August 27th: Multiplayer
Not many visible changes in this update, but there's a huge amount of work happening behind the scenes. As a result, don't be too surprised if a few strange bugs pop up in single-player...
And yes, I just called it single-player, because all of those behind-the-scenes changes are laying the groundwork for the new Multiplayer mode!
On August 27th 2026, the multiplayer update will go live. Right now I'm working through bugs and doing a lot of testing. Over the next 3 - 4 weeks I'll also start inviting people from Discord to help out. If you'd like to get involved, come and join us at: https://discord.gg/ePgg7qgs4b
I'm not looking to turn the game into some massively multiplayer experience, but you'll be able to host games and play 2–8 player co-op with friends, strangers, or even jump into PvP if that's more your thing.
The multiplayer browser will list any public games but be warned, multiplayer uses your existing single-player saves and as such there won't be any anti-cheat software running.
It's already working to a degree, it's just still pretty buggy. Once I've finished some more local testing, I'll open it up to Discord testers and see what else breaks.
Just to be clear, this is Online and LAN multiplayer, not split-screen or couch co-op. That's an entirely different barrel of problems.
The rest of this update is mostly balance changes based on recent player feedback. Enjoy!
Patch Notes
Balance Changes
• Projectile-based primary weapons deal 10% more damage.
• Missile hull tripled so volleys can survive PDLs and stray fire.
• Missile damage increased by 48-50% across all missile weapons.
• Enemy missiles keep their old damage and hull so they can still be shot down.
• Explosive shots now detonate closer to targets, so blasts catch enemy groups.
• Noisy Cricket now triggers thermal surges on kills instead of knockback.
• Conduits can now receive On Kill modifiers and activate them on killing blows.
• Conduits now scale with the class upgrades of the weapon they are linked to.
• Electric Halo damage reduced by 30% to bring it in line with other Halos.
• Auto Tesla Coil damage increased by 58% as it lagged behind the new Halos.
• Auto Tesla Coil now chains to 1 more target than before.
Quality of Life / Accessibility
• Halo weapons now show DPS and Tick Rate in their stats like beam weapons.
• Missile launchers now auto-link when equipped or moved between slots.
• Harmless input errors from Windows no longer open the error overlay.
Bug Fixes
• AI ships now fly close enough for their shortest automatic weapon to engage.
• Fixed leftover loading fades stacking up and darkening the game over time.
• Fixed a faint copy of the menu appearing in the blurred panel backdrop.
• Fixed Hull Leech healing from the previous hit instead of the killing blow.
• Items with an invalid rarity in the save file are now repaired on load.
• Enemy modifiers on the map now refresh on expansion fixing a silent UI error.
Files
Get Star Vortex
Star Vortex
Fight your way through hostile alien sectors, upgrade, salvage and experiment with different builds in this Action RPG.
| Status | In development |
| Publisher | Hunted Cow Games |
| Author | Zorg |
| Genre | Role Playing |
| Tags | 2D, Action RPG, Sci-fi, Space |
| Languages | English |
| Accessibility | Color-blind friendly, Subtitles, Configurable controls, Interactive tutorial |
More posts
- Full Thrust (v0.7.91)15 days ago
- Ice and Fire (v0.7.9)25 days ago
- Zombies (v0.7.8)29 days ago
- Conduits (v0.7.6)41 days ago
- Close Combat (v0.7.5)50 days ago
- Specialists (v0.7.2)70 days ago
- Hotfix (v0.7.16)82 days ago
- Chain Reactions (v0.7.15)84 days ago
- Glossary (v0.7.13)93 days ago

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