Hello SectorLords,
Because there's just so much that needs to be done this month, I am splitting the content patch into two parts, with the second part being released at the end of the month. A new game will not be required for the patch at the end of the month, but is highly recommended for this patch otherwise you won't get to experience any of the new content!
What's in this release:
NPC Corporations and Captains are now in the game. And you can form your own corporation. Why do you need to form a corporation? Well you don't need to, but if you want to strike back at a rival without it being considered an act of piracy, or want to earn Federal Recognition of your Colonies or build a Citadel, you'll need to!
A number of NPC Corps/Captains are generated each game, each Corp will have it's own agenda and will trade/fight the same way you do. They will stake claims on worlds and sectors that they wish to colonize/monopolize. Ignore their claim and they will start to get annoyed. Trade at stations where they've established their trade routes and they will get more annoyed. Annoy them enough and they might take a potshot at you.
Federation HQ is unlocked and will give you a preview of what to expect with the 2nd half of the Summer Content Patch. Players will be able to apply for a Federal Commission that will unlock Purchase of a Citadel and yet-to-be-determined Federation ship.
Steam Deck/Linux test-branch should be working again!
More Combat Rebalancing. AGGR and BOMB now have cooldowns so you can't use them every round. Additional enemy telegraph types introduced for more variety.
Increased Pirate Station spawn frequency and trigger thresholds.
Multiple Bugfixes, although I'm sure that with this content release some new ones may be present.
Anomaly Archive in the Codex is unlocked. Any anomalies you complete will appear here along with some actual science that the anomaly encounter draws inspiration from.
The Second Patch at the end of the month will complete the functionality for all the introduced features and we should be close to feature complete, and then it's more balancing and introducing the 3 other career paths and then 1.0!