Helium Rain 1.0.1 released

Our final Early Access update has been published today, and we've got a new trailer for our upcoming launch ! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oAKZwCSxSY

1.0 now available on the default branch

Last week, we released a new 1.0.0 version on the beta channel with many changes:

• New artifact system to earn research points through exploration

• New Anomaly & Pharos sectors

• New economy model

• New auto-trading technology to let fleets work automatically

• Trade route & contracts upgrades

• Lots of bugs fixed !

We haven't seen major issues with 1.0.0, and we're publicly releasing 1.0.01 today with some minor text changes, and a nerf on the amount of research points earned through artifacts. This version is now available on the default branch for the game ! Be sure to tell us of any issue that you see - we'll do our best to fix any problem that pops up.

Looking back on a year of Early Access

Helium Rain was released in Early Access in August 2017 - around 13 months ago. Here's a sample of everything that was added to the game since it released...

• Modular stations to create your own complex station

• Economy changes, contracts changes

• Upgraded space station models

• Upgraded user interface

• Upgraded combat with the Skirmish quick-play system

• Full gamepad & joystick support

• Full Linux support

We fixed no less than hundreds of bugs - the first few updates alone account for half of that number.

We also didn't add some things we wanted to add. In particular, we planned on adding a storyline to the game - other features took priority - and fuel systems to make fuel and engines a more advanced mechanism - that simply didn't end up interesting and was dropped. There is still a lot of content and features we would have loved to add, but after more than four years in development, we wanted to complete the project, make every existing system as good as it could, and make sure the game works smoothly. This has been a long and wild ride, with a great community. We're happy to have brought Helium Rain to where it is now. We will now release the game out of Early Access on October 11 this year, a few weeks from now. We'll try getting some attention - make sure you tell your friends about Helium Rain if you enjoy it !