Satisfactory Update 4 has arrived on the game's Experimental Branch and it's adding a ton of new features including Drones, a Hover Pack, six new buildings, and the game's first gas resource Nitrogen.
Fans of building things will probably find something to love in Satisfactory, a game that pretty much about building a massive factory. You'll build producers, refiners, conveyor belts, and more, all the while working towards the completion of a massive project.
This Early Access game has been steadily cranking out new content for some time and a new batch of goodies has arrived on its experimental branch — check out this new video from the developers showing off some of these new features!
What's New in Satisfactory Update 4?
Satisfactory Update 4 has some pretty great new additions to the game. Aside from some cool new cosmetic options, the developers have also created what will likely be a serious game-changer for your late-game factory: drones.
Drones require a Drone Port to function, but it looks like they'll be worth it — these autonomous, flying devices can move resources across the map in Tiers 7 & 8. The patch notes explain that Drones will be especially effective at longer distances.
Anyone who's played Satisfactory at length will have likely run out of power at some point. A new Power Storage system will allow you to save up excess energy to mitigate an outage. You can further control your power grid through the careful use of the new Power Switch building. These changes will help keep the lights on, and that's quite literal in this case: Satisfactory Update 4 is also adding the Flood Light Tower, Wall Flood Light, and Street Light to brighten up your base.
As factories get larger, it becomes a challenge to move around and keep an eye on your production. That's exactly why Coffee Stain has created the Hover Pack and Zipline! The Hover Pack will let you fly around within a functioning power grid. As for the Zipline, it can be attached to Power Lines and lets you move around your base pretty quickly.
A total of six new buildings are arriving in this update:
BUILDINGS
- Blender
- The next level of [fluid-related] production allowing you to combine up to 2 fluid and 2 solid resources
- Particle Accelerator
- A high-end production building with an intense power drain that fluctuates over the course of each production cycle
- Resource Well Pressuriser & Extractor
- In combination[,] these 2 buildings can harvest vast amounts of fluid resources from the new Resource Wells
- Power Storage
- Can store excess power and distribute it back into the grid when needed
- Power Switch
- These can be named and break their power circuit connection via the flip of a switch
Critically, the Resource Well Pressuriser and Extractor are used for the new Nitrogen gas resource. This is the first gas added to the game. Gases function largely like fluids by moving through pipes, although they won't require a pump to move along the line. Note that the particle accelerator won't allow you to create The Flash or other MetaHumans in Satisfactory.
These are some of the biggest new features arriving in today's Experimental Branch update; as always, you can read up on everything new on the way in the full Satisfactory Update 4 patch notes (via Reddit).
When Does Satisfactory Update 4 Go Live?
Satisfactory Update 4 should be released on April 13, 2021, barring any problems. That is, of course, presuming that the update is stable and doesn't require any additional fixes before launch.
As with most games, you can access the Experimental Branch by right-clicking on the game in your Steam library, clicking on Properties, going to the Betas tab, and selecting "Experimental" from the dropdown menu. Update 4 is live on the Experimental Branch right now, but you'll need to buy Satisfactory for $29.99 or your regional equivalent to play it.
What do you think of the new additions in Satisfactory Update 4? What other new content do you think the developers need to add to the game? Let us know in the comments below!
