Time for the game's first Major Update! This update is the culmination of all the feedback I received when I released into Early Access on July 28th.

Weapon unlocks are gone, the upgrade system has been overhauled, and you now get far more freedom and build variety with fewer restrictions. A while back, I asked the Discord which update they wanted first: this rework or Sector 4. The vote was overwhelmingly this.

There has never been a better time to start a fresh run. And if you’re waiting for the final sector and the conclusion of the story, you can comfortably play through to the end of Sector 3 and hold your save there.

Classes / Upgrades

The upgrade system is now split into primary and secondary classes. Each class has a final unlockable upgrade that is free once you’ve invested enough points in that class (20 for primary, 10 for secondary). You can pick any upgrades you like in any order. The only limits are player level requirements, and those exist purely to avoid overwhelming new players. Once you meet the level requirement, you’re free to move your points around however you wish.

The final upgrade for each class gives you a new slot if it’s a primary class, or a game-changing effect if it’s a secondary.

In total, there are 21 new upgrades and 17 old ones have been removed. Many upgrades have been improved to hit harder and feel more meaningful. All existing saves will have their upgrades reset, and the respec cost has been drastically reduced so you can experiment freely.

Dreadnought - Warden Class

The new Warden class focuses on boosting your hull points and making your ship much tougher. Its final upgrade lets you fly one ship class above your normal level limit. So if you’re high enough level to use a Battleship, you’ll now unlock the Dreadnought.

The Dreadnought comes with a larger shield, far more hull, and a fifth passive slot, but you lose the ability to dodge. To support builds for these larger ships, I’ve added four new larger Conclave parts that any class can use in their designs.

Second Utility Slot - Guardian Class

The Guardian class brings major improvements to Point Defense Lasers. Its final upgrade gives you a second utility slot, letting you run two PDLs at once… or mix a PDL with a grapple gun if you prefer.

New Starting Ships

With weapon unlocks removed from the upgrade system, I can now offer a much wider range of starting equipment. Because of that, all four starting ships have been redesigned to feel more distinct and interesting. I've also bulked up the ship designs a little so you begin with a bit more survivability.

Community Highlights

A new section for the news posts. Here I'll highlight any changes that come directly from posts in the Steam Community or on Discord.

(Steam Community) Item Sorting in Assembler

When I was cramming everything into the 140% UI scale on Steam Decks, I omitted the sorting drop-down from the Assembler panel. This has now been slotted in below the equipment on the right.

https://steamcommunity.com/app/2098160/discussions/0/679608596889076945/

(Steam Community) New Binding Options

A while ago, I added the ability to click items while holding SHIFT to move them to storage in the Assembler. This modifier key can now be remapped in the settings. In addition to this, a new key binding (right stick button) has been added to do this with controllers. Oh yeah, right-click also does this now in case that's your preference.

https://steamcommunity.com/app/2098160/discussions/0/679608596889076945/

(Steam Community) Rebound / Weapon Linking Fixes

Rebound weapons work again. Last update, I broke them so they'd only activate once and then get stuck. Also, weapon linking now works how it should; there were some significant issues with the old logic.

https://steamcommunity.com/app/2098160/discussions/0/661593286391230729/

(Discord) Missile Improvements

Explosive missiles now explode when they're within about 50% of their explosive radius of an enemy target. This makes the Inferno Cannon and Proton Torpedoes much easier to hit with. Homing missiles now also aim to intercept targets rather than chase them. These benefits are for the player only; enemy weapons will behave the same as they always have.

(Discord) Drone / Turret Toughness

As the invulnerable upgrade was removed as part of the changes, drones and turrets have been made tougher by inheriting stats from their parent ships. This was suggested a long time ago and is finally in.

15% Discount

Star Vortex's biggest ever discount of 15% off is now live and will be available for the next two weeks over Black Friday / Cyber Monday. As this will be the final early-game change, now is an excellent time to pick it up and make your way to the end of Sector 3, ready for the next major update!

Next Update

Work is now going to begin on Sector 4 and the conclusion of the storyline. This will obviously take a while. The test branch will be getting partial access early, so if you're interested in becoming a tester, join our Discord and send me a DM.

Smaller updates will also be added along the way. I'd really like to get a few extra classes, like Rocketeer, added if I get time. There are also some improvements to the asteroids that people have requested to make them less of an annoyance.

Thanks for taking the time to read all that. I hope you enjoy the update!

Patch Notes

New Features / Content

• New upgrade system implemented with the removal of three trees and weapon unlocks.

• Choose from 4 new starting ships with more diverse weapons for each primary class.

• Added 21 new upgrades and removed 17 old upgrades.

• Added a new, larger Dreadnought ship class for the Warden class.

• Added support for a 5th passive slot for the Warden class.

• Added support for a second Utility slot for the Guardian class.

• Added 4 new, larger parts for Conclave ships to help when designing Dreadnoughts.

• Debuff Chance upgrades improved from +2% per point to +5%.

• Crit Chance upgrades improved from +3% per point to +5%.

• Armor upgrade improved from +4% per point to +5%.

• Shield Points upgrade has been improved from +10% per point to +20%.

• Turn Speed upgrade has been improved from +2% per point to +10%.

• Dodge Factor upgrade has been improved from 2% to 5%.

• Dodge Factor upgrade renamed Thruster Power and also applies to acceleration and boost.

• Shield Resistance upgrade now called Resistance and increases ALL resistance types.

Balance Changes

• Player explosive projectiles now explode at 50% their blast radius from an enemy.

• Player homing projectiles now aim to intercept enemies rather than chase them.

• Drones and turrets now inherit armor and resistances from their parent ship.

• Vastly reduced cost of removing upgrade points.

• Max speed of ship classes now tapers more gradually from 240ms down to 160ms.

• Reduced chain count of Tesla Coil primary weapon to +1 every 25 levels.

• Starting shields for new players are now always Radioactive resistance.

• Fixed asteroid health going from super low to super high with incorrect scaling.

• Increased damage of Auto Tesla Coils by +50% to bring them in line with other weapons.

• Increased damage of Auto Heat Rays by +5% to bring them in line with other weapons.

Quality of Life / Accessibility

• Items can now be sent to/from storage by clicking the right stick on a controller.

• Items can now be sent to/from storage using right-click on the mouse.

• Storage bindings can now be customized in the bindings panel.

• Added cargo sorting drop-down to the bottom right of the Assembler panel.

• Ship selection at player creation now shows shields and thrusters alongside weapons.

• Removed loading screen tips as the game generally loads too quickly to read them.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed bug where linked weapons would sometimes not activate correctly.

• Fixed bug where rebound weapons couldn't be fired more than once.

• Fixed bug where exiting dialog with a controller could cause the ship to boost.

• Fixed bug where Sector Gateway could not be hit by grapple guns.

• Grapples can no longer attach to other grapples.

• Fixed ArgumentOutOfRangeException in Launcher.StatsChanged() when changing equipment.

• Fixed index error in translation when selling items in Russian.

• Fixed NullReference in ShipBody.BreakAwayPart() when some enemy ships are damaged.

• Fixed bug where laser/bolt orbs were doing more damage than intended.

• Fixed bug where all slots of the same type would animate when equipping an item.

• Ship images during new player ship selection no longer render empty slots under weapons.

• Steps on early tutorial missions no longer overflow the mission panel.

• Fixed bugs where checks if an item could be unequipped were bypassed.

• Fixed bug where Auto Tesla Coils were less likely to increase debuffs that stated.

• Fixed bug where chained bolts from Auto Tesla Coils would not do damage.