0.9.4 - Ships AI, Economic & UI Improvements, Performance Fixes

Hello! In this update, I focused on enhancing the AI and behavioral patterns of ships, improving the user interface, fixing performance issues, and implementing improvements based on your feedback!

Storage System Rework Announcement

The storage system has received the most critical feedback so far. It’s clear that it needs significant adjustments. I've gathered all your suggestions, and I’ll start working on the storage mechanics overhaul in the next patch!

Major Fixes for Memory and CPU Leaks

There were serious memory and CPU leaks caused by the animation and time interpolation library I use. In the new version of this library, expired functions weren’t being properly cleared, leading to unnecessary code execution. Fixing this issue has significantly improved performance during the late stages of the game.

Ships AI Improvements:

• Improved behavior patterns for construction ships — they now take resources in bulk, with optimized algorithms for efficiency.
• Fixed an issue with the repair module ship’s behavior pattern.
• Enhanced task search and task memory algorithms for ships.
• Fixed issues where ships would switch between tasks or become confused.
• Fixed bugs where ships became idle without performing any tasks.
• Fixed a bug where ships took control away from the player and didn’t move to the designated point.
• Fixed an issue where construction ships wouldn’t unload into storage or only used a portion of the storage compartments for required resources.
• Optimized AI algorithms for better performance.
• Improved responsiveness of ships to tasks and player commands.
• Mining, delivery, and construction abilities can now be manually activated when directing a ship to a specific target.

Economic Adjustments:

• Extended the economic cycle interval from 6 to 12 seconds (or 4 seconds at x3 speed) to reduce information overload for players.
• Improved the economic cycle timer to ensure consistent production values between cycles without decimal deviations.

UI Improvements:

• Added and improved tooltips in the route interface, with various bug fixes.
• Grouped ships by color in the bottom menu for better visual clarity.
• Color selection for future buildings and ships is now saved across sessions.
• Ship and building colors will persist after saving and loading the game.
• Various small UI improvements and bug fixes.
• Fixed an issue where players would get confused when trying to purchase blueprints if the interface rounded their balance up to a higher value than they actually had.
• Improved the ship upgrade experience — now, the ship editing interface opens immediately, without needing to wait for the ship to move to the shipyard.

Many of these changes were directly influenced by player feedback, and more improvements are planned for upcoming patches. Thank you for your support and feedback!