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Steam News1 May 20262mo ago

Trade Empire - Dev Diary #13 - Vehicle Follow Panel & Cargo Intel

Hello merchants, Update 0.2.3 brings several new improvements and adjustments to the game. First, the vehicle follow panel has been improved.

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Repeated intro

Hello merchants,

What changed

1 fix1 addition4 changes0 removals
  • Gameplay
  • UI and audio
  • Balance
addedUpdate 0.2.3 brings several new improvements and adjustments to the game.
changedFirst, the vehicle follow panel has been improved. Previously, when clicking on a moving vehicle on the map, the goods carried by that vehicle were shown only as icons. This was not always clear enough, especially for new players. Now, hovering over a goods icon opens a small tooltip showing the name of the item.
changedThe tooltip system has also been adjusted to work properly across different screen resolutions. Issues where the tooltip appeared too far from the cursor or in the wrong position at resolutions such as 1920x1080, 1366x768, 2560x1440, and 3840x2160 have been fixed. Tooltips now stay next to the cursor in a stable and readable position across different resolutions.
fixedA pin feature has also been added to the vehicle follow panel. Since vehicles are constantly moving, it could be difficult to keep the panel in place or hover over the goods icons. With the new pin button, the panel can now be fixed on the screen. Once pinned, the panel stops following the vehicle, the pin button disappears, and the panel remains in place until closed with the close button or ESC. When the panel is opened again, it resumes following the vehicle normally.
changedAnother important change is related to the goods carried by rival NPC vehicles. Previously, when clicking on NPC ships or caravans, their cargo could be seen directly. From now on, rival cargo is hidden by default. As part of this system, the old “Send Spy” button in the Rivals tab of the Merchant Panel has been changed into “Gather Cargo Intel.” You can now start a cargo intel investigation on a specific rival.
changedThe investigation costs a certain amount of gold and takes 3 days to complete. The current success chance is set to 75%. If the investigation succeeds, that rival’s cargo becomes visible for 10 days . If it fails, no cargo information is revealed, and the next investigation cost does not increase. Cargo intel costs are tracked separately for each rival. For example, if you successfully investigate one rival multiple times, future investigations on that rival become more expensive, while another rival still starts from the initial investigation cost.

Trade Empire changes

addedUpdate 0.2.3 brings several new improvements and adjustments to the game.
changedFirst, the vehicle follow panel has been improved. Previously, when clicking on a moving vehicle on the map, the goods carried by that vehicle were shown only as icons. This was not always clear enough, especially for new players. Now, hovering over a goods icon opens a small tooltip showing the name of the item.
changedThe tooltip system has also been adjusted to work properly across different screen resolutions. Issues where the tooltip appeared too far from the cursor or in the wrong position at resolutions such as 1920x1080, 1366x768, 2560x1440, and 3840x2160 have been fixed. Tooltips now stay next to the cursor in a stable and readable position across different resolutions.
fixedA pin feature has also been added to the vehicle follow panel. Since vehicles are constantly moving, it could be difficult to keep the panel in place or hover over the goods icons. With the new pin button, the panel can now be fixed on the screen. Once pinned, the panel stops following the vehicle, the pin button disappears, and the panel remains in place until closed with the close button or ESC. When the panel is opened again, it resumes following the vehicle normally.
changedAnother important change is related to the goods carried by rival NPC vehicles. Previously, when clicking on NPC ships or caravans, their cargo could be seen directly. From now on, rival cargo is hidden by default. As part of this system, the old “Send Spy” button in the Rivals tab of the Merchant Panel has been changed into “Gather Cargo Intel.” You can now start a cargo intel investigation on a specific rival.

Update 0.2.3 brings several new improvements and adjustments to the game.

  • First, the vehicle follow panel has been improved. Previously, when clicking on a moving vehicle on the map, the goods carried by that vehicle were shown only as icons. This was not always clear enough, especially for new players. Now, hovering over a goods icon opens a small tooltip showing the name of the item.

  • The tooltip system has also been adjusted to work properly across different screen resolutions. Issues where the tooltip appeared too far from the cursor or in the wrong position at resolutions such as 1920x1080, 1366x768, 2560x1440, and 3840x2160 have been fixed. Tooltips now stay next to the cursor in a stable and readable position across different resolutions.

  • A pin feature has also been added to the vehicle follow panel. Since vehicles are constantly moving, it could be difficult to keep the panel in place or hover over the goods icons. With the new pin button, the panel can now be fixed on the screen. Once pinned, the panel stops following the vehicle, the pin button disappears, and the panel remains in place until closed with the close button or ESC. When the panel is opened again, it resumes following the vehicle normally.

  • Another important change is related to the goods carried by rival NPC vehicles. Previously, when clicking on NPC ships or caravans, their cargo could be seen directly. From now on, rival cargo is hidden by default. As part of this system, the old “Send Spy” button in the Rivals tab of the Merchant Panel has been changed into “Gather Cargo Intel.” You can now start a cargo intel investigation on a specific rival.

  • The investigation costs a certain amount of gold and takes 3 days to complete. The current success chance is set to 75%. If the investigation succeeds, that rival’s cargo becomes visible for 10 days. If it fails, no cargo information is revealed, and the next investigation cost does not increase. Cargo intel costs are tracked separately for each rival. For example, if you successfully investigate one rival multiple times, future investigations on that rival become more expensive, while another rival still starts from the initial investigation cost.

  • Finally, panel interactions are now blocked while the game is paused through the speed panel or with the Space key. This prevents panels from being opened or closed during pause.

You can share your suggestions and feedback with me through social media or the Community Discussions

Source

Steam News / 1 May 2026

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