Skip to main content

Obsidian fixes Outer Worlds bug that killed people climbing ladders to nowhere

In space, no one can hear you scream — but apparently the developers back here on Earth are listening. And earlier this week, Obsidian Entertainment programmers answered some gamers prayers, revealing how they found and fixed a bizarre bug in the space odyssey The Outer Worlds that was killing off in-game companions.

The glitch was fixed in Patch 1.2 for The Outer Worlds, a popular space-based romance that drops players headfirst into a journey to awaken their fellow colonists from cryo-sleep when their ship is abandoned at the edge of space. But the game isn’t all laughs and romance. Apparently, non-player characters were climbing “beyond the end of a ladder” on The Unreliable, the player’s ship and base of operations in the game, and subsequently dying if the player started a conversation while they were climbing.

It took a good amount of effort to find out that this was what was happening, though, as detailed in a series of tweets by Obsidian Entertainment QA Lead Taylor Swope. The patch was one of the items in a long list of updates and changes to the space adventure.

Swope said that Obsidian knew about the bug from a few cases before The Outer Worlds launched, but nobody in the QA team was able to reproduce the glitch. One of the reasons this was so hard to solve is that it was difficult to figure out exactly when the companion was killed; the investigation involved determining all the possible scripts and lines of code that could have made the game think that a companion was dead.

The only place in the game when a companion is present but *not* in the active party is when the player is on their ship
The problem is, when companions are on the ship, they are undamageable (8/18)

— Taylor Swope (@_taylorswope) December 12, 2019

Swope’s team eventually figured out that “undamageable” does not necessarily mean that the companions were “invulnerable.” They may still be hurt by falling a great distance, for example. But there were no spots in The Unreliable that were high enough to cause lethal damage from falling, so it looked like another dead end.

Eventually, an offhand comment in one user's review mentioned seeing a weird bug where a companion was "climbing nothing", and this comment led me to figuring the whole thing out (14/18)

— Taylor Swope (@_taylorswope) December 12, 2019

Swope eventually figured out that the glitch had something to do with the code that disabled companions from starting new interactions with objects in the environment if players were in conversations.

So, if someone started climbing a ladder and the player entered a conversation before they stopped, they wouldn't be able to exit the ladder, and, well…. (18/18) pic.twitter.com/xcduTy4d12

— Taylor Swope (@_taylorswope) December 12, 2019

Through the massive effort of Swope, the bug is now fixed. In addition, players who already previously experienced the glitch will have their save files repaired so that they will be able to finish the related quests.

For players who are just starting out with The Outer Worlds, here are some tips and tricks for staying alive in deep space. With no need to worry about suddenly dead companions, players can focus on their own survival.

Editors' Recommendations

Aaron Mamiit
Aaron received a NES and a copy of Super Mario Bros. for Christmas when he was 4 years old, and he has been fascinated with…
The Outer Worlds character build guide: Attributes, skills, and aptitude
the outer worlds character build guide rfivnqiw fixed

So you've got your colonist in mind. You know exactly how you'll coif their hair, what armor you'll wear, even the weapons you'll tote. But before you head out on your grand adventures across the cosmos, you should consider exactly what type of build you're going for.

The Outer Worlds allows players to roll many different characters, from hammer-wielding rough and tumble types, to clever mechanics, turning droids and weapons on the enemy. This handy guide will walk you through attributes, skills, and aptitudes, to make your vision a reality.
Character Building in The Outer Worlds
Attributes
Role-playing game fans will be familiar with selecting their base attributes. Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, and Perception are just some of the choices you'll encounter. Each category will affect a multitude of skills. For example, Dexterity will affect your 1-handed melee, handgun skill, dodging, lock picking and sneak.

Read more
You can join a Twitch Plays livesteam of The Outer Worlds ahead of its release
The Outer Worlds Ellie

The Outer Worlds will be having a Twitch Plays session, precariously putting the control of all gameplay decisions in the hands of the viewers, and if you want to participate, the special livestream begins at 3 p.m PT/6 p.m. ET today on the official Obsidian Entertainment Twitch channel.

The Outer Worlds Guides

Read more
Fortnite Banana emote code: How to get the Nanner Ringer emote for free
Nanner Ringer emote in Fortnite

Chapter 5, season 1 of Fortnite is underway with a whole new map and tons of fresh content for players to dive into. While most of the new stuff can be earned or purchased in-game, there's one special emote Epic has created that will require you to put in a code on the Fortnite website, and that's the Nanner Ringer emote. There's a catch, though: Only the first 25 million players to redeem the code will actually be able to claim the emote. Afterward, the code will expire, meaning there's a high probability that you'll never get an opportunity to get this one again, so make sure you act fast if you'd like to add it to your emote collection.
How to get the Nanner Ringer emote for free
When you're ready to claim the Nanner Ringer emote, follow these instructions.

Open the Fortnite website and sign in to your Epic Games account.
Select the profile icon in the upper-right corner of the screen.
Select Redeem from the drop-down menu.
Enter the code "BANANNANANANA" in the text box.
Select the yellow Redeem button to complete the redemption.

Read more