Update #236 takes the new features of CATALYST and injects them straight into the mission system with uncompromisingly awesome results. We've added an entirely new class of mission -- freeform gathering of Scientific or espionage Intel -- along with a new mission giver type to help Contacts like Court Scientist focus on an even more sciencey agenda than before. On top of the major burst of mission activity, Update #236 rounds out Scientific Intel missions with a new Doctor rank 8 and 11 Talent and a new Engineering rank 8 Talent as well.

With CATALYST full released and through its early patch cycle, we are now turning our attention back to the dev roadmap. First to fall will be -- as indicated by this update -- the +100% Missions. Now that Intel and Scientific Intel missions are in, next up will be Salvage Missions to strike the item from the list. Then, onwards to Weapons, Armor and Gear!


If word hasn't trickled down from the tippity top of the dome, seeped through the cracked concrete down to your safehouse, we've got news for you about our upcoming turn-based cyberpunk RPG. Cyber Knights: Flashpoint will be coming to Steam in 2021 and mixes elements of stealth, hacking and tactical combat with deep RPG elements and base building. You'll want to Wishlist this puppy today because -- that's right, you can get cyberdog and cybercat companions. If you didn't know, now you know.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1021210/Cyber_Knights_Flashpoint/


Update #236 opens up an entirely new frontier for self-directed Missions in Spying, Exploring and Salvaging. The addition of Missions that require you gather Intel and Scientific Intel from specific sources bring a new type of challenge to these operations. A captain who excels at direct Spying missions will want a certain set of Talents to seek out and obtain the golden Mission card, while a captain who excels at Intel gathering missions will need a different set of Talents -- to flip for Intel or Scientific Intel -- along with reward Talents that increase Intel gather and a ship that can further boost those rewards.

Intel gathering missions come in a few forms including -- gathering Scientific Intel, gathering generic Intel (any faction or conflict), gathering faction specific Intel (single faction, any conflict) or the most expensive and difficult to obtain, Conflict Intel (one specific Conflict). Often these missions have a follow up set of steps that draw you deeper into your Contact's purpose and scheme.

These new missions also open up a new way to use Intel. Where before Intel was always a lower credit reward for higher Reputation and Influence, if you chose to sell your Intel into these Missions you now make Mission money (much higher!) and Mission Rep and Influence changes (when compared to selling Intel directly much lower).

We can't wait to see these play out in the game and hear your new stories, captains. As mentioned above, more Mission types are coming!


We've also added a 16th mission giver type, that of Science Missions. Previously, these Contacts gave Explorer Missions. Science Missions is a derivative of Explorer Missions with a higher weighting on Scientific Intel missions and these Contacts are less likely to engage in Smuggling and other underhanded acts.

Both Doctor and Engineer gained new Talents with Update #236, two of which help round out the availability of Scientific Intel Talents. The Doctor can now replace a risk card in Exploring with a Scientific Intel reward card at rank 11 and the Engineer can help boost the price of all Scientific Intel sold to Contacts.

Finally, to ensure the Doctor's position commands the proper respect aboard a starship, they have gained a rank 8 Talent to save Command Skill rolls.

- Added new type of self-directed Missions -- gather Scientific, generic, Faction or Conflict-specific Intel
- New way to convert your Intel gathering abilities into high credit rewards with lower Rep and Influence gains (mission money, mission rep)
- Added 4 new types of Scientific Intel focused missions with unique follow-ups and conditions
- Added 6 new types of Intel focused missions with unique follow-ups and conditions
- Created new Mission Giver type for Contacts who "Offer Scientific Missions" to find Scientific Intel, Explore and Salvage
- Improved Intel creation details for Intel created by Boarding Talents, properly linking to origin system
- Added 2 new Talents for Doctors -- "Professional Respect" Command saving Talent at rank 8, and "Sawbones Seeker" replaces Exploring risk card with Scientific Intel
- Added new rank 8 Engineer Talent "Contemplative View" increases the price of all Scientific Intel sold to Contacts by 30% + Electronics
- Fixed issues with Field Distortion Log Entries during Radiation Storms
- Fixed issues with Talents not triggering during planetary Ion Storms

Update #235 is the third update this week of the 45% off sale to continue to drive features and improvements for the new Scientist profession and Job released in the Major Milestone CATALYST. There has rarely been a better time to step on to the bridge of a ship and explore the void with this new systems, playstyle and job now available. If you haven't seen CATALYST and the addition of Scientific Intel to the game as a new play style, be sure to check it out below. With Update #235, we've added a new Javat-only flagship carrier, improved the Talent Manifest for all Science Talents and completed some important rebalancing and expansion of the prisoner and passenger component types.


And if you haven't seen it, we're excited to be sharing our upcoming turn-based tactical RPG, Cyber Knights: Flashpoint which will be coming to Steam in 2021. Mixing elements of stealth, hacking and tactical combat with deep RPG elements and base building, you'll want to Wishlist today if you haven't already. If you didn't know, now you know.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1021210


The Mortifor Carrier embodies exactly what you'd expect from a Javat flagship. Weighing in at 8000 Mass, the Mortifor boasts best-in-class starting Armor and very strong starting Shielding. Packing 42 crew and 7 officers it also allows for 5 max craft, running neck and neck with the Skylift and Harbinger Carriers. Where the Mortifor shines like no other 8000 Mass ship is in its 15 small slots (!!!), 8 medium and 6 large slot component layout. Coming off the starport line with a Traveler Engine and 3 hangars for craft, the Mortifor is ready to engage at a starting price of $2.4m.


The last update, Update #234, accidentally bopped Scavenger off the profession list. Scavenger is back with Update #235 and Scientist has stayed so all is now right in the void. For just a minute. Before the next xeno attack. Enjoy it :D


We've caught up with the Talent Manifest after the round of new Talents being released by adding the Scientist's selling of Scientific Intel as well as the Explorer and Salvage Talents that add Scientific Intel cards.


With Update #235, we've expanded into a progression for passenger cabins, prison cells and wards. we've added 4 new component options for higher price tag that allow you to upgrade your standard small slot cells and cabins. You can bulk up to include either Armor with the Reinforced Passenger Cabin or Shields with the Shielded Passenger Cabin and the same options are available for small slot Prison Cells.

In addition, we've pushed the Interrogation Ward to be a second tier component by creating a lesser large slot Prison Ward which holds 4 prisoners and offers +5% Shielding. Interrogation Ward -- which creates valuable Intel -- is now a second level large slot component that holds 4 prisoners and costs a bit more to install.

Finally, to ensure the balance stays correct across these critical mission components, we've pushed the jump cost for all of the large slot components higher.

- New Javat-only Ship: Mortifor Carrier (8000M Heavy Carrier)
- Fixes issues with Scavenger profession
- Improved Talent Manifest: Added Science Intel Cards, Scientific Record Sales
- New Components: Reinforced Passenger Cabin, Reinforced Prison Cell, Shielded Passenger Cabin, Shielded Prison Cell
- New Component: Prison Ward is the starter large slot prison component, holds 4 prisoners and does not create intel
- Improved large slot Interrogation Ward to hold 4 Prisoners and doubled price to install
- Large slot prisons and passenger suites increase jump fuel cost
- Fixed formatting on some Explorer & Salvage Cards

Update #234 is a follow on update to the Major Milestone CATALYST that further expands the new systems, playstyle and jobs available there. If you haven't seen CATALYST and the addition of Scientific Intel to the game as a new play style, be sure to check it out below. With Update #234, we've added a new captain profession (SCIENCE!), a new rank 15 Exo-Scout Talent and 2 new Contact types.

And if you haven't seen it, we're excited to be sharing our upcoming turn-based tactical RPG, Cyber Knights: Flashpoint which will be coming to Steam in 2021. Mixing elements of stealth, hacking and tactical combat with deep RPG elements and base building, you'll want to Wishlist today if you haven't already. If you didn't know, now you know.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1021210/Cyber_Knights_Flashpoint/


Update #234 adds the Scientist as a full blown starting profession you can add to your new captain templates. With two powerful unique traits -- Theoretical and Cerebral Seeker -- the Scientist captain excels at a strategic mix of Exploring, Salvaging and xeno hunting to reap Scientific Intel at every turn. Great for multi-Jobbing with Explorer, Doctor, Scavenger and more, the Scientist captain rounds out the new and exciting angles of play here.


A new starting Contact -- the Court Scientist -- and a Contact created only by the simulation -- the Academy Consul -- are both interested in buying Scientific Intel and recruiting Scientists along with offering a mix of other exciting services like Trait-driven Black Market access, a mix of Permit, Rank and Edict as well as Introductions, gear and more. Keep an eye out for these new players and consider the Court Scientist when setting up your new Scientist captain templates.

Exo-Scouts gain new rank 15 Talent, Earned Revelations that replace risk card with Scientific Intel reward cards. Only the most veteran and highly capable exo-scouts have the chops to record valuable Intel from their exploration missions but those who can stand to make a killing among their network of contacts.

- Scientist is now available as a Captain profession with 2 unique captain traits, Theoretician and Cerebral Seeker
- Added new starting Contact type, Court Scientist who purchase Scientific Intel and recruts Scientist
- Added new proc-gen Contact type, Academy Consul who purchase Scientific Intel and recruts Scientist
- Exo-Scouts gain new rank 15 Talent, Earned Revelations that replace risk card with Scientific Intel reward cards
- Fixed issue with Repair/Explorer skill in new game templates
- Fixed reported crashes

Last edited 10/13/2020 @ 2 PM EST - we've released patch 3.0.113, see release notes at the bottom

With Update #232 we're hitting another major milestone, dubbed SCIENCE with huge raft of new content, a new playstyle to chase and a 12% raise to the maximum level cap.

Major Milestone CATALYST introduces the Scientist who can fill the iconic position aboard your starship as your Science Officer or perhaps your xenobiologist or part time xeno hunter. Your Scientist eagerly seeks the unknown -- and in the void the unknown is inexorably intertwined with the dangerous. Along with the Scientist comes an entirely new type of Scientific Intel that can be gathered when encounter xeno, exploring, salvaging or traveling space under terribly conditions such as Radiation Storms.

This Milestone also raises the level cap from 40 to 45 and all jobs have had their max level expanded from 32 to 36. This is a major new infusion of Skill points for everyone and up to 2 new Talents for both Captain and Officers.

And if you haven't seen it, we're excited to be sharing our upcoming turn-based tactical RPG, Cyber Knights: Flashpoint which will be coming to Steam in 2021. Mixing elements of stealth, hacking and tactical combat with deep RPG elements and base building, you'll want to Wishlist today if you haven't already. If you didn't know, now you know.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1021210/Cyber_Knights_Flashpoint/

To keep up with all the latest news, sales, gameplay vids, guides & tips from the forums & discord, streams, memes, and more, follow us on the Star Traders' twitter account: https://twitter.com/StarTradersGame


Major Milestone CATALYST comes with a new Job, but not just any new Job -- the highest community requested, the venerable and respected Scientist or Science Officer, if you chose to promote. The Scientist is a powerful supporting character bringing Doctor, Explorer and Command Skills to the ship. From a Talent perspective, the Scientist can play in both Orbital Salvage and Explorer, knocking out and replacing risk cards or boosting results.

But where the Scientist truly shines is in the discovery and capture of a new type of data -- Scientific Intel. Startling observations, dangerous new concepts, recorded anomalies, encounters with the other can all produce Scientific Intel when cast through the lens of a trained eyed -- the eye of the Scientist. The Scientists Talents and 5 new cards added across Salvage and Explorer can impart this valuable and dangerous knowledge in the form of Scientific Intel.

Like espionage-based Intel, this Scientific Intel is highly prized by Contacts and 14 Contacts will now buy Scientific Intel, including 5 of the Starting Contacts. Mostly, these are a Contacts who did not previously buy Intel and now have a new angle through which you can increase their Influence and Rep, but a few are swap overs from Intel to Scientific Intel. The new rules and system have also touched on a huge number of Contact Traits that will recruit Scientists or prefer to purchase Scientific Intel if possible or will pay heavily (Cult Leaders!) for the secrets, often farmed directly from xeno encounters.

Scientists can be promoted or recruited during Academy Graduations or from Sage of Records, Medical Provost and Xenologist Contact Types.


For those veteran captains still sailing the void after 70 years and reaching the level cap of 40, we've made a major lift with CATALYST to open the gates all the way to 45. This also includes a big uptick in maximum job level from 32 to 36. The job levels are especially exciting as they come with a solid chunk of Skill points which we've used creatively to fill gaps, catch up certain off skills, or double down on the primary skill. On top of the extra Skill points, the Captain and Officers both net a total of 2 Talents, giving you even more powerful build options.


The Vark Carrier is a technical marvel and the heaviest 6000-class hull architecture ever devised. While the exact details of the design are a tightly-held Zenrin secret, the build borrows heavily from the expertise of Zenrin's friends among the Star Trader Houses and Clans. While the Vark is heavily shielded and armored, the massive hull is built around the Traveler Void Engine, rather than the Dual-Field popular on large warships, strictly for speed. Zenrin Captains, and the fearless aces of small craft combat stand ready to face any Xeno threat, no matter how distant. Among the 6000-class ships, the Vark Carrier is the only one capable of docking 5 craft.


We've also updated the rules for the Spice Festival Rumor to further reduce Trade Law, now applying a massive -4 over the previously -2.

And, for those Spies selling traditional Intel, we've bumped up the price of Conflict Intel to which the Contact is directly related by more than 50%.

We've also fixed the Armor/Shield stats on Performance Hyperwarp Drives and rebalanced the prices of both Neutiquam Cruiser and resolved its issue of having 8/7 Officer Cabins.

- Increased max level cap to 45 for all Captain, Officer and Crew -- new Job and Talents points!
- Increased max level of all Jobs from 32 to 36 -- more Skill points!
- Added new Zenrin-only ship, the mighty Vark Carrier (6000M Zenrin, heavy attack Carrier)
- All new Scientist Job seeks the unknown in the void to gain Scientific Intel and bonus Experience
- All new type of Scientific Intel can be gathered through ops and Talents and sold to interested Contacts
- 14 Contacts including 5 starting Contacts now buy Scientific Intel
- Added 3 new Orbital Salvage cards and 2 new Explorer cards with Scientific Intel rewards
- Scientists can be recruited from Sage of Records, Medical Provost and Xenologist
- Added new Contact Trait Technologist, increases price for Scientific Data and recruits Scientists
- Contacts with Tinkerer, Techno Addict, Heritage Hunter, Xeno Obsessed, Cult Leader, Collector and Researcher all buy Scientific Intel at better prices
- Contact Trait Researcher will enable buying Scientific Intel if the Contact doesn't already buy Intel
- Scientist is recruitable during Academy Graduation Rumors and in any Spice Hall in the Jyeeta Brood quadrant
- Spice Festival Rumor now reduces Trade Law by -4 instead of -2
- Increased the sale price of Conflict Intel when the Contact's faction is involved in the Conflict
- Fixed issue with Neutiquam Cruiser having 8 officer cabins
- Fixed issue with Performance Hyperwarp Drives having too much armor/shield
- Increased price of Neutiquam Cruiser by $500K
- Increased price of Extremis Carrier by $425K

- Increased chances of Scientific Intel Cards appearing during Explorer & Salvage
- Scientific Intel now appears more often during Xeno Fleets, Jyeeta Incursions and Radiation Storms
- Reputation gains from selling Scientific Intel buffed by 12%
- Fixed issue with all Diplomat Talents requiring incorrect Job Rank

Update #231 continues to deliver on exciting new ship and component expansions, bringing new options and new meta to the table. With this update, we've included 2 new end-game faction ships and 12 new components that all make use of the completely new ship effect types (Engine Safety, Jump Time reduction, Craft Boost) released in Update #230. We're excited to announce as well that this update completes two of our content milestones on the publicly posted dev roadmap -- moving us closer and closer to completing it entirely!

We've also made a big rule change for Scavenger captains (Repair in new game templates!), improved the Defense Pattern Matrix 4 and fixed some issues with how the AI was trying to build out a set of big end-game ships.

If you enjoy the stream of updates, free content and general game support please remember to leave a review and tell a friend!


With Update #231 we have closed two of the major content milestones we have been tracking to since the game's release in August 2018. With the addition of the Neutiquam Cruiser and Tempus Freighter we have completed a long march to triple the size of the ship catalog across Mass spectrum. And with the blast of 5 new components in the last update and 12 new components in this update, we have hit our goal to double the size of the ship component catalog, massively expanding the ways in which different captain professions can specialize their individual ship and hit the metrics they feel are necessary to safely sail the void.

Of course, hitting the milestone goal doesn't mean we won't be adding more :D
https://steamcommunity.com/games/335620/announcements/detail/1696055855739611821

The Tempus Freighter is a contender for the crown of most advanced large-capacity and long-haul cargo ship. Produced exclusively by the De Valtos syndicate, the Tempus Freighter carries an exceptional fuel and cargo load while still maintaining heavy armor and shield. The merchants of De Valtos value their sprawling cargo holds but know that the best cargo delivery is one that is made safely. While formidable without any upgrades, a fully built Tempus Freighter delivers top-tier cargo storage and unparalleled combat survivability. Boasting 11 medium and 8 large slots and a trailing 9 small slots, the Tempus has the capacity for another $5M-$6M in upgrades to create the ultimate merchant-warriors freighter or anything in between.

The Neutiquam Cruiser is a compact, heavily armored ship that soaks damage like a much larger hull. Built for boarding combat, attack shuttles and anti-carrier duty the Neutiquam Cruiser is difficult to hit and harder to kill. Sold for under $2.5M at Steel Song starports, this military vessel can be reasonably effective without upgrades, it truly shines after an overhaul and new weapons package. Boasting 11 small, 9 medium and 5 large slots, this Cruiser could soak up additional millions to be fully upgraded as a legendary Bounty Hunter's personal flagship or the death barge of a roaming Steel Song assassin.


A big thanks to the community from bringing this up and discussing it -- how to best build a Scavenger captain. To assist with this, we've made one of the recommended changes which is to add Repair to the list of Skills that a captain can increase in their character creation template. Enjoy those extra bonuses in Talents and Orbital Salvage!

The second change will come with the addition of Orbital Salvage missions, which require mission cards which will adjust their starting Traits. But that is for another day, another update!


Update #230 was not shy about adding new components and #231 cranks it up another level with a full set of 12.

First, we've added a fourth tier of the Water-Fuel Reclamation systems, once again Javat-only. This component adds less fuel than the WFR 3 but trades that for a +1 Engine Safety bonus. For those ships looking to travel safer, farther, this is a worth consideration.

Carriers have long had a gap in their ability to build out a heavily focused set of components to empower their activities. You needed to install launch bays and hangars, but the rest of the build was in your crew and Talents. With Update #230, we began addressing that with a carrier-focused bridge and two new powerful launch bays but Update #231 kicks open the door to ultra carrier builds with the addition of Joint Precision Launch Systems 1-3 which each add craft boost bonuses to any and all launched craft. These bonuses stack, adding to Craft Damage, Hit % and Boarding rolls and so now a carrier has a whole new option for how to invest their small slots. Every carrier build needs some, how many will you install?

Some Star Traders aim to travel far but others aim to travel *fast*. For those speed demons of the void, we've released a series of new Performance Hyperwarp Drives that all reduce the time taken in making hyperwarp jumps from 25% for the lowest mass drives to 12% for the highest mass drives. These drives trade higher fuel burn for their speed but over the longhaul, they'll help you scoot across the galaxy -- and especially large maps -- much more efficiently.


While we are hard at work supporting the Star Traders: Frontiers roadmap, we've been developing our next game for going on 2 years now! If you like our style of endless updates, new features and content, wishlist it today! Cyber Knights is a tactical RPG that plunges you and your team of hackers, mercs and thieves into the neon-soaked future of 2231. Hire the right team under the crumbling New Boston Zone and mix stealth, hacking and combat skills to claw your way to the top of the criminal heap.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1021210/Cyber_Knights_Flashpoint/

- New captain templates can now include Repair Skill bonuses for jobs like Scavenger
- New Ship: Neutiquam Cruiser (Steel Song, 6000M Attack Cruiser)
- New Ship: Tempus Freighter (De Valtos, 8000M Long Range Hauler)
- Added 8 new Performance Hyperwarp Drives that reduce jump time by 12% to 25% based on ship mass in trade for higher fuel costs
- Added 3 new Joint Precision Launch System components to provide craft boost for carriers in small slot - stack for ultra carrier
- Added new Javat-only Water-Fuel Reclamation 4 component in medium slot with +1 Engine Safety but lower fuel bonus
- Defense Pattern Matrix 4 rebalanced to grant 6% defense instead of 5%
- Fixed AI issues with: Reach Carrier, Azurite Cruiser, Larimar Battlecruiser

Update #230 launches can be installed at a starport near you in the form of a heap of new exciting ship components that roll out 3 completely new types of effects not previously available through any component. We've also further improved the recently released high level Capital Bridges with these new effects, fixed the launch-preventing bug with the Pallas Freighter and trained the enemy AI ship builder on even more components.

With Update #230, ship components can now do some even more exciting things! While your Void Engine sets your Safety Rating, other ship components can now add bonuses (or, in the future, reduce) that up to a maximum of +6 Safety. This can help you offset riskier engine choices.

Second, ship components can now reduce the amount of time spent in hyperwarp jumps. Each jump has its own defined length which you can see relative to other jumps on the galactic map. All in all, these traveling events can add up to a lot of time and ship components are now capable of increasing or reducing that traveling time with ship components to a maximum of -50%.

Finally, to assist with carrier builds we've added a effect dubbed Craft Boost that allows the capital ship to increase the Damage, Hit % and Boarding rolls for all launched craft. The carrier's capital ship systems can now help increase the effective aggressive features of all craft it has launched.


The Engineering and Navigation Annex have been added in Update #230. Both are medium slot components that provide space for a single officer but also some very powerful bonuses, including Skill points. The Engineering Annex adds +2 Safety Rating and is great for ships that are trying to travel long distances. In addition, the Engineering Annex provides a constant protection against Morale damage over time effects. The Navigation Annex reduces hyperwarp jump time by 15% as well as hyperwarp jump cost by -10 fuel.

The Engineering Annex is Zenrin only while the Navigation Annex is to be found in Alta Mesa starports only.


Update #230 adds a new Scout-Vanguard Bridge 5 which compares well with the 3 recently added Scout 5 options -- Skirmisher, Hauler and Stealth. For those small ships that want to adjust their component builds away from craft defense, the Vanguard provides a major 30% to Evade Craft Attacks, fully double what the Scout-Skirmisher 5 provides in exchange for its Accuracy bonus and some Armor and Shield. You can only find this extreme craft defense bridge for small ships in Steel Song starports.

Update #230 has also modified the Capital Carrier Bridge 5 to include the all new Craft Boost bonus. This powerful bridge for large-scale carriers adds +12% to the Damage, Hit % and Boarding for all aggressive crafts. It is a new must-have component for those captains looking to built ultra-carriers.

Finally, we've updated the Compact Capital Bridge 4 to include a +1 Safety Rating as well to go along with its significantly lower Mass and solid Skill bonuses, making it a possible contender for the slot for non-combat captains.


Before Update #230, the highest level launch bays -- the Advanced and Hyperion -- both provided massive Fuel bonuses to help offset the carrier's consumption but did little to support aggressive craft activity. Now, a level 3 and level 4 combat focused launch bays have been added. the Battle Launch Bay at level 3 is available only from De Valtos and is extra shiny with its best in class +15% Craft Boost.
The highly sought after and highly expensive Warhawk Launch Bay could be made by none other than Alta Mesa boasting a +8% craft boost and housing 1 officer. If combined with the Capital Carrier Bridge (as it should be!) these could net a 20% to 27% Craft Boost bonus, making your very larger, very expensive carriers even more deadly.

We've worked on training up the enemy AI ship builder on a few additional types of components to help round out their ships, including C-Taks, better use of Fuel Tanks, upgraded Battle Bridges and Mass Dampeners.

Finally, we fixed the Pallas Freighter's bug being 1,000 Mass over at purchase time. If you happened to buy one of these broken ships, sorry you have to keep it (or sell it). Only new ships coming off the line are fixed.


While we are hard at work supporting the Star Traders: Frontiers roadmap, we've been developing our next game for going on 2 years now! If you like our style of endless updates, new features and content, wishlist it today! Cyber Knights is a tactical RPG that plunges you and your team of hackers, mercs and thieves into the neon-soaked future of 2231. Hire the right team under the crumbling New Boston Zone and mix stealth, hacking and combat skills to claw your way to the top of the criminal heap.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1021210/Cyber_Knights_Flashpoint/

- Added 3 New Ship Component Effects: increase Engine Safety, reduce Hyperwarp Jump Time, Craft Boost adds Dmg, Hit % and Boarding to all launched craft
- New Zenrin-only Component: Engineering Annex, medium slot for 1 officer adds +2 Safety Rating and other bonuses
- New Alta Mesa-only Component: Navigation Annex, medium slot for 1 officer reduces Hyperwarp Jump time and other bonuses
- New Steel Song-only Component: Scout-Vanguard Bridge 5 provides +30% to Evade Craft Attacks and other bonuses
- New De Valtos-only Battle Launch Bay trades lvl 3 Advanced Launch Bay's fuel for +15% Craft Boost, combat focused launch bay
- New Alta Mesa-only Warhawk Launch Bay trades lvl 4 Hyperion Launch Bay's fuel for +8% Craft Boost, combat focused launch bay
- Improved Capital Carrier Bridge 5 to include +12% Craft Boost bonus, powerful bridge for large-scale carriers
- Improved Compact Capital Bridge 4 to include +1 Engine Safety bonus
- Fixed issue with Pallas Freighters starting 1000 Mass over
- Enemy AI ship builder is more capable at using C-Taks, Battle Bridges, Fuel Pods and Mass Dampeners

Update #229 had to come in a bit of a rush because map gen v2 tried to escape the lab in Update #228. We're pushing this update to directly address these issues as well as include some new ship components and some bug fixes to orbital ops.

Changes in prep for map gen v2 in Update #228 and caused a rolling set of bugs with generating new maps under this release. Update #229 resolves all of these issues and puts us back on track to release map seeds v2 soon.

With Update #229, we've added a new set of ship components for your high level ships and especially for capital ships with large bridges.

The Shielded Barracks 5 joins the fun with space for 36 crew and 4 Shielding points in trade for 5 Jump Cost. It can be a nice way to stack up your shielding so you can focus other components elsewhere if you can manage the credit and fuel cost.

Three new types of Capital Bridges have joined the fray -- the Freighter, Carrier and Compact version. The Freighter variation includes bonus cargo and fuel capacity while reducing jump cost and is of course, controlled by Clan Moklumnue. The Carrier Capital Bridge is built exclusively by Alta Mesa with best in class Electronics and Navigation. And finally, the Compact Capital Bridge is available from Clan Zenrin at a reduced Mass of 480 for those capital ships looking to allocate their mass elsewhere. To be completely honest, the Compact and Carrier bridges are casualties of the fast release cycle to fix the maps issue here. Neither are done and both will be improved to be specific to their niche in the next update.

Sold only by De Valtos, the Fuel-Cargo Hold 5 offers 35 cargo and 135 fuel storage. For a much higher price tag, it offers the best in class fuel and cargo storage for those ships that can dedicate large slots to it.

We've fixed a bug with how Salvage worked over indie planets where there is no local faction. This removes the issues with the "Faction Rep Bonus" card which had no where to stash the bonus Rep, as indies do not do Rep. We've also improved the card iconography to include better icons for cards that grant Experience.

- Fixes bug with map generation
- New Components: Shielded Barracks 5, Capital Freighter Bridge, Capital Carrier Bridge, Compact Capital Bridge, Fuel-Cargo Hold 5
- Fixed Orbital Salvage “Faction Rep Boost” Over Indie Planets
- Fixed incorrect icons on some Experience granting cards

Update #228 reaches the version number 3.0101, indicating 50 releases in this family (that is, 3.0.x). However, we're very excited to share that this release family is sun-setting with 3.1.x coming in fast. On our Trese Brothers Twitch development livestream last week, Cory debuted a major map preview feature we are buttoning up which allows you to check out maps you are making in the new game before you play which is a key feature of map seed version 2. We're also now getting to a point where we will be sharing map seeds v2 on Twitch and the big release of the new system is coming in just around the corner.

In the mean time, v3.0.x still has some life in it! We're finishing balancing out engines stats as well as introducing new exciting build potential for how to setup your ship operations crew by introducing a slew of new saving Talents. Update #228 also includes Gravcannon updates, changes to 1080p resolution options, upgraded stat display when shopping for ship components and fixes for Traits that should never proc together on the same character, so for everything check the full release notes

You may already be following us on Facebook and on the @TreseBrothers twitter, but we're now sharing news, sales, gameplay vids, guides & tips from the forums & discord, streams, memes, and more on Star Traders' own twitter account: https://twitter.com/StarTradersGame


In response to some great community feedback, we're beefing up the availability of saving Talents for core ship Skills. With Update #228 we've focused on Ship Ops and Electronics, adding 3 new saving Talents for each Skill to different ship operational jobs. These new saving Talent options greatly expand the viable types of crew you can assemble to cover the needs of a ship's Skill Pools and saving Talents. You'll still need core crew, but you've got more room to include specialists who can help cover those spots.

First, the Crew Dog has gained additional utility by gaining an Electronics saving Talent at rank 8 to add to their Ship Ops saving Talent at rank 1. In addition, Engineers and Wing Techs have both gained an Electronics save at rank 8.

Second, to help augment the available Ship Ops saving Talents offered by Crew Dogs and Quartermasters, we've added the Talent type to 3 new Jobs -- Mechanic, Gundeck Boss and Wing Tech. Wing Techs get access to the Talent first at rank 5 while both Gundeck Boss and Mechanics need to reach rank 8 before they can lend a guaranteed saving hand to Ship Ops.


With Update #228, we've made further improvements to the stats to some engines that needed a little more boost to fit into the new scheme. In order to ensure that Warhammers and Behemoth engines are fairly safe, their Safety Ratings have been increased by roughly +1 across the board from the Mass 5000 to Mass 8000 engines. This removes any 4 Safety Rating engines -- which basically could never find a quadrant with Danger below their engine -- from the game and leaves a minimum of 5 Safety.

For Speed and Agility we've made a few more changes to keep the engines in balance. The Mass 8000 Chase Void Engine has gained +2 Agility to fit correctly into the class scheme. Also, to ensure they live up to their price tag and are competitive with other engine types, the Warhammer Void Engines have gained +1 or +2 Agility across the entire line regardless of Mass and the Behemoth engine line has gained +1 to +2 Speed.

We've rebalanced the Gunnery values on rank 7 and 8 Gravcannons. More boom!

If you're playing at 1080p and are finding the text too small (playing on a TV, etc) we've made some changes to allow the UI to scale up to 110% instead of maxing at 100%. Give it a try and let us know if it helps!


If you're loving Star Traders: Frontiers, its 228 updates, its constant new features and content or just the style of our studio, then be sure to wishlist our next game, Cyber Knights: Flashpoint. Turn-based tactics lovers and XCOM fans are not going to want to miss this one --
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1021210/Cyber_Knights_Flashpoint/

- Improved Agility by +1-2 points on Warhammer engine line, improved Speed by +1-2 points on Behemoth line
- Improved Agility on M8000 Chaser Void Engine by +2
- Improved Safety on M5000 to M8000 Warhammer / Behemoth engines by +1
- Added 6 new Ship Ops and Electronics Talents across a wider selection of jobs
- New Electronic saving Talents for Engineer (rank 8), Wing Tech (rank 8) and Crew Dog (rank 8)
- New Ship Ops saving Talents for Mechanic (rank 8), Gundeck Boss (rank 8), Wing Tech (rank 5)
- Increased Gunnery of large slot rank 7 and 8 Gravcannons
- Added combat effects like +Void Res to starport upgrade summary screen
- Adjusted UI Scaling option to allow 110% scaling at 1080p
- Prevented Traits "Rigidly Lawful" and "Spice Addict" from mutating onto same character

Update #227 follows quickly on the heals of #226 because of the "Free Fuel" bug that accidentally slipped through in the last update. We know everyone has been enjoying the free cruiser around the galaxy but we've got to get that fixed with Update #227. To assuage the suffering of once again burning Water Fuel, we've added a killer feature from the community request list -- transferring dry docked ships between zones!

If you're buying and outfitting a ship, sometimes you really need it to be in a different zone -- to access faction-specific components or to access higher military or economic ratings. Or perhaps you bought it somewhere with a nice discount but not a nice enough starport to do years of upgrades. Whatever the reason, it has long been a pain to move ships around -- you had to swap to them, fly them yourself and then find another ride (i.e. buy another ship) back to the original ship.

We're excited to announce the ability to transfer dry dock ship across the galaxy with Update #227. You can pay a reasonable fee of $100,000 credits per hyperwarp jump and an extra 11% for each Mass class at or above 6000 Mass.


In order to initiate this ferry service, you must first land on the zone where you dry docked ship resides. Then open the Star Atlas -- from the zone, from the galactic map, etc -- and find the zone you want to transfer the ship to. At the bottom of the zone, you'll find a transfer offer and price. Of course, you must meet the requirements of Military Rank 1 and the zone must have 7 Starport or a rare 9 in the case of Indies. If you can afford the fee, the transfer is made instantly -- basically, as fast as you can fly there the ship will be waiting for you.

To all those captains building out a glorious fleet and asking for dry dock transfer, enjoy!

- Added new feature: pay to transfer dry docked ship from one starport to another using Star Atlas
- Star Atlas now includes a note about any zone that has a ship in dry dock
- Fixed issue allowing free fuel travel within quadrants for low Mass ships
- Fixed issue where starport repair detail text could still report an incorrect timeline for repairs

Update #226 comes in as a heavy-weight with an important rebalance to Void Engines across the mass and class spectrum. We're continuing to work through our planned updates and improvements to the meta with some very exciting new things coming once we are able to clear this set of hurdles. We've also added 3 new top tier pieces of gear that your officers or crew (!!) can now equip and fixed a number of minor ship component and story bugs.

If you're enjoying the pace of updates, be sure to leave a review and tell a friend. If you need more Star Traders: Frontiers memes in your day, we're now sharing them, along with news, sales, gameplay vids and more at Star Traders' own twitter account: @StarTradersGame


The void engine is part of the daily life on a Star Trader's ship. It is the heart of a ship and its energy fields change Star Traders who live near them, granting long life, makes their diet and medicine so complicated and shutting down many of the body's natural processes.

Update #226 includes two big rebalances for the void engine at any and all mass classes. There will be follow-up upgrades that expand upon these changes, including allowing ship components to modify critical stats like void engine Safety.

First, we've updated Safety Rating display for your engine, getting away from the % scale used. Safety Rating is directly compared to the Danger of Quadrants in its impact on traveling, and so it is now displayed as a simple number, just like Danger.

Second, we've rebuilt the Safety Ratings for every void engine, basing their ratings around their class (Chaser, Longhaul, etc) as well as their Mass grouping. Small ships are no longer inherently unsafe Longhaul engines are now the safest, built for extended traveling conditions. Balanced and Dual-Field engines are next down the list with standard Safety Ratings. Chasers and Travelers are lower in safety than their standard counter-parts with their focus on either Speed or Agility. Finally, Warhammers and Behemoths, huge monstrosities capable of producing the highest Reactor Points in combat have the lowest Safety Ratings.

Finally, for void engines in the the Mass 6000 and above group, there is now a fuel cost per encounter with an enemy ship. This includes encounters during travel as well as those made for missions and any type of orbital ops. The fuel cost can be as low as 1 per encounter up to 10 per encounter for the largest, heaviest combat engines like the Behemoth. Chaser class engines, built for combat efficiency, have the lowest encounter costs in each Mass grouping with the 6000 Mass Chaser still having 0 fuel cost per encounter. High speed Traveler engines have the highest fuel cost to when encountering another ship, while Balanced, Dual-Field and Longhaul engines all have average costs within their Mass grouping. This new fuel tax for large engines may require some changes in play and you might want to use a bit more of your large ship component slots to stock up on fuel.


Update #226 includes a new level 5 specialist gear now for sale from Contacts, the Interlink Wireset which grants a big boost to Wisdom. Check out the Talents your crew and officers are using and see if you might find a Wisdom boost helpful!

We've also added 3 more exciting gear that can be found via Salvage, the Ultra Heavy Jack, Isotriphate Injector and Betaphate Drip. Each comes with big Attribute bonus -- Fortitude, Quickness and Fortitude again in order. The Quickness boost is so high on the Injector that it had to come along with a -Initiative debuff to keep the peace!

We've also fixed a bug with Salvage Bay 5 not actually working when salvaging ships and adjusted the Armored Salvage Bay 5 to display its proper bonus, which is 49%, not 54%. Finally, we fixed a bug that could lead to Zette's storyline spawning multiple copies of the same mission.

Pilot a fleet of battle drones, lead a pack of cybernetically enhanced war dogs, mind-meld with a cybercat, charge your nano-blade, get your arms replaced, stalk the night of New Boston as a cybernetic mercenary-beast of 2231. If you like these words, wishlist Cyber Knights: Flashpoint today.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1021210/Cyber_Knights_Flashpoint/

You can't tell me you don't want this cyber beagle on your team?


- Void Engine Rebalance: improved significance of engine safety, rebalanced safety ratings and added encounter fuel cost to larger engines
- Void engines at 6000 Mass and higher now have a per-encounter Fuel Cost (travel, landing, orbital ops)
- Improved Display of Engine Safety to use the same scale as Quadrant Danger as the two are directly compared
- Increased impact of Engine Safety on results of Pilot and Ship Ops failures in dangerous quadrants
- New Attribute Boosting Gear for sale in Specialist Gear level 5: Interlink Wireset (+Wisdom)
- Added 3 new salvage Relics, Ultra Heavy Jack (+Debuff Res) and Isotriphate Injector (+Quickness), Betaphate Drip
- Fixed bug with Salvage Bay 5 not adding bonus while salvaging ships
- Fixed incorrect text in Armored Salvage Bay 5, it adds 49% bonus to all salvage operations
- Fixed bug with duplicate missions during Zette's storyline