And various versions made recently
I think I will start posting those here again since it all settled down and it's less chaotic now
Version 0.29 released
It's an interesting and somewhat painful stage of development. I revise various mechanics and... chop features that were not so great
It's usually a stage when I realize something can be done much simplier without losing any depth (after the overly complex feature is already implemented
). So what exactly was done? The whole army tab was slated, several mechanics changed/redone. Introduced a nice budget mechanic (I like it). Also rebalanced economy.
- [removed] Army tab removed, army officers merged with fleet, most of army officers removed
- [removed] Powerplants removed (not worthy of attention of the mighty Emperor
)
- [removed] Forts removed (will be replaced with defensive subsidies in the next version), planetary defensive priorities removed
- [feature] Budget mechanic (finances tab), it allows investing in various areas, also it's a nearly infinite money sink if one so desire
- [feature] Electricity mechanic introduced, it reused gas (which no longer is a fuel for ships, but a source of electricity). Planets and cities require electricity, if you have a shortage grasdually worse and worse effects come into play (those are listed on the electricity tooltip). Not all electricity shortage effects work in this version.
- [feature] Political officers added to fleets (in future they will be optional), also generals assigned to fleets.
- [feature] Changed army model to local, no more a global pool for defensive infantry (only stormtroopers have such a pool), it's all more simple and intuitive now.
- [feature] Happiness mechanic adjusted.
- [balance] Adjusted starting planetary infrastructure, starting population, resources production rate, etc. Overall you start with more at the beginning but it becomes harder later.
- [balance] Adjusted food & population growth
- [interface] Reforms renamed to edicts (more logical and intuitive)
- [interface] Better tooltips, some beautifications, etc
Version 0.28.2 released
In this version I attempted to explain better some confusing mechanics (like security rating) and in the process I changed those too because I found a better and a simplier way how those should work
Also finished some features like creation perks and reforms.
- [feature] All create Emperor perks work now.
- [feature] Finished reforms and tied them nicely to eras (number of reforms per era).
- [feature] Planetary loyalty and security explained much better (tooltips). Happiness now affect planet's loyalty only.
- [feature] Rebel points generation (from planetary security, from loyalty of imperial officials) also all this explained better on the empire/summary screen. Note that rebellion is not implemented yet so these have no effect at the moment.
- [feature] Planetary quality of life simplified and explained better, now it affects population growth and efficiency of all industries.
- [feature] Court replacement rules adjusted (old ones get auto promoted if there is a vacancy for any reason and the new ones come into the lowest rank slots).
- [balance] Difficulty levels now differ much more, so players of all skill levels could play it (difficulty 9 should be impossible now). Note that the game is balanced for difficulty 4 (default one).
- [interface] New map mode "specialization" (shows specialization and resource deposits).
- [interface] Numerous beautifications.
Version 0.28.1 released (post Pyrkon version)
This version is the result of the Pyrkon expo and the feedback I gathered there. Thanks all people who visited me there!
- [feature] New court movement rules (also renamed move pts to political pts). The same depth but much less confusing.
- [feature] Department of Protocol is special now, it has no effect at all
So, it's a great place to store all those incompetent courtiers that are loyal to you or those you need to keep for political reasons.
- [feature] Modified max industry level mechanic.
- [feature] Context help greatly expanded (it's still lacking and unfinished).
- [removed] Innovation mechanic (no one understood it anyway, plus it was redundant with the field bonus mechanic).
- [interface] Improved industry page (edicts less confusing).
- [interface] Research screen improved (list of queued technologies on the fields screen).
- [interface] Find planet/squadron makes zoom in.
- [interface] Numerous beautifications and improvements.
- [fix] Various small fixes.
Version 0.28 released!
The goal of this update was to finish some unfinished things (court related) and streamline the game and interface a bit (removal of test functions, no summon everyone option, default fleet composition).
- [feature] court faction bonuses rednoe and fully implemented (now only the top most influential faction provides a bonus)
- [feature] departments got a separate subpage and there are working bonuses/penalties based on courtiers competence (some are bland and repetitive, will be adjusted in future versions)
- [feature] default fleet composition (hull types requested for squadrons)
- [removed] test/dev functions are hidden (unless you activate tester mode)
- [removed] audience chancellor button summoning all officials (it was too micro like one)
Saves compatibility note: compatible with v0.27 with a possible minor first turn glitch (tax bonus might be wrong during the first turn after you use old saves)
Version 0.27.3 released!
- [fix] tax system
- [fix] incorrect corruption of new characters
- [feature] icon on the planet screen to identify a frontier planet
- [feature] various smaller improvements
- [balance] characters live significantly longer, less minerals from mines (which means lower ships production)
Version 0.27.2 released
Fix of the fix
Also removed/redid a bunch of useless features in order to make it simplier & more streamlined.
- [fix] The rare Win 8.1 screen bug
- [removed] fire governor button on planet screen (it was too micromanagish and overall lame, now you can fire governors via audience system only)
- [removed] squadron size button (it's not needed in practice and was only confusing, just create multiple squadrons and you get the same effect)
- [feature] changed planetary defence priority adjustment, instead of adjusting it by -3/+3 now you can set a planet as a fort, you can do it with maximum 3 planets. Fort planets are also marked on the map and overall it's better and more cool.
Version 0.27.1 (Alpha) released.
The first update after Steam Early Access.
- [fix] Added "safe mode" launch option which you can use if you have problems (Steam option, or you can run the game via "gamename.exe -safemode")
- [fix] Probably fixed the rare Win 8.1 screen bug (but it needs confirmation, anyway, you can use the safemode if you still have problems)
- [feature] Characters have names displayed prominently above their stats (except planetary governors, because they are not worthy of your magnificent attention
)
- [feature] improved context help and overall improved help
- [balance] Pirates a bit weaker