In preparation for the numerous batches of new players hitting the game, we took a moment to fix a lot of nagging little issues and Quality of Life improvements to make the game more fun and intuitive. Additionally, we ramped up an entire new world that’s suitable for building…although new foes await you there also! [h3][b]FOR THESE PREVIEW TESTS ONLY! (INVENTORY)[/b][/h3] Because the duration of these preview tests is only two hours long, we’ve decided to make it much easier for players to get a sense of the game. We’ve given you all of the tools in the game. You can equip them onto your toolbelt and use them, even without unlocking the skill nodes associated with them. You’ll be able to start accumulating experience that way that can be spent on the various skill trees. (Skill trees are opened via the “K” button.) Additionally, there is a crate near each portal. You can access that crate to get small starter sets of building tiles (for the Fabricator), blocks (for the Instaformer), and road tiles (for the Paver). You can get these multiple times by clicking the crate multiple times…but be careful not to overfill your inventory…it’s kind of a pain to delete stuff at the moment. Lastly, we unlocked the skill nodes for “additional camp size” and “enable homestead” so that you can lay down a Camp Kit and convert it to a Homestead to start building right away. Enjoy! Definitely try the Grav Mesh and the Grapple! They’re both super useful and fun. [h3][b]ESCARION[/b][/h3] [list] [*] A new world, Escarion, has been added. Like the other worlds, it is accessed by going to Space and traveling to it via Portal. [*] There are large sections of creature-less and buildable areas in this world, including the extensive cave network, a good chunk of the beach, and the hill area between those areas. Also the big island in the middle of the lake is free of terror. [*] Other parts of the world have a wide variety of creatures on it, most of which would like to eat you. [*] Escarion has a couple of new resources available on it, including: [list] [*] Turquoise [*] Opal [/list][*] New zone sweeper mobs: Joules and The Hart [*] New creatures: Paindeer and Spitting Roaches [/list] [h3][b]QUALITY OF LIFE IMPROVEMENTS[/b][/h3] [list] [*] You now get 10XP per planted tree (for Forestry) and 3X the XP for Depositing resources vs. Extracting them (for Mineralogy). This is the first baby step toward Planetology as we reward you for undoing destruction. [*] When you harvest a plant, it is removed! It will regrow elsewhere on the map. [*] There is a toggle on the Options screen that allows you to turn Homestead boundaries on/off. When Homesteads are toggled on, they are visible from a much greater distance (to help you decide where to place your Homesteads). [*] Homesteads can be created on top of a Survey node, but it will always float above whatever building tiles, blocks, or resources put on top of it so that it can’t be hidden. Other players can enter the homestead and still access the survey node. [*] Skill trees are ordered properly and show a nested structure so you can tell when one skill tree is required to open another one. [*] You now get skill descriptions on a skill node, even after you acquire it. [*] Chat scrolls smoothly up/down now on the chat pane. [*] When you mouse over an item in your inventory, it now shows the name of that item. [*] Pressing the “/” key now opens your chat and adds “/” to the chat box (making it easier to do emotes). [*] The Dance wound healing effect now stops if you stop dancing. [*] Wounds on your stat bars are now clearly indicated to make it more obvious what’s happening. [*] The decal for area effect attacks by creatures has been improved so that the player doesn’t change colors as much when it overlaps them. [*] When you use F11 to report a bug, the cursor will change from fixed-reticle to free-reticle so you can enter text easily, and then revert back to fixed-reticle after you’re done. [*] When you enter a Camp, you’ll now get a message that your pattern has been saved. [*] When you die, there is a chat message telling you what was left in your gravemarker. [*] The Instaformer block interface has been changed to make it much more obvious whether it’s in Place or Destroy mode, and to make it easier to see depth as you move it around. [*] A building grid has been added while using the Fabricator and Instaformer to make it easier to place blocks and tiles. [*] When you use a consumable (from the “F” radial menu) that type of consumable is now chosen and displayed on the HUD. Tapping “F” from then on will use that consumable without needing to open the radial menu. (You’ll need to open the radial menu to change consumables, however.) [*] Stat bars now have icons on them to identify what they are used for. [*] The default setting for Field of View in the game has been changed from 40 degrees to 60 degrees. There is also a FoV field on the Options menu so that you can change it from 40 to 75 degrees. [*] You can now harvest (and plant) all mushroom types. Additionally, there are a great number of new flowers [*] Several AMD crashes were eliminated and it should be much easier for AMD players to enjoy the game now. [*] Projectiles no longer hit bushes or Survey nodes. [*] If you melt the ground under a tree, it will begin burning, but it also sinks down into the molten lava. [*] The portal platforms (in space and on planets) have been modified slightly to make them easier to navigate. [*] Trees now spread much more often, making it more difficult (although not impossible) for players to log all the trees on a planet. [*] F1 screens have been caught up to match current functionality. [*] Audio for crafting stations have been updated and improved. [*] Arrow keys were added to Q/E buttons when you are able to use them to toggle through resources, making that functionality more obvious. Also, the name of the specials you have are also now shown on the HUD. [*] Crafting stations are now building decor objects. Once you craft them, place them by using the Fabricator and putting them on your Homestead. [*] Mushrooms come in many flavors now. Previously, no matter what type of mushroom you harvested, it was just “Mushroom”. Now it’s Chanterelle, Amanita, etc. [*] Increased the yield of Consumable recipes so that you get five consumables per craft instead of one. Enjoy! [*] Gashogs have been changed to stop an infinite spawn issue. After you kill the smallest version, they will auto-inflate over time, becoming more threatening. NOTE: Only the largest size drops loot and it doesn’t drop the loot if it explodes on its own. [*] Removed the ballhive spawner that was above the Jungle portal. [*] When you Gift someone, you’ll see the items arc through the air to that other character now. [*] The Hopper now drops an amount of material that will almost fill the hole you originally dug. This is also true of Depositing resources. Doing so into the hole you originally dug will almost fill it up now. [*] The Roachmaster now spawns Roaches. (Instead of “spaceroaches”) They act similarly, but differently. [*] Skysharks in space are now “Spacesharks” and pose a different threat than those on planets. [*] Removed all Makers from Zaraxa (the desert world) until we get time to work on those scripts to make them less buggy. [*] When you gather resources via the Harvester or Xyloslicer you’ll now see the resources you gained on the left side of the screen (just like when using Extraction with the Terraformer). [/list] [h3][b]KNOWN ISSUES[/b][/h3] Rarely, the terrain on a world will disappear when you travel to a world via the portal. There is no workaround for this. You need to quit the game and restart it. You won’t lose anything and you’ll restart where you were located when you quit. There are occasional game crashes when portaling to new worlds. For some reason, it’s almost always when you portal to Zaraxa (the desert planet). We’re still trying to figure that one out. This update is just a glimpse of what’s to come as we continue shaping Stars Reach. Every fix, improvement, and new world we introduce is driven by our passion for crafting an MMORPG that truly feels alive. Your support means everything, and we’re just getting started. The Stars Reach Kickstarter is launching soon! If you’re excited about the future of the game, this is your chance to help bring it to life. Wishlist us on Steam, join the community, and stay tuned for exclusive rewards when the campaign goes live. Together, we’ll build something incredible! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/starsreach/stars-reach