Matrix Games

Welcome back, explorers.

We’re pleased to announce that a major update for Distant Worlds 2 is out now: the Mercantile Update.

This update marks the second-to-last (only the Ackdarians remain) free update focused on bringing the base game factions to a similar gameplay level as the new factions added in the post-release DLCs. This update is similar to a Free DLC in that it includes a refresh of the Teekan and Haakonish factions as well as many other changes focused on making manual play and general quality of life better, with a focus on story events, the resource/trade economy and fleet and ship behavior.

Please note that data and game event fixes will only apply when starting a new game. Mercantile Update download link: https://ftp.matrixgames.com/pub/DistantWorlds2/DistantWorlds2-MultiUpdateComp-v1.3.3.6.zip.

FULL CHANGELOG:

GENERAL
• Fixed multiple crashes
• Fixed incorrect game date shown in Load Game preview
• Small performance improvement when starting new games
• Improved overall performance

AUTOMATION INTERFACE
• Added startup message summarizing current Automation settings and how they work
• Added Automation settings info to Advisor suggestion messages
• Added automation option for Artifacts (send to optimal location)

TEEKAN FACTION REFRESH
• New loading screen illustrations added
• Improved starting access to civilian ships
• Military ships now have smaller hulls but equal component capacity (more fragile)
• Ships, stations, and facilities build 30% faster
• More willing to initiate Trade Agreements
• Increased resistance to bombardment and ground combat damage
• Militia and troops gain major combat bonuses on Desert planets
• “Salvage Kings” ability allowing special salvage recovery events
• Galactic Nomads option when reduced to one colony (evacuate population and become refugee fleet)
• Colonizing planets provides migration attraction bonus
• New “Great Bakdur Hunt” event on Desert planets
• Added new character traits and updated Victory Conditions
• Expanded and updated tech tree
• Texture refresh for ships and stations
• Added new event illustrations and loading art
• Corrected pirate faction race (“The Nameless Teekans”)
• Fixed “Lost Teekan Colony” event facility ownership and maintenance
• Unified bonus population from Lost Colony event
• Preferred standoff weapon changed to Torpedoes

HAAKONISH FACTION REFRESH
• New loading screen illustrations added
• Ships, stations, and facilities cost 20% more and take ~10% longer to build
• Start with an additional Mining Ship
• Enhanced Trade Treaty mechanics:
• Binding Contracts increase trade weighting toward Haakonish
• Penalty Clauses cause reputation penalties and treaty breakage when at war
• Account Confiscation grants immediate income boost equal to last year’s trade value
• Exploit Loopholes option grants instant income at cost of reputation and treaty termination
• Completing Haakonish-specific tech boosts happiness
• Creative Accounting planetary action increases short-term income at cost of higher corruption
• Xenophobic Riots option reduces non-Haakonish population by 25% at reputation and migration penalties
• New character traits added
• Tech tree expanded, including early Haakonish-exclusive Gravitic Area weapon (Vortex Bomb)
• Texture improvements to select ships and stations
• New event illustrations and loading art added

STORY EVENT LOGIC
• Fixed faction events spawning incorrectly on homeworlds
• Expanded fallback logic for “EmptySystem” location hints so events always find valid locations
• Fixed Pirate Ambush ruins event failing to spawn pirate ships
• Pirate Ambush ships now spawn closer to investigating vessels

RESOURCE ECONOMY
• Improved resource delivery and freighter handling logic
• Fixed manually controlled freighters being auto-assigned to cargo missions

TOURISM
• Passenger ships more cautious when checking private economy funding
• Soft cap on scenery bonuses affecting tourism income (diminishing returns above 25%)

FLEET & SHIP BEHAVIOR
• Manual fleet ships no longer auto-return to fleet core
• Fleet templates now properly apply formation settings
• Defend fleets no longer auto-attack outside their current system
• Improved retreat evaluation for more accurate strength calculations
• Refuel and repair missions allow dispersed ships to use nearest facilities individually
• Fixed fleets stalling on queued missions
• Escorting ships now count as “available,” reducing downtime
• Fleets more willing to engage threats despite low fuel (especially manual fleets)
• Fixed fleets attacking dangerous sites without sufficient strength
• Improved display and detection of dangerous locations
• Attacks now break off when fleeing targets exceed engagement range
• Pursuit behavior updated to dynamically track hyperspace jumps
• Fixed disabled ships attempting to retrofit while in damaging storms
• Fixed carriers incorrectly displaying negative attack strength
• Fixed ships sometimes not attacking when in range
• Increased default Auto-Response Range for Manual and Invasion fleets
• Fixed manually assigned mining missions missing offload locations
• Fixed ships auto-offloading cargo incorrectly during Dock missions

INVASION FLEETS
• Improved troop loading logic to prioritize populous and appropriate colonies
• Honours garrison and minimum defense thresholds
• Considers Army Templates for optimal troop composition
• Manual troop loading via colony right-click still available
• Fixed automated troop transports looping unload/load actions

FUEL TANKERS & FLEETS
• Manual fuel tankers now follow fleet missions and require manual refuel actions
• Automated fuel tankers continue operating independently
• Improved tanker navigation to dynamic fleet locations
• Tankers no longer refuel fleets with queued missions
• Independent automated tankers no longer refuel manual fleets if auto-refueling is disabled
• Improved detection of fleet availability after refueling
• Updated Galactopedia article on tanker mechanics
• Added new instructional hint for fuel tanker operations
• Immediate clearing of “Waiting for Fuel Tankers” message when transfers cancel

BOMBARDMENT
• Bombardment resistance no longer renders planetary facilities invulnerable

TROOPS INTERFACE
• Colony and selection screens now show troops required by Army Template
• Required troops are prevented from being loaded by automated transports

DIPLOMACY
• Fixed diplomatic incident value updates

COLONIZATION
• Automated colonization avoids dangerous locations

CONSTRUCTION
• All non-obsolete buildable base types now appear in colony right-click menus
• Fixed advisor recommending blank bases

ECONOMY
• Fixed cash values becoming NaN

GRAPHICS
• Adjusted city night-light shader for stability and consistency
• Improved planet rendering artifacts at low zoom and shallow angles

SALVAGE TECH BONUSES
• Reduced tech bonus from retiring advanced ships

USER INTERFACE
• Fixed Victory Conditions tooltip offset
• Messages properly close on returning to main menu
• Messages remain closed when exiting Ship Design
• Fixed “Distance from Item” sorting in Monitoring Stations list
• Added Size visibility to troop summary popups
• Improved display of admirals and generals in UI, with layout compression for large rosters

GAME EDITOR
• Renaming stars or planets now also updates associated location names

DATA & MODDING
• Increased component ID limit to 4095
• Adjusted Teekan tech tree to better handle ZimZip shuttles with carriers
• Reduced starting populations on Bartuc and Horazon for storyline adjustments
• Fixed related event issues