Do not be alarmed, leader of Humanity. This herald arrives on a mission without violence. Human vessels now delve deeper into hyperspace than ever before. The symmetry is disturbed. It is at this time that we who dwell in hyperspace must come to the surface and impart, and convey… and perhaps interact.

The Stars in Shadow: LEGACIES DLC is available today, and accompanying it is a patch to the base game with a number of new features and changes. For more details about the LEGACIES DLC additions, see below the patch notes.

We are always eager to listen to your feedback and suggestions, so don't hesitate to share your thoughts with us.

Patch Notes for 19 October 2017 (ver. 21569)

Changes & Additions

• The Tinkers faction has been added to the game, and is available as an opponent faction. The Legacies DLC is required to play as the Tinkers.
• Hyperspace Anomalies have been added to the map; they are hidden until revealed by the appropriate technology. Beware: they are a source of strange alien activity!
• Upon researching the Hyperspace Anomalies technology, those with the Legacies DLC will have an opportunity to interact with a mysterious alien entity known as "The Herald."
• The Space Habitat is a new station component unlocked by a new technology of the same name. Each Space Habitat can house one unit of population, effectively increasing the maximum population of the colony by 1. A station or outpost with a Space Habitat in orbit around an unclaimed planet will give the owning player control of that planet as if it were a colony.
• A few planets now have the Debris Ring special. This allows the construction of Asteroid Stations (with the appropriate technology), which are cheaper and better protected than normal Space Stations.
• Huge maps now default to 8 players (up from 7).
• Planet spawn rates have been altered -- small/fringe worlds of all types are now less common.
• Tiny planets will now spawn in new maps -- tiny planets cannot be colonized.
• Ships with functioning Autorepair or Tinkers Forge systems will automatically be fully repaired at the end of combat.
• Outposts can now provide repair and refit facilities to visiting fleets if equipped with a Construction Module.

Fixes

• Fix for a bug in the in-game docs for planet food production.
• Fix for a bug that could be triggered by trying to delete a game when the sound effect volume was set to 0.
• Fix for a bug that was causing the AI to inappropriately favor shipyards over armed stations.
• Fix for a bug that was allowing outposts without fuel depots to serve as fuel bases.
• Successfully rebellions will now destroy all orbital infrastructure.
• Double-clicking on a save in the Load pane will now load the selected game.
• Fix for a bug in the Tinkers' mercenary exchange.
• Reduced the number of Marauder companies generated in new maps.
• Workaround for a tech-line rendering bug present on older Intel laptops.
• Fix for a bug that could occur when negotiating to end a war with Marauders.
• The long range weapon mod now correctly increases range to 150%, as per it's description.

(Click here to view the complete development changelogs.)

Stars in Shadow: LEGACIES DLC

The Legacies DLC is also available today. It includes a new playable faction (The Tinkers), a new minor faction (The Arda Seed), and a number of new related features.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/698280/Stars_in_Shadow_Legacies/

New Playable Faction: Tinkers

The Tinkers are a cyborg civilization dedicated to the service of a machine god. Tinkers prefer arid climates and require little food, but reproduce slowly unless they spend metal to manufacture new population. Tinkers vessels have a built-in Forge system, which both repairs the ship during combat and replaces expended ammunition and small craft.

Harmonized Populations
Tinkers are Harmonized, meaning they are connected to a collective, a network of minds. As long as they have access to this connection (provided by the Machine Altar, a Factory variant), Harmonized colonists are immune to morale effects and experience improved productivity. Alien colonist can also be Harmonized, but beware: if the connection to the collective is broken, the realization of what has happened to their bodies may be... disconcerting to them.

Planetary Debris Rings and Asteroid Bases
The Tinkers homeworld has a new planetary special: Debris Ring. Planets with this special can construct Asteroid Stations, which are special versions of stations that have built-in extra armor systems (Chondrite Armor) and which have reduced costs to build, since they utilize existing natural structures.

Re-deployable Mobile Stations
Tinkers can un-deploy stations/outposts and move them, to re-deploy at a new planet. This also applies to their asteroid stations. Moving outposts to extend ship range can be useful for early exploration, and mobile stations equipped with the new Space Habitats can claim neutral planets for the Tinkers' empire, even if they do not currently possess the environmental technology to put boots on the ground.

New Minor Faction: Arda Seed

The Arda Seed are hyperspace-dwelling biomechanical automatons who repair and maintain the infrastructure of the ancient warp lanes created by the mythical Arda, and who can be hostile to anyone who attempts to interfere with their work. However, there is a strange entity calling itself "The Herald" that appears to speak on behalf of this mysterious faction.

New “Hyperspace Anomaly” locations
A Hyperspace Anomaly is a bubble of real space-time trapped in hyperspace. Ships can travel to and from the Hyperspace Anomaly as if it were a star system, if the owning faction has the proper sensor technologies; otherwise, they are invisible on the map. Hyperspace anomalies and the Warp Nodes they contain are fiercely guarded by the forces of the Arda Seed.

Herald Encounters
Although most of the Arda Seed units are mindless automatons, there is an intelligence of sorts at work behind them. Players will be able to encounter and negotiate with “The Herald,” a virtual entity who speaks on behalf of the Seed and who will trade information for the resources which they need to conduct their activities.

Technology Boosts
Codices are tradeable items which provide a tech boost for a specific technology, or unlock new technologies. They can be looted from derelicts or purchased from the Herald.

That's all for now! I will update the roadmap soon to let you know what we plan to do next.

This herald now withdraws. Do not descend deeper into hyperspace than your surface kind is meant to dive. Do not defile the anomalies within the great dark. Leave their warp nodes undisturbed. Observe these warnings, and we may interact amicably and productively, another time.