The Anniversary Update is now available

[p]Welcome back, today we're happy to announce that the Anniversary Update is now available.[/p][p]Below you will find the latest and greatest information on Distant Worlds 2TM. Information in this document supersedes that in the official game manual.[/p][p]Troubleshooting:[/p][p]Ensure that your system meets the minimum system requirements. These are found in the game manual.[/p][p]Also, ensure that you have the latest video and sound drivers available for your system. The vast majority[/p][p]of reported problems are resolved by upgrading all drivers to the latest versions.[/p][p]If you are still experiencing problems with the game, please use our Ticket System or post in the Distant [/p][p]Worlds 2 Support Forum. Please provide as much detail on your issue as you can.[/p][p]To obtain optimum game performance, close all other applications before beginning a game.[/p][p][/p][p]IMPORTANT NOTE: If you still experience crashes, please try the new DXVK rendering option in the[/p][p]game settings. This can be found under "Rendering Mode", which can be switched from DirectX 11 to[/p][p]DXVK. DXVK should also be used together with SDR (rather than HDR) for best results. This will likely[/p][p]resolve many issues caused by driver bugs or incompatibilities. If you try this setting and the game does[/p][p]not launch, please note there is a command line option to switch back to DirectX 11. To use add /use-[/p][p]dx11 as a command-line argument to DistantWorlds2.exe.[/p][p][/p][p]Change History: [/p][p]v1.3.1.1 – 7th August 2025[/p][p]This major update focuses on crash fixes, improvements to fleet behavior, ship designs, and[/p][p]independent colonies, as well as various data fixes and miscellaneous changes based on feedback[/p][p]from the Tactics Update. In addition, this update includes a special new event chain to celebrate[/p][p]Slitherine’s 25th Anniversary and a small thematic easter egg for the occasional independent[/p][p]freighter.[/p][p][/p][h3]CRASH FIXES[/h3][p]• fixed rare crash when encountering independent colony[/p][p]• fixed rare crash when processing construction yards[/p][p]• fixed a number of crashes[/p][p]• fixed rare crash when starting area weapon blasts in a scene[/p][p]• fixed rare crash when generating a new game[/p][p]• fixed crash when resolving list items[/p][p]• fixed rare crash when picking up debris[/p][p][/p][h3]ANNIVERSARY CONTENT[/h3][p]• added a new anniversary story event to celebrate 25 years of Slitherine and Matrix Games[/p][p]• added a new anniversary variant freighter texture for one independent freighter[/p][p][/p][h3]GRAPHICS IMPROVEMENTS[/h3][p]• fixed faulty rendering for some planet types[/p][p][/p][h3]GALAXY SETUP[/h3][p]• empire starting location is now more accurate (specified in Start New Game screen)[/p][p][/p][h3]USER INTERFACE[/h3][p]• fixed Enemy Targets list filters sometimes not working properly when filtering by empire[/p][p]• changed default system badge display level to Enhanced (was Basic)[/p][p][/p][h3]VIEW LOCK FEATURE[/h3][p]• view lock now properly retains lock when ship or fleet enters or exits hyperspace[/p][p]• ship or fleet now smoothly locked with camera (no jiggle when zoomed in)[/p][p][/p][h3]INDEPENDENT COLONIES[/h3][p]• enhanced independent colonies to have more detail: more natural features that provide bonuses,[/p][p]ocassional defending troops, ocassional facilities of various sorts[/p][p]• improved intro text for first contact with independent colonies so that highlights unique items at[/p][p]colony[/p][p][/p][h3]FLEET BEHAVIOR[/h3][p]• fixed additional situations where empire bonuses were sometimes being applied twice to ships in[/p][p]a fleet[/p][p]• fixed weapons often not using correct repeatable values from tech tree while in combat (e.g.[/p][p]extended weapon range)[/p][p]• automated fleets now better at choosing best repair/retrofit yards, e.g. preferring spaceports (with[/p][p]many yards) over colonies[/p][p]• further improved fleet responsiveness when intercepting incoming enemy fleets[/p][p]• fleets intercepting incoming enemy fleets will now coordinate with each other so that more distant[/p][p]fleets drop off when closer fleets are available to intercept[/p][p]• fleets attacking creatures are now more careful about evaluating other threats at same location[/p][p]and will not auto-assign attack when breaches retreat conditions (assuming location is visible and[/p][p]threats are known)[/p][p]• fleets and ships now more careful when evaluating Hive threat for attack[/p][p]• improved fleet willingness to refuel prior to repairs when necessary[/p][p]• fixed invasion fleets sometimes attacking targets outside their engagement range (but will still[/p][p]attack targets of opportunity in same system even when outside engagement area)[/p][p][/p][h3]SHIP BEHAVIOR[/h3][p]• improved evaluation of attacks against threats for ships outside fleets so that more careful to[/p][p]avoid attacks against locations with many enemy targets unless can coordinate other nearby[/p][p]ships to assist[/p][p]• added new empire policy settings to control how ships outside fleets evaluate attacks against[/p][p]enemy targets in both offensive and defensive situations (Minimum Attack Level for Ships,[/p][p]Minimum Defend Level for Ships)[/p][p]• more careful to cancel all incoming missions for enemy ships when conquer one of their colonies[/p][p](colony ships loading population, load troops, refuel/repair/retrofit for military ships)[/p][p][/p][h3]FUEL TANKERS[/h3][p]• fuel tankers in fleets will now consider refuelling their fleet ships even when inside dangerous[/p][p]nebulae (e.g. ion storms) that they are not designed to handle, as long as the tanker is already at[/p][p]the same location as the fleet and is not disabled[/p][p][/p][h3]SHIP DESIGN[/h3][p]• removed PreferredWeaponComponentIds from all races (Races.xml) so that ship design and[/p][p]research is not influenced by these settings. These could interfere with the component policy[/p][p]settings, causing some confusion. The component policy settings are now fully authoritative[/p][p]when guiding the ship design automation.[/p][p]• improved manual upgrade of ship and base designs (Upgrade button) so that engine symmetry is[/p][p]honored and upgrade process attempts to keep upgraded components in the same bay if[/p][p]possible (i.e. when new component fits within maximum size of existing bay)[/p][p]• ensure that manually-designed ships and bases with hangar components always use at least one[/p][p]external hangar bay so that ships and fighters can properly enter and exit the hangar[/p][p]• improved selection of shields for automated ship design by tweaking evaluation of some shield[/p][p]values[/p][p]• fixed incorrect display of some shield component values where lower values are better[/p][p](Penetration Chance, Penetration Ratio)[/p][p]• improved auto-design for fighters so that will now dispense with fuel tank in favor of second[/p][p]reactor when required to fulfill power needs[/p][p]• improved auto-design for fighters so that more likely to add further engines when possible[/p][p]• automated designs for Spaceports and Defensive Bases now also includes shield recharge[/p][p]energy requirements when determining how many reactors to add, thus being more likely to[/p][p]avoid insufficient power output during battle[/p][p]• tweaked automated Defensive Base designs to typically have more shields and armor[/p][p]• automated designs now more likely to include countermeasures and targeting components, even[/p][p]when hull has inbuilt countermeasures and targeting (when components provide better values in[/p][p]these areas)[/p][p]• when manually designing a ship or base with a ship hull that only has internal hangar bays then[/p][p]disable rule requiring at least one external hangar bay to be filled by construction yards, docking[/p][p]bays or fighter bays[/p][p][/p][h3]RESEARCH[/h3][p]• reduced research point bonus from Research treaties to 10% (previously 20%)[/p][p]• removed PreferredWeaponComponentIds from all races (Races.xml) so that ship design and[/p][p]research is not influenced by these settings. These could interfere with the component policy[/p][p]settings, causing some confusion. The component policy settings are now fully authoritative[/p][p]when guiding the research automation.[/p][p][/p][h3]ALLIANCES[/h3][p]• fixed empire offers to end wars with alliances not properly displaying Alliance Vote screen to[/p][p]consider offer[/p][p]• fixed empire offers to end wars with alliances not being properly evaluated when diplomacy is[/p][p]automated[/p][p][/p][h3]BASE CONSTRUCTION[/h3][p]• Queue Base task buttons now use more precise determination of whether target is within[/p][p]construction ship fuel range[/p][p][/p][h3]USER INTERFACE[/h3][p]• ship damage report now shows more precise level of hull damage when nearing 100% health,[/p][p]thus making it clearer when a ship needs repair[/p][p][/p][h3]HIVE THREAT[/h3][p]• greatly improved Hive fleet ability to mine fuel, thus making the Hive more readily available for[/p][p]attack missions (all capable Hive ships will now mine for themselves and all ships mine faster)[/p][p][/p][h3]DATA[/h3][p]• adjusted independent freighter ship hulls[/p][p]• corrected an issue with the Boskara slave world event[/p][p]• various data fixes to government biases[/p][p][/p][h3]IKKURO / DHAYUT DLC[/h3][p]• story event typo fix[/p][p][/p][h3]ATUUK / WEKKARUS DLC[/h3][p]• fixed texture issues for some Wekkarus ships[/p][p]• story event typo fix[/p][p][/p][p]The Galaxy lives on.[/p][h3]WISHLIST NOW:[/h3][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]