Stellar Tactics News

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.

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!

I'm posting a hotfix today for the following issues. This is a data only patch so no version change:

FIXED - In the "Raider Laboratory" mission area, one of the mission area exits was broken.

FIXED - Various pathing errors in the same mission area.

Ver 0.731

A few updates and fixes - mostly related to the Ruins after the Dauntless.

ADDED - Added enemy variants in the Ruins after the Dauntless. It's not just Arachs now.
UPDATED - Added exit indicators on the radar and map in the Ruins after the Dauntless. This should make it easier for players to identify the exits.
UPDATED - Border colors for quality are only displayed when color icons are selected in the video options panel. If you are using the new simplified icons, quality is displayed in the icon itself.
FIXED - The display on the radar and map were broken in the Ruins after the Dauntless. This was related to a bad material z-order that was clipping the map geometry.
FIXED - Z-order clipping of several objects in Ruins after Dauntless.

Work is continuing toward BETA. Meanwhile a few updates and fixes below.

This is a fairly large update as far as size goes. I had to modify a number of materials to make things work for the lower end GPU changes mentioned below.

UPDATED - On some laptops/PCs where the system GPU does not support the required graphics features (mostly Intel GPUs), the game now displays a message at the main menu explaining that an alternate renderer needs to be used. Selecting "EXIT" configures this alternate renderer and exits the game. The next time the game is launched the new settings are used which should support systems that were crashing when using grenades, certain weapon skills and when entering space. Dynamic shadows, rendered curves and SSAO are not supported by this renderer. However, the game still looks pretty good and runs well.

To be clear, this change will not impact most players using gaming PC's.

Save games are not affected by this change. For best results, use a NVidia or AMD GPU which will provide full support for all graphics functions available in the game.

• The Steam overlay is disabled in this mode.
  
• Dynamic shadows are disabled in this mode.
  
• Ambient occlusion is disabled in this mode.
  
• Rendered vertex curves are disabled in this mode.
  
• I'm not sure what the impact will be on the Steam Deck. Officially I do not support the Deck at this time. I plan to do further testing as I get closer to final release.
  

Version 0.730
UPDATED - Increased the ground equipment schematic drop rate.
UPDATED - Adjusted weapon damage based on quality tier. This is a global weapon modifier and should apply to new and existing weapons in your inventory.
UPDATED - Scenes should be a bit brighter now - extended the dynamic lighting attached to the camera when you scroll around the level.
UPDATED - Minor changes to UI SFX that annoy me.
UPDATED - Restored equipment border color indicators in inventory.

Fixed - Starting equipment for SMG - fire modes set to BURST and FULL AUTO - single fire removed. This may require equipping and unequipping the weapon.
Fixed - If using simplified icons - rollover info now displays the correct icons for slotted weapon mods.
Fixed - If using simplified icons - when trading stacked items to vendors or station storage now displays correct icons.
Fixed - In cargo storage, when sorting by ore, both refined and unrefined ore are displayed.
Fixed - A bug that require the player to press the approach icon before being able to dock or land on planets introduced in the last patch.
Fixed - A number of errors and missing strings in the French translation.
Fixed - A few missing string entries for localization.
Fixed - Enemy HP display on rollover info window would occasionally be out of sync.

If you notice any issues/bugs, please report them here:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/465490/discussions/7/



Other patch notes since the last post on the main store page:

1/31/25 - 0.728
I'm posting a few bug fixes and updates today. Here are the notes:

UPDATED - INT EXP bonuses for the following skills: HACKING, FIRST AID, CRAFTING, REPAIR and SALVAGING.
UPDATED - Descriptions are now displayed when rolling over icons on the minimap/radar.
UPDATED - A visual reminder for players to re-center the camera is now placed on screen in cases where the camera has been scrolled away from the active crew leader.
UPDATED - In the CREW MANAGER, you can now drop portraits to the right side of the screen on both the portrait and name fields.
UPDATED - The next weapon special attack skill tier level is now displayed when rolling over special attacks on the action bar.
UPDATED - Stat descriptions updated. Added information displaying various STAT influences. I'll be doing a bit of UI work to break these influences out so they present better in the future.
UPDATED - When new players first start the game - game FPS is set to 60fps instead of uncapped. This does not affect current settings for existing players - only new installs. A warning is displayed when uncapping frame rate to let players know that uncapping the frame rate could cause stability issues on some systems.
UPDATED - Various UI fixes/tweaks

FIXED - Fabricant player portrait genders were swapped and did not match voice.
FIXED - Random crew members being stuck when entering a new area. Previously required crouch->stand to fix as a workaround.
FIXED - Occasionally, crew members were be left behind when moving after entering a new area and require a second click.
FIXED - Occasionally, when entering a new area, the incorrect weapon was displayed for the selected crew member.
FIXED - Zoom In/Zoom Out buttons on map were inverted.
FIXED - The psionics selection bar remained hidden if you swapped to a weapon and then back to the amplifier while not in combat.
FIXED - Default psionic effect descriptions are now translated.
FIXED - Grenade status effects from assigned perks were not being applied. Perk +DMG bonuses were working as expected (+DMG)
FIXED - In space, approaching a target and selecting other orbital bodies via the system object list while approaching would reset the approach target. This would cause odd issues like arriving at a jump point and circling it etc.

12/27/24 - 0.727
Fixed - When using player generated custom portraits, the paper doll area of the inventory was not displayed correctly.
Fixed - Corrected portraits of Kchor and Fabricants in the recruit display.

12/21/24 - 0.726c

Hair models were not being correctly applied to character models based on new portrait selections. I'll be doing a bit more testing on this - however, this should solve the majority of the issues - like offset hair, incorrect hair color etc.

12/20/24 - 0.726b
Selecting some of the new Kchor and Fabricant portraits could lead to a lockup when re-entering the character information and inventory screens.

Shields now display correct colored quality border in loot window.

Fixed a potential crash bug.

Crew models selected to match character portraits should be better aligned. Let me know if you see any errors. Updated models only update on transition so they are not visible immediately when selecting a portrait.