StarDrive 2

Zero Sum Games · Iceberg Interactive

Released: Apr 9, 2015
Platforms: WindowsmacOSLinux
Last updated: 05 Sep 2026, 22:19 GMT

Updates & announcements

20 posts

16 Mar 2021Developer post
1.5h Patch Notes
Hi folks -- here is a small update with some fun changes. My day job has been pretty busy these past few weeks but I should have some time to bring more updates online in the coming weeks. 1.5h Patch Notes Fixed a tricky bug that would sometimes cause the gross miscalculation of
Hi folks -- here is a small update with some fun changes. My day job has been pretty busy these past few weeks but I should have some time to bring more updates online in the coming weeks.
1.5h Patch Notes

Fixed a tricky bug that would sometimes cause the gross miscalculation of command points for a single turn following combat, plunging empires into immediate bankruptcy.
Fixed an issue for existing ship mods that would import the modded ships as “pink” (i.e. the shader was messed up).
Fixed an issue with modded ships that could cause game slowdowns if the mesh collider had too many surfaces
Fixed an error where point defense weapons would sometimes do no damage to interceptable guided weapons
Updated the graphics and characteristics of Anti-Matter torpedoes. They are supposed to be conventional torpedoes with AM warheads and instead they look like quantum torpedoes and move super fast, so I’ve fixed all that. Reduced the HP of the AM torpedoes so they have a shot of being intercepted by flak
All torpedo weapons, even energy torpedos are jammable and interceptable. But the energy torpedoes have a lot of hit points and are unlikely to be disrupted with point defense fire.
Original post
24 Feb 2021Developer post
1.5g Patch Notes
Hello Space Friends, This is a small bug fixing update to get back into the swing of things after a few days off. Please keep your bug reports coming. 1.5g Fixed an issue where the “criminal rendezvous” event would attempt to spawn and cause the game to hang Fixed issue where pop
Hello Space Friends,
This is a small bug fixing update to get back into the swing of things after a few days off. Please keep your bug reports coming.
1.5g

Fixed an issue where the “criminal rendezvous” event would attempt to spawn and cause the game to hang
Fixed issue where pops would transport instantly
Fixed a bug where pop transports could get stuck in space near their destination
Fixed issue where starting a new game after having a game loaded would cause the game to hang
Fixed bug where Micro-Singularity Cannons were not ignoring shields
Fixed issue with Canopy Shields that would sometimes send ships flying off into space. This may have fixed other wonky observed behaviors with Canopy shields. Everything appears to be working as intended but please let me know if you see any oddness.
Fixed a bug that could cause the game to hang upon completely eliminating an enemy race
Minor optimizations to strategy map
Original post
12 Feb 2021Developer post
Patch Notes release 1.5f
This patch contains some nice optimizations and under-the-hood work, plus some good bug fixes. As always, let me know if you run into any troubles. 1.5f Patch Notes Changed the audio for event popups to remove the drum sound effect Changed diplomacy so that expansionism does not
This patch contains some nice optimizations and under-the-hood work, plus some good bug fixes. As always, let me know if you run into any troubles.
1.5f Patch Notes

Changed the audio for event popups to remove the drum sound effect
Changed diplomacy so that expansionism does not make the AI nearly as angry, except for Expansionist AIs who remain very angry
Fiddled with the Events system to have some more flexibility and reliability. There were times where certain events would trigger unexpectedly or at the wrong time, and I want to iron all of that out
The unique bonus buildings will now only spawn once per empire (hellforge, private shipyard, wormhole institute, Solar array, etc). This was causing a ton of late game spam.
Updated the fleet icon / associated text to have a little animation
Updated the default deployment breadth to support more ships in a line (and to prevent ships from spilling out across the whole battlefield during deployment)
Made rendering optimizations to the strategy map to help it run faster in the late game
Removed the AU distance readout from fleet icons. It’s basically useless. All that matters is ETA and fuel.
Removed the “you unlocked a technology” song because it gets old after a few time
Fixed a bug in the shipyard with the Upgrade Armor button. Should work as intended now.
Fixed a bug where the AI would sometimes launch troops from a planet that the player was invading (and would steal the player’s troops in the process!)
Fixed an issue with the time controls changing the speed of the entire game if used in the battle arena
Fixed issue with firing leaders Vos and Wyatt making the game hang
Removed final references to the old ground combat system...I think!
Original post
07 Feb 2021Developer post
1.5e AI Update / Hotfix
Hi folks -- I caught a few AI bugs that will make the AI a whole lot meaner. I think that this mod will now successfully bring the AI Community ship pack into full action. I snuck a few other bug fixes in there. Not implementing the version number, just slipping it on top of 1.5e
Hi folks -- I caught a few AI bugs that will make the AI a whole lot meaner. I think that this mod will now successfully bring the AI Community ship pack into full action.
I snuck a few other bug fixes in there. Not implementing the version number, just slipping it on top of 1.5e.
1.5e AI Hotfix / Update

Updated the AI to always build the best frigates and corvettes available to it. It was randomly choosing from the available roster earlier
Fixed an issue where the AI was not accessing its full ship roster. This was a big problem--they will build very dangerous ships now. Watch out!
Fixed an issue where ships might not be rendering on the strategy map
Toned down a few visual hotspots in the nebula background on the strategy map
Upgraded the AI to be smarter about resource allocation on core worlds when there is nothing important to build. They will now reallocate to research or money depending on their needs.
Fixed an issue where the AI could end up building way too many spies. Hopefully this chills them out a bit in the late game
Original post
06 Feb 2021Developer post
1.5e patch notes
Hi folks. This is a small update that fixes some nasty bugs and rebalances the tech tree. It also has some critical optimizations. No promises that I didn't break anything. Please let me know if I did! Updated the AI so that it will not attempt to build any ship designs that the
Hi folks. This is a small update that fixes some nasty bugs and rebalances the tech tree. It also has some critical optimizations. No promises that I didn't break anything. Please let me know if I did!

Updated the AI so that it will not attempt to build any ship designs that the player will made. It is drawing all of its designs from the big community made pack from years back
Updated the tech tree with overall higher technology costs. I really want to stretch out the early-mid game instead of just rushing through things. It makes the early techs feel a bit more meaningful when you get to actually use them in combat
Changed UI behavior so that clicking the X button in the notification panel will now clear all active notifications
Disabled old ground combat missions while it gets reworked
Implemented object pooling for spaceship explosions in the battle map and made other optimizations related to exploding ships. TONS FASTER IN BIG BATTLES
Fixed issue where subspace projectors were amplifying the slowing effect of nearby terrain
Fixed an issue where ships would open fire at extreme long range, and the projectile falls short by a meter. Ships will get just a little bit closer now.
Fixed an issue where fleets on the strategy map would sometimes be too large or display more than one “hero” vessel as a representative
Fixed a bug where the Osiran event would cause the game to hang
Fixed a bug with saving and load that would sometimes cause game objects like troops and fleets to forget their home planet, which had odd lingering effects
Fixed an issue where weapons would not reload fast enough when doing battle at 2x/4x speed
Original post
30 Jan 2021Developer post
1.5d Hotfix--Fresh Installs were hanging on load
There has been a hotfix to 1.5d to address major issue where fresh installs were blocking on load. This also contains a fix that was causing the Osiran event to make your game hang.
30 Jan 2021Developer post
1/29 Update - Upgrades and Fixes!
I put a lot of effort into this one. I really like the new look of the battle screen, and along with the new time time controls it should really enhance your experience. Let me know what you think! I will continue to upgrade and refine the battle screen so that every battle is be
I put a lot of effort into this one. I really like the new look of the battle screen, and along with the new time time controls it should really enhance your experience. Let me know what you think! I will continue to upgrade and refine the battle screen so that every battle is beautiful and unique, and I will continue to focus on QoL upgrades and bug fixes.
As always, if you see a gamestopping bug, please try to get me a saved game for diagnosis. Thanks, and have fun.
1.5c change log:

Added the ability to click the “Empty Slot” button in the Colony Management interface to open the shipyard and assign a ship design
Added a Load All / Land All buttons to the troop land/load interface
Overhauled the basic combat screen background to be more readable
Added some new assets and configurations to the space battle screen
Added new engine thruster fx to all ships
Added more time controls to the battle screen (2x / 4x speed), updated user interface for same
Changed AI behavior so that they will declare war when they enter your territory for a sneak attack. Earlier there were edge cases where they would only declare after the attack, but now you will typically get a warning unless they are very fast
Fixed an issue where existing game installs weren’t necessarily getting the updated weapon characteristics
Fixed a number of issues that had shield hit effects not working as I would prefer them to work
Changed shield fx to adjust size depending on shot damage
Fixed an issue with ships rolling incorrectly during turns in combat
Fixed a bug that would sometimes have fleet icons rendering out of place
Fixed issue where random space sounds in the background not respect the volume slider
Fixed issue where the volume of weapons fire was not being affected by the volume slider
Fixed issue where explosions on the strategy map would not respect volume slider
Fixed issue where the subspace rifts would make noise and not respect the volume slider
Fixed music volume on diplomacy screen
Fixed issue where the Unlock Technology jingle was not respecting audio sliders
Fixed BrainPal tech not working
Fixed an issue where sectors graphics would not immediately update after coming under your control
Fixed a bug where you couldn’t launch a leader from a planet if you didn’t have available freighter capacity
Fixed an issue where controls would some times lock up upon starting a new game
Original post
26 Jan 2021Developer post
Patch Release Notes - 1.5b
It is my goal in 2021 to release a total remaster of StarDrive 2, and this is a juicy update on the Road to Remaster (tm). If you find that I broke something in your saved games, please upload it somewhere so I can grab it and see what went wrong. I've got a long way to go yet be
It is my goal in 2021 to release a total remaster of StarDrive 2, and this is a juicy update on the Road to Remaster (tm).
If you find that I broke something in your saved games, please upload it somewhere so I can grab it and see what went wrong. I've got a long way to go yet before this game is in a remastered state, but I think this gives you a great taste of what's to come.

Added an Auto Combat toggle to the battle screen to let the AI handle combat for you
Continued optimizations of strategy map performance
Swapped out a few building graphics courtesy of wolfy301
Asteroid fields on the battlemap are now more asteroidy
Enhanced weapon sound fx system to allow for more variation.
Upgraded and rebalanced weapon sound fx for:
PD lasers
Medium lasers
Vulcan Cannons
Disruptor Cannons
Anti Matter Cannon
Artillery
Mass Driver
General improvements to Muzzle Flash FX across the board
Modified weapons:
Disruptor max cannon range reduction
Anti Matter Cannon increased projectile speed
Cluster cannon range decreased
Removed the old ground combat system entirely, and all associated quests. An upgraded quest system will bring these back in a new form soon.
Solar Systems that are out of sensor range will now have the display of their names dulled slightly as an indicator
Hex tiles that are not in sensor range now have a slightly faded coloring as an indicator
Hex tiles that are unexplored have an even further reduced coloring
Softened the color of the huge empire name plates on the strategy map to increase map readability
Fixed an issue where antimatter cannon fx trails would disappear immediately upon impacting with a ship
Updated Microsingularity FX to be cooler
Fixed inoperable cluster cannon weapon
Original post
24 Jan 2021Developer post
Jan 24 hotfix
Hi Guys-- I fixed a major bug that affected fleet intercepts, and I fixed an issue screwing up Russian localization. Let me know if you see any more show-stoppers. Thanks!
24 Jan 2021Developer post
Jan 24 Update
This was a fun update. I really fiddled in the guts on this one and things should be running a lot faster in a number of different areas. Plus, I fixed some things that I think have been broken for a long while. For example, check out how ships fire their cannons now. They come o
This was a fun update. I really fiddled in the guts on this one and things should be running a lot faster in a number of different areas. Plus, I fixed some things that I think have been broken for a long while. For example, check out how ships fire their cannons now. They come out of the wings and such now--much more visually pleasing.

Overhauled system for loading assets. Game loads much faster now.
Optimized the strategy map’s idle computations to reduce late game lag
Optimized the end of turn processing to reduce hiccups when the turn button is pressed
Subspace projectors now have graphics on the strategy map
Substantially increased projectile speeds for lasers and disruptors to make them more exciting. I will probably update other cannons in the coming days as I work through them.
Overhauled visual fx for ships taking damage and leaking fire and plasma into space
Need to go through all ships
Overhaul ship shooting fx so ships create projectiles from sensible locations on their hulls
The AI will no longer use the expansion pack ship hulls, to keep something special for the player
Fixed Russian localization problems
Fixed UI scaling issue affecting widescreen setups
Fixed an issue where event popups could sometimes appear to have no choices due to a scrolling error
Fixed a problem with the Avnar Minor Race event, where not all discussion options resulted in the proper outcome
Original post
18 Jan 2021Developer post
Surprise Update!
Well, well, well. You thought I had forgotten this game, didn't you? You thought I had left it to wither on the vine and die a shriveled and ignominious death! And you were right. I left it behind to go do some other things, like Longsword, and raising my kids, and not getting th
28 Jun 2017Developer post
Stream 6/29 10 AM PST - Future of StarDrive
Hi folks. Tomorrow at 10 AM PST I will host a stream on my Twitch channel wherein I will be playing StarDrive 2 and taking notes for future enhancements. Please come on by and say hello. www.twitch.tv/zer0sumgames
28 Jun 2017Developer post
Stream 6/29 10 AM PST - Future of StarDrive
Hi folks. Tomorrow at 10 AM PST I will host a stream on my Twitch channel wherein I will be playing StarDrive 2 and taking notes for future enhancements. Please come on by and say hello. www.twitch.tv/zer0sumgames
20 Jun 2017Developer post
Check out my new game!
Hi folks. Today we've launched some crowd-funding for our newest game, Longsword: Tabletop Tactics. Check it out and let me know what you think!
20 Jun 2017Developer post
Check out my new game!
Hi folks. Today we've launched some crowd-funding for our newest game, Longsword: Tabletop Tactics. Check it out and let me know what you think!
22 Jun 2016Developer post
Huge "Community" patch; new DLC & Gold Pack!
Today's update, which will soon go live, marks the launch of a huge array of changes for StarDrive 2, including a massive community patch, a new content pack, and the release of a Gold Pack for first-time players who want to get all of the StarDrive 2 content at a discounted bund
22 Jun 2016Developer post
Huge "Community" patch; new DLC & Gold Pack!
Today's update, which will soon go live, marks the launch of a huge array of changes for StarDrive 2, including a massive community patch, a new content pack, and the release of a Gold Pack for first-time players who want to get all of the StarDrive 2 content at a discounted bund
18 Apr 2016Developer post
Patch Notes 4/18
Hi guys, patching today. Still working at it. There's a big change in here so look out... 1. Fixed issue with the space station cantina upgrade causing incorrect income calculations 2. Changed the way fleet maintenance is calculated when over your CP cap. It is now a non-linear c
18 Apr 2016Developer post
Patch Notes 4/18
Hi guys, patching today. Still working at it. There's a big change in here so look out... 1. Fixed issue with the space station cantina upgrade causing incorrect income calculations 2. Changed the way fleet maintenance is calculated when over your CP cap. It is now a non-linear c
13 Mar 2016Developer post
Sunday Funday Patch
Folks, I am going to patch again on this day of rest. Current Issues: 1. Fixed an issue where the AI could invade your planet even though they are a few sectors away. This occurs when they are pathing around terrain. 2. Working on lingering issues with the withdraw button 3. Fixe