Sixteen releases went out today, v0.10.149 to v0.10.164. Most of them are for your Flagship, but there is something in every layer: a safer way to play across tabs, screenshots in bug reports, a screen that is all about you, and a player card other Star Captains can see. Here is the day in plain words. Every change is also in What's new, further down this page.
Flagship
Missiles reach out. Missiles now lock at 7 km instead of 3.2, inside a wider cone and in under a second. One press of 1, a right click or a click on the slot is enough, and the key 1 lock now works every time. Salvos hit harder, lead their target, burst on near misses and pick a new target if theirs dies. Pirates can answer with flares, and the HUD shows your missiles in flight, missiles coming for you, and why a lock cannot start. The tactical view (F1) now pulls back far enough to show the whole 7 km ring.
Scan results stay. Places you scan stay marked for ten minutes, then as dim remembered markers until you leave the system. Ships stay live while they are in sensor range, then show where they were last seen.
Ships you can catch. With no pirates about, Tab reaches the traffic near you first. The target panel says what a ship is doing, where it is headed and how fast, with Hail, Approach and Match speed, and the ship you target eases off so you can come alongside. And once you are alongside, the lanes have a lot more to say:
- Trade with freighters, tankers, mining barges and salvage tugs: each shows a manifest from its route.
- Customs patrols in faction space may scan your cargo. Illicit goods are fined or confiscated, and running costs standing.
- Escorts: convoys with no contract will pay you to see them safely in. Stay within 8 km.
- Stand down: hail a pirate and, depending on your Flagship and your reputation, it breaks off, hands over cargo or turns on you.
- Lane Snare: a new Hegemony Utility module pulls a ship within 3 km out of its lane. Legal on pirates and runners; a crime on lawful traffic.
Richer asteroid belts. Belts hold about ten times more ore, so one belt fills your Cargo bay several times over, and mined-out rocks grow back within an hour. There is no longer a galaxy-wide daily limit on mined ore: each station buys up to a full bay a day, and when one has bought its fill it names other markets nearby. There is no ceiling on the Galactic Credits you earn in a day any more, either. What limits a day now is the galaxy itself, so fly on and trade across it.
One press runs the utility beam. Mining no longer needs holding 6: press it once and the beam works the rock until it is empty, your bay is full or you fly out of range. The same one press runs the Moon survey, investigating and salvaging signals, and tows. Holding 6 still works if you prefer it.
Every capital has its guard. Each faction capital now keeps a capital-class guard flagship, far stronger than any pirate: The Unbroken Wall over Bastion Prime, The Dawnspear over Aurelion and six more. At home or an ally's capital it escorts and salutes you; at an enemy's it hunts you on sight. And a capital you have besieged on your Galactic Map shows it: its guard is battle-damaged, and a fallen capital has none.
You can also now choose the star map's key in Settings › Flight.
Dominion
Auto no longer starves Metals. Auto workforce no longer moves idle workers into Metallurgists and Fabricators when that would push Metals or Energy below zero, and the Workforce panel says when a job is held back for that reason.
Colony plates and banners travel with you. Your colony's name plate and banner now show on your player card and beside your name on the Galactic Map.
Galactic Map
You are the Captain. The game now always calls you Star Captain, or Captain for short. Commanders are your officers on the Galactic Map, and in card battles "Commander" is still the leader piece on the board. The profile title Commander is now Captain, and the Commander's Path achievements are now the Captain's Path.
Skirmish
Fungus Tempo retuned. The default Fungus Tempo deck swaps its two Taken Sunspears for two Spore Delirium, so it can spend the Spores it piles up. Your saved decks, matches and replays are unchanged.
Social
Player cards. Click a name in Galactic Comms, a friend, or a named arrival on the Galactic Map to see that player's card: level, title, portrait frame, nameplate glow, and their colony with its plate and banner. Click your own name to see how others see you, or switch it off in Profile › Appearance.
Your cosmetics are worn at once. Anything you requisition in the War chest is worn as soon as you get it, with a note saying where it shows, and Profile › Appearance lists everything you own in one place.
Across the game
The Star Captain screen. You, not your ship. The new Star Captain screen, in the top bar on every page, shows your level and the rewards ahead, your gear (wear it and take it off right there), your Flagship's fit at a glance, your service record and achievements, and your standing with every faction this week.
Screenshots in bug reports. Report a bug can now carry up to three screenshots: capture the game in one click (chat is left out by default), or paste or add an image, then blur or crop anything before you send. Screenshots are seen only by the team and deleted after 90 days, and the text of a report is kept for 90 days too.
Fixes
One game tab at a time. Open Ultra War in a second tab and the older one now pauses behind the notice "Ultra War is open in another tab": it stops its clock, sound and saving, so two tabs can never overwrite each other. Press Use here to carry on in that tab with your newest progress.
Progress never goes back between tabs. Before that, a Dominion tab left in the background could save an older colony over newer builds. Now every tab picks up the newest colony first, and nothing newer is ever overwritten.
Moon survey sites are easy to find. The current survey site is now your target, with a HUD marker, an edge arrow and its distance, and the tracker says what to do next. A reload carries on from the sites you have already read.
Tell us what you find
Ultra War is in early access, alpha playtesting, so every report helps. Report a bug is in the top bar on every page of the game, and it now takes screenshots. See you on the front.
Early access
Play Ultra War
Card battles, your own colony world and a Flagship to fly, in your browser. Ultra War is in early access, alpha playtesting.
What’s new
In these releases
The dispatches from v0.10.149 to v0.10.164, as they appear on the Command Deck.
- Your cosmetics are worn at once
Anything you requisition in the War chest is now worn as soon as you buy it, and a note says where it shows. Profile › Appearance lists everything you own in one place: titles, portrait frames, colony plates and banners, card backs, sleeves, trims, banners, themes and Flagship liveries.
- Player cards: other players see your looks
Click a name in Galactic Comms, open a friend’s player card, or click a named arrival on the Galactic Map to see that player’s card: level, title, portrait frame and ring, nameplate glow, and their colony with its plate and banner. Click your own name to see how others see you. Turn it off in Profile › Appearance.
Field Manual: Appearance & cosmetics: who sees what Field Manual: Friends & groups
- Colony plates and banners travel with you
Your colony’s name plate and banner colour now show on your player card and beside your name on the Galactic Map, and the banner colours the emblem beside your colony name. A bought plate or banner is worn straight away.
Field Manual: Appearance & cosmetics: who sees what Field Manual: Dominion colony
- The Star Captain screen
You, not your ship: a new Star Captain page in the top bar on every page shows your Star Captain level, XP by source today and the rewards ahead, the Trim Ring and Nameplate, your gear (wear and take it off right there), your Flagship’s fit at a glance, your service record and achievements, your standing with every faction this week, and your War Marks and Galactic Credits. It is also linked from the Command Deck, your Player profile and the Flagship’s Captain tab.
Field Manual: The Star Captain screen Field Manual: Your Star Captain level
- One press runs the utility beam
Mining no longer needs holding: press 6 once, or click slot 6, and the beam mines the targeted rock until it is depleted, the Cargo bay is full, you fly out of range or you press 6 again. Drift out of range and it pauses for 3 seconds, carrying on if you come back. The same one press now works on the Belt haul, the Moon survey sites, investigating and salvaging signals, linking a tow and a salvage contract’s recovery, and a line says why the beam stopped. Holding 6 still works.
Field Manual: Mining, loot and surveys Field Manual: Every control
- The whole missile ring in view
The tactical view (F1) now pulls back far enough to show your whole 7 km missile ring at its default zoom, wherever the fight is. Zoom in with + for a closer look.
- Your star map key, your way
Choose the star map’s key in ⚙ Settings › Flight: M (the default), Num 1 to 9, Num *, Insert, Delete or none; 0 and the full stop always open it too. The action bar’s Star map button can stay at the end of the bar, move to the start or be hidden. The Controls panel (H) has a shortcut to both.
Field Manual: Every control Field Manual: Star map and long courses
- You are the Captain
The game now always calls you Star Captain, or Captain for short. Commanders are your officers on the Galactic Map, and in card battles “Commander” names the leader piece on the board. The profile title Commander is now Captain, and the Commander’s Path achievements are now the Captain’s Path.
- Bug reports kept 90 days
The text of a bug report is now kept for 90 days, like its screenshots: after that only its category, build and date remain, unless the team is still working on it.
- Every capital has its guard
Each faction capital now keeps its own guard flagship, a capital-class warship far stronger than any pirate: The Unbroken Wall over Bastion Prime, The Dawnspear over Aurelion and six more. At your own or an allied capital it escorts and salutes you; at a neutral one it watches and warns you off; at an enemy’s it hunts you on sight while the patrols come faster and heavier. Never fire on a friend: the whole capital turns on you for the day. Only a very well fitted Flagship can beat one.
Field Manual: Capital guard flagships Field Manual: Faction space and capitals
- Capitals show the war
A capital you have pressed or besieged on your Galactic Map shows it in flight: its guard scrambles faster, a besieged capital’s guard is battle-damaged and the banner says what the siege looks like, and a fallen capital has no guard. Each faction’s sky now tints its sector.
- Trade with ships on the lanes
Hail a freighter, tanker, mining barge or salvage tug and ask to trade: it shows a manifest from its route, a little dearer than its destination station. Runners sell too, but their Nullite is Illicit goods.
- Customs inspections
In faction space with a Customs Post or Garrison, a patrol may hail you for a cargo scan. Illicit goods are fined or confiscated; refusing or running costs standing and brings security.
- Paid escorts
Convoys with no contract will pay you to escort them: stay within 8 km and collect the fee when they arrive.
- Pirates answer Stand down
Depending on your Flagship and your reputation, a hailed pirate breaks off, surrenders cargo into your bay, or turns on you.
- Hegemony Lane Snare
A new Utility module (150 GC at Customs Posts, Garrisons and Market hubs) pulls a ship within 3 km out of its lane. Legal on pirates and runners; on lawful traffic it is a crime.
- One game tab at a time
Open Ultra War in a second tab and the older tab now pauses behind the notice "Ultra War is open in another tab": it stops its clock, sound and saving, so two tabs can never overwrite each other. Press Use here to play in that tab again; it loads your newest progress (a card battle carries on where it was) and the other tab pauses. The "Keep this tab’s version" option is gone: a tab that finds newer progress offers Reload only.
- Moon survey sites are easy to find
In the Moon survey, the current site is now your target: it has a HUD marker with an edge arrow and distance, L targets it, and Approach or Orbit fly you there. The tracker reads Survey site 1 of 3 with how far it is and what to do (fly within 2.6 km, hold 6). Read sites get a green tick, the tactical view rings the read range, a site you cannot reach is moved below you, and a reload carries on from the sites already read.
- Fungus Tempo retuned
The default Fungus Tempo deck swaps its two Taken Sunspears for two Spore Delirium, so it can spend the Spores it piles up. Saved custom decks, matches and replays are unchanged.
- Auto no longer starves Metals
Auto workforce no longer fills Metallurgists and Fabricators from idle workers when that would push Metals or Energy below zero. The Workforce panel, job tooltips and advice say when a job is held for that reason.
- No ceiling on Galactic Credits
There is no longer a daily limit on the Galactic Credits you earn: bounties, contracts, chips and sales pay in full however much you have earned today, and the daily action limit is gone too. What limits a day is the galaxy itself: each station only buys so much, so fly on and trade across it.
Field Manual: Galactic Credits Field Manual: Mining, loot and surveys
- Sell your ore across the galaxy
There is no longer a galaxy-wide daily limit on mined ore. Each station buys up to 960 of your mined ore a day (a full Cargo bay), and its Market says how much more it will take today. Sell now empties a whole bay in one press. When a station has bought its fill, it names other markets nearby: fly on and sell there.
- Screenshots in bug reports
Report a bug can now carry up to 3 screenshots: one click captures the game (chat left out by default), or paste or add an image. Blur or crop anything before you send. Screenshots are seen only by the team and deleted after 90 days.
- Richer asteroid belts
Asteroid belts hold about ten times more ore: a belt now fills your Cargo bay several times over, and mined-out rocks grow back within an hour (45 minutes with Belt Prospecting). Mined ore sells up to 400 at a time and 960 a day, so a full bay sells in a day.
Field Manual: Mining, loot and surveys Field Manual: Research in flight
- Ships you can catch
Tab reaches the traffic near you first when no pirates are about. The target panel shows what a ship is doing, where it is headed and how fast, with Hail, Approach and Match speed buttons, and the ship you target eases off so you can come alongside.
Field Manual: Traffic and the law Field Manual: Scanning and targeting
- Progress never goes back between tabs
With Dominion open in more than one tab, a tab left in the background could save its older colony over newer builds and decisions. Now each tab picks up the newest colony before it does anything, background tabs no longer save on their own, and if two tabs change it at the same moment you are told and nothing newer is overwritten.
Field Manual: Finding your way around Field Manual: Getting home: landing and your colony
- Missiles reach out
Missiles now lock at 7 km (was 3.2) inside a wider 40° cone in 0.75 s, and one press of 1, a right click or a click on the slot is enough. Salvos hit harder, lead their target, burst on near misses and find a new target if theirs dies. Pirates can answer with flares, and the HUD shows your missiles in flight, missiles coming for you, and why a lock cannot start.
- Scan results stay
Places you scan stay marked for 10 minutes, then as dim remembered markers until you leave the system (still there if you come back the same day). Ships stay live in sensor range, then show where they were last seen. Scan again to refresh, and the HUD shows the most important marks first.
Field Manual: Scanning and targeting Field Manual: Mining, loot and surveys
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