To celebrate the Lunar New Year, the release of our new game Space Bob vs. The Replicons next week, and the two year anniversary for NeonXSZ, we are happy to announce a 75% off sale for NeonXSZ. Happy hunting cybernauts.

[ 2018-02-15 22:57:19 CET ] [ Original post ]

To celebrate the Lunar New Year, the release of our new game Space Bob vs. The Replicons next week, and the two year anniversary for NeonXSZ, we are happy to announce a 75% off sale for NeonXSZ. Happy hunting cybernauts.

[ 2018-02-15 22:57:19 CET ] [ Original post ]

Good news everyone. NeonXSZ is now permanently 25% off. Actually, we reduced the price by $5 but you say tomato and we say tomato.
___________ To accompany the new price, the latest patch (build 1.15) has been pushed live on the main branch today. Details below.

1.14 and 1.15 Changelog:

• Fix for rare issue with saved games on Linux We recently had a report from one Linux user who was unable to load saves. This was caused by the Linux OS writing periods as commas in the save file when the OS was set to specific culture/regions that use this format. This issue is now resolved.
• Changes to the 'Damage Flash' when taking damage. Previously, whenever the player took damage, the world would flash deep red. Changes were made to reduce this effect based on current shield levels. When shields are above 65%, the world will flash light orange. When shields are above 40%, the world will flash deep orange. When shields are below 40%, the world with flash deep red as before. This should give improved visual feedback on your current shield levels when taking damage.
• The 'Damage Flash' effect can now also be disabled in Options/Video. A toggle option has been added to the bottom of the list.
• Station 4 Speed Arena Tweaks Feedback suggested that some of the speed-based challenge arenas in Station 4 were proving to be too challenging for some players. This was causing unnecessary frustration. The timings on many of the hardest speed related challenges has been relaxed to make things easier without becoming trivial.
• Station 7 Speed Challenge Tweaks A similar situation was occurring with the Station 7 speed related challenges. Most of the 'secret' speed related challenges are designed to be extraordinarily hard to complete but there were a handful of non-secret challenges that were harder than originally intended. The timings on these have been extended to ease their difficulty.
• Rebinding weapon switching to the mouse-wheel no longer causes weapon switching to occur while using the mouse-wheel to control scrollbars in the interface.
• The video option to disable Fire Patches would previously, incorrectly, only disable visible fire patches. It will now disable all fire patches. NOTE: This requires a soft restart to take effect (return to the Main Menu and reload your save).
• The DP1 hull's description has been corrected to read DP1 instead of DP0.

[ 2016-10-04 17:14:51 CET ] [ Original post ]

Good news everyone. The highest rated new 6DoF shooter game in years is now permanently 25% off. Actually, we reduced the price by $5 but you say tomato and we say tomato. ___________ To accompany the new price, the latest patch (build 1.15) has been pushed live on the main branch today. Details below.

1.14 and 1.15 Changelog:

• Fix for rare issue with saved games on Linux We recently had a report from one Linux user who was unable to load saves. This was caused by the Linux OS writing periods as commas in the save file when the OS was set to specific culture/regions that use this format. This issue is now resolved.
• Changes to the 'Damage Flash' when taking damage. Previously, whenever the player took damage, the world would flash deep red. Changes were made to reduce this effect based on current shield levels. When shields are above 65%, the world will flash light orange. When shields are above 40%, the world will flash deep orange. When shields are below 40%, the world with flash deep red as before. This should give improved visual feedback on your current shield levels when taking damage.
• The 'Damage Flash' effect can now also be disabled in Options/Video. A toggle option has been added to the bottom of the list.
• Station 4 Speed Arena Tweaks Feedback suggested that some of the speed-based challenge arenas in Station 4 were proving to be too challenging for some players. This was causing unnecessary frustration. The timings on many of the hardest speed related challenges has been relaxed to make things easier without becoming trivial.
• Station 7 Speed Challenge Tweaks A similar situation was occurring with the Station 7 speed related challenges. Most of the 'secret' speed related challenges are designed to be extraordinarily hard to complete but there were a handful of non-secret challenges that were harder than originally intended. The timings on these have been extended to ease their difficulty.
• Rebinding weapon switching to the mouse-wheel no longer causes weapon switching to occur while using the mouse-wheel to control scrollbars in the interface.
• The video option to disable Fire Patches would previously, incorrectly, only disable visible fire patches. It will now disable all fire patches. NOTE: This requires a soft restart to take effect (return to the Main Menu and reload your save).
• The DP1 hull's description has been corrected to read DP1 instead of DP0.

[ 2016-10-04 17:14:51 CET ] [ Original post ]

SUMMER SALE WARNING: Please, don't buy NeonXSZ as an impulse buy if you are expecting to fully enjoy it with a gamepad or joystick. Seriously. Don't. Yes, we recently added joystick support and gamepad support has been available for a couple of years, but neither control method suits this game. Although, NeonXSZ might look like a spaceship sim, it isn't. It's a high speed mouse-look twitch shooter to it's very core. Mouse and keyboard is the only recommended control scheme and the only way to experience the gameplay as intended. After a couple of rare negative reviews popped up from disgruntled joystick players I wanted to be sure that this information is very clear to everyone browsing for impulse buys during the summer sale. I would prefer to not disappoint anyone else rather than make an additional sale to someone expecting a different type of game. With that said, if you are looking for a stupidly deep mouse-look twitch shooter then you are in the right place.

[ 2016-06-26 21:59:46 CET ] [ Original post ]

Although we recently added joystick support, and gamepad support has been available for over two years, we feel it's important to inform potential buyers that neither of these control methods are optimal for playing NeonXSZ. NeonXSZ was designed around the ability to turn and aim instantly. It's a high speed mouse-look shooter to it's very core where mouse/keyboard is by far the best control scheme and the only recommended way to experience the gameplay as intended. If you would still like to try the game with a gamepad or joystick we recommend tweaking the gamespeed slider to slow things down. This can be found in the gameplay options. With all that said, if you are familiar with using mouse and keyboard and would like to experience something new, then you are in the right place.

[ 2016-06-26 20:37:40 CET ] [ Original post ]

Feedback suggested that the very early game could benefit from additional combat variety so build 1.13 adds two completely new gadgets and significantly improves the Blink gadget to make it far more responsive and versatile.

Improved Blink

Instead of blinking a relative distance based on a ship's current direction and speed, Blink now teleports a set distance in the direction that the ship is facing. Your ship's speed is retained after the Blink but the direction of movement after blinking is now changed to match the direction of the Blink. Additionally, if you are already holding one or more thrust keys (Forward, backwards, and any of the four strafe directions), Blink will instead teleport in that direction. For example:

• Left Strafe + Blink = Blink Left
• Right Strafe + Forward + Blink = Blink diagonally forwards and to the right.
• Reverse + Blink = Blink backwards

These changes make Blink instantly responsive and much more predictable, opening up far more versatility to the way Blink can be used during combat.

New Gadget added - Rebound

Rebound is the first totally new gadget. Once installed it causes projectiles from certain weapons to bounce off anything that doesn't take damage.

• Rebound is a level 1 gadget and can be unlocked soon after starting the game.
• Weapons affected : Main Guns, Inferno Gun, Flak Cannon
• Various versions of this upgrade unlock as you progress through the game.
• Version 1 allows one bounce, V2 allows two bounces, etc.
• Rebound is also stackable. Eg. Install two Version 1 upgrades and bullets will bounce twice.

New Gadget : Time Warp

The second new gadget added in this build, Time Warp, dynamically slows the passage of time once activated. Think of it as NeonXSZ's version of bullet time.

• The first version should be available to loot or buy at around level 5.
• Does not slow down turn/aiming speed.
• Stackable: Activating one Time Warp gadget, will activate all Time Warp gadgets currently installed with their time durations stacked together.
• With two high level versions of Time Warp installed, it's possible for the duration of the effect to last for more than 10 seconds.

Other Changes

• Fixed a new issue that caused 'visual' stutter (not framerate related stutter) when running the game significantly below 100% gamespeed.
• Added negative audio sound effect if trying to activate any gadget without sufficient energy.

Combined with the existing early game gadgets (Gyro Shield, Drones, and Electrocute) and the many other existing upgrades, the first few hours of gameplay now offer far more build diversity and combat variety.

[ 2016-03-18 15:26:48 CET ] [ Original post ]

Feedback suggested that the very early game could benefit from additional combat variety so build 1.13 adds two completely new gadgets and significantly improves the Blink gadget to make it far more responsive and versatile.

Improved Blink

Instead of blinking a relative distance based on a ship's current direction and speed, Blink now teleports a set distance in the direction that the ship is facing. Your ship's speed is retained after the Blink but the direction of movement after blinking is now changed to match the direction of the Blink. Additionally, if you are already holding one or more thrust keys (Forward, backwards, and any of the four strafe directions), Blink will instead teleport in that direction. For example:

• Left Strafe + Blink = Blink Left
• Right Strafe + Forward + Blink = Blink diagonally forwards and to the right.
• Reverse + Blink = Blink backwards

These changes make Blink instantly responsive and much more predictable, opening up far more versatility to the way Blink can be used during combat.

New Gadget added - Rebound

Rebound is the first totally new gadget. Once installed it causes projectiles from certain weapons to bounce off anything that doesn't take damage.

• Rebound is a level 1 gadget and can be unlocked soon after starting the game.
• Weapons affected : Main Guns, Inferno Gun, Flak Cannon
• Various versions of this upgrade unlock as you progress through the game.
• Version 1 allows one bounce, V2 allows two bounces, etc.
• Rebound is also stackable. Eg. Install two Version 1 upgrades and bullets will bounce twice.

New Gadget : Time Warp

The second new gadget added in this build, Time Warp, dynamically slows the passage of time once activated. Think of it as NeonXSZ's version of bullet time.

• The first version should be available to loot or buy at around level 5.
• Does not slow down turn/aiming speed.
• Stackable: Activating one Time Warp gadget, will activate all Time Warp gadgets currently installed with their time durations stacked together.
• With two high level versions of Time Warp installed, it's possible for the duration of the effect to last for more than 10 seconds.

Other Changes

• Fixed a new issue that caused 'visual' stutter (not framerate related stutter) when running the game significantly below 100% gamespeed.
• Added negative audio sound effect if trying to activate any gadget without sufficient energy.

Combined with the existing early game gadgets (Gyro Shield, Drones, and Electrocute) and the many other existing upgrades, the first few hours of gameplay now offer far more build diversity and combat variety.

[ 2016-03-18 15:26:48 CET ] [ Original post ]

Since the 1.1 release, where Joystick support was added, it was discovered that high precision flight sticks suffered slightly with an overly large deadzone. This hotfix adds a 'Controller Deadzone' slider to the Controls window to allow for precise control of this setting. It is advised that you don't alter this setting for Xbox Controllers. The default 0.19 deadzone setting is ideal for less sensitive gamepads. Lower values are best suited for precision flight sticks only. We also took this opportunity to slightly increase the dodge ability for all enemies. Each enemy has unique AI and the dodge ability varies from one enemy to the next. For example, some enemies may never dodge. However, you should see many enemies jinking and jiving much more aggressively during heavy combat than in previous builds. If you run into any problems with this hotfix, such as phantom movement due to the new deadzone settings, ensure that the new deadzone slider is not set too low. If the deadzone is too small, it can pick up unwanted movement from connected gamepads and joysticks.

[ 2016-03-13 15:32:55 CET ] [ Original post ]

Since the 1.1 release, where Joystick support was added, it was discovered that high precision flight sticks suffered slightly with an overly large deadzone. This hotfix adds a 'Controller Deadzone' slider to the Controls window to allow for precise control of this setting. It is advised that you don't alter this setting for Xbox Controllers. The default 0.19 deadzone setting is ideal for less sensitive gamepads. Lower values are best suited for precision flight sticks only. We also took this opportunity to slightly increase the dodge ability for all enemies. Each enemy has unique AI and the dodge ability varies from one enemy to the next. For example, some enemies may never dodge. However, you should see many enemies jinking and jiving much more aggressively during heavy combat than in previous builds. If you run into any problems with this hotfix, such as phantom movement due to the new deadzone settings, ensure that the new deadzone slider is not set too low. If the deadzone is too small, it can pick up unwanted movement from connected gamepads and joysticks.

[ 2016-03-13 15:32:55 CET ] [ Original post ]

Flight Stick Support Added.

You asked for it, so we added it and a whole lot more. Click to see the full list of changes in build 1.1

Improvements

• Joysticks are now recognized by the game and can be configured in the Controls menu
• Default Secondary Keybindings have been reworked to match Xbox Controllers
• Ambient Occlussion video option added. This will be on by default when using the High, and Ultra graphics presets. It will need to be enabled manually if you are using custom video settings.
• New Bloom added. This new bloom effect adds additional contrast to bright effects and smoother bloom around bright objects. It replaces the old bloom effect.
• While the player is below Tech Level 4, the maximum tech level of hostiles spawning in the highways directly connected to the players start position has been reduced to Tech Level 3. This should make life much easier and more intuitive for new players. This change also massively reduces the chance that lethal enemies will fly into these areas.
• Weapon sound effects significantly improved.
• New button added to the upgrade panel to toggle between displaying upgrades in ascending or descending order. This allows the highest level upgrades to be displayed first.
• Newly discovered upgrades and hulls (those which have been recently looted to 100%) are now marked with a yellow star in the upgrade and hull windows respectively.
• Yellow stars now also appear over the various slot type buttons in the upgrade panel if any upgrade for that slot type is marked as newly discovered.
• By using the "-force-d3d9" command line argument, the game will now run in Fullscreen Exclusive mode on Windows. This resolves issues with Gsync monitors.

For a selection of before and after screenshots for the new Ambient Occlussion and Bloom effects see this post: http://steamcommunity.com/app/296010/discussions/0/412448158166365048/

Balance Tweaks

• After the player has used Blind on a target, that target now has a 70% chance to instantly target and attack the player once the Blind debuff clears.
• Railgun base damage reduced from 61 to 55, and range reduced from 250m to 200m
• MagnaBeam damage increased by 7% from base 3 to 3.21
• Laser Cannon base damage increased from 48 to 54
• Flak Cannon base damage per projectile increased from 6.9 to 8 per projectile. Each shot has 8 projectiles.
• Reputation loss for killing friendlies capped at 225 points. (Previously 10% of total reputation with no cap)
• Uranium loot drop size and task rewards increased by 25-40%.
• Homing missiles will now only begin homing once they have reached 25% of their maximum range. This allows the player to fire missiles around corners, and also makes dodging missiles a little easier especially in close quarters combat.
• Firefly missile turn speed reduced from 9 to 7. Missile speed reduced to 100 from 120
• Lancer missile turn speed reduced from 5.2 to 4. Missile speed reduced to 55 from 70
• Disarmer missile turn speed reduced from 5 to 3. Missile speed reduced to 45 from 70
• Maverick missile turn speed reduced from 4.4 to 4. Missile speed reduced from 100 to 70
• Crippler missile turn speed reduced from 9 to 6. Missile speed reduced from 100 to 70
• Thunder missiles have been buffed to make them a much more viable choice
• Thunder missile damage increased from 85 to 145.

Other changes

• Delete key is no longer reserved and is bindable
• To clear a keybinding, press Escape (rather than Delete) while binding a key
• Instances of the word 'gamepad' have now been replaced with 'controller', in the controls menu, to cover both gamepads and joysticks.
• 'Invert Y-Axis' Controls label renamed to 'Invert Mouse Y-Axis". For controllers simply rebind the controller axis at the bottom of the list of Controls.
• Motion Blur disabled by default in all graphics presets. This can still be enabled/disabled manually via the 'Manual Setup' video preset.
• Upgrade incompatibility warning messages updated for improved clarity.
• The Energy Efficiency statistic is artificially inflated before calculating Overall Efficiency for the Statistics panel. The Energy Efficiency panel now shows the real value rather than the inflated value.
• 'Press Spacebar to fire missiles" added to level 1 main tutorial messages to better ensure new players know that they exist
• 'Mouse1' keycode reworded to 'Right Mouse Button' during level 1 main tutorial messages (if this key hasn't been rebound to something else)
• New 'Missiles' page added to the help manual to ensure players know that missiles regenerate and should be used freely
• Intermediate guide title page altered in the help manual to encourage further reading
• Weapon hit notification sound volume reduced by 30%
• New Xbox Controller 'Default Secondary Controls' page added to the in-game help system.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where some particles would receive a black border while using the 'Edge Effect' video option.
• Fixed an issue where the 'show installed upgrade' button could remain greyed out after installing an upgrade into an empty slot.
• Fixed an issue that would create two weapon amplifier upgrades with the same version number.

A big thanks to everyone who helped playtest all of the above changes in our Public Test branch over the last couple of weeks. Build 1.1 is now live for everyone.

[ 2016-03-09 13:52:15 CET ] [ Original post ]

Flight Stick Support Added.

You asked for it, so we added it and a whole lot more. Click to see the full list of changes in build 1.1

Improvements

• Joysticks are now recognized by the game and can be configured in the Controls menu
• Default Secondary Keybindings have been reworked to match Xbox Controllers
• Ambient Occlussion video option added. This will be on by default when using the High, and Ultra graphics presets. It will need to be enabled manually if you are using custom video settings.
• New Bloom added. This new bloom effect adds additional contrast to bright effects and smoother bloom around bright objects. It replaces the old bloom effect.
• While the player is below Tech Level 4, the maximum tech level of hostiles spawning in the highways directly connected to the players start position has been reduced to Tech Level 3. This should make life much easier and more intuitive for new players. This change also massively reduces the chance that lethal enemies will fly into these areas.
• Weapon sound effects significantly improved.
• New button added to the upgrade panel to toggle between displaying upgrades in ascending or descending order. This allows the highest level upgrades to be displayed first.
• Newly discovered upgrades and hulls (those which have been recently looted to 100%) are now marked with a yellow star in the upgrade and hull windows respectively.
• Yellow stars now also appear over the various slot type buttons in the upgrade panel if any upgrade for that slot type is marked as newly discovered.
• By using the "-force-d3d9" command line argument, the game will now run in Fullscreen Exclusive mode on Windows. This resolves issues with Gsync monitors.

For a selection of before and after screenshots for the new Ambient Occlussion and Bloom effects see this post: http://steamcommunity.com/app/296010/discussions/0/412448158166365048/

Balance Tweaks

• After the player has used Blind on a target, that target now has a 70% chance to instantly target and attack the player once the Blind debuff clears.
• Railgun base damage reduced from 61 to 55, and range reduced from 250m to 200m
• MagnaBeam damage increased by 7% from base 3 to 3.21
• Laser Cannon base damage increased from 48 to 54
• Flak Cannon base damage per projectile increased from 6.9 to 8 per projectile. Each shot has 8 projectiles.
• Reputation loss for killing friendlies capped at 225 points. (Previously 10% of total reputation with no cap)
• Uranium loot drop size and task rewards increased by 25-40%.
• Homing missiles will now only begin homing once they have reached 25% of their maximum range. This allows the player to fire missiles around corners, and also makes dodging missiles a little easier especially in close quarters combat.
• Firefly missile turn speed reduced from 9 to 7. Missile speed reduced to 100 from 120
• Lancer missile turn speed reduced from 5.2 to 4. Missile speed reduced to 55 from 70
• Disarmer missile turn speed reduced from 5 to 3. Missile speed reduced to 45 from 70
• Maverick missile turn speed reduced from 4.4 to 4. Missile speed reduced from 100 to 70
• Crippler missile turn speed reduced from 9 to 6. Missile speed reduced from 100 to 70
• Thunder missiles have been buffed to make them a much more viable choice
• Thunder missile damage increased from 85 to 145.

Other changes

• Delete key is no longer reserved and is bindable
• To clear a keybinding, press Escape (rather than Delete) while binding a key
• Instances of the word 'gamepad' have now been replaced with 'controller', in the controls menu, to cover both gamepads and joysticks.
• 'Invert Y-Axis' Controls label renamed to 'Invert Mouse Y-Axis". For controllers simply rebind the controller axis at the bottom of the list of Controls.
• Motion Blur disabled by default in all graphics presets. This can still be enabled/disabled manually via the 'Manual Setup' video preset.
• Upgrade incompatibility warning messages updated for improved clarity.
• The Energy Efficiency statistic is artificially inflated before calculating Overall Efficiency for the Statistics panel. The Energy Efficiency panel now shows the real value rather than the inflated value.
• 'Press Spacebar to fire missiles" added to level 1 main tutorial messages to better ensure new players know that they exist
• 'Mouse1' keycode reworded to 'Right Mouse Button' during level 1 main tutorial messages (if this key hasn't been rebound to something else)
• New 'Missiles' page added to the help manual to ensure players know that missiles regenerate and should be used freely
• Intermediate guide title page altered in the help manual to encourage further reading
• Weapon hit notification sound volume reduced by 30%
• New Xbox Controller 'Default Secondary Controls' page added to the in-game help system.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where some particles would receive a black border while using the 'Edge Effect' video option.
• Fixed an issue where the 'show installed upgrade' button could remain greyed out after installing an upgrade into an empty slot.
• Fixed an issue that would create two weapon amplifier upgrades with the same version number.

A big thanks to everyone who helped playtest all of the above changes in our Public Test branch over the last couple of weeks. Build 1.1 is now live for everyone.

[ 2016-03-09 13:52:15 CET ] [ Original post ]

Ground launch sequencer is go for Main engine start Solid Rocket Boosters ignite Explosive bolts release the boosters Lift Off!

[ 2016-02-22 18:06:29 CET ] [ Original post ]

• Ground launch sequencer is go for Main engine start • Solid Rocket Boosters ignite • Explosive bolts release the boosters • Lift Off!

[ 2016-02-22 18:06:29 CET ] [ Original post ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnblLgqPmpg

Let's do this!

NeonXSZ Build 1.0 just went live on Steam a day ahead of schedule. We will transition out of Early Access at approximately 10am Pacific Time tomorrow (22nd Feb). It's not possible to officially launch until then (Valve Time!) but for the many new players who jumped on board this weekend we wanted to give you access to the 1.0 build while you still had some free time to play it. A huge thank-you goes out to everyone who has supported the game over the last few years. Your support has been essential in bringing the game to fruition and we quite simply couldn't have done it without you. To everyone who believed in the game and bought it either here in Early Access or over two years ago on Desura - you allowed us to finish the game properly rather than rush it out the door. Thank you. Finally, thanks to everyone who offered feedback and suggestions over the years. It's a better game because of you! We hope we did you all proud. Buckle up cybernauts, it's happening!

[ 2016-02-21 17:45:56 CET ] [ Original post ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnblLgqPmpg

Let's do this!

NeonXSZ Build 1.0 just went live on Steam a day ahead of schedule. We will transition out of Early Access at approximately 10am Pacific Time tomorrow (22nd Feb). It's not possible to officially launch until then (Valve Time!) but for the many new players who jumped on board this weekend we wanted to give you access to the 1.0 build while you still had some free time to play it. A huge thank-you goes out to everyone who has supported the game over the last few years. Your support has been essential in bringing the game to fruition and we quite simply couldn't have done it without you. To everyone who believed in the game and bought it either here in Early Access or over two years ago on Desura - you allowed us to finish the game properly rather than rush it out the door. Thank you. Finally, thanks to everyone who offered feedback and suggestions over the years. It's a better game because of you! We hope we did you all proud. Buckle up cybernauts, it's happening!

[ 2016-02-21 17:45:56 CET ] [ Original post ]

For reasons we are not able to discuss at this time, we have moved the official 1.0 release date for NeonXSZ back from Feb 16th to Feb 22nd. It's not all bad news, though. The currently released build on Steam is likely to be identical to the 1.0 release in everything but name. If you are considering grabbing the game early then there is no need to worry about playing an incomplete or buggy version. The currently live early access build (version 0.98) is our final release candidate. This build has had no reported bugs or problems on any platform. We can't guarantee it, but we have no reason to expect this situation to change. Sorry for the delay. We'll update this announcement as soon as we can talk about things in more detail.

Update:

So yeah, Steam went and announced the Lunar New Year sale at the last minute. We can now confirm that our release date was tweaked to prevent a launch so close to a major Steam sale, and the Steam NDA prevented us from speaking of it sooner.

[ 2016-02-01 16:31:35 CET ] [ Original post ]

For reasons we are not able to discuss at this time, we have moved the official 1.0 release date for NeonXSZ back from Feb 16th to Feb 22nd. It's not all bad news, though. The currently released build on Steam is likely to be identical to the 1.0 release in everything but name. If you are considering grabbing the game early then there is no need to worry about playing an incomplete or buggy version. The currently live early access build (version 0.98) is our final release candidate. This build has had no reported bugs or problems on any platform. We can't guarantee it, but we have no reason to expect this situation to change. Sorry for the delay. We'll update this announcement as soon as we can talk about things in more detail.

Update:

So yeah, Steam went and announced the Lunar New Year sale at the last minute. We can now confirm that our release date was tweaked to prevent a launch so close to a major Steam sale, and the Steam NDA prevented us from speaking of it sooner.

[ 2016-02-01 16:31:35 CET ] [ Original post ]

With your help we've done it. It's ready. NeonXSZ is complete! https://youtu.be/bnblLgqPmpg It's been a long journey, and a mammoth undertaking, but we couldn't be happier than to announce that the finished game will officially launch for PC, Mac and Linux on February 16th 2016. In preparation for the release, the Steam page has had a complete overhaul. There's a brand new trailer, all new screenshots, updated game description and new branding\logo images. Here's a handy link to our Steam page if you're interested in checking out the changes (click the logo to link through): http://store.steampowered.com/app/296010 Thanks to everyone who believed in us and supported the game during development. Your reviews have been both amazing and humbling. We hope we did you proud. It wouldn't have been possible without you. Seriously! Over the coming weeks we'll be doing our best to spread the word to the gaming media. If you have a favourite YouTuber/Streamer, who you think might like the game, please let them know. Here's a link to the trailer on YouTube if you would like to help by sharing it on social media. Don't forget to give it a thumbs up and leave a comment to help promote the launch. Cheers. Edit: A member of the Shacknews chatty (pulsedrive) meme'd the release news. Awesome - http://i.imgur.com/FX5D8Bc.jpg

[ 2016-01-15 13:46:34 CET ] [ Original post ]

With your help we've done it. It's ready. NeonXSZ is complete! https://youtu.be/bnblLgqPmpg It's been a long journey, and a mammoth undertaking, but we couldn't be happier than to announce that the finished game will officially launch for PC, Mac and Linux on February 16th 2016. In preparation for the release, the Steam page has had a complete overhaul. There's a brand new trailer, all new screenshots, updated game description and new brandinglogo images. Here's a handy link to our Steam page if you're interested in checking out the changes (click the logo to link through): http://store.steampowered.com/app/296010 Thanks to everyone who believed in us and supported the game during development. Your reviews have been both amazing and humbling. We hope we did you proud. It wouldn't have been possible without you. Seriously! Over the coming weeks we'll be doing our best to spread the word to the gaming media. If you have a favourite YouTuber/Streamer, who you think might like the game, please let them know. Here's a link to the trailer on YouTube if you would like to help by sharing it on social media. Don't forget to give it a thumbs up and leave a comment to help promote the launch. Cheers. Edit: A member of the Shacknews chatty (pulsedrive) meme'd the release news. Awesome - http://i.imgur.com/FX5D8Bc.jpg

[ 2016-01-15 13:46:34 CET ] [ Original post ]

After four intense years of constant development, the alpha stage is now finished and it's nearly time to release this bad boy officially. The 1.0 release is just around the corner (planned for February) so it's time for the final beta test. In our eyes, beta means that all major bug fixing and balancing is already complete and that the game is finished with only final testing required. Beta build 0.98 is now live. For those that haven't been following recent development the last few months have been spent on behind the scenes stuff in preparation for the 1.0 release. For example, two months alone were spent preparing a new trailer. This means that the Beta release doesn't bring with it a host of new features like previous updates. That's not a bad thing though because the last build released was already feature and content complete and that build proved to be rock solid across all three platforms. During the development of the new trailer a few things did however get some minor visual tweaks and some developer only systems were added into the game to make capturing the new trailer footage possible. Whenever we add in new systems, there is always the possibility that something else gets broken. There's also been a couple of recent bugs discovered that have also been fixed. The main purpose of the Beta release then is to ensure that we have a rock solid stable game before the final review code version of the game goes out in January next year. That gives us a month of testing to iron out any last minute glitches that may have appeared due to recent changes while hopefully being able to relax and unwind a little over the holiday season. It's unlikely that we introduced any major new bugs but it's always a possibility so if you can help to put the game through it's paces one final time it would be much appreciated and help to create a flawless 1.0 release. Another change that is coming soon is the new game branding. This is already designed but it's not planned to go live until the new trailer is released early next year. This Beta build does give a sneak peak at the new branding though. The loading screen when booting up the game has been replaced with the new branding image. Thanks so much to everyone who has supported, playtested and given feedback on the game over the last few years. It's been both a stressful and amazing experience but we are so proud of the final result. The game is beautifully balanced and plays better than we ever imagined it would and that's all we ever strived for. Soon enough we'll be handing over our baby to you guys to share with the world. We couldn't have done it without you. <3 you guys and we wish you all an amazing 2016.

[ 2015-12-10 13:07:22 CET ] [ Original post ]

With the game now content and feature complete and a couple of months having passed since the last update, we wanted to let you guys know that everything is going great behind the scenes in preparation for the 1.0 release. After the last update, the first job was to take a step back and decompress. After a couple of weeks away from development it became clear how stressed and wired I'd become from pushing so hard for nearly 4 years to get the game finished. Doubts and tension faded and I was soon refreshed and ready to start work on the final release trailer.

The New Trailer

Trailers are obviously very important for gaining attention for the game, but previously there was never enough time to dedicate to creating something special. The current trailers/videos were made over a year ago and at that time I knew they would need replacing soon enough. It made sense to focus development time on the game rather than the trailers but for the final release we needed a trailer that really showed the quality of the game. I always knew that creating the final trailer was going to be a big job. I knew I'd need to first dedicate time to simply improving my skills in that area before I could even begin to put together something special. So that's what I did. I started out by spending a few weeks capturing hundreds of in-game clips and experimenting with various editing techniques. The weeks following that were spent creating cool intro and outro sections for the trailer to give it the visual punch and professional edge that it needed. Similarly to regular game development, that stuff takes much much longer than most people realize. So much work was thrown out and replaced because it didn't reach the standards I wanted, and the stuff that did work required endless hours of iteration and tweaking to get just right. I could go on and on about what I learned during that whole process, and at some point I may even write up an article for gamasutra or r/gamedev discussing all of that stuff, but for now I'll conclude by saying that the new trailer is now complete, tweaked, polished and ready for the 1.0 release. I'm super happy with it but I'll not be showing it until January next year. More on that below. Once the trailer was finalized I moved on to replacing the current branding images for the game. Much like the old trailers, putting the branding images together for the original EA Steam release was a bit of a rush job. The game deserved better, more eye-catching, and professional branding, and I'm happy to say that this is now also done and looking great.

So What's Next?

There's still more behind the scenes work to be done. I'm planning to completely redesign the game's website and the main Steam page along with plenty more smaller but equally important jobs. For example, I've already contacted GOG in the hopes of getting a simultaneous release there. During the development of the trailer a number of visual tweaks were made to the game. Nothing major but you can expect a game update with those changes to appear around the new year to coincide with the final Beta phase. The Beta phase is mainly a formality as we all know that the game is in great shape and bug-free. The beta release will be simply to confirm that we have a rock solid release version of the game. Mid January 2016 will see the launch of the new trailer, branding, website, and Steam page along with the 1.0 launch press release and review codes being sent out. The final release date is planned for mid-February 2016, but the exact date will depend on any other major game releases at that time. Ideally, the release date will be locked down before the final marketing push. That's it for now. I just wanted to keep you guys in the loop as to what is currently happening and to give a heads-up on the imminent beta release.

[ 2015-11-24 15:07:37 CET ] [ Original post ]

We did it! After nearly 4 years, NeonXSZ is now both content and feature complete.
Build 0.95 adds the last major new feature: Objectives/Achievements. We don't like to do anything the normal way around these parts so in NeonXSZ the achievements award in-game currency (uranium) rather than some e-peen points. They also don't expect the player to jump through some crazy tedious hoops to complete them. A typical objective may be something as simple as 'Kill 10 ships in the F1 hull'. They are designed to encourage the player to try out all the different hulls, gadgets, upgrades and play styles that are possible and in turn help the player to get the most out of the game. The reward sizes have been balanced so that these new objectives are also entirely optional. For a sandbox game this is obviously important. We want you guys to play NeonXSZ however you damn well please, but if the totally open ended game structure doesn't suit your taste you can now follow a list of objectives throughout the game and be rewarded for completing them.

New and improved Gadget FX:

The second most noticeable change in this update is an improvement to the visual effects for many of the game's gadgets. Above you can see the new Blink effect, and below we have the much improved Gyro Shield. See the full patch notes below for more details on the changes to the other gadgets.

So is the game finished?

Pretty much yes, however we aren't planning to do a final release just yet. First we'll take this latest build for a spin, make whatever tweaks necessary, and then enter the final Beta phase. Beta will likely last for a few months and further visual improvements are expected. During the beta we'll be working on new promotional videos and preparing all the behind the scenes stuff to hopefully ensure a successful full release. You guys have been amazing throughout Neon's development and we can't thank you enough for all of your encouragement and support. Be sure to push the game to breaking point now and let us know if you run into any bugs or issues. If you have any last minute suggestions for tweaks and improvements please do let us know.

Build 0.95 Changelog

• 68 new Objectives/Achievements added. Can be found in Options/Objectives.
• New Advanced Gadget FX toggle option added to Options/Video
• GyroShield visuals dramatically improved with new shaders, and other improvements
• Ship spawn effect tweaked
• Ship spawn effect added when launching drones
• New sound effect added to the Barrier gadget when activated
• Barrier brightness increased for better visibility
• Barrier outline added
• New animation effect added as Barrier reaches max size.
• Black Hole gadget particle effects now only appear when Advanced Gadget FX is enabled.
• New effects added to Blink Gadget. Psychedelic rings appear along the length of the Blink path. Blur reworked during Blink when used by the player. Dynamic environmental recoloring effect added while Blink is used by the player.
• New blinding flash effect added around the target when hit by CorruptAI : Blind gadget
• Impunity now has a new, additional, shield visual effect
• New, simple, but high performance, Leech visual effect added. Advanced Gadget FX must now be enabled to see the previous fancy bezier curve based leech effect.
• Neutonic Shield shader tweaked with subtle kaleidoscopic effect.
• Slight rework of the Shockwave visual effect.
• Electrocute gadget's visual effect transparency increased for better visibility while installed.
• New positional marker effect added around all floating turrets to make them more visible.
• WarpPipe shaders tweaked
• Docking ports with upgrade shops are now guaranteed to also have garage services
• Docking ports with dealerships are now guaranteed to also have Quantum Teleporter services
• New Introduction page added to the beginning of the in-game help system
• New Objectives page added to the Beginners section of the in-game help system
• Non-player ships can no longer be pushed around during docking procedures. This prevents a number of potential issues with docking bays.
• New toggle option added to Options/Video to enable/disable the Vignetting effect. This setting is automated when using the game's video presets. Disabling this should improve GPU performance for very low end systems.
• Tooltip popup delay reduced to 0.3 from 0.5 seconds.
• Fixed missing loot pedestals and teleporter frames from Station 7 Arena 4.

[ 2015-08-28 10:47:21 CET ] [ Original post ]

Where did the sun go? That didn't last long. It must be gaming time again! It's been less than three weeks since the last main update but that doesn't stop this one from having some significant changes. First up we have an all new color scheme, 'Inversion', that brings a dramatically different look to the entire game. Seen here and above....
All the arenas have also been updated with additional lightning making them much more visually appealing. This improved lighting also helps to guide the player through the arenas by marking exits or points of interest. Based on player feedback, the huge maze-like Station 7 arenas have had a big overhaul to make them easier to navigate, more appealing and more accessible. New cryptic guide symbols have been added to the walls combined with a number of other tweaks and improvements that can be seen below. If you're deep into the game you will also be able to take advantage of a big change to the Upgrade Anywhere gadget. Combined with it's previous ability to allow the installation of upgrades and hulls anywhere at any time, it is now activatable. This means we can click it's cockpit button or use a hotkey to swap back and forth from our previously used hull with a single click. This opens up a whole new world of build possibilites. We can fly a super fast scout and instantly swap to a combat ship when needed, or come up with radical new builds that combine the upgrades. gadgets, and firepower of two different ship designs at once. We're really excited to see what crazy builds you guys come up with. Have fun with the new changes and be sure to let us know if you have any feedback or suggestions in the Discussion Area here on Steam.

Patch 0.942 Changelog

• New color scheme - 'Inversion' - added
• All arenas updated with new and improved lighting
• Arena 001 in Station 1 remodeled and retextured
• All Station 7 Arenas significantly updated. New arrows and other environmental symbols added to ease navigation.
• On screen timers for Station 7 event pulse effects doubled. Pulse effects are now yellow for better contrast.
• Pulse effect after shooting bullet chambers limited to once per second. Prevents FX spam.
• Station 7 arena blocks, that move on timers, have had their timers extended.
• Docking bay energy beams now turn orange during initial docking phase for additional visual feedback.
• Upgrade Anywhere gadget is now activatable. Activating this gadget will automatically swap to the last used hull.
• It is no longer possible to swap hulls using Upgrade Anywhere if any gadget is on cooldown. This prevents exploiting gadgets like Impunity to become infinitely invulnerable.
• Uninstalling an upgrade while it's on cooldown while also using the Upgrade Anywhere gadget is no longer possible.
• Fixed a bug that could cause CorruptAI gadgets to have their effect light stuck on when using Upgrade Anywhere to swap hulls.
• Pressing the Esc key now closes the Station Teleporter interface.
• Missile debuff sound effects reworked to be more distinct and recogniseable.
• When swapping hulls, the previously installed weapon for that hull is retained. Applies to current game session only.
• Fixed another instance of virus cubes poking into the highway
• Fixed typo on 'Overall Rating' help page
• Fixed mislabeled buttons on 'Controls' help page.
• 7th Miscellaneous slot added to D3+
• Fixed issue that caused splash damage to fail if 'Impact Sparks' option is disabled in Video options.
• Weapon FX, when reaching max distance, disabled if 'Impact Sparks' also disabled
• Lightning Gun impact sparks effect replaced and improved with animated version.
• Reworked all upgrade icon textures with outlines and glow for better visibility and visual impact.

[ 2015-07-31 12:21:47 CET ] [ Original post ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3NFwnmX2zU The latest patch is live and has so many updates that after including the patch notes there's not enough space left in a Steam announcement for us to say much else. A brand new in-game help manual is included which can be seen in the above video. Originally we wanted to leave the player to discover the depths of the game by themselves, and experience 'eureka moments' as they did so, but too many players had no idea that there was depth to discover or simply became overwhelmed and confused.The new manual solves this without holding the players hand while simultaneously giving new players a much better introduction to the game. Two new hulls were added which replace the old M1 and F1 hulls. They can be seen below:

...and a whole slew of other updates and changes. Build 0.935 Changelog:

• Massively improved and totally new Help/Guide/Manual added in-game. Broken up into Beginners, Intermediate, and Advanced it acts like both a getting started guide and a mini wiki.
• New hull models for the F1 and M1.
• Missiles now have new 3D sound effects allowing the player to determine their direction and distance more intuitively.
• Missiles now have new launch sound effects
• Missiles now explode at max distance rather than simply vanishing.
• Missiles now create reverse force against the firing ship in the same way that weapons do. Heavy hulls suffer from this less.
• Crippler and Disarmer missiles now have unique inflight sounds with sonar like beeps.
• Back end sound system improved to allow multiple notification and weapon launch effects simultaneously
• New sound effects added when entering/exiting interrupt mode
• All weapon sound effects have been improved.
• Plasma gun projectiles now grow in size during flight
• Plasma Gun and Inferno Gun projectiles now burst at max distance rather than disappear.
• Cockpit camera shake added when firing weapons.
• Shield Hit sound effect increased slightly and tweaked.
• Fan volumes increased slightly
• Inferno Gun projectiles redesigned and improved
• Inferno Gun impact effect replaced and upgraded.
• Fire patch effect improved
• Each missile debuff effect now has a unique sound effect while in flight.
• Player hit-notification sound replaced with improved clearer ping sound.
• Multiple upgrades added to the sound subsystem to better balance load during heavy firefights. This should help performance and reduce occassional popping audio artifacts on lower end sound systems
• Audio sub system improved to prevent most audio popping artifacts related to the player taking hits or damage.
• Camera shake added when firing missiles
• Fixed incorrectly positioned Kill Streak messages
• Kill Streak award threshold reduced to TL+1 from TL+1.5
• 'Experienced' difficulty is now called 'Normal' and is also the new default difficulty setting ('Recruit' difficulty soon became too easy for most players and they could lose interest). This change is not retro-active. You will need to change this manually if desired.
• Difficulty descriptions changed to reflect these changes
• Tweaks made to initial tutorial system for new players that tie seemlessly into the new help manual.
• Significant improvements made to the 'is a ship outside the station' detection code. This should dramatically reduce the frequency of seeing ships outside and those that still manage it will usually be teleported back inside much more quickly
• Added invulnerability for 3 seconds after spawning at a homebase in friendly space to allow players to escape respawn kills.
• Fixed bug that caused Docking Bay Service Buttons to fire twice when pressed (This caused the Teleport Home button to cost double)
• Camera orbit control disabled after death while Metrics panel is on screen.
• Fixed camera clipping into hull at high FOV when using D3 or D3+
• Improved GUI to allow for energy displays up to 9999 petawatts (Yes, terawatts were not enough in the late game!) This solves missing data in the stats screen.
• Tweaked Barrier shader to be more easily visible when pressed up against a Barrier
• Additional miscellaneous slot added to C3+ Corvette
• Gadget compatibilities tweaked for C3 and C3+ Corvettes
• Fixed exploit that allowed some gadgets to be activated without triggering their cooldowns.
• Fixed issues when unchecking 'Copy Current Upgrades When Swapping Hulls' on the hull panel. Incorrect code in compatibility testing would cause this setting to be ignored and would overwrite upgrades accidentally. You should now be able to swap to a different hull without causing upgrades to be copied over when this checkbox is unticked. Only core upgrades will now be copied over if any core upgrade on the target hull is no longer 100% complete.
• Fixed issue in Station7 Arenas where blocks could move to incorrect positions if they were colliding with the player when an arena event was completed
• New technique for dealing with loot pickup audio, and shield hit audio, to prevent audio popping artifacts when these sound effects are requested in quick succession.
• Fixed various minor issues with Ship AI that could cause them to fail to accept new orders.
• Invert Ship Colors is automatically enabled when choosing 'Yellow Hostiles' from the Customize panel.
• Fixed issue that caused some upgrade names to not fit the hover window while inspecting them
• Rotation limits removed from orbit cam at ship config screen. The camera can now rotate infinitely in any rotation direction.
• Combat Loot Multiplier cockpit display now pulses in size whenever a kill is made to draw new players attention to it.
• Tech Levels for enemy distribution tightened. This should make finding appropriate hostiles a little easier later in each station. As always, if you are unlucky and can't find an appropriate area, return the main menu and the station will regenerate with a new distribution.
• MouseSensitivity setting in Options/Controls now affects the orbit camera seen at Ship Config screen and death screen.
• Sensitivity slider minimum settings clamped to prevent zero.
• HUD elemental shield markers fade to lower transparency with lower elemental shield levels.
• Respawn button is now greyed out on the Metrics Panel (after death) until the system is ready to respawn correctly. Previously caused a camera glitch if pressed earlier than expected.
• FR1+ Frigate mass increased by 2, and it's description changed to reflect this and other recent changes.
• Maximum Field of View increased from 130 to 160.
• Fixed a couple of mesh errors that caused 'virus cubes' to poke out into the highway.
• Upgrade images now appear greyed out in the upgrade panel as soon as some code is discovered. They become full color once unlocked at 100% known.
• Blind gadget mass reduced. Blind no longer causes the target to become instantly hostile when the Blind effect wears off.
• Lightning gun energy requirement increased to 3.8 from 2.45. This makes the lightning gun the least energy efficient weapon in the game by quite a margin to help counter balance it's high damage output.
• Difficulty Rating added to Statistics/Metrics panel for increased pose factor ;)
• Added numerical sensitivity value to tooltips for all Sensitivity sliders in Options/Controls.
• Effectiveness of all elemental shield modifier upgrades increased.
• Effectiveness of omnishield upgrade decreased by 10%
• Orbit cam at Ship Config screen now automatically reorients to match the player's ship orientation.

[ 2015-07-10 13:36:20 CET ] [ Original post ]

It's been one hell of a journey but we are proud to announce that NeonXSZ is now content complete!

New Content:

• New central sphere design for station 7.
• New arena tech used in....
• 4 Massive new arenas with over 100 new combat events. Each arena is larger than all 4 arenas in any previous station.
• 3 New Hulls - 1 Destroyer, 1 Frigate, 1 Corvette - All hull designs are now complete.
• End game scenario and game complete sequence.
• Super late-game - Once the game is complete players can continue to discover secrets to reach level 80.

Miscellaneous update and changes:

• Reworked task rewards for better balance in the late game.
• Various hulls and upgrades are no longer available at shops and must be aquired inside of the arenas.
• Various hulls no longer used by enemies.
• Bug fixed that caused Betty to stack immediate messages.
• Black Hole gadget strength reduced
• Tooltips now appear after a slight delay rather than instantly.
• Various hull stats tweaked for improved balance.
• Cockpit text overflow fixed for late game data.
• Fixed timer bar stretching across the screen during Game Initialization stage 1.
• Railgun shot delay increased from 0.75 to 0.9 seconds.
• Turning on/off the video panel on the cockpit will now reset your ships systems.

Notes:

This patch does not conclude development. Although the game is essentially content complete and in fantastic shape but we'll be working on final polish and balancing over the summer months with an expected 1.0 release later in the year. We'll be asking for specific feedback on various parts of the game during that time. If you would like to participate and offer suggestions, keep an eye on the NeonXSZ Steam discussions page. If anyone has experience with making Wiki's and would like to contribute to making one for NeonXSZ let us know.

Price Increase in July

June is your last chance to grab the game at it's current $20 price tag. Dependant on difficulty settings, NeonXSZ now offers 70 - 200+ hours of fully featured gameplay. On July 1st the price will increase to $25 to signify it's content complete status. We believe at either price the game offers phenomenal value for money.

[ 2015-06-03 10:55:54 CET ] [ Original post ]

Content complete? WTF! Serious bro? Aye. You read that right. It's taken 3.5 years of full time work but the next patch will make NeonXSZ content complete. That doesn't mean that the game is entirely finished, we still have a few months of tweaks and improvements ahead, but the May update adds the final hull models, the final station and the final four challenge arenas. Not only that, you can now complete the game and the new content is packed full of secrets that will allow the truly dedicated to reach level 80. Will you be the first?

So what's in store?

Let's start out by showing off the latest ship hull designs. Here's the C3 - Endurance
The Endurance is a corvette class ship and lives up to it's name with systems designed for durability during continuous fighting. Next up is the FR3 - Ravager
The Ravager is the final frigate class ship. It sports a third weapon turret for increased damage combined with increased speed compared to it's counterparts. Our final new hull is the D2 - Executioner
The new destroyer design replaces the previous D2 model which is now exclusively used on the D3 Reaper.

Station 7 Rework + 4 HUGE new arenas

To wrap up the games content we wanted to do something special. Nobody likes games that go out on a wimper so we did the opposite. A completely new arena system was developed for the final Station that is unlike anything before. The sphere itself was also completely redesigned for this station and the four new arenas housed inside are truly enormous. There's well over one hundred new combat events throughout the new arenas and they're packed full of puzzles and secrets to discover.
Each of the new arenas are bigger than all four arenas in any previous station!

So when can I get my mitts on it?

Soon. Very soon. Everything is done and a release candidate is ready for final testing and balance tuning. That's going to take a good few days because did we mention how bloody enormous these new arenas are? Be Prepared: To set yourself up to play through the final content properly we suggest you prepare a level 60 saved game. Ideally, if you already have the last 7 hulls, sell them. These hulls are no longer available to buy and sell at shops and can only be aquired by completing various challenges and secrets inside the new arenas. For the full experience you should sell those hulls if you've already aquired them.

Thanks

A heart felt thanks to everyone who supported and believed in the game during alpha. We're nearly there now :)

[ 2015-05-26 15:22:47 CET ] [ Original post ]

To celebrate the success of the Descent Underground kickstarter campaign, and the return of 6DoF gaming to the limelight, we'll be running a NeonXSZ promotion starting tomorrow. Congrats to all the guys at Descendent Studios. It was a close one but you scraped over the line and that's all that matters. I'm sure the whole NeonXSZ community wishes you the best of luck bringing the daddy of 6DoF back to life. Unfortunately we've all got a long wait before we can play Descent Underground. For those itching for some 6DoF action right now you'll be hard pressed to find anything better than NeonXSZ. With dozens of ships, 900+ upgrades, and close to 100 hours of content already there's never been a better time to jump on board. The NeonXSZ promotion is scheduled to begin at 10am on April 12th.

[ 2015-04-11 14:31:58 CET ] [ Original post ]

The major March 2015 content patch is now live. Click to see full patch notes. For a more detailed overview of the new patch (with screenshots and gifs) you can see the patch preview announcement HERE

New Content:

• 3 New Hulls - 1 Corvette, 1 Frigate, 1 Missile Fighter
• 4 Totally new arenas in station 6.
• 2 New Gadget Types- Black Hole & Upgrade Anywhere
• 2 New Upgrades Types - Retribution & Code Analyser

Main Features:

Leveling Speeds Reworked : Significantly increased loot drop sizes. Higher uranium drops in the early game.

Squadron Tech Overhaul : Ships form into larger more dangerous sqaudrons with improved team AI.

Target Direction Indicator : A new HUD element around your crosshairs to point towards your current target.

Improved Arena Labels : Arenas are now marked with recommended levels and the loot rewards that they offer.

New Audio Options : The audio menu now allows you to disable various types of voice messages from Betty.

Miscellaneous Updates and Changes

New Targetting HUD help menu topic

Fixed issue that cutoff bottom rows from Key Config panel.

Fixed inconsistency in the version numbering of some upgrades.

Flak Cannon damage reduced by 15% - Spread increased slightly to be less powerful at long range.

Rail Gun damage increased by 20%.

New progress bar add to Game Initialization panel.

New HUD element added. LETHAL, DANGEROUS, and FRIEND added to the targeting HUD while below level 2.

Overdrive now works when combined with all strafe keys.

Fixed incorrect cockpit label when disarmer missiles were installed.

The Energy Storage slot is now automatically selected when changing hulls rather than requesting the player to choose a slot.

Numerous AI improvements including increased use of defensive gadgets by AI ships.

2xMSAA added to the 'Standard' default graphics preset. Can be disabled if desired. This is the penultimate major content patch. The next content patch will be adding additional content to the final station in the game. Six out of the seven stations are now essentially content complete.

[ 2015-03-13 12:20:40 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch 0.9 is just around the corner folks. Bringing with it a bevy of new ships, upgrades, gadgets and environments, the next content patch should be touching down within the next couple of weeks. Here's a preview of what's in store.

Overview:

Each of the recent major patches has focused on adding new content for a single station and patch 0.9 is no exception. This time the bulk of the new content will be found in Station 6 (between levels 50 and 65) but you'll also find plenty of new stuff in the early game too.

3 New Hulls:

The FR2 Malefactor: With improved missile and shield cabilities over the FR1, this beast of a frigate deals out some serious punishment. If you've got your sights set on piloting one of these then keep your eyes on the armories as you approach level 30.
The C2 Assiduous: The corvette class has always been the jack of all trades and this new model offers even more versatility with additional upgrade slots and larger missile storage and regeneration speeds. You should be able to get your hands on one as you level into the high 20's.
The M3 Stalker: The final missile class hull makes it's debut in patch 0.9. The Stalker and it's variant The Bird of Prey are the definitive missile capable warships. You'll run into the Stalker in the fourth station but you'll need to push much deeper to grab a Bird of Prey which you'll be unlikely to loot or buy before level 50.

Four new arenas:

For those that prefer being pushed to their limit, Station 6 now has four brand new combat arenas. After the mayhem found in Station 5, the sixth set of arenas will start to push your flexibility.
Starting out with a swarm arena, things soon turn towards one vs. one combat against much more powerful ships where you'll need to think carefully about your upgrade loadout if you want to survive.

Two new gadgets

Black Hole: This has to be one of our favorite gadgets so far. You'll get to unleash the power of gravity to devastating effect. If you have the skills to take down the first arena in station 6 you should be dragging your enemies to their doom soon after breaking level 50.
You can see a 720p, extended gfycat of the above clip here:HERE Upgrade Anywhere: Tired of having to dock at a garage to install that spangly new upgrade you looted? Worry no more. Upgrade Anywhere will allow you to change your upgrades, gadgets and even your hull whenever you please. It will take up a miscellaneous upgrade slot but with the versatility to swap your loadout at a moments notice you'll find this gadget difficult to ignore. You'll also find it almost essential for completing some of the end game arenas. Don't expect to find this until the high level 50's.

Two new Miscellaneous Upgrades:

Retribution: Once installed, the Retribution upgrade will significantly increase your damage for nine seconds after picking up uranium loot. It's both stackable and overclockable, and unlocks new combat strategies for those that specialize in it's destructive power. You should find the first version of this upgrade around level 35 but you'll probably want to wait for the more powerful higher level versions before it really starts to shine. Code Analyser: This one does what it says on the tin. It refines your ships ability to squeeze every last bit of code out of your loot pickups for faster upgrade completion and leveling speed. Like the Retribution upgrade you'll get the most bang for your buck with this in the late game but you'll likely see it first in the early level 40's.

Squadrons:

The ships in NeonXSZ have always had the ability to form squadrons but in this update we've reworked and improved this system to have a much bigger impact on gameplay. Squadrons are now much more likely to form, especially at the lower levels, and squadron sizes can now grow much bigger. Be careful when you see them as they now work much better as a team and won't take kindly to you trying to pick off their members. They're also much more likely to invade enemy space so keep your eyes peeled for enemy raiding parties.

New Target Direction Indicator:

To help speed up tracking of your target we've added a new indicator around your crosshair that will point you in the direction of your current target.

Reworked leveling speed

In patch 0.9 you'll find that early game leveling speed has been increased significantly. Enemy kills will result in larger loot drops througout the game allowing you to collect new upgrade code much faster. Uranium drop sizes and task rewards have also been increased for the first half of the game. In the late game you'll be getting more code from your loot than you would previously but uranium will start to become more scarse. The overall effects of these changes mean that the loot grind has shifted into the late game rather than being more evenly spread throughout all level ranges. Our goal with this change was to allow you to see more of the game, and unlock more of the cool ships, gadgets and upgrades much sooner, without altering the overall length of the game.

New Arena Labels:

In patch 0.9 all arena entrances are marked with both the heighest Tech Level of enemies inside and the loot you'll be rewarded with if you complete them. This gives players increased confidence when first visiting arenas and a bigger incentive to complete them as soon as possible to get your hands on high level gadgets and loot early.

New Audio Options:

A new panel has been added to the audio menu to allow you to disable various message types said by your ship's computer. She was always meant to be monotone but never monotonous so you can now customize which types of feedback you want to hear.

..and more...

That about covers the major new additions coming in patch 0.9. There's been plenty of other tweaks and changes that we'll list in the patch notes upon release. ____________________________________________________________

When will this patch will be released?

If everything goes smoothly, it's possible that it could be available next week but that would be a bit of a squeeze. We'll have to see how things pan out but it's really close. For daily updates you can check in with the game's Dev Diary HERE.

[ 2015-03-06 19:20:18 CET ] [ Original post ]

It's been less than two weeks since the last major content update and we've already got new stuff to show. Above we have an all new hull for the FR2 - Malefactor. Unlocking at around level 30 this beast packs a serious punch. It looks great from the cockpit too....
Next up we have the new C2 - Assiduous corvette:
Like the FR2 it's foward gun turrets look awesome from the cockpit:
Last up is a new missile class ship the M3 - Stalker:
This next update will also be adding bags of new content for levels 50-60. If you're not already level 50 then get busy.

[ 2015-01-28 16:41:09 CET ] [ Original post ]

The latest major content patch is now live. Click to see full patch notes.

Introduction

The previous two content patches added additional content for levels 20-30, and 30-40 respectively. This patch includes totally new content for levels 40-50 along with various other improvements and rebalancing of core gameplay. Get ready for some carnage. What's new in NeonXSZ build 0.87?

Four New Challenge Arenas (Tech Levels 40-50)

All four of the newest arenas can be found in Station 5 and include the largest arena yet.

Two new hull models

M2 - Predator (Tech Level 26). This model is also used for the M2+. D2 - Executioner (Tech Level 42). This model is also used for the D2+ (and temporarily for the D3 and D3+).

New Task - Claim Arena

Available from Tech Level 1. Found at approximately 10% of friendly docking bays, this task offers extremely high rewards for claiming specific arenas for the various factions. It's well worth taking the time to hunt down these tasks before taking on each new challenge arena.

Two New Gadgets

Warp Pipe: (Tech Level 46) Fires out a 300m long quantum pipe that instantly teleports anything inside towards the player ship. Great for pulling enemies into close range or out of packs, or for sucking up distant loot in an emergency. Neutonic Shielding (Tech Level 50) Temporarily repurposes Overdrive power to significantly reduce incoming damage. NB: Like the new weapons listed below, both of these new gadgets can be installed and used by all enemies. If you find yourself randomly teleporting, blame the enemy using Warp Pipe.

New Weapon - MagnaBeam (Tech Level 45)

It's back! After being a myth since the early days of closed alpha, the MagnaBeam is finally available in game. Sporting by far the highest burst damage available, the MagnaBeam can melt an enemy in seconds. Tip: Best used as a finishing weapon due to it's two second cooldown time.

New Missile - Maverick Missiles (Tech Level 44)

A totally automated self-targeting cluster missile. Four separate warheads with long range, high speed, and the fastest turning circle in the game.

Miscellaneous Updates

• All Hull icons have been updated and replaced
• Energy returned from known loot multiplier increased to 3 from 1.7
• Reblanced the default overclocking on many hulls.
• Reworked gadget compatibility of many hulls.
• Clicking on the difficulty data panel at the main menu now opens the difficulty window.
• Fixed an issue that allowed AI ships to use high level hulls too early in the game.
• Various upgrade descriptions tweaked.
• Improved message system at ship config screen.
• Missile HUD marking system tweaked.
• Fixed issue that caused the lightning gun effects to appear in the wrong place for the first frame.
• Fixed issue where the gadget compatibility window would have it's text incorrectly aligned if the Basic Stats panel was hidden.
• Fixed issue that caused the combat music to stay active after combat if the Energy Coupler upgrade was installed.

Upgrade Rebalancing

Significant changes were made to many upgrades to rebalance and improve the flow and feel of combat.

• Energy Coupler Mass reduced to 2.8 from 3.8
• Energy Recovery Mass reduced to 3 from 4.2
• All 80 Engine upgrades increased in power to allow for more flexible upgrade loadouts.
• Core Energy Regeneration units increased by ~70%
• Core Shield Regeneration units increased in power by ~95%
• Misc Energy Regen Boosters increased by ~40%
• Misc Shield Regen Boosters increased by ~20%
• Impunity Gadget cooldown reduced to 30 seconds from 45 seconds.
• Railgun damage increased by ~25%.
• Laser Cannon damage increased by ~ 25%.
• Flak Cannon damage increased by ~40%

Good luck and as always, enjoy the ride!

[ 2015-01-16 12:54:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

New Hull - The 'M2 Predator'

Hey cyberspace freaks, it's 2015 and what better way to kick off the new year than with a whopper of an update. Finishing touches and last minute tweaks are underway and if everything goes to plan you should be melting virus scum with a bevy of new toys by next weekend.

New Task - Claim Arena

New Weapon - Magna Beam New Gadget - Warp Pipe

New Hull - 'D2 Executioner'

Four New Arenas - Strap yourselves in for some mayhem.

Here's a handy link to all of the above in an imgur album if you want to share. http://imgur.com/a/1V5Ao

[ 2015-01-09 16:44:58 CET ] [ Original post ]