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We'll be sending out newsletters monthly at max, and when a big release or something truly newsworthy happens, such as a new version, patch or similar.
Beta Branch Note: These changes are currently available on the beta branch. The beta branch is for testing experimental changes and for finding and fixing errors.
This is how you get access to the beta branch (USE AT YOUR OWN RISK): Right-Click on Avorion in your Steam list, Properties -> Betas -> Select branch 'beta'.
Gameplay
"We added a second gate-system for better fast-travel, that also allows gate travel of larger ships. Upgrades can now be installed permanently for improved stats. Most upgrades get a stats-bonus of about 50% for permanent installation."
Added a new ancient gate system for easier fast-travel
Ancient Gates have to be activated before they can be used
Ancient Gates are a lot bigger and can lead a lot farther than normal ones
Upgrades can now be installed 'permanently' for additional bonuses
They can only be removed safely near Equipment Docks (3km distance)
Upgrades are now displayed with a little anchor when they're permanently installed
They can still be removed anywhere else by destroying them
Color of entire ship can now be changed in building mode
Shot color can now be set for turret designs
Salvaging and Mining AI sends a message if there is nothing to mine or salvage in the sector
Balancing
Increased upscaling of Xsotan damage in the center from up to 600% to up to 800%
Xsotan Artifacts
"We reworked the Xsotan artifacts to give them a more meaningful way of how they work."
Great news! The combat update part II is now live on the default branch! With this update we're introducing the new Turret Building Mode, which allows you to build your own turret designs. Turret designs will be purely aesthetic, for balancing & time reasons.
You can now use turret bases to build a turret design for your ship. Those turret designs can be saved & shared on the Steam Workshop just like normal ship designs.
Coaxial Weapons
Coaxial weapons now found their way into Avorion! Weapons that require 5 or more slots will now be considered coaxial weaponry. Those only look in a single direction and cannot turn.
They also deal 3 times the damage of their 5-Slot equivalent non-coaxial turret counterpart.
Collision Damage Rework
Collision damage got a revamp in this update: Instead of applying all inflicted damage to blocks AND main HP, collision damage now spreads through the ship, and only damages main HP as much as it would damage blocks. So when you just slightly graze an asteroid you're ship won't blow up immediately any more.
Different kinds of blocks also absorb a portion of their HP in collision damage, for example armor. A block with 100 hp will negate 75 hp of collision damage, so armor will be perfect against collision damage.
Bugfixes and Polishing
We also fixed tons and tons of bugs & crashes in this update. Thanks to everybody who reported issues!
Beta Branch Note: These changes are currently available on the beta branch. The beta branch is for testing experimental changes and for finding and fixing errors.
This is how you get access to the beta branch (USE AT YOUR OWN RISK): Right-Click on Avorion in your Steam list, Properties -> Betas -> Select branch 'beta'.
Gameplay
Reworked upscaling of Xsotan dmg, now linear and no longer dependent on player ships
Improved Valuables Detector-upgrade (shows an icon on the top of the screen when things were detected)
UI
Keybindings are now visible in fighter control tooltips
Added Icons for Saved Designs Window
Added a button to browse Steam Workshop
Added suggestions for tags when uploading to steam workshop
Added checks for mismatched or missing tags
Implemented weak auto-selection of objects under cursor
No matter what you selected, you can always see the HP of the ship you're hovering the mouse over
When you don't have anything else selected, you can interact and see infos about the object you're hovering the mouse over
Collision Damage Reduction is displayed in block tooltip on the bottom right
Added a checkbox for highlighting placed turrets on craft
Improved error message for not being able to repair (due to damage) while paused
Fixed FighterFactory not showing plans correctly
Player can't select his own ship any more while in mouse-steering mode with mouse hidden
Misc
Added debug-logging for moving entities between sectors
Added debug output to find errors in repairdock
Scripting API
Added missing Entity():setToFlyToLocation to lua api
Added HighResolutionTimer class for microsecond accuracy
Added spawning of select system upgrades to entitydbg.lua
Added a "onShipChanged" client callback for ship change
Added a few script API clarifications
Added SavedDesignsSelection class
Added several DesignSelectionItems classes
Added type getters to DesignSelectionItems
Bugfixes
"As usual, User Bug Reports are marked with [UBR]! Thanks to the community for reporting and keep it up!"
Fixed several potential crashes in TurretAI
Fixed a crash when a TCP connection starts receiving before its communicator is initialized
Fixed a few crashes when a UDP connection starts receiving before its receivers are done with their constructors
Fixed crashes in Intersection when objects without plans are intersected
Fixed crash in Multiline TextBox when Ctrl-V from SDL2 fails
Fixed crash in Normal TextBox when Ctrl-V from SDL2 fails
[UBR] Fixed turrets not appearing for updates in Workshop Window
[UBR] Fixed pirates not having crew, which slowed them down a lot
[UBR] Fixed an issue where normal turrets weren't removed when switching to a coaxial design and vice versa
[UBR] Fixed Ship Problems UI not updating when minimum crew of ship changes
[UBR] Fixed turret deactivation not respecting amount of turret slots
[UBR] Fixed damage numbers showing behind camera
[UBR] Fixed various menus, icons and scripts not registering when swapping ship systems
[UBR] Fixed priority ui element handling with scrolling
[UBR] Fixed ComboBox not being scrollable when placed in ScrollFrame
[UBR] Fixed Block Size Window now allowing commas
[UBR] Fixed broken cargo, hangar & torpedo space calculation
This can, in theory, lead to some vessels losing cargo, hangar & torpedo space because we had bugs that added too much cargo space!
[UBR] Fixed a glitch that allowed people to hire endless captains
[UBR] Reverted placing players next to their ally's home sector, since that lead to various other errors
Hotfixes 2018-09-12
"Some fixes that will be going live during September 12th."
[UBR] Fixed turrets that use up multiple kinds of slots not being able to fire
[UBR] Fixed controls not being able to be unbound with Escape key
[UBR] Fixed player ship being auto-selected when it shouldn't be
[UBR] Fixed player ship not being selectable when it should be
Hotfixes 2018-09-14
"Some fixes that will be going live during September 14th."
[UBR] Improved parts of German localization
[UBR] Fixed some crashes in valuables detector upgrade
Fixed crashes when registering boss health or ship problems while scene deconstructs
[UBR] Fixed switching sectors triggering messages for destruction
[UBR] Fixed blueprints not being able to be removed from Hangar Tab
[UBR] Fixed switch to sector not placing players into their alliance ships
[UBR] Fixed a crash when select-button was put onto another button than middle, left or right mouse
We're back from Gamescom and the dust has finally settled! It was tons of fun :D Thank you to everyone who stopped by, it was absolutely amazing to meet so many fans!
Now that we're back we already started working hard. After a few more bug fixes (thanks to all of you who keep reporting those buggers) we'll transfer the current beta branch to the default branch! This means better end-game enemy scaling, turret building and a lot of other improvements will be playable for everyone soon :)
The next update for the beta branch is already in work as well: We're reworking System Upgrades somewhat. You'll be able to optionally permanently install upgrades to ships and receive nice bonuses for that! In addition to that, the Xsotan upgrades will get some more love as well. We're specializing them some more depending on which boss dropped them. Sneak Peak:
I hate being the bearer of bad news, but I have to tell you that we've decided to move the release of Avorion to Q2 2019. I don't think that we'll be able to release the game in the next few months, since we've already entered Q3 2018.
We think that you'd all rather have a finished game that takes longer to make and is more polished than something that was rushed to release. We want to make this game as good as it deserves to be, and for that we need more time. We have been underestimating the amount of work required for some of the last updates, for example the turret building update (Combat Update pt. II), which required a complete internal overhaul of the editor, or the Alliances Update, for which we had to redesign our entire internal databases.
In the future there will be fewer updates that will have such a deep impact in the bowels of the code, and more content-focused updates. We have been restructuring the code for future content and features in mind that we've planned for the game. So we're confident that we'll be able to release the game in Q2 2019, with all the features and content that we envisioned in the game.
Upcoming Updates
There's also good news: Update 0.18.2 is doing well on the beta branch and we'll soon set it live on the stable branch!
In addition to that, we've got another update concerning system upgrades in the making, and it's basically ready to be released on the beta branch! Since our upcoming updates are all more content-focused, you'll see more and more updates very soon.
Beta Branch Note: These changes are currently available on the beta branch. The beta branch is for testing experimental changes and for finding and fixing errors.
This is how you get access to the beta branch (USE AT YOUR OWN RISK): Right-Click on Avorion in your Steam list, Properties -> Betas -> Select branch 'beta'.
Scripting API
Added a script component for ShipSystem
Renamed Engine.brakeThrust to Engine.reverseThrust
Plans can now be loaded from design files as well
UI
Implemented shortcut keys for strategy mode orders
Increased ambient brightness of neutral Editor further
Implemented taking special high-quality screenshots with Ctrl-Shift-F12
Notifications are now hidden in building mode when hovering the stats
Added block count to turret building ui
Bugfixes
Fixed an issue where turret designs that don't fit on their base couldn't be edited
Fixed an issue where players would enter build mode with the current ship when exiting turret building mode of a remote ship
When transforming blocks in building mode invalidated turrets are now removed
Fixed an issue where the tutorial could get stuck when mining the highlighted asteroid without selecting it
Fixed an issue where AI turns too soon, bumping into stuff
Fixed AI-Controlled ships braking way too soon
Fixed thread names not being entered correctly into DebugInfo
We're happy to announce that we'll be at Gamescom in Cologne with most of the team in late August (21.-25.). We're hoping to see many of you there!
Until then, we'll continue fixing bugs to get Combat Update Part II ready for the stable release. We're also working on a new update concerning the system upgrades, which will, among other things, contain a specialization of the Xsotan artifacts so different artifacts will give you different bonuses.
Beta Branch Note: These changes are currently available on the beta branch. The beta branch is for testing experimental changes and for finding and fixing errors.
This is how you get access to the beta branch (USE AT YOUR OWN RISK): Right-Click on Avorion in your Steam list, Properties -> Betas -> Select branch 'beta'.
Gameplay
"Building your own turrets on edge blocks is now possible! This feature was delayed a little since it was more complex that we initially thought."
Added Edge Turret Base block
Strategy Mode
"Made the strategy mode a little more user-friendly, and making it a little more RTS-like."
Implemented command buttons in strategy state
UI
Adjusted grid size and scale step in turret building mode
Minimum zoom when building a turret is now closer
Renamed "Saved Ships" to "Saved Designs"
Increased intensity of the neutral editor's ambient light
Scripting API
Added getTurretTemplateSize() to Entity script functions
Added a "onAIStateChanged" callback for entities
Added a "autoRotationSpeed" variable for PlanDisplayer UI elements to configure rotation speed
Fixed securing values resetting all script values to nil when another script crashes the VM
Misc
"Thanks to the automatic crash reporter, we've been getting lots and lots of good data on crashes, but sometimes it just isn't quite enough. So we've been adding more output to find the reasons for those crashes. This is nothing that you will notice in particular, but I felt like mentioning it because it's a big priority and time investment for us."
Improved debug output to find causes to several more crashes
Bugfixes
"Bugfixes marked with [UBR] are, as always, User Bug Reports, ie. bugs reported to us by users. Thanks everybody for reporting and helping us improve the game! Keep it up!"
Fixed a crash when reloading weapon meshes
Fixed a startup issue for dedicated servers
[UBR] Fixed coaxial turret building mode crashing when compatibility shaders are enabled
[UBR] Fixed crash related to the turret building state
Fixed scaling a turret part not correctly updating part positions
Fixed a crash when a TurretDesign item is clicked but the design wasn't loaded yet
Fixed a crash in turret rendering for coaxial weapons
[UBR] Fixed an issue where turret templates could get their size from a turret design
Fixed several crashes in turret rendering
Fixed eventscheduler script being added multiple times to sectors
[UBR] Fixed 'Repair ship' sometimes deleting turrets
Fixed an issue where windows that don't work or work differently in turret building mode weren't hidden when switching to turret building mode
Scaling down a turret design that is too big now correctly scales rotation points and muzzle positions
Fixed some cases where custom turrets don't shoot out of their muzzles
Fixed an issue where turret brush wasn't rendered correctly when using compatibility shaders
The selected turret, instead of any turret, is now chosen when entering turret building mode
We're ready to deploy the first public build of the Combat Update II. We've got some more polishing and tweaking to do, but we want you to try out the build so we can fix errors and adjust things. Have fun!
Beta Branch Note: These changes are currently available on the beta branch. The beta branch is for testing experimental changes and for finding and fixing errors.
This is how you get access to the beta branch (USE AT YOUR OWN RISK): Right-Click on Avorion in your Steam list, Properties -> Betas -> Select branch 'beta'.
Turret Building Mode
"We've finally implemented the option for you guys to make your own turret designs and give your turrets custom looks, matching the ship you're flying! Disclaimer: For a multitude of reasons, mostly balancing related (but also development scope) turret designs are purely visual."
Players can now design their own custom turrets
Turrets consist of three parts: base, body and barrel
The base is placed directly onto the ship
The body is connected to the base and can rotate horizontally
The barrel is connected to the body and can rotate vertically
These parts can be rotated to get a feel for the design
Players can also design their own custom coaxial guns
These consist only of a single part
Players can choose the size of their turret
Using Turret Designs
Turret designs can only be used on top of Turret Base blocks
Select a Turret Base block in building mode and press the "Enter Turret Design Mode" button
A ghost preview of all inactive designs is rendered in building mode
Place an actual turret on the desired Turret Base to activate the design
When editing an inactive turret design the side of the Turret Base block it is going to be built on is the one you are looking at
This side is highlighted when the Turret Base is selected
The ghost preview of the selected Turret Base is put on this side
Coaxial Guns
"We've still got some fine tuning to do with these, so please give us feedback!"
Weaponry that would take 5 slots or more, is considered coaxial weaponry
Coaxial weapons deal 3x the damage of normal weapons that would take the same amount of slots
Coaxial weapons are always rigid and cannot turn
Collision Damage
"We've tuned collision damage to make it feel more natural and less threatening. All in all, your ships should no longer just explode after hitting a small asteroid."
Added a threshold for collision damage
Collision damage is no longer directly applied to ship HP, but in relation to the blocks that are damaged
No more immediate death by collision, except for when your ship only consists of a handful of blocks
Collision damage is applied in a cone, potentially damaging interiors as well
All blocks have a structural integrity, which is a percentage of their health which is subtracted from incoming collision damage
Armor has a high structural integrity of 75% percent, meaning that an armor block with 1000 hp will always reduce its collision damage by 750 points
Workshop
"Several adjustments to the workshop, especially considering the uploading of turret desings and ships including turret designs."
Added uploading of turret designs to the workshop
Ship Designs include their Turret Designs when uploaded to the workshop
Balancing
"In order to make the end-game a little more interesting, all Xsotan ships in the center of the galaxy scale with the strength of the player(s)' ships."
Massively increased damage and reach of the mobile energy laboratory
Xsotan ships inside of the barrier remember the player's strength and send ships with higher firepower
Added a 50% chance of getting a lower-slot turret drop in high-level areas
Activating the teleporter to the center spawns strong Xsotan ships
Client & Graphics
Updated Credits
Added a separate button for firing torpedoes (default: right-click)
Added a texture for Torpedo Storage Blocks
Added a neutral version of the editor with neutral lighting
The neutral version is only available when the game can be (and is) paused as to avoid confusion
The neutral version of the editor can be switched on and off
UI
Renamed 'Saved Ships' window to 'Saved Designs' window
Reworked design of Saved Designs window to use less buttons but instead a right-click context menu
Added a folder structure to 'Saved Designs' window
Added a prominent [Game Paused] message
Added a dark background to error and info message on the bottom right
Improved performance of Saved Designs window by creating thumbnails for ships
Uploading to the workshop shows better error messages
Saved designs window now no longer shows unknown files
Galaxy Map Improvements
Fixed markers not getting deleted on empty sectors (except when manually tagged by a player)
Fixed old ships still being visible in old markers, even though they're with you
Added folders to the Saved Designs Window
Improved handling of Double-Click
Made color of untrained crewmen brighter
Added french community translation of Avorion
Thanks to 'Ribosome' for administrating the french translation!
Scripting API
Added a new TurretDesign class
Added a dbg function to give players CoAx Guns Guns Guns
Implemented a script variable check to disable transfer of entities through wormholes or gates
Setting the value called "untransferrable" to true prevents the entity from travelling through wormholes or gates
Implemented a script function check to disable transfer of entities through wormholes or gates
Misc
Added better translation handling of several plurals, more to come
Renamed several instances of "Unknown Ship" to "Xsotan Ship"
Bugfixes
"Most bugfixes have been added in the 0.17.X update, but that doesn't mean you should stop keeping them coming! All user bug reports are marked with [UBR], as usual!"
[UBR] Fixed energy suppressor satellite tooltip
Fixed turrets making sounds in strange places
Fixed an issue where the keys for mirroring a plan in BlockTemplateBrush were hardcoded
[UBR] Fixed an issue with the splash screen not showing correctly
[UBR] Shooting down your own torpedoes is only possible for torpedoes targeting the shooting ship
[UBR] Fixed several crashes related to Turret AI and automatic targeting
Fixed a crash when enabling the debug text output
Fixed a crash in EnergyTab when player is not inside a ship
[UBR] Fixed an issue where hails couldn't be reliably answered with Return key without opening chat window
Fixed a script crash when trader stations have too many goods for the UI
Fixed a script hang when trying to transfer goods with neutral/unowned ships
Fixed explore sector mission hanging sometimes with no sector to explore
Fixed an issue when spawning persecutors in sectors with objects without owner
[UBR] Fixed an issue where player owned ships fired torpedoes without launcher blocks
Fixed several issues with quality of font rendering
Today the new look for our official Avorion Forum goes live! Check it out here[www.avorion.net] This is, of course, only a visual update, your posts and post history are unchanged by it. I hope you like the new design as much as we do! It features a more modern design and proper mobile support!
In case you miss the old design you can change it back. Just go to your profile and find the option “look and layout” under the section "modify profile". Click on it and change the current theme to "Avorion".
Parallel to the new design for the forum we continued working on the Combat Update part II. It still needs a bit of polishing and testing, but it’s looking really good!
