Hi,

I have some diverse content for this week's patch, from a new Arena challenge to new gear, random events and a big change for space combat: a munitions mechanic. Let's go in detail:

Changes to Space Combat:

Munitions:

At first I wanted to add new torpedo launchers with different effects and damage for this patch but forcing the player to change their torpedo launchers in an hangar wasn't the most efficient option so I added a new type of item: Munitions.

By munitions, I mean special torpedoes that you can use with an installed torpedo launcher and select the one you want to use at any moment (as long as you have them in inventory). By default, you have a basic torpedo type that's unlimited but you can buy or loot other special torpedoes with extra damage and additional effects like:

• Hellfire Torpedo: slightly stronger than a basic torpedo and can cause fires inside an enemy ship.

• Phase Torpedo: a powerful torpedo that completely ignores enemy shields. It can cause a hull breaches in its target.

• Plasma Torpedo: the strongest of all torpedoes, it also has a good chance to start fires.

Status Effects:

Just like ground combat, now space combat also has status effects. Basically right now a sub-system like Helm, Weapons and Engines can get a status effect like Fire, Hull Breach or Hacked from certain attacks like special munitions or Hacking. These status effects can cause hull damage over time, crew damage, increased critical chance to receive extra damage, reduced turret accuracy and rate of fire and even disable some orders.

All these status effects have a limited duration but they can also be fixed immediatelly using a special order called "Fix Subsystem" but for that you need to have a crewmate assigned to the subsystem.

This is a pretty experimental feature that I would like to refine and expand later so any feedback about it is welcome.

New Ship Components:

These are the new ship components you can buy or loot (remember that they need to be installed using a station hangar):

• Ablative Armor: adds 2 extra hull points.

• Booster Rig: adds 1 extra movement point in the star map and 10% extra movement during space combat.

• Cyber Warfare Module: adds a Hacking attack during space combat that disables special orders in an enemy ship like firing torpedoes, repairing and recharging shields. Also reduces turret accuracy a bit. It can also be used in some non combat encounters like an extra-dialogue option.

• Combat Simulator Bay: no effect in space combat but it gives 3 XP to 2 random soldiers every turn during star map exploration. It can also be used in a specific random event.

• Shield Array MK2: double the shield points than the current Shield Array.

Changes to Turret Behaviour:

One thing that bothered me with the previous space combat logic was that using special attacks like torpedoes would stop the turrets. I decided to change that behaviour so now turrets will autofire to the closest enemy when you are using torpedoes or hacking.

In that same spirit, I changed the order "Fire At Will" so it doesn't need the player to set a target and it just autoaims at the closest target. So it's different than the order "Focus Fire" which now no longer has a rate of fire debuff but actually increases rate of fire, critical chance and accuracy while aiming at a specific target set by the player. I think that makes more sense for these orders.

New Content:

New Arena Challenge: Apex Predator:

This is a special challenge that you may find in Pirate Lairs where instead of having a full squad fighting against other pirates you are limited to a single soldier against many types of alien beasts (better pick a good soldier with good equipment).

It offers more money than the typical challenge and it gives a new trait to the soldier (if they win): Arena Champion, which is a positive trait that buffs many combat stats.

New non combat encounters:

• Comms Beacon: you find a simple communications beacon that you can disassemble or hack (if you have the right ship components). Hacking ti allows you to send some messages with different results.

• Corrosive Containers: a few containers of alien origin that you can loot if you are willing to risk corrosive damage to your hull.

New enemies:

• 3 new turrets (also replaces the existing red turret): Ballistic Turret MK1, Ballistic Turret MK2 and Plasma Turret. Turrets now explode on death and can call close patrols.

• Pirate Hunter Combat Android.

• Pirate Hunter Techno Sorcerer.

• Veteran versions of the existing enemy pirates (with better weapons and stats).

• Enslaved Alien Harvester (for Krell'Sha encounters).

• C.D.F. Riot Drone (can fire flashbangs).

• Explosive Drone (for pirate hunter encounters).

• Alien Beast: Stalker (melee creature with Cloaking ability).

• Alien Beast: Arachnoid (spits web and also has poisonous bite).

• Alien Beast: Cephalopod (melee, spits blinding slime).

• Alien Beast: XenoWasp (ranged flying enemy, spits poison, explodes on death).

• Alien Beast: Void's Maw (spellcaster monster).

New Gear and Equipment:

• Heavy Armor: +2 Armor, -1 Movement.

• Servo Boots: +1 Movement.

• Combat Bracers: increases melee stats.

• Aim Assist Bracers: increases ranged stats.

• Void Charm: increases combat stats, reduces Death's Door chance.

• Hazmat Vest: increases resistance to many status effects like Burned, Corroded, Blinded and others.

• Reflex BodySuit: increases combat stats, dodge chances, and movement.

• RegenFrame: +1 armor, resistance to Bleeding and Poison, adds 1 charge of Regeneration during combat.

• Cloaking Device: works exactly like the action of the Assassin class but with any type of soldier.

• Corrosive Ammmo: adds corrosion effect to shooting (removes armor of target).

• Phase Ammo: ignores the shield of a target when shooting.

• Void Artifacts: valuable loot.

New Random Events (and mechanic):

Now random events work differently, instead of a random chance of happening every turn, they happen after a random number of turns (between 10 and 20) but mostly guaranteed. I also added 2 new random events:

• Repair Hull: if your ship is damaged, you have a minor chance to repair it for free using the help of your soldiers.

• Sick Soldier: a soldier is ill, it could be nothing or it could be a disease that spreads through the ship. Better have a Medbay installed.

• Dice Game: this is not a new event, I just modified it so it has an option of "Double or Nothing" if you lose and feel in a gambling mood.

New Traits (mostly starters):

• Toxic Homeworld: a soldier born in this type of world has extra resistance to Poison and Corrosion.

• Jungle Homeworld: a soldier from this type of planet has extra resistance to poison, webbed and blinded status.

• Spacer: this soldier has problems with gravity (slowed movement and weakness to crippling status) but is a bit resistance to Dazed and can use any sub-system on a ship.

• War Ravaged Homeworld: loyalty capped to max 90% but increased combat stats.

• Arena Champion: increased combat stats, gained by completing Apex Predator challenge in arena.

Fixes and Changes:

• Now killing an enemy enslaved human or alien has a chance to trigger their explosive collar at the end of the turn.

• Added ability to gain faction reputation by "donating" money to the station commanders NPCs (not for Pirate Lairs).

• Fix to starting character Kora Vex (Research Ship) having sometimes a UI bug when editing her loadout.

• Fix to clicking soldier not working after another soldier is killed during a retaliation.

• Fix to single face feather in basic Krell'Sha warrior.

• Fixed a bug where loading a save sometimes would increase faction reputation.

• Changed the way store inventory is generated for every system (different factions will have different default inventory in their stations).

• Changed melee weapon of Krell'Sha warrior.

• Changes to XP rewards for killing and damaging targets.

• Fixes to turret camera aiming position.

• Fix to status effect resistance check.

• Added enemy action to alert nearby patrols (for security drones and turrets for now).

• Fix to destroyed drones disappearing after 10 seconds even if the hiding corpses option is disabled.

• Fix to AI failing to use rocket launchers sometimes.

• Now flying units (like drones) don't get affected by cells on fire or covered in acid.

• Changed the icons of some items so they are more consistent in style.

• Changed some traits to limit loyalty maximum and minimum.

• New mechanic: Resistances to status effect. Now a soldier's trait and gear can increase their chances of resisting some status effects.

• Now soldiers can earn a bit of XP from healing and from receiving damage.

• Changed some enemies in the space combat section of "Beneath the Mask". Added new "Heavy Drone" enemy.

• Fixed jumpy camera and weird zoom in space combat after finishing combat phase.

• Now most valuable items have the same price for selling or buying, this is in case a player wants to buy something in a system with low demand and sell it in another with high demand and make a small profit.

• Added Navita voice lines to some commands and events during space combat.

• Added a text event log in the space combat UI.

• Changed level requirements for some skills.

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This is it for now, originally I wanted to have a single big content patch before launch but I had some bugs that required urgent fixes so I ended up releasing the content I had ready now. The last big content patch will have to be split between 2 or 3 patches with this one being the first part.

See you in the next patch!

Regards,

Jorge