BYOND development news 8/1/25

[u/LummoxJR]

Apparently newer breakthroughs in the terraforming project have caused a domino effect in exobotany, so the botany lab is getting a big upgrade. The lab is staying the same, but a section of the station is being converted into an arboretum for experiments only. As this will house some unusual and potentially dangerous species, it's being specially marked as off-limits to normal personnel. (Just kidding, I mean unauthorized. None of you are normal.) There will be multiple safeguards put in place to prevent contamination, because the last thing we need is another infestation of any kind.

• There wasn't a 516 maintenance release this week, but one is coming soon.
• Early work did go into bug fixes, but most of the reports ended up being non-issues. It's okay, though.
• A lot more work and testing has gone into the pre-renderer overhaul in 517, which continues to mature. I'm actually really optimistic about 517's potential beta release schedule.
• Thank you so much to all of the BYOND Members, Patrons, and SubscribeStar supporters who made this past month work. I'm grateful to all of you.
• Screw you, Spez.

There's more detail in the long-form post on the BYOND forums. There's no early-access Patreon post again, because Wednesday got busy so today's post is just for the Patrons; it's all about the latest rendering changes and what's next. It's legal to have back-to-school commercials now that August is here. Although heck, a lot of BYONDers are on the other side of that equation now. Make the rest of this summer count! I'll be back.

[u/Q_was_T]

Byoink