at higher velocities
  
• Fixes to Tripod Autocannon hits not registering have been worked on
  
• Performance improvements for direct Mounted Plasma hits have been worked on
  
• Electronics crafting bench has been created
  
• Skyscraper stem 4 module interiors have been updated
  

[h3]Gallery[/h3]

[h3]Videos[/h3]
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
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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 27[/h2]
[h3]July 5th - July 9th[/h3]

Hello everyone. Here are the progress notes of week 27 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

• Work on the moon base Easy Build mode continues
  
• Factory Halls have been tested and improvements have been tasked to coders
  
• Paint Tool has been tested and improvements have been tasked to coders
  
• Large Generator durability issues have been resolved and bolt profiles updated
  
• Capital Ship speed in relation to the scale of the universe has been worked on
  
• New moon locations have been worked on
  
• 13 new Easy Build Mode modules has been added, including:
  
  • Cargo lock beam modules
    
  • Big Cargo lock Frame modules
    
  • More bottleneck modules
    
  • More Generator Modules
    

Stations and Cities

• Added ships to the following ship shops:
  
  • Balestra: Apis, The Mako, Aquiro, Esaro, Huginn, Muninn, Cyclone, Firescarab
    
  • Rando 1: Breaker, PT.1.0 "Endorer" Standard, LST.1.0 "Supernova" Standard, The Manta-DC
    
  • Rando 2: Monarch Mk-1, Mantis (Tayto), BlueJay, BlueJay FA, Bitfrost, Blood Hound V2 Plasma, Blood
  • Hound V2 Laser, Blood Hound V2 Auto
    
  • Rando 3: Shredder, Dart MKI, Plasma Humphrey
    
  • Rando 4: Ant (moved from Rando 3), Workmate v2 Pro, Workmate v2 Basic, Migrator, Beaver-11C, UMT.1.0 "Badger" Standard, Pogress
    
  • Epic: Fal-4F3L
    
  • Vintage: Buzzard, Warbler (moved from Rando 2)
    
  • Quasar Systems:, Cutlass (moved from Rando 3)
    
  • Duratech:, Svafa A, Jagerfall A, Frigg A
    
  • OKI 1: Vitesse
    
  • OKI 2: Marmot-ST, Legitimate Salvager, T35-B Initium, Mustang
    
  • OKI 3: The Flatter, CMC Razorback, Halite, CMC Nakota, Meteor, Barrow40
    
• Removed the following ships from ship shops:
  
  • Epic: Shuna, Redtail
    
  • Vintage: Talon
    
  • Duratech: Herfjotur DTX-HRF7-A
    
  • OKI 1: Cavalière, Mite, Mara, Momento, Moneymaker
    
  • OKI 2: Marmot-24, Marmot-48, Marmot-72
    

User Interface

• Demolition Job and Mining Job tutorial states can now be saved
  
• All members in a Group now receive a message in the chat when a new member joins the group
  

In-game Designers

• Generator Power Plug has been renamed and is now called Cable Plug in the Spaceship Designer. The plug now works with control tables as well.
  

[h3]Code[/h3] Gameplay

• Fixed an issue where the solar panel converter stopped working after changing the host
  
• Fixed various issues with tripod functionality
  
• Known critical bugs in Capital Ship fast travel have been fixed
  
• The first version of station utility grid resource summary terminal has been added
  
• Asteroid placement during Capital Ship fast travel and Spaceship Designer editing has been fixed
  
• Explosions should now be synced among LODs as well
  

User Interface

• Station Manager user interface has been worked on, including fixes to the UX
  

[h3]Art[/h3] Animations and Emotes

• Paint Tool 3rd person reload animation has been created
  
• Melee running and walking animations have been worked on
  

Other

• Skyscraper stem 1, 2 and 5 module interiors have been updated
  
• Capital Ship Shield Generator assets have been worked on
  
• User interface resource icons have been added
  
• Updated all exploding ammo VFX to better inherit their weapon types
  
• Fixes for numerous weapon effects not attaching correctly (especially noticeable at higher velocities) have been worked on
  

[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 26[/h2]
[h3]June 28th - July 2nd[/h3]

Hello everyone. Here are the progress notes of week 26 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

• Improvements were designed for the Fast Travel Gate Core
  
• Work on the new block module production and testing with the Easy Build Mode for stations continues
  
• Design for integrating Easy Build mode with moon base building has been started
  
• Design for the first phase of moon mining (acquiring surface materials) has been completed
  
• Work on moon material distribution continues
  
• Work on the ship checklist for the Spaceship Designer continues
  

Other

• Improvements to tutorials, guides and hints have been worked on
  
• Improvements to the Feedback Tool and how screenshots are shown and selected in it have been worked on
  

[h3]Code[/h3] Gameplay

• A bug in looped sounds management was fixed, hopefully reducing cases of random "wrong" sound loops being played
  
• Fixed constant Durability recalculations (flickering in Spaceship Designer, for example) in certain cases
  
• Fixed the general Durability UI behavior in Spaceship Designer (there was a lot of apparent randomness). Durability error boxes are now also dimmed while they cannot be selected.
  
• Fixed a bug with tripod weapon jittering
  
• Tweaked Center of Mass & Center of Thrust visualizations in Spaceship Designer, the latter now being limited to selected thrusters when there's a selection
  

User Interface

• Offline players' Company, Job and Rank info is now shown in the Social menu
  
• Work on Station Access user interface continues
  

In-game Designers

• Fixed a bug that prevented durability and transform tool gizmo visualization from rendering after the first visit to Spaceship Designer per program run
  

Other

• Added the TravelCoreAssembled status field to Fast Travel Cores
  

[h3]Art[/h3] Animations and Emotes

• Unarmed falling, fly and landing animations have been improved
  
• Jump animations have been improved
  

Other

• Further performance improvements for multiple Remote Explosive VFX
  
• Various electricity particle textures tested
  

[h3]Videos[/h3]

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

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

Until next time! 🪐