# Star Atlas May 2025 Patch — Dedicated Servers, Pearce X5, and Paizul’s Arena Gets a Level Up

Published May 14, 2025 by Star Atlas. Original article: https://medium.com/star-atlas/star-atlas-may-2025-patch-dedicated-servers-pearce-x5-and-paizuls-arena-gets-a-level-up-394dd63a996d

![](https://assets.aephia.com/wp-assets/5ed411c892bf56bc8cbaf0af885ef1aebdd24cc466a5a6a4a54a6da9b8b3cefe.jpeg)

Patch day is here! Bringing a visually complete Pearce X5, a Paizul’s Arena level up, the long-desired dedicated servers, and shiploads more! There’s also a bunch of quality-of-life tweaks and bug fixes.

With this update, our monthly patch cycle is taking a short break as we gear up for a major mid-year release featuring gunplay matchmaking and the first version of progression.

## MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS

- **Dedicated servers for gunplay lobbies with 4 or more players**
- **New multiplayer hosting/joining lobby flow**
- **Paizul’s Arena overhaul & Gateway redesign**
- **Pearce X5 in-game model completion**
- **Custom keybind remapping and improved controller support**
- **Co-op Dogfighting**
- **Multiplayer racing improvements**
- **Mining minigame improvements**

## GUNPLAY

![](https://assets.aephia.com/wp-assets/16b39fc8e3a7ec33f9c42765a63f4a906ffb35cd2ff85601e7fc516aa2c72d7c.png)

## Balance Changes

- **Adjusted melee, jettie boost, fall and weapon damage values:** People should die a lot more quickly now!
- **Reduced firearm swap cooldown from .75s to .1s**
- **Fixed accuracy values of sighted weapon in and out of ADS:** Sorry, no more easy sniper no scopes
- **Gunplay Trainer bots no longer spawn with a grenade**

## Weapon Changes

- **Added new shotgun model**
- **Added new optimized weapon models that support weapon skinning**
- **Added Gatling Gun Spin Up and Spin Down delay when firing**
- **Added increased bounciness to grenades**
- **Changed Auto Rifle pickups to be Scout Rifle pickups:** you now spawn with Auto Rifles, so we’re switching old Auto Rifle pickups to be Scout Rifles now
- **Added lag compensation support for melee hit detection**
- **Increased pickup radius on weapon spawners**

## **HUD Changes**

- **Refactored the minimap:** Supports building interiors, added new mini-map icons for vehicle/trains/race gates/zones, added new states alive/dead, damage direction indicators and increased enemy visibility radius in the minimap
- **Added crosshair aim obstructor indicator “X” on player HUD when your bullets hit a wall**
- **Added kills/points in the match HUD**
- **Added team population when in team selection**
- **Added new icon for Gun Game winner**
- **Adjusted Shield, Health, and Jettie Juice HUD bars**
- **Added killstreak callouts in game feed**
- **Added zone capture callouts in game feed**
- **Added crosshair animations and damage numbers for Grenades and Jettie Melee**
- **Added incoming missile indicator on Ship HUD**

## GALIA (OPEN WORLD)

![](https://assets.aephia.com/wp-assets/b9ca070148a575505e2d6bd4005129e8748f4ac2cfd456028d165071f75f627b.jpeg)

- **Added new vehicle modes:** Combat, Tractor Beam, Scanning, and Mining
- **Added new tractor beam tether/vacuum mode**
- **Added different-sized asteroids for a variety of difficulties in the mining minigame**
- **Added “Mock-Credits” that can be earned through gameplay and saved between sessions**
- **Added mineables on planet surfaces**
- **Adjusted vehicles to now use gravity volumes instead of portals**
- **Optimized API logic for getting gravity on an actor**
- **Improved character movement transitions between different gravity directions**

## MAPS AND ENVIRONMENT

![](https://assets.aephia.com/wp-assets/de239ca777536da051c0cd3ea2ceb63b22db5428409055a9406142797e7e189b.png)

## Paizul’s Arena (Arena Map)

- **Updated Paizul’s Arena with new textures and a higher resolution blockout**
- **Updated exterior environment of Paizul’s Arena with atmospheric ship traffic and references to the ONI CSS**
- **Added new lighting**
- **Added destructible pillars**

## Gateway (Arena Map)

- **Updated map layout based on community feedback:** Some players expressed their feelings of the map feeling bigger than it was, so we’re adding more ways to get into the action quicker
- **Updated the map with various optimization improvements**
- **Added new lighting**
- **Fixed various collision issues**

## Uru (Arena Map)

- **Updated the map with additional progress on the white box phase**
- **Added new lighting**
- **Fixed various collision issues**

## Gunplay Trainer Map

- **Added the ability to shoot through railings and other smaller holes**
- **Added the ability to fly/mantle through the wider gaps in the building walls**
- **Adjusted the stairs to be smoother**

## MULTIPLAYER

![](https://assets.aephia.com/wp-assets/8baa2f3444ed1ffb4cb245cbbc34e8b3824a2498b7540c053cebdbf657351386.png)

- **Added new multiplayer lobby support**
- **Added dedicated servers for lobbies that start a gunplay match with 4 or more players**
- **Improved multiplayer support for vehicles:** Replicated vehicle animations, reduced rubber banding, fixed vehicle visibility issues and fixed floating characters

## RACING AND DOGFIGHTING

## Racing

- **Improved user experience for starting a multiplayer race**
- **Added support for reverse direction races (and leaderboards)**
- **Added jump pads to scale heights in tracks**
- **Fixed a variety of issues surrounding vehicle race times on a leaderboard**
- **Added a wrong-way/missed checkpoint HUD indicator**

## Dogfighting

- **Added a CO-OP version of the dogfighting minigame**
- **Added drop pickups after you destroy enemy AI spaceships**
- **Improved enemy AI bots logic**
- **Added new leaderboard**

## VEHICLES

![](https://assets.aephia.com/wp-assets/000ab1d0668c675378e29823c0c7599e3841a2957120a6acc7731c571fd5c118.jpeg)

- **Added the Pearce X5 with final art**
- **Fixed a variety of issues with the Pearce R6**
- **Adjusted the handling of various XXS ships**
- **Improved nametag support for possessed vehicles**
- **Restored the ability to customize equipment groups in vehicle configurator**
- **Added new HUD notification when trying to subwarp with insufficient fuel**

## CHARACTER

- **Improved jettie dashing while hovering**
- **Added the ability to chain movement abilities:** you can now chain a slide after a dash as well as instantly slide when landing if you held a slide input
- **Fixed a character’s knees to point in the direction of motion during a slide**
- **Adjusted camera for all species:** playing a Punaab has never felt this good

## Special Effects

### SFX

- **Added new sounds:** Game mod voice-overs, weapon swaps, Cockpit wind, Ragdoll Impacts, and states of character (alive/dead)

### VFX

- **Changed VFX on vehicle thruster**
- **Improved Jettie VFX and adjusted size/location by species**
- **Added grenade sparks on bounces**
- **Added new waterfall VFX**
- **Decreased lifetime of weapon tracers**

## OPTIMIZATION

- **Refactored galaxy requests system**
- **Upgraded to Unreal Engine 5.5.4**
- **Migrated and refactored all Weapon Effects logic to C++**
- **Improved character/vehicle possession logic**

## MISCELLANEOUS BUGS AND FIXES

- **Fixed an issue where traveling to edges of arenas in photomode would create weapon spawner icon visual artifacts**
- **Fixed scroll box height for accounts list**
- **Fixed a bug where some players would experience the lighting breaking in the configurator screen**
- **Fixed an issue where the HUD leaderboard wouldn’t reset correctly**
- **Fixed an issue where missiles would sometimes not apply damage**
- **Fixed an issue where kills/points/deaths would accrue between matches**
- **Fixed an issue where a character wouldn’t be facing the correct direction on respawn**
- **Fixed an issue where a player couldn’t back out of changing their team**
- **Updated celebration test from “Defeat” to “Match Over”**
- **Fixed an incorrect celebration screen when ONI wins in Surge**
- **Improved network reliability of character weapon drawing/holstering/swapping events**
- **Fixed an issue where players would pop/teleport when loading into a gunplay match**
- **Fixed team tile highlighting logic on the team select screen**
- **Added a way for players to switch teams mid match by pressing F2**
- **Fixed an issue causing some players to t-pose**
- **Added FX to melee hits**
- **Fixed toggled crouch desync on death while crouch**
- **Adjusted camera shakes to stop when a ship/character is destroyed**
- **Fixed an issue where players would sometimes take fall damage on respawn**
- **Added missing seat slots to double benches**
- **Fixed a memory leak where bots wouldn’t get fully destroyed on death**
- **Fixed an issue with max craning height in Photo Mode**
- **Fixed various edge cases around zone indicators disappearing or not displaying the correct state**
- **Fixed vehicle cruise control issues when a player would alt-tab**
- **Fixed an issue where header menu elements didn’t work in the vehicle configurator**
- **Adjusted scroll bars to be easier to use**
- **Fixed an issue where a ship would remain in a leaned orientation when exiting a ship during leans**
- **Added teleport FX that plays during multiplayer respawns**
- **Fixed an issue where grenade FX would not sync correctly in local clients**
- **Adjusted the ship configurator screen to not have the component selection menu automatically open**
- **Fixed an issue where crosshair animations would play immediately after respawn**
- **Fixed an issue where Photo Gallery drop down sorting filters wouldn’t work**

## ABOUT STAR ATLAS

**Star Atlas** is a next-gen gaming metaverse emerging from the confluence of state-of-the-art blockchain technologies, real-time graphics, and multiplayer video games.

Using Unreal Engine 5’s Nanite real-time graphics technology allows for cinematic quality video game visuals. In addition, blockchain technology using[**Solana](http://solana.com/) establishes a largely serverless and secured gameplay experience. Player assets obtained and traded within Star Atlas create an economy that replicates tangible world assets and ownership.

To learn more, join a faction at[**Play.StarAtlas.com](http://play.staratlas.com/?utm_medium=medium&utm_campaign=G23B), get a spaceship in the[**Galactic Marketplace](http://play.staratlas.com/market/?utm_medium=medium&utm_campaign=G23B)*,* and start playing the[**SAGE Labs browser game](http://labs.staratlas.com/?utm_medium=medium&utm_campaign=G23B) to explore, gather, craft and prosper on the galactic frontier.**

Then,[**download the UE5 PC Game](https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/star-atlas-bead34) from the Epic Games Store.

Participate in governance of the[**Star Atlas DAO](https://govern.staratlas.com/?utm_medium=medium&utm_campaign=G23B).** Send your spaceships on a deep space mission by enrolling them in a [ Faction Fleet](https://play.staratlas.com/fleet/?utm_medium=medium&utm_campaign=G23B) and harvest resources with[**Faction Claims](https://play.staratlas.com/claims/?utm_medium=medium&utm_campaign=G23B).**

Join the Star Atlas community on: [Twitter](https://twitter.com/staratlas) | [Discord](https://discord.gg/staratlas) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt-y8Npwje5KDG5MSZ0a9Jw) | [YouTube Clips](https://www.youtube.com/@StarAtlasClips) | [Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/StarAtlas/) |[ Medium](https://medium.com/star-atlas) | [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/star-atlas)