After some consideration from developers DANKIE, Guardians of Orion is getting a new wave of updates.

The news came about last week on the official Discord but today Praz spilled the beans to the masses via a Steam post detailing the exciting future GOO is being handed. Version 2.1 is inbound this summer and it’s a doozy, check out the patch notes:

( QUALITY OF LIFE – ENGINE/BACKEND )
01 – Compression/Some Backend Optimizations

( QUALITY OF LIFE – SOCIAL HUB )
01 – Add Energy Enhanced Sprint (use ribbon particles from sabres for trails).
02 – Add Bindable Keys for STARTGAMEMENU and TERMINALMENU.
03 – Allow: Jumping + Blinks.

( QUALITY OF LIFE – USER INTERFACE )
01 – Add minimal Hover-Scaling for visual ambience.
02 – Use Player Steam Name (instead of PlayFab account name).
03 – Adjust MULTIPLAYER MENU for Offline Games (Return to Main Menu — not Orbit)
04 – Remove visual filters on Main Menu & Loading Screens (return to original saturation)
05 – Integrate any basic animations/adjustmnets/QoL on existing UI/Menus/HUD.
06 – Update existing IntroGame Times (MapScene+DropPod) via Pacing + added region info
07 – Add energy pylon particle effect to ion currency for which is buried under thick grass

( QUALITY OF LIFE – ANIMATIONS )
01 – Update EXPRESSIONS – Allow with movement (upper torso blending) + voice command attach.
02 – Add Player/Dinosaur Transitionals (instead of immediate-stops)

( QUALITY OF LIFE – GAMEPLAY )
01 – Elite Drone to now collect ION.
02 – A.I NavMesh/Follow Line (instead of HUD Markers) for NPC/QUESTS.
03 – Integrate Hitboxes (Headshot register)
04 – Add KeyboardInput functionality for Offline Profile Account Creation.
05 – Integrate a few new loading screens with prepared artwork.
06 – Integrate (minimal movement) flight controls for Player DropPod’s.
07 – Integrate missing loadout HUD aspects for PvP game modes.
08 – Smoothing Jetpack Ability Movement Translation (noticable especially if activated when crouched)
09 – Remove Crouch and have BLINK be on input Press (not hold).
10 – Remove muzzle flashes from scoped weapons (silenced SMG, for example)

( QUALITY OF LIFE – ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE )
01 – Fix (enforce) proper spawn cycles through logic and additional spawner placements (North, Outback)
02 – Increase aggro towards perched/vertical players (on rocks – check global transform/seconds not moved X distance) with vertical-focused enemies (IE bones, dila, rhams).
03 – For other A.I types against vertical players/perched players, have them find a new target if they cant reach/haven’t contacted a player yet.

( QUALITY OF LIFE – CAMERAS )
01 – Replace GAME thirdperson CAMERA with SOCIAL thirdperson CAMERA.
02 – Pull back the TopDownCamera for a default wide view.

( QUALITY OF LIFE – SERVERS/PROFILES)
01. Improved Server Support + Region Support
02. Discover offline Profile Account Creation crash-bug (likely first use)

As you can see the game is getting some much-needed fixes but it doesn’t stop there. Praz also revealed that 2.2 (known as the super secretive content update) will bring around ‘fan favorite content’ (hoverboards, mechs) with further updates planned heralding new regions, a new guardian and a much-needed PvE option for Wargames and Mayhem. A release date hasn’t been set but we have been given a window of this summer.

Guardians of Orion began its life all the way back in 2015 after a failed Kickstarter project that led to multiple attempts (not all of them were met with failure) to raise money but ultimately the game was labeled to no longer receive updates and a sequel was announced instead. I reviewed the game back in February giving it a solid 75 and highly recommend you check it out, especially since it costs the incredibly cheap price of $1.

Guardians of Orion is available on Steam.