First of all, I'd like to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who had a play of PiN during Steam Next Fest, and an even bigger one to those who left feedback and bug reports, it's been a huge motivation to hear people like the game and many of the suggestions have been really inspirational so once again - thank you!
Over and above the feature requests and balancing suggestions, the topic of feedback that really resonalted with me was the games style, or lack thereof - it really was kind of placeholder art that I just never got the time to work on, so I've spent the last few weeks overhauling the entire look and feel of the game to give it the personality and style I always had envisioned for it - a kind of wierd, abstract take on the usual pinball look, whilst still trying to retain visual clarity and keeping the HUD as uncluttered as possible. The result is what you can see now in the screenshots and trailer - there's still a long way to go but I think I can push this style even further so I'm excited to see what else I can do with it! I've taken down the demo while I polish up the last remaining parts of the old style, but will have it back up in a few days.
The next demo update will also have a bunch of new features - ramp damage has been replaced with an aerial attack that takes multiple missions to trigger but does a huge amount of damage, alongside other special attacks that can now be triggered by completing missions in order, always giving you something to aim towards. Power ups (now called glyphs) can be tailored to each of the special attacks so you can really ramp up the damage (bad pun intended) with your preferred attack and watch the numbers go exponentially higher than before.
I'll post again once the updated demo is live but in the meantime, thanks again for playing and please, please help spread the word, PiN will be coming out sometime in Summer with a firm release date to be announced shortly!
It’s my great pleasure to announce the start of Stellaris: Season 09, with the BioGenesis expansion leading the way alongside the Stellaris 4.0 ‘Phoenix’ update.
The future of evolution is here. BioGenesis continues our remastering of the Ascension Paths by granting you unprecedented power over life itself and hatches May 5th, 2025.
Two Biological Shipsets Command living fleets that evolve alongside your empire. Customize these genetic marvels for specialized roles, from ferocious Maulers to adaptable support Weavers, each capable of empowering allies and weakening foes.
Three New Origins
Evolutionary Predators: Push the boundaries of Species Traits by unlocking and combining unique phenotype abilities to craft the ultimate adaptive empire.
Starlit Citadel: Solve the mystery of your empire’s biological attackers while boosting hyperlane choke-point strategies with early access to the Deep Space Citadel megastructure.
Wilderness: Begin as a sapient planetary ecosystem, a living gestalt of countless lifeforms united in harmony, seeking to spread its consciousness to the stars.
Overhauled Genetic Ascension Choose from three Ascension paths (Cloning, Purity, and Mutation) and over 18 enhanced Authorities. Customize your genetic ascension by blending Purity, Cloning, and Mutation traditions into a unique path for your play style.
Hives with a Twist Encounter a Hive Fallen Empire, a fractured hive mind struggling to awake between its three splintered personalities.
Six New Civics Genetic Identification, Crowdsourcing, Familiar Face, Aerospace Adaptation, Shared Genetics, Civil Education
Deep Space Citadel Megastructure A versatile new defensive station capable of holding off powerful enemy fleets at any system.
Behemoth Fury Crisis Path The apex predators of the stars are not bound by petty limitations. Cast off the biological weaknesses that hold you back, and become a force of nature.
The BioGenesis expansion includes:
Gestalt Hive Empires (also unlocked by Utopia)
Two biological Shipsets with distinct mechanics from traditional spacecraft
Three new Origins
Evolutionary Predators
Wilderness
Starlit Citadel
Civics
Genetic Identification
Crowdsourcing
Familiar Face
Aerospace Adaptation
Shared Genetics
Civil Education
Deep Space Citadel Megastructure
Biological Ascension (also unlocked by Utopia)
Expanded with BioGenesis to include a mutable tradition tree that reflects your path through Ascension
Exploration of the effects of Biological Ascension on society
Advanced Government Forms
16 new genetic Species Traits, including phenotype based traits
Portraits that change based on pop strata and leader level
The Splintered Hive Fallen Empire
Two Diplomatic Rooms and City Sets
7 music tracks
And a new Player Crisis Path - Behemoth Fury
Planned Dev Diary Schedule March 27 - Biological Ships and Mechanics April 3 - Ascension, Traditions, Advanced Governments April 10 - Phenotype Traits, Evolutionary Predators Origin April 17 - Deep Space Citadel, Starlit Citadel Origin April 24 - Hive Fallen Empire, Wilderness Origin May 1 - Civics, Behemoth Fury, Preliminary Release Notes May 5 - BioGenesis Release Date
Stellaris: Season 09 Expansion Pass
The Stellaris: Season 09 Expansion Pass is your gateway to an entire year of cosmic evolution, psionic mysteries, and apocalyptic infernos. With instant access to the exclusive Stargazer Species Portrait, this expansion pass delivers three major content packs that will redefine the Biological and Psionic Ascensions and the most ambitious species pack so far!
Purchasing the Expansion Pass grants access to all four DLCs as soon as they become available.
Stargazer Species Portrait (Instant Unlock) Dream of the stars with this exclusive portrait, available immediately upon purchasing Stellaris: Season 09. Featuring three phenotypes and unique animations, the Stargazer Species Portrait is perfect for players who seek to embody the spirit of cosmic curiosity.
BioGenesis (Releases May 5, 2025 - $24.99) Take command of the forces of life itself in Stellaris: BioGenesis. Engineer living ships and wield advanced genetic tools to shape the destiny of your empire. Will you create a utopia of adaptation and growth or weaponize biology to dominate the stars?
Overhauled Genetic Ascension: Choose from three distinct paths—Cloning, Purity, and Mutation—and customize your evolution.
Living Ships: Command biological starships that evolve alongside your empire.
Player Crisis Path: Unleash the unstoppable Behemoth Fury on the galaxy.
Three New Origins: Play as evolutionary predators, a sapient planetary ecosystem, or a fortress civilization.
New Megastructure: Construct the Deep Space Citadel to control hyperlane choke points.
Shadows of the Shroud (Releases Q3 2025 - $19.99) The psionic plane holds untold power—but at what cost? Shadows of the Shroud is a complete overhaul of the Psionic Ascension path, introducing new moral dilemmas, Patron allegiances, and a whole new way of interacting with the mysteries of the Shroud.
Breach into the Shroud: Shape your empire’s spiritual destiny with a revamped Shroud system.
Shroud Panel: Track your empire’s attunement and unlock new powers.
Revamped End of the Cycle: The ultimate deal with the devil—can you delay the inevitable?
Psionic Auras: Let your Shroud influence shape entire star systems.
New Content: Origins, civics, ships, government types, and more!
Infernals Species Pack (Releases Q4 2025 - $12.99) Forge your destiny in the Stellaris: Infernals Species Pack - our most ambitious Species Pack ever. Adapted to relentless heat and volatile landscapes, you wield the power of extreme environments to reshape the galaxy. Will your empire thrive in the heat, or be consumed by the very forces it seeks to command?
Player Crisis Path: Burn the galaxy to ashes as your empire thrives in destruction.
New Origins: Unearth ancient kin or endure the scorching wrath of a dying sun in two new Origins.
Volcanic Worlds: A new planetary class with unique districts, events, and archaeological sites.
New Species & Customization: Ships, portraits, civics, and more!
The Stellaris: Season 09 Expansion Pass is now available for purchase for $44.99 or regional equivalent, a 20% discount over purchasing the contents individually.
What’s Next?
This Thursday we’ll flesh out the bio-ships!
See you then!
BioGenesis is now available for pre-purchase for $24.99 or regional equivalent, or with a 20% discount as part of the Stellaris: Season 09 Expansion Pass, which is available now for $44.99 or regional equivalent.
Thunder echoes on the horizon, and distant voices whisper in the air… The storms of war are rising.
For centuries, the world has remained in balance and its people at peace. But change is coming. The magical weave has been torn apart, and the world now teeters on the brink of ruin.
Who will restore balance and forge a new destiny?
The clock is ticking: something is about to be revealed tomorrow at 4:00 PM CET.
Hello everyone! We are thrilled to present the next big update — 0.2a ! It adds new tools for Creative Mode, enhances controls, and makes the game even easier to use. Watch the timelapse video below to see all the changes in action!
What's new in Update 0.2a?
Time of Day Settings: You can now change the time of day on your island. Create cozy sunsets or bright sunrises!
Undo/Redo System (Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y): Easily fix mistakes or experiment with designs. This also helps record stunning timelapses!
Improved Camera Controls: The new system allows you to explore every corner of your island in detail.
Experimental Steam Deck and Gamepad Support: Dragon Spot is now playable not only on PC but also on portable devices!
Video Tutorials: We’ve added detailed video guides to help newcomers get started faster.
Simplified Puzzle Mode: Building islands from blueprints has become much easier thanks to new mechanics.
Bug Fixes: The game is now more stable and enjoyable than ever.
This update brings even more convenience and excitement. With the day/night system, you can create unique atmospheres, easily undo mistakes, and even play on Steam Deck or with a gamepad.
Thank you for your support 💖 We sincerely appreciate your feedback and attention to the game. Thanks to you, Dragon Spot keeps getting better with each update! Share your impressions — we carefully read every message.
A bug that made moving the radar scan zone vertically and horizontally impossible in TWS mode has been fixed. (Report).
A bug that made it possible to select a target that had moved outside of the current radar scan zone when switching targets cyclically has been fixed.
As it is now possible to move the radar scan zone horizontally in TWS mode with cyclic target switching turned on, the values set by the player for the horizontal radar target cue control axis and the radar tilt control axis are now in sync with the automatic changes in the scan zone's location due to tracking. Just as they were in sync when cyclic target switching was turned off. Due to this, now when the target track has been lost in the cyclic target switching mode, the scan zone behavior is the same as when the option is turned off — the scan zone doesn’t recenter and stays oriented to where the target has been lost.
F/A-18A — a bug that caused the weaponry MFD page to be compressed horizontally has been fixed.
Ground Vehicles
XM246 — some armor inaccuracies have been fixed.
XM246 — a bug where the retraction of the search radar was not reflected in the damage model has been fixed.
XM246 — the aiming angles of the machine gun on the turret have been adjusted.
Locations and Missions
When a new modification is researched after a battle, the button to purchase all modifications in the modifications window is now replaced with a button to purchase all researched modifications.
A bug where the nation discount label would appear when the research tree was collapsed and would not show the discount percentage has been fixed.
The creation of new items from recycled ones is now limited to 100 per creation to ensure the ease of looking at the list of received items.
Interface
Sands of Sinai — small rocks which were blocking the passageway between the rocks in grid square C5 have been removed.
Sinai (all missions) — the display of the ground textures from high altitudes has been adjusted so that the textures no longer appear mozaic.
Patch notes reflect only key changes, meaning they may not include a complete list of all improvements made. Additionally, War Thunder is constantly being updated and some changes may not require an update. Changes reflected in patch notes are formed by taking reactions and requests of the community from the bug reporting service, forums and other official platforms into account. Bug fixes and changes are implemented in order of importance, for example a game-breaking bug will be worked on and implemented sooner.
