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Stellar Tactics News

Chapter 3 released!

[p]I'm pleased to release Chapter 3 today. As always, it is likely a few bugs will pop up over the next few days so I will keep an eye on the forums for any issues. If you do find any issues, please post on the bug forums. Any details and screenshots you can provide will help. The bug forums can be found at this link: https://steamcommunity.com/app/465490/discussions/7/ [/p][p][/p][p]You will not need to start a new game if you have an existing save. I do not wipe saves between content updates. [/p][p][/p][p]Stellar Tactics is now full BETA. I define BETA as CONTENT COMPLETE and MAIN FEATURES COMPLETE. Adjustments and smaller features pending. It's kind of an old school definition. I like that![/p][p][/p][p]CHAPTER 3 - Chapter 3 begins once the mission "The truth about Jensen" is completed (end of Chapter 2). If this mission is in your "COMPLETED" tab you should be contacted after a short time to start the latest content when you enter FTL space. The first mission of the new content is "The Cannon is ready!"[/p][p][/p][p]COMBAT - Combat in chapter 3 really ramps up. You will need to use all the tools you have including Azimuth, Psionics and a large number of grenades to keep things under control. As far a space goes, there is mandatory space combat, so, equip those ships with the best gear you can find. I really recommend a heavy fighter or a larger cargo vessel with good shields, armor and weapons. Really, you are going to need to be prepared.[/p][p][/p][p]ACHIEVEMENTS - Unfortunately, they are not ready for release right now. I am working on them and they should be out soon.[/p][p][/p][p]Localization - Chapter 3 localization is machine translated, so there are likely to be errors in languages other than English. I'll be opening up Crowdin for community localization in the next few weeks. If you are interested in joining the community translation, send an email to [email protected] and I'll get back to you.[/p][p][/p][p]WHAT'S NEXT?[/p][p]Achievements - You know what this is...[/p][p]Unique named weapons - Special weapons players will discover through various means.[/p][p]Better mission guidance - While objectives are now shown on the radar, there are a few additional things I would like to add to help players progress through missions easier.[/p][p]Crew mission system - Send idle crew members on missions.[/p][p]Expanded mission variety - More variants of existing mission types. More ways to acquire missions.[/p][p]Simple tutorials - Mini tutorials that guide players through the interface and systems.[/p][p]Additional key binds - Some keys are locked right now and I'll look at providing more options.[/p][p]Community requests - things like ship transfer between stations, looking into overwatch (no promises) etc.[/p][p]Polish, tweaks and bug fixes.[/p][p][/p][p]GENERAL PATCH NOTES:
Updated - You can now name your ship. Select the ship name at the top of the upper left side of the ship UI (above "THRUST") to edit your ships name. Then press the green checkmark to commit the name to the ship. Your ships name will be displayed at the top of this screen whenever you open the ship UI.[/p][p]Updated - Aznari Ether inventory objects now stack in inventory and stash by type (shard, stone and relic). The game will parse your existing inventory and stack any shards it finds.[/p][p]Updated - When crafting weapons, the default state of the weapon level slider bar is now level 1.[/p][p]Updated - In space combat, enemy shield regeneration boosted in "HARD" mode.[/p][p]Updated - Weapon status effect bonuses (innate/perk) are now displayed in rollover info. I have a bit more work to do on this.[/p][p]Updated - In combat, selecting crew portraits at the top of the screen, and portraits in the turn order list will now center the camera on that target.[/p][p]UPDATED - Jensens door on the Dauntless. I re-wrote the scripts for this with multiple redundancies including iterative checks that the player had actually completed both 1) Cleared the deck and 2) Gathered Rhamus' logs. Jensen's door will not open until both of these missions have been completed. Updated the mission text for both missions so the requirement (both objectives complete) is clear. Rhamus' logs have been moved from his room to various locations around the deck in the lab area.[/p][p]UPDATED - You can now cancel boarding missions from Phestus. This can be done in space by selecting the boarding mission in the objectives list. A new button is displayed - "CANCEL MISSION" and will remove the current mission from the list. Phestus will offer you a new mission after some time.[/p][p]UPDATED - When you rollover the log window, the background is now opaque.[/p][p]UPDATED - When expanding the log window in space, the objective tracker is hidden. Collapsing the log window will display the tracker.[/p][p]UPDATED - When using fast travel on the FTL map, star systems when you arrive at your destination load much faster.[/p][p]UPDATED - When a log is looted, a new popup displays the name, date, subject and entry. The log is still stored in the log \[L] DATA tab for review. This UI displays the first log entry. If there are multiple log entries, a message is displayed letting you know additional entries are in the DATA tab of the log screen.[/p][p][/p][p]Fixed - Sorting inventory, cargo and vendor UI's by value would fail when values were above 1 million.[/p][p]Fixed - It was possible to transfer large quantities of items from/to storage by entering values beyond what is in your cargo or cargo storage in the numeric field.[/p][p]Fixed - Trade widget would not add commas to values in some cases.[/p][p]Fixed - Trade widget when values over 1 million would display notation instead of value.[/p][p]Fixed - If you had over 999 grenades, they were not displayed correctly on the grenade selection popup and shared inventory.[/p][p]Fixed - Jenny Hui now spawns with the correct SMG fire modes (SINGLE/BURST)[/p][p]Fixed - Targeting Saod in FTL space and selecting the Indomitable will now display the correct portrait in the target HUD.[/p][p]Fixed - Some missions were displaying incorrect mission location data in the log.[/p][p]Fixed - Various active menus allowed interacting with background UI elements that should have been inactive. This would occasionally lead to a lockup.[/p][p]Fixed - It was possible to quicksave (F5) and quickly open the main menu. This would lead to a game lockup.[/p][p]Fixed - Hostile attacks by random enemies were not being triggered in star systems that had no stations. A hostile attack is not related to incursions which are missions generated by System Command. Hostile attacks cannot be turned off using the "Space Combat Incursions" slider in the gameplay options. There is always a chance that enemy ships can spawn.[/p][p]Fixed - After FTL fast travel and/or quickly entering and exiting star systems, incorrect materials could be applied to procedural planetary bodies.[/p][p]Fixed - Improved load times when entering and exiting star systems (to/from FTL space).[/p][p]Fixed - Movement during Aznari pillar lightning animations is now disabled.[/p][p]Fixed - Disabling high resolution textures in the options menu now correctly loads and displays low resolution materials for various objects that are pre-loaded.[/p][p]Fixed - \[Z] now toggles Azimuth UI on/off.[/p][p]Fixed - Colored icons were displayed in the Azimuth UI if simple icons were selected in options.[/p][p]Fixed - The number of shards displayed in the Azimuth UI were not updated correctly.[/p][p]Fixed - You can now sort for ship refineries using the cargo sort filter when trading with a ship equipment vendor.[/p][p]Fixed - Lockup when changing buffer resolution from the video options menu.[/p][p]Fixed - 2 hand blunt and 1 hand piercing starter weapons were incorrectly labeled as blunt and piercing instead of kinetic. This fix is not retroactive.[/p][p]Fixed - In ground locations, the map could be displayed when it should be locked.[/p][p]Fixed - Active mission flags displayed on radar in ground locations do a better job of checking for active mission objects.[/p][p]Fixed - A bug related to "activate" type missions where incorrect completion data (number of activations) was being saved to the environment.[/p][p][/p]

Chapter 3 release date

[p]Hi all! I thought I would post a quick update to let you know that Chapter 3 will be released this coming Friday, 10/3. Between now and then, I have a lot of work to do.[/p][p][/p][p]With the upcoming Chapter 3 release, Stellar Tactics will finally be feature and content complete - technically a full BETA. By that I mean, all story content, core game systems and main features will be in the game. I've really been looking forward to this moment because it finally frees up my time to refine the game. There are a lot of things I would like to address, some small and others larger based on player feedback.[/p][p][/p][p]It's also going to be a great time to focus on balance, tweaks and polish. Beyond that, i have a list of players requests that I'll be looking into as well as some smaller features and adjustments that are still hanging around on the roadmap.[/p][p][/p][p]As usual, you can continue playing where you left off - no save wipes.[/p][p][/p][p]Thank you all for your patience and your support! I hope you enjoy the final chapter of Stellar Tactics when it's released![/p][p][/p]

Almost there...

[p]Well, here we are at the end of June. I’m close, but not quite there. A few things that had to be done took way longer than expected (thanks Azimuth!).[/p][p][/p][p]Let’s get into it a bit. There are new enemies:
[/p][p][/p][p]Azimuth – in space! Buff your ships shield regeneration, armor regeneration and weapon damage. Damage over time to enemy combat shields, disable enemy turrets temporarily and damage enemy reserve shields and armor. Azimuth is very powerful and you will need it – these new enemy ships are tough.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]New activities:[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]New missions:[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Chapter 3 will end the Stellar Tactics story with a clean wrap on events that have transpired from the start on the Dauntless, all the way through the final confrontation.[/p][p][/p][p]I need more time to pull everything together and tighten things up. The best I can say for the chapter 3 release is…Soon™. If you want details on where I'm at with various tasks, check out the pinned roadmap on the forums:[/p][p]https://steamcommunity.com/app/465490/discussions/0/350532795334521117/[/p][p][/p][p]Thank you all for your patience and your support![/p][p][/p]

Patch notes - A few fixes and updates

NEW - You can now toggle between fullscreen and windowed mode in the video options menu.

NOTE: If you use desktop scaling it could cause problems with the screen resolution after changing from windowed to full screen (right-click desktop->"Display settings"->"Scale and layout" above 100%). You have two options:
  • Re-launch the game after switching from windowed to full screen (or changing the in-game resolution).
  • Permanent fix - right-click the game EXE "StellarTactics.exe", selecting "Properties"->selecting "Compatibility"->"Change high DPI settings" and checking the "HighDPI scaling override" checkbox. The default state for the game is full screen.


UPDATED - After defeating the Brood Mother in the Aznari Ruins after the Dauntless, the door is automatically opened.


UPDATED - Default SMGs are now generated with single and burst fire. Mods can expand this to single, burst and full auto.

UPDATED - Removing a trigger group will now restore the original weapon fire modes. This is NOT RETROACTIVE. Any OLD weapons that were not generated with this newly saved data will default back to single fire mode and a message will be displayed in the log. Re-equip a trigger group to set your fire modes on old weapons. Backup fire mode data is now generated for new crew weapons when creating a new game, loot dropped going forward, crafted weapons going forward, new NPC recruit weapons and special characters that join your crew (Rhamus/Jensen) going forward.

UPDATED - Some changes to game startup sequence and asset pre-load.

UPDATED - Dauntless areas now generate the in-game map with all areas exposed. Fog of war still active.

UPDATED - Some ground missions now add indicators to the mini-map for objects that you need to interact with.

FIXED - The Dauntless hacking tool mission from Rodger Crayson would not place the hacking tool in inventory occasionally when looting the cabinet. Looting the cabinet no longer places the hacking tool in inventory - instead, it moves the mission forward. You must speak with Crayson after looting the cabinet and he will place the hacking tool in your inventory.

FIXED - Multi-stage procedural missions generated by station NPCs could lockup the game if inventory was full when receiving the final reward.

FIXED - Multi-stage procedural missions abandoned by the station NPC before completion could rarely lock up the game when generating rewards.

FIXED - Trade contracts were occasionally generated for bad target stations. That is, a trade contract could send you to pick up or deliver a contract at a station that did not exist. If you have an existing contract that has a bad destination, just delete the contract. Going forward, bad stations are scrubbed from save data when a save game is loaded so this "should" not be an issue in the future. If you see this again, please let me know.

Progress update

I'm making good progress on BETA. Wrapping up Chapter 3 is the priority right now. In Chapter 3, the enemy has arrived and that means new enemy ships, new enemy characters and new locations to explore. without spoiling the story, I will say that you should be prepared by the time they arrive. So, stock up on "nades", build powerful Psionic attacks in the psionic editor and get comfortable with Azimuth (from Chapter 2) - it's gonna be hell...

I'm throwing in a few screenshots here - work in progress of course. As I get closer I'll post progress updates with more info.

New enemies and ships:


New locations related to the story:


A few things players have been asking for will be included:

  • Achievements
  • Crew mission system. Send inactive crew on missions for experience and rewards.
  • Azimuth for space combat
  • Better tutorials (I get it, some players don't want to read a manual)
  • Adjustments to the economy's effect on the Trade-Net
  • Unique rare "named" weapons that include powerful effects and new weapon models
  • Expansion of missions for variety including new space-based NPC mission requests
  • Crew stats will affect space skills
  • More devices for the ship hardware mount slot
  • Better mission guidance
  • Overall a really solid pass at jank and smoothing out rough edges


As far as dates, I'm looking at June for BETA and releasing the game in September. Of course, that assumes everything goes well and I can keep my current pace.

I realize things have been a bit slow over the last year. Thank you all very much for the support and patience. My wife is doing great! She has a few more rounds of chemo and the latest MRI is showing no traces of cancer. We are so grateful.

That's all I have for now. Thanks as always for your support!