Version history

This is the Version history for Helium Rain:

Bugs fixed

 * Fix mod launcher failing to load with Steam in Linux

Bugs fixed

 * Fix research points increasing too quickly with Instruments tech
 * Fix people consuming resource during construction

1.3.5

 * GOG support

Bugs fixed

 * Fix OpenGL3 support

Bugs fixed

 * Fix station scrapping not detecting all cargos
 * Fix free money exploit on contracts
 * Cleanup unwanted files from client

Bugs fixed

 * Fix crash when clicking end-of-construction notification for complexes

Bugs fixed

 * Fix Linux support
 * Fix failure to launch mod launcher offline

Gameplay

 * Add new military contracts
 * Add technical support for modding, including a new launcher tool

UI

 * Add Russian localization
 * Add mod list to the main menu

Bugs fixed

 * Fix contract locking only working for trade contract
 * Fix ships trading in empty sectors

UI

 * HUD is now kept at a unique scale from 1080p and higher resolutions so that it's still readable

Bugs fixed

 * Fix autopilot not disengaged with joystick inputs
 * Fix joystick throttle leading to extreme thrust values

Gameplay

 * New flight control model that allows for concurrent inputs
 * Meteorite contracts have reduced meteor counts, higher intercept time, lower probability of spawning
 * Queued spacecraft orders are now cancelled when disabling external shipyard orders
 * Player-fleet ships escort the player around the sector
 * Add sound effect on docking
 * Trading quests are more worthwile

UI

 * Improve docking HUD to make it easier to understand
 * HUD is slightly sharper across the board
 * Add option to disable mouse input
 * Add option to show lateral velocity on the HUD
 * Artifact scanner now blinks to attract player attention

Bugs fixed

 * Fix auto-trading ships ignoring the "trade" flag of cargo bays
 * Fix ships appearing in the trade menu as possible trading targets (ship-to-ship trading isn't supported)
 * Fix joystick throttle cancelling autopilot
 * Fix jerky motion of joystick controls
 * Fix inverted credit and debit columns
 * Fix speed indicator not scaling with resolution
 * Fix complex stations showing unusable upgrade button
 * Fix electronics requested at contracts while none is produced
 * Fix useless and confusing fleet filter appearing on the spacecraft list in the fleet menu
 * Fix some cases of game crashes while simulating many days quickly
 * Fix game crash on hotkey press in some conditions
 * Fix some collision issues at Blue Heart

Bugs fixed

 * Attempt to fix some crashes

Bugs fixed

 * Fix collision issues in Night's Home
 * Fix complex cargo bays not allowing more than half hold for trade routes

Bugs fixed

 * Fix complex stations not allowing construction of shipyards

Gameplay

 * Reduce migrations of populations between sectors

Bugs fixed

 * Fix complex cargo bays locking up
 * Fix miscellaneous trading issues
 * Fix notifications of scrapping by AI companies
 * Fix auto-trading fleets not handling fleet supplies
 * Fix auto-trading fleets not selling
 * Fix auto-trading still enabled after assigning a fleet to a trade route
 * Fix blocked quest step on the Pendulum contract
 * Fix station construction limits in sector blocking substation construction
 * Fix contract generation while a fleet is stranded at the end of the travel
 * Fix trade route sliders acting up
 * Fix typos, contracts wording, bad tooltips

Gameplay

 * Trade routes don't default to trading with hubs anymore
 * Balance Fusion Power Plant

Graphics & UI

 * Add "Trade with Hubs" options to trading steps in the Trade Route menu
 * Add arrow icons on "Move Up" & "Move Down" buttons in the Trade Route menu
 * Add "Include Hubs" option to the World Economy menu
 * Add sorting buttons to the World Economy & Resource Prices menu
 * F4 now the default key binding for the World Economy menu, moving other menus to higher function keys (main menu is F10, settings F12, etc)
 * Improve performance in Night's Home

Bugs fixed

 * Fix automated trading not evaluating sales correctly
 * Fix automated trading stopping sector search on the first hostile sector

Gameplay

 * Make artifacts more rewarding in end-game
 * Remove time limits on VIP contracts

Bugs fixed

 * Fix fleet controls available on AI fleets
 * Fix auto-trade not actually requiring the matching technology
 * Fix high memory usage and performance issues in company log
 * Fix typos in texts
 * Fix "buying" transactions not defaulting to the contract-bound amount
 * Fix crash on sector reload

Gameplay

 * Reduce artifact research gain from 100 to 40

Bugs fixed

 * Rename "Travels" title to "Events" for clarity

Gameplay

 * Add artifact system to earn research points through exploration
 * Add Anomaly & Pharos sectors
 * Rework Trading Hub that now act as a resource buffer, renamed to Storage Hub, can no longer be built at complexes
 * Rework economy model
 * Day simulations are faster to process
 * Trade routes now skip inactive sectors
 * Trade routes now have two additional trade limit types
 * Ambient spacecraft power sound updated to be less annoying
 * Lighthouse is now a known sector on new games

Balancing

 * AI factions now produce less smaller ships in end-game
 * Hammer gun deals less damage and has reduced accuracy
 * Mjolnir gun deals more damage

Graphics & UI

 * Upgrade the side panel in the orbital menu
 * Upgrade menu background animation
 * Remove Early Access branding

Bugs fixed

 * Fix impossible contracts
 * Fix global AI nerf system
 * Fix shipyard tutorial not explaining the potential requirement of resource gathering
 * Fix unclear trade route menu when no fleet is assigned
 * Fix collision issues in some sectors
 * Fix crash when entering the skirmish setup menu too quickly
 * Fix crashes caused by back key operation after game unload
 * Fix crash on game load when nickname of a ship is empty
 * Remove dead achievement

Bugs fixed

 * Fix crash on game load in some cases

Graphics & UI

 * Add transaction log menu
 * Add accounting menu
 * Split tutorials from contracts in the contract menu
 * Make blur effects nicer-looking

Bugs fixed

 * Fix crash on trade route edition
 * Fix unusable UI on some Linux devices
 * Fix autopilot stuck on the Farm

Gameplay changes

 * Add new sector "The Farm" with capital station
 * Add retry feature to the skirmish score menu
 * Remove collision damage from ships to stations

Graphics & UI

 * Add backlighting from planets
 * Fix lighting artifacts on Nema's rings
 * Upgrade Nema with a nicer texture
 * Upgrade rendering quality in various places

Bugs fixed

 * Fix crash on travel
 * Fix notification freeze at the end of a travel
 * Fix some skirmishes not counted as a win despite victory
 * Fix incorrect additional binding for thrust input
 * Fix AI stations upgrading stations beyond max level
 * Fix company logo covering some contract descriptions
 * Fix useless cargo bays in complexes
 * Fix cargo bay lock system
 * Fix complex's shipyard not always starting production
 * Fix random crash on opening the sector menu
 * Fix some cases of scrapping not going back from the menu

Other changes

 * New Unreal Engine version 4.19
 * Save files are now compressed for smaller size

Gameplay changes

 * Reduce Hammer gun damage by 33%
 * Reduce Artemis accuracy by 30%

Bugs fixed

 * Fix crash on combat toggle

Gameplay changes

 * Add Skirmish mode to create custom battles against AI opponents
 * Rework gun controls on capital ships
 * Reduce diplomatic penalties on station capture
 * Turrets and AI ships now target missiles and meteorites
 * Tweak overall balance for all weapons and ships
 * Increase turret coverage on Anubis cruiser
 * Increase turret coverage on Dragon corvette
 * Move Leviathan camera to the front turret

Graphics & UI

 * New Dragon model
 * Upgrade farm model
 * Upgrade Blue Heart, Night's Home stations models
 * Upgrade weapon sounds
 * Upgrade alarm sounds
 * Add new fleet icon for military fleets

Bugs fixed

 * Fix flak shells not working on missiles and meteorites
 * Fix flak shells fired with incorrect fuse setting from player ships
 * Fix AI ships not correctly using multiple weapon slots
 * Fix missiles braking away from high-velocity ships
 * Fix shipyard queue not transferred on capture
 * Fix ability to fly ships from a different fleet when using the context menu
 * Fix crash on hitting the "4" key while in menus
 * Fix sound cuts while switching ships
 * Fix effect sounds fading away while moving

Other changes

 * New Unreal Engine version with Vulkan support
 * Remove APEX physics for meteorites
 * Add Steam trading cards

Graphics & UI

 * Add an option to list spacecrafts as fleets in object lists
 * Add pause button on trade routes
 * Add clean black bars to the story pages
 * Sort resource slots by input/output status
 * Reduce cockpit blur

Bugs fixed

 * Fix Pendulum quest not taking resources
 * Fix fleet tutorial
 * Fix docking at complexes with large ships
 * Fix crash on fast forward with high numbers of stations
 * Fix crash in the trade route menu
 * Fix complexes not listed in the trade menu
 * Fix display issues on the orbital map
 * Fix fleets not ordered in a sane way
 * Fix spacecraft hotkeys not ignored while typing
 * Fix cracks in RCS audio

Bugs fixed

 * Fixed ships stuck waiting on a station that doesn't trade
 * Fixed cargo bay locked by incorrect resources when upgrading stations
 * Fixed complex shipyard not offering production options on slot 8
 * Fixed aspect ratio of trade route menu
 * [tentative] Fixed crashes in the trade route menu

Gameplay changes

 * New station complex system, allowing multiple stations to work together and share resources
 * New station cost & limitation system, making stations more affordable
 * Station capture is now a manual process to avoid batch capture of unwanted stations
 * Stations can now be scrapped for their resources
 * Increase station spawn distance to avoid collisions
 * Add very small guidance on harpoons
 * Automatically fill the construction cargo bay with the production cargo bay if possible
 * Add a new gamepad profile for left-handed players

Graphics & UI

 * New Unreal Engine version, adding Linux support to AMD users with LLVM5
 * UI is now 15% denser overall to allow for more information on screen
 * New company menu with company renaming, emblem selection
 * New orbital map menu with prettier graphics & fleet locations
 * New sector menu layout
 * New technology menu layout
 * Rendering is now slightly sharper overall
 * Add button to unbind joystick axis mappings
 * Add sector selector to the local economy menu

Bugs fixed

 * Fix teleportation on docked ship upgrade
 * Fix crash when rebinding keys
 * Fix military tactics control unavailable outside battles
 * Fix arrow keys being un-rebindable
 * Fix manual docking failing with joysticks
 * Fix manual docking near Blue Heart

Gameplay changes

 * Allow manual docking with anticollision enabled
 * Add colinearity test on manual docking

Bugs fixed

 * Fix cut text on cockpit screens
 * Fix anticollision while docking
 * Fix UI cut in square or vertical resolutions

Graphics & UI

 * All stations now feature a larger, improved design
 * Improve cockpit fonts
 * Improve rendering quality to minimize aliasing
 * Improve rendering quality of the sun

Gameplay changes

 * Reduce turn rate of heavy AI ships to avoid to disturbing turret aiming
 * Make Miner's home visible at game start to allow access to steel
 * Make the player start with one free technology
 * Allow order of one heavy ship and one light ship at shipyards
 * Clarify contract expirations
 * AI player ships now only attack stations with the "attack stations" tactic
 * Telescopes now warn when no sector is left to be found

Bugs fixed

 * Fix many cases of indirect reputation loss
 * Fix trade route loading operation using only one ship
 * Fix contract buyer unable to buy the contracted resources
 * Fix anticollision issues in Blue Heart
 * Fix menu deadlock when building a station in the current sector with ship in reserve
 * Fix weapon swap unauthorized for barely damaged ships
 * Fix attack notification with 0 fleet
 * Fix AI upgrading stations during contracts on these stations
 * Fix building rate of habitations by AI
 * Fix resource consumption estimate of shipyards
 * Fix reputation shame mechanism
 * Fix company combat value acting up
 * Fix bad Thera thrust value
 * Fix immediate sector exit when flying a repaired ship
 * Fix incorrect construction values for Tokamaks
 * Fix crash when researching sectors with a telescope
 * Fix negative population
 * Fix AI trade bug leading to economy freeze

Gameplay changes

 * Complete overhaul of shipyards to add a production queue. Spacecrafts are now built in the order they arrive so that expensive ships can be built.
 * Prevent end-game alliances against the player. Building up a large military force is still subject to slow loss of reputation, but AIs are no longer compelled to attack the player with no provocation. AI companies can still ally against another AI company that places itself in a dominant position.
 * Manual docking has much more speed control, more accurate docking computer, lower grabbing threshold on L ships
 * Trade route deals will now only offer actual deals that make some amount of sense
 * Prevent generation of trade quests if the player has zero cargo space
 * Make meteorites spawn closer to reduce chance of being outside sector
 * Reduce combat points of weapons to better reflect the impact of upgrades
 * Reduce nerf ratio of companies so that they handle more of the economy

Bugs fixed

 * Fix crash when AI docks early in the loading with no player ship spawned
 * Fix Tokamak station not producing fuel
 * Fix "max quantity" slider acting up in the trade route menu
 * Fix research level appearing as more than what exists
 * Fix joystick keys not appearing for the bindings they've been set to
 * Fix color picker resetting to "round" colors
 * Fix docking helpers on L ships
 * Fix meteorite quests displaying empty when the station is destroyed
 * Fix out-of-screen in some resolutions
 * Fix stations pushing bank account to negative values
 * Fix a collection of trade bugs
 * Fix cut text on technology menu, trade route menu
 * Fix bad station count in the sector menu
 * Fix fighting tutorial
 * Fix research station tutorial

Graphics & UI

 * Headlights now more powerful
 * Fix heat artifacts on Anubis FP view
 * Make debris densities slightly higher
 * Make some menus work better in very wide apect ratios
 * Make speed reticles more visible on HUD
 * Make stations show up as stations in the spacecraft menu
 * Make nose icons a bit larger
 * Better confirm travel text
 * Fix lots of typos and translation issues

Gameplay changes

 * Nerf meteorite damage to stations
 * Make autopilot dock at target if a station is selected

Bugs fixed

 * Fix water not in drop list in the trade route menu
 * Fix fleet selection in the sector menu
 * Fix joystick buttons unusable as bindings
 * Fix joystick bindings not saved
 * Fix horizontal hat of joystick ignored
 * Fix virtual scroll registering as a real key in settings menu
 * Fix docking guides disappearing
 * Fix spread between Solen and docks
 * Fix Orca cockpit cut at high FOV
 * Fix Atlas freighter having damaged cooling at full health
 * Fix French translation
 * Fix wrong tech for research stations in tutorial
 * Fix vertical artifacts in drop lists in the color panel
 * [tentative] Fix rare crash when selecting docking option

Graphics & UI

 * Rework sector exiting to clarify what happens
 * Better resource & economy menus
 * Show where ships are built on the orbital map
 * Add station, ship count to trade routes
 * Add gamma settings, input sensitivity setting
 * Make RCS effects more agressive in reaction times
 * Make the sky slightly dynamic
 * Make Hela slightly better-looking

Outstanding issues

 * Here are issues that should be solved in the next patch : http://dev.helium-rain.com/versions/18
 * Here are the issues that we know of and want to solve, but need additional input : http://dev.helium-rain.com/versions/24

New features & content

 * Special characteristics of stations are now shown in UI & HUD : shipyard, station in construction, contract objective, and so on.
 * New trade route menu that features hints on where to buy or sell resources
 * New alternative gamepad bindings to turn with the left stick and move with the right one

Gameplay changes

 * Change gamepad bindings : shoulder pads now mapped to speed, left stick to lateral movement, thumbsticks to roll.
 * Don't show the docking computer if the dock isn't on screen
 * Remove research level 3 technology from technology tutorial
 * Enable fleet orders from the wheel menu on all military ships
 * Add BH habitations to target objective during pendulum contract
 * Highlight the mine to dock at during the navigation tutorial

Bugs fixed

 * Fix crash on shipyard building
 * Fix trade route not perfoming operations correctly when there is more than one ship in the assigned fleet
 * Fix some drop lists always showing the first item
 * Fix a number of typo errors
 * Fix Blue Heart collision boxes

Graphics & UI

 * Upgrade company icons & colors
 * Tweak lighting to reduce artifacts on large stations
 * Remove atifacts at night on Hela
 * Add tabs to the settings menu
 * Show reduction of production in spacecraft info
 * Center mines in the inspect menu
 * Remove resource price list from the trade menu as it was confusing
 * Hide notification counter while flying

Outstanding issues

 * Here are issues that should be solved in the next patch : http://dev.helium-rain.com/versions/18
 * Here are the issues that we know of and want to solve, but need additional input : http://dev.helium-rain.com/versions/24

New features & content

 * Full support for gamepad & joystick
 * UI scaling at high resolutions
 * Field-of-view setting
 * Key bindings to cut speed, start a trade

Gameplay changes

 * Nerf the collision alarm to a more aggressive threshold
 * Show scanning screen instead of docking computer when both are active
 * Reduce the number of waypoints in tutorial
 * Undocking now gives the player control much faster

Bugs fixed

 * Fix blinding effects on the Solen freighter
 * Fix notification counter
 * Fix conflict with Steam VR
 * Fix some conflicting inputs
 * Fix collision risk when AI ships undock
 * Fix trade route quantity limit
 * [tentative] Fix multiple joysticks merged as one
 * [tentative] Fix some crashes

Graphics & UI

 * The rings of Nema are now slightly bluer
 * Make company icon selection easier to understand
 * Add gamepad input map to the settings menu

Outstanding known issues

 * We are aware of a number of game crashes. Please report them on the bug tracker at http://dev.helium-rain.com - be sure to provide the crash dump as outlined on that page. We will be issuing a second hotfix when the issues are resolved.
 * Take a look at the bug tracker to see what's coming in the next patch : http://dev.helium-rain.com/versions/23.

Early Access 18/08/17
This is the first public release in Early Access. Enjoy the game !

Gameplay changes

 * Add notification if a trade route is locked by a danger in the destination sector

Bugs fixed

 * Fix recovery to avoid being stranded
 * Fix missing step in tutorial

Graphics & UI

 * New design for the Atlas freighter
 * Upgrade rendering quality for the Solen freighter & Orca bomber
 * Upgrade hull detail with a nicer pattern
 * Change Fleet Supply icon to remove non-localized text

Previous versions (Beta)
Go to the Beta history here.