Empyrion - Galactic Survival Alpha 8.1 - June 21

[shortylickens]

sounds good, but i think im done till final now, been playing off and on for a while and i think its now time to wait for final version.

When is the official release date? i just spent 20 min looking and found nothing official about the final date, just a few random forum posts that say its this year in 2017, hopefully they are right.

Well, looking at their website would tell you they are still developing. Alpha means continuing to add features. They have no idea how long its going to be. In fact they are advertising jobs which means they are short on personnel and probably not on schedule.

Dont get too excited. Theres a crapload of survival games not getting any progress made. Some of them have been in development for several years with no sign of completion. Its not looking good for small independent developers right now.

 

[SMOGZINN]

Dont get too excited. Theres a crapload of survival games not getting any progress made. Some of them have been in development for several years with no sign of completion. Its not looking good for small independent developers right now.

I don't know if it is not looking good for small developers it seems to me that most of them have already gotten paid and have little incentive to finish the games. That is one of the real problems with Early Access, they developers know that they have already made the bulk of their sales and it makes little economic sense to keep putting manpower into the game.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

I don't know if it is not looking good for small developers it seems to me that most of them have already gotten paid and have little incentive to finish the games. That is one of the real problems with Early Access, they developers know that they have already made the bulk of their sales and it makes little economic sense to keep putting manpower into the game.

I still like early access, generally cheaper games that do something different. I understand there is a risk it will never be complete.

 

[Rifter]

I don't know if it is not looking good for small developers it seems to me that most of them have already gotten paid and have little incentive to finish the games. That is one of the real problems with Early Access, they developers know that they have already made the bulk of their sales and it makes little economic sense to keep putting manpower into the game.

I think this used to be more true in the past than it is today. I for one no longer purchase EA games and a few of my friends are starting to wait out final versions as well. You can only get burned by EA so many times before you say enough is enough. As this starts to happen more and more these small devs will make less and less off EA sales and more upon release, giving them a reason to push through to final to get a larger chunk of sales.

 

[SMOGZINN]

I think this used to be more true in the past than it is today. I for one no longer purchase EA games and a few of my friends are starting to wait out final versions as well. You can only get burned by EA so many times before you say enough is enough. As this starts to happen more and more these small devs will make less and less off EA sales and more upon release, giving them a reason to push through to final to get a larger chunk of sales.

Personally, what I would like to see happen is for Steam to hold back half of the money for the Early Access purchase and only hand the money over to the developers once they hit full release.

Although I think that would just prompt a lot of these games to release in whatever state they happen to be in. So probably wouldn't fix anything. We would still have a bunch of half finished / never finished games.

 

[BudAshes]

Personally, what I would like to see happen is for Steam to hold back half of the money for the Early Access purchase and only hand the money over to the developers once they hit full release.

Although I think that would just prompt a lot of these games to release in whatever state they happen to be in. So probably wouldn't fix anything. We would still have a bunch of half finished / never finished games.

Its kind of always been like that for PC games though. Just release it and patch it later... then later never comes.

 

[Red Storm]

Personally, what I would like to see happen is for Steam to hold back half of the money for the Early Access purchase and only hand the money over to the developers once they hit full release.

Although I think that would just prompt a lot of these games to release in whatever state they happen to be in. So probably wouldn't fix anything. We would still have a bunch of half finished / never finished games.

Even better would be to remove all early access games from the store front, and instead have a separate early access section you can go visit and browse. Early access games should not be featured alongside full release games.

 

[Rifter]

Even better would be to remove all early access games from the store front, and instead have a separate early access section you can go visit and browse. Early access games should not be featured alongside full release games.

Holy shit this is a freaking awesome idea! i think im going to write a email to steam and suggest this.

 

[SMOGZINN]

Even better would be to remove all early access games from the store front, and instead have a separate early access section you can go visit and browse. Early access games should not be featured alongside full release games.

I agree with this! It is ridiculous to feature games that even the company making it are telling it's audience is not ready on their store front. The problem of course is that Steam is there to make money, and early access sells.

 

[DigDog]

so, like No Man's Sky, but without the suck ?

 

[wanderer27]

October 19 is the planned general release for Alpha 7.0.
There are at least two more planned release candidates to iron out bugs/details (one is Sunday).

There is a very nice Trailer for 7.0 here :

And the Official announcement:

Save the Date: Release Date of Alpha 7.0 (October 19, 2017)
October 13 - EmpyrionGame
Hi Galactic Survivalists!

Today, we are very excited to announce the release date for Alpha 7.0:

October 19, 2017

Thank you so much for all the valuable feedback and bug reports during this Experimental phase. Alpha 7.0 would not have been possible without you!

Until October 19, we will continue to work on the final touches and bugs. You can expect at least two more releases until public release. On Sunday Oct 15, we plan to release the Release Candidate 1 in which all playfields will be finalized so that all server admins and scenario creators can copy over the new playfields in preparation for the public release on Oct 19, 2017.

Last but not least, we are very happy to reveal the launch trailer for Alpha 7.0:



Yours,

Empyrion Dev Team

 

[wanderer27]

There were four Release Candidates during this last week to bring out the 7.0 Public version, but they made their target of the 19th.

A note from one of the RC's that may have slipped:

Added New Scenario: Battle Royal (thanks to RexXxus)
- Fight alone, in COOP or in Multiplayer on a planet full of survival adventures.
- Find guns, loot and vehicles along the way and watch out for Aliens or PvP interrupting your looting!
- Reach the Stargate to escape from this cruel Battle Royale Planet
- Thanks to: stalicZ, Savinwraith, ForgeDrake, Oldwhat'shisname, TiwBras, Morghain Saradyn, eliteace, Siren, Alaire, Korruption, Angel&Mari, midnight2six, Steph, Scyme, Maloghurst, ZoulouAlpha, Serptonius, Siege, barakoza, Fractalite
What do you think about this scenario?



And now for the 7.0 release announcement:


Alpha 7: Out Now!
October 19 - EmpyrionGame

Hi Galactic Survivalists,

What’s better than an anniversary? A feature-rich version update, celebrating an anniversary...and cake! Happy 2nd birthday to Empyrion!

Although we are 2 months late for the anniversary update, we believe that it has been worth the wait: While Alpha 6 made fundamental changes to environmental effects and game mechanics, Alpha 7 will add even deeper rooted changes for the game itself: All new planet creation tech, beefed up building tools, full rebalancing of templates, weapons, ammo and game start, new mining mechanic, loads of textures in high definition, Parallax Occlusion Mapping for virtual 3D surfaces, new missions, completely new scenarios and much more.

As with every major update, we suggest the following 4-stepped approach for NEW and current players:
1. Read the changelog below
2. Read all the FAQ & FEEDBACK threads for more information (super important!): https://empyriononline.com/forums/feedback.25/
3. Start a NEW fresh game in Singleplayer and try the new building tools in Creative.
4. Post your feedback to the dedicated Alpha 7 FEEDBACK topics: https://empyriononline.com/forums/feedback.25/

For any bug and issue you might encounter, we would like to thank you in advance for reporting them over here in our bug thread: https://empyriononline.com/threads/bug-reports-alpha-7-0.21957

Now have fun playing... and while you are at it, do not forget to let your player avatar taste our delicious Anniversary Cake!

While you are waiting for the download to complete, enjoy our new Alpha 7 launch trailer:

YouTube™ Video: Empyrion - Galactic Survival: Alpha 7.0 Launch Trailer
Views: 6,059
Empyrion - Galactic Survival is a 3D open world, space survival adventure in which you can fly across space and land on planets.


Cheers,
Empyrion Dev team

PS: You can continue to use Alpha 6 until you're ready to update. Go to your Steam Library, right-click on Empyrion, then click Properties. Now open the Betas tab and use the drop-down menu to select the alpha6 version. Restart Steam to force an update.

------------------------------------

MAIN FEATURES

1. New Planetary Terrains:

- Added more realistic handmade terrains (based on heightmaps and splatmaps)
- Extended terrain height to 500m. This applies for both handmade and procedural playfields
- Added a simple Texture Editor to easily change textures on a heightmap planet (accessible via console cmd "terraineditor" or "te")
- Better visuals for 3d map:

For more details, please refer to: https://empyriononline.com/threads/alpha-7-faq-and-feedback-heightmap-terrain-texture-editor.21947/

2. New Mining Mechanic:
The new heightmaps technology required to switch from voxel based mining to placing 3D objects into the ground. We introduced the Ore Scanner item (it is active when you have the drill equipped and the Ore Scanner in your inventory) to make finding the 3D objects easier when digging. Mining asteroids in planet’s orbits still use the voxel based technology.

For more details, please refer to: https://empyriononline.com/threads/alpha-7-faq-and-feedback-mining.21944/

3. Better Creative / Building Tools:
- Added selection box as building tools (N window): Copy, Paste, Cut, Delete whole areas
- Added possibility to replace textures and colors on whole structures.
- Added possibility to color and texture large areas at once instead of block-by-block
- Added possibility to save and display Blueprint parts
- Added possibility to rotate block textures
- Separated building and debug tools in N window
- Symmetry plane can now positioned on a half block basis
- Changed “Build Settings” window to toggle mode (instead of holding down "N" to keep open)
- Activated Undo/Redo also for Coloring/Texturing

For more details, please refer to: https://empyriononline.com/threads/alpha-7-faq-and-feedback-new-building-tools.21945

4. Major Texture Update for Building Blocks:
- Added 45 new textures (19 Metal, 15 Concrete, 7 Alien, 4 Wood)
- Added several new interchangeable textures on Page 2 for Concrete (+additional metal textures) and Wood (+additional metal & concrete textures)
- Updated most of existing textures

5. Parallax Occlusion Mapping (POM) Shader for Building Blocks:
With this new shader all block textures have a 3D look.

6. New Game Start and Rebalancing:

For detailed info about the topics summarized below, please read:
https://empyriononline.com/threads/alpha-7-faq-and-feedback-weapon-rebalancing.21950
https://empyriononline.com/threads/alpha-7-faq-and-feedback-global-rebalancing-changes.21949/

6.1 Template Balancing
We felt that the game is currently very front loaded with things you can build right from the start, giving you little motivation to explore the galaxy and visit other planets. We thus looked at the current content of the game and spread it out a bit more to avoid that you are basically done and got more than you ever need once you leave your first planet.

Some highlights of the new game start and rebalancing:
- Updates to all crafting templates
- Make Biofuel from Rotten Food and use it an alternative energy resource for your base and ship
- Some objects are available later in the tech-tree for you to make them more valuable as loot earlier
- Short-distance Warp Drive for Small Vessels
- Metal plates are the basic material for everything metal related
- Added armored concrete block

6.2 Resource Balancing
The SP and MP scenarios have a new ore distribution to reflect the new template recipes. See the FAQ of the Template & Resource Balancing thread for more details.

6.3 Handheld Weapon Balancing

For the first time, we are balancing the hand weapons in the game. The settings you experienced so far were a first attempt of how they could work but weren’t based on the limits of the game like view distance of objects etc. Some weapons had a damage output which was far over the top and not in a meaningful relation to all other weapons.

Some highlights of the new game start and rebalancing:
- Range of all weapons have been reduced or equalized.
- Plasma and laser weapons now ignore atmospheric density
- Added "bullet spread" to most weapons (except for laser weapons), bullet spread can be significantly reduced by using a sniper scope
- Damage of all close-range weapons has been increased.
- Damage for the shotgun has been altered so it’s devastating at very short range but much less effective at its max range; no sniper zoom with Shotguns anymore though - otherwise it would be overpowered
- Damage for long-range weapons have been reduced. Their range is already their benefit. The headshot multiplier for the sniper rifle has been increased.
- Nearly all weapon versions of the same kind (no matter if they are T1, T2 or epic) now have identical weapon ranges to ease up making a choice which weapon to use.

Epic Weapons:
We were also unhappy about the role of epic weapons in the current game. Once you got you preferred weapon as an epic version, there was basically no looking back to other weapon options and finding more epic weapons wasn’t very rewarding at all. Epic versions should act as temporary better versions of T2 weapons only - like a buff you can enjoy for a short time.
- You can build your own “Enhanced” (formerly knowns as “epic”) weapons by upgrading a T2 weapon with a weapon kit; you have a choice now if you want to stick with your T2 weapon, which can be repaired, or upgrade it with another kit to an “enhanced” version, which is more powerful but won’t last forever as it can’t be repaired. Additionally Enhanced Weapons can still be found in ultra rare containers as usual.
- Enhanced weapons and weapon kits can now be recycled in the Blue Print Factory
- T2 weapons no longer need a weapon kit to be crafted

6.4. Updated Templates for Ammunition:
- Updated templates for ammo: using Promethium pellets instead of Magnesium so you have to worry about less different ores in the Early game
- Replaced Energy Cells requirements for ammo with Promethium Pellets
- Changed some Steel requirements for late game ammo

6.5. Separated Constructor SV & HV:
- The constructor for the HV and the constructor for the SV are two independent objects now.
- If you prefer a more nomadic lifestyle before you leave the planet you have the option to build a small constructor on a HV with materials found on the starter planet now.
- The small constructor SV and the small constructor HV can build the exact same items and objects at this point.
- The SV version requires resources found in the the starter planet orbit or moon to build it though (at least in the default setting)

7. Limit Spawn of Blueprints to Certain Locations:
- We limited the spawning of blueprints via F2: for spawning a CV you need enough place on a base, for spawning SV, HV you need enough space on a base or CV > you cannot spawn anymore a CV, SV, HV in the middle of the nature. This is the first step towards a physical shipyard for spawning blueprints.
- Blueprint spawn limit is only active in survival mode and can be de-activated via dedicated.yaml on servers (see 'GroundedStructureSpawn' in dedicated.yaml)

For more details and feedback, see
https://empyriononline.com/threads/alpha-7-faq-and-feedback-blueprint-spawn.21934/

8. Improved Offline Protection:

- Added delay before OP is active ("ProtectDelay" defined in dedicated.yaml)
- Turrets continue shooting but do not use ammo when OP is active
- Increased distance at which offline protection shield can be seen from 150m to 400m
- Prevent other players / structures activating OP in AntiGrief Area
- Added new parameters AntiGriefDistancePvE and AntiGriefDistancePvP to dedicated.yaml
- Improved visuals of offline protection shield
- Multipayer server browser window now shows separate anti-grief distances for PvE and PvP modes
- In Godmode invisible you are now able to place blocks within an OP protected area

For more details and feedback, see
https://empyriononline.com/threads/alpha-7-faq-and-feedback-offline-protection.21948/

9. Improved Autominers:

- Autominers are able deplete deposits now
- Deposit-depleting Autominer calculates its efficiency via the remaining deposit size
- Autominers can be configured in dedicated.yaml or Difficulty Settings whether they deplete the resource deposit or not

For more details and feedback, see
https://empyriononline.com/threads/alpha-7-faq-and-feedback-mining.21944/

10. Updated Preview when Spawning a Blueprint:

- Show complete object when spawning Blueprint via F2

------------------------------------

ADDITIONAL FEATURES and BUG FIXES

This is only a small part of the Alpha 7.0 content. For additional features and bug fixes, please check out the full changelog here:
https://empyriononline.com/threads/alpha-7-out-now.21962


.

 

[SMOGZINN]

How is the single player aspect of the game? Is there a story or goal to single player or is it a survival sandbox?

 

[shortylickens]

Right now the single player seems to be about survival. No proper ending, yet. But since its still in Alpha theres room for more content, obviously.

I'm just glad it gets regular updates. GRAV seems to be dead, along with about 10 other early access games I was foolish enough to purchase.

 

[wanderer27]

Wow, been quite a while since I updated this.

There have been a ton of updates for this, way too many for me even to attempt to post them - there are 7 parts just for 8.x Experimental comprising 8 (long) Steam pages like I've posted previously.


Here's the upcoming release for 8.0, I'll post some quick highlights below.


Save the Date: Release Date of Alpha 8.0 (June 12, 2018)
June 1 - EmpyrionGame

Hi Galactic Survivalists!

After six weeks of intense Experimental updates, we are almost there!

While we are working hard on the next Release Candidate, we are very excited to reveal the planned date for the upcoming public release of Alpha 8.0:

June 12, 2018

Thank you so much for all the valuable feedback and bug reports during this Experimental phase. Alpha 8.0 would not have been possible without you!

For the remaining days until June 12, we will continue to work on polishing features and squashing more bugs. As indicated above, and depending on how fast we progress, there will be at least one more Release Candidate, which is planned to hit mid of next week, incorporating your latest bug reports and feature feedback.

Please check back and have a look by then!

Empyrion Dev Team

PS: A Hotfix that addresses several issues in the current RC1 (like not being able to select different starter planets in Multiplayer), will be released soon - latest tomorrow.
PPS: As a side note for those who asked concerning the upcoming public version update: we will keep Alpha 7 AND Alpha 6 available in the Steam library!



= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Highlights = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =


CHANGELOG: Alpha Experimental 8.0.5 (Build 1666)

Gameplay:
- When sleeping also the ticks are now advanced, resulting in regrowing of plants and constructors continuing working

Additions / Model Updates:
- Integrated new XL+XXL jet thrusters (set is now complete)

Additions:
- Added Zirax Patrols

- Added mixed groups with eg Zirax Laser and Mechanoids (or Zirax and Crawlers etc):

Floating Bases on Planets:

Updated POIs:
- AI Planetary Patrol Craft - Set updates (thanks to rainyday)

2. Random Generation of Solar System:
- Each time you start a new game, a new solar system is generated with a different amount of planets and POIs
- You can control the generation process via a configuration file (number and type of planets, POIs, extension of solar system etc)

The above screenshot shows the new 3d sector map of a random solar system

3. Procedural Terrain Generation:
Procedural terrain generation is back - no fixed heightmap planets anymore

4. More Diverse Biomes:
Realistic biome distribution based on humidity and temperature:

By changing Temperature, Humidity and the Seed, we obtain a very varied biome distribution:

5. Underground Layers and Voxel Mining:
- The 'underground layers' are back. You will have the possibility to set up to 7 different consecutive layers for your planetary playfields
- In addition, the old Voxel mining is back as well

(depending on the resource, a playfield creator can decide whether to use the Alpha 7-style sub-surface rocks or the pre-Alpha 7 Voxel spheres)

6. Removal of Red and Green Wall:
We finally removed the red pole colliders and the green wall so that you can now cross the poles and you do not have to be afraid when you cross the green wall (the current version is still WIP and will be further improved during the EXP phase)

In the above screenshot, we are in the far north (actually the sun never sets here) beyond the former red wall and we are looking north. Pre-Alpha 8, this area was blocked. If you continue in this direction you will actually cross the north pole.

7. Updated Terrain Textures:
We improved the visuals on a planet by replacing almost all terrain textures

8. New Decoration Placement and Rendering System:
We integrated a new system for the placement and rendering of the decoration objects on a planet which allows for a dense vegetation that is rendered very far with little performance impact

9. Own Editor to Generate your Planets and Solar System:
- We developed our own Solar System Generator (SSG) to generate your planetary terrain and whole solar system
- The SSG editor will be distributed with the game on Steam

The editor features a full preview for planets, orbits and the solar system

Fallen logs for swamp biome:

New Alien plant:

These are primarily from the various 8.x Experimentals, there were several updates to the 7.x series since my last post (long long ago).

Definitely been a lot of movement on this one - there are just tons of changes/additions/tweaks to this it could take a couple hours reading them all on the Store page.


Steam sale probably in about two or three weeks, but this may go on sale again with 8.0 comes out.

Looking really good.

 

[shortylickens]

They are making painfully slow progress on this game.
I'm sorry I spent money on it. Theres something to be said for billion dollar publishers forcing people to push forward and actually make a finished product.

 

[DeathReborn]

Looks like come this release I will head back to Empyrion for more, gonna buy it for my nephews too as they are starting to move beyond Minecraft now.

They are making painfully slow progress on this game.
I'm sorry I spent money on it. Theres something to be said for billion dollar publishers forcing people to push forward and actually make a finished product.

Indeed, more Mass Effect: Andromeda type "finished product pushed by billion dollar publishers" is exactly what we need more of.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

Meaningful player counts yet?

 

[wanderer27]

I haven't played any game online, so I can't help on this, maybe someone else can.

You can do private Server and LAN I think (been a while since I posted about that aspect of things).


Empyrion is currently on sale for $9.99 through June 21, that pretty much matches the best price I've seen on it in the past.


Alpha 8 was released, and has had a few Hotfixes already for minor stuff.

Hotfix info/history (game update info is huge) :


Alpha 8.0: Hotfix Releases
June 13 - EmpyrionGame
Update: June 15, 2018: Hotfix 2 (Client Only) - Alpha 8.0.2 (Build 1717)

We have another small update for you:

Changelog: Alpha 8.0.2 (Build 1717) - Client only

Bug Fixes:
- Fixed: Problem that Blueprints in BP Factory were lost after Server update (after build number increase) - MP only
- Fixed: Problem that PDA log was deleted after Server update (after build number increase) - MP only

Instead of deleting the full "Cache" folder after a build number increase, we now only delete the "Playfields" sub folder of the save games.

Note: Losing Blueprints in a BP Factory after a build number increase only concerned Clients playing on a Multiplayer Server. Blueprints in Single Player were not affected.

==============

Update: June 15, 2018: Hotfix - Alpha 8.0.2 (Build 1716)

Hi Galactic Survivalists,

We have another update ready for you with more bug fixes and improvements.

Regarding the new camera shake: we will add an option to disable it in Alpha 8.1 that will be released next week. In addition, we will add more video options for low-end machines to get a better performance.

Bug Reports:
https://empyriononline.com/threads/bug-reports-alpha-8-0.38176/

Bug Reports Solar System Generator:
https://empyriononline.com/threads/bug-reports-alpha-8-0-solar-system-generator.38177/

Bug Reports Controller & Keymapping:
https://empyriononline.com/threads/bug-reports-alpha-8-0-controller-keymapping.38178/

Bug Reports PDA Missions & Robinson Protocol
https://empyriononline.com/threads/bug-reports-alpha-8-0-robinson-protocol-other-missions.38184/

Thanks for reading and stay tuned

Empyrion Dev Team


CHANGELOG: Alpha 8.0.2 (Build 1716)

Changes:
- Added Survival Tool directly to start equipment + updated PDA to take into account that Survival Tool is now part of the starting equipment (note: the survival tool is still craftable in survival constructor)
- Remember suit light status when leaving cockpit
- Tweaked camera shake: removed movement of camera and removed rotation around z axis
- Temporarily disabled asteroid fields in the orbit map
- Changed "PresetStyle" of drone waves so that drones attack immediately
- Reduced render distance of grass
- Updated description for Akua-Omicron to make clear that it is also available in Creative mode
- Updated dedicated.yaml: disabled "TimeoutBootingPfServer" for now

Note to all server owners: we recommend to disable this feature temporarily because it can cause problems on startup of the server (we are working on a fix for Alpha 8.1)

Bug Fixes:
- Fixed: Exception when loading savegames older than A8
- Fixed: Problem that sometimes backpack was empty
- Fixed: Problem that docked SV or HV vanished if the structure (CV or BA) at which vessel is docked was completely disassembled or the core of the structure destroyed
- Fixed: Exception when using teleporter (only when using French language): Support email - Build 1710 #E0A6C
- Fixed: Disassembling SV\HV open cockpits did not give back any resources
- Fixed: Player list sometimes appearing blank in MP
- Fixed: Problem that grass was rendered twice and thus generated too much polygons
- Fixed: Problem that entry motion sensor was deactivated in Unknown Artifact POI and thus did not trigger
- Fixed: Shadow of Starlight Scenario: Task on Veldis "Chapter 3, The Agent" (Village of the Elders) could not be triggered due to deactivated motion sensor (thanks for report)
- Fixed: Problem that there was often only 1 single drone in a drone base attack wave
- Fixed: More localization errors that could lead to exceptions
- Fixed: Warning in logs "Spawner cannot spawn entity 'TurretRobotNew'"
- Fixed: Exception "The terrain file X is not found neither as DLL nor as XML"
- Fixed: Several internal exceptions reported on support email and found in logs

========

Update: June 13, 2018: Hotfix - Alpha 8.0.1 (Build 1710)

Hi Galactic Survivalists,

We just released another hotfix for Alpha 8.

We are aware of the exception on startup when resuming an Alpha 7 (or older) game. We are working on a fix and will release it in the next hotfix (however, please note that we recommend starting a new game in A8 since old A7 games are not fully supported anymore, eg no deco)

Bug Reports:
https://empyriononline.com/threads/bug-reports-alpha-8-0.38176/

Bug Reports Solar System Generator:
https://empyriononline.com/threads/bug-reports-alpha-8-0-solar-system-generator.38177/

Bug Reports Controller & Keymapping:
https://empyriononline.com/threads/bug-reports-alpha-8-0-controller-keymapping.38178/

Bug Reports PDA Missions & Robinson Protocol
https://empyriononline.com/threads/bug-reports-alpha-8-0-robinson-protocol-other-missions.38184/

==========

CHANGELOG: Alpha 8.0.1 (Build 1710)

Changes:
- Custom Config.ecf file is now versioned. Alpha 8 will ignore unversioned files and reports this to the player
Important: Please add "VERSION: 1" to your Config.ecf if you want to activate it in A8 (see Config_Example.ecf)
- Detector now shows up in Control Panel
- Improved performance for transition planet > orbit
- Set default color of more devices to grey (growing pot, CV + SV mounted weapons etc)
- Slight adjustment to moon distances/scale in sector map to prevent bad visual in map.

Bug Fixes:
- Fixed: Severe MP exploit
- Fixed: Error on startup when using a custom Config.ecf from Alpha 7.6 (now this Config.ecf will be ignored)
- Fixed: System.IO.IOException: "Sharing violation on path..." on playfield server when two playfield server tried to generate the same playfield
- Fixed: Time difference on either side of where the greenwall used to be.
- Fixed: Exception when clicking a sector in the sector map while holding alt-button.
- Fixed: Problem with ghost asteroids in space playfields
- Fixed: Localization issue with French, Russian and other languages
- Fixed: Texture artifacts on railing blocks (removed weathering effects)
- Fixed: Several internal exceptions reported on support email and found in logs
- Fixed: Internal exception - support email: Build 1708 #94B38


========

Update: June 16, 2018: Hotfix 3 - Alpha 8.0.2 (Build 1719)

Bug Fixes:
- Fixed: Exception when leaving start sector in Akua-Omicron scenario
- Fixed: Problem that Akua-Omicron Scenario and Legacy savegames were not working at the same time

 

[Ranulf]

Odd that they put it on sale 5 days before the steam sale. $10 is the cheapest I've seen it for over a year.

I'm not a fan of the new mining system for the basic ores. It looks neat graphically but having an ore scanner show rich veins meant gathering materials quicker. I'm going through more biofuel on the tier 1 drill than in 7.0. The upside is that biofuel is now made from trees/logs and that biofuel powers almost everything that used to require promethium. I lasted about 4 hours in survival before I had to start spawning in ore to avoid going insane, especially when you get crushed stone for concrete from surface rocks more than you do mining in the ground.

A lot of nice updates overall though.

 

[wanderer27]

Just a quick note that the 8.1 update came out a couple days ago.

Of note for GoodRevrnd - "The Empyrion community has significantly increased in numbers and we reached a new all-time peak in online players."https://forums.anandtech.com/members/goodrevrnd.78108/



Alpha 8.1: Bug Fixes and Improvements
June 21 - EmpyrionGame

(the new Tier 1 CV stock blueprint - designed by Nosture)

Hi Galactic Survivalists!

Last week, we released our major update Alpha 8, which was a huge success and marked a milestone in a lot of ways. The Empyrion community has significantly increased in numbers and we reached a new all-time peak in online players. Thank you so much for your support, feedback and bug reports!

After the release of Alpha 8, we did not lean back and relaxed. Instead, our small team worked hard to integrate some of your feedback, polished some features, added smaller stuff that did not make it in Alpha 8, and of course, we fixed several bugs you reported.

Said that, Alpha 8.1 will add a heap of improvements and refinements, but also new stuff like Combat Steel for your HV Tanks, a dedicated Creative Scenario (available from the Game Start Menu) and a few more video options and game settings!

Check out the full changelog below and please report bugs and issues in the threads pinned over here: https://empyriononline.com/forums/bugs.24/

As a side note: When struggling with getting started in Alpha 8, please have a look at the ‘First Hour - Basic Tutorial’ Video, made by our community member @Ashrai:

YouTube™ Video: Empyrion Alpha 8 FIRST HOUR - Basic Tutorial - MaM Gaming
Views: 2,010
A brief tour through the first hour of the new Empyrion release. Check out MaM on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/magnetsandmiraclesgaming And on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MagnetsMiracles You...

In addition, do not forget to have a look into the new ingame “Empyriopedia” to learn about plants, diseases and their remedies, enemies and more!

We are looking forward to your ongoing feedback over here: https://empyriononline.com/forums/faq-feedback.25/

Cheers & have a great time!

Empyrion Dev Team

==========

CHANGELOG: Alpha 8.1.0 (Build 1732)

Starter Planet Update:
TemperateStarter in Default Random scenario

- Reduced size of starter planet from Class 4 to Class 3 and adapted distances of POIs so they are a bit closer to Starter Biome
- Added mobile heater/cooler to start equipment, slightly increased amount of food and medical items in easy setting
- Reduced impact of height changes on temperature
- Added more snowy mountain caps
- Temperature reduction in GlacierSnow, PolarSnow and Pole biomes.

AI Update:
- Updated Mechanoid (2-leg robot) behavior to new AI framework

- Updated Cave Worms behavior to new AI framework: It is now similar to spiders, but without the fear component

- Added Cave Worm White and Green Herds (tweaked several playfield to take into account new herds)
- Updated Spider 01 behavior
- Updated Spider 02 and 03 to new AI framework

- For all spiders: added hit animations, added search behavior: when spider does not see the target, it will search around his last position; added rotation animation: when rotation is detected, spider will play walk animation in place
- Threat selection update: Player > HV/SV with player > empty HV/SV
- Deactivated troop transporter if no Marker2/DroneSpawner2 block placed on the drone base

Adapted Spider Spawning:
- reduced size of spider group
- reduced number of spider spawn points by around 25%
- slightly larger safe zone around starter biome

Gameplay:
- Added more detailed enemy colliders (eg colliders on legs of spiders, arms of Zirax, Mechanoid etc)

> so now you can hit them also when aiming arms and legs etc
- Added notification Message when attacking a block that cannot be destroyed
- Removing a block in creative no longer uses the Run key as a modifier, it now uses "Shift Modifier"

Visuals:
- Added "Camera Shake" option to Misc Options: you can now switch it off
- Tweaked camera shake, reactivated shake on escape pod
- Adjusted SV/HV cockpit color masks to decrease amount of scratches
- Other planets that show in the sky are now scaled correctly according to their size in orbit
- Updated preview screenshots of some scenarios and updated description text
- Unified Lock Icon and Locked Icon Color for Tech Tree and Constructor
- Tweaked planetary map: reduced icon size, increased max zoom, tweaked zoom levels for different planet sizes

- Use new button style for "Reset to Defaults" button in Control Options
- Improved display of "Effective Against" info in Info Texts (Trader etc)
- Resized some preview icons and made them smaller

Additions:
- Added "Default Creative" scenario with flat planets and few deco

- Added combat steel blocks for HVs (Note: for fast-swapping materials on your HV in Creative Mode, check out this help topic: https://empyriononline.com/threads/help-topic-replaceblocks-command.38359/ )
- Added static NPC Hexapod, Talon Guardian, Alien Assassin Grey (can be found under Alien Blocks; Deco and for use with PDA Missions)

Optimizations:
- Performance optimization of SSR effect
- Playfield server saves player inventory only every 4 seconds now (not every time a player sends it)

Added more Video Options:
- Added "Low" Setting for SSAO, activated by default in "Fast" and "Medium" Preset
- Added AntiAliasing settings to Video Settings

Multiplayer:
- Showing blocking connection error dialog to avoid exploits with slow network performance
- Dedicated server now monitors playfield server heartbeats during boot / preparation phase
- Server creates now a sub folder 'Playfields' in the Cache folder, Client + Server: deleting only Playfields sub folder when build changes to avoid losing blueprints from factory
- When a playfield server is stuck generating a playfield in the cache, the next playfield server will continue generating this after 20s

Other Changes:
- ThrusterMSRoundBlocks now available in Config.ecf
- SSG: add ability to preview POI resource deposits according to difficulty level: poor, normal, rich
- Added 'pf' for console command 'playfield' as abbreviation
- Reactivated stamp transfer database from server to client
- Updated POI Alien Tower Damaged: Made way to exit structure slightly more 'obvious'
- Updated snow planet: less grass and snowy grass with less snow coverage
- Updated other Temperate planets with more snow caps
- Increased diversity of Temperate planet (ranges in dynamic.yaml)
- Updated Localization.csv and fixed several Localization problems

Controller Update:
- Added proper focus jump support to title menu for controller.

Improved Planet/Orbit Transition:
- Removed noise from shores in 3d map and planet outside view
- Set clouds around player to soft, moved clouds around player into player transform
- Added atmosphere sphere to planet
- Fixed problem that AtmosphereScattering was wrong when entering planet

Updated Stock Prefabs:
- Added new CV Tier 1a StockPrefab: thanks to Nosture
Pegasus-Class1-(CV)
A Workshop Item for Empyrion - Galactic Survival
By: Nosture
Name: Pegasus Class: 1 Length/Meters : 48 Role : Exploration/Combat Crew Max : 3 Unlock level: 10 Warp drive: yes Hull : Full Combat Steel Blocks Weapons : - 2 Cannon Turret - 2 Slot to Rocket Launcher or Pulse Laser...

- Added new CV Tier 2 StockPrefab: thanks to Nosture https://steamcommunity.com/workshop/filedetails/?id=1411739976

- Added new BA Tier 4 StockPrefab: thanks to Nosture
Square-Outpost(BA)
A Workshop Item for Empyrion - Galactic Survival
By: Nosture

- Cleanup of stock prefabs: removed some old prefabs and some re-arrangement

Status Effects Update:
- Added 'backwards compatibility' for Pills and Injections for Antibiotic, Radiation and Antitoxic branch (Injection = can cure all 3 stages, Pills can cure stage 1 and 2) to add a progression to Ointment > Pills > Injection and reduce medical items required to be carried around.

Template and Item Update:
- Added backwards-compatibility to AntiParasiteInjection (+DermalParasite & EndoParasite) and AntiParasitePills (+DermalParasite)
- Herbal Leaves (PixieStalks, Aloe Vera) and Natural Sweetener (Alien Worm Plant) now cure DermalBurn,PoisonBit and Indigestion when consumed
- Spice now cures Frostbite when consumed
- EVA Booster craftable as a test (Needs GoldIngot for now)
- Ore Scanner, Detector Handheld, Detector HV: Added/updated hover-info description content
- Handheld Drill T2: updated hover info (removd info about pickup-automatic as Drill T1 has this as well)
- Removed DermalParasite cure from Antitoxic Pills & Antitoxic Injection

PDA Update:
- Updated Doctors Journal: Status effects updated with new medication possibilities.
- Updated Robinson Protocol SP and MP: Added some rewards for certain tasks and chapters (Note: In MP only the Mission LEADER gets all the rewards & needs to distribute them to the other group members!)
- Added Empyriopedia also to custom scenarios (SoS, IvD, DoG)

Bug Fixes:
- Fixed: Drop item dupe MP
- Fixed: Problem that HV could get stuck in water (now dynamic adaptation of speed on water)
- Fixed: Planet > Orbit transition: Problem that vessel had a force into a random direction (not the fly direction)
- Fixed: SSOR deposits regenerate if you leave some of the deposit & leave it, then return to it (MP only)
- Fixed: Drone base attacks not working reliable.
- Fixed: Problem that "No BA" spawning rule could be circumvented
- Fixed: Repair-to-Template: Problem that XenoSubstrate was not accepted in Repair Console when a CV used Xeno Steel
- Fixed: AI ShipFighter: problem with docking and launching from AI vessels bays
- Fixed: Global/faction chat cause exceptions when trying to copy text
- Fixed: Problem that Skillon moon in Akua-Omicron scenario was sometimes placed incorrectly due to wrong ordering in Sectors.yaml
- Fixed: Problem with decoration when there are more than 65k changes
- Fixed: Emergency Oxygen Generator did not appear in TechTree
- Fixed: Problem that "Radiation Protection" was displayed for certain blocks like Warp Drive or Gravity Generator (now: "Radioactivity")
- Fixed: Possible to drill surface stones with HV Tree Harvester
- Fixed: Random scenarios preview images now always showing up in new game window.
- Fixed: Not being able to zoom with the controller in the map until pressing something else.
- Fixed: PDA: Chapters with VisibleOnStartPlayfieldTypes restriction didn't show up in SSG created playfields
- Fixed: Alien Planet in IvD scenario was set to PvE (now PvP)
- Fixed: Certain message in Repair-to-Template Window was not displayed correctly ("rtbNoRepairTemplate")
- Fixed: AI exception when loading into a save.- Fixed: Active PDA signal checks got completed for all players when any player triggered it
- Fixed: POI BA_EpsilonOutpos malfunctioning entity spawners- Fixed: LOD of elderberry deco bush (billboard too close)
- Fixed: Status Effect "Intoxication" has broken text
- Fixed: Exception on playfield server when player fires rocket

===========

Update: June 21, 2018 - Hotfix (Build 1733)

- Fixed: Exception on startup for some players (exception appeared when an "old" Cave Worm was spawned)
- Fixed: Problem that a spawned vessel was falling in slow motion

===========

Update: June 23, 2018 - Hotfix (Build 1737)

- Fixed: 05165: Strange roaring Soundloop starts when joining a COOP game
- Fixed possible network disconnect exploit for mod API: item add/remove, credits, full inventory update
- Fixed: Internal exception

 

[shortylickens]

Hmm... Looking good.
At this rate they will probably beat Space Engineers to release.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

I dove in as a result of the Steam sale. I will say they still need some QOL tweaks when it comes to explanations/logic. I started the 'campaign' thing on the easiest difficulty (seemed like a decent place to start/figure out how to play the game). It took me about 9 hours, one restart, and a post on the steam forums to figure out how to get biofuel. Massive supercomplex you start with doesn't come with any, and you need logs to make it (before I found out there was actually scrub-brush you could occasionally come across for plant matter), and you don't start with any biofuel for the chainsaw that you begin with. You also start with some kind of multi-tool, with the same description as the freebie survival tool you can make so I didn't bother making it. Turns out that thing can mine trees, super-multi-tool can't. Womp womp.

 

[SMOGZINN]

I dove in as a result of the Steam sale. I will say they still need some QOL tweaks when it comes to explanations/logic.

Wait until you try to build your first hovercraft. Trust me just use a blueprint.

 

[Ranulf]

Beware that there is a bug with the "Robinson" questline on the Mid Titan part. The fix is listed in the steam forums but it doesn't work for everyone. The mission log gets stuck on that quest even if you've competed it. When it comes to learning the crafting system, you just have to read the tooltips and experiment. Biofuel is a lot easier to get now than it was in alpha 7. Deforestation is your friend. And later on you're going to want to raid the storage bins of abandoned mines and bases.