Stationeers News

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.
  

Our second patch for the week closely follows the pattern of the first. This might otherwise be a hotfix if it weren't for the impromptu addition of another new piece of kit, the new Heavy Mining Drill! We've also replaced the model on the old one.



We've also put in a couple of overlooked aspects of the Arc Welder added in the last update, namely the recipe required to craft one.

This will (hopefully) be the last couple of urgent fixes required for the main branch until we officially release the next major features to the game, so keep an eye on the beta branch and the news page for an announcement in the next few weeks!

Added particle effect to new Arc Welder.
Added Mining Drill (Heavy). Much more effective than basic mining drill but requires advanced materials to make and uses more energy.
Replaced Mining Drill with new model that looks more consistent. Also is now paintable. Animation improved.

Fixed issue with helmet being visible in first-person view after exiting any entity slot, such as a Chair, Sleeper pod or Rover.
Fixed repeating error when attempting to smelt an item (eg. in the furnace) that has no reagent mixture defined.
Fixed Arc Welder not using power correctly. Now consumes 2kW per weld, which equates to roughly 72 full frames per large battery.
Fixed missing Mode interaction button on both old and new mining drills preventing players from selecting 'Flatten' mode.

Another little patch this week, which would typically be a hotfix post if not for the sneaky little addition of the Arc Welder. It'll take a lot of power, but is significantly less prone to exploding. You'll still have plenty of time to explode though, as the materials to craft this won't be available to you until you've been able to smelt some of the more advanced alloys.


The most impactful bug we're patching is one where eating something will result in you hearing yourself eating that thing forever, even after loading a new world - and nobody likes a loud eater. Sorry for this one, and doubly sorry it took so long to get the fix across to the main branch!


Work continues on the Rover and Trading features planned to be live on beta in the very near future, with the Rover just getting an audio pass and some tweaks on some extra features besides just personnel transport. You're able to take the Rover for a spin already if you wish, it can be spawned in creative mode. Keep in mind this is still very much in testing though, so let us know in Discord if you encounter any bugs.

Added Arc Welding tool. This is a welding tool that uses power, rather than fuel, to weld. Useful for late game. Requires advanced resources, constructed from Tool Manufactory.
Updated Localization Files (Current 14th May).
Added event so that scenario authors can trigger events based on suit temperature changes.
Added event so that scenario authors can set entity nutrition levels.

Fixed null reference exception when displaying tooltip over a structure while holding non-item thing in your hands.
Fixed Error caused when the game couldn't find a player to attach a 'harvested' sound to (in the case of Automated Hydroponics etc). [thanks Eearslya]
Fixed Error on Dedicated Server when it tries to process its own notice message due to not having the same type of chat window as clients. [thanks Eearslya]
Fixed stuck in loading screen when there is a duplicated recipe in ChemistryStation, Microwave, PaintMixer, ReagentProcessor.
Fixed incorrect interaction cursor. It displayed wrong interaction cursor when picking up an item into an empty hand.
Fixed hidden slots items [Thanks Risu]
Fixed null reference exception when reloading world mod on workshop. It didn't clear cached data.
Fixed client unable to destroy with Authoring tool fix.

Just a mini-update this week, we're back working on some big features. We'll save a big write-up of these for when they're fully released but a large portion of the implementation is already done, so don't expect they'll be too far away.


Your customized character can now be set on the options screen and will now be your default for any new worlds you create or join. The menu character will now also reflect these options.


You can now destroy draggable items, for those of you sick of excess crates and dynamic canisters cluttering up your little corner of Mars. This is as simple as just targeting them with an Angle Grinder equipped. Any objects contained within the destroyed item will appear in-world, and any gas remaining inside will be released when you cut into it - so be careful as a destroying a pressurized tank will be very dangerous.


A much-requested feature of the authoring tool was the ability to remove objects quickly and completely, without extra cleanup of loose dynamic items being required. You can now do this with the tool wielded by holding down your QuantityModifier key which is C by default.


These features are still being fully implemented and tested, but to give you a bit of an idea what to expect in our next big update - here:

Added the ability to see your customized character in the main menu screen.
Added the ability to deconstruct various portable atmospheric devices using the angle grinder.
Added the ability to delete items and structures using the authoring tool. Delete Structures with Authoring tool by holding down the QuantityModifier key (C by default).
Updated Localization Files (Current 17th April)
Improved Destruction of large dynamic items with the Angle Grinder. Now applies to all draggable things, not just atmospheric devices. Also now properly ejects the contents of all slots and atmospheres when deconstructed.

Fixed issue where chute junctions placed directly next to device inputs/outputs would not always 'connect' correctly through save/load. [thanks Risu & Zaneo]
Fixed slot numbering on Battery Charger. [thanks Austin]
Fixed interactable order caused by yesterdays slot number fix on Dynamic Crates. [thanks Rob The Dude]
Fixed issue with DynamicCrate slot ordering. [thanks Sharidan]
Fixed double brown hair issue & not being able to change hair colour without hair.
Fixed authoring tool deletion; you must now hold the modifier key to delete anything, also increased the time it takes to delete from 0.1 seconds to 0.5 seconds.
Fixed facial hair is now displayed on the main menu character.
Fixed bug preventing automatic rotation button from automatically setting values for objects with a single rotation plane that aren't face mounted.
Fixed automatic rotation on FlagSmall.
Fixed atmosphere being released when destroying gas canisters with authoring tool.
Fixed typo in description of bdseal and bdnsal [thanks Andir]
Fixed bug that set IC stack pointer value to 0 on load regardless of what it was when saved.
Fixed Inability to unwrench gas canisters from connectors.
Fixed 'InvalidCastException' when targeting certain objects.
Fixed Object fall-through-world protection. Made more reliable and now removes any forces applied on the falling object in an attempt to prevent any more 'accidents'.
Fixed sleep command on IC only working first time it was called.

Still working through the big-ticket technical backlog, but as usual we have a bunch of fixes and your requests that are worth getting into the stable branch. We're also going to endeavour to keep the 'what we're working on' section of these notes going every patch, to more clearly illustrate that what you see in these patch notes every few weeks is not the totality of what has been done since the last update.


We've added the ability to search for recipes in manufacturing machines. For the IC programmers, we've also added a sleep command. They're small things, but many of you have been very passionately requesting them so we hope you enjoy it.


The first of many audio improvements have taken place in the last couple of weeks with the addition of a new team member dedicated to audio. In addition to bringing across some audio functionality from another project at the studio, we've been able to start looking at some of the most noticeable holes in what you hear while playing the game. We'll be experimenting with a lot of the systems and sound, so give us your feedback and keep in mind that it'll be a continually evolving thing as development continues.


Work continues on the new tutorial, and we'll look at getting this up on the workshop in the next week as well as making available the documentation for authoring your own tutorials or scenarios. Once it has been thoroughly tested, we'll look at introducing it in the beta branch. As this will ideally be a brand new replacement tutorial, we need to ensure it is a bug-free and comprehensive introduction to the game before it makes it to people playing for the first time.


Some of these have been posted in past patch notes, but rather than regularly field questions about it in Discord and on Reddit, we'll try post more regular updates for works-in-progress here.

Session Abstraction
We're working on a lobby system to break up the multiplayer and the game world. This will allow players to join a game before the world is created. The next step will be the preserve this lobby/player data even while cleaning up the world, then once we support being able to transition into a new one with the same set of people then round-based play is just around the corner.

Optimization
While we're trying to leave the bulk of optimization until more of the core features are into the game, occasionally certain things stand-out as being strong candidates for optimization. We've identified a couple of these in the last week or two, so it's too soon to speculate on how impactful they'll be - keep an eye out on the beta branch patch notes.

Audio
As mentioned above, the team now has a dedicated audio tech/programmer! The focus in the immediate future will be sounds local to the character (ie. suit noises), with additional movement sounds to go with the just-added footstep ones.

• Fixed various side effects of refactoring.
  

• Fixed several missing references to NitrousOxide in tooltips etc. [Credit: Risu]
  
• Fixed issue where randomize on the Character Customization screen allowed invalid selections, which if retained would prevent save games with that character from loading correctly.