Update #101 is a massive package of upgrades, new filters, balance changes, Talent improvements, story fixes and more! This one is clearing the decks as we prep to tackle the first big roadmap item of our dev roadmap. Get ready -- there is a lot more coming.
If you're enjoying the relentless pace of updates -- please tell a friend and leave a review! For anyone who has seen the famous "Enormous Floating Space Hat" -- that is also now fixed!
Rebuilt Upgrade Shopping
This update has focused our UI improvements on the second screen of the upgrade shopping experience -- the one where you pick the new component to install. We've rebuilt the filter set to be more expressive, allow picking multiple filter criteria, to be faction aware, and to allow you to see components that cannot be locally installed.
The "96/105 Shown" field at the top also keeps an up-to-date count of how many components you can see and how many are hidden -- which is especially helpful when it comes to shopping beyond your local starport. With the "Ignore Mins" filter, you can look at all components regardless of their starport / military / economy requirements.
Components that are faction-specific now feature a faction flag hanging over their icon while shopping. You can use the faction filter to look for specific faction's upgrades, as well as the Any Faction filter to show upgrades from every faction, even if they aren't available for install.
If you're using the Ignore Mins filter, you can now spot components that can't be installed with the label in their bottom right, listing out the specific conditions that they fail to meet.
The next UI improvement in this set of screens will focus on the first screen -- picking the component from your ship that you want to replace. So, more upgrades coming, stay tuned.
Rebalances
A lot of important rebalancing work has gone into Update #101. Thanks to a great player suggestion, the Bounty Hunter's Blood Game now works for boarding from range 1-3 even without a Mission. Also, Bladesman Rally is no longer a self-Talent but keeps its awesome AoE ability. Stealth Armors from weapon lockers have all been improved moderately, and the prices of high level weapons and armor from Contacts has been increased.
When selling Intel to a Contact, we've tweaked the balance of Rep gained. Specifically, if you have negative Rep with the faction, it is harder to dig yourself out of a hole by selling Intel.
New Contact Filters and Sort
We've added 2 new filters and a new sort option to your Contact list based directly off player requests. First up, filter by Trait Conditioning, which only snags Gestalt at the moment, but soon will have a few more options. Second, you can now cut through the chafe by filtering to only see Contacts with whom you have a negative or positive Personal Reputation. This means, any Contacts you've had no engagement with will get cut from the list. This helps you focus on your core crew quickly. Finally, sort by Influence to help you see who is most powerful or weakest in the bunch. Also, if you are working with a Contact who sells Rare Trade Goods, the cool down (if any) for their ability to sell more goods is now shown in the Contact List, so you can check it from a distance.
Finally, we've fixed 4 big story bugs -- Erik Faen telling lies, Zette Faen missing her mission bonus, a repeatable fight in Erik Faen's storyline and issues with 1 of 3 possible ending to Nikolai's storyline not activating his achievement.
v2.3.55 - 9/9/2018
- Improved filter and sort in Starport upgrade screen where you shop for new component
- Now apply multiple filters, filter by range, filter by faction, sort by range etc
- Now able to set filter to ignore faction holding ratings -- see even components you cannot install locally
- Now able to set filter to show other factions -- see even components you cannot install locally
- Faction flags now hang over component icons when offered for sale
- Next round of improvements coming for Starport upgrade screen where you pick which component to replace
- Hyperwarp Navigators are now recruitable based on Spice Rating (5+) instead of Economy
- Bounty Hunter "Blood Game" Talent can now be used to board from ranges 1-3 without a mission; ranges 4-5 still require Mission
- Added new Contact List filter that only shows Contacts with a relationship (positive or negative Personal Rep)
- Added new Contact List filter for Contacts with Trait Conditioning services
- Added new Contact List sort option to sort by high Influence
- Added cool down timing for Rare Trade Goods to Contact List > Detail so you can check from a distance
- Improved balance of Stealth armors from Weapons Lockers
- Increased prices of Contact-sold Weapons and Armor, rebalanced L6 Sniper
- Changed Swordsman "Bladesman Rally" Talent to not be self-only, keeps AoE, Init cost increased to 6
- Selling Intel to Contacts with negative faction Rep results in less Rep gain
- Improved story for end of Erik Faen's arc, now directly impacts Conflict
- Prevented Signature Jammer Talent from firing in cases of 1 Rep loss where it cannot mitigate
- Improved Enemy Ship builder AI to build better Palace Interceptor, Vindex and Bolt Liners
- Fixed story bug causing Erik Faen to make claims about Val's fate that were not always true
- Fixed story bug potentially causing repeat story fights in Erik Faen's questline
- Fixed story bug preventing Zette Faen from giving higher bonus for final mission as negotiated
- Fixed story bug preventing achievement from unlocking in one of 3 Nikolai story endings
- Fixed issue with Palace Interceptor having the wrong size Engine
- Fixed bug causing some Contact recruits, such as Spies, to recruit 1 level lower than expected
- Fixed story bugs with Contacts incorrectly appearing as indie
- Fixed bug Enormous Space Hat floating on screen occasionally