December 20th, “The Atlas Tugged” update (0.7.0) for Hardspace: Shipbreaker will launch, and I’m incredibly excited about it. The last time I played it was on November 6th when I got through the new content and played through Act 2 of the Story. I’m still loving the game and I plan on returning to it but for the time being, I decided to spend less time shipbreaking and more time reviewing games which have been a good change of pace. I’ve also swapped from the whole “making a mess out of the shipyard” thing to “cleaning up and renovating Houses” in House Flipper, which has been quite fun! This is all so that I don’t burn out from Hardspace: Shipbreaker. I mean, I love this game and, as I mentioned before, it’s my go-to game when my anxiety is bad… but if I burn out from it from playing too much I might love it less potentially, so I took a break “until the next update”, which comes out tomorrow!!! I’m really excited about it! I can’t say it enough!
The new update will introduce a bunch of improvements as well as some new ships. While I’m already loving the new ships just from what the patch notes mentioned, I’m maybe even a bit more excited about the improvements to the elemental systems. Tuning the smaller features is important to make the whole game great, in my experience. Other games have the issue of being fun initially and adding more and more content but lacking the depth eventually, which is why I put No Man’s Sky on hold for now.
For starters, though, the first model from the Atlas-Class, the Scout, is unlocked at Rank 4 and presents the smallest of the three new ships. It’s known for its incredibly top-speed and high manoeuvrability – but in terms of specs that are relevant for the game, it features enough interior space for living quarters and small cargo on top of two Quasar Thrusters. Even if it’s the smallest of the Atlas Class ships, the Scout will still be BIG considering that it’s between Mackerels and small Javelins – and it also has two stories apparently!
The second model from the Atlas-Class, the Nomad, is a MASSIVE long-haul cargo ship unlocked at Rank 6. It has ample interior cargo space as well as a modular exterior cargo rack and three Quasar Thrusters. Since it’s made to travel for a relatively long time, the Nomad also features a fully-equipped sleeper cabin!
The third model from the Atlas-Class, the Roustabout tug, looks really bulky and could pose a bit of a bigger challenge in the game due to its layout and the new outer components. It features FOUR Quasar Thrusters, so you can only imagine how heavy the cargo it features might be. Unlocked at Rank 8, the Roustabout tug features a lot of electrical and fuel hazards and poses as an essential vehicle for everything from asteroid felling and station construction, to demolition and towing salvage. Hence, I’d expect it to be filled with asteroids and/or space salvage, which could be interesting.
These three new models not only are supposed to bridge the difficulty gap between Mackerels and Javelins but they’re also supposed to bring in more variety in terms of ships as well as a few new challenges. Two-Floor Layouts are going to be interesting because of what it means in terms of verticality in contrast to the usual horizontality. Meanwhile, the Quasar Thrusters by the manufacturer Starleap Heavy Industries are so massive that you have to crawl inside them to access the fuel systems and to separate the thruster shell. If you do that, however, fuel lines will end up becoming unstable, which is why you’ll need to act quickly to reach the fuel flush switch at the back, too.
Furthermore, the Shop Catalog has been revamped in 0.7.0 and further improved with a focus on better clarity and a simpler look. I found it a bit difficult to see some of the buttons prompts in the last few updates, so maybe these improvements are just what I needed? I’m looking forward to seeing it. Furthermore, the Elemental System has been improved so that small mistakes don’t necessarily result in catastrophic meltdowns. Fuel pipes won’t immediately explode when cut but instead will give you some time to react and flush or neutralize the fire that is now expanding through the pipes. Meanwhile, fuel tanks and terminals won’t immediately break on impact but may instead spark more. Sparks and fuel leaks that are better visible will be the norm now instead of frustrating mechanics like electronics breaking suddenly, so that’S quite good. On top of that, 120+ bugs have been squashed and fixed, stabilizing the game further.
Overall, I’m really excited about this new update and the upcoming new ships. I’m still in love with the game but at times, you may get a bit tired of Javelins and Geckos, so having a whole new class thrown into the mix will be really interesting! I hope they do polish up the clarity and visibility of the button prompts as well in this update as it would make the game a lot more accessible. I can’t wait to try out the update tomorrow! What do you think about the changes? Have you grabbed Hardspace: Shipbreaker yourself yet or do you potentially consider grabbing it now?
Cheers!
This post was first published on Indiecator by Dan Indiecator aka MagiWasTaken. If you like what you see here and want to see more, you can check me out on Twitch and YouTube as well. If you find this post on a website other than Indiecator.org, please write an e-mail to me. Thank you!
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