update · November 7, 2024
Icarus Week 153 Update Adds Flamethrower, Performance Optimizations, and Free Weekend
Week 153 introduces the biofuel-powered flamethrower, major building occlusion optimizations that double performance in large prospects, and frozen wood veins in the ice sheets.
Version v2.2.28.129531 launches alongside a free weekend and double XP event, adding a flamethrower, building draw distance optimizations, and frozen wood gathering options.
Building Performance Optimizations
Developers reworked building mesh settings to re-enable engine-level occlusion culling and distance culling. Buildables previously bypassed occlusion culling to handle interior weather, causing clients to render hidden bases through terrain. Separating weather culling logic allows buildables, deployables, and splines to use draw distances tied to the View Distance Quality setting, delivering up to a 2x performance increase on large prospects.
New Weapon: Flamethrower
Crafted at the Machining Bench, the flamethrower uses biofuel ammunition. It projects a continuous stream of fire that damages targets in an area and ignites flammable objects. The weapon includes a full tank and an integrated fuel gauge. Sandworms and landsharks experience a reduction in fire damage weakness from 21x down to 2x.
Frozen Wood Veins and Resource Packs
Six frozen wood deposits appear in the Ice Sheets biome to supply wood locally. Players drill these nodes using an Ice Borer to collect frozen wood, then thaw it in a campfire, furnace, or heated bench to convert it into standard wood. Scoria, clay, and obsidian resource packs become available for purchase in the orbital workshop.
Collectible Notes and Quality of Life
Null Sector mission notes and logbooks now drop as permanent collectible items for reading at any time. The fire extinguisher recipe requires water and crafts full. A third-party animation bug that restricted camera movement while aiming the flamethrower is resolved.
Why this patch matters
Week 153 brings performance gains for large bases while introducing the flamethrower for upcoming hostile encounters.