v0.2.x Physics Update

v0.2.0 - The Physics Update

The Physics Update (or Physics Overhaul Update) was published on June 6, 2021 and introduces official version numbers for the game.  This update also contains performance enhancements and many new features.

Highlights

  • Elimination of unrealistic rotation behavior of superstructures.
  • More camera controls, but not to the intended extent.
  • Button and key inertia (slew time in-game) for finer thrust control.
  • In-game axis assignments, sensitivities, and null zones to fine-tune controller response.
  • More realistic and natural-looking terrain generation.
  • Modified gravity behavior when distance to center is less than planet radius.
  • Progression game saving/loading.
  • Tweaked flight computer behavior for kill rotation and undocking.
  • Bug fix that caused some engines to produce more than their max thrust.
  • Replaced trail renderer with a visual orbit display.

Changes

  • Superstructures are now treated as a single body, greatly improving the physics (and controllability) of the lander, especially around large planets.
  • Axis assignments are now done in-game instead of in a dialog box that comes up before the game starts.
  • Staging before landing in Progression now resets the current level instead of skipping to the next level.
  • Free Roam now gives you a lot more freedom to play around with.
  • Upgrades Screen gives you more information about your ships capabilities vs what is needed to complete the level (and how much each individual upgrade will contribute).
  • Terrain generation is now based off of this YouTube video, making it look more natural.
  • Fuel indicators have been made to look more like the rest of the HUD.
  • The trail renderer has been replaced with a display of what your orbit looks like (disappears when on ejection orbit).
  • Terrain colliders are generated in chunks to improve performance (adjustable in settings).
  • Made some adjustments to the game over, pause, credits, and help screens.

Additions

  • Added the ability to adjust input response in the settings screen.
  • Buttons on some controls can be made to gradually go from full-off to full-on.
  • Added leaderboards for highest landing score and highest docking score.

Bug Fixes

  • (Hopefully) Fixed a bug that would sometimes cause steam stats to not get saved properly.
  • Fixed a bug where the engines and RCS thrusters would produce more thrust than they should be capable of.

EDIT:  The game was supposed to go on sale right before this post was made, but I accidentally scheduled the sale to start June 7th.

v0.2.1 - Upgrade Balance Tweaks

A small update to the Physics Update is now available which should now make the game winnable.

Change Log

  • Added game version number to main menu (0.2.x is the Physics Update).
  • Undocking will now fire retrograde thrusters for just two seconds instead of indefinitely.
  • Adjusted fuel and thrust upgrades to be roughly linear in terms of how much extra fuel and thrust you get with each upgrade. Cost increase is unchanged.
  • Adjusted min throttle and ISP upgrades to "max-out" relatively quickly.

v0.2.2 - Unresponsive Controls Fix

The 0.2.1 update introduced a bug that caused the axis controls to be unresponsive (sorry about that). This update, which was supposed to introduce progression saving and loading, fixes this bug. Time acceleration now disables the axis controls, but allows for control when no time acceleration is applied.

v0.2.3 - Progression Saving/Loading

Saving/Loading your progress in Progression has been added to the game, but is quite limited at the moment. After you complete the first level, you will be able to go into the escape menu and click "Save". The game will then save what level you are on, your score, the number of attempts you have left, and how many times you have upgraded each item. You can then quit the game and reload at a later time.

When you want to reload, start a new progression game, go into the escape menu and click "Load". You will then start at the level you left off as if you had clicked "Start Level" on the upgrades screen.

Limitations:

  • Once you load a saved game, the save file is deleted. You can work around this by simply saving again.
  • Once you score points from landing, you will be unable to save until you start the next level.
  • Terrain generation data is not saved.
  • Progress within a level is not saved.
  • If save file corruption is detected, the game will immediately end and the save file will be deleted.

v0.2.4 - Cosmetic Tweaks

This is perhaps the last update for the v0.2 Physics Update as I want to now focus on the v0.3 Modding Update. In v0.2.4 (which also updates the demo), the following items have been changed.

  • Added Solar Lander logo to splash sequence
  • Added Solar Lander logo to main menu header
  • Added exhaust particle texture from pre-0.2 builds
  • Added old sprite exhaust texture to game (not usable right now, but needed for the next major update).

In addition to the v0.2.4 update, the store page has also been changing. I've updated some of the store-related graphics as well as the library graphics. The vehicles displayed in those graphics now perfectly resemble the in-game vehicles. Updates to achievement icons are next, and maybe the addition of some new achievements.