Sword of the Stars II: Lords of Winter released

[Canuck]

For anyone willing to take the chance it's on sale for $19.49 on Gamersgate, $16.55 if you have the 15% off coupon.

[Grifman]

I started a game yesterday just to check the state it was in. When I resolved the first turn I got a message telling me that I had lost. After sighing and hitting the "ok" button I got a similar message telling me I had won.

If that's the shape of the game 3 months after release, fuck 'em.

FYI, I know this problem has been reported to Kerberos and they are looking into it.

[Grifman]

Another update for today:

19609b
------

Critical Fixes:
+ Fixed a plague-related turn update crash.
+ Fixed a combat psionic effect-related crash.

Other Fixes:
+ Diplomatic points are now being accumulated and applied.
+ Heavy planet missiles are now working.
+ System entry points and approach vectors are now working.
+ Ships now recover psionic power each turn based on the empire's psi potential.
+ Fixed neutral combat zones not returning to the system's owner.
+ Fixed an issue where options window revert button was not working correctly.
+ Fixed an issue with incorrect speech timeouts.
+ Zuul civilians are no longer considered in slave calculations.
+ Fixed an issue where fleet travel distance was not being reported correcly.
+ Zuul players are no longer queried for alternate mission route
confirmations unless this is necessary.
+ Fixed localization issues with admiral traits.
+ Structure and armor bonuses now show correctly in the design screen.
+ Fixed known issues where reserve fleets could go missing.
+ Drones in the bottom wing of Hiver Dreadnoughts now launch.
+ Slave disks now connect with the correct ship sections.
+ Reduced speech spamming in the design screen.
+ Fixed floating modules on Human dreadnoughts.
+ Fixed a corner case preventing combat with hiver gates.
+ Colony support missions now stop correctly if the target colony is destroyed.
+ Fixed a couple odd issues where fleets were not correctly considered
to be 'at' a system.
+ Combat AI now deploys battle riders more intelligently.
+ Fixed an issue where crewless ships were preventing players from
entering accelerated time in combat.
+ Fixed the issue where requesting surrender of an empire could lock
out camera control.
+ Fixed the issue of invalid save game names crashing the game.
+ Fixed an issue where crewless ships were preventing the end of combat.
+ Fixed the visual glitch with torpedo trails.
+ Fixed the issue where fleets in transit could be unselectable.
+ Fixed an issue where the strategic AI was creating duplicate ship designs.
+ Fixed an issue where surveying fleets were returning home if
hostiles were encountered.
+ Fixed known issues with Land Grab and Leviathan victory conditions.
+ Victory conditions are now correctly reported when all other players
are eliminated.
+ Fixed an issue where trade income was not being synchronized
correctly in networked games.
+ Fixed an issue where client player status was not being updated
correctly in networked games involving more than 2 clients.

Other Changes:
+ Sound volume now updates in real time.
+ Mine fields and SDBs (System Defense Boats) can now be placed in the
Battle Manager and activated in combat by clicking their icons in sensor view.
+ Mission screens not grey out systems that are not viable.
+ Sensor, support and trade views now grey out systems that are out of range.
+ Stations now appear along with fleets, and they can now be repaired
through the standard repair dialog.
+ News events are now reported for lost or retired admirals.
+ The repair dialog can now be called up at any system.
+ The game now agressively seeks out and frees memory consumed by game
assets where possible. This should help players who are running into performance issues due to memory consumption.
+ Updated star map node line and mini-ship visuals.
+ New encounters are available or have been re-introduced, including:
The system killer, asteroid showers, spectres and swarmers. More are on the way

[Moat_Man]

Based on that change log it still doesn't look finished.

[Grifman]

Hotfix out:

r19631b
------

Critical Fixes:
+ Fixed crash on startup for Russian players.
+ Fixed crash that could occur when attempting to scrap stations.
+ Fixed crash that could occur when exiting the Battle Manager after
placing fleets.

Other Fixes:
+ Stations will no longer show up alongside fleets in transit.
+ Battle Manager fleet positions are now obeyed.

Other Changes:
+ Added Slaver encounter.

[Grifman]

Based on that change log it still doesn't look finished.

No but it's getting closer. Major remaining items include:

Espionage, some diplomacy, a few of the random encounters, revamp of the economic model, scenarios, independent worlds, and morale.

[Grifman]

Another hotfix:

r19683b
------

Critical Fixes:
+ Fixed plague-related crash.
+ Fixed a crash with the asteroid encounter.
+ Fixed a rare crash bug with interdict missions.
+ Fixed a crash related to building stations that could be caused by
loading older save games.

Other Fixes:
+ Fixed graphical bug where SDB's would not sit in correct slot.
+ Added missing cancel button to treaty request dialog.
+ Fixed an issue where armor display would not update correctly when
switching designs in the design screen.
+ Fixed a couple of lingering missing localized text.
+ Fixed Hiver and Liir Deep Scan bonuses not being applied.
+ Fixed planet scale in the battle manager.
+ Having a population hovering at 50% no longer saps resources from planets.
+ Fixed an issue with slavers no removing their fleets in some cases.
+ Naval stations now include Command Modules in CP calculation.
+ Players may no longer request gates of non-Hiver players.
+ Fleet positions set in the battle manager no longer carry over to
other star systems.
+ Fixed a potential issue where the AI could go bankrupt early in the game.

Other Changes:
+ Stations are now labelled in the battle manager.
+ Added confirmation for leaving build screen without committing a
pending order.
+ Abandoned colonies no longer remove science and naval stations.
+ Hooked up sounds to cancel mission events.
+ Added Pathfinder and Livingstone admiral traits.

Known Issues:
- Deep Scan designs from older saves may not work correctly when loaded into newer versions of the game.
- Drone variants have been added, but thier behaviour has not.

[JonathanStrange]

Gamersgate has a sale on SOTS2 for $8.99

Might be worth to buy and save for later?

[Lorini]

That's what I just did. Patch out tomorrow.

[Paingod]

This continues to make me sad. The game was released on October 28th 2011, and still doesn't appear playable by what I'm hearing on March 6th 2012.

The original continues to be a favorite... and I hope to own this one some day as well. I just can't bring myself to buy it until it's done.

[tgb]

I'm sorry I didn't request a refund while I still could. Anyway, I'm reinstalling GalCiv II and the two expansions in order to have something to scratch the itch.

[Grifman]

New patch:

r19908b
------

Critical Fixes:
+ Fixed indy colonies from trying to add an already existing civilian
faction to a newly created colony through stimulus. (Caused a crash
during end turn)
+ Fixed a crash with declaring war on an independent
+ Fixed a crash when trying to add battleriders to platforms
+ Fixed a crash when simulating 2 AI vs AI combats involving battleriders
+ Fixed dronesats from crashing the game when trying to place them in
the defence widget
+ Fixed an SQL crash caused by improperly removing systems from a game
(when they are destroyed)
+ Fixed a crash when placing defence platforms
+ Fixed a hang when more then 1 combat took place
+ Fixed a crash when entering multiplayer games
+ Fixed a crash related to slaver encounters
+ Fixed the station sync crash in the fleet widget

Other Fixes:
+ Added AI cost assessment and picking for technologies
+ Added ability for AI to resume abandoned research projects
+ Enhanced AI research algorithms
+ Enabled UI for Special Research Projects
+ Hooked up Asteroid Monitor Special ProjectID
+ Hooked up Investigate independent Special project
+ Removed the poker chip system that combined 5 like items into 1.
+ Added additional trade from megafreighters, and an icon to represent
them in the trade view
+ Balanced freighter speeds
+ Increased visual ranges
+ Made target dish on the command monitor easier to see and hit
+ Added Pirates to randomized encounters
+ Added AI tech research strategies
+ Added the missing icon for building a mining station in the station
placement screen
+ Balanced Civilian and Naval Stations
+ Added Interceptor missiles
+ Removed waypoint arrows when specific stances are active
+ Added Indy races and Splinter factions
+ Rebalanced number of empty star systems
+ Improved zuul trade range
+ Build screen stats have been fixed and report correctly
+ Added mission times for boarding pods
+ Adjusted the number of slots available around planets for stations
+ Fixed modules not having a proper collision shape
+ Added the Comet randoms
+ Added a load screen after combat
+ Fixed a bug in the last capital standing end game rule that caused
players to be prematurely removed from the game
+ Added the ability to assimilate indy players by creating an alliance with them
+ Added an Indy button and diplomacy screen for managing diplomacy
between indy players
+ Fixed the Asteroid encounters to have the proper player avatar
+ Fixed some text width issues in the build screen related to cost
+ Dragging a ship into a fleet now selects the fleet after it has been moved
+ Tuned module deaths when they are blown off a ship
+ Added critical hits to space beasts
+ Added the combat manager button to the precombat popup
+ Tuned drone sats
+ Added a confirmation to the exit to main menu button
+ Ships destroyed by a boarding pod are now properly removed from their fleet.
+ Added death of crew if a ship breaks it's crews constraints
+ Fixed fleets not refreshing when being added in the fleet manager
+ Corrected the fleet times for missions
+ Fixed an issue where you could spam the ok button on the naming
dialog for an invoice and it would add extra empty invoices
+ Fixed feasibility studies to show 100% for techs you can definitely research
+ Tuned repair points for ships
+ Fixed an incorrect turn event for players that were being betrayed
(They were being labelled as the betrayer)
+ Fixed music from not changing if another cue was already playing
+ Fixed gms to only spawn for the number of gms picked in the game setup
+ Fixed the kill count for ships in the post combat screen
+ Fixed the human construction ships slowing down node travel significantly
+ Added Suicide Drones
+ Added Drain Drones
+ Added EW Drones
+ Clicking on news events now focus' on relevant system/colony
+ Rebellions now form splinter colonies if the rebellion is successful
+ Fixed infrastructure display value
+ Fixed the tech tree only displaying the cheapest path
+ Increased max length for fleet names
+ Changed colony stimulus to drop friendly indy colonies on
inhabitable planets - They are only negotiable when they have become
fully developed
+ Fixed an issue that caused encounters to become unhooked when naming
your player name the same as an encounter
+ Fixed indy colonies to simulate without starvation and support
(since they cannot have support)
+ Fixed the primary weapons being saved on your designs
+ Added turns remaining to build orders on the build button
+ Increased starmap label view range 20%
+ Fixed ships with structural fields not being able to be fully repaired
+ Fixed ships with structural fields not having full health when they
are created
+ Changed the slaves label to Deaths to represent the change in slaves
better on the colony summary
+ Added a mouseover to defence widget items
+ Fixed the AI from creating fleets that exceeded command point limits
+ Fixed a bug related to updating ships in the fleet manager
+ Fixed an issue with command points being calculated when moving
command ships (leviathan and cruiser commands)
+ Added color indication to defence items that require more cp then available
+ Added police cutters to defence manager
+ Added new art for defence platforms
+ Added new art for minefields
+ Police cutters are automatically added to defense fleets when they are built
+ Fixed the Vector3 Parse crash (a knock on from removing systems)
+ Fixed encounters from being properly removed when the system killer
destroys their homeworld.
+ Fixed repair points from not being rejuvinated each turn
+ Fixed invalid slot placements in the battle manager
+ Fixed morrigi sdbs not coming with drones
+ fixed jammers not working
+ Wraith abductors will now properly attack planets
+ Adjusted weapons for slaver ships
+ Fixed a typo in the encyclopedia
+ True grit is now a positive trait
+ Construction mission estimates are now correct for time and cost
+ Meteors now end combat early if they cannot hit a planet
+ Added splash screens for indy races
+ Fixed defence fleet from not showing up in the repair dialog and rider manager
+ Fixed weapon riders from showing up in the repair dialog

Known Issues:
- When loading an old saved game, the fleet mission times will display
incorrect number of turns until they start a new mission.
- Unable to target polygons on Morrigi monitors.

[Grifman]

New patch:

r19983b
-----

Critical Fixes:
+ Fixed crashes from indy demands when they do not have a value to select.
+ Fixed a possible crash with pirate-related combat.
+ Fixed a Hiver pathing crash related to retreating.
+ Fixed a plague-related crash.
+ Fixed an emitter-related crash in combat.
+ Fixed all strategic turn-related multiplayer sync issues.

Other Fixes:
+ Fixed Scansats and Dronesats not appearing in defense manager widget.
+ Added Battlerider Sats to defense manager.
+ Fixed biome colonizers from hurting biosphere when terraforming.
+ Fixed independents with "RandomOrbital" as their homeworld names.
+ Indy factions now only get one faction type per star system per game.
+ Zuul are no longer able to initiate trade treaties with other factions.
+ Fixed a miscalculation with the tax rate slider.
+ Enabled Diplomacy Interactions on Independent Races you have
completed a study on.
+ Made Survey Button in Independent Study Complete Dialog more clear.
+ Tribute stations now unlock the trade view for Zuul.
+ Star systems now show an effect where recent combats have occurred.
+ Building a science station at an independent world now unlocks a
special research project.
+ Players may no longer repair using enemy systems.
+ Fixed an edge case for when stimulus rolls tried to use data about a
player's homeworld that did not exist.
+ Alien habitation modules now increase RDP.
+ Indy players who lose their colonies are now eliminated from the game.
+ Studied asteroid monitors are now moved into the defense fleet of
the star system/player and will properly function in combat.
+ Modules now yield repair point bonuses.
+ Fixed some defence platforms not being recognized or added to the
defense widget.
+ Fixed known combat zone reassignment issues.
+ Addressed fleet reassignment and naval support capacity issues.
+ Fixed localization names for interceptor missiles.
+ Fixed some overlap/string cutoff issues in UI.
+ Fixed various UI issues in the diplomacy screen.
+ Splinter factions now display the correct avatars.
+ Fixed an issue where splinter factions and easter eggs could show up
as diplomatic entities.
+ Fixed an issue preventing engagement of Hiver gates.
+ Players are now awarded bounties for destroying pirate ships.
+ Neutral indy factions no longer prevent colonization.
+ Friendly Asteroid Monitors now appear in the defense manager.
+ Fixed an issues where the news events were not displaying correctly
for the current turn.
+ Fixed the Line Abreast formation in the fleet manager.
+ Fixed some known turret arc issues.
+ Fixed known issue where heavy turrets on Zuul Armada section not
tracking or firing.

Known Issues:
- A network sync error may occur with combat rounds involving 3 or more players.

[Tampa_Gamer]

No but it's getting closer. Major remaining items include:

Espionage, some diplomacy, a few of the random encounters, revamp of the economic model, scenarios, independent worlds, and morale.

Its been 3 patches since we last heard from the trenches, what say ye now Grifman?

[tgb]

I reinstalled this morning to check out the state of the game, and have a question:

What is that number in the upper left hand corner of the question marks?

[Sepiche]

I reinstalled this morning to check out the state of the game, and have a question:

What is that number in the upper left hand corner of the question marks?

I believe that's your empire's total PSI power. It's used for psionics in some way, but that's about all I know.

[$iljanus]

I reinstalled this morning to check out the state of the game, and have a question:

What is that number in the upper left hand corner of the question marks?

I believe that's your empire's total PSI power. It's used for psionics in some way, but that's about all I know.

I thought that looked like a brain but wondered what the heck would that be in the game. Is psionics enabled in the game finally? I might have missed seeing it in Grif's patch notes (thanks for posting these btw)

[Grifman]

No but it's getting closer. Major remaining items include:

Espionage, some diplomacy, a few of the random encounters, revamp of the economic model, scenarios, independent worlds, and morale.

Its been 3 patches since we last heard from the trenches, what say ye now Grifman?

Can't say, haven't played it since the release fiasco, don't really plan to touch it until it is a release version. Don't have the time to beta test it

But I'll check the forums to see how close they think they are and report back.

[silvaril]

Heya

Probably the single best place to watch for what is currently in the game is at:
http://sots2.rorschach.net/Version

For example, as of this post, it reads:

The following features are confirmed by the developers to not currently be in the game:
* Espionage and Intelligence
* Psi attacks – Added in Revision 19278b.
* Rebellions – Added in Revision 19908b.
* Indy Worlds – Added in Revision 19908b.
* Government system
* Scenarios
* Some techs
* Retrofitting of ship designs

Also in the works is a new economic model that should clean up a lot of confusion and congestion.

[Lorini]

I know Roscharch is a beta tester but this is what Mecron (the lead developer) had to say yesterday:

And finally to the sensible original poster asking a very sensible question...How far from feature complete? About 15% of content remains outstanding.

Some things like indy's that were NOT going to actually make the healthy release ARE in already and getting their tweaking pass as well as a few improvements/optimizations that would never have existed before any release. So we are a few percent ahead there. The major outstandings right now are retrofiting, espionage, government systems need to be turned back on, Full AI access to systems and scenarios. There are a couple dozen techs out of the 300 that need to be turned on and a few bugs fixed that are preventing about the same number of active ones from displaying properly. There are 3 or 4 special purpose modules that require special interface options to work and a couple extra missions types I personally would like to get in during the polishing pass. The next update should cover all remaining weapons, the intel portion of espionage, the return of the Locusts, and some more AI and GUI work. If some of the screen transition/turn processing optimizations turn out to be trouble free, we may put them out in another small hotfix as we know these are grinding for people.

Now I realize that may sound a bit daunting in a world where the standard is 6 months to put out a 4 issue update if at all But I think its clear for anyone seriously looking at size of the main 2 week update lists, that 2 more updates should cover this pretty nicely. And should the Great God Murphy not reveal anything truely evil and synergistic in these last elements, then its a short but intense bug hunt and then...partaaay!

My understanding is that the wiki is out of date as well.

[tgb]

Now I realize that may sound a bit daunting in a world where the standard is 6 months to put out a 4 issue update if at all

Now that's what I call balls, considering that it's also a world where the standard is NOT to release Alpha code at a full retail price without telling anyone the state of the game.

[$iljanus]

Now I realize that may sound a bit daunting in a world where the standard is 6 months to put out a 4 issue update if at all

Now that's what I call balls, considering that it's also a world where the standard is NOT to release Alpha code at a full retail price without telling anyone the state of the game.

Yup. What a fucking tool.

[JonathanStrange]

Kudos for continuing patching and not abandoning the game. Shame for SOTS2 requiring so very much extra labor after its release.

I visit Kerberos forums often, read their posts, try to separate the wheat from the chaff, and it appears to me that, while much improved, the game's still not so much a game as a conglomeration of cool stuff.

I bought the game during the recent GGate sale but I've yet to download it. But I'm hopeful.

[silvaril]

Heya

My understanding is that the wiki is out of date as well.

Nope, that list is close to what was on the Wiki also as Major outstandings.

I did just now go in and re-jig the list so that the completed stuff is now on the bottom, but a review of the Wiki list to Mecron's post shows the wiki list was missing only the game AI not having access to all game systems only as a major item, which I added while I was in there reviewing things.


My biggest issue with the game at present is the numerous bugs I keep encountering.

And probably my biggest issue with the bugs, is trying to search the forums for whether or not they have been reported yet...

[Lorini]

Then explain to me what improvements are expected for the economy. Mecron has not mentioned this.

[Tampa_Gamer]

Well, tried to play a quick game last night. I have probably played about 20+ full games of SoTS I from start to finish and probably started half again as many SoTS games but never finished and it pains me to say that I was completely lost. I read the manual when it first came out so I am sure much of my frustration can be eliminated by going back and reading it again (assuming its been updated for changes). However, much of that frustration could be easily eliminated by simple tool tips to tell the user what a particular icon or button does. I lasted about 20 minutes before I flipped back to my current Distant Worlds game. Oh well...

[Lorini]

You'll need to read the manual to play at this point. As we've pointed out, the game is not finished. Hopefully it will eventually get tool tips and a tutorial.

[Butterknife]

It is odd, but even after all of this (unnecessary) drama, I'm still inclined to buy this game once my fellow forumers sign off on it. I just really enjoyed the first game so much.

[Grifman]

New update:

r20241b
------

** Changes will likely break old save games. **

Critical Fixes:
+ All known crashes related to fleet lists and drag-drop have been fixed.
+ Fixed a diplomacy point generation crash.
+ Fixed a crash related to improper battle rider cleanup after combat.
+ Fixed issues where weapon banks were being misidentified. These
changes will break some existing games.
+ Fixed a pirate encounter related crash and lockup.
+ Fixed a crash related to adding ships to a fleet.

Other Fixes:
+ AI players now have personal preferences when researching.
+ Rider placement in Rider Manager screen fixed.
+ Fixed a bug where new admirals were being assigned to fleets in deep space.
+ Salvage odds now take correct ships and races into account.
+ Volume slider now affects GUI sounds as well.
+ Fixed issue that was having impact on screen transition times.
+ Recent combat effects no longer show up on systems outside sensor range.
+ Save games now recall initial encounter and GM settings.
+ Increased morale penalty associated with raising taxes.
+ Fixed an issue where civilian populations were not resuming growth
after recent combat.
+ Cancelled missions now return fleets immediately if possible.
+ Fixed issues related to constructing mining stations.
+ Added support missions.
+ Fixed a number of minor visual glitches in UI appearance.
+ Hardened Structures now behave correctly.
+ Fixed an issue where battle riders were not assignable in the battle
rider manager.
+ Fixed incorrect production cost display for prototyped designs.
+ Fleets outside of sensor range can no longer be selected.
+ Added missing animations to Zuul Immersion content. This was
preventing certain weapons from functioning.
+ All budget pie charts are now buttons that transition to the Empire Summary.
+ Fixed the loophole allowing feasibility studies to be skipped.
+ Icons are now clearly visible for deployed gates on the star map.
+ Fixed all known instances of Human AI players slow-boating fleets.
+ Encounters tuned.
+ Kalvenic Torpedos tweaked.
+ Intertial Cannon (standard and heavy) added. Each shot will slow
down target properly.

Additions and Changes
+ Interception missions are now available.
+ New drone and assault shuttle designs are now selectable on carriers.
+ Grav Cannon added.
+ Tar Baby COL added.
+ Cry Baby COL added.
+ Thud Missile added.
+ Leech Rounds added.
+ Improvements to VN encounters made.

Known Issues:
- Fixes to game data will likely break existing save games.

[GreenGoo]

It is odd, but even after all of this (unnecessary) drama, I'm still inclined to buy this game once my fellow forumers sign off on it. I just really enjoyed the first game so much.

I intend to buy it as well, assuming it gets to a happy place. I admit though, that my gut feeling is that it is never going to reach a buyable state for me. One can hope.

[Bakhtosh]

I'm still holding out hope for it - about the time they release an expansion. The original changed a lot from vanilla to Argos Naval Yards.

[Grifman]

Hot fix for the latest update:

r20241c
------

Critical Fixes:
+ Fixed a handful of known multiplayer sync issues that could lead to crashes.
+ Fixed crashes when doing Zuul intercept mission
+ Fixed a crash caused by AI players attempting to ally with indy players.
+ Fixed an issue that was preventing certain technologies from being unlocked.
+ Fixed an issue that was causing premature ending of combat in
certain single-player and networked games.

Other Fixes:
+ Fixed some overlapping text issues in the mission screens.
+ Survey complete and planet colonized dialogs now show interactive
system and star map, respectively.
(Click the right/left buttons on the viewports to cycle.)
+ Fixed the drawing of intercept mission waypoints.
+ Fixed return trips for intercepts when a target fleet goes out of range.
+ Prevented Zuul ships from boring temporary node lines back from a
deep space encounter.
+ Fixed the issue where Radiant Bore ships could not create node lines.
+ Gate Lab upgrade requirements can now be met.
+ Hiver gates now display Gate Lab module options.
+ Ships no longer flee so far from an incoming comet in combat.
+ The sensor view icon has been centered correctly on the comet in combat.
+ Fixed a function that allowed a non-player owned system to request a
check for an enclave permission before colonizing a planet.
+ Fixed the provincial capital visual effect.
+ Fixed an issue where combat UI was allowing freighter speeds to be set.
+ Combat zones no longer appear in deep space combat.
+ The battle manager is no longer available for deep space encounter locations.
+ Fixed an issue where infrastructure was resetting to zero each time
a planet was recolonized.
+ Zuul trade now unlocks correctly.
+ Barren planets now have some resources.
+ Fixed issues where inappropriate battle riders were being used to
aid in surveys.

Other changes:
+ Reduced overthrust in combat.
+ Ships with drones now survey faster.

[silvaril]

Heya

Updated Manual and a Video Walkthrough:
http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/sho ... ersion-1.3

Game not complete yet, for those who might ask.

[Grifman]

New update waiting to be loaded on Steam:

r20461b
------

Critical Fixes:
+ Fixed a game loading crash related to asteroid monitors.
+ Fixed all known crashes related to deep space interception.
+ Fixed a potential infinite loop in Hiver movement that could occur during turn processing.
+ Fixed known multiplayer de-sync issues that were leading to crashes.
+ Fixed a crash when returning from a demand or request with an indy.
+ Made optimizations to turn processing times.

Other Fixes:
+ Suul'ka can now be summoned again.
+ Mining and defense stations no longer double-charge players for construction.
+ Resolved conflicting broadside versus pursuit orders in combat.
+ Rapid prototyping now applies proper bonus.
+ Made changes to resolve minefield overlap and frame-rate issues.
+ Made changes to resolve PD phaser frame-rate issues.
+ Improperly configured requests and demands are no longer allowed to be committed.
+ Trade income is now correctly reported when no trading is available.
+ Fixed an issue where mining stations were not showing up in station construction options.
+ Fixed mis-labelled Zuul station types in news events.
+ Fixed an issue where colonization missions were not cancelling when critical ships were destroyed.
+ Fixed a known issue related to incorrect movement speed on the starmap.
+ Fixed issues that were preventing AI players from declaring war when they should.
+ Fixed an issue where heavy and planet missiles were not re-targeting in combat.
+ Fixed an issue where stations were reporting incorrect remaining and total structure.
+ Fixed an issue where in-transit fleets could be incorrectly displayed in repair dialogs.
+ Fixed issues where asteroid monitor encounters would cease to occur after destroying a command monitor.
+ Fixed some combat stance issues related to planets.
+ Fixed issues where alien habitation modules could take up standard habitation module slots.
+ Fixed a couple issues where warhead damage was not being adjusted correctly for researched technology.
+ Fixed an issue that was preventing government graph from updating.
+ Fixed issues where missiles targeting spectres could damage a colony instead.
+ Addressed network de-sync issues with certain weapons in combat.
+ Addressed some turret arcs that weren't firing or engaging correctly.

Additions:
+ Node Cannon and Node Maw weapons have been re-introduced for Zuul players.
***To use the Node Maw in combat, go to sensor view and click on the corresponding buttons above the desired Bore node points.***
***These will collapse the node points, to devastating effect for ships in the area.***
+ Updated combat screen GUI
+ Added a multiple combat system.
+ Added Morrigi tombs.
+ Introduced the ghost ship random encounter.
+ Turrets and modules now show up in the fleet manager.
+ Quantum disassociation now adds the intended 20% bonus to production.
+ Combat now occurs in multiple phases depending on the number of fleets present.
+ Intelligence-gathering missions can now be executed from the diplomacy screen.
+ Increased AI diplomacy reactions.
+ Increased savings required for morale boost.
+ Biosphere preservation now reduces consumption by 50%.
+ Colonies now get an initial bonus on the turn they are established.
+ Fleets that lose their command ships in combat will now disband and retreat.
+ Increased battle rider mission times.
+ Reduced the density of minefields.
+ Added new drone attack behaviors.

[silvaril]

Heya

For those playing:
Bit of stuff broken with the new update.

Suggest holding off until the bugfix round comes out.


In related news, I have now played two games to multiple hundreds of turns without rage quitting in the process.
Consequently I think things are progressing.

Still not finished yet though.

[silvaril]

Heya

Hotfixes as anticipated:

------

Critical fixes:
+ Fixed a new first-turn networked multiplayer crash.
+ Fixed a crash related to the Xavier module.
+ Fixed the issue that was causing Hiver gates not to function until
the game was reloaded.
+ Temporarily removed localization files causing crash on start-up for
German and Russian players.

Other fixes:
+ Fixed an issue where non-standard fleets could get into combat rounds.
+ Fixed an issue where module repair points were not being factored in
to the total.
+ Build orders are now cleaned up with a player's colonies are lost.
+ Espionage panel in the diplomacy screen now lists pending intel
operations for the turn.
+ Hiver gate icons now appear when gate ships are deployed.
+ Fixed new placeholder UI elements in the design screen.
+ Some weapon-related framerate optimization made in combat.
+ Fixed an issue where colony IO was not being redistributed when
either terraforming or infrastructure were maxed.

[Grifman]

r20587b
------

Critical Fixes:
+ Fixed a known defense manager fleet list crash.
+ Fixed an end of combat crash related to combat involving neutral factions.
+ Made numerous sound system changes to help with frame rate issues.
+ Fixed a crash related to queued station modules.
+ Fixed a minefield related crash in combat.
+ Fixed a crash in the design screen related to selecting and submitting defense platforms.
+ Fixed a combat retreat crash.
+ Fixed a crash related to entering and exiting the empire manager.
+ Fixed known memory leaks in transitions to and from the star map.
+ Fixed a silent multiplayer crash related to random encounters.
+ Fixed a crash that could occur when opening the build screen.
+ Fixed a multiplayer hang that could occur versus lone gate ships.

Other Fixes:
+ Reduced ship spark effect density to help with frame rate issues.
+ Fixed an issue preventing the Repair All function from working.
+ Fixed an issue where a VN disintegrator beam could remain linked to ships that left its range.
+ It is no longer possible to cancel return missions for retreating fleets.
+ Fixed the issue where colonies were firing at targets outside of sensor range.
+ Fixed the issue where planets would mysteriously disappear from the list of colonization options.
+ Fixed an multiple combat round issue where the game would try to select eliminated fleets.
+ Fixed the issue where construction missions would leave stations under construction if the construction ships were destroyed.
+ Fixed known issues of missiles spinning in space.
+ Fixed a bug that was causing prototyped ships to become too cheap.
+ Fixed known issues where diplomatic actions could result in a negative cost, adding to a player's RDP instead of subracting from it.
+ Addressed issues that were causing the AI to declare war too frequently.
+ Fixed the missing news event notifying players of war declarations against them.
+ Fixed an issue where colonies were not correctly reporting when they were developed.
+ Fixed an issue that was preventing Hivers from upgrading gate stations fully.

Other Changes:
+ Build and design screens now show design attributes.
+ Made some improvements to the mine field placement flow in the defense manager.
+ Tracking weapons can now target the dish on a command monitor.
+ Fleets involved in multiple rounds of combat will lose additional endurance.
+ Non-Zuul factions are now attacked by pirates.
+ Developing colonies no longer support fleets.
+ Improved the research and feasibility study complete dialogs.
+ Variety of tweaks and corrections to ship turrets for all factions.

The tentative schedule is one last update in two weeks to make the game feature complete then another week of bug hunting. If all goes to plan they'll announce the "all clear" in three weeks and go into a regular maintenance and update mode.

[tgb]

Only 7 months after release.

[Grifman]

Only 7 months after release.

Hey, it is what it is. The game obviously needed another year in development and they get a huge downgrade for that. But on the other hand, they have continued to plug away, slowly and surely. Given where they were at, better the alternative.

[Zurai]

Once they push that final emergency-mode bugfix patch, I'll give it another go and post my impressions for the thread. Considering the last time I played (a month or so back), the game crashed before I even finished setting up the parameters to start the game, I'm not terribly optimistic.