Development Update: 21 February 2018

Greetings, galactic despots! We hope you've had a triumphant holiday campaign season. Today's patch includes some expanded functionality for the Legacies features, including some new weapons and technologies. Next we will be working on improving some of the base game systems, including AI, diplomacy, tactical UI and victory conditions. As always, your feedback and suggestions are important to us, so keep them coming!


The Herald of the Arda Seed now tracks faction reputation with the player. Completing peaceful trades with the Herald will increase reputation over time, while destruction of Arda Seed units or intrusions into Hyperspace Anomalies will decrease reputation. The roster of items which the Herald will offer for sale is also now dependent on reputation; more advanced items will require higher reputation.

In addition to existing technologies, the Herald will also now sell Codexes for new technologies that are otherwise unobtainable. Once a Codex is obtained, the new unresearched technology will appear in your technology tree and will be available for research. New technology codexes that can be purchased from the Herald include:

• 'Pulse Generators' allows the player to build a version of the Steward Electrocyte shield/weapon system.
  
• 'Plasma Torpedoes' allows the player to build a torpedo version of the Protean.
  
• 'Arda Thrust Vanes' increases the tactical speed of all vessels.
  
• 'Arda Focusing Lens' unlocks a beam weapon modificiation that increases range.
  
• 'Arda Puzzle Box' improves morale of all colonists.
  
• 'Arda Persuasion Matrix' improves reputation with all foreign factions.
  
• 'Arda Fabrication Techniques' increases the Labor output of Factories.
  
• 'Core-Tap Mining' unlocks Tier 3 Mines.
  
• 'Warp Node Attunement' allows Hyperspace Anomalies to improve your fleets' range as if they were your own bases.
  
• 'Warp Node Dynamics' increases hyperspace speed and range.
  
• 'Harpy Repellant' prevents Arda Seed units from automatically attacking your fleets in real space.

Some of these Codexes can also be looted from destroyed Arda Seed or Star Harpy units.





Changes and Additions

• The Herald of the Arda Seed now tracks reputation with the player's faction, and available purchases are now dependent on reputation level.
  
• Players may now purchase and discover Codexes, which unlock previously unavailable technologies for research.
  
• The Tinkers' Bomber has been replaced by the Vindicator, which is an expendable multiple-warhead manned missile which can be launched from torpedo hardpoints as well as hangars.
  
• Arda Seed Proteans will now use an offensive suicide attack after closing on enemy ships.
  
• Added five new achievments related to the Legacies DLC.
  
• The mining activity now provides +50% output per mine (up from +33%).
  
• Earthquake random events are now limited to destroying at most 2 improvements.
  
• Added the 'minerals discovery' random event.
  
• Added the 'artifacts discovery' random event.
  
• Increased Market Coin production from 4/7/12 to 5/10/15.
  
• Increased second and third tier Factory Labor production.
  
• Adjusted Dread Star production costs.
  
• Added a 'hostile environment' upkeep cost for colonies in harsh environments. This new mechanic is suppressed in any game started prior to r21718 so that it will not affect existing saves.
  
• AI empires should be less likely to choose to colonize hostile environment worlds.
  
• Marauder factions should be less hostile to AI empires.
  
• AI empires will now make use of outposts to extend range.
  
• Increased the planetary bombardment power of carriers.
  

Fixes

• Fix for a rare bug that could be triggered when Harpy fleets returned to their source HSA.
  
• Losing a planet should now reliably resolve all pending construction complete warnings pertaining to that planet.
  
• Fix for a bug caused by unresolved attacks against fleets belonging to a defeated empire.
  
• Fixes for bugs that could be triggered by refitting ships while in the process of issuing a move order.
  
• Fix for a production display bug affecting planets with space habitats.
  

(Click here to view the complete development changelogs, and here to view the development roadmap post.)

That is all for now!