devtrackers.gg
Hi Pioneers!
Today Update 8 is now available on the Early Access version of Satisfactory for everyone to try out and have fun with it! This update showcases the combined efforts of the studio over more than a year worth of work with both Unreal Engine 5 and Update 8 as a whole, so there are a LOT of changes that have happened since Update 7 released on Early Access.
We’ve spent the last few months trying our best to stabilize as much as we can so you all can have a good experience when Update 8 releases on Early Access, with that being said, It never hurts to BACK UP YOUR SAVES :)
If you are experiencing issues, want to give us some feedback, or just post any cool ideas you might have, please let us know over at our QA/Questions Site: https://questions.satisfactorygame.com/ We always enjoy reading all your comments after a big update like this.
Our community manager Snutt has prepared a new video for you all which goes over what’s new in Update 8 so be sure to check it out https://youtu.be/BIZieuScBmE
If you have been following along through Experimental, everything in this patch notes will be already known to you, as this build has little or no changes from the latest Experimental from last week, but you can still give them a look as there might be a new thing or two you didn’t know about
However, If you haven’t been keeping up with the patch releases at all, there are a LOT of new things to go through, so grab a snack/drink and let’s get started.
Upgrading to Unreal Engine 5
With this come many reworks and updates of systems that should improve aspects of the game, We’ve put a lot of effort into stabilising the game and performance before the Early Access release, but there might very well be things that we’ve missed.
So again please back up your saves and let us know about any differences that you encounter while playing Update 8.
Jace talked about the upgrade in depth in one of our earliest Update 8 videos check it out for more info! : https://youtu.be/dY__x2dq7Sk
World partitioning
With world partitioning in UE5 the level streaming should be much more flexible compared to the tile-based system we used before, reducing hitches that you will have encountered where these tiles used to intersect.
Vehicle physics & sound overhaul
With UE5 comes an all-new physics simulation called Chaos, we’ve reworked our vehicles to use this instead of our previous implementation. The manual driving of vehicles has been redone and we made improvements in feel and usage of the different vehicles.
With this we also reworked all vehicle sounds, eliminating many issues and overall improving quality and consistency.
Enhanced Input System
A new system we switched to with Unreal Engine 5 is the Enhanced Input system. With this we implemented contextual key bindings in the options, allowing for much more granularity and control over your control scheme across different contexts like the build mode, driving vehicles, using equipment, etc.
Upscaling (DLSS, XeSS, FSR)
Added several upscalers for any hardware that supports them.[BH1]
Anti-aliasing (TSR & FXAA)
We added a lightweight anti-aliasing method known as FXAA (Fast approximate anti-aliasing) which allows for better performance on lower end machines or for people that don’t like the effect that the previous default anti-aliasing technique had.
We also support TSR (Temporal Super Resolution) which is Epic’s implementation of upscaling technology combined with anti-aliasing. For user experience we added several presets: Performance, Balanced, Quality & Insanity.
Nanite
With Unreal Engine 5 comes Nanite, a new way of rendering complex meshes allowing for high visual quality. Due to complications we only decided to convert a part of our content to Nanite. Rocks, Cliffs and Conveyor items will be using Nanite for the time being.
Lumen
Lumen is a Global Illumination system that improves lighting and reflections. This new rendering feature will make the world and factory more grounded which can result in more intense & realistic scenes.
We decided to have Lumen disabled by default even on the ultra-preset due to its high demand on the hardware. There are several scalability options to make Lumen perform well on most hardware.
When using Lumen, we recommend running with an up-scaler enabled on the “Performance” preset and Lumen on Medium or High due to the minimum quality difference.
Blueprint improvements
There were a number of improvements you’ve requested and that we still wanted to make, which should significantly improve using them
Jace talks a about the new features coming to Blueprints in this video: https://youtu.be/ZDN_b6TX5gg
Dismantling
We’ve added a Blueprint dismantle mode that you can toggle with ‘R’ by default while in the regular dismantle mode. With this you can dismantle an entire Blueprint at once!
Building
Blueprints now have a directional indicator in their hologram making it easier to place them in the correct rotation. We also implemented Quick Switch for Blueprints, allowing you to quickly toggle through Blueprints by pressing or holding ‘E’, without leaving the build mode.
Nudging
We’ve also added a Nudge Mode for all buildables and Blueprints! Pressing the H key will lock the current hologram in place, so you can move around freely to check its placement from different directions. From there you are then able to nudge the hologram around to adjust the placement by using the arrow keys before building it. You can also hold CTRL when Nudging to move the building in half steps for easier fine tuning.
Changes to the world
We didn’t make any changes to resource nodes this time around and any terrain changes we’ve done are minor, so your factories should be safe
To get an overview on what’s changed you can watch this video covering it in more detail: https://youtu.be/6X4jqMUtCwI
Visuals
Titan Forest and Red Jungle have received the most significant overhaul for their foliage, visual and sound effects, as well as lighting.
Many areas have received more polish, those being the Abyss Cliffs, Rocky Desert, Grass Fields, Northern Forest, Dune Desert, Eastern Dune Forest, Spire Coast, and some of the caves as well.
We also updated and improved the vista around the world, which has a huge impact on the look and feel of the areas at the edge on the map. With this one we are not fully done yet, but it is certainly an upgrade, and are excited for you to see the direction it is taking.
Gameplay
We are adding two new variants to the Hogs: The Cliff Hog and Nuclear Hog! They are the most menacing members of their family, defending their territory with devastating charges, and in case of the Nuclear Hog, also radiation.
We’ve also polished and updated placements of creatures, hazards, and collectables in many areas of the world, Such as Titan Forest, Red Jungle, Spire Coast, Grass Fields, Northern Forest, Dune Desert, Eastern Dune Forest, Crater Lakes, Western Beaches, Abyss Cliffs, Coin Tree Forest and most of their sub areas.
Atmosphere
In terms of lighting, we’ve done full passes over all starting areas; Grass Fields, Rocky Desert, Northern Forest and Dune Desert, the Titan Forest, Red Jungle and Spire Coast to elevate their look and feel further and fix existing issues.
You can find all the details in the patch notes below!
Advanced Game Settings
We are adding a number of settings that will allow you to customise your experience quite heavily. These Advanced Game Settings can alter the experience drastically, you can either enable them when creating a new game or when loading a save from the main menu.
There is a full list of all new settings in the detailed patch notes below, but they include things such as Flight Mode, No Build Cost, Set Starting Tier, and No Stinger Mode fully removing the spidery Stinger enemy from the game.
Here is our video covering all of this in detail: https://youtu.be/T2lOiHtygVM
Priority Power Switch & Power Tower
You can watch Jace talk about them in this video: https://youtu.be/v4mbNy3gt7c
The Priority Power Switch allows you to organise sections of your power grid into different priorities. So, if your power would fail the Priority Power Switches turn off in order of their set priority, shutting of the parts of your factory gated behind them until there is enough power available for the remainder of your grid to keep running.
They can also be switched off and on remotely from any other Priority Power Switch, allowing you to remotely control which parts of your factory are running.
The Power Tower is a large building allowing you to connect power lines over longer distances. It comes in two versions, one with a ladder and platform that make them and excellent combination with the Zipline, and one version without for a cleaner look.
Quality of life and other improvements
You can check out this video we made on all these other improvements coming with Update 8: https://youtu.be/9jDBEpAlS2s
And check out the written section for Quality of life in the patch notes further below, it contains many new improvements that came alongside Update 8 Experimental, so they are not featured in the videos above, but should be very welcome additions!
Destructible Gas Pillars
With Update 8 you’ll be able to blow up Gas Pillars using the Nobelisk! We’ve been wanting to add this for a while, and it is finally in the game. After unlocking Nobelisks you won’t have to worry anymore about odd Gas Pillars disrupting how you can build your factories.
Jetpack fuels
The Jetpack can now use a selection of fuels with different burn rates and acceleration. Thanks to this the Jetpack can be used before automating fuel with Solid Biofuel, and in the late game you can even use Turbofuel which has unparalleled acceleration.
Parachute
This feature has received some changes to make it a viable tool in the early to mid-game. For one, the Parachute no longer gets consumed when used, so you can now make one and use it for as long as you want.
It now has a standard and sprint speed which match the Bladerunner speeds. Of course, it also retains its signature function of preventing fall damage in any dicey situations you might find yourself in.
Conveyor and Pipe building
You now have an automatic starting pole if you don’t start building from an existing connection such as a pole or input/output. This means that when selecting to build a Conveyor or Pipe you can put down a pole with your first click and drag the Conveyor/Pipe out from there as usual!
Before it was sometimes impossible to build a pole because its initial starting position was invalid, even if you would be able to make it a valid placement after adjusting the height of the pole. We have now moved this validity check to the final placement of the pole to fix this.
Dismantle Filter
We’ve added a filter to the Dismantle Mode where you can hover over a specific type of building and select it to your dismantle filter. While remaining in Dismantle Mode you will only highlight the selected type of building for dismantling, making it much easier to dismantle specific parts of your factory while avoiding removing the other parts you want to keep by accident.
You can switch the filter freely while dismantling, and it works with both the new Blueprint Dismantle Mode and Mass Dismantle!
External link →