Known as patch 1.13, the update was announced on the official Steam page for the game, where developer Hello Games detailed many of the changes it brings about. The new feature that is likely to please most of the game’s remaining players is the change to space battles, which will now have a random element in their size, meaning you will occasionally stumble across small skirmishes between a handful of ships, and now and again, much larger, much grander battles between rival fleets.
Other fixes include preventing a player character from becoming unrealistically small, and altering autosaving near death so that it no longer sends the player into an infinite death loop. Also, missing underwater ruins should now be added, and Steam controllers should now be able to trigger a warp, just like other controllers.
There are a few ongoing audio issues with the game, and Hello Games paid special attention to those with this patch, fixing up problems involving sounds not playing when they should, as well as adding new sounds for ladder climbing, calling freighters, and using communication stations.
Although it’s less likely than the others to draw praise for Hello Games — if that’s even possible given the fan response that followed the game’s release — the removal of arrow keys for quick-menu navigation should still be welcomed by some. While this might sound like a reduction in functionality, it’s designed to make it possible for left-handed gamers to be able to move while accessing the menu.
Patch 1.13 continues to update the game following the big Foundation update.
