Change History:
v1.0.8.1 – 21th October 2022
CRASH FIXES
• fixed rare crash when inserting ship into docking wait queue
PERFORMANCE
• slightly improved improved general performance, especially in large games
EMPIRE REPUTATION
• fixed bug when modifying empire reputation near minimum or maximum limits
• no negative reputation impact from espionage against pirates
• you can now gain positive reputation from additional actions such as releasing prisoners, signing
new treaties, researching diplomacy techs, destroying hive ships and planet destroyers
DIPLOMACY
• updated values for long-term diplomacy effects for some treaty types
• ensure Intelligence Sharing treaty now properly shares results of espionage missions with
partners
• ensure Research treaty properly gives bonuses to each factions research speed
• some high-level treaty types now require an ambassador to be assigned to the foreign capital
before they will be accepted
• ambassadors now properly apply diplomacy bonus to modify evaluation of your empire by
assigned faction (when at faction capital)
• colony population assimilation rates for specific races now improved by researching diplomacy
factors in tech tree at rate of 10% per diplomacy factor point
UI IMPROVEMENTS
• ambassador contributions to diplomacy are now properly called out in the diplomacy tab
• added new button to Population Policy screen: apply policy to all colonies of this type (e.g. Marshy
Swamp, Volcanic, Sandy Desert, etc)
MIGRATION, COLONIZATION AND COLONY POPULATION POLICY
• ensure migrating populations honor colonization minimum suitability level from empire policy, i.e.
race does not migrate to a colony unless suitability is +20 or better (default level)
• automated colony ship construction now considers preferred colonization race (suitability) and
location of colonization target when determining where to build new colony ship (first choice is
closest colony to target with preferred colonization race)
IN-GAME EDITOR
• changing a star name in game editor now also changes the corresponding system name on the
galaxy map
OTHER
• fixed bug where offers to end war sometimes cannot be accepted
• fixed some text problems with fullscreen messages
• fixed time to transfer character to new location sometimes being excessively long

Change History:
v1.0.8.3 – 27
th October 2022
CRASH FIXES
• Fixed rare crash when determining jump path time to destination star system
• Fixed rare crash when determining docking bay parking spot
• Fixed rare crash when calculating docking position offset
SOUND DESIGN
• Thanks to generous work by Jeff Dodson of rainfall.tv, we have added new significantly improved
and rebalanced sound effects for most components and weapons, explosions, etc.
DIPLOMACY AND REPUTATION
• Fixed invading independent colonies increasing reputation (should decrease reputation)
• Fixed decay rate for some reputation factors: destroying creatures, peacefully integrating
independent colony (were decaying too slowly)
• Adjusted soft cap to impact of reputation in diplomacy
• Increased reputation decay rates for some incidents (exterminate population policy, destroy
colony)
• Diplomacy trend values update faster than previously. Reputation trend values update much
faster than previously
• Lowered soft cap for some diplomacy factors: relationship and beneficial treaties with friends and
enemies
• Reduced long term Galaxy Map sharing treaty incident value
• Reduced reputation benefit from signing treaties
• Adjusted soft cap for some diplomatic factors: relationship with friends, relationship with enemies
• Honoring defense treaty by declaring war on aggressor no longer incurs war justification penalty
or war grace period penalty ('too soon since last war')
COLONIZATION
• Added further improvements when selecting construction locations for automated colony ships,
especially when handling multiple simultaneous manually-queued colonization targets
FLEETS AND SHIPS
• Ships added to fleets via topup now check whether have enough fuel to reach fleet, if not then first
refuel at nearby location before proceeding to form-up with fleet
• When a ship changes fleets it now auto-cancels any escort missions for old fleet (escorting fleet
capital ships)
• Ensure ships that get stuck inside stars/planets/etc can always properly extricate themselves
without other factors overriding that behavior
UI IMPROVEMENTS
• Indicate when characters drawn in list items are transferring to new location (transparent image
with tooltip explanation)
• Immediately update system view summary (bottom-middle of screen) when double-click item to
change view
• Now show fleet jump range for selected fleet in galaxy view as dashed orange circle (in addition to
fuel range)
• Enabled shift-click to multi-select range of designs in Designs List screen
• Added explanation in tooltip of action button when cannot build mining station or other base at
location due to missing active design
RESEARCH
• Fixed ships not always being upgraded when research new tech
• Set default maximum concurrent research projects to 1 in empire policy
CONSTRUCTION AND SHIP DESIGN
• Fixed Build Order screen sometimes building wrong design for role
• Ensure Energy To Fuel converter component works properly
• ART
• Added new empire flags for playable races
GAME EVENTS
• Ensure plagues and disasters do not strike same colony too often (no simultaneous plagues,
minimum interval between)

v1.0.8.4 – 4th November 2022

Changes in 1.0.8.6 (November 25th, 2022):

CRASH FIXES
- fixed crash when reviewing fleet escort ships
- fixed rare crash while fleet performs patrol mission
- fixed rare crash while querying display adapter

FLEET AND SHIP BEHAVIOR
- reduced delays when carriers (and fleets) are waiting for fighters to board before jumping
- improved ship collision avoidance to better allow missions where target is close to planet or other large body

FUEL TANKERS
- improved fuel tanker evaluation of when to refuel fleet ships versus load more fuel: more likely to refuel fleet ships, even when have to wait for them to exit their current jump

COLONY SHIPS
- automated Colony Ships no longer pre-load colonists for non-queued colonization targets when target does not meet minimum suitability threshold defined in empire policy. This eliminates repeated load/unload of colonists in some situations

EXPLORATION
- exploration ships now better at prioritizing planets and moons before asteroids when exploring a location
- ensure exploration countdown always reset between exploration targets, especially when performing Explore System mission
- ensure correct message shown when investigate ship that explodes

ABANDONED SHIPS AND BASES
- ensure construction ship repairing abandoned ships or bases now take ownership of ship when complete, even when other ships are nearby

DANGEROUS LOCATIONS
- improved logic to review and remove Dangerous Locations where threats are no longer present
- now indicate dangerous locations in additional lists, e.g. Abandoned Ships and Bases, thus helping player to avoid queuing construction/repair at locations with threats present

RESEARCH
- changed research project prerequisite path minimum count to default to 1 instead of total prerequisite path count (can override with PrerequisiteProjectsMinimumPathCount)
- empires now less likely to crash research higher level research projects (instead use money for other items)

DIPLOMACY AND EMPIRE REPUTATION
- when an empire is vassalized it will immediately end all wars with other empires unless those other empires are already at war with subjugating empire
- ensure diplomacy trade offers always exclude special locations where abandoned ships or bases have already been claimed by other empires
- updated some empire reputation incident amounts and decay rates

SLAVERY
- slavery population policy now properly adds to colony unhappiness ('We are enraged at your enslavement of our population')
- increased unhappiness impact on other colonies from slavery and extermination population policies at any colony ('ENSLAVED RACE are unhappy being part of our RACE empire')
- slavery population policy now severely slows population growth and assimilation

USER INTERFACE
- Enemy Targets list filter options now show correct list items even when warring empires change (e.g. a war starts or ends)
- ensure Mining Stations list shows mining stations at locations with no known resources when sorting by priority

OTHER
- fixed debris fields often being generated at home planet
- fixed Hive ships sometimes not mining fuel properly
- altered automated ship and base construction to give higher priority to initial research station over additional exploration ships and military ships
- AI now properly also considers income increase from improved quality when determining whether to build terraforming facilities at a colony

Changes in 1.0.8.4 (November 4th, 2022):

CRASH FIXES
- fixed rare crash when resolving ship jump path location
- fixed potential crash when use faulty string formatting placeholders in colony event descriptions
- fixed rare crash when determining jump exit point
- fixed crash when editing resources at planet in Game Editor
- fixed rare crash when ship escorts another ship
- fixed rare crash when reviewing fleet lead ship
- fixed crash when loading character animations
- fixed rare crash when making research breakthrough
- fixed crash when calculating construction yard wait time
- fixed crash when ship enters hangar
- fixed crash when rendering exploration section header

PERFORMANCE
- improved performance, especially in large battle scenes

RESEARCH
- improved research project selection in various areas

COLONIZATION
- fixed bug where maximum colonization range was sometimes being applied incorrectly, improperly excluding some colonization targets
- automated colonization now more willing to colonize independent colonies even when have unsuitable race

EMPIRE COLORS AND FLAGS
- improved empire color selection to minimize similarity between empires
- fixed bug where empire colors could sometimes be white (should only be for independent colonies)
- changed Flag selection dropdown in Start New Game screen to display available flags in grid layout instead of vertical list

FLEETS
- improved fleets investigating and clearing dangerous locations: now better focussed on priority locations for colonization, research and mining

GAME EDITOR AND TESTING
- added ability to play as any standard empire in the game. Can switch player empire in Game Editor (Edit Empire > switch button). This is included for our own testing to help us improve the AI, but you may also find it a fun option. If you spot a problem with the AI decision-making while using this, please do report it to us.
- ensured that Suppress All Popups game setting always works, even for initial pirate encounter. With this change and usine Rule in Absence and the "Always Investigate" exploration policy settings, fully automated games without interruption should now be possible.

CONSTRUCTION AND REPAIR
- fixed bug where bases built at independent colonies could not be retrofitted unless the colony had adequate resources
- increased range at which bases and colonies will auto-construct/repair damaged or incomplete ships

UI IMPROVEMENTS
- ensure system summary (bottom-middle of screen) refreshes when zoom to selected ship
- fixed bug where tour window was sometimes not properly displayed

SOUND
- ensured sound effect volume always applies for button clicks, etc, even in main menu

OTHER
- added missing automation setting in race policy files

DATA
- Reduced costs for Diplomacy tech projects
- Corrected some typos in game events
- Added additional late game research paths from Haakonish and Zenox unique weapons
- Corrected a research bonus issue with the Koloros Medical facility

Changes in 1.0.8.8 [December 2nd, 2022]:

AI IMPROVEMENTS
The AI improvements in this update, while brief in description, are the result of a lot of work and testing and should result in a significant improvement in the ability of the AI empires to keep up with and be competitive with the player. Please start a new game with 1.0.8.8 for best results.
- AI empires now more careful to maximize funding for research and colony growth to ensure full research and growth rates, thus making them more competitive with the player
- tweaked some AI research priorities

MODDING
This update includes our first in-game Mod Manager and improved modding support, which is documented below.
- added initial modding user interface to allow multi-mod loading, including priority and enable/disable

DW2 Modding currently supports the following modded items:

1. XML data files
- Mods should add their own versions of these files by appending a suffix to the filename, e.g. Races_MYMOD.xml. The file will then be loaded after the base Races.xml file, adding any new entries and overriding any existing entries that use the same RaceId value
-- All of the XML data files use this same file-naming and item-overriding approach. So you can change data in the base XML data files by using the same Id value in a modded file, e.g. OrbTypeId for OrbTypes.xml, ResearchProjectId for ResearchProjectDefinitions.xml, etc.
- All of the following XML data files can be modded:
-- ArmyTemplates.xml, Artifacts.xml, CharacterAnimations.xml, CharacterRooms.xml, ColonyEventDefinitions.xml, ComponentDefinitions.xml, CreatureTypes.xml, DesignTemplates.xml, FleetTemplates.xml, GameEvents.xml, Governments.xml, OrbTypes.xml, PlanetaryFacilityDefinitions.xml, Races.xml, ResearchProjectDefinitions.xml, Resources.xml, ShipHulls.xml, SpaceItemDefinitions.xml, TroopDefinitions.xml
-- Documentation and tools for some of the above file types can be found here: https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11899&t=380486

2. Localized game text in GameText.txt

3. Stride content bundles
- Stride bundle files built in Stride Game Studio, containing models, materials, textures, spritesheets and sound effects
--- To load bundle files they must be listed in the mod.json file (see below)

4. Music files and folders
- Standalone music files in any of the following formats: MP3, WAV, AIFF, WMA

Changes in 1.0.8.9 [December 5th, 2022]:

- fixed ShipHulls_Art.xml incorrectly being loaded when not in Art mode. This problem was most obviously seen in that new Ackdarian PreWarp games were broken through missing ShipHulls, but it also affected other games started with 1.0.8.8. We recommend starting new games with 1.0.8.9 to avoid issues related to incorrect ship hulls templates.
- fixed flag color issue when starting second game in session

1.0.9.8 Public Beta Update Available

1.1.0.0 Public Beta Update Available

Changes in 1.1.0.0 [January 19th, 2023]:

Important Note: Ship designs are now the authoritative place for all ship upgrade paths. That means that if you specify a precise ship design in your fleet template and it has a newer design to retrofit to, the fleet template will update to that newer design as well. If you don't want this to happen, you need to specifically tell it not to do so by disabling the Auto-Upgrade setting in the fleet template..

CRASH FIXES
- fixed rare crash when ship attacks target
- fixed rare crash when drawing system badges in galaxy view
- fixed crash when reviewing empire bonuses
- fixed crash when checking whether a ship or base is under construction or repair
- fixed crash when changing empire relation
- fixed crash while evaluating current attack target
- fixed rare crash when attempting to determine amount of video memory in system

FLEET TEMPLATES
- updated FleetTemplates.xml to ensure default fleet templates use setting 'Latest Design for Largest Hull for Role'
- periodically update fleet templates so that any specific designs that have become obsolete are automatically upgraded to the next non-obsolete design in it's upgrade path. This keeps fleet templates up-to-date as new designs are created and old ones become obsolete
- added corresponding setting in fleet template dialog to enable/disable auto-update of specific designs in fleet templates

SHIP DESIGNS
- auto-generated player ship and base designs now set default Retrofit Path to 'Latest Design for Hull' when there are multiple hulls at largest size for role, i.e. preserve multiple specialized designs per role
- fixed spaceports sometimes improperly retrofitting to wrong design when evaluating whether to upgrade size (e.g. small spaceport to medium)
- fixed bug in Ship Design screen where a ship design was sometimes being incorrectly shown as upgrading to another design when upgrade path set to 'Latest design for largest hull for role'
- immediately refresh latest designs for role/hull when change design status (active/obsolete) in Designs List screen so that retrofit action button always shows proper retrofit design
- ensure "Save and Exit" button in Ship Design screen always properly indicates that design can be saved, even when components are not editable (design in use). In other words, always allow changing and saving Retrofit Path or Tactical settings for a design

FACTION DIFFERENTIATION
- implemented display of all race- and govt-specific variations in Start New Game screen, Govt screen and Galactopedia to help players understand what differences exist.
- updated Intelligence Missions article in Game Concepts section of Galactopedia

CHARACTERS
- ensure can properly view characters of own empire, even when imprisoned. However cannot interact with them (cannot assign missions, change location or dismiss)
- when character is captured, ensure clear any in progress location transfer for them

GOVERNMENT LEADER CHANGES
- increased time period between leader changes for all governments

UI IMPROVEMENTS
- ensure cannot build same planetary facility twice at same colony, even when attempt to exploit advisor messages
- fixed damaged ships still showing red background in Selection Panel even when fully repaired

OTHER
- added extra check for corrupt game settings at game startup and auto-regenerate if necessary
- tweaked race starting research projects so that can be from any tech level (not just zero)
- fixed bug where deleting files in Load/Save dialog subsequently allows starting a non-existent game using the Continue button

Changes in 1.1.0.3 [February 3rd, 2023]:

CRASH FIXES
- fixed crash when splitting empire during civil war
- fixed rare crash when generating a new game
- fixed crash when ship attacks target
- fixed crash when ship is hyperjumping
- fixed crash when upgrading ship design from loaded design where hull has subsequently changed
- fixed crash when calculating empire bonuses
- fixed rare crash when loading savegame

MODDING
- Distant Worlds 2 now supports Steam Workshop modding (see additional documentation in your /Manuals sub-folder for details)
- Added additional modding documentation and two modding tutorial videos on ship modding and how to organize and upload DW2 mods to Steam Workshop in the /Manuals sub-folder of your installation location
- now allow disabling base game music in favor of mod music
- eliminated requirement for modders to regenerate SHMD files when ShipHulls.xml or models change (this is now done seamlessly whenever these change)
- greatly increased the speed and stability of SHMD regeneration

SHIP DESIGNS AND RETROFITS
- upgraded ship design automation toggle to be per-hull instead of per-role (Designs List screen)
- fixed bug where sometimes could not select desired retrofit path for a ship design in Ship Design screen
- when a spaceport is selected, the Retrofit action button now allows retrofitting across spaceport sizes (small, medium, large) when there are active designs for other size roles. This is in addition to the existing behavior where right-clicking on the spaceport will allow retrofitting to any active spaceport design of any size
- in Retrofit Path panel in Ship Design screen, ensure that upgrade design shown in brackets after 'Latest Design for Hull', 'Latest Design for Role' and 'Latest Design for Largest Hull for Role' is actually buildable for your empire (have required hull and components)
- in Retrofit Path panel in Ship Design screen, ensure that 'Other Designs That Upgrade To This Design' properly accounts for whether the current design is actually buildable for your empire (have required hull and components)
- added automation button to top of Ship Designs List screen, indicating current Policy ship design automation setting and allowing toggling between automated and manually controlled
- fixed retrofit action button sometimes incorrectly showing all active designs when should be only showing single design from retrofit path
- now include hull names with designs listed in 'Other Designs That Upgrade To This Design' panel in Ship Design screen

FLEETS AND FLEET TEMPLATES
- ensure do not get double the number of expected ships in new fleet when build from Fleet Template List screen using option at 'Any construction yards in empire' (when selected fleet template has specific designs)
- ensure Form At and Build At buttons in Fleet Template List screen have correct disabled status when first enter screen but have not yet selected a fleet template
- now exclude consideration of ship maintenance costs when building ships for new fleets when building via the Fleet Template screen (ensures always built as long as have money and resources)
- fixed automated invasion fleets sometimes stuck waiting indefinitely for sufficient invasion troops due to flawed assessment of assault pod range

BUILD ORDER SCREEN
- now show hull name after design name
- default selection for each role to latest design for largest hull for role

RESOURCES AND FREIGHTER LOGISTICS
- altered automated resource stock levels for bases not at colonies: no longer have fuel stock level unless mine fuel at location; note that this means most bases will depend on energy collection for their defenses/weapons, we plan to adjust this further in the future
- improved freighter resource fulfillment by further increasing amount fulfilled over stock level

LEADERSHIP CHANGES
- reduced chance of colony rebellions during disruptive leadership changes (greatly reduced chance for rebellion at empire capital)
- added small chance of civil war and empire split when have highly disruptive leadership change

BONUSES
- ensure include empire bonuses from colonies themselves when calculating empire bonuses (e.g. bonus for planet or moon)
- ensure empire bonuses from colony races are always proportioned based on amount of race in empire

EXPLORATION
- fixed some systems not being fully explored when have deeply hidden items

COLONIZATION AND MIGRATION
- further tweaked migration to ensure that always have migration sources, even when all colonies are considered favorable (in this case large colonies will be selected as migration sources)

PLANETARY FACILITIES
- additional check when approving advisor message to build new planetary facility: ensure not overbuilding unique empire or galaxy wonder

UI IMPROVEMENTS
- include hull name of design in advisor suggestion to build new base
- adjusted label width for hull bonuses in Ship Design screen
- included news messages to all other known empires when civil war occurs in an empire

DATA CHANGES
- added differing startup settings for each government type (starting tech, facilities, etc)
- fixes to various ship hull issues
- additional balance changes to missile weapons and phased blasters and beams
- balance changes to armor, shields and damage repair components

Changes in 1.1.0.6 [February 9th, 2023]:

CRASH FIXES
- fixed crash when determining empire stock levels
- fixed crash when splitting empire during disruptive leadership change
- fixed crash when ships is firing weapons at targets
- fixed crash when determining ship construction amounts
- fixed crash when empire updates its known visible data

CHARACTERS
- fixed bug where spies sometimes could not assign intelligence missions (missing mission types) due to faulty mod
- reduced chance of some negative character traits (DoubleAgent for Spies, Corrupt for Leaders)

SHIP DESIGN
- in Ship Design screen, properly exclude obsolete designs when evaluating 'Other Designs That Upgrade To This Design' (unless specific retrofit design)
- added 'All Inactive' filter to Designs List screen

CAMERA MODES
- fixed issues with camera movement in top-down view mode: initial game start zoom-in, 'Show Me' message buttons
- allow slightly further zoom-out in galaxy-level when in top-down view mode (allow viewing more of the galaxy)

MIGRATION
- fixed passenger ships sometimes performing repeated migration to and from same target when in empire with low number of colonies

CONSTRUCTION
- improved display of construction/repair progress percentage in tooltip for items in construction yards in Selection Panel - now include components under repair to give more accurate percentage in these cases
- ensure properly take ownership of all ships in construction yards (or destroy if cannot) when invade and conquer enemy colony

MODDING
- upgraded layout and display of Mods screen

UI IMPROVEMENTS
- added option to right-click popup menu to retrofit or retire ships at colonies of own empire

OTHER
- increased mesh LOD threshold when determining whether to render component meshes, so that ships and bases with large exterior meshes (e.g. engine pods) stay in view longer as zoom out
- fixed some issues in the data for prereqs for Star Fighters, missible bypass, missing new Monarchy palace facility

Changes in 1.1.0.7 [February 16th, 2023]:

CRASH FIXES
- fixed crash when removing disabled ships from fleets
- fixed crash when rendering Galactopedia article for alien race with missing description
- fixed crash when fleet evaluates whether to attack a target

STARTING NEW GAMES
- in Start New Game screen now allow a mix of both auto-generated and manually-specified other empires

GAME DIFFICULTY
- increased difficulty level factors
- AI empires no longer pay research project initiation costs when difficulty level is normal or higher
- AI empires require progressively less research funding at higher difficulty levels (cheaper to fully fund research)

MODDING
- mods are now enabled and applied when exit the mod screen (no need to restart the game)
- now allow overriding GameEvents.xml by name (easier to include in mods)
- GraphicsSettings.xml files (Galaxy, System and Location) can now be included in mods and will override default files in base game
- improved mod support for ship components and research projects (allow non-sequential Id values)
- mod descriptions now support simple markup for text formatting

GENERAL UI IMPROVEMENTS
- added new cycling keys for idle ships and fleets: J for next idle construction ship (shift-J for previous), Z for next idle exploration ship (shift-Z for previous), N for next idle military ship (shift-N for previous), H for next idle fleet (shift-H for previous)
- changed Control Center list item sort options: 'Distance from Spaceport' is now 'Distance from Selected Item or Capital,' meaning distance from currently selected item in Selection Panel, or from empire capital if nothing is selected
- hovered Control Center list items now have callout line leading from list item to position of item in galaxy
- added fleets of own empire to system-level view summary (previously fleets were only shown in galaxy-level summary view)
- tooltips for each race in Colony Population Policy screen now also shows their suitability for that colony
- extended Escape keypress (close screen) to include File Load/Save dialog, Galactopedia and Colony Detail screen
- added colored border to Terraforming Facility image in Planetary Facilities List when colony has reached maximum terraforming level (better visibility and indication that facility should be dismantled)
- reduced items in Display Mode list (Game Settings screen) to one item per resolution (exclude refresh rate)
- in Key Mappings screen fixed key mappings incorrectly displaying previous unapplied values when click Cancel button and then re-enter screen
- expanded message log is now properly closed when view Ship Design (previously left in half-expanded state)

SHIP DESIGN UI IMPROVEMENTS
- added extra buttons to Design List screen: Mark Selected as Auto/Manual Hull Upgrade, Mark Selected as Auto/Manual Retrofit, Mark Selected as Active/Obsolete. All of these buttons can operate on multiple selected designs at once
- added new filter to Designs List screen: Manual Upgrade Designs
- can now edit a ship or base design when it has been previously used, as long as there are no current ships or bases for the design
- initial name for manually created ship designs now uses default faction design names (instead of 'New Destroyer', 'New Mining Station', etc)
- altered crew capacity display in summary in Ship Design screen: now show 'used/capacity' instead of 'capacity/used'
- in the Ship Design screen, right-clicking on empty space in the design view now deselects the active component in the Available Components list
- in the Ship Design screen, shift-clicking on an available component will now add the component to the first matching empty bay (same type and within size limits)
- ensure Save Designs process excludes deleted designs
- improved Load Designs process to avoid duplicate designs when are equivalent to existing designs (same name, hull and components)

SHIP AND FLEET UI IMPROVEMENTS
- in Military Ships list, filters for 'Ships in a Fleet' and 'Ships Not in a Fleet' now include ships under construction
- added Stop action button under Selection Panel when fleet selected
- added rebindable keyboard shortcut for Stop action for ships and fleets. No key assigned by default, but can assign in Key Mappings screen

RESEARCH UI IMPROVEMENTS
- in Research screen can now shift-click to move research projects to top or bottom of queue
- no longer need to press shortcut key twice to open Research screen for first time in a game session

TROOP UI IMPROVEMENTS
- added new filter to Troops List: At Selected Location. This shows only the troops at the currently selected colony or ship, allowing you to easily shift-click to select multiple troop units and make changes to them all (e.g. garrison/ungarrison). Double-clicking a troop unit in the Selection Panel will automatically open the Troops List with this new filter enabled, and auto-select all the troops at the location
- can now multi-select troops in the Colony Detail screen and then use Garrison/Ungarrison or Disband action buttons for all selected troops (shift-click for range selection, ctrl-click to add/remove single troops to selection)

CAMERA MODE IMPROVEMENTS
- added new Free Form camera mode: can change camera elevation (as well as rotation) by moving mouse forward/back while holding down middle mouse button. Select this camera mode from the Change View button at bottom-right of screen, or use keyboard shortcut 'Tab'
- locking camera view on hyperjumping ship no longer shakes

CHARACTERS
- automated character handling will now dismiss any characters with poor skills, not just spies
- further reduced chance of negative character traits

SHIP MISSIONS
- assigning Refuel/Repair/Retrofit missions to ships no longer changes them to manually-controlled (but manually assigning any other mission types will still switch them to manually controlled)

ADVISOR
- reduced frequency of advisor messages for Building Planetary Facilities

MUSIC
- fixed bursts of music sometimes playing even when volume is zero

Changes in 1.1.0.9 [February 23rd, 2023]:

CRASH FIXES
- fixed crash that sometimes occurs when setting CPU processor affinity on single-core computers
- fixed rare crash when ship attacks target
- fixed rare crash when ship fires weapons at enemy target
- fixed rare crash when repairing ship damage
- fixed rare crash when changing empire relation

AI IMPROVEMENTS
- now use Race.PreferredWeaponComponentIds for more targeted research
- more focused on a single weapon branch per type (close-in, stand-off, etc)
- slightly increased effect of galaxy aggression level so that empires more likely to declare war, etc
- depending on game difficulty level, ensure have antagonistic races next to player to increase tensions

MODDING
- added new user-customizable Mod Profiles to allow saving and reloading a collection of ordered mods
- multiple profiles will allow for different configurations of enabled mods

UI IMPROVEMENTS
- when have empty Colony Ship selected, can now choose which colonist race to load when right-click on colony for popup menu mission options (as long as population for race is above minimum threshold of 500 million)
- now properly reset cached values for resources mined and resources known in Known Resources list when load or start new game
- fixed Known Resources list being blank when open by clicking on resource in Selection Panel and current filter settings exclude the selected resource
- added filter option 'Distance from selected item or Capital' to Dangerous Locations list
- fixed List callout lines sometimes pointing to wrong location
- extended callout lines to most lists in Control Center (troops, characters, planetary facilities, artifacts, special locations, etc)
- fixed Weapons Report screen sometimes being blank
- added Race Suitability to each race hovertip in Population screen (like Pop Policy screen)
- fixed faulty text formatting in facility tooltip in Troop Ground Report screen
- now remember Free-Form camera view when loading a game

RESOURCE LOGISTICS
- improved mining ship target selection so that prioritizes missing critical resources even when mining target is already queued to build a mining station

SHIP BEHAVIOR
- changed default civilian ship tactics to Engage When Attacked (previously was Do Not Engage) so that will fire back at attackers
- fixed ships sometimes getting stuck in constrained collision avoidance situations
- fixed ships sometimes not clearing missions when mission target is destroyed
- fixed ships sometimes not being able to fire at creatures when creature has strayed outside location

FLEET BEHAVIOR
- fixed Fuel Tankers sometimes cancelling mission when jumping with fleet

PIRATES
- fixed bug where pirate factions were acquiring tech too quickly and thus had too much tech available for espionage
- fixed bug where pirate factions would sometimes generate many scientists resulting in too many scientists being gained by empires that destroyed pirate bases

SHIP DESIGN
- added extra general component bays to Troop Transport hulls to ensure sufficient invasion fleet range (only available when starting a new game)
- increased priority of Damage Control components when auto-designing spaceports

COMPATIBILITY
- added startup warning when attempt to run DW2 on video cards with inadequate specs (DirectX-11 support required)
- reverted Display Mode selection to include refresh rate

OTHER
- fixed research stations and resort bases sometimes not able to be built using construction action buttons (under Selection Panel) when research or scenery bonuses at location come from facilities or ruins
- fixed offset galaxy view when locked on to hyperjumping ship

Neues Update kommt!


https://we.tl/t-gpYixUNZk3


Distant Worlds 2 - Aurora Update announcement
Hi everyone,

We have some exciting news for you: tomorrow, February 28th, on our channel there will be a special streaming event with Erik Rutins, the executive producer of Distant Worlds 2. Get a reminder here[www.twitch.tv].

During the stream, Erik will be previewing the upcoming Aurora update, releasing on the March 2nd, which brings new features and improvements to the game. He will also be discussing the future plans for Distant Worlds 2 and what players can expect in the months to come.

This is an amazing opportunity to get an exclusive preview of the new update for Distant Worlds 2, straight from the source. You won't want to miss it!

The streaming event will be taking place on February 28th, so be sure to tune in and join us for what promises to be an incredible showcase of Distant Worlds 2.

See you there!

Distant Worlds 2 - Aurora Update out now
Welcome back explorers,

The wait is finally over. The Aurora update, the biggest update ever made for Distant Worlds 2, is out now and ready for you to explore.

Download the new Aurora update here[ftp.matrixgames.com].

This update brings new features and improvements to the game, including a greatly upgraded engine, enhanced automation, improved fleet management, and much more. With these new additions, players will be able to experience Distant Worlds 2 like never before.

But that's not all. For those of you who want to know every detail of the Aurora update, a detailed changelog is available at this link[www.matrixgames.com]. This document outlines all the changes made in the update, from major new features to minor bug fixes. Additionally, a list of highlighted changes since release is also available here[www.matrixgames.com] for those who want a quick overview.

To celebrate the release of the Aurora update, we have organised a special sale for Distant Worlds 2 and Distant Worlds: Universe.

And if you missed Erik's stream on what's new in Distant Worlds 2, don't worry. You can rewatch the stream on our youtube channel.

During the stream, Erik Rutins, the lead developer of Distant Worlds 2, previewed the Aurora update and discussed the future of the game.

So what are you waiting for? Get ready to experience the ultimate version of Distant Worlds 2 and take your empire to new heights.

The galaxy lives on

Changes in 1.1.1.1 (March 3rd, 2023):

CRASH FIXES
- fixed rare crash when ship resolves mission commands
- fixed rare crash when changing character empire
- fixed crash when rendering header panel for Civilian Ships section

GAME DIFFICULTY
- research bonus thresholds for research projects for non-player factions now progressively scale with game difficulty level (non-players have lower thresholds)
- fixed game difficulty level being incorrectly reset when start a new game at difficulty higher than normal

UI IMPROVEMENTS
- readjusted available user interface sizes based on vertical screen resolution
- ensure properly close diplomacy detail panel when exit to main menu
- fixed armor components not showing in ship damage report when empire has not yet researched the armor component (acquired high tech ship)

INTELLIGENCE MISSIONS
- adjusted intelligence mission difficulty levels: all missions slightly easier, very difficult missions quite a bit easier
- ensure properly clear target empire when manually assigning counter intelligence missions to own spies
- factions with Internal Stabilization intelligence mission now use it more frequently
- fixed intelligence mission success chance sometimes being incorrect in Character Mission screen in mission target selection dropdown list

SLAVERY POPULATION POLICY
- altered how slavery colony population policy affects happiness and reputation - constant impact level based on amount of population enslaved

SHIP AND FLEET BEHAVIOR
- improved passenger ship migration mission selection in situations where few migration sources for destination colony due to limited available suitable races or low source population
- automated fleets no longer attack pirate bases in foreign territory unless manually queued
- some ships no longer participate in salvaging debris (Colony Ships), while all others are now more cautious to not salvage while there are threats at the location

SHIP DESIGN
- removed some incorrect warnings for some ship roles in the Ship Design screen

FIGHTERS
- tweaked fighter logic so that they are more willing to attack distant targets that their parent carrier is attacking
- fixed bug where fighters onboard bases or carriers could sometimes get damaged by nebula effects (storms, etc)

SHIP DESIGN AND RETROFITS
- fixed bug with Ship Design retrofit path where ships and bases would sometimes retrofit to the wrong design when using 'Latest Design for Largest Hull for Role'
- in Ship Design screen, selected component is now cleared only when right-click in empty part of model view area (not when left-click)
- fixed faulty text in tooltip on Retrofit action button under Selection Panel when multiple designs available for ship or base ('Multiple None Designs available')

LEADERSHIP CHANGES
- greatly reduced chance of rebellion at capital colony after disruptive leadership change

POPULATION POLICIES
- rebalanced income and unhappiness from slavery colony population policy

NOTIFICATIONS
- no longer send galaxy-wide news messages for colony events that are initiated from race- or government-triggers

RESEARCH
- ensure always enable all first-level diplomacy research projects for all colonized races in empire, regardless of how acquired (e.g. first contact with race may be through colony conquest)
- slightly increased automated building level for research stations (when viable research targets exist)

MODDING
- fixed Mod profiles sometimes not being remembered correctly

OTHER
- fixed 'Mining Bonanza' game event to properly apply temporary mining bonus
- added new interstitial loading screen images when DLC installed (Ikkuro + Dhayut)