- Carrier is ready to make the jump commander - 13 June 2026
Dear pilot,Since the last update, there have been well over 300 changes. Learn more about what we've accomplished, our plans for the next development cycle, and how to enlist for upcoming Steam Playtests in our latest update video:Until next time, good hunting pilot,Fernando Z
- Hunternet Question? - 18 December 2025
Dear pilot,In this update I want to share our recent progress, and then ask you an important question about the future of the game.Since the last update, there have been well over 200 individual changes, with the majority focused on the player-flyable carriers. I hope you will watch this update video until the end so you will have the most context to understand the question I’m bringing to you today. For a detailed change list, checkout the steam forums.Thanks again for your continued interest. I'd love to read your thoughts, you can leave a comment here, on YouTube, email us at [email protected] or drop by our discord or the steam forums.Until next time, good hunting pilots and commanders,Fernando Z
- Zweihänder Reveal, Asteroid Mining Complete, and Carrier Travel Begins - 24 August 2025
Dear pilot,I’m excited to share the first look at the H-1500 Zweihänder, the Earth Alliance Navy’s new heavy strike fighter. Expertly modeled by our 3D artist BoxWeld, the Zweihänder builds on the distinctive design language established with its sister ship, the L-1550 Rapier. True to its namesake, the Zweihänder delivers devastating firepower with a spinal-mounted Gauss cannon, making it a fearsome presence on the battlefield. Huge thanks to BoxWeld for his outstanding work, and to all of you for helping to make it possible. View the H-1500 Zweihänder Screenshot GalleryIn our last update, I discussed the new aerodynamic flight model and how pleased I was with the results. At the time, I didn’t have any good footage to share, but I’ve since uploaded a video that showcases the new atmospheric combat on our official YouTube channel. I think you’ll enjoy seeing it in action.Since the last…
- Rapier Reveal, Aerodynamics, and Asteroid Mining - 12 May 2025
Dear pilot, I have a lot to share with you today! First, I’m thrilled to unveil the first public screenshots of the Earth Alliance’s inaugural vessel: the L-1550 Rapier. This light fighter offers an exciting glimpse into the Earth Alliance’s distinctive design language and unique ship-building philosophy. BoxWeld has done a phenomenal job crafting an identity for the Earth Alliance that feels fresh while perfectly complementing the existing United Colony designs within the Hunternet universe. Visit the L-1550 Rapier screenshot gallery https://indiegogo-media-prod-cld-res.cloudinary.com/image/upload/v1747087483/vd5tsnhuou3uuwfutisv.png In our last update, I discussed the new aerodynamic flight model and how pleased I was with the results. At the time, I didn’t have any good footage to share, but I’ve since uploaded a video that showcases the new atmospheric combat on our official YouTube…
- Death of a Space Carrier - 3 January 2025
Dear backer, It's time for some Hunternet fireworks to celebrate the new year! Enjoy these clips from our weekly playtests showing various stages of the carrier development process: Death of a Space Carrier https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqE8p3qPu4I The final video of the Hunternet Academy series has also gone live since my last update: Introduction to the Hunternet Academy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuExCt5e_4w I've also added a proper aerodynamic flight model to Hunternet. You can test it in Jupiter's atmosphere at the Harvester Station test location or inside any Alien Nebula. It's an interesting mix of space and air combat that has been a joy to play test. This aerodynamics update also led to a complete rewrite of the SRM and LRM flight models and tracking. Missiles gained proper aerodynamic support and tracking is more consistent for both attackers and defenders while retaini…
- Attention, commander on deck! - 13 November 2024
Attention, commander on deck! Dear pilot, We've been hard at work on carriers. For the first time you are now able to command and pilot Hunternet's carriers. These 1.5km behemoths and their 61 PDCs are your home away from home and together with their carrier born fighters and bombers they form the back bone of your factions war machine. The new Hunternet Academy series also includes videos dedicated to commanding carriers and fighting them. I'm including a carrier battle from one of our many carrier focused play tests. This video features the new CVL-22 Artemis class light carrier by BoxWeld with pyrotechnics and thruster VFX by IvanGrozniy. They both continue to do an amazing job! My main focus now will be getting asteroid mining ready for play testing. Mining will get us one step closer to the mine, build, and conquer loop that will be at the heart of the persistent universe. Thanks a…
- Initiate jump protocol and travel in Hunternet's test universe - 6 September 2023
Accelerate to 27,000 km/h in Hunternet's dangerously efficient jump gate network Dear pilot, I'm happy to announce that multi-location support is now live and with it the technical foundation needed to build Hunternet's new open-world is complete. I've also implemented our first long-distance travel mechanic, the jump gate network. BoxWeld and IvanGrozniy created the new beautiful jump gate art and helped refine this mechanic through their valuable feedback and ideas. Our community of brave test pilots has also risked their virtual lives to certify the jump gate network as ready for service. In this video, I demonstrate travel between test locations via the new jump gate network. I also discuss plans for additional travel mechanics and a future update that will add static server meshing to Hunternet. Multi-location Update - Demo https://youtu.be/IK33GnOKd5A Sneak peek of new territories…
- Mask your sensor signature in the new test universe - 6 April 2023
Persistence successfully implemented, tested, and deployed in Hunternet Dear pilot, Since the major networking update, I've been hard at work on the second technical update needed to support a single shared persistent universe. I'm happy to share that persistence is now live and you can try it out for yourself in the new test universe. But be careful, as promised, there are no safe zones and your ship's safety is your responsibility even while you are offline. The next technical update will be multi-location support. Once that is finished I'll be switching my focus back to gameplay and building the first open-world gameplay loops that these technical updates enable. While my focus was on making sure persistence was fast, reliable, flexible, and extensible, it has been quite fun to test even at this stage. Not knowing what to expect when I reconnect to a universe that lives on without me…
- One step closer to a shared universe! - 19 November 2022
One step closer to a shared universe! Dear pilot, Hunternet's single shared persistent universe requires three major technical upgrades. Last Sunday, we successfully tested one of them. Improved networking with support for massive moving objects is now live. Next up are battlefield and war economy persistence and unique location instances with fast travel. Network Update - Demo https://youtu.be/oooyOhSoSK8 While I have been focused on these core updates, other parts of the game continue to progress. Our sound designer, Antonio Coronato has begun work on the complete overhaul of Hunterent's sound design. His new alert and alarm sounds are already live. I'm working with him on cockpit ambiance next and you'll be able to preview them as they evolve. Ivan's new explosion effects have made each ship destroyed especially satisfying. His asteroid test materials are a big improvement and his wo…
- Get your hard hat on Salvage comes to Hunternet! - 4 July 2022
Get your hard hat on Salvage comes to Hunternet! Dear pilot, One of the most exciting recent additions to Hunternet Starfighter is our salvage gameplay loop. With the addition of physical wreckages for destroyed starfighters now comes the ability to salvage them for resources. In my many years of playing space and flight sims, I've been a combat focused pilot. Yet, thanks to the empahsis on core piloting skills and the significant room for impact, I have really enjoyed flying dedicated salvage builds. Skillfully executing cargo runs or mid flight resupplies has been really satisfying. This has me pumped for future salvage additions and asteroid mining. To help demonstrate the new salvage mechanics, I recorded two new videos. These videos also showcase the iterative development process and the important role that our pilots play during our weekly playtest. Part 1: How to Salvage https://…
- Hey listen! First public reveal of Saturn region's soundscape! - 6 April 2022
Dear pilot, I'm excited to share with you the first public reveal of a track from the Saturn Suite an original score composed by William Dodson for the region around Saturn in the Hunternet Universe. Saturn Suite Soundscape - Composed by William Dodson I'm very happy with how the suite turned out and I hope you enjoyed this preview as much as I did. I used some test footage I recorded with the first iteration of our spectator cam and set it to the Saturn soundscape. Will's track immediately elevated this simple video to another level. Will was a pleasure to work with and Ivan from our Startup Team deserves a lot of credit. He helped explain our vision for Hunternet and helped to direct Will, and it was a pleasure listening to them geek out on music. Since my last email, our community held a Hunternet Big Guns Tournament. Some of our most talented pilots participated and the resulting vi…
- Hunternet Starfighter, Tobii eye & head tracking launch! - 31 January 2022
Salute, pilot! Tobii eye and head tracking is now available in Hunternet Starfighter! After completing VR support Phase 1 I decided it was the perfect time to tackle Tobii support. Tobii support phase 1 is now complete and I am very happy with how it turned out! Big thanks to Tobii for providing me with the hardware that made this possible. Head tracking feels smooth and natural and eye tracking adds something completely new to the sim. Eye tracking is an excellent fit for Hunternet's emphasis on using your Mark 1 eyeball to maintain situational awareness and for our intense close quarters combat. It works so well that I hope VR headsets with integrated eye tracking support become the standard in the near future. Witness what this great bit a kit has to offer for us virtual space pilots: If you'd like to fly with us I highly recommend joining the official Discord community. Good hunting…
- Hunternet Starfighter, now with VR support! - 11 January 2022
Greetings, pilot! I'm happy to announce that Hunternet Starfighter now has VR support! Last month I began work on VR support for the first time with a Quest 2 I purchased for the holidays. I wasn't sure what to expect as I was not a VR player before this. Simply put, Hunternet VR is amazing! It is now my preferred way to fly by far. I even had to add an in-game clock to the ship's HUD just to avoid losing track of time while in VR. The sense of scale and of inhabiting an actual spaceship has blown me away! If you are a VR pilot, I highly recommend checking out Hunternet Starfighter in VR. I'm really happy I took the time to support VR and I look forward to hearing about your experience in Hunternet VR. Phase 1 of VR is now complete and you can read the changes since the last devlog below. Phase 2 (the final VR phase) will come later when I begin work on a walkable 3D hangar. In the mean…
- Patch Notes - 12/08/21 11:43 AM - 10 December 2021
Greetings, pilot o7 From now onward I plan to cross-post all patch notes from our discord.gg/hunternet to Steam. These are the changes from our latest weekly play test (held every Sunday). Also included are changes from two minor updates published after the play test. I try to release an update once a week when possible so we have something new to test every Sunday. If you'd like to participate I highly recommend joining the official Discord community. Good hunting pilot, Fernando Z - Improved performance of Black Corridor - Baked Alt Speed & Ammo Factor - Carrier SRS turrets now have reload logic, creating openings - Fix: Scope reticle could become permanently hidden - Fix: Disconnecting and entering main menu could mess up lighting - Very long reload times for SRS and LRM - Cleaner reload logic, will increase reload times further if a problem - Auto fixed reticle now visible while an…
- Hunternet Starfighter - Crowdfunding Demo Offline - 25 November 2021
As planned, now that our crowdfunding campaign has come to an end, I've taken down the free demo. Thanks to everyone who made our crowdfunding campaign such a success. If you missed out on the original campaign you can still back us but you'll have to get your updates from itch.io until we officially launch into Steam Early Access as per Steam's rules on crowdfunding. Development is back to being the primary focus. I recently finished porting the game to the High Definition Render Pipeline which made the existing graphics look nicer and opens up a lot of room for additional graphical improvements. I'm currently working on some significant performance improvements as I get ready to start working on VR support. Some of the new art funded by our crowdfunding campaign will also be making it into the game soon. If you are interested in taking part in Hunternet's development, you can back and…
- Hunternet Starfighter - Free to Fly time extended until November 8th! - 8 October 2021
In order to give our players more time to secure their Steam crowdfunding keys I have extended our campaign and the free Demo here on Steam by 30 days. You now have until November 8th to fly the latest version of Hunternet Starfighter completely free here on Steam. Our crowdfunding campaign has already reached over 100% of our goal and I am switching from a promotion focus back to a development focus starting next week. New updates will be released weekly and the demo will always be the latest version. Take your starfighter up for a spin, and come fly with us between the stars! Pilot starfighters with simulated cockpits and advanced hardware control as you fight to avoid blackout in close-quarter maneuvering fights of man over machine. Take on your friends or form a squadron to take on one of our capital ships and their AI escorts. Try racing and see if you can make it into the exclusiv…
- Tournament Starts on the hour! - 3 October 2021
You and all your mates are invited to a major tournament today (October 3) at 1 PM New York time (7 PM Berlin Time). I will be hosting a series of Bounty Hunts (FFA) and Death Races, with teaming allowed. The pilots with the highest combined scores across all rounds will be rewarded prizes. Bring as many allies as you can to support your aces so that they can come out on top and claim victory. All rounds are drop-in and drop-out even mid-round. So even if you can't stay for the entire event you can still support any friends that are doing well to increase their chances of success. We want as many pilots and streams as possible during this event. Let's make some noise and have some fun and celebrate the end of our crowdfunding campaign. Invite your friends for some epic fun while the free demo is still live on Steam! Our official Discord Our official Twitch Crowdfunding Campaign Crowdfun…
- Hunternet Starfighter - Free to Fly until October 8th! - 21 September 2021
It's never been easier to try Hunternet Starfighter. From now until the end of our crowdfunding campaign you can try the latest version of Hunternet for free here on Steam. Download it today and take one of our starfighters out for a spin alone or with your friends. Pilot starfighters with simulated cockpits and advanced hardware control as you fight to avoid blackout in close-quarter maneuvering fights of man over machine. Take on your friends or form a squadron to take on one of our capital ships and their AI escorts. Try racing and see if you can make it into the exclusive 3-minute club on the official Discord or try your luck in a guns hot race. You have until October 8th. Good hunting pilot! Crowdfunding Campaign Crowdfunding FAQ Find out more on our beautiful new website: HUNTERNET.GG
- Hunternet Starfighter - Now on Indiegogo - 14 September 2021
We recently launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. It is off to a great start and is already at 62% funded. This campaign will be funding improved art and audio and allow me to focus on the remaining core technical foundation so that our Early Access release is as smooth as possible. It's a great way to support us and to start flying with us right now. Thanks to everyone who has already backed us or has helped to spread the word. o7 Crowdfunding Campaign Alternate: Back with PayPal on our website Crowdfunding FAQ Find out more on our beautiful new website: HUNTERNET.GG Try the demo for free during the campaign
