Star Traders: Frontiers News

We wouldn't want to sit on Update #200 too long -- you might get the idea we aren't updating constantly around here! So, we're rolling out Update #201 with some enhancements to the new recruit review feature and a major improvement to the quadrant map screen to help navigation. We also fixed a crash with the new grade 7 craft that needed to be put to rest.

We have also added an in-game advertisement banner for our live Kickstarter for Cyber Knights: Flashpoint. It will stay on the main menu for as long as the campaign is running (through March 5th). We heard for years after the end of the Star Traders: Frontiers Kickstarter from so many players "I missed the Kickstarter" or "I wish I had known!" We've added this small ad banner to help raise awareness and get the word out as many of the rewards available during the Kickstarter will never be offered again.


For a little bit longer, we're going to talk a lot about it :D Bear with us -- Cyber Knights: Flashpoint is our next game -- a turn-based tactics cyberpunk game in the vein of greats in the tradition like XCOM. Jump into the Kickstarter to get a discounted pre-order, join the alpha team or join the game by creating a recruitable character and more. You step into the role of a Cyber Knight, an illegal covert operator with a permanent spinal implant that lets you lead your band of hackers, thieves and soldiers of fortune with unrivaled precision.

If you don't want to support the Kickstarter, you can wishlist or follow the game on Steam!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1021210/Cyber_Knights_Flashpoint/

[h2]System Names![/h2]
Following the addition of quadrant names to the galactic map, its become clear that it would be a huge benefit to have them visible on the main quadrant map as well. We've had to do some reorganization of the scene to improve the performance (lots of calculations and auto-saves going on while flying) to ensure this will work seamlessly and smoothly.

But -- we're happy to have hit the mark and now we can release system names fully displayed on the map. Even in a few hours of play, I've found that my knowledge of different quadrants is so much better and places feel so much more familiar as I travel the void.


[h2]Recruit Health and Morale[/h2]
The recruit review option has been a big hit and we've updated it today with the most consistent piece of feedback we've heard so far -- which is the need to have visibility into max hit points and morale. Of course, you could guess at this but what fun is guessing when the numbers can just be onscreen?

We've also fixed some of the overlap issues that could happen on high UI scale or lower resolution monitors.



We have also fixed a crash that was causing grade 7 bombers to fail in bombing and grade 7 shuttles to fail in boarding.

Thanks for all of your support, reviews and feedback!

[h2]v3.0.43 - 2/18/2020[/h2]
- Quadrant map now features system names directly displayed over system, hidden while moving
- Added max Health and max Morale to Recruit review offer
- Added banner to Star Traders: Frontiers main menu to share Cyber Knights: Flashpoint Kickstarter
- Fixed bombing and boarding crash with new grade 7 craft

Update #200 deserves to have some BOOM. So it took a few extra days, but we made sure it packs a huge punch with a new story event, 3 new grade 7 craft, a new ship and a major new recruiting feature! For big #200, we made sure there was some boom, bam and a lot of extra content for our captains to enjoy.

Before we move on to reviewing each part of Update #200 in detail, we want to make sure our players -- old and new -- hear about our next project, Cyber Knights: Flashpoint!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Our next project, Cyber Knights: Flashpoint Kickstarter is currently on Kickstarter and you can jump in to get a discounted pre-order, join the alpha team or jump into the game to create a recruitable character and more. Cyber Knights is a tactical RPG that plunges you and your team of hackers, mercs and thieves into the neon-soaked future of 2231. Hire the right team under the crumbling New Boston Zone and mix stealth, hacking and combat skills to claw your way to the top of the criminal heap.

The campaign funded in the first 12 hours and is now smashing through stretch goals -- next up the new Skyrise environment -- so we want to extend a huge thank you to everyone who has jumped in to support us. If you are on the fence, know that Cyber Knights: Flashpoint will be cut from the same model as Star Traders: Frontiers -- developed with passion, deep mechanics, dynamic story, hundreds of updates, free expansions and no DLCs. If you enjoy that type of game, we hope you'll pledge today!

If you don't want to support the Kickstarter, you can wishlist or follow the game on Steam!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1021210/Cyber_Knights_Flashpoint/


[h2]Recruiting Review[/h2]
For those captains who want to recruit carefully and focus on finding only the best, we've added a new key recruiting feature that will help speed up play, reduce clicks and make recruiting more fun. There is a new option checkbox in every screen where you can recruit -- Spice Hall and at Contacts -- that allows you to review each recruit.

When enabled, as soon as the recruit is taken on to your ship you get a pop up dialog that shows you their Attributes, Skills, known Traits and Initiative. You can decide to keep them or dismiss them (making space for another recruit attempt) with a single click. We know for those captains looking for a fast, combat-ready swordsman this might save a lot of time and effort so we are glad to finally deliver this improvement!

While it isn't recruit pooling (looking at a pool of available recruits before recruiting them), this is about as far as we can take it in Star Traders: Frontiers based on limitations of the historical saved game format. We're excited to say that Cyber Knights is starting with pooling right out of the gate -- so thanks to everyone who gave that feedback loud and clear!

[h2]Grade 7 Craft Story Event[/h2]
In Update #200, you may now encounter a new story event - the Clan Skyline Trade Accords - which join three powerful clans into a major Trade Alliance and spur on the release of grade 7 craft of all 3 types to faction Starports. The Clan Skyline Trade Accords will only come after the Zuden Techno Trade Concord which opens up grade 6 craft from some of the powerful syndicates and Thulun. I think everyone wants to know -- when will Alta Mesa make their comeback?


[h2]New Horizon Cruiser[/h2]
Unlocked the "Brood Slayer" achievement on Normal difficulty, the Horizon Cruiser is a new 6000 mass ship built specifically for anti-fighter devastation. It comes off the starport lines with as a flexible cruiser with good anti-fighter capabilities and very high hull points for its mass class. It's base shielding helps protect its large crew complement and its 9 small, 9 medium and 5 large slots make it a medium-to-large focused hull. As always, the ship design is designed off of successful player configurations that captains have shared with us and suggestions coming in from captains in the void.

The AI enemy captains do not yet have access to the Horizon Cruiser but we'll be working on releasing it to them once we've seen how it is put through its paces.



[h2]v3.0.41 - 2/15/2020[/h2]
- New Ship: 6000M Horizon Cruiser (Interdictor Cruiser)
- Unlock Horizon Cruiser with "Brood Slayer" -- defend the quadrants from Jyeeta to unlock this
- Added recruit review feature - new checkbox to enable reviewing each recruit as they join your crew in Spice Hall and Contact Recruiting
- Enable to be check a recruits Attributes, Skills, known Traits and Initiative while recruiting, disable to recruit quickly
- Added new story event -- Clan Skyline Trade Accord -- which creates a triple trade alliance and releases grade 7 craft
- New Interdictor: Trifex Assault Mk2 (grade 7; Javat)
- New Shuttle: Blackhall Ultra (grade 7; Moklumnue)
- New Bomber: Trident DX9 (grade 7; Zenrin)

Update #199 comes out with a new uptick in the occurences of human captains flying carriers (no change to xeno), multiple new carrier focused AI strategies for captains, and a new fast attack carrier for players and enemies both. We've also made some important rebalancing changes to the cost of high end weapons, dual-field engines and some of the high-end defensive components. The pricing bands for components of different levels is widening across the board, driving up the price of building an end-game ship for the better. Of course, the AI is using all the same prices and so gets a symmetrical change to their build choices as well.

We also have some very exciting news in our other major game project!


[h2]Cyber Knights is Live on Kickstarter[/h2]
Having gone live on last Monday, our Cyber Knights: Flashpoint Kickstarter funded in less than 12 hours and is now smashing through stretch goals as more and more backers join the project. While the game's main development is funded by sales of Star Traders: Frontiers and our other successful games, we have come to Kickstarter to help us expand the game's scope, beauty and depth.

So a huge thank you to everyone who has come out to support our efforts or told a friend. If you haven't, Cyber Knights: Flashpoint will be cut from the same model as Star Traders: Frontiers -- developed with passion, deep mechanics, dynamic story, hundreds of updates, free expansions and no DLCs. If you love that, we hope you'll pledge today!

[h2]Reach Carrier[/h2]
The newest fast attack carrier -- the Reach -- has just been announced at starports across the galaxy. The Reach Carrier's combination of flexible weapons and substantial space for small craft is made possible by an advanced, light-weight Dual-Field Reactor Core. The Reach Carrier trades fuel capacity for armor and firepower. It's an exciting new option for captains trying out fast strike carriers.

[h2]Increased Enemy Carriers[/h2]
It has become even more important with Update #199 to have a plan against enemy carriers. The appearance of human carriers has been increased across the board by roughly 5%, which while it may sound small is definitely felt across a captain's career. Even if the plan is "run!" you'll need a plan now more than ever.
Three new carrier-specific AI have been added for the enemy captains, improving the variety of strategies and ship builds that these types of enemies will use. The new AI as well as the existing human AI models have all gained some improvements as to how they plan and lay out their craft and pilots for the Extremis, Skylift and Strike Carrier ships.


[h2]Component Price Rebalance[/h2]
Due to the small differences in cost, it has long been the most efficient move to save up a little more money to skip from the lowest level ship weapons (1 or 2) to the highest (6 or 7) without taking any intermediary upgrades. With Update #199 we're starting the process of correcting that by rebalancing the prices of rank 6, 7 and 8 weaponry to ensure their prices are in the correct line with other components at a similar tier. In all cases, this involved significant price increases. Of course, the AI have to contended with the same price increases so everyone will find it a bit more challenging to get high level weaponry.

We've also rebalanced and increased the price of all Dual-Field Void Engines which have such strong stats and additional utility for their low mass. Finally, we've ticked up the price for Defense Pattern Matrix 3 and 4 to make sure they are appropriately priced for their value within the overall set of components.

As always, we're fixing extra bugs and has resolved some issues with Awards, dry dock and more.

We hope you'll take a look at the Cyber Knights: Flashpoint Kickstarter as well.

[h2]v3.0.39 - 2/9/2020[/h2]
- New Ship: 5000M Reach Carrier (Fast Attack Carrier)
- Added 3 New Carrier Focused AI Captains
- Added new Captain's Log entry for new ship purchases
- Increased generation of human AI carriers by 5%
- Improved AI behavior on Extremis, Skylift and Strike Carrier Ships
- Rebalanced ship weapons and increased costs at Level 6, 7 and 8
- Increased prices of Dual-Field Engines
- Increased prices of Defense Pattern Matrix 3 and 4
- Fixed issues with awards "Master Smuggler" 1, 2 and 3 firing too early
- Fixes issues with upgrading Cabins and Prison Cells on Dry Docked Ships

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Under the crumbling New Boston dome, in the flickering neon ... your Cyber Knight is born with the irreversible implant of an illegal spinal computer ...

Cyber Knights: Flashpoint is a tactical RPG that plunges you and your team of hackers, mercs and thieves into the cyberpunk future of 2231. Hire the right team under the crumbling New Boston Zone and mix stealth, hacking and combat skills to claw your way to the top of the criminal heap in this turn-based squad RPG inspired by X-COM and other greats of the genre.

The Cyber Knights: Flashpoint Kickstarter is now live and has already funded within the first 10 hours.

Explore the dystopian cyberpunk future of 2231 as you command a company of shadow mercenaries working for the highest bidder. Cyber Knights wraps a world full of consequential story choices and significant character development around a rich core of classic and new mechanics.



If you've played Star Traders: Frontiers you know our record of passion and dedication for the games we create. We're bringing our unique and prove gamedev process to Cyber Knights and can't wait to share this new game with all of you. If you're interested, join us on the alpha test and be the first to play the game and work closely with our team daily to help us balance, improve and expand the game before it launches.

As a special incentive, If you back the Cyber Knights Kickstarter within the first 48 hours of the campaign, you’ll receive a digital code to unlock the starting storyline expander, “Horizon Cypher”. This optional expanded storyline adds a major twist to your first weeks after your cybernetic surgery and transformation into a Cyber Knight.



We hope you'll come check out the Kickstarter and help us make this ambitious cyberpunk game.

Or, wishlist the game on Steam today!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1021210/Cyber_Knights_Flashpoint/

Update #198 deploys with a new mid-weight strike carrier, the Extremis as well as major rebalancing to the Black Market based on your rank with your Contact. We've also been working to keep up with the active community making suggestions, requests and posting up any issues still discovered.

We've got some exciting content coming and are working on a set of new story arcs while we are doing the underlying engineer required to prepare for map seeds version 2. It's going to be a big and glorious improvement for the game, but it will take some time to incubate. Check out our dev roadmap to keep up with the next big steps.
https://steamcommunity.com/games/335620/announcements/detail/1696055855739611821


[h2]Strike Carrier Extreme[/h2]
The Extremis Carrier is a close-support carrier designed for heavy combat duty. Supporting a full compliment of 7 officers by default, the ship have plenty of room for a boarding team or fighter pilots. Powered by the advance dual-field Void Engine, the Extremis Carrier is mass-efficient and have ample room for upgrades and expansions, even with the heavily compliment of railguns and missile systems. Heavy Shielding in both cabins and crew spaces increases crew survivability during ship combat, making it very effective at mid-range combat in support of a fighter wing.

The Extremis is a Range-3 build and will be in the hands of the AI soon, beware.

[h2]Ironclad Access[/h2]
Those Contacts offering the Black Market can offer more powerful protection to Star Traders who work their way up the levels of the illegal service. First, the top most level "Ironclad Access" has gained some big improvement and significantly increased its impact on drawing 3 positive cards over drawing 3 negative cards into a hand. This is perhaps the largest determining factor of risk within the card draw, and consistently drawing only 2 negative makes your Talents go a lot farther, helping you avoid rounds where you simply can't knock out all of the unacceptable risks.

Contacts offering higher levels of access also just increase their impact on good card draws with Update #197.

We've also buffed the Trait Mutation paths that come out of sneaking into the Black Market, adding some exciting new options all the way up to including the chance to gain a Device Freak Trait.

[h2]Community Reports/Suggestions[/h2]
We've worked through a ton of items from the community this week, such as improving the Trait mutations from Radiation Storm and Spying. Boarding Talents that cause debuffs like Bio-Agent Bomb now leave helpful result rows in the boarding screen. We've prevent Flash Charge from appearing multiple times in Mission menus and better sorted the components in the ship status view. A huge thanks to everyone posting and making suggestions!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
We are now less than 36 hours away from the launching the Cyber Knights: Flashpoint Kickstarter. The campaign will go live on Monday, February 3rd at noon EST. We hope you will help us get the campaign off to the strongest start possible by backing in the first 48 hours.

Check out the Kickstarter sneak peak!

[h2]v3.0.37 - 2/1/2020[/h2]
- New Ship: 6000M Extremis Carrier (Close Combat Carrier)
- Big improvement to strength of Contact's "Ironclad Access" Black Market level on drawing 3 positive and 2 negative cards (over 2 and 3)
- Improved influence of Contact's Black Market level on good and bad card draws across the board
- Buffed Trait mutation types generated by Black Market success (including adding Device Freak)
- Rebalanced Trait mutation types generated by Radiation Storm, Spy Run
- Certain boarding Talents like Bio-Agent Bomb now have a result log shown after use when boarding
- Prevented "Flash Charge" option from appearing multiple times in Mission preambles
- Improved component sorting in ship status view
- Fixed bugs with Trait Mutation following Hyperwarp jumps