Star Traders: Frontiers News

Update #330 arrives with some new Trait changes, new Trait mutation opportunities, new gear for your characters, and improvements to both new game and mutiny options. A huge thanks to everyone who has helped us get to 330 updates and continually improve the game with new features, balance and content.

If you're enjoying the continued free updates, please remember to leave a review and share the game with a friend!

[h2]Save 20% On our newest game in Early Access![/h2]
Cyber Knights: Flashpoint, our stealth & squad tactics heist RPG, launched into Steam Early Access last month! With Update #20 already out, we're doing it in a style you'll recognize from Star Traders: Frontiers. Fast, relentless improvement and expaions! We've just completed the first major roadmap milestone with the Hacker's Nest and are preparing to add a new Story Era (sound familiar, Star Traders?) and proc-gen missions to the new title. If you're looking for a story rich, squad-based RPG, take a minute to follow, wishlist or try Cyber Knights!

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]Self-Taught Trait[/h2]
We've pushed the longtime Trait, Self-Taught into more exciting territory with Update #330. First we've increased its chance to grant double XP to 15%, allowing it to compete more directly with other powerful Traits like Brilliant. With Update #330, we've also added Self-Taught to more Trait rule sets, allowing it to proc in recruits from the clans, low Economy zones and other places where it is impossible that Brilliant will proc.

While the Brilliant character may gain additional XP due to their sheer intelligence, a Self-Taught character gains extra XP from necessity to survive and excel (or whatever other motivation you'd like to RP!)



[h2]Further Mutiny Tweaks[/h2]
We've spent a few weeks working on Mutiny as one of the focus areas and with this update we've buttoned up a few final issues. We've ironed out a few of the Traits that should or shouldn't allow Talents and fixed some bugs where the total amount of money required for Large Pay Raise was miscalculated.


[h2]Starting Contacts[/h2]
While in most situations, starting contacts are well spread around, there are still map seeds that could result in them ending up in a pile. With this update, we've further improved the situation even in those odd maps seeds to make this more optimal, more of the time.
 
[h2]v3.3.71 - 11/21/2023[/h2]
- Buffed "Self-Taught" Trait to 15% chance of Double XP
- Independent Recruits have increased chance to have "Self-Taught" Trait
- Added new chance of "Self-Taught" Recruits for Clans and low Economy Zones
- Increased chance of "Self-Taught" where "Brilliant" can't proc
- New Gear: St. Leena's Bangles
- Fixed Dread Legacy description, buffed XP and Rep Bonus
- Fixed text issues with "Large Pay Raise" option during Mutiny
- Fixed issues with some mutinous crew Talents being available
- Fixed issue with "local" starting Contacts all being placed in a single zone
- Fixed ship pricing display bugs during Starport Expansion rumors

Update #326 follows-up on a number of awesome community requests for improvements - new Talent cooldown visibility, new medium slot Fuel Tanks, new HUD details about paying your crew and more. A huge thanks to everyone posting and sharing to help improve the game!

If you're enjoying the on-going support for your favorite space captain RPG, please take a minute to leave a review and share the game with a friend!

[h2]Our new game has started Early Access![/h2]
Cyber Knights: Flashpoint, our stealth & squad tactics heist RPG, launched into Steam Early Access last month! We've just completed the first major roadmap milestone with the Hacker's Nest and are preparing to add a new Story Era (sound familiar, Star Traders?) and proc-gen missions to the new title. If you're looking for a story rich, squad-based RPG, take a minute to follow, wishlist or try Cyber Knights!

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]Talent Cooldown Displays[/h2]
With Update #329 we've made the cooldowin details for all ops Talents -- Exploring, Spying, Patrolling, Blockading and Salvage -- visible when hovering over a Talent before use. For these Talents especially, as you're often trying to plan out a certain sequence of Talents to ensure you come off cooldown quickly enough to never have to play without a talent -- this is highly valuable! Thanks for the great suggestion @rzwicaksono!


Since we were adding it for the ops Talents, we've also included cooldown details for Talents in ship combat. As these Talents go onto cooldown for extended periods of time, you can make quicker decisions about using them, especially if you have some idea of the level of risk you can currently take or the chances of another ship fight just around the next star.

[h2]New Fuel Tanks 5 & 6 [/h2]
Update #329 has added 2 new medium slot Fuel Tanks to the mix. While neither of the new tanks adds any additional Skill Pool to your ship, they do add sizeable chunk of Fuel in total for the trade of cost, at 105 Fuel and 130 Fuel respectively.


[h2]Crew Payment HUD[/h2]
We've added details about how many crew need to be paid to the hover over the alert bar at the top of the HUD. While crew payment doesn't have enough priority to demand its own icon up on this bar, the information is just always available if you hover. This can provide a quick way to know if you can level your crew, or use the Traits that rely on paying crew to your advantage.

[h2]And Bug Fixes[/h2]
With Update #329, we also fixed a problematic pricing issue with the Wolf Vector's and reports bugs and issues from the forums.

Thanks to everyone reporting bugs and issues!

[h2]v3.3.67 - 11/15/2023[/h2]
- Improved Talent Displays: Added Cooldown to Explore, Orbit, Ship Combat
- Improved Ship Alerts: Now shows count of Crew waiting on payment
- New Components: Fuel Tank 5, Fuel Tank 6
- Fixed displays of some Small Craft Crew buffs from Gear
- Fixed: Wolf Vector price bug
- Fixed bugs and rendering issues

Update #328 adds the new Cargo Hold 6, improves a Zendu Trait and also adds another set of deepening simulation connections between game systems and Rumors - Rumors and Black Market, Rumors and Rare Trade Goods

[h2]New Cargo Hold[/h2]
Cargo Hold 6 is a beast - the top of the line large cargo hold for your merchant's cargo long hauler. The expansive fuel capacity pairs well with the recently updated Longhaul Engines. So whether your running Salvage or Explorer with a Javat mining rig, or just hauling cargo for credits, this is the upgrade for you. Load up on expensive Permit-only goods or seeking out even more difficult to obtain Rare Trade Goods, the Cargo Hold 6 is a big investment but helps keep those merchanting margins high.

[h2]Improved Black Market[/h2]
Overall, we've pushed the chances of drawing access cards - which are the success cards int he Black Market - about 5% higher with a bit of a bias toward higher level access cards.

In the case of Rumors like Spice Festival and Civil Unrest we've made the Black Market access cards - in which you reach the market - twice as likely to be drawing in to the hand of 5 cards. Also, access cards with higher level of access are now more prevalent.

[h2]Rumor + RTG Intersection[/h2]
We're expanding Rumors effects by allowing them to interact with the Rare Trade Good generation and economy. This is another exciting intertwining of important systems and we're excited to continue to make changes in this regard that deepen their relationship.

For example, Shortage Rumors on the planets responsible for Rare Trade Good supplies will trigger spikes in prices for the goods as the news travels. We've mapped out some more cool ideas for Rumor interaction like with Civil Unrest and Xenos driving supply and pricing changes as well.


[h2]Contact Simulation[/h2]
To help protect high powered Contacts, we've added some new rules that prevent low Influence Contacts from actually making an attempt at killing them. This helps strengthen the simulation and improve the chances for higher Influence Contacts to outlive their peers.


[h2]Zendu Lineage[/h2]
This Zendu Trait has gained a full point of +1 Initiative. The memories of your lineage's past, regardless of how fragment give you nearly preternatural reaction time, now for a total of +3 Initiative.
 
[h2]v3.3.65 - 11/10/2023[/h2]
- New Ship Component: Cargo Hold 6 (yw, merchants)
- Reduced rate of low-influence Contacts attempting to assassinate high-influence rivals
- Rumors on RTG origin world can now cause market and pricing changes (more soon)
- Balance Change: Black Market overall +5% Success Rate
- Double Success Rate for Black Market Under Spice Festival, Civil Unrest
- Contact Influence spent on Rumor duration is return to Contacts if the Rumor ends early
- Buffed: Zendu Lineage Gains +1 Init for +3 Total
- Nerfed: Relic Deathward looses -5% Bleed Res

The update train continues with Update #327: Longhaul It! This one adds a new level 10 ship weapon, new rare gear, improves all Longhaul engines regardless of Mass, improves starting Contact balance and fixed the fix for the Acheron Battlecarrier.

If you're enjoying the game and the updates, please leave a review and share the game with a friend!

[h2]Our new game has started Early Access![/h2]
Cyber Knights: Flashpoint, our stealth & squad tactics heist RPG, just launched into Steam Early Access! Featuring in-depth character builds, turn-based stealth & combat, and an all-new story engine that selects storylines and weaves different members of your squad and contacts into them based on how you’ve played.

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]First New Level 10 Weapon[/h2]
The new M115 Twin Autocannon breaches the level 10 weapon barrier! Exciting, highly expensive and highly powerful, the M115 offers intensely high (90%!) chance to hit enemy craft as well as best-in-class accuracy against enemy capital ships (+14). Like other higher level weapons, it is unlocked alongside Level 9 weapons by the grand sweep of story and Eras.

We've also made fixes to the M101 Tracker Cannon which had some odd values set for its level, price and the minimum zone stats required to buy it.


[h2]Longhaul Fuel Boosts[/h2]
All Longhaul type Void Engines have gained a new and key boost -- extra fuel! Ranging from +25 to +55 depending on the Mass of the engine, these Longhauls now directly help your ship live up to its name, even beyond the regular Engine Speed's effect. This helps them stand out in the set of engines for their purpose.

To the benefit of small ships interested in using Longhauls, the lower Mass Traveller and Longhaul Engines now come with Armor, which can help take pressure off other components in an already small ship.

[h2]New Rare Hogobloxin Balm[/h2]
Another rare piece of gear you made need to salvage high level wrecks to find, the new Hogobloxin Balm adds +3 to Wisdom, Resilience and Charisma as well as adding +25 Debuff Resistance.

Speaking of ultra rare loot, we've rebalanced the newly added Deathward down to +21 Resilience (from +24) and tweaked its loot drop rules so that it is even less likely to appear early in your career.

 
[h2]Contact Balances[/h2]
With Update #327, we've adjusted the starting Influence of Retired Blademaster, Naval Doctor, Spice Presser Contacts. Mosty to their benefit, these new starting Influence values can be especially helpfulf or new starting contacts who may or may not be your allies. This lets them be more active in the simulation and protects them a bit from early and sudden death.

[h2]v3.3.63 - 11/8/2023[/h2]
- New Ship Weapon: M115 Twin Autocannon (Level 10! What?)
- New Rare Loot Gear: Hogobloxin Balm
- All Longhaul pattern engines now offer additional fuel storage, from 25 to 55 depending on mass
- Low mass Traveller and Longhaul Engines now have Armor points, are Armored components
- Reworked 'Kiret Karat' Relic 2nd Hand Blade (low damage, high accuracy)
- Contact Influence has much larger impact on duration of Rumors purchased by Contacts
- Increased range of Zone Rumors `Court Scientist` Contact can attempt to purchase
- Increased Starting Influence for: Retired Blademaster, Naval Doctor, Spice Presser Contacts
- Relic Deathward reduced from +24 to +21 Resilience
- Fixed reported problems with 'Acheron Battlecarrier'
- Fixed issues with M101 Tracker Cannon (Level, Availability, Cost)

Welcome back to the update train with Update #326! We had to take a break recently (reasons explained below) from updates but we're excited to get back to the priority list for Star Traders: Frontiers. We've still got some exciting things in store, so let's get busy --

If you're enjoying the game and the updates, please leave a review and share the game with a friend!

[h2]Our new game has started Early Access![/h2]
Cyber Knights: Flashpoint, our stealth & squad tactics heist RPG, just launched into Steam Early Access! Featuring in-depth character builds, turn-based stealth & combat, and an all-new story engine that selects storylines and weaves different members of your squad and contacts into them based on how you’ve played.

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]New Relic[/h2]
The ultra-rare Relic Deathward will not be an easy find. Salvaging medical wrecks, exploring the most dangerous and desolate places, you might come across this ancient and forgotten tech. But taking it in hand, you'll gain +30 Bleed Res (goodbye Bleeds!) and a near unimaginable +24 Resilience.

[h2]Mutiny Improvements[/h2]
After the good changes in Update #325 that fixed how Captain's Talents were selected during a Mutiny (they can now be used even if Captain is low Morale) we've returned to Mutiny again to do further improvements and house-cleaning.

Any crew member who has the "Loyal" or "Revere's Authority" Trait will also correctly offer their Talents during a Mutiny, even if their Morale is below the line. This matches the rule exception for the Captain and further helps those stalwart supporters in your crew make a difference at this critical time.

To help stave off the repeat Mutiny issue, a new offer of "Large Pay Raise" has been added which can trade even more promise of future credits in for +50 Morale instead of the normal +20. While more expensive, this option is one that will put the Mutiny to bed for a while and can be really helpful in open space, or if there are no ports of good harbor and high Spice nearby to help you improve your Morale in other ways.

Cutting against you, we now consider the levels of the mutinous crew when determining how much damage they could cause if they are met in battle. The damage numbers goes up if you allow higher level crew to reach a point of Mutiny (which, to be clear, is very rare).


[h2]Boarding is no longer "No Action[/h2]
We fixed a bug that was popping a confirmation when you attempted to board and do nothing else during a ship combat turn. Apologies about that, boarders!
 
[h2]v3.3.61 - 11/3/2023[/h2]
- New Ultra-rare Gear: Relic Deathward
- Improved Mutiny results display for Bribes and Payments
- Added new additional "Large Pay Raise" option to grant +50 Morale instead of the normal +20
- Now "Loyal" and "Reverse Authority" Crew will now even offer Mutiny Talents, even if morale too low
- Talents that prevent Morale loss now work to player's benefit during Mutiny
- While rare, Mutiny with high level Crew is now more dangerous (higher damage numbers)
- Fixed SFX for Rank 15 Combat Medic Talent: Flechette Rounds
- Fixed issue where confirmation dialog for no action would appear in ship combat even if boarding