# 📢 Update 0.8.1-alpha — Multiplayer & Performance Update

**Release Date:** November 7, 2026
**Version:** 0.8.1-alpha
**Development Stage:** Alpha

## 📋 Overview
This update focuses on improving multiplayer stability, responsiveness, and overall performance, alongside a major internal cleanup of Orbitale's codebase. From smoother interactions between players to faster world processing and stronger save protection, 0.8.1 makes the existing experience more reliable.

## ✨ Added
- Players can now request to join friends who are playing in solar systems with available space, with interactive notifications and persistent requests.
- Achievement announcements in chat are now clickable, opening the corresponding achievement in the Achievements menu.
- Other players' active mining progress is now visible through block-breaking animations.

## 🔧 Changed
- Removed the in-game update notification, as the Orbitale Launcher now handles game updates.
- Fence gates now appear in the foreground while visually connecting with background fences.
- Adjusted gathering tool speeds for improved progression.

## 🐛 Fixed
- Fixed several guest multiplayer mining issues, including delayed breaking, incorrect targets, and blocks failing to break.
- Improved guest block placement and collision synchronization to reduce rubber-banding and blocked interactions.
- Fixed inconsistent item drops and delays when collecting items dropped by other players.
- Improved environmental creature movement synchronization in multiplayer.
- Reduced delays when loading map areas discovered by other players.
- Improved guest respawning to address long delays and visual glitches.
- Improved synchronization when the host changes planets.
- Fixed slow long-distance teleportation and associated freezing.
- Corrected floating Moon decorations and inaccurate hitboxes.

## ⚡ Performance & Optimization
- Completed a comprehensive repository-wide audit, removing obsolete code, unused configuration, and duplicate files.
- Reduced unnecessary hidden inventory refresh work by approximately **91%**.
- Improved chunk snapshot processing by **1.5–4.4×** in tested scenarios.
- Reduced multiplayer pose preparation CPU work by approximately **29%**.
- Reduced terrain-patch processing CPU work by **51%** in benchmarks.
- Improved sprinkler neighborhood queries by **2.85–5.15×**.
- Reduced the Windows game-data package size by approximately **43%**.
- Improved resource management and reduced unnecessary UI allocations.

## 🛡️ Stability & Reliability
- Strengthened world-save and player-data protection against corrupted or unreadable files.
- Added safer metadata backups, validation, and recovery controls.
- Fixed cave-generation obstructions caused by rocks spawning in narrow passages.
- Improved project organization and removed outdated settings files and unused actions.
- Modernized automated tests and resolved all 10 previously failing test suites.
- Successfully validated all **55 game test entry points**, including **294 multiplayer checks**.

*Performance improvements reflect individual benchmarks and do not represent an overall FPS increase.*

## 📝 Notes
Orbitale remains in alpha development. Multiplayer, planetary generation, and other systems will continue receiving improvements as the game grows.

**Every world has a story.** 🌎