- Erase Saved Games - working - 30 May 2026
You should now be able to successfully erase old saved games and start a new game with the same name. Sorry for not getting to this sooner, it was totally broken for a while. But it always flew under my radar for some reason...
- very small update - 29 March 2026
This very small update addresses an issue when players pressed the "take all" button. Previously, it would play a sound for each item being taken, which could produce a very loud sound when many items were taken. Now it will only play the sound once, restoring the volume to normal levels.
- Star Explorers Updated to Version 6.0 - 28 March 2026
I am pleased to announce that Version 6.0 is up and running! It is now the default version of Star Explorers. Note to Version 5.0 Players If you are still playing an exiting game in the default 5.0 version, scroll to the bottom to see how to access that. 6.0 will require starting a new game. Sorry about that, but I am a bad programmer and that's what happens some times. New FeaturesSo I have been able to update a lot of the things planned for the 6.0 release into this version. There are three main ones, and a few minor fixes.FruitsI have alien fruits working in this version. I still have to tweak them a bit, but the basic functionality is there. You can watch them jump around and display their unusual behavior, or capture them and see what they taste like. New InventoryThe new inventory system is also implemented. This was a major overhaul of the whole way inventory works, but it is muc…
- Testing Branch Updated - 28 March 2026
It Pains Me...I had to roll back the new color palette. I really liked it, and thought it added a cool retro charm to the game, but the limited palette made it very difficult to navigate the game. I have reverted to the original posterizing shader which supports a much larger set of colors, but I have tweaked it a little bit to make the dithering effect more appealing. Here you can see the subtle dithering with the posterize effect, you may have to click on the image to see the full screen effect. You can still turn this off, as in the previous versions of the game. I was also able to track down quite a few memory leaks and fix an issue with the "fruit" entities (shown above) falling into the terrain. I think I will be putting 6.0 up as the default version this weekend.
- Star Explorers Version 6.0 Ready for Testing! - 25 March 2026
Star Explorers version 6.0 is just about ready! Most of the new features are described in my previous post here: In addition to these new features the game has a new look as well, with a limited color palette and retro looking dither effect. I am still working on getting the game to revert to the original look for those who are not interested in this effect. Once that is done, I will be making 6.0 the default version. New Game RequiredCompared the current default game (version 5.4.4d) there are a ton of major changes, and it will require starting a new game. Once again, as in any previous major updates, I will be providing the older version of the game in the betas section on Steam, so existing players can continue their current games. It's not ideal, but that's what it is. Testing BranchIf you are interested in taking version 6.0 for a spin, you can activate the "testing branch" right…
- Star Explorers Version 6.0 is Almost Ready! - 13 March 2026
UPDATE: Star Explorers Version 6.0 is up and running! Here is the new announcement:
- Testing Branch Updated to Version 5.5.25c - 3 October 2025
Update - 5.5.25c Inventory Slots BugThe new inventory system strikes again! (Again!) This time we (and by me I am referring to play-testers who have suffered the consequences) have encountered a bug where inventory slots could get disabled when picking up certain items. It turns out that if you entered a cave or some other structure, and left some of the ore or crystals there, and left the cave. If you came back to that cave and picked up those items, they would not function properly and just mess up your inventory. I believe this issue is resolved. At least in this particular situation, it no longer messes up inventory slots.It's possible there is some other situation that might cause a similar problem, so please let me know if you find the issue again. If your inventory got messed up, let me know. I can repair the file if you'd like.
- Testing Branch Updated to Version 5.5.25a - 27 September 2025
Update - 5.5.25b Ancient Oxygenator BugThe new inventory system strikes again! This time I realized too late that I had updated the way the ancient oxygenator works, but failed to update all the relevant files to reflect that. Previously, when you had the ancient oxygenator, you could use it to refill your suits oxygen any time you wanted. But in this old system, you could still run out of oxygen if you did not manually refill it with the oxygenator. The new systems makes more sense. You use the ancient oxygenator once, and from then on, you will no longer lose oxygen. It is constantly replenishing your suit's oxygen, and you don't have to worry about it any more. It also removes the oxygenator from your inventory, and adds a small icon to the bottom right corner of the inventory panel, so you know you have it.So far so good!The problem is that after adding this update, I forgot to writ…
- Testing Branch Updated to Version 5.5.25a - 25 September 2025
Update - 5.5.25a Radiation Damage BugI recently updated the whole inventory system, which included a different way of calculating damage based on your space suit's stats. I also updated how environmental things like acid, mercury and ammonia effect your suit and health, to match how the suit stats work. However I forgot to update the way radiation damage was determined, and it did not match the way the space suit stats worked, so it was basically multiplying the amount of damage you would take based on how much your suit was supposed to be protecting you! So a player who had 100% radiation protection would actually be taking 100x more damage from radiation. (Note: this is not hypothetical ... this player exists and was not happy) Sorry! So it should be working as designed now.
- Testing Branch Updated to Version 5.5.25 - 11 September 2025
Update - 5.5.25 Tractor BeamI was able to fix the problem where the tractor beam would show the wrong object name if you clicked on more than one at a time. Also, to hopefully make the process of collecting ore a bit more streamlined, you can now right click on space ore while in combat mode. Treasure CachesWhen updating the whole inventory system, I forgot to include the variable that activates treasure caches on planets. So for the previous builds, no treasure caches will have appeared. Now the game will once again produce treasure caches on some planets. There is one setback from this update. Planets which have been visited before will have to be re-generated. It should happen automatically when you land on them. Once they are newly regenerated they should then behave and reload as normal.
- Testing Branch Updated to Version 5.5.24 - 10 September 2025
Update - 5.5.24 Sonic CannonThe sonic cannon should be working (again). I think I have this issue resolved now. I've been learning a lot about how to code more correctly with all the more recent games I've been making, and it's helping me spot some of the older, obvious mistakes in the Star Explorers code base. I am hoping this will help me eventually make Star Explorers more stableSector Cube IssueA weird bug was making the target sector cubes in the final mission show up as solid blocks, instead of vector outlines. I believe this is resolved. It was not any kind of game breaking bug, but it should be more consistent now.
- Testing Branch Updated to Version 5.5.22 (5.5.23) - 16 August 2025
Update - 5.5.23I forgot to include a file in the 5.5.22 upload so it was not running. Somehow it worked on my computer, but I have figured it out and now I have a better way to test my games after major changes like this. Sorry for any inconvenience! Tractor BeamSpace mining just got a little more interesting. The basic functionality is the same, but now you can interact with space debris and use a kind of tractor beam to pull it into your ship's storage container. Music UnfreezeI also made it so the game music no longer freezes when the game is paused.
- Testing Branch Updated to Version 5.5.21 - 15 August 2025
Dropping ItemsYou can now set the amount of the items you are dropping. It's just to be consistent with the other item moving mechanics. Maybe you will find it useful. Menu SoundsThe inventory menus and scanning functions now make nifty, computerized sound effects. Alien BattlesAlso, I thought I would just re-share this little movie of a battle between aliens, because it's awesome! It's not a new feature or anything, it's been around for a while, but it was not really working properly. I managed to fix the shooting function for bipedal aliens, allowing these battles to take place in a more consistent manner. Sometimes you would land on a planet, and they would not react the right way, either not shooting or even not moving sometimes. Now they should behave correctly. They will also shoot at you if they are hostile :)
- Testing Branch Updated to Version 5.5.2 - 13 August 2025
I have resumed work on the latest version of Star Explorers. Thanks to the success of Cyclopean: The Great Abyss, I have been able to set aside the next two weeks to focus on Star Explorers.I have abandoned the Pre-release version 6.0 that I was working on because it acquired too many bugs to deal with. Now I have taken up the default version and have been re-applying the changes in a more slow and methodical manner. I scrapped the new database and mapping system for now. It proved too complex and was somehow not able to remain compatible with the main code base ... all my fault. New FeaturesSo I have been able to update a lot of the things planned for the 6.0 release into this version. There are three main ones, and a few minor fixes.FruitsI have alien fruits working in this version. I still have to tweak them a bit, but the basic functionality is there. You can watch them jump around…
- Star Explorers Updated to Version 5.4.4d - 10 August 2025
Ozone --> OxygenI was testing out the game to see if achievements were still working. So I only had two unfinished, so I tried the "Die by suffocation and acid simultaneously" achievement. I noticed that the planet with liquid sulphuric acid had an ozone atmosphere, so I saved the game, restarted in normal mode, and tested it out. But then I saw that my oxygen meter was not running out, and I left the planet only to see that the atmosphere was not ozone, but oxygen! So some ozone planets were getting re-loaded as oxygen for some reason. I seem to remember this being pointed out some time ago, and I was sure I fixed it ... but I guess I was wrong.Well I was able to fix it, test the achievement and succeed to die in acid, while simultaneously suffocating to death. Yay! It's really great news, but it does not explain why some players are not seeing the achievements pop up. Maybe something…
- Star Explorers Updated to Version 5.4.4c - 15 July 2025
Weapon Swapping BugI added a small variable that allows players to disable/enable the mouse scroll wheel. A player was experiencing trouble when playing with a trackpad, and my hope is that this will allow the game to be played without causing said trouble. If you are not having trouble with the weapons swapping at random, there is nothing for you in this update, move along...How to Update SettingsRight now you can only change the setting in the configuration file. Before you can edit the file, you need to update it by opening the game, going to Options > Video Options change any setting, then click "Restart." Now the new thing will be added to the configuration file. Go to "C:\\Users\\-Your_Username-\\AppData\\Local\\Star_Explorers" Open the "options_1.cfg" file. The last line will have the following text: enable/disable scroll wheel,1 Change the 1 to -1 (NOT ZERO) Save the file and re…
- Testing Branch Updated to Version 6.0 Alpha 0.2.0 - 23 January 2025
I think I used this version number already ... oh well. The game has not really been changed much. However, when you click on the mothership, the words "Target Sector" have been changed to "Mothership Sector" because that is the sector being shown. Also, in the last build I was testing the wormhole device, and left it set to "on" by accident. It is now turned "off" so you in new games you will not start with the wormhole device installed. The wormhole device allows you to interact with your ship's inventory no matter where you are. This is an expensive item that normally only appears later in the game.
- Testing Branch Updated to Version 6.0 Alpha 0.2.0 - 22 July 2024
Somehow I had linked the fruit creation script to both trees and plants, where it was only optimized to work with trees. The result was way too many fruits spawning on a planet and frame-rate going down to 4 fps. Tests have confirmed that a more reasonable number of fruits should now spawn, even on worlds where there were too many in the previous build. Enjoy!
- Testing Branch Updated to 0.1.9 - 19 July 2024
Your inventory panel will now show all the accessories you have acquired in the game. These are not new items, but things that already existed in the game. The Star Chart Upgrade, the Backpack and Storage Expansions, and several other items, when used, would take an effect on your game, but in some cases there was no visual indication that you had used the item. Rather, the item would simply disappear and the effect would take place from that point forward. Now you have a simple, visual representation of which effects you have acquired. In the image above, you can see icons for the Star Char Upgrade, as well as the Storage Wormhole. Currently this feature simply shows the icons. It does not let you click on them or learn what they do, once they have been used. I am thinking of adding this functionality though. I am also considering the idea of removing, or replacing these accessories. R…
- Testing Branch Updated to 0.1.8 - 18 July 2024
Fruits are now edible. You can pick them up, and they will appear in your inventory. You can also sell them (though I have not actually tested this yet). Eating them may have an effect, and it may not. The effect may be good, or it may be bad. Fruit is a gamble... The color and shapes of fruit should provide a consistent effect, so once you have eaten a round, orange fruit, you will know what all round, orange fruits do. Most fruit should be static, behaving like fruit on earth. Fruit that interacts with you or other creatures should be rare. Static fruits will have the same effects as their moving counterparts, as long as the color and shape are the same.
