Gaia Beyond News

What's up space travelers!

Here we are reporting back from 2021. We hope you had a pleasant start into the new year so far and enjoyed the spectacular preview of our neighboring planet Mars.

In the past two months we had a little personal business to take care of, as two of our team members moved their homes (we remain international and keep covering a span of timezones ;)) but as you will see below, this hasn't harmed the production at all. This update is no smaller than any other and we've added a lot of new content and made some changes that will greatly improve your space experience!

As always, we're looking forward to your feedback!







[h2]Turret system rework[/h2]
After some irritation, we have improved the way turrets fire at targets. The two most important changes are:

• [h3]Free aiming[/h3]
  Turrets follow your mouse cursor when no weapon target is selected, so you can shoot enemies or asteroids manually.
  
• [h3]Firing order[/h3]
  Turrets no longer automatically open fire on a focused target. They remain in 'wait' mode and display target lines until you press the fire button.
  
  Further steps are planned to improve weapon handling even more. We want to add options to the cooldown HUD that allow customizing the behavior for each weapon on the fly.

[h2]Repair laser[/h2]
The Sphere's 'Naoru Laser' fixes broken hulls of allied or neutral NPCs. Use the standard selector instead of the weapon target to focus on a ship and the repair progress will start automatically.




[h2]Drop variations[/h2]
Battles can get messy – custom drop graphics for weapons, shields, blueprints and readable documents now highlight valuable items and help you distinguish between a boss fight reward and Cheezy Poofs – unless the reward is Cheezy Poofs.




[h2]New portraits[/h2]
The character drawing frenzy hasn't ended yet and a lot of new faces have joined your solar neighborhood:

• [h3]NPCs[/h3]
  To bring more variety into the crowd and to emphasize the factions' appearance step by step, we have focused on the creation of random NPCs this time – and as many variations as possible.

(Even more new heads are already lining up and waiting to get their bodies).


• [h3]BG5000[/h3]
  The crew is complete! Theoretically. In fact they're spread all over the place and it's still up to you to reunite these rockstars from the future.
  

[h2]Chest image variations[/h2]
Chest images now indicate their status – whether they are locked or broken – and make it easier to see which skill is needed.




[h2]New sidequests + achievement[/h2]

New bounty hunter missions (more to come). Also, if you got Marcel Wallas to stay on Pluto, he's now eagerly waiting to start his business. Decide on a trade route (choose between weapons, shields and other equipment or resources) to boost Pluto's economy - and unlock the 'Home Economics' achievement!







[h2]World[/h2]

• Added some new NPCs
  
• Update NPC sorting and descriptions
  
• Stronger decel power for stations
  
• Autopilot evasion: Prioritize high mass ships (stations, capitals)
  
• Medium range evasion: do not evade anything inside or beyond the target pos
  
• Do not avoid ships/stations on autopilot with a higher engine accel
  
• Evasion: reduce speed if something is right in front
  
• Show the turret weapon max range before the turret was fired
  
• Added specific dialog reactions to some NPCs (looking at the player / moving towards the player / not reacting at all)
  
• Minor improvements on Sphere solar station graphics
  
• Do not allow saving while in a fight (because projectiles are not saved)
  

[h2]UI[/h2]

• Higher texture resolution for emitter when drawn in the GUI
  
• Show the ship weapons in the Inventory
  
• Controller: Sort the location icons index automatically
  
• Ship Trade HUD: Add a text animation
  

[h2]Portraits[/h2]

• Rajid got a whole new head!
  
  

'If my head wasn't attached to my shoulders, I would forget it every morning.' – Well bro, actually it isn't.

• Some more character portraits have been polished
  

• Ship death drops can use a wrong lowered amount
  
• Xentron Revealed: Caduceus shouldn't attack player before mission start
  
• Changed the sidequest "Sleeping Pods for Three, No Pets!" so that a quest progress reduction shouldn't be possible anymore
  
• The Isaac Family should now react accordingly after they decided to stay or leave Pluto
  
• Genocide Arrest mission progress reduced
  
• "Genocide Arrest": The transports should stop when the fight is active
  
• Crash Course can get stuck at 56% or 57% if the mission dialog is still open
  
• Pirates always respawn when loading a save
  
• Inventory HUD: MultiColumnList getItemAtGridReference crash
  
• Controller: Track the FocusBox better and also remove it when its input receiver has lost the focus
  
• Controller: FocusBox size can be wrong (MultiColumnList item selection can be hidden and other possible problems)
  
• Controller: Don't create a FocusBox for MultiColumnList windows with multi selection mode enabled
  
• Possible 1 frame delayed collisions with destroyed sprites, especially bullets
  
• Draw ship weapons/devices/shield even if ship is out of player radar range, but visible on screen
  
• Ship fight mode "back off" vector could be broken when avoidance was activated
  
• Travel group: Fighting ships don't use max speed
  
• Travel groups: Be more picky about follower repositioning (avoid constant repositioning, which blocks evasion)
  
• The ship speed reduction function does not work correctly in all situations (ship vel can be too high)
  
• Make travel group ship vel adjustments more stable
  
• Mutato-chan dialog triggers dialog switch for "the Kid" only once
  
• Tezla astronaut and FTA trade mission: timer doesn't display 1-sec steps
  
• Spawner spawned sprites need to check for visible earlier (Newly spawned ships visible for 1 frame after tutorial dialog)
  
• The person list quest target vanishes when multiple missions have the same target (If you promise Chondros his meds, but still haven't gotten his blood test)
  
• Guard Moldau only switches to dialog block 3 once
  
• Sun-Moon should switch to correct dialog block now after his brother is returned to the colony
  
• Radioactive chest explosion on Essex wreck spawns 2 human bodies
  
• Disable medium range evasion for stations
  
• Pirate ships near pirate stations can become stuck
  
• GUI Sprite Renderer: Do not draw the muzzle emitter
  
• FTA Agent License: Require 20 instead of 21 completed missions
  
• Upgrade HUD: Handle generic key events (like screenshot)
  
• Clear_Dist_Callback() is not called anymore
  
• Disable system-defaulted language for incomplete translations
  
• Do not restore a ship weapon target with a pos target (fixes Faction_Aggro_Reset)
  
• Health bars block zooming with the mouse
  
• Romancing_the_Stone_Pirate_Ambush_Callback() can be triggered multiple times
  
• Trash Panda: only allow selling trash when you have it and reduce the trash price to 4
  
• Setting the player name to an existing npc name (like Auxilium) does not switch the dialog drawable when talking with that npc
  
• Map markers are drawn behind other icons
  
• Batched map icons are not fully sorted (sun can be over stations)
  
• Don't crash if a non-templated container object exists twice
  
• Change "Kinetic Damage" to "Kinetic Repair" when dmg is negative
  
• Weapon target selection is using the last hovered sprite while left click is held down
  
• Shield damage overlay has wrong position for pirate stations
  
• Show the health bar when repairing ships
  
• Cooldown HUD: Disabling a weapon should stop shooting instantly
  
• Blueprint inventory item: frame color doesn't match font color
  
• Removed an unnecessary Pvt Feng dialog block switch
  
• Removed some duplicated entries in the ship data
  
• Removed an unnecessary dialog block switch for The Archbishop
  
• Memory Leak: Device emitter are not deleted
  
• "drop_collect_sound_group astronaut not found" when game sound is disabled
  

Let's have a chat on Discord:



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Hey space traveler,

The curse is over! Thanks to your help the hellish gates have disappeared and all those nasty eyeballs, skulls and whatever else have been banished back into the Wicked Dimension. For the moment.

The solar system is blooming again and humanity can recover, with visible impact: The unification of portrait styles is making progress and although the process may still take a while, we look into optimistic faces. Ben is getting closer to become a master shield builder (for which he could still use your help) and shiny credits and valuable goods are stocking up at the top corners of your screen.






[h2]Some QoL enhancements[/h2]

• [h3]Custom map markers[/h3]
  Where was that grind trader again? What was the password for that wreck terminal? Found some mysterious diary entries or a hidden quest location? Hit 'M' to place your map markers anywhere and never get lost in the void again!

• [h3]Permanent HUD infos[/h3]
  You now have the possibility to get useful statistics – like player credits, ship cargo or the date – permanently displayed on the screen!

[h2]New portraits[/h2]

• New female player portrait
  
• Atlantic random male
  
• J-12 random male
  
  Read more about the current portrait development below!

[h2]New sidequests[/h2]

• Ben wants to continue his shield crafting. Can you help him with his new designs? More incoming!

[h2]Character polishing[/h2]

(Click for a before-after GIF)

The characters were the focus of the graphic work for this update, with the main goal to find a way to unify the different styles that have sneaked into the character pool over the years. So instead of simply drowning them in even more effects, a daily drawing routine confronted the portraits with their essential structure of lighting and anatomy, often resulting in a complete redrawing of faces. Of course, this was not done for all portraits (100 to 200+ if you count the variations) at once and will take more time, but the direction is clearer and the process gets faster. As a nice side effect, many interesting sketches and in-progress pieces were created, which hopefully will soon bring a greater variety!





[h2]General[/h2]

• Hide ships and stations that are not in radar range
  
• Map Mode: Show enemy ships in red color (like the Radar HUD)
  
• Show the basic cargo price difference visually
  
• Many controller improvements
  
• Options menu: Add a "Pause on map attack" setting
  
• Cooldown HUD: Do not fully fade out (allow a mouse hover to restore it - so we can open it before selecting a weapon target)
  
• Basic support for healing weapons
  
• Shields initialize 6 times faster on landables (and regen faster)
  
• Another run of portrait reassignments
  
• Ferrara: Some visual improvements
  
• Map mode camera info moved to bottom
  
• Nanobots FX improvement
  

• Auxi tutorial can break when talking to Shiro
  
• Unknown mission target icon is not drawn anymore
  
• Savegame upgrade for Devi dead (older saves)
  
• Mission HUD: The last selected mission is not re-selected again if the mission percentage changes
  
• Some custom controller buttons are never saved
  
• Missing template log warning: data and template name can be incorrect
  

Let's have a chat on Discord:



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OMG, space traveler!

This is terrible. The gates have opened once again and dreadful creatures from the wicked dimension have taken over the solar system. But even worse: Restless souls have also risen from the realm of the undead, and we all know who will have to clean up this giant mess... Count Ixua is waiting next to Pluto for further instructions.

🎃 Happy Halloween! 🎃


As always, unlocked Halloween content will be saved with your character and still be available after the event.






[h2]The Osyluth[/h2]



A terrifying sight. The Bonelord has used this vessel to sneak into the world of the living – and is now terrorizing the people. Defeat him to get the blueprint and some devastating out-of-this-world weapons!


[h2]Cthulhu's Eye[/h2]



You cannot hide from this evil creature – neither can your enemies once you've tamed it! Is it really from the realm of the undead or the chunky world of another video game?


[h2]Mr. Deadhead[/h2]



Haunted weapon and ruthless enemy – this bony fella is both!


[h2]Other[/h2]

• Collectable bone item
  
• Custom inventory icons for all new Halloween gimmicks
  
• New weapons coming with custom sounds and VFX
  
• Basic muzzle effect for default projectiles
  

• Travel group path finding is more precise
  
• FTA missions: Reward based on how dangerous/complicated the route is (beta)
  
• Added animated lights to old skull turrets
  
• Added over a dozens new blueprints/blueprint drop chances and craftable ships to Rajid
  
• Undocking: Instantly undock if the distance to the target point increases
  
• Comrade Cannon energy usage increased, inaccuracy of basic level increased, min fire interval increased, weapon upgrades improved (basic weapon was way too strong after the latest weapon patch)
  
• Inventory: Drop button should be greyed-out when it can't be used (like Inspect)
  
• Mercia speed and acceleration increased, classifies now as Battleship
  
• Own faction (with logo) for the BG5K sidequest
  
• Memory usage: Do not cache landable location images
  
• Pumpkin Shredder hit / non-hit sounds swapped, reduced volume
  
• General performance improvements
  
• Update the player selection animation even when paused
  

• Ice Cubes (Flowers) are being pushed away from positions
  
• Ice Cubes (Flowers) disappear on second savegame load (spawned setting is not retained)
  
• Cargoneer and Express prices were missing
  
• Rocket trails are sometimes not drawn
  
• Cargo selected item amount is not refreshed correctly sometimes
  
• Ships can be endlessly in landing mode when the target is destroyed or save upgrade removed
  
• "Lion's Heart" and "Ansatsusha no Gusoku" shields should not be spawned
  
• BG5000 astronaut spawners were not deleted
  
• Inventory: Ships stats only show the turn rate accel, not max
  
• Ganymede Log Node does not repeat the quest stage for Xiao's sidequest
  
• Guard Numi switches dialog block after Caduceus has been defeated
  
• Erased a possibility, in which a certain dialog/event route could let Lt. Devi stay on Caduceus HQ
  
• Lucca now switches his dialog if the player fails to stop his transport from entering Caduceus Station
  
• Pirate bounty targets at Tate Tobin can now be destroyed from long range without them respawning afterwards
  
• Remove very old savegame support
  

Let's have a chat on Discord:



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Welcome back, space pilots!

It took a little time, but the ending after the Caduceus boss battle has been reworked and improved, so that later additions will be easier and the end of chapter 1 gets a better feeling all around. New transporters are available and the desired alternative control schemes have been implemented for a first test flight. Thanks for all the great feedback and bug reports, more content is already on the way.





[h2]Movement Layouts[/h2]



We know a lot of people have been waiting for it. To switch your control scheme, simply use the drop-down menu on the Controls tab, et voilá – no more dizziness for those who don't like to navigate their ship upside down! Also, the A/D rotation option has been added here in the form of a 'Tank' template.

• [h3]Rotated (default):[/h3] The ship automatically points at the cursor, with the A and D allowing us to strafe.
  
  
• [h3]Unrotated (new):[/h3]The ship directly moves towards the key direction while the rotation is still controlled by the cursor.
  
  
• [h3]Tank Controls[/h3] The 'classic' solution: At the cost of the ability to strafe, A and D rotate the ship ignoring the cursor.
  

[h2]New Ships[/h2]

'Albion' – You will no longer be laughed at when you show up at a battle with a transporter.


'Kujirame' – This high-tech transporter of the Sphere is the choice for heavy duties. Simply the biggest transporter in the game so far!


[h2]New Music[/h2]

A lot of epic new music by Miguel Johnson. This guy's output is incredible: While we were still busy implementing it, he already released his next full album Expedition Artemis, which we think is nothing less but a masterpiece. You should definitely listen to it on bandcamp and support him!

• 4 new songs for the final Caduceus story events (Rise of the Caduceus, Alien Planet, The Web, Sorrow of Gaia)
  
  
• 2 new ambient tracks (Citizen of the Stars, City Planet)

[h2]Autopilot Evasion[/h2]

• Support medium range detection

[h2]New Achievement[/h2]

• "Slayer of the Snake"

[h2]Story[/h2]

• During the course of chapter 1, patients are now vanishing from the Distribution Hall on Caduceus Station. Where are they going, what is happening to them?
  
  
• Cybille Croft is now leaving the station after you've helped her and has new dialog
  
  
• The epilog of chapter 1 has been reworked, dialogs improved and you can now explore what Caduceus have left on their station.

[h2]Dynamic cargo graphics[/h2]

This has been on the list for a long time – FTA and CoC transporters (that were actually designed for this concept) now dynamically change their appearance depending on the amount of stored freight.



[h2]General[/h2]

• Show a quest notification for finished/failed quests
  
• Near avoidance sensor range is based on ship speed and acceleration
  
• Show a message box when a very old graphics driver was detected
  
• Alternative Caduceus Distribution Hall 'takeover' image
  
• Nanobot emitters cover the whole ship
  
• Removed another auto pause after the Shiro dialog in the end sequence
  

• Lt. Devi and Kalypso are not reappearing anymore if they shouldn't
  
• Fixed one of Atlas dialog options after the ending, that could stop the scene after the boss battle from playing out correctly for some players
  
• Allow NPC ships to pos target respawning (non-targetable) stations
  
• Increase render staged buffer amount to 4 (might fix flickering)
  
• Glowing engine linked particle animation on ships (Peacekeeper / Yoddha / Invader) sometimes play from a random start pos
  
• Long Range Scan emitter is played only for the first time
  
• Trade tooltip compares equipped weapon with itself
  
• Trade HUD: Shortcut U opens amount popup for preselected item stacks
  
• Do not try to endlessly play a missing music file (remove it from the active tracks)
  
• Use the correct fade_in setting when music is enabled ingame
  
• Mechanic Work Clothes inconsistent item type / icon
  
• Some dialog corrections
  

Let's have a chat on Discord:



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Attention, space pilots!

Thanks for all the great feedback and support (this time we even got a new weapon by a user :D). We're still working on some additions for the Caduceus arc epilog (and some other minor stuff), improvements for the autopilot and further development of FTA missions. In the meantime, enjoy this patch full of little and big changes, including new ships and weapons. All ships have been divided into different classes, giving their stats and slot setups more sense and balance. Some item weights have been reduced for a better trading and crafting experience.






[h3]Ship Classes[/h3]

More than the average rebalancing: All ships have been sorted into different classes, pre-defining their setups such as stats and weapon mounts. Note that this strongly affects global ship balancing (all is listed in detail here), so the specs for your ship may have changed – but definitely for the better!

[h3]Sell Ships[/h3]

Sell them at any ship garage.

[h3]New Ships[/h3]

Atlantis-II

Yoddha

Cessy


[h3]New Weapons[/h3]

• Mini Seekers & Hunter Seekers
  We're happy to introduce the first weapons made by a community member – check out these awesome new missile weapons by Ashkin (thank you)! They're a part of the Sphere arsenal now.
  
  
• Shock Turret
  Your regular shock weapon is now available as a turret!
  

[h3]Balancing[/h3]

• According to some of your feedback as well as our own ideas – and along with the ship classifications, most ships have been improved in handling and equipment.
  
  FULL SHIP CHANGELOG
  
  
• A lot of item weights have been regulated to prevent irrational cargo overloads and to make the overall weight balancing more realistic.
  
  FULL ITEM CHANGELOG

[h3]General[/h3]

• Blueprints sorted for the crafting menu
  
• Some more blueprint drops added to ships
  
• Drone Launcher improvements (aiming, angle, longer TTL)
  
• Bullet spawn offset for projectile weapons
  
• Arakni Kkrik turrets auto-scaling to 45%
  
• Reworked signal lights with lens flares
  
• Trashporter animated back lights
  

[h3]UI[/h3]

• New stats added: FTA Missions, drones destroyed, memorials read
  
• Ship Trade HUD: Support arrow left/right and A/D keys to go through ships
  
• Ship Trade HUD: Hide the accept button when we already own the ship
  
• Stats overview layout reworked (3-column layout, baseline corrections and more)
  
• Radar background graphic rework
  

• Holding hacking during movement can reach the keypress limit
  
• When talking to NPCs from a big ship, they don't regard size and smash themselves
  
• Do not key repeat most keyboard input events
  
• Autopilot evasion does not correctly detect inside/touching collisions
  
• Solid bunch of dialog corrections (mostly Doctor is Out)
  
• Some more after-dialog autopause fixes (Bacterius, Virus, Debris field assassin)
  
• Guard Fenix can't be asked for Devi anymore after the event already passed
  
• Some craftable ships were missing in the crafting list (Ferox, Sakura, Med-Trans)
  
• An FTA pilot career status dialog is missing
  
• FTA Pilot missions: target person list color is sometimes not removed
  
• Character HUD: favorite destroyed ship stat needs its own line
  
• Ship Trade HUD: If there are no available ships for crafting don't show the first one
  
• Ship Trade HUD: Changing "Show all" should update the current selection
  
• Savegames: Correctly limit the max skill points
  
• Ships don't die anymore when they spawn and die on the same frame
  
• Ship hacking info window stays visible when teleporting out of detail range
  

Let's have a chat on Discord:



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