Distant Worlds 2 "Aurora" free Update is now available on Steam

[Boggit]

Hi All,

I just got this press release from Slitherine regarding the new mega update and the new DLC plans.

Regards,
Boggit

"Today, Slitherine and developer CodeForce released the Aurora Update for Distant Worlds 2, the biggest update ever published for the gigantic sci-fi 4x. The Update is free for all players.

But it's just the start: Slitherine will release a full DLC with two new factions on March 16th. Stay tuned for more on this.

Erik K. Rutins played the new Update and spoke at length about the future of the game. You can find the full video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGD4ogXqouw

You can find more details on Aurora Update here.
https://www.slitherine.com/news/distant-worlds-2-aurora-update-out-now

A detailed list of all changes is available here.
https://www.matrixgames.com/amazon/Uploads/News/DW2_AuroraUpdate_ChangeList.pdf

To celebrate the Aurora Update, Slitherine has a special sale on Steam for Distant Worlds 2 (25%) and Distant Worlds: Universe (an outstanding 90%).

Aurora Artwork: https://we.tl/t-etH8mv5e38

What is Distant Worlds 2?

Distant Worlds 2 was released on March 2022. It's a sci-fi 4X all about player choice and the freedom to explore the game world and play the way you want. Automate the various tasks in your empire, so that you can focus on the ar eas that you enjoy most. Play only as an explorer without worrying about economics and trade, or manage the home planet, leaving your faction's AI to exploration and defensive duties. The powerful AI engine has been created so that you can also play as Ship Designer only, if you choose, with the rest of the galaxy evolving and living independently in the background.

Every faction in Distant Worlds 2 has its own story arc and dedicated faction missions. Explore the vastness of space,  find valuable resources, discover potential colonies for your empire and make contact with other empires, discussing treaties, making trade offers and forging alliances. Defend the outlying areas of your empire to protect it from raiding pirates, or even dangerous space monsters. Develop new technologies for building your own unique ships and star bases. Design your own starships, mixing designs and elements such as weapons, engines and sensors. The possibilities are endless, play your own way and map out your own adventure across the galaxy. Distant Worlds 2 also features a completely overhauled, clear and easy to use UI, and an all-new introductory tutorial will ease players into the world; helping th em get to grips with all of its systems.

Slitherine and CodeForce are committed to enhance and support Distant Worlds 2 continuously; The Aurora Update and the DLC with two new factions are just the first steps."
 

[jamus34]

Any word on if this has improved DW 2 to the point of making it a buy?

[FarAway Sooner]

The game is getting there.  If you like poking around to figure out how different systems work, it's definitely playable and even quite enjoyable.  It plays much like the original for long periods of time.

At some point, things still get a little wonky, but it is MUCH more playable than it was upon release.  They also figured out the technical issues that were causing so many CTD and have come up with a pretty easy workaround.

It's not nearly as polished as DWU was after 5 years of updates and tweaks, but it's clearly getting better.

[jamus34]

Thanks Sooner, at this point I'll probably give it a pass for now and let the dev's simmer it a bit more.

[Jarhead0331]

This is a really good overview of the Aurora update from Erik...

[Jarhead0331]

Having played the game and watched Erik's video, I feel like one of the biggest issues is the UI. It is a total mess. There is so much information and I do not feel like it is laid out and presented very well. Also the menu interface is difficult to read, it is cluttered and very hard to follow. Just my personal opinions, but the UI puts me off almost instantly and makes it very hard for me to get into the game.

[FarAway Sooner]

Yeah.  The game is DEEP and complicated.  That's a large part of what gave it such an enthusiastic following in its first game.  They still need to build out Tooltips to help people understand what's going on sometimes, but this patch goes a long way towards bringing more of that complexity into the light. 

I find myself enjoying the current piece a lot.  But the UI is complicated.  The game is in much better shape than it was upon release, both in terms of game play and in terms of technical stability.  I still struggle to master some parts of it, but I actually enjoy the challenge of puzzling that stuff out.

[Jarhead0331]

Also because of the UI, I feel like the game, and my units, are constantly fighting me. Left clicks and right clicks don't do what I would expect them to do and I find that directly controlling certain things is nearly impossible and very frustrating. I'm sure this has something to do with how the UI works, as well as certain automation features that I just don't yet understand, but it is frustrating nevertheless.

I absolutely loved DW1 back in the day, and it is clear from Erik's video that there is a good game in there...I just need to discover it.

[solops]

Still po'd Matrix won't support direct customers with betas, giving preference to Steam users. And poop on the free Steam key. Shadow Empires and true customer service forever!

[FarAway Sooner]

Also because of the UI, I feel like the game, and my units, are constantly fighting me. Left clicks and right clicks don't do what I would expect them to do and I find that directly controlling certain things is nearly impossible and very frustrating. I'm sure this has something to do with how the UI works, as well as certain automation features that I just don't yet understand, but it is frustrating nevertheless.

I absolutely loved DW1 back in the day, and it is clear from Erik's video that there is a good game in there...I just need to discover it.

Yeah.  In theory, I think it's either [SHIFT] + Rt Click or [CTRL] + Rt Click is supposed to bring up a context-sensitive menu appropriate for each selected unit.  In practice, that works except when it doesn't. 

I enjoy the dynamic interaction with the Civilian pops and economy, but there are times that I too am fighting the automation.  Or, more often, just not understanding it. 

My home world is maxxed out on pop, but even with the lowest happiness in my empire, I still can't send emigrants out from that planet.  They're emigrating from another planet in my empire just fine.  Is that because the home world pops aren't just motivated by happiness?  Is it because of some setting I put somewhere?  Or is it simply because I don't have enough Passenger ships available?  Or some combination of the three.

I am really enjoying the game.  The comparison to Shadow Empires is good.  In that game, I just ultimately ended up throwing so many resources at the Logistics issue that something worked.

[Jarhead0331]

I've put in a few hours over the weekend and I have a pretty good game going. I'm trying to stick with it and for now, I'm enjoying it, although there is definitely some tedium. I'm just getting to the point where I really need some fleets so I know figuring out how to manage and control them is going to be the next big hurdle. Wish me luck.

[CJReich46]

The Ikkuro and Dhayut DLC releases March 16th.

https://www.matrixgames.com/game/distant-worlds-2-ikkuro-and-dhayut

[FarAway Sooner]

I'll buy that for a dollar!  (except that it's coming out for free)

[Tanaka]

I'll buy that for a dollar!  (except that it's coming out for free)

Where have you seen that it is coming out for free? I don't think so?

[Pete Dero]

I'll buy that for a dollar!  (except that it's coming out for free)

Where have you seen that it is coming out for free? I don't think so?

Aurora update : free
DLC : not free (price will probably be revealed on release)