It’s almost exactly a month after the Early Access Roadmap was published, and the first major update is now live!
As planned, the focus of this update is on responding to the most urgent issues and feature requests raised in feedback from players following the Early Access launch. (Future Roadmap updates, by contrast, will focus more on adding new game content.)
These fall into 3 main areas which I’ll dive into below (major UI improvements, difficulty and balance, and bug fixes) along with some additional bonus features I’ll cover at the end.
A full list of changes can be found here.
UI improvements
One of the most frequently requested changes from Early Access players so far has been improvements to the system map, to make it easier to locate missions available from specific factions as well as the specific goods that are needed for some mission types. I could see that this would be a big step forward in terms of user friendliness, so this was a priority for the month 1 update.
The system map screen has now been enhanced to include filters for both factions and goods types, and more detail on available goods is also available via tooltips.
Other UI improvements include UI scaling (another roadmap feature) and a new timeline graph display for energy and heat.
There is also a brand new map view, making it easier to get a quick overview of key locations, stations and mission targets in a sector.
Difficulty and Balance
Another consistent bit of feedback from players has been that the game is a little too hard overall, and that ‘adventure’ difficulty in particular should be made easier compared to ‘tactical’.
Like many turn-based tactics fans, I think it is very important to offer enough of a challenge so that a wide range of tactical choices are required. At the same time it is important to offer players a choice of difficulty levels to suit different play styles, and the changes in this version contribute to that goal.
These changes should have the overall effect of making ‘adventure’ mode significantly easier; ‘tactical’ mode should also be a little easier than previously, especially at the start of the game; while ‘extinction’ difficulty remains as a challenging difficulty mode for hardcore players.
Aside from the big changes affecting overall difficulty there are some smaller balance changes as well, such as changes to reputation requirements for some high level ships, and a personal favourite of mine: if you capture a holoship projector from a Maker ship you can now use it yourself to generate a friendly holoship that will support you in combat.
Bug Fixes
Aside from the usual range of bugs, Early Access players discovered some creative exploits allowing them, among other things to:
- Generate infinite relics and sell them to get rich quick!
- Complete goods delivery missions quickly by delivering goods, buying them back and reselling them
- Achieve permanent ‘cloaked’ status by unequipping a cloaking device while cloaked
These exploits have been quashed, along with a range of other bugs, making for a more balanced and consistent experience.
Bonus Features
As mentioned, new game content and mechanics are not the focus of this update, but there are still a few fun additions to look out for.
A brand new utility item, the 'Shield Modder' (short for 'modulator') helps protect your shields against weapons that would otherwise overload them.
Cargo management is now easier and more forgiving, as 'cargo pods' are now generated when jettisoning goods, meaning you'll no longer lose out on trade goods due to your cargo bay being full.
While some wider changes addressing balance issues to do with fuel management did not make it into this update, one change that has been made is that fuel can now be found as loot in debris, making it just a bit easier to keep your ship from running out of fuel.
There are also some new 'strobe-light' visual effects indicating whether wrecks have been fully explored or not.
Join the Community
Finally, don't forget you can keep up to date on the very latest in Relic Space's development, you can join the Relic Space Discord. During Early Access you'll also be the first to gain access to bleeding edge builds, and of course will be able to discuss the game with fellow fans as well as the developer.