Equip a side-mount in Captain Forever Universe 15.5 & 15.6
Hi Pilots,
Captain Forever Universe updates 15.5 and 15.6 are live right now!
15.5 launched a little while ago but, uh, I forgot to write an update post. I guess this time I'll cover both!
The first thing you'll notice is the new backgrounds. I repaired the background mesh generator tool and ran ninety Hubble Space Telescope photographs through it, keeping the best 19 for the game. I've also darkened the backgrounds a little, so we shouldn't have any more problems with blindingly bright backgrounds in inferno sectors.
Speaking of graphics and hot rocks, I've made a lot of small graphical changes to the game, including making asteroids distort atmosphere bubbles. This should make it much harder for them to hide in the horizon, which was always surprising, sometimes funny, and occasionally fatal. For a more detailed list of graphical changes check the changelist at the bottom of the post.
Gameplay-wise, there are two new modules to discover. The first is the side laser, a side-mounted laser that'll occasionally show up on NPC wing caps. These are great for creating a close spread pattern as they hug a little closer to their mount point. The second is tilt boosters, which apply a force 60 degrees off the module facing, and a little stronger than a regular booster. These can create some really cool shapes, and if arranged well can be great for both propulsion and manoeuvrability.
One final big thing you might notice is a change in NPC behaviour. They have a lot more to say! I ported Cassandra Khaw's brilliant dialogue from Trilogy to Universe, and it's really great to hear everyone chattering away again.
This is probably the last build in the 15 series, so it's time for me to start planning v16. I expect it'll take a few weeks, but you might see changes in the Trello board as figure it out. If you have any suggestions (or otherwise want to chat or share nav data) come visit the Discord!
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[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.
[h3]Visuals[/h3]
See you out there!
Farbs
Captain Forever Universe updates 15.5 and 15.6 are live right now!
15.5 launched a little while ago but, uh, I forgot to write an update post. I guess this time I'll cover both!
The first thing you'll notice is the new backgrounds. I repaired the background mesh generator tool and ran ninety Hubble Space Telescope photographs through it, keeping the best 19 for the game. I've also darkened the backgrounds a little, so we shouldn't have any more problems with blindingly bright backgrounds in inferno sectors.
Speaking of graphics and hot rocks, I've made a lot of small graphical changes to the game, including making asteroids distort atmosphere bubbles. This should make it much harder for them to hide in the horizon, which was always surprising, sometimes funny, and occasionally fatal. For a more detailed list of graphical changes check the changelist at the bottom of the post.
Gameplay-wise, there are two new modules to discover. The first is the side laser, a side-mounted laser that'll occasionally show up on NPC wing caps. These are great for creating a close spread pattern as they hug a little closer to their mount point. The second is tilt boosters, which apply a force 60 degrees off the module facing, and a little stronger than a regular booster. These can create some really cool shapes, and if arranged well can be great for both propulsion and manoeuvrability.
One final big thing you might notice is a change in NPC behaviour. They have a lot more to say! I ported Cassandra Khaw's brilliant dialogue from Trilogy to Universe, and it's really great to hear everyone chattering away again.
This is probably the last build in the 15 series, so it's time for me to start planning v16. I expect it'll take a few weeks, but you might see changes in the Trello board as figure it out. 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 15.5
- Added tilt boosters
- Side lasers
- Ported Trilogy dialogue
- Added details to Universe export
- New Universe export formatting
- Refinery at Spelunk origin
- New help files
- Darker VMEDS background
- Physics, rendering optimisations
Changes for Update 15.6
[h3]Visuals[/h3]
- New backgrounds, darker
- New shield visuals
- Asteroids distort atmo render
- Trilogy module destruction timing
- More faceted asteroid visuals
- Motes brighter in Cruise Control
- Made fast motes faster
- Updated SDK to 32.0.0.116
- Fixed un-jammable station groups
- Fixed backward side lasers
- Raised blurst mass another 2.5x
- Flippers use CW and CCW cap modules
- Added Credits page
- Shinier splash screen buttons
- Simplified update notices
- Ctrl-A just goes DONK now
See you out there!
Farbs