Karma & Traitors update with easier server hosting

Hello everyone!

Barotrauma’s first major update will roll out on Monday, August 26. Last time on the blog we wrote a bit more about the main theme of the update, and here we’ll go briefly through all the new features, fixes and items that will be included.

Easier server hosting

We’re happy to announce that manual port forwarding will no longer be needed after this update, and you will even be able to join servers through your Friends list. This new method has been tested and proven to work even on a phone’s internet connection on a 1.9 square kilometer island off the coast of southwestern Finland.

With this update, the servers use Steam’s networking features to connect to the clients, either performing NAT punchthrough or using Steam’s relay servers if no direct connection can be made. If you have no idea what that means, no worries, now you won’t have to know anything about networking or configuring router settings to be able to host your own server!

PLEASE NOTE: Hosting a server through DedicatedServer.exe will still use the old method of hosting and as such requires manual port forwarding. SteamP2P is only available when hosting a server in-game.

Karma

To accompany your new, easy-to-host servers, you can now enable karma to keep the griefers at bay. Karma is optional and customizable, and you can read more about it in the Karma & Traitors blog.

Improved traitor system

To put that griefing urge to good use, you can now hope you get lucky and can play as a traitor instead (if the traitor mode has been enabled for the server you’re playing on). Like karma, this is optional, and you can read more about it in the Karma & Traitors blog.

PLEASE NOTE: At this point, the traitor system is released as a bare-bones minimum viable product, with limited content. This is due to time constraints: we had to choose between releasing an early version now or holding off on this part of the update altogether. We decided to add the feature framework as soon as we were able to, and new content will be added in following patches and updates. Some examples of features and content that will be implemented later:

• Escape shuttles for successful traitors
• Additional mission types and a much larger library of traitor missions
• Better objective randomization
• Better detection of ‘off-task’ traitor griefing
• Prettier UI with support for images and portraits

Fixed issues

The following frequently reported issues have been fixed for the update (the full list of fixed issues being too long to fit here). You can read more about fixed known issues and newly implemented features in the “coming up in the next patch” list of our Trello.

• Noticeable movement stuttering on the latest patch
• Game crashes on start for some
• Issues with picking up dropped items 
• Items cannot be combined in multiplayer
• Combining items inside a Deconstructor crashes the game
• Game crashes when refreshing server list multiple times before the list finishes loading

New audio compressor

To improve overall audio quality and VoIP specifically, we’re adding a dynamic range compressor, to reduce audio distortion when the game gets a bit too loud, and VoIP attenuation to reduce game audio volume when players are speaking. It’s a work in progress that we’ll be adjusting based on your feedback, and hopefully soon we’ll have great in-game voice comms!

Modular sub part sprite pack

Submarine builders will now have new decorative sprites to work with, such as fins and pipes.

Berilia, the new stock sub

A new sub built for larger crew sizes, this sub showcases some of the new modular sprite parts, and allows for a crew of up to 16 players.

“Berilia is top of the line when it comes to mass and firepower. Its two engines and three ballasts require a copious amount of power to operate, and keeping the machinery in condition is a handful for even a moderately large crew.”

New items

• 6 new weapons to help raise even more hell, or keep order
• 2 new ammo types for coilguns: high explosive and armor piercing
• More creature loot and new varieties of loot
• A new musical instrument

We hope this update will make multiplayer in particular a lot more fun, and accessible to more players. (As always, server hosts be sure to update your servers after the update!) We look forward to hearing what you think about all these additions, so let’s be in touch!