Mercantile Update is out now

Welcome back, explorers.

We’re pleased to announce that a major update for Distant Worlds 2 is out now: the Mercantile Update.

This update marks the second-to-last (only the Ackdarians remain) free update focused on bringing the base game factions to a similar gameplay level as the new factions added in the post-release DLCs. This update is similar to a Free DLC in that it includes a refresh of the Teekan and Haakonish factions as well as many other changes focused on making manual play and general quality of life better, with a focus on story events, the resource/trade economy and fleet and ship behavior.

Please note that data and game event fixes will only apply when starting a new game.

But that’s not all: Distant Worlds 2 will be on sale from today at 18:00 CET until December 16, with a 65% discount. Also, all the DLC are on sale too.

Grab your Christmas gift. Steam post image

FULL CHANGELOG:

GENERAL

• Fixed multiple crashes • Fixed incorrect game date shown in Load Game preview • Small performance improvement when starting new games • Improved overall performance

AUTOMATION INTERFACE • Added startup message summarizing current Automation settings and how they work • Added Automation settings info to Advisor suggestion messages • Added automation option for Artifacts (send to optimal location)

TEEKAN FACTION REFRESH • New loading screen illustrations added • Improved starting access to civilian ships • Military ships now have smaller hulls but equal component capacity (more fragile) • Ships, stations, and facilities build 30% faster • More willing to initiate Trade Agreements • Increased resistance to bombardment and ground combat damage • Militia and troops gain major combat bonuses on Desert planets • “Salvage Kings” ability allowing special salvage recovery events • Galactic Nomads option when reduced to one colony (evacuate population and become refugee fleet) • Colonizing planets provides migration attraction bonus • New “Great Bakdur Hunt” event on Desert planets • Added new character traits and updated Victory Conditions • Expanded and updated tech tree • Texture refresh for ships and stations • Added new event illustrations and loading art • Corrected pirate faction race (“The Nameless Teekans”) • Fixed “Lost Teekan Colony” event facility ownership and maintenance • Unified bonus population from Lost Colony event • Preferred standoff weapon changed to Torpedoes

HAAKONISH FACTION REFRESH • New loading screen illustrations added • Ships, stations, and facilities cost 20% more and take ~10% longer to build • Start with an additional Mining Ship • Enhanced Trade Treaty mechanics: • Binding Contracts increase trade weighting toward Haakonish • Penalty Clauses cause reputation penalties and treaty breakage when at war • Account Confiscation grants immediate income boost equal to last year’s trade value • Exploit Loopholes option grants instant income at cost of reputation and treaty termination • Completing Haakonish-specific tech boosts happiness • Creative Accounting planetary action increases short-term income at cost of higher corruption • Xenophobic Riots option reduces non-Haakonish population by 25% at reputation and migration penalties • New character traits added • Tech tree expanded, including early Haakonish-exclusive Gravitic Area weapon (Vortex Bomb) • Texture improvements to select ships and stations • New event illustrations and loading art addedSteam post image

STORY EVENT LOGIC • Fixed faction events spawning incorrectly on homeworlds • Expanded fallback logic for “EmptySystem” location hints so events always find valid locations • Fixed Pirate Ambush ruins event failing to spawn pirate ships • Pirate Ambush ships now spawn closer to investigating vessels

RESOURCE ECONOMY • Improved resource delivery and freighter handling logic • Fixed manually controlled freighters being auto-assigned to cargo missions

TOURISM • Passenger ships more cautious when checking private economy funding • Soft cap on scenery bonuses affecting tourism income (diminishing returns above 25%)

FLEET & SHIP BEHAVIOR • Manual fleet ships no longer auto-return to fleet core • Fleet templates now properly apply formation settings • Defend fleets no longer auto-attack outside their current system • Improved retreat evaluation for more accurate strength calculations • Refuel and repair missions allow dispersed ships to use nearest facilities individually • Fixed fleets stalling on queued missions • Escorting ships now count as “available,” reducing downtime • Fleets more willing to engage threats despite low fuel (especially manual fleets) • Fixed fleets attacking dangerous sites without sufficient strength • Improved display and detection of dangerous locations • Attacks now break off when fleeing targets exceed engagement range • Pursuit behavior updated to dynamically track hyperspace jumps • Fixed disabled ships attempting to retrofit while in damaging storms • Fixed carriers incorrectly displaying negative attack strength • Fixed ships sometimes not attacking when in range • Increased default Auto-Response Range for Manual and Invasion fleets • Fixed manually assigned mining missions missing offload locations • Fixed ships auto-offloading cargo incorrectly during Dock missions

INVASION FLEETS • Improved troop loading logic to prioritize populous and appropriate colonies • Honours garrison and minimum defense thresholds • Considers Army Templates for optimal troop composition • Manual troop loading via colony right-click still available • Fixed automated troop transports looping unload/load actions

FUEL TANKERS & FLEETS • Manual fuel tankers now follow fleet missions and require manual refuel actions • Automated fuel tankers continue operating independently • Improved tanker navigation to dynamic fleet locations • Tankers no longer refuel fleets with queued missions • Independent automated tankers no longer refuel manual fleets if auto-refueling is disabled • Improved detection of fleet availability after refueling • Updated Galactopedia article on tanker mechanics • Added new instructional hint for fuel tanker operations • Immediate clearing of “Waiting for Fuel Tankers” message when transfers cancel

BOMBARDMENT • Bombardment resistance no longer renders planetary facilities invulnerable

TROOPS INTERFACE • Colony and selection screens now show troops required by Army Template • Required troops are prevented from being loaded by automated transports

DIPLOMACY • Fixed diplomatic incident value updates

COLONIZATION • Automated colonization avoids dangerous locations

CONSTRUCTION • All non-obsolete buildable base types now appear in colony right-click menus • Fixed advisor recommending blank bases

ECONOMY • Fixed cash values becoming NaN

GRAPHICS • Adjusted city night-light shader for stability and consistency • Improved planet rendering artifacts at low zoom and shallow angles

SALVAGE TECH BONUSES • Reduced tech bonus from retiring advanced ships

USER INTERFACE • Fixed Victory Conditions tooltip offset • Messages properly close on returning to main menu • Messages remain closed when exiting Ship Design • Fixed “Distance from Item” sorting in Monitoring Stations list • Added Size visibility to troop summary popups • Improved display of admirals and generals in UI, with layout compression for large rosters

GAME EDITOR • Renaming stars or planets now also updates associated location names

DATA & MODDING • Increased component ID limit to 4095 • Adjusted Teekan tech tree to better handle ZimZip shuttles with carriers • Reduced starting populations on Bartuc and Horazon for storyline adjustments • Fixed related event issues

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