Star Traders: Frontiers News

With a week left to go in the Steam Summer Sale, we're dropping another quick release to add a new control switch option for combat speed, fix a repair time issue in starports, update the fields shown in the new game screen and clarify one of the Sniper's Talent abilities. It's a smaller update, but its go some nice things in it as well as the critical fix to starport.

[h2]Starport Repairs[/h2]
Introduced in Update #214, a bug has been effecting starport repair times, forcing them to run around 25 weeks all the time. We've now resolved that with Update #215! Our apologies.

[h2]High Speed Combat[/h2]
While an toggle in the options screen is nice, it does not provide for easy mid-combat toggling of combat speed. Often, you'll find yourself wanting to play slow during hard combats or the start of combats and then ready to speed it up as you claim dominance on the field. A new configurable keybinding -- defaulting to "F" -- has been added to toggle between combat speeds. It will put a message up to the screen when it swaps and notably only accepts input when its y our turn.

Press F for fast!

[h2]Speed and Agility in New Game[/h2]
We've added a ship's engine speed and agility to the listed fields in the new game captain template builder. This can be a big help to pick among ships of the same or similar Mass class as you consider how quickly they traverse the map and their different values as a mission runner versus a close or long ranged combat ship.

[h2]Story Pacing[/h2]
We're constantly monitoring the data and listening to the community about the story pacing. We've made many adjustments and tweaks and want to share that with Update #215, we've picked up the pace of the later half of the game a bit to help compress the story content a bit and reduce long stretches of purely free sandbox play without the option to engage in story.

[h2]Sniper![/h2]
Finally, we've tweaked the description of the Sniper's "Target Acquired" Talent which does not require your character to already be in Stealth Mode. Simply the presence of a backline sniper bearing down on them hinders the enemy front rank target with this awesome On Init debuff.

[h2]v3.0.73 - 7/3/2020[/h2]
- Fixed bug causing all Starport repairs to take 255 turns
- Added new configurable keybinding 'F' toggles high speed ship or crew combat during combat
- When customizing new game templates, ship speed and agility are shown during selection
- Improved the pacing of late game story eras and events to ensure less story downtime late in the game
- Improved talent description of Sniper's "Target Acquired" to be clear it does not need Stealth



Check out our next upcoming game and wishlist today
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1021210/Cyber_Knights_Flashpoint/

Welcome to the Steam Summer Sale! At 40% off it's the best price ever and a great time to pick up Star Traders: Frontiers if its been sitting on your wishlist, or you've been waiting to share it with a friend. Come, the void is calling your name, captain.

Update #214 adds a new ship, rebalances an existing one, fixes some issues with ship component repair times, adds a new keybinding from the community, and improves Rare Trade Good display in the Star Atlas. Thanks to everyone for playing, posting a review and sharing!


[h2]Larimar Battlecruiser[/h2]
The Larimar Battlecruiser has officially been greenlit and is now for sale at Cadar only military ports. Built as a destructive torpedo boat, the Larimar is ready to do battle at long range and decimate enemy crew and components with its heavy compliment of weaponry. Built with a hangar for one interdictor or a long range shuttle, the Larimar packs a bevy of torpedos, a Deflector Array 4, Battle Prow 5, shielded barracks and officer suites as well as two Interlock Sensor Matrix 4. Cadar brings torpedoes to any fight!


[h2]Reclaiming the Azurite[/h2]
The Azurite Cruiser has permanently joined the Cadar starport roster and is no longer for sale at other starports. Naturally, this means that it has been further militarized with its base Armor and base cost both going up and some nice changes to its component setup making it better prepared for battle upon lift off.

[h2]Repair Time Rebalance[/h2]
Some components that had long install times, such as the very expensive Hyperion Launch Bay, came along with grievous long repair times. Sometimes so long, you might consider installing a new one instead. We've resolved the math mistake that caused this issue and now the highest level and most expensive components correctly have their logical capping to their total repair time cost.

[h2]Keybinding Addition[/h2]
With Update #214, we added a new keybinding from a user request posted after #213. If you see missing keybinding options that would increase your pace and enjoyment of play, please post them! The default key '2' will now jump back to the map from any subscreen -- ship status, crew roster, landing zone.

This can help you quickly get back to traveling if you've hit a zone for a quick refresher. Punch 1 on your keyboard to run all the services, then punch 2 and you're back to traveling!

[h2]Check that Cyber Knights[/h2]
Our next game is hovering on Steam, waiting for you to check it out. If you like turn-based tactics, cyberpunk, dogs, cats, drones, nano, base building, XCOM, ice cream or games -- wishlist it now!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1021210/Cyber_Knights_Flashpoint/

[h2]v3.0.71 - 6/29/2020[/h2]
- New Ship: Larimar Battlecruiser (7000M Cadar-built heavy combat ship)
- Rebalanced: Azurite Cruiser (now Cadar-only, increased cost & armor)
- Rebalanced Repair times for Hyperion Bays and Level 5+ Components
- Added new configurable keybinding '2' jumps back to map from any subscreen
- Improved the phrasing of some Trait-based barks
- Rare Trade Goods now correctly appear in resource buy list in Star Atlas as well as search

Update #213 focuses on a major feature for quality of life for long-time players and crew combat battlers. We've now introduced a "Fast Crew Combat" option to match the long-loved "Fast Ship Combat" option. With this option enabled, crew combat is fast -- the animations are trimmed out and all the actions flash by. If you've got hands on a keyboard, you can wrap up a battle much much faster than you could ever before.




[h2]Beware Carriers[/h2]
With Update #213, we've also made human-captained carriers far more likely to appear in the game and also reduced the minimum enemy captain level at which they can be flown. Depending on your difficulty, you'll see human carriers flying earlier and more often now than ever before.

[h2]Other Fixes[/h2]
A few other fixes include correcting the missing description for "Riches Untold" Salvage card and fixing the incorrect level marker shown over Deflector Array 5 and 6.

With the new fast crew combat option now fully deployed, we've got one more major QoL option up our sleeve for #214 before moving back to content, map v2 and stories!

[h2]v3.0.69 - 6/21/2020[/h2]
- Added new game option "Fast Crew Combat" allows for much faster crew battles for veteran players
- Enemy carriers flow by human captains are more likely to appear and will appear more often (enemy captains level 15+)
- Fixed missing description for Salvage card "Riches Untold"
- Fixed level displayed over Deflector Array 5 and 6 ship components

[h2]Seen Cyber Knights?[/h2]
Have you seen -- and wishlisted -- our next upcoming game? Cyberpunk turn-based tactics under the shadows of the crumbling New Boston dome is not something you want to miss.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1021210/Cyber_Knights_Flashpoint/

Welcome to the newest wave of captains taking flight in the void! With Star Traders: Frontiers at 40% off, we hope you'll take a moment to tell a friend, post a suggestion and leave a review when you're ready. Update #212 follows up on adding new cards, a new faction-specific ship, some major new ship components, and improves the Star Atlas search based on user feedback.


[h2]Blockading for Cargo[/h2]
With Update #212, we've added 3 new cards to Blockading ops, allowing you to not only take money by extorting enemy ships for tithes but by forcing enemy merchants to surrender and looting their hold. Between the three cards, "Stolen Cargo" will capture up to a moderate 40 cargo, a mix of manufactured and raw cargo, while "Corsair's Haul" will gain up to 60 cargo with a heavier focused on valuable manufactured goods. And finally, the "Rare Trade Heist" will steal up to 16 Rare Trade Goods from a Smuggler for possibly a big pay off.

In all three cases, these cards are more likely to appear during Trade Wars and Trade Bans, as well as Quadrant-wide Rumors related to the Jyeeta and Merchant Fleets.

The cards will only be available if you have worthwhile amount of cargo space empty in your hold.


[h2]New Ship: Lockwood Defender[/h2]
The Lockwood is Rychart's long-range strategic reconnaissance craft design and manufactured in top-secret foundries on Rychart worlds. Equipped with the best on-ground and orbital Intel gathering technology, combined with a custom Rychart Behemoth Engine the Lockwood is an incredible long range top notch spying vessel.


[h2]New Ship Components[/h2]
The galactic starports are working double time to churn out even more powerful components. These high 3 new high end additions will take a bit out of any budget, but are worth if to perfect your ship.

The Hyperion Launch Bay is the first craft and officer component, docking both 1 Craft and housing 1 Officer, as well as a major Fuel reserve of 100 and significant armor. These are gold plating power for any large carrier!


Deflector Array 5 and 6 have now also gone into production, providing ramped up Radiation and Void Resistance as well even better defense against craft for your capital ship. For combat vessels of any size, these are worth their significant investment!

[h2]Star Atlas Search[/h2]
We've fixed a hole in the Star Atlas search that was preventing searches like "buys Travor Spice Wax" (or just "buys Trav") from working. Rare Trade Goods are now included in these searches! Happy selling out there.

[h2]Wishlist Cyber Knights![/h2]
Of course, we're also celebrating and sharing our next title: Cyber Knights: Flashpoint. Take a minute to peak and punch that Wishlist button!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1021210/Cyber_Knights_Flashpoint/

[h2]v3.0.67 - 5/30/2020[/h2]
- New Ship: Lockwood Defender (6000M, Rychart, Space SR-71)
- Added 3 new Blockade cards - "Stolen Cargo", "Corsair's Haul" and Rare "Rare Trade Heist"
- New Blockade cards more common under Trade War and Trade Ban Conflicts and Quadrant Rumors (Jyeeta, Merchants)
- New Component: Hyperion Launch Bay holds 1 Craft/1 Officer/100 Fuel/5 Armor for $3M+ each
- New Component: Deflector Array 5, provide extreme Rad/Void/Craft Defense for $1M+ each
- New Component: Deflector Array 6, provide insane Rad/Void/Craft Defense for $2M+ each
- Star Atlas can now be searched for Rare Trade Goods, such as "buys Travor Spice Wax"

Welcome all new captains! We're kicking off a week of updates in celebration of all of our captains -- old and new -- who sail the quadrants. It's a great time to spread the word by telling a friend or leaving a review as Star Traders: Frontiers is 40% off for the next 6 days and nights.

To start the week off, Update #211 kicks off the week with a host of new high risk and reward cards piling into orbital ops and salvage.


[h2]6 New Rumor Cards [/h2]
All of the 5 new high powered cards arriving in Update #211 are linked to Rumors. First up are set of 3 that appear exclusively in Salvage as rare cards but that provide some significant bonuses above the normal.

The new "Major Score" card can drop a stack of up to $100K Credits into your account, providing a new major way to rake in the bank while salvaging. But it doesn't end there with the "Riches Untold" offering a reward of up to $200K from a single card. Both are rare, and "Richest Untold" obviously the rarest of the bunch but that is the name of the game in Salvage -- high risk, high reward!

Beyond material wealth, "Spice Memories" card drops a whopping 800 XP onto a small subset of your crew. With this extra focused XP, this can easily result in an immediate level gained in the earlier game!

In those quadrants that are under the dangerous quadrant-wide Rumors of Radiation Storm and Xeno Fleet, there are new reasons to risk entering these areas. Any orbital operations (Patrol, Spy, Blockade) now have a chance of including the rare "Enviable Breakthrough" card that grants 400 XP , shared across a small subset of your crew.

The new "Web of Conspiracy" card can uncover 3 to 6 Rumors in a single turn, as your captain uncovers some bigger scheme. This new card can appear as a rare card for Spying during any conditions, but will appear in Patrol and Blockade during either Radiation Storm or Xeno Fleet Rumors.

Finally, because it can't all be good news -- in the presence of a Radiation Storm or Xeno Fleet Rumor, you can also draw the "Horrific Damage" orbital ops card which can destroy up to 4 components completely. This is a nasty card ranking at -5 and worth warning that it's skill tests are hard to beat if you lack a Talent. Be careful to avoid or knock this one out with a Talent!

[h2]Scales of Risk and Reward[/h2]
We've made some further tuning improvements to the risk and reward weights in Patrol, Spy and Blockade to push planets and zones more into their focus niche. Those zones that were good for Spying are likely even better for it -- so its all the more important now to go to places that are good targets and not just spy anywhere.

In Salvage, we've also rebalanced some of the drop rates for weapon to help players find a wider variety of armaments as they salvage.

[h2]Wishlist Cyber Knights![/h2]
Of course, we're also celebrating and sharing our next title: Cyber Knights: Flashpoint. Take a minute to peak and punch that Wishlist button!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1021210/Cyber_Knights_Flashpoint/

[h2]v3.0.65 - 5/26/2020[/h2]
- New "Major Score" Orbital result card grants up to 100K Credits
- New "Enviable Breakthrough" Orbital result card grants up to 400XP
- New "Spice Memories" Salvage result card grants up to 800XP
- New "Riches Untold" Salvage result card grants up to 200K Credits
- New "Horrific Damage" Orbital results card destroys up to 4 components
- Graphical optimizations to reduce game's memory footprint
- Rebalanced drop rates for new weapons in Salvage mini-games
- Additional balancing for risk and reward weights in Orbital Ops (Patrol, Spy, Blockade)
- Fixed Reported Crashes