The biggest New Stars update is here. It combines two large updates into one. 'Interstellar' is for the 8 new playmodes, special abilities, and unique buildings. 'Cobalt' is for the new futurized and animated UI. Here is a detailed changelog of the update.

Added

Interstellar: 8 New Playmodes

Government types are now called 'playmodes' because governments have 2 special abilities or unique origins, and their own unique builiding. [h4]1. Megacorporations[/h4] The power of a megacorporation lies not only in economic might but also in their ability to manipulate politics, negotiate lucrative deals, and establish monopolies.

• Ability: ORDER OF BUSINESS (Purchase rights to build on foreign colonies).
• Ability: FORM MONETARY UNION (Gives economic bonuses).
• Building: LOGISTICS OFFICE (Collect foreign system resources).

[h4]2. Peacekeeping Pacifist[/h4] Peacekeeping pacifists assert their influence on others by enforcing their peace plans. They may peacefully interfere in wars by sending their own peacekeeping fleets to protect star systems.

• Ability: GALACTIC HARMONY ENFORCEMENT (Fleets can peacekeep in systems).
• Ability: PEACE CONVENTIONS (Truces last twice as long).
• Building: PEACEKEEPER ACADEMY (Love thy neighbours).

[h4]3. Alliance Builder[/h4] The Alliance Builder is a diplomatic powerhouse, specializing in forging alliances, maintaining diplomatic relations, and leveraging collective strength for mutual benefit.

• Ability: UNITE THE GALAXY (Form alliances/unions with clans).
• Ability: FORM DIPLOMATIC UNION (Gives opinion and defensive bonuses).
• Building: UNITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS (Love thy allies).

[h4]4. Cooperative Militarist[/h4] Forging a unique path between cooperation and aggression, the Cooperative Militarist emerges as a formidable force on the galactic stage.

• Ability: A UNITED FRONT (Invite other empires to wars).
• Ability: FORM MARTIAL UNION (Gives leader ability to build union fleet).
• Building: FORGE MATRIX (Ship building on steroids).

[h4]5. Hegemonic Subjugator[/h4] A dark and formidable force rises with the advent of the Hegemonic Subjugator.

• Ability: IMPERIAL HOLDINGS (Build on subject colonies).
• Ability: CLAN SERVITUDE (Integrate star clans).
• Building: IMPERIAL CITADEL (Love thy overlord).

[h4]6. Xeno Exterminator[/h4] The Xeno Exterminator embodies a relentless and genocidal crusade against all non-native lifeforms in the galaxy.

• Ability: PURGE DOCTIRNE (Raze worlds).
• Origin: SHATTERED WORLD (Spawn with additional military fleet).
• Building: GENE CLEANSING FACILITY (Cleanses sinful aliens).

[h4]7. Extreme Isolationist[/h4] In the far reaches of the galaxy, the Extreme Isolationist emerges as a testament to the power of seclusion and self-sufficiency.

• Ability: SOLITUDE IMPERATIVE (Builders can destroy system connections).
• Origin: FORGOTTEN OUTPOST (Start with additional colonist).
• Building: SECLUSION NEXUS (Start with additional colonist).

[h4]8. Silent State[/h4] The Silent State wields influence in the galaxy through covert operations and manipulation of behind-the-scenes politics.

• Ability: GALACTIC STEALTH IMPERATIVE (Stealth fleets).
• Origin: SHADOWY NEXUS (Start with intel bonus).
• Building: STEALTH OPERATIONS CENTER (Hide colony from other empires).

Interstellar: Unions

Unions are galactic federations, and allow specialized alliances with their own bonuses. [h4]1. Economic Union[/h4] Gives economic modifiers to members. [h4]2. Diplomatic Union[/h4] Gives diplomatic, and defensive modifiers to members. [h4]3. Martial Union[/h4] Allows the leader to build union fleets. Gives offensive modifiers to members.

Interstellar: Origins

[h4]1. Lost Colony[/h4] Start with one additional population, housing building, and minerals building.
[h4]2. Shattered World[/h4] Start with a full gunboat fleet.
[h4]3. Forgotten Outpost[/h4] Start with an additional colonist fleet.
[h4]4. Shadowy Nexus[/h4] Start with intel of 3 nearby empire capitals.

Fleet: Quantum Distortion

- Basically a 'jump drive'; Allows travel without using known routes in a limited radius. - Counters extreme isolationists and allows travel between isolated clusters. - Has it's own technology which is unlocked after frigate ships.

New 'Cobalt' UI

- The UI has been 'futurized' with animations. - Cobalt is the name of the primary colour of the UI. [h4]New Main Menu[/h4] - Select empire icon replaces randomization. - Select species avatar replaces randomization. - Select playmode with description panel.

[h4]New Settings[/h4] - Customizable keybinds. - A lot more graphical customization - Detailed summary of each settings input.

[h4]New Everything[/h4] Every UI panel has changed, so you will have to play the game for yourself to see it.


[hr][/hr]

Changed

Tweaks

• Special resources are more equally distributed across the map. - Void worlds now generate much more often, as antimatter was extremely rare. - Class O stars have a higher chance to spawn.
• Most base resources have been increased from +5, to +10 per month. - Momentum at the start of the game is now faster, as it took a while to get started previously.
• Peaceful clans now have one agenda. - This is so you can now meet conditions for open-borders with peaceful clans.
• Colonists now take 180 days to build, instead of 60.
• Game duration now affects logistical pacing. - Time to build fleets or colony buildings is scaled based on duration. - Resource costs are not currently affected, although this may change. - Exploration is constant on all speeds.
• Starter colonies, regardless of origin, start with an additional food building and 2 population. - Like in Civilization, colony starvation is localized to the colony. - This means that if a colony has a food deficit it will slowly lose population. - The extra population ensures that food is produced immediately.
• Each population uses 0.25 food instead of 1 food. - This means each food building job supports 4 population.

[hr][/hr]

Fixed

• AI military now works with merge/split.
• Game lacked special abilities or unique playstyles (i.e. all governments were too similar).
• Colony building is unbalanced (numbers need tweaking).
• Fleets go hidden in wormhole systems.
• Star system simulation have some graphical issues (lighting, star graphical artifacts etc.)
• Monthly updates are laggy and unoptimized, especially with AI.
• Simulated combat is inconsistent, and buggy.
• Seamless claims now fill correctly.

and many more random bugs...

Thank you for 937 wishlists!

It turns out I was reading that the game had '20' wishlists for most of the year, when in fact it was almost 50x higher. This update would not have been possible without your support.

Future Updates

New Stars has been in intensive development for almost 16 months, which includes almost 3,000 hours of development (according to Steam). This game was originally planned to take one year or less, for an early-access release, but the scope of the game was extended largely due to increased interest in the game. This means the game is better than originally planned. Now, there are a few more features to work on before and during early-access:

• Fleet Formations - not yet implemented.
• Improved VFX and SFX - more animations, better animated combat etc.
• Animated Avatars - these will probably be the most expensive assets, but the current placeholder image avatars are unanimated and uncool.
• Multiplayer Support - not fully implemented; focusing on core single-player gameplay first.

After adding these features, plus or minus multiplayer support, and the gameplay is deemed stable and is enjoyable during public playtesting, with validation of core areas of the game, it should be ready for early-access. In the December 2022 trailer, '2023' was the intended release year for early-access. I still plan to stick with that year. Changelog: newstarsgame.com/changelog [hr][/hr]

Stay tuned for more updates...

Feel free to comment your suggestions below. Playtest New Stars: discord.io/adamjr. Wishlist New Stars to support development. This page is intended to be a development preview, which may not reflect the final state of the game. Credits: - Star satellites icon by Lorc under CC BY 3.0