During Early Access, a lot of new content is being created and modified. Due to the interconnected open-world gameplay, major updates will not be save compatible with previous releases. Expect “named” releases to be incompatible (the release name is visible in the upper right corner near the build number, e.g., “Arcturus 101500”, “Betelgeuse 10730”, etc.)
But don’t worry! Your saves aren’t deleted and you can always switch back to a previous build to continue playing your game.
How to switch builds:
- In your Steam Library, right-click “Starcom: Unknown Space” and choose properties
- Choose “Betas” from the tab at the top
- Select the branch you want to switch to. There is no password required, leave it blank. You should see Steam start downloading the update. If you don’t see any branches or the correct one seems to be missing, try restarting the Steam client.
Beta Builds
To avoid frequently replacing new players’ games with (possibly buggy) fresh updates, new named builds will not go to the main “default” branch to start. Instead, they will be posted as their own betas, which you can opt-in to at any time by following the above steps. I’ll post an announcement when a new opt-in beta is available.
When there’s a sufficient number of changes to warrant updating the default build, I’ll announce it at least a week advance. When it gets posted as the default build, anyone who is currently in the middle of the game may see the “Continue” button disabled and their saves will be missing, but again, these are still accessible with the above steps.