ΔV: Rings of Saturn News

• Optimized proximity sensors readout during astrogation. The astrogation sequence could be slower on low-end machines, especially with a high-resolution LIDAR installed.
  
• Fixed the Morse code radios to deliver more readable Morse code and not confuse dots with dashes anymore.
  
• The "Driving Stick" achievement will not be granted if you just float in place or spin around a habitat.
  
• Updated translations.
  

• If you install a smaller drone, ammunition, or propellant container, and your ship currently has supplies that exceed its capacity, you will get a refund on the excess consumables as soon as you launch your dive.
  
• AI will now treat ships or drones docked to other vessels and stations differently. This will most noticeably cause friendly ships to not attempt to communicate with and examine each of your containers if you run a general cargo ship, leaving your vicinity much sooner.
  
• The racing team will take a clue that you are not interested in racing when you tell them so and will leave you alone, even if they really like you.
  
• Added a workaround for a driver bug that caused the game to crash on Intel-based OSX systems.
  
• Fixed animated icons on the Eagle Prospector HUD not displaying if the HUD did not boot on-screen.
  

[h3]Sensor hardware retrofits deregulated[/h3]
A significant policy shift was announced today as sensor hardware retrofits are now deregulated at Enceladus Prime Station. Captains can now seamlessly replace their ship's LIDAR with an array of options that bring subtler Lidar sweeps, calibrated Doppler sensors, and alternative sensor technologies. With the boundaries lifted, independent mining crews now have unprecedented control over their operations.



[h3]Decommissioned point defences found defective[/h3]
In a recent examination of some decommissioned point defense systems available at second-hand market, it has come to light that some of these systems were found to be defective. The station's engineering team has identified issues in the power-saving eco-friendly mode installed in NDPT-4205 as part of its decommissioning, which resulted with the system entering power-save mode at random, endangering ships that relied on these Point Defence Turrets for craft protection.ll decommissioned point defenses will undergo thorough maintenance and inspection to ensure they meet the highest safety standards.



[h3]Polar telescope array found new moonlets[/h3]
Enceladian Polar Telescope Array has revealed the presence of new moonlets orbiting the rings. These tiny celestial companions have remained hidden until now by thick formations of ice above them. Both researchers and space enthusiasts alike are eager to study these newfound bodies. These newfound moonlets may contain valuable resources or unique geological features, offering potential mining and commercialization prospects, further contributing to the profitability of ring excavation ventures.



[h3]Maintenance Logs[/h3]

• Sensor upgrades. You can now replace your ship's LIDAR with another one. There are multiple options to choose from. Some of them come with their very own tuning options.
  
• Sensor sweep time and resolution tuning. You can now opt for a faster response or a higher resolution.
  
• Changed astrogation proximity detector bubble to respect new Lidar tuning. This required some graphical changes, as the sweep shape might not cover 360 degrees anymore.
  
• Lidar sweep can now be subtly observed on all lidar displays, making detecting the direction of a ping much easier.
  
• You can tune the brightness of HUDs with virtual displays now.
  
• Tuning options for autopilots and head-up displays will now have separate sections in the tuning menu.
  
• Lidar response pings are now smaller and will not obfuscate the sensor view so much.
  
• Re-calibrated the Doppler sensor for more accurate relative velocity measurements.
  
• An additional encounter. There are more things to discover in the rings.
  
• Cleaned up the shader code, improving performance a bit on machines with integrated GPUs.
  
• Additional dialogue path for the "find missing child" quest, should you decide to act instead of talk in the ultimate encounter.
  
• Improved performance and accuracy of collision detection and spawning of all moonlets.
  
• A bug in NDPT-4205 software caused the turret to enter a power-saving mode if all the targets the targeting computer could detect were ineligible by either being obscured by other objects or excluded by the safety protocol of the turret for long enough for the actuator to reach the resting position. Such a turret would only wake up from the power-saving mode when a new object entered its detection range.
  
• Additional colourblind mode.
  
• Updated translations.
  

In our most recent vote, we received a remarkable total of 1800 votes, marking a significant increase of over 600% compared to the previous vote. This surge in participation is primarily attributed to the inclusion of the Steam community, and we are truly grateful for the enthusiastic response from all our players.



What's particularly fascinating is that despite this substantial increase in the number of votes and the expansion to the Steam platform, the choices made by you, the players, remain remarkably consistent. Your collective voice has spoken, and it's clear that certain aspects of the game resonate strongly with the entire community.



Based on the results, we've organized the development priorities into three groups:

[h3]High Priority[/h3]
The top three results from the vote will be our primary development focus for the upcoming months. These areas received the highest number of votes and have been designated as top priorities. They are as follows:

• Gameplay and Mechanics (1150 votes): Enhancing and expanding the core gameplay and mechanics.
  
• More Hardware (1052 votes): Introducing new in-game hardware and equipment options to provide you with additional tools and customization choices.
  
• New Ships (1041 votes): Adding new spacecraft options, including ship variants - and associated HUD improvements.
  

[h3]Medium Priority[/h3]
The following results will be integrated into our development roadmap as secondary priorities. These areas will receive attention whenever there is available development time to spare:

• Mod Support (858 votes): Enhancing modding capabilities, including Steam Workshop integration, a modding API, and improved mod compatibility checks.
  
• More Events (854 votes): Expanding in-game events, such as crew agendas, ring encounters, and rare mineable resources, to enrich the gameplay experience.
  

[h3]Low Priority[/h3]
The areas beyond the top six will be treated as conditional priorities. They will only receive priority attention if critical issues arise during the next development phase that necessitates immediate attention in these categories. The specific results in this category include:

• Immersion Features (710 votes): Deepening the immersion within the game world through additional details, dialogue options, and quest-solving methods.
  
• Story Arc 2.0 (624 votes): The next chapter of the game's story arc, focusing on the future of AI in the rings.
  
• Quality of Life (506 votes): UI and interface improvements to enhance the overall user experience.
  
• NPC AI (461 votes): Enhancements to NPC ship behavior to make them smarter and more unpredictable.
  
• Performance (237 votes): Optimization efforts to ensure a smoother gaming experience.
  

It's worth noting that the preferences expressed in the vote results may differ from the distribution of opinions observed in the comments section. It's not uncommon for the vast majority of players to prefer not voicing their opinions in individual posts or comments but rather participating in the structured voting process. This divergence in communication styles reinforces the importance of the voting system as a comprehensive and representative method for gauging the collective desires of the player community.



Voting patterns on both our Discord community and the Steam forums exhibited striking similarity. Despite the different platforms and player communities, the preferences expressed in the votes closely aligned.