- Linux and Steam Deck: Space Defender now has a native Linux version. On its first launch it brings over your saves, settings and sync key from Proton by itself, without touching the Proton copy. If you once forced a compatibility tool (Properties > Compatibility), untick it to get the native version. This is a first Linux version and I could not test it on a Deck myself: if it does not start, tick Proton again in the same place, and please tell me in the discussions (your distribution, graphics card, and the file ~/.config/unity3d/Guillaume M92/Space Defender/Player.log).
- More varied missions: enemy waves now come in groups (packs, escorted heavies, squadrons) that your scouts announce before the fight. Drill defence waves change from one to the next, and at rich veins some come from two sides. Two new twists: Magnetic storm and Priority target, an officer who flees after a minute.
- Your squadron counts: each wingman beyond the first brings more enemies and a bigger bounty, so missions stay a challenge with a full squadron.
- Travel: the autopilot's hyperboost is free for everyone, and you can jump to a far station from its card on the map.
- A lighter first hour: tabs open one at a time, the ship screen stays simple until the Hangar, briefings come in a window only the first time, and tips come over the radio, spaced out and never in combat. About a third as many popups as before.
- On the ground: a quicker arrival on ground types you already know, 45-second drilling, better pay for ground contracts, and mines that hit harder, with their own stock, laid in your wake when you boost or reverse.
- Ground materials without landing: station counters sell a few, scanning a vein gives a sample, and convoys pay in materials too. The rover turns on the spot, and its first engine upgrade is free at your first vein.
- Late game: Mk II blueprints once Kepler is open, 12 pieces above the best of their family. Research: Tractor Beam tier 1 is free, and Magnetized Mines cost half as much (the difference is refunded).
- Hull plating by hull size: a quarter of the price on an act I hull, half on act II, a little more on act IV. Levels you already bought stay.
- Ruins and sunken cities: ruins in relief, pressure plates and doors easier to spot, the amphibious rover dives under the sea, the Leviathan stays in the water, and big creatures no longer appear in tight spaces. Some creatures and trees redrawn.
- New Game+: a confirmation before you leave, with what you leave behind (credits, cargo, outposts) and what you keep, and the difficulty of each level shown. Your Frontier Eights cards now come along.
- AI-generated voices and portraits (Options > Language): turn them off to play without voices and with drawn portraits. On PC, Mac and Linux you can also put your own portraits in a folder.
- PC: Max zoom-out goes up to 200%, for big hulls and ultrawide screens. At the counter, buy and sell by drag and drop. Crew: the status dot is bigger and comes first, and "has something to say" is now a small speech bubble.
- Steam Deck: no more tiny text at 1280x800, and Steam's keyboard opens on text fields. No more crash when quitting under Proton.
- Local co-op: player 2's battery and generator now really count: firing drains their energy, their generator recharges it, and their bar shows the real value. Player 2's controller also stays assigned after an act change, a galaxy jump or a load.
- Interface: the world map Legend now sits in a drawer on the map and never goes off screen. The Fleet manages your ships and the Shipyard only sells, without showing the same ships twice. Desert rock pillars no longer cast strange dumbbell-shaped shadows.
- Fixes: Mammoth and Colossus no longer locked in a finished game; the Logistics research (tractor beams, salvage drones) works again in New Game+; "Set a waypoint on the station" starts the cruise; Frontier Command orders no longer show "cmd_z1s1"; sunken cities sit fully off the coast; pirate outpost loot is easy to reach and drifts to the rover; "Ilse's Ears" is no longer skipped after a reload; rover lights and shadows on steep slopes. The review request only comes once.
Thank you to everyone whose reports and reviews shaped this update: Madd Llama (Mammoth, New Game+ research and the warning before leaving), Jelinobas (plating prices, "cmd_z1s1"), ViciousCareBear (waypoint, outpost loot, drag and drop at the counter, crew dots), WariousGaming (the ruins of CARINA-62 F), Gloomy-Bee (the AI option), SKurj (the 200% zoom), Zephlos, Silverkun, Game.yoyo, alfus and JoeShmo (missions, squadron, travel and the ground), Misanthropius, MatZuvO, Ruddaii and Megxx (the first hour), Hallmackenreuther and the Linux players (the native version), Berserage (player 2 in co-op). These notes now also come in German, Russian and Chinese.
— Guillaume (Petit Vaisseau)