Zigfrak Changelog

What's new in Zigfrak 1.18

Jul 26, 2014
  • Fixes:
  • Restored normal camera control mode when controlling large ships.
  • Explicitly set file attributes when creating backup of saved game.

New in Zigfrak 1.17 (Jul 25, 2014)

  • Changes:
  • Rebuilt with Unity 4.5.2
  • Support for demo mode on Steam
  • Several new Singularity types now spawn in the wild
  • Fixes:
  • Improved cursor locking behavior on Linux
  • Fixed another issue which could cause players to become lodged in the Throat of LGoD, unable to progress.
  • Fixed a saved game corruption issue which could sometimes occur when a non-English language was in use by the operating system, resulting in a hang or crash when loading.

New in Zigfrak 1.16 Test Build (Jun 23, 2014)

  • Fixes:
  • Fixed another issue loading saved games in non-English locales.

New in Zigfrak 1.14 (Mar 10, 2014)

  • Changes:
  • Many items and powerups which provided restorative effects to health and/or shield may now also restore armor or overshield. Armor and overshield restoration powerups may also drop while in combat.
  • Added an adjustable slider for free-roaming faction count, under Gameplay Options. 1.13 increased the number of factions and ships which can be active at once when free-roaming the galaxy; if your computer suffers in the performance department due to too many active units, try decreasing this value.
  • Tweaked volume for several sound effects.
  • Fixes:
  • Fixed an issue with custom keybindings sometimes not getting saved.
  • Added Killdrone crafting template and associated component. Missed adding this back in when ammo was refactored.

New in Zigfrak 1.13 (Feb 25, 2014)

  • Changes:
  • Steam Cloud support is here (Steam builds only, obviously.)
  • "Steam Cloud" section added to Game Options.
  • Syncing for character progress, game options, and keybindings may be toggled independently.
  • Added weapons lock-on mechanic, which is required by default.
  • To hold a weapons lock, your combat target must remain within the area of the targeting reticle and line of sight.
  • If a weapons lock is not held, auto-aim will be disabled and rockets may not be fired.
  • To revert to the old behavior where auto-aim was always on, untick "Require combat target lock-on" in Gameplay Options.
  • The "Look at Target" command may not be used when requiring weapons lock; made some HUD changes to help make up for this.
  • Added engine boost mechanic, now built-in to all ships!
  • Boosting provides a substantial increase to forward thrust.
  • To boost your engines, press shift while thrusting. This keybinding may be remapped to your liking.
  • If you boost for too long, your engines will overheat, and may not be used at all until they've fully cooled down.
  • Gotta go fast!
  • Many items were obsoleted and removed. Players will receive redeemable Voucher credits for any obsoleted items which were in their possession. To redeem these credits, look for Voucher bounty missions at most friendly stations.
  • Required levels for many existing items were adjusted. While most item types previously hit an itemization dead-end at level 25, there are now many new items to be acquired all the way to level 40.
  • Port requirement changes:
  • With the exception of Drone launchers, all weapon port class (primary, secondary, tertiary) restrictions have been lifted. Any weapon may now be equipped in almost any slot. Port classes remain in game, but are now used only to limit weapons fire to specific weapon banks (eg "Fire Primary"), and as a basis for granting a damage bonus.
  • Tech type (Xenoid, Artifact, Human) restrictions for equipped items have been lifted. Players who have reached the requisite research level may now use any tech type in any port.
  • A 10% damage bonus is granted to weapons which are equipped in a port of the recommended class. Tech type must also match for this bonus to activate.
  • Guided missile changes:
  • Guided missiles and other smart projectiles are now targetable. This may be disabled via Gameplay Options. Destroying a guided missile will reward XP. Shoot 'em down!
  • Guided missiles have been slowed down. It's now entirely possible to outrun them, especially with engine boost and the new high-level engines which were introduced.
  • Decoy flares are now available as random loot drops. These items automatically activate when inbound guided missiles are detected.
  • Auto-Equip has been overhauled.
  • Most auto-equip behaviors can now be tuned or disabled. See the new "Auto-Equip Options" section in Game Options.
  • Added auto-equip for shields, armor, and overshields.
  • Auto-equip can be limited to similar items only (ie same damage/resistance/ammo type)
  • If an equipped item is destroyed, a replacement item can be automatically loaded from your inventory according to player-definable rules (ie: find worst, find "next worst", find "next best", find best, or don't automatically load at all.)
  • Auto-equip uses the following primary stats when determining if a newly acquired item is an "upgrade": - Weapon damage is used to compare weapons. - Engine force is used to compare engines. - Raw capacity is used to compare shields. - Quality level is used to compare armor/overshields.
  • Fuel has been obsoleted and removed.
  • Thanks to advances in nanotechnology and magnets, your ship now scoops up all of the fuel it needs from surrounding space.
  • Engines have been redesigned.
  • A single engine unit now provides thrust for all engine ports on your ship. As a result, there is now a single equippable engine slot.
  • Minor engine re-itemization. Tweaked force output and level requirements. Added new high-performance, high-level engines all the way to level 40.
  • Ammo has been redesigned.
  • Ammo is no longer an inventory item. Ammo supplies are represented instead as a generic statistic, viewable from your inventory tab and HUD. The HUD indicator may be disabled in the Interface Options section of the Game Options menu.
  • Emergency ammo was removed from the game, which means it is now possible to run out of ammo. Keep your eyes peeled for Ammo pickups and items with ammo regeneration. Reprovisioning at a friendly station will now top off the ammo levels for any equipped weapons, for a reasonable fee.
  • Ammo regen changes:
  • Added ammo regen powerups, which randomly spawn while in combat.
  • Added new shields, armor, and overshields with ammo regen.
  • Many new weapons feature ammo regen, and emergency weapons now have it as well.
  • Ammo fabricator items will now activate passively, and no longer have shared cooldowns. Unfortunately, the old ammo fabricator items were obsoleted and removed -- their new replacements will need to be re-acquired as loot.
  • Ammo regen for weapons was tuned across the board, using a formula which takes item quality level, number of projectiles consumed per shot, and cooldown length into consideration.
  • When respawning after death, a modest amount of ammo will be regenerated.
  • "Ammo Regen" percentage stat on weapons tooltips represents regeneration rate vs. consumption rate.
  • Guns, guns, guns!
  • Attributes which were previously attached to specialty ammo (damage type, debuffs, etc) have been relegated to Weapons. To accommodate this shift, many (many, many) new guns have been added to the game. You may find them at supply stations, or by redeeming Voucher credits, or via loot drops (recommended!)
  • Added weapons loadouts. Players may define and quickly swap between up to six custom weapons loadouts. See the Equipped Weapons window to get started.
  • For most guns, weapon damage output no longer scales with player level, and is derived from the item's level instead. A myriad of new guns going all the way up to level 40 have been added (gun itemization previously stopped at level 25). Hope you like upgrading!
  • A handful of guns which do scale with player level remain, including (but not limited to) emergency weapons. Weapons which scale with player level will say so in the item's tooltip.
  • Players may find that certain previously equipped items are suddenly feeling underpowered, due to the item now being considered underleveled. To gear back up quickly, redeem Voucher credits at a friendly station.
  • Damage scaling due to level differences between dealer and target has been tweaked. A maximum 25% damage reduction/loss applies to lower/higher level targets, up to a maximum level difference of 4.
  • The "Shoot" command now also launches Drones. This behavior may be toggled in Gameplay Options.
  • Many weapon attributes (cooldown, precision, damage, etc) were re-tuned.
  • Crafting Changes
  • Completing the mission hub at Anchorage Station will reward the player with a crafting starting kit containing all component and ammo recipes.
  • Since Ammo as an inventory item was removed, and it would be a shame to let all of those delicious ammo modifiers go to waste, Ammo Modifier items have been repurposed as Weapon Modifiers. The same basic rules apply -- weapons which were already modified by the player or "mutated" naturally by the game are not eligible for modification. Modifiers still require weapons which use a given ammo type, and may also require that the weapon be designed around specific projectiles.
  • All existing Ammo recipes have been obsoleted, and are no longer available. New recipes for generic ammo are available from Crafting Supply Stations (or rewarded on completion of Anchorage hub).
  • Craftable weapons will scale with player level, and are prime candidates for modification.
  • XP gain from looting resources is now capped at 1% of level per pickup.
  • Most weapon modifiers were removed from loot tables, and are now available only through the crafting system.
  • Items which would be ineffective due to being underleveled relative to the player now appear dark gray, and their tooltip will include a warning. Selling or discombobulating these items is recommended.
  • Further reduced the toughness of threat-scaled enemies.
  • Further reduced the effectiveness of NPC armor and overshields.
  • Increased effectiveness of armor and overshields if equipped by the player.
  • Swarming Unit changes:
  • Swarming units (eg Swarm Drones, Enforcer Fighter) now spawn in much greater numbers, and can now drop loot. To improve visibility of these units, they have been made larger and will usually leave a trail.
  • Players reaching the rank of Veteran will be rewarded with a Freerunner Reinforcement Beacon, which calls in a plucky ragtag squadron of swarming escorts. Players who attained Veteran status prior to this patch should stop by Endpoint Station to ask for their free beacon.
  • Icosphere:
  • Due to Ammo reitemization, the Icosphere Ammo Vendor has closed up shop and left the system, in search of a new function in life.
  • The Icosphere Prize Vendor, however, is doing better business than ever, and is now stocked with dozens of new prizes.
  • Icosphere weapons will scale with player level.
  • Most enemies at the Icosphere now have a chance to drop extra kill tokens as loot.
  • Upon completion of Ultimate Lung Fu Fighting at the Icosphere, players who lose their Lung Fu Master armor in glorious combat can return to the Throne of Fu at any time to request a free replacement.
  • Large Ships:
  • All player-controlled weapon ports on large ships are now aimed forward. Siege mode has been removed for now
  • Large ships are planned to receive significant changes in a future update. Large ships now turn and move faster.
  • Regeneration delay for Shields, Overshields, and Armor is now based on time since damage received, rather than time since in combat. Regen delay is now a variable stat for these items.
  • As with shield regeneration, ability to cloak is now based on time since last damage received, rather than time since in combat.
  • Added item stat comparison to tooltips. This can be disabled in Interface Options. Currently, this compares unequipped items vs. items which are equipped in an appropriate class of weapon port.
  • Added pulsing highlight "hint" to important UI elements. This can be disabled in Interface Options.
  • Added GUI scale slider to Interface Options.
  • Many duct tape items will now also make minor repairs to your most heavily damaged equipped items. If used in time, many duct tape items will now also remove the Last Chance effect.
  • Increased the range at which loot is automatically attracted.
  • Enemy AI behavior tweaks:
  • Enemies now enter Berserk mode at 65% health.
  • Enemies may use engine boost when evading. Evasion behavior kicks in when an enemy sustains critical damage.
  • Minor HUD tweaks:
  • Untargeted units now have a diamond indicator to distinguish them from the current target, which has a hexagon. - Increased size of off-screen arrow indicator for the current target. Decreased arrow size for untargeted units. - Added indicators for weapon lock status. - Added indicator for engine temperature. - Fixed issue where enemy overshield/armor bar was partially blocking their velocity and distance.
  • "Advanced Options" Game Options section removed.
  • Target FPS moved to Graphics Options.
  • "Enable Debug Menu" option removed.
  • Save system rewritten. Location and format of save files changed.
  • Import/export debug commands removed. These options are no longer needed under the new save system.
  • Upon launching Zigfrak 1.11, any existing saved game data will be imported into the new save system.
  • Added descriptions for graphics quality settings slider.
  • Added gameplay hints to loading screen.
  • Updated several tutorial missions to mention weapons lock-on and engine boost mechanics.
  • Fixes:
  • Fixed an issue where no more than 10 ships could appear in the player's shipyard.
  • Fixed several missions in which capturing a ship could impede progress.
  • Fixed issue which was causing automatic crosshair target acquisition to interfere with bringing up the pause menu or canceling other actions. Using the cancel action (pressing escape) will now disable auto-target selection for a short period of time.
  • Automatic crosshair target acquisition is now limited to hostile targets. This can be disabled entirely in Gameplay Options.
  • Target lock acquisition sped up, and lock is now held for a slightly longer duration, making it easier to quickly look away for loot.
  • Properly flagged drone launcher sound effect as a 3D sound, and drone engine sound volume has been reduced. Launching drones should be less jarring now.
  • Fixed "Taking damage" messages which erroneously appeared when new enemies spawned.
  • "Show Player Stats" will now bring up the correct window. Added "Show Crafting Templates" command for good measure.
  • Fixed an issue where post-cleansing Gaea would remain spawned after leaving the system.
  • Fixed an issue where damage output was not following the same formula as the displayed item tooltip.
  • Fixed issue during "The Sleeping Keeper" which could cause the player to become stuck if leaving and re-entering the game.
  • Fixed issue where cursor was hidden while docked when using Mouse Steering Mode. Additionally, Mouse Steering Mode preference will now persist when the game is saved and loaded, and a temporary "Show Cursor" toggle was added. To temporarily show the cursor while in Mouse Steering Mode, hold down the Control key. "Show Cursor" may be overridden in the command keybindings menu.
  • Fixed regression from 1.11 where resolution settings could be bungled on startup.

New in Zigfrak 1.12 (Feb 18, 2014)

  • Changes:
  • Many items were obsoleted and removed. Players will receive
  • redeemable Voucher credits for any obsoleted items which were in
  • their possession. To redeem these credits, look for Voucher bounty
  • missions at most friendly stations.
  • Required levels for many existing items were adjusted. While most
  • item types previously hit an itemization dead-end at level 25, there
  • are now many new items to be acquired all the way to level 40.
  • Port requirement changes:
  • With the exception of Drone launchers, all weapon port class
  • (primary, secondary, tertiary) restrictions have been lifted. Any
  • weapon may now be equipped in almost any slot. Port classes remain
  • in game, but are now used only to limit weapons fire to specific
  • weapon banks (eg "Fire Primary"), and as a basis for granting a
  • damage bonus.
  • Tech type (Xenoid, Artifact, Human) restrictions for equipped
  • items have been lifted. Players who have reached the requisite
  • research level may now use any tech type in any port.
  • A 10% damage bonus is granted to weapons which are equipped in
  • a port of the recommended class. Tech type must also match for
  • this bonus to activate.
  • Guided missile changes:
  • Guided missiles and other smart projectiles are now targetable.
  • This may be disabled via Gameplay Options. Destroying a guided
  • missile will reward XP. Shoot 'em down!
  • Guided missiles have been slowed down. It's now entirely possible
  • to outrun them, especially with engine boost and the new high-level
  • engines which were introduced.
  • Decoy flares are now available as random loot drops. These items
  • automatically activate when inbound guided missiles are detected.
  • Auto-Equip has been overhauled.
  • Most auto-equip behaviors can now be tuned or disabled. See the
  • new "Auto-Equip Options" section in Game Options.
  • Added auto-equip for shields, armor, and overshields.
  • Auto-equip can be limited to similar items only (ie same
  • damage/resistance/ammo type)
  • If an equipped item is destroyed, a replacement item can be
  • automatically loaded from your inventory according to player-definable
  • rules (ie: find worst, find "next worst", find "next best", find
  • best, or don't automatically load at all.)
  • Auto-equip uses the following primary stats when determining
  • if a newly acquired item is an "upgrade":
  • Weapon damage is used to compare weapons.
  • Engine force is used to compare engines.
  • Raw capacity is used to compare shields.
  • Quality level is used to compare armor/overshields.
  • Fuel has been obsoleted and removed.
  • Thanks to advances in nanotechnology and magnets, your ship now
  • scoops up all of the fuel it needs from surrounding space.
  • Engines have been redesigned.
  • A single engine unit now provides thrust for all engine ports
  • on your ship. As a result, there is now a single equippable engine
  • slot.
  • Minor engine re-itemization. Tweaked force output and level
  • requirements. Added new high-performance, high-level engines all
  • the way to level 40.
  • Ammo has been redesigned.
  • Ammo is no longer an inventory item. Ammo supplies are represented
  • instead as a generic statistic, viewable from your inventory tab
  • and HUD. The HUD indicator may be disabled in the Interface Options
  • section of the Game Options menu.
  • Emergency ammo was removed from the game, which means it is now
  • possible to run out of ammo. Keep your eyes peeled for Ammo pickups
  • and items with ammo regeneration. Reprovisioning at a friendly
  • station will now top off the ammo levels for any equipped weapons,
  • for a reasonable fee.
  • Ammo regen changes
  • Added ammo regen powerups, which randomly spawn while in combat.
  • Added new shields, armor, and overshields with ammo regen.
  • Many new weapons feature ammo regen, and emergency weapons now
  • have it as well.
  • Ammo fabricator items will now activate passively, and no longer
  • have shared cooldowns. Unfortunately, the old ammo fabricator
  • items were obsoleted and removed -- their new replacements will
  • need to be re-acquired as loot.
  • Ammo regen for weapons was tuned across the board, using a
  • formula which takes item quality level, number of projectiles
  • consumed per shot, and cooldown length into consideration.
  • When respawning after death, a modest amount of ammo will be
  • regenerated.
  • "Ammo Regen" percentage stat on weapons tooltips represents
  • regeneration rate vs. consumption rate.
  • Guns, guns, guns!
  • Attributes which were previously attached to specialty ammo
  • (damage type, debuffs, etc) have been relegated to Weapons. To
  • accommodate this shift, many (many, many) new guns have been added
  • to the game. You may find them at supply stations, or by redeeming
  • Voucher credits, or via loot drops (recommended!)
  • Added weapons loadouts. Players may define and quickly swap
  • between up to six custom weapons loadouts. See the Equipped Weapons
  • window to get started.
  • For most guns, weapon damage output no longer scales with player
  • level, and is derived from the item's level instead. A myriad of
  • new guns going all the way up to level 40 have been added (gun
  • itemization previously stopped at level 25). Hope you like
  • upgrading!
  • A handful of guns which do scale with player level remain,
  • including (but not limited to) emergency weapons. Weapons which
  • scale with player level will say so in the item's tooltip.
  • Players may find that certain previously equipped items are
  • suddenly feeling underpowered, due to the item now being considered
  • underleveled. To gear back up quickly, redeem Voucher credits at
  • a friendly station.
  • Damage scaling due to level differences between dealer and
  • target has been tweaked. A maximum 25% damage reduction/loss
  • applies to lower/higher level targets, up to a maximum level
  • difference of 4.
  • The "Shoot" command now also launches Drones. This behavior may
  • be toggled in Gameplay Options.
  • Many weapon attributes (cooldown, precision, damage, etc) were
  • re-tuned.
  • Crafting Changes
  • Completing the mission hub at Anchorage Station will reward the
  • player with a crafting starting kit containing all component and
  • ammo recipes.
  • Since Ammo as an inventory item was removed, and it would be a
  • shame to let all of those delicious ammo modifiers go to waste,
  • Ammo Modifier items have been repurposed as Weapon Modifiers.
  • The same basic rules apply -- weapons which were already modified
  • by the player or "mutated" naturally by the game are not eligible
  • for modification. Modifiers still require weapons which use a
  • given ammo type, and may also require that the weapon be designed
  • around specific projectiles.
  • All existing Ammo recipes have been obsoleted, and are no longer
  • available. New recipes for generic ammo are available from Crafting
  • Supply Stations (or rewarded on completion of Anchorage hub).
  • Craftable weapons will scale with player level, and are prime
  • candidates for modification.
  • XP gain from looting resources is now capped at 1% of level per
  • pickup.
  • Most weapon modifiers were removed from loot tables, and are now
  • available only through the crafting system.
  • Items which would be ineffective due to being underleveled relative
  • to the player now appear dark gray, and their tooltip will include
  • a warning. Selling or discombobulating these items is recommended.
  • Further reduced the toughness of threat-scaled enemies.
  • Further reduced the effectiveness of NPC armor and overshields.
  • Increased effectiveness of armor and overshields if equipped by
  • the player.
  • Swarming Unit changes
  • Swarming units (eg Swarm Drones, Enforcer Fighter) now spawn
  • in much greater numbers, and can now drop loot. To improve
  • visibility of these units, they have been made larger and will
  • usually leave a trail.
  • Players reaching the rank of Veteran will be rewarded with a
  • Freerunner Reinforcement Beacon, which calls in a plucky ragtag
  • squadron of swarming escorts. Players who attained Veteran status
  • prior to this patch should stop by Endpoint Station to ask for
  • their free beacon.
  • Icosphere
  • Due to Ammo reitemization, the Icosphere Ammo Vendor has closed
  • up shop and left the system, in search of a new function in life.
  • The Icosphere Prize Vendor, however, is doing better business
  • than ever, and is now stocked with dozens of new prizes.
  • Icosphere weapons will scale with player level.
  • Most enemies at the Icosphere now have a chance to drop extra
  • kill tokens as loot.
  • Upon completion of Ultimate Lung Fu Fighting at the Icosphere,
  • players who lose their Lung Fu Master armor in glorious combat
  • can return to the Throne of Fu at any time to request a free
  • replacement.
  • Large Ships
  • All player-controlled weapon ports on large ships are now aimed
  • forward. Siege mode has been removed for now (sorry Morty!)
  • Large ships are planned to receive significant changes in a
  • future update. Stay tuned!
  • Large ships now turn and move faster.
  • Regeneration delay for Shields, Overshields, and Armor is now
  • based on time since damage received, rather than time since in
  • combat. Regen delay is now a variable stat for these items.
  • As with shield regeneration, ability to cloak is now based on time
  • since last damage received, rather than time since in combat.
  • Added item stat comparison to tooltips. This can be disabled in
  • Interface Options. Currently, this compares unequipped items vs.
  • items which are equipped in an appropriate class of weapon port.
  • Added pulsing highlight "hint" to important UI elements. This can
  • be disabled in Interface Options.
  • Added GUI scale slider to Interface Options.
  • Many duct tape items will now also make minor repairs to your
  • most heavily damaged equipped items. If used in time, many duct
  • tape items will now also remove the Last Chance effect.
  • Increased the range at which loot is automatically attracted.
  • Fixes:
  • Fixed several missions in which capturing a ship could impede
  • progress.
  • Fixed issue which was causing automatic crosshair target acquisition
  • to interfere with bringing up the pause menu or canceling other
  • actions. Using the cancel action (pressing escape) will now disable
  • auto-target selection for a short period of time.
  • Automatic crosshair target acquisition is now limited to hostile
  • targets. This can be disabled entirely in Gameplay Options.
  • Target lock acquisition sped up, and lock is now held for a
  • slightly longer duration, making it easier to quickly look away for
  • loot.
  • Properly flagged drone launcher sound effect as a 3D sound, and
  • drone engine sound volume has been reduced. Launching drones should
  • be less jarring now.
  • Fixed "Taking damage" messages which erroneously appeared when
  • new enemies spawned.
  • "Show Player Stats" will now bring up the correct window. Added
  • "Show Crafting Templates" command for good measure.
  • Fixed an issue where post-cleansing Gaea would remain spawned
  • after leaving the system.
  • Fixed an issue where damage output was not following the same
  • formula as the displayed item tooltip.
  • Fixed issue during "The Sleeping Keeper" which could cause the
  • player to become stuck if leaving and re-entering the game.
  • Fixed issue where cursor was hidden while docked when using Mouse
  • Steering Mode. Additionally, Mouse Steering Mode preference will
  • now persist when the game is saved and loaded, and a temporary "Show
  • Cursor" toggle was added. To temporarily show the cursor while in
  • Mouse Steering Mode, hold down the Control key. "Show Cursor" may
  • be overridden in the command keybindings menu.
  • Fixed regression from 1.11 where resolution settings could be
  • bungled on startup.

New in Zigfrak 1.06 (Aug 26, 2013)

  • Built with Unity 4.2, which includes fixes for the following issues:
  • Mouse scroll wheel now functions correctly - Linux
  • Opening URL in a browser window now works - Linux
  • Rapid and sustained cursor movements no longer cause the game to crash - Linux
  • Mouseover/clicking functions properly in windowed mode - Mac
  • Increased durability of GG Propulsion System
  • Made loading screen behavior more consistent
  • Added alert sound and message for incoming enemy units
  • Added alert sound when scenario missions are offered
  • Fixed bug causing game to forget full screen preference at exit

New in Zigfrak 1.05 (Jul 1, 2013)

  • Flagged Portable Battle Grid as a starter item, in case of loss.
  • Players who encountered a loss of this item after acquiring it may
  • dock at Endpoint Station to ask for a new one.
  • Fixed an issue which was causing inventory items to be lost when
  • saving/loading more than 512 items.
  • Fixed an issue which allowed Icosphere and Dark Matter items to
  • sell for greater than their buy cost.
  • Fixed an issue which was causing entire stacks of Enforcer Specialist
  • Badges and Xenoid Hull Fragments to be consumed at hand-in time.
  • Fixed a potential crash during "This Is What Happens"
  • Fixed an issue which was preventing the final missions at the
  • Icosphere from being available. Players can return to the Icosphere
  • Prize Vendor to complete this content.
  • If inspecting a mission, its text will no longer disappear while
  • the game is paused.
  • Improved memory management when changing scenes.
  • Increased Mentoid spawn rate during "The Nuclear Option"
  • Fixed graphical glitches at the Gates of Hell
  • Fixed issue which was preventing loot boxes from despawning when
  • leaving an area.
  • Fixed several items and effects which were missing icons
  • Fixed a bug causing game to start in windowed mode on Linux and Windows,
  • regardless of saved preferences.

New in Zigfrak 1.04 (Apr 11, 2013)

  • If you're playing 1.02 on Windows, there is nothing of value in this update.

New in Zigfrak 1.02 (Apr 9, 2013)

  • Fixes:
  • fixed a number of cases where players could become stuck in campaign
  • corrected resulting item for several ammo mods
  • corrected currency type on several fabricator and scoop items
  • fixed avoidance bug in npc docking behavior
  • General:
  • Now built with Unity3D 4
  • Zigfrak was ported from Unity3D 3.4 to 4, and so now benefits from recent-ish Unity3D improvements such as multithreaded rendering, better GUI performance, and Linux build support.
  • some significant changes in Unity3D 4.0 required several critical game systems to be partially rewritten. hopefully, nobody will notice.
  • Linux support is here:
  • built for Ubuntu and other modern distros
  • players may transfer saves across platforms (see forums for info)
  • Portable Battle Grid item changes:
  • lowered cooldown, increased damage and duration
  • Portable Battle Grid Nodes will now automatically fire at the player's selected enemy. because of this, the Controller item was removed from game.
  • adjusted mitigation amount for several armor items
  • increased engine thrust across the board

New in Zigfrak 1.01 (Nov 12, 2012)

  • General:
  • added graphics option to disable full-screen explosion flashes
  • slightly increased damage mitigation for most armor, shields, and overshields
  • increased potential stack size for Dark Wad drops
  • made bonus boss mission repeatable by traveling to Potbelly after completion of game
  • removed research requirement from a certain bonus boss loot drop
  • added a legendary scalable shield to arena vendor
  • Fixes:
  • fixed issue which could sometimes prevent enemies from spawning after traveling to another area within the same system
  • fixed issue with several pulse core modifiers requiring the wrong ammo type
  • fixed issue with Dark Matter Cubits not actually adding Dark Matter
  • fixed issue with loot window sometimes not removing mission-related loot items from the source's inventory, and "Loot All" button also not doing the right thing in that particular case.

New in Zigfrak RC1 (Oct 29, 2012)

  • General
  • Added the final tier of content for release! No spoilers.
  • Added a bonus tier of content which is given to the player upon
  • completion of the story campaign. Bonus tier encompasses a boss
  • fight and a series of close-quarters arena battles, both with
  • legendary rewards.
  • Capturable ships which are not yet in your shipyard will now
  • appear with an asterisk (*) beside their name in the HUD.
  • Added defensive item types: Armor, Shields, and Overshields.
  • Details about how these work is available at:
  • http://forum.zigfrak.com/?p=/discussion/25/about-armor-shields-and-overshields
  • If you're resuming from an older build, you're not going to have
  • a shield, because shields are no longer built-in to your ship.
  • Obtain one from a vendor ASAP!
  • Cloaks must now be equipped prior to use, rather than being used
  • directly from inventory. The cloak port is reached via your
  • equipped inventory's new "Defense" tab.
  • New galactic maps! All galaxies were redesigned and now utilize
  • a hex grid. Many areas were removed, most areas were changed in
  • some way, and some new areas were added. This was done to facilitate
  • new sector takeover missions, which are given to the player upon
  • completion of the story campaign.
  • Jumping no longer requires Dark Matter, and travel time was
  • significantly shortened. Range for most hyperdrives was increased.
  • Dark Matter has been converted into a currency, and is required
  • to purchase and/or craft templates for ships and high-end item
  • modifiers.
  • Nightmare quality, the new highest quality level, was added. Your
  • chances of finding an item of this quality in the wild is slim to
  • none, but you can create your own Nightmare-quality ammo via
  • craftable item modifiers.
  • Resource costs for modifier templates and basic components were
  • reduced by 50% or more.
  • Damage mechanics saw a significant rewrite. In a nutshell, the
  • game is harder now. Enemies are tougher, and you're more likely to
  • die. At the same time, killing enemies makes you feel like a
  • badass. Loot piƱata action is in full effect.
  • New death mechanics -- Players will now have a "Last Chance" to
  • score a kill prior to exploding. Surviving your last chance will
  • reset your health and shield to full. Dying will incur a loss of
  • trade credits and experience, as well as a durability loss for
  • all equipped items.
  • Content tiers 3 and 4 have been opened back up for players of the
  • free demo.
  • Tons of new items were added.
  • Lots of minor changes not listed here.
  • Fixes
  • Fixed issues which were preventing drone templates from being
  • craftable.
  • Fixed several issues which were derailing repeatable missions.
  • Lots of fixes not mentioned here.

New in Zigfrak 8.22 Beta (Aug 30, 2012)

  • General
  • Tier One Imports, a Consortium-owned outlet store specializing
  • in hard-to-find items, is now open for business across Consortium
  • space and in selected Freerunner systems.
  • Holographic Beacon items may now fool other targets into targeting
  • one of your holographic clones instead of you.
  • Added contextual menu for hazardous items, so the player may
  • choose between multiple "use" options (eg Disarm, Give, Jettison).
  • Added some very rare barrage weapons with regenerating ammo,
  • ranging from superior to legendary quality. These will only drop
  • as loot.
  • Added a variety of random loot.
  • Modified cooldowns for the new barrage weapons.
  • Added "Threat Level", a new metric for players. This metric will
  • scale dynamically according to the quantity and quality of your
  • currently equipped weapons and ammo. As your threat level grows,
  • enemies will have a chance to spawn with increased toughness. To
  • view your current threat level, check the "Stats" tab of your
  • equipped inventory window.
  • Increased NPC firing rate.
  • Crafting Fixes & Improvements
  • New crafting UI, with smarter automatic queueing of prereqs. The
  • game will find any available prereqs in your inventory, rather than
  • always creating new ones. Item limits and available materials are
  • calculated more accurately, and clearly spelled out. A quantity for
  • crafted items may now be specified.
  • Added crafting templates for an epic drone launcher, and many
  • craftable drone flavors.
  • Added some templates which were missing from the Crafting Supply
  • Station inventory.
  • Fixed erroneous "missing materials" messages which were preventing
  • certain items from being craftable.
  • Fixed issue which could cause an incorrect number of item component
  • prerequisites to be automatically queued when crafting.
  • Added Reaper, a brutal craftable ship for those who have reached
  • level 25.
  • Fixes
  • Fixed issue where vendors were sometimes hiding hyperdrives from
  • their offerings.
  • Fixed issue which was preventing Unstable Wormhole Generator from
  • creating a traversable wormhole.
  • Fixed issue which was preventing Microfission Holes from spawning
  • loot.
  • Fixed issue which was preventing bounty reward containers from
  • being openable when repeating the bounty mission.
  • Fixed issue which could cause an incorrect tooltip to be displayed
  • for mutated items.

New in Zigfrak 8.18 Beta (Apr 17, 2012)

  • Fixes:
  • fixed issue where research items were erroneously rewarding credits
  • fixed issue where jumping into certain binary star systems would land
  • players inside of the companion star (ow, hot!)
  • fixed issue preventing Keypad Enter from being bindable on Windows
  • fixed issue with options pane overlapping the command toolbar, and
  • getting in the way of drag and drop from the commands menu
  • fixed issue with some armed bombs doing nothing if clicked from the
  • Hazardous Items list. armed bombs with a default action of "give" will
  • now be jettisoned instead, if player is not docked.
  • fixed resource markers sometimes being shown at incorrect position
  • fixed several more potential crash conditions
  • fixed several gui layout issues caused by increased font size
  • fixed issue with mission panel not being displayed during some steps
  • of the training scenario at Deep Forward A
  • General:
  • added background music during most gaps of awkward silence
  • removed mouse cursor during cinematic camera mode
  • modified xp display behavior: if xp bar is enabled in options, current
  • level and xp percentage will also be shown around crosshairs. xp bar
  • and level info will only be displayed for a short time after each
  • experience gain.
  • updated mission texts referencing keybindings to display any custom
  • keybind values which were set by the player, rather than always showing
  • the defaults
  • implemented xp gain when salvaging a ship's wreckage, capturing a ship,
  • or successfully scanning a mining target
  • reduced amount of xp rewarded from kills, resources, and research.
  • formula tweaked to reward a larger relative slice of experience
  • from assisted kills
  • added new Health Pack powerups, which may spawn during certain scenarios
  • or while roaming and in combat
  • implemented line of sight requirement in order to engage mining laser,
  • shield disruptor, tractor beam, or to use interactable objects.
  • auto-firing turrets now also require line of sight.
  • improved npc avoidance behavior
  • increased potential durability loss for equipped weapons and engines

New in Zigfrak 8.17 Beta (Apr 9, 2012)

  • Fixes:
  • fixed issue with some interactable objects getting stuck in
  • "interacting" state if used while stealthed
  • fixed potential crash when dying from area of effect damage
  • fixed issue which was preventing several secondary keybindings
  • from being remembered
  • fixed issue preventing command keybindings from being restored
  • to default
  • large Human ships did not have compatible engines after being
  • captured, this has been fixed
  • Xenoid ships did not have engines or a compatible jump drive
  • after being captured, this has been fixed
  • fixed shield animation not playing on character selection screen
  • fixed several issues with specialized tractor devices
  • General:
  • added cruise mode to thrusters, accessible via the Command
  • Menu's "Navigation" section (new characters will have this command
  • on their toolbar by default)
  • hitting escape at main menu will now switch to windowed mode
  • various HUD changes to mitigate nameplate clutter
  • target markers will fade and shrink with distance from player,
  • but will fade back if near center of the screen.
  • distance/velocity indicators are only shown for targets which are
  • near the center of the screen.
  • offscreen indicators for resource pickups will no longer be shown
  • during combat.
  • offscreen indicators will move further away from center of the
  • screen, as distance between the object and player increases
  • redesigned health, shield, and XP bars. these stats may be toggled
  • on and off in their various positions via the Options Menu.
  • stats around crosshairs and target marker will automatically hide
  • if player or target are at full health and were not recently in
  • combat
  • added "Stats" tab to equipped inventory panel, which provides a
  • more verbose listing of the player's current health, shield, and
  • XP pools.
  • xp bar is hidden by default, but may be enabled via the Options
  • Menu or viewed via the Stats tab.
  • xp bar will no longer be visible if player is at max level.
  • all friendly stations once again offer shipyard, banking, and
  • reprovisioning services. reminder that battlestations do not offer
  • vendor services; you'll need to visit the nearby supply stations
  • in those areas.
  • several missions had ship size and tech type requirements removed
  • health and shield can now regenerate while docked
  • new purple-quality resources may now drop from some mineable targets
  • new automated resource tractors, available for purchase at The Deimos
  • modified buy costs of specialized tractor devices
  • player docking tractor is no longer available for purchase
  • Dark Pods will now yield a larger potential variety and quantity
  • of Xenoid tech, and may also contain exotic resources
  • font scaling isn't ready yet; increased default font size in several
  • places for now.
  • units which have not incurred hate (ie, dealt damage) to a target in
  • the previous 20 seconds will be removed from the target's hate list.
  • this also affects looting and xp gain from kills (ie, if you haven't
  • contributed damage to a target in the last 15 seconds, and the target
  • explodes due to taking damage from other sources, then it will not
  • drop loot or yield experience.)
  • players will be removed from "in combat" state more quickly after
  • not dealing or taking damage.

New in Zigfrak 8.16 Beta (Mar 30, 2012)

  • This is a small fix-it release which addresses some issues with the
  • options menu. A new tab targeting UI is also introduced.
  • Fixed issue with screen mode and resolution not being remembered.
  • Moved tab targeting UI away from middle center of screen. It will now display thumbnail images of units when tabbing through the list.