THE LONG JOURNEY HOME – IASA RESPONDS TO MISSION CRITICISM

[76561198168269118]

NEW ‘STORY MODE’ ALLOWS EASIER GALACTIC EXPLORATION. ALL THE WONDERS, LESS OF THE FRUSTRATION. PLUS: NEW IMPROVEMENTS FOR ALL ASTRONAUTS.

Following the disappearance of the Daedalus-7 on May 30th, IASA scientists have been working around the clock to make The Long Journey Home as comfortable for our missing crew as possible. Reviewers and civilian observers of the ship’s troubled launch have identified a number of issues that we are pleased to announce have now been resolved with the addition of Project “Story Mode”. Needless to say, the existing modes remain as before, offering the same advanced challenge, aside from a few Quality of Life improvements designed to make for a smoother, more enjoyable mission.

Story Mode is aimed primarily at new astronauts and those without the time to fully embrace the chaos and challenge of the universe, who prefer exploration over survival, or who would prefer an easier introduction to space travel before facing the challenge of Adventure (formerly Explorer) Mode, and Rogue Mode, where failure means death, intended for the most experienced astronauts. We still believe that these are the ideal way to explore the universe, and encourage astronauts to step up to the challenge as soon as they feel comfortable. However, this is your decision.

Key Story Mode changes include a far friendlier galaxy, where resources are more valuable and effective, and some of the tougher challenges early pioneers have experienced are toned down. More planets feature Earth-like conditions, with less extreme conditions on both high and low gravity worlds. The more dangerous galactic weather hazards have also been toned down.

The Lander is now far tougher, with greatly reduced fuel consumption. Additional hull-plating also gives it better protection against impact and environmental damage, while our new patented coolant drill system cuts down dramatically on damage caused while drilling and scooping resources. Both ship and Lander have also been upgraded to reduce ongoing wear and tear damage. Achieving orbit is now easier too, with our new navigation system offering a larger orbit radius to lock into.

In addition to being more abundant, resources are also now worth more on the market and more effective for repairing and refuelling the ship. Any aliens out there will also likely be more generous with their offers. With these changes, the Daedalus-7 crew will now be freer to explore and savour the galaxy during their Long Journey Home, instead of having to focus constantly on survival.

This is of course only if the Daedalus crew chooses to use these changes. If so, they will certainly still face a challenge as they cross the galaxy, but one that is easier to get into. Adventure Mode remains our standard recommended level, encouraging survival through learning and repeated missions, with Rogue Mode on hand for the ultimate survival challenge. The choice is up to you.

IASA’s Quality of Life team has, however, not been sitting idly by, with additional tweaks and features that all Daedalus crews can enjoy. In particular, devices now require additional confirmation in the form of a timed selection before being destroyed. The engineer responsible for making them easy to destroy has been sacked. We’ve also added a new laser targeting module to the Daedalus-7 weapon systems to improve combat efficiency. Finally, ship systems now support native full-screen mode in addition to the previous Borderless Windowed default, for greater system control.

The rest of the team continues working on improvements, while painstakingly reading every report submitted by civilian liaisons on our forums and official Discord comms channel

{LINK REMOVED}https://discord.me/the_long_journey_home

as well as livestreams and official reviews. Let us know your problems, large and small, so that we can continue making the flight of the Daedalus-7 the greatest space adventure in history. Needless to say, this release also fixes many small issues too.

Should these changes fix your issues with previous missions, please do consider giving us a ‘Thumbs Up’ review on Steam. Experimental missions like these, not to mention the IASA team, desperately need your support. The more Thumbs Up we get, the greater the mission’s visibility. The more civilian buy-in we get, the more we’ll be able to keep working on helping our people get Home.

Please visit us on Facebook

{LINK REMOVED}https://www.facebook.com/notes/the-long-journey-home/iasa-responds-to-mission-criticism-with-new-story-mode/1033286360134872/

Thank you for your support

Chiaki Nakano

Daedalus-7 Mission Co-Ordinator

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CHANGELOG IN BRIEF

New Mode: Story Mode

Reduced planetary difficulty conditions
More valuable resources across the galaxy
Resources are more effective for repairing/refuelling the ship
Reduced pirate presence
Reduced radiation damage on ship hull near suns, pulsars and black holes
Increased Lander strength
Increased Lander agility
Reduced impact/environmental/drilling damage in the Lander
Reduced fuel consumption when piloting the Lander
Less time needed to escape hostile Encounters
Aliens offer more credits and more generous deals in trade
Easier orbiting around planets – larger autopilot zone

General Changes

Explorer mode renamed “Adventure Mode”
Daedalus-7 weapons systems upgraded with targeting lasers
Devices now require timed button press to uninstall/destroy
Native Fullscreen mode
Daedalus-7 engine no longer jammed by objects, only aliens with raised weapons
Reduced flyover damage in event of failed orbit
No more Criminals in starting sector
Many bug-fixes and scripting tweaks

[Psychic]

Great!
I will try playing again (after 4 tries only reached one gate) in this new mode and after getting confortable with this difficulty, I will try Adventure mode.

Thanks a lot for how quickly you managed to improve the game for so many players having trouble at first. I have something to play on the weekend now :)

P.S.: When is the update being released?

[76561198168269118]

@Psychic

we really, really hope to provide all pilots with an update later this day at least in the next days. Please give us some testing time. We will keep you updated.

[Psychic]

@Ravenoc_Daedalic

Ok, makes sense.

I really think people will actually see the fun and original stuff the game has to offer with this new mode without so much initial frustration.
Good job juys.

[Mystical Pizza]

It was a good decision to implement this mode. In my opinion people like the game itself but tbh it really is damn frustrating in the first hours. Furthermore most of the people aren't oldschool gamers and they don't know the times where this difficulty was a common thing. I mean who remembers "Baldurs Gate" today? I spent literally hours to get perfect character values by just hitting one button over and over again (it was just a random assignment of values)

[Merkava]

Why cant I just choose only slower ship digradation? Now we have new "no challange" mod and we have "I slap your face for every your action. ♥♥♥♥ you" mod. And I dont even mention third mod. Good job. I guess...

Random is not a challange you know.

[BlackDeathGER]

when does the update hit?

[Psychic]

Originally posted by BlackDeathGER:

when does the update hit?

Originally posted by Ravenoc_Daedalic:

@Psychic

we really, really hope to provide all pilots with an update later this day at least in the next days. Please give us some testing time. We will keep you updated.

[Psychic]

Originally posted by Diane Pie:

Why cant I just choose only slower ship digradation? Now we have new "no challange" mod and we have "I slap your face for every your action. ♥♥♥♥ you" mod.

Yeah, I hope they manage to not make Story mode too easy.
If they somewhat decrease the difficulty on the ship degradation and the rest of the features only slightly, then it should be okay.

[macmanos2002]

woow, that's more like it.
we begin in story mode (i already played once and liked the Lander more i guess)
and if we become better spacemen we move on to the next!
way to go guys!

[ProbablyRichard]

"Why cant I just choose only slower ship digradation?"

One thing at a time. We don't want to ruin Adventure Mode for players who like it as it is, hence starting with the bigger issue of players who just can't get into the game yet. There's still plenty of scope for tweaking things in the other modes, like we reduced the flyover damage etc.

[warhawk_rider]

I think perhaps, the new mode should more aptly be called "Wussy-Mode," as it more accurately describes changes..."

I'm joking! I'm joking! Really, don't get your panties underwear all in a knot! I understand some people don't like to "get gud" at games, and good for them.

However, it would be cool to encourage players to enhance their skills and use the more difficult modes, such as allowing additional ship designs, colors, decals, etc., when using more difficult modes.

[macmanos2002]

Originally posted by warhawk_rider:

I think perhaps, the new mode should more aptly be called "Wussy-Mode," as it more accurately describes changes..."

I'm joking! I'm joking! Really, don't get your panties underwear all in a knot! I understand some people don't like to "get gud" at games, and good for them.

However, it would be cool to encourage players to enhance their skills and use the more difficult modes, such as allowing additional ship designs, colors, decals, etc., when using more difficult modes.

we better start low and walk our way up, "veteran astronaut"

[warhawk_rider]

Hey man, I didn't say I was any good at the game...I was just having some fun. :)

[ProbablyRichard]

Honestly, even if you play in Story Mode and bomb straight back to Earth, you've still got many playthroughs ahead of you to see everything. It's not like finishing the Journey was ever intended to be the end of the experience.

[Medwedius Victorius]

I think the chance of equipment breakdown should also be reduced with Story Mode.
Personally, my opinion is the most annoying thing in the game. All the rest is less significant.
It seems that you are flying on an old trough, and not on a new ship.
By the way the game is excellent. Reminded me of the novels of old science fiction writers. In particular, my favorite Strugatsky.
Special thanks for the release on GOG. And for the price on it. =)
But I still could not reach the end. Especially when I had 2 systems left. And there is not a single station there, except the gate on the other side, and the next system is radiation. Ship