Aurora v3.0.0 Patch Notes - Unreleased

[AuroraSteve]

New Terrain Types

As v3.0 introduces new species types that can exist at much lower temperatures than oxygen breathers, I have added twenty-five new dominant terrain types.

The extra terrain types extend the existing list rather than duplicating existing conditions. Most of them are for frozen or very cold worlds that would previously have just been barren, plus a few for hot worlds and those with extreme tectonics. None of the new types require water. Instead, most require the presence of specific atmospheric or frozen gas, which is not a requirement for the existing types. Several of the new terrain types are also classed as desert worlds for combat purposes.

For example, Nitrogen Ice Fields requires the presence of frozen nitrogen, which means temperatures below -210C. Ammonia Salt Flats requires ammonia to be present in the atmosphere and range from -78C to -33C. Sulphur Ice Mountains cover a range from absolute zero to -72C and require Sulphur Dioxide to be frozen on the surface, while Lava Fields are only for worlds with extreme tectonics and have a 0.5 fortification modifier, making them difficult to defend.

The Methane, Ammonia and Sulphur races will often inhabit cold or waterless worlds. As hydrosphere is not a requirement for the new types (replaced by the atmosphere requirements), they provide the new species types with a variety of terrain types for worlds that would otherwise be generally barren.

The total number of terrain types is now sixty-seven.

[AuroraSteve]

Ruin and Ancient Construct Changes

With the introduction of new species types, the system bodies that could theoretically support ruins has changed.

In v2.7.1, the only qualification for ruins is a temperature range between 200K and 360K (-73C to + 87C) and gravity above 0.4G. Simply expanding that range downwards would be unbalancing, so I decided to revisit the ruin generation requirements.

I’ve added an extra factor to each terrain type called ‘Atmosphere Required’. There are four possible values:

• 0: Terrain can only appear on worlds with less than 0.005 Atmospheric pressure (including zero)
• 1: Terrain requires an atmospheric pressure of at least 0.005 atm
• 2: Terrain can exist at any atmospheric pressure, including zero
• 3: Same as 2 but this is a base terrain

So if a planet has an atmosphere of 0.005 or above, it can choose anything except 0. Below that pressure it can choose anything but 1. Note that frozen gases do not count toward atmospheric pressure, so raising temperature to the point where a frozen gas melts can potentially change terrain type.

I’ve added five new terrain types classed as 0, such as Regolith Plains and Impact Craters. Some of the terrain classified as 2 also has a frozen gas requirement, such as Methane Ice Mountains.

The new requirement for ruins is a body with a dominant terrain that has an ‘Atmosphere Required’ factor of 1 and gravity of at least 0.3G. This will remove some worlds that would currently qualify and add new worlds that currently would not qualify, but should be a better representation of where ruins are likely to occur.

The Ancients are classed as an oxygen-breathing race, so the location requirement for the presence of an Ancient Construct is a body with a dominant terrain that has an ‘Atmosphere Required’ factor of 1, gravity of at least 0.3G and no requirement for an non-oxygen gas. This will reduce the number of potential locations, so I am increasing the base chance to compensate.

There are four exceptions to the above rules:

• Rogue Planets, which have suffered some form of cataclysmic disaster that threw them into a highly eccentric orbit. These can have ruins and constructs, regardless of dominant terrain.
• Constructs created under the ‘Stellar Anomaly’ case, which are rare situations where the Ancients positioned a construct on the innermost planet of a star to study it.
• Ruins in Sol, which are very rare anyway.
• Ruins manually created by the player in SM Mode.

As an aside, the Raiders can now be of any species type. The other spoilers are all classed as oxygen but that has no mechanical impact.

[AuroraSteve]

Orbital Movement Update

For v3.0, orbital movement has been moved from the construction phase to the end of each increment. This should result in a more natural movement of bodies in relation to fleets, especially during combat, rather than large jumps every five days.

Orbital movement in C# Aurora executes very quickly, so there should not be any noticeable performance impact.

For example, my current game has 650 systems, 42,000 bodies and 1400 fleets. Orbital movement requires 0.03 seconds.

[AuroraSteve]

Aurora Colour Configuration

As part of an effort to make themes an integral part of Aurora, all colours displayed on maps and in forms are now loaded from an XML file when Aurora starts.

There are almost ninety different colour options within the XML, covering a huge variety of different areas. This includes map and form backgrounds, every display option on the tactical and galactic maps and the use of different text colours within forms.

Each colour has red, green and blue values, which can be edited within the XML. Changing colours is as simple as editing the file and restarting Aurora.

You can also add an optional 4th parameter opaqueness using “A = 255” (0 is transparent, 255 is fully opaque).

Players will be able to create and share different colour themes to suit their own preferences.

Below is an example of the new AuroraConfig.xml, although the colours will change before v3.0 as I am working on a more comprehensive graphical overhaul.

<AuroraConfig>
  <Colours>
    <Background R="12" G="12" B="12"/>
    <StandardTextColour R="210" G="210" B="210"/>
    <TextEditColour R="100" G="220" B="100"/>
    <TextHighlightColour R="0" G="255" B="255"/>
    <IconColour R="210" G="210" B="210"/>
    <ToolbarButtonColour R="23" G="26" B="39"/>
    <ButtonColour R="12" G="12" B="12"/>
    <WarningColour R="255" G="165" B="0"/>
    <CriticalColour R="255" G="0" B="0"/>
    <PositiveColour R="128" G="255" B="128"/>
    <ObsoleteColour R="255" G="165" B="0"/>
    <HostileColour R="255" G="0" B="0"/>
    <NeutralColour R="144" G="238" B="144"/>
    <FriendlyColour R="152" G="251" B="152"/>
    <AlliedColour R="34" G="139" B="34"/>
    <WreckColour R="255" G="140" B="0"/>
    <JumpPointColour R="255" G="165" B="0"/>
    <JumpPointAlienColour R="255" G="0" B="0"/>
    <MatchingComponentColour R="255" G="140" B="0"/>
    <ComponentTechDataColour R="128" G="255" B="128"/>
    <ComponentResearchColour R="0" G="255" B="255"/>
    <AlienComponentColour R="255" G="0" B="0"/>
    <PrototypeComponentColour R="0" G="255" B="255"/>
    <ArmourColour R="245" G="245" B="245"/>
    <ArmourDamagedColour R="255" G="0" B="0"/>
    <PrisonerColour R="255" G="0" B="255"/>
    <GroundForcesOrganisationColour R="128" G="255" B="128"/>
    <CivilianShippingLineColour R="128" G="255" B="128"/>
    <OrdnanceSeriesColour R="128" G="255" B="128"/>
    <TacticalScaleColour R="50" G="205" B="50"/>
    <TacMapActiveSensorColour R="176" G="226" B="255"/>
    <TacMapThermalSensorColour R="240" G="128" B="128"/>
    <TacMapEMSensorColour R="216" G="191" B="216"/>
    <TacMapELINTSensorColour R="240" G="248" B="255"/>
    <TacMapAlienSensorColour R="255" G="0" B="0"/>
    <TacMapFireControlColour R="238" G="220" B="130"/>
    <TacMapWeaponRangeColour R="255" G="185" B="15"/>
    <TacMapBodyNameColour R="50" G="205" B="50"/>
    <TacMapColonyColour R="50" G="205" B="50"/>
    <TacMapSurveyedColour R="255" G="255" B="255"/>
    <TacMapMineralsColour R="255" G="255" B="0"/>
    <TacMapSystemBodyColour R="0" G="0" B="255"/>
    <TacMapCometOutlineColour R="0" G="255" B="255"/>
    <TacMapDeepSpacePopColour R="255" G="255" B="0"/>
    <TacMapOrbitColour R="50" G="205" B="50"/>
    <TacMapAetherGateColour R="220" G="20" B="60"/>
    <TacMapRiftOutlineColour R="75" G="0" B="130"/>
    <TacMapRiftCentreColour R="0" G="0" B="0"/>
    <TacMapLagrangePointColour R="255" G="165" B="0"/>
    <TacMapSurveyLocationColour R="245" G="222" B="179"/>
    <TacMapWaypointColour R="238" G="130" B="238"/>
    <TacMapMDPacketColour R="210" G="210" B="210"/>
    <TacMapDistanceLineColour R="0" G="128" B="0"/>
    <TacMapFleetColour R="255" G="255" B="192"/>
    <TacMapLifepodColour R="255" G="215" B="0"/>
    <TacMapCivilianColour R="0" G="206" B="209"/>
    <TacMapSalvoColour R="0" G="255" B="255"/>
    <ColonyCostLessThanTwoColour R="30" G="144" B="255"/>
    <ColonyCostLessThanThreeColour R="0" G="255" B="255"/>
    <ColonyCostLessThanFiveColour R="210" G="105" B="30"/>
    <NoResearchColour R="255" G="165" B="0"/>
    <PopulatedColonyColour R="128" G="255" B="128"/>
    <MiningColonyColour R="60" G="179" B="113"/>
    <OtherColonyColour R="0" G="255" B="255"/>
    <CMCPurchaseColonyColour R="0" G="255" B="255"/>
    <NavalAdminCommandColour R="128" G="255" B="128"/>
    <NavalSubFleetColour R="0" G="255" B="255"/>
    <NavalSquadronColour R="0" G="255" B="255"/>
    <GalMapJumpPointConnectionsColour R="0" G="255" B="0"/>
    <GalMapStabilisedConnectionsColour R="255" G="165" B="0"/>
    <GalMapRestrictedColour R="255" G="0" B="255"/>
    <GalMapSurveyIncompleteColour R="255" G="0" B="0"/>
    <GalMapNavalHQColour R="255" G="255" B="0"/>
    <GalMapMaintenanceLocationColour R="0" G="191" B="255"/>
    <GalMapSystemIconColour R="0" G="128" B="0"/>
    <GalMapSystemOutlineColour R="0" G="255" B="0"/>
    <GalMapSystemSelectedColour R="0" G="255" B="0"/>
    <GalMapMultiSystemSelectColour R="255" G="0" B="0"/>
    <GalMapBlackHoleColour R="128" G="0" B="128"/>
    <GalMapSupernovaColour R="255" G="255" B="255"/>
    <GalMapCometsColour R="255" G="248" B="220"/>
    <GalMapDormantJPColour R="255" G="255" B="0"/>
    <GalMapGroundSurveyColour R="176" G="196" B="222"/>
    <GalMapMineralSearchColour R="143" G="188" B="143"/>
    <Map3DSystemIconColour R="220" G="220" B="255"/>  
    <SupportingFormationColour R="135" G="206" B="250"/>
    <SupportedFormationColour R="255" G="165" B="0"/>
  </Colours>
  <ButtonStyle>
    <FlatStyle>Standard</FlatStyle>
    <BorderSize>0</BorderSize>
  </ButtonStyle>
  <ToolbarButtonStyle>
    <FlatStyle>Flat</FlatStyle>
    <BorderSize>2</BorderSize>
  </ToolbarButtonStyle>
</AuroraConfig>

[AuroraSteve]

Graphics Overhaul

For v3.0, Aurora is going to look different. I believe there is general consensus that the yellow/blue combination is quite jarring for some players, which is why I introduced the custom colours above. I will be moving to a light grey / soft black combination but that can be changed at user discretion. There are likely to be alternative colour config files shared by players.

I am also changing the general appearance away from the current coloured icons to a more consistent set of black and white icons from https://game-icons.net/, which is the same source as the Solaris mod, although I have used quite a few different icons. The buttons are also less prominent in general.

There are about thirty different icons on the Tactical and Galactic Maps. These are loaded at game start from a new Icons sub-directory. They are SVG files and can be substituted by using another icon with the same name. Game Icons has over 4000 to choose from, or you can find your own source.

I’ve also changed the planet icons from blue to grey and muted the name and fleet colours. I am still experimenting, so this screenshot is a work in progress but still gives a general idea of how Aurora will look for v3.0.

NOTE: The screenshot looks a little darker than the game itself unless you click to magnify.

[AuroraSteve]

Map Body Colony Cost Colour

Bodies can now be shown by their colony cost, similar to the System View and using the same colours. The species used for the colony cost is selected on the Miscellaneous tab, although with the growing number of options I might re-arrange that.

Here is a brand new game showing Earth with CC < 2 and Mars/Mercury with CC < 3.

Gas Giants can be shown as a seperate colour too.

Low gravity bodies can be included. The light blue is colony cost < 3, while the red-brown is colony cost < 5

All these colours are in the XML file and can be modified by the player

[AuroraSteve]

Expanded Context Menu

In v2.7.1, you can right-click on a population, fleet or jump point and a menu will pop up with those items. Clicking the fleet takes you to the Naval Org window with the fleet selected, clicking the population opens the economic window and clicking the jump point changes the tactical map to the selected system.

For v3.0, the context menu has been changed to the new colour scheme and extra functionality has been added. I’ve also included icons to avoid any confusion about the function of each item.

Right-clicking a location with alien ships will popup a list of the alien classes present. Clicking one of those will open the Intelligence window with that class selected. A location with an alien population will show the population in the list. Clicking that will open the Intelligence window with that class selected.

Clicking a non-gas giant body without an existing colony gives you the option to create a colony. A popup confirms the colony has been created.

The population, fleet and alien icons are the same as used on the toolbar buttons. The jump point icon is a new one but is held in the same Icons sub-directory and can be replaced by the player.

[AuroraSteve]

Ground Formation Template Naming Themes

Ground Forces Templates can now be assigned naming themes, in the same way as Ship Classes. To choose the theme, select the template on the ground forces window and choose from the naming theme dropdown. You can choose to have the names selected in a random order.

When you choose a formation template to build on the Training tab of the Economics window, the next name pops up.

The formation names will also be assigned automatically, based om the template theme, if you SM new formations or create them using the Organisations tab on the Ground Forces window.

If you want the traditional format of 1st Infantry, 2nd Infantry, etc. you can choose the Name + Number theme, which is the default for new templates.

[AuroraSteve]

Orbital Temperature Dampening

In v2.7.1 Aurora calculates temperature based on star luminosity, distance of the body from the star, albedo (how much heat is reflected into space), greenhouse and anti-greenhouse factors and any dust in the atmosphere.

For v3.0, a new ‘dampening factor’ has been added.

In the real world, thick atmospheres and large oceans act as thermal buffers, storing heat and moderating temperature extremes. A planet with a highly eccentric orbit but a dense atmosphere and vast oceans will experience less dramatic temperature swings than a barren airless world in the same orbit.

Aurora now simulates this effect. When determining surface temperatures for planets with eccentric orbits, a dampening factor is calculated that moves the temperature closer to the temperature that would exist for a perfectly circular orbit. This factor is expressed as a percentage and is based on the Kelvin temperature (0C = 273K)

The size of the dampening factor is determined by three properties of the planet:

• Atmospheric pressure: A thicker atmosphere stores more heat. Each 1 atm adds 10% to dampening, with a maximum of 50%

• Ocean coverage: Oceans (not ice) act as heat reservoirs, with each 1% of hydro extent adding 0.3% to dampening, with a maximum of 30%

• Orbital Period: The dampening factor is reduced for orbits longer than one Earth year, as they have more time to heat up or cool down. The effect on dampening is:
  1 / SQRT(Orbital Period in Years)

Moons use the orbital mechanics of their parent body, but their own atmosphere and hydrosphere.

Barren worlds, without atmospheres or oceans, will continue to experience the full temperature extremes of their orbits.

For example, if the dampening factor is 40%, the temperature at any given distance would be moved 40% closer to the temperature with a circular orbit (the semi-major axis distance). A planet with a circular orbit temp of 300K and a temp at its current distance of 250K (without dampening), would be 270K after dampening.

There are two major impacts of this change:

1. Planets with water and atmosphere will generally have less extreme temperature ranges and therefore the number of potential habitable worlds will increase to some degree. This aids both colonisation and the chance of generating NPRs, ruins, etc..

2. Dampening adds some new terraforming considerations and options. Adding atmosphere and water will have more of an effect on extremes temperatures than in v2.7.1, plus when you have exhausted the temperature change effects of greenhouse gases, you can still affect the extreme temperatures of eccentric bodies by adding/removing water and atmosphere.

Notes

The ‘average’ between perihelion and aphelion temperatures is not the same as the semi-major axis (circular orbit) temperature, because the effect of solar luminosity on planetary temperature does not change at a linear rate as distance increases. I only mention this here in case someone tries to calculate the effect of dampening and it appears to be slightly different than they expected.

There are some minor edge cases where the atmospheric pressure might change as a result of the dampening and therefore change greenhouse factors, but I decided to ignore it - because it ends up being a circular problem, it has no effect is the vast majority of cases and no one will notice anyway

[AuroraSteve]

Jump Point Buoy Icons

The Galactic Map now includes an option to show the presence of jump point buoys.

A buoy for this definition is a missile salvo comprising one or more missiles with no engine.

If you have a buoy located within 1000 km of the jump point (to account for potential placing errors), a small hemispherical icon will appear on the map where the jump point connection line exits the system icon.

[AuroraSteve]

Disable Hostile Interrupts at the NPR/System Level

For v3.0, you can already disable interrupts for specific events (see the earlier post in this thread).

I’ve also added a check box to the Intelligence window that allows you to disable hostile contact interrupts (New and Updated) for a specific NPR in a specific system. The check box is on the Known Systems tab.

This is intended for situations where you are monitoring hostile traffic in a system and wish to avoid constant interrupts.

[AuroraSteve]

Stabilisation Time for Lagrange Points in Fleet Orders

When a fleet with a stabilisation ship is selected in the Naval Organization window, the list of possible population and system body destinations will include the time in years required to stabilise a Lagrange point for that planet or moon.

Note that it must have a mass of at least 0.25.

[AuroraSteve]

No Shield Technology Game

For v3.0, a game can be set to exclude shield generators as a technology. This has the following effects:

• NPR and spoiler designs will not include shields

• Shield type, size and regeneration rate will not be available for research.

• Shields will not be found in ruins.

This is intended as a ‘hard mode’ option as players will generally be better at incorporating shields into designs and using them effectively in combat.

Player ships will be more likely to be damaged or destroyed and there will be a greater need for a distributed, armour-repair capability.