SLUG: solarpunk-closed-beta-live
SUMMARY: Solarpunk’s closed beta is live on Steam for Kickstarter backers and previous playtesters, adding multiplayer and many fixes.
The Solarpunk closed beta is live on Steam right now for all Kickstarter backers and anyone who joined the singleplayer playtest. This phase adds multiplayer alongside the existing singleplayer mode, bringing the game to a much larger group of testers.
The team says they’ve been busy since the alpha. Death is less punishing now — you only lose 15 percent hunger and thirst instead of a double penalty. There’s a ping system for marking locations, and chests now support sorting and quick stacking. The animal AI was completely rewritten, so creatures react to their environment, move correctly, avoid each other, and find food and water more reliably.
Other changes include an optional simplified flight mode where wind no longer affects your airship. The Transport Drone has been reworked and unlocks earlier — starts with one slot, upgrades later, and only flies when there’s something to pick up and free inventory space. Automatic Drills no longer produce stone as a byproduct; you’ll mine stone at dedicated spots in the world instead. The Automatic Fisher now collects algae for advanced crafting.
Weather is more consistent in multiplayer, and rain collectors fill even if you skip rainy nights by sleeping. The Airship Dock, when powered, gives you a boost to reach distant locations faster. The Recycler was replaced by a Post Box — you send items to the merchant and get tickets for the vending machine. Signs unlock much earlier, gamepad controls are greatly improved, and sheep are now attracted by corn rather than wheat.
To join, Kickstarter backers need to update their Steam playtest build and restart Steam. If you haven’t redeemed your key yet, check your Backerkit email and spam folder. Two known issues exist: the Automatic Food Trough currently generates food from energy (will change to use an inventory in an update), and completing all merchant trades leaves one extra blueprint.
