1.3.1.1.01 Public Beta Update Available

[MaximKI]

Hi everyone,

Please try this new beta and let us know if it helps your game. We encourage you to start a new game as there may be changes that only take effect upon starting a new game.

To facilitate frequent beta iterations as needed, this beta is only available for now on Steam and GOG. All Matrix customers also have a free Steam key available (through your My Page) which can be activated if desired to install DW2 via Steam and test this Beta there.

On Steam, you can switch to it by going to Distant Worlds 2 in your Steam Library, right-clicking on it, choosing Properties -> Betas -> then choosing the latest beta branch from the drop-down list and allowing Steam to update your game. If it updates correctly, you should see the latest beta version listed as your version in-game on the bottom right.

On GOG, you can switch to it by going to Distant Worlds 2 in your GOG Library, selecting Distant Worlds 2, then clicking on the button next to "Play" that looks like two horizontal lines with small offset circles, choosing Manage Installation -> Configure then picking the latest Beta from the Beta channels drop-down list and allowing GOG to update.

The Core game engine has been upgraded to use newer versions of Stride and .NET. We now include .NET in the game executable, so no additional external .NET redistributables are required.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you still experience crashes with 1.0.6.4 or later, especially crashes in battle, please try the new DXVK rendering option in the game settings. This can be found under "Rendering Mode", which can be switched from DirectX 11 to DXVK. DXVK is only guaranteed to work with the SDR (Standard Definition Rendering) option in your game settings. It may work with some HDR (High Definition Rendering) settings, but we do not advise trying those at this time. The DXVK option willl likely resolve many issues caused by driver bugs or incompatibilities.

If you try this setting and the game does not launch, please note the command line option in the changes below to switch back to DirectX 11. (To force DirectX on launch, add --use-dx11 as a command-line argument to DistantWorlds2.exe)

Changes in 1.3.1.1.01 (July 23, 2025)

- A few data file fixes for government biases, as well as a fix to the Chinese localization mod.

Changes in 1.3.1.1 (July 9th, 2025)

CRASH FIXES
- fixed crash when resolving list items
- fixed rare crash when picking up debris

REFUGEE FLEET
- fixed Refugee Fleet start not working

FLEETS
- fixed invasion fleets sometimes attacking targets outside their engagement range (but will still attack targets of opportunity in same system even when outside engagement area)

BASE CONSTRUCTION
- Queue Base task buttons now use more precise determination of whether target is within construction ship fuel range

USER INTERFACE
- ship damage report now shows more precise level of hull damage when nearing 100% health, thus making it clearer when a ship needs repair

PIRATES
- fixed some pirate factions not showing room backgrounds in diplomacy screen

SHIP DESIGN
- when manually designing a ship or base with a shiphull that only has internal hangar bays then disable rule requiring at least one external hangar bay to be filled by construction yards, docking bays or fighter bays

Changes in 1.3.1.0 (July 3rd, 2025)

CRASH FIXES
- fixed rare crash when encountering independent colony
- fixed rare crash when processing construction yards
- fixed a number of crashes
- fixed rare crash when starting area weapon blasts in a scene
- fixed rare crash when generating a new game

ANNIVERSARY CONTENT
- added a new anniversary story event to celebrate 25 years of Slitherine and Matrix Games
- added a new anniversary variant freighter texture for one independent freighter

GRAPHICS IMPROVEMENTS
- fixed faulty rendering for some planet types

GALAXY SETUP
- empire starting location is now more accurate (specified in Start New Game screen)

USER INTERFACE
- fixed Enemy Targets list filters sometimes not working properly when filtering by empire
- changed default system badge display level to Enhanced (was Basic)

VIEW LOCK FEATURE
- view lock now properly retains lock when ship or fleet enters or exits hyperspace
- ship or fleet now smoothly locked with camera (no jiggle when zoomed in)

INDEPENDENT COLONIES
- enhanced independent colonies to have more detail: more natural features that provide bonuses, ocassional defending troops, ocassional facilities of various sorts
- improved intro text for first contact with independent colonies so that highlights unique items at colony

FLEET BEHAVIOR
- fixed additional situations where empire bonuses were sometimes being applied twice to ships in a fleet
- fixed weapons often not using correct repeatable values from tech tree while in combat (e.g. extended weapon range)
- automated fleets now better at choosing best repair/retrofit yards, e.g. preferring spaceports (with many yards) over colonies
- further improved fleet responsiveness when intercepting incoming enemy fleets
- fleets intercepting incoming enemy fleets will now coordinate with each other so that more distant fleets drop off when closer fleets are available to intercept
- fleets attacking creatures are now more careful about evaluating other threats at same location and will not auto-assign attack when breaches retreat conditions (assuming location is visible and threats are known)
- fleets and ships now more careful when evaluating Hive threat for attack
- improved fleet willingness to refuel prior to repairs when necessary

SHIP BEHAVIOR
- improved evaluation of attacks against threats for ships outside fleets so that more careful to avoid attacks against locations with many enemy targets unless can coordinate other nearby ships to assist
- added new empire policy settings to control how ships outside fleets evaluate attacks against enemy targets in both offensive and defensive situations (Minimum Attack Level for Ships, Minimum Defend Level for Ships)
- more careful to cancel all incoming missions for enemy ships when conquer one of their colonies (colony ships loading population, load troops, refuel/repair/retrofit for military ships)

FUEL TANKERS
- fuel tankers in fleets will now consider refuelling their fleet ships even when inside dangerous nebulae (e.g. ion storms) that they are not designed to handle, as long as the tanker is already at the same location as the fleet and is not disabled

SHIP DESIGN
- removed PreferredWeaponComponentIds from all races (Races.xml) so that ship design and research is not influenced by these settings. These could interfere with the component policy settings, causing some confusion. The component policy settings are now fully authoritative when guiding the ship design automation.
- improved manual upgrade of ship and base designs (Upgrade button) so that engine symmetry is honored and upgrade process attempts to keep upgraded components in the same bay if possible (i.e. when new component fits within maximum size of existing bay)
- ensure that manually-designed ships and bases with hangar components always use at least one external hangar bay so that ships and fighters can properly enter and exit the hangar
- improved selection of shields for automated ship design by tweaking evaluation of some shield values
- fixed incorrect display of some shield component values where lower values are better (Penetration Chance, Penetration Ratio)
- improved auto-design for fighters so that will now dispense with fuel tank in favor of second reactor when required to fulfill power needs
- improved auto-design for fighters so that more likely to add further engines when possible
- automated designs for Spaceports and Defensive Bases now also includes shield recharge energy requirements when determining how many reactors to add, thus being more likely to avoid insufficient power output during battle
- tweaked automated Defensive Base designs to typically have more shields and armor
- automated designs now more likely to include countermeasures and targeting components, even when hull has inbuilt countermeasures and targeting (when components provide better values in these areas)

RESEARCH
- reduced research point bonus from Research treaties to 10% (previously 20%)
- removed PreferredWeaponComponentIds from all races (Races.xml) so that ship design and research is not influenced by these settings. These could interfere with the component policy settings, causing some confusion. The component policy settings are now fully authoritative when guiding the research automation.

ALLIANCES
- fixed empire offers to end wars with alliances not properly displaying Alliance Vote screen to consider offer
- fixed empire offers to end wars with alliances not being properly evaluated when diplomacy is automated

HIVE THREAT
- greatly improved Hive fleet ability to mine fuel, thus making the Hive more readily available for attack missions (all capable Hive ships will now mine for themselves and all ships mine faster)

DATA
- adjusted independent freighter ship hulls
- corrected an issue with the Boskara slave world event

IKKURO / DHAYUT DLC
- story event typo fix

ATUUK / WEKKARUS DLC
- fixed texture issues for some Wekkarus ships
- story event typo fix

[MaximKI]

A new public beta is available now! See OP for details.

[MaximKI]

A new public beta is available now! See OP for details.

[MaximKI]

We released a small public beta with a few data fixes and a fix to the Chinese localization mod.