Hello, Sector!

Today we have some exciting new content for you. Introducing: Material-Rich Asteroids! Asteroid Exploration? Whatever you want to call it, it's time to blow up some big rocks.

These asteroids work a bit like wildernesses, but they're in space. Instead of triangulating, you'll be placing charges at weak points in the asteroid surface. At the moment, we have no physical item requirement like the triangulation device, but might add one. The bigger the rock, the larger the area and the more weak points it has.

Consult STATION ASTEROID LIST when at a station, or remotely in your ship with the Station Link artifact, just like STATION PIRATE REFINERIES. Newly-discovered asteroids are surveyed and placed on this publically-available database periodically.

To make it as immersive as possible, we've integrated spacewalking with the ground exploration experience. When exploring, you're still using your same reserves of spacewalk power. In light of this, we've introduced the @spacewalk prompt token, the "spacewalk_pow" GMCP Vitals field, and the CONFIG SPACEWALKALERT config, so you can better keep tabs on your remaining power.

To leave an asteroid area, simply FLY to high elevation, and then FLY again. There is no particular exit room. You might want to get good at this before placing the last charge... you only have 30 seconds to get back to space before things end terribly for you.

When the asteroid explodes, it'll leave behind tetherable asteroids or scoopable gas. The bigger the rock, the better the reward.

Watch out for the locals! Or perhaps the miningdrones that have showed up. Either way, you'll have some space mobs and ground mobs to deal with. Special hats off to one of our new Storytellers, Domin, for creating some terrifying enemies!

What's fresh content without fresh honors? HONORS STATS tracks the number of asteroids you've destroyed, and there are honors at 10, 100, and 1000 thanks to Damiel!

That's all for now! Remember: New Exciting Content = New Exciting Bugs. So please do get those BUG reports in and we'll get any hiccups ironed out!

Happy spacerocking,
Neritus