Sunless Skies' latest update is just a small one, but it introduces the game's second most requested feature. It's called the Horn update, so you can probably guess what it is. Now you can soar through space, tooting away.
Before you ask how sound can travel in a vacuum, remember that you're also in a locomotive hopping between floating islands and giant plant cities. You can mine time. Queen Victoria is a cosmic goddess. Besides, you can't have a train without a horn.
One player sent Failbetter Games a slideshow to illustrate how important it was to have a horn. Others resorted to bribery, offering the studio a chocolate train and a whistle in the hopes the developers would give in. Good job, horn enthusiasts!
"The horn has no gameplay effects whatsoever, but we think it sounds quite nice," reads the update post. "You're, umm, welcome."
The update also brings with it improvements to several beasties and locomotives, which have gained new attacks, better AI and makeovers. The Eleutheria region should have a better variety of agent encounters now, too. Check out the full patch notes here.
Failbetter also announced Sunless Skies' next major update. The Hoarder update will fling a new officer into the mix, "a winged horror of profound cunning and unreliable manners". It's a giant bat. It looks horrible. As well as recruiting this monstrosity, you'll be able to get new engine upgrades and construct an extra transit relay. It's due out in September.
The most requested feature (above even the horn, if you can believe it) has been a reduction in travel time. Sunless Skies is not a brisk game, and there's a lot of sailing between cool stories where there's not a lot going on. The engine upgrades and new transit relay coming in the Hoarder update should alleviate that, and previous updates have made space a bit busier.
You can go play with your horn now.
