Feature Batch: Galaxy Intelligence & Colony Management
Seven features ship today, all focused on making the galaxy feel more alive and giving commanders better tools to manage their empire. Here is what changed and why it matters.
Colony Limits
Unlimited expansion is gone. Every commander now starts with 3 colony slots (controlled by BASE_COLONY_SLOTS). Additional slots unlock through research - specific technologies in the astrophysics and xenoscience branches grant bonus capacity as you climb the tech tree.
If you try to colonize when you have no open slots, your fleet turns around and comes home. The colonize_failed event fires, and you will see exactly why the attempt was rejected. The fleet dispatch form now shows a "Colonies: X/Y" indicator so you always know where you stand before sending a colony ship.
Plan your expansion
Check your colony count before launching. Research colony-expanding techs early if you want to grow beyond 3 planets.
Planet Abandonment
Sometimes a planet is not worth keeping. Maybe you colonized a low-yield world early on, or your empire has shifted to a different region of the galaxy. Now you can abandon any non-home planet to free up a colony slot.
Abandoning a planet cancels all active build, ship, and defense queues on that world and removes your ownership. A confirmation dialog prevents accidental clicks. Your home planet can never be abandoned.
Defense Auto-Repair
This one is a bug fix with real strategic impact. The combat engine now properly tracks real hull damage on surviving defense structures. Previously, defenses that took partial damage during combat could end up in an inconsistent state.
The worker repair cron now correctly restores hullPercent on damaged defenses over time, meaning your planetary defenses gradually heal between attacks. Combined with the existing 70% rebuild refund on destroyed defenses, holding a fortified position is now a viable long-term strategy.
Fleet Visibility
The galaxy map just got a lot more interesting. Fleet detection is now tied to your sensor level, revealing different amounts of information depending on how strong your scanning capabilities are:
- Level 1 (Blip) - You see that something is moving, but nothing else
- Level 2 (Owner) - The fleet's owner is revealed
- Level 3 (Destination) - You can see where the fleet is heading
- Level 4 (Full) - Complete fleet composition and mission type
The scan_fleet intel operation from Shadow Ops bypasses these levels and reveals everything immediately. Investing in sensor technology and intel networks now pays off with real tactical awareness.
Sensor range matters
Higher sensor levels come from research, buildings, and the Deep Space Array megastructure. Fleet visibility stacks with your existing fog-of-war scanning range.
Activity Indicators
You can now tell at a glance whether a nearby player is actively commanding their empire or has gone quiet. The system uses a 4-tier classification:
- Active - Online within the last few hours
- Fading - Last seen within a day or two
- Inactive - Gone for several days
- Abandoned - No activity for an extended period
On the galaxy map, ownership rings around planets are dimmed for inactive and abandoned players, making it easy to spot vulnerable targets or abandoned territory. The SystemTooltip also shows activity badges when you hover over occupied systems.
Nebula and Phenomenon Effects
Stellar phenomena are no longer just eye candy. All five phenomenon types now carry gameplay effects scaled by their intensity:
- Black Holes - Slow fleet travel speed through the system
- Pulsars - Boost research output for planets in the system
- Asteroid Belts - Increase mineral production
- Binary Stars - Enhance energy production
- Nebulae - Grant a defensive combat bonus to defenders in the system
Each effect scales with the phenomenon's intensity value, so not all black holes slow you equally and not all asteroid belts give the same bonus. Scout systems carefully before committing to colonization - a high-intensity pulsar system might be the perfect spot for your research hub.
Tutorial Tours
Four previously empty tutorial tours are now fully authored with step-by-step guidance:
- Research Intro (5 steps) - Walks you through opening the research tree, picking your first tech, and understanding era progression
- First Fleet (5 steps) - Guides you from building your first ships through fleet creation and dispatch
- Combat Intro (4 steps) - Explains battle reports, fleet composition, and the combat resolution system
- Colonization Intro (4 steps) - Covers scouting, colony ships, and establishing your first outpost
These tours trigger in sequence as you reach each milestone, building on the existing welcome tour. New players should have a much smoother first hour.
Looking ahead
These seven features close most of the remaining minor gaps in the core gameplay loop. The galaxy map now provides real intelligence, colony management has meaningful constraints, and new players get guided through the basics.
Check out the Roadmap to see what is coming next. We are pushing toward competitive season play and deeper commander progression.
See you in the void.