Astroneer's Pre-Alpha Early Access will be updated to version 0.3.10201.0 (Patch "201")



Update 201 includes some new controls, makes adjustments to tethers, and adds a new item! We as a team are moving out of the prototyping phase and into implementation of our major boulder sized tasks for feedback from the community. We will be updating the roadmap next week with LOTS of info as a result of these last few weeks but I will say this, the goal is to wrap these systems up and move on to Alpha ASAP. More info on that in the bottom prototyping section. Now for notes!

Updates

You can find these updates in 0.3.101201.0, the current build of the game.

Added the Alignment Augment
This new augment creates a flat plane that is perpendicular to the curve of the planet, unlike the existing Flatten mode, which flattens based on a selected voxel and mimics that angle. The Alignment augment will make a flat surface based on the planet's center. When used vertically, it creates curved, column-like walls.



Changes to tether placement
Pressing the “place tether” button will now place a Tether post at the Astroneer’s feet. The post can be moved around after that point. This change affects both Mouse and Controller players. For tethers, we feel these changes are going to have a great benefit to the overall experience. PROTIP: Now when running and placing tethers, drop them as soon as your oxygen line detaches. This will give you maximum length between tethers, while still allowing you to run in the direction you were going.

Gamepad Control Changes
When using the terrain tool, the camera now defaults to a fixed over-the-shoulder view, and holding LT unlocks the cursor and puts you in the old default mode. Clicking RS alters camera zoom distance as before, except that the closest zoom in this mode is very nearly first-person. When you have your terrain tool out, use right stick to aim the terrain reticle, and left stick to move your Astroneer. Now the right stick is universally the way to look, and the left stick will always allow you to move your Astroneer, whether deforming or just running around.
Brendan gave us a walkthrough on this week's vlog, check it out here:

https://youtu.be/pWxE6lz7WKg

New sounds and updates to old sounds have been implemented

• [AS-856] - Winch now has audio.
• [AS-857] - Connecting two conduits together now has audio.
• [AS-1275] - Worklight now has audio
• [AS-1309] - Vehicle enter and exit animations now have sound effects.
• [AS-1507] - Beacon audio has been updated

Riley has been hard at work fixing some new bugs, and simultaneously using Wwise to add new content. Expect the soundscape of Astroneer to continually get updates.

Tether posts now physically simulate and fall to the ground when deforming terrain under them.
No more floating tethers in the middle of the air, if you deform under them, tethers now respond to those changes and no longer act like possessed space ghosts.

Vehicle handling changes!
Steering is now more wheel-controlled and the Rovers have been made more stable overall. Players should see less flipping and spiralling when taking Rovers off sweet jumps. Vehicle physics are still a work in progress, and vehicles might still be a bit wonky on planets with lower gravity. This will be addressed in a future update.

Bug Fixes

Crash Fixes:

• [AS-1474] - Fixed a rare crash, that according to engineers was “super weird, and something that should never occur,” involving the game trying to access non-existent Rover wheels.
• [AS-1482] - Fixed a crash that occurred while trying to change resolution in cases where the settings .ini file had become corrupted.
• [AS-1517] - Fixed an edge case where the game would crash while unplugging the controller and holding any button.
• [AS-1552] - Fixed a Multiplayer crash that would occur if a Client player joined a game while the Host was not on Terran.

Thanks to last update, the crash list is fairly short and were mainly edge cases. Got a crash? Here’s how to send it over!

Options Menu:

• [AS-760] - Two different actions can no longer be assigned to the same key / button.
• [AS-1427] - Fixed an issue where audio values reset to 0 after changing them during active gameplay, and then terminating the title.
• [AS-1444] - Fixed an issue on Xbox One where brightness setting temporarily persisted when backing out of the pause menu without selecting 'Apply and Resume.'
• [AS-1514] - Steam client Options menu text adjusts more elegantly to changing window sizes or resolutions (except for very small resolutions or unusual window shapes).
• Changes to Options menu now persist between sessions on Xbox One.

The options menu is a work in progress, and a few bugs popped up since the last update. Another PROTIP: use the arrow keys to adjust values so you don’t have to click the mouse 1 million times. We will implement sliders down the line.

Audio fixes:

• [AS-1475] - Fixed an issue in Multiplayer games, where Smelter audio loop continued playing for the Client player.
• [AS-1524] - Fixed an issue where the Heartbeat audio loop continuously played after returning to main menu.

General Fixes:

• [AS-1447] - Fixed an issue on Xbox One where players would respawn partially underground after dying by falling
• [AS-1527] - Reintroduced the plumbline to Beacons
• [AS-1528] - Fixed an issue where items would go on a beautiful journey into space if not collected from an dead Astroneer before a second death occurs.
• [AS-1533] - Fixed a major issue where saves were disappearing on Xbox/Win10
• Fixed a bug that was causing Rovers to fall through the world when loading into a saved game.
• Astroneers should no longer get stuck inside base modules as they are being built.
• Fixed a bug where Tethers were not auto-highlighting for selection when playing with a controller.

PROTOTYPING

The following major feature prototypes are going on during development, but are not included in this release.

As mentioned above, our initial prototyping phase is starting to move into implementation. That means we will see faster and more concrete progress that players will be able to get their hands on in coming updates. Now that we have our full team firing on all cylinders, you can expect new things to play in experimental and/or the main versions of the game in almost every update going forward as we push toward our goal of being in Alpha! We are really excited to start getting feedback on the roadmap “boulders” we have been tackling.

Research 2.0
Last update we talked about how our Research 2.0 prototype had been tested internally, and after lots of internal feedback and discussions, implementation has begun. Lots of work to be done here, but we are working towards a completely new progression path that allows players of different playstyles to unlock the things they want to, rather than the current completely randomized system. Sam W. had lots to say about this in a vlog! The plan is to get this into a future experimental build for you all to give feedback on.

Terrain 2.0
While Zabir works hard on the tech, the art team and other engineers are plotting out the new ways we can author interesting and more varied terrain, while still keeping Astroneer’s signature look. To reiterate earlier posts, our new terrain system will allow for all of the above, while simultaneously letting us up the player count in multiplayer sessions.

Dedicated Servers
In case you missed the announcement, we hired our last Engineer (for now ;]) Carl, who will be helping push forward all tech related to dedicated servers, online persistence, and more. We have also identified our partner for hosting, which we will announce at a later date!

Modularity
Modularity has advanced very nicely. After the initial prototype was validated, Aaron has been working on the specifics of how the system will work with other in game loops. During that process, the need was brought up for another system to get an overhaul which leads to the next section.

Power Refactor
I refuse to add another 2.0 so let’s go with refactor! A couple of weeks back, Elijah did a segment on the vlog where he talked about how we are redoing the power system. Go watch that. To sum it up: in order for bases to be modular, we need to allow players to deliberately control power flow and lines. While refactoring that though, we also are working on gameplay elements that allow players to make more interesting bases. Want to build an underground base but use solar power? Set up your solar farm on the surface, and pipe the power down deep underground. This is one example, but I hope it is enough for you to understand the interesting ways the power refactor can change the ways you play Astroneer.

Once again, this is a long one! Thanks for reading and please do not hesitate to reach out with feedback, suggestions, bugs, and encouragement for the team!

-joe