Signal Archive

Choose how your ship flies.

• Vector, Slipstream, Impulse, Pivot and Compact drives trade cruise, thrust, turning and fitting costs. New drive drops roll six properties independently from 1–100; quality is their average. Starter drives remain dependable.
• Inspect drives on mouseover and compare fitted speed, stopping time, turning, mass and Cargo Hold Space. At the Forge, browse exact stock or swap a drive from your Cargo or Vault.
• Torque and loaded inertia now set both turn acceleration and the maximum turn rate. A fuller hold makes turning slower too.
• Ship size and role are separate: current player frames are Frigates or Destroyers. Hardpoint layouts are smaller, with future Cruiser, Battleship and Dreadnought designs capped at ten. Existing ships retain their identities; removed fittings move to the Vault when space permits.

A wider view. Faster salvage.

• Sensors System (Live Target View) covers twice the distance, with a clean background and weapon controls overlaid. Chat is now headed Communications System.
• NAV keeps your commanded throttle handle while a green-to-yellow-to-orange fill shows actual speed as your ship accelerates and slows.
• Take All collects salvage with one click and closes an emptied container. Taking the last item individually closes it too. A prominent cargo warning stays visible when items cannot fit; remaining loot stays available.
• Pirate raiders patrol and fight outside safe zones, maintaining at least 250 Rz of clearance instead of slipping inside for protection.

Keep your target in view.

• The Target Area Live Sensors View follows the same displayed motion as its selected ship, eliminating camera jumps caused by the slower target list. The preview still respects your sensors.
• Shared waypoints use yellow links and a clear attachment card before sending, with the location shown and a remove button.
• Both windows share the same pilot title and game icon. Persistent fullscreen and second-display controls are smaller.

A smoother second screen.

• Fixed the companion display dropping updates when the main window occupied the shared presentation queue. Map, navigation, target view and chat now refresh with each main-window frame.
• The target preview fills its panel again, with weapon indicators overlaid along the bottom. Ship proportions and sensor visibility remain intact.

Your cockpit, expanded.

• The second display gains the cockpit frame, a ready chat composer, a larger sensor-aware target view and weapon controls. Select map waypoints, jump or open the full map on that screen. Top-right icons control fullscreen and the companion window; main-screen targets use the space released by chat.
• Send case-insensitive private messages with /Zensae or /[James Two]. Tab cycles channels and recent correspondents. Local chat uses your system's name; Casino chat defaults on inside Qirk's. Share clickable waypoints in chat; links from another system explain where to go, and instance links require the same instance.
• Qirk's gains shared brass-trimmed controls. Keno balls fall down a vertical chute, hits pulse and linger, and a growing payout gets a longer pause. Outcomes and presentation remain separate, with unchanged odds.
• The Pilot Guide unrolls into an activity-first field guide with digital ink controls. Anchor's starter belt, Casino and Training Grounds are known to every pilot.

A second view of the universe.

• On a desktop with two monitors, enable Second Display in Controls for a separate system map, NAV controls, target camera and persistent chat. Move it to your other screen or make it fullscreen; chat returns to your main window when it closes or minimizes.
• Ships keep their normal shield, capacitor and fitted repair recovery while parked at Qirk’s. New commissions ask for a name, with a generated suggestion ready to use.
• Raider alerts identify the numbered Resource Depot. Sierra Derby racers use distinct words within each race field.
• Ctrl+D adds fresh realm simulation, network and saving health, helping investigate multiplayer pacing.

The outcome is saved. Let it play.

• Keno now plays its full saved result locally, with normal-ball speeds of 0.5, 0.25 or 0.125 seconds. Hits and growing payouts keep their extra pauses; speed changes are immediate and local.
• Roulette spins and Sierra Derby races play from one committed result, keeping the shared rounds and race choreography consistent without continuous animation updates.
• Wagers and payouts remain server-controlled, saved results survive reconnects, and Hold’em retains its live decisions. Odds, stakes and race schedules are unchanged.

Bigger races. Clearer cards.

• Sierra Derby fills more of the screen during races, with ship thrusters and a live running order. New fields have clearer favorites and longshots, with over 10,000 name combinations and the same 95% theoretical return.
• Tango cards have larger ranks and clearer suit shapes, plus a large view of your own hand.
• Keno gains a 3–10 Quick Pick dropdown, three draw speeds and a ball chute. Hits linger, growing payouts linger longer, and your last ticket’s winning row stays highlighted until the next game.
• Double-click docking approaches stop inside service range without pushing toward station bodies. Loot approaches stop at 750 Rz, with collection available within 1,000 Rz.

Place your bets. Follow the convoy.

• Sierra Derby joins Qirk’s Casino: eight named Frigates race an oval track. Bet on the winner or the top two in either order, with a 95% theoretical return. Betting lasts 80 seconds, closes 10 seconds before post, then the race runs for about 90 seconds.
• Tango Hold’em now surrounds a proper table with ten seats, standard cards, chip stacks, a dealer puck and an action arrow. Queue or cancel a choice before your turn; a changed bet requires a fresh decision.
• Escort routes wind through varied dense asteroid scenery. Raiders wait ahead and acquire targets with normal sensors, with occasional rear attacks. The convoy keeps moving; keeping up is your job. Temporary ships no longer carry mining lasers.
• A compact freighter panel above System Feed keeps shields, hull and enemy locks visible. Choose your one mission upgrade whenever you want. Anchor raid alerts are shorter and easier to spot.

A fighting chance in Anchor.

• Anchor announces pirate raids near named waypoints every five minutes while pilots are present. Worn raiders carry modest Burst and a chance of useful starter equipment. Help local traffic while staying at 1.0000 THz.
• Gamblers fly a new battered civilian hull with weaker equipment and smaller stakes. Hunting them still brings serious responder trouble. Freighter routes now get around long-distance obstacles and leave the Trading Outpost.
• Easy Escort uses the real starter Viper, shared enemy combat and a shorter route aimed at nine to ten minutes. Waves are smaller, the midpoint services the convoy, and victory pays 150 Burst.
• Mining Lasers now report Extraction Power. Ore resistance slows valuable seams while preserving partial extraction progress. This is a first beginner-income balance pass.
• Escape Rift replaces Astronav in the Rift NAV console: a cancellable 15-second vulnerable countdown returns your existing ship and cargo to the parent system's Forge. The Pilot Guide and website explain the new options.

Ready for the next run.

• Forge ship identity, instruments, physical stats and loadout details have cleaner alignment. Mining and EMP details follow the same layout, with clearer weapon cadence and larger hardpoint icons.
• Ship previews show fitted shields, Hangar bays are numbered, and every ship faces right. Installed equipment and ship sales now confirm the exact Alloy return, with a cargo-loss warning for loaded ships.
• Empty ammunition stacks reserve their cargo space for replenishment. Fabricators and Replicators reserve room for a stock target before accepting it; release empty reservations from their cargo menu. Real rounds, production costs and timing are unchanged.
• Ammo counts use current/maximum quantities, the Shipyard layout is aligned, free Vipers appear only when eligible, and Qirk's welcome sign no longer covers passing ships.

A clearer Forge.

• Current now groups shield, hull and capacitor status with matching cockpit colors, ship mass, dimensions and reactor capacity. Flight telemetry drops redundant and equipment-only boost readouts.
• Forge tabs are more compact, names have edit icons, and the close X undocks. Current, Cores and Cargo show a ship-required state when your ship is in the Hangar.
• Cargo and Vault share the target filter's counted, independent category toggles. Numbered CU badges, aligned quantities and new slug/missile icons make stored items easier to read.
• Viper, Bastion and Rook designs are permanently learned, take no cargo space, and appear as schematics in the Shipyard. Existing discoveries and ship prices are preserved; construction no longer consumes a blueprint.

Welcome to Fabulous.

• Qirk's Casino welcomes you with a glowing roadside-style sign and the same docking button used elsewhere.
• Cargo and Vault now share type filters beside their paging controls. Square CU markers show packed item space, while the total includes everything in storage.
• System Feed has a draggable scrollbar and keeps your place while new events arrive.
• Casino gamblers vary their travel courses instead of all following the same straight line.

Clear Hull Service.

Forge hull service now correctly explains that replaced hull equipment is integrated, while other replaced cores return to the Vault.

Room for More.

• Every pilot gets a free 200 CU Vault. Expand it at the Forge in 200 CU steps up to 1,000 CU for 1,000, 5,000, 10,000 and 20,000 Burst.
• Cargo and Vault share their item layout and CU display. Packed drives use 3 CU; reactors, capacitors and shields use 2; sensors, weapons and other equipment use 1. Installed fitting and physical mass are unchanged.
• Basic Missile stacks now hold up to 200 for 1 CU. Existing ammunition quantities are preserved.
• Hull upgrades stay with Forge service. Loose Hull Core equipment has been removed from Cargo and Vaults; fitted hulls and owned ships remain.

Fleet Foundations.

• Ships, equipment and storage now have separate persistent records, preserving existing fleets, fittings, cargo and unlocked capacity.
• Ship purchases commit payment and the new vessel together. A shared Burst history makes future accounting and recovery easier to inspect.
• Background checkpoints use a dedicated database connection. Global Hangar and Vault access, one-second routine save cadence and combat rules remain unchanged.
• No client download is needed for this server update.

Keep Combat Moving.

• Exploration sends smaller chart updates on a lower-priority stream, giving combat traffic priority.
• Ammunition updates are batched and routine ship saves run in the background, with about one second of crash-recovery exposure. Completed logout and ship transactions still preserve final state.
• Independent stream ordering prevents unrelated events from rejecting fresh movement. Projectile correction, wall rendering and route planning do less repeated work.
• Expanded diagnostics help separate server stalls, delayed state and connection trouble. Combat balance and mission rules remain unchanged in this pass.

Collect. Select. Keep Flying.

• Collect Burst from an open salvage container with one left click, directly into your wallet.
• Click another queued target to select it while retaining its lock. Clicking the current target’s bullseye removes it; the numbers now sit centered inside their badges.

Room to Fight. Clearer Commands.

• Fixed invisible faction ships, responders and installations, plus the Trading Outpost’s black backdrop.
• Rifts keep their floor size with fewer, larger irregular chambers, connecting loops and lighter ordinary enemies. Wall rendering and NPC navigation do less repeated work as you explore.
• Faction reinforcements take 30–45 seconds to dispatch, arriving around 6,000 Rz away and flying into the fight. Clear detours no longer impose a lingering half-speed limit.
• A compact Navigation System sits beside Sensors with a heading dial and vertical throttle. Target filters show live counts and group asteroids together.
• Small red close controls, a waypoint-free Rift map, clearer rolled-item details, private ship names at the Forge and a gray-to-rainbow item-quality scale.

Same Universe. Same Rules.

• Rift walls now remain visible as you explore beyond the entrance. The map, ship collision and projectile cover use the same floor dimensions.
• Faction guards, responders, turrets and Escort attackers fight with fitted weapons and cores: real sensor locks, ammunition, capacitor costs, cooldowns and movement.
• Jammer protection and lost sensor contacts apply consistently. Combat pilots reposition and manage recovery while miners, freighters and patrols retain their jobs.
• Fixed NPC shields failing to recharge after depletion. Starter-zone encounter strength remains open to playtesting.

Command, explore and keep fighting

• The cockpit gained clearer navigation, targeting, mining effects and shared ship inspection. Numbered queues, incoming-threat states and weapon handoff make combat assignments easier to manage.
• Persistent ships now retain their state and location. Combat disconnects leave existing orders running until the ship has been out of combat for 60 seconds.
• Physical missiles gained ammunition and longer reach. Fabricators and replicators maintain chosen stocks; Oracles and Jammers add targeting choices.
• Frequency Rifts gained larger procedural facilities, fitted patrols and guard posts, explicit portal entry and exploration maps. Current floors span 96,000 × 54,000 Rz.
• Qirk’s expanded to Hold’em, Keno and Roulette, with traveling gamblers adding encounters around Anchor.

Command the ship, know the hardware

• Flight evolved into navigation orders and independently assigned weapons, with clearer selected-target cards and contact information.
• The Duelist adopted shared movement and combat actions. Matched starter Viper sparring replaced earlier practice fits; Free For All retained its separate boundary rules.
• Surface systems expanded to 192,000 × 108,000 Rz. Fixed generation seeds, fitted sensors and persistent Pilot Charts made exploration repeatable.
• Six rolled core items replaced numeric upgrades. Hull capacity, mass, fitting power and operating energy became explicit, with a documented starter Viper baseline.
• Pulse Cannons and physical railguns gained separate identities and artwork. Rail ammunition and fitted Basic EMP made previously hidden capabilities into items.
• Paid Hangar expansion, connected Forge tabs and compact paging made fleet services clearer. Approach to Range and persistent Follow at Range became separate orders.

A working universe and places to practice

• Mining Ships and Gunships expanded the fleet. Mining Lasers, independent miner deliveries and cargo routes made civilian work visible.
• Trading Outposts and Resource Depot contracts created mining and hauling activities. Mining Depots became the in-world entry to Escort contracts.
• Faction Frequency bands and cross-system group suffixes replaced exact-frequency-only allegiance. Instances gained group or solo admission.
• Anchor gained deliberate regional placement, Training Grounds, a spectator view and practice combat. Frequency Rifts grew into larger enclosed facilities.
• The Pilot Guide and free default Easy Escort gave new pilots a practical starting activity. Navigation, collision feedback and maps received repeated playtest fixes.

Routes, fitting and smoother updates

• Astronav became a layered Frequency lattice with visible calibration and signal transitions. Zone handoffs gained stronger recovery and synchronization.
• The cockpit, event feed, loadout and Shipyard gained clearer text, inspection and controls.
• The portable updater began verifying and reusing unchanged files, downloading only replacements with a full-package fallback.
• Cargo, miner and patrol presentation improved alongside asteroid replenishment, ship effects and docking clearances.

Deeper runs and dependable state

• Directional rift chains gained clearer ascent, descent and run retirement behavior.
• NPC and Starbase synchronization fixes made travel and docked services more reliable.
• Active equipment gained configurable hotkeys, and rift rewards received an early Burst pass.

Weapons with distinct behavior

• Rolled gun and missile families expanded equipment choice; missiles gained forward launch and bounded turning.
• Projectile hit handling, impact effects and destruction shockwaves became easier to read.
• Ship telemetry, cargo inspection and Shipyard presentation became more detailed. Travel handshakes and high-speed replication received fixes.

A fleet and a persistent Pilot

• Forge services, the Vault, Hangar and ship commissioning developed into the persistent fleet foundation.
• Universal fitting and rolled equipment expanded how Frigates could be outfitted.
• Pilot identity, recovery and multiplayer visibility received supporting fixes.

From arena to shared universe

• The early alpha established shared-world exploration, faction systems, combat equipment and account-backed progress.
• Cooperative convoy experiments, ship services and travel provided the starting points for later in-world activities.
• These were prototype rules. Current behavior is documented in How to Play; exact implementation history remains in Git.