Satisfactory update 1.2 brings back rain, adds fuel trucks, and rebuilds vehicle pathfinding from scratch

Coffee Stain has released Satisfactory update 1.2 after nearly a year of quiet — just a handful of hotfixes since version 1.1 dropped twelve months ago. It's the biggest update since 1.1, and it brings back rain, introduces a new way to move liquids around your factory, and completely rebuilds how vehicle pathfinding works.

Rain was actually in Satisfactory before, added during early access with Update 6, but Coffee Stain has replaced it with a more advanced system. Buildings and characters now get a proper wet look, and rain is occluded by "most" structures, so you should see far fewer effects clipping through your factory walls and ceilings. The other major addition is fluid stations and fluid trucks — an alternative to pipes for transporting liquids. The vehicle pathing system behind them has been "completely remade from the ground up", letting players lay out routes the same way they'd build railways, then drop a vehicle onto the path. Smaller additions round out the update: a selfie mode in photo mode, a buildable Portaloo that acts as a spawn point, a T-junction piece for pipelines, and a crossbeam.

Update 1.1 last year brought proper controller support, an improved photo mode, and better resource transportation, but 1.2 is the more substantial release of the two. For a factory sim that's been one of PC gaming's standout titles, it's a meaningful return to active development.

One caveat for Steam Deck players: others have already reported that the new weather effects cause significant slowdown on the device. The good news is the effects can be dialed back or turned off entirely. If you haven't tried Satisfactory yet, it's currently 30% off at $28 (£25.45) — but that discount expires tomorrow.