The major milestone RELIC ushers in a completely new style of play, profession and a new major system -- Salvaging at Orbitals. While Salvaging shares some cross-over with other orbital ops (Spying, Blockading, Patrolling) it is the extreme high risk and high reward variation. In addition, Salvaging operations are tied directly to fickle Rumors, so the chance to swoop in and make a credit ... or lose a few crew ... does not last forever.
Salvage operations are not for the faint of heart. But the dangers match the possible bounty offered. From big credit rewards ($5K to $80K), to high value mission offers, to relic gear (45 new gear added), specialist weapons (12 new weapons added) or armor (6 new armor added) the rewards are premium. But so are the potential disasters from double-stacked xeno fights, negative Trait mutations, massive Reputation loss, death of Contacts in the quadrant, punishing ship damage or even the terrible double-stacked fatality card.
No, not for the faint of heart at all. This one's for the scrappers, the gamblers, those tough enough to survive.
Welcome v2.4.x
As we shared when the game launched, this is just the beginning. Star Traders: Frontiers is already a massive game but we have plans to keep expanding it as we've shared in our development roadmap and the RELIC milestone is the first major delivery on that roadmap. It officially ushers in the v2.4.x family which is going to be a big one -- just check out Salvage below!
Hunt the Rumors
Unlike other orbital opportunities, salvage sites can only be found where there are certain Rumors -- Derelict Space Hive, Abandoned Military Station, Abandoned Medical Station, Orbital Construction, Orbital Disaster. These 5 new rumors open up 5 distinct versions of the Salvage mini-game, each with a set of unique risk and reward cards. Looking for weapons -- you'll only find them on military stations. Some of the most valuable specialist gear around can be found on abandoned medical stations, but so can a lot of other bad things.
To be a successful Scavenger, you'll need to travel the stars, chasing the Rumors. And it will be important to have a crew capable of picking up on rumors on the crackling wires or over the spice plate.
To help Scavengers focus your efforts, Contacts like Salvage Broker, Retired Exo-Scout, Hunna Lieutenant, Spice Runner and Retired Explorer or any Contact with the Techno-Addict Trait. These Contacts all offer a new service, allowing you to pay to learn Salvage Rumors specifically. Their connections into the galactic network help them connect you with valuable salvage opportunities -- though it won't be cheap!
Race the Clock
More than just limited by location, Salvage is also always on a timeline. The orbital construction project is sure to finish sooner or later and the crumbling wreck of a space hive your crew are risking their necks to pick apart is sure to eventually drop into the atmo and disappear forever. The high-value rewards available during Salvage are paired with very nasty risks but are also available only for a specific window. If you want to rummage that wreck, you will have to focus down while it lasts.
Hire the Experts
If you're going salvaging, you will want to hire those who are skilled at picking over wrecks -- Scavengers. This new Job packs 13 exciting Talents that mix Salvage, Explorer and Doctor. Every thing exists in some form of decay and a Scavenger knows how to patch it up or rip it apart to get the best value. The Scavenger is adept at picking over the decaying bones of orbital wrecks and at foraging the wilderness.
If you want to plunge head first into crawling over a trash-heap salvage sites, Scavenger is now available as the newest starting profession, but it requires the "De Rivesh Legacy" unlock.
The Scavenger Job is not the only one getting in on the fun. 10 new Salvage Talents have been added across the Crew Dog, Gunner, Electronics Tech, Mechanic, Engineer, Pirate and Smuggler Jobs. We've provided all the options to build out a salvage-specific crew.
Kit the Ship
Salvage Bays, EVA Decks and all the ship and crew protection modules from standard orbital operations all take action in salvage operations, helping to boost rewards and protect your team in this extreme risk environments. We've provided all the options you need to build out a perfect scavenger ship.
New Battle-Pattern Void Engines
Now available at high rated shipyards, the new Warhammer and Behemoth ship engines are both built around the venerable battle-pattern Void reactor core. Depending on size, these engines are capable of generating 9 or 10 Reactor Points per turn. As a trade off, they guzzle fuel like a snob crew dog when the chilled spice beer is on the captain's tab.
The rare variant, called a Behemoth engine, is over-engineered to an extreme and packs more internal armor and shielding than some ships. Both of these engines are tuned for combat, providing an emphasis on combat performance and soak pools.
v2.4.1 - 10/8/2018
Major Milestone "RELIC"
- Added all new profession, way of life, path to play: Orbital Salvage is a high-risk and high-reward job of extracting valuables from derelict orbital wrecks
- Added 5 new Rumors: Derelict Space Hive, Abandoned Military Station, Abandoned Medical Station, Orbital Construction, Orbital Disaster
- New Scavenger Job includes 14 new Talents, mixing Orbital Salvage, Exploration, Doctor and Boarding Victory abilities
- Contacts Salvage Broker, Fixer, Smuggler now offer Scavenger Job recruits
- Added 10 new Orbital Salvage Talents across Crew Dog, Gunner, Electronics Tech, Mechanic, Engineer, Pirate and Smuggler Jobs
- Added 45 new pieces of Gear that can be recovered during orbital salvage -- military, medical, relics up to level 8
- Added 12 new crew Weapons that can be recovered during orbital salvage
- Added 6 new crew Armors that can be recovered during orbital salvage
- New Traits "Crafty" and "Hazard High" increases bonuses and Morale during Orbital Salvage, "Vulture" Trait also increases salvage profits
- New Contact Service "Learn Salvage Rumor" allows you to specifically pay Contacts to learn about salvage opportunities
- Contacts Salvage Broker, Retired Exo-Scout, Hunna Lieutenant, Spice Runner, Retired Explorer all offer Learn Salvage Rumor
- Any Contact with "Techno-Addict" Trait will also offer Learn Salvage Rumor
- Added new Contact Trait "Collector" -- these Contacts will recruits Scavengers
- Salvage Broker Contact now available as a Starting Contact
- Achievement "De Rivesh Legacy" now unlocks new starting Profession: Scavenger
- During Orbital Disaster or Orbital Construction rumors, Engineers are available to recruit in the Spice Hall
- Cooldowns for all Talents that increase rewards in Exploration, Patrol, Spy and Blockade extended to 6 weeks instead of 3 weeks
- Added 9 new Awards for Salvage, Recovering Relics and Discovering Rare Trade Good Stashes
- Added 3 new Steam Achievements / Unlocks
Other Additions
- Added 7 new Ship Engines with 10 RP for hulls M7000 and above
- Added 7 new Ship Engines with 9 RP for hulls M2400 to M6000
- Spice Trader Contacts now offer Smugglers for recruit
- Enemy AI now uses faction-specific ships: Crimson Defender, Aegis Freighter, Royale Gladius, Corsair Interceptor, Tiberian Highliner
- Corrected Faction for Crimson Defender to be Rychart
- Contact Links improved with new rules that prioritize high Influence and provide counters moves to block Rumors
- Increased Influence gained and lost by Contacts interacting with Rumors
- Increased Influence gained by completing missions for Contacts
- Increased Water-Fuel costs for Radiation Storm and Ion Storm Rumors
- Crew no longer abandon ship in Templar Faction zones or when Starport is 3 or less
- Fixed bug where Cargo Missions were not properly showing Permit requirements for cargo
- Fixed bug where "Running Guns" mission would still be successful even if you fought and lost to scavengers
Monday Night Hotfix!
We deployed a hotfix this evening with the following fixes --
v2.4.3
- Fixed bug preventing Contacts from selling weapons, armor or gear
- Fixed bug showing some unlearned Talents as being on cool down at start of game
- Fixed mislabel of some "Salvage" Talents as "Victory" type
- Improved sorting of Contacts in new game template
- Improved EVA Deck and Salvage Bay upgrades
Update #109: Sword Cutter
Because we want the RELIC news item to stay at the top of the list during the sale, we've decided to embed Update #109 here into this same news item. We've also started a forum post with the same content.
With this update, we've introduced a new exciting Cadar warship -- the Sword Cutter. The Sword Cutter is a purpose-built attack craft, designed to be used by elite military units and for landings in infested systems. The construction of the Sword Cutter spares no expense including a top of the line armored Warhammer class void reactor and battle ready Combat Hyperwarp Drive. Designed to fight at range 3 and 4, the Sword Cutter is a ship built to blast through multiple opponents. Having the highest hull points, best engine and optimized drives is not cheap and the Sword Cutter is the most expensive ship in the 3400 mass category and holds 5 officers.
Also, Contacts hate to be outdone by Orbital Salvage and have now made level 7 weapons available for sale. The credit cost for Learning Salvage Rumors has increased by about 20%. The other costs -- Personal Rep and Influence minimum have remain unchanged.
When completing a mission, it is now an even stronger option to rely on the Influence of a strong, local Contact. You now get there full Influence score as strong dice, which can be pretty overwhelming if they have high Influence.
For those players on Mac OS with a 13" screen and 1440x900 resolution, we've patched the game's UI scaling to better work for you. Set the scaling to 60% or 70% and restart -- you should be all set.
And, we fixed Salvage bugs, added more art, tweaked descriptions and balance.
v2.4.5 - 10/9/2018
- New Ship: Sword Cutter (3400M and $800K!) by Cadar Syndicate
- Contacts now sell level 7 Weapons -- added 7 new crew weapons to the game
- Credit cost of buying Salvage Rumors from Contacts increased by +20%
- Improved option to use a local Contact's Influence when attempting to complete a mission (gets 100% Influence Strong Dice!)
- Improved unique weapons granted by story arcs
- Fixed issue where game ignored low UI scaling % on smaller screens
- Added more card art for orbital operations and salvage
- Fixed bugs with some weapons recovered by Salvaging having duplicate stats
- Fixed issues with Orbital Salvage card formatting
- Fixed reported crashes in Orbital Salvage
Hotfix 2.4.7
In a concerted effort to keep this update as our top news item this week, I'm adding tonight's hotfix details to the end of the news item.
v2.4.7 - 10/10/2018
- Fixed Salvage Bay components not improving Orbital Salvage credit rewards
- Fixed crashes with "Relic Gear" card in early game
- Fixed bug with Thrown Wrench Talent firing Cascading Destruction ability instead
- Fixed reported crashes in Orbital Salvage
- Fixed issues with card scores and title formatting