Author - Jerry Paxton

Today, Coffee Stain Studios have announced the latest update for their award-winning factory building game Satisfactory, which is now available to play in the Experimental branch. Update 1.1 Experimental is the first major update since Satisfactory’s triumphant launch out of Early Access in September last year, and is jam-packed with fresh changes and additions.

The Experimental branch allows players to opt in to share their feedback on new features before they are added into the main game, shaping Satisfactory’s development based on community response. Update 1.1 Experimental introduces highly-requested features that Pioneers across the galaxy can get their hands on, including official controller support, and an overhaul to Photo Mode making it easier than ever to capture those blissful and not-so-blissful moments on MASSAGE-2(A-B)b. Additionally, players can experience the new Hypertube Junction, more customisation options for logistics and architecture, and a mountain of quality of life changes.

Key game features of Update 1.1 include:

• Controller support has landed in Satisfactory. Pioneers can now experience the untamed alien terrain with the smooth control of Xbox Wireless Controller and DualSense™ controllers, making the journey to completing Project Assembly open to an even wider audience of gamers than before.

• Photo Mode is being completely overhauled, with much more customisation and fine-tuning available for the most creative Pioneers. This includes a new UI and settings, new photo features like filters, effects, poses, colour adjustments, and a new Dolly Mode for more advanced filmmaking players.

• Updated Hypertube structures allow for more versatile travel across the alien world. Prepare to create full network systems for travelling across the vast planet with the Hypertube Junction allowing for three-way connections, and the Hypertube Branch which splits existing Hypertube networks to new Hypertube networks.

• More realistic trains come with more realistic dangers. Trains will now derail entirely if manually driven to the end of a railway. To address this minor safety concern, Pioneers can now build Buffer Stops to place at the end of railway paths and at train stations, preventing accidental derailments by less observant conductors.

• New logistical options with brand new building structures like the Conveyor Wall Hole that can be placed on any wall, the Conveyor Throughput Monitor allowing players to measure the number of parts travelling through a belt per minute, and the Priority Merger which allows players to prioritise which of its active inputs should output first.

• Quality-of-life improvements including Straight and Curved build modes for pipes, a no fuel requirement option in Advanced Game Settings, and the Nudge build mode now works vertically and no longer has a maximum distance limit. Meanwhile, tidy Pioneers can now free their new home of Crash Sites using the dismantle option, restoring the planet to its natural state…ish.

Satisfactory is a first-person open-world factory-building game first released in 2019, selling over six million copies during its first five years of development. Last September, the game had its highly anticipated launch out of Early Access to critical acclaim. Satisfactory offers a mix of creativity, strategy, and problem-solving as players become Pioneers, exploring the world, encountering alien wildlife, and pushing the limits of industrial automation.

Satisfactory Update 1.1 Experimental is available to play now on PC through Steam and Epic Games Store.