Gaia Beyond News

Hey space travelers,

This was more of an interim update first, as we had so many fixes and optimizations between two updates that we didn't want to keep from you – but a significant change to the weapon system made us let it ripen a little more in the end: Area damage, coming with additions like physical impulses and timed damage functionalities. Along with an overall tooltip rework, these new features were applied to existing weapons and some new ones, but there is also room for many cool future things!

At the same time, the production of the story expansion is on fire. We decided to release the alternative routes for the Caduceus storyline separately, so be prepared for a big replayability update even before the actual expansion – can't wait to show you the new stuff!


Special thanks to:
Jhenox for feedback and a lot of insight, BunnyDeFluff for feedback and bug reporting, GamerArk for organizing a fanmade chinese localization (including SunFlowerBASARA who also pointed out some mistakes in the english script :D) and of course, Ashkin for continuous support – you guys rock! 🤘






[h2]Area of Effect[/h2]
Made to give explosions an impact radius that matches their visual appearance in the first place, this one escalated pretty quickly. There are now:

• [h3]💥 Explosion[/h3]
  Everyone likes explosions. They now have individual ranges and physical impacts based on type and size.
  
• [h3]☢️ Decaying[/h3] Some visual effects have already teased it: Heat or radiation weapons now leave a damage field behind on impact and do damage over a certain time.
  
• [h3]🌀 In-Flight[/h3]
  It is now possible to apply a constant effect 'aura' to in-flight projectiles. Beside the damage, they can also have physical impulses – and practically even negative ones. ;)
  

[h2]New Zion weapons[/h2]

• [h3]Dutty Gun[/h3]
  Leaves small spots of radiated area behind – enjoy the extra DPS!
  
• [h3]Dutty Boom[/h3]
  Ok, this one was already there (and still is – if you own it, you'll keep it), formerly known as the Nuke Torpedo. It was moved to the Zion arsenal and given some fancy aftermath radiation effects.
  
• [h3]Dutty Nades[/h3]
  Radioactive grenades – sounds like fun, eh?
  

With the addition of Area Damage, we now have some sick special device weapons waiting to get launched. Unfortunately, getting active device slots to accept weapons might still take some time...


[h2]Dr. Vornoff portrait[/h2]
Don't judge a book by its cover – but it's pretty obvious she's up to no good...


[h2]New achievement[/h2]
The Krieger Letters now have readable content and you can now deliver them to their rightful recipients. Gain the achievement for this 'Late Delivery'!



[h2]Halloween Horrors[/h2]
To pass the time before next BIG update, we have reactivated the Wicked Dimension – and the once-in-a-year opportunity to unlock rare spooky ships and weapons!








[h2]Ship polishing[/h2]
Continuing the tradition, the Pathfinder – one of the oldest ships available – was brought back to speed and decorated with fancy light effects.



Other ship changes:

• Mimi now has an additional turret slot
  
• Added a lot of additional ship descriptions
  
• Polished some stats (e.g. removed duplicated entries, added missing ones etc.)
  
• Added a lot of individual scan XP entries
  
• Removed credit requirements to craft pirate ships
  
• Hacking level and time balancing for all pirate ships
  
• Tyrell Wharf collision / FX optimization
  

[h2]World[/h2]

• Fog of War is now black. Space changes to blue in map mode
  
• Station regeneration – stations enter a self-repair mode when losing hull (after a 'come back later' type of cooldown), reducing the risk of finding a bunch of debris where a station should be.
  
• Readable XP when it's opened for the first time
  
• Loot Magnet: change the attraction model
  
• Caduceus HQ bit of polishing
  
• The King is back. You may not know him and maybe never will. Roll out and find him! ;)
  
• Added a new stage to the tutorial, in which Auxilium introduces the scanning feature
  
• A new item (Shuttle Keycard) is added to the player's inventory at the beginning of the game - needed for an incoming update ;)

[h2]Weapons[/h2]

• Mine shotguns were re-balanced (Caltrop is now better than Scattergun, some prices adjusted) and their projectiles can be shot down
  
• Razor's Edge collision optimization
  
• Solid explosive projectiles like the Shell Breaker now have reworked graphics with animated trails
  
• Improved FX for radiation weapons and default mine explosions
  

[h2]UI[/h2]

• Loadout key shortcuts
  
• Tooltips: Show the initial DPS if it differs from the average DPS
  

[h2]FX[/h2]

• Nanobot emitters on regenerating ships and stations
  

[h2]Other[/h2]

• Support overriding fonts for translations
  
• Add a simplified chinese font
  
• Embed the game version to the binary version header
  

• Ship crafting consumes the full stack of the ship cargo items
  
• Shield damage is not included for tracked damage stats (stations/ships retaliate way too late)
  
• Loadout switch: Weapons/shields/devices should not deplete if it's the same
  
• Wreck Xanadu turrets should be also gaia
  
• Disable most player input actions if the menu is active
  
• Xentron Revealed: Atlas stops fighting after respawn (when getting killed)
  
• Menu: Fire animations after the GUI has been initialized so they don't stutter or finish instantly
  
• Static Message: correctly update the game and handle controller button down events
  
• Popup notifications don't restore the dialog input focus (E key)
  
• Some minor errors with the Dr. Cram Bokaj questline, added a callback after the quest counter
  
• Lost and found chest should be openable without hacking
  
• D2-Launcher had upgrade level 3 twice instead of 4
  
• Weapon fire rate ignores the energy constraints if min_fire_interval is also set (Mini Seekers fire rate is wrong)
  
• Laser TTL should not be rounded
  
• Tooltip DPS calculation should include p_hit_count_delay
  
• Tooltip DPS for multi-missile (burst) turrets is lower than in game
  
• Tooltips: Compare cargo weight and value
  
• Tooltips: Don't change the highlighted item alpha
  
• Tooltips: Laser "Fire Rate" is sometimes not shown
  
• Savegames: ship stat kill counter is not loaded
  
• ESC in ship trade cancels out of lower dialog first instead of ship trade HUD
  
• Quickload crashes when a question box is open (disable it)
  
• 5 ships (Ameba, Cessy, Gylfa, Icarus, Stansa) didn't have damage or regeneration FX
  
• Big Samson (Seraphim bodyguard) portrait had a CoC logo
  
• Some grammar and spelling mistakes
  
• Don't allow trading with stations in space
  
• Drop click areas overlap each other
  
• Shield collision/impact emitters are offset
  
• Ship loadouts: Do a free cargo space check
  
• Muzzle emitters are played in Inventory background
  
• FTA trade missions: Delete enemies on mission success
  
• Savegame Menu: Info messages are not shown as they are drawn behind the window (like "Can't save now. A dialog, event or fight is currently active")
  
• Gilliam ship emitter particles have regular gaps
  
• Engine-linked repeat emitters can still be duplicated once
  
• Analysis: Show trash trade icon only for collectable trash pieces
  
• "-1 item" message on player death
  
• Options Menu: Add a "needs a game restart" info popup when the font will change from a language change
  
• Infinite hit count to Flamethrower and Razor's Edge
  

Let's have a chat on Discord:



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Heya space travelers!

It's 1.4 and here we are with new features – like the much sought-after loot magnet, ship loadouts, new ships and weapons, as well as a lot of improvements. Check it out and don't forget to let us know what you think. A lot of work is also going into the upcoming main story expansion right now, so be prepared for a huge update this year! We're already curious how you will like it.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]





[h2]Loot Magnet[/h2]
...makes looting more attractive! Keep your eyes open for the Loot Recovery Field and Salvor Attractor devices! We decided to make them passive – so equip one of them, lean back and enjoy your delivery!




[h2]New Ships[/h2]
Extraterrestrial sightings – crafted by human hands. The Companionship brings you even two versions of this gear-driven flying saucer: A devastating war machine and a hyperspeed shuttle. For the believers, the Seraphim have summoned holy spirits into a new Patrolship: The Saraph.

• Tarelka / War Tarelka (CoC Shuttle / Light Cruiser)
  
• Saraph (Seraphim Patrolship)
  

[h2]Ship Loadouts[/h2]
Easily separate the fighting and mining equipment.


[h2]New Drone Weapons[/h2]

• Sinbuster (Seraphim weapon with heat damage)
  
• Lightning Swarm (ISA weapon with shock damage)
  

After this GIF was created, the accuracy of both weapons was greatly optimized – you can be sure that these are the best drones in town!


[h2]Portraits[/h2]

• New Seraphim offshoot of Atlantic male 4
  

[h2]Audio[/h2]

• Outer space radiation loops (intensifying the further you move into the void)
  

[h2]FTA Trade Missions[/h2]

• New mission type for FTA Rookies to try out – beware of the pirates who have great interest in your cargo!
  

[h2]Ship polishing[/h2]
Mostly graphic polishing and symmetry fixes, collision optimization, emitter improvements and slot updates

• Seraphim ships: Mercia, Messiah
  
• Drones / Capsules double-res polishing (Caduceus Drones, Pirate Drones)
  
• Tutorial Drone got a new machine drone look
  
• Transporters: Loaded container polishing
  

The Messiah also got upgraded with an additional turret slot!


[h2]Weapons / Turrets / Shields[/h2]

• Seraphim custom turret design
  
• Scallywag Shield pricing reduced
  

[h2]World[/h2]

• More XP reward variation for ship scanning
  
• More content variation on Xanadu crates
  
• Made the dialog option to hand over the water to Jonas for the Viridi quest always visible but unselectable if you don't have enough water (instead of always hidden)
  
• Some improvements to the Pluto Colony image
  

[h2]UI[/h2]

• Options relayouting / unified grid system for all sub pages
  
• Buttons are height-independent now (9-sliced)
  
• Many layout improvements and fixes
  

[h2]Portrait polishing[/h2]

• Atlantic male 4
  
• Seraphim male 2
  
• J-12 military male
  
• Caduceus female
  

[h2]FX[/h2]

• Damage effects for regular heat projectiles
  

• Seraphim ships should not buy random faction weapons
  
• Abigail dialog update after Bobby has been rescued
  
• Ships with a short distance weapon may not reach the approach pos for mining
  
• Repeatedly opening the Ship Trade HUD can corrupt the ship data text
  
• Critical chance is not displayed/compared in tooltips
  
• Trade HUD: background overlap on center frame after the amount popup window was opened
  
• Crash on resolution switch after the Ship Trade HUD was opened
  
• Albion missing entry in Rajid's crafting options
  
• "Guitar Pirate" pre-destroyed "Guitar" drop is still called when the item is already removed
  
• "return water to cliff Station" quest marker looks off on landable screen
  
• Missing ship classes & Seraphim ship descriptions
  
• Cyar Monk now has items in his shop
  
• Trade HUD: Only show the default prices for the player cargo container
  
• Trading system money exploit
  
• Ship scan XP balancing
  
• Portrait frame overlaps
  
• Don't crash but error log if a Radar HUD cargo item is null
  
• Analysis HUD: Crash with a selected sprite that has no leading person (rare)
  
• Some divisions by 0
  
• Do not save if player hull is 0.0 or lower
  
• Do not render weapons/shields/starfields with 0 alpha
  

Let's have a chat on Discord:



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This is our mini-patch, thanks to Floppa Priest, Klassy Kitten and Makonar for detailed bug reports and feedback! Luv to our space-traveling community :3 Cu soon for the next patch.

• FTA missions: Show bonus separately at delivery
  

• Radar Renderer Draw crash
  
• Saving over another save in combat only deletes it
  
• FTA payout differs from displayed one
  
• Scan counter reset on save/load
  
• When you buy a ship it always switches to the new ship
  
• Only increase the "Playing Doctor" progress if the correct medicine was administered
  
• No mission marker back to Leen Kova after destroying pirate drones
  
• Level of Subsistence mission progress 100 reduced to 55
  
• Romancing the Stone mission progress 100 reduced to 50
  
• Script Remove_Target_Person() calls the Person_Target_Removed() callback twice
  
• Black Jack wrong quest step description
  
• Hacking wrecks is possible
  
• Raft doesn't sell wares
  
• Proxy Laser: all upgrade levels have the same stats
  

Let's have a chat on Discord:



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Welcome back, space explorers!

Preparations are being met... This time we introduce the scan feature, which allows you to scan almost everything in the solar system for information and also gives you the possibility to get blueprints through it. We've also put a focus on polishing, bugfixes and some additional pirate hunting.

In the next few months we will be busy working on the next main story chapter and some essentials before we push out more general content and sidequests, so stay tuned! Thanks again for all the great feedback and suggestions and safe travels out there in the void!





[h2]Scanning[/h2]


A long-awaited feature that spices up the use of the analysis display and makes exploration in general even more interesting! Coming with new animations and custom sounds.

• How it works
  Actually a breeze – anything you select will be scanned automatically once you're within scanning range. After a scan is complete, certain information is revealed in the HUD. More to come: Scanning will also become a tool of information gathering for the planned codex!
  
  
• What can be scanned?
  Pretty much anything! Ships, stations, planets, asteroids, containers, gas clouds, ice cubes, ...
  
  
• Blueprint collection
  Scanning allows you to expand your blueprint collection even faster. Complete a scanning loop by scanning the same ship type multiple times and pay attention to the counter above!
  

[h2]New female portraits[/h2]

5x CoC, new FTA agent, Atlantic Alliance

Strictly speaking, not the first time we do this, but another step to try something new: Varying faces not only within one faction, but also between several – to increase the diversity of the population much more efficiently.


[h2]Audio[/h2]

• New SFX for the scanning feature
  
• Added a default selection sound
  

[h2]FX[/h2]

• Plasma hit effects for torpedos and mines (e. g. Plaz Turret)
  

[h2]More pirate hunting[/h2]

• Added some missions on Uranus for pirate hunting
  

[h2]Ships & Stations[/h2]

Symmetry corrections and overall polishing in up to double resolution, new light animations

Routine inspection

• With these last remaining ships, the Sphere can now be considered a completely polished faction!
  
• Zion Station polishing
  
• Molotok polishing
  

[h2]World[/h2]

• Put a ring on it!
  As a small authenticity upgrade, we decided to give Uranus some fancy rings. Unless there is a big storm of vetoes coming up, we'll probably do the same with Neptune and Jupiter...
  
• Improved drop balancing and optimized collisions for cargo containers
  
• FTA affinity updates
  

[h2]Weapons[/h2]

• Weapons and shields have been divided into certain groups to ensure better item drops
  
• All lasers have 100% accuracy in tooltips
  
• Custom icon for dual missiles and sort keys updated
  

[h2]Portraits[/h2]

• Xander polishing and variations (each FTA Station now has its own unique Xander ;))
  
• FTA portrait rearrangements according to the company hierarchy
• 2 player portraits polished
  
• Crowd portrait improvements
  
• Other NPC reassignments & minor polishing
  

[h2]Other[/h2]

• Various dialog improvements and corrections
  
• Movie Disc drop graphics
  
• Add a savegame search (highlights matching saves)
  
• FTA / ISA luggage drop drawables
  
  

[h2]Coming soon 📡[/h2]

• A new FTA mission type is in the works! We know you are waiting for it and FTA content will continue to expand bit by bit.
  

• Ships should ignore the shield rad for docking with a pirate fortress
  
• Maximum hacking chance for level 3 containers is 90%
  
• After giving the instruments to BG5000, they will also be removed from player's inventory
  
• Faulty attack commands for McKenzie, so he didn't support the player during the Caduceus escort mission
  
• Waypoint sensor collision tracking could access deleted sprites
  
• O_Dog_Dialog_Handler_3 can be repeated
  
• "A leg for McKenzie" mission progress 100 reduced to 50
  
• Laser target is ignored when a ship as the target respawns
  
• Logger: More info messages should be shown and written without dev_mode
  
• "Decimating Numbers" kill counter doesn't increase
  
• O-Dog chase: inbetween-dropped mines don't collide
  
• Character HUD: Skill arrows do not update state
  
• Missile turret graphic assignment fixes
  
• Caduceus patients with wrong ship assignments
  
• Caduceus Drones: Faction logo not displayed in Analysis HUD
  
• Mimi signal light positions ignore rotation
  
• Options menu: Language reset doesn't restore the default setting
  
• Update the selection alpha fade in pause mode
  
• Save upgrade script crash: "Lt Devi" does not exist
  
• Removed old FTA NPCs that weren't necessary anymore, sorted FTA stations
  
• Removed the possibility of Mrs. Henderson not giving out a reward for saving her husband
  
• Removed an unnecessary dialog block switch for Assistant Demoror
  
• Removed an unnecessary dialog block switch for Pgt. Decimus
  
• Removed the possibility to reduce the "Romancing the Stone" sidequest progress from 50% to 25%
  
• Removed the possibility to reduce the "It's Alive!" sidequest progress from 100% to 50%
  

Let's have a chat on Discord:



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Heya space travelers!

A lot has happened in the last month – new sidequests, a new ship and a lot of general improvements to the world and gameplay are here! Also, we got rid of some older tasks and did some cosmetics. Thanks to the great community feedback! Another update is already in the making and we won't stop - so stay tuned!

Anyway, have fun and let us hear your thoughts here or on Discord!




[h2]Fulfill the brutal quest for music[/h2]
This new sidequest finishes the mini storyline we began last year about the band from the future - BG5000. Discover the location of all four band instruments and retrieve them. Rumors have it that a cult of Seraphim monks got their hands on RADIOAKTIV MNNN's bass!

All the instruments come with unique sounds – most of them played by the band itself, and if you become friends with the guys, they might even play a little (and very loud) concert for you! ;)

Any other space games that feature a Casio VL-1?


[h2]Hear the tale of the lost luggage[/h2]
Help Kenak's Assistant to retrieve the lost luggage, meet an eccentric fashion designer and decide the fate of an obsessive luggage thief.




[h2]New ISA ship: Magellan[/h2]
A heavy cruiser designed by the ISA for exploration and research purposes... but easily turned into a powerful battleship with the right weapon loadout – all for science!




[h2]Weapons[/h2]

• New weapons: Plasma Missile & Plasma Missile Turret (available at ISA traders)
  
• Custom plasma hit FX for missiles
  

[h2]World[/h2]

• Containers from FTA ports now have custom-labeled container graphics
• Container freight drops are now improved
  
• Keycard drop graphics
  

They're extra BIG and extra GREEN to make it easier for your exhausted little explorer eyes! ;)


[h2]Images for readable items[/h2]
The content of readable items (what is displayed via the 'Inspect' button) now allows the use of in-text images. There already are some first ones in use, but we don't want to spoil the graphics here. However, here are some hints where you can find them – look out for:

• A "kid's" drawing ;)
• Van Gaan's exclusive fashion collection
• Harrison Cruise's movie covers

[h2]Portraits[/h2]

• Just in time: This new guy jumped on the update at the last minute and increases the Companionship of Commerce portrait count by 1.
  
  
  
• Van Gaan
  This guy is not your average space citizen – he's a fashion pioneer, a true visionary who doesn't accept any kind of failure. Find out what he's so upset about, and maybe you can give him a helping hand!
  
  
  
• FTA male head pants variation
  (too ridiculous to spoil here... :D)
  

[h2]Stats & balancing[/h2]

• Some ship and weapon balancing thanks to roogun!
  
  
  • Gylva view range increased to 1150
    
  • Jah-One view range decreased to 1200
    
  • Rook view range decreased to 800
    
  • Rook radar range increased to 1000
    
  • Kujirame engine acceleration decreased to 115
    
  • Potemkin engine acceleration increased to 60
    
  • Patriot engine eacceleration decreased to 45
    
  • Patriot max speed increased to 100
    
  • Albion engine acceleration decreased to 135
    
  • Prophet max speed increased to 138
    
  • Europa max speed decreased to 107,5
    
  • Genbu turn rate max decreased to 0,75
    
  • D-2 Launcher now has the correct amount of upgrade levels
    
• Spray paint items reduced to container level 1
  
• Quest items tradable settings reworked
  
• Increase the Inner Aegis hull regeneration
  

[h2]First (small) FTA changes[/h2]

• New agents in preparation for FTA trade mission improvements
  
• Every station now has its own and correct leading person (removed the old, faulty leading persons)
  
• Some dialog improvements, especially the introduction @Agent Xander
  
• Added O'Maley and the Lost and Found Chest to FTA Samson
  

[h2]World[/h2]

• Enable radiation damage to NPCs in outer space
  
• More shields and devices for Marcel Wallas to sell in case you've chosen "shield shop" or "devices shop" as option
  
• Added some dialog for Buren for his trade contract option
  
• Added a cheap J-12 shield for Sub-Members
  
• Added more Auxilium and Cameron dialog about pirates
  

[h2]Portrait polishing & quick fixes[/h2]

[h2]Waechter hacking[/h2]

• To make the impact of your dialog decisions during the hacking event more obvious, we've added an indicator that highlights the hacking progress bonus gained from each answer.

[h2]Mission icon visibility[/h2]

In order to avoid losing track of the mission targets, we have taken some measures:

• Mission icons don't scale down while zooming out
  
• Nearby target's mission icons are moved back to the screen if positioned off-screen
  
• Main mission icons are highlighted to make them stand out more
  

[h2]Other UI improvements[/h2]

• Improve the inspect box auto layout
  
• When a mission target is visible, limit the icon pos to the screen rect
  
• Quick Travel mission icons added
  
• Unique target icon for "destroy target" mission counter
  

• Global draw buffer corruption after loading (rare)
  
• Battleship and Capital ship classes should not AI trade
  
• Quest item counter doesn't show the correct number when dropping/selling something
  
• Removed the Raym's Runner drop from the BG5k group
  
• Jurgen's mission has to be active for the game to try to add any progress to the quest at the Ganymede Log Node
  
• Paranoid Pirate Hunting: misplaced pirate spawner
  
• Weapons/Shields/Devices should not draw in map mode
  
• Brutale Reunion: last stage is crossed out, and swapped with title, when mission is finished
  
• Ship damage emitter continues when Inventory is opened (with autopause)
  
• Ship selection is drawn behind asteroids
  
• Weapon has different price in comparison tooltip
  
• Rare level unload crash
  
• Selection hints: Changing the font size refreshes the window with a wrong text
  
• Dropped items disappear on second save
  
• Weapon/Shield/Device tooltip should be without the price coloring
  
• Only show the fire rate for laser tooltips if it is over 0
  
• Show the full range for weapon accuracy
  
• Death Seeker rockets are now labeled correctly as pirate weapon
  
• Readable item corrections (spelling, weight)
  
• Date display cut off in some resolutions
  
• Blueprint producer assignments corrected
  
• Shock Turret wrong inventory icon
  
• Imperial Justice turret had no label
  
• Some dds files removed and link corrections
  

Let's have a chat on Discord:



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