Star Traders: Frontiers News

Update #337 swings back around to the Rumor system to deepen their impacts into multiple systems and the Contact simulation. With this update we've improved the results for Artifact Find, Merchant Fleet, Starport Closed and Mercenaries. Rumors are a key system in Star Traders: Frontiers that cause variation, reasons to travel, dynamic and short term goals and help shake up the Contacts in the simulation, so the more numbered and powerful their effects the more interesting they become.

If updates make you happy, and you know it, leave a review!


[h2]Artifact Find Expansions[/h2]
The Quadrant Rumor Artifact Find has a wide impact across Explorer and encountering Smuggler ships. There are Artifacts to be found, and while previously the Rumor mostly impacted the direct results of Explorer, now the Rumor also expands the value and size of any Stashes discovered during Explorer. In the case where you find some clue that reveals another smuggler or pirate's stash, it is a stash that was bloated in value by the Artifact Find Rumor and the value and type of cargo in that stash will be better for it.

Also, we've further increased the value of bonus cargo being carried by Smugglers across the Quadrant with Artifact Find Rumor active. If you're a pirate, there is even more incentive to flock to the quadrant for valuable pickings now.

Speaking of which ...


[h2]Gone Lootin'[/h2]
The Pirate's Talent "Looter's Instinct" which adds a bonus cargo to a Merchant encountered while Blockading now has Rumor hooks as well. The type of bonus cargo and the count allocated to the bonus is now larger when the Quadrant Rumors Merchant Fleet or Artifact Find are active.

If you plan to truly capitalize on the value of Rumors, be sure to build out a crew to help you find them and then use Talents to reap the rewards.


[h2]Stardock Closed Blocks Escapes[/h2]
Stardock Closed Rumor already has a wealthy of unfortunate consequences. First, you can't fuel, repair, upgrade or access dry docked ships at this landing zone and any local Contacts are at risk of Influence loss. We've punched up the risk to Contacts to represent their inability to flee in the case of trouble. If a Contact suffers an assassination attempt from another Contact while such a Rumor is active, it is 25% less likely that they will survive.

Considering that a Contact may have used their action to drop this harmful Rumor on an enemy Contact's zone, they are basically setting up their enemy for a possible death blow on their next action in the simulation.

[h2]Mercenaries Jam Black Market[/h2]
While a Mercenaries Rumor is affecting a zone, the Black Market can be a little more dangerous. In response to these often-troublesome off-worlders clogging the starport, spice hall and surrounding district, the local forces have doubled down on their patrols to keep the peace. Which makes sneaking your illegal cargo to the Black Market more difficulty. Where there are Merc Rumors, security patrol cards are more likely now in the Black Market.

[h2]Are you Modding?[/h2]

A fan favorite - the No More Mass Reducers mod removes all Mass Reducers from the game -
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2492139496

Merchant Marine mod tones down the crew size aiming to give a more Firefly-esque style of play -
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2856946970

Want 24 new heads for your characters in the game - download Playable Contacts today -
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2936075922&searchtext=

Everyone loves new ship components - so check out the ever-popular Dave's New Ship Components mod -
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2560635932

Always wanted to have a zendu on board to dole out justice - install the Arbiter job mod -
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2824645849

[h2]v3.3.85 - 1/16/2024[/h2]
- 'Artifact Find' Rumor now causes increased found Stash value in Explorer
- Increased value of cargo found in Smuggler's holds during 'Artifact Find'
- Boosted power of Pirate Talent 'Looter's Instinct' when Merchant or Artifact rumors active
- Updated 'Artifact Find' Rumor makes it easier to access the Black Market when active
- The 'Stardock Closed' rumor now harms Contact influence, makes it 25% harder to escape assassins
- The 'Mercenaries' rumor now increases the chance of combat patrols in Black Market

Update #336 rolls out with another bristling set of level 8 and 9 capital ship weapons, rebalanced enemy ship builders to improve the short-ranged Lance builds, pricing and ship weapon rebalances, new rules for Spice Hall Trait mutation and extra burning for Molten Worlds.

A huge thanks goes out to everyone playing, posting and sharing Star Traders: Frontiers! As we keep climbing toward the 350th update milestone, remember to leave a review and --

[h2]Spread the word about our new game to keep our studio going strong?[/h2]
We love continuing to add to Star Traders: Frontiers, but increasingly it’s sales of Cyber Knights that keep our studio going. Help us out by spreading the word? Give the game a shout-out, or recommend it to any of your Steam friends that like games similar to Cyber Knights?

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1021210/Cyber_Knights_Flashpoint/


[h2]New GUR-18 Gravcannon[/h2]
The first medium slot Gravcannon above level 6, the GUR-18 weighs in at level 8, costing 3 AP to fire and smacking with a massive 360-450 Dmg. While it can't boast best in class for its other weapon statistics, it is still a smaller, faster Gravcannon (is there such a thing?) that can still shatter enemy hulls and may fit better into your ship configuration than one of the larger high level GCs.


[h2]New Quad-Arc Lance, Lances Win Ties, AI Gets Lancey[/h2]
The new Thunderstrike Quad-Arc has been called by some the Lance of the Gods. The level 9 small size lance can pack a powerful punch with 55% Crippling Hit and solid 40 Radiation Damage. Used as a battery, firing multiple at a time for 2 AP, these high-powered Lances can cripple and cook a ship effectively at 2 Range.

Lances have seen a nice rebalance to be now classified with Autocannons and Gravcannons that in the case of a tie between the attacker and the defender, the attacking Lance wins, where with all other weapon types (non AC, GC, or Lance) the defender wins ties. Ties are most common when the dice pools are small -- in early game ships or when both ships are burning, so it isn't a huge impact, but something to keep in mind if you're fighting evenly matched opponents.

We've also spent some time with the AI ship builder to make sure it is pairing its Lance builds with the right other set of ship components to get the best results in short-range, barrage fire type builds.

[h2]Torp Rebalance[/h2]
Both the Torpedo Mk3-Delta and Torpedo Mk4-Ultra have both had their Crippling Effect % revised downward to prevent them from being too OP within the class.

[h2]On-Going Price Rebalance[/h2]
With Update #336, we've continued the press on updating the price balance across the 700+ ship components in Star Traders: Frontiers. The Duranium Coating II and III have both had their price increased as well as all Autocannons, Lances and Gravcannons above Level 6. This helps increase their rarity among AI captains as well and makes them a bit harder to purchase or jump up to as you upgrade your ships.


[h2]Spice Hall Traits[/h2]
We've started to dig in the trait mutations sections of the game, looking for exciting ways to add new context and different flavors to how and when mutations happen today. The first tweak in this area is to adjust Spice Hall Trait mutations to increase the chance of gaining Spice Addict if you're crew members are injured and low on HP.


[h2]Molten Worlds Burn Ya[/h2]
If you're out exploring molten worlds, we've pushed the chance for Crew Damage cards, and especially the most damaging cards in the set, to the max. These types of worlds are dangerous and can really scorch a crew if you're not careful.

[h2]v3.3.83 - 1/10/2024[/h2]
- Added new "GUR-18 Gravcannon" (Level 8, Size 2)
- Added new "Thunderstrike Quad-Arc" (Level 9, Size 1)
- Rebalanced Lance Ship Weapons, now classified like Autocannons, Gravcannons
- Minor balance adjustments for Torpedo Mk3-Delta, Torpedo Mk4-Ultra
- Retrained AI Lance strategy with new improvements
- Spice Hall with low HP now increases the chance of Spice Addict Trait rolling
- Increased Price Duranium Coating II, Duranium Coating III and made them more rare
- Increased Price of Level 6+ Autocannons, GravCannons and Lances and made them more rare
- Exploration on Molten Worlds has higher chance of generating Crew damage

Happy New Year, captains! It's going to be another eventful one in the void as we cruise past the #335 Update mark. Update #335 brings new medium sized torpedo weapons, more exciting rules for Engine Damage for aggressive attack strategies, improved rules for Morale Damage when hits target Bridge and Engine, big updates to how enemy ship captains pick their ship weapons in combat and a big sweep of price raising for late game components.

If you've enjoyed just a few free updates or hundreds of updates over the years, we hope you'll consider leaving a review and sharing Star Traders: Frontiers with a friend!


[h2]Torp Power[/h2]
With Update #335, we've rolled out three new medium slot Torpedoes that all pack a massive punch. These high-level medium slot torps make torpedo boats with a wider variety of designs viable into the late game as you finally have options at level 7, 8 and 9 for your medium slots. Get more Void Shielding because these torps can hit very hard and beware that late-game enemy captains may also employ the Mk3-Gamma, Torpedo Mk3-Delta and Torpedo Mk4-Ultra.

[h2]Early Engine Dmg Rule Rebalance[/h2]
In a small but important change for some strategies, we've revised the special rules around Engine Damage in the first 3 Turns of ship combat. There has always been a protection for the player's engine against becoming immediately disabled before Turn 3. Some of these protections were extended to the AI ships as well in ways that made certain hyper-aggressive strategies (ALL the Gravity Cannons, Turn 1!) less effective. We've adjusted the rules on the AI's side without touching the player side rules to allow for these cases and don't punish hyper-aggressive strategies or force them to wait until Turn 3 to truly unleash their power.

A big thanks to the players posting feedback and sharing data on these strategies that helped us craft this fix.


[h2]Bridge and Engine Hits Morale[/h2]
If a ship or crafts weapon attack hits the Bridge or Engine, there is now up to a 30% increase in damage to the crew's Morale. Taking hits to these critical components shakes up the crew as they know the ship is in direct danger of failing to function and therefore losing to the enemy. This change can help accelerate and make more meaningful the ship combat defeat rule that can cause an enemy ship to surrender by Morale loss.


[h2]Ship Captain AI Improved[/h2]
We've updated a number of important AI templates, rules and decision points as they relate to ship weapons. We updated some of the rules and decisions for torpedoes as to what other components to pair them with the for the maximum effect. For those enemies you find hanging at long range and trying to rain torp-hell down on you, be sure to pick your fights, close, or take them out fast with your own long range fire or craft. We've also helped the enemy ship builder balance better between Torpedoes and Missiles to ensure they have good coverage at a wide set of ranges.

Finally, the enemy ship builder was not making great choices about when and where to attach Gravity Cannons to their ships, and we've improved the entire set of thinking. These highly devastating weapons can punch a hole in your hull if you're not careful, so keep an eye out for newly configured enemy mid to large class ships.

With so many weapon's related changes, we also touched on one ship class specifically to make sure the AI ship builder would be making the best decisions -- Broadsword Class. If you see an enemy captain swinging around the edge of a moon in one of these, just be sure you're on your best behavior.


[h2]Component Repricing[/h2]
With over 700 components and steadily growing, sometimes prices slide out of band and we need to come back through and revise some things. With Update #335, we've completed a necessary price raise for a number of components, better matching price to performance.

The prices for the M115 Twin Autocannon, Fuel Tank 5+, Cargo Hold 6 and Armored Cargo Hold 6 have all been directly increased. In addition, the all high level Coatings have had their prices increased to better achieve the progression into such high power defensive components.

[h2]Want to help shape our next game?[/h2]
So many of our updates for Star Traders are based on feedback from you all. But there are limits to what we can do in a game 5 years after its release. Our new tactical heist RPG, Cyber Knights: Flashpoint, is evolving fast in Early Access, with plenty of room for content ideas and shifts in gameplay based on what early players are finding fun.

Join us to make this game another one you’ll be enjoying for years to come.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1021210/Cyber_Knights_Flashpoint/

[h2]v3.3.81 - 1/2/2024[/h2]
- Three new size 2 torpedoes Torpedo Mk3-Gamma, Torpedo Mk3-Delta, Torpedo Mk4-Ultra
- Increased the Morale damage from direct Bridge Hits by 30%
- Direct hits to Engine can now cause Morale damage for effected crew
- Revised engine damage rules for early combat, to make aggressive attack strategies more viable
- Post-boarding Bridge hits are now more effective vs all AI, Xeno included
- Updated AI for the Broadsword Class
- Retrained AI torpedo strategy with new improvements
- Improved AI ship architect's weapon selection logic for missiles and torpedoes
- Fixed issues with AI not correctly using Grav Cannons
- Increased the price of M115 Twin Autocannon, Fuel Tank 5+, Cargo Hold 6 - Armored Cargo Hold 6
- Completely repriced high level Coatings

Update #334 continues to expand the sweep of core components for fuel extenders, rebalances how fuel extenders play out in the armored ship meta, improves Shocktrooper's Deepstrike Detonator to target ship's weapons and makes a key negative Salvage card even worse (watch the engine, ye dogs!)

We also have the best price of the year going on with 50% off during Winter Sale! So tell a friend and leave a review!

[h2]Cyber Knights is getting lots of updates too![/h2]
If you haven’t checked it out in a bit, our new game Cyber Knights: Flashpoint is evolving fast in Early Access. In December, we added proc-gen missions and custom difficulty options that let you control everything from the economy to any time pressure. Now, the latest update has added 6 new cool hairstyles and new types of military gear your corrupt cop allies are willing to "fall off the back of the truck" for you, for a price.

All support for Cyber Knights ultimately results in a brighter future for Star Traders, so hope you’ll check it out and spread the word!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1021210/Cyber_Knights_Flashpoint/

[h2]Water-Fuel Rebalancing[/h2]
All ship components that provide bonuses to Water-Fuel are no longer considered armored components. That means they will no longer have the increased soaking in cascading damage (even when over 60%) to other components. These types of fuel extenders were masquerading as armored/protection components and getting too much of a boost out of it.

Also, we've repriced the Large Fuel Tank ship component to make it more competitive within its progression.

[h2]New Fuel Tank 7 and Water-Fuel Reclamation 5[/h2]
With Update #334, two new core components have been released to the high-end starports of the world. Those boasting 8 Starport and 8 Economy can now sell Fuel Tank 7 and Water-Fuel Reclamation 5.

Note that neither the new Fuel Tank nor Water-Fuel Reclamation count as armored components any longer, as noted above.


[h2]Deepstrike Detonator[/h2]
The Shocktrooper's Deepstrike Detonator has been rebalanced with this update to be more targeted, specifically focusing on destroying the enemy ship's weapons instead of regular components. This plays to the aggressive and all-out-attack style of the shocktrooper, sent in to destroy the enemy's offensive capabilities.


[h2]Salvage Risks[/h2]
The risks for your ship's engine when Salvaging have just gotten worse. While the card cannot take your ship's Engine out entirely, it now has more power to significantly damage it. Salvaging is always a high risk and high reward opportunity, but now if you are in unfriendly territory without a good starport nearby, it can be even more dangerous. Consider which cards to knock out with your Talents carefully, captain.

We've also fixed some incorrect card art for exploring ice world wild zones.

Thanks to everyone reporting bugs and crashes!

v3.3.79 - 12/30/2023
- Ship Combat: Components that carry Water-Fuel no longer count as Armored
- New Ship Components: Fuel Tank 7, Water-Fuel Reclamation 5
- Repriced 'Large Fuel Tank' Ship Components
- Revised Deepstrike Detonator to target ship's weapons
- Increased severity of "Reactor Accident" Salvage Card (-5)
- Fixed an issue in an ice world wild zone art board
- Fixed reports typos and crashes

Happy Holidays everyone!

The Steam Winter Sale is in full swing, and all of our games are at their best deals of the year. Star Traders celebrated its 5 year anniversary this year and is 50%-off, a great gift for any fellow sci-fi fans in your life.

Templar Battleforce, our 93% 👍 turn-based tactics game set in the same universe as Star Traders is too! And our new game, Cyber Knights: Flashpoint, is now two months in to Early Access with over 30 updates expanding and improving it.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/370020/Templar_Battleforce/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1021210/Cyber_Knights_Flashpoint/

[h2]Spreading the word is a great gift to us![/h2]
It has been a tough year for game studios as you may have seen. We're definitely trying to make the most of this Steam sale, and get the word out about our games! Anything you can do to help is a great gift to us.

• 📝 Write a review on Steam, and rate which other reviews are helpful.
  
• 🎁 Gift a friend one of our games.
  
• 📢 Give us a shout-out on social media, or share one of our own posts on twitter or Facebook.
  

We're super-thankful to have so many wonderful fans, and know a lot of you have already done all of the above early and often. 😄 Thank you again, and know that it's you we're thinking of when we add update number ::checks notes:: 334 to Star Traders. 🥰

[h2]Lastly, a shout-out for our bundles of indie friends.[/h2]
Because of the way Steam "complete the set" bundles work, if you already own games in a bundle you're purchasing, you're just paying for the games you don't already have -- with both the bundle discount and any sale discount the individual game has! It makes for some incredible deals, and ours are full of great indies worth supporting.

The Endless Adventures - Deep & Replayable RPGs bundle contains Star Traders and two equally deep RPGs, our friends Wildermyth and Vagrus.

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/33786/Endless_Adventures__Deep__Replayable_RPGs/

The Turn-Based Tactical Bundle has our game Templar Battleforce, plus three other gems each with a very different flavor; quirky fun Chroma Squad, epic fantasy Warbanners, and fast-paced gothic Golden Krone Hotel.

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/18428/TurnBased_Tactical_Bundle/

Old School Fantasy RPGs has Heroes of Steel (our first game on Steam!), and a variety of fantasy RPGs from open-world cRPG Balrum to isometric action RPG Exiled Kingdoms to a classic gridder dungeon crawler, The Fall of the Dungeon Guardians.

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/18982/Old_School_Fantasy_RPGs_Bundle/

Hope that gives you some options for any Steam gift cards you may have gotten or any day-of Christmas gifting you're doing! 🎅 Enjoy the season; cheers!