Stationeers News

Since Europa was added we were already thinking our next planet would have to be a 'hot' one. As with a lot of our content in the game, adding Vulcan resulted in building a lot of reusable systems we can apply elsewhere. The end result may have been a new planet, but making gameplay survivable on this fractured planet forced us to expand on several things already in the game:

• Planet-Specific Ore Spawn Rates. Previously these were moddable, but not on a per-planet basis. It didn't make sense for a planet as hot as Vulcan to have any ices spawning on it, so now they don't.
  
  
• Gas Traders. If you can't get gases from ices, where do you get them from? Since we had recently added the trader to the game, it made sense to have traders who sell it.
  
  
• Trader Profiles. In its first implementation, traders arrival and inventory was completely random. As it was a core part of survival on Vulcan, we needed a bit more control. Through the use of trader profiles we can dictate spawn chances and inventory types, as well as multipliers on buying and selling prices on a per-trader basis.
  
  
• Landing Craft. With the large crevasses that appear on Vulcan, we had a common issue during playtesting where one or more of your starting crates/canisters could fall through into the abyss never to be seen again. The lander serves as a way to keep all that starting equipment together. Crates and canisters can be removed using the wrench, but cannot be re-attached so be sure the area is clear before you attempt to remove anything. The entire lander can be disassembled using your angle grinder.
  
  
• Updated Visuals On the art side, we also had to improve some old shader code to support the new ground and lava textures on Vulcan, and took the opportunity to refresh the old terrain on the Moon and Mars.
  

Besides the aforementioned changes to ore spawn rates and tradeable modding, we also added the ability to spawn Incidents to the game. Currently experimental, Incidents are small script-driven events that can be initiated to provide a little extra flavor (or perhaps challenge) to your Stationeers experience. The event pool is still a bit small and untested for us to be throwing them at you at random as part of the base game, but the dozen-or-so in game now serve as an example to modders what sort of thing is possible for those who want to try their hand at authoring their own. They can be accessed via the in-game pause menu by clicking 'Incidents'.






Despite being in early-access, we've tried to not be one of those games who force you to restart your saved world every time we bring out a significant update. Since it was available for purchase on Steam, there's only been 2 occasions where we've players have been forced to start new worlds - one unfortunately was the stable build prior to this one. While we can't guarantee these won't happen in the future, we have added an in-game menu to view the backed-up versions of your world and allow you to easily load one of them. Lets hope it is never neccessary!


A lot of work has been done in the past month on optimizing the multiplayer experience. The process of joining servers, especially those featuring large worlds (15'000 objects+) should now be a lot smoother and several items that were not previously synchronized between server and client are now doing so.


As mentioned in last weeks preview post, we're seeing encouraging results from people testing out the latest version of the engine on the experimental branch. Unfortunately, as with any significant engine version change there's a few issues we've got to sort first. We didn't want to delay the whole update any longer, so have decided to get this update out then look at upgrading the beta branch early next week. The engine feature we're enabling to resolve stuttering (incremental garbage collection) is also experimental, so we'll want to ensure it's adequately tested before updating accross the board.


As always a big thanks to everyone playing the game and providing your input through the Steam Community boards and Stationeers Discord. The Localization team are doing a great job at translating the names of the new things we're putting in the game and your bug reports are immensely helpful for a small team like ours. We know we can't please everyone or implement every crazy idea, but being able to interact with people who are as passionate about the game as we are really makes the whole process smoother and more rewarding. Go forth and try out Vulcan, and we hope your base fares better than Araon's testing one.

• Fixed missing network sync on aspects of things that are dependent on atmosphere changes such as engine and furnace burn colour and furnace result tooltip.
  
• Fixed trading lock issue when loading world. Saved and loaded station contact properly
  
• Fixed missing powered display animation for ItemRemoteDetonator.
  
• Fixed Lava sound glitching & reduced range of sound.
  
• Fixed spatialization settings on Sounds for Hard Suit/helmet
  
• Updated the health of the StructureFrame allowing it to withstand more damage.
  
• Updated the point at which the StructurePassiveVent will take damage from Temperature.
  
• Updated the StuctureShuttleLandingPad lighting animations.
  
• Fixed the Rover power button not having a switch animation and missing the light on the button itself when powered.
  
• Fixed broken trader inventory when more than one vending machine connected to network.
  
• Fixed null reference to CableFuse when breaking.
  
• Added TimeOfDay setting to the WorldSettings, allowing worlds to start at different times of the day.
  
• Changed Vulcan's start time to midnight instead of morning.
  
• Fixed Lander tipping over when on a slight angle.
  
• Fixed ItemSprayCanOrange item itself being the incorrect color.
  

• Fixed Lander loading in Vulkan. Spawning Lander 1 meter higher position with upright rotation.
  
• Raised the lava level on the Vulcan planet.
  
• Fixed error related to the in-game name of the ItemRemoteDetonator and ItemExplosive.
  
• Fixed null error which would occur when detonating multiple ItemExplosive's near each other.
  
• Fixed broken ArcFurnace when it's saved while active state
  
• Fixed broken atmosphere
  

• Fixed electric tool issue on client
  
• Fixed null reference in leak visualizer on suit
  

• Added Lander to the starting conditions for Vulcan to alleviate problem with some starting supplies falling through the cracks in the ground. Crates and tanks can be removed using the wrench but cannot be reattached. The entire lander can be deconstructed with your angle grinder.
  
• Added values for various gas types including 1st pass support on Gas Canisters in Trading (No more NaN's).
  
• Added ability to add/edit custom trader profiles through mods (example found in Data\CustomTraders.xml).
  
• Added Gas Canister recipe list for use in populating trader inventories. Is not used for any crafting machine.
  
• Added first pass of 'Compositions' allowing mod authors to save-out and load-in/spawn saved groups of items, structures and circuits through events.
  
• Added a couple of missing pre-filled spawnable Dynamic Gas Canister prefabs in creative (Pollutants and Nitrous Oxide).
  
• Added ability to set mineable overrides in world settings. Previously the game used one set of ore types and probabilities for all worlds. If a world setting does not contain any override, those original default values will still be used. Mod behaviour for mineables should remain unaffected.
  
• Added first pass of player-invoked incidents to the game. The list of incidents available can be accessed via the pause menu, with individual incidents being invoked by clicking on them.
  
• Added a reference ID to tooltips while wielding the Authoring Tool to help with the authoring of scenarios.
  
• Added TickSpeed to Settings > Advanced > Experiments. It's sleeping time between thread tick and effects on CPU usage.
  
• Added wreckage which spawns when certain structures are damaged/destroyed.
  
• Added new interface within the load world screen to allow loading instead from a backup of the selected world.
  
• Added new terrain textures and materials for Mars and the Moon.
  
• Added new fire particles.
  
  
• Changed Explosion damage be more forgiving to the terrain.
  
• Improved multiplayer stability by syncing far more information between server and client on load, such as world settings.
  
• Improved multiplayer stability issues stemming from large worlds by streamlining the load process so the client wouldn't attempt to load in too much, too fast.
  
• Improved multiplayer stability by syncing several logic objects that weren't being synced between client/server previously.
  
• Removed several uneccessary network messages being sent to all clients on load.
  
  
• Fixed issue where battery status would cease to update while in a Battery Charger.
  
• Fixed an issue that could cause the landing pad to be locked on the server but unlocked on clients.
  
• Fixed traders trading type is now serialized allowing for more traders than just the Random one.
  
• Fixed default Gas Canister value & trade values for Gas Canisters. [Thanks Neouni]
  
• Fixed incorrect material applied to Credit Card.
  
• Fixed long-standing bug causing air conditioners to use twice as much power as intended. [Thanks Risu]
  
• Fixed devices occasionally being locked after load due to animations being stuck in a looping state.
  
• Fixed Gas Canisters can now be renamed using your Labeller. [Thanks Risu]
  
• Fixed players becoming stuck on the loading screen if they lose connection while loading.
  
• Fixed bug where ability to mine could be broken if you died while mining. Players can no longer die to get out of mining duties in multiplayer.
  
• Fixed World backups now included the world_meta.xml file.
  
• Fixed addition of hidden characters occurring when using the 'Copy' button inside the IC editor. [thanks Risu]
  
• Fixed tank/crate connection range was too far on the rover, reduced from 100 to 30.
  
• Fixed issue where loading a save with a broken worldsettings.xml file would error and stop loading. Will now show an alert with the location of your broken save. [Thanks Kamuchi]
  
• Fixed ConsoleDebug occasionally causing errors on start [Thanks Duke]
  
• Fixed Incorrect loading text being displayed when joining a server.
  
• Fixed occasional atmosphere replication issue in multiplayer causing Index out of Range errors on clients.
  
• Fixed players are now forced to be the Human species in the tutorial.
  

It's coming up on a month since our last update, so we thought we'd give you a sneak peek at what is coming up in the next update. It should make its way to stable in the next week or two.

Introducing Vulcan - a tough new challenge for experienced Stationeers. You'll rely on trading to obtain gases as you won't find any ice on this fractured planet. The dense atmosphere of Volatiles and its close proximity to the Sun also mean any Oxygen that gets a chance to mix with the air outside will have potentially explosive consequences.

Internal testing is underway for an upgraded engine version, this will address the infamous stuttering issues that have crept into the game throughout development. As this is still experimental at an engine level it is subject to change, but if it improves the situation then we'll look at rolling it out to the beta branch as soon as possible for public testing.

Additionally, a lot of work has also been done on stability in large bases - particularly in multiplayer. So if you're one of the groups who have had to retire a base around the 15'000 object mark due to players not being able to connect - now might be the time to revisit those bases on the beta branch.

This is just a short summary of the main points, so keep an eye out for the full patch notes when the patch goes live. As always, thanks to everyone playing on the beta branch and keeping us posted with your bug reports and suggestions and don't forget you can check out the Stationeers Discord for the latest patch notes for the beta branch.

We had a couple of technical issues in the previous stable build that didn't present themselves until we'd already added quite a few drastic changes to the beta branch - so consider this a bit of a hotfix with extras!

This bug resulted in games not saving correctly, and requiring a bit of fiddling to get them working again, so apologies to those affected.

Expect the detailed write-up of the new additions once some of the other work surrounding these features is complete.

As always, we'd love to hear your feedback, suggestions and bug reports in the Stationeers Discord!

• Disabled floating origin until all side effects can be resolved.
  
• Added ability for Ores to stack when mined via an explosion on the same grid.
  
• Fixed connection problem joining huge worlds in multiplayer. Instruction to spawn objects on network clients was not being throttled, and in the case of large worlds (18000 objects+) attempts to join would likely fail.
  
• Fixed various null exceptions when receiving network messages of non-existant things.
  
• Fixed issue where Grenades failed to explode when taking damage.
  
• Optimized network configurations.
  

We've got a few new things coming to the beta branch in the near future that could be disruptive, so this is just a small update to get the stable the latest batch of fixes and improvements.


The main thing is the implementation of the zero-point shifting we started investigating ages ago. This will allow us to start to push the game futher away from your start point without the risk of bugs caused by dealing with large numbers in object positions.

In addition, we're going to start experimenting with content for the Incident system - which initially will be small challenge events you can invoke via the communications computer. Depending on how these go, we could look at introducing them as part of a random event system to make the standard survival game a bit more interesting, such as short periods of drastic outdoor temperature changes, meteor strikes etc.

As always, keep an eye on the #beta-changelog channel in Discord!

Added World type (mars, moon etc) to the load game info pane.
Added save world delay of 5 seconds to prevent saving world multiple times when repeatedly pushing the button.
Added Multiplayer and dedicated server support to Trading, however a limit has been put in so only one landing pad used or trader be contacted by one player at a time.
Added Stylized loading screens, with a few options for each base world type chosen at random.

Changed minimum Clearallinterval to 60 sec on dedicated server. Can still be disabled with 0 or -1.
Fixed an issue where a trader would be locked if the person interacting with them were to die.
Fixed an issue where a trader ship would depart when another player tried interacting with a locked trader.
Fixed an issue related to when a player left game while contacting a trader, it would be locked indefinitely - the contact will now be reset.
Fixed "Cartridge wasn't destroyed properly" message on client when server shut down.
Fixed issue where load world screen would not correctly select the first world in the list automatically.
Fixed wrong overwrite popup and workshop file name on save world panel.
Fixed player name in chatting panel. It couldn't get player's name before spawning player.
Fixed save world having a small chance of not properly saving the world settings.
Fixed issue where loading a world that was missing the world settings file would result in an exception error.
Fixed issue where the SatelliteDish was providing incorrect logic values.
Fixed a null sent to clients when the server interacts with landing pad.
Fixed traders de-spawning when still being interacted with (Thanks Clever)
Fixed filters and foods quantities are now the correct value displayed in the trading interface.
Fixed stackable item merging issue on client. It was trying to merge stackable item without authority.
Fixed missing spawn prompt when human is already dead or unconscious. Toggled spawn prompt by ESC key.
Fixed possible null spam and permanent lockout when interacting with a trader. (Thank you Clever!)
Fixed Trading currency not being synced correctly, also the cost of an item is now correctly removed from a credit card.
Fixed Index out of range error caused by the incorrect contact index being passed through. (Trading) Thank you Atom Heart!
Fixed an issue on vending machine where index started from the wrong point. (Thanks Risu)
Fixed Mars scenario gravity, reset it back to -3.7.
Fixed lag spiking when placing landing pad.
Fixed Colliders for each seat in the rover are now sized and positioned around the door handles rather than the door themselves, so they no longer obscure vision when looking out the side windows.
Fixed Issue spawning multiple Rovers in multiplayer upon completion of the structure version, due to a missing server check. This meant that each client in the game at the time also sent a message to the server, telling it to spawn a Rover.
Fixed world setting sync issue and missing planet prefab in saved world. Local world setting wasn't loaded property once joined another server.
Fixed NetworkAnalyser issues when too many cables are connected. It couldn't output data and broke game logic when disconnected a network cable while holding NetworkAnalyser on the other hand.

This patch was a while coming, but I'm sure when you see everything we've got crammed into it you'll understand why!


The first pass of traders is complete. By using the satellite contact system we added in a previous update you're able to request that traders visit your base to exchange resources. You'll find on your uniform a new slot to store a Credit Card (can be manufactured in the Electronics Printer) that will track your credits obtained via trading. The traders have varied inventories and pricing is based off the materials used to craft items - helped by raw material costs based on the rarity of minerals on your world. You'll need a landing pad and computer with a Communications motherboard in order for them to be able to land. We'll be looking to expand the range of things you can do with these satellite contacts in the future.


The first land-based vehicle can now be manufactured via a Kit (Rover Frame) on your Fabricator. This lets you place the foundations and progress through several build-states before you get your completed Rover. They'll require batteries to run and oxygen tanks if you wish to utilize the internal atmosphere. They also have a couple of storage slots on the rear to carry around Dynamic Crates or Portable Gas Tanks which can be attached using your Wrench from nearby.


So as most of you following the game know, we've spent the last few months investigating several large technical refactors as detailed in previous patch notes. Instead of letting our asset backlog grow even further, the art team were tasked with creating something we could implement with minimal programmer input, outside of the already promised scope of the game, to not only gift to the various contributors that have been particularly dedicated to helping the community, but also to allow those who had asked for a way to further support the game the means to do so.

All those in Discord with the rank Community Developer or Community Contributor should now have been sent their redemption keys for one or both of the new species packs. We'll detail these more below, but while they'll be available in any game, only those with the packs will be able to actually take control as one to play with.

The Zrillian Species Pack introduces the Zrilians, who feature a startlingly similar physiology to our own - except requiring Hydrogen to breathe and exhaling Nitrous-Oxide. This makes their ideal breathing environments particularly hazardous, and any attempt to create a breathable atmosphere for both them and humans even more-so.

The Hazardous Environment Mechanical Droid or H.E.M Droid was created to venture into the most dangerous areas of space without risking human life. They don't need to breathe like we do, but need to carefully manage their power usage as they rely on batteries to function. If unable to draw sufficient power from their battery, they'll slowly lose consciousness until they pass out.

The way Stationeers is designed made these gameplay changes incredibly simple to apply. We were able to just make a copy of the existing human lungs and change the gas values it consumed. For the Droids we were able to use our existing power consumption code, but apply consciousness damage if none was available. We already had the fade to black and passing out done for humans, so got that for free!


We did a pass several long-standing bugs around mod data loading for recipes and items, as well as made all mod data now sync from server to clients on join. This should reduce instances of issues caused by server and client having mismatched mods or mod load orders.


As always, we like to include a bit of information about what is being worked on but didn't make it this update. Work continues on the session abstraction, meaning a game lobby will be able to exist independently of the game world. This will smooth the way towards round-based play, as well as other game modes that take place across multiple worlds with the same players/inventories. We're also looking at a large optimization pass on terrain saving/loading to prevent the issue we've currently got where spawning in a lot of terrain can blow out your save size significantly. In addition to this we'll continue to evolve the Rover and trading mechanics, and start looking at expanding some systems that were put on hold so that we could focus on the recent technical refactors - like the incident and expanded scenario system. No doubt this time will also include numerous optimizations and quality of life improvements based on the feedback we receive on Discord.

Last but not least, the potential replacement for the existing tutorial is available for testing on the workshop! We're committed to improving the new player experience in the game, so as soon as we have the last few bugs squashed on this one we'll make it available to everyone.

• Fixed missing recipes for Satellite Dish Kit, Landing Pad Kit and Comms Motherboard.
  
• Fixed DLC characters not appearing for players that haven't purchased the DLC.
  
• Changed some of the trader names due to readability issues.
  
• Updated the LandingPads turned off animation.
  
• Fixed robot main menu characters eyes floating about. (Thanks GhostMan)
  
• Fixed world setting data sync and mod issue. It didn't override world setting data(SkyBoxMaterialName, TerrainPrefabName, etc) from mod or saved world.
  
• Updated Localized Text (Current 14th June).
  

• Fixed issue causing many object textures to appear incorrectly.