Hello,
We are working on an exciting 2.94 Release that includes optimized map generation, gameplay balance improvements, and refined UI screens. To enable the patch, please do the following:
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Please note: The opt-in (Insider Build) is an early preview of the next update, and you might experience bugs or other issues.
Key Features
Optimized Galaxy Map Generation GalaxyMaps are more optimized for player placement and player turn time.
Gameplay Balance Improvements. We have updated citizen specialties, combat, ship hulls, and resources to make for a more enjoyable experience.
UI Screen Refinement We enhanced the player UI by fixing bugs on the Planetary Improvement Screen, Shipyard Screen and Ship Designer Screen.
January 22nd, 2025 Changelog
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AI
Fixed stuck turn issue when AI tries to build a Starbase on top of one of its rally points
Gameplay
Balance update for Starbase Relic bonuses from being harvested
Map Generation
Fixed a crash that occurs when a game has a lot of players, and the players are set in close proximity on a very large map
The New Distant player setting will attempt to evenly spread-out players amongst sectors
FOW
Fixed the issue where the FOW will do a full refresh for its own objects, effecting late game performance
FOW no longer updates in real-time when an AI moves its ships
Optimization
Decreased the time it takes to load a saved game Improved save game load speed
Reduction in the late game frequency of AI ship designs
January 16th, 2025 Changelog
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AI
AI prioritizes culture techs more
Genius AI bonuses reduced from 33% warfare buff to 25%.
Art
Updated Battle Arenas
Replaced old Earth Image
Updated missing ship designer thumbnails
Fixed low resolution “The Criminals Syndicate” event image
Updated Minor Race and Hostile Entry sliders
Updated ship materials, lighting and textures
Fixed thumbnail for Drengin Worker ships
Crash Fixes
Fixed a game crash where the AI is looking for wars that don't exist.
“Secret Policy Crime” reduction changed from eliminating all crime on colonies to reducing crime by 3%
Gameplay
Citizen Specialty Rework
Populations provide a percentage buff to Research and Manufacturing
“Minister of Justice” crime reduction reduced slightly
“Atmospheric Scrubbers” only available to Amphibious races now
Prisons are available earlier in the tech tree
Citizens and their specializations now provide a multiplier bonus rather than a flat bonus
Colonies
Colony Capitals now provide a flat wealth reward instead of a percentage when leveled up
Farm Level’s effect on food production is increased from 5% to 10%
Taxation makes citizens more angry
Prison cost is reduced from 5 to 1 Duranitum
Corrosive worlds can potentially be colonized
“Colonial Law" and “Policy Crime” reduction on planets reduced from -0.1 to -0.03
Combat
Weapon ranges slightly increased
Missiles now get an additional shot and give +1 more damage
Armor Degradation restored to 5% per turn
“Fighter Module Evasion” fixed to be flat instead of a multiplier
Diplomacy
Players can trade Colonies and Starbases with each other in the Trade Screen
The AI will now ignore certain diplomatic conditions if other diplomatic conditions are in place
Missions
Fixed bug where players are unable to complete “A Distant Signal” in “The Opportunity” mission
Updated “The Opportunity” mission to use “Space War Tactics”
Research
“Aid Research” project now available as soon as the “Tech Capital” is built
“Subspace Scanning” moved behind “Artificial Gravity” in the tech tree
Tech costs now go up slightly faster
Fixed bug where “Cybnettic Ability” couldn't get the “Regenerative Gels” tech
“Nanite Repair Cloud” repairs per round reduced from 10% to 2%
Fixed bug where the tech tree does not show up correctly when loading an older save
Resources
Buying and selling resources is much more market driven than before
Luxury resources have been made much rarer and more valuable
Bombarded worlds are much more likely to have luxury resources
Ship Hull
Medium ships space increased from 32 to 36
Large ship space increased from 60 to 80
Huge ship space increased from 100 to 200
Cargo ship space increased from 20 to 30
Fixed bug where engine components weren't considering the mass of the ship as part of their space requirement
Orbitals
Orbitals have been added behind a tech
Made Orbital icons smaller
Changed “Logistics Network” Orbital Icon
Victory Conditions
Adjusted Prestige Victory to make it more difficult to achieve
Localization
Fixed formatting and translation issues for all available languages
Map Generation
Update the Auto-Explore system to be much faster, more intelligent and focus on Stars exploration
Increased the size of the largest single sector map
Planets will spawn more consistently with their spawn type
Maps spawn more stars than before
Abundant habitable planet spawn setting spawns more habitable planets
Max habitable planet cap is increased
Blackholes, in general, are slightly more common
FOW Refresh System
New caching system has been created for FOW that drastically reduced late game turn times on large maps
FOW is more optimized for turn systems, modifier systems, fleet systems and waypoint systems
Player Placement
Player placement will now attempt to put players mostly on their own in their own sector if the player chooses "very far" on the setting and there are multiple sectors
Players placed in the same sector will be separated by distance based the player distance settings
AI Players are no longer clumped together in a single sector if there are other sectors
Starting locations are fairer for each player based on the player settings
Player placement in maps is now faster and place players in satisfying and different locations
Multiplayer
Fix bug when players try to leave a finished multiplayer game it will not allow them to return to the main menu
Fixed early desync when players attempt to mine with an asteroid ship
Tutorial
If a game is already in progress the first-time tutorial screen will no longer appear
UI
Fixed bug where the Diplomats wrongly reported they were providing a bonus to diplomacy in UI
Cultural Points are displayed in the Resource Bar
Fixed Report Button to bring up the Fleet Details screen
Fixed Tiny UI scaling issues
Planet Screen
Added in planetary improvement filters
District list is smaller
Ship Designer Screen
Ship Designer is updated to guarantee a ship is being designed for the player
Shipyard Screen
Fixed text clipping bug for items in the build queue
Removed redundant "available projects" text in the Shipyard list
Obsolete and Favorite buttons easier to click
Resizing UI to make the list of ships cleaner
Fixed bug when Shipyard displays “N/A” for the owner after invading another planet
Build list in Shipyard properly fades out
Megastructures DLC
AI
Fixed AI from investing too much Gigamass into non-Megastructures
Architect
Improved Architect construction effects
Fixed bug when building a Megastructure in a fleet, ships will still build if the architect had been ejected from the fleet
Art
Updated Megastructure Materials and Orbitals
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Ringworlder quest is much less common
Resources
Gas Giant Gigamass increased from 2 to 5
Gigamass techs are more expensive
Some ship components now use Energy instead of Gigamass
Balanced energy generation to Gigamass cost for Solar Farms and Dyson Spheres
Ship Components
New ship components moved to be later in the tech tree
New ship components are not automatically designed by the AI for the player anymore
Stellar Gateways
Toggle button is properly disabled when a Megastructure is under construction
Added correct icons for decommissioning a Stellar Gateway
UI
Added “This Planet Has No Gigamass” text when a dead world has no Gigamass