Distant Worlds - Universe

Read me File 12 August 2014

Version 1.9.5.7

Welcome.
Thank you for playing Distant Worlds - Universe! We are always looking for ways to improve
your gaming experience. For the latest information on the game, please go to the Matrix Games
web site at www.matrixgames.com.
Below you will find the latest and greatest information on Distant Worlds - Universe.
Information in this document supersedes that in the official game manual.

Troubleshooting:
Ensure that your system meets the minimum system requirements. These are found in the game
manual. Also, ensure that you have the latest video and sound drivers available for your system
and that you have upgraded to the latest versions of XNA Framework and .Net Framework from
Microsoft. The vast majority of reported problems are resolved by upgrading all drivers, XNA
Framework and .Net Framework to the latest versions.
If you are still experiencing problems with the game, please use our Help Desk at
www.matrixgames.com/helpdesk or post in the Distant Worlds - Universe Support Forum at
www.matrixgames.com. Please provide as much detail on your issue as you can.
To obtain optimum game performance, close all other applications before beginning a game.
Change History:
V1.9.5.7 August 12, 2014
CRASH FIXES

fixed crash when ship attacks target

fixed crash when reviewing pirate character traits

fixed crash when fighter evaluates enemy threats

fixed crash when empire declares war

fixed crash when opening Construction Yards screen

fixed rare crash when applying sun shadow graphics on planets in low-memory conditions

MODDING

allow customizing diplomacy mood music to be race-specific (music played when open

Diplomatic Contact screen). Will play race-specific music when named race subfolder
present under Customization\THEMENAME\sounds\effects (e.g.
Customization\MyTheme\sounds\effects\human). Mood music filenames as follows:
diplomacyMoodNeutral.mp3, diplomacyMoodAngry.mp3, diplomacyMoodHappy.mp3,
diplomacyMoodMenacing.mp3

increased maximum number of components from 170 to 300 (components.txt)

added optional ship design template files for planet destroyers in themes. To use, place a
custom ship design template named "PlanetDestroyer.txt" in the appropriate race folder

added new super weapon types, allowing different types of planet destroyer weapons: in
addition to the default super beam weapons can now also have super torpedos, super
missiles, super rail guns, super phasers. Any of these can be set to be planet destroying
weapons when damage is 10,000 or greater (weapon component Value1). Particularly
useful in conjunction with new planet destroyer ship design templates mentioned above. To
add these new super weapons to a custom theme, use the following values in the
components.txt file (Type): 62=SuperTorpedo, 63=SuperMissile, 64=SuperRailGun,
65=SuperPhaser. You can also focus an empire's tech efforts to these new areas using the
following new values in the race policy files (ResearchDesignTechFocus1-6):
30=SuperTorpedo, 31=SuperMissile, 32=SuperRailGun, 33=SuperPhaser

OTHER

decreased chance of counterintelligence intercepting enemy intelligence missions,

especially when targeted enemy agent has high mission skill level (i.e. harder to catch)

fixed display of game difficulty level in Achievements tab of Empire Comparisons screen
(was previously sometimes mislabelling difficulty levels)

AI ship design now better at shrinking mining ships when maximum construction size is
low

AI ship design now better at shrinking military ships with fighter bays when maximum
construction size is low

V1.9.5.6 July 18, 2014

BUG FIXES

character energy savings bonuses now properly reduce energy consumption instead of
increasing it

CRASH FIXES

fixed rare crash when drawing ships

fixed crash when giving monetary gifts to other empires

fixed crash when sorting ships in fleets

fixed crash when evaluating designs

MODDING

allow including GameText.txt from a custom mod (i.e. read from theme folder)

altered images\units\creatures folder to be read from the mod (if present) instead of the root
game folder

allow modding MP3 files in sounds\EFFECTS (not just WAV files)

fighters now properly use WeaponImageIndex value in fighters.txt to allow customization

of fighter weapon effects

now allow per-race modding for user interface in a theme (add subfolders named by race
under images\ui\chrome folder to mod most chrome images, e.g.
customization\THEMENAME\images\ui\chrome\human)

custom characters with '?' appearance order now never appear at game start

SHIP DESIGN

AI ship design now properly adds damage control components when repair bots are
unavailable

further optimized AI ship design process to allow shrinking designs with maximum
construction size while still ensuring critical components are present (e.g. weapons on
military ships)

Fighter Bay components now considered as weapons in military ship designs (i.e. can have
military ship designs with no weapons except for Fighter Bays)

GAME BALANCE

AI now gives higher preference to mining station build locations that are closer to space
ports, colonies, etc

strategic resources used in construction (for components) now weighted slightly higher
when considering stockpiles at spaceports and elsewhere

counterespionage strength adjusted - slightly less chance of intercepting enemy intelligence

missions

reduced chance of empires switching to Corporate Nationalism government type when

available

altered empire military strength measurement to better account for fighters (affects
diplomacy and AI empire evaluations)

independent colonies now recruit more defending militia troops

PIRATES

pirate factions now pay maintenance for any non-pirate raider troops (once have proper
colonies)

pirate faction flags retain pirate symbol in top-left corner when edited in game editor

pirate faction flags properly update in galaxy view when edited in game editor

pirate factions can now build normal planetary facilities and wonders at fully owned
colonies using right-click pop-up menu and action buttons

OTHER

slightly improved game performance

can now build bases in disputed systems if your empire has a colony in the system

V1.9.5.5 July 1, 2014

CRASH FIXES
added extra safeguards to help prevent crashes when using faulty themes
fixed rare crash when giving diplomatic gifts
BUG FIXES
now cancel intelligence missions when target colony or base conquered, destroyed, etc
fixed bug where sometimes getting tech bonuses from disassembling ships without
advanced tech
Ion Defense and Tractor Beams no longer counted as weapons when checking civilian
designs in Ship Design editor
ensure never load pirate raider troops when loading troops onto transports (e.g. loading
troops from own colony while attacking pirate base)
ensure custom planetmaps getting loaded ('other' folder)
ensure mouse scroll wheel retains focus when Character and Empire Policy screens are
closed
ensure colonies only appear once in Top Colonies screen, even when controlled by pirates
fixed problem where ships with advanced tech were sometimes not giving tech bonuses
when disassembled
MODDING
NEW MODDING FEATURE: defined Research path. Optionally allow specifying project
order for a race for each tech tree (see new entries in race files:
WeaponsResearchProjectOrder, EnergyResearchProjectOrder,
HighTechResearchProjectOrder)
reverted file loading for certain files to be encoding neutral, i.e. does not matter whether
ANSI or UTF-8 (resources.txt, components.txt, research.txt)
increased maximum government amount to 60 (governments.txt)
increased maximum planetary facility amount to 100 (facilities.txt)

increased maximum fighter amount to 50 (fighters.txt)

USER INTERFACE
increased font sizes for main menu items when screen resolution is greater than 1920x1080
increased font size for Galactopedia topic index
increased font size of hover panel at bottom-middle of screen
increased font size in Game Options screens
slightly increased font size in main view for system names, nebula names, etc
increased font size of tradeable items in Diplomacy trade screen
increased font size in hover tech descriptions in Diplomacy trade screen
increased font size in Component Guide screen (Design Detail screen and Research screen)
ensure correct empire remains selected in Diplomacy screen when conclude trade deal

GAME BALANCE AND AI

further improved AI ship design: no longer add too many extra reactors, nor remove too
many shield components, when attempting to shrink a new design to fit within construction
size limits
increased chance of counterintelligence missions successfully intercepting enemy
intelligence missions, especially for agents with high counterintelligence skill levels
random government selection more balanced (no longer frequently choosing Military
Dictatorship)
initial home system ruins (Age of Shadows) now never contain system map bonuses
reduced number of spaceports empire builds when has low population
increased maximum fleet count. Now relates to overall number of ships and bases, up to
maximum of 100 fleets
AI empires now check whether colony is safe to build at prior to initiating research station
construction (e.g. check for nearby pirates)
lowered effectiveness of counterintelligence, now better accounts for duration of intercepted
mission (3 months vs one year, etc)
PIRATES
ensure pirate smuggling freighters repair at pirate base when damaged
ensure pirate smuggling freighters retrofit when necessary and able
empire will not detect and attack pirate smugglers when they are smuggling resources for
that empire
ensure that pirate-owned colonies are included when checking for wonder completion
pirate factions now get research bonuses from scientists at their bases
pirate factions can now change their home base to any space port in their empire by
selecting new option in right-click pop-up menu
OTHER
ensure that new settings and savegame folder locations are properly created (My
Documents\My Games\Distant Worlds Universe)

V1.9.5.4 June 19, 2014

CRASH FIXES
fixed rare crash when determining object visibility for an empire

BUG FIXES
fixed bug where loading a previously saved game was sometimes auto-switching to
default theme, even when default theme was already loaded
building pirate bases, fortresses and Criminal Network using the Facility dropdown list
in the Colonies screen now properly assigns facility ownership to player pirate faction
now ensure that cost for building pirate Criminal Network is always properly deducted
now ensure that custom ship names (shipNames.txt) are used for new pirate ships built
using the Build Order screen
fixed bug where ship design images were being rotated when received a popup message
about new ship type research breakthrough (e.g. Carriers)
fixed bug where Robotic Troops (BattleBots from Robotic Troop Foundry) were not
getting maintenance reduction bonuses when recruited from action button under
Selection Panel

RESEARCH AND SHIP DESIGN

AI ship designer now always adds sufficient reactors to ship designs (possibly more
than one) to enable hyperdrive to operate at full speed
AI ship designer now more willing to shrink new designs to fit within current
construction size limits, especially when first obtain hyperdrive technology
altered size of starting Colonization Module component (now 300 instead of 360,
updated components.txt)
NEW MODDING FEATURE: allow restricting any research project to specific races
using the new ALLOWED RACES line in the research.txt file (updated header
comments of research.txt explains)
improved AI research pathing to better emphasize tech focuses from empire policy
(ResearchDesignTechFocus1-6), while still researching other important techs
increased research output for lab components by approximately 50% (components.txt
and research.txt)

GAME BALANCE
Shakturi now have faster construction and lower ship maintenance (updated Shakturi.txt
race file)
Shakturi ship design templates now use more weapons and other components (military

ships, medium & large spaceports, defensive bases)

Shakturi empire policy now builds more large military ships and less small military
ships
reputation gain from attacking pirates is now reduced by 50%
Robotic Troops are now cheaper to maintain (25% of normal instead of 33%), and now
twice as fast to recruit
empires are now more willing to use excess cash on hand as factor when deciding
whether to build new ships (e.g. low or negative cashflow, but large cash reserves on
hand), especially when at war
now much harder to perform intelligence missions against Ancient Guardians (steal
maps, tech, etc)

OTHER
no longer scrap and rebuild fighters after loading a saved game
all sound effects (button clicks, etc) are now disabled when effect volume is set to zero
in options screen
savegame and settings folder location is now standardized to "My Documents\My
Games\Distant Worlds Universe" (this remains the same across version updates)
now send a message to an empire when one of their colonies is lost to a pirate faction
that builds a Criminal Network there
immediately update empire list in Diplomacy screen when trade Empire contact (can
now immediately see new empire in list)

V1.9.5.3 June 12, 2014

CRASH FIXES
fixed crash when drawing long range scanners in galaxy view
fixed crash when drawing planet in hover panel
fixed crash when auto-saving game
fixed crash when loading game with custom theme from main menu
fixed crash when drawing Empire Navigation Tool
fixed crash with advisor message when invading independent colonies
fixed crash when investigating ruins
fixed crash when calculating troop strength
fixed crash when editing ship design
fixed crash when edit very large stars in game editor
fixed crash when AI assigns new mining mission

BUG FIXES
altered Windows API used for checking mouse location to fix screen scrolling to topleft (thus avoiding bug in Windows Vista 64-bit)
fixed bases detaching from their parent planet/moon/asteroid when initiate retrofit
before they are finished their previous retrofit
sound volume now properly remembered when load games
Unload Troops missions are now cancelled when target colony changes ownership (thus
avoid unloading troops at enemy colony)
fixed misleading message when your special forces troops destroy hidden pirate base
facility at one of your own colonies
main view now properly regains focus for mouse scroll-wheel when close Build Order
screen
fixed rare bug with pirate colonies over-ordering construction resources
fixed display problems with main menu screen in Windows XP

USER INTERFACE
enabled scaling of Empire Navigation Tool at screen left - use new size button next to
close button in each panel to cycle 3 sizes: normal, large, extra large

OTHER
improved how Action buttons (under Selection Panel) determine which mining station
design to show (gas vs mineral) when building mining stations at
planets/moons/asteroids (better support for custom themes with unusual resource
distributions)

V1.9.5.2 June 6, 2014

CRASH FIXES
fixed crash when drawing space monsters ("CheckFixNotInSystem")
fixed rare crash when drawing ships
fixed rare crash when drawing Empire Navigation Tool
fixed rare crashes relating to fleet mission assignment

BUG FIXES

 altered how keyboard input is read (different Windows API) in attempt to resolve view
sometimes moving to top-left
fixed issue where Steam Achievements were often being set prematurely
fixed AI empires starting and then quickly ending Trade Sanctions - now always honor
minimum time period
fixed RepairBot components being downgraded to Damage Control by AI ship design
(updated fix)
fixed problems when loading and displaying research information when Windows set to
some non-English languages (e.g. Turkish)
ensured that pirate factions are generated at start of a new game when using an existing
galaxy map
slightly increased size of Tutorial screen to account for larger text
fixed problem where player colony names were sometimes including blank values
(colonynames.txt)

GENERAL GAME BALANCE

adjusted default ship design templates for each race: Large Spaceports have more
docking bays and construction yards, Mining Stations have more docking bays, shields
and weapons
low colony tax rates do not increase population growth rates as much as previously, but
now make colony more attractive migration destination
civilian ships now ensure they have enough reactors to power hyperdrives at full speed
(same as state ships already did)
Fighters now weighted higher when evaluating strength of potential attack targets
AI now willing to build more military ships when at war, especially when have large
cash reserves and powerful enemies
AI now more willing to build more research stations at home colony at game start
AI takes more care to avoid overspending on troops

EXPLORATION
Exploration ships now scan for resources more quickly, moving on to next exploration
target immediately once resources and ruins investigated
increased amount of automated Exploration ships that are assigned to simply scout
systems for colonization targets and ruins instead of performing full resource scan of
system and all resources

FLEETS

 AI fleets are now better at coordinating multi-fleet attacks within own empire against
single enemy target (beyond just coordinated fleet attacks with allies)
increased ratio of AI-created large fleets versus small strike forces (i.e. more large
fleets)
now properly limit coordinated fleet attacks within own empire only to automated attack
fleets (not defense fleets or manually controlled fleets)

OTHER
now force immediate update of stardate and cash display when open a new screen, e.g.
Empire Summary screen
possession of an operational planet destroyer negatively affects diplomatic relations
with other empires ("We are envious of your huge strength and power")
games now honor global volume settings for music and effects
improved display performance for main menu screens (e.g. start new game)
space monsters now properly attack ships in the Dead Zone
ships can now properly investigate abandoned bases in the Dead Zone

V1.9.5.1 May 28, 2014

CRASH FIXES
Fixed crash in ship design screen when changing image scaling
Fixed crash when generating ship designs
Fixed rare crash in game editor when adding asteroid fields
Fixed rare crash with fleets
Fixed rare crash with processing empire messages
Fixed rare crash when identifying raidable colonies for pirates

BUG FIXES
Steam Achievements fixed, should be working again now!
Manually canceled Deep Cover intelligence missions no longer continue to reveal
enemy map for rest of game
Fixed bug with loading troops when first non-garrisoned troop is too big for troop bay
Fixed research and ship designs to not auto-update when edit empire in game editor,
unless player has ship design automated
Fixed occasional invisible space monsters
Ensure empires properly cleared when using existing save game as galaxy map for new
game
Ensure that ruins with delayed events also getting properly investigated

DISPLAY AND USER INTERFACE

Reviewed all in-game font scaling and anti-aliasing and reworked font support to take
newer Windows operating system scaling into account. Font size and clarity should
now be more consistent across all systems.
Enlarged and clarified fonts: Diplomacy screen, scrolling message list, tutorial screen,
cash and income display
Added Introductory Game button in Start New Game screen, we recommend this as a
first game for all new players
Moved PreWarp tutorial to last based on player feedback

OTHER
Added a way to disable the intro movie in the Startup.ini file in the DW installation
folder. This may help with some startup black screen issues by manually disabling the
intro movie.
Significant performance improvements
Improved look of in-system background nebula clouds
Pirates retain protection arrangements for minimum period before canceling, this should
also help with the pre-warp tutorial
Improved randomness of starting government types in new games (for other empires,
when random govt selected)
Increased maximum event delay to 32000 days (from 10000)

V1.9.5.0 May 23, 2014

Initial Release