Greeetings Commanders!
Here are some of the changes coming with Update - 2.2 which do not require the DLC.
The release date is July 28th.
Big Asteroid models were remade and they now interact with the game plane, forming "space caves". They can be mined with mining bases, either by the AI or the player with base building DLC.
Items (trade goods) are now produced (or extracted) in mining bases, factories, agristations and laboratories, which are mostly available in civilian sectors (including PMC and Syndicate ones).
Sectors are now generated with fewer stations, but they have more variety like mining bases or factories. Faction controlled sectors will also spawn turret defenses. Old saves were adjusted to reflect this change.
Added actual NPC traders, which will buy/sell items from stations to keep productions going, even when not in the current sector. Their number is tied to galaxy size and is finite, for now.
Added 7 new items (trade goods): Ice, Organic Matter, Chemicals, Computers, Advanced Composites, Volatile, Batteries.
Stations now have lower chances of selling a particular item, which should make each market more unique. Ammo is always sold in most stations.
Sectors suffering attacks by battle fleets or assault on player bases (a DLC feature), do not receive NPC traders and have ship population drastically reduced.
You can now interact(dock) with Marauder and Mercenary hideouts, when friendly.
Hideouts now enter a 'deactivated' state when they have no shields and all guard ships are destroyed. You can dock at deactivated bases and choose one of the following actions: Plunder, for money and goods; Salvage, for crafting materials; Hack, for Tech level and blueprints; Capture, to claim the base to yourself (and later to other factions). The Capture option requires base building DLC.
The station interface now shows a 3D image of its model as a background, whose visibility can be customized in settings.
Added spaceship: Artemis, tier 3 independent Corsair, size 6 (Dreadnought).
Added spaceship: Leviathan, tier 2 independent Freighter, size 6 (Dreadnought).
Added spaceship: Aurora, tier 2 independent Mining, size 5 (Cruiser).
Added spaceship: Toupeira, tier 2 independent Mining, size 2 (Yacht).
Added spaceship: Posilky, tier 2 independent Freighter, size 2 (Yacht).
Manned turrets will now mine asteroids if they have a mining laser installed.
Now you gain 'Fleet Commander' points when your fleet mines. It's based on the sector level and is considerably slower than actual combat.
Energy Orbs are now craftable.
Drones with auto targeting will now repair and attack stations automatically.
Drones with auto-targeting will now search for a new target near its owner if they fail to find one close to its current position.
Repair drones when too far will return to orbiting its owner instead of recalling (deactivating). Attack drones with auto targeting will also search for a new target near its owner before recalling.
Improved collector beam loot detection and item pulling.
Special crewman Tigger received new abilities (only available for new games though).
Item tool tip now show base price if you have 'Market Insight'
Pressing 'Order Fire' will now break cloaking (or camouflage) if you have gunners able to fire.
Blueprint rewards will now try to prioritize weapons and equipment higher than level 5, with very low chance of lower levels or trade goods.
Improved overall image contrast.
The starter ship model now has a trait that reduces its sell price, especially for bigger class sizes.
Changed (improved) plasma and cannon fire sounds.
Battle Fleets now update position twice as fast, but the resulting travel speed is just a bit faster.
Plasma weapons base projectile speed increased from 60 to 70. They also received a new mechanic called 'Heat bloom' (name not definitive) which adds a raw DPS bonus based on current hardpoint heat, where 5 heat points equals 1 DPS up to double the weapon's normal damage.
Heat bloom is also available as a crafting modifier.
Added the option to treat neutral ships as friendly when firing at them, which is now default.
Added 2 special crewman: Wraith and Rojopappu.
Added 1 more zoom out level for all ship sizes.
Battle Computer now shows target info based on its version: 1.0: Hull Points; 2.0: Armor and Damage Resistance; 3.0: Shields.
The quest to become 'White Collar' no longer triggers after 3 declines.
Casual/Streamer mode can now be played in Hardcore difficulty.
Added 2 more songs to the ambient music.
Fixes, lots and lots of fixes...
The complete list of fixes will come later, as well as the Base Building DLC features