Hellion - Space survival game (Super Hardcore Game)

[Asid]

Craftwork Update is Now Live!
HELLION - ZG_Rick

It’s time to warm up those warp drives and set course for the nearest industrial zone. Debris fields and dangerous orbits should pose no problem for the experienced space survivors looking to get their hands on some prime salvage and a chance to find a brand new… ehm... Slightly less banged up Fabricator module.




Your feedback is of great importance for the development of Hellion. That’s why we’ve installed a new feedback tracker which can be accessed here: http://feedback.zerogravitygames.com/

Before submitting your ideas, be sure to follow the instructions: {LINK REMOVED}

Also, we invite you to join Hellion community on Discord: https://discord.gg/hellion


Fly safe,
Zero Gravity team

[Asid]

Rise And Fall Of Never Never Land
2 MARCH   - ZG_RICK

Enjoy!

[Asid]

Hello colonists,

We have hotfix ready for Craftwork update. Thank you all for the much appreciated feedback. Deployment starts in 15 minutes. Servers will be down for maintenance from 5:15 PM to 6:15 PM GMT. There will be no server wipe. Have a nice weekend!


Server stuff

In order to improve server stability, we’ve decided to implement “regular server restarts”. Servers will automatically reboot at the eight hour mark. You can always check the time until next reboot by pressing ESC while in game.

Main server infrastructure was upgraded to improve connection to the main server.


Visual improvements

- Lights improvement in all corridor modules, airlock module and SPM module
- Scrap spawn points color change, from blue to red to make spotting a scrap item (most of them glow blue) a bit easier.


Loot distribution changes

- Fixed the spawn rule issue present in the original Craftwork update. As a result all items should now properly spawn at their designated locations.

- New and improved loot system implemented based on community feedback.
- Greatly increased the amount of regular and scrap items that can be obtained by looting modules and derelicts

Few days will be necessary for all changes to fully take effect since we are not wiping servers. During this period you might expect issues while recycling “old” (pre patch) items: they will yield no crafting resources.


Refinery adjustments

Ice refines into: Hydrogen (60%) + Oxygen (30%)
Dry Ice refines into: Oxygen (70%)
Regolith refines into: He-3 (20%)
Nitrates refine into: Nitrogen (75%) + Nitro (20%)

CBM: capacity set to 1000, nominal power consumption set to 3000, processing time set to 300
Outpost: capacity set to 100, nominal power consumption set to 500, processing time set to 180


Gameplay improvements (based on community feedback)

•   Derelicts - Reduced Decay Rate and increased HP (should make derelicts more durable and less prone to sudden explosions)
•   Warp cell crafting ingredients change
- Increased alloy and carbon fiber requirements
- Removed circuits requirements


Bug fixes

[FIXED] Security panel loses authorization when player warps away and gets back
[FIXED] Mouse invert not working
[FIXED] Air cycling becomes faster after docking modules
[FIXED] Ship interior colliders
[FIXED] Carbon Filters missing from Fabricator crafting list
[FIXED] Lower-right large items shelf in fabricator not working properly
[FIXED] _ApplyRoughness being printed in log because of missing decal in CBM Dock A
[FIXED] Asteroid A002 collider problem
[FIXED] Character falls through when two CBMs are docked to each other via large doors
[FIXED] Can not undock ship from CBM IC dock port
[FIXED] Alloys and Carbon Fibers ingredients switched
[FIXED] Air filter power consumption being multiplied when more then one is working
[FIXED] Recycling scrap after server restart is not working


Fly safe,
Zero Gravity

[Asid]

Catastrophic Disruption, Part One
HELLION - ZG_Rick

The story of Hellion begins to unfold...



"At first we relied on chance and opportunity as we looked for our place among the stars.
Today, we shape the universe and create our own destiny."
Excerpt from Daedalus launch ceremony - UNS Admiral Sandi, Earth April 11th 2292

'Sam how are we doing?', James spoke into the commlink.
'Almost there, darling', Samantha said with a playful voice.
She's totally enjoying this. Smile crossed his face as external cameras showed Sam effortlessly maneuver the new engine unit into place. 'Just checking, dear. Here's the last piece.'

He maneuvered the ship a bit closer, waited for a few secs until she gave him an OK and then pulled the undock leaver.

'Richard, Sam's nearly finished. How are things on your end?'
'So far so good. I'm doing the final system check right now. You guys want to stick around for a test drive?'
'Only if you stop referring to me as guys,' Sam barged into the commlink.
'Yea sorry about that ma'am...'
'It's the suit, Sam.', James laughed. 'You can't really blame him.'

It's been little over a year since captain James woke up from his 80 year long cryosleep. James, along with his wife Samantha and a handful of colleagues like Richard, was part of Hellion's "Stage one" deployment team. The station they were assembling, was part of the "Hecaton" project, a large asteroid capture operation in the outer belts. Post 6 was just one of many such installations, built to insert massive ore rich asteroids into stable orbits around Hellion's most promising gas giants.

'We're good to go!', Sam said as she locked the final piece of the engine puzzle in place.
'Ok, head on back. I'm coming to pick you up. Richard, all done on our end!'
'Sure thing. I'm starting the ignition sequence in five. Make sure you are both clear of the blast zone!'

James maneuvered his "Steropes" closer to Sam's position and began depressurizing the airlock. The Steropes class was considerably smaller and much more maneuverable compared to its big brother Arges, but no less capable at assembly and transport. Due to its small size, captains had to plan ahead and economize with available resources to get the most out of their ship. Fortunately he had no problem with this, but many of his colleagues would have preferred the larger and ""safer" Arges. James, Samantha and Richard were among the first Expedition personnel to wake up and for a good reason. An expert pilot, a brilliant EVA specialist and an engineering prodigy.


'Guys! There's some kind of a...', Richard's voice was cut short by a powerful wave of static and the sound of alarms going off all over the place.

For a moment the ship's instruments went dark, then the alarms started ringing. Even without the noise James could see what was going on. Only one of the asteroid's four engines was activating. The engines were embedded deep into the asteroid's rock layer and were made to work in pairs. With only one, the place would tear itself apart. Sam was still outside and he was forced to only watch as the entire asteroid slowly spun out of control. Then all he could see was a huge expanding cloud of dust, fire and smoke.

James counted to three and fired all starboard thrusters, he prayed that was enough for her to get in. Dammit! He narrowly avoided a head on collision with a massive chunk of rock but didn't have enough time to escape one of the engine support beams that came behind it. The impact sent the ship spinning out of control as the canopy cracked and the breach alarms sounded. Bringing the ship under control while trying to move them away from the incoming debris was no small feat and ship took several more hits before it was out of harm's way. As soon as he deemed it safe, James jumped out of his chair and lowered his visor.

'Sam!' Are you ok? Sam!' He found her slumped against the airlock wall, her helmet cracked. His heart skipped a beat. 'Don't do that to me girl!', he yelled as he pulled her into the prep room. A quick glance over the monitor confirmed he could take off her helmet. 15 minutes of air left, not good! He checked her pulse and pulled a stim out of his pack. Work you damn thing, work! When he felt her shift in his arms he let out a sigh of relief. Longest damn minute of my life!

Well hi there…', her eyes slowly opened.
'Damn it Sam!', he tightened his grip. 'You had me scared shitless! Are you ok?'
'Ouch! Easy there, I hurt all over…', she gasped. 'My suit stopped most of it, I think.'
'You hit your head. Can you stand?' She gave a small nod and he helped her to her feet.
'What the hell happened out there Jim? All I heard was alarms going off, then there was a flash…'
'Something went wrong with the engine sequence, only one of them fired.'
'Only one?', her eyes went wide. 'What about the station, what about Richard!?'
'I don't know yet.', he looked away. 'I barely got the ship out of harm's way.'
She noticed his hesitation and grabbed his hand. 'You did the best you could! Now lets see what the two of us can do.'
James raised his head and looked at her. Shock, pain and confusion were gone from her eyes and she stood there calm and confident, as always.
'You sure you want to go back out there?'
She threw him a smug smile. 'Why? You know someone better?

Within seconds he was back in the pilot seat. Their radar was acting up, several starboard thrusters and the main comms array were severely damaged. Three hull breaches in total and a piece of shrapnel lodged in one of the capacitor banks. Could have been worse, he thought.
The two functioned like clockwork, James routed what little air remained back into the air-tank and tweaked the systems to draw less power then went to work on the capacitor. By the time he finished, she was done fixing the hull and got 3 out of 5 thrusters working. James got back into his chair and started looking for Post 6.

'Sam better get back in your seat. This is gonna be a rough ride. We have a runaway asteroid to catch!'

Catching up proved to be a lot more difficult than James initially thought. The asteroid was spinning violently and already falling apart under pressure, sending wave after wave of debris into space. As James took a dive beneath one of the larger ice chunks a storm of smaller fragments crashed against the cracked canopy. With his radar damaged, and several thrusters barely working it turned into a rigged game of dodgeball or a space version of Russian roulette. Finally, he saw an opening.

'Richard was in the command module right?'
'I think so, why?'
'Because I'm gonna use that cargo as cover!'

James added more strength to the thrusters and went straight towards the next ice wave. He reached the module's shadow with a second to spare, dove beneath it just as a huge chunk of ice crashed against the massive doors and burned towards the rocky surface. We made it!

'Hell! I think I just aged 30 years!', James breathed out a sigh of relief.
'Wouldn't that make you...What? Like 140?', he heard Sam say from her seat.

James threw her a quick glance and caught her pale smile through the visor. He laughed and turned towards Post 6. He got them closer to the surface and avoided large cracks and the shrapnel they were spewing. As the station's remains came into view James remembered why he liked Steropes so much. The stunt they've just pulled? It would have been impossible with Arges. Better armor would have come in handy for sure, but it would make little difference if they got hit by even one of the larger chunks. Not to mention that its size would have made using cargo for cover all but pointless. James tightened his grip on the controls and moved towards the command module.
Post 6 was in bad shape. With the exception of the cargo bay most modules were still connected, but severely damaged. The station was anchored near the asteroid's center of mass, which let it avoid most of the G forces that were tearing the asteroid apart but that couldn't protect it from the explosion and debris. There were holes everywhere, and the entire side facing the crater left by the malfunctioning engine was scorched.

'...can anyone hear me. I repeat, James, Sam is anyone still there?', Richard's voice came on the radio, but it was weak, very weak.
'Can't we answer?', Sam asked. Worried look on her face.
'No. Our transmitter is busted and there is too much interference for short range radio.'
'Ok. Get close and look for a place to dock. Once I'm in the station I should be able to reach him.'
'Just be careful, alright?', James barely managed a smile.
'Aren't I always?', with that she went to the airlock.

James got them as close as possible and could see her dive straight to the surface. The entire landscape looked eerie, almost like a slow motion scene from a horror movie. A thick layer of ice dust enveloped the surface like a cloud, obscuring razor sharp edges beneath while the larger rocks slowly bounced back and forth as the land shifted. At the corner of his eye he could see a figure fearlessly darting through that frozen hell towards the command module tower. And then she disappeared inside. A thousand things could go wrong there in an instant, but James pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind and focused on flying. He noticed an exposed docking port further from the command module, near one of the broken airlocks and moved in to dock.
Docking itself was a bit harder than usual, with all the circular motion to compensate for, but James was not ready for what followed. The moment docking clamps closed and the vessels connected a violent shudder shook the ship, then another, and another. All followed by sounds of breaking rock, torn metal and cracking ice. If there is a hell, I think we've found its soundtrack. Comms were filled with nothing but static with no trace of either Richard or Sam. He waited for what seemed like an eternity when the hellish cacophony of the outside got interrupted by the static from the suit's radio. It was Sam.

'James, can you hear me?'
'Sam! I hear you but barely. Did you find him?'
'I did, but it's not good James…', her voice was trembling. 'You have to come down here…'


End of part I

[Asid]

Steropes
HELLION - ZG_Rick

Altair Corporation Steropes is a small and maneuverable industrial craft designed for heavy lifting and transport duties. Perfect for exploration, salvage and mining operations.



Get ready!


Zero Gravity

[Attila]

Cool new ship in the super hardcore game

[Asid]

A Catastrophic Disruption - Part 2
30 MARCH   - ZG_RICK

After finally getting into the station James wasn’t sure what to make of it. There was far more structural damage than he had expected and multiple scorch marks all over the place. Furthermore the station was in zero-g and full lockdown. The only reason he and Sam managed to get in was because the integrity had weakened enough to let them break open a few doors. Richard was locked inside one of the few still operational cryopods of the Life Support module. He looked like he’d been through hell. His suit was in shambles, multiple lacerations and punctures. It all looked like it was held by internal seals alone. At a glance James could identify several serious injuries. Punctured lung, broken leg and several broken ribs, judging by the suit damage. Still what made him pause was Richard’s right arm, scorched all the way to the elbow seals, his charred fingers still clenched around a small black object.



‘‘What the hell happened here Sam?’
‘I’m not sure…This, this is just insane.’
‘Any way we can get him out?’
‘I don’t think so’, Sam said with a sigh. ‘That cryo is the only thing keeping him alive. If we open it’, there was a pause in her voice. ‘He’d be dead in minutes…’
‘So, we need think of something else...’

A violent shudder shook the entire station and James had to grab onto an exposed girder to avoid being thrown away. He could feel the steel structure straining beneath his fingers as several large cracks appeared before his eyes. He looked over at Sam who likewise held on to a nearby wall and used thrusters to stabilize herself.

‘Jim, the entire place is about to fall apart. We need to get him out of here.’
‘I know, give me a second.’ James’ eyes turned to one of the still working monitors. ‘Integrity is failing. No way we can tow him with us.’ His eyes darted back and forth across the room. ‘Is there a chance we can cut him out?’
‘The cryo? I don’t know, maybe. But without power and life support it won’t work.’
‘There’s got to be something we can try’, James let go of the girder. ‘I’ll head to command and see if there’s something I can do about the lockdown. You go outside and see if there’s anything we can use.’
‘Alright just be careful! I have a bad feeling about this!’
‘You and me both, Sam. You and me both.’

Getting to command module proved to be a lot more difficult than James originally thought. The entire station was locked, but he couldn’t find any emergency protocols in effect. Override codes weren’t working, even the ones Richard set just two days ago. Too many things just don’t add up! Excessive structural damage, the bloody lockdown, what happened to the failsafes?, he was furious! Then as he passed through one of the shrapnel riddled corridors he noticed that the ceiling was in ruins. Panels looked blown off and most were either shattered or melted. Did the engine blast do this? The question stayed on his mind as he tried to clear the rubble that was barring access to the command module’s upper deck.

As expected, the place was a complete mess. Broken windows, fried consoles and shattered panels everywhere he looked. Most of the damage was caused by the outside explosion, but just like in the corridors there was damage along the walls and ceiling that made little or no sense. But the real issue was the central console that somehow still had power. A full system wipe?! What the hell Richard? He entered the mainframe room and a million questions sprang up in his mind.

‘‘Sam? Do you read?’
‘Kind of. Go ahead!’, her voice was almost lost in static.
‘Can you check the external RCS?’
‘Alright. What am I looking for?’
‘If I’m right. You’ll notice at once! Meet me inside when you’re done.’

It took 10 minutes for James to get back to the life support module. By now the place was full of dust that was getting in through the massive hull breach that had effectively split the module in half. When Sam arrived she didn’t even bother with the door and got in straight through the rupture.

‘How was it?’, James turned as she floated in.
‘You were right’. So I also checked the fuel lines. All gone.’
‘And there I hoped I would be wrong’, he said with a sigh.
‘I think I’m starting to get the picture.’

After James was done recounting what he had seen on his way to the mainframe, they both remained silent for a bit.

‘So you are saying that Richard deliberately wrecked the system?’
‘I think so.’
‘But why? What reason could he have for something like that? It makes little sense!’
‘I know, I know. On its own it doesn’t, but I think that core he’s holding is the key to everything.’
‘You know that sounds a bit crazy. Right?’
James waved his hand at Richard’s pod.‘For crying out loud Sam! He ripped the mainframe core out with his bare hands! Can you imagine a guy who never does anything without a reason do something like that?!’
‘Calm down James, I believe you!’, she floated over to him and put her hand on his shoulder. ‘I know what you saw. I just can’t wrap my mind around it.’
‘I’m sorry’, he lowered his voice and took her by the hand. ‘But I don’t have a better explanation. Something went wrong during ignition. He tried to stop the sequence, realized he couldn’t and did the only thing he could which was to...’
‘Physically take out the core’, Samantha finished for him. ‘That explains the lockdown, but it would have shut down the engine not blow it up?’
‘Remember his arm? The mainframe was torched from the inside out by an electric surge.’ James looked at her. ‘That’s how his arm got burned.’
‘But if that also ignited the fuel it would mean…’
James looked at her with a grim expression. ‘That every safety mechanism in this installation failed to activate...’

To any outsider his words wouldn’t sound that strange. After all systems can fail and accidents happen. But to any AltCorp engineer it just sounded wrong. They all knew how their equipment was built and how many different safeties and redundancies existed in each of their systems. He looked over at Samantha and the look on her face gave him all the confirmation he needed. They were thinking the same thing. Whatever happened here was deliberate!

After about a minute, Sam finally lifted her head and let go of his arm. ‘I think I have a plan Jim. One that will get all of us out of here’, her voice was calm and confident.

Had someone told a few days ago that he would be glad that he was not piloting Arges, he would have just laughed. Now, he was no longer sure. Steropes was at the core of Sam’s plan and the reason why James believed they could pull it off. It was also the only chance they had to get Richard out of this place in one piece. Unlike its big brother, Steropes’ had a flexible design. It was the ship built for easy field deployment and that meant its systems weren’t as hardwired or complex as the ones on Arges. Sure it didn’t have a fusion reactor, but it didn’t really need one. The amount of power its triple capacitor banks could store, enhanced by the added core containment units Sam salvaged, were more than enough. They just had to charge them! He looked over through the cockpit and noticed Sam’s flashlight closing from the dust cloud. Now to see if they actually fit!

Her plan was simple. With base’s systems compromised they couldn’t rely on any of them and since the place was doomed anyway they would just take any parts they needed and use them to make an interface to keep Richard’s cryopod working long enough for them to reach the nearest habitat. For that, they needed power and that’s why Sam spent the last 20 minutes dismantling the station’s solar array. James went out the airlock and began welding the panels in place. She waved at him and went back into the dust cloud to start working on life support.

Once the last panel was in place he started cutting through the hull. Steropes’ systems may have been “loosely” wired, but the ship wasn’t exactly designed for what they were doing. He still had to tear the hull open to expose the conduits that brought power to the RCS thrusters, then rewire the internal components to feed power back to the capacitor. After he was finished, the ship would have all the maneuverability of a brick. If anything was to go wrong... the thought crossed his mind as he was looking at the first set of cables and he hesitated.

He looked over his shoulder towards the asteroid. It was steadily losing mass for the past 2 hours and as a result kept accelerating, spinning faster and faster with each chunk of ice and rock that it flung into space. At this point they had to hold on to the surfaces to avoid being tossed around as their jetpack thrusters were starting to have trouble countering the rotation. He knew full well what was happening. The asteroid was getting dangerously close to the breaking point. Then his eyes caught a series of faint flashes coming from the shifting dust cloud that by now covered the entire station. Sam’s cutter, he smiled. She’s still down in that mess. He turned around and started cutting. At best they had two more hours, give or take, before everything went to hell.

‘I think that’s it Jim!’, Sam said as she welded the final part in place.
‘Alright, gimme a sec. This damn thing better be working…’
‘It will.’, her voice was tired and her breathing was heavy. ‘It has to!’

They’ve both spent the last hour and a half trying to get the backup life support that Sam cut out of the station jury-rigged onto the ship. Systems room that housed their capacitor banks, air tank, RCS control and warp drive was now a total mess. They had to rip out most wall panels and rewire everything. Everything, except the ship’s warp drive, since none of them dared touch it.

James crawled from under a pile of cables and looked at one of the crudely wired access panels lying next to him. He breathed a sigh of relief when it finally activated and displayed their makeshift life support unit as “online”.

‘It’s working Sam! It’s actually working!’
‘Finally!’, he heard her say. ‘Ok, once you get us close I’ll go pick him up!’
‘Roger, I’ll have us there in a sec!’

Back behind the controls, he swung the ship around and moved it closer to the surface. He was definitely missing those thrusters he had to dismantle. The ship felt heavy and sluggish and it took a lot more effort to maintain position, especially since the asteroids rotation was getting worse. The only good thing about their situation was that most of the dust was gone by now so he could clearly see the life support module, or what was left of it. He brought them as close as he could and did his best to keep the ship leveled with the surface while Sam linked Richard’s cryopod to the improvised towing cables. Once he saw her ok signal he began gently pulling away from the asteroid until they were far enough to stabilize. He left the ship to drift away from the asteroid and went outside to help her. As they struggled to get the cryopod into the ship, James looked behind them at the spinning asteroid. There were no rocks flying towards them any more, no ice chunks, no nothing. A calm before the storm, he thought. Whether or not the asteroid finally reached an equilibrium he couldn’t say, but he wasn’t planning to stay long enough to find out. He helped Sam get the chamber into the ship, even in zero-g it still felt heavy and since both the chamber and its occupant were in bad condition, they couldn’t risk hitting any of the walls. They set it down in the corridor, just outside of the system room and connected it to the makeshift life support unit. It wasn’t perfect but it was the best they could do. Now to get us out of here!

James set a course for Eridil. At best speed they could reach the habitat in 35-40 minutes, but first they had to wait until their capacitor was charged up. Lucky that Steropes has three separate capacitor banks, he thought. Had it been just one that first hit would have left us completely stranded. He increased forward thrust to make more distance between them and the asteroid. Just five more minutes…

‘How’s he doing Sam?’
‘I’m not sure.’, she sounded worried. ‘His vitals are really low. Even with the chamber it’s bad.’
‘We’ll be at habitat in 40 minutes! Let’s pray he can hold out that long!

Finally they were ready and James started the countdown. One more minute and we’re out of here! As the timer reached 15, his entire screen went white. He closed his eyes and when he opened them the asteroid and Post 6 were gone. All that was left was an expanding cloud of rubble and smoke. Not this time you don’t! This time they were far enough away so he slowly aligned the ship to the warp coordinates and activated the ship’s warp drive! He could not remember the last time he was this glad to see that bright blue glow envelop the ship. He started pressurizing the rooms and got out of his seat.


Zero Gravity

[Asid]

Steropes' Hull Design Poll
3 APRIL   - ZG_RICK

Hello colonists!

How does it feel being stranded in deep space? Do you feel lonely? Have you considered giving names to your turrets yet? And most important - did you like Hellion story from previous weeks?



If you’ve read it, you already know that one of the main characters in the story is a “never-before-mentioned” ship, one that belongs to the Steropes class. Yes, a new ship is coming with the next update, planned for May!

As all of you know, we took an Early Access model seriously. Devs from Zero Gravity, together with our fantastic moderators, are trying to nurture this beautiful Hellion community. We read all comments, whether good or bad, and process them internally with the aim of making Hellion a game that is fully built on the grounds of well thought feedback. Hopefully, you guys are enjoying this model as much as we do.

Today we’ll continue in that manner: we invite you to help us decide which hull design for the new Steropes ship would you prefer! Here’s the link for the public poll: make a choice here . https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScC1jndhegT52XdN_WW9Dt7sAGTyRRCc_4QOPhPcTJ6C65CtA/viewform


Thank you for your time,

Altair Corporation board of directors

[Asid]

Poll Results and Much More
12 APRIL   - ZG_RICK

Howdy survivors!

What’s new in the world of Hellion? Any new trade routes, newly formed clans or rare resources? Welcome to another Hellion blog!



Remember that poll we had last week? The one where we asked for your opinion on the new ship hull design? Well the voices have been cast and here are the results.

The winner is...



Distinct yellow color, often found on construction vehicles of the world, won the contest with 60.1% to 39.9%. A fitting result since Steropes does belong to the Altair corporation after all, but even so many of you asked simple questions: Why not both designs? Why not make them craftable? While we agree that Hellion would certainly benefit from improved player/ship customization options, we had decided to push these cosmetic features back in favor of optimization and bug-fixing. After all we don’t want you getting stuck inside your new ship, right?

Still, the amount of feedback we received is excellent and we will do our best to incorporate your suggestions and ideas. As you all know Hellion is a big place and its story is made out of many different puzzle pieces. So you might want to keep your eyes open in upcoming updates, as you never know when a new puzzle bit might catch you off guard and we’ll make sure to present it “in a fashionable way”.

Having seen the creative power of the Hellion community, we had decided to help develop it further. To this end we are adding a downloadable Fan Art Kit https://www.playhellion.com/media on our website that is a collection of visual assets that can be used to create compelling game related content. Rest assured that the kit will receive regular updates with each new game version.

With regard to content creation, most of you have surely noticed that Hellion related videos (mostly on YouTube) do not have a proper Hellion icon. Reason for this lies in the fact that Hellion doesn’t have an official Wikipedia page. Rules for content creation on Wikipedia are strict and are meant to not allow any biased opinions towards any topic. That’s why we need your help. If you have any experience with Wikipedia content, use this link for Hellion draft page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft:Hellion. Thanks a ton in advance!


Until next warp,

[Asid]

Devblog #32 - Beneath the Hud
HELLION - ZG_Smorty

What’s up you crafty space survivors?



The team is back in office after a week at Reboot Develop 2018 conference held in Dubrovnik and working full force on our next update. Today we are going to cover a number of changes that went into the code or “beneath the hud” so to speak!

Nav Map

First thing we want to discuss is the nav map. In order to improve its stability we had to dive deep beneath the surface and rebuild the code from scratch. The end result of this work is that nav map is now a lot more stable and its functionality has been expanded with a multitude of new options.

To start off let’s discuss the visual changes. Aside from better indicators, players can expect a lot more detail about various objects, most notably planets and moons, their orbital values, mass, rotational period etc. In addition, each celestial object now has a visual gravity radius that should make it easier for players to judge orbits at a glance. The second change is the ability to manually input orbital parameters when creating custom orbits and to have multiple custom orbits at once. Third change is the seamless zoom that had replaced the old “three step system” allowing you to zoom as close as you want or as far as you want to cover the entire Hellion system.





Another improvement and one that was long overdue is that ships can now warp independently of players. Yup, that’s right, you can now set up a warp maneuver, align your ship and leave the controls. No more waiting for the 5 seconds mark. This also opens up some new options for resourceful players. Want to try and tackle the turrets of that military outpost, but don’t want to risk losing your ship? Plot a course to your home station, set a decent departure time, initialize and lock the doors behind you. Win or lose the ship will head back home with or without you.

Movement

Parallel to our work on the nav map we’ve put a lot of time and effort into improving how the game handles dynamic objects and player movement. Desync issues have been the bane of many a brave explorer and have caused our colonists much grief ever since their arrival to the Hellion system. We expect these issues to become far less prominent with the next update and to eventually disappear entirely once our work on improving server/client communication is finished.

Loot Distribution

With the amount of work going into code improvements we also had to touch on the loot distribution and spawn mechanics. Some of these changes aren’t immediately apparent but provide us with a lot more options when it comes to adding new locations and items, most notably new stations and outposts for our colonists to explore. These changes will also let those who host their private servers add their own station designs into the game as premade locations.



You wanted it, you got it!

Lastly here’s just a simple quality of life feature, but it is something players have been asking for a long time. We’ve added the option to freely change docking port name tags in the same way you edit labels on crates. So no more wondering if it is this corridor or the other one that leads to the airlock.



All of these changes and the new Steropes class are arriving to an Outpost near you in mid May. And finally for all those who are anxious to see more of the new ship here’s a few more screenshots.



Fly safe!

[Asid]

Steropes Update Preview
HELLION - ZG_Rick

“Steropes is the first AltCorp vessel designed specifically for the Expedition project. The early Altair Corporation analysis of Hellion’s survey data concluded that using Arges would prove risky during the initial colonization effort. Arges’ high fuel consumption and overall complexity made it ill suited as a workhorse in a completely alien system with no prior infrastructure. Hence the Steropes project was put forth with a goal of designing a smaller vessel that could be assembled and retrofitted in the field with minimal effort, while still retaining its construction and transportation capabilities. Steropes Class entered mass production in March 2278.”



Well we guess it’s about time for us to cover the new ship. The star of this show, as the update name implies, is the Altair Corporation’s Steropes class. In this preview we are going to cover what this “lightning” is capable of as well as go over our design philosophy and features and improvements that we’ve somehow managed to cram into this update. Expect Steropes update to land on May 17.

Why not go bigger?

This is one of the most frequently asked questions, ever since we announced the new ship design. So let’s go and explain the reasoning behind going smaller. In truth we were never too happy about using Arges as the starting ship. Those of you who have been with us from day one know how overpowered the original Arges would feel if we restored its full functionality today. It had a life support system that was on par with the life support module, reactor almost as strong as a dedicated power supply module, towing capability, RCS, engines, warp drive and to top it all off a cargo bay complete with a refinery! The only thing it lacked was a cryopod and crafty players quickly found a way around this by constantly towing the starting module behind them.

So we had to ask ourselves a question: Why would anyone want to build a base if a single ship could do everything? To solve this problem we resorted to removing the cargo and refinery and then imposed an artificial limitation to the number of modules you could tow at any given time. This wasn’t a solution, but rather a quick fix that we were never too proud of, but since Hellion lacked most of its core features it was the only viable choice at the time.

By replacing Arges with Steropes as the starting ship we are now free to restore the old “Mule” to its rightful place as the “workhorse” of the Altair Corporation’s industrial fleet. However, we do not want to make Steropes obsolete the moment you get your hands on Arges. Instead, we want players to make a decision which ship to use, based on the task at hand.

“Pocket Lightning”

How is Steropes different from its big brother? Well to start it is a much smaller ship, about one third the size. Its systems have also been reduced in comparison. Instead of a fusion reactor there are only solar panels and a dedicated life support system has been replaced with just air filters. Furthermore the ship has no engines, only RCS and Warp Drive. Its airlock is also incompatible with standard airlock docking ports. So far this all looks pretty grim, we can hear you say. So is there anything about this ship that isn’t a straight downgrade from Arges?

Glad you asked! Since our goal was not to make people feel like they are driving a runaway bathtub, but a full fledged spaceship we had to provide it with a few “upgrades”. Steropes has a much more efficient and powerful warp drive and the same is true for its RCS system. Compared to Arges it is about five times more maneuverable owing it to its lower overall mass which also means that it uses far less power when initiating warp. It can cover more distance with its single warp cell and warps considerably faster. To top it all off it has a triple capacitor bank that features three upgrade slots. When fully upgraded it easily trumps the capacitor found on a dedicated Power Supply Module giving it a lot of “flexibility” despite it having only one solar panel. Needless to say it can also tow modules just like its predecessor.



Gameplay

In terms of gameplay we had a specific thing in mind when we sat down and discussed the new ship. Steropes was designed to complement player’s efforts as they progress through the game, most notably base building and upgrading. Due to the aforementioned reductions, the ship is not self sufficient and relies heavily on the supporting infrastructure of your base with the end result being that upgrading your base with additional modules directly benefits your ship as well. As a simple example: expanding your station with a dedicated power supply module means that charging the ship’s capacitor banks becomes much faster and easier. Same holds true for pressurizing rooms and filling up the ship’s air tank. Due to this mechanic the ship had already been nicknamed “The Leech” by several testers...



While all of this is not enough for it to trump Arges’ expanded functionality, Steropes’ speed and maneuverability provides a clear advantage when fuel conservation or time constraints come into play. For some reason doomed outposts come to mind… Finally, its layout feels far more comfortable making various interactions easier, regardless if you’re a veteran or still learning the ropes.



Also keep in mind that several features that were originally planned for Steropes couldn’t make it into this update due to their complexity and overall impact they would have on existing game mechanics. So expect to hear some exciting news in future updates.

Improvements

Of course with the introduction of the new ship we had to tackle some of the problems which had been plaguing us since launch. We put a lot of effort into code improvements to optimize movement and server client communication and then moved on to tackle NavMap, Warp Drive, Loot Distribution and Premade Stations. All of these were covered in our last blog post, but one item was not on that list. It’s the complete overhaul of the piloting interface.

As was the case with the NavMap we had to rebuild piloting from scratch. The end result is a far more stable interface with improved functionality that is at the same time easier to access and modify (or expand with new options) should the need arise. It also displays all of its functions and indicators across the entire canopy rather than just a small center portion. Getting into the piloting seat is now faster and no longer requires an additional step to start flying. As you sit in the cockpit you are now in piloting mode by default and using free-look does not interrupt flying. This rework also allowed us to remove some of the annoyances (like barely visible buttons) and implement some quality of life features like hotkeys, “scroll to cycle targets” or “target object under reticle”.

That’s all for this preview. Expect a complete list of changes and bug-fixes next week as part of the “Steropes update” patch notes. Until then, get back to your cryo-pod and prepare yourself for consciousness transfer. Mind upload procedure starting in 10...9...8...7 days!


Zero Gravity team

[Asid]

Steropes Update Patch Notes
HELLION - ZG_Smorty

Well it’s been a while since Hellion’s last update, but we believe this one was worth the wait. Those that have gone through our last few posts already know what to expect: the Altair Corporation’s Steropes class. In addition we have made a number of major changes to the code and many improvements to key gameplay features.So get ready for the full list of features, improvements and bugfixes!



Steropes Update will be deployed on Thursday May 17th. Servers will be down from 1PM UTC/6AM PDT until 2PM UTC/7AM PDT. Servers will be wiped to ensure proper patch deployment.


For private servers:
Update your server and game client
Delete save files

New ship
Steropes replaces Arges as the new starter vessel. It is much smaller compared to its big brother weighing only 468t compared to Arges’ 1698t. As such it only has an Airlock, an Air Filter, RCS, warp drive and a single Solar Panel for power generation. In order to replenish spent RCS fuel or the atmosphere you lost (in case of accidental venting or a breach) you will have to dock with your base.

To compensate for these drawbacks the new ship is about 2.5 times more maneuverable. It also features an improved warp drive that is much faster and less fuel intensive allowing Steropes to travel further with one warp cell than Arges can with all three. Finally it comes equipped with a dedicated capacitor bank with 3 upgrade slots allowing Steropes to bank a ton of power before setting off and of course it can tow modules just as good as Arges.

NavMap improvements
Navigation map has been redesigned from scratch and expanded with new options that should make it much more intuitive and easier to use.
•   Improved performance
•   Seamless zoom
•   Custom orbit parameters can now be entered directly as numerical values
•   NavMap can now hold multiple custom orbits
•   New icons for ships, modules, outposts and stations
•   Three information tabs for selected object
o   Warp maneuver parameters (W)
o   List of objects in close proximity (G)
o   Selected object information (A)

Piloting interface
Piloting interface has been redesigned from scratch and expanded with new options.
•   Full visibility across the entire canopy
•   Only authorized personnel can now pilot the ship
•   New icons and improved indicators
•   Free look (default L.Alt) no longer interrupts piloting
•   Added hotkeys to access Piloting (1), NavMap (2), Docking (3) and Headlights (4), removed unused buttons for these interactions

Warp Drive Changes
•   Warp Drive now activates automatically when initiating warp and deactivates when finished
•   Removed 5 second warp confirmation after aligning
•   Ships can now warp independently of players, provided that the timer and maneuver have been set in advance
•   Server restart no longer stops warp

Server improvements
•   Improved server-client communication to fix desync issues, movement, combat and object interactions
•   Update data in a separate CPU thread (optional)
•   Non attached items now automatically despawn on pre-made stations
•   Server save file renamed to: hellion_{DATE}.save

Admin commands
Server owners can now set admin rights and allow access to admin commands from GameServer.ini file. Check GameServer.ini for a full list of admin commands.

Pre-made station improvements
•   Pre-made stations now use their own specific blueprint json files
•   Additional options (lock doors, invulnerability, systems on/off) can be set globally or per module through the station blueprint json file
•   Docking ports can be locked/unlocked per module from the json file
•   Replaced old stations with new ones for improved immersion

Improvements
•   Added several new emblems to the security interface
•   Players can now rename corridor and room labels
•   Added a “rent a server” button in the game menu
•   Airlock operation improvements
•   Airlock collision optimization
•   Airlock sound effects
•   Door interact animation
•   Added tooltips for resources
•   Recycler now notifies players if storage is full
•   Turret targeting improvements
•   Added Warp Drive (FTL) time to environmental panels
•   Multiple players can no longer interact with the same system panel
•   Changed “grappler” to “anchor” and added specific anchor docking ports for ships and modules
•   Initialize warp by absolute solar system time (instead of orbit angles) to prevent getting stuck after broken warp

Bug Fixes
Items disappears when thrown out of modules on some locations
Items and parts disappearing on scene after warp, relog off fix the problem.
Reloging on asteroid with drill in hand will result in disappearance of canister and battery from the drill
Items change position when thrown if two or more players are in the same room
After repairing the repair point there is no timeout it shows up again instantly after you repair it
Server restart or crash cancels warp
Air filter power consumption problem
Significant loss of Steropes RCS thrust if docked to multiple modules structure
Naming a station from authorised CM still shows as OUTPOST
Pilot panel doesn't update after warp, old targets stay on screen they refresh when player opens pilot panel again
Canceling warp, removes custom orbit
Canceling a warp from one system to another brakes warping and it cannot be set again (Fixes it self after server restart)
CBM Cargo interface Servo slot missing
Air processing controller in premade stations lootable Automated Refinery B1
Player logged out of the cryopod shows outside at random position in the large stations
Dropping item in space makes him static when player goes in and out of module
Spawned flag in the CBM. Incorrect place.
Loot distribution not spawning correct amount of set items
Can't locate Fire inside main room of FM when it depressurized
Turrets shoot through CTM objects
Texture gap in ship cargo bay door
Player gets stuck around the ships chair
Player can't reach the glass in the observation deck
Station change gravity
Inventory dupe bug
Servers not showing in the list
Warp through debris field causes damage to the ship and modules towed
Ship small attache points are not accepting all items
Warp towing failure
Warping INTO stations
Panel rendering partially missing in FM
Inventory key collide with ship rename field
Throwing items in space not working while inside module it works fine
Signs instead of quotes in tutorial text on loading screen
Coordinates on Map not matching the ones from Spawn Rules
Don't allow Anchor docking ports to be usable from the module
Everest Station Prefab going missing / changing orbits.
CLM not occluding sunlight inside
Air quality drops while player is driving
Docked CBM's loose ~0.2 pressure after server restart
Debris field in Nav Map does not reflect reality
Saved settings Volume, Invert mouse and Effects are reverted on game start.
Pistol Ammo Clips Oriented Wrong On Shelf
Stuck on game loading (Server problem)
CQM Medkit Storage Is Opaque When Closed
Refine Air not working
Warp not working when player is not inside the ship
EM field controller still lootable in random PSM
Jetpack light shows when using the docking port
Ship shows matched even when not and moving
Power panel - strange capacitor loading while steropes is docked to PSM)
Cell detonator slot - u can use the slot without a need to open it by the button
Solar Panels Missing Material on Doomed outpost
Warp cell consumption not showing correct amount
Jetpack oxygen consumption in cryo pod after server restart
Matching velocity not working on range 116-130m (match velocity indicator is shown)
Navigation map - "warp to" button label behind celestial body label
You can put and get servomotor of Arges' air filter system without opening glass door
Docking Interface lighting / shadow issues.
Arges 'glass box' lighting effect when piloting
Velocity Matched (not docked) Arges appears in CM's Power Interface
Incorrect interact zone for suit cupboard

Zero Gravity

[Asid]

Steropes Update is Live Now!
HELLION - ZG_Rick



Let's play some Hellion!

[Asid]

Devblog #33 - Event, Story and Singleplayer
1 June - ZG_Rick   



It’s been two weeks and it looks like Steropes is comfortably holding its own in the brutal world of Hellion. Now that we’ve made sure that the ship is safe we are going to cover the exclusive “Phone Home” event that preceded the Steropes update and two very important aspects you can expect in the near future. So read on!



Several days ago, SETI began picking up strange readings coming from an unknown source. Analysis revealed that it was in fact a highly sophisticated radio signal coming from a star over a 1000 light years away. However, the initial excitement quickly turned into confusion the moment scientists managed to decipher the first message… It only said: “Hey, what’s up guys? Peace out!” As puzzling as this message was it was nowhere near as crazy as some of the other things that followed:

“Halp! Epiktetus kitten need halp!”, “Send Sausages!!”, “Could I have a cheese sandwich?”, “42”, “And as always don’t let Clang get your wang!”, “Who put a Boston Terrier on the ship?”

The only conclusion the best and brightest minds at NASA managed to come up with was that the messages arrived from the future, warped by the GW170814 gravitational wave.


Phone Home Event

As some of you may know, we held an exclusive event on May 16th. This event, nicknamed “Phone Home”, had players look for a source of a mysterious signal that was broadcast throughout the Hellion system. Finding it wasn’t easy as the bits and pieces of info they received were scarce and scattered across the system. The final set of coordinates ultimately brought them to the Actaeon 34, a survey probe who’s original message identified Hellion as the most promising colonization candidate. Since the probe was dormant for over a century, Hellion survivors had to reactivate it before they could send a message back to Earth.

Needless to say, the event was a success and those who played through it had a lot of fun. In case you haven’t had a chance to watch one of the many streams that covered the event here are two videos done by dear players Epiktek and BaronQuertier. Enjoy their fabulous videos!

YouTube™ Video: Steropes Update Story Event - Hellion
Views: 2,146
I was invited by the Hellion developers to a Special Event to promote the new Steropes Update, so Kitten and I decided to have some fun and Role Play with it.


YouTube™ Video: HELLION-Actaeon: The Beginning RP story- Exclusive Event
Views: 600
Hello ladies and chaps and a jolly good welcome to you. I had the absolute pleasure to take part in an exclusive event put on by the dev team of hellion. Here is the story of what unfolded....

Steropes Update Story Event - Hellion

HELLION-Actaeon: The Beginning RP story- Exclusive Event

Story implementation


Original idea behind the Phone Home event was to use it as a “test run” of sorts for the implementation of Hellion’s background story and see how the community would react. The overwhelming amount of positive feedback was all the confirmation we needed for us to start considering a proper “quest” mechanic for Hellion. Now we know what some of you might be thinking. Quests in a survival game? Doesn’t that belong in an RPG or something? While this may be true, there is nothing saying that a space simulation with survival elements can’t have a proper story to accompany its gameplay and a system of quests to guide players through it. Afterall, we want to build an exceptional gaming experience and nothing less will suffice.

Up until now players only had limited access to story information from our website and several devblogs. But Hellion is a game, not a novel and having to browse the internet for lore elements or read through several pages of text is not a very immersive way to tell the story about the largest disaster in human history. The system required for this is still in early stages, but many of you will be happy to know that the first task of this “objective based quest system” will be to create a proper tutorial section at the start of the game.

Still the main purpose of it will be to tell the story of the “Expedition project” and provide players with a set of goals and objectives to strive for. Its second task will be to give players a sense of progress and accomplishment and award them with unique items and upgrades. And this leads us to our next topic.


Singleplayer mode


You know how programmers are somewhat crazy, right? And you can’t always tell what they are doing, especially if it’s part of their home project? Well, one of our programmers decided to add a “singleplayer mode” to Hellion so he could test various things faster and easier. As it turns out it was rather effective, so much in fact, that we’ve decided to adjust it and add it to the game.

So once you’ve selected the singleplayer option from the main menu the game will create an instance of a local server on your machine and connect you automatically. You will then have a choice between two game modes: normal and sandbox.

Normal mode is essentially identical to the online experience minus the other players and comes with the “gamer’s favourite” save/load system, while the sandbox mode also adds all dev commands into the mix. As you might imagine being invulnerable, able to teleport, spawn modules, ships and items or refuel and dock instantly can come in very handy when you want to test that station layout you were planning on building.

So that’s all for today’s devblog. You can expect the singleplayer mode to land near the end of June, along with several other fixes and improvements (that will not require a server wipe). Quest system is still in very early prototype stages and it will probably be quite some time until we are ready to deploy it in full.

Until next time keep looking at the sky and call NASA to finally send those sausages!

Zero Gravity team

[Asid]

Devblog #34 Singleplayer Update Preview
14 June - ZG_Rick   

Hello dear colonists,


We’ve been hard at work over here at Zero Gravity to bring out the next update for our fans. As the title of the update suggests, a single-player mode will be added to Hellion. It’s coming out next week, on June 21. And the additional very important info is that the update will not require a server wipe.

Single-player mode

We were always aware of the fact that many of you out there wanted to experience Hellion as a lonely survivor of the gigantic catastrophe that happened to the Expedition. Playing the game alone has its special under the skin feeling that can be hard to achieve in a multiplayer environment. Not to mention that save/load system can be especially useful in conserving resources and avoiding mistakes. And needless to say it offers an alternative for people who couldn’t otherwise enjoy the game due to internet connection problems.

Single-player mode will allow those who do not want to deal with other players an opportunity to explore Hellion’s background story and quests at their own pace, without the risk of interference, once the quests are fully implemented, of course. It will allow new players to learn basics of the game without having to start over in standard game mode and let experienced players test various ideas and station designs in sandbox mode.



Server and game optimization

We are fully aware of the current issues that have been plaguing our servers over the last few weeks. That is why we have dedicated most of our work to improving server stability and optimizing server-client communication. More detailed description of these changes will be given in the patch notes next week, after the final round of testing is completed.

Another part of our work on optimization includes partial scene texture and lighting improvements that should allow the game to run smoother. You can see the changes in the images below.

Old version:


New version:



As we’ve mentioned before, this update will not require a server wipe and also represents an important milestone for us as it allows us to deploy smaller updates and fixes without resetting player progress. Wipes are still necessary for updates that affect large portions of the game but with future improvements we believe we can find a way around this and offer you a truly persistent universe.


All of these changes should help us tell many stories in the world of Hellion, stories meant for both solo players and groups of adventurers alike. And that’s why we are so excited about future updates as we will finally be in a position to bring you new content on regular basis. Most importantly, we are looking forward to seeing your own unique stories.


See you soon,
Zero Gravity