We're delighted to provide you another free update to XO!

INITIAL MODDING SUPPORT:

The biggest news in this update is that weve added initial support for modding - you can freely edit ships, items and sectors!

Ships:

Stats and abilities on all existing ships in the game are now editable* - you can add or remove abilities, increase weapon loadouts and initial weapons, armor, acceleration and more. So, you want to add gunboats(fighters) to the battleship? Easy. Increase capacity on cargoships? Trivial. More weapon slots? You got it. *somewhat obviously, this can break the game if done wrong. Adding too many ship slots will break the UI, changing acceleration/top speed too much can cause unpredictable results, things like that. Keep a backup!

Items:

You can edit and add new items as well, changing their cost, charges and functionality.

Sectors:

Sector size and composition can be changed including the types of planets, factions present, number of shipyard or trade planets, and where sectors lead to.

Howto:

Simply edit the text files (make a backup first!). Most of it should be self explanatory, but read moddingGuideV1.text file for more info. The editable text files and docs are found in your StreamingAssets folder where you installed XO

NEW SHIPS:

The extremely rare Irenic Refuge is a massive shielded farmship that provides your fleet even more capacity for growth.
The Rover Maker is a jump-capable shipyard that can convert ships into other ships.
The Harvester Pusher joins the growing list of enemies; theyre equipped with a tractor beam and not afraid to use it
The Galacticonn Concenter allows you to extract ore from gas giants
The Harvester Neutralizer is equipped with ion torpedoes to blunt your offensive capabilities We had to make the difficult decision to axe the Pact Carrier. It just wasnt providing enough variety to justify the dev effort required. After launch we can revisit.

OTHER FEATURES/GAMEPLAY:

More sector goals were added; these optional missions have no timers associated with them Youre now given a list of options when an enemy boarding party tries to take over one of your ships Quite a number of events were added, we wont spoil anything but theres a fairly diverse array of rare as well as common events to spice up your voyage. Jumpgates got substantially harder if you earn a bad rep with that faction. We made a number of improvements to the tutorial as it nears completion. Random cargo types were expanded

BALANCE:

Easy mode now defaults to a harvester wave that only propagates between jumps Ion torpedo max duration (aka damage) was increased to 5 Mining/melting rates increased by 50% Damage control speed is 2x in easy mode and 1.5x slower in hard Normalize repair cost on items to 1 ore for each point repaired Lots of playtesting and improvements to enemy behavior Stowaways can now occasionally appear Caches no longer self destruct, giving you a place to leave things behind Using the refinery transmogrify to bring fleet water to zero now clears the water riot Sped up short range ship moves Enemy ships recover disabled boarding parties by tractor if equipped Added a number of stall for time options to events where it made sense Fixed some issues when starting custom games Beginners are now reminded about damage control Several events were given longer time to complete Disabled or destroyed shuttles no longer count against you for certain achievements Harvester reinforcements are now randomized

QoL and BUG FIXES:

We made substantial improvements to the UI, cleaned up a boatload of bugs and brought a number of quality of life improvements to the game. This will likely be our last QOL update until launch. Improved mouse click recognition, especially with catching right clicks Panning the camera is now bound to Mouse button 3 (you can set it to anything you like in options) Refineries now have better continuous processing options Loiter / Form Up commands are greyed out when the entire formation is selected Player-owned ships should no longer autojump Corrected an issue with ctrl+tractor failing when used with a Pact Tender Made quite a number of tweaks to ship movement Added some videos to the captains guide Items with an onTransfer effect now trigger whether they are retrieved or transferred Fixed an issue with events not properly ending Finishing the tutorial now properly gives you the Academy achievement Got rid of a nasty soft lock bug Seizing another ship would sometimes fail, no longer A good number of HUD timers were fixed/properly cleared and given abort options Fixed an edge case with the hyperspace beacon A wicked issue with ships duplicating themselves was nuked Acceleration/speed can no longer drop below zero due to an item being used Corrected an issue where multi-selecting a group of ships where one ship had no weapon was throwing an error Fixed a few collider issues that Unity likes to throw at us just to keep us on our toes Squashed an infinite loop with enemy defense ships Corrected an issue where the tractor beam would fail on a diagonal attempt where the target was below the line of no return Improved some logic issues with the demo Put a stop to an infinite lifeboat loop Fixed a bunch of duplicate or missing text messages on ship hovers Score is now modified based on your selected difficulty Nonplayer ships now follow the fleet better Logic improvements for gutted ships and boarding Fixes for unknown ship id when attacking Corrected an issue where thrusters werent showing Quicktrainers now work as they should Too many event fixes and tweaks to list

WHAT'S NEXT?

In 1.50 we will open up even more of the game to modding. You'll be able to add your own events, replace any events in the game, add your own ships including using your own 3d models, and even do a total conversion replacing all events in the game! And as we always do we will definitely be adding some more ships, more content and fixing bugs in the run up to the full release of XO! I'm so grateful for all of the support, kindness, well-wishes, bug reports, suggestions and all of the goodness I've gotten from you. Thank you so so much! It really keeps me going!

[ 2025-01-20 02:26:05 CET ] [ Original post ]

XO is a relentless, strategic fleet defense game, blending real-time with pause, political intrigue and a punishing drive to survive.

Take command of the last battleship, gather a fleet and try to unite five hostile factions in a desperate bid to save humanity from an enemy that cannot be defeated.

Rescue survivors when you can, persuade ships to join your fleet if you can -- and force ships to join when you must.

Over 30 different ship types giving you many ways to configure your fleet.

Over 400 unique and challenging events in a procedural universe to maximize replayability.

Original soundtrack by Jim Guthrie

Gameplay

• Emerge from jumpspace near a planet where you will begin rescuing survivors, scouting ahead, and defending against ever-stronger waves of enemies until you judge it is time to evacuate the fleet.
  
• Navigate treacherous political scenarios in a time of upheaval as the war brings out the best and worst in people.
  
• Choose the next planet to jump to based on limited intel, taking into account the resources you need, reported enemy strength, and refugees at each possible destination.
  
• Spin up the fleet's jump drives and lead your able ships to the next planet.
  
• Resources are automatically gathered, but the ships in your fleet influence your gathering rates and capacity -- as do different planet types.
  
• Use your resources to upgrade ships, manufacture weapons, and make critical repairs.
  
• Hope you have the right ships and enough resources when the enemy finally closes in.

Triage

You won't be able to save everyone. As fleet commander, it's your job to make the call: do you save the damaged military destroyer to add more firepower to your fleet, the tanker that will extend the fleet's range, or rescue the farmship capable of producing enough food to keep your people alive?

Events

You'll encounter ships under distress, desperate refugees, greedy merchants, wreckage and caches to loot, shipyards and stations, enemy traps... and much more in over 400 hand-crafted events.

Politics

You are faced with a fractured political landscape where five factions squabble and fight. Your actions will have a direct impact on the relations between the factions. Do you try to unite them all, take sides, play them against one another or shoot first and ask questions later?

Each situation you encounter will require thoughtful leadership. Demands, urgent calls for help, and interesting opportunities will present themselves, often at your most trying moments.

Faction leaders provide you additional political tools including intimidation, diplomacy and haggling.

Combat, Weapons and Movement

The action takes place in close orbit around planets. Ships fly on a 2D plane; inertia acts against ships. Acceleration/deceleration, turn rates and weapon ranges make a difference. Custom formations allow you to make the most of your offensive and defensive capabilities. Warships can be issued Rules of Engagement (ROEs) limiting their combat actions.

There are several types of weapons at your disposal, lasers, missiles, mines, shields and the devastating nuke.

However, one does not enter combat lightly; weapons drain your precious resources and can even delay your ability to jump away.

Resources

Resources are plentiful; time, however, is not. In order to keep your fleet going, you'll need water, fuel, and ore. Collection is automatic, but the time it takes to collect what you need may require the sacrifice of hundreds of brave souls. Wily and creative captains may also find these resources at space stations, depots, and aboard abandoned starships.

• Fuel: Easiest to find. Used for nearly everything, from laser weapons and shields to the powerful jump drives that fling you between stars.
  
• Water: Somewhat common. Used primarily for factory foodships that feed the fleet.
  
• Ore: Slowest to obtain, somewhat rare. Used for repairs, upgrades, missile-type weapons... and bribes.

Your exodus will take you to many worlds. You'll come across habitable worlds, gas giants, airless rocks, frozen wastelands, and hellish molten planets. Each can be tapped for the precious resources you need to survive... provided you have the right ships in your fleet.