Shamm

Originally posted by author: A Message from Rocket

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We release the key content for free in our updates, pairing them with companion DLCs that contain adjacent or decorative content. For a detailed outline of our strategy you can read more below [expand type=showmore]On 4 December 2021 we released ICARUS to deservedly mixed reviews. It was a big project for a new studio and our launch was filled with plenty of stumbles. At a certain point you have to stop making the game you think you should be making, and start making the game you actually have. We took a deep look at how we were operating and committed to doing a update every week to earn the trust of the community. We did so, every single week, with not a single one missed including through COVID lockdowns, two serious floods, a tropical cyclone, a gas leak, and an active shooting.

We are carving out an approach that involves releasing consistent free updates...

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Originally posted by author: Pets Bundle available for Pre-Purchase

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This is the first time we have a bundle that features a "bundle only" package. To minimize the chances that things break, we are preparing as much as possible ahead of time. Just in time for its release alongside the free Laika update next week, we've just made the Pets Bundle available on Steam. This contains the Pet Companions and Creature Comforts content packs, and as a bonus you will get access to the Zebra Rescue Mission - only available if you purchase the bundle.

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Originally posted by author: Warning: Next week we are planning on rolling out a patch that our optimization team has been hard at work on. It involves a long standing issue with patch times. Due to the way steam's patching process works with UE4 games there has been issues in the past with some people experiencing long download and patching times. What we are doing is adjusting the way Icarus is being packed and distributed to work better with steams patching process.

This means that next week you will need to redownload the entire Icarus game but it also means that Icarus updates going forward will patch noticeably faster from week to week and the size on disk will be reduced.

This update will not effect your save files, all progress will be maintained.

Due to this we plan on rolling out next weeks patch a day early as to not interrupt anyone's regular weekend play time.

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Week 122 is here and it is all about sleep.

We’re introducing a new Coziness system, which incorporates your home decor into the quality and duration of your sleep, giving you a boost if you’ve invested time and effort into making your home more cozy.

We’ve also got some more information on Laika and the new Talent Trees for Mounts/Tames, and an exciting update on space travel customs relaxing their restrictions on traveling with your furry friends.

Jump in and have a read.

Notable Improvements:

• Optimizations in tree stumps and building base, drastically reducing memory usage of these assets which are some of the most common assets in the game
  
• Update tree fall audio check to cast instead of tag query (to avoid any issues with reloading or incorrect tagging), reducing hard references and reducing memory footprint
  
• Added the ability to sleep near an active Air Conditioner, Heater or Dehumidifi...

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Welcome to Week 121.

You'll notice that this update is coming to you a day early, that is because we have the Easter holiday period here in NZ. So tomorrow our staff will be on a well deserved break.

This week we’re giving the game a QoL pass, focusing on improving the UI and adding a few new small features that will add a new layer of depth.

These include consolidating the recipes on the Crafting Bench → Machining Bench → Fabricator so that each tier hosts the previous tier's recipes, and a new water purifying tablet in the orbital workshop.

We’ve also got an update on some of the content you can expect in the upcoming Laika update.

Jump in and have a read.

Notable Improvements:

• Added prospect name to open world operations UI
  
• Add Pyritic Crust for Stone and Salt
  
• Added tag query for mission items, so players can filter to only show mission items
  
• Fixed many...

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Week 120 brings a new layer of depth to the water quality system and three new water purifiers.

We’ve also adjusted the modifiers applied by different drinking vessels, so hot drinks can be sipped on rather than consumed all at once.

We’ve also got an update on Laika, our upcoming creature-themed update, and the new paid DLC that is to be paired with it.

Jump in and have a read.

Notable Improvements:

• Wind turbines will no longer take damage when the selected difficulty is easy
  
• Wolves no longer howl every time they play their idle animation, this will now only happen ~1/3 of the time
  
• Wild Beehives now grant XP and Bestiary progress toward Bees
  
• Landshark now grants relevant XP and loot. Fixed killed Landsharks not being destroyed on death (was being hidden)
  
• Waterskins have been buffed to no longer leak water

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Welcome to Week 119, with the spiky introduction of Brambles.

These homegrown deployable defenses provide an environmentally friendly way to defend your base, being able to be grown from seeds and harvested before being deployed around your base.

We’ve also got news on our next big update and paid content pack, Laika and the Creature Comforts DLC.

Also included are some more balance fixes for Networks and Batteries and info on next week's update.

Jump in and have a read.

Notable Improvements:

• Improved performance of T3 Spawn Blocker by significantly reducing the number of times it will update the spawn blocker area. It now only updates when adding or running out of fuel
  
• Updated modifier effectiveness display, scaling around 100% instead of positive or negative effect. This better shows that less effective modifiers only have X% effect. Eg a 20% effectiveness modifier shows as 20% instead of -80%, ...

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Welcome to week 118. We’re continuing our work on the Resource Network update from last week, with a bunch of fixes and balances added, along with a few new features that we mentioned were going to be in this week's update.

We’ve also got some info on next week's update, and some mission fixes that were needed to address the impacts of the new Resource Network.

Hop in and have a read.

Notable Improvements:

• Added Total Growth Speed indicator to Crop Plot inspection UI
  
• Fixed railing orientation on all floor pieces so now railings will be the correct orientation (especially on stairs)
  
• Fixed issue with Water Troughs where the water would not appear in the mesh when it contained water
  
• KILL LIST / FRACTURE: Fixed Decals not removing grass, these should be much easier to find
  
• Fixed Processor recipe icons width, now correctly has 7 across again. Auto processors now have 3 acro...

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Batteries are here.

Not only have we refactored the entire network system to allow for batteries and variable flow rates, but the system itself has been heavily optimized to be more efficient in both network traffic (that is sending data from the server to clients) and server processing (that is the amount of calculations done from second to second). This aims to improve both server and client performance when it comes to resource networks.

This has been a long process, and we’ll go into detail below on the extensive changes and reworks we had to do to deliver it, including multiple reworks and a lot of man-hours invested on our end.

We break down the new system, what you can expect, a host of new items as well as balance changes that have come along with it.

Jump in and check it all out below.

Notable Improvements:

• Water networks are now accessible at Tier 3 (find out more below).
  
• Sprinklers are no...

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Week 116 is here, and it packs a punch, with the new Trench Shotgun added to the game.

A Tier 4 variant, the Trench Shotgun is our most powerful close-range damage dealer to date.

We’ve also got a rebalance and improvement on the Shotgun damage/ammo system, and some long-awaited news on Batteries and Networks.

Jump in and have a read.

Notable Improvements:

• Added a setting to disable camera movement & rotation when interacting with deployables
  
• Fixed Honey Smoked Bacon not benefiting from Carnivore talent
  
• Mission OASIS: Fixed collection step requiring collection of a lure that is now developer locked, preventing mission progress. Replaced with Gold Ore Lure
  
• Fixed 'complete the tutorial' achievement from occurring as soon as a player's first character is created. This was caused by the tutorial mission having been changed to optional, effectively marking it as complete automatica...

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Week 115 brings three new types of Shotgun Shell to Icarus - Cold Steel, Miasma and Obsidian.

Exclusive to Prometheus, these pack a punch with their own Freeze, Poison and Burn modifiers along with some hefty damage and rare materials to craft.

Batteries and Networks continues it’s thorough testing with our community, and you can get an update on where we are up to inside.

Hop in and have a read.

Notable Improvements:

• Updated chairs to prefer placing characters in front when getting up. Will place to the right or left if there is not enough room in front of the chair, instead of only trying to place right
  
• Fixed collision on nearly every beam to prevent collision outside the visible mesh
  
• Fixed mission NOMAD: Greatly reduced the wait time if the side objective is complete before the next primary objective is granted
  
• Fixed an issue with the lantern not being able to be prepared ...

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Week 114 is here, with a new shocking backpack to buy.

The Ion Backpack gives improved yields for key metals needed in electronics production and also has the unique electroshock modifier for combat, otherwise only found in select ammo and tools.

We’ve also completed week one of our Batteries & Networks testing, and have an update on the progress.

Jump in and have a read.

Notable Improvements:

• Fixed BIG SHOT: Stockpile on Hard difficulty not having room to fit all required trophies.
  
• Fixed Electric Deep Ore Drills not showing the correct mining time.
  
• Update carcass inventory UI to show modifiers, allowing players to read the modifier explaining that creatures are attracted to the carcass.
  
• Fixed a bug where windows couldn't be placed on the dual window slots (2 building pieces to make 1 window frame)

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Welcome to Week 113.

After the bee-pocalypse of last week, we imagine some of you will be happy to hear that this week brings some adjustments and balances to our fuzzy new friends.

We’ve also got two new rugs for you, in Buffalo and Woven variants, and some QoL improvements, including the ability to now share couches with your pals.

Jump in, have a read, and then enjoy some slightly less terrifying cave adventures.

Notable Improvements:

• Fixed several bugs with the Stockpile mission type where missions would get stuck or auto complete when not intended
  
• Added the ability for Prospectors to sit with their friends on the same seat / couch
  
• Added the Suit Slot UI to most inventories and processors so players can access anything slotted in the food / water / oxygen slots when interacting with devices
  
• Curtains and windows can now both be placed on window frames and can no longer in...

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Welcome to week 112.

This week is a larger update, as we bring you the brand new Apicultural system where you can become a beekeeper in Icarus.

Fit with Wild Bees, Beehives, a bespoke beekeeping system and even Bee breeding, you can start producing honey, beeswax and multiple new recipes, right away.

Originally posted by author: We are committed to weekly updates in Icarus and to always be providing new content / fixes / optimizations from week to week. These updates can vary in size, as things like team availability and task size can range from ones that take half a day, to several weeks or even months. One thing we will try to do is be conscious of this and after a period such as the New Year Holiday where we kept things light and safe we’ll give you something we’ve been working on for a while.

Rocketwerkz isn’t as big as some other studios but are proud of our commitment to our games and w...

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Week 111 is here and we’ve added the Smoker along with nine new recipes for you to enjoy.

From Melon Smoked Giant Steak to Tea Smoked Freshwater Fillet, there’s a range of new tasty recipes to try out with unique buffs, perks and benefits.

We’ve also got an update for you on our ongoing work on the batteries and networks project, along with next week’s buzzy update.

Jump in and have a read.

Notable Improvements:

• Backpacks are no longer automatically re-equipped whenever a piece of player equipment is added/removed/damaged - this fixes the bug where the medic backpack's modifiers would be re-applied every time the player took damage
  
• Fixed a bug where the crop growth rate was being added instead of multiplied, resulting in a growth rate of roughly double what was intended
  
• The mission communicator no longer plays noise when it reloads back in (no more weird bzzt noise when roaming around the ma...

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Week 110’s update adds our newest and most powerful shield, the Titanium Tower Shield.

With 140 degrees of area coverage and 85% damage resistance, this is one of our strongest defensive item to date but will require a high cost of resources to craft.

Jump in and have a read.



This week: Titanium Tower Shield
This week's update introduces our newest powerful shield, the Titanium Tower Shield.

This shield has a 140-degree block radius, with 85% damage blocking, making it a powerful asset.

This is craftable on the foundry and requires an extensive list of materials, including Titanium Plate, Epoxy, Cured Leather and Steel Screws.

When attached to your back, the shield provides a strong defense against damage from behind, giving it multi-purpose use, even when not equipped.

... Read more

Week 109’s update introduces a newly discovered creature to the Volcanic Biome of Prometheus, the Ignari.

Closely related to the Viscid of the Swamp biome, the Ignari will be found among the flowing lava and rocky outcrops, so keep your eyes peeled.

As mentioned a couple of weeks ago, we've been doing a few content-only updates over the holiday period so everyone could have a bit of a break, but also so we could keep them separated from the technically complex work finalizing batteries and power networks. More info to come on those in the next few weeks.

Finally, we’ve got an update on the progress of the Prometheus Map Expansion for you, to start 2024.



This week: Ignari
The Ignari has been discovered in the Volcanic Regions of Prometheus.

Exclusive to this Biome, the Ignari is closely related to the Viscid, fo... Read more

Week 108’s update is here, and we’ve added our first new Orbital Workshop armor in a while, the Tachyon Armor.

This is designed for the survivalist, with some unique buffs that you won’t find in any other sets.

We’ve also got an update on the progress of Turrets for you to catch up on.

Finally - Happy New Years from the team here at Rocketwerkz! We can’t wait to do 2024 with you.



This week: Tachyon Workshop Armor
We have added a new armor to the Orbital Workshop.

The Tachyon Armor is the first new armor we’ve added in a while, with perks and buffs designed for survival.

This included buffs to fall damage resistance and resistance to exposure, so your missteps off cliffs and poor timing out in the storms are less impactful.

These are some unique buffs we haven’t experimented with before, so should... Read more

Week 107’s update is here and we’ve added two new rugs, the Jaguar and the Snow Leopard.

These will require their creature’s vestiges along with other materials, so get to hunting and crafting now.

We’re still hard at work on batteries and networks, and due to the complexity of these upcoming changes we’re limiting the next few updates to easily isolated pieces of content like decorations, armour sets and maybe even a new creature. Keep an eye on these patch notes to find out when batteries are available for beta testing on the experimental branch.

And - Merry Christmas from the team here at RocketWerkz!



This week: Jaguar, Snow Leopard Rugs
This week, we’ve added two new rugs to the existing set. These are the Jaguar and Snow Leopard, two of the apex predators of Icarus that you’ll encounter in the Forest and Arctic Biomes res... Read more