This post is about a feature of the free Space Birthday Update, out now! See this post for the details.
Full notes
Full Heat Signature update
Read the full published notes in a cleaner layout. The original post stays linked below.
What changed
0 fixes3 additions0 changes0 removals
Gameplay
UI and audio
Balance
addedCharacter TraitsThe characters you choose from at the start of a life in Heat Signature now have randomly chosen traits that change how they play - some helpful, some challenging. So one character might be:
addedCharacter TraitsThese affect your playstyle as I'd hoped, but I didn't realise they would tell little stories. In testing I got a character who was 'Weak: can't use melee weapons' and 'Ex-Sovereign: bonuses to blade attacks'. I was about to tweak the game to prevent that combo, since one overrules the other, but then I found myself thinking about who this person might be. Maybe being too weak to use a blade is why they were kicked out of Sovereign? Or maybe they were an expert blademaster before an injury left them weak? Every version was interesting, so I didn't end up prohibiting it. We've also added a button to 're-roll' newly generated characters - mouse over them and hit F (or the Loot button) to send them home and get a new one. Characters still have a chance to have no traits, so you can get a standard one this way.
addedCharacter TraitsFor every challenging trait a character can have, there's a new achievement for completing their personal mission despite it. You can get several of these at once if you manage it with a character who has multiple challenging traits. Traits also serve as a difficulty choice, of sorts: we don't try to balance positive and negative traits, some characters just have a tough time of it and others much less so. It's up to you what kind of life you're interested in living this time. The most challenging traits of all are the vows: some characters have sworn never to kill, never to harm, or never to be seen. Completing your personal mission with these intact is tough. But if you do break your vow, it's not game-over: we just tell you it's broken and let you keep playing as normal. In many ways, that character's story is just as interesting as one who stuck to their word. This post is about a feature of the free Space Birthday Update, out now! See this post for the details.
Heat Signature changes
addedThe characters you choose from at the start of a life in Heat Signature now have randomly chosen traits that change how they play - some helpful, some challenging. So one character might be:
addedThese affect your playstyle as I'd hoped, but I didn't realise they would tell little stories. In testing I got a character who was 'Weak: can't use melee weapons' and 'Ex-Sovereign: bonuses to blade attacks'. I was about to tweak the game to prevent that combo, since one overrules the other, but then I found myself thinking about who this person might be. Maybe being too weak to use a blade is why they were kicked out of Sovereign? Or maybe they were an expert blademaster before an injury left them weak? Every version was interesting, so I didn't end up prohibiting it. We've also added a button to 're-roll' newly generated characters - mouse over them and hit F (or the Loot button) to send them home and get a new one. Characters still have a chance to have no traits, so you can get a standard one this way.
addedFor every challenging trait a character can have, there's a new achievement for completing their personal mission despite it. You can get several of these at once if you manage it with a character who has multiple challenging traits. Traits also serve as a difficulty choice, of sorts: we don't try to balance positive and negative traits, some characters just have a tough time of it and others much less so. It's up to you what kind of life you're interested in living this time. The most challenging traits of all are the vows: some characters have sworn never to kill, never to harm, or never to be seen. Completing your personal mission with these intact is tough. But if you do break your vow, it's not game-over: we just tell you it's broken and let you keep playing as normal. In many ways, that character's story is just as interesting as one who stuck to their word. This post is about a feature of the free Space Birthday Update, out now! See this post for the details.
This post is about a feature of the free Space Birthday Update, out now! See this post for the details.
Character Traits
The characters you choose from at the start of a life in Heat Signature now have randomly chosen traits that change how they play - some helpful, some challenging. So one character might be:
Whereas another might be:
These affect your playstyle as I'd hoped, but I didn't realise they would tell little stories. In testing I got a character who was 'Weak: can't use melee weapons' and 'Ex-Sovereign: bonuses to blade attacks'. I was about to tweak the game to prevent that combo, since one overrules the other, but then I found myself thinking about who this person might be. Maybe being too weak to use a blade is why they were kicked out of Sovereign? Or maybe they were an expert blademaster before an injury left them weak? Every version was interesting, so I didn't end up prohibiting it. We've also added a button to 're-roll' newly generated characters - mouse over them and hit F (or the Loot button) to send them home and get a new one. Characters still have a chance to have no traits, so you can get a standard one this way.
For every challenging trait a character can have, there's a new achievement for completing their personal mission despite it. You can get several of these at once if you manage it with a character who has multiple challenging traits. Traits also serve as a difficulty choice, of sorts: we don't try to balance positive and negative traits, some characters just have a tough time of it and others much less so. It's up to you what kind of life you're interested in living this time. The most challenging traits of all are the vows: some characters have sworn never to kill, never to harm, or never to be seen. Completing your personal mission with these intact is tough. But if you do break your vow, it's not game-over: we just tell you it's broken and let you keep playing as normal. In many ways, that character's story is just as interesting as one who stuck to their word. This post is about a feature of the free Space Birthday Update, out now! See this post for the details.
