Update 8 Brings Satisfactory to Unreal Engine 5 and Adds Slew of New Features
Satisfactory, an early access hybrid of a simulation game and economic strategy, has received a huge Update 8. It ported the title to Unreal Engine 5, and introduced a ton of anticipated changes. A new trailer presents them.
Although Satisfactory debuted in early access in March 2019, we still don't know when the release of this combination of a simulation game and economic strategy will take place. Nevertheless, yesterday Coffee Stain Studios took a big step towards it, releasing an Update 8. It is available on Steam as well as on Epic Games Store.
Unreal Engine 5
First and foremost, this update moves the game to Unreal Engine 5. The developers assure that this change enabled them to rework many systems (physics, controls, etc.), which is expected to positively affect numerous aspects of Satisfactory - now and in the future. In addition, technologies such as Lumen have been implemented (improving lighting and reflections) or Nanite (a new way of rendering meshes, providing better graphics quality).
Update 8 - other changes
As for the "usual" changes, those who played the "experimental version" of Satisfactory - made available in mid-June 2023 - won't experience too many of them, as most of them were implemented at some stage of development. However, if until yesterday you played version 0.7.1.1 of the game, be prepared for a slight shock.
For the list of changes is very long - you can check it out here. Among the more interesting novelties it is worth mentioning:
- addition of community-requested features related to blueprints - especially about the possibility of their disassembly and blocking holograms, in order to assess their location from all sides;
- the introduction of more dangerous variants of hostile creatures (Cliff Hog and Nuclear Hog);
- improving the placement of various creatures, items, etc. in different areas of the world;
- implementation of settings that will enable the players to customize gameplay to their own preferences. (including by disabling construction costs or eliminating the Stinger from gameplay);
- a number of visual fixes.
These and other changes are discussed in the material below:
Nice form on Steam
So far, Update 8 has not contributed to a significant increase in activity numbers achieved by Satisfactory on Steam. Nevertheless, noted some rise - yesterday it was 16,070 thousand at its best, while in the previous days it was 10,945, 13,446 and 12,573 people, respectively. While overall these results are quite good, one can expect them to be even better over the weekend - when more players find time to check out the new update.
The game's reviews on Steam, on the other hand, may not be much better. They are invariably "overwhelmingly positive." To put it more precisely, of the more than 142,000 reviews, the favorable ones account for as much as 97%.
Promotion on Steam
Perhaps Update 8 will make Satisfactory also interest new players. The opportunity to do so is all the better, as for the second time since the May's price increase the game has been discounted by 45% on Steam (for the moment on Epic Games Store there is no discount). Until November 20 at 10:00 a.m. PST, it can be purchased $15..
