Star Traders: Frontiers News

Update #300 launches some exciting changes to the carrier meta right out of the hangar bay at screaming high speeds. Your Captain can now train to pilot an Interdictor, Shuttle or Bomber and lead your wing squadron against the enemy. it's rich territory for the recent Top Gun Community Challenge and a new and fun way to enjoy your carrier with even more on the line than ever before.

The update has also added new artwork for the worlds of the void, improved hovers and fixed bugs thanks to community input. Thanks to every captain for playing, posting reviews and telling a friend!

[h2]What’s the latest on Cyber Knights?[/h2]
Earlier this month, we launched Cyber Knights: Flashpoint’s private alpha test for Kickstarter backers, following the same tried-and-true process we used for Star Traders: Frontiers. With a thousand players in the game now, development pace has picked up and we’re on the long march to release on Steam, so 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]Wing Commando Profession[/h2]
When setting up a new captain, you can now opt in to the high-risk, semi-crazy Wing Commando Profession. You are signing up to leave the bridge in your officer's capable hands and get shot out of a hangar bay at extreme speeds, hurtling toward the enemy hull to lead a deadly boarding operation ... sounds like the life!

Wing Commando requires the challenging "Xeno Slayer" unlock or you can play the modded version of the game without mods to skip unlocks entirely. There are no starting ships in the game that come free with a Boarding Shuttle, so before you really begin your perilous and possibly short-lived career, you'll need to be able to afford one.

Don't like the unlock, just launch the modded version for no unlocks at all.

[h2]Captain, to the Hangar Bay![/h2]
Since Captains can now join the ranks of shuttle pilots, we've ripped the prohibition off all Wing jobs and now allow Captains to train into Wing Leader, Bomber or Command (as a Job, not your starting profession). Now your captain can mix with the best pilots on the crew and be a star in your Top Gun Community Challenge playthrough. Some may say it is unnecessary risk for the Captain to lead bombing runs but the Captain will tell you, there is nothing else in the void that feels quite like cracking a hull with a Buster or the pure fiery joy of intercepting a torpedo mid-flight.


[h2]Beautiful and Dangerous New Locales[/h2]
Update #300 adds 6 new backgrounds for landed environments including 2 new desert wilderness locations, two new wilderness ice world locations, an ocean wilderness location and an idyllic garden outpost.

[h2]Fuel/AU Clarification and Bug Fixes[/h2]
With Update #300, we have improved the hover over Fuel/AU to be clear that this value is an approximation which is heavily modified by travel conditions and tests. We've also fixed a bug where bonuses from Captian's Traits were not showing up in the ship status screen after ship upgrades.

[h2]v3.3.1 - 8/20/2022[/h2]
- Added new unlockable Profession: Wing Commando!
- Lead boarding assaults from your shuttle as a Captain Commando
- Adjusted carrier-captain rules, Captain can now train as Wing Leader, Bomber or Commando (even without profession)
- Added 6 new environment backgrounds for remote worlds and small settlements
- Fixed display issue causing Captain's Trait not show in ship status after upgrading ship
- Marked Fuel/AU for engines as approximation, clarified hovers
- Fixed unlock typos

Captains, it's been 4 years now since we launched Star Traders: Frontiers. 🎉 Another year of expanding this universe, welcoming new players, fun new playthrough challenges, and booming Steam, Discord, and Reddit communities that continue to impress us with your ideas for us, helpfulness to each other, and creativity in your gameplay.

Basically, we have a lot to celebrate! 😁 So this Sunday, at 8pm EDT, join us on Twitch for a celebration stream!

Tune in for...

• dev chat!
  
• Cory seeing how far some of the cheat-ier mods you all have created can get him... on Impossible Difficulty 😅...
  
• a dive into the deep lore -- bring your questions and see what secrets you can get out of Andrew.
  

And before the Sunday night stream, we'd like to invite you to hop in our Discord and share a favorite moment, a gameplay story, or even just a link to a review you've left us.

Everyone who does so may get featured in a commemorative image we're working on and will reveal during the livestream. Share your links / stories / gameplay memories before Sunday at noon Eastern for your chance to be included.

We’ll see you on https://www.twitch.tv/TreseBrothers at 8pm Eastern, this Sunday August 7th!

[h2]End of Month Wrap up:[/h2]

(original challenge description below)

This last month you all have been riding the Highway to the Danger Zone with your Top Guns. You’ve dealt with them only firing when they are good and ready and put up with them buzzing your bridge.

It’s been a lot of fun reading your stories and hearing about you and your pilots’ adventures. If you want to catch up on the fun, you can check out the challenge discussion thread and head to our Discord and go to #top_gun_challenge.

[h3]Some highlights:[/h3]

LordofSyn, for giving us the fashion crime of the challenge, but also check out that glorious mustache. It definitely deserves a prize.



Scathe, for the many captain’s logs highlighting the adventures of their pilots and their kill totals. Particularly enjoyed the stories of intrigue with an officer trying to steal titles to ships and jealousy, when the top pilot was passed over for a promotion in favor of a longer standing member of the crew. Check out these stats on their Top Guns!



Lord Duluth, not only for the stories about their 3 pilots, but for telling us about the Bounty Hunter/Xeno Hunter/Soldier who really wanted to let everyone know that they would be an excellent pilot. No really, just look at those traits!



Well done, Captains! There are so many more of you who participated in the challenge, sharing great screenshots and stories; thank you all! Even though July is over, we would love to hear about your try at this challenge (or any of the previous community challenges) any time you’re looking for a fun twist to your playthrough.

[h3]Stay tuned for future challenges![/h3]



Hello, Captains. It’s time for the July (and a little bit of June) 2022 STF challenge. Ride the Highway to the Danger Zone in our Top Gun Challenge! We want to see and hear the stories of your hot shot pilots and their exploits. Who buzzed the bridge after a battle? What happened during their shore leave beach volleyball game? Do they have the need, the need for speed?

This is a carrier craft challenge. With the recent release of Update 299, you have access to a new starting carrier ship if you've completed the "Hunt the Hunter" unlock (or are playing the moddable version), in addition to all previously available options. Here is the outline of the guidelines for this challenge:

• Fly a carrier ship or install a launch bay onto the ship of your choice
  
• Have at least 3 wing pilots
  
• Use any mix of Bomber, Interceptor and Boarding Shuttles
  
• If you wish, use Custom Difficulty and max out Profit Boost to help accelerate getting ships, pilots, etc
  

While this is a carrier craft challenge, we want to hear about your Wing pilots. Tell us about their lives, their adventures, and their careers through screenshots, narrative write ups, stats, memes, etc. You can share them here or in our Discord. At the end of the challenge, we will highlight several of your Top Guns.



[h3]Show us your pilots and boast about their exploits with:[/h3]

• Screenshots of your elite pilot team and (if they are lucky) their fabulous mustaches
  
• Stories of your pilots’ daring (perhaps dangerous) actions during battle, what they got up to at the spice hall, and how they came to be a part of your crack pilot team
  
• Stats on their battle prowess, battles won/lost
  
• Your own creative edits / showcases / celebrations of your pilots' adventures
  

No matter what you choose to share, please include one screenshot of your pilot team! We want to see your aces, your hot shots, and your pilots that like to bend the rules.

If you post in the Discord, please post in the #top_gun_challenge channel in the STF category.

We've also opened up a discussion on the general forum for all posts, questions and shares for this challenge!

Fly into the Danger Zone, Captain. Looking forward to hearing about your pilots!

It is a hot time of the year for sales, so sit down in the cool captain's chair in your air-conditioned bridge (you bought the AC upgrade, right?) and command your ship and crew across the icy void. Come one, come all, join us in Star Traders: Frontiers for the Steam Summer Sale. This is the best price you'll see until Cyber Knight's: Flashpoint launches, so don't miss this one.

Update #299 is a major carrier update, releasing the first and only starting carrier, the mighty Shizari Huntress. This also opens the door for modders to add their own starting carriers if they please. We've also added a new contact, improved the orbital UI to make spotting Contact's easier and fixed a small pile of other things suggested by community members.

If you're enjoy the game, the pace of updates and all the free (299 updates ... no DLC ... wut?) updates, please remember to share the game with a friend and leave a review!

[h2]Our upcoming heist RPG is on the way![/h2]
Right now ~1,000 of the Kickstarter backers for Cyber Knights: Flashpoint have access to the game’s private alpha and are giving us great feedback as the game gets closer to Early Access. We also have some public demos on our roadmap for events coming up this fall. Make sure you’ve wishlisted and followed Cyber Knights for news and a special discount when it’s released!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1021210/Cyber_Knights_Flashpoint/


[h2]Starting Carrier[/h2]
When setting up a new captain, you can now start your game directly with the Shizari Huntress, a light-service carrier that bristles with long range weaponry as well as auto-cannons to augment its launch bay and dual hangar bays. This new priority (A) ship requires the challenging "Hunt the Hunter" unlock (or, you can play the modded version of the game without mods to skip unlocks entirely) but comes with an extra $60,000 of valuable craft installed in its hangars. The default configuration is a Wing Leader flying a Interdictor and a Wing Bomber flying a Bomber.

For modders, ship components have also gained a new field "defaultCraft" which can be used to indicate what craft a component should slot when its being used for a starting ship, and the matching crew will join the ship as well.


[h2]Spice Hall Presser[/h2]
Hanging around the spice hall, the presser is an unforgiving type of Contact, rounding up potential Pilots and helping them find their way to a captain who needs more hands. The Presser offers Pilot recruits, discounts on Spice and direct access to the Black Market. With the 4 new Contact types added in the last update, this latest push has greatly expanded the ability to get access to all the different recruit types you might need directly from Contacts, where the highest recruit levels and best Attribute bonuses are available.


[h2]Contact Hover[/h2]
When visiting a system's orbit screen, you can now hover over the Contacts icon over either of the zones to see exactly which Contacts are there. This can be especially useful on systems with 2 zones and multiple Contacts to avoid landing at the wrong spot.

[h2]More Fixes[/h2]
As usual, we've got a pile of other fixes thanks to everyone posting daily here on the Steam forums:

• Resolved the text overruns that were showing up on some resolutions for the new starting Contacts added in #298.
  
• Fixed an unlock image for Specialty Acquisitions which was actually a ship but just showed a big ?.
  
• Improved the screen flow for selling Intel / Scientific Intel to match other Contact services (subscreen closes on use).
  
• Adjusted more engine burners to be bettered centered.
  
• Improved spawn rates for 4 new Contact types added in Update #298.
  

[h2]v3.2.49 - 6/25/2022[/h2]
- Added new starting carrier ship Shizari Huntress (unlock "Hunt the Hunter") to (A) priority
- Light service carrier packs long range weaponry, auto-cannons and dual hangars
- Added new Contact type "Spice Hall Presser" who recruits pilots, offers spice discounts and Black Market access
- Contact hovers in system orbit screen list all Contacts by type and name
- Fixed text overruns for new Starting Contacts on some screen resolutions
- Fixed missing unlock image for Specialty Acquisitions
- Screen flow when selling Intel or Scientific Intel to Contacts matches pattern for all services
- Adjusted visual engine burners for Galtak and other ships during Hyperwarp jumps

Stemming from an excellent conversation on the Steam forums, Update #298 adds 4 new starting Contacts to help balance out the mix of starting Contact recruits and services. With these 4 new starting options, we've also addressed a number of requests and bugs posted by the community in the last week -- all rolling up into an exciting new release.

A huge thanks goes out to everyone posting on the Steam forums, sharing the game and leaving reviews. Your time and effort helps us keep developing and improving Star Traders: Frontiers as we near an exciting Update #300.

[h2]Want more Trese Brothers sci-fi?[/h2]
We always love seeing how many of you have pieced together the lore of Star Traders from the stories within, and enjoy the flavor of this universe your Captain is a part of. In our next game, we’re telling a very different sci-fi story but with the same depth we bring to all our worlds. Check out the dark-future feel of our upcoming cyberpunk heist RPG, and wishlist it today!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1021210/Cyber_Knights_Flashpoint/


[h2]4 New Starting Contacts[/h2]
Four new unlockable Contacts have been added with Update #298, adding more options for key servicesl like Combat Armor and filling in missing melee recruit options. If you dislike playing with unlocks, keep in mind that you can just play the modded version without any mods and skip unlocks altogether.

The Palace Guard (unlocked by Wraithful Corsair) is charged with defending palace visitors, royals and diplomats and can recruit Bodyguards, offer Introductions and has connections both for Edicts and Military Rank.

Cruising the underground with a pack of ruffians and an eager blade, the Smuggler Rover (unlocked by Salvage Contractor) is likely to rob those they don't respect. If you can earn their respect, they recruit Blade Dancers, offer the Black Market, sell Rare Trade Goods, and have some connections above-the-shadows that allow them to offer low level Permits.

Trained at the academy and hardened in fleet service, the Naval Doctor (unlocked by Pit Fighter V) has returned from their tour of duty and now works within the grav military. They can recruit Combat Medics, SellsArmor, Buy Intel and offer Military Rank as well.

The Retired Blademaster (unlocked by Master Adventurer) was once a deadly duelist or a revered Blade Dancer. Now, retired to their residence or school, eager fighters come to train at their feet or to hear the tales of their warrior days. The Retired Blademaster can recruit Swordsman, Sell Weapons and has their ear to th ground for Recruit Rumors.


[h2]Quality Updates[/h2]
With Update #298, we've also ensured completed a few more tasks for the community:

• Hitting ESC and then clicking to go to the Main Menu always works, it only worked sometimes before
  
• The Hunna and Templar factions are always visible in the faction list
  
• The new Caliga Vindex (if you buy a new one!) has a better setup with the correct number of officer cabins.
  
• Fixed position of engine burner for some ships during Hyperwarp jumps -- we appreciate the reports!
  

[h2]v3.2.47 - 6/21/2022[/h2]
- Added 4 new unlockable Starting Contacts
- Palace Guard (unlock Wraithful Corsair) recruits Bodyguards, offers Introductions, Discounts Fuel, Rank, Edict
- Smuggler Rover (unlock Salvage Contractor) recruits Blade Dancers, Black Market, Rare Trade Goods, Permit
- Naval Doctor (unlock Pit Fighter V) recruits Combat Medics, Sells Armor, Buys Intel, Rank
- Retired Blademaster (unlock Master Adventurer) recruits Swordsman, Sells Weapons, Recruit Rumors
- Hunna and Templar factions are now always shown in faction list
- Fixed issue with ESC > Quit to Main Menu not working in ship or crew combat sometimes
- Repositioned engine burners for some ships, including Longbolt, during Hyperwarp jumps
- Fixed too many Officer Cabins on Caliga Vindex