0.451.0 - Ganymedean Approach

Organized crime activity

Reports of organized crime activity in the A-ring are being investigated. While independent and disorganized pirate attacks were common in the past, recent developments point to the possibility of an organized group. Following an increase in posted bounties on known criminals, patrols of both licenced and independent bounty hunters were dispatched to the area.

Increased interlunar bandwidth

Introduction of H.271A standard into the Mimas Interlunar Tightbeam Array increased the available interlunar bandwidth by over 350%, allowing broadcast of high-quality video streams from the rings A to D directly to the station. While the upgrade was meant to improve security with real-time video feedback from security cameras on ships, the development was quickly exploited by independent streamers offering real-time entertainment channels. Some popular reconnaissance drone manufacturers were quick to capitalize on the development with integrated options to assist these streams.

Insurance investigations

With multiple insurance claims made against damage caused by hypervelocity ore impacts, several reconnaissance drone manufacturers have provided options to integrate observations of hypervelocity objects with on-board adrenaline systems. Enceladean insurance providers express hope that more detailed crew logs of such events will help them rapidly resolve an increasing number of claims. Experts note that most of the popular drones available on the market today may have an insufficient frame rate to be conclusive.

Maintenance Records

• Added streaming-friendly mode to the Settings menu.
  
• Added more interaction with the pirate faction. You can now communicate with them even when you are in combat, trading insults and having multiple opportunities to defuse the situation. Pirates will also attempt negotiations when the tide of the battle is against them.
  
• Turning the onboard computer off will now provide resistance to short circuits and overheating.
  
• Increased chance of getting quest-related interactions with ships you came across, so crew quests don’t feel stalled.
  
• You can now salvage ships that are part of crew quests if it makes sense in the context of that quest.
  
• Pirates could try to extort you while being terrified, which made them open fire on you and try to escape while they were asking for money.
  
• Faction and personal reputations could coincide in a way that made it impossible for an NPC ship to break away from combat.
  
• You will now get some adrenaline slowdown when you use the Adrenaline Booster even if you don’t have a pilot on board.
  
• Nearby hypervelocity explosion will now trigger an adrenaline boost, giving you time to react or at least perceive the impact that damages your ship.
  
• Tuning Direct Energy Mining Tool power input used to change its efficiency in a way that cancelled out any extra power you pumped into the device, making power tuning of lasers and microwaves next to useless.
  
• THI Cargo Containers used to fly away from you even before you ordered them to return to the station if they managed to get away from you before booting up.
  
• Active cargo, such as drones, could boot up and fly around or even explode on the Enceladus dive summary screen if you gave them enough time.
  
• When your crew was returning from sick leave and there is not enough space for them on board your ship, the game added them to the roster and immediately removed them, displaying confusing notifications.
  
• Improved performance of the mass driver hypervelocity bullet simulation.
  
• Improved performance of the Enceladus station crew display.
  
• Improved performance of ship collision detection.
  
• Improved performance of ship spawning.
  
• Bullets can now collide with other bullets.
  
• When you established a claim beacon, the notification of the claim price didn’t play, which made the price of your claim be counted towards your next in-ring sale or purchase, displaying confusing money counters.
  
• Your salvage manipulator will now go into the Tsukuyomi-class docking bay when you dock.
  
• Adjusted the thruster configuration of the Tsukuyomi-class frigates so they are less likely to accidentally burn ships they are docking with.
  
• When you transfer criminals from a disabled ship into custody, the ship is now considered a legitimate salvage.
  
• You can now turn in criminals held in lifepods caught in your ship cradles.
  
• When making quick course adjustments with your mouse the autopilot vector could snap back to your current velocity if your adjustment was quick enough to be registered as a mouse click.
  
• Logs showing your propellant usage during the dive could be inaccurate if the framerate changed during your mission.
  
• Changed nanodrone storage descriptions to make it clear that it’s a consumable storage container and not an independent drone system.
  
• Clicking on a tuning item header will now switch the description and simulation to this item.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused your mouse pointer to stay on screen much longer than needed.
  
• New game-over screen if you manage to blow your ship up.
  
• A ship that lost all power and propellant won’t be able to keep the cargo it has in external cradles or salvage manipulators during a rescue operation.
  
• Updated translations.