Star Traders: Frontiers News

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!

Welcome to the Steam Winter Sale and the best sales of the year! The bridge is decorated, break out the bottles of lux, let's celebrate with 50% off and welcome all the new captains with an update.

Update #333 adds a new rank 15 talent for Shocktrooper, improves the balance of post-boarding ship damaging talents and revisits cargo allocation to for enemy captains.

If all of these on-going free content updates are working for you, we hope you'll leave a review to help us keep it going.
Update #333 welcomes you to the holiday season like the Shocktrooper likes to say hello -


[h2]New Rank 15 Shocktrooper Talent[/h2]
The Shocktrooper’s brutal new post-boarding victory talent, Deepstrike Detonator, can absolutely cripple an opponent’s offensive capabilities with a single boarding action. Deepstrike Detonator depends on the enemy ship having some existing damage, or active damage over time effects, when it goes off to maximize the destruction it can inflict. We had fun testing and balancing this new Talent -- which feels like a great capstone Talent -- a very high-risk, high-reward option for a high-risk, high-reward combat job.

[h2]Victory Talent Damage Levels[/h2]
While adding Deepstrike Detonator we had an opportunity to review and rebalance other similar talents that damage weapons and components in post-boarding victory. These Talents have been updated, particularly around the weighting for the number of weapons or components hit. After these changes, higher rank talents will hit more components and maximize the talent owner’s skill points.


[h2]Improved Cargo Allocations[/h2]
This is the first of a set of updates that we will be deploying over the coming weeks that improve the allocation of Cargo to enemy ships. In this update, we have revised the cargo generation for Smuggler Ships, focusing on RTG selection and quantity. You should see Smuggler ships carrying more appropriate RTG in more appropriate quantities near RTG sources, and during rumors that encourage smuggling. In a similar vein, we have started modeling some cargo allocations against the active Era, giving Military Officers valuable weapon cargo to transport during the Consolidation periods. We are excited to release several waves of cargo allocation improvements in the coming weeks, so if you have ideas or feedback about the cargo on the ships you loot don’t hesitate to reach out to us.


[h2]Contact Simulator Improvements[/h2]
This update continues to add small incremental improvements to the Contact and Faction simulator. Last update added some events that allow Contacts to act immediately as a reaction to an event, and this update works to provide Contacts a more filtered list of options, and improves the weighting of those options to give the agents a better chance of selecting an action that is likely to have nearby effects. This will help make Contact’s effects felt more in their local sectors than distant ones. If you see any evidence of this causing misbehavior within your game (especially on very small maps) please let us know.


[h2]Duranium Coatings & Minor Fixes[/h2]
Some players demonstrated some Duranium coating builds that boarded on unfair so we fixed the error that was allowing stacking to get out of control. It is still pretty OP, but at least now it follows the rules. We’ve also improved the cargo spawning (similar to the Smuggler rules) for Molten and Radiation worlds, and added Kraesline Shards to the cargo generation table they use.

[h2]Our new turn-based tactics RPG![/h2]
Cyber Knights: Flashpoint, our stealth & squad tactics heist RPG, launched into Steam Early Access and how is marching to Update #30 as it battles through its ambitious public roadmap. We've just completed the three major roadmap milestone with the Hacker's Nest, Proc-Gen Missions for endless play, and Custom Difficulty (and the ability to change difficulty during play). 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]v3.3.77 - 12/21/2023[/h2]
- New Rank 15 Shocktrooper Talent: Deepstrike Detonator
- Rebalanced Combat Victory Talent's Weapon Damaging Rules
- During Consolidation Era, Military Officer ships carry valuable military cargo
- Improved RTG allocation in enemy Smuggler Ships
- Kraesline Shards now spawn on Molten and Radiation Worlds
- Improved math in Faction simulator, making Contact's actions more likely to be nearby
- Increased duration of Sniper's "Vanishing Act" Talent

Update #332 hits across the game's systems with new crew armor, new ship components, new dangerous enemy captains in powerful ships, and even more excitement around the Black Market.
 
If you're enjoying the pace of on-going, free updates to the game we hope you'll leave a review!

[h2]New Crew Armor[/h2]
Powerful new salvage crew armor has dropped with Update #332, boasting a straight +4 Initiative buff. This level 8 armor is rare and hard to find but it wastes no time, go straight for speed over protection.


[h2]Duranium Coating[/h2]
The gleam of Duranium coating never looked better, with 2 new Coatings now available. At Duranium Coating II and III, are capable of reducing ship damage during orbital operations - Patrol, Salvage, Spy and Blockade - by up to 40%, Now adding extra points of Armor and Shielding each, as well as 5% or 7% Void or Radiation Res, these are now some of the most all-arounder defensive components you can purchase. They do not come cheap and demand a medium slot but are powerful additions to your ship's protection as well as orbital activities.

Along with their price, all components that are made out of rare and excotic metals, such as - Duranium, Ferrochronmium, Iridlaentine - all now demand higher Starport ratings (6, 7 or 8) to match the types of worlds where such things can be processed.


[h2]Acheron Sighted - Beware![/h2]
High level enemy who are flying for a faction military may now appear in the Acheron Battlecarrier, kitted with craft and all of its bristling weaponry and defenses. Beware, a new powerful super-carrier is on the lose in the void to give your high level captains a run for their spice.

[h2]Leo Upgrade[/h2]
As one of the flagships of the Thulun navy, we've upgraded the starting components of the Leo Battlecruiser to use even more Thulun specific components. As the component list continues to expand, there are more and more components specifically from their faction to round out an entire ship. The Leo Battlecruiser, the pride of the Thulun naval shipyards.


[h2]Black Market Power Center[/h2]
Black Markets have gained a number of useful boosts in Update #332.

• Charisma now has an even bigger effect on access cards in the Black Market, increasing the impact of the Attribute by 50% and is particularly effective at reducing the chance of the worst cards in the Market
  
• We're continuing to further connect Black Market to Rumors so have again boosted and improved its card set during UCF Riots, Pirates, Ion Storms and Spice Festivals Rumors. Such Rumors can basically guarantee that there are excellent Access cards in every hand.
  
• Finally, if a Contact is granted additional Influence due to a Black Market card, there is now a special simulation rule that may allow them to take an immediate Contact action. This can help further empower the Contacts through which you are reaching the Black Market as they may assassinate an enemy, purchase a powerful Rumor, spread that Influence out to their allies or more
  

[h2]Our new turn-based tactics RPG![/h2]
Cyber Knights: Flashpoint, our stealth & squad tactics heist RPG, launched into Steam Early Access and how is marching to Update #30 as it battles through its ambitious public roadmap. We've just completed the three major roadmap milestone with the Hacker's Nest, Proc-Gen Missions for endless play, and Custom Difficulty (and the ability to change difficulty during play). 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]v3.3.75 - 12/15/2023[/h2]
- New Crew Armor: Chaos Weave (Level 8, +4 Init)
- New Ship Components: Duranium Coating II, Duranium Coating III
- Faction Military Officer Captains can now appear in the Acheron Battlecarrier
- Updated Leo Battlecruiser to use even more Thulun-specific components
- Black Market Access is substantially easier during UCF Riots, Pirates, Ion Storms and Spice Festivals
- Increased the effect of Captain Charisma on Black Market cards by 50%
- Allow Contacts to take immediate action (buy Rumors, assassinate enemies) on some Black Market Influence gains
- Fixed Duranium, Ferrochronmium, Iridlaentine to all require high Starport Rating
- Fixed reports typos and crashes, fixed 2 performance issues for Intel GPU

Welcome Update #331, where we are continuing the drive to add more high powered ship components to the game to help you design the perfect ship for whatever profession you chose in a wide range of mass categories. We've also added a new rare Salvage Armor type, the Wolf Eight-Plate and fixed a number of bugs and community reported QoL.

If you're enjoying the on-going free updates to the game years after launch, we hope you'll consider leaving a review!

[h2]Our new turn-based tactics RPG![/h2]
Cyber Knights: Flashpoint, our stealth & squad tactics heist RPG, launched into Steam Early Access and how is marching to Update #30 as it battles through its ambitious public roadmap. We've just completed the first major roadmap milestone with the Hacker's Nest and are preparing to complete the second milestone with Proc-Gen Missions and Custom Difficulty (even better than STFs!) 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]New Cargo Holds[/h2]
We're still not done expanding the scope of ship design options and components for our Captains, and this update adds another top-end option for cargo haulers, Cargo Hold 7. This oversized large component can individually hold 70 units of cargo, making it the largest hold to date. As we press towards Rank 10 Cargo Holds, ship architects are warned that our designer's ability to cram even more Water-Fuel storage into these spaces has hit a upper limit. For Captains that demand more fuel storage and longer range for their cargo haulers, look to the upcoming large size fuel tanks instead of Cargo Hold 7 and beyond.


[h2]Advanced Hangar Bay & Rename Thulun's Hangar[/h2]
Update #331 also rolls out the new Advanced Hangar Bay, a medium sized component capable of holding 1 craft, boasting the best Electronics boost among Hangars (+2), the highest Fuel Boost (+20) but also the highest HW Jump Cost (+10).

Also, we've renamed the Thulun-specific hangar bay to 'Fidelis Hangar' so the Faction ownership is more clear.


[h2]Storied Wolf Eight-Plate[/h2]
This new armor set provides superior protection and mobility, ensuring your team is ready to face any challenge in the galaxy. Keep an eye out when you're salvaging for this rare drop!

[h2]Bug Fixes: Thanks community![/h2]
Last but not least, we've implemented additional bug fixes and gameplay adjustments. We've resolved an issue causing seized AI ships to incorrectly display zero available cargo space, and fixed a bug that sometimes led to the unexpected drop of Templar Exemplar Command armor as loot. Also, we've added +1 Armor to the Jyeeta Cargo Hold II, enhancing the Jyeeta's resilience and make this terrifying race of "space slugs" even worse!

We've also caught up to a long running bug that could result in seized AI ships having 0 available cargo space.

[h2]v3.3.73 - 12/7/2023[/h2]
- New Ship Component: Cargo Hold 7
- New Ship Component: Armored Cargo Hold 5
- New Ship Component: Advanced Hangar Bay
- Renamed Thulun specific hangar bay to 'Fidelis Hangar'
- New Crew Armor: Wolf's Eight-Plate
- Fixed issue that could cause seized AI ships to have 0 available cargo space
- Added +1 Armor to Jyeeta Cargo Hold II, making upgrade Jyeeta slightly stronger

If you'd like to nominate Star Traders: Frontiers for a Steam award, we're a labor of love. With Update #330 just out, the labor continues, and it does so do to love of the game.

Thanks for all your support, reviews and shares!
Andrew & Cory & the whole Team