 There's been some important updates to Starship Simulator since we last reported on it on this channel. In this video we're going to go through what's changed, what's just arrived in the game and what is next for this exciting and ambitious indie space simulator. It's been a solid five months since we last looked at the in development indie titles Starship Simulator and there's recently been some significant additions to the project. If you're unfamiliar with Starship Simulator you'll find our original introduction video linked on screen right now but in essence the title is aiming to ultimately simulate all the systems and functions of a fully crewed Star Trek styled science fiction starship capable of faster than light travel all set in a one to one scale procedurally generated galaxy. The game can be played in single or cooperative multiplayer but unlike games like Elite Dangerous or Star Citizen etc where everyone has their own ship Starship Simulator will house everyone playing on just one ship but allow full and detailed access to multiple roles within that ship. Those roles will encompass the familiar bridge crew positions such as captain helmsman or sensors etc but as the name implies it also simulates the entirety of the rest of the huge ship in the same one to one scale meaning players could for example choose to spend their entire game in engineering or the science labs for example far from the direct starship control roles of the bridge. Since we last touched on Starship Simulator the game has moved on to the latest version of the Unreal Engine 5 and has started to take advantage of some of the graphical and run time benefits that new engine brings. Some new features have been added to the multiplayer systems adding the kind of features you'd expect to see such as allowing hosts to set passwords on their servers see who's in the game kick players if necessary or even send them to the brig. So crucially all the engineering systems on board are now synced across multiplayer meaning multiplayer sessions can take advantage of the latest significant gameplay changing update to the game what the developers fleet yard studios are calling the cold and dark update. When starting a new session of the game players can now choose in single player or multiplayer to start the game with the ship completely powered off in its cold and dark state where the ship must be correctly powered on in order to make it in any way functional. Remember first and foremost Starship Simulator is aiming to become a simulation of a starship and all its internal systems right down to the nuts and bolts starting the sim cold and dark means you can't just flip a switch and off you fly. The ship must be correctly powered up that means starting the fusion reactor up before you can even turn on the consoles and lights on the bridge let alone firing up the warp drive. There's extensive patch notes published to the game's official discord server but to serve as an example cold and dark has added new user interface controls for systems such as fuel cryo storage tanks cryo pumps coolers valves the reactor output distributor high voltage battery distributors and battery power aggregators and the list goes on. The cold and dark update means that when you go through the ship's startup sequence you will see for example the helium and deuterium fuel tanks filling up ready for the fuel to be injected into the reaction chamber before the fully simulated reactor is even fired up. Not only must the fuel be flowing but batteries and their associated power input and distribution systems have to be charged and multiple power distribution systems must be set correctly right across the ship in order for the ship to function. If you go through the new excellent cold and dark tutorial the end result of all this is that you really start to get to see where this project is heading and the inherent complexity it's aiming for. If a player chooses to specialise for example as the chief engineer on board the ship then there will be systems on board the vessel that they will have intimate knowledge of and should the ship be damaged in combat or because of an accident etc then they will need to wield that knowledge of the ship's systems in order to diagnose a fault and repair it before the vessel can carry on with its primary mission. The long term plan that the developers have for the game is to eventually replicate this level of detail into every corner and roll on the ship. And speaking of the ship directly it was always the plan that the starter vessel the Magellan class would be somewhat redesigned before the game officially launches and that process is now well underway. Developer Dan Govier has begun sharing work in progress images of the reimagined Magellan exterior that is now being built. It's early days but rather than the previously familiar place holder saucer shape the ship now sports a somewhat more streamlined appearance and the all important systems that will house the warp field generators can be seen enclosed in a huge ring that encircles the ship's vertical axis. The developers now publish and update a roadmap on their discord server so you can see where the project is at and what's coming next and right now fleet yard studios are actively working toward their next major milestone on that roadmap, a full trailer and kickstarter campaign to help fund the project going forward. Once that is complete the plan is for the full game to enter early access late in 2024 but before then you can try the Starship Simulator demo via Steam right now. Starship Simulator whilst hugely ambitious is a very exciting prospect for the space simulator community in general and suffice to say we're continuing to watch the development of the game very closely here. You'll find Starship Simulator on Steam and the Fleet Yards official discord server linked in the description below this video. If you've enjoyed this video be sure to like and subscribe as that stuff really helps the channel. You can also become a patron and directly support our work here at the burp pit. That's it for now we very much look forward to seeing you next time.