Ship Reconstruction
In the last update, we already changes some of the behaviors when your ship gets destroyed. Deaths in Avorion are harsh. We all know that. Especially new players get punished early for not knowing the game, after they invested tons of resources in their first ship and then - poof - it's just gone. That's true ragequit material, and nobody wants that. We're changing the insurance system to an equivalent reconstruction/respawn system that will be both more intuitive for everyone and more forgiving when you're just starting out.
The old insurance system was a compromise, and not a good one. Somewhat permadeath, but not really, yet you still lose enough that it caused beginners on titanium tier to ragequit. We needed a system where it is completely clear to players starting out that they CAN get their ship back, and where they DO after their first death (hence the first token is free). People try out the game, invest 3 - 5 hours in their first ship and then it gets destroyed, and it's not forgiven - at all. That's not fun, it's only frustrating. And when it's not fun, then it's not a good game.
Reconstruction Tokens
From now on, you can buy reconstruction tokens at repair docks, which will allow you to completely restore a destroyed ship. To avoid exploits, cargo and fighters (blueprints are restored!) are exempt from this. Reconstruction tokens cost about 20% to 30% of your ship's value, and the first token of each ship is free on normal and lower difficulties.
Repair docks are getting big changes: From now on you'll be able to restore your ships at repair docks, either for Reconstruction Tokens or for your ship's worth of money. Buying a Reconstruction Token will also repair your ship for free.
Quality of Life Changes
We're adding some more features that should make it easier and less obnoxious to start out in Avorion. Base crew size of ships is now doubled (from 4 to 8) and ships start out with a base crew on lower difficulties.
In addition to that, we're drastically reducing artificial hyperspace calculation times (by 90%). Keep in mind that hyperspace calculation times have been introduced to mask sector loading and generation time, and it can still take a while until your target sector is ready. You should feel a drastic improvement for long jumps though!
More Changes
There are many other smaller improvements in this patch: UI Improvements such as smaller notifications on the bottom right and less annoying hint boxes, as well as a new block shape!
To get the full list of changes, check out the patchnotes of this patch:
https://steamcommunity.com/games/445220/announcements/detail/1609385662090749980
Changed files in this update