Chris here! By any sane metric I can think of, AI War 2 shouldn't exist. And yet it's more than I ever imagined it could be. When we first set out to make this game three years ago, it was far less ambitious. Even that was going to be really hard. Somehow, in the process of falling down the stairs over and over again during this period, we wound up with a game that seems to be superior to the original. This game shouldn't exist, but it does, and I'm both proud and stunned.

The Secret? Community

The intro to this post runs the risk of sounding like I'm tooting my own horn, but it's not actually about me. I'm not capable of making -- even just designing -- this game on my own. I don't think anyone is, really. The fact that this game exists isn't a testament to me having some brilliant insight or a singular vision that I doggedly pursued. The reviews of the game are lovely, but give me entirely too much personal credit. The state of this game is thanks to dozens of people critically thinking about this game -- what this one and the original means to them and to others -- and then a process of relentless, continuous, arduous iteration and improvement.

MVP Award: BadgerBadger

This section is long, and in some ways tangential, but if you read it you'll understand why I've put it here so prominently. You have this guy to thank as much as me or Keith for this game existing. Badger has been involved since the kickstarter, with questions and comments and key insights. For a lot of the first year, he was responsible for something like 80% of the bug reports and feature ideas on our idea tracker. When a lot of other people were just bouncing off the game and waiting around for Keith LaMothe and I to figure things out on our own -- understandable, really -- Badger was there providing really key insight and ideas. But that was barely the start for him. After a while I was essentially like "so, do you just want source code access, given how much you're doing here?" Because he had started doing some mods -- nanocaust and macrophage, at the time, IIRC -- and it was clear he would be less hand-tied if he had more access. What happened next was essentially us getting a developer -- volunteer, no less -- who contributed as much to the design of the game as I did, in my opinion. Not only did he single-handedly conceive of and implement the nanocaust and macrophage, but he also did the dark spire and marauder impelementations, among many, many other things. Some of the most brilliant and devious things that the AI has in this game compared to the first one? Badger. Some of your favorite UI detail screens, like metal flows? Badger. Not to mention all the bugfixes, balance tweaks, and... just oodles more. This game wouldn't exist in anything like the state it does now without Badger. Any credit for my "singular vision" on the game is doing him a major disservice, but he's a quiet sort of guy when it comes to taking credit, so I wanted to take this chance to call him out in particular.

Growing Volunteer Developer Corps

So, Badger is not remotely the only person I need to call out as being absolutely indispensable. RocketAssistedPuffin has also been involved heavily for the last year plus, and has taken over huge numbers of things that I never would have had time for. After I implemented the new tech system one way, he's the one who figured out how to make it substantially more balanced. Most of the voluminous "balance change" sections on the release notes are from him working with other players or just reasoning things out himself. Puffin has also had a ton of ideas on how to make things better in all sorts of sections of the game, and there was a period of about three months late last year where he and Badger were basically doing ALL the development on the game and I just pushed out releases of what they were doing. I was going through a really painful divorce and had a ton of anxiety and couldn't face work, and these two kept things alive and improving. But it never stopped there. Those new tutorials you like? Puffin. I wrote the bulk of the "How To Play" in-game wiki sections, but the most basic and understandable ones for new players were... again, Puffin. I'm excellent at writing encyclopedic entries that fill you in on huge numbers of details, but he's the one who distilled "what's the most central stuff you need to know, as briefly as possible" so that people can actually get into the game in any reasonable timeframe. Compare his work here to the tutorials I did in the original game, and it's night and day. And I'm still selling Puffin short, frankly, because he's done so many things over such a long period that I can't remember it all now. More recently, we've had folks like WeaponMaster and Asteroid joining in and adding lots of bugfixes and quality of life improvements that I never would have had the time to do myself. Things like hovering over galaxy map links to see information on them were Asteroid. Endless tricky bugfixes were WeaponMaster. I'm selling them both short, but the release notes are filled with things that they either implemented or suggested or both. And it doesn't stop there. Quinn stepped in an made a bunch of additions. Keith laid the original groundwork for the entire game simulation and multithreading (he was the main programmer and designer for the first year and a half, and actually on staff during that time). And there were so, so many others. And more each month!

Volunteers Beat Modders, I Think

I'm pretty free with the source code access, because I'd rather have a consolidated community of people helping rather than a bunch of mods that you have to hunt down and find. So a lot of the folks that have turned into volunteers are what would have been modders on most other games. They would have made their own thing that you had to install and then wonder about the cross-compatibility of. This game does have a ton of moddability, and for anyone who wants to "just" be a modder, that's absolutely fine with me. But for a lot of the mods that are getting the most love, I'm happy to share source code access with those folks so that they're in no way hobbled, and so that their work can go out as additional content that every player can find via in-game options without having to hunt through Steam Workshop or whatever else. It's an unorthodox approach, but a lot more team-oriented and lets us do quality control on each others' stuff, "mods" included, which is a big win. If someone wants to steal the source code for this game, they can just decompile it like any other game for the most part. I'd rather put my trust in people and see things flourish rather than retain a stranglehold out of fear or pride.

What Did I Actually Do, Then?

All of this help from others let me focus on some of the really tricky architectural and design problems, which led to things like us even being able to HAVE a simulation of this size, and to have it perform as smoothly as it does. I got to build lots of mechanics that other people then actually turned into specific units. It also gave me time to focus on some really nagging problems that just made the early versions of the game... unpleasant. If I hadn't had the time to think and talk to people about all those things, we never would have seen all the game evolve this way; I would have been mired in content development and other items just to get the basics out for the game. The original design for this was something that Keith and I put together as a pair, but it only worked out so well. It was a good foundation, but needed... a lot of help. We both pushed that forward a lot, until the money situation got to the point where he (and all the other staff, eventually) had to step away, and I carried on "alone" (but with all those volunteers). There came a couple of major turning points where I was reflecting on why I was so unhappy with this game as it existed, and listening to the various gripes that playtesters had, and then I was able to spend a month or three implementing something drastically new. Fleets are the most notable of those, and they were initially met with a lot of mixed feelings and distaste because only part of my idea was there on the first public launch of those. Only in the last month or so has that feature completely come into its own, and that also had a lot to do with continuous feedback from people in early access telling me what they needed and what they did and didn't like. We also had a number of points during development where we just couldn't escape certain performance problems, because there were suddenly battles that were an order of magnitude larger than the first game (which was itself the largest strategy game simulation of individual units that I'm aware of on the market until this sequel). So I got to focus on a whole bunch of crazy improvements and data structure inventions and even GPU shader tricks in order to make all this stuff work. Without the rest of the community helping, there's no way I could have had time to work on all that sort of thing, even in three years of development. A game of this scope shouldn't run this well -- it shouldn't be possible -- but it is because I was given the gift of time by so many others.

A Decade In The Making

It has been 10 years to the day since the first AI War came to Steam, and it's been 3 years of developing this sequel. We didn't do any work on any AI War games from late 2014 through late 2016, but the rest of that time has been spent at least partly working on the original game or this sequel. From version 5.0 of the original game through version 8.0, Keith was pretty much the sole developer on that while I focused on other things. He built out a ton of creative and clever things that made a return in this game, and also pushed the concept of what the AI could be -- adding in some traditional decision-tree style logic in places in addition to the more decentralized-style AI that I had come up with back in 2009. That one that originally made waves on slashdot and reddit and hackernews and so on. I've worked as the producer and design lead on this sequel, among my many other roles, and so the fact that there seems to be a "singular vision" is hopefully a sign that I did a good job in that role. But the degree to which this is a product of dozens of people's work, over an extremely long period of time, really can't be understated. That's what I meant all the way back at the start. This sort of thing shouldn't have happened. It's just so... unlikely. A ton of people came together over a decade and helped make something unlike anything else on the market. That's before even getting into other major (former) staff contributors like Daniette "Blue" Shinkle doing the vast majority of the art and coming up with the way-prettier style of ship that evolved AFTER the kickstarter, the awesome score by Pablo Vega, and 25 voice actors who did a fantastic job as various humans and the AI. And good grief, I'd be remiss not to mention Erik and Craig and all the other folks at Indie Bros, who helped manage so many aspects of this game, as well as often doing work like helping clean up voice lines, etc.

A Few Common Questions

If you're interested in what is coming in the very short term, there's a post for that. Similar if you want to know what the plan is for multiplayer. For kickstarter backers (or anyone else who is curious), there's an FAQ as well as roadmap of stuff for the next few quarters relating to kickstarter stretch goals. And I just have to once-again plug this awesome After Action Report by zeusalmighty.

My Deepest Thanks

I never wanted to make this game, because I didn't think I could. The original AI War seemed to be the high water mark of my career, and I spent a lot of time trying to make peace with that. But when the market shifted in 2015 and 2016 and finances started getting tight, it became clear that returning to the game that started it all was what made the most sense. Thanks to all of the kickstarter backers for believing that we even COULD build this game. Keith and I felt like we could do something that would make you happy, but probably not something that would top the original. It took two extra years of development and an enormous village of people to make THAT a reality. So thanks to everyone for their patience and support during that time. I also want to say a big thanks to everyone for their understanding during my divorce, which happened shortly after entering Early Access for this game. That made everything so much harder, and took me out of commission for a full three months or so where I just couldn't work much. I had to learn how to be me again, and come to terms with being a dad with shared custody rather than a full-time father, and all of that was incredibly hard. But the good news is that, as has happened with this game itself, a lot of things in my personal life have turned out unexpectedly, improbably well in the last year. After deciding to date again (after 18 years off the market, wow), I wound up meeting the woman who is now my fiance surprisingly quickly (all things considered). Kara and her daughter have made my entire world so much richer than I realized it could be, and my son finally has the sister he's wanted for so much of his life. I feel incredibly fortunate, and a lot of my ability to get back to work and not crumble under the weight of anxiety and expectations for this game were thanks to Kara's support and presence. The reality of her life as a doctor and surgeon also helps to kind of put my own work into perspective, sometimes, in the best way. However this turns out financially, and despite my anxieties about my future as a game developer, I'm incredibly proud of what we've all created together, and I feel surrounded by all the right people both at work and outside of work. This has been the hardest three year period of my life, but the end result has all been worth it. Thanks to everyone, and I hope you enjoy the game -- both what it is now, and what's to come. Very Best, Chris

[ 2019-10-22 20:15:59 CET ] [ Original post ]

It's been quite a saga, if you've followed along all this time. All that extra time paid off! At this point we have what fans have nearly-universally hailed as a worthy successor to the original classic. We still have plenty more to do prior to 1.0 in Q2 of 2019, but the game is ready to play now and we hope you'll come enjoy it and give us further feedback. Pick up the game now for 10% off!

New To AI War?

The original AI War is widely considered one of the top strategy games of all time, with a central mechanic that no other title has replicated. Humanity has already lost the war, and now you command the last remnants in a desperate campaign to take back the galaxy. More than most strategy games, your actions have consequences: taking every minor outpost you see is a surefire way to alert the enemy and spell your own doom. Strike smart, capture new technology, and bring down a foe that overmatches you in every way.

What's New In 2?

The sequel improves the UI, the graphics, the audio, and many of the core mechanics. It's an across-the-board upgrade. But even more than that, it brings in new friends and foes alike -- large factions are now possible, with their own sophisticated AI, economies, and rules. Marauders are now able to conquer territory, and build up their own bases if left un-checked. The nanocaust feeds on the strength of those around it, while the macrophage happily grows in the background, sending out spores... Enjoy the classic human vs AI cage match, or expand to a much wider living galaxy.

25% off Loyalty Coupon!

If you own the original AI War, or The Last Federation, or Bionic Dues -- check your inventory on Steam! You may need to restart it, or log out and back in. Inside, you'll find a coupon for 25% off on top of the launch 10% discount. Both are only valid this week, so hopefully this isn't sitting in your inbox too long!

[ 2018-10-18 00:03:55 CET ] [ Original post ]

There's a sequel on the way for our other most popular strategy title! You can wishlist it here to be notified when it arrives in Early Access in July.
We've uploaded a teaser trailer and listed a coming soon store page for AI War 2 (don't forget to wishlist)! To celebrate, all Last Federation products are on sale with deep discounts -- get TLF's base game or Collection bundle for 80% off, plus individual DLC for $1.39 each through May 7th. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iyi-ZEiPow This project has been in the works since 2016, and thanks to a kickstarter and a ton of support from all those alpha and beta testers, we're finally closing in on that ever-elusive Early Access point. After we hit EA in July, we hope to have an even wider array of testers, and then we'll be ready for a highly-polished 1.0 in October of this year. Be sure to go in and wishlist it (and get anyone you know to do the same) if you have any interest in this, because otherwise you might miss those two release notifications when they do arrive. We can't wait to see you in there -- and for now, the massive original game, which we now refer to as AI War Classic, has hundreds of hours waiting for you. :)

[ 2018-05-01 15:43:30 CET ] [ Original post ]

Um... wow? Folks are absolutely amazing in their support, and I'm just agog at this. I'm going to be out most of the weekend, but I just wanted to say thanks in advance if we hit any stretch goals before Monday. At the moment we seem likely to hit the stretch goal for new music sooner than later. So, other stuff -- first I'd like to share one new video with you: So just what is this "AI War" thing, and why should you be excited about it? Hopefully the kickstarter campaign page answers that question, in a general sense at least. ;) But prior to launching this campaign I was working on this video, and I finally finished editing it today (with Pablo's help cleaning up some unfortunately peaky audio because my mic gain was off), so I thought I'd share it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IluP7KEx0xk If you're wanting to explain to someone first what this game is, then why it's frickin awesome, maybe this video will help. Or maybe I'm just longwinded -- 9 minutes is pretty concise for a game like this, though. :) First Stretch Goal: Soundtrack! So... right! We're funded. :) Now we're working on the first stretch goal off our list:
Up Next Next week I expect to release a video actually showing combat, and some other cool visual effects, and we'll show you more of the GUI, and Pablo has a video for you, and Keith has some written updates... Busy times, in the best sense. :) I'm personally not going to be around much this weekend because I'm both trying to have a better work/life balance in general and also we're celebrating my mom's birthday, but I'll be back in force on Monday. I'll peek in some over the weekend, of course, and I imagine Keith will be around some Saturday off and on. But just so you don't wonder where we are if we're quieter than usual. Thanks again for all your support! Best, Chris

[ 2016-11-19 02:06:30 CET ] [ Original post ]

Um... wow?  Folks are absolutely amazing in their support, and I'm just agog at this.  I'm going to be out most of the weekend, but I just wanted to say thanks in advance if we hit any stretch goals before Monday.  At the moment we seem likely to hit the stretch goal for new music sooner than later. So, other stuff -- first I'd like to share one new video with you: So just what is this "AI War" thing, and why should you be excited about it? Hopefully the kickstarter campaign page answers that question, in a general sense at least. ;)  But prior to launching this campaign I was working on this video, and I finally finished editing it today (with Pablo's help cleaning up some unfortunately peaky audio because my mic gain was off), so I thought I'd share it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IluP7KEx0xk If you're wanting to explain to someone first what this game is, then why it's frickin awesome, maybe this video will help.  Or maybe I'm just longwinded -- 9 minutes is pretty concise for a game like this, though. :) First Stretch Goal: Soundtrack! So... right!  We're funded. :)  Now we're working on the first stretch goal off our list:
Up Next Next week I expect to release a video actually showing combat, and some other cool visual effects, and we'll show you more of the GUI, and Pablo has a video for you, and Keith has some written updates... Busy times, in the best sense. :) I'm personally not going to be around much this weekend because I'm both trying to have a better work/life balance in general and also we're celebrating my mom's birthday, but I'll be back in force on Monday.  I'll peek in some over the weekend, of course, and I imagine Keith will be around some Saturday off and on.  But just so you don't wonder where we are if we're quieter than usual. Thanks again for all your support! Best, Chris

[ 2016-11-19 02:06:30 CET ] [ Original post ]

Good grief! People are awesome. I didn't mean to update folks here "late," but the new campaign for AI War 2has already reached half of its (admittedly much more modest) funding goal. https://youtu.be/CPrhD-_SNpo I've already written a first update post that has a large Q&A based on early questions. Apologies that the video above is just a teaser-style one, but one of the Q&A topics (way at the bottom) touches on the reasons for that. Basically perfectionism on my part, I guess. This is a very different project from the one that we were pitching in the first kickstarter, but I'm really excited about it. Keith has written up a new design documentthat explains what is planned. There's another document that compares the new vision for the sequel to the original AI War, for those wanting to see that comparison. One of the last updates to the original campaign does probably the most concise job of outlining the differences between the two campaigns, the changing roles of Keith and myself, and the current configuration (so to speak) of Arcen. Anyhow! Hope to see you around soon. :) Best, Chris

[ 2016-11-18 03:04:14 CET ] [ Original post ]

Good grief!  People are awesome.  I didn't mean to update folks here "late," but the new campaign for AI War 2 has already reached half of its (admittedly much more modest) funding goal. https://youtu.be/CPrhD-_SNpo I've already written a first update post that has a large Q&A based on early questions.  Apologies that the video above is just a teaser-style one, but one of the Q&A topics (way at the bottom) touches on the reasons for that.  Basically perfectionism on my part, I guess. This is a very different project from the one that we were pitching in the first kickstarter, but I'm really excited about it.  Keith has written up a new design document that explains what is planned.  There's another document that compares the new vision for the sequel to the original AI War, for those wanting to see that comparison. One of the last updates to the original campaign does probably the most concise job of outlining the differences between the two campaigns, the changing roles of Keith and myself, and the current configuration (so to speak) of Arcen. Anyhow!  Hope to see you around soon. :) Best, Chris

[ 2016-11-18 03:04:14 CET ] [ Original post ]

Bugfixes and an AI War II kickstarter notice on the main menu. The release notes cover the details, and we hope that you enjoy those fixes. :) We also hope you'll stop by the campaign for AI War II and see if you think it's worth your time and/or money. We are having an exceedingly hard time reaching our existing players for AI War Classic and The Last Federation -- of which we need only a tiny percentto actually back the kickstarter -- and as such, our kickstarter is stalling. We have a variety of ways in which we're working on pulling out of the stall, but by far the best option is getting the message out to people who would directly be interested. Hopefully that includes you if you're reading this (possibly you like TLF, but were put off by the learning curve of AI War -- which is a key thing we're addressing in the sequel), but please also spread the word to other players you know who might have missed this! Best, Chris Park Founder and Lead Designer, Arcen Games

[ 2016-10-19 01:11:20 CET ] [ Original post ]

Bugfixes and an AI War II kickstarter notice on the main menu.  The release notes cover the details, and we hope that you enjoy those fixes. :) We also hope you'll stop by the campaign for AI War II and see if you think it's worth your time and/or money.  We are having an exceedingly hard time reaching our existing players for AI War Classic and The Last Federation -- of which we need only a tiny percent to actually back the kickstarter -- and as such, our kickstarter is stalling. We have a variety of ways in which we're working on pulling out of the stall, but by far the best option is getting the message out to people who would directly be interested.  Hopefully that includes you if you're reading this (possibly you like TLF, but were put off by the learning curve of AI War -- which is a key thing we're addressing in the sequel), but please also spread the word to other players you know who might have missed this! Best, Chris Park Founder and Lead Designer, Arcen Games

[ 2016-10-19 01:11:20 CET ] [ Original post ]

Just a very quick note to point you to this link. We won't normally bug you with every little thing, but we wanted to give you a chance to get in any questions you might have if reddit is your bag. Obviously you can ask us anything in general, but it's nice to have an event for it, too! Related to the AI War 2 kickstarter, of course, but not remotely limited to that in subject.

[ 2016-10-12 14:52:30 CET ] [ Original post ]

Just a very quick note to point you to this link.  We won't normally bug you with every little thing, but we wanted to give you a chance to get in any questions you might have if reddit is your bag. Obviously you can ask us anything in general, but it's nice to have an event for it, too! Related to the AI War 2 kickstarter, of course, but not remotely limited to that in subject.

[ 2016-10-12 14:52:30 CET ] [ Original post ]

Wow what a whirlwind of a few days!  If I haven't responded to your message yet, I really apologize and will do so as soon as possible.  I'm caught up on the kickstarter messages and comments themselves, but I'm behind on Steam and the Arcen forums. Funding Is Starting Strong! Our kickstarter for AI War II has now passed 10% funding within its first 30 hours, which seems like it bodes well.  But the graph for every game is different, and so we're not going to sit idle just because of a strong start.  We can still use all the help that we can get in spreading the word on social media, other sites that would be interested in this sort of game, and of course via gaming news. Reddit AMA Tomorrow Speaking of!  Tomorrow we're going to be doing another AMA on /r/Games/.  It will start at 11am EST, but if you're going to be late feel free to still ask questions -- I'm on reddit every day anyway (not during work!). So what else is new?  Well, we've updated the video for the kickstarter to be a little better (it was already pretty killer).  If you've already seen it, it mainly just adds a bit of extra visual and sound effect punch and clarity in a few places, and then a bit of extra music at the end (sneak peek of a vocal track from Stars Beyond Reach, actually). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLtDdZRq4Bk New Backer Tier! Our $100 and $300 tiers sold out incredibly quickly, and we're trying to figure out how to handle that -- providing rewards at those levels that you folks will enjoy, but that don't break us in the implementation/fulfillment phases.  Thanks for bearing with us! In the meantime, we've added a new $400 tier: SPACE ARCHAEOLOGIST. As a Space Archaeologist you get the following benefits shared by all Neinzul Backers: - Named prominently in the credits as a Neinzul Backer - Neinzul Backer badge on Arcen forums. - 5 backer-exclusive AI War II digital wallpapers - Write your own “message in a bottle” that will be discoverable in-game (subject to approval) - Two copies of the game in private alpha - Name an in-game planet n addition, and EXCLUSIVE to the Space Archaeologist, you get to: -Work with Blue to design a mysterious alien artifact, then collaborate with Jack to write what we know about them (subject to approval) Initially controlled by the AI, alien artifacts are variants on the resource-generating derelicts scattered across the galaxy. Capturing an artifact earns you a one time Science bonus, and ongoing attempts to study them sometimes "glitch out", and generate allied ships! These ships aren't pushovers, and while you can't control them, you don't have to pay for them either. The AI won't be happy about losing the artifacts however, and will destroy them rather than let you keep them. Space Archaeologists will individually work with Blue to design their own artifact, and then work with Jack to explain what we know about it. That might be where it's from or how it was found, secrets of its construction or how it's been used. With this tier you'll be adding one more secret to the Arcenverse, so don't explain too much! Soundtrack Now Included In All $100+ Tiers! So many of you asked for this that we worked it out and are now going to be providing high-quality mp3, FLAC, and wav file versions of the AI War II OST for anyone who pledges at least $100. This will include the entire soundtrack, including any stretch goals or other bonus tracks commissioned, so when exactly you get each piece may be staggered a bit. This was a belated addition due to popular demand, and kickstarter doesn't allow us to change the description of backer tiers after someone has pledged at that level (definitely for the best as a general policy), so we've had to make note of it in the campaign FAQ and in the rewards section (not the sidebar). If you've read this far, here's a special reward. ;)  This is Pablo's reorchestrated and remastered version of the original AI War title theme.  Just like Arcen itself, he's come a really long way since 2009, and I continue to be really stunned and impressed with the work he's doing lately. https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/287038354 Other Changes To The Campaign! People have been making all sorts of great suggestions.

• We now have a new $40 tier that simply gives you two v1.0 copies of the game (so it's just like getting the $20 tier twice).
• We've added two new videos down in the body of the campaign that show off the far zoom mechanics for the new game as well as the last trailer for the first game.
• Down at the bottom there are now a number of charts detailing our work status on all the major 1.0 features.  We're further along on a number of them than folks might have realized, massive design document aside.

That's all for now!  I'll have more updates coming up soon, as will other members of the team.  Thanks again for all your support, enthusiasm -- and let's not forget trust.  With a campaign like this you're trusting that we'll follow through for you, and we have absolutely no intention of letting you down. Very Best, Chris Park Founder and Lead Designer, Arcen Games

[ 2016-10-11 22:15:00 CET ] [ Original post ]

Wow what a whirlwind of a few days! If I haven't responded to your message yet, I really apologize and will do so as soon as possible. I'm caught up on the kickstarter messages and comments themselves, but I'm behind on Steam and the Arcen forums. Funding Is Starting Strong! Our kickstarter for AI War II has now passed 10% funding within its first 30 hours, which seems like it bodes well. But the graph for every game is different, and so we're not going to sit idle just because of a strong start. We can still use all the help that we can get in spreading the word on social media, other sites that would be interested in this sort of game, and of course via gaming news. Reddit AMA Tomorrow Speaking of! Tomorrow we're going to be doing another AMA on /r/Games/. It will start at 11am EST, but if you're going to be late feel free to still ask questions -- I'm on reddit every day anyway (not during work!). So what else is new? Well, we've updated the video for the kickstarter to be a little better (it was already pretty killer). If you've already seen it, it mainly just adds a bit of extra visual and sound effect punch and clarity in a few places, and then a bit of extra music at the end (sneak peek of a vocal track from Stars Beyond Reach, actually). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLtDdZRq4Bk New Backer Tier! Our $100 and $300 tiers sold out incredibly quickly, and we're trying to figure out how to handle that -- providing rewards at those levels that you folks will enjoy, but that don't break us in the implementation/fulfillment phases. Thanks for bearing with us! In the meantime, we've added a new $400 tier:SPACE ARCHAEOLOGIST. As a Space Archaeologist you get the following benefits shared by all Neinzul Backers: - Named prominently in the credits as a Neinzul Backer - Neinzul Backer badge on Arcen forums. - 5 backer-exclusive AI War II digital wallpapers - Write your own message in a bottle that will be discoverable in-game (subject to approval) - Two copies of the game in private alpha - Name an in-game planet n addition, and EXCLUSIVE to the Space Archaeologist, you get to: -Work with Blue to design a mysterious alien artifact, then collaborate with Jack to write what we know about them (subject to approval) Initially controlled by the AI, alien artifacts are variants on the resource-generating derelicts scattered across the galaxy. Capturing an artifact earns you a one time Science bonus, and ongoing attempts to study them sometimes "glitch out", and generate allied ships! These ships aren't pushovers, and while you can't control them, you don't have to pay for them either. The AI won't be happy about losing the artifacts however, and will destroy them rather than let you keep them. Space Archaeologists will individually work with Blue to design their own artifact, and then work with Jack to explain what we know about it. That might be where it's from or how it was found, secrets of its construction or how it's been used. With this tier you'll be adding one more secret to the Arcenverse, so don't explain too much! Soundtrack NowIncludedIn All $100+ Tiers! So many of you asked for this that we worked it out and are now going to be providing high-quality mp3, FLAC, and wav file versions of the AI War II OST for anyone who pledges at least $100. This will include the entire soundtrack, including any stretch goals or other bonus tracks commissioned, so when exactly you get each piece may be staggered a bit. This was a belated addition due to popular demand, and kickstarter doesn't allow us to change the description of backer tiers after someone has pledged at that level (definitely for the best as a general policy), so we've had to make note of it in the campaign FAQand in the rewards section (not the sidebar). If you've read this far, here's a special reward. ;) This is Pablo's reorchestrated and remastered version of the original AI War title theme. Just like Arcen itself, he's come a really long way since 2009, and Icontinue to bereally stunned and impressed with the work he's doing lately. https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/287038354 Other Changes To The Campaign! People have been making all sorts of great suggestions.

• We now have a new $40 tier that simply gives you two v1.0 copies of the game (so it's just like getting the $20 tier twice).
• We've added two new videos down in the body of the campaign that show off the far zoom mechanics for the new game as well as the last trailer for the first game.
• Down at the bottom there are now a number of charts detailing our work status on all the major 1.0 features. We're further along on a number of them than folks might have realized, massive design document aside.

That's all for now! I'll have more updates coming up soon, as will other members of the team. Thanks again for all your support, enthusiasm -- and let's not forget trust. With a campaign like this you're trusting that we'll follow through for you, and we have absolutely no intention of letting you down. Very Best, Chris Park Founder and Lead Designer, Arcen Games

[ 2016-10-11 22:15:00 CET ] [ Original post ]

The Arcen Games team is happy to announce the launch of The Last Federation's second expansion: The Lost Technologies! The new release brings new features and mechanics to TLF -- such as the new Ring World planet type, Champion enemies, a ton of new additions and modifications to racial techs, and more. Along with the expansion, today sees the release of The Last Federation 3.0, a free update to the base game that brings three new events and three new alliance types. Finally, we're celebrating the occasion of both base game and expansion releases with the debut of The Last Federation Collection -- a package that combines the standard release with both Betrayed Hope and The Lost Technologies expansions. The new Collection, expansion, and all other TLF products currently carry launch week-style discounts until November 18th. All hail Hydral!

[ 2015-11-11 23:53:25 CET ] [ Original post ]

The Arcen Games team is happy to announce the launch of The Last Federation's second expansion: The Lost Technologies! The new release brings new features and mechanics to TLF -- such as the new Ring World planet type, Champion enemies, a ton of new additions and modifications to racial techs, and more. Along with the expansion, today sees the release of The Last Federation 3.0, a free update to the base game that brings three new events and three new alliance types. Finally, we're celebrating the occasion of both base game and expansion releases with the debut of The Last Federation Collection -- a package that combines the standard release with both Betrayed Hope and The Lost Technologies expansions. The new Collection, expansion, and all other TLF products currently carry launch week-style discounts until November 18th. All hail Hydral!

[ 2015-11-11 23:53:25 CET ] [ Original post ]

The Last Federation - The Lost Technologies, all new content for The Last Federation is Now Available on Steam and is 10% off!*

Dozens of new technologies, a new technology-focused game mode, and technology "side effects" on even existing techs. Champion enemies also make their first appearance in combat. Plus new turrets, abilities, events, alliances, a new planet, type, and more!

*Offer ends November 18 at 10AM Pacific Time

[ 2015-11-11 22:35:00 CET ] [ Original post ]

Version 2.021isanother cumulative update to the base game and the first expansion, and it also has the new "free v3.0 content" (3 new events and 3 new alliance types) in early. Lots of good stuff in the release notes since the last main post about this, which was apparently version 2.008. Enjoy! This is a standard update that you can download through the in-game updater, or if you have Steam it will automatically update it for you. To force Steam to download it faster, just restart Steam and it will do so. Click here for the official forum discussion about this release.

[ 2015-10-31 02:47:52 CET ] [ Original post ]

Version 2.021 is another cumulative update to the base game and the first expansion, and it also has the new "free v3.0 content" (3 new events and 3 new alliance types) in early.  Lots of good stuff in the release notes since the last main post about this, which was apparently version 2.008. Enjoy! This is a standard update that you can download through the in-game updater, or if you have Steam it will automatically update it for you. To force Steam to download it faster, just restart Steam and it will do so. Click here for the official forum discussion about this release.

[ 2015-10-31 02:47:52 CET ] [ Original post ]

What's this now? A new expansion, you say? Indeed! The Lost Technologies. We've been working with Draco18s, a long-time community member here, to bring this one to life. This is quite an exciting expansion for us, because we hadn't even thought we'd be able to do something like this this year (what with Stars Beyond Reach and now Starward Rogue and all that). This expansion brings to life a number of things that are centered around technology in one way or another. The races all have their own unique racial techs now, for instance -- giving them more character than ever before. Techs now have cool new "side effects" that can benefit you or other races in regular combat. There's even a new Tech Race game mode where it's a cutthroat race through the tech tree -- with the catch that you have to work with you enemies to win, because you're unlikely to win on your own. Make allies, ditch em, make new ones, and coast across the finish line (hopefully) on your own. This also will coincide with the release of TLF 3.0, a free update to all the owners of the base game. This update includes several pieces of new content including 3 new alliance types, four new events, and a few other goodies. And naturally the expansion has more stuff, too -- a gorgeous but fragile new planet type, new turret types, a new type of mission for gathering your own unique Hydral techs, new ability types, and so on. Oh -- and "champion" enemies, too. Can't believe I almost forgot that one! Champions add a new element to combat where you may need to avoid a specific enemy ship that is doing... something strange and unexpected. You can easily tell the champion ships by their purple glow, and they have a way of exerting a bit of gravity -- so to speak -- on their part of the battlefield. Release Date! We look to be on schedule for a November 11th release. All the features are complete and in testing with a small group of players who blindly volunteered without knowing what they were signing up for. That's faith! ;) The expansion itself has been in work since mid-September, so that's about average for an expansion from us. What's not average is us managing to keep it a secret for this long, heh. Already An Advanced Player? If you're already an advanced player of TLF, you might be interested in some of the notable things addressed by various additions: * The Kessler Syndrome event (new free content in v3.0) makes space junk buildup around planets matter a lot more. *The Deorbited Ship event (also free v3.0 content) fills a hole where the Skylaxians are too honorable to bomb anybody (although the event will happen to any race invading any other); essentially a large, hostile fleet in orbit that is otherwise doing little to invade can get "hit" by the event and cause... fun times. *The Welding Drones tech side effect now repair Large (and larger) ship hulls by a small amount every combat turn, provided that it did not take any damage. Maintaining shield integrity and avoiding disruptor shots can slowly make up for a tactical mistake and keep the player alive for longer *The new Beam Rifles tech has a side effect that increases the range of all laser-based weaponry by 10%. *The Nuclear Fusion tech has a side effect that increases shield recharge rate by 5% Click here for the official forum thread on this post.

[ 2015-10-30 20:30:12 CET ] [ Original post ]

What's this now?  A new expansion, you say? Indeed!  The Lost Technologies.  We've been working with Draco18s, a long-time community member here, to bring this one to life.  This is quite an exciting expansion for us, because we hadn't even thought we'd be able to do something like this this year (what with Stars Beyond Reach and now Starward Rogue and all that). This expansion brings to life a number of things that are centered around technology in one way or another.  The races all have their own unique racial techs now, for instance -- giving them more character than ever before.  Techs now have cool new "side effects" that can benefit you or other races in regular combat. There's even a new Tech Race game mode where it's a cutthroat race through the tech tree -- with the catch that you have to work with you enemies to win, because you're unlikely to win on your own.  Make allies, ditch em, make new ones, and coast across the finish line (hopefully) on your own. This also will coincide with the release of TLF 3.0, a free update to all the owners of the base game.  This update includes several pieces of new content including 3 new alliance types, four new events, and a few other goodies.  And naturally the expansion has more stuff, too -- a gorgeous but fragile new planet type, new turret types, a new type of mission for gathering your own unique Hydral techs, new ability types, and so on. Oh -- and "champion" enemies, too.  Can't believe I almost forgot that one!  Champions add a new element to combat where you may need to avoid a specific enemy ship that is doing... something strange and unexpected.  You can easily tell the champion ships by their purple glow, and they have a way of exerting a bit of gravity -- so to speak -- on their part of the battlefield. Release Date! We look to be on schedule for a November 11th release.  All the features are complete and in testing with a small group of players who blindly volunteered without knowing what they were signing up for.  That's faith! ;)  The expansion itself has been in work since mid-September, so that's about average for an expansion from us.  What's not average is us managing to keep it a secret for this long, heh. Already An Advanced Player? If you're already an advanced player of TLF, you might be interested in some of the notable things addressed by various additions: * The Kessler Syndrome event (new free content in v3.0) makes space junk buildup around planets matter a lot more. * The Deorbited Ship event (also free v3.0 content) fills a hole where the Skylaxians are too honorable to bomb anybody (although the event will happen to any race invading any other); essentially a large, hostile fleet in orbit that is otherwise doing little to invade can get "hit" by the event and cause... fun times. * The Welding Drones tech side effect now repair Large (and larger) ship hulls by a small amount every combat turn, provided that it did not take any damage.  Maintaining shield integrity and avoiding disruptor shots can slowly make up for a tactical mistake and keep the player alive for longer * The new Beam Rifles tech has a side effect that increases the range of all laser-based weaponry by 10%. * The Nuclear Fusion tech has a side effect that increases shield recharge rate by 5% Click here for the official forum thread on this post.

[ 2015-10-30 20:30:12 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today's Deal: Save 80% on The Last Federation!*

Look for the deals each day on the front page of Steam. Or follow us on twitter or Facebook for instant notifications wherever you are!

*Offer ends Monday at 10AM Pacific Time

[ 2015-06-27 17:00:00 CET ] [ Original post ]

Version 2.008 is the latest in a series of post-expansion-release hotfixes.  We've been posting about these on our forums, but individually these releases weren't really worth doing a full blog/announcement post about.  So let's talk about these cumulatively! First of all, for those who have been following along already, here's what is new in the very latest release:

• If you have been waiting for that setting that allows your dispatches to give you a warning whenever a race attacks another, your wait is now over!
• The selling of raw resources in Betrayal mode is back, just now at a really discounted rate compared to the other modes.
• Several changes have been made that will keep the AI acting a bit more appropriately when it comes to ground invasions.

But what else has been going on since 2.0, for those who haven't been following?

• Well, naturally, the very first thing that happened after launch of the expansion is that a couple of clever souls figured out a way to trivialize Betrayal mode by using a bumrush tactic that nobody had tried up until that point.  So there was much balance work and AI work and so on done around making that no longer an exploit.  Betrayal mode got even more interesting as a result, even for those not using that tactic.
• Obscura Discs aren't so common anymore during battles with the Obscura, because they were kind of obnoxious when found en masse.
• In Betrayal mode, when you're defending yourself you no longer earn such a negative influence with other races.
• Assassins now are only a standard-mode mechanic.  They only really made good sense there, and were particularly unbalancing on Betrayal mode.
• The ratio of number of flagships in combat to "base power" of an armada has decreased, meaning that you can't wipe out whole armadas quite so easily in combat mode.
• A lot of smaller bugfixes.

Enjoy! This is a standard update that you can download through the in-game updater, or if you have Steam it will automatically update it for you. To force Steam to download it faster, just restart Steam and it will do so. Click here for the official forum discussion about this release.

[ 2014-12-02 14:44:40 CET ] [ Original post ]

TLF's first expansion, Betrayed Hope, is officially releasing today. The expansion includes 17 new ships, 2 new solar system backgrounds, 32 new abilities, 19 new achievements, 13 new music tracks and 5 new quests. It also introduces two completely different ways to play the game -- Betrayal and Invasion: Betrayal Mode reverses the usual game flow, making you a full planetary power trying to achieve solar domination -- adding a new layer of 4X onto the existing game. You gain the ability to command armadas and ground troops, and the meaning behind political deals is very much shifted. Rather than working toward unity, you attempt to destroy all your foes through subterfuge, war, and temporary alliances. Invasion Mode sees you working with the other races to survive slaughter by a grave new threat, putting yet another major spin on things. Forming the federation isn't a priority when you are trying to keep a terror from consuming the entire system. The Last Federation 2.0 arrives alongside the Betrayed Hope expansion this week as well. Here's what's been added or improved upon between 1.0 and this new release: - Tons of improvements to GUI clarity, explanatory tooltips, etc. - Auto-resolve option for battles. - Permadeath made optional (and off by default). - Awesome new ship graphics for during battles. - New Burlust "Turmoil" mechanic. - New ways to persuade races to join the federation. - New actions that NPC-races take when it seems appropriate to them. - Six new quests. - Added player actions to support a ground invasions, oppose them, or simply start bombing stuff independently. - Added the Ark and the Mire, two randomly seeded unique buildings that help make each game different. - Major improvements to how RCI, Attitude, and Influence numbers work so that they make more sense to the player. - Major revisions to widely-disliked missions like "Clean up AFA", "Deliver Spacefaring Technology", etc. - Radical shifts to solar map pacing and many revisions to how actions work to increase player agency. - New moddable "Bullet Pattern" engine that allows some really crazy new behaviors for enemy shots. Tons of new and revised bullet patterns. - You can now do practice combats at the black market to try out tactics or just enjoy blowing up tons of ships. - Substantial CPU/GPU performance improvements. - Rebalancing both in combat and on the solar map. - Multitudinous bugfixes. For those interested in delving deeper, the full release notes from version 1.0 to 2.0 total more than 61,000 words.

[ 2014-11-14 19:19:12 CET ] [ Original post ]

The Last Federation - Betrayed Hope, all new content for The Last Federation is Now Available on Steam and is 10% off!*

Betrayal Mode lets you completely reverse the usual game flow, working as a full planetary power trying to destroy your foes, not unite them. Invasion Mode sees you working with the other races to survive slaughter by a grave new threat. Plus new ships, abilities, music, and more!

To celebrate the final release of Betrayal Mode, and v2.0 of The Last Federation, the base game is 55% off all week!

*Offer ends November 21 at 10AM Pacific Time

[ 2014-11-14 19:11:00 CET ] [ Original post ]

Version 1.900 is final touches in preparation for the launch of version 2.0 and the full release of the expansion this Friday the 14th (just a couple of days from now!). The big things in this new version are that the tutorials have all been extensively updated for the new modes, and the story segments for the new modes have also been finished. The tutorials are always one of the last things that we update when we're doing an expansion for a game, because things tend to be evolving during the beta and we learn a lot from what questions people have. The time has come, however, for all that to finally come together in the actual game. If you were previously having a hard time getting going in Invasion mode or Betrayal mode, you should be good to go now. Of course if you still have any questions, please do let us know. But the new tutorials for those modes go out of their way not just to tell you how to do the things that are unique to those modes, but also to give you some strategy advice. Let us know how things are looking, if you have suggestions or bug reports, etc! More to come soon. Enjoy! This is a standard update that you can download through the in-game updater, or if you have Steam it will automatically update it for you. To force Steam to download it faster, just restart Steam and it will do so. Click here for the official forum discussion about this release.

[ 2014-11-12 18:58:59 CET ] [ Original post ]

Version 1.702 is all about polish and balance for the Obscura. This includes some of the Obscura ships at the individual-battle level, and then a bunch of balance changes to the way the Obscura grow and expand during Invasion mode. Invasion mode started out as this kind of impossible thing, then the Obscura became a lot more weak over the last couple of weeks. They are now back in force, but in a measured way that won't see you getting insta-killed within a few short years of starting the game, which could happen back earlier in the beta. We're closing in on the release date for the official launch of the expansion. The target date is November 14th, so next Friday (not tomorrow). It's very exciting, and we're hitting a point where things are really settling down into a polished state, so that's quite nice. Let us know how things are looking, if you have suggestions or bug reports, etc! More to come soon. Enjoy! This is a standard update that you can download through the in-game updater, or if you have Steam it will automatically update it for you. To force Steam to download it faster, just restart Steam and it will do so. Click here for the official forum discussion about this release.

[ 2014-11-07 01:56:14 CET ] [ Original post ]

Version 1.701 has polish for the base game and the expansion. The Obscura ships now behave a bit better with their AI -- previously, in some cases they could act kind of funky in groups, but that should no longer be the case. Spy probes in the deliver spacefaring tech missions have been tuned some more, too. Particularly for the upper difficulties, these are now actually possible -- the last release didn't help much on that score because of the sheer volume of ships on those difficulties. Now the maze problem doesn't get substantially harder from the middle difficulties on up. Somewhat, but not exponentially so like before. There are a few other balance tweaks and bugfixes in here, too. Please see the release notes (linked above) for details. We're closing in on the release date for the official launch of the expansion. The target date is November 14th, so two Fridays from now. It's very exciting, and we're hitting a point where things are really settling down into a polished state, so that's quite nice. Let us know how things are looking, if you have suggestions or bug reports, etc! More to come soon. Enjoy! This is a standard update that you can download through the in-game updater, or if you have Steam it will automatically update it for you. To force Steam to download it faster, just restart Steam and it will do so. Click here for the official forum discussion about this release.

[ 2014-11-05 21:36:38 CET ] [ Original post ]

Version 1.700 is all goodies for the base game, not the expansion. The spy probes have been completely re-imagined, and I'm super happy with how those are turning out. To some extent these missions can be very easy to "win" now, but I say win in quotes because that can be with the collateral damage of a lot of hatred from some races. The Evucks in particular are really easy to piss off enormously if they are spacefaring too soon when you are still trying to help other races. All that said, winning well, where you don't incur a bunch of influence penalties, is now satisfyingly hard but actually possible. You're basically navigating through shifting, moving mazes of bullets. The first mission or two might practically be "freebies" where there are next to no maze elements, but the more races that are already spacefaring, the more insane the mazes get. I'm really excited about this, because it's something that really sets these missions apart from all other missions, and it gets at that core "maze navigation" type of feel that I always wanted for this mission. Another thing is that now the Burlust Duels are more central if you're trying to get the Burlusts into your federation. Before they'll even consider joining, you now have to duel one of their primes to death. You don't need to do a bunch of duels, and you don't actually have to do ANY duels if the burlusts are just an antagonist race to you in your campaign, anyway. But they want you to prove your mettle if you're going to be friends. We're closing in on the release date for the official launch of the expansion. The target date is November 14th, so two Fridays from now. It's very exciting, and we're hitting a point where things are really settling down into a polished state, so that's quite nice. Let us know how things are looking, if you have suggestions or bug reports, etc! More to come soon. Enjoy! This is a standard update that you can download through the in-game updater, or if you have Steam it will automatically update it for you. To force Steam to download it faster, just restart Steam and it will do so. Click here for the official forum discussion about this release.

[ 2014-11-05 02:17:23 CET ] [ Original post ]

Version 1.611 is a collection of refinements, both for the base game and the expansion. The neatest thing for the base game is that now there is a way to restore order to a race that has devolved into a smuggler empire. Previously all you could do was kill that race if you wanted to win. But now, you can clear out the smugglers and watch them return to the light of normal government. The other really nice thing here is that finally the hive queens stop changing their moods constantly. That was happening in some recent versions, but we couldn't pin it down or even always duplicate it. The newly-revised Burlust Warlord fight from the prior version has had its numbers tuned substantially to make it more fun. Previously you had a long bout against the shields, leaving you on the high-health pattern of the warlords for a frustrating period. Then you had a shorter period where you'd kind of blaze through the other shot patterns too fast, not really getting to see and experience the wonderful pain of them. ;) So that's now fixed so that you spend more time in the later stages. Going along with that, though, a couple of the wall attacks early on in were too damaging per-shot, so that's also been tweaked so that you can't get insta-killed if you have one bad turn. Lastly, depending on your difficulty level (combat for Standard and Invasion modes, and strategic for Betrayal mode), you now get a lowered benefit from the techs that increase space power. Why is that? Well, balance-wise, you already have a lot of ways of getting ahead of the AI, and it's easier for you to grab lots of techs by stealing them, which most AIs can't do as effectively. Since you have some player-only advantages there, that impacts Betrayal mode in particular. Now that hole is plugged, depending on how hard a challenge you want based on the difficulty you selected. It's also thematically appropriate, given that one Hydral by himself should realistically be less adept at applying advanced technology to his starship than literally billions of citizens of another race would be at applying tech to their armadas as a whole. We're closing in on the release date for the official launch of the expansion. The target date is November 14th, so two Fridays from today. It's very exciting, and we're hitting a point where things are really settling down into a polished state, so that's quite nice. Let us know how things are looking, if you have suggestions or bug reports, etc! More to come soon. Enjoy! This is a standard update that you can download through the in-game updater, or if you have Steam it will automatically update it for you. To force Steam to download it faster, just restart Steam and it will do so. Click here for the official forum discussion about this release.

[ 2014-10-31 19:50:37 CET ] [ Original post ]

Version 1.610 has some substantial refinements to the Armada Management screen for Betrayal Mode, and it also includes a completely-revamped style of battle with the Burlust warlords. Balance-wise, this also really tunes things up for Betrayal Mode in general. Your armadas now take time to upgrade themselves, which prevents you from doing "just in time" armada repairs or beefing. Additionally, you no longer get the full set of resources from each planet you capture, instead only gaining 10% of what it used to be -- so that prevents you from getting such a snowball effect going there. This also applies to AIs, of course. Also on the balance front, a lot of the expansion-related ships have had their values tuned. Let us know how things are looking, if you have suggestions or bug reports, etc! More to come soon. Enjoy! This is a standard update that you can download through the in-game updater, or if you have Steam it will automatically update it for you. To force Steam to download it faster, just restart Steam and it will do so. Click here for the official forum discussion about this release.

[ 2014-10-30 21:40:09 CET ] [ Original post ]

Version 1.609 is a collection of refinements to the recent changes to the game. Orbital Bombardment by your flagship is something that is rebalanced the most. The stronger the defensive fleet forces are at a planet you are bombing, the more expensive your bombing is, and the less effective it is. This doesn't stop you from bombing in any circumstances -- a simple on/off switch for things like this gets extremely annoying -- but it does make it so that you can't just blaze past defenders at no additional cost. Your ability to bomb the Obscura in this way is also extremely, extremely nerfed in general. You could win the Invasion games shockingly quickly with this recent addition, and that definitely was not intended! Overall this particular mechanism just wasn't much intended for Invasion mode, so it's been marginalized there quite a bit. This fits thematically anyhow, given that the Obscura would easily have countermeasures to help defend against one freaking ship bombing them. ;) Another fun thing is a change to how the Thoraxian Hunters work. What are those, you ask? Well, even experienced players almost never saw them before, because of the nature of the "Mega Buildings" intentionally being so rare in the game. The Thoraxians no longer have a mega-building at all as of this version, and instead their Hunters will come out as their mega weapon against you-specifically if you've let the Thoraxians hate you -500 or more. You'll actually see them more this way, and in more appropriate circumstances. Outposts in the game also now have their naming done completely differently, making it so that you can properly identify them. This also makes it so that you can tell what you're looking at in the Betrayal mode Armada Management screen a lot better. That screen has seen some other facelifts and usability improvements in this version, too. There are still a couple of things on my list to add for that one, but that will have to wait until early next week. Let us know how things are looking, if you have suggestions or bug reports, etc! More to come soon. Enjoy! This is a standard update that you can download through the in-game updater, or if you have Steam it will automatically update it for you. To force Steam to download it faster, just restart Steam and it will do so. Click here for the official forum discussion about this release.

[ 2014-10-25 00:30:35 CET ] [ Original post ]

Version 1.606 is an enormous balance to the Credit economy, as well as giving you newfound power to really effectively bomb your enemies from orbit. There's a bunch of other great stuff, too, in the bugfix and clarity categories. Your options for dealing with rescued pilots are now a lot more obvious, for one. When planets are captured while defense fleets are still in orbit, those fleets no longer switch sides inappropriately. Fighting pirates no longer angers the race that the pirates happen to be. Several quests that had some bugs now do not. Orbital Bombing, v2 Orbital Bombing is one of my favorite new additions. Let us know how you feel about the balance on it; it may be a bit strong, but it does cost money, so we'll see. Basically you used to be able to use a special ability to spawn Orbital Bombers inside battle, and then as long as they were alive they'd bomb the planet from orbit. This was fiddly and never felt right for a host of reasons (it was tedious, for one). Now the Orbital Bombers themselves are attack craft like any other, and kind of send mini-nukes inside the battlefield, but don't affect the planet surface at all. Instead, you have a new dispatch that lets you do their old job for them -- but faster, and more effectively, thanks to the magic of dispatches and fast-forwarding in them. ;) Earning Credit, v2 When it comes to Credit, hoo boy. There had been complaints for a long time that attacking the AFA to grind for credit was really the only viable way to get enough credit late game -- and that you could get a TON there. And that there were not enough ways to peaceably earn credit. All right, so the first order of business was to heavily nerf the amount of credit you earn in combat -- you now gain 1/10th the amount you did before. That's a counterintuitive place to start, but basically if it was already so attractive to grind, and this was the primary source of income, then yeah we had a problem. When I looked at this, you could gain around 8000 credit in a solar month when fighting a sizeable battle, while the most generous dispatches were maybe 200 credit max. And many were more like 10 credit per month. Wow what a difference. To add to the problem with the balance on the combat side, that was all income from fighting ships -- so you'd only get that full 8000 if you auto-resolved, or if you really fought an extended battle just for the sake of earning credit. We've had this sort of unintentional balance problem in AI War before, too: basically if you have a way to do grinding at all, for some players that means that they will do it (and hate it) in order to play "optimally." Depending on the game, I fall into that category of players. All right, so killing everybody in combat is no longer so profitable that it encourages grinding much. So what is there to compensate? Glad you asked. :) First of all, almost all of the existing credit-earning dispatches earn you far more credit than they previously did. Depending on the dispatch, they earn you 3, 6x, or 12x more. Expanding usable land area for a race was something that was never attractive to me to do personally before, but now I find that it's a key part of an early-game strategy. You can rack up 40,000 credits in just half a year or so. Doing this expansion actually has a lot of benefits for the AI, too: you make it so that they don't hit population density problems so fast, and you also make it so that they can divert that portion of their budget to other things -- like shipbuilding. This is an aspect of strategy that was never really viable before, because expanding the usable land area yourself was such a bad deal for you personally that helping the AI via it was not really on the table tactically. Next up, a lot of the regular friendly actions that give you flat credit (like 5,000 credit for granting spacefaring tech) now give you a LOT more credit. The one for delivering spacefaring now gives you a quick 20,000, for instance. These particular missions that have been buffed in credit reward are things that you can't just do endlessly, and in some cases they come with drawbacks (like having another spacefaring race that you might not really trust). But they provide a way to get off to a much more profitable start to the game, which really opens up your options much faster -- with no grinding, but with appropriate tradeoff costs. Then there are the assassins and thoraxian hunter that can sometimes sneak up and attack you. I don't know about you, but that has always kind of annoyed me, even if it does make great thematic sense. I've been tempted to remove the mechanic, but it makes just so much sense and is fitting when you are in the wrong part of the solar system and you've really made someone angry. So I had a thought, today: what if these were really big credit rewards? So when you get attacked, sure, it's annoying to have an interruption to whatever you were previously doing. But it's also a windfall, which makes it exciting. It will be interesting to hear how you feel about it, but it makes me go "ooh, assassins!" now. "Hey Greedo, whatcha got on ya, there? It's your fault for coming after me in the first place, you know..." Lastly, we come to quests. A lot of the quests gave either no credit reward at all, or a very tiny one (in the 500 range, max). These quests typically represent some major powerful things that you can do for the races, so they were already attractive to do. And you can't farm them, because of their limited nature. So I thought: why not make it so that they are directly profitable to you, personally, as a mercenary as well? It makes thematic sense, and from a gameplay standpoint also works well. So the most stingy of these now give you 2,000 credit, and the most lucrative (and infrequent) offer 40,000. All in all you will probably have more credit now than you did in past games. And I'm cool with that, because that gives you more options. Some options may now be overpowered since you can afford them more frequently, and so there may need to be another round of balancing in terms of either the costs of certain political deals or the scale of credit granted from various sources. In fact, I'll be shocked if some sort of further tuning isn't needed. But I figured I would err on the side of the player's favor in this case. Even having more credit, I don't think that trivializes the strategic game (particularly on higher strategic difficulties, whereas I think most people have been previously treating Normal as Hard, which is not great). But what having more credit does do is prevent the game from dragging on simply because you are waiting to have options. Not that that was previously epidemic, but it happened more than I liked. Let us know how things are looking, if you have suggestions or bug reports, etc! More to come soon. Enjoy! This is a standard update that you can download through the in-game updater, or if you have Steam it will automatically update it for you. To force Steam to download it faster, just restart Steam and it will do so. Click here for the official forum discussion about this release.

[ 2014-10-10 00:17:53 CET ] [ Original post ]

Version 1.605 is refinement. The most impactful bit is how diseases affect death rates -- expect some much more substantial shakeups from diseases from now on. There are also changes here that help to balance out the late game in Invasion and Betrayal mode, specifically making sure that neither players nor other races can go for a technological wipe-out victory by getting Time Travel or God Mote. The "harm RCI" dispatches no longer pay you credits, and instead cost you a slight bit. Not much, but enough to make it so that you can't just do that with impunity for free indefinitely. Helping the RCI at a planet still gains you credits just like before, which makes sense. There are a variety of other things that are fixes and clarifications and balance tweaks and so forth. It's really a completely eclectic list of small stuff, so it's hard to summarize without just repeating the entire release notes list, which is linked above. Let us know how things are looking, if you have suggestions or bug reports, etc! More to come soon. Enjoy! This is a standard update that you can download through the in-game updater, or if you have Steam it will automatically update it for you. To force Steam to download it faster, just restart Steam and it will do so. Click here for the official forum discussion about this release.

[ 2014-10-08 16:12:52 CET ] [ Original post ]

Version 1.604 is yet more refinement. The big thing here is how races handling mining of resources, and new racial actions that they can take when they build up an excess of resources. The details of it are here, and it definitely adds a new element to the game. There are also a number of bugfixes and balance tweaks, including a major performance improvement for very-lategame savegames in particular. In one particular save we had from Acenoid, super-fast-forward and regular speed were pretty much identical -- wow, that's terrible. Now the super fast forward speed acts like you'd expect. There may be some bugs relating from the fix to this, as it was a fairly major colonoscopy... but definitely worth it. There are also a variety of really good fixes in here, but those are the highlights. Let us know how things are looking, if you have suggestions or bug reports, etc! More to come soon. Enjoy! This is a standard update that you can download through the in-game updater, or if you have Steam it will automatically update it for you. To force Steam to download it faster, just restart Steam and it will do so. Click here for the official forum discussion about this release.

[ 2014-10-03 20:12:15 CET ] [ Original post ]

Version 1.603 is refinement on a major scale, once again. First of all, there are a variety of miscellaneous bugfixes and balance tweaks. One cool new feature is to be able to make notes for yourself to come back to between sessions. Another big balance piece is that if races wind up hating each other or you past the point of -1000, they'll never recover their esteem of the other race or you. This prevents situations where you absolutely screw someone over and then spend a lot of time grinding to get them to like you again. If someone hates you -1000, you guys are blood enemies and you'll have to figure out some other way to deal with them. The big big big thing this time around is lots of refinement and adjustments to births and deaths. A number of things have been corrected, improved, and in particular clarified. There are a lot of notes in there, but basically it acts more like you would think it should. And you can see exactly why it is working the way it works, via tooltips, like the other various numbers of late. Lastly, some of the RCI values were giving seemingly-wrong stats because they were combining planetary compatibility and the RCI value, which was confusing as heck. The way that the economic RCI affects manufacturing is now much better, and science gets improved by medical scores, too, now. Overall, the changes to the births/deaths and the RCI stuff make it so that you have more tools in your arsenal to mess with the races on a planetary level rather than via space combat. Sometimes that's really the sticking point, after all -- you dominate in space, but just can't break through the lines on the surface no matter what. Let us know how things are looking, if you have suggestions or bug reports, etc! More to come soon. Enjoy! This is a standard update that you can download through the in-game updater, or if you have Steam it will automatically update it for you. To force Steam to download it faster, just restart Steam and it will do so. Click here for the official forum discussion about this release.

[ 2014-10-03 00:07:41 CET ] [ Original post ]

Version 1.601 is refinement on a number of fronts. Perhaps my favorite improvement is one that was suggested by jaxxa and which lets us see both the Basic and Detailed Info tabs at the same time on the solar map on screens that are 1440px or wider. This cuts down on a lot of clicking back and forth on screens that can fit it, while not changing the experience at all on smaller screens. There are a bunch of fixes to the armada management window in this version for betrayal mode, so you can really play that mode a lot more like it was intended to be played, now. Sorry about those! The last two Obscura ship bullet pattern designs are now in place thanks to Misery, and boy are they doozies. These introduce the concept of "bosses," which I think is pretty cool, and something we will likely explore even further as part of a theoretical future expansion. For now it's a really nice sub-component of the Obscura, in any case. There are also a number of fixes relating to defending various kinds of planets against invader armadas using your own flagship. These affect all modes of the game. Oh, and the Pirate Raven flagships now should be harassing pretty much only you, not flying about after other ships like crazy. So this is something where their extreme speed should no longer cause "I can't chase them" issues. The idea is that they come for you and you pretty much have to fight them broadsides for a bit until they speed off and then return.   Let us know how things are looking, if you have suggestions or bug reports, etc! More to come soon. Enjoy! This is a standard update that you can download through the in-game updater, or if you have Steam it will automatically update it for you. To force Steam to download it faster, just restart Steam and it will do so. Click here for the official forum discussion about this release.

[ 2014-09-30 00:30:04 CET ] [ Original post ]