Icarus Week 231 | New Unique Fish & Optimization

Welcome to Week 231.This week brings four new unique fish subspecies to Icarus - one per map, plus a rare catch found only in the Mushroom Swamp on Elysium.We have also performed a decent amount of texture and LOD optimizations on knives, guns, bows, spears ammo and fish to save more memory while playing. We’re also teasing next week’s update with a brand-new legendary item you may have seen marked “coming soon” in the Biolab: the Timber Extraction Unit.Notable Improvements: Optimized Knife textures & LODs, saving around 104MB. Optimized Gun and Bow Textures & LODs, saving around 56MB. Optimized Spear textures & LODs, saving around 77MB. Optimized Fish bestiary images saving around 105MB of memory. Optimized Ammo, Arrow, Bolt and Grenade textures saving around 134MB. Improved physics setups on several spears making their behavior when dropped less erratic Changed recipe list category orientation for easier viewing of categories Fixed a bug in the Hammerhead Slug Fight where if a cocoon is broken during the fight the child slugs spawned in would have incorrect health valuesThis Week: Texture Optimizations Back in week 229's update, we sort of snuck in a pretty substantial memory optimization (saving around 1.5GB) effort, and with more texture optimizations coming through this week (at around another 0.5GB) we wanted to raise awareness around this and what it means for players. Ideally, this type of optimization should actually go unnoticed by players, in the sense that the quality of the object remains as good as it was, while at the same time taking up less memory. This allows for better accessibility on machines with lower end hardware, gives shorter load times, less visual glitches (when textures fail to load, etc), less pressure on the engine's streaming systems, and so on.We have some custom tooling which we use to find items that we may have been a little too generous with when it comes to texture sizes, but its still a rather manual process that requires individual checking which slows things down a bit. In general, memory optimization is one of those things that we need to continually stay on top of, as Icarus is an ever-growing project and with the amount of content that it contains in 2026 compared to 2021, our memory budget continues to be stretched thinner and thinner. So we need to make sure each asset only uses as much memory as it needs to in order to make room for the additional new content.As with all our patches, optimization takes time and we like to include them as soon as they are done. This results in smaller fixes in week to week, resulting in a gradual increase in performance over time rather than an all at once. This Week: Blinky & Elysium Fish MapThis week, we’ve introduced Blinky, a new mutated fish that can only be found in the Elysium region within the Mushroom Swamp. It’s a small addition on the surface, but one that starts to build out the identity and uniqueness of the area.Alongside this, we’ve made updates to the Elysium Fish Map. The region now features its own distinct zones, rather than reusing layouts or data from other maps. This should make exploration feel more tailored and consistent with the environment.At first glance, Blinky may seem like an ordinary fish, but it has some unusual properties beneath the surface. These won’t all be immediately obvious, as they’re something we plan to expand on and explore further in future updates.This Week: New Unique Fish Sub-Species We’ve also added new variations for fish that are unique to the other maps, bringing each map up to one new fish to discover and catch. These are the Emerald Wraith on Olympus, Coral Tang on Styx and the Spotted Gar on Prometheus. These new additions can be found in different locations across Olympus, Styx, and Prometheus, encouraging players to explore a bit more thoroughly. To help track them down, we recommend using the FISH device, which can be purchased from the orbital workshop.Looking ahead, we’re planning to expand the fishing system further. This will include adding more visible presence of fish in the world, introducing new rods with different properties, and creating more uses for fish beyond decoration and food.Next Week: Timber Extraction UnitNext week brings a brand-new legendary item - the Timber Extraction Unit. This high-powered chainsaw can engage in melee combat or can launch blades to fell trees from a distance. It can be upgraded like all legendary gear.Your support makes these updates possible.https://store.steampowered.com/app/1648533/Icarus_Dangerous_Horizons_Expansion/https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/35727/Icarus_Complete_the_Set/Changelog 3.0.9.151750-rel-DangerousHorizonsNew Content[expand type=details expanded=false] Copied Blinky rotation and anim setup to Fishing Rod Lure BP so that behavior matches when caught fish is first held up, versus hotbar focused Fixed client nullptr for ThrashingVFX when fish is snagged. Wait for NS to be initalized before attempting to

May 8, 2026 - 15:14

Icarus Week 231 | New Unique Fish & Optimization

Welcome to Week 231.

This week brings four new unique fish subspecies to Icarus - one per map, plus a rare catch found only in the Mushroom Swamp on Elysium.

We have also performed a decent amount of texture and LOD optimizations on knives, guns, bows, spears ammo and fish to save more memory while playing.

We’re also teasing next week’s update with a brand-new legendary item you may have seen marked “coming soon” in the Biolab: the Timber Extraction Unit.

Notable Improvements:

Optimized Knife textures & LODs, saving around 104MB.
Optimized Gun and Bow Textures & LODs, saving around 56MB.
Optimized Spear textures & LODs, saving around 77MB.
Optimized Fish bestiary images saving around 105MB of memory.
Optimized Ammo, Arrow, Bolt and Grenade textures saving around 134MB.
Improved physics setups on several spears making their behavior when dropped less erratic
Changed recipe list category orientation for easier viewing of categories
Fixed a bug in the Hammerhead Slug Fight where if a cocoon is broken during the fight the child slugs spawned in would have incorrect health values

This Week: Texture Optimizations

Back in week 229's update, we sort of snuck in a pretty substantial memory optimization (saving around 1.5GB) effort, and with more texture optimizations coming through this week (at around another 0.5GB) we wanted to raise awareness around this and what it means for players. Ideally, this type of optimization should actually go unnoticed by players, in the sense that the quality of the object remains as good as it was, while at the same time taking up less memory. This allows for better accessibility on machines with lower end hardware, gives shorter load times, less visual glitches (when textures fail to load, etc), less pressure on the engine's streaming systems, and so on.

We have some custom tooling which we use to find items that we may have been a little too generous with when it comes to texture sizes, but its still a rather manual process that requires individual checking which slows things down a bit. In general, memory optimization is one of those things that we need to continually stay on top of, as Icarus is an ever-growing project and with the amount of content that it contains in 2026 compared to 2021, our memory budget continues to be stretched thinner and thinner. So we need to make sure each asset only uses as much memory as it needs to in order to make room for the additional new content.

As with all our patches, optimization takes time and we like to include them as soon as they are done. This results in smaller fixes in week to week, resulting in a gradual increase in performance over time rather than an all at once.

This Week: Blinky & Elysium Fish Map

This week, we’ve introduced Blinky, a new mutated fish that can only be found in the Elysium region within the Mushroom Swamp. It’s a small addition on the surface, but one that starts to build out the identity and uniqueness of the area.

Alongside this, we’ve made updates to the Elysium Fish Map. The region now features its own distinct zones, rather than reusing layouts or data from other maps. This should make exploration feel more tailored and consistent with the environment.

At first glance, Blinky may seem like an ordinary fish, but it has some unusual properties beneath the surface. These won’t all be immediately obvious, as they’re something we plan to expand on and explore further in future updates.

This Week: New Unique Fish Sub-Species

We’ve also added new variations for fish that are unique to the other maps, bringing each map up to one new fish to discover and catch. These are the Emerald Wraith on Olympus, Coral Tang on Styx and the Spotted Gar on Prometheus. These new additions can be found in different locations across Olympus, Styx, and Prometheus, encouraging players to explore a bit more thoroughly. To help track them down, we recommend using the FISH device, which can be purchased from the orbital workshop.

Looking ahead, we’re planning to expand the fishing system further. This will include adding more visible presence of fish in the world, introducing new rods with different properties, and creating more uses for fish beyond decoration and food.

Next Week: Timber Extraction Unit

Next week brings a brand-new legendary item - the Timber Extraction Unit. This high-powered chainsaw can engage in melee combat or can launch blades to fell trees from a distance. It can be upgraded like all legendary gear.

Your support makes these updates possible.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1648533/Icarus_Dangerous_Horizons_Expansion/

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/35727/Icarus_Complete_the_Set/

Changelog 3.0.9.151750-rel-DangerousHorizons

New Content

[expand type=details expanded=false]

Copied Blinky rotation and anim setup to Fishing Rod Lure BP so that behavior matches when caught fish is first held up, versus hotbar focused
Fixed client nullptr for ThrashingVFX when fish is snagged. Wait for NS to be initalized before attempting to set rotation
Fixing issue with the recipe list when player crafting, as it was cutting off early when it shouldn't have
Fixing Fish15_2, 16_2, 17_2 Feature Locks so they are accessible
Fixing Fish20 Feature Lock so its accessible
Setup unique lake areas for Elysium fishing map with differing fish quality. Added DT validation to ensure fish groups only have fish of the same type (Saltwater vs Freshwater). Updated Water tooling to ping Generated actors instead of Developer so that its more flexible (and includes extracted Caves)
Adding Fish_20 (Blinky) to the new Elysium Fish Spawn Map
Swapping Over Elysium to use the new Fish Spawn Map
Making Blinky the Fish Blink Slowly when held in your hand
Fixing issue where Blinkys eyes where not in Blinkys head when held in your hand
Changed recipe list category orientation
Tweaked Elysium fishing map. Added more zones and refined existing. Updated tooling to support locating Lakes and Rivers with custom colors. Tweaks to fish quality

[/expand]

Fixed

[expand type=details expanded=false]

Fixing issue with the recipe list when player crafting, as it was cutting off early when it shouldn't have
Fixing issue where EDEN_CHEF BP was duplicating by adding DoNotRecordForPrebuilt_? Stat
Fixing issue where the EDEN_CHEF was part of the EDEN_AUDIO Prebuilt Structure (resulting in duplication)
Fixing old prospects which have multiple duplicated EDEN_CHEF BPs (removing additional ones)
Added expanded tooltip section for Recipes
Adding Fish20 Item Icon
Adjusting Fish20 hold animation so it holds it at a different angle so the eye blinks can be seen in first person
Cleanup of Fish20 data s its releasing next week
Lead Lined Box - Renamed 'PreventRadiation_?' to 'PreventRadiationSpread_?' for clarity
Adding heavy hit react audio, event, notifys
Alteration Bench UI layout change and new icon for alteration tool or weapon slot
Force Resave of Faction Missions Datatable
Optimized Knife textures, saving around 104MB. Fixes for mesh LOD setups
Adjusted Mesh tooling to be able to check SKs. Simplified expanding logic for Material params
Simplified/improved physics setups on several spears making their behavior when dropped less erraticchecking
Optimize Ammo, Arrow, Bolt and Grenade textures saving around 134MB. Optimize Materials by removing unneccessary shader instruction options. Optimize SKs by removing unncessary additional submat slots on SKs and improving LOD setups. Removed DF from SMs
Added supporting lights for Natural Oil Refiner 'on' state. Moved Fuel network connection point. Removed Emissive texture setup from 'off' material
Mount Inventories - Switched 'laika' variant dogs to have a saddle slot so they can equip the laika vest
Hammerhead Slug - Fixed a bug where if a cocoon is broken, the temporarily deleted slug is spawned with its health cached and then its children spawn in with that health. Now all split slugs spawn at max health

[/expand]

Future Content

[expand type=details expanded=false]

Removed Radboss Crossbow emissive texture and repathed to Default albedo texture with color tinting applied
RAD_A - Fixing Prebuilt Strcutures for the Mission
RAD_A - Adding Spawning of Colony for quest
Removed Scope row define from Legendary Chainsaw
Lead Lined Box - swapped accidental stat on medium box. now back to 'PrevenRadiationSpread'
First pass adding ivy to large jungle roots
Updated Molotov data to be ready for release. Dedicated SKItem with lighting and VFX. Ballistics tweaks. Added icon and itemable setup. Added unique stacking modifier to apply DOT instead of Flammable system. Added recipe. Reorganized grenade section on T3 tech tree to accomodate. Added smoke trail effect and tweak existing effects
Adding Prebuilt Structures for Elysium Colony
Lead lined box - Added 'PreventsRadiation_?' bool to lead lined boxes that stops radiation leaking
Added New Tree Birds of Paridise, Updating Cliff, Added Cave and Set Dressing Jungle, Outpost 11
Removed emmisive from Giant Bamboo materials
Lead lined box - added dev locked items without the radiation preventing functionality
Added FTs for the 3 SML variants of the Banyan tree. Chopped versions will still need to be made
Adding audio to all new rad boss animations. Movement sounds and vocalisations
Added small variants of the choppable banyan trees
Added BOW_Crossbow_Radboss with animations
Added more Rad Boss animations to the project
Added New Large Root to Jungle, Tested Bamboo Forest and Set Dressing Jungle, Outpost 11
ore fine tunes to the rad boss arena audio
Updated Banyan tree textures and materials with some colour changes and adjustments
Legendary Chainsaw - Fixed audio not turning off when losing ammo
Legendary Chainsaw - Fixed bug where spamming attack will play 2 clicks. Removed unused debug logging
Added FTs for the three tall variants of the Giant Bamboo
Legendary Chainsaw - Increased the amount of time the saw will spin after attacking
Legendary Chainsaw - Fixed item owner invalid errors. Fixed Audio not playing when 'running out' of fuel (wasnt running out, just seemed like it). Fixed chainsaw being able to 'pull cord' twice in certain scenarios when attacking as you reload
Adding rad boss attack whoosh, audio, event and notify
Added large root meshes 01-05, plus collision meshes and materials
Added SK for the slinker arctic explorer saddle
Adding call to parent on BP for logic when rad spawner is destroyed to trigger audio
Adding rad boss spawner loop audio and destruction audio and event and BP imp
Added Rad broodling trophy SM and bestiary image
Updated rad brooding carcass textures and added the carcass assets into the corpse BP
Clean up of ArtTest map
Made additional edits to RockFormation_003. Also created umap file for RockFormation_004
Added 3 tall variants of the Giant Bamboo
Blocking out Jungle, Adding Roots and Adding Decals, Outpost 11
Legendary Chainsaw - Changed 'Bouncing Blade' to be 'Piercing Blade' and Removed unused variables from chainsaw blueprint
Updated the terrinus, moa, buffalo, and slinker Rad Boss saddle SKs to have a larger back section
Legend Chainsaw - added isvalid to fix error
Fixed Contact device collision not upgrading correctly for Skeletal Mesh components
Adding rad boss arena data table setup, adjustments to arena audio balance and biome override to correct row
Added the carcass art assets for the Rad Boss Broodling
Doubled playback rate of Legendary Chainsaw anim. Increased Refined Wood yield/chance for Drive upgrade. Added Screenshake reduction for Handle upgrade
Added art assets for the damaged heavy speeder and heavy speeder backpack
Adding a bunch more radboss idle vocalisations

[/expand]

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