Starbase News

[h2]Progress Notes Week 23[/h2]
[h3]June 7th - 11th[/h3]

Hello everyone. Here are the progress notes of week 23 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 Job has been tested and a bug preventing the mining of some materials has been fixed
  
• Large Generator has been tested in the Ship Designer
  
• Refill & Recharge terminal UI redesign has been completed to support multiple resources
  
• Cooling Rack and Pipe Socket Board rate limit change has been configured to have the same delay as the Generator Units' rate limit change
  
• Manual welding design has been completed and tasked to programmers
  

User Interface

• New comment feature for Company bank statements has been worked on
  
• New steps on the crafting and Easy Build Mode tutorials have been tested
  
• Withdrawal and deposit UI for company bank has been updated
  

Stations and Cities

• The following player made ships have been added to Epic Shipyards ship shop:
  
  • Namib, B16 Endurance, Redtail, The Bread Box, Hover Tank Prototype
    
• Sunny Ship Shop (Beginner ship shop) has been finished, added to Origin stations and filled with the following ships:
  
  • Momento, Dynastinae Minimus, GK-40 "Belka", Moneymaker, Moneyman, RockHopper, Worker Ant, Nymph, Trident T1, Trident T2, Chalcosoma, Pincer, Laborer, Laborer II, Aura-6, Hauler, Mite, Modulus, Modulus FR, Modulus MN, Bomburr A, Vigo, "Mara" Ore Hauler
    
• Added the following player-made ships to Vintage ship shop:
  
  • Mosquito
    
  • 16 Red Chains Pulled by the Hands of Friends
    
  • 19 God Gives the Nuts, But Does Not Crack Them
    
  • Trident T4 (moved from Rando 3)
    
  • Linerider (moved from Rando 2)
    

Other

• Tutorial Spaceship Laborer (Module variant) has been updated: ship now has a new generator module with 3 generator units and radiators
  

[h3]Code[/h3] Gameplay

• Storage server optimizations have been worked on
  
• Work towards Easy Build Mode for stations continues, welding and unwelding via quickbar placement should now work
  
• Auction House sell tab now only suggests price of the earlier item if the currently sold one is of the same type
  
• Auction House sell tab will not allow dragging certain containers that are not fully filled to the sell slot anymore
  
• Work on Spaceship Registration continues
  
• Tripod damage handling has been updated to better fit the design
  

User Interface

• Work on Easy Build Mode continues, saving changes and ship spawning has been worked on
  
• Crafting tutorials has been tested, fixes for tutorial on not starting on new profiles and magboots not being on by default have been made
  
• Issues with Company UI Daily ship access rights have been fixed
  

Audio

• Work on Universal Tool sounds continues
  

In-game Designers

• Capital Ship fast travel screens have been worked on
  
• The first version of station resource screen has been implemented
  
• A fix for missiles sometimes detaching from ships has been committed
  

[h3]Art[/h3] Animations and Emotes

• 1st person unarmed related animations have been polished (idle, carrying objects, button/lever interact animations etc.)
  

Stations and Cities

• Easy Build Hall Holograms are being worked on
  

Other

• Fast Travel Core Propellant has been made
  
• Inventory icons made for the "Mini Fast Travel Core" and "Fast Travel Core"
  
• Capital Ship dock art has been finished
  
• Assets for the Fast Travel Propellant Tank have been made
  
• Tripod railgun model has been created
  
• Carry and Bolt tool VFX have been further polished
  

[h3]Gallery[/h3]

[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! 🪐

The Early Access release of Starbase on June 17th is unfortunately going to be delayed. We have looked at the release-readiness of the game and listened to the feedback of our alpha testers, and decided to delay.

A video message from Joel & Kai:
https://youtu.be/l_AoMjMJLqY

Missing Features & Lack of Testing
There's some key features that haven't quite made it into the game yet. These include the easy-build-mode and more tutorials (which are important for new players and the early-game experience), factory stuff, company controls and a number of other features that we feel are essential to the launch. We don't want to release without those features, or without having tested those features properly. So unfortunately we have to delay at the last moment.

For our many thousands of fans waiting for access and the chance to play, we apologize for having given a now-false releaase date earlier. We have made this decision with the game's best interests in mind, and the game will benefit the most if we delay one more time.

Next Release Target
Our next release target is July 29th and we'll confirm this after we've ran some bigger tests in the alpha, and are sure the needed features have made it to the game. We also want to test the servers and server scaling technology, especially for the starter stations.

Closed Alpha Invites
In good news, we are preparing new invite waves to the Closed Alpha, some of the biggest ones we've done to date. We are also preparing to arrange some massive events where we really test how the servers hold up and how the game handles big amounts of players simultaneously. So for those tests, we'll need a lot more testers in the coming weeks. We'll also need many fresh eyes to give feedback on the early-game experience and a number of other things, so you can expect more invites whenever new features get added.

We are in this for the long haul, and we are committed to releasing 2-3 updates every month once in Early Access. It's a long journey and we hope this delay gives us a better start.


- Team Frozenbyte

[h2]Progress Notes Week 22[/h2]
[h3]May 31st - June 4th[/h3]

Hello everyone. Here are the progress notes of week 22 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

• Asteroid belt radius has been increased: it is now 20km wider, asteroids start to spawn 10km closer to Origin station
  
• Asteroid belt ore distribution has been reworked, supporting designed item progression
  
• Starter Job weekly reward cap has been implemented (not yet configured)
  

User Interface

• Tutorials for crafting and Easy Build Mode have been worked on
  

Stations and Cities

• Wall/floor clipping issues have been fixed in Rando 1 and 2 for a couple of ships that no longer fit their previous designated slot
  

[h3]Code[/h3] Gameplay

• Easy Build Mode for stations have been worked on
  
• An issue with items duplicating in the inventory during swapping has been fixed
  
• Blueprint transparency settings have been added for Easy Build Mode
  
• Lot of bug fixes for tripods and tripod weapon spawning and general functionality has been made
  
• Work on fixing module position and rotation issues with Easy Build Mode continues
  

User Interface

• Tutorial functionality has been worked on
  
• Texts for bank statement events have been changed
  
• Changes to Company Ship Access UI have been made, design for changing Ranks and Jobs has been worked on
  
• Easy Build Mode notification HUD has been implemented
  

In-game Designers

• Station ad hologram LODs appearing on close range in large stations around the station edge have been fixed
  
• First version of Capital Ship fast travel core has been implemented
  

[h3]Art[/h3] Animations and Emotes

• Shotgun and Long rifle 1st person fire animations have been polished
  

Stations and Cities

• Legacy window assets have been replaced in Epic, Quasar, Dynastar and Vintage player ship shops
  

Other

• LODs for the modular crate assets have been improved
  
• LODs for the hardpoint assets have been improved
  
• Mining backpack textures have been updated, proper colors implemented for all mining backpack assets
  
• Following solar panel assets have been created:
  
  • solar_panel_144x144x12
    
  • solar_panel_144x144x12_light_sensor
    
  • solar_panel_support
    
  • solar_power_converter
    
• Work on Building Tool VFX continues
  
• New launch effects have been added and previous thrusters for missiles/torpedoes have been updated
  
• Simple Hit effect for Bolt Tool has been added
  
• Shotgun Reload VFX has been updated to match new animations
  

[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 21[/h2]
[h3]May 24th - 28th[/h3]

Hello everyone. Here are the progress notes of week 21 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

• Design for the starter station selection interface has been completed
  
• Design for Capital Ship cargo halls has been completed
  
• Design on new configurations for ore distribution has been started
  
• Laborer modifications have been tested in Easy Build Mode
  
• Tier 1 and 3 thrusters and generators have been worked on
  

Stations and Cities

• Insurance terminals have been removed from the Fast Travel gates and the Moon city
  
• Changes in Quasar Systems' ship shop:
  
  • Morningstar added
    
  • Moved from Rando 2: Wolverine ac, Wolverine las, Wolverine plas
    
• Added the following ships to Duratech ship shop: Hanarr MK2, Hepitifili MK2, Heretha MK2
  
• Changes in Rando 1 ship shop:
  
  • Added Andromeda
    
  • Removed Scrublass
    
• Orientation of Manatee and Moonfish -ships fixed in OKI ship shops
  

Other

• Tutorial Spaceship Laborer (Module variant) has been updated: it's now slightly bigger and has more ore crates by default. It's now also equipped with a transponder and a radiator
  

[h3]Code[/h3] Gameplay

• Support for choosing the starting station has started
  
• Fix for station multiplayer changes causing Station Foundation Units to replace built foundation modules with empty ones has been worked on
  
• Work on Easy Build Mode for stations continues: holograms and crafted modules can be placed down
  
• Some improvements on jointed object stability regarding ship ownership and cargo have been made
  
• Fast Travel Cores required for fast travel have been worked on
  
• Chat warnings are now displayed when a ship exceeds the Building Budget
  
• Parts of tripod code have been refactored to allow for better handling of some syncing issues
  

User Interface

• Work on Company Bank statement continues
  
• Company Ships UI has been worked on, further improvements and fixes have been made to the Access page
  
• Company Ships are now sorted by name in the navigation tree, like in personal Ships UI
  
• Receiving mail from ignored players has been prevented
  

Audio

• Revised sound effect support for pickaxe has been worked on
  
• Fix for some audio signal devices sounds left playing after the device disappears has been made
  

In-game Designers

• Some station device configurations have been made to fix an issue with device detection
  
• Station utility network detection has been implemented to the station utility grid screen
  

[h3]Art[/h3] Animations and Emotes

• New animations when carrying objects while unarmed have been worked on
  
• New reload animation for shotgun has been worked on
  

Stations and Cities

• Moon city layout has been updated
  

Other

• Fast Travel Core assets have been worked on
  
• Box thruster and triangle thruster quality tier colors have been added
  
• Work on Capital Ship interiors continues
  
• New effects for Grab, Pipe, Cable, Bolt and Building Tools have been added
  
• Assault Rifle, Battle Rifle and Whiplash muzzle VFX has been adjusted to work better in ADS
  
• Small fix to glow levels of Buzzsaw VFX has been made
  
• New SSC icons added
  

[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 20[/h2]
[h3]May 17th - 21st[/h3]

Hello everyone. Here are the progress notes of week 20 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

• Design for the item crates and new inventory has been updated
  
• 12x12 and 12x36 ducts have been added to Ship Designer
  
• Mining Backpack splitting feature has been tested, functions now the same way as with ore crates
  
• Work with Easy Build Mode continues
  
• Capital Ship Fast Travel Core design has been worked on
  
• Work on ore distribution overhaul and crafting material overhaul continues
  

User Interface

• First UI design phase of Capital Ship Device Screens has been finished
  
• New tutorial for Easy Build Mode has been worked on
  

Other

• First version of Easy Build mode Laborer ship has been created
  

[h3]Code[/h3] Gameplay

• The effective area of Cargo Frames has been increased so that it should be possible to snap carried objects against the Cargo Frame beams
  
• Blueprint Filler for repairing and building ships has been implemented
  
• Mining backpack drag-and-drop ore split feature has been worked on
  
• Various bug fixes related to tripods have been worked on
  
• Re-hosting issues with the station blueprint multiplayer have been worked on
  
• Capital Ship content reloading when starting or ending the warp travel has been fixed
  
• Solution to prevent station utility pipe networks from functioning if the network contains any open pipe ends has been implemented
  
• Substations have been added: substations can be interacted with to connect nearby station devices into the substation's network
  

User Interface

• Implementation of station-building Easy Build Mode features has begun
  
• Already completed tutorials can now be revisited in any order using the new tutorial selection window and tutorial options in the settings window
  
• Work on personal and company Ship Access UI has been continued
  
• Player's messages and invites have been made ignorable
  
• Company and trade invites have been made ignorable
  

Audio

• Fix for handling of unconfigured sounds in parts of missiles and torpedoes has been made
  Audio signal devices playing several sounds at once has been fixed
  

In-game Designers

• Moving ore to crates inside Ship Designer test mode has been prevented
  
• Foundation modules have been made to snap to existing heights properly
  
• Capital ship dock building is in progress
  

[h3]Art[/h3] Animations and Emotes

• New animations when carrying objects while unarmed have been worked on
  

Stations and Cities

• Cargo area module has been finished
  
• Asteroid hauling hall decorations have been updated
  

Other

• Fuel rod printer mesh has been created
  
• Work on several Tool VFXs continues
  
• Reticles have been added to Tripod Autocannon
  

[h3]Gallery[/h3]

[h3]Videos[/h3]
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[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! 🪐