Welcome to Master of Orion, Early Access 3! Need to keep this short and sweet because the patch notes take up all the characters! A note from the development team before we dive into the changes: [quote]After a lot of work we are proud to present this massive update. As you will see this version is packed with important new features, new playable races and several improvements. We want to thank you all for your amazing feedback that is helping us improve the game. Please remember that MOO is still in development; some of these changes may be subject to further review. As always, we are eager to get more of your feedback![/quote]

IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT OLD SAVED GAMES: Because of significant changes going into EA3, your old saved games from EA2 or earlier will not work with this version of the game. We are setting up a new BETA branch of the game with the previous build (Windows and Mac only) so you can continue any pending attempts to conquer the stars. This branch is called "earlyaccess2" and can be accessed via the Betas tab in Properties.

Highlights:

• New playable races: Silicoid and Darlok
• Espionage: Train spies and assign them to offensive and defensive missions
• Minor Civilizations: interact with non-starfaring races to gain rewards, including influencing your diplomatic and economic victory paths
• New Victory condition: Fill your coffers and claim economic supremacy by controlling the Galactic Monetary Fund
• Weapon Miniaturization: Improve your legacy weapons by making them smaller and cheaper
• Support for Linux and SteamOS
• New galaxy size: HUGE
• More AI improvements
• Improved Multiplayer
• Improved Tactical Battles
• Improved overall balance: Better suited for both tall and wide empires and with a smoother progression in the late game
• Improved performance (faster turn processing and less hickups when zooming in and out of the galaxy)
• New and improved GNN gags
• By popular demand, we added the option to mute your advisors while still retaining other voiceover audio
• Over 400 bug fixes

Detailed list of changes:

General

• Improved GNN animations and environment
• New GNN Events added
• Miniaturization added for all weapon types and bombs
• Replaced Military Power score with Attack (average DPS) and Defense (effective hit points) ratings
• New Espionage feature added
• Security (Espionage-related) added to Capitol and Government Support Facility
• New Tutorial Match added
• Improved weapon modifiers are now unlockable through the tech tree progression
• Improved performance: Turn processing
• Improved performance: Diplomacy audiences
• Improved performance: Memory management
• Improved performance: Framerates
• Added support to show multiple GNN events in same turn
• Several diplomatic dialogues updated
• Blockade income is no longer affected by empire modifiers

Visual Improvements

• Added new Stellar Converter cutscene for destroying a planet
• Improved emperor holograms on Diplomacy Screen
• New ship models for transports and colony ships added for each race
• New ship models for transports and colony ships on the galaxy map

Gameplay Balance

• Planet population capacity increased by 4 for each planet size
• Rebalanced planetary Biomes (adjusted: total food, available cells and diminishing returns)
• Rebalanced planetary mineral richness (adjusted: total production output, available cells)
• The multiplier for successive terraforming projects on the same planet has been increased, making it more difficult to terraform the poorer biomes to Terran and Gaia
• Introduced many additional “choice required” technologies in the tech tree
• Redistributed food buildings along the tech tree to smooth out progression and make food more important in late stages of the game
• Rebalanced Galaxy ages
• Uber Planets have been rebalanced to be more similar to the Terran biome
• Colony ship production cost increased for improved pacing
• Races with Uber Planet trait now start the game on their corresponding Uber Planet

Racial Traits

• Homeworld specials: Artifacts
• +25% Beam defense
• Ship combat speed bonus
• Ship travel speed bonus
• Physics starting tech

• Large homeworld
• Rich homeworld minerals
• +25% ground combat rating
• High Gravity tolerance
• +25% Beam defense
• Physics starting tech

• -25% assimilation power
• +10% Security
• -10% Mission duration
• Ship improvement: Stealth (ships can get closer to enemies before being detected)
• Government starting tech

• +10% security
• +25% BC from Trade Treaties
• +25% BC from Trade Goods
• Improved Negotiations
• Improved Disposition
• Government starting tech

• Cavernous homeworld
• Uber Planet: Cavernous
• Poor homeworld minerals
• +50% Food from population
• +25% Production from population
• Biology starting tech

• -50% Food consumption
• +25% Production from population
• +10% Morale
• Ship auto-repair enabled

• Large homeworld
• Grassland homeworld
• Uber Planet: Grassland
• +25% ground combat rating
• Extended Barracks
• Engineering starting tech

• Small homeworld
• Homeworld specials: Artifacts
• +50% Research from population
• -25% ground combat rating
• Low Gravity tolerance
• Government starting tech

• Tropical homeworld
• Uber Planet: Tropical
• -25% Research from population
• +25% population growth
• -25% Pollution generation
• Biology starting tech

• Large homeworld
• Inferno homeworld
• Uber Planet: Inferno
• -25% Research from population
• Does not consume Food
• Does not generate Food

• -20% ship cost
• +25% Beam attack
• Increased Marine training rate
• +20% Command Points
• Engineering starting tech

Artificial Intelligence

• Improved Research AI efficiency
• Improved Production AI efficiency (Better handling for new colonies)
• Improved Deal evaluation
• Improved threat evaluation
• Local War AI: Now your enemies will decide to go to war for strategic targets
• Improved invasion tactics
• Colony ships are now escorted by military ships when threats are nearby
• Changed colonization logic so that it considers shared systems
• Improved Space Pirates AI

User Interface

• Production queue visibility is now stored in saved game
• Improved Ship Design screen
• Added Disable Advisor option in options menu
• Production queue visibility is now stored in turn info
• Several fixes and tweaks for tactical UI
• New NEW YEAR animated notification when starting a new turn
• Updated colony ships thumbnails
• Scrollbar has been re-skinned
• Base icon for fleets now scale with camera distance (like ship icons)
• Added many new tooltips across UI elements in the game
• Added new icons to Notifications
• Added Income from blockades on Empire Economy tooltip
• Several minor UI tweaks

Tactical Mode

• New special systems: Lightning Field, Plasma Web, Tractor Beam, Warp Dissipator and Wide Area Jammer
• Improved Admiral AI (now uses match speed, and takes into account planetary defenses)
• Improved fleet deployment
• Auto Upgrade now considers modifiers in weapon slots
• Added abstract representation for clearer understanding of the battlefield when zoomed out
• New option added: reset camera on pause (on by default)
• New hazard: Nebulae (jams missiles but blocks shield regeneration when ships are in them)
• Combat Numbers revamped
• Added Automated Repair visual effects
• Blackhole now affects asteroids
• Missile Accuracy now configurable on a per-missile basis
• Improved balance on range dissipation damage for lasers and beams
• After-battle combat briefing now animates damaged/destroyed ships
• Added bombard and invade validation (specially for multiplayer)

Multiplayer

• Removed UI lock while waiting for players
• Turn time limit added (this is a work in progress)
• Enabled Invite Friends button in match setup
• Several stability-related fixes

SFX

• New ambience sounds for colonization cutscenes
• Added Terran Khanate audios for GNN
• Asteroids sounds added
• Various sound effects added to UI

Notable Bug Fixes

• Bugfix on Galactic Council vote value
• Bugfix for endless Processing Turn occurs when submitting turn after having max Pollution value on Uber Planet
• Trade treaties now will deduct the cost on both parties
• Softlock Bugfix when the AI attacked even after peace treaty was accepted
• Bugfix on memory attacked on War Declaration
• Bugfix when AI evaluate offer or demand deal Items on deal
• Bugfix when being in Truce with a race AI is still cable to threaten to attack demanding something, howeveriIf player declines the demand the war won't be declared
• Fixed combat screen sending results multiple times
• Bugfix: when game goes into a softlock after retreating
• Bugfix: Bombarding unfinished outposts
• Bugfix: Softlock when Enemy AI invades player
• Bugfix: ESC during tactical battle
• Bugfix: Using time compression resulted in some out of syncs
• Bugfix: A player is able to destroy other race's ships without declaring war
• Multiplayer
• Bugfix for locked multiplayer next turn button
• Bugfix on match setup when updating game information for lobbies
• Crash fix on match setup