Thank you for all the responses, everyone! Can't quite respond to all of it point by point, but I've read everything
awesome! Does this mean most 0.96 mods wont work with the new version though?
If the version number changes to 0.97a (which it probably will, but not guaranteed - still not 100% decided), then mod_info.json would need to be updated. But aside from that, I don't think there are any mod-breaking changes here. Except for sharing the abyss area, though that also likely wouldn't break outright, just be weird.
Although, how e.g. Nexerelin would want to handle (if at all) the Colony Crisis system is a different and bigger question.
Squall HP nerf is warranted, but another missile spec nerf on top of that? Hooo boy. Storm Needler here to save the day?
I guess we'll see!
Well I don't want to comment on every little thing, let me just say how bizarre it feels to have a developer introduce changes based on player feedback(I recognize many of those!)
(Hah. Thank you, I think? I appreciate the feedback and suggestions!)
Generally, I think DEMs now is too stable (difficult to be evaded or destroyed) and their energy damage is effective to both shield and armor.
Yeah, this is why there have been some reductions in fire rate for e.g. the Gorgon - to prevent easy overwhelming of targets with no recourse.
Destroyers and Escort package: Woohoo! My favorite ship class gets some love 
. I like that the numbers worked out to give matching % boosts with the higher class ITU (IE both destroyers and cruisers will have the same 60% when near a cap as other caps). It does give some nice incentives to have an early cruiser/capital as well: something like a Falcon leading destroyers to give the bonus etc.
Definitely not an accident, ha! And yeah, having some benefit to a larger "wolfpack" leader seems like it might be fun.
Ballistic tweaks: looks good. My only concern with the Storm Needler is not the stats presented here... but the 50% burst and DPS increase from S mod Expanded Magazines as it now uses regenerating ammo. (Onslaught with S-EM for the primaries, then stay on theme and use Storm Needlers, Thumpers, and Mining Blasters?!)
Makes me want to try that build, actually, hmm. Seems like a neat combination! But yeah, it's a concern though hopefully the short range of the Storm Needler will keep it from dominating every other option. Maybe not be as much of an issue vs Remnants that close in all the time, but some other fights don't go that way and are much more stand-off distance - and it's more of a concern in this release, I'd say, due to all the new Colony Crises.
Alex, thank you and your team for updating the game, it is already beautiful, but there is no limit to perfection. Good luck and creative success. I can't wait for this update to come out. Everything looks cool and interesting. Although I started a new game... but with the new changes the game will look great.
Thank you!
A couple of questions/suggestions:
1. The Druzak and Penelope systems were given to factions, this is sad. Now the player does not have the legal opportunity to settle in the center of inhabited worlds, without a penalty to the accessibility of colonies. Populating uninhabited planets in systems where there are already factions is dangerous and fraught with risks. Populating systems far from the central worlds is very unprofitable in terms of profit and logistics. Please do not deprive the player of the only large enough star system in the center of the sector. Maybe a better quest would be to allow the player to populate a free system in the central worlds? So that it was deserved?
The thing is, the game is really not balanced around the player having colonies in the core. There are still ways to work around these systems being "claimed", so it's not a hard restriction like being unable to coloize there entirely - consider it more of a nudge to take the training wheels off
2. I would really like to draw attention to the marines - they have very little use, they often take up space on the ship and require payment. How about using them a little more? For example, clearing abandoned ships - from hostile fauna / from ambushes (Luddics or pirates) / from defenders on artificial intelligence ships. Or using foot soldiers to explore planets - let them protect scientists from possible dangers.
I'll keep it in mind, but I don't really want to add marine use to things that already work fine without them, if that makes sense - that's just making things more complicated for the sake of giving marines a purpose, and that feels backwards to me.
3. Question about the "Cconverted hangar" skill - why do you need points to install it? The player sacrifices the ship's carrying capacity, spends points on installing fighter jets, the hangar works worse than on aircraft carriers, and in addition the player spends more deployment points for this ship. It's cruel. Can the requirement for glasses be removed for installing this modification of the body?
Converted Hangar is, imo, something that needs to be "sometimes useful" and not "always useful". I think it's in a good place now, since it IS situationally useful. If it was more universally useful, I think that would change the feel of the game in a negative way.
To provide another point-of-view:
I do normally want to restore ships, simply because they have their own history. You'll either have a remembrance of the battle where you fought it and conquered it afterwards, or of the joyful surprise when you stumble over a useful ship while exploring the space.
...
I also bought ships in the past at the markets, but it doesn't give the same satisfaction like conquering a ship after battle or finding it while exploring.
Ah yes, I meant "not restoring every ship you're planning to use once you've found it". If you have a ship - especially with s-mods - and it gains a d-mod, yeah, you'd probably want to restore that. Of course there's a middle ground, I'm just saying that the amount of restoring you do "normally" is nowhere near how much of it you get with Hull Restoration, so presenting the latter as the amount of credits saved does not, I think, track.
Anyway, I kinda wish we had more skills to choose from for specialisation and build diversity but not more skill points. 
Sry for being a nag and always asking for MOAR. o.O
Guess that's how much I, we enjoy the game.
(What do you mean, exactly, as far as specialization etc?)
Greetings! Are there any plans for community applications to translate the game into other languages? Otherwise, now it is quite labor-intensive and very often there are errors in translations that break the game, and mod and game updates often make it impossible to use previous translations. The last time I played was version 0.91a, which had a good translation and no critical errors. Many people give up translating because due to updates there is no way to conveniently transfer translation from previous versions and Java compilation (WinMerge Notepad ++ does not solve problems).
Hi! My apologies, but no - as you noted, it is very labor intensive, and the game is not really built to make it easy. A lot of the text is put together with code.
Wasn't the tip already present during stage 2(or 3) of Academy missions? Where you were asked to hack [HEGCOM-REDACATED] and #$%D^F&G* mentioned introducing false signals?
(I think so.)
Did you gave the suggestion for the ability to select AI-Core Personalities (e.g. set them to "aggressiv" behaviour) any thought?
I have a note to think about it at some point
Nice little buff to Pilums there. Any possibility of new missle types with regenerating ammo?
Not in this release is all I can say for certain
In general, missiles with regenerating ammo are troublesome design-wise. The Pilum gets away with it because it's... somewhat underwhelming, otherwise. The Omega weapons get away with it (though not really) because they're so limited in availability. I don't think there's a whole lot of great middle ground available.
Otherwise, you can easily end up with ships that are functionally useless (i.e. a player trying to play optimally, rather than for challenge or role-playing reasons, would never use said ship in their fleet.)
I think you make a good point, but in general, what the game aims for is having the largest number of things be viable, not optimal. Almost by definition, only one thing is going to be optimal, unless the balance is unrealistically/impossibly good, right?
The Squall does seem alright in testing so far, though! Of course overall weaker than it was, but still hits plenty, just not vs heavy PD - so it's more situational. Sometimes it's as good as it was, sometimes it gets negated by something that really *should* negate it. Which... I mean, yes, that makes ships that use it weaker, but not all the time. So since it's situational, it's potentially more interesting.
Astral - Critical
The Astral could probably use a bit of help in general, I'd say. But I wouldn't want it to be in a way that makes, like, 4-5 of them with complete fighter saturation a good strategy.
Apogee - Moderate
(I've got one in my fleet with a Squall and it seems to do well! With the above situational caveats etc. And the Locust works reasonably well on it, too.)
Honestly though, I feel one can make a pretty good argument for both sides, though I am personally biased towards a 0.97 release with how excited I am for the Abyssal Hyperspace content.
Ahh, I don't want to overhype what's in Abyssal Hyperspace right now. There's certainly *stuff* but let's say it's an area that could use some fleshing out.
... it also talked about Wormholes & new interactions with Gates, which I don't see in the Patch Notes.
Are there plans to add them later or are they shelved for now?
Oh, oops - it's in the game, I just forgot to add that to the notes
there is a lot of changes i am excited for and currently i am too sick to ramble.
Oh no! I hope you live up to your forum name
It is somewhat frustrating now to see a ship assigned to be escort that is literally just hanging out next to it's primary and just pointing in some random direction (because there is an enemy ship in that direction, but far out of range). I think the escort AI should try to assist target the primary and secondarily target ships that are actively attacking the primary (not just be in the general vicinity).
I understand AI changes are probably some of the hardest changes to make and test.
It does actually do this - support the primary ship - but it depends on the situation. It's going to prioritize keeping the primary from getting flanked. But e.g. I've been using escort Enforcers and they do pop forward and get a bunch of shots off at the target, if not perhaps as many as they could. As you say, though, it's a tricky one to get right.
With regard to keeping the fleet together - may I recommend a pair of "Defend" orders in a line with its side facing the enemy? That seems to work very very well for me.
For instance, the arcs of the rear turrets on the Eradicator are awkward, and placing two vulcans back there is kinda precious when it might be the difference between one HVD and HA or two HVDs.
Hmm, really? The arcs seem very generous to me. And at that point, that feels like a valid choice, which do you value more.
As for the Sarissa... it's not very reliable PD? I assumed that was the intent. The Sarissa primarily body blocks incoming fire, often using the flak canisters to prevent its own demise to missiles. So for something coming from outside the forward arc... they're just not there.
There's also the Xyphos or DTA + Sparks or something. Point being, really, that there are options. And also that those options not all being fully reliable is probably ... good? Gives you things to think about while piloting.
dual light autocannon goes back to 0.8 eff, and i think that overdoing it; it already has higher op cost and less range, while also being inaccurate, maybe 35 per shot instead of 30/40?
I've thought about it but frankly I think they're totally fine at 0.8.
hephhag buff is nice, but its still really really high amount of flux, i tested around a little and still find it quite underwhelming for how much flux it eats, even if it kills hull fast, i find it not worth it. Imo should be 0.8 eff at 400flux/s
Hmm - I really have to disagree there; it was already extremely close to being fine IMO, and already great on some setups (e.g. the Invictus, and I've had decent luck with it on a Retribution *before* this cost decrease, though there are better ways of building that oen).
and at that moment i would also like to ask for a big flux efficiency buff for light assault gun. Same thing as with hephag, which now goes 0.9, but small version stays at 1.0 with super weak hit strength.. i feel like it could go as low at 30 per shot without causing issues
Mmmmaybe, though I don't know if it really needs it. If you're using it you probably want some anti-fighter or you want your frigates to have a bit of low-level anti-armor punch and I'm not sure that the flux cost is really going to be stopping you. Unlike the Hephaestus, it's not as much of a portion of a ship's budget. Though if you wanted a bunch of those as anti-fighter support on a larger ship, then that would add up. Worth thinking about!
I just remembered is industrial planning ever going to be replaced with a combat flagship/fleet skill? It kinda is taking space...
We'll see, no comment
