Greetings spacefarers! [img=http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/39727086901087091/CF271F6F7C1AB83CF419A65A022DFFD0A8A9CCD3/] AN IMMEDIATE EDIT: Time for a touch of sad news. We've hit two problems, late encountered, as can be seen from the time we're releasing this update. One is related to compressed sector files. We know what the problem is exactly, but it will take until tomorrow to fix. Once that's done, you can expect the freeze when crossing sector border to reduce some more. The other is related to combat music, more specifically switching from standard to combat music and back. To prevent you fair ladies and gents from having your ears bleeding (the symptom was screeching noise from the deepest pits of the 9th circle of hell), we've switched off combat music for now, until we get to the bottom of the problem. We hope to have it fixed tomorrow as well, in which case you can expect both of these features in working order tomorrow too. The more varied music tracks are not impacted by this problem, so at least that's some consolation :). While the below list might seem small in comparison to our usual changelists, a lot of work has been done since the last update. Most changes unfortunately have no point in being mentioned since they're important for the upcoming campaign mode. Highlights? Well... how about updated loot drop system, or full controller support, or perhaps the twin suns Castor and Pollux, more music tracks, artefacts, improved streaming... Feel free to take your pick :). ------------ [b]IMPORTANT![/b] Full controller support. This one is a bit tricky. We've made default profiles for all gamepads and joysticks we could get our hands on, but we need your help once again ladies and gentlemen. All the controllers we tested have different configurations, making our work much harder. Basically this is what I'd like to ask of you: If you try out a gamepad configuration, and you realize the default sucks big-time, let us know please. Moreover, if you're feeling especially generous, please configure your gamepad in the in-game options, and then send [b]oliver@starpointgemini.com[/b] both your [i]StarpointGemini2Configuration.cfg[/i] and [i]log.txt[/i], located in the game root directory. This will allow us to create a default profile for that specific device. Also if you encounter some problems using your controller device, let us know. We'll tweak, update and fix 'em all. In general, we're looking forward to feedback regarding controllers :). ------------ We plan to have one more update before final launch, but of course if necessary, we'll release quickfixes in the meantime. And it is possible we'll be iterating through smaller, focused updates over the next two weeks. And finally one more thing to mention: Cinematic trailer. I won't yammer too much about it. Have a look instead ;). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHr9tqOYvN4 [b]CHANGE LIST[/b] [list] [*]FIXED: An issue where destroying ships that spawn a derelict, caused outlaw looters to appear, which in turn could create an endless stream of outlaw looters. Several more script checks implemented. [*]FIXED: Tzar carrier hangar parameters fixed and tweaked [*]FIXED: Heavy weapon blast radius now deals damage to the object that was actually hit [*]FIXED: Ice asteroids now use appropriate destruction visuals [*]FIXED: A script problem where in certain instances a [i]for loop[/i] never activated. [*]FIXED: A crash related to Caridad station. Its parameters were all messed up [*]FIXED: A crash that occurred if capturing a grappled ship that was on the verge of breaking grappler hold (distance) [*]FIXED: A bug that resulted in player ship not being visible on loading game after dying [*]FIXED: A a bug related to the Capture freelance mission that resulted in game crash [*]FIXED: Ship sell price, when selling immediately on docking and when selling from the garage is now identical [*]UPDATED: Blueprint part drop rate [list] [*]Based on feedback, drop rate of blueprints is increased in all instances [*]Blueprint parts can now be acquired by hacking structures [*]Blueprint parts can now be acquired by transporting onto structures [*]Blueprint parts can now be acquired by scanning anomalies [/list] [*]UPDATED: [i]Loot drop[/i] system changed [list] [*]Loot drop definition files completely changed to make it easier to balance [*]Loot drop now depends more on experience level and target type [/list] [*]UPDATED: Orpheus mine damage is generally reduced, but damage now depends on player level [*]UPDATED: Damage of the SETH deployable platform now depends on player level [*]UPDATED: Station will no longer call in a large security force to [i]deal[/i] with you if you caused problems near it. The numbers are tweaked, largely based on player level. [*]UPDATED: If a station doesn't have any friendly ships nearby, security forces will no longer show up [*]UPDATED: Destroying bounties that are hostile towards you no longer yields negative reputation change [*]UPDATED: [i]Reset general settings[/i] confirmation box text changed to display appropriate text. [*]UPDATED: Ship, structure and station shaders to improve material glow quality [*]UPDATED: Spire station now only offers lawful licenses [*]UPDATED: Tortuga Bay station now only offers outlaw licenses [*]UPDATED: Nebulas optimized some more. More specifically, when [i]inside[/i] a nebula, other nebulas are not rendered [*]UPDATED: Mission objective text that appears next to a mission-related object, is no longer hard-coded, but is taken from misc.txt file [*]UPDATED: Numerous texts in the German and Russian localizations [*]UPDATED: Removed [i]Evasion[/i] parameter from defense platform files (*.def) [*]UPDATED: Increased chance of triggering global events that are related to prices and trading to make the market [i]more lively[/i] [*]UPDATED: NPC ships now come with a full complement of Troopers, making them harder to capture (further updates will bring other balancing) [*]ADDED: Big picture mode & full controller support [list] [*]Simply plug in a gamepad or joystick and restart the game [*]You're offered a different control scheme which makes it possible to choose [i]how[/i] you want to control the various game panels [*]Using controllers is possible in both control schemes [*]Further tweaks, improvements and manufacturer presets will be done based on feedback [/list] [*]ADDED: Artefacts [list] [*]Artefacts can now be collected from special structures scattered around Gemini [*]Collecting all artefacts yields a special reward [/list] [*]ADDED: Another optimization pass focused mostly on sector-to-sector streaming [list] [*]Model streaming implemented [*]Audio streaming implemented [*]Script files compressed [/list] [*]ADDED: Twin suns now shine over Gemini from its center (will be further graphically improved) [*]ADDED: Confirm resolution change panel can now be closed and resolution change can be cancelled [*]ADDED: A new type of encounter into the game world, generated randomly, but with certain conditions [*]ADDED: Scanning anomalies can now cause a [i]revenant[/i] to drop out of rift space (can be either friendly or hostile) [*]ADDED: Info panels for stations, structures, planets, derelicts and anomalies [*]ADDED: Leviathan is now placed into the game world [/list]