Interstellar Space: Genesis - Free 1.5 Update Released!

Hello everyone!

We are excited to announce that the new major and free! 1.5 update for Interstellar Space: Genesis is now available to all players!

This update has been on the unstable branch for beta testing to make sure there were no major unforeseen issues for the smoothest official release possible. We're happy to report that testing went very well, so we believe we're in very good shape. Thanks to everyone who played the unstable build and provided feedback!

1.5 Update - Features and Improvements

New Galaxy Shapes

This was a highly popular request by the community and is one of the major new features of the 1.5 update. On top of the squarish shape the game offered, we now also have Elliptical, Ring and Spiral-shaped galaxies!

The maps certainly look much better with the new galaxy shapes! However, no less important are the new gameplay dynamics that should emerge from the much more interesting terrain from these new galaxy shapes, which can now form clusters of stars and whole sectors that will be much further apart from each other. This is usually the case with Ring galaxies (big hole in the middle) or Spiral galaxies (loose arms and further distances between stars).

Steam Cloud Saves

Another popular request, Steam Cloud Saves is now in the game and it allows you to save your game on one of your devices and continue on a different one later. Enjoy switching from PCs and continue your epic adventure through the stars!

Automated (Auto-assigned) Infrastructure

This one comes to the rescue of some of that heavy micro that could happen on late-game, especially on very large game sessions, where it was not uncommon to have to choose from half a dozen or more colony infrastructure specializations on a given turn.

With this new feature, you'll be able to auto-assign infrastructure specializations for your colonies in one go and forget about it. This will be particularly useful in late-game for newly founded colonies, or ones acquired through invasion, especially in the larger galaxies.

The way it works is that you'll be able to set an automatic upgrade profile for each colony (e.g. develop planetary engineering first and then ship building, etc). This way, every time the colony upgrades its infrastructure it will level it up according to the profile you've set.

Ship Idle Alerts

We have received many requests for implementing some sort of "ship idle" notification system that could warn the player of ships sitting around without orders, which could be left hanging somewhere and remain "idle" for many turns, especially civilian ships.

An example, a survey ship arrives on a system and is not immediately sent on a new mission; it could be forgotten in that system for some turns. An outpost ship or a colony ship arrive at their destination and no settlements could be established at that time. The same for support ships and even assault ships.

To help keep track of this, a new "ship idle" notification will now be presented every time a civilian ship arrives at a system and there is no obvious action possible or set for it. The idle alerts will only be displayed once per ship and per turn they arrive at a system and become idle.

Improved AI

Last of the major new improvements, but not the least, it's always a good thing to have to increase engagement and excitement: improved AI, particularly on the way the AI designs their ships and uses them in combat. And, more efficient leader management by the AI.

The AI now designs their ships with three distinct roles in mind: close-range attacker, long-range attacker, and a general defender or multi-purpose warship. Each role will tend to equip different and specialized equipment, from weapons, and respective weapon modifications, special systems which will lead to new tactics.

These new roles result in (we hope) much improved performance in combat. Examples: Ships with missiles or strike craft may stay behind for a while, while close-attacker heavy armor ships may go for the kill with their armor and shield piercing weapons. Certain AI race affinities will prefer some roles to others.

The AI will also make smarter choices with respect to improved maneuverability opportunities (resulting in more speed, accuracy and evasion capabilities), and will be more sensible regarding the miniaturization level of the weapons it equips (e.g. a state-of-the-art weapon may not be the best choice, a highly miniaturized weapon may be better).

Also, the AI does a better handling of their leaders now. It will bring them more for key battles (especially invasions in the higher difficulties), while trying to improve their survival rate.

All of this should help make for more immersive and exciting combat. It does seem to be the case, but let us know what you think.

And, more!

There's also balance changes, many UI and assorted QoL improvements, many of which are in response to player feedback. There's also bug fixes, and more!

Version 1.5 - Full Release Note

You can find the full change log for this update here.

Compatibility and finishing an ongoing game

Due to the extension of the changes, saves from previous versions are not compatible with the 1.5 update. You will need to start new games to enjoy the new features and improvements.

To everyone who helped beta test this update, please revert to the main branch by choosing 'None' in Steam's Betas tab. You can then resume playing with the official version now.

If you want to finish your current game with the previous version (1.4.4), please download the "Previous version" build on your Itchio account.

Thanks

We want to thank everyone who has helped test this update. Big thanks to everyone who has bought the game, and the expansions, so far. Thank you.

If you have some time, we'd love it if you could take our survey "Interstellar Space: Genesis - What's Next!". You can also take it later as a link to the survey is also available from the game's main menu.

We hope you enjoy the new free 1.5 update! If you haven't bought the Natural Law expansion yet, please consider buying as it adds 2 very nice playable races to the game, that will have their own Evolution tree with the Evolving Empires expansion, among other features and music tracks. The Evolving Empires expansion adds two major new features: Evolutions and Minor Civilizations. It also includes 7 new leaders and 2 new music tracks.

Have fun!

Adam Solo
Praxis Games