A new game system has been added
A new game system that expands on the current gameplay has been added. It's the manifest system. You now have to keep a manifest for your cargo. BUT DON'T WORRY! It gets automatically populated when you buy or sell cargo. You just need to "File" and/or change it.
You need to declare your cargo to avoid issues with authorities when docking or during inspection stops.
This opens up the gameplay to new possibilities. First - you can now lie to avoid any illegal cargo issues. If you have a good standing with a faction you can pass an inspection on manifest submission alone. If you're carrying something illegal you can declare it as something...not as illegal. And, if your manifest looks plausible, there's a good chance of that happening.
Here's an example:
You normally carry Food. Most inspections so far have only found Food items in your cargo hold. You have a refrigeration upgrade on your ship so you're probably mostly carrying Food.
However, you have decided that there's good profit in carrying weapons. Weapons are illegal cargo for certain factions. You decide to declare them as Food. You're a know Food supplier. You can probably move on with just that without being scanned.
That does not guarantee that the inspection officer won't run a scan on your ship anyway. And here's where the next gameplay effect comes in.
Second - a new risk vs. reward system for you, as a captain, now exists.
While you can lie, in a lot of cases that WILL make things worse.
If an inspection finds illegal cargo they'll confiscate it and issue a fine if you're carrying a significant number of illegal items.
If it's declared illegal cargo they might just confiscate it. Some factions won't even bother doing that for just a few illegal items.
But if you have illegal, undeclared (or falsely declared) cargo and it's found through a cargo scan then you're in for a MUCH bigger fine, you're DEFINITELY getting your cargo confiscated and you're taking a BIG hit to the reputation you have with the specific faction.
What if the cargo is legal and not declared? Not a big deal for most factions. Might get off with a warning, a small fine or nothing at all.
So what's the reward here?
Well, there are two rewards. You can continue building your Specialization even if you're not actually carrying the thing you say you are. Think of it as a "front." This way you can slowly move into more and more illegal activities more easily.
Secondly, you have a much lower chance of your cargo being inspected if there has already been an inspection carried on your current filed manifest. You can move more freely with your illegal cargo once you pass a check.
Generally, the BIG gameplay change is allowing more freedom when choosing how to play the game and a new system that you need to pay attention to. More variety is the biggest change here.
Added a new system - the Manifest system
Interception, inspections and docking now do a manifest check
Changed how legality works so it aligns better with this new system
Reputation and Specialization now have a much bigger effect on gameplay