Update #191 comes with a focused set of changes around recruiting new crew and officers from Contacts and the spice hall. In preparation for future changes to the level cap and to help balance out the place for recruitment (best Attributes) vs. conscription (easier access, higher levels) we've made some major changes to the minimum recruitment levels. We're also continuing to grind down on community requests for improvements -- tweaking the Jyeeta balance, story issues and more. If you're enjoying the pace of updates, we've got a lot more coming so be sure to leave a review!

Era-driven Recruitment Minimums

Before Update #191, Contacts could give a base recruitment level of 8 as their maximum. Augmented by Rumors, Traits, and your Permits, Ranks or Edicts it was possible to achieve a maximum of level 18, though that was definitely unlikely. In the Spice Hall, with a base of 1, you it was feasible to get up to level 8 recruits. As captains progressed in the mid-game, replacing losses above these levels became more and more challenging which pushes conscription from enemy ships forward as the only way to get a crew member above level 20 immediately, even if that means bad Traits and lower Attributes often. Update #191 takes a big step to resolve that by granting an Era-driven bonus to the base recruitment level. Early Era's like the Second Founding and the Third Century add a +1 level bonus, while other more impactful Eras like Brood, Plague and Early United Coalition all add +2 bonuses. In total, as the Era's come and go, the base recruitment level in both the Spice Hall and with Contacts increases by +10 levels, setting the basic recruitment level in the Spice Hall at 11 and the top recruitment from Contacts at 18. With the additional (harder to get) bonuses from Rumors, Traits, Rank, Permit and Edicts, Contacts can now recruit out level 28 crew. We're excited about this change and want to thank community members like @daveal and many others for helping us get here! As always, please send the feedback :D

Brood Improvements

With this update, we've made a number of important tweaks to the latest Era, Brood. We've resolved an issue with the Jyeeta Artifacts never having the correct demand in different zones. You'll now find they can sell for even better prices! We've fixed a way that you could short-circuit the challenging "Hulking Carrier" mission and skip right to the end. We've resolved some bugs with Brood story objectives that stuck around even when they should have disappeared. And finally, we've made some balance changes to the Terrox Horrorcaster weapon and the distribution of both types of xeno ships to ensure you see a wider and more fun variety but also that the challenge ramps up appropriately. We've also clarified the Talent description for the Navigator's "Skip Off the Void". Where it previously stated that the Talent would "burn" a certain amount of fuel, it now clearly states "requires". If you're running low on Fuel, you'll find this Talent can't be used, so be sure to make shorter runs between zones in high danger areas. This is not a change to rules -- just a clarified description.

Cyber Knights: Flashpoint is coming!

As we have moved into the v3 family of the Star Traders: Frontiers roadmap, we're excited to share our upcoming next game. In Cyber Knights, you are the razor-sharp leader of a covert merc company operating in the New Boston Zone in 2231. Built around a core of turn-based gameplay featuring stealth, hacking, ambushes, firefights and complex missions, Cyber Knights weaves the human drama story of your team, their loyalty and their sacrifice in a dehumanizing cyberpunk world. Coming to KickStarter in Feb 2020, sign up to get the call and alerted about free first day rewards, discounts and more! We're gathering the most crackpot amazing alpha team ever and we hope you'll join us.

v3.0.19 - 12/4/2019

- Rebalanced Recruit Levels, base recruiting level increases with each major Era - Maximum Contact Recruit level is now 28 (with Rep, Eras, Traits, Rank, Permit, Edict, Rumors) - Clarified Navigator "Skip Off the Void" fuel requirement in talent description - Rebalanced Terrox Horrorcaster Weapon Damage - Rebalanced Jyeeta and Terrox ship distribution - Fixed demand and pricing for artifacts collected during the Brood Era - Fixed issue with "Hulking Carrier" mission allowing you to skip to the end - Fixed hanging story objectives when Brood Era ends - Fixed inconsistency in Agility Engine stat tooltip - Fixed mission typos or missing values in descriptions