Star Traders: Frontiers News

Update #264 picks up one some of the work we've completed in the last month -- faction affinity jobs, auto-trainer improvements -- and carries each a little further toward perfection. We've got a new faction affinity Job for Javat, and improved auto-trainer ruleset for Wing jobs, up-balanced in-flight Wing combat Talents and a pile of community-driven fixes to boot.

[h2]What’s the latest on Cyber Knights?[/h2]
Development on our next game, Cyber Knights: Flashpoint, proceeds apace. We’re currently working toward the private alpha test for Kickstarter backers, following the same process we used for Star Traders: Frontiers. But you can view the latest updates on the CKF Steam page (make sure you’ve wishlisted and followed!), or join us for behind-the-scenes discussion and development snapshots in our Discord.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1021210/Cyber_Knights_Flashpoint/


[h2]Javat Exo-Scouts[/h2]
Update #264 swaps Javat's faction affinity from Scavengers (non-combat, Talent's don't rely on Attributes) to Exo-Scout (crew combat, Attributes at a premium) which is a big win for the clan. We've also included a little blip of text in every Job description that has a faction affinity so that players are aware from which faction the the best possible recruits will hail.


[h2]Wing Job Auto-Trainer[/h2]
Recently we made some major improvements to the auto-trainer routine to handle Skill saving Talents better, ensuring your crew has a baseline count before considering other Talents. With Update #264, we've taken a similar approach to Wing Jobs -- Leader, Bomber and Commando -- to ensure that these Jobs put a training priority on launch Talents. Without such launch Talents, they cannot fly a craft and are overall dead weight on any crew. So now, when auto-training, characters with these jobs will ensure a baseline of such Talents before considering other options.


[h2]In-Flight Wing Talents[/h2]
The cooldowns for 3 more of the in-flight Wing Talents have come down to 1 week from 3 weeks. These Talents -- "Synchronized Strikes", "Vanguard Scan" and "Bolstering Fly-By" -- now all join "Protective Escort" at the 1 week cooldown level. This reduced cooldown window gives an additional advantage to craft pilots who have a high cost (must launch!) to use these buffs in the first place. They're more readily available than any other type of ship combat Talent.

It's a nice -- if minor -- balance upgrade for craft. We're continuing to work on small and steady improvements to the overall meta of combat.

[h2]Jyeeta Brood Fix[/h2]
For many players, finishing the Jyeeta Brood Era has resulted in a hanging quest log about the "Death of a Brood". For all future captains who pass through the ending storyline as of Update #264, this should no longer be an issue and nicely cleaned up. For those captains who already went through the Era, if you still have the hanging quest log, select it, pick actions and then dismiss mission.

[h2]Fixing Trait and Card[/h2]
We fixed the Contact Trait "Covert Ops" which was not really forcing Contacts to always buy Intel. Now they do! We also fixed the description for the Salvage card "Influence Boost" which was claiming it gave too much Influence -- it really gives +10-20.

[h2]v3.1.57 - 5/3/2021[/h2]
- Changed Javat's faction affinity Job from Scavenger to Exo-Scout
- Added faction affinity bonuses to all Job descriptions to match Steel Song
- Auto-Train for Wing Jobs now puts priority on Launch Talents
- In-flight Wing Leader and Wing Bomber Talents "Synchronized Strikes", "Vanguard Scan" and "Bolstering Fly-By" reduced to 1 week cooldown
- Fixed issue with Contact Trait "Covert Ops" not correctly offering option to buy Intel
- Fixed formatting issues on Star Atlas (Water-Fuel, etc) on lower resolutions
- Fixed card description for "Boosted Influence" in Salvage orbital ops (10-20 Influence boost)
- Fixed issue with quest objective "Death of a Brood" sticking around after end of Jyeeta Brood Era

When Andrew and I released Star Traders: Frontiers, it was a new pinnacle in the years of work we’d put into the Star Traders games already. We’d delivered on our promises to more than a thousand backers on Kickstarter, gotten recognition from Steam as one of the best games from Early Access that year, and had seen so much fan and new player enthusiasm that we knew we’d be able to keep the game growing for years to come.

And we have: over 250 updates of new free content, game improvements, and story expansions to our space sim sandbox RPG. We’ve burned through an incredible number of milestones from our development roadmap, doubling or tripling almost every kind of content in the game, introducing new game mechanics, all while keeping the game balanced and as bug-free as possible across all platforms.

If we’re trumpeting how much work we’ve done here, it’s because we want it to come across just as notably how much of content and improvements we’ve made have been driven by ideas and feedback from you, the players. In reviews, forum posts, discord brainstorming, and Twitch chat, you all have made it clear that you love this universe as much as we do, and enjoy adding to it as much as you do sailing through it.

[h2]What’s coming next…[/h2]
Now, we’re coming up on the end of our previously announced roadmap for Star Traders. This is not the end of new content from us for the game by any means, simply the completion of what we’ve already promised to add to the game.

We’ve always been very upfront about our ability to keep adding to our games depending on keeping a tight focus & staying in-scope. Now with these last milestones wrapping, we’ve been able to consider what larger-scale changes outside of the scope of the last roadmap we want to give you.

Given how much of what we’ve added to the game has been driven by you already, and knowing it’s a small fraction of the ideas, possibilities, and personal passions you all have for the game, we think the choice is an obvious one: we’re going to add mod support to Star Traders: Frontiers.



This means:

1. A basic save-game editor all players will be able to use to customize their personal playthroughs. Want everything unlocked? Done. Wish that officer had more Fortitude? Buff away! Want to try max level? Change difficulty mid-playthrough? Remove that one annoying trait? Check, check, and check.
   
2. Steam Workshop tools for uploading & downloading mods, and a separately-installable build of the game so you can switch between vanilla Star Traders and modded Star Traders.
   
3. Officially-supported access & documentation to the game database for mod creation.
   

Work has already begun, and we expect to release these tools later this year. If you are a modder who would like to be among the first to get access to our mod creation tools, please fill out this form.

[h2]This is a big deal for both Star Traders and Trese Brothers.[/h2]

As long-time fans of the studio will know, we’ve loved the idea of mod support for quite a while. The challenge has always been having both the development capacity and the playerbase scale to make adding mods viable and worthwhile. As we’ve grown, we felt confident enough to promise we’d add mod support to Cyber Knights: Flashpoint since the Kickstarter. With this announcement though, it turns out Star Traders: Frontiers will be the first Trese Brothers game have full-fledged mod support.

One of the things we value most in our games is replayability. As a studio, we would much rather create one game you want to play for the next ten years than sell ten games you’re done with after a few months. It’s an extremely high mark to hit in our novelty-driven world, but we’re excited about the potential for mods to even further extend the lifespan and replayability of these games so many of you are already so passionate about.

We can’t wait to see what you all will create. If you’re a modder, or an artist or a programmer interested in getting into modding, remember to let us know if you’d like to potentially get early access to these tools. For all our players and fans who want to simply stay in the loop, contribute ideas, or let us hear your enthusiasm 🤞 for the news, our Discord community is open to you.

Update #263 delivers on some new and devastating railgun platforms to round out the weapon set at level 8, a huge heap of card art for the Salvage, Explorer, Blockade, Spy and Patrol, a new card for the aggressive orbital ops and new enemy carrier AIs in some big, powerful carrier ships.

Speaking of new, new new -- if word hasn't trickled down from the tippity top of the New Boston spires, leaked below the streets and drip-drip-dripped into your safehouse, we're here to tell you about our upcoming turn-based cyberpunk heist RPG. Cyber Knights: Flashpoint will be coming to Steam in 2022 and mixes stealth, hacking and tactical combat with deep RPG elements and a unique heist system for missions. The wishlist button is calling your name, Knight.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1021210?snr=1_2108_9__2107

[h2]Demon-X Rails[/h2]
We've added 2 new Railguns to round out the class for the late-game. These powerful, level 8 weapons platforms are story-sensitive, just like all of the level 8 weapons, and are not released until the end of the Consolidation or Dissension Eras. However, when they do arrive on the starport shop floor, they are worth a look! The Demon-X Heavy Rail hits with a high Crippling Rate and best-in-class Damage and for a medium weapon it requires a mighty 4 Reactor Points. The Demon-X Fast Rail only demands 3 RP from your void engine in trade for a downgrade in Damage, Craft Hit %, and Crippling Rate it still is a powerful contender as the only level 8 Railgun that can be railed off at 3 RP. Be sure


[h2]Card Adds and Revamps[/h2]
We've added a new negative card for the aggressive orbital operations -- Blockade and Spy -- which can result in loss of Reputation with the local faction. This card mirrors the result you can gain in Patrol for supporting the faction and gaining Rep. It is a great one to knock out with Talents if you're looking to do your work quietly. Looking at you, intergalactic spies.

We've also improved and replaced a ton of visuals across the card set in both Explorer and the entire orbital ops group -- Patrol, Blockade, Spy and Salvage. The new card sets make the game easier to read without checking as much text -- you can now see a large weapon or gear icon when you've got valuable loot appearing in Salvage, etc.


[h2]Enemy Carriers[/h2]
With this update, we've finished the testing and analysis of two new high challenge level faction carriers -- the Javat Mortifor and the De Valtos Dreadnought Battlecarrier. The second is especially kitted out for battle, so beware of De Valtos Bounty Hunters sailing the stars in such a mighty vessel. Or maybe you're also kitted out for battle and you might be looking for that peak Salvage price tag or -- if you're really into making money -- using a Prize Ship Talent to bring that Dreadnought home in one piece and under your banner.

Either way, make sure you're defenses, autocannons or your own craft are primed if you run into either of these in the late-game.

[h2]Small Craft Maintenance[/h2]
The cost to maintain early Class 1 and Class 2 small craft has been reduced with this update. Running a carrier is not a cheap operation, but for those getting their new carriers off the ground in the mid-game, it just got a little more reasonable.

[h2]v3.1.53 - 4/22/2021 [/h2]
- New level 8 Railgun: Demon-X Heavy Rail (4AP, High Crippling Hit & Damage)
- New level 8 Railgun: Demon-X Fast Rail (3AP, High Critical Hit & Void)
- New "Reputation Loss" Card introduced for Spy and Blockade
- Added "Mortifor Carrier" Javat Military Officer AI
- Added "Dreadnought Battlecarrier" De Valtos Bounty Hunter AI
- Improved card visuals for Orbital Ops (Spy, Blockade, Patrol, Salvage)
- Improved and revised visuals for Exploration
- Improved visuals for several Orbital Cards, such as "Reputation Bonus"
- Reduced Maintenance Cost for Class 1 and Class 2 Small Craft

Update #262 bundles up a lot of meta changes that we've been in the pipe for some time as we finish testing and analysis of the improvements. #262 includes ship Crippling Effect improvements, new economic angles and demand, new enemy AI and ship combinations and finally new tweaks to high and low mass Chaser engines.

We're excited to keep improving and expanding Star Traders: Frontiers and hope you'll help us do so by sharing the game with a friend and leaving a review.

[h2]What’s the latest on Cyber Knights?[/h2]
Development on our next game, Cyber Knights: Flashpoint, proceeds apace. We’re currently working toward the private alpha test for Kickstarter backers, following the same process we used for Star Traders: Frontiers. But you can view the latest updates on the CKF Steam page (make sure you’ve wishlisted and followed!), or join us for behind-the-scenes discussion and development snapshots in our Discord.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1021210/Cyber_Knights_Flashpoint/


[h2]Crippling Effect Rebalance[/h2]
With Update #262, we've tuned some of the classic ship crippling effects coming from powerful weapons, paying special attention to their % chance to appear for the class. As one of the rarer sets, Missiles have gained powerful bonuses to their unique effects. Crew Stunned (coming from Missiles) has gained a -1 Reactor penalty. Secondary Explosions (coming from Missiles and craft Rockets) has gained 10 Component Damage per Turn. Radiation Wash (coming from Railguns, Lances, Plasma Cannons) has split its 20 Morale Damage into 10 Crew Damage and 10 Crew Morale loss per turn.


[h2]Economic Shifts[/h2]
Another meta analysis and improvement we've completed with this update is to specific economic resources and increasing their demand across the galactic Exchanges, in some cases opening up new trade route possibilities and in others simply growing the roaring yell for moar moar moar of a certain product.

• Demand for Iridlaentine has simply grown much stronger in the places where they've already called for it.
  
• Narcotic Spice is now more readily supplied by Farming worlds
  
• To feed the small but important local agriculture on Population and Luxury Population worlds, there is now demand for both Fertilizer and Pesticides
  
• Industrial worlds supply more Terraforming Components while Tradeways no longer provide these key manufactured components
  

[h2]New Enemy AI[/h2]
As new ships are brought online in the game, we always give the player-base a chance to test them out before we build AI around them. It's a cautious move to ensure captains are not killed unfairly until we've seen the ships in action. With this release, we're catching up a bit and have added 5 new enemy captain AI's in specialized ships and factions, bringing out the Lockwood Defender for Rychart Military Officers all the way down to the Larimar Battlecruiser (yikes!) for Cadar Bounty Hunters.

[h2]Engine Balance[/h2]
In our quest to perfect the balance of ship's engines, we've reduced the Safety Rating on two engine groups with Update #262 -- the M9000 Dual Field and all Chaser engines at the M6000 class and above. We've also bumped the M2400 Chaser Engine's safety to 10.

[h2]Community Fixes[/h2]
And, as always -- a big thanks to everyone in the community posting feedback, feature requests and bugs. We've fixed a number of typos, minor display bugs and issues this week include a issue where Ship victory Talents boost the wrong Conflict!

[h2]v3.1.51 - 4/18/2021[/h2]
- Rebalanced Secondary Explosions, Radiation Wash and Crew Stunned Crippling Ship Effects
- Added new galactic demand for Fertilizers and Pesticides
- Added new galactic production for Narcotic Spice
- Increased industrial supply for Terraforming Components
- Increased galactic demand for Iridlaentine
- Added "Lockwood Defender" Rychart Military Officer AI
- Added "Neutiquam Cruiser" Steel Song Smuggler AI
- Added "Tempus Freighter" De Valtos Merchant AI
- Added "Vark Carrier" Zenrin Pirate AI
- Added "Larimar Battlecruiser" Cadar Bounty Hunter AI
- Fixed issue where Ship Victory Conflict Talents could misidentify the Conflict they boosted
- Reduced Safety Rating on M9000 Balanced and Dual Field Engines
- Reduced Safety Rating on M6000+ Chaser Void Engines