Development Update: 17 January 2019

Greetings, interstellar tyrants! Today's patch has been a long time in the making: it includes extensive changes to the AI and diplomacy system, difficulty level balance, and adds an oft-requested Victory screen, complete with a stat graphs display. As always, your feedback and suggestions are important to us, so keep them coming!

Victory Screen and Graphs

Upon achieving one of the victory conditions (Conquest, Diplomatic or Allied Victory), a Victory pane will become visible in the Diplomacy menu. This includes options to view a Graphs screen (with selectable displays to compare Population, Military Strength, Scientific Progress, Metal Production, Available Labor, Total Income, and Science Production), exit to main menu, or to continue playing. If the player chooses to continue playing, no further victory conditions will trigger. The Graphs screen can also be accessed during a game (with display subject to faction visibility) by selecting the Intelligence Briefing option in the Diplomacy screen (or by hitting Ctrl-G). (Note that in games saved prior to the patch, graph data will be missing for pre-patch turns.)

Diplomacy and AI Changes

The artificial intelligence (AI) for the computer-controlled opponent factions has been substantially reworked. We have added a variety of new behaviors and diplomatic events. In particular, AI factions have more context-sensitive behavior regarding its friends and enemies; it can now more capably offer or request help from an ally, and it is more likely to take offense when one is friendly to its enemies. Since the AI opponents now play more effectively, we have also extensively tweaked the balance of the various difficulty levels, removing some bonuses that the AI received on "Normal" difficulty setting, and giving the player some extra bonuses on the "Easy" setting. Even so, players may find difficulty levels above "Easy" noticeably harder than prior to the patch.

Patch Notes for 17 January 2019 (ver. 37958)

Gameplay Changes and Additions

• Changed balance and AI advantages on Normal, Hard, and Brutal settings. Players may find games on settings above "Easy" to be noticeably harder.

• The AI no longer receives resource bonuses on 'Normal' difficulty mode.

• The player now receives resource bonuses on 'Easy' modes.

• Torpedoes can now be placed in heavy hardpoints.

• Orthin and Gremak can now research Heavy Missiles.

• Strike fighters will now attack starships using beam weapons if their beam weapons are more powerful than their missiles.

• Significantly reduced the range of anti-missiles.

• Reduced marauder ship spawn rates.

• Reduced the strength of Marauder fleets.

• It is now possible to deploy outposts around planets you already control.

• Added several new diplomatic issues.

• Added the 'Expansion Request' event.

• Added the 'Trade War' event.

• Added the 'International Incident' event.

• Added the 'Wreckage Analyzed' event.

• Added the 'Technology Captured' event.

• Reduced the research cost of 'Defense Grid'.

• Increased many agreement influence costs.

• Increased upkeep costs for mid/late game ship hulls.

• Phidi no longer start without the 'Military Doctrine' technology.

• Changed the hiring cost formula of mercenaries; in most cases this is an increase.

• Decreased the spawn rates of mercenaries.

• Increased the cost of the 'Artificial Organisms' tech.

• Increased mid/late game strategic fleet speeds.

• Upgrading tanks no longer increases their build or upkeep costs.

• Increased the number of stars in 'small', 'normal', and 'huge' maps.

• Citizens from allied factions will now sometimes offer to join your empire.

• Allying with an alien faction now removes the "Alien Rulers" morale effect from colonists of their race in your empire.

• Increased the research cost of 'Battle Mechs'.

• Galactic council votes can now influence reputation.

• 'Graviton Physics' and