What's New in the Starbase Alpha This Month?

Interested in the development of Starbase, the incredibly ambitious upcoming space MMO from Frozenbyte? We're not surprised. With exploration, combat, destructible environments, ship design and more, the game looks to provide a veritable playground for space explorers and their friends. Check out what's new in the game this month with the September update video above.

Players wanting to try their hand at ship design or dive deep into mining will want to pay extra close attention to this update. Firstly, a new material selection tool will give players the freedom to choose from a range of materials when designing their own spaceships and stations, with different materials possessing different properties and stats. Of course, these materials will also affect a ship's value, which factors into the in-game economy—complex stuff here.

Look out for redistributed asteroid fields and all-new fog too, both of which will require a navigator to... well, navigate.

Frozenbyte has also made a series of changes regarding mining. Ore now has a weight (which varies depending on the type of ore), meaning that players won't be able to mindlessly mine any longer. Thankfully, they can also make use of two handy new tools: a mining laser and ore collector. Furthermore, refuelling has been made simpler thanks to automated refuelling stations.

Next up, we've got the Demolition job, now available in the list of in-game 'starting jobs'. Here, players can dismantle an already damaged ship and exchange the salvaged parts for credits.

Last but not least, there's the Audio Signal Device. Want to set an alarm for your ship? Perhaps make it miaow like a cat? (As the video itself suggests.) No worries, with the device, you can make your ship emit a range of loud, quiet or downright bizarre sounds.

That's your lot for this month. Look out for Starbase when it releases on Steam Early Access at some point this year (date TBC).