Patch 200: Fixes
- Fixed Micro Command Center not getting recognized.

The third free bonus DLC for BossConstructor is now live! It adds a few module variations and some general improvements. Enjoy! :)

New modules:
One common problem in BossConstructor's combat system is that it is often hard to avoid taking damage from enemies when engaging them. In order to improve this, I have added two more modules to your toolbox.



For one, I've added the EMP mine layer, a variation of the standard mine layer, which spawns mines that can disable parts of enemy ships. The second addition is the EMP carrier, which spawns interceptors that can do the same. Both options are pretty useful and allow for more strategic and safer play.



User interface:
As a quality of life improvement I have added a "Sell all" button to the exploration mode ship editor. This button allows you to automatically sell all modules in your inventory which match the current filter criterium (type and quality) for half their value. So, you no longer need to visit a shop to get rid of useless stuff.



Other improvements:
- Added the Micro command center, which is a tiny (1x2) but very expensive command center module.
- Replicated ships now wait to spawn until you hit the replicator module's button again.
- Doubled the size of the rotating shield's plate.
- Decreased the number of ships that can spawn per wave in wave-based-missions.

I hope you enjoy playing with the new modules and tweaks! :)



Kubifaktorium:
Now that my work here is done, I am focusing on my next game Kubifaktorium. The Kickstarter campaign has been a great success and if you are interested, you can find more information on the game's future Steam page.

Kubifaktorium
After working on it for about a year, I am announcing Kubifaktorium, my next game! If you enjoy building, growing and managing a colony, then the game might be for you. It will feature different biomes to explore, plenty of resources to exploit and interesting production chains to master. If you are interested, you can find a first teaser trailer here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18J3O9-i824

The best way to keep up-to-date with the game's development is its Facebook-page, where I add 1-2 posts every week: https://www.facebook.com/Kubifaktorium/
I would be happy to meet some BossConstructors there. :)


Bonus DLC 3
In other news, I am currently collecting ideas for the free Bonus DLC 3 which I will work on later this summer. If you have ideas you want to see implemented, there is still time to post them here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/330100/discussions/0/1692669912383486452/

The free bonus DLC 2, which consists of the patches 195-198, adds a new module and advanced galaxy customization to the game!


Bussard Ramjet
The Bussard Ramjet generates a large amount of energy whenever your ship is inside a space nebula. When combined with batteries, this allows you to build light-weight fighter ships, which are fast and maneuverable. Until they run out of juice. :)



Galaxy Customization
The exploration mode has been expanded to offer more advanced settings. You can change the galaxy shape, the number of wormholes, the number of connections between stars and more.



Ship Design Rule Change
You can now place modules directly in front of weapons (if you choose to ignore the warninge). While not a clever idea in general, this change greatly enhances what you can do with the joint and piston modules. Alternatively, you can opt to build a second layer of backup weapons for when your ship's outer layer gets destroyed. Maybe there are other uses as well. :)

Other news
This is the second of a total of three bonus DLCs. The final bonus DLC will add even more modules and maybe a few new gameplay mechanics and tweaks to the game. Please let me know what you would like to see!

In other news, please look forward to other game related announcements coming from me some time Q2-Q3 2018. :)

The free bonus DLC 2, which consists of the patches 195-198, adds a new module and advanced galaxy customization to the game!


Bussard Ramjet
The Bussard Ramjet generates a large amount of energy whenever your ship is inside a space nebula. When combined with batteries, this allows you to build light-weight fighter ships, which are fast and maneuverable. Until they run out of juice. :)



Galaxy Customization
The exploration mode has been expanded to offer more advanced settings. You can change the galaxy shape, the number of wormholes, the number of connections between stars and more.



Ship Design Rule Change
You can now place modules directly in front of weapons (if you choose to ignore the warninge). While not a clever idea in general, this change greatly enhances what you can do with the joint and piston modules. Alternatively, you can opt to build a second layer of backup weapons for when your ship's outer layer gets destroyed. Maybe there are other uses as well. :)

Other news
This is the second of a total of three bonus DLCs. The final bonus DLC will add even more modules and maybe a few new gameplay mechanics and tweaks to the game. Please let me know what you would like to see!

In other news, please look forward to other game related announcements coming from me some time Q2-Q3 2018. :)

Added the Bussard ramjet which generates a large amount of energy when your ship is inside a space nebula. Together with batteries, this can be quite useful. Let me know your thoughts regarding the balancing! :)
- Adjusted the nebula spawning mechanism to make sure that nebulae spawn in most sectors.
- Placing modules in front of weapons is no longer forbidden. The weapons will show a warning but you can ignore it. This enhances what you can do with joints and pistons.
- Reduced the number of ships which can spawn in the von Neumann missions from 10 to 5. Also, the search range in the ship selection algorithm now expands way faster. These changes should reduce the slowdowns/freezes encountered by some players. To keep the difficulty sort of constant, two extra waves are added.
- Shots fired by the missile launcher array no longer spread as strongly to the side.
- Addressed freezes related to large previous log files.

Added the Bussard ramjet which generates a large amount of energy when your ship is inside a space nebula. Together with batteries, this can be quite useful. Let me know your thoughts regarding the balancing! :)
- Adjusted the nebula spawning mechanism to make sure that nebulae spawn in most sectors.
- Placing modules in front of weapons is no longer forbidden. The weapons will show a warning but you can ignore it. This enhances what you can do with joints and pistons.
- Reduced the number of ships which can spawn in the von Neumann missions from 10 to 5. Also, the search range in the ship selection algorithm now expands way faster. These changes should reduce the slowdowns/freezes encountered by some players. To keep the difficulty sort of constant, two extra waves are added.
- Shots fired by the missile launcher array no longer spread as strongly to the side.
- Addressed freezes related to large previous log files.

- Added a screen offering advanced options for the exploration mode's galaxy creation. You can change the galaxy shape, the wormholes, the number of connections between stars and more. Let me know which settings you enjoy! :)
- Fixed a bug preventing ships from being properly saved to the library.

- Added a screen offering advanced options for the exploration mode's galaxy creation. You can change the galaxy shape, the wormholes, the number of connections between stars and more. Let me know which settings you enjoy! :)
- Fixed a bug preventing ships from being properly saved to the library.

It's been a while but here is a new patch which brings a couple of improvements. Next, I will begin working on DLC 2, so expect to see some new content soonish. :)

- Laser and disintegrator beams now pass through ore crystals.
- Increased the cost of the disintegrator charger module.
- Editing a ship now forces a refresh of the skirmish mode ship list.
- Repair bot and replicator conversion rates are now capped at 2x.
- Fixed mini armor stacking with regular size armor.
- Fixed PDPS calculation in relation to the explosive charge.
- Fixed potentially buggy interaction between nano armor and aug module.

It's been a while but here is a new patch which brings a couple of improvements. Next, I will begin working on DLC 2, so expect to see some new content soonish. :)

- Laser and disintegrator beams now pass through ore crystals.
- Increased the cost of the disintegrator charger module.
- Editing a ship now forces a refresh of the skirmish mode ship list.
- Repair bot and replicator conversion rates are now capped at 2x.
- Fixed mini armor stacking with regular size armor.
- Fixed PDPS calculation in relation to the explosive charge.
- Fixed potentially buggy interaction between nano armor and aug module.

The free bonus DLC 1, which consists of the patches 187-194, adds two new modules as well as a number of gameplay and UI improvements to the game!

Disintegrator Beam
The disintegrator beam consists of an emitter module and one or more charger modules. While a ship part can only host one emitter module, you can add multiple charger modules to turn your disintegrator beam into the ultimate weapon of destruction.



Augmentation Module
The augmentation module is a utility module which transfers its own attribute effect to a connected module.

New Features and Gameplay Improvements
- You can now set weapons and other modules to 'auto-fire'.
- Missiles now use proportional navigation.
- When you destroy all ships in a sector, all the remaining collectable items are automatically collected.
- You can now change the game speed to slow the game down to 50%.
- Numerous other balance tweaks and bug fixes.

UI-Improvements
- Modules of the same type/attribute now stack in the inventory.
- Added a "sell all"-button to the module trader.
- You can now select workshop ships when starting an exploration game.
- You can now switch between the different graphical versions of a module (e.g. armor modules).
- In the tech lab you can now also upgrade modules that are currently on your ship.

Note
This is the first of a total of 3 free bonus DLCs. The upcoming DLCs will add more modules as well as a few new gameplay mechanics to the game. If you haven't played the game yet, please have a look! :)

The free bonus DLC 1, which consists of the patches 187-194, adds two new modules as well as a number of gameplay and UI improvements to the game!

Disintegrator Beam
The disintegrator beam consists of an emitter module and one or more charger modules. While a ship part can only host one emitter module, you can add multiple charger modules to turn your disintegrator beam into the ultimate weapon of destruction.



Augmentation Module
The augmentation module is a utility module which transfers its own attribute effect to a connected module.

New Features and Gameplay Improvements
- You can now set weapons and other modules to 'auto-fire'.
- Missiles now use proportional navigation.
- When you destroy all ships in a sector, all the remaining collectable items are automatically collected.
- You can now change the game speed to slow the game down to 50%.
- Numerous other balance tweaks and bug fixes.

UI-Improvements
- Modules of the same type/attribute now stack in the inventory.
- Added a "sell all"-button to the module trader.
- You can now select workshop ships when starting an exploration game.
- You can now switch between the different graphical versions of a module (e.g. armor modules).
- In the tech lab you can now also upgrade modules that are currently on your ship.

Note
This is the first of a total of 3 free bonus DLCs. The upcoming DLCs will add more modules as well as a few new gameplay mechanics to the game. If you haven't played the game yet, please have a look! :)

Added a "sell all"-button to the module trader.
- Reduced disintegrator beam damage by 25%.
- Ore collected at the end of a mission should no longer exceed the player ships' capacity.
- You can no longer sell the same module multiple times :)
- Augmentation modules can now also get the 'efficient' attribute.
- Limited the number of inventory pages shown in-mission to 5.

Added a "sell all"-button to the module trader.
- Reduced disintegrator beam damage by 25%.
- Ore collected at the end of a mission should no longer exceed the player ships' capacity.
- You can no longer sell the same module multiple times :)
- Augmentation modules can now also get the 'efficient' attribute.
- Limited the number of inventory pages shown in-mission to 5.

- Added the ultimate disintegrator beam. This weapon consists of an emitter module and one or more charger modules. The more charger modules, the higher the damage :) Not quite sure about the balancing yet. Let me know your thoughts!
- Reduced the difficulty of the von-Neumann wave mission.
- Renamed the fireball module to particle gun.
- Deleted a rogue log output leading to editor slowdowns and huge log files.

- Added the ultimate disintegrator beam. This weapon consists of an emitter module and one or more charger modules. The more charger modules, the higher the damage :) Not quite sure about the balancing yet. Let me know your thoughts!
- Reduced the difficulty of the von-Neumann wave mission.
- Renamed the fireball module to particle gun.
- Deleted a rogue log output leading to editor slowdowns and huge log files.

Added the augmentation module which applies its own attribute to one connected module.
- You can now select workshop ships when starting an exploration game.
- Automatic key binding for replicator module (default: R).
- When you destroy all ships in a sector, all the remaining collectable items are automatically collected.
- Fixed a sorting issue preventing modules from being stacked in the exploration mode. Also, different visual variations are now stacked together.
- Upgrading an on-ship module using the Tech Lab should no longer clear the module's commands.

Added the augmentation module which applies its own attribute to one connected module.
- You can now select workshop ships when starting an exploration game.
- Automatic key binding for replicator module (default: R).
- When you destroy all ships in a sector, all the remaining collectable items are automatically collected.
- Fixed a sorting issue preventing modules from being stacked in the exploration mode. Also, different visual variations are now stacked together.
- Upgrading an on-ship module using the Tech Lab should no longer clear the module's commands.

So, now that BossConstructor has been released, let me tell you a bit about my plans regarding BossConstructor for this year:

1) As promised, there will be 3 free bonus DLCs which will add a few often-demanded new features. And while I do not have a specific schedule for making these, I will begin working on the first one soon. The first DLC will include 2 new modules as well as a feature which will allow you to set weapons and other modules to auto-fire.

2) I will also do another development live stream on Twitch. It will be on Sunday the 15th of January at 6 PM GMT / 7 PM CET. You can watch it on twitch.tv/bossconstructor. While I haven't done any streams lately due to time constraints and technical problems, I look forward to do some more!

3) In other news, I've been on the Space Game Junkie podcast a few weeks ago. Its about one hour long and covers the game's development process as well as some technical aspects. If you're interested, you can find the recording here: https://www.spacegamejunkie.com/podcasts/sgj-podcast-183-bossconstructor/

I hope you're having a great time! :)

Cheers, Mirko

So, now that BossConstructor has been released, let me tell you a bit about my plans regarding BossConstructor for this year:

1) As promised, there will be 3 free bonus DLCs which will add a few often-demanded new features. And while I do not have a specific schedule for making these, I will begin working on the first one soon. The first DLC will include 2 new modules as well as a feature which will allow you to set weapons and other modules to auto-fire.

2) I will also do another development live stream on Twitch. It will be on Sunday the 15th of January at 6 PM GMT / 7 PM CET. You can watch it on twitch.tv/bossconstructor. While I haven't done any streams lately due to time constraints and technical problems, I look forward to do some more!

3) In other news, I've been on the Space Game Junkie podcast a few weeks ago. Its about one hour long and covers the game's development process as well as some technical aspects. If you're interested, you can find the recording here: https://www.spacegamejunkie.com/podcasts/sgj-podcast-183-bossconstructor/

I hope you're having a great time! :)

Cheers, Mirko

Features/Balance:
- Batteries now start 'full'. Therefore, you can now theoretically build ships without energy generation.
- You can now change the game speed to slow the game down to 50%.
- Increased the warpout time for the 'defend x' missions to 120 seconds.
- Slightly buffed the weapon range attributes and fixed their attributes.
- Decreased the rebound of the scatter gun from 25 to 10.
- You can no longer use the repulsor beam to drive your own ship.
- There is now a small delay before tooltips are displayed.
- Made the flak cannon's aim more reliable.
- The piston module now transmits energy inbetween ship parts.

Fixes:
- Fixed the speed filter buttons in the hangar. Thanks to Soar for the huge bug report thread!
- Replicators should no longer 'remember' ship parts when moved. Also, they now report invalid placement if the replicated ship part contains other replicators.
- Fixed a bug in the "follow ship part"-camera mode.
- Fixed a bug causing the AI to chase ships that have warped out.
- Flying modules no longer block laser beams.

(In order to download this patch, please select the beta branch: http://steamcommunity.com/app/330100/discussions/0/353916584666075195/)

Fixed a bug causing attributes to be applied repeatedly.
- Fixed a bug causing the end game screen to show after failing the final mission.
- The price for upgrading a module is now based on the value difference the upgrade will make. Also, it should no longer be possible to make arbitrage gains by buying, upgrading and then selling modules.
- The workshop publish button tooltip should no longer be in the workshop image.
(...)

New features:
- Modules of the same type/attribute now stack in the inventory.
- Set weapons & other modules to 'auto-fire'. To do so, assign a key to 'toggle modifier' (default: LCTRL) and hold it while pressing the module key. For example, Ctrl-Up will set the front weapons to auto-fire. To disable it, just hit the module key again.
- Missiles now use proportional navigation following aiyel's suggestion.
- Assign keys to 'switch module variation', 'auto-assign commands' and 'toggle view mode'.

Balance changes and fixes
- Every shop now offers batteries.
- Tiny enemy ship parts with <3 modules now always self-destruct.
- AI ships should now start firing from a slightly larger distance.
- In the player-fixed camera mode, you can now zoom out further.
- When a module is on top of another, it is now selected when you click it.
- I've added a sligtly fresher lwjgl-version which should resolve problems on some systems.
- Fixed a bug in the variation change button.
- Fixed the camera jumping to the right when entering free cam mode.
- Module attributes now correctly influence the replication time/energy required.
- Fixed 'disable research' adding duplicates.

(In order to download this patch, please select the beta branch: http://steamcommunity.com/app/330100/discussions/0/353916584666075195/)

Changes:
- Picking up modules when having a 'full inventory' should be less laggy now.
- The point defense module now targets torpedoes. They still explode, but the increased distance from your ship reduces the damage they do.
- Increased the name plate's hitpoints to make it an aesthetic substitute for titan armor plates.
- Replaced "GWs" with "GJ" based on Arumba's suggestion.
- Replaced PinWheel boss with a nerfed version. Thanks Puppet #7!
- Naming your ship Boss... no longer automatically makes it a boss ship (you need to add the boss AI CC).
- Your interceptors should no longer damage your own ship.
- Made the hitpoint overlay colors mote diverse.

Fixes:
- The laser should now hit stuff directly in front of it.
- When visiting shops on the galaxy map multiple times modules you bought no longer reappear.
- Changing the module variation should no longer void the module's attributes.
- Tweaked the camera movement a bit.
- Fixed a layout error regarding the hacking module warning.
- The UI should now update after undoing/redoing.

(In order to download this patch, please select the beta branch: http://steamcommunity.com/app/330100/discussions/0/353916584666075195/)

New stuff:
- You can now switch between the different graphical versions of a module (e.g. armor modules). To do that, select one module and hit the rightmost button in the module section of the editor.
- In the tech lab you can now also upgrade modules that are currently on your ship.
- Added two surveys for the first bonus DLC.

Fixes:
- The rotating shield should no longer block the laser.
- Flying modules should no longer block shots.
- Removed the ineffective speed attributes from the railgun module.
- Ships should no longer render effects after warping out.
- AI ships in the evolution modes no longer contain ore crystals.
- Addressed a very rare bug caused by the grappling hook.

(In order to download this patch, please select the beta branch: http://steamcommunity.com/app/330100/discussions/0/353916584666075195/)

Today BossConstructor leaves Early Access and goes for a full release. :)

To hear about the latest changes, the game's development and my post-release plans, watch my progress report:

https://youtu.be/LUHIgTHiV9M

# Changes
- Exploration mode finalization.
- Faction images and texts.
- Bonus soundtrack and wallpapers.
- Localizations: EN/FR/DE/RU/PT
- Steam Workshop bosses.
- Performance improvements.
- Bug fixes.

# Brief history of the game

# Post Release Plans
- 3 free bonus DLCs.
- Suggest DLC content in the forum: http://steamcommunity.com/app/330100/discussions/0/353916584666110815/
- In-game voting will start soon.
- Beta branch.

Downloades boss ships from the Steam workshop will now automatically appear in boss missions.
- Fixed a bug causing allied waves to be hostile in the wave mission.
- Fixed a rare bug in the torpedo shockwave.
- You can now play the boss waves mission in the skirmish mode.
- Changed the default keybinding to use WASD to move and the arrow keys to fire.

Fixed a crash occurring before New Game+.
- When deactivating auto key assignment, replicated ships keep the assignments you give them.
- When creating a new ship, the game automatically gives it a unique name in order to prevent older ships from being overwritten.
- Some more bug fixes.
- More changes to the error logging code.

Misc:
- The VN no longer expand after you defeat the final mission.
- Your faction standing now improves when completing VN missions.
- Reduced the lag ocurring when picking up modules with a full inventory.
- Fragile decoration modules are no longer shown to have 0 hp.
- Increased the range and strength of the light module's decloaking effect.
- The score screen is now a bit wider and limits the number of items shown to prevent overflows.

Bug fixes:
- Joint/chain/piston-only shipparts should now correctly self-destruct.
- Fixed a bug causing the help button in the last tutorial stage to be unclickable.
- Fixed a bug in the "Escape AI CC" and added it to the research tree.

Steam cloud sync now also syncs the research tree. Also, it now works with MacOS and Linux.
- Fixed a bug which could occur when revisiting VN sectors.
- Fixed a crash ocurring when docking the gambler in the Portuguese version.
- The game no longer crashes when invalid ship files are present.
- Fixed several typos leading to misplaced/missing string in non-English versions.

I am aware of a bug causing save games to (occasionally) corrupt. Unfortunately I haven't found the exact cause yet. However, I've made some changes which a) might have already fixed the bug and b) should no longer corrupt a save file in case the bug occurs. Nevertheless, please make backups of your save games until the bug is found. Also, if save files corrupt, please let me know in the forum or by mail so that I can fix it. Thanks!

- Fixed a bug affecting Boss ships.
- The game now makes backups of your exploration mode save files.
- When selecting low quality textures, the game now uses 'nearest' min/mag filtering. It's a bit ugly but on weak systems it should improve performance a lot.

Fixed a bug causing save games to corrupt when a VN mission is active. Unfortunately this fix cannot restore save games that are already corrupted. Sorry :(
- Changed the number of asteroids to be delivered to 4 and updated the corresponding texts.
- Fixed the rail gun's DPS calculation.
- Fixed a bug causing the "hide bg" to mess with the camera.

VN misions should now longer spawn in places where they would cut off parts of the galaxy. Also, they wait for your ship to reach a value of 1250.
- Reduced the requirements to complete the combat missions, e.g. the number of asteroids that need to be transported.
- Fixed a bug causing the particles in solar winds to stand still.
- Fixed a bug in the linked armor.
- Fixed two errors in the GL shader code affecting Intel GPUs.
- Fixed a bug related to joints.
- Torpedo launchers do less damage when mounted on enemy ships. Also, the torpedos' trails are now really big. :)
- Improved the automatic error reporting.

Beta branch
There is now a beta branch that you can opt in. The beta branch is intend for players interested in getting the latest features and helping me out fix the latest bugs. If you are reading this, you're probably the right person to join the beta. :)

To opt in, just go to the game properties in Steam, go to the beta tab and choose the beta branch from the list. The game should then automatically update to the latest version. Thank you!


Patch 179: Performance Focus
This patch should provide a significant boost in overall performance and reduce the number of lag spikes:
- Made the rendering code more efficient by eliminating multiple texture coordinates.
- Reduced expensive recalculations and function calls.
- Faster tesla and lighting gun effects.

Misc.:
- You can now change the zoom level in all camera modes using the mouse wheel.
- Tweaked the torpedo launcher damage behavior a bit and reduced its range.
- Fixed a bug causing torpedo shots to create black invincible modules and asteroids.
- Fixed a bug preventing you from changing a ship's name in the exploration mode.

Exploration:
- Created two intermission screens for the final mission (before and after) including story texts and two very nice artworks.
- You can now make screenshots and hide the ui on the text/intermission screens.

Misc:
- Adressed lag issues arising from the impulse armor.
- Torpedo shockwaves are now effected by red nebulae. Also fixed a bug in their damage calculation.
- The test map now has a fixed seed.
- Fixed the inventory page jumping when taking modules.
- Ship blueprints are now cleared when entering the tutorial.
- Added German translation for the story bits.
- Fixed some tooltips.

Exploration mode:
- Completing Von Neumann missions now lets you reclaim sectors conquered by the von Neumann.
- Added the final mission. More story text and artworks will follow.
- The latest changes to the exploration mode are probably still buggy und unbalanced. I'll work on that next.

Misc:
- Fixed a bug in the enemy selection mechanism.
- Added preliminary Russian localization.
- Added preliminary Brazilian-Portuguese localization.

Bug fixes:
- Fixed some issues related to the clipboard.
- Parts in the clipboard are no longer shown in ship buttons.
- Endless mode ships should no longer overwrite exploration mode ships.
- You should no longer spawn on top of pirate bases.
- AI cores should now work on multi-shippart-ships.

Added the hacking module which allows you to turn enemy ships into allies. The hacking module can only be used once and cannot be bought in shops. You can, however, get them by completing von-Neumann missions.
- Added le French localization. Don't worry, I didn't do it myself. :)
- Added support for Cyrilic characters.

AI
- Replaced the AI populations in the game with new ones.
- The AI now aims at a ship part's center of mass and targets more precisely.
- The AI no longer targets cloaked ships.

Fixes:
- Fixed time formatting on the leaderboard.
- Fixed some unlocalized strings.

Miscellaneous:
- Added some missing glyphs: ’“”«»
- Tweaked the evolution algorithm to make bigger ships more feasible and frequent.
- You can now make defend allied factory and kill enemy factory work.
- Upgrading armor variations in the tech lab should now work.
- The ore collecting achievement now only requires 50 ore.
- The VN FFA and VN ally/enemy wave missions now delay spawning ships when more than 8 enemy ships are on the map.
- The VN wave mission now spawns more enemies but waits for you to sort of clean up a wave until it spawns the next one.
- You can now play the von-neumann missions in the skirmish mode.

Bug fixes:
- Fixed using workshop ships in the skirmish mode.
- Fixed a very rare crash with the torpedo module.
- Fixed autoaim joints being indestructible.
- Fixed interceptors not targeting enemies in the VN FFA mission.
- You can now skip the score screen build-up by clicking/key pressing.
- Fixed some text/translation issues.

Added the final two faction images.
- Added support for custom localizations.
- You can now use Steam Workshop ships in the skirmish mode.
- The piston should now be much less likely to glitch out.
- Ship parts now uncloak when their energy level gets below 30%. Being cloaked no longer drains all your energy.
- Increased the prices at the gambling station.
- Maybe fixed excessive log files caused by controller issues.

When you meet a new faction, the game shows you their story along with a unique artwork. (Two artworks are placeholders and will be replaced soon.). Learn about how humanity split into different factions only to provide you with the latest and greatest variety of modules. :)
If you haven't seen these screens yet and load an advanced save file, prepare to see a lot of them.

Miscellaneous:
- Completing the exploration game no longer starts NG+ automatically. When done, you can continue exploring or hit the NG+ button.
- Replaced one of the fonts with a more readable one.
- When you delete a ship it is moved to the deletedships-folder from where you can recover it if necessary.
- Ore containers now increase the amount of starting credits in the skirmish/endless missions.
- Fixed the tooltip for advanced generators and the railgun.

The leaderboards now display the leading players' names.
- Replicator ship parts should now be preserved in the exploration mode.
- Fixed a bug preventing the SSD to be used in boss ships.
- Fixed a rare bug in the mining mission.
- Fixed some crashes occurring with ultra textures.

Bonus Pack:
Added the game's soundtrack and a few wallpapers to the game folder.

Miscellaneous:
- Difficulty in the exploration mode now scales with galaxy size. In effect, larger galaxies are no longer easier than small ones.
- You can now assign commands to either piston.
- Jump gates now 'block more space', hence preventing solar winds and other stuff from spawning next to them.
- Scanned areas should no longer have indicators.
- Fleeing AI ships should now correctly head to the jump gate.
- The game no longer exits when the SteamAPI fails to init properly.

Music and Sound:
- Remastered most of the music tracks for your listening enjoyment.
- New/changed sounds for: EMP, Railgun, Carrier, Torpedo, Railgun, Resonance Cannon, Sword, Repulsor Beam, Ore Extractor, PDL, SSD
- Added 4 new voice messages.

Miscellaneous:
- Ore is now sold automatically inbetween missions in the endless mode.
- The player now gets starting credits in the test and skirmish modes to allow ore generators and repair bots to work.
- Balancing: Reduced frag missile damage.
- Artifact ships should be less likely to spawn on top of your ship.

Bugs:
- Weapons should no longer accumulate shots when under EMP.
- Fixed a exploration mode techlab reputation requirements.
- Fixed two bugs in the ship positioning and spawning algorithms.
- Fixed a bug with the flak cannon.
- Fixed a crash caused by the missile launcher.

Miscellaneous:
- Dragging large ship parts in the editor is now way faster.
- Improved the ship indicators on the minimap.
- You can now revisit sectors if the vN spread there.

Bugs:
- Fixed a bug causing concerning the integrity enhancer.
- Fixed a crash caused by the mine layer.

Ore system:
- Credits are now the main currency.
- Visiting the galaxy map or a trade auto-sells your ore for credits at a rate of 1:10.
- Tech labs and gamblers now accept credits; the relative price remains the same.
- Repair bots and ore generators now consume credits.

Misc.:
- Allied ships in the 'defend x' missons now warp out after you completed the respective goal.
- The energy required to remain cloaked now rises exponentially over time.
- The game now disposes/frees more of its used OpenGL resources when exiting.
- When a shop/gambler/techlab dies in a map, it dies in real life... I mean the galaxy map...

Bug fixes:
- Fixed a bug causing techlabs and gamblers to refuse docking.
- Destroying an asteroid now stops the ore extraction.
- Improved description and text for the mine ore mission. Also, there should now always be at least 5 ore to mine.
- Replicated ships no longer show up as destroyed ships on the score screen.
- Closing a shop screen on the galaxy map should no longer accidentally trigger missions hiding below.
- Cloaked ships now a) completely break missile tracking, b) cannot be drained by the energy absorber, c) no longer affect the camera.
- Faction standings can no longer go beyond -0 or +8.
- Fixed a bug causing commands to get lost when your ship breaks apart.
- Fixed a crash in the skirmish mode caused by specific replicator designs.

I've made a new progress report video for you. :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iei8_42NI6o

Modules:
- Repulsor Beam: Increased range and strength etc.
- Sub space drive: Stronger acceleration initially; reverse acceleration after 1 sec; cool new effect.
- Replicator: New effect.
- Ore extractor: Changed mechanic and new effect.
- Star shield: New position mechanic, own shots pass through, new effect.
- Shield now spawns 3 shield plates.
- Improved effects for rail gun, grappling hook, piston ...

Miscellaneous:
- Ship indicators and minimap icons for the objectives now blink occasionally. Also, quest texts are now shown as messages in the beginning of a mission.
- Game should no longer use system resources when not visible, unless when using the evolution mode.
- Cloaked ship parts should no longer have indicators on the border of the screen, unless they are mission objectives.
- Fixed the starting position of replicated ships.
- Fixed some AI issues in ships with multiple parts.
- Fixed a bug causing the minelayer to crash the game.

Command center function:
- Ship parts must now be connected to a command center in order to be controlled.
- Autoaim/revolute joints, pistons and (activated) energy chains count.
- A warning is shown for non-connected ship parts in the editor.

Visual stuff:
- Improved the debris particle effect.
- Repair bots and interceptors can now be colored.
- New interceptor texture, fixed interceptor trails.
- New torpedo explosion & new energy chain effect.

Bug fixes:
- Editing exploration ships in the exploration mode editor no longer changes the original ship design. Changes are saved to the 'exploration ship' design.
- Fixed a bug causing AI ships with joints to self-destruct.
- Fixed a bug causing the difficulty to reset on NG+.
- Fixed a bug from patch 164 causing the AI modes to malfunction.

General:
- Added two new von-Neumann missions.
- Scanned artifacts can now spawn enemy ships and even bosses. Fun times :)
- Added the golden smiley box, which is (almost) guaranteed to give you an unresearched module.
- Fixed some font rendering issues.

Cloaking:
- Cloaking ships now fade in and out.
- The estimated position is now shown like a track.
- Lights decrease cloak time but no longer insta-uncloak.

Modules:
- The inertia dampener now also dampens angular velocity.
- Updated module graphics for (Micro) solar panel.
- Tweaked the physics behind the revolute/autoaim joints.
- Replaced autoaim joint module graphics.
- Power thruster: Increased cost and thrust.
- Fixed (power)thruster exhaust direction.

Balancing:
- 10hp -> 20/30hp on smaller modules like joints or pistons.
- Mass driver: higher firing rate, higher spread

The exploration load screen now shows progress, galaxy size, difficulty and playthrough count (some of this only works for games started post-patch).
- The tech lab screen now only shows modules belonging to the respective faction.
- The key overlay should no longer kill the UI.
- The 'kill clone' mission should no longer spawn in easy sectors.
- 'Mine ore' missions should no longer be in sectors without asteroids.
- Replaced the position indicator in the galaxy map.
- Dragging the galaxy map can no longer start missions etc.
- The missions in the exploration mode no longer change when reloading a save.
- Fixed module attributes changing when revisiting a store.
- Fixed modules disappering on the borders when adding/moving integrity enhancers.
- Fixed incorrect faction-specialization to inventory associations. Unfortunately this fix mixes up faction shops for pre-patch saves.
- Fixed leaderboard displays for maps 2-4. Pre-patch scores have been recorded correctly.
- New Game+ galaxies should now have the same size as the last game. Works only with exploration games started post-patch. As a workaround start a new exploration with the galaxy size you want, go back to the main menu and resume the saved exploration game.
- Simplified the exploration load/start screen.
- Fixed left titan armor HP.

Von-Neumann:
- Redesigned the appearance and functionality of the von-Neumann in the exploration mode.
- They now expand more aggressively. Every turn (i.e. when you visit a sector) the vN attack new stars. Stars attacked in the previous turn have a 25% chance of being lost to the vN.
- The number of stars under attack depends on the vN's strength, which increases every turn. Their strength decreases when you succeed in counter-vN-missions.
- There is a von-Neumann report panel which keeps track of what is happening.
- Added one counter-vN-mission.
- Pre-patch save games work, but the difficulty might be a bit off.

Other stuff:
- The UI now only shows 3 messages at a time. Excessive messages are queued.
- Redesigned some tooltips.
- Boss AI now uses the subspace drive according to the phases.
- Added three new challenges: Recon Race, Asteroid Delivery and The Swarm
- Removed the galaxy tendency system which has been replaced the different human faction standings some time ago.
- Solar winds and deliver asteroid missions cannot spawn on the same map.

Module tooltips now display all possible variations.
- Non-researched modules now have a small yellow star in their tooltip.
- You can now bind a key to the explosive charge and detonate it manually.
- Modules received from the gambler are now also researched.
- Fixed ships not being able to play challenge maps when hitting exactly the cost restriction.
- Fixed the piston extending when damaged.
- Fixed the leaderboard only displaying one entry.

Challenge Missions and Leaderboards:
- Challenge missions are sectors with a fixed random seed.
- The goal is to complete a challenge as fast as possible. There is a (Steam) leaderboard where you can see the global rank of your time. Looking forward to see some friendly competition!
- Currently there is only one map but I'll add more in the near future. Leave your ideas for interesting challenges in the forum!

Steam Trading Cards:
- You can now earn BossConstructor trading cards by playing the game.
- There are BC badges, emoticons and some very sweet profile backgrounds to unlock.
- Have fun :)

Challenge Missions and Leaderboards:
- Challenge missions are sectors with a fixed random seed.
- The goal is to complete a challenge as fast as possible. There is a (Steam) leaderboard where you can see the global rank of your time. Looking forward to see some friendly competition!
- Currently there is only one map but I'll add more in the near future. Leave your ideas for interesting challenges in the forum!

Steam Trading Cards:
- You can now earn BossConstructor trading cards by playing the game.
- There are BC badges, emoticons and some very sweet profile backgrounds to unlock.
- Have fun :)

Added the piston module! Allows you to build more complex transforming ships.
- Interceptors are now properly aligned.
- Redesigned the AI Autofacs to use the replicator module.
- Exploration: Replaced the fission rockets with maneuvering thrusters in the engine bonus pack.
- Your ship extent no longer shrinks when dragging an Integrity Enhancer around in the editor.
- You can no longer research modules by crashing ships downloaded from the workshop.
- Debris and modules should no longer spawn in the top left corner of the map.
- Fixed a bug causing autofacs to spawn two ships on mission start.

Looking forward to see what you make with the new piston. :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lJT_cMIs58&feature=youtu.be

Numerous general AI improvements.
- AI behavior is now bound to special AI core modules, which replace command centers for AI ships. Putting one of these on your ship will make the AI control it. Useful for replicator-produced ships.
- AI cores come in 4 flavors - Standard, Boss, Melee, Skirmish - and can be salvaged from AI ships or researched/bought.
- Added the explosive charge module which explodes like a mine when destroyed. Useful for replicated ships and melee ai cores.
- Improved energy system: Modules receive energy equally when low on energy. This prevents ships from tilting to one side when e.g. some thrusters receive more energy than others.
- Nameplates now count as decoration and are no longer part of the research tree.
- Fixed the impossible achievement.

You can now update ships you uploaded to the workshop. For pre-patch ships this requires a small workaround which I'll post below.
- Added new ship tags to the workshop: Factory, Boss, Cloak, Shield, Decorated
- AI ships now use the Replicator module.
- Fixed a bug causing ships to drift slightly to the right when using auto key assignment in some cases.
- Replicated ships can no longer be farmed for modules.
- You can no longer downgrade modules in the tech lab or 'upgrade' common modules to common modules. Also added some tooltips.
- Increased light armor HP.
- Improved the replicator to allow multiple replicator sets per line.
- Fixed a crash which occurred when combining revolute joints and replicators.
- Other smaller fixes.

Workaround to update pre-patch workshop ships:
Note: This is only required for ships uploaded to the workshop prior to this patch!
1) Open your ship's workshop page and have a look at the URL. The last part should be like ?id=665748099
2) Extract the ID from the URL, in this case 665748099
3) Open your ship from the My Games/BossConstructor folder in a text editor.
4) Insert a line like this: steamid=665748099
5) Done. Restart/start BC. From now on, uploading this ship will create an update and not a duplicate.

Added the replicator module which allows you to build your own ship factories.
- Added the integrity enhancer which expands a ship's maximum size.
- Performance dependent particles: In computationally taxing situations, the game tones down some particle effects to provide a smoother frame rate.
- Added links to the Steam Workshop to the hangar and the editor.
- Fixed some crashes introduced by the last patch.

Example factory:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=661311738&searchtext=

Added the light alloy armor modules (3 variations). The light alloy armor is a cheaper, lighter and less durable alternative to the standard titan armor designed for small and fast ships.
- Added the range extender module which can be attached to any weapon to increase its range.
- Armor modules are now linked in the research system. Discovering, e.g. a robust left titan armor will unlock all robust titan armor variations.
- Added more (automatically generated) workshop ship tags.
- Fixed the Steam overlay after uploading a ship to the workshop.
- Fixed a threading issue causing the game to slow down over time in evolution mode.
- More minor fixes.

You can now upload your ships to the Steam Workshop by simply pressing a button in the ship editor. After a ship is uploaded you can change its preview image, description in the 'your workshop' section on Steam.
- You can browse other players' ships and subscribe to them. After subscribing and restarting the game, the ships should appear in the Steam Workshop section (6th icon on the filter bar) in your hangar.
- Yay! :)
- There are probably still tons of bugs. Please let me know if you experience any difficulties. Otherwise, give it a go and share your favorite designs!