- Development Update August 29th, 2026 - 29 August 2026
Hello Navigators!I'm back with another update for Stellar Navigator. This month the latest build including Workshop support, multiple asteroid belts, and trade lanes has been released to closed beta! And if you have sent in a request for access to the closed beta, you will be able to pull it down from Steam and begin playing with the latest new features.So what has been worked on this month?Beyond bug fixes and more battles with version control (it's now behaving properly), all of the latest features and fixes have been merged into the main branch for testing in closed beta. In addition, design is well underway on the next minor update and a new feature voted on by the community is getting ready with a design of its own to be included in the next update. For those following the changes on the public road map, you may have seen the introduction of Faction Maker. This will be coming onlin…
- Development Update July 19th, 2026 - 19 July 2026
Hello Navigators!It's been a minute since the last update and how time flies! I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer or I suppose winter for others. Well in either case this month's report has a few exciting things to share. Firstly, thank you to those who came to see Stellar Navigator at Game Con Canada this year, it was nice to meet new people as well as some familiar faces!Major Update 2 - Closed BetaThe next major update is right around the corner, bringing with it Steam Workshop support, multiple asteroid belts with some extra treats, and custom trade lanes on the galaxy map. Let's take a closer look.Steam Workshop SupportWith Major Update 2, the initial implementation of Workshop support will become available. This will allow for the uploading of galaxies to the Workshop and the downloading of other galaxies from the Workshop as well. Once subscribed to a galaxy, there will…
- Development Update June 14th, 2026 - 15 June 2026
Hello Navigators!This has been quite the busy month, and well a-half. Polish on the galaxy workshop upload, digging in to system connections, and preparing for Game Con Canada! Yep, Stellar Navigator will be attending Game Con Canada again this year, so if you happen to be in the neighborhood swing by and say hello! Progress UpdateBeyond addressing several issues coming out of the open beta, polish work has continued on the Galaxy Workshop upload and subscription model. When this update reaches closed beta, which will be very soon, Navigators will be able to share their galaxies!Share Your WorkHere’s how it will work: you will select a galaxy as you normally would through the galaxy selector, then upload it to the Workshop. You can update your Workshop galaxy as you make changes, as often as you like. Other users may then subscribe to your galaxy and, from the very same galaxy selection…
- Developer Update - May 8, 2026 - 9 May 2026
Hello Navigators!Another month has gone by and things have be bumpin' in the testing realm as many quality of life and interaction issues have been raised. While we all know that Stellar Navigator is in Early Access which means there will be issues from time to time, it is important to not let them get out of hand. Moreover, care must be taken with changes because they are being made underneath all of your hard work on galaxies and solar systems. Therefore, it is important that any new navigators that pick up the live version and may not yet be a part of the closed and open betas have a good experience.Over the last couple weeks, significant focus has been on the export and import features in conjunction with the customizable galaxy points to ensure a smooth experience with these tools. Therefore, many issues that have been raised are now resolved and the list of high severity issues is…
- Minor Update Two in Public Beta - 21 April 2026
Hello Navigators!I'm pleased to announce that Minor Update Two is now in the public beta branch!This new update brings with it community requested features and fixes including:No More Mandatory Info Fields! (Hiding unused planet properties in view mode.)Binary star systems.Customizing galaxy map system points.As always Back up your data before using the beta version.Until next time!
- Developer Update – April 6th, 2026 - 7 April 2026
Hello, Navigators!This month has been a busy one for development. Tackling both fixes for the Betabranch (Version 0.8.4 Beta 156) and developing the latest iteration of features for Stellar Navigator's Major Update 2. Just as a reminder, Major Update 2 will include, Steam Workshop support to share Galaxies with other Navigators, Linking Star Systems on the galaxy map, and allowing for the creation of additional asteroid belts within a star system.Beta BranchThe frequency of issues have reduce to a point where a public beta is on the near horizon. The plan is to have this out to the larger audience (still in beta, not live) is April 21st. Feel free to opt in when it becomes available and try out the new features, and as always a huge shout out to those who jump in and test the latest builds of Stellar Navigator! Their efforts help make the most stable experience for everyone.Major Update…
- Developer Update – March 8th, 2026 - 9 March 2026
Minor Update 2 StatusMinor update 2 has been in the closed beta branch for some time now being put through its paces, and there have been several show stopper issues that have seen partial or complete resolution. Once the High issues have been resolved and the frequency of reports of High issues diminishes, it will be put into the open beta branch for everyone to try, test, and enjoy. Minor Update 2 will follow the same path as previous updates in which it will see a period of testing and user feedback through the closed beta and open beta before moving into the live build.As always, I want to thank those who have taken the time to review and provide feedback or have submitted issue reports in the closed beta phase.Workshop IntegrationWorkshop integration is under way with the "Research" part of R&D out of the way. This feature is now moving into design and implementation. While there a…
- Developer Update – February 5th - 6 February 2026
Hello Navigators, another month out of the way, a new build out to live, and work presses on.New closed beta branch is imminentOver the last month work has been done not only on prepping things for deploying the open beta branch to live but also on the development of Minor Update 2. Significant progress has been made on the features outlined in the last update (Customization of galaxy points, Binary+ star systems), and I’m happy to say that both features are working end to end albeit with a few minor non-blocking issues. This means Minor Update 2 (mU2) is getting closer to being available for testers!What remains before making the push to the test group is the data conversion. As (mU2) introduces several changes to data structures in each star system, it is important that the work each of you have put into your galaxies is preserved as much as possible during the transition. Since the b…
- Major Update One! - 25 January 2026
This major update brings with it several new features including multiple galaxies! New Feature: Import / Export of Galaxies Import / Export of Star Systems Import / Export bulk star systems from the galaxy map A "Navigate to" button within the star system catalog to focus and select planets Changes: The galaxy map now shows the name of the galaxy. Fixes: Fixed the overlap of orbital lines so they now always appear behind the planetary objects. Fixed the atmosphere artifacting over planets. This included a modification to the atmosphere shader which now also allows multiple light sources to cause the atmosphere to "flare up". Overall quality of the atmospheres should also be improved. Fixed the point light on secondary stars which prevented the light source from following the new star. Now planetary objects with stars on either side will receive light correctly.
- Developer Update - January 5th, 2026 - 6 January 2026
Happy full revolution around the sun everyone! I hope everyone had a wonderful time over the holidays and was able to get some rest. While time was taken on my part over the holidays to relax, I kept working on Stellar Navigator throughout December and have I a few things to share! Open Beta headed to liveWith the last of the critical issues out of the way and no new ones having been raised. The current beta will be moving to the live build this month. Please back up any content you currently have before the update which will happen on January 24th. Next minor update… updateCurrent work has been going into the next update to Stellar Navigator which is Minor Update Two. This update includes features and updates entirely from the ideas of the community. While investigation work and future major update designs are being tackled in the background, this is an update that focuses on what the…
- Developer Update - December 3rd, 2025 - 4 December 2025
Hello, Navigators!It has been quite a year, with the release into early access, GameCon Canada, and several patches delivering roadmap items, fixes, and new features meaningful to the community. Thank you all for being a part of this journey thus far and thank you for all the support, ideas, participation, and sharing that each of you has contributed this year. I am truly thankful for everyone one in this wonderful space loving community. While this is the last update for this year, know this. We are not done yet.Before this year is out, everyone will have access to opt into the public beta which includes:Multiple galaxy support.Import/Export of Galaxies.Import/Export of Star Systems (user request).Improved atmospheres (more on this later).Several fixes (thank you to all the testers in the closed beta).A new irradiated planet designed by one of our community Planetologists with more to…
- Developer Update - November 3rd, 2025 - 4 November 2025
Hello Navigators!I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween and got plenty of sweets and not too many jump scares!I certainly didn’t get through it, candy in hand without a few jump scares. New bugs appearing in the beta branch and the security vulnerability (which had been resolved). A few scares to be sure 😜.For the rest of October, it has really been a month of bug fixing and polish. I want to thank all who signed up for closed beta testing, and for all the reports you submitted to ensure this major release is ready to go live. As it stands the creation of multiple galaxies is functional, users may also import and export their galaxies, and the conversion script has been updated to accommodate the latest changes. There were also a couple bugs that had been introduced when the last major GUI refactor was done which have been resolved. While there is still much left to do for this updat…
- Developer Update - October 4th, 2025 - 4 October 2025
Hello Navigators! This month has been filled with progress toward delivering new planet types designed by our community Planetologists, some bug fixes, and of course the long awaited multiple galaxy support!Closed Beta AccessAs always, I want to make sure that every build going to the live branch is of the highest quality to ensure that navigators like you have the best experience possible during early access. That being said, the latest major update of Stellar Navigator will become available first within the closed beta within the next couple days.While some people enjoy living on the furthest fringes of space, exploring the unknown, others like to stay a little closer to home in more charted space - which is quite all right. Therefore, you may opt into this beta by signing up here: https://www.stellar-navigator.com/beta-sign-upThis will give you access to the latest builds (which ofte…
- Development Update - September 2nd 2025 - 3 September 2025
I hope all of you have been enjoying the latest update to Stellar Navigator, and I want to thank everyone who submitted feedback and reported issues during the public beta of v0.4.3. It really made the release process go much smoother, and I look forward to future open beta tests of up coming versions. Your support and contributions mean a lot and make a big difference! So keep an eye out for the next open beta branch.Major Update OneWith the minor update out of the way bringing with it a few new features and bug fixes, work has since been started on the first Major Update of Stellar Navigator. This one will come with more planet types, user feedback, and of course the ability to create multiple galaxies. This will lay the ground work for the next major update which will include Steam Workshop support. Remember to follow along with the public road map to see any mid-month status changes…
- Stellar Navigator v0.4.3 - 31 August 2025
Stellar Navigator v0.4.3Annotations for star systemsThis allows for custom annotations that can be placed anywhere in the star system (“Solar Navigator”) view. Entirely revamped marker (“Pin”) system which should be far easier to use and includes additional features. Custom pins – You can create your own pin images and place them in the data files for Stellar Navigator to use in your star systems.,Favoriting pins for quick access.,Adding text beneath pins to give them more life.,A conversion script to bring all your existing markers in your solar systems over to the new pin system. Ideally this will provide a seamless method to update your existing work into the new system; however, this is not always a guarantee such are data conversions., User Feedback!Clouds can now be toggled on and off.,Additional data points for orbital period.,Ability to turn the scanner visual on and off in the…
- Development Update - August 4th 2025 - 4 August 2025
Hello everyone! A lot of effort this month of course went into preparing the first minor release for all of you to try out in the public beta branch. If you haven’t jumped into the public beta branch to try out the new feature, here is what is included: Annotations for star systems.This allows for custom annotations that can be placed anywhere in the star system (“Solar Navigator”) view.Entirely revamped marker (“Pin”) system which should be far easier to use and includes additional features.Custom pins – You can create your own pin images and place them in the data files for Stellar Navigator to use in your star systems.Favoriting pins for quick access.Adding text beneath pins to give them more life.A conversion script to bring all your existing markers in your solar systems over to the new pin system. Ideally this will provide a seamless method to update your existing work into the ne…
- Minor Update One in Public Beta - 20 July 2025
Hello Everyone, A bit of an early and extra update on development this month because I wanted to share a few things that are going on! Minor update one available through opting inDevelopment work has been concluded on the first minor update to Stellar Navigator. However, before it goes live on the Public branch it will be running in the Public Beta Branch ("publicbeta"). How this branch differs from branch that requires sign up is that anyone can get access to it by going into their Steam settings and opting into the beta. Moreover, this branch will include more stable release candidates for the live application. Ideally, it will be a much better experience, but this ensures that everyone has the chance to test it out if they wish and provide their feedback and raise any bugs. Think of it as a larger test group where you get to try all the new shiny things. ⚠️ As always, if you do choos…
- Development Update - July 3rd 2025 - 4 July 2025
Hello Navigators!I'm back from Game Con Canada and busy working away on the next update! For those where unable to attend, I hope you were busy having your own wonderful summer. I can't thank ASUS enough for providing a booth and hardware to show off Stellar Navigator. It was a fantastic event with a lot of people who came by to check things out and to provide their support. I will definitely be looking out for more events and opportunities to meet with the community.Minor Release OneWhile work continues on the first post launch release of Stellar Navigator, the beta branch is alive and running the absolute latest builds that come out of the oven. Be sure to head on over to https://www.stellar-navigator.com/beta-sign-upto sign up for access to the beta branch!
- Development Update - June 2nd 2025 - 4 June 2025
Hello Navigators! This month has been a busy one getting ready for Game Con Canada. Nevertheless, work has continued for the first minor release for Stellar Navigator. I’m excited to get this one out to everyone as the new marker system is really shaping up and quite enjoyable to use, and of course the quality-of-life improvement, orbital period and cloud toggle are to come! Beta Branch Despite the very real possibility of issues cropping up in Stellar Navigator as it makes its way to full release, I am keen to do everything feasible to ensure that the galaxies that all of you create throughout Early Access will stay with you right up to the full launch and beyond. However, and as always, it is important for each of you to back up your data prior to any update to Stellar Navigator. This can be done by finding the Stellar Navigator folder in My Documents/My Games and making a backup copy…
- Development Update - May 1st 2025 - 2 May 2025
New marker system in development The existing marker system was created very early on in the development of Stellar Navigator, and as such is showing its age compared to the more recent features that were developed later in the project's life cycle. That being the case, it was one of the first features I wanted to rework post launch of early access. Let's take a closer look at its progress: Fluid interaction It was very important for this system to be easy and quick to use. Marking up the system shouldn't be a difficult task after you have already spent a long time setting up each planet. Therefore, rather than it starting with a window, it starts with a new right click menu that is accessible at any time while in solar navigator. Introducing Annotations In addition to the easier access to markers and favorited markers, there will be Annotations. These are a different kind of marker tha…
