Scan faster and breathe easier in Captain Forever Universe 15.3
Hi Pilots,
Captain Forever Universe update 15.3 is now live!
The two standout features for this build are the new Sensor modules, which scan back and forth adding distant data to your sector map, and an oxygen grace period, adding 60 seconds extra flight time after your oxygen supply runs out.
Sensor modules are occasionally found on the wingtips of other craft, and can be mounted in any orientation. They only scan in the direction they're facing, and only at their fixed distance, so you might need to experiment with different placements to find what works best for you.
The oxygen grace period kicks off at 0L, and bleeps every 15 seconds as it tells you how much time you have left. I still strongly recommend turning back, or at least making a plan to find oxygen nearby, as soon as your tank hits 50%. The extra 60 seconds are a good buffer in case you get lost or held up on the way to safety, but I wouldn't want to rely on them! You'll also want to note that it's 60 seconds of game simulation time, so if you're using cruise control (which doubles the rate of game time to real-time), it'll pass in just 30 seconds.
Some other minor tweaks this build include bugfixes with visibility saving and ships saved right at the start of the game, Save & Exit now returning you to the title screen (handy for swapping pilots or farming spawn zones), and the doubling of blurst shield weight. Blurst shields were originally designed as an almost mythical, extremely rare part for Captain Forever, which is why they're strictly better than regular girders. Now that they're quite common they need a drawback, and mass seemed like a good way to provide that. I'm considering increasing their mass even further, however I figured it'd be best to roll the change out incrementally in case anyone has left a precious juggernaut ship parked out of atmosphere.
I've started a Trello board so you can see what I'm up to. If you have any suggestions (or otherwise want to chat or share nav data) come visit the Discord!
[hr][/hr]
[h3]Breathe[/h3]
Without oxygen, your pilot will die. Replenish oxygen by entering atmosphere zones surrounding stations. You will need to renew oxygen licenses at oxy stations to expand your reach. Most importantly, every time you leave atmosphere, make a plan for where your next breath will come from, and if your meter hits 50% before you find more air then TURN BACK!
[h3]Dock[/h3]
Docking with stations to access their services. To dock, just follow a station's red and green lane lights and nudge the docking module. Try this at the nav station near where you first spawn, to add data to your onboard map.
[h3]VMEDS[/h3]
VMEDS is your Virtual Multifunction Electronic Display System - it's your interface through to all the things your ship can do other than flying, shooting, and building. You'll see it when you first start the game, and can interact with it using number keys, function keys, or your mouse. I find the mouse pretty cumbersome though and strongly recommend using keys.
Open VMEDS with the TAB key during flight to access your onboard map, ship settings, help files, and to save and exit the game.
[h3]Cruise Control[/h3]
If you have distance to cover and no threats along the way, hit the Left Shift button to toggle cruise control. This allows you to travel without holding the forwards key, and also causes time to pass at double the usual rate. It's great for distance travel, but can go catastrophically wrong if you fly into danger, so take care!
[h3]Goal[/h3]
Your goal is to discover wormholes to other sectors, and defeat the Border Force patrols preventing travel between them. To do this you'll need to rescue blockaded stations and build up your ship. As you explore you'll find occasional Juliet level factories, which you can use to gain Kilo level modules and build an unstoppable dreadnaught.
[h3]Share[/h3]
Every player's world is generated from the same seed, so if you find something cool you should let other pilots know! You can find us in the Steam community pages and on the Discord.
See you out there!
Farbs
Captain Forever Universe update 15.3 is now live!
The two standout features for this build are the new Sensor modules, which scan back and forth adding distant data to your sector map, and an oxygen grace period, adding 60 seconds extra flight time after your oxygen supply runs out.
Sensor modules are occasionally found on the wingtips of other craft, and can be mounted in any orientation. They only scan in the direction they're facing, and only at their fixed distance, so you might need to experiment with different placements to find what works best for you.
The oxygen grace period kicks off at 0L, and bleeps every 15 seconds as it tells you how much time you have left. I still strongly recommend turning back, or at least making a plan to find oxygen nearby, as soon as your tank hits 50%. The extra 60 seconds are a good buffer in case you get lost or held up on the way to safety, but I wouldn't want to rely on them! You'll also want to note that it's 60 seconds of game simulation time, so if you're using cruise control (which doubles the rate of game time to real-time), it'll pass in just 30 seconds.
Some other minor tweaks this build include bugfixes with visibility saving and ships saved right at the start of the game, Save & Exit now returning you to the title screen (handy for swapping pilots or farming spawn zones), and the doubling of blurst shield weight. Blurst shields were originally designed as an almost mythical, extremely rare part for Captain Forever, which is why they're strictly better than regular girders. Now that they're quite common they need a drawback, and mass seemed like a good way to provide that. I'm considering increasing their mass even further, however I figured it'd be best to roll the change out incrementally in case anyone has left a precious juggernaut ship parked out of atmosphere.
I've started a Trello board so you can see what I'm up to. If you have any suggestions (or otherwise want to chat or share nav data) come visit the Discord!
Getting Started
- Open Steam and click Library
- Right click on Captain Forever Trilogy and select Properties...
- Select BETAS
- Select captainforeveruniverse15 from the drop down list
- Close the properties window
- Captain Forever Trilogy will now update. This usually only takes a few seconds.
- From your Steam library, select Captain Forever Trilogy and click PLAY
- Select Play Captain Forever Universe Alpha 15
- Enjoy!
[hr][/hr]
Tips
[h3]Breathe[/h3]
Without oxygen, your pilot will die. Replenish oxygen by entering atmosphere zones surrounding stations. You will need to renew oxygen licenses at oxy stations to expand your reach. Most importantly, every time you leave atmosphere, make a plan for where your next breath will come from, and if your meter hits 50% before you find more air then TURN BACK!
[h3]Dock[/h3]
Docking with stations to access their services. To dock, just follow a station's red and green lane lights and nudge the docking module. Try this at the nav station near where you first spawn, to add data to your onboard map.
[h3]VMEDS[/h3]
VMEDS is your Virtual Multifunction Electronic Display System - it's your interface through to all the things your ship can do other than flying, shooting, and building. You'll see it when you first start the game, and can interact with it using number keys, function keys, or your mouse. I find the mouse pretty cumbersome though and strongly recommend using keys.
Open VMEDS with the TAB key during flight to access your onboard map, ship settings, help files, and to save and exit the game.
[h3]Cruise Control[/h3]
If you have distance to cover and no threats along the way, hit the Left Shift button to toggle cruise control. This allows you to travel without holding the forwards key, and also causes time to pass at double the usual rate. It's great for distance travel, but can go catastrophically wrong if you fly into danger, so take care!
[h3]Goal[/h3]
Your goal is to discover wormholes to other sectors, and defeat the Border Force patrols preventing travel between them. To do this you'll need to rescue blockaded stations and build up your ship. As you explore you'll find occasional Juliet level factories, which you can use to gain Kilo level modules and build an unstoppable dreadnaught.
[h3]Share[/h3]
Every player's world is generated from the same seed, so if you find something cool you should let other pilots know! You can find us in the Steam community pages and on the Discord.
Changes for Update 15.3
- Added sensor module
- Added oxygen grace period
- Oxygen feedback tweaks
- Made blurst shields heavier
- Fixed map visibility save bug
- Fixed empty ship save bug
- "Save and Exit" now returns to title
See you out there!
Farbs