Starfarer 0.53a Release

The 0.53a version of Starfarer is now out! This update is focused on fleshing out the combat gameplay, and future releases will focus on campaign features. That’s not to say that combat won’t receive any more attention – but this release does wrap up all of the major planned combat features.

What’s new:

  • Ship systems – each ship gets an active ability – flares, burn drive, a combat teleporter – and many more
  • Phase cloaking – three new ships that use the cloak as a primary defensive system
  • New mission featuring phase ships
  • Tons of AI improvements, new modding features, and bugfixes

You can see the full patch notes here.

Download the new version using the buttons below – you’ll need to reinstall the game, but shouldn’t have to enter the activation code again.

If you’re using OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion) and are having trouble running the game, use this version instead.

Starfarer 0.52.1a Point Release

The 0.52.1a release is now available. It’s a point release and doesn’t contain any significant new features, but it does have a number of important bug fixes, some enhancements to the modding API, and a few usability improvements.

The full patch notes are here.

This version is save-compatible.

You can download it using the buttons below. You’ll have to reinstall the game, but shouldn’t need to enter the activation code again.

Starfarer 0.52a Release

I’m happy to say that the 0.52a release is finally available for download. Here’s a high-level overview of what’s in it:

  • Accidents
  • Music!
  • Greatly improved ship and commander AI
  • Significant ship and weapon balance changes
  • Lots of UI improvements
  • Bugfixes

If that looks like a copy-and-paste from the previous post, that’s because it is – the last week was mostly spent polishing things up and playtesting.

The full patch notes are here.

The new version is, once again, not save-compatible. This is likely to be the case with new releases for the foreseeable future – things are simply changing too much at this point. On the bright side, I don’t think any mods are incompatible with this version, though they’ll probably need some rebalancing.

You can download the new version using the buttons below. You’ll have to reinstall the game, but shouldn’t need to enter the activation code again.

Starfarer 0.51a Release

Edit: The download links have been updated to point to a hotfix release that fixes a crash bug when clicking on an empty slot in any orbital station inventory.

Original blog post below.

First off – let’s talk about version numbers. The previous release was technically a “preview” of the 0.5a build “proper”, whatever that means. That was until I started thinking about how to version this “bugfixes & improvements” release, which still wouldn’t have all the features slated for 0.5a. 0.5a2? 0.5a-preview2?

I’ve had to sit through a few meetings with people arguing about version numbers at my various former jobs (seems like everyone doesn’t want to waste time with it, but also can’t stand doing it any way but theirs), and I don’t want to be that guy, especially not to myself. Down with the version number sophistry! This release will be known henceforth as 0.51a, and the next one will be… wait for it… 0.52a. I’ll just have to avoid specifying a version number when talking about planned feature sets, as I did with version 0.5a.

I’m sure everyone is quite sick of talking about version numbers by now (see what I mean? I didn’t want to waste time on this, and look what happened!), so let’s dive into what’s new in this version.

  • Improvements to the command system – new escort behavior and tasks chief among those
  • Ship balancing (slowed down some frigates, sped up most larger ships)
  • Hull mod balancing (added downsides to some of the best ones, buffed some of the weaker ones)
  • Added two new orbital stations (pirate & Tri-Tachyon), tweaked content progression
  • Larger ships now need less experienced crew
  • Re-worked post-battle surrender mechanics
  • Improvements to ship and admiral AI
  • Added several new medium-sized missile launcher weapons
  • Lots of bug fixes

The new version is not save-compatible. My apologies for that – but as the game is still in alpha, maintaining save compatibility just isn’t something we can do yet. Also, at least some (perhaps most) mods will be broken, so you should disable them before playing the new version. On the bright side, the changes in this version mean it will be much, much easier for multiple mods to work together without conflicts.

You can see the full list of changes here.

 

Please download the new version using the buttons below. You’ll have to reinstall the game, but shouldn’t need to enter the activation code again.

Starfarer 0.5a Preview Release

It’s been far too long since the last release, but I’m happy to announce the wait is over! We’ve got a slew of new features for you, including the first iteration of the campaign mode. Here’s a list of the new high-level features in this release:

  • Campaign mode – fight your way up in the war-torn Corvus system
  • Start out with a single frigate, buy (or capture) more ships to grow your fleet
  • Customize your ship’s loadout before battle
  • Level up your crew
  • Ship weapons and engines can be disabled by damage, adding a new layer of tactics
  • Tons of balance changes, UI improvements, AI improvements, and several new ships and weapons

For a full list of the additions and changes in this release, take a look at this thread.

You can download the new version using the buttons below. You’ll have to reinstall the game, but shouldn’t need to enter the activation code again. Thank you all for your support!

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