Steam News2 July 20261mo ago

Conduits (v0.7.6)

The Summer Sale is in full swing, and with it has come a wave of feedback from players discovering the game for the first time. This update is almost entirely driven by suggestions from the Steam Community.

In this update7

Full notes

Full Star Vortex update

Read the full published notes in a cleaner layout. The original post stays linked below.

What changed

5 fixes11 additions5 changes0 removals

Balance
Gameplay
UI and audio
Fixes

addedConduitsConduits can now drop from enemies. These are auto-special slot items that link to other equipment, adding extra damage types and debuffs.

addedConduitsConduits were added for players who prefer to focus on a smaller selection of weapons instead of filling every slot with something different. You can chain conduits into other conduits, link multiple conduits to a single weapon, and if you don't like the visual effects you can set them be Invisible in the Assembler.

changedConduitsBy default, conduits automatically link to the nearest compatible weapon, but you can manually reassign them at any time from the Equipment panel.

addedLegendary Assault WeaponsThis update adds two new Legendary Assault weapons, along with the new Tesla Axe. Electric damage was unfortunately missing from the original Assault weapon lineup, so now every damage type has its own dedicated melee weapon.

changedLegendary Assault WeaponsOf course, if you're already attached to your favourite Assault weapon, you can always slap an Electric Conduit on it and start zapping things anyway... see above.

addedController / Steam InputI'm still learning the finer details of Steam Input, so if there are other features that would be useful, let me know. If you can explain how they work, I'll do my best to add them.

Star Vortex changes

addedConduits can now drop from enemies. These are auto-special slot items that link to other equipment, adding extra damage types and debuffs.

addedConduits were added for players who prefer to focus on a smaller selection of weapons instead of filling every slot with something different. You can chain conduits into other conduits, link multiple conduits to a single weapon, and if you don't like the visual effects you can set them be Invisible in the Assembler.

changedBy default, conduits automatically link to the nearest compatible weapon, but you can manually reassign them at any time from the Equipment panel.

addedThis update adds two new Legendary Assault weapons, along with the new Tesla Axe. Electric damage was unfortunately missing from the original Assault weapon lineup, so now every damage type has its own dedicated melee weapon.

changedOf course, if you're already attached to your favourite Assault weapon, you can always slap an Electric Conduit on it and start zapping things anyway... see above.

The Summer Sale is in full swing, and with it has come a wave of feedback from players discovering the game for the first time.

This update is almost entirely driven by suggestions from the Steam Community.

Conduits

Conduits can now drop from enemies. These are auto-special slot items that link to other equipment, adding extra damage types and debuffs.

For example, attach a Thermal Conduit to your Freeze Ray and it'll start setting enemies on fire as well as freezing them, triggering Steam Cloud reactions.

Steam post image Foley's Rage by CountMOPS (https://star-vortex.com/ships.php?view=67)

Conduits were added for players who prefer to focus on a smaller selection of weapons instead of filling every slot with something different. You can chain conduits into other conduits, link multiple conduits to a single weapon, and if you don't like the visual effects you can set them be Invisible in the Assembler.

By default, conduits automatically link to the nearest compatible weapon, but you can manually reassign them at any time from the Equipment panel.

Legendary Assault Weapons

This update adds two new Legendary Assault weapons, along with the new Tesla Axe. Electric damage was unfortunately missing from the original Assault weapon lineup, so now every damage type has its own dedicated melee weapon.

Of course, if you're already attached to your favourite Assault weapon, you can always slap an Electric Conduit on it and start zapping things anyway... see above.

Controller / Steam Input

You should now be able to play with a controller and keyboard at the same time without mouse aiming constantly stealing control of your ship.

The game now also reports whether you're in a menu or actively flying to Steam Input, allowing you to create separate bindings for each state if you want.

I'm still learning the finer details of Steam Input, so if there are other features that would be useful, let me know. If you can explain how they work, I'll do my best to add them.

The next update might be a big one... but no spoilers. Enjoy!

Patch Notes

New Features / Content

Added 6 x new Conduit Auto Special weapons.
Added 1 x new Electric Assault weapon.
Added 2 x new legendary Assault variants.
Added 1 x new female player avatar.
Each sector now has its own unique ambient music.

Quality of Life / Accessibility

You can now use keyboard and controller without the mouse grabbing aim.
Steam Input now switches controller layout between flying and menus.
Cargo sorting now uses a Sort button and remembers your last choice.
Glossary item and Legendary database headers now show entry counts.
Halved the volume of several thrusters and drone bays that were too loud.
Standardized Japanese ship and class names for consistency.
Shortened over-long UI text so it fits in all 10 translated languages.

Bug Fixes

Halo, Torch and Assault weapons now damage enemy missiles and mines.
Holo drive clones now equip weapons with reduced level requirements.
Fixed the Thermal Lance description that listed cold instead of thermal.
Fixed an error when editing your avatar before the player list loaded.
Fixed Japanese and Korean ship designer tutorial text overflowing.
Fixed incorrect translations in Spanish, Polish, Korean and Japanese.

Modders

New ConduitItemBase ScriptableObject lets mods add custom Conduits.
Failed mods now report the real inner exception, not just Harmony's wrapper.

Source

Steam News / 2 July 2026

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