You’ve probably noticed, we just released patch 2! These first two patches have focused on quickly fixing big issues related to hardware compatibility, general usability, and blockers found in the campaign. We are aware of some lingering issues on these fronts and we are continuing to look into them, but hopefully we squashed the big ones.

Now, onto the next patch! The next big patch is going to focus more on gameplay balance and ship behaviors in the Multiplayer Beta. Balance is a tricky issue in this game and comes with a lot of unintended consequences. Chief among them is that balancing in the MP Beta can affect the balance in campaign in surprising ways. We’ve done a lot to try and separate the two, but for more fundamental changes, like getting HW1 formations to act like HW1 formations, they can drastically change the game experience. This can be a very good thing, but it requires a lot more testing, care and time. Every time we patch the game we have to consider that everyone who has bought the game can be affected by these MP changes, whether or not they are signed up for the Beta. So please hold tight as we solve these deeper questions.

The community has been very vibrant and helpful pointing out many balance issues. Not only that, but they have also offered up many solid solutions. This is awesome and a very helpful dialog to have as we move towards getting MP out of Beta. Mods are much better at quickly iterating changes since the pressures of not breaking things are much lower. Also, people opt into Mods with the understanding that they are not definitive or bug free. We like moving fast, but we can’t do that with Patches because of the interaction with MP and Campaign.

So! In Patch 1 and Patch 2 we have added some things under the hood to make this easier and safer to iterate with you guys. Next week we are going to start a mod of our own to iterate on the balance fixes that don’t require engine level changes. This “balance mod” will need to be opted into like any other mod. We will update it much more frequently than patches and hope to have a positive and constructive dialog about the work we are doing with you guys!

The next big patch is going to be gameplay focused. It’ll take some time, but there are a lot of things we can talk about in the mean time!

See you next week!