We have made significant changes and improvements to the game thanks to the community's valuable feedback since early access launch, its honestly a lot so you can find everything we've done so far here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Beyondsolargame/comments/1tiiur8/early_access_progress_so_far/

There is a lot more in store and we cant wait to continue building this game together!

Since launching in Early Access, Beyond Solar has received multiple updates focused on gameplay, systems, visuals, performance, and overall polish.

Below is a consolidated list of all improvements and changes so far.

GAMEPLAY

New Weapons System

Introduced a completely revamped movement system designed to deliver the tight, responsive controls of classic shmup games. The new system features: • Acceleration & Deceleration – Smooth ramping for more intentional, impactful movement • Tighter Maneuvers – Reduced floatiness for more precise control • Enabled by Default – New movement is active for all players

Toggle off the new movement system: Controls > Settings > "New Movement" option

Campaign Cinematic Introduction

A cinematic will now play the first time a player enters Campaign after this update, introducing the story of Beyond Solar and setting the tone for the journey ahead.

Thruster Camera Feedback

Dash and forward thrusters now include a subtle camera nudge to provide better tactile feedback during movement.

Survival Mode Resource Saving

Added the ability to save resources like Digicoins, Nuts, Powercells, and Kinetic Core in Survival Mode. This rewards players with more benefits and progression in Survival mode.

Level Completion Bonus

New rewards system for completing levels successfully. Players now receive bonus digicoins calculated as: • 100 base digicoins + 10% of coins earned in the level + total coins earned in the level • Better collection of digicoins during gameplay will award you with more bonus to reward skill play. • Example: Earning 30 coins in a level grants 100 + 3 + 30 = 133 total bonus digicoins

Weapon & Drone Upgrades Rebalanced

Fine-tuned progression systems to enhance replayability and introduce more dynamic difficulty scaling throughout your run

Prologue / Training Mission Added

Added a full prologue training mission that plays when Level 1 is selected for the first time. This is saved per device and will not repeat. Part of our ongoing effort to improve onboarding and make the experience feel tighter and more engaging.

Level 7 & Level 8 Enemy Layout Improvements

Adjusted enemy layouts in Level 7 and Level 8 for better gameplay pacing and flow.

Previously, certain enemy formations could still remain active near the end of the level. These sections have now been refined for a smoother ending experience.

GAMEPLAY BALANCE

Special Weapon: Refill Balance

Rebalanced the special weapon refill rate to be 80% slower, requiring more strategic gameplay and resource management.

Score Multiplier Fix

Fixed inconsistent score multiplier behavior. Score is now calculated consistently across enemy types, and combo thresholds now apply immediately on the kill that reaches them: • 5th kill for x2 multiplier • 10th kill for x3 multiplier • 30th kill for x4 multiplier • 60th kill for x5 multiplier

Meteor and other enemy score payouts now behave correctly with and without an active multiplier.

FEATURES & SYSTEMS

Keybinding Customization

Added a keybindings feature to controls, allowing players to fully remap both controller and keyboard inputs to their preference.

Gameplay Settings Reorganization

Moved several display settings to the new Gameplay Settings category for better organization and categorization.

Gamepad Controls

Gamepad: L3 and R3 for switching Turtle Mode and Assault mode

Shop Temporarily Disabled

The Shop is disabled for now to ensure an improved gameplay experience and focus on core features.

USER INTERFACE / UX

Main Menu Redesign

Redesigned the Main Menu to provide more breathing space and better layout of the user's profile card. Improvements include: • Better visual hierarchy and spacing • Improved asset loading of profile data • Enhanced accessibility

Logging In Popup Redesign

Completely redesigned the logging in popup at the beginning with a new UI that fits the aesthetic of Beyond Solar.

Arsenal Tips Enhancement

Improved Arsenal tips with highlighted key information such as controls for firing and specials. Upgrade costs are now color-coded: • Blue if the upgrade is available for purchase • Red if the upgrade has already been purchased

Weapon Upgrade Tips

Added better tips for weapon upgrades for each upgrade that emphasizes on how to use that upgrade.

Campaign Mode Rebranding

Changed "The Hub" to "Campaign" to make it more prominent that this mode is playable and encourage player engagement.

Revamped Multiplayer Loading Screen

Fresh new design loading screen for faster, smoother matchmaking experiences

Fixed Upgrade UI Display

Resolved issue where coin and resource counts weren't updating correctly after purchases

Upgrade Dependency Indicator Improvement

Improved clarity of the unlocked upgrade dependency indicator, making it easier to understand progression requirements at a glance.

Survival & PvP Icons Update

Updated Survival and PvP icons for improved visual clarity and consistency across the interface.

Survival Icons Update

Changed survival flags to survival icons for improved visual clarity and consistency throughout the UI.

Pause Menu Redesign

Completely redesigned the pause menu for a more intuitive and visually polished experience. The new layout provides better accessibility and clearer navigation options.

Gamepad Glyphs Update

Updated many gamepad glyphs to be more accurate and visually consistent with modern controller standards.

Menu Navigation Improvements

Menu navigation is now fully consistent. Scrolling past the last option will loop back to the top, and navigating upward from the first option will loop to the bottom for smoother browsing.

Localization Fixes & Credits Update

Fixed various localization issues and added credits for voice actors along with their respective roles.

Post-Level Arsenal Upgrades Added

Due to popular demand, players can now upgrade weapons and other unlockables directly after finishing a level whenever they have enough currencies available.

This change allows players to continue progressing without constantly transitioning between multiple loading screens and menus, creating a smoother gameplay flow overall.

As part of this update, the Arsenal upgrade system backend has also been reworked to be more data-driven, allowing us to expand and iterate on upgrades more efficiently in future updates.

This is part of our ongoing effort to overhaul the UI experience, better fit Beyond Solar’s visual theme, and make progression feel faster and more seamless.

In-Game HUD Redesign

We redesigned the in-game HUD layout for currencies and fragments to improve gameplay readability and overall combat visibility. The previous layout occupied more gameplay space than intended during combat encounters. With this update, the HUD has been repositioned and refined to create more breathing room for players while keeping important information accessible at all times. Key Improvements: • Better visibility of incoming enemies and projectiles • Cleaner HUD positioning during high intensity gameplay • Improved screen readability during movement and combat • More minimal and polished visual structure • Better gameplay focus without sacrificing important information This is part of our ongoing effort to improve gameplay clarity and make the combat experience feel smoother and less visually restrictive.

Gameplay Settings Descriptions

Added Clearer Descriptions for Important gameplay setting toggles:

• Movement System Toggle

• Dialogue System Toggle

This helps players better understand gameplay customization options.

DIALOGUE / STORY SYSTEMS

New Toggleable Dialogue System

We've completely reimagined how you experience our story. The new dialogue system displays all story dialogues dynamically during the game intro, bringing you closer to the narrative that is the heart of Beyond Solar.

Key Features: • Enabled by Default – The new system is active when you start playing • Skip Anytime – Press Enter or A to skip the dialogue and jump straight into gameplay • Easy to Switch – Prefer the old style? Go to Settings > Audio > "Alternative Dialogue Style" to toggle back

Line Skipping

Added the ability to skip individual dialogue lines for more control over your story experience.

Manual Game Start

The game no longer starts immediately after dialogues end. Now you can press Enter or A to begin gameplay when you're ready, giving you full control over the pacing.

Typing Speed Optimization

Optimized the text typing speed to be 18% quicker, even when audio is playing. Dialogue now flows more smoothly without feeling rushed.

Dialogue Interval Streamlining

Streamlined dialogue interval duration between each character for smoother conversation flow.

Fragment Lore Dialogue Queueing

When picking up fragments that provide additional lore, they are now queued to the actual story dialogues. Lore fragments will only play after main story dialogues are completed in a mission.

AUDIO

Dynamic Spaceship Audio Feedback

Added subtle spaceship audio including movement, dash, and forward thrust sounds. Audio dynamically reacts based on the ship’s velocity and physics, enhancing immersion. This is part of an ongoing effort to improve gameplay feedback through both visuals and sound, with further balancing planned.

Audio Balancing Improvements

Further balanced audio mixing for better consistency across all sound elements.

Master Mixer Balancing

Rebalanced the audio Master Mixers to keep dialogue as the priority while maintaining proper audio levels across all channels.

Boss Dialogue Improvements

Improved boss dialogues and adjusted voice line volumes to ensure they are clearer and no longer overly loud.

SOCIAL & MULTIPLAYER

Private Match Friend Invites Added

Players can now invite friends directly into private matches through the friends system. This update expands upon the friends system introduced in last week’s update and continues our ongoing effort to add better social features into Beyond Solar. How it works: • Select a friend from your friends list • Press the appropriate input button to send an invite • The invited player receives a proper invite notification • Notifications will also appear when the lobby becomes ready • Once the invite is accepted, both players are taken directly into the fight Private matches are currently unranked and are designed for casual play. Players will still receive currencies that can be used for upgrades and progression. Things to keep in mind: • You cannot invite multiple friends at the same time • Your current invite request must either be cancelled or declined before sending another one • Friend invites can currently only be sent through the Friends Panel on the main menu • We will continue expanding where players can appropriately access the friends list and send invites throughout future updates We will continue polishing the UX flow, invite system, and notifications throughout future updates.

VISUALS

Rockets & Particle Effects Redesign

Completely redesigned rockets and particle smoke effects for a more polished and visually impactful experience.

Boss 3 - Plasma Reaper Sprite Update

Replaced the chaser sprites to fit the look of the game more cohesively.

Special Weapons Visual Improvements

Improved the appearance of Special Weapons to better match Beyond Solar’s current visual direction and art style.

PERFORMANCE & OPTIMIZATION

Asset Loading Refactor

Refactored asset loading to further streamline and optimize the loading pipeline for faster transitions.

Asset Loading Optimization

Implemented many asset loading fixes for significantly faster load times. Assets now load in under a second, down from 2 seconds or more per asset.

Better Scene Loading

Improved loading progress between scenes to prevent levels from failing to load when transitioning from menu to gameplay. This is an ongoing focus area.

Loading & Startup Times

Significantly optimized the entire loading pipeline with multiple improvements: • Asset Optimization – Compressed and streamlined game assets for faster disk I/O and memory usage • Level Streaming – Implemented improved level streaming to reduce load times between transitions • Startup Initialization – Optimized engine startup routines and reduced unnecessary boot-time processes • Memory Management – Enhanced memory allocation strategies for more efficient resource loading

Title Screen Optimization

Streamlined the title screen flow by consolidating multiple screens into a single unified screen with integrated disclaimer. Players now reach the main menu significantly faster, previously taking up to a minute, now near-instant.

Game Size Optimization

Game optimized to be 700MB, down from 2.23GB. This massive reduction in file size makes installation and updates much faster.

LOCALIZATION

Arsenal UI

Extracted and localized the Arsenal UI into: • Chinese (Simplified) • Japanese • Korean

Drone Crafting UI

Extracted and localized the Drone Crafting UI into: • Chinese (Simplified) • Japanese • Korean

Pause Menu Localization

Localized the pause menu into Chinese, Japanese, and Korean to support a wider range of players.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Achievements Navigation Redesign

Redesigned achievements UI navigation to allow free movement between achievements, making browsing more fluid and intuitive.

Achievements Screen Visual Update

Improved contrast on the achievements screen for better readability. This is part of an ongoing effort to refine and enhance the overall UI experience.

Achievement System Overhaul

Completely revamped the achievement system with multiple improvements: • Achievements now trigger at the correct moments during gameplay • New achievement reconciliation: If you met requirements before this update but achievements didn't trigger, simply restart the game and go to the menu to unlock them • All new achievements now properly track and unlock

New Achievements

Added the following new achievements: • All Drone Up - Maximize all drones • Grand Exterminator - Kill 25,000 enemies • Apex Exterminator - Kill 50,000 enemies • Cosmic Exterminator - Kill 100,000 enemies Weapon Achievements added

• Slime Rush

• Shockline

• Void Rift

Added new achievements for unlocking special weapons:

• Event Horizon

• Chrono Collapse

• Echo Constellation

These achievements will automatically unlock for players who already obtained these weapons previously.

BUG FIXES

Dying While Paused Bug Fix

Fixed a critical issue where pressing ESC or going to pause while dying could glitch out the game.

Level Selection Bug Fix

Fixed a level selection bug that occurred when pressing spacebar on level selection instead of the confirm button (Enter or A). This issue would only happen if Survival Mode was played once before.

Drone Visibility on Level End

Fixed an issue where drones were not visible when a level ended. Drones now display correctly at level completion.

Pause During Mission Intros

Fixed a pause-related issue at the start of missions where pressing pause during the opening dialogue or intro sequence could leave the game in a half-paused state. Pause now works correctly during the initial intro flow. Additionally: • Player and drone weapons no longer build shots while paused • Prevents the large delayed burst of bullets on unpause that could cause major lag or crashes

Repair Drone HP Display

Fixed incorrect 0 HP display when repair drone healing prevented death.

Voice-Over & Dialogue Pausing

Fixed an issue preventing players from pausing the game during active voice-overs or dialogue sequences.

Drone Combat Fix

Fixed an issue where drones could continue shooting after the player was destroyed

REWARDS

Early Supporter Rewards

Early supporter rewards will now be automatically gifted and equipped on your next login.

STABILITY

General stability improvements across the game.

Fixed some of the button inputs to be more consistent and inline with modern controls (Mostly SPACE key to ENTER) on PC.

Technical Stability Improvements – Backend optimizations and bug fixes for improved overall performance