It seems I've been neglecting ModDB a bit - I never got around to announcing my return, or the Patreon, or the new update I was working on. (Okay, I sort of announced all three of those in the comments section, but that's not the same.)
However, my failure to coordinate the ModDB and Steam releases was more deliberate (even if it did last a little longer than I originally intended). Releasing to or updating from the Steam Workshop is a lot more convenient for modder and user alike, and there's inevitably a number of issues that need to be fixed after the initial Workshop release. Some of those are me being a blind idiot, others are things that have just been noticed after a few years of slipping by undetected.
Having said all that, version 1.2.0 has now reached a sufficiently stable state that I'm comfortable with the idea of releasing it to ModDB. (In fact, it released 10 hours ago; I just didn't manage to write this up before I had to leave for college.)
The full patch notes can be found at Steamcommunity.com, as usual. Here's some of the most important bits, though:
- Massively revamped the tech grid to make it more like ABEM and improve compatibility with the base game. Unfortunately, Technocracy was doomed.
- Reworked terraforming, making it a research unlock and building a specialization tree around it.
- The Bluuhbi are back from ABEM. They're basically the same as they were before.
- Boarding Parties are back, working more like the ones in Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion. (Rahta get Boarding Parties by default.)
- Several new toys like Forcefields. (Alipha get Forcefields by default.)
- Non-orbital FTL methods now use the same research mechanism (research prototype -> build prototype -> pay FTL to unlock normal equipment) as Gates and Fling Beacons.
