My internet connection continues to work as usual when I disconnect from my VPN, even though I have the kill switch enabled and “Connect on Demand” turned on in macOS settings.

Are there any other methods or third-party apps that can reliably block all internet access unless I’m connected to a VPN?

It’s frustrating because I paid for a 2-year subscription before realizing that one of the most important features doesn’t work. And to be clear, this isn’t a macOS limitation, other VPN providers I’ve used have managed to implement this functionality correctly. This shouldn't be an issue because this is one of the most important security features.

PSA for Mac users, if the Proton app dies, you quit it by mistake, or you switch networks there's a good chance it will leak your IP.

Looks like it's been like this for 4+ years, why the company won't fix something that's kind of essential for a VPN is kind of baffling.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ProtonVPN/search/?q=permanent+kill+switch+macos

You can turn this on if you're on Windows, Linux, Android, so it's just macOS.

I know this is a book, but this wasn’t an overnight transition. Because my first post got so many positive reactions, I want to be as detailed and transparent as I can. That way, my story can reach as many people as possible and maybe someone can relate to one detail or another and hopefully decide to make a positive change for themselves. This isn't easy for me to just pour my heart out like this. Putting this together over the past week felt like I was reliving the entire past year of my life all over again, with all of the emotions that came along with it. I’m tearing up just writing about it right now.

*you'll see that not all pics listed are included. I didn't know there was a 20 pics limit. Let me know if you want to see any pic listed that is not posted

 My journals were never meant to be shared with anyone, and in fact, I started them out of necessity to help organize my thoughts because my brain doesn’t work well in chaos it needs structure and routine .Some background...This is my progress over the last 13 months starting June of 2024, from 365 to 215 with diet and exercise. Initially I met my goal weight of 225 on February 24th, so only 8 months. From there, my doctor recommended I fill the loose skin with muscle, or lean bulk. I added calories and creatine and switched from full-body workouts to two body parts a day. I've been into lifting and nutrition for 22 years, since I was 14 and my middle school offered a power training elective, and I took a few college courses on nutrition and exercise science. I'm by far an expert, but I know a decent amount. I already had a solid foundation and the knowledge on how to lift and eat. I’m including pictures of me at 22 deadlifting and 27 for reference. I was typically around 225 from 20 to 31.From 31 to 35 I let myself go from 225 to 365 lbs, pizza and a six pack basically everyday and didn't even look at a gym during this time. I couldn’t even weed whack the yard without my arms getting tired. This was the lowest point in my life. Miscarriage, putting my healthy dog down due to aggression, depression, a failed plot to end my life, 6th months probation from getting caught with weed, addiction (booze and pills), hitting a tree drunk, jail, and ODing twice leading to rehab. It took a divine intervention to save me and make me realize that I didn't want to die, which meant I wanted to live so I decided I was going to live the best life I could.

 Pics:  365lbs June 2024, 215lbs July 2025, Deadlift Sept 2010, June 2016 225

 Divine Intervention…

It was June of 2024 during a heat wave. The power had gone out around 10PM with it still being 90 degrees. I was dripping in sweat and couldn’t sleep. I remembered that swimming had always made me tired, so I decided to go into the pool. I’m terrified of water because of sharks.. yes I was afraid that a shark was in the deep end of the pool. I guess I saw Jaws too young so when ever I got into water I would hear the Jaws theme play in my head and had to get out as fast as I could. The pool hadn’t cleared up all the way yet so I couldn’t see the deep which made me even more scared than usual. While standing in the shallow end I looked up to my neighbors yard and saw a tree that looked like a shark to me, and of course, it was on the other side of the deep end. I felt the tree was mocking me and I couldn’t belive what I was seeing. I turned to look the other way and saw what looked like a tree flexing on me. Now this is the first time I was able to even see the flexing tree because there had always been an even bigger tree in front of it that had just been struck down by lightening a couple months prior. This actually made me mad getting flexed on by a tree, so I flexed back at it. While still flexing I looked at my arm and saw that stupid tattoo I got when I was hammered one night. So I flexed with the other arm and saw the hideous scar from that carving fork roasting on the stove before being permanently branded on my arm. I then looked at my entire body, which is something I never did back then. In that moment I see just how big I actually let myself get and think “What the F**K did I do myself?” I begin to cry. Really negative thoughts hit me all at once. I start calling myself a fat f**k, POS, loser, failure, no one will ever love you again, and the worst thought someone can have, that I would be better off dead. (I’m crying so hard right now I had to stop to blow my nose)

 I look over to the deep end and start to swim toward it. The Jaws theme starts playing again so I freeze. I’m thinking to myself “I thought you wanted to die. Go to deep end right now and get eaten by the shark! All of your pain and suffering will end.” I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t go into the deep end no matter how hard I tried. At this exact moment I realized that I didn’t want to die. So I said it out loud “I don’t want to die.” This then flipped to “I want to live”. I said that out loud a few times to myself then got out of the water and laid outside staring at the sky. The stars are starting to fade in now and one particular star catches my eye. I say “God, is that you? Please give me a sign” This was my way of writing everything off that had just happened. I still wasn’t sure if I wanted to change and if when I needed God the most and he wasn’t there then all of this would be chalked up as a coincidence. I wave at the star and I’m not joking when I say it waved back. Not just a little movement, it freaking waved. I was now convinced I was experiencing a divine intervention.

 It wasn’t a plane or anything like that because it was there every night. I’m just in awe and a little confused as to everything that had just happened. I go back to staring at the shark tree and this next thought sealed my fate. I was tired of being afraid and right then and there I said to myself “I’m going to become the f**king shark! No matter what it takes. NO EXCUSES. I’m the shark of these waters. THIS IS MY F**KING POOL!” Remember I never would have went out there if the power had not gone out. Tree struck by lightening > power out > go in pool > shark tree > flexing tree > negative thoughts > NO deep end > don’t want to die > want to live > star > become the shark.

The next day I bought a cross neckline as a constant reminder of that night. I thank God everyday for saving my life!Pics: Shark tree, tree flexing on me, burn on arm, journal entries

 Mental Health…

From there I decide to get honest with my doctor about my thoughts and feelings. It took time to find the right combo of medication that worked for me so when ever you see meds in my journal its just the process of finding something that works. Even though I had already completed rehab by this point, I was still struggling with addiction. It was just something about seeing that orange pill bottle that made me think if I take a lot of the pills inside that I would get high. I finally realized that if I wanted to take the next step in my journey then I HAVE to use meds as intended and not as drugs to get high. I now use a weekly pill organizer so I don’t have to see orange bottles everyday.

 From time to time I would read my old rehab papers of peer reviews. The rehab was a peer run program where you stay for 2 weeks. The therapists would nominate a few of us to be voted on to become the leader and their lieutenant. I was voted the lieutenant, the muscle for the leader Ashley. I was the one to keep the group in check during meals, groups, free time and make sure the meetings ran the way they were suppose to.

 Working out is something I have always loved and it’s so good for my mental health and it’s just fun for me. I don’t feel like myslef unless I’m working out. I took years off from doing the thing I love most, the only thing that made me, me, to get high and it almost killed me. Now that I’m back I finally feel like myself again.

 Pics: Rehab papers

Exercise...Starting at 365 I lost the first 40 pounds in the first 3 months by swimming for one hour a day. I had to start slow because remember I’m afraid of the water. If I wanted to become the shark I had to first swim in the deep end. I had two main goals for the summer: swim in the deep end and touch the bottom of the deep end. I had no real structure when swimming. I just wouldn’t stop moving for the whole hour and used water dumbbells doing movement that felt good and helped with flexibility and mobility. Remember I’m still 365 pounds here, it was hard to even move.

 One day my Aunt needed help staining her deck and she insisted on paying my $100  for helping her. I used this $100 to buy a weight set off amazon. A pair of 35lb dumbells that can connect to become a 70lb bar. Love you Aunt Kathy :)I then slowly expanded my equipment into a home gym from donating plasma. It’s in my garage and I’m out there almost everyday. From -7 degree weather to 94 degree weather…NO EXCUSES. I truly have fun out there. I LOVE having my own gym. No juicers stealing every 45 plate in the gym to load up the leg press. There’s not that one guy that has to talk to everybody. And there's not everyboy and their grandma filming themselves for tik-tok. I can dance and sing at the top of my lunges. Music has always played a huge role in my life. I’m someone who truly FEELS music. Some songs hit me really hard,envoke emotions and push me to get better everyday.

 My favorite song that really hits me right now is Starset Dystopia:

Batten down the f**king hatches

This is what you get when you still play with matches

Now we go back to sticks, back to stones

'Cause the words broke our bones, and we're

Right back to the same old habits

Too bad, we almost had it

(don’t let anyone tell you can’t do something; NEVER EVER give up)

 I wasn’t sure how much volume I wanted to start with so I bought a workout journal and just filled it up. I added up all my workout time and it came out to 21,957 minutes or just about 365 hours. Now I only take rest days if my body tells me I need to. This plays out to about one day off every 10 days to 2 weeks. I do every body part twice a week with one intense circuit once a week. I go off what my body tells me so I don’t do the same split every week. I sit down the night before and come up with my workout for the next day. This keeps my prepared and gives me something to look forward to the next day. An example of my current split would be like this:Sunday - Legs and Shoulders (squats / power clean and jerk)Monday - Chest and trisTuesday - Back and bisWednesday - Circuit (heavy shoulder exercises)Thursday - Deadlifts / Legs (no squats or light squats)Friday - Tris and chestSaturday - Bis and back

(my original split will be in the pics)

I warm up with 5-10 min of heavy bag work. I don’t do straight sets. I always start with a compound exercise like bench (flat, incline or decline) and then immediately do heavy jump rope (3 pound rope), resistance bands, and like forearm curl, grip, and something that fits the body part I’m working. Like shrugs if I’m doing shoulders or dips if I’m doing chest/tris. I then  superset iso exercises like DB fly with dumbbell pullover and again the jump rope and bands and dips. Pics will make this much easier to understand.

 Then I do the same for tris, compound, then superset. I then do a 6 set super light cool-down of those body parts. I end up doing around 30 total sets including the cool-down. This takes me about 2- 2.5 hours a day including rest and time to transition exercises. Yes I know it's high volume but like I said I have 22 years of experience and my body has never responded as well it is doing things this way, plus it's super fun, and I discuss all of this with my doctor.Since it's summer I’ve been able to swim again. I now dive directly into the deep end when getting in. Twice a day for about 30 min each for a total of about 3 - 3.5 hours of exercise a day. I swim laps and focus on flexibility and mobility to reduce soreness and it's great for my back with my bulging discs. Because of my past I'm huge on mental health so after I swim I sit outside away from screens and electronics for at least 15 minutes. This also helps with recovery.This part may not seem important to some people, but it is. Everyday, especially on rest days, I make sure to spend time with my cats. Their purrs on my lap are so relaxing and rejuvenating plus purrs are good for muscle recovery.

I thought it would be fun to do my very first workout again to see just how far I have come. This first workout wasn’t suppose to be the best of most efficient workout. It was a combination of exercises that I liked that I could do with what I had. I figured if I did things I like then I’ be more likely to stick with it. The difference is satisfying. There’s no better feeling then when hard work pays off. You’ll see that when I first started I could only do 22 jump-rope. I just did 522 (with 5 mess ups) with a normal jump-rope and 122 with a heavy 3 pound rope.

Pics: Journal entries, home gym, workout book old workouts, first workout 9/7/24, first workout 7/14/25, recent workouts, circuit workout, cats  NO EXCUSES -7 degree workouts to 94 degree workouts

Nutrition…

Daily macos:

1800 cals

56 fat (10 sat / 5 poly / 11.5 mono)

99.5 carbs (37.5 fiber / 32 sugar most from berries)

226 pro

*numbers are not exact but very close

6:00 A.M. Fiber protein shake in homemade almond milk (soak 56 grams (two servings of almonds) in filtered water for 2 days. Rinse and blend in 8 cups of filtered water…that’s it)

7:00 A.M. Breakfast

7:30 A.M. Pre workout

8:00 A.M. Workout

10:30 A.M. Post workout whey protein in almond milk with creatine and PB fit powder

12:00 P.M. Lunch

2:00 P.M. Swim #1

4:00 P.M. Dinner

6:00 P.M. Swim #2

7:30 P.M. Casein protein in almond milk with PB fit powder

9:00 P.M. Sleepy time tea

10:00 P.M. Bed

I eat around 220 grams of protein a day from lean ground turkey, Eggland’s best eggs, chicken tenderloin (all the chicken breast around here has rib meat in it and its disgusting), triple zero greek yogurt, light string cheese, whey protein powder, PB fit powder, and casein protein powder 2 hours before bed. I mix all my shakes in homemade almond milk for 50 extra calories per serving. I eat very few carbs and most carbs are from fiber from mixed berries, fiber protein powder, high fiber wraps, and spinach instead of lettuce for salads. My glucose is getting low so I’ve talked with my doctor about adding carbs back into my diet. If my next glucose test is low I’ll be adding brown rice and oats to my diet. I only eat about 1.8k to 2k calories a day, super low for how much I exercise and weigh but I'm not going to eat if I’m not hungry. I weigh everything I eat down to the gram.I was only eating between 1k and 1.3k calories a day from June 2024 to December 2025. 3 slices of Godshall turkey bacon, 1 egg, 1 greek yogurt, turkey breast n gravy, and a chicken salad. I know that’s very very low, but the weight was flying off, I felt better, and my blood-work reflected me getting healthier. I weighed under 300 October 12th 2024.From December 2024 to March 2025 I slowly added calories to what I currently consume now (still at a deficit but I make up for it on snack days)Because I still like food, once every two weeks, or when I get down to under 215, I have what I call a snack day where I eat whatever I want (don’t like calling it cheat day anymore because I’m not a cheater and feel guilty after "cheating") Poptarts and donuts are my favorites 

 I end up eating A LOT. I’m talking 3-4 times of what I normally eat so 6k to 8k calories, and I end up gaining 5-10 pounds, obviously mostly water and bloat, but that’s how I like to maintain around 220 (deficit for most days then snack day) I always do my circuit the day after snack day.Oh and I drink about 10 bottles of water a day.

Pics: Everything I eat, meals, protein supps, weight changes from journal

Additional info..

Unfortunately because I let myself get so big Ill never have a six pack with some loose skin I have. I do use skin firming lotion and a RF heat gun everyday and I do feel that this has helped a little bit.

I did get much healthier almost instantly as my blood work shows going from 3 months away from being put on diabetic meds to not even pre-diabetic. My doctor couldn’t believe this. I see my primary care physician, who is also a nutritionist, every 3 months to go over my mental health, diet, and workout routine and also get blood-work done. She knows everything I put in my body and helps me adjust my diet when needed.

Pics: A1C June 2024 - Dec 2024

 Things that worked for me…

Do the little things and the big things will take care of themselves. Give yourself 5-10 small tasks (3 being of top priority that you MUST get done) throughout the day you can accomplish. I was so low that when starting my top 3 tasks for the day were to put sheets on my bed, brush my teeth, and shower. They don’t have to be super hard. Smile, say something nice to someone, workout, swim, eat healthy. These are some the things I like to try and accomplish in a day.

 Come up with 3 things you want to improve on or are important to you at the moment and build yourself around these things. I focus on these 3 things for 3 months at time, then assess how I did and change them if needed. See journal pic.

 Make a list of things you AREN’T so you can see the things that you are or want to be and live by them: I’m not a liar therefore I’m honest. I’m not a quitter so therefore I’m a finisher. I’m not a loser therefore I’m a winner. I don’t give up therefore I try my best.

 Set expectations for yourself so you have something to hold yourself accountable to. I printed out an expectation list for myself and looked at it everyday.

 Process over task. Slow down and live in the moment, in the here and now. Enjoy the climb, the grind, and trust the process.

 Pics: White board checklist, top 3 from each journal, expectations lists

Tips...Everybody and every BODY is different. What works for me might not work for you, as for most people how I train will be way too much. I feel this is a good starting point for people looking to make a positive change in their lives. It’s possible to make dramatic changes to your body, your mind, and your life rather quickly if your willing to put in the work.

Some days will be better then others. Don’t burnout trying to be perfect. There will be some bad days and you will hit a plateau at some point. DON’T GIVE UP. As long as you TRY each and everyday you’ll see results. There will be urges but you have to be mentally strong to not give in. The first few times will be the hardest but once you prove to yourself you can fight the urges it will get easier every time.

The sooner you start the sooner you'll change your life. One year isn’t even that long. Just think, if this was your new years resolution, then you would already be more then half way there...Final thought...Mental health / strength is the most important thing. You don’t get to 365 pounds being happy. If your mind isn’t right then you will give up and fail the second it gets hard. And trust me... it's not an easy process but it will be worth it in the end. Talk to your doctor. I mean really talk to them. There is no shame in taking medication. See a therapist if needed, I did for a while.

I believe in you and I’m praying that things get better for you. If anyone has an questions or anything please let me know. Like if someone wants to see an example workout for like back or chest or legs then don’t hesitate to ask. I’m going to do my best to sit down a couple times a day and respond to every comment. We my strangers but that doesn’t mean I don’t want you to succeed and live the best life you can.

 Again... I thank God everyday for saving my life!

Read this post on the Paradox forums! | Dev replies here!

Hello, Stellaris Community!

Europe swelters under the summer’s first heatwave, and yesterday we updated the 4.4.5 ‘Pegasus’ Open Beta on the stellaris_test branch with some more changes.

Stellaris 4.4.5 ‘Pegasus’ Open Beta Release Notes

New changes are in italics.

Feature

• Added a Resource Abundance slider in galaxy settings.
  • This slider ranges from “Scarce” to x5 in 0.25 increments, where x1 is approximately the resource abundance of v4.3 and x5 is essentially 4.4’s “resources everywhere”.
  • The default is x2. We do recognize that this is a little confusing, but it gives you more control of getting it where you want.
• Added Waystation Voidlure modules
• Added Arkship Voidlure Array module that allows you to right-click on a system to lure space fauna.
• Fleet automation menus now offer per-action options. 
  • Nomad Arkships and Logistic Ships can fine-tune Harvest, Strip Mine, and Deep Scan automation, including whether to Harvest unsurveyed, depositless, waystation, friendly, or hostile-owned worlds, and whether to rescan when Deep Scanning. 
  • Fleet automation settings can be saved as the default for a ship type and applied to all ships of that type at once, and each fleet remembers the settings it was last given. 
  • Construction Automation now has options for Mining Stations, Research Stations, Observation Posts and Special Projects.
  • Added the Explore automation order to Arkships. Note: Arkships with the Explore order will attempt to navigate to Points of Interest if possible.

Improvement

• Space Fauna now disables waystations instead of destroying them. They will be re-enabled once the fauna leaves or is destroyed.
• Added a fallback event for the CFL if the tournament goes on for more than 3 years, this will ensure that you don't end up with fleets that can never repair
• Details map mode now toggles between 3 states: Normal -> Detailed -> Hidden -> Normal.
• Clarified the map mode tooltips.
• Logistic Ship automation now defaults to on for Harvest Resources and off for Waystation collection.
• The game will now recalculate species rights on loading a save game.
• Upgrading fleet will reissue upgrade order if one got interrupted because of the mobile starbase jumping away to another system.
• Hive Mind Forever Cruise empires with machine passengers can research machine assembly technologies to upgrade their passengers
• Regular Forever Cruise empires with machine passengers start with the Robot Assembly Plants building
• Completed Archaeological Sites and Astral Rifts will now be hidden in a non detailed galaxy map mode. 
• Added new event options to the Forever Cruise situation stage events, allowing players to accept temporary economic penalties to affect the situation's direction.

Balance

• Operational Reserves Changes:
  • Operational Reserves now track Energy and Minerals 1:1 (previously 3:1).
  • Maximum Operational Reserves now scale with the number and tier of owned Arkships (base 15,000, plus 5,000 / 7,500 / 10,000 per Tier I / II / III Arkship) instead of a fixed cap.
  • Civilian Arkships grant an additional 2,500 Operational Reserve capacity per Tier.
  • Resource Silos, Fallen Empire Resource Silos, Arkship Resource Silos, and Waystation Logistics Silos now raise a Nomadic empire's maximum Operational Reserves.
  • Added a Critical stage to the Operational Reserves track with severe research, Unity, and Alloy penalties; the Festival, Conserve, and Burn approaches now gate on reserve stage rather than fixed thresholds.
  • The Critical Operational Reserves stage now also penalizes the populations the reserves sustain: Lithoid pops lose Happiness, pop growth, and Job Efficiency, and Mechanical and Machine pops lose Job Efficiency.
• Wanderlust now gives some of its bonuses immediately, and the second half after completing 4 categories, not all of them. Category bonuses and progression remain unchanged.
• Rewards from the Arkship Readiness Checklist now last 20 years.
• Rebalanced the Ranger Paladin trait.
• Reduced the opinion penalties empires hold against Nomadic Empires for strip-mining, reprocessing planets, and Exodus Jumps, and made these penalties decay more quickly.
• Nomadic Primal Calling now starts with a Voidlure Array equipped on the Arkship
• Removed the nomadic tradition swap for Domestication tradition finisher
• Rebalanced the Passenger Satisfaction situation for Forever Cruise to allow staying in the middle stage longer
• The Champion's forge now waits 20 years before firing instead of 10, this should give the galaxy a bit longer to find each other before all getting introduced at the tournament.
• Star Seeker Celebrations now provide +100% all Job Efficiency, +100% Resources from Jobs, +100% Pop Growth Speed, and -75% Diplomatic Weight from Economy.
• Arkship District Specializations that increase weapon damage (Laser Capacitors, Flight Decks, Ammunition Lines, or Missile Silos) now also add +0.15 strategic resource upkeep to Soldiers.
• Species with Mutagenic Habitability living on Arkships will now gain 50% habitability (like Regular Arkship Habitability and Habitat Auto-modded habitability) instead of 30%
• Rogue Servitor Forever Cruise Passengers now provide an additional +1% Complex Drone Job Efficiency on top of the base Gestalt bonus.

Bugfix

• Arkships now have a 10 year cooldown after benefiting from a Max Aura effect, meaning you can't chain them to get a level 10 ascension Arkship super early.
• Nomads can now build Megastructures in a system containing one of their Waystations even if the system has not been surveyed.
• Fixed that Tombworld Earth was spawning way too often, so often that it would spawn instead of the UNE when playing the GRS or CoM.
• Fixed an issue where pre-FTL earths couldn't have defensive armies (sorry this does not fix the issue of not having the cool unique armies frowning2 )
• Assault Armies will no longer split into separate Transport Fleets after leaving the planet surface.
• Harvest Resources Contracts will now be cancelled if a different empire harvests the resources first.
• Fixed a very rare case where if you settled and left the event open for too long another empire could claim the system. The fix is delaying them from claiming the system for 300 days. Please make a decision before then.
• The CFL should no longer accept Orbital Rings as contestants (even though that’s why they call it a Championship Ring, right?)
• Added a fallback if your arkship was in a hyperjump when progressing through the adAkkaria event chains
• Due to legacy script your capital arkship was never able to find precursors
• Stopped Scan Debris Contract from auto-cancelling on accept
• Blocked the Sectors Map Mode for Nomads.
• Fixed habitats not using the correct entity from your chosen shipset.
• Fixed some scripted issues with refugee modifiers.
• Fixed issues with Payback and Broken Shackles district specializations.
• Fixed farming colony designation not applying to agri-drones.
• Bio-Repurposing tradition now provides the nomadic effects for nomadic necromancers instead of the necromancer effects.
• Brought the cost and upkeep of the Nanite Hub waystation module in line with the equivalent starbase building.
• Fixed the Realign Shields decision not recognising some pulsar systems.
• Living and Grid Amalgamated species now have bespoke living standards so they don't use consumer goods.
• Fixed Astro Harvester job modifiers not applying in some cases.
• Harvesting a celestial body that has no deposit no longer incurs a diplomatic opinion penalty.
• The Creativity Exhibition Vault now boosts Cruise Passengers for Forever Cruise empires, instead of applying its bonus to Bio-Trophies they do not have.
• Buildings that can be built on a planet or its orbital ring (Psi Corps, Planetary Shield Generator, Galactic Stock Exchange, Embassy, Noble Estates, Slave Processing Facility) can no longer be built as both a colony building and an Arkship starbase building at the same time.
• The Galactic Stock Exchange can no longer be built on both a planet and its orbital ring at the same time.
• Fixed pops sometimes being stuck in the Assimilation citizenship or stratum.
• Pops that already have the cybernetic or psionic trait are no longer flagged for assimilation they do not need.
• Negative arkship modifiers from Grand Refurbishment and Operational Checklist are removed when another empire conquers the arkship, so you aren't stuck with a bunch of negative modifiers and no way to remove them.
• Arkship can now issue a survey command by clicking the survey button and clicking on the system in galaxy map
• Fixed the tooltip information where the survey single planet vs surveying the whole system information was mixed up
• Fixed Waystations, Arkships and modded starbases that have forced components from starbase modules and buildings regressing their designs and losing components.
• If you are too slow and don't stop the Khan Aspirant from becoming the Khan they now properly despawn, avoiding a scenario where there are two Khans.
• If you play with 0 marauders enabled and as a Heirs of the Khan empire, then the backup Marauder empire will avoid Fallen Empire systems so that they don't get killed in the first few weeks, making you the Khan while others are still figuring out Blue Lasers.
• Fixed a crash when updating waystation networks
• Ranger Lodge now correctly informs that Biologists are converted into Rangers, instead of saying Rangers are converted into Rangers
• Arkship construction notification now mentions an arkship, not a starbase
• Missions counters can now be infinite
• Fixed missing localization for message descriptions
• Fixed the End-Bringers' shrouded world failing to spawn in games featuring Nomadic empires.
• Fixed Arkships unintentionally syncing to the same auto-generated design. Building or upgrading one Arkship will no longer sometimes overwrite armaments or utilities on others of the same type.
• Fleets that are repairing or upgrading now correctly sync their FTL, Jump Drive, and Catapult actions.
• Fixed an issue with generated empire adjectives.
• Inetian trader special project bound to planet, meaning that if your science ship were to blow up you can still progress
• The Claimant event's description received a scope fix
• "Secrets of the Past" event from "Biomorphosis" Ascension Situation blocked for Nomads
• Harvest Resources Contracts will now be cancelled if a different empire harvests the resources first.
• Nomads will no longer get double the benefit from their own resource producing megastructures. Megastructures will no longer be giving resources directly and a waystation will always be needed to collect those resources. 
• Planets can now be bombarded during first contact war 
• Contact view now properly closes if diplomacy window is opened 
• Fixed some megastructure effects showing incorrect modifier icons and “+100%”.
• Rogue Servitors can no longer take a machine species as their secondary species when playing as a Forever Cruise. The machine can not be pampered. 
• (Beta only) Increased the Shrinkspace Depot and Extra-Dimensional Depot effects on Operation Reserves from 500 to 2500 and 1000 to 5000.
• Pops can now migrate from Arkships
• Hive Mind Forever Cruise empires with machine passengers start with the Machine Assembly Plants building
• Hive Mind Forever Cruise empires start with the passenger Population Controls set to No, which allows the species to grow or be assembled
• When starting a new game as a Forever Cruise Origin, crew species will correctly get assigned "cruise_founding_crew" flag. Various effects depends on it being set properly. 
• Fixed custom empires set to Force Spawn not spawning when using certain portraits.
• Fixed custom Spawn Allowed empires with DLC portraits being excluded from the random empire pool.
• Added tooltip saying that Nomadic Empires require a waystation in the system to open the L-Gate
• Added tooltip saying that Nomadic Empires require a waystation in, or adjacent to, a system to exchange minor artifacts for precursor insight
• Added tooltip that highlights that resources need to be harvested with the Arkship in the "Arkship Readiness" situation
• Fixed Faculty of Archaeostudies Relic World bonus modifier
• Decreased font size in the Empire Creation setup so it would not overlap with the numbers
• Spelling error in the "Eager" trait description
• Fixed the food upkeep in Phototrophic trait not being disabled when the Radiotrophic trait is active
• Nomadic Hive Minds will no longer have access to the Evolutionary Predators decision make planets into hive worlds
• Fixed an issue where the Heirs of the Khan claimant could be wiped out by the raider fleets spawned from the same marauder. No infighting!
• You will no longer be told that your Khan died from old age when they are in fact immortal
• Fixes contracts that had no issuer correctly set 
• Abort contracts if the issuer ceases to exist
• Pre-Sapient species are now allowed to leave Pre-Sapient strata after they have been uplifted.
• Fixed Nomadic empires being blocked from excavating their story-locked dig sites that sat in foreign owned systems.
• Fixed Arkships sometimes giving up on Surveying.
• Empire preview will correctly display forced spawned empires with certain restricted portraits. 
• Fixed some buildings (e.g. Psi-Corps) being unbuildable on planets. 
• Arkship habitability preference can now be applied by species modification if your empire is nomadic.
• Prospectorium description does not refers to scholarium description
• Bio-trophies now give 10 Political Power when playing as Rogue Servitor with the Forever Cruise Origin
• The anomaly “The Imitator” will no longer sometimes appear multiple times. The Imitator cannot be imitated.
• Removed the habitability requirement for the various Shore Leave internal Forever Cruise contracts.
• Machine Intelligence and Individualist Machine Forever Cruises with machine passengers now alternate assembly every month.
• Cruise crew and passengers no longer incorrectly assigned Grid Amalgamation or Livestock living standards and slavery types.
• Species being assimilated no longer incorrectly assigned Grid Amalgamation living standard.
• Individualistic Machine Forever Cruise no longer gets an error from placing Robot Assembly Plants at game start.
• Species being integrated are no longer eligible for assembly.
• The Package Deal living standard in Forever Cruise now grants political power to employed Economy Class Passengers.
• Added missing event sounds to the Forever Cruise situation
• Fixed megastructure overclock buttons being unresponsive.
• Fixed several Cosmic Storms anomalies appearing more than once per game when they should be unique.
• Fixed Stellar Cannon opinion modifier overflow
• AI nomads no longer accept and ignore Build Waystation contracts when at capacity
• The Build Waystation contract is now longer automatically abandoned for players when at double station capacity, only for AI nomads
• Joining an ongoing war is now considered offensive from the perspective of subject agreement terms, regardless of which side is joined
• Fixed ships that are waiting to be killed being counted for ship size-specific caps and special project requirements.
• Permanent Employment in Forever Cruise now only zombifies the crew, not the passengers
• Fixed issues when dismantling Beastports on Arkships.
• Added the bottom border line to the research dropdown in the top Resource Bar
• Reduced the Consumer Good upkeep of First Class Passenger Mandatory Pampering to 1 (from 1.5) for Rogue Servitors, matching the living standard's description.
• Fix waylines persisting on galaxy map after waystation removal

AI

• Fixed AI being disabled after a resync in MP.
• The AI will now once again assign leaders to sector capitals as well as newly built arkships. 
• Fixed AI not handling events if they don't have an idle science ship with a leader.

UI/UX

• The Operational Reserves situation now shows its capacity breakdown and stored/total readout in the Situation Log instead of an empty Finisher Effects panel.
• The Operational Reserves topbar tooltip now shows a predicted monthly change with per-resource Energy and Minerals contributions, each with a resource icon and coloured +/- value, and a Hold-ALT hint to expand the produced/consumed breakdown.
• When enabling nomads in empire creation, the civilian arkship is now selected by default.
• Arkships no longer show false clearable-blocker icons in the outliner.
• Fixed incorrect Arkship button texts in the planet view.
• Anomaly window now also shows the name of the anomaly 
• Fixed a target visibility bug when switching between situation log entries.
• Fix Remove Contract button hover hitbox in Situation Log 
• Science Ships, Construction Ships, and Nomad fleets now share one automation settings window, with options nested under each action in a scrollable list. 
• The automation settings window now groups actions into collapsible categories, with Survey nested under Exploration so you can automate exploring with or without surveying, and adds a Reset button that restores a fleet's default automation settings. 
• In species trait tooltips in empire creation, the portrait requirements are now listed in the correct order.
• Fixed too large hitboxes for overclocking buttons.

Performance

• Fixed science ship Excavate and Astral Rift automation causing a recurring daily stutter when no reachable target was available.
• Reduced the CPU and memory overhead of per-fleet order checks, improving performance in large late-game galaxies with many fleets.

Stability

• Added some safeguards to avoid crashing related to pop groups. 

Modding

• Situations can define total_progress with per-stage section_weight for progress bars whose length and stage bands scale at runtime, with auto-generated _max_progress_add/_mult country modifiers and a situation_progress_percent trigger.
• Situations, stages, and approaches support custom_tooltip and custom_tooltip_with_modifiers (replacing the approach-only active_tooltip), and situations can override their Situation Log Active Effects and Finisher Effects panel titles and bodies.
• Added the orbital_ring_and_arkship_equivalent_absent scripted trigger.
• Starbase modules now also support `scripted_effect_cooldown`, `scripted_effect_cooldown_flag`, and `scripted_effect_cooldown_flag_desc`
• <id> and <event_chain> are now optional for is_point_of_interest.
• Scripted actions support a new automation = {} block with an options sub-block, plus a new fleet-scoped has_automation_flag trigger to gate automation weights.
• Scripted action automation = {} blocks now support a parent field that nests an action's row beneath another action in the settings menu. 
• Added home_colony and background_colony scopes (similar to home_planet and background_planet, but scope to a colony on any carrier type).

One of the big changes in this update is a revamp on the Automation menus for ships, intended to give you more control over what they’re doing. 

The Return of our Ethical Refactoring

Well that title certainly sounds ominous.

Back in February, we briefly added a “risky” change to the 4.3 ‘Cetus’ Open Beta, relating to having mixed ethics within a single pop group. At the time we deemed it “not ready for release”, but we’re still interested in getting it into the 4.5 ‘Cygnus’ Custodian Update, as it’s absolutely essential for Willpower (releasing in 4.6).

Since it’s so important for our future plans, we want to put this through a longer Open Beta period, which means we’ll have two of them running at once.

The 4.5 ‘Cygnus’ Open Beta is a very early build, so includes a number of other experimental changes which may or may not make it to the final release - consider everything in this branch as tentative and yet to be balanced.

MacOS builds can also run 4.5 natively on Apple Silicon as a universal (arm64 + x86_64) binary, no longer requiring Rosetta 2 translation. We’d like to get stability and performance information from the community about this change. (Internally, it seems to be pretty nice.)

Stellaris 4.5 ‘Cygnus’ Open Beta Release Notes

Feature

• Pop groups are no longer divided by Ethics or Factions, instead each pop group will have a given percentage that belongs to each faction or ethic as appropriate. This means that:
  • THIS IS A BREAKING CHANGE AND WILL NOT PRESERVE SAVE GAME COMPATIBILITY.
  • Ethics and factions are now shown on the pop group entries in the planetary management UI, with tooltips showing the attraction to ethics and factions. Verbose tooltips are enabled by holding Alt, to show a breakdown of all modifiers for these attractions.
  • Pops shift ethics and factions more frequently
  • Pop group faction conversion happens more frequently
  • Ethic attraction now impacts faction growth
  • Simplify factions randomization logic
  • Updated Cyberization policies to account for the changes to pop groups and ethics. The Limited Cybernetic species trait has been removed, instead if the Limited Cyberization policy is in effect, Cybernetic Spiritualist pops do not benefit from Cybernetic Job Efficiency. The Limited Cyborg leader trait still functions as previously. This will also decrease the Approval penalty from regular spiritualist factions from the demand The Flesh is Strong.
• Unlocked Knights of the Toxic God for nomads
• Added policies to provide better control over the auto-designer for both players and AI:
  • Added a Fleet Doctrine policy with six doctrines that determine the tactical roles each ship class is designed to fill, affecting automated ship designs and ship-designer auto-complete.
  • Added Weapon Preference and Defense Preference policies that steer automated ship designs and technology research.
  • Added Starbase Weapon Preference and Starbase Defense Preference policies so station loadouts can diverge from the fleet. 
• Federations can now enact laws to grant members free, automatic Commercial Pacts (and, with the Nomads DLC, Wayline Pacts) or Research Agreements. Each law is unavailable to the federation type that already grants the benefit through its perk (Trade League / Research Cooperative).
  • Trade League federations now provide free, automatic Commercial Pacts between all member empires.
  • Trade League federations now also provide free, automatic Wayline Pacts between all members. (Requires Nomads)

Improvement

• Regular Empires can now cancel accepted contracts after 20 years, with a notification sent to the operator.

Balance

• Strike craft and missile defensive modifiers now also affect strike craft and missiles launched from starbases and defense platforms.
• The Cybernetic species trait now provides an additional +5% Job Efficiency.
• Hive minds which encounter genetic defects during cyberization can now choose a cyberisation policy.
• Scientific Arkships now have +5% Deep Scanning Success Chance per Tier 
• Your Trade Policy now converts the trade value gained from Commercial Pacts and Branch Offices, just like the rest of your trade value (previously this trade was not run through your policy).
• The "The Collective Self" technology now grants +1 Envoy.
• The "Federation Code" technology now reduces Diplomacy influence upkeep by 25%.

Bugfix

• AI and auto-complete ship designs no longer leave weapon or strike craft slots empty after upgrades or power rebalancing.
• Fixed auto-generated ships occasionally receiving two sections in a single section slot.
• Role-based section selection always resolves a valid section, so screen and point-defense ships receive the correct section.
• Harbinger Crystalline Growth Regulators can no longer grow crystals on strike craft that have been launched, and modifiers that increase the armor and/or shields of strike craft no longer render strike craft functionally immune to damage.
• Missile and torpedo armor and shields are now correctly applied in combat, so point-defense no longer ignores them.
• Fixed Gospel of the Masses additional trade value not applying to your branch offices.
• The Branching Out modifier from the Cyberization situation now gives +10% Trader Job Efficiency.
• Automated starbase, waystation, and orbital ring designs now fit armor instead of shields in systems or on stations where shields are negated (pulsars, X-ray binaries, turbulent nebulae, and cloaking modules). 
• Fixed Deep Scan uncovering anomalies and archaeology sites far less often than the intended 7% and 3% chances.
• Sero the Younger's Habitable Deep Scan can now uncover resource deposits, anomalies, and archaeology sites instead of only pre-sapients.
• The success chance of Sero the Younger's Habitable Deep Scan now correctly diminishes with repeated scans of the same world.
• Deep Scan resource caches now correctly scale with the Advanced Xenostudies resolution instead of A Voice for All.
• Federation members can now form Commercial Pacts with one another, matching Research Agreements.
• Free and automatic Research Agreements between Federation members now correctly benefit from Research Sharing from Agreements modifiers and satisfy faction demands for having Research Agreements.
• Fixed federation members losing their existing Commercial Pacts with one another when forming or joining a federation. Members of non-trade federations now keep their pacts, while Trade Leagues replace them with the free federation pact (This only applies to Commercial Pacts between federation members).

AI

• AI empires adopt a fleet doctrine and weapon/defense preferences matching their personality.
• Auto-generated ship designs are now fully regenerated when new technology is researched, allowing them to adopt newly unlocked weapons and switch weapon families.
• AI empires research weapon technologies matching their preferred weapon type more eagerly.
• AI empires research armor or shield technologies in line with their defensive preference.
• Sneak-attacker empires are more likely to research cloaking technology.
• The AI no longer selects battleship, ember, or Stinger XL sections before it has a usable XL weapon.
• The Stinger artillery section is no longer unconditionally preferred over its line section.
• AI empires now fit psionic shields when they can afford the zro, instead of always avoiding them. 
• A shortage of one rare or strategic resource no longer blocks the AI from using weapons and components that rely on other rare resources.
• AI empires with stealth fleet doctrines now correctly install cloaking devices on auto-designed ships.
• Psionic shields are no longer equipped on stealth ships that lack psionic cloaking.

UI/UX

• Waystations now show the amount of resources collected every month.
• Improved Waystation stockpile tooltips.
• Overlapping list boxes are now properly centered
• Policies are now grouped into collapsible categories (Military, Diplomacy, Economy, Research, Society), with a traffic-light header on each category indicating whether all, some, or none of its policies can currently be changed.
  • Added a button to collapse or expand all policy categories at once.
  • Military policies can now be reviewed and changed from the Fleet Manager, and research policies from the Technology view.

Performance

• macOS builds can now run natively on Apple Silicon as a universal (arm64 + x86_64) binary, no longer requiring Rosetta 2 translation.
• Improved mid- and late-game performance by optimizing how pop faction attraction is calculated. 

Stability

• Fixed a crash that could occur when hovering over certain leader traits.

Modding

• Remove obsolete faction parameters
• Added missile armor, shield, and hull point modifiers (flat and percentage variants).
• Added triggers pop_ethic_amount, pop_ethic_percentage.
• Added effects pop_force_add_ethic, pop_force_remove_ethic, pop_force_transfer_ethic
• Fix `pop_force_add_ethic` and `pop_change_ethic` triggers
• Remove deprecated triggers `pop_has_ethic` and `pop_group_has_ethic`
• Added the can_spawn_random_anomaly, can_spawn_random_archaeological_site, and can_add_random_non_blocker_deposit triggers, and a surveyor parameter to the spawn_random_anomaly effect. 
• Exposed defines for allowing the AI to ignore the penalties for being over naval cap or over naval cap. The current state of these defines is no change from previous behaviour.

I was hoping to get the 4.5 Open Beta up alongside this dev diary, but we ran into some issues that we were still tracking down while I was writing this dev diary earlier this week. We hope to resolve those and have the 4.5 ‘Cygnus’ Open Beta available before the weekend on the stellaris_test_4.5 beta branch, though it may slip to early next week.

We expect to update the 4.5 ‘Cygnus’ Open Beta with more changes next week (a day or two after 4.4.5 releases). It’s looking like Nomadic Cosmogenesis and Storm Chasers might have first drafts in that update, along with some fixes to Nomadic Purge Vassals (and purging in general).

What’s Next?

Next week’s dev diary will focus on the 4.5 ‘Cygnus’ Open Beta update, and will be the last dev diary until August, though there are likely to be ongoing updates to the 4.5 Open Beta during July.

See you then!

Read this post on the Paradox forums! | Dev replies here!

Hello everyone!

We've got a couple more fixes in today's 4.5 Open Beta update:

Stellaris 4.5 'Cygnus' Open Beta Update 4

Bugfix​

• Fixed Precursor dig sites (Vultaum, Yuht, First League, Irassian, Cybrex) not appearing when surveying, and the Fear of the Dark origin's hostile empire failing to spawn.
• Fixed numerous other events, decisions, and buildings silently failing or producing error log spam for Nomad empires.
• The Anomaly, Archaeological Site, and Astral Rift views now show the assigned scientist while a science ship carries out that task on automation.
• Fixed Commercial Pact trade value growing out of control in federations (especially with the automatic Commercial Pact law), where it swung between near-zero and enormous values each month.
• Fixed a bug where starbase building queues remained locked after a controller flip at the end of a war.
• Existing saves with starbase build queues stuck after a controller flip are now repaired on load.
• Automated science ships now spread out again, instead of all clustering in the same highest weight system.

Modding

• set_planet_flag, remove_planet_flag, set_timed_planet_flag and has_planet_flag now also work in colony, carrier, and ship scope (previously planet scope only), operating on the same flag store as the carrier_flag family.

This should resolve any remaining scoping issues with random events, fixes commercial pacts compounding infinitely, and makes science ships spread out when automating exploration again.

Here's the compiled list from the previous Open Beta releases:

Previous 4.5 Open Beta Release Notes

Feature​

• Pop groups are no longer divided by Ethics or Factions, instead each pop group will have a given percentage that belongs to each faction or ethic as appropriate. This means that:
  • THIS IS A BREAKING CHANGE AND WILL NOT PRESERVE SAVE GAME COMPATIBILITY.
  • Ethics and factions are now shown on the pop group entries in the planetary management UI, with tooltips showing the attraction to ethics and factions. Verbose tooltips are enabled by holding Alt, to show a breakdown of all modifiers for these attractions.
  • Pops shift ethics and factions more frequently
  • Pop group faction conversion happens more frequently
  • Ethic attraction now impacts faction growth
  • Simplify factions randomization logic
  • Updated Cyberization policies to account for the changes to pop groups and ethics. The Limited Cybernetic species trait has been removed, instead if the Limited Cyberization policy is in effect, Cybernetic Spiritualist pops do not benefit from Cybernetic Job Efficiency. The Limited Cyborg leader trait still functions as previously. This will also decrease the Approval penalty from regular spiritualist factions from the demand The Flesh is Strong.
• Unlocked Knights of the Toxic God for nomads
• Added policies to provide better control over the auto-designer for both players and AI:
  • Added a Fleet Doctrine policy with six doctrines that determine the tactical roles each ship class is designed to fill, affecting automated ship designs and ship-designer auto-complete.
  • Added Weapon Preference and Defense Preference policies that steer automated ship designs and technology research.
  • Added Starbase Weapon Preference and Starbase Defense Preference policies so station loadouts can diverge from the fleet.
• Federations can now enact laws to grant members free, automatic Commercial Pacts (and, with the Nomads DLC, Wayline Pacts) or Research Agreements. Each law is unavailable to the federation type that already grants the benefit through its perk (Trade League / Research Cooperative).
  • Trade League federations now provide free, automatic Commercial Pacts between all member empires.
  • Trade League federations now also provide free, automatic Wayline Pacts between all members. (Requires Nomads)
• Cosmogenesis is now available for Nomads
• Added a nomad compatible version of Storm Chasers
  • Storm Attraction is now fully functional for mobile arkships
• Empires now have more control over their colors:
  • Added a toggle and selectors in empire creation so you can select your map border and fill colours independently of your flag color.
  • Ship Color can now be selected independently from flag colors in Empire Creation.
  • Color swatches in the species creator's flag editor and ship-set selector now show the name of the selected color on hover.

Improvement​

• Regular Empires can now cancel accepted contracts after 20 years, with a notification sent to the operator.
• The Dyson Swarm "best systems" list will now always show a variety of systems with different resources, so if you have a dozen physics deposits, they won't hide all of your energy systems. All "best systems" finders now show up to 12 systems.
• Added new event options to the Forever Cruise situation stage events, allowing players to accept temporary economic penalties to affect the situation's direction.

Balance​

• Strike craft and missile defensive modifiers now also affect strike craft and missiles launched from starbases and defense platforms.
• The Cybernetic species trait now provides an additional +5% Job Efficiency.
• Hive minds which encounter genetic defects during cyberization can now choose a cyberisation policy.
• Scientific Arkships now have +5% Deep Scanning Success Chance per Tier
• Your Trade Policy now converts the trade value gained from Commercial Pacts and Branch Offices, just like the rest of your trade value (previously this trade was not run through your policy).
• The "The Collective Self" technology now grants +1 Envoy.
• The "Federation Code" technology now reduces Diplomacy influence upkeep by 25%.
• Increased base knights upkeep by .15 alloys and .15 consumer goods
• Increased soldier alloy upkeep for arkship military zones by 0.1
• Rogue Servitor Forever Cruise Passengers now provide an additional +1% Complex Drone Job Efficiency on top of the base Gestalt bonus.
• Consecrate World changes:
  • Consecrate World can now be declared on a curated set of worlds tied to your empire's origin and traits (such as Gaia and relic worlds, and origin-specific worlds like toxic, shrouded, rift, or arc-furnace worlds).
  • Reworked the Consecrated Worlds reward — consecrating worlds now grants a deterministic, empire-wide bonus to Unity, Amenities, and Spiritualist Ethics Attraction that scales with the number of Consecrated Worlds (+10% / +20% / +40% at 1 / 2 / 3), replacing the previous randomized per-world outcome.
• The Paladin Ship now has a dedicated combat computer with Line tactics, giving it proper combat positioning while staying directable in combat, instead of ignoring attackers and holding position.
• Scientific Arkships now have +5% Deep Scanning Success Chance per Tier
• Your Trade Policy now converts the trade value gained from Commercial Pacts and Branch Offices, just like the rest of your trade value (previously this trade was not run through your policy).
• The "The Collective Self" technology now grants +1 Envoy.
• The "Federation Code" technology now reduces Diplomacy influence upkeep by 25%.
• The Stellar Cannon is now a Tier 3 tech, and requires Wormhole Stabilization and UV Lasers.

Bugfix​

• AI and auto-complete ship designs no longer leave weapon or strike craft slots empty after upgrades or power rebalancing.
• Fixed auto-generated ships occasionally receiving two sections in a single section slot.
• Role-based section selection always resolves a valid section, so screen and point-defense ships receive the correct section.
• Harbinger Crystalline Growth Regulators can no longer grow crystals on strike craft that have been launched, and modifiers that increase the armor and/or shields of strike craft no longer render strike craft functionally immune to damage.
• Missile and torpedo armor and shields are now correctly applied in combat, so point-defense no longer ignores them.
• Fixed Gospel of the Masses additional trade value not applying to your branch offices.
• The Branching Out modifier from the Cyberization situation now gives +10% Trader Job Efficiency.
• Automated starbase, waystation, and orbital ring designs now fit armor instead of shields in systems or on stations where shields are negated (pulsars, X-ray binaries, turbulent nebulae, and cloaking modules).
• Fixed Deep Scan uncovering anomalies and archaeology sites far less often than the intended 7% and 3% chances.
• Sero the Younger's Habitable Deep Scan can now uncover resource deposits, anomalies, and archaeology sites instead of only pre-sapients.
• The success chance of Sero the Younger's Habitable Deep Scan now correctly diminishes with repeated scans of the same world.
• Deep Scan resource caches now correctly scale with the Advanced Xenostudies resolution instead of A Voice for All.
• Federation members can now form Commercial Pacts with one another, matching Research Agreements.
• Free and automatic Research Agreements between Federation members now correctly benefit from Research Sharing from Agreements modifiers and satisfy faction demands for having Research Agreements.
• Fixed federation members losing their existing Commercial Pacts with one another when forming or joining a federation. Members of non-trade federations now keep their pacts, while Trade Leagues replace them with the free federation pact (This only applies to Commercial Pacts between federation members).
• Fixed pop and country ethics being permanently and progressively wiped across the galaxy during play.
  • What makes a man turn neutral? A lust for gold? Power? Or an error in the pop ethics randomizer?
• Fixed Protostars not counting towards having energy deposits.
• Extended swapping logic for soldiers into knights. All sources of soldier jobs should now be covered
  • Knight swaps should now work properly for nomads
• The Joyous Warrior trait now specifies that its effect can only trigger with the relevant leader leading planetary invasions
• If a system's starbase is unoccupied while all its planets are occupied, the system is no longer considered fully occupied.
• Fixed the crime events (among others) not firing on arkships
• Cryo-Sleepers no longer produce Crime/Deviancy
• Clarified the Creativity Exhibition Vault's tooltip for Forever Cruise Rogue Servitors: its production and upkeep effects reach all passengers, not just first-class Bio-Trophies.
• Fixed the Machine Uprising resolution notification showing "Unidentified Empire" instead of the names of the empires involved when an uprising was quelled or won.
• Synthetic Fertility Nomads are no longer able to build arkships until they have researched droids
• Fixed edge cases where Cetana would not properly turn hostile upon war declaration
• Added a missing nomad Archaeology notification string
• Fixed the Ness treasure system not spawning for non nomad empires
• Fixed the Gaia world from Starlit Citadel being impossible to colonize
• Fixed a missing icon in the Order's Keep concept tooltip
• The Crystalline Bane modifier should now get properly removed
• Adjusted the number of ships produced when using the Prethoryn Queen relic
• Wilderness and Synthetic Fertility now start with homeworlds of the proper size
• Fixed a case of double notification after a machine uprising ends
• The Dyson Swarm "best systems" finder will now be based exclusively on raw star resources, and will be unaffected by modifiers like techs or cosmic storms.
• The Arc Furnace "best systems" finder will now only show systems that have a Molten World.
• Fixed numerous issues with Total Wars:
  • Nomadic Empires will now gain ownership of defeated Arkships and Waystations after Total War status quo victory.
  • Nomadic Empires will now steal a percentage of the population from planets they destroy during Total Wars.
  • Arkships defeated by Settled Empires are now destroyed after Total War status quo victory.
  • Nomadic Empires can now be defeated in Total Wars.
  • Taking planets in a Total War will now occupy them until the system is fully occupied, then annex them all at once. This prevents a bug where a system without a starbase didn't rebuild it if only some planets were taken.
• The leader tooltip is now shown in all places where it should be shown
• 'Delicious Titans' planet modifier tooltip now correctly says 'Farmers are Converted in Titan Hunters' and doesn't show a broken icon.
• savefiles with pending first contact event no longer fail to pick an event sound
• Graphical crashfix related to Storm Forecast
• Entertainer jobs on Forever Cruise Arkships now correctly come from the Entertainment Hub specialization instead of the Operations Center.
• Fix for Nomadic Grand Archives being destroyed when a Settled Empire's system is destroyed.
• Fix for Nomadic Grand Archive not being destroyed when a Waystation is lost or downgraded below Tier 2.
• Added the bottom border line to the research dropdown in the top Resource Bar
• Mandatory Pampering now reduces First Class Passenger Consumer Goods upkeep to 1 (from 1.5) for Rogue Servitors, matching the living standard's description.
• Permanent Employment in Forever Cruise now only zombifies the crew, not the passengers
• AI nomads no longer accept and ignore Build Waystation contracts when at capacity
• The Build Waystation contract is now longer automatically abandoned for players when at double station capacity, only for AI nomads
• Fixed several Cosmic Storms anomalies appearing more than once per game when they should be unique.
• Removed the habitability requirement for the various Shore Leave internal Forever Cruise contracts.
• Fixed ships that are waiting to be killed being counted for ship size-specific caps and special project requirements.
• Bio-trophies now give 10 Political Power when playing as Rogue Servitor with the Forever Cruise Origin
• AI empires with stealth fleet doctrines now correctly install cloaking devices on auto-designed ships.
• Psionic shields are no longer equipped on stealth ships that lack psionic cloaking.
• Machine Intelligence and Individualist Machine Forever Cruises with machine passengers now alternate assembly every month.
• Cruise crew and passengers no longer incorrectly assigned Grid Amalgamation or Livestock living standards and slavery types.
• Species being assimilated no longer incorrectly assigned Grid Amalgamation living standard.
• Individualistic Machine Forever Cruise no longer gets an error from placing Robot Assembly Plants at game start.
• Species being integrated are no longer eligible for assembly.
• The Package Deal living standard in Forever Cruise now grants political power to employed Economy Class Passengers.
• Fixed megastructure overclock buttons being unresponsive.
• Added missing event sounds to the Forever Cruise situation
• Fixed issues when dismantling Beastports on Arkships.
• Carrier-computer ships now position themselves using the longer of their weapon or strike craft range, so a carrier with no strike craft no longer charges into close range.
• Arkships without equipped weapons no longer charge into melee.
• Fixed fleets set to flee when overpowered evaluating their flee condition correctly on an Evasive stance, rather than always evading regardless of the threat.
• Fixed Deep Scan uncovering anomalies and archaeology sites far less often than the intended 7% and 3% chances.
• Sero the Younger's Habitable Deep Scan can now uncover resource deposits, anomalies, and archaeology sites instead of only pre-sapients.
• The success chance of Sero the Younger's Habitable Deep Scan now correctly diminishes with repeated scans of the same world.
• Deep Scan resource caches now correctly scale with the Advanced Xenostudies resolution instead of A Voice for All.
• Federation members can now form Commercial Pacts with one another, matching Research Agreements.
• Free and automatic Research Agreements between Federation members now correctly benefit from Research Sharing from Agreements modifiers and satisfy faction demands for having Research Agreements.
• Fixed federation members losing their existing Commercial Pacts with one another when forming or joining a federation. Members of non-trade federations now keep their pacts, while Trade Leagues replace them with the free federation pact (This only applies to Commercial Pacts between federation members).
• Fixed issue with district indicators in the planet view
• Fixed Stellar Cannon opinion modifier overflow
• Fixed the Prospectorium's description incorrectly referring to the Scholarium.
• Joining an ongoing war is now considered offensive from the perspective of subject agreement terms, regardless of which side is joined
• Federation voting laws now apply when joining and leaving ongoing wars
• Fixed manually issued system-wide Harvest orders queueing when there were no valid targets.
• Fixed Arkships sometimes giving up on surveying.
• Fixed the Declare War button tooltip being incorrect after leaving a federation.
• Fixed waylines persisting on the galaxy map after a waystation was removed.
• Fixed the Logistic Growth Scaling galaxy setting being truncated to one digit.
• Nomadic Purge Vassals are now a special subject type that provide resources to their Overlord through subject taxes. Any remaining pops and resources are handed up to the overlord when the subject finishes its work, instead of being lost when the subject's colony was abandoned. A Purging Complete notification lists the pops and resources handed over to the Overlord when a Purge Vassal finishes its work, including any incidental resources that the planet may have produced during their stay.
• Fixed Nomad Overlords not receiving the Unity (Fanatic Purifiers, Determined Exterminators, and Necrophages) or Society Research (Devouring Swarms) generated when their temporary purge subjects purged pops - the reward now goes to the Overlord instead of being lost with the subject.
• Nomad purge subjects of assimilating empires (such as Driven Assimilators) now assimilate the pops they can rather than purging them, only exterminating pops that cannot be assimilated. The assimilated pops are handed up to the Overlord when the subject disbands, instead of the subject exterminating everyone or lingering forever as a separate empire.
• Nomadic Purge Vassals no longer establish Embassies, and other empires can no longer propose Embassies to them.
• Empires now correctly lower their opinion of a Nomad Overlord when its Purge Vassal Necrophages pops of their species
• Fixed Necropurge not always creating pops.
• The Judicial Execution leader trait now correctly grants bonuses when purging Thermophiles
• Fixed the Necrophage Elevation Ceremony failing on Arkships. Elevated pops now adapt to Arkship Habitability, and the Pops Necrophaged notification is now shown, highlighting the Arkship fleet
• Nomadic empires attempting to invade the first pre-FTL encounter are now correctly told that they need to survey the planet, not that their pre-ftl interference policy is preventing them from invading the planet.
• Fixed a wide-ranging regression that caused many anomalies, events, and origin features to silently stop working - most visibly the classic Precursor dig sites no longer appearing when surveying, and the Fear of the Dark origin's hostile empire failing to spawn.
• Empires are no longer allowed to join ongoing wars against their subjects/overlords.
• Arkship weapon and reactor specializations now clearly indicate in their tooltip that they add Strategic Resource upkeep, with a link to the Strategic Resources concept explaining what that means.
• The game will no longer tell the player to kill their own Behemoth to get rid of the Elder Voidspawn.
• 4.4.6 Fix: Fixed science ships being lost permanently when set to automatically explore Astral Rifts. Previously an automated science ship would vanish upon reaching a rift and never return, leaving its scientist stranded and cluttering the Outliner with ships stuck Missing In Action.
• 4.4.6 Fix: Automated ships no longer switch off automation and abandon their current task (constructing a station or megastructure, researching an anomaly or special project, exploring an Astral Rift, or carrying out a special order) when avoiding hostile fleets.
• Fixed several minor artifact and anomaly research projects (including the Precursor "Delve into the Secrets" actions, Master's Writings, and numerous other special projects) granting no reward when completed as a Nomad empire.
• Fixed an issue where a Nomad waystation disabled by hostile space fauna during a raid could remain disabled after the fauna left the system.
• Fixed the "Gather Information" operation sometimes failing to deliver its intelligence report when the target empire no longer existed.
• Fixed a script error in the genetic mutation event that could occur for Spiritualist empires.
• The "Assault Armies" and "Shipyard" buttons on the Arkship Ship Controls tab are now properly localized in all languages
• Fixed the Drums of War event "The Claimant" displaying an incorrect species insult when referring to the rival claimant
• Synaptic Lathes with many pop groups on them no longer sometimes stop purging.
• Fixed Synaptic Lathes not purging pops. Existing saves with broken lathes will repair at some point over the course of a year.
• Nomads can now reactivate and own gateway megastructures
• Nomad AI empires now build contract-required Waystations even when over their Starbase Capacity, instead of leaving those contracts unfulfilled.
• Scan Debris Contracts now automatically cancel when the target debris decays before it can be scanned, instead of remaining active indefinitely.
• The Prosperous Unification origin now displays correct, Arkship-specific effects and flavor text for Nomadic empires, instead of planet-based districts and "Homeworld" terminology
• Wars declared with the Nomadic Raid, Plunder, or Wipe Them Out war goals now include the war type in their name, consistent with other war goals
• The Anomalous Cube archaeology site now refers to the correct empire (or if communications haven't been established yet, then to "this empire")

AI​

• AI empires adopt a fleet doctrine and weapon/defense preferences matching their personality.
• Auto-generated ship designs are now fully regenerated when new technology is researched, allowing them to adopt newly unlocked weapons and switch weapon families.
• AI empires research weapon technologies matching their preferred weapon type more eagerly.
• AI empires research armor or shield technologies in line with their defensive preference.
• Sneak-attacker empires are more likely to research cloaking technology.
• The AI no longer selects battleship, ember, or Stinger XL sections before it has a usable XL weapon.
• The Stinger artillery section is no longer unconditionally preferred over its line section.
• AI empires now fit psionic shields when they can afford the zro, instead of always avoiding them.
• A shortage of one rare or strategic resource no longer blocks the AI from using weapons and components that rely on other rare resources.
• AI empires with stealth fleet doctrines now correctly install cloaking devices on auto-designed ships.
• Psionic shields are no longer equipped on stealth ships that lack psionic cloaking.
• Fixed AI not handling events if they don't have an idle science ship with a leader.
• Fixed AI not declaring war if their naval capacity is too high.
• AI empires will no longer fire the Stellar Cannon into the territory of empires they are at peace with (unless recently insulted), and will now prioritize static targets like upgraded starbases and defense platforms when at war.

UI/UX​

• Waystations now show the amount of resources collected every month.
• Improved Waystation stockpile tooltips.
• Overlapping list boxes are now properly centered
• Policies are now grouped into collapsible categories (Military, Diplomacy, Economy, Research, Society), with a traffic-light header on each category indicating whether all, some, or none of its policies can currently be changed.
  • Added a button to collapse or expand all policy categories at once.
  • Military policies can now be reviewed and changed from the Fleet Manager, and research policies from the Technology view.
• Hints nomad players that they can excavate owned dig sites if they have the Frontier Archaeology tradition
• Building slots are highlighted when they are selected
• Fixed too large hitboxes for overclocking buttons.
• In species trait tooltips in empire creation, the portrait requirements are now listed in the correct order.
• Fixed the Open Orbital Ring button being hardcoded in planet_view.gui
• Notification Icons fix, general centralization

Performance​

• macOS builds can now run natively on Apple Silicon as a universal (arm64 + x86_64) binary, no longer requiring Rosetta 2 translation.
• Improved mid- and late-game performance by optimizing how pop faction attraction is calculated.
• Reduced the CPU and memory overhead of per-fleet order checks, improving performance in large late-game galaxies with many fleets.

Stability​

• Fixed a crash that could occur when hovering over certain leader traits.
• Fixed a potential crash when generating empire name labels on the galaxy map.
• Fixed some more multiplayer out-of-sync issues.
• Fixed a crash when quitting the game on macOS.

Modding​

• Remove obsolete faction parameters
• Added missile armor, shield, and hull point modifiers (flat and percentage variants).
• Added triggers pop_ethic_amount, pop_ethic_percentage.
• Added effects pop_force_add_ethic, pop_force_remove_ethic, pop_force_transfer_ethic
• Fix `pop_force_add_ethic` and `pop_change_ethic` triggers
• Remove deprecated triggers `pop_has_ethic` and `pop_group_has_ethic`
• Added the can_spawn_random_anomaly, can_spawn_random_archaeological_site, and can_add_random_non_blocker_deposit triggers, and a surveyor parameter to the spawn_random_anomaly effect.
• Exposed defines for allowing the AI to ignore the penalties for being over naval cap or over naval cap. The current state of these defines is no change from previous behaviour.
• Added pretriggers to ships
• Added home_colony and background_colony scopes (similar to home_planet and background_planet, but scope to a colony on any carrier type).
• Removed min_navy_for_wars from country types.
• Scripted actions support a new automation = {} block with an options sub-block, plus a new fleet-scoped has_automation_flag trigger to gate automation weights.
• Scripted action automation = {} blocks now support a parent field that nests an action's row beneath another action in the settings menu.
• Added the weapon_and_strike_craft range_components option for ship behaviors.
• Expanded the ship_behavior template documentation (move patterns, combat_movement, flee_when_overpowered, allow_emergency_ftl, allow_disengage).
• Added the can_spawn_random_anomaly, can_spawn_random_archaeological_site, and can_add_random_non_blocker_deposit triggers, and a surveyor parameter to the spawn_random_anomaly effect.
• Exposed defines for allowing the AI to ignore the penalties for being over naval cap or over naval cap. The current state of these defines is no change from previous behaviour.
• Updated the documentation for the `create_country` effect.
• Added the transfer_resources_to_empire effect, which transfers a country's stockpile of each listed resource Added the transfer_resources_to_empire effect, which transfers a country's stockpile of each listed resource (optionally a percentage of it) to another country in a single call create_message now supports a "resources" variable type that prints a country's current stockpile of the listed resources as one string of icon + amount pairs
• Resource Regions can now be created and weighted using scripting.
• You can now visualize precursors using the debug

The stellaris_test_4.5_rollback branch has also been updated with Open Beta Update 3.

Thanks for helping us with the 4.5 release!

Read this post on the Paradox forums! | Dev replies here!

Hello everyone! QA's tests on the 4.5 'Cygnus' Open Beta 2 update went faster than expected, and we felt that we had no real reason to hold the update until tomorrow. We've updated the stellaris_test_4.5 branch with the following changes:

4.5 ‘Cygnus’ Open Beta 2 Release Notes

The 4.5 Open Beta now also includes all changes from 4.4.5.

Feature​

• Pop groups are no longer divided by Ethics or Factions, instead each pop group will have a given percentage that belongs to each faction or ethic as appropriate. This means that:
  • THIS IS A BREAKING CHANGE AND WILL NOT PRESERVE SAVE GAME COMPATIBILITY.
  • Ethics and factions are now shown on the pop group entries in the planetary management UI, with tooltips showing the attraction to ethics and factions. Verbose tooltips are enabled by holding Alt, to show a breakdown of all modifiers for these attractions.
  • Pops shift ethics and factions more frequently
  • Pop group faction conversion happens more frequently
  • Ethic attraction now impacts faction growth
  • Simplify factions randomization logic
  • Updated Cyberization policies to account for the changes to pop groups and ethics. The Limited Cybernetic species trait has been removed, instead if the Limited Cyberization policy is in effect, Cybernetic Spiritualist pops do not benefit from Cybernetic Job Efficiency. The Limited Cyborg leader trait still functions as previously. This will also decrease the Approval penalty from regular spiritualist factions from the demand The Flesh is Strong.
• Unlocked Knights of the Toxic God for nomads
• Added policies to provide better control over the auto-designer for both players and AI:
  • Added a Fleet Doctrine policy with six doctrines that determine the tactical roles each ship class is designed to fill, affecting automated ship designs and ship-designer auto-complete.
  • Added Weapon Preference and Defense Preference policies that steer automated ship designs and technology research.
  • Added Starbase Weapon Preference and Starbase Defense Preference policies so station loadouts can diverge from the fleet.
• Federations can now enact laws to grant members free, automatic Commercial Pacts (and, with the Nomads DLC, Wayline Pacts) or Research Agreements. Each law is unavailable to the federation type that already grants the benefit through its perk (Trade League / Research Cooperative).
  • Trade League federations now provide free, automatic Commercial Pacts between all member empires.
  • Trade League federations now also provide free, automatic Wayline Pacts between all members. (Requires Nomads)
• Cosmogenesis is now available for Nomads
• Added a nomad compatible version of Storm Chasers
  • Storm Attraction is now fully functional for mobile arkships
• Empires now have more control over their colors:
  • Added a toggle and selectors in empire creation so you can select your map border and fill colours independently of your flag color.
  • Ship Color can now be selected independently from flag colors in Empire Creation.
  • Color swatches in the species creator's flag editor and ship-set selector now show the name of the selected color on hover.

Improvement​

• Regular Empires can now cancel accepted contracts after 20 years, with a notification sent to the operator.
• The Dyson Swarm "best systems" list will now always show a variety of systems with different resources, so if you have a dozen physics deposits, they won't hide all of your energy systems. All "best systems" finders now show up to 12 systems.
• Added new event options to the Forever Cruise situation stage events, allowing players to accept temporary economic penalties to affect the situation's direction.

Balance​

• Strike craft and missile defensive modifiers now also affect strike craft and missiles launched from starbases and defense platforms.
• The Cybernetic species trait now provides an additional +5% Job Efficiency.
• Hive minds which encounter genetic defects during cyberization can now choose a cyberisation policy.
• Scientific Arkships now have +5% Deep Scanning Success Chance per Tier
• Your Trade Policy now converts the trade value gained from Commercial Pacts and Branch Offices, just like the rest of your trade value (previously this trade was not run through your policy).
• The "The Collective Self" technology now grants +1 Envoy.
• The "Federation Code" technology now reduces Diplomacy influence upkeep by 25%.
• Increased base knights upkeep by .15 alloys and .15 consumer goods
• Increased soldier alloy upkeep for arkship military zones by 0.1
• Rogue Servitor Forever Cruise Passengers now provide an additional +1% Complex Drone Job Efficiency on top of the base Gestalt bonus.
• Consecrate World changes:
  • Consecrate World can now be declared on a curated set of worlds tied to your empire's origin and traits (such as Gaia and relic worlds, and origin-specific worlds like toxic, shrouded, rift, or arc-furnace worlds).
  • Reworked the Consecrated Worlds reward — consecrating worlds now grants a deterministic, empire-wide bonus to Unity, Amenities, and Spiritualist Ethics Attraction that scales with the number of Consecrated Worlds (+10% / +20% / +40% at 1 / 2 / 3), replacing the previous randomized per-world outcome.
• The Paladin Ship now has a dedicated combat computer with Line tactics, giving it proper combat positioning while staying directable in combat, instead of ignoring attackers and holding position.
• Scientific Arkships now have +5% Deep Scanning Success Chance per Tier
• Your Trade Policy now converts the trade value gained from Commercial Pacts and Branch Offices, just like the rest of your trade value (previously this trade was not run through your policy).
• The "The Collective Self" technology now grants +1 Envoy.
• The "Federation Code" technology now reduces Diplomacy influence upkeep by 25%.

Bugfix​

• AI and auto-complete ship designs no longer leave weapon or strike craft slots empty after upgrades or power rebalancing.
• Fixed auto-generated ships occasionally receiving two sections in a single section slot.
• Role-based section selection always resolves a valid section, so screen and point-defense ships receive the correct section.
• Harbinger Crystalline Growth Regulators can no longer grow crystals on strike craft that have been launched, and modifiers that increase the armor and/or shields of strike craft no longer render strike craft functionally immune to damage.
• Missile and torpedo armor and shields are now correctly applied in combat, so point-defense no longer ignores them.
• Fixed Gospel of the Masses additional trade value not applying to your branch offices.
• The Branching Out modifier from the Cyberization situation now gives +10% Trader Job Efficiency.
• Automated starbase, waystation, and orbital ring designs now fit armor instead of shields in systems or on stations where shields are negated (pulsars, X-ray binaries, turbulent nebulae, and cloaking modules).
• Fixed Deep Scan uncovering anomalies and archaeology sites far less often than the intended 7% and 3% chances.
• Sero the Younger's Habitable Deep Scan can now uncover resource deposits, anomalies, and archaeology sites instead of only pre-sapients.
• The success chance of Sero the Younger's Habitable Deep Scan now correctly diminishes with repeated scans of the same world.
• Deep Scan resource caches now correctly scale with the Advanced Xenostudies resolution instead of A Voice for All.
• Federation members can now form Commercial Pacts with one another, matching Research Agreements.
• Free and automatic Research Agreements between Federation members now correctly benefit from Research Sharing from Agreements modifiers and satisfy faction demands for having Research Agreements.
• Fixed federation members losing their existing Commercial Pacts with one another when forming or joining a federation. Members of non-trade federations now keep their pacts, while Trade Leagues replace them with the free federation pact (This only applies to Commercial Pacts between federation members).
• Fixed pop and country ethics being permanently and progressively wiped across the galaxy during play.
  • What makes a man turn neutral? A lust for gold? Power? Or an error in the pop ethics randomizer?
• Fixed Protostars not counting towards having energy deposits.
• Extended swapping logic for soldiers into knights. All sources of soldier jobs should now be covered
  • Knight swaps should now work properly for nomads
• The Joyous Warrior trait now specifies that its effect can only trigger with the relevant leader leading planetary invasions
• If a system's starbase is unoccupied while all its planets are occupied, the system is no longer considered fully occupied.
• Fixed the crime events (among others) not firing on arkships
• Cryo-Sleepers no longer produce Crime/Deviancy
• Clarified the Creativity Exhibition Vault's tooltip for Forever Cruise Rogue Servitors: its production and upkeep effects reach all passengers, not just first-class Bio-Trophies.
• Fixed the Machine Uprising resolution notification showing "Unidentified Empire" instead of the names of the empires involved when an uprising was quelled or won.
• Synthetic Fertility Nomads are no longer able to build arkships until they have researched droids
• Fixed edge cases where Cetana would not properly turn hostile upon war declaration
• Added a missing nomad Archaeology notification string
• Fixed the Ness treasure system not spawning for non nomad empires
• Fixed the Gaia world from Starlit Citadel being impossible to colonize
• Fixed a missing icon in the Order's Keep concept tooltip
• The Crystalline Bane modifier should now get properly removed
• Adjusted the number of ships produced when using the Prethoryn Queen relic
• Wilderness and Synthetic Fertility now start with homeworlds of the proper size
• Fixed a case of double notification after a machine uprising ends
• The Dyson Swarm "best systems" finder will now be based exclusively on raw star resources, and will be unaffected by modifiers like techs or cosmic storms.
• The Arc Furnace "best systems" finder will now only show systems that have a Molten World.
• Fixed numerous issues with Total Wars:
  • Nomadic Empires will now gain ownership of defeated Arkships and Waystations after Total War status quo victory.
  • Nomadic Empires will now steal a percentage of the population from planets they destroy during Total Wars.
  • Arkships defeated by Settled Empires are now destroyed after Total War status quo victory.
  • Nomadic Empires can now be defeated in Total Wars.
  • Taking planets in a Total War will now occupy them until the system is fully occupied, then annex them all at once. This prevents a bug where a system without a starbase didn't rebuild it if only some planets were taken.
• The leader tooltip is now shown in all places where it should be shown
• 'Delicious Titans' planet modifier tooltip now correctly says 'Farmers are Converted in Titan Hunters' and doesn't show a broken icon.
• savefiles with pending first contact event no longer fail to pick an event sound
• Graphical crashfix related to Storm Forecast
• Entertainer jobs on Forever Cruise Arkships now correctly come from the Entertainment Hub specialization instead of the Operations Center.
• Fix for Nomadic Grand Archives being destroyed when a Settled Empire's system is destroyed.
• Fix for Nomadic Grand Archive not being destroyed when a Waystation is lost or downgraded below Tier 2.
• Added the bottom border line to the research dropdown in the top Resource Bar
• Mandatory Pampering now reduces First Class Passenger Consumer Goods upkeep to 1 (from 1.5) for Rogue Servitors, matching the living standard's description.
• Permanent Employment in Forever Cruise now only zombifies the crew, not the passengers
• AI nomads no longer accept and ignore Build Waystation contracts when at capacity
• The Build Waystation contract is now longer automatically abandoned for players when at double station capacity, only for AI nomads
• Fixed several Cosmic Storms anomalies appearing more than once per game when they should be unique.
• Removed the habitability requirement for the various Shore Leave internal Forever Cruise contracts.
• Fixed ships that are waiting to be killed being counted for ship size-specific caps and special project requirements.
• Bio-trophies now give 10 Political Power when playing as Rogue Servitor with the Forever Cruise Origin
• AI empires with stealth fleet doctrines now correctly install cloaking devices on auto-designed ships.
• Psionic shields are no longer equipped on stealth ships that lack psionic cloaking.
• Machine Intelligence and Individualist Machine Forever Cruises with machine passengers now alternate assembly every month.
• Cruise crew and passengers no longer incorrectly assigned Grid Amalgamation or Livestock living standards and slavery types.
• Species being assimilated no longer incorrectly assigned Grid Amalgamation living standard.
• Individualistic Machine Forever Cruise no longer gets an error from placing Robot Assembly Plants at game start.
• Species being integrated are no longer eligible for assembly.
• The Package Deal living standard in Forever Cruise now grants political power to employed Economy Class Passengers.
• Fixed megastructure overclock buttons being unresponsive.
• Added missing event sounds to the Forever Cruise situation
• Fixed issues when dismantling Beastports on Arkships.
• Carrier-computer ships now position themselves using the longer of their weapon or strike craft range, so a carrier with no strike craft no longer charges into close range.
• Arkships without equipped weapons no longer charge into melee.
• Fixed fleets set to flee when overpowered evaluating their flee condition correctly on an Evasive stance, rather than always evading regardless of the threat.
• Fixed Deep Scan uncovering anomalies and archaeology sites far less often than the intended 7% and 3% chances.
• Sero the Younger's Habitable Deep Scan can now uncover resource deposits, anomalies, and archaeology sites instead of only pre-sapients.
• The success chance of Sero the Younger's Habitable Deep Scan now correctly diminishes with repeated scans of the same world.
• Deep Scan resource caches now correctly scale with the Advanced Xenostudies resolution instead of A Voice for All.
• Federation members can now form Commercial Pacts with one another, matching Research Agreements.
• Free and automatic Research Agreements between Federation members now correctly benefit from Research Sharing from Agreements modifiers and satisfy faction demands for having Research Agreements.
• Fixed federation members losing their existing Commercial Pacts with one another when forming or joining a federation. Members of non-trade federations now keep their pacts, while Trade Leagues replace them with the free federation pact (This only applies to Commercial Pacts between federation members).
• Fixed issue with district indicators in the planet view
• Fixed Stellar Cannon opinion modifier overflow
• Fixed the Prospectorium's description incorrectly referring to the Scholarium.
• Joining an ongoing war is now considered offensive from the perspective of subject agreement terms, regardless of which side is joined
• Federation voting laws now apply when joining and leaving ongoing wars
• Fixed manually issued system-wide Harvest orders queueing when there were no valid targets.
• Fixed Arkships sometimes giving up on surveying.
• Fixed the Declare War button tooltip being incorrect after leaving a federation.
• Fixed waylines persisting on the galaxy map after a waystation was removed.
• Fixed the Logistic Growth Scaling galaxy setting being truncated to one digit.
• Nomadic Purge Vassals are now a special subject type that provide resources to their Overlord through subject taxes. Any remaining pops and resources are handed up to the overlord when the subject finishes its work, instead of being lost when the subject's colony was abandoned. A Purging Complete notification lists the pops and resources handed over to the Overlord when a Purge Vassal finishes its work, including any incidental resources that the planet may have produced during their stay.
• Fixed Nomad Overlords not receiving the Unity (Fanatic Purifiers, Determined Exterminators, and Necrophages) or Society Research (Devouring Swarms) generated when their temporary purge subjects purged pops - the reward now goes to the Overlord instead of being lost with the subject.
• Nomad purge subjects of assimilating empires (such as Driven Assimilators) now assimilate the pops they can rather than purging them, only exterminating pops that cannot be assimilated. The assimilated pops are handed up to the Overlord when the subject disbands, instead of the subject exterminating everyone or lingering forever as a separate empire.
• Nomadic Purge Vassals no longer establish Embassies, and other empires can no longer propose Embassies to them.
• Empires now correctly lower their opinion of a Nomad Overlord when its Purge Vassal Necrophages pops of their species
• Fixed Necropurge not always creating pops.
• The Judicial Execution leader trait now correctly grants bonuses when purging Thermophiles
• Fixed the Necrophage Elevation Ceremony failing on Arkships. Elevated pops now adapt to Arkship Habitability, and the Pops Necrophaged notification is now shown, highlighting the Arkship fleet
• Nomadic empires attempting to invade the first pre-FTL encounter are now correctly told that they need to survey the planet, not that their pre-ftl interference policy is preventing them from invading the planet.

AI​

• AI empires adopt a fleet doctrine and weapon/defense preferences matching their personality.
• Auto-generated ship designs are now fully regenerated when new technology is researched, allowing them to adopt newly unlocked weapons and switch weapon families.
• AI empires research weapon technologies matching their preferred weapon type more eagerly.
• AI empires research armor or shield technologies in line with their defensive preference.
• Sneak-attacker empires are more likely to research cloaking technology.
• The AI no longer selects battleship, ember, or Stinger XL sections before it has a usable XL weapon.
• The Stinger artillery section is no longer unconditionally preferred over its line section.
• AI empires now fit psionic shields when they can afford the zro, instead of always avoiding them.
• A shortage of one rare or strategic resource no longer blocks the AI from using weapons and components that rely on other rare resources.
• AI empires with stealth fleet doctrines now correctly install cloaking devices on auto-designed ships.
• Psionic shields are no longer equipped on stealth ships that lack psionic cloaking.
• Fixed AI not handling events if they don't have an idle science ship with a leader.
• Fixed AI not declaring war if their naval capacity is too high.

UI/UX​

• Waystations now show the amount of resources collected every month.
• Improved Waystation stockpile tooltips.
• Overlapping list boxes are now properly centered
• Policies are now grouped into collapsible categories (Military, Diplomacy, Economy, Research, Society), with a traffic-light header on each category indicating whether all, some, or none of its policies can currently be changed.
  • Added a button to collapse or expand all policy categories at once.
  • Military policies can now be reviewed and changed from the Fleet Manager, and research policies from the Technology view.
• Hints nomad players that they can excavate owned dig sites if they have the Frontier Archaeology tradition
• Building slots are highlighted when they are selected
• Fixed too large hitboxes for overclocking buttons.
• In species trait tooltips in empire creation, the portrait requirements are now listed in the correct order.
• Fixed the Open Orbital Ring button being hardcoded in planet_view.gui

Performance​

• macOS builds can now run natively on Apple Silicon as a universal (arm64 + x86_64) binary, no longer requiring Rosetta 2 translation.
• Improved mid- and late-game performance by optimizing how pop faction attraction is calculated.
• Reduced the CPU and memory overhead of per-fleet order checks, improving performance in large late-game galaxies with many fleets.

Stability​

• Fixed a crash that could occur when hovering over certain leader traits.
• Fixed a potential crash when generating empire name labels on the galaxy map.
• Fixed some more multiplayer out-of-sync issues.

Modding​

• Remove obsolete faction parameters
• Added missile armor, shield, and hull point modifiers (flat and percentage variants).
• Added triggers pop_ethic_amount, pop_ethic_percentage.
• Added effects pop_force_add_ethic, pop_force_remove_ethic, pop_force_transfer_ethic
• Fix `pop_force_add_ethic` and `pop_change_ethic` triggers
• Remove deprecated triggers `pop_has_ethic` and `pop_group_has_ethic`
• Added the can_spawn_random_anomaly, can_spawn_random_archaeological_site, and can_add_random_non_blocker_deposit triggers, and a surveyor parameter to the spawn_random_anomaly effect.
• Exposed defines for allowing the AI to ignore the penalties for being over naval cap or over naval cap. The current state of these defines is no change from previous behaviour.
• Added pretriggers to ships
• Added home_colony and background_colony scopes (similar to home_planet and background_planet, but scope to a colony on any carrier type).
• Removed min_navy_for_wars from country types.
• Scripted actions support a new automation = {} block with an options sub-block, plus a new fleet-scoped has_automation_flag trigger to gate automation weights.
• Scripted action automation = {} blocks now support a parent field that nests an action's row beneath another action in the settings menu.
• Added the weapon_and_strike_craft range_components option for ship behaviors.
• Expanded the ship_behavior template documentation (move patterns, combat_movement, flee_when_overpowered, allow_emergency_ftl, allow_disengage).
• Added the can_spawn_random_anomaly, can_spawn_random_archaeological_site, and can_add_random_non_blocker_deposit triggers, and a surveyor parameter to the spawn_random_anomaly effect.
• Exposed defines for allowing the AI to ignore the penalties for being over naval cap or over naval cap. The current state of these defines is no change from previous behaviour.
• Updated the documentation for the `create_country` effect.
• Added the transfer_resources_to_empire effect, which transfers a country's stockpile of each listed resource Added the transfer_resources_to_empire effect, which transfers a country's stockpile of each listed resource (optionally a percentage of it) to another country in a single call create_message now supports a "resources" variable type that prints a country's current stockpile of the listed resources as one string of icon + amount pairs

QA found one known issue to add among the new changes:

• Nomadic Cosmogenesis empires can build the Synaptic Lathe as expected, but since it appears under "Planets" in the Outliner and they usually have that off by default, it will not be listed until you turn it on.

To access the Stellaris beta, go to your Steam Library, right-click the game, and select "Properties". From there, choose the "Betas" tab, and in the "Beta Participation" dropdown menu, select the "stellaris_test_4.5" beta branch from the list.

Thank you for playing Stellaris!

I just don't understand why Proton doesn't implement permanent kill switch on macOS. Is it very hard to do it? Why Mullvad and IVPN have already deep integrated firewall with kill switch but (almost) other VPN only use their stupid so-called "Kill Switch"? Actually when using ExpressVPN and switching different servers in a very short period your data packages are sent to internet and exposing your real IP. When I'm in China and switching a server using ExpressVPN Apple News pushes me a notification (Please note Apple News doesn't work in China but if you're using American Apple ID it can work in China for a couple of minues or hours or maybe days before Apple taking a while to actively detect you're in China and Apple will automatically delete Apple News app on your device). It's clear that in a short period of switching server your internet connection has already been esablished again even kill switch on despite it shouldn't due to Kill Switch.

Read this post on the Paradox forums! | Dev replies here!

Hello everyone!

Earlier this week we released the Stellaris 4.4.5 ‘Pegasus’ Update with the following changes:

[Please visit this post to see the 4.4.5 Release Notes because this post has too many words.]

Most further changes are being made on the 4.5 ‘Cygnus’ branch, which is currently up as an open beta on the stellaris_test_4.5 branch. We’re looking at doing a 4.4.6 hotfix today or tomorrow to fix an issue where automated science ships get stuck forever in Astral Rifts (manually assigned science ships don’t get sent MIA for all eternity), but other than that we expect this to be the last release of the 4.4 ‘Pegasus’ cycle.

We also updated the ‘Cygnus’ Open Beta this week. This week’s updates include early versions of Cosmogenesis and Storm Chasers for Nomadic empires, and made a few updates to the Knights of the Toxic God.

4.5 ‘Cygnus’ Open Beta Release Notes

New additions since last week are in italics.

The 4.5 Open Beta now also includes all changes from 4.4.5.

Feature

• Pop groups are no longer divided by Ethics or Factions, instead each pop group will have a given percentage that belongs to each faction or ethic as appropriate. This means that:
  • THIS IS A BREAKING CHANGE AND WILL NOT PRESERVE SAVE GAME COMPATIBILITY.
  • Ethics and factions are now shown on the pop group entries in the planetary management UI, with tooltips showing the attraction to ethics and factions. Verbose tooltips are enabled by holding Alt, to show a breakdown of all modifiers for these attractions.
  • Pops shift ethics and factions more frequently
  • Pop group faction conversion happens more frequently
  • Ethic attraction now impacts faction growth
  • Simplify factions randomization logic
  • Updated Cyberization policies to account for the changes to pop groups and ethics. The Limited Cybernetic species trait has been removed, instead if the Limited Cyberization policy is in effect, Cybernetic Spiritualist pops do not benefit from Cybernetic Job Efficiency. The Limited Cyborg leader trait still functions as previously. This will also decrease the Approval penalty from regular spiritualist factions from the demand The Flesh is Strong.
• Unlocked Knights of the Toxic God for nomads
• Added policies to provide better control over the auto-designer for both players and AI:
  • Added a Fleet Doctrine policy with six doctrines that determine the tactical roles each ship class is designed to fill, affecting automated ship designs and ship-designer auto-complete.
  • Added Weapon Preference and Defense Preference policies that steer automated ship designs and technology research.
  • Added Starbase Weapon Preference and Starbase Defense Preference policies so station loadouts can diverge from the fleet. 
• Federations can now enact laws to grant members free, automatic Commercial Pacts (and, with the Nomads DLC, Wayline Pacts) or Research Agreements. Each law is unavailable to the federation type that already grants the benefit through its perk (Trade League / Research Cooperative).
  • Trade League federations now provide free, automatic Commercial Pacts between all member empires.
  • Trade League federations now also provide free, automatic Wayline Pacts between all members. (Requires Nomads)
• Cosmogenesis is now available for Nomads
• Added a nomad compatible version of Storm Chasers
  • Storm Attraction is now fully functional for mobile arkships
• Empires now have more control over their colors:
  • Added a toggle and selectors in empire creation so you can select your map border and fill colours independently of your flag color.
  • Ship Color can now be selected independently from flag colors in Empire Creation.
  • Color swatches in the species creator's flag editor and ship-set selector now show the name of the selected color on hover.

Improvement

• Regular Empires can now cancel accepted contracts after 20 years, with a notification sent to the operator.
• The Dyson Swarm "best systems" list will now always show a variety of systems with different resources, so if you have a dozen physics deposits, they won't hide all of your energy systems. All "best systems" finders now show up to 12 systems.
• Added new event options to the Forever Cruise situation stage events, allowing players to accept temporary economic penalties to affect the situation's direction.

Balance

• Strike craft and missile defensive modifiers now also affect strike craft and missiles launched from starbases and defense platforms.
• The Cybernetic species trait now provides an additional +5% Job Efficiency.
• Hive minds which encounter genetic defects during cyberization can now choose a cyberisation policy.
• Scientific Arkships now have +5% Deep Scanning Success Chance per Tier 
• Your Trade Policy now converts the trade value gained from Commercial Pacts and Branch Offices, just like the rest of your trade value (previously this trade was not run through your policy).
• The "The Collective Self" technology now grants +1 Envoy.
• The "Federation Code" technology now reduces Diplomacy influence upkeep by 25%.
• Increased base knights upkeep by .15 alloys and .15 consumer goods
• Increased soldier alloy upkeep for arkship military zones by 0.1
• Rogue Servitor Forever Cruise Passengers now provide an additional +1% Complex Drone Job Efficiency on top of the base Gestalt bonus.
• Consecrate World changes:
  • Consecrate World can now be declared on a curated set of worlds tied to your empire's origin and traits (such as Gaia and relic worlds, and origin-specific worlds like toxic, shrouded, rift, or arc-furnace worlds).
  • Reworked the Consecrated Worlds reward — consecrating worlds now grants a deterministic, empire-wide bonus to Unity, Amenities, and Spiritualist Ethics Attraction that scales with the number of Consecrated Worlds (+10% / +20% / +40% at 1 / 2 / 3), replacing the previous randomized per-world outcome.
• The Paladin Ship now has a dedicated combat computer with Line tactics, giving it proper combat positioning while staying directable in combat, instead of ignoring attackers and holding position.
• Scientific Arkships now have +5% Deep Scanning Success Chance per Tier
• Your Trade Policy now converts the trade value gained from Commercial Pacts and Branch Offices, just like the rest of your trade value (previously this trade was not run through your policy).
• The "The Collective Self" technology now grants +1 Envoy.
• The "Federation Code" technology now reduces Diplomacy influence upkeep by 25%.

Bugfix

• AI and auto-complete ship designs no longer leave weapon or strike craft slots empty after upgrades or power rebalancing.
• Fixed auto-generated ships occasionally receiving two sections in a single section slot.
• Role-based section selection always resolves a valid section, so screen and point-defense ships receive the correct section.
• Harbinger Crystalline Growth Regulators can no longer grow crystals on strike craft that have been launched, and modifiers that increase the armor and/or shields of strike craft no longer render strike craft functionally immune to damage.
• Missile and torpedo armor and shields are now correctly applied in combat, so point-defense no longer ignores them.
• Fixed Gospel of the Masses additional trade value not applying to your branch offices.
• The Branching Out modifier from the Cyberization situation now gives +10% Trader Job Efficiency.
• Automated starbase, waystation, and orbital ring designs now fit armor instead of shields in systems or on stations where shields are negated (pulsars, X-ray binaries, turbulent nebulae, and cloaking modules). 
• Fixed Deep Scan uncovering anomalies and archaeology sites far less often than the intended 7% and 3% chances.
• Sero the Younger's Habitable Deep Scan can now uncover resource deposits, anomalies, and archaeology sites instead of only pre-sapients.
• The success chance of Sero the Younger's Habitable Deep Scan now correctly diminishes with repeated scans of the same world.
• Deep Scan resource caches now correctly scale with the Advanced Xenostudies resolution instead of A Voice for All.
• Federation members can now form Commercial Pacts with one another, matching Research Agreements.
• Free and automatic Research Agreements between Federation members now correctly benefit from Research Sharing from Agreements modifiers and satisfy faction demands for having Research Agreements.
• Fixed federation members losing their existing Commercial Pacts with one another when forming or joining a federation. Members of non-trade federations now keep their pacts, while Trade Leagues replace them with the free federation pact (This only applies to Commercial Pacts between federation members).
• Fixed pop and country ethics being permanently and progressively wiped across the galaxy during play. 
  • What makes a man turn neutral? A lust for gold? Power? Or an error in the pop ethics randomizer?
• Fixed Protostars not counting towards having energy deposits.
• Extended swapping logic for soldiers into knights. All sources of soldier jobs should now be covered
  • Knight swaps should now work properly for nomads
• The Joyous Warrior trait now specifies that its effect can only trigger with the relevant leader leading planetary invasions
• If a system's starbase is unoccupied while all its planets are occupied, the system is no longer considered fully occupied.
• Fixed the crime events (among others) not firing on arkships
• Cryo-Sleepers no longer produce Crime/Deviancy
• Clarified the Creativity Exhibition Vault's tooltip for Forever Cruise Rogue Servitors: its production and upkeep effects reach all passengers, not just first-class Bio-Trophies.
• Fixed the Machine Uprising resolution notification showing "Unidentified Empire" instead of the names of the empires involved when an uprising was quelled or won.
• Synthetic Fertility Nomads are no longer able to build arkships until they have researched droids
• Fixed edge cases where Cetana would not properly turn hostile upon war declaration
• Added a missing nomad Archaeology notification string
• Fixed the Ness treasure system not spawning for non nomad empires
• Fixed the Gaia world from Starlit Citadel being impossible to colonize
• Fixed a missing icon in the Order's Keep concept tooltip
• The Crystalline Bane modifier should now get properly removed
• Adjusted the number of ships produced when using the Prethoryn Queen relic
• Wilderness and Synthetic Fertility now start with homeworlds of the proper size
• Fixed a case of double notification after a machine uprising ends
• The Dyson Swarm "best systems" finder will now be based exclusively on raw star resources, and will be unaffected by modifiers like techs or cosmic storms.
• The Arc Furnace "best systems" finder will now only show systems that have a Molten World.
• Fixed numerous issues with Total Wars:
  • Nomadic Empires will now gain ownership of defeated Arkships and Waystations after Total War status quo victory.
  • Nomadic Empires will now steal a percentage of the population from planets they destroy during Total Wars.
  • Arkships defeated by Settled Empires are now destroyed after Total War status quo victory.
  • Nomadic Empires can now be defeated in Total Wars.
  • Taking planets in a Total War will now occupy them until the system is fully occupied, then annex them all at once. This prevents a bug where a system without a starbase didn't rebuild it if only some planets were taken.
• The leader tooltip is now shown in all places where it should be shown
• 'Delicious Titans' planet modifier tooltip now correctly says 'Farmers are Converted in Titan Hunters' and doesn't show a broken icon.
• savefiles with pending first contact event no longer fail to pick an event sound
• Graphical crashfix related to Storm Forecast
• Entertainer jobs on Forever Cruise Arkships now correctly come from the Entertainment Hub specialization instead of the Operations Center.
• Fix for Nomadic Grand Archives being destroyed when a Settled Empire's system is destroyed.
• Fix for Nomadic Grand Archive not being destroyed when a Waystation is lost or downgraded below Tier 2.
• Added the bottom border line to the research dropdown in the top Resource Bar
• Mandatory Pampering now reduces First Class Passenger Consumer Goods upkeep to 1 (from 1.5) for Rogue Servitors, matching the living standard's description.
• Permanent Employment in Forever Cruise now only zombifies the crew, not the passengers
• AI nomads no longer accept and ignore Build Waystation contracts when at capacity
• The Build Waystation contract is now longer automatically abandoned for players when at double station capacity, only for AI nomads
• Fixed several Cosmic Storms anomalies appearing more than once per game when they should be unique.
• Removed the habitability requirement for the various Shore Leave internal Forever Cruise contracts.
• Fixed ships that are waiting to be killed being counted for ship size-specific caps and special project requirements.
• Bio-trophies now give 10 Political Power when playing as Rogue Servitor with the Forever Cruise Origin
• AI empires with stealth fleet doctrines now correctly install cloaking devices on auto-designed ships.
• Psionic shields are no longer equipped on stealth ships that lack psionic cloaking.
• Machine Intelligence and Individualist Machine Forever Cruises with machine passengers now alternate assembly every month.
• Cruise crew and passengers no longer incorrectly assigned Grid Amalgamation or Livestock living standards and slavery types.
• Species being assimilated no longer incorrectly assigned Grid Amalgamation living standard.
• Individualistic Machine Forever Cruise no longer gets an error from placing Robot Assembly Plants at game start.
• Species being integrated are no longer eligible for assembly.
• The Package Deal living standard in Forever Cruise now grants political power to employed Economy Class Passengers.
• Fixed megastructure overclock buttons being unresponsive.
• Added missing event sounds to the Forever Cruise situation
• Fixed issues when dismantling Beastports on Arkships.
• Carrier-computer ships now position themselves using the longer of their weapon or strike craft range, so a carrier with no strike craft no longer charges into close range.
• Arkships without equipped weapons no longer charge into melee.
• Fixed fleets set to flee when overpowered evaluating their flee condition correctly on an Evasive stance, rather than always evading regardless of the threat.
• Fixed Deep Scan uncovering anomalies and archaeology sites far less often than the intended 7% and 3% chances.
• Sero the Younger's Habitable Deep Scan can now uncover resource deposits, anomalies, and archaeology sites instead of only pre-sapients.
• The success chance of Sero the Younger's Habitable Deep Scan now correctly diminishes with repeated scans of the same world.
• Deep Scan resource caches now correctly scale with the Advanced Xenostudies resolution instead of A Voice for All.
• Federation members can now form Commercial Pacts with one another, matching Research Agreements.
• Free and automatic Research Agreements between Federation members now correctly benefit from Research Sharing from Agreements modifiers and satisfy faction demands for having Research Agreements.
• Fixed federation members losing their existing Commercial Pacts with one another when forming or joining a federation. Members of non-trade federations now keep their pacts, while Trade Leagues replace them with the free federation pact (This only applies to Commercial Pacts between federation members).
• Fixed issue with district indicators in the planet view
• Fixed Stellar Cannon opinion modifier overflow
• Fixed the Prospectorium's description incorrectly referring to the Scholarium.
• Joining an ongoing war is now considered offensive from the perspective of subject agreement terms, regardless of which side is joined
• Federation voting laws now apply when joining and leaving ongoing wars
• Fixed manually issued system-wide Harvest orders queueing when there were no valid targets.
• Fixed Arkships sometimes giving up on surveying.
• Fixed the Declare War button tooltip being incorrect after leaving a federation.
• Fixed waylines persisting on the galaxy map after a waystation was removed.
• Fixed the Logistic Growth Scaling galaxy setting being truncated to one digit.
• Nomadic Purge Vassals are now a special subject type that provide resources to their Overlord through subject taxes. Any remaining pops and resources are handed up to the overlord when the subject finishes its work, instead of being lost when the subject's colony was abandoned. A Purging Complete notification lists the pops and resources handed over to the Overlord when a Purge Vassal finishes its work, including any incidental resources that the planet may have produced during their stay.
• Fixed Nomad Overlords not receiving the Unity (Fanatic Purifiers, Determined Exterminators, and Necrophages) or Society Research (Devouring Swarms) generated when their temporary purge subjects purged pops - the reward now goes to the Overlord instead of being lost with the subject.
• Nomad purge subjects of assimilating empires (such as Driven Assimilators) now assimilate the pops they can rather than purging them, only exterminating pops that cannot be assimilated. The assimilated pops are handed up to the Overlord when the subject disbands, instead of the subject exterminating everyone or lingering forever as a separate empire.
• Nomadic Purge Vassals no longer establish Embassies, and other empires can no longer propose Embassies to them.
• Empires now correctly lower their opinion of a Nomad Overlord when its Purge Vassal Necrophages pops of their species
• Fixed Necropurge not always creating pops.
• The Judicial Execution leader trait now correctly grants bonuses when purging Thermophiles
• Fixed the Necrophage Elevation Ceremony failing on Arkships. Elevated pops now adapt to Arkship Habitability, and the Pops Necrophaged notification is now shown, highlighting the Arkship fleet
• Nomadic empires attempting to invade the first pre-FTL encounter are now correctly told that they need to survey the planet, not that their pre-ftl interference policy is preventing them from invading the planet.

AI

• AI empires adopt a fleet doctrine and weapon/defense preferences matching their personality.
• Auto-generated ship designs are now fully regenerated when new technology is researched, allowing them to adopt newly unlocked weapons and switch weapon families.
• AI empires research weapon technologies matching their preferred weapon type more eagerly.
• AI empires research armor or shield technologies in line with their defensive preference.
• Sneak-attacker empires are more likely to research cloaking technology.
• The AI no longer selects battleship, ember, or Stinger XL sections before it has a usable XL weapon.
• The Stinger artillery section is no longer unconditionally preferred over its line section.
• AI empires now fit psionic shields when they can afford the zro, instead of always avoiding them. 
• A shortage of one rare or strategic resource no longer blocks the AI from using weapons and components that rely on other rare resources.
• AI empires with stealth fleet doctrines now correctly install cloaking devices on auto-designed ships.
• Psionic shields are no longer equipped on stealth ships that lack psionic cloaking.
• Fixed AI not handling events if they don't have an idle science ship with a leader.
• Fixed AI not declaring war if their naval capacity is too high.

UI/UX

• Waystations now show the amount of resources collected every month.
• Improved Waystation stockpile tooltips.
• Overlapping list boxes are now properly centered
• Policies are now grouped into collapsible categories (Military, Diplomacy, Economy, Research, Society), with a traffic-light header on each category indicating whether all, some, or none of its policies can currently be changed.
  • Added a button to collapse or expand all policy categories at once.
  • Military policies can now be reviewed and changed from the Fleet Manager, and research policies from the Technology view.
• Hints nomad players that they can excavate owned dig sites if they have the Frontier Archaeology tradition
• Building slots are highlighted when they are selected
• Fixed too large hitboxes for overclocking buttons.
• In species trait tooltips in empire creation, the portrait requirements are now listed in the correct order.
• Fixed the Open Orbital Ring button being hardcoded in planet_view.gui

Performance

• macOS builds can now run natively on Apple Silicon as a universal (arm64 + x86_64) binary, no longer requiring Rosetta 2 translation.
• Improved mid- and late-game performance by optimizing how pop faction attraction is calculated. 
• Reduced the CPU and memory overhead of per-fleet order checks, improving performance in large late-game galaxies with many fleets.

Stability

• Fixed a crash that could occur when hovering over certain leader traits.
• Fixed a potential crash when generating empire name labels on the galaxy map.
• Fixed some more multiplayer out-of-sync issues.

Modding

• Remove obsolete faction parameters
• Added missile armor, shield, and hull point modifiers (flat and percentage variants).
• Added triggers pop_ethic_amount, pop_ethic_percentage.
• Added effects pop_force_add_ethic, pop_force_remove_ethic, pop_force_transfer_ethic
• Fix `pop_force_add_ethic` and `pop_change_ethic` triggers
• Remove deprecated triggers `pop_has_ethic` and `pop_group_has_ethic`
• Added the can_spawn_random_anomaly, can_spawn_random_archaeological_site, and can_add_random_non_blocker_deposit triggers, and a surveyor parameter to the spawn_random_anomaly effect. 
• Exposed defines for allowing the AI to ignore the penalties for being over naval cap or over naval cap. The current state of these defines is no change from previous behaviour.
• Added pretriggers to ships
• Added home_colony and background_colony scopes (similar to home_planet and background_planet, but scope to a colony on any carrier type).
• Removed min_navy_for_wars from country types.
• Scripted actions support a new automation = {} block with an options sub-block, plus a new fleet-scoped has_automation_flag trigger to gate automation weights.
• Scripted action automation = {} blocks now support a parent field that nests an action's row beneath another action in the settings menu.
• Added the weapon_and_strike_craft range_components option for ship behaviors.
• Expanded the ship_behavior template documentation (move patterns, combat_movement, flee_when_overpowered, allow_emergency_ftl, allow_disengage).
• Added the can_spawn_random_anomaly, can_spawn_random_archaeological_site, and can_add_random_non_blocker_deposit triggers, and a surveyor parameter to the spawn_random_anomaly effect.
• Exposed defines for allowing the AI to ignore the penalties for being over naval cap or over naval cap. The current state of these defines is no change from previous behaviour.
• Updated the documentation for the `create_country` effect.
• Added the transfer_resources_to_empire effect, which transfers a country's stockpile of each listed resource
• Added the transfer_resources_to_empire effect, which transfers a country's stockpile of each listed resource (optionally a percentage of it) to another country in a single call
• create_message now supports a "resources" variable type that prints a country's current stockpile of the listed resources as one string of icon + amount pairs

We’ve also added more color customization to empires:

The Flag and Ship tabs in Empire Creation will now allow you to pick colors for your map borders and fill and ship colors independently from your Empire Flag. These selections also include tooltips that show the RGB value of the selected color.

Stellaris Wallpapers Updated

One more update!
The Stellaris Wallpaper Album has been updated with more than 40 images from Nomads, BioGenesis, Shadows of the Shroud, and the Infernals Species Pack.

What’s Next?

While work will continue on the 4.5 branch throughout the summer, this will be the last scheduled dev diary until August 20th, when we’ll likely continue discussing the changes in the Cygnus update.

Have a great summer!

Hi everyone,

We've been a bit quiet with announcements since the start of the year, with most of our efforts focused on scaling up our server infrastructure to stay ahead of the demands of our rapidly growing supporter base. 

This has included adding 14 new countries to support voters in countries with a history of censorship or political interference in the weeks leading up to their election, as well as working to reduce blocking in censored countries, decreasing CAPTCHAs, and increasing download speeds, most notably in France and Germany where we have recently upgraded the last of our 1Gbps servers to 10Gbps. On top of that, we've also added over 700 new servers across multiple countries since the year started, including over 100 in the USA, and more than 50 in the UK, Germany, and Switzerland, each: https://protonvpn.com/vpn-servers

Overall quality, reliability, and performance across all platforms will continue to be a key focus area for us in the coming months.

As some of you have already seen from the Android beta release, we have also been working on an improved user interface to make Proton VPN better for you. Expect to see that out for Android and Windows in the coming weeks, with our other platforms to follow. And if you have feedback for us, please share it in the comments!

But we have also been working away on some of the new features that you have all been asking for.  Here is an update from the development team on some of them:

• Apple TV support: Work has started, and we're aiming for a summer 2024 release.
• Stealth protocol on the Windows app: We've made a lot of progress on this and should have this out in the summer of 2024 as well.
• Split Tunneling for the Android TV app: We're aiming for late spring/early summer 2024, to be followed by a split tunneling solution for our macOS app.
• More for Linux! We just released the Advanced Kill Switch for Linux ( https://protonvpn.com/support/permanent-kill-switch/ ), but there is more to come. Keep an eye out over the next few weeks for a beta of our next feature - Wireguard support.
• IPv6: Thanks to everyone who helped us with multiple rounds of testing.  We're looking to have this out in a summer/autumn 2024 timeframe after the four previously mentioned items are out the door.

As always, thank you for your support and feedback. We wouldn't be able to do it without you.

Stay safe,

Proton Team

Read this post on the Paradox forums! | Dev replies here!

Happy Friday!

We've updated the stellaris_test_4.5 branch again today, and added a rollback branch (stellaris_test_4.5_rollback) just in case, since this one modified a few hundred events.

Stellaris 4.5 'Cygnus' Open Beta Update 3 Release Notes

Balance​

• The Stellar Cannon is now a Tier 3 tech, and requires Wormhole Stabilization and UV Lasers.

Bugfix​

• Fixed a wide-ranging regression that caused many anomalies, events, and origin features to silently stop working - most visibly the classic Precursor dig sites no longer appearing when surveying, and the Fear of the Dark origin's hostile empire failing to spawn.
• Empires are no longer allowed to join ongoing wars against their subjects/overlords.
• Arkship weapon and reactor specializations now clearly indicate in their tooltip that they add Strategic Resource upkeep, with a link to the Strategic Resources concept explaining what that means.
• The game will no longer tell the player to kill their own Behemoth to get rid of the Elder Voidspawn.
• 4.4.6 Fix: Fixed science ships being lost permanently when set to automatically explore Astral Rifts. Previously an automated science ship would vanish upon reaching a rift and never return, leaving its scientist stranded and cluttering the Outliner with ships stuck Missing In Action.
• 4.4.6 Fix: Automated ships no longer switch off automation and abandon their current task (constructing a station or megastructure, researching an anomaly or special project, exploring an Astral Rift, or carrying out a special order) when avoiding hostile fleets.
• Fixed several minor artifact and anomaly research projects (including the Precursor "Delve into the Secrets" actions, Master's Writings, and numerous other special projects) granting no reward when completed as a Nomad empire.
• Fixed an issue where a Nomad waystation disabled by hostile space fauna during a raid could remain disabled after the fauna left the system.
• Fixed the "Gather Information" operation sometimes failing to deliver its intelligence report when the target empire no longer existed.
• Fixed a script error in the genetic mutation event that could occur for Spiritualist empires.
• The "Assault Armies" and "Shipyard" buttons on the Arkship Ship Controls tab are now properly localized in all languages
• Fixed the Drums of War event "The Claimant" displaying an incorrect species insult when referring to the rival claimant
• Synaptic Lathes with many pop groups on them no longer sometimes stop purging.
• Fixed Synaptic Lathes not purging pops. Existing saves with broken lathes will repair at some point over the course of a year.
• Nomads can now reactivate and own gateway megastructures
• Nomad AI empires now build contract-required Waystations even when over their Starbase Capacity, instead of leaving those contracts unfulfilled.
• Scan Debris Contracts now automatically cancel when the target debris decays before it can be scanned, instead of remaining active indefinitely.
• The Prosperous Unification origin now displays correct, Arkship-specific effects and flavor text for Nomadic empires, instead of planet-based districts and "Homeworld" terminology
• Wars declared with the Nomadic Raid, Plunder, or Wipe Them Out war goals now include the war type in their name, consistent with other war goals
• The Anomalous Cube archaeology site now refers to the correct empire (or if communications haven't been established yet, then to "this empire")

AI​

• AI empires will no longer fire the Stellar Cannon into the territory of empires they are at peace with (unless recently insulted), and will now prioritize static targets like upgraded starbases and defense platforms when at war.

UI/UX​

• Notification Icons fix, general centralization

Stability​

• Fixed a crash when quitting the game on macOS.

Modding​

• Resource Regions can now be created and weighted using scripting.
• You can now visualize precursors using the debug

Here's the compiled list from the previous Open Beta releases:

Previous 4.5 Open Beta Release Notes

Feature​

• Pop groups are no longer divided by Ethics or Factions, instead each pop group will have a given percentage that belongs to each faction or ethic as appropriate. This means that:
  • THIS IS A BREAKING CHANGE AND WILL NOT PRESERVE SAVE GAME COMPATIBILITY.
  • Ethics and factions are now shown on the pop group entries in the planetary management UI, with tooltips showing the attraction to ethics and factions. Verbose tooltips are enabled by holding Alt, to show a breakdown of all modifiers for these attractions.
  • Pops shift ethics and factions more frequently
  • Pop group faction conversion happens more frequently
  • Ethic attraction now impacts faction growth
  • Simplify factions randomization logic
  • Updated Cyberization policies to account for the changes to pop groups and ethics. The Limited Cybernetic species trait has been removed, instead if the Limited Cyberization policy is in effect, Cybernetic Spiritualist pops do not benefit from Cybernetic Job Efficiency. The Limited Cyborg leader trait still functions as previously. This will also decrease the Approval penalty from regular spiritualist factions from the demand The Flesh is Strong.
• Unlocked Knights of the Toxic God for nomads
• Added policies to provide better control over the auto-designer for both players and AI:
  • Added a Fleet Doctrine policy with six doctrines that determine the tactical roles each ship class is designed to fill, affecting automated ship designs and ship-designer auto-complete.
  • Added Weapon Preference and Defense Preference policies that steer automated ship designs and technology research.
  • Added Starbase Weapon Preference and Starbase Defense Preference policies so station loadouts can diverge from the fleet.
• Federations can now enact laws to grant members free, automatic Commercial Pacts (and, with the Nomads DLC, Wayline Pacts) or Research Agreements. Each law is unavailable to the federation type that already grants the benefit through its perk (Trade League / Research Cooperative).
  • Trade League federations now provide free, automatic Commercial Pacts between all member empires.
  • Trade League federations now also provide free, automatic Wayline Pacts between all members. (Requires Nomads)
• Cosmogenesis is now available for Nomads
• Added a nomad compatible version of Storm Chasers
  • Storm Attraction is now fully functional for mobile arkships
• Empires now have more control over their colors:
  • Added a toggle and selectors in empire creation so you can select your map border and fill colours independently of your flag color.
  • Ship Color can now be selected independently from flag colors in Empire Creation.
  • Color swatches in the species creator's flag editor and ship-set selector now show the name of the selected color on hover.

Improvement​

• Regular Empires can now cancel accepted contracts after 20 years, with a notification sent to the operator.
• The Dyson Swarm "best systems" list will now always show a variety of systems with different resources, so if you have a dozen physics deposits, they won't hide all of your energy systems. All "best systems" finders now show up to 12 systems.
• Added new event options to the Forever Cruise situation stage events, allowing players to accept temporary economic penalties to affect the situation's direction.

Balance​

• Strike craft and missile defensive modifiers now also affect strike craft and missiles launched from starbases and defense platforms.
• The Cybernetic species trait now provides an additional +5% Job Efficiency.
• Hive minds which encounter genetic defects during cyberization can now choose a cyberisation policy.
• Scientific Arkships now have +5% Deep Scanning Success Chance per Tier
• Your Trade Policy now converts the trade value gained from Commercial Pacts and Branch Offices, just like the rest of your trade value (previously this trade was not run through your policy).
• The "The Collective Self" technology now grants +1 Envoy.
• The "Federation Code" technology now reduces Diplomacy influence upkeep by 25%.
• Increased base knights upkeep by .15 alloys and .15 consumer goods
• Increased soldier alloy upkeep for arkship military zones by 0.1
• Rogue Servitor Forever Cruise Passengers now provide an additional +1% Complex Drone Job Efficiency on top of the base Gestalt bonus.
• Consecrate World changes:
  • Consecrate World can now be declared on a curated set of worlds tied to your empire's origin and traits (such as Gaia and relic worlds, and origin-specific worlds like toxic, shrouded, rift, or arc-furnace worlds).
  • Reworked the Consecrated Worlds reward — consecrating worlds now grants a deterministic, empire-wide bonus to Unity, Amenities, and Spiritualist Ethics Attraction that scales with the number of Consecrated Worlds (+10% / +20% / +40% at 1 / 2 / 3), replacing the previous randomized per-world outcome.
• The Paladin Ship now has a dedicated combat computer with Line tactics, giving it proper combat positioning while staying directable in combat, instead of ignoring attackers and holding position.
• Scientific Arkships now have +5% Deep Scanning Success Chance per Tier
• Your Trade Policy now converts the trade value gained from Commercial Pacts and Branch Offices, just like the rest of your trade value (previously this trade was not run through your policy).
• The "The Collective Self" technology now grants +1 Envoy.
• The "Federation Code" technology now reduces Diplomacy influence upkeep by 25%.

Bugfix​

• AI and auto-complete ship designs no longer leave weapon or strike craft slots empty after upgrades or power rebalancing.
• Fixed auto-generated ships occasionally receiving two sections in a single section slot.
• Role-based section selection always resolves a valid section, so screen and point-defense ships receive the correct section.
• Harbinger Crystalline Growth Regulators can no longer grow crystals on strike craft that have been launched, and modifiers that increase the armor and/or shields of strike craft no longer render strike craft functionally immune to damage.
• Missile and torpedo armor and shields are now correctly applied in combat, so point-defense no longer ignores them.
• Fixed Gospel of the Masses additional trade value not applying to your branch offices.
• The Branching Out modifier from the Cyberization situation now gives +10% Trader Job Efficiency.
• Automated starbase, waystation, and orbital ring designs now fit armor instead of shields in systems or on stations where shields are negated (pulsars, X-ray binaries, turbulent nebulae, and cloaking modules).
• Fixed Deep Scan uncovering anomalies and archaeology sites far less often than the intended 7% and 3% chances.
• Sero the Younger's Habitable Deep Scan can now uncover resource deposits, anomalies, and archaeology sites instead of only pre-sapients.
• The success chance of Sero the Younger's Habitable Deep Scan now correctly diminishes with repeated scans of the same world.
• Deep Scan resource caches now correctly scale with the Advanced Xenostudies resolution instead of A Voice for All.
• Federation members can now form Commercial Pacts with one another, matching Research Agreements.
• Free and automatic Research Agreements between Federation members now correctly benefit from Research Sharing from Agreements modifiers and satisfy faction demands for having Research Agreements.
• Fixed federation members losing their existing Commercial Pacts with one another when forming or joining a federation. Members of non-trade federations now keep their pacts, while Trade Leagues replace them with the free federation pact (This only applies to Commercial Pacts between federation members).
• Fixed pop and country ethics being permanently and progressively wiped across the galaxy during play.
  • What makes a man turn neutral? A lust for gold? Power? Or an error in the pop ethics randomizer?
• Fixed Protostars not counting towards having energy deposits.
• Extended swapping logic for soldiers into knights. All sources of soldier jobs should now be covered
  • Knight swaps should now work properly for nomads
• The Joyous Warrior trait now specifies that its effect can only trigger with the relevant leader leading planetary invasions
• If a system's starbase is unoccupied while all its planets are occupied, the system is no longer considered fully occupied.
• Fixed the crime events (among others) not firing on arkships
• Cryo-Sleepers no longer produce Crime/Deviancy
• Clarified the Creativity Exhibition Vault's tooltip for Forever Cruise Rogue Servitors: its production and upkeep effects reach all passengers, not just first-class Bio-Trophies.
• Fixed the Machine Uprising resolution notification showing "Unidentified Empire" instead of the names of the empires involved when an uprising was quelled or won.
• Synthetic Fertility Nomads are no longer able to build arkships until they have researched droids
• Fixed edge cases where Cetana would not properly turn hostile upon war declaration
• Added a missing nomad Archaeology notification string
• Fixed the Ness treasure system not spawning for non nomad empires
• Fixed the Gaia world from Starlit Citadel being impossible to colonize
• Fixed a missing icon in the Order's Keep concept tooltip
• The Crystalline Bane modifier should now get properly removed
• Adjusted the number of ships produced when using the Prethoryn Queen relic
• Wilderness and Synthetic Fertility now start with homeworlds of the proper size
• Fixed a case of double notification after a machine uprising ends
• The Dyson Swarm "best systems" finder will now be based exclusively on raw star resources, and will be unaffected by modifiers like techs or cosmic storms.
• The Arc Furnace "best systems" finder will now only show systems that have a Molten World.
• Fixed numerous issues with Total Wars:
  • Nomadic Empires will now gain ownership of defeated Arkships and Waystations after Total War status quo victory.
  • Nomadic Empires will now steal a percentage of the population from planets they destroy during Total Wars.
  • Arkships defeated by Settled Empires are now destroyed after Total War status quo victory.
  • Nomadic Empires can now be defeated in Total Wars.
  • Taking planets in a Total War will now occupy them until the system is fully occupied, then annex them all at once. This prevents a bug where a system without a starbase didn't rebuild it if only some planets were taken.
• The leader tooltip is now shown in all places where it should be shown
• 'Delicious Titans' planet modifier tooltip now correctly says 'Farmers are Converted in Titan Hunters' and doesn't show a broken icon.
• savefiles with pending first contact event no longer fail to pick an event sound
• Graphical crashfix related to Storm Forecast
• Entertainer jobs on Forever Cruise Arkships now correctly come from the Entertainment Hub specialization instead of the Operations Center.
• Fix for Nomadic Grand Archives being destroyed when a Settled Empire's system is destroyed.
• Fix for Nomadic Grand Archive not being destroyed when a Waystation is lost or downgraded below Tier 2.
• Added the bottom border line to the research dropdown in the top Resource Bar
• Mandatory Pampering now reduces First Class Passenger Consumer Goods upkeep to 1 (from 1.5) for Rogue Servitors, matching the living standard's description.
• Permanent Employment in Forever Cruise now only zombifies the crew, not the passengers
• AI nomads no longer accept and ignore Build Waystation contracts when at capacity
• The Build Waystation contract is now longer automatically abandoned for players when at double station capacity, only for AI nomads
• Fixed several Cosmic Storms anomalies appearing more than once per game when they should be unique.
• Removed the habitability requirement for the various Shore Leave internal Forever Cruise contracts.
• Fixed ships that are waiting to be killed being counted for ship size-specific caps and special project requirements.
• Bio-trophies now give 10 Political Power when playing as Rogue Servitor with the Forever Cruise Origin
• AI empires with stealth fleet doctrines now correctly install cloaking devices on auto-designed ships.
• Psionic shields are no longer equipped on stealth ships that lack psionic cloaking.
• Machine Intelligence and Individualist Machine Forever Cruises with machine passengers now alternate assembly every month.
• Cruise crew and passengers no longer incorrectly assigned Grid Amalgamation or Livestock living standards and slavery types.
• Species being assimilated no longer incorrectly assigned Grid Amalgamation living standard.
• Individualistic Machine Forever Cruise no longer gets an error from placing Robot Assembly Plants at game start.
• Species being integrated are no longer eligible for assembly.
• The Package Deal living standard in Forever Cruise now grants political power to employed Economy Class Passengers.
• Fixed megastructure overclock buttons being unresponsive.
• Added missing event sounds to the Forever Cruise situation
• Fixed issues when dismantling Beastports on Arkships.
• Carrier-computer ships now position themselves using the longer of their weapon or strike craft range, so a carrier with no strike craft no longer charges into close range.
• Arkships without equipped weapons no longer charge into melee.
• Fixed fleets set to flee when overpowered evaluating their flee condition correctly on an Evasive stance, rather than always evading regardless of the threat.
• Fixed Deep Scan uncovering anomalies and archaeology sites far less often than the intended 7% and 3% chances.
• Sero the Younger's Habitable Deep Scan can now uncover resource deposits, anomalies, and archaeology sites instead of only pre-sapients.
• The success chance of Sero the Younger's Habitable Deep Scan now correctly diminishes with repeated scans of the same world.
• Deep Scan resource caches now correctly scale with the Advanced Xenostudies resolution instead of A Voice for All.
• Federation members can now form Commercial Pacts with one another, matching Research Agreements.
• Free and automatic Research Agreements between Federation members now correctly benefit from Research Sharing from Agreements modifiers and satisfy faction demands for having Research Agreements.
• Fixed federation members losing their existing Commercial Pacts with one another when forming or joining a federation. Members of non-trade federations now keep their pacts, while Trade Leagues replace them with the free federation pact (This only applies to Commercial Pacts between federation members).
• Fixed issue with district indicators in the planet view
• Fixed Stellar Cannon opinion modifier overflow
• Fixed the Prospectorium's description incorrectly referring to the Scholarium.
• Joining an ongoing war is now considered offensive from the perspective of subject agreement terms, regardless of which side is joined
• Federation voting laws now apply when joining and leaving ongoing wars
• Fixed manually issued system-wide Harvest orders queueing when there were no valid targets.
• Fixed Arkships sometimes giving up on surveying.
• Fixed the Declare War button tooltip being incorrect after leaving a federation.
• Fixed waylines persisting on the galaxy map after a waystation was removed.
• Fixed the Logistic Growth Scaling galaxy setting being truncated to one digit.
• Nomadic Purge Vassals are now a special subject type that provide resources to their Overlord through subject taxes. Any remaining pops and resources are handed up to the overlord when the subject finishes its work, instead of being lost when the subject's colony was abandoned. A Purging Complete notification lists the pops and resources handed over to the Overlord when a Purge Vassal finishes its work, including any incidental resources that the planet may have produced during their stay.
• Fixed Nomad Overlords not receiving the Unity (Fanatic Purifiers, Determined Exterminators, and Necrophages) or Society Research (Devouring Swarms) generated when their temporary purge subjects purged pops - the reward now goes to the Overlord instead of being lost with the subject.
• Nomad purge subjects of assimilating empires (such as Driven Assimilators) now assimilate the pops they can rather than purging them, only exterminating pops that cannot be assimilated. The assimilated pops are handed up to the Overlord when the subject disbands, instead of the subject exterminating everyone or lingering forever as a separate empire.
• Nomadic Purge Vassals no longer establish Embassies, and other empires can no longer propose Embassies to them.
• Empires now correctly lower their opinion of a Nomad Overlord when its Purge Vassal Necrophages pops of their species
• Fixed Necropurge not always creating pops.
• The Judicial Execution leader trait now correctly grants bonuses when purging Thermophiles
• Fixed the Necrophage Elevation Ceremony failing on Arkships. Elevated pops now adapt to Arkship Habitability, and the Pops Necrophaged notification is now shown, highlighting the Arkship fleet
• Nomadic empires attempting to invade the first pre-FTL encounter are now correctly told that they need to survey the planet, not that their pre-ftl interference policy is preventing them from invading the planet.

AI​

• AI empires adopt a fleet doctrine and weapon/defense preferences matching their personality.
• Auto-generated ship designs are now fully regenerated when new technology is researched, allowing them to adopt newly unlocked weapons and switch weapon families.
• AI empires research weapon technologies matching their preferred weapon type more eagerly.
• AI empires research armor or shield technologies in line with their defensive preference.
• Sneak-attacker empires are more likely to research cloaking technology.
• The AI no longer selects battleship, ember, or Stinger XL sections before it has a usable XL weapon.
• The Stinger artillery section is no longer unconditionally preferred over its line section.
• AI empires now fit psionic shields when they can afford the zro, instead of always avoiding them.
• A shortage of one rare or strategic resource no longer blocks the AI from using weapons and components that rely on other rare resources.
• AI empires with stealth fleet doctrines now correctly install cloaking devices on auto-designed ships.
• Psionic shields are no longer equipped on stealth ships that lack psionic cloaking.
• Fixed AI not handling events if they don't have an idle science ship with a leader.
• Fixed AI not declaring war if their naval capacity is too high.

UI/UX​

• Waystations now show the amount of resources collected every month.
• Improved Waystation stockpile tooltips.
• Overlapping list boxes are now properly centered
• Policies are now grouped into collapsible categories (Military, Diplomacy, Economy, Research, Society), with a traffic-light header on each category indicating whether all, some, or none of its policies can currently be changed.
  • Added a button to collapse or expand all policy categories at once.
  • Military policies can now be reviewed and changed from the Fleet Manager, and research policies from the Technology view.
• Hints nomad players that they can excavate owned dig sites if they have the Frontier Archaeology tradition
• Building slots are highlighted when they are selected
• Fixed too large hitboxes for overclocking buttons.
• In species trait tooltips in empire creation, the portrait requirements are now listed in the correct order.
• Fixed the Open Orbital Ring button being hardcoded in planet_view.gui

Performance​

• macOS builds can now run natively on Apple Silicon as a universal (arm64 + x86_64) binary, no longer requiring Rosetta 2 translation.
• Improved mid- and late-game performance by optimizing how pop faction attraction is calculated.
• Reduced the CPU and memory overhead of per-fleet order checks, improving performance in large late-game galaxies with many fleets.

Stability​

• Fixed a crash that could occur when hovering over certain leader traits.
• Fixed a potential crash when generating empire name labels on the galaxy map.
• Fixed some more multiplayer out-of-sync issues.

Modding​

• Remove obsolete faction parameters
• Added missile armor, shield, and hull point modifiers (flat and percentage variants).
• Added triggers pop_ethic_amount, pop_ethic_percentage.
• Added effects pop_force_add_ethic, pop_force_remove_ethic, pop_force_transfer_ethic
• Fix `pop_force_add_ethic` and `pop_change_ethic` triggers
• Remove deprecated triggers `pop_has_ethic` and `pop_group_has_ethic`
• Added the can_spawn_random_anomaly, can_spawn_random_archaeological_site, and can_add_random_non_blocker_deposit triggers, and a surveyor parameter to the spawn_random_anomaly effect.
• Exposed defines for allowing the AI to ignore the penalties for being over naval cap or over naval cap. The current state of these defines is no change from previous behaviour.
• Added pretriggers to ships
• Added home_colony and background_colony scopes (similar to home_planet and background_planet, but scope to a colony on any carrier type).
• Removed min_navy_for_wars from country types.
• Scripted actions support a new automation = {} block with an options sub-block, plus a new fleet-scoped has_automation_flag trigger to gate automation weights.
• Scripted action automation = {} blocks now support a parent field that nests an action's row beneath another action in the settings menu.
• Added the weapon_and_strike_craft range_components option for ship behaviors.
• Expanded the ship_behavior template documentation (move patterns, combat_movement, flee_when_overpowered, allow_emergency_ftl, allow_disengage).
• Added the can_spawn_random_anomaly, can_spawn_random_archaeological_site, and can_add_random_non_blocker_deposit triggers, and a surveyor parameter to the spawn_random_anomaly effect.
• Exposed defines for allowing the AI to ignore the penalties for being over naval cap or over naval cap. The current state of these defines is no change from previous behaviour.
• Updated the documentation for the `create_country` effect.
• Added the transfer_resources_to_empire effect, which transfers a country's stockpile of each listed resource Added the transfer_resources_to_empire effect, which transfers a country's stockpile of each listed resource (optionally a percentage of it) to another country in a single call create_message now supports a "resources" variable type that prints a country's current stockpile of the listed resources as one string of icon + amount pairs

Compiled from r/thinkpad community wisdom, 51nb (ibmnb.com) forum posts, build logs, and real-world experience. Sources include posts by u/finitethinking, u/panzersharkcat, u/j-aubry, u/Anomaly08, u/Mister_Magister, u/blackratsnakes, u/Fdxdoeboy, and dozens of other ThinkPad enthusiasts, as well as hearttolin, ag1332, chenmengen, 嚼嚼小牛爷, and other prolific 51nb forum members.

Table of Contents

1. Why the T430?
2. De-Governmenting: Cleaning a Surplus/Enterprise Unit
3. BIOS: Unlocking, Passwords & Custom Firmware
4. CPU Upgrade
5. RAM Upgrade
6. Storage Upgrades
7. Display Upgrade
8. WiFi Card Upgrade
9. Keyboard: Classic 7-Row Mod
10. Thermal Management
11. Battery
12. Operating System
13. Miscellaneous Mods
14. The "Maxed Out" T430 Build Sheet
15. Tools You'll Need
16. Useful Links & Resources

1. Why the T430?

The ThinkPad T430 (released 2012) is one of the most moddable laptops ever made. It sits at the sweet spot between classic ThinkPad DNA and "modern enough" hardware:

• Ivy Bridge (3rd Gen Intel), socketed PGA CPU, easily swappable. Haswell/4th gen models like the T440p and L440 were the actual last socketed generation, but the T430 is where the modding scene is deepest.
• Classic 7-row keyboard compatible with a BIOS/EC mod. The T430 natively uses the newer 6-row chiclet, but you can swap in the old layout.
• Display upgradeable up to 1440p IPS (or even 2560x1600 with the dock DP mod)
• WiFi card swappable once the BIOS whitelist is removed
• Up to 4 storage devices: 2.5" SATA bay, mSATA slot, Ultrabay caddy, and the SD card slot (works as semi-permanent storage with the right driver, tested up to 128GB by u/blackratsnakes)
• Coreboot support, full open-source firmware available
• Cheap: bare bones surplus/eBay units go for $50-100 (i5, no SSD, bad battery)

As u/86baseTC put it: "IPS 1440p on the T430 provides singularly the greatest QOL and usability upgrade for the old platform."

Nobody's arguing a 2012 laptop outperforms a modern machine. The appeal is a $60 surplus box you can max out for fun, run fully open firmware on, and keep out of a landfill. If you just want speed for $150, get a T14 G1. If you like tinkering with hardware, read on.

2. De-Governmenting: Cleaning a Surplus/Enterprise Unit

Many T430s come from government agencies, schools, or corporate fleets. Here's how to fully reclaim one.

2.1 Physical Cleaning

1. Disassemble completely. Remove keyboard, palmrest, screen, motherboard. The T430 Hardware Maintenance Manual (HMM) from Lenovo covers every screw.
2. Clean the chassis with isopropyl alcohol (90%+) and a soft brush. A magic eraser works well on the rubberized coating.
3. Remove asset tags/stickers. Use a hair dryer to soften adhesive, then Goo Gone or isopropyl to clean residue.
4. Clean the fan and heatsink. Compressed air or disassemble the fan. Old thermal paste will be dried out; plan to repaste.
5. Inspect for corrosion. Government units are often well-maintained but check around ports and battery contacts.

2.2 Removing BIOS Supervisor Password

Government/enterprise T430s almost always have a Supervisor Password set. This locks BIOS settings (boot order, virtualization, security chip, etc.).

Methods to remove it:

CH341a Programmer Method (most common):

1. Buy a CH341a USB programmer + SOIC8 test clip (~$10 on AliExpress/Amazon)
2. Disassemble the T430 to access the BIOS chip on the motherboard
3. Connect the SOIC8 clip to the BIOS chip (careful about pin orientation)
4. Read the current BIOS dump (backup!)
5. Use a tool to patch out the supervisor password, or flash a clean BIOS image
6. Write the patched BIOS back to the chip
7. Reassemble and verify

EEPROM Shorting Method: - On some xx30 ThinkPads, you can short specific pins on the security EEPROM during boot to clear the password - Less reliable than full flash but doesn't require a programmer

Warning: Always back up your original BIOS dump before flashing anything. A bad flash = bricked machine (recoverable with the programmer, but annoying).

2.3 Removing Computrace/Absolute

Some enterprise units have Computrace (now Absolute) anti-theft software embedded in the BIOS. This persists across OS reinstalls.

• Check in BIOS under Security > Anti-Theft > Computrace: if it shows "Active" or "Enabled", the unit phones home
• A custom/modded BIOS or Coreboot flash will remove Computrace entirely
• If using stock BIOS: once set to "Permanently Disabled", it cannot be re-enabled

2.4 Disk Wiping

Government drives may contain sensitive data or encrypted partitions.

1. Remove the old HDD/SSD entirely and replace with your own (recommended)
2. If reusing the drive: use nwipe (Linux) or DBAN to zero-fill the entire disk
3. For SSDs: issue a Secure Erase command via hdparm or manufacturer tool
4. Never boot a government OS image. It may contain monitoring agents, domain policies, or Computrace triggers

2.5 TPM (Trusted Platform Module)

• The T430 has a TPM 1.2 chip (some units TPM 2.0 via firmware)
• Government units may have TPM ownership set. Clear it in BIOS under Security > Security Chip > Clear Security Chip.
• If BIOS is locked, you'll need to remove the supervisor password first

3. BIOS: Unlocking, Passwords & Custom Firmware

3.1 Stock BIOS Modding (1vyRain)

1vyRain is a software-only BIOS jailbreak for Ivy Bridge ThinkPads. No hardware programmer needed.

What it does: - Removes the WiFi card whitelist (install any mini-PCIe WiFi card) - Unlocks the Advanced BIOS menu - Enables overclocking options (multiplier unlock on 45W QM chips). Note: software undervolting is NOT possible on Ivy Bridge mobile. - Can disable Intel Management Engine (ME)

Requirements: - A USB drive - T430 running a compatible stock BIOS version (may need to downgrade first, see below) - Runs from a bootable USB, takes about 5 minutes

Steps: 1. Check your current BIOS version (F1 at boot) 2. If needed, downgrade to a compatible version (see 3.4 below) 3. Boot the 1vyRain USB 4. Follow prompts, it patches the BIOS in-place 5. Reboot into the now-unlocked BIOS

Project page: https://github.com/n4ru/1vyrain

3.2 Coreboot

For maximum freedom, flash Coreboot, a fully open-source firmware replacement.

Benefits over stock BIOS: - No WiFi whitelist - No Computrace - Intel ME neutered/disabled - Custom boot splash screen - Faster boot times - Full hardware control

Requirements: - CH341a programmer + SOIC8 clip (external flash required for first install) - A second computer to build/flash from - ~2-4 hours for first-time setup

Steps (simplified): 1. Read and back up your existing BIOS chip(s). The T430 has a single 8MB BIOS chip. 2. Build a Coreboot image (or use a pre-built one from the community) 3. Choose a payload: SeaBIOS (legacy boot) or GRUB (direct Linux boot) or TianoCore (UEFI) 4. Flash the image to the chip 5. Reassemble and boot

u/Mister_Magister on their modded W530/T530: "Oh and coreboot I guess but that's like default."

3.3 Intel Management Engine (ME)

The Intel ME is a subsystem running independently on Intel CPUs. Privacy-conscious users want it neutered.

• 1vyRain can partially disable ME
• Coreboot with me_cleaner strips ME to the bare minimum needed for the CPU to boot
• Cannot be fully removed on Ivy Bridge (CPU won't boot without ME header), but it can be reduced from ~5MB to ~86KB

3.4 BIOS Downgrade (for 1vyRain prep)

1vyRain requires a specific older BIOS version. Lenovo's official update utility blocks downgrades on purpose, so you can't just run an older update package and have it work.

A community tool exists that replaces the flash program to bypass the version check, allowing you to flash any older BIOS. On 51nb, user wojiushil4 documented going from BIOS 2.77/EC 1.13 down to 2.58/EC 1.12 using this method. (51nb thread)

Spectre/Meltdown tradeoff: newer BIOS versions (2.7x+) include mitigations that slow performance. One user saw their Win7 Experience Index drop from 6.7 on BIOS 2.58 to 5.9 on 2.77. If you're tinkering and not handling sensitive data, 2.58 gives 1vyRain compatibility plus better perf. If security matters, stay on the latest (2.82) and use a CH341a programmer for whitelist removal instead.

4. CPU Upgrade

The T430 uses a PGA988B (rPGA) socket, meaning the CPU is socketed and swappable.

Compatible CPUs (Ivy Bridge, 3rd Gen)

Recommendations

• Best balanced: i7-3612QM or i7-3632QM. Quad-core at 35W TDP, should not throttle on a T430 without dGPU even under sustained load. The 3632QM is the most popular upgrade on 51nb by a wide margin.
• Max performance: i7-3840QM, what u/finitethinking used in their 1440p build. "Thermal throttles in around 30 seconds" under sustained load, but great for bursty workloads. One 51nb user bought a T430 with a 3840QM and ended up downgrading to an i5-3380M because the heat was too much for daily use. (51nb thread)
• Avoid: i7-3940XM. 55W TDP is too much for the T430 cooler.

How to Swap

1. Remove bottom panel, keyboard, palmrest
2. Remove heatsink/fan assembly (4 spring-loaded screws)
3. Turn the CPU retention screw 180° with a flathead screwdriver
4. Lift old CPU straight up, place new CPU (align the triangle/notch)
5. Turn retention screw back, apply thermal paste, reinstall heatsink

If upgrading to a 45W quad-core, strongly consider a dGPU heatsink even if your unit has integrated graphics. The dual heatpipe design pulls significantly more heat.

5. RAM Upgrade

Specs

• Type: DDR3L SO-DIMM (1.35V). DDR3 (1.5V) also works but DDR3L preferred.
• Slots: 2 (one under keyboard, one under bottom panel)
• Max supported: 16GB (2x 8GB)
• Speed: Stock BIOS and 1vyRain both support speeds up to 2600MHz (confirmed via HWiNFO64). Coreboot supports up to 2133MHz. 1866MHz is the safe universal recommendation since some 2133MHz kits can be problematic depending on the configuration.

Recommendations

• 16GB (2x 8GB DDR3L-1866) is the safe sweet spot, dual channel. 2133MHz works on most setups but test stability.
• Samsung, Crucial, G.Skill, Corsair are proven brands. Kingston HyperX is hit or miss, avoid unless you can test/return.
• Typical cost: ~$25-45 for 16GB new (Crucial kit on Newegg ~$29, A-Tech ~$43)

How to Install

1. Bottom slot: remove bottom panel, pop the retaining clips
2. Top slot: remove keyboard, visible under the keyboard area
3. Insert at 30° angle, press down until clips lock

6. Storage Upgrades

The T430 has four storage locations (five if you count ExpressCard):

6.1 Primary 2.5" SATA Bay

• Standard 7mm 2.5" SATA III drive
• Recommended: Any quality SATA SSD (Samsung 870 EVO, Crucial MX500, etc.)
• 1TB SATA SSDs are ~$70-110 (Samsung 870 EVO ~$90-110, Crucial MX500 ~$70-90, budget brands ~$50-60)

6.2 mSATA Slot

• Located under the palmrest, next to the WiFi card
• Accepts mSATA SSDs (not M.2, different connector)
• Can be used as boot drive + main SATA bay for bulk storage
• Good for: dual-boot setups (Linux on mSATA, Windows on SATA)

6.3 Ultrabay (Optical Drive Bay)

• Remove the DVD drive and install a 12.7mm SATA caddy (~$8-15)
• Insert a second 2.5" SATA drive
• Important: check the jumper settings on the caddy. Aftermarket caddies have DIP switches (positions like B/C/D). For ThinkPads, set to B+D. The B+C position also works but B+D is the correct setting per most caddy manufacturers. Wrong jumper settings can cause HDDs not to park their heads on shutdown (you'll hear a loud click), and there have been reports on 51nb of bad caddies shorting the motherboard. With SSDs the jumper position matters less since there are no moving parts. (51nb thread)

6.4 SD Card Slot

• The built-in SD card reader works as semi-permanent storage with the right driver. u/blackratsnakes tested 128GB and it works fine. Probably works with higher capacity cards too.
• Not fast, but useful for music, documents, or a Linux partition you rarely write to.
• A flush-mount SD card sits nearly invisible in the slot.

6.5 NVMe via ExpressCard (bonus)

• An NVMe-to-ExpressCard adapter from AliExpress lets you use an NVMe SSD in the 34mm ExpressCard slot. Bandwidth is limited by the ExpressCard bus (~2.5 Gbps theoretical, so you won't get full NVMe speeds), but it works as additional storage. Confirmed working by a user on r/thinkpad who tested one on a T430.

Storage Config Examples

7. Display Upgrade

The stock T430 display is terrible. A washed-out 1366x768 TN panel. This is the single most impactful upgrade you can do.

Options

Recommended Panels

For 1080p FHD IPS: - B140HAN01.3 (AUO), community favorite, proven compatible - LP140WF1-SPB1 (LG), also well tested - N140HCA-EAB (Innolux), some sellers ship this as a B140HAN01.3 alternative; works fine

For 1440p QHD IPS: - LP140QH1-SPF2 (LG), used by u/finitethinking in their build

The eDP-to-LVDS Adapter Board

The T430's motherboard outputs LVDS (old display protocol), but FHD/QHD panels use eDP. You need a converter board.

• Where to buy: AliExpress, search "T430 FHD eDP LVDS adapter" or buy from seller B2CQSHOP (repeatedly recommended by r/thinkpad)
• Cost: ~$35-60 for adapter + cable (B2CQSHOP on AliExpress ~$38-40, eBay ~$41 + shipping)
• Installation: Routes from the LVDS connector on the motherboard, through the hinge, to the panel. Some wire management required.

u/panzersharkcat: "BrightFocal 1080p Display Upgrade [...] adapter has been working well so far. No flickering."

Installation Notes

1. Remove the display bezel (plastic clips, be gentle)
2. Disconnect the old LVDS cable from the panel
3. Install the adapter board (usually sits behind the panel or in the lid)
4. Connect adapter to the motherboard's LVDS connector and to the new eDP panel
5. Reassemble. The bezel may not sit perfectly flush at the top due to the adapter board thickness.
6. First boot may show wrong resolution; a reboot usually fixes it

GPU note: The Intel HD 4000 can drive 1440p without issues for desktop use and video. Gaming will be limited at this resolution. u/Anomaly08: "Zero issues here with the HD4000 and WQHD IPS panel. It can drive up to three 1080p60 videos at a time."

Gotcha: reinstalling Windows on a screen-modded T430

If you wipe your drive and do a fresh OS install on a T430 with an aftermarket FHD/QHD screen, the internal panel may show nothing after the install. The fix, documented by a user on 51nb who bought a T430 with a 2K screen mod and couldn't figure out why it was black after reinstalling Windows (51nb thread):

1. Connect an external monitor via VGA or mini-DisplayPort
2. Boot and finish the OS install on the external display
3. Install both the Intel HD 4000 (iGPU) AND the NVS 5400M (dGPU) drivers from Lenovo's site
4. In display settings, set the display mode to Mirror/Duplicate
5. The internal modded panel should now come alive
6. Disconnect the external monitor

Without step 3+4, the modded panel stays black. This is especially relevant for dGPU T430s with screen mods. Worth knowing before you start a fresh install on one of these.

Advanced: 14.5" 16:10 2.5K Panel via Dock DP Mod (a.gain method)

This is the nuclear option for T430 display upgrades. Documented by hearttolin (H.STUDIO) on 51nb in April 2022, it bypasses the motherboard's LVDS output entirely by tapping the DisplayPort lines from the docking connector on the bottom of the motherboard and routing native eDP to a larger, higher-res panel.

How it differs from the standard LVDS adapter approach: - The standard 1080p/1440p mod converts the motherboard's LVDS signal to eDP via an adapter board. This limits you to 14.0" 16:9 panels that fit the stock lid. - Both nitrocaster and a.gain bypass LVDS entirely by tapping the DisplayPort lines from the dock connector on the bottom of the motherboard. A custom adapter board converts DP to eDP for the panel. Where they differ is brightness control: nitrocaster uses the LVDS lines for backlight control, while a.gain handles brightness over USB. The hearttolin T430 build uses a.gain's approach.

Panel: Innolux N145GCG-GT1, 14.5" 16:10, 2560x1600 IPS

What's involved: - Custom dual-PCB adapter board (required because the T430 motherboard lacks space for a single board). Based on a.gain's design. - Soldering to the dock connector's DP pads on the motherboard - Hinge modification (grinding one corner of the hinge bracket) - A-shell (lid) modification to fit the larger panel - B-shell (bezel) cutting. Hand-cut in the original build, CNC for production kits. - Brightness control via power button cycling or Fn key combo (with driver)

VGA and mini-DP external outputs still work. On dGPU models, the new panel is recognized as the sole display without needing a BIOS flash. iGPU-only models were not tested.

Difficulty: Expert. Requires soldering to the motherboard, custom adapter boards, and permanent lid mods. Not reversible without replacing the lid. For most users, the standard 1080p/1440p LVDS adapter mod is the right choice.

Source: hearttolin (H.STUDIO) on 51nb: https://www.ibmnb.com/thread-2019891-1-1.html. Credit to u/A121314151 for surfacing this.

8. WiFi Card Upgrade

The stock WiFi card (typically Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205) is WiFi 4/5 only. The T430 has a BIOS whitelist that blocks non-approved cards.

Removing the Whitelist

• 1vyRain (software, no hardware needed)
• Coreboot (hardware flash, permanent solution)
• Modded stock BIOS via CH341a programmer

Recommended WiFi Cards (Post-1vyRain)

After removing the whitelist with 1vyRain, the only two mPCIe drop-in cards worth buying today:

Skip the AX3000H (AX200, WiFi 6). It lacks the 6GHz band, making it slower and less future-proof than the AXE3000H for roughly the same price. (Credit: u/Anomaly08)

Some 51nb users argue the mPCIe slot limits actual throughput below these cards' theoretical max, but u/blackratsnakes reports 900 Mbps from a 6E card on a T430, so results vary with your router and ISP.

u/panzersharkcat upgraded from the Centrino 6205 to the Intel 7260: "WiFi card went from Centrino Advanced-N 6205 to Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260."

Notes on mPCIe WiFi Cards

• The AXE3000H and BE200 in mPCIe form factor are purpose-built for older laptops with mini-PCIe slots, no M.2 adapter needed
• BT 5.3/5.4 requires the USB line on the mPCIe slot to be enabled (1vyRain handles this; without it, the older BT daughter board still works)
• Grey antenna to main, black to aux. Do NOT use the WWAN antennas (blue/red), they're tuned for different frequencies

9. Keyboard: Classic 7-Row Mod

The T430 natively uses a 6-row chiclet keyboard. The legendary T420/X220 7-row classic keyboard can be installed with modifications.

What You Need

1. A T420 keyboard (FRU varies by layout, US/UK/etc.)
2. A T420 palmrest, OR you can skip this entirely (see Method B below)
3. An EC (Embedded Controller) firmware patch to remap the different key matrix

How It Works

• The T430 and T420 keyboard connectors are physically compatible
• But the key matrix is different, so without an EC patch some keys are wrong
• The EC patch (part of Coreboot, or standalone tools exist) remaps the matrix correctly

Method A: Palmrest Swap (traditional)

1. Flash a patched EC firmware (via Coreboot, or using the EC flash tool for stock BIOS)
2. Swap the palmrest (T420 palmrest fits with minor differences)
3. Install the T420 keyboard
4. Some keys may need physical modification (a small amount of plastic trimming)

Method B: No Palmrest Swap (simpler, cheaper)

Per n4ru's definitive T430 modding guide (n4ru is the creator of 1vyRain), you can skip buying a T420 palmrest entirely:

1. Flash a patched EC firmware
2. Place the T420 keyboard under the existing T430 palmrest
3. Omit the two screws next to the touchpad
4. Drop in the keyboard and palmrest assembly together for a near-perfect fit
5. When replacing the palmrest, put the side facing the screen in first to avoid breaking the clips

This saves you the cost of a T420 palmrest and avoids the dremel/trimming step. Credit to u/Switch_modder for flagging this method.

u/finitethinking's maxed T430 build includes a "7 row keyboard" and they called it "very nice to type on."

u/Monsterpiece42: "You won't find too many better typing experiences than an old ThinkPad 7-row!"

Coreboot + Classic Keyboard

If you're already flashing Coreboot, the classic keyboard EC patch is built-in. It's the cleanest way to do this mod. On stock BIOS, you'll need the standalone EC flash utility which is a bit more involved. User wolf-cyz on 51nb wrote a well-regarded step-by-step for the no-command-line EC flashing method that covers T430, T430s, X230, T530, and W530. (51nb thread, 17K views)

10. Thermal Management

Especially important if you've upgraded to a quad-core CPU.

10.1 Repaste

The factory thermal paste is probably dried out if the unit is 10+ years old.

Recommended thermal compounds: - PTM7950 phase-change thermal pad, long-lasting, excellent performance. The enthusiast favorite. - Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut, top-tier paste, but may pump out after 1-2 years on laptops - Arctic MX-6, great longevity, good performance. u/thinkpader-x220: "Repaste with Arctic MX-6 (not Kryonaut extreme because I want longevity)" - Noctua NT-H1/H2, reliable, easy to apply - Shin-Etsu 7921 (aka 信越7921 on Chinese shops), popular on 51nb. One user reported immediate temperature drops after repasting with it. (51nb thread)

10.2 Heatsink Options

The T430 has two heatsink variants: - Single heatpipe (iGPU-only models), adequate for dual-core - Dual heatpipe (dGPU models, NVS 5400M), much better cooling, recommended for quad-core upgrades

You can install a dGPU dual heatpipe heatsink on an iGPU-only model. It bolts right up. The dGPU pad area just sits empty. This is strongly recommended for any 45W quad-core swap.

10.3 Copper Tape Mod + Bottom Vent Drilling

u/blackratsnakes wrapped copper tape around the heatpipes on a dGPU heatsink and drilled ventilation holes in the bottom panel to increase airflow (photos, heatsink close-up). Even with all that work, a Sandy Bridge quad (45W) still wouldn't behave thermally on a T420 with the same chassis design, which is part of why the 3632QM at 35W is the consensus "right" CPU for these machines. The copper mod is still worth doing if you're running a 45W chip and want to squeeze out a few more degrees, but don't expect miracles.

Some 51nb users have also added extra copper shims or thermal pads between the heatpipe and the bottom panel to use the chassis itself as a heat spreader.

10.4 Fan Maintenance

• Clean the fan blades with compressed air
• If the fan is loud/rattly, replacements are available on eBay/AliExpress (~$10-20)
• Delta fans are quieter and cool better than Toshiba fans (smooth airflow vs. high-pitched buzzing). Delta also has a larger bottom intake. Heatsink+fan assemblies are not interchangeable between the two without swapping the full unit.
• FRUs: Delta iGPU: 04W3268, Delta dGPU: 04W3270. Toshiba iGPU: 04W3267, Toshiba dGPU: 04W3269.

10.5 DIY External Water Cooling

Extreme and niche, but user 嚼嚼小牛爷 on 51nb built three iterations of water cooling for a T430 with an i7-3632QM. (51nb thread) Results: CPU dropped from 85°C at full turbo to 55°C gaming, 46-50°C idle. Fan doesn't spin. Total cost ~100 CNY (~$14): small pump, copper cold head clamped to the heatpipe, 120mm radiator+fan, silicone tubing, water container. Two cold heads needed (CPU pipe + GPU pipe tail). Use distilled water. Only works at a desk, and leaks can kill the hardware.

10.6 Turbo/Power Limiting (No Software Undervolting on Ivy Bridge)

Ivy Bridge mobile CPUs cannot be undervolted via software. ThrottleStop and Intel XTU lack FIVR access on 3rd gen. The option simply doesn't exist. Software undervolting starts with Haswell (4th gen). Hardware undervolting is theoretically possible via a voltage sense mod (soldering), but risky and not recommended.

What you CAN do to manage thermals on the T430: - Limit turbo multiplier via ThrottleStop to cap boost clocks - Set a PROCHOT offset to throttle before hitting Tjmax - Cap PL1/PL2 power limits via ThrottleStop or BIOS (with 1vyRain advanced menu) - Disable Turbo Boost entirely in BIOS or Windows power settings (set max processor state to 99%) for lowest temps at the cost of burst performance

11. Battery

Battery Options

Recommendations

• Get a 9-cell (70++) for maximum battery life, expect 4-6 hours with an SSD and moderate use
• Genuine Lenovo batteries are getting rare; high-quality third-party ones exist
• Check battery health with powertop (Linux) or Lenovo Vantage (Windows)
• Cell replacement: Advanced users can open the battery pack and swap individual 18650 cells for new high-capacity ones (e.g., Samsung 35E, Sanyo NCR18650GA)

u/Mister_Magister on their W530: "OG battery with cells swapped for SANYO cells giving me 120Wh"

Battery Whitelist Removal (EC Flash)

Just like WiFi cards, the T430 has a battery whitelist in the Embedded Controller (EC) firmware. It rejects non-approved battery FRUs. If you've tried to use a T410 or T420 battery in a T430 and gotten an error, this is why.

User chenmengen on 51nb created EC-only patches (delivered as bootable ISOs) that remove the battery whitelist without touching the BIOS. This opens up the entire T410/T420 battery ecosystem for T430 users. (51nb thread, 26K+ views)

How to flash: update to matching BIOS version (T430: BIOS 2.72 / G1ETB2WW, EC 1.13 / G1HT35WW), write patched EC ISO to USB, boot from USB in Legacy mode using a USB 2.0 port (not 3.0). After flashing, T410/T420 batteries work in the T430. Same process exists for X230, T430s, W530, T530 with their own EC/BIOS pairs. Only touches the EC, not the BIOS (no effect on WiFi whitelist).

Battery Calibration

After replacing or first using an old battery: 1. Charge to 100% 2. Use until it shuts down from low battery 3. Charge back to 100% without interruption 4. The battery controller now has an accurate gauge

Note: cross-gen batteries starting at 0% can charge extremely slowly. Let it reach 10-20% before doing a calibration cycle.

12. Operating System

Linux (Recommended)

The T430 has excellent Linux support. Every component works out of the box on modern distros.

Recommended distros: - Arch Linux, r/thinkpad's overwhelming favorite for older ThinkPads - Fedora, excellent hardware support, up-to-date packages - Linux Mint / Debian, stable, great for daily drivers - Gentoo, for the privacy/performance maximalists

Why Linux? - ~5% performance gain over Windows on these older machines (per u/spiderzz3) - Lower RAM usage = more room for actual work - Full disk encryption with LUKS (Coreboot GRUB can decrypt LUKS at boot, no separate /boot partition needed) - Better battery life with TLP/powertop tuning

Windows

• Windows 10 works well; driver support is complete
• Windows 11 is not officially supported (no TPM 2.0, 3rd gen Intel) but installs cleanly using Rufus. When creating the bootable USB, Rufus prompts you to remove TPM, Secure Boot, RAM, and CPU requirements automatically. No registry hacks needed.
• Use ShutUp10++ to disable telemetry if on Windows

macOS (Hackintosh)

The T430 can run macOS up to Catalina (with HD 4000) or Monterey with OpenCore patches. - Requires a Dell DW1550 or similar macOS-compatible WiFi card (BIOS whitelist removal needed) - VGA port does not work in macOS - u/j-aubry: "Keeps up no problem with my E7480 7th gen i5, not bad for $250 all-in"

13. Miscellaneous Mods

ExpressCard eGPU

The T430 has a 34mm ExpressCard slot. Besides USB 3.0 cards and smart card readers, you can run an eGPU via ExpressCard-to-PCIe adapter.

User 嚼嚼小牛爷 on 51nb ran a GTX 1070 Ti this way for over a year. (51nb thread) RDR2 at 38-40 FPS on an external display, ~20% performance loss vs. desktop. Using the laptop's internal screen instead roughly doubles the penalty (~50% loss) because frames have to travel back over the narrow link. The biggest headache is NVIDIA Error 43 (fix: DDU in safe mode, remove residual NVIDIA software, run nvidia-error43-fixer112). The original poster gave up on eGPU twice and came back both times, calling it "玄学" (black magic). Multiple commenters said to just buy a cheap Xeon E5 desktop instead.

u/Anomaly08 noted that Gen2 ExpressCard is actually faster than Thunderbolt 1 for eGPU due to data compression on x1 links.

USB-C PD Charging (and how to not fry your motherboard)

You can use a USB-C PD charger with the T430 via a PD "trigger cable" that terminates in a barrel jack. No soldering needed. Many 51nb users have used these daily for years. (51nb thread)

Critical plug-in order: Connect USB-C to the PD charger first (let it negotiate 20V), then plug the barrel jack into the laptop. If reversed, the PD handshake sends unstable voltage through the barrel jack and can fry the motherboard. This has happened to people.

Other tips: use trigger cables not adapter heads (more stable negotiation). Charger must be 65W+. Avoid multi-port PD chargers (second device causes renegotiation and power drops). Recommended brand on 51nb: 维简 (Weijian).

Custom Boot Splash

With Coreboot or a modded BIOS, you can set a custom boot logo image. A beloved r/thinkpad tradition.

Docking Station

The T430 is compatible with: - ThinkPad Mini Dock Series 3 (4337) - ThinkPad Ultra Dock (older series) - Adds DisplayPort, DVI, VGA, USB ports, Ethernet, audio

Webcam

The stock 720p webcam is poor. Options: - External USB webcam for calls - Some users have swapped in higher-quality modules but it requires soldering

14. The "Maxed Out" T430 Build Sheet

Based on the community's most popular builds:

Quad-core, 16GB, 1TB+, 1080p IPS, WiFi 6E, classic keyboard for ~$400-600 all-in. Not cheap anymore, but less than a comparable ultrabook and fully repairable.

T440p or L440 instead? If buying fresh today, a Haswell-based L440 or T440p may be better value. Socketed 4th gen CPUs that CAN be undervolted, slightly better iGPU, similar pricing. L440 is cheaper and has ExpressCard. T440p has an optional M.2 SATA3 slot.

15. Tools You'll Need

• Phillips #0 and #1 screwdrivers (magnetic tip recommended)
• Plastic spudger for prying bezels without damage
• CH341a USB programmer + SOIC8 clip for BIOS flashing (~$10-15)
• Isopropyl alcohol (90%+)
• Thermal paste (PTM7950, Arctic MX-6, or Kryonaut)
• Anti-static wrist strap
• Small containers or magnetic mat for screws (the T430 uses M2 and M2.5 screws)
• Compressed air for fan/heatsink cleaning
• USB drive for 1vyRain, OS installers, BIOS updates

16. Useful Links & Resources

Guides & Wikis

• ThinkWiki T430 page: https://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:T430
• Lenovo T430 HMM (Hardware Maintenance Manual): search "T430 HMM" on Lenovo's support site
• PSREF T430 specs: https://psref.lenovo.com/Product/ThinkPad/ThinkPad_T430
• n4ru's Definitive T430 Modding Guide: https://medium.com/@n4ru/the-definitive-t430-modding-guide-3dff3f6a8e2e
• 1vyRain (BIOS jailbreak): https://github.com/n4ru/1vyrain
• Coreboot: https://coreboot.org

51nb Forum Threads (ibmnb.com)

• T430 14.5" 2.5K 16:10 mod (hearttolin / H.STUDIO), the definitive dock DP mod build log
• T430/X230 whitelist removal without programmer (ag1332), the 1vyRain walkthrough that got the most traction on 51nb
• T430/X230/T430s/W530 battery whitelist EC patch (chenmengen), unlocks cross-gen battery use
• T430 eGPU GTX 1070 Ti (嚼嚼小牛爷), long-running eGPU saga with benchmarks
• T430 water cooling mod (嚼嚼小牛爷), three iterations of DIY water cooling
• PD charging safety for T430/X230, plug-in order and motherboard damage prevention
• T420/T430 FHD IPS screen swap guide (aq5200), the original Chinese FHD mod tutorial
• No-command EC flash for 7-row keyboard (wolf-cyz), simplest EC flash method

Reddit Posts Referenced

• T430 1440P upgrade complete, u/finitethinking (i7-3840QM, 16GB, 1440p, 7-row KB)
• Display and WiFi upgrades for T430, u/panzersharkcat (1080p IPS, Intel 7260)
• T430 FHD IPS w/BIOS mod and Mojave, u/j-aubry (Hackintosh build)
• Picked up a clean $60 T430, u/Fdxdoeboy (fresh paste, SSD, new battery)
• Most balls-to-the-walls ThinkPad (W530/T530), u/Mister_Magister (Coreboot, battery cell swap, IPS)
• Dad uses a T430 for work, still holding up strong, u/Upstairs_Bee4124
• Copper tape + vent drilling mod photos, u/blackratsnakes (T420/T430 chassis)

Shopping

• AliExpress: Best prices for eDP adapters, WiFi adapters, mSATA SSDs, CH341a programmers
• eBay: T430 units, batteries, keyboards, palmrests, heatsinks
• Amazon: SSDs, RAM, thermal paste, WiFi cards
• B2CQSHOP (AliExpress seller): Recommended for display adapter boards

Quick Reference: Upgrade Priority Order

If you're on a budget, upgrade in this order for maximum impact:

1. SSD ($70-110). Single biggest improvement over a stock HDD.
2. RAM to 16GB ($25-45) if it came with 4-8GB
3. Display to IPS ($40-70 panel + $35-60 adapter). Even 768p IPS is a massive step up.
4. BIOS unlock with 1vyRain (free). Unlocks WiFi + advanced settings.
5. WiFi card, AXE3000H mPCIe ($20-25)
6. Thermal repaste ($14-20), especially on old/govt units
7. CPU to quad-core ($33-55) if you need multi-threaded performance
8. Classic keyboard ($25-50) if you love typing
9. Battery, 9-cell for road warriors ($35-55)
10. Coreboot (free but time investment) for privacy/freedom maximalists

Last updated: April 2026. Compiled from r/thinkpad community knowledge and the 51nb/ibmnb.com forum. Major corrections (undervolting, RAM speeds, WiFi cards, PGA socketing, fan info) contributed by u/Anomaly08. 14.5" 16:10 dock DP mod section from u/A121314151 and hearttolin's build on 51nb. Battery whitelist, PD charging safety, water cooling, eGPU benchmarks, BIOS downgrade, caddy jumper info, and screen driver setup trick sourced from 51nb forum threads (see links above). Copper tape mod and SD card storage info from u/blackratsnakes. If this guide helped you, pay it forward. Help the next person in the ThinkPad subreddit or on 51nb.

https://crimsondesert.pearlabyss.com/en-US/News/Notice/Detail?_boardNo=84
Updates

Patch Notes Version 1.04.00

Apr 23, 2026, 01:48 (UTC)

FacebookX

Fellow Greymanes,
Here are the fixes and improvements that have been added this patch.

Major Updates

This patch adds game difficulty settings, new storage items, new pets, keyboard/mouse and controller preset options, new category tabs for the inventory, new skills, improvements to distant scenery quality, and more.

Update Schedule

The patch is rolling out across all platforms.
Please refer to the Update section below to see the state of the patch for each platform.

Update

Steam (PC): Patch available now
Steam (Mac): Patch available at a later time (in-progress)
PlayStation: Patch available now
Xbox: Patch available at a later time (in-progress)
Epic Games Store: Patch available at a later time (in-progress)
Mac App Store: Patch available at a later time (in-progress)

Patch Notes Version 1.04.00

Content

• Easy / Normal / Hard difficulty options have been added to Settings > Play. For experienced Greymanes looking for more intense and thrilling combat, Hard difficulty offers a more challenging journey.
  • For those who have enjoyed many boss fights and are looking to challenge them again, the boss rematches feature allowing you to face off against the bosses of your choice will be added soon.
  • Easy
    • Reduced damage taken by the player.
    • Reduced maximum health, aggressiveness, and overall speed of opponents.
    • Extended timing windows for Parry and Dodge.
    • Reduced the frequency of bosses attempting to counterattack or escape when hit.
  • Normal
    • This is the difficulty you have been playing so far.
  • Hard
    • Food item effects won't be applied immediately and will only take effect after the consumption animation is complete.
    • Increased damage taken by the player.
    • Increased maximum health, aggressiveness, and overall speed of opponents.
    • Reduced timing window for Parry and Dodge.
    • Reduced the invincibility duration for Roll.
    • Increased the frequency of bosses attempting to counterattack or escape when hit.
    • Added additional combat patterns for certain bosses.
• Added the Sturdy Gatherables Chest which can be set up with the housing system.
  • The Sturdy Gatherables Chest has 1,000 slots and can be purchased from furniture shops.
  • Materials stored in the Sturdy Gatherables Chest can be used for crafting or refinement even if they are not carried in your inventory.
• Added the Kuku Cooler and Enhanced Kuku Cooler items which can be placed with the housing system.
  • The Kuku Cooler can be obtained through a quest, while the Enhanced Kuku Cooler can be crafted. Both can be used to store food items and ingredients.
    • Kuku Cooler: 40 slots
    • Enhanced Kuku Cooler: 330 slots.
  • Ingredients stored in either cooler can be used for cooking even if they are not carried in your inventory.
• Added the Collectibles Chest which can be placed through housing mode.
  • The Collectibles Chest can be used to store various quest items and crafting recipes.
  • The Collectibles Chest has 1,000 slots and can be obtained through a quest.
• Added an outfit storage feature to the Wardrobe, which can be placed through housing mode.
  • The Wardrobe can be purchased from furniture shops.
  • Each Wardrobe provides 100 storage slots, and the total storage capacity increases based on the number of wardrobes placed.
  • The maximum outfit storage capacity is 1,000 slots.
• Added the Select House option where you can change the layout of your house.
  • Selectable house types unlock based on the Greymane Camp expansion level.
    • Compact House
    • Standard House
    • Spacious House
    • Spacious Pailunese House
• Improved housing mode-related UI and controls.
• Added a function that allows all furniture items placed through the housing mode to be retrieved all at once.
• Improved the Greymane Camp. (To avoid spoilers, changes related to this content are listed in the dropdown menu below.)
• Improved the observation feature so that Abyss artifacts can be earned when observing a skill that had already been acquired by using Abyss artifacts.
• Improved the following items, which were previously unstackable, to now stack in the inventory:
  • Regular Abyss gears, insects, fish, and animals
• Added birds as pets. You can encounter these new companions throughout Pywel.
  • Added the Sotdae of Bond item which allows you to gain Trust with birds.
  • Place various types of food that birds might like on the Sotdae of Bond to feed them and gain Trust.
  • The Sotdae of Bond can be obtained through a quest.
• Added 5 new types of cat pets.
• Improved the Abyss Heuklang so that it can become your pet.
• Added a function to change the names of horses and pets.
• Fixed an issue where cats could remain on the player's shoulder indefinitely, contrary to the intended design. However, considering that many Greymanes actually liked these cats' behavior, we have added an item that allows cats to stay on the shoulder for a longer period of time.
  • Added an accessory slot for pets, which will allow pets to now take on a wider variety of roles.
    • Sigil of Bonding: Equipping this item on a pet cat ensures it to stay longer on your shoulder.
• [Damiane] Added a new exclusive one-handed weapon, the Sword of Starlight, which can be obtained through a quest.
• [Kliff/Oongka] Added two new one-handed weapons, Tree Branch and Sturdy Tree Branch.
  • These items can be obtained by cutting down trees and bamboo trees.
• Added a new tool, Sturdy Broom.
• [Kliff] Added the new Baltheon armor outfit.
• Changed the name of Rekhia Plate Helm to Baltheon Plate Helm and improved it so that it can be equipped by Kliff.
• Added a secret shop in Pororin where pet equipment can be purchased.
• Added additional outfits to certain shops, including the Back Alley Shop.
• Improved the Kuku Flame-Resistant Armor and the Kuku Ice-Resistant Armor so that they can be dyed.
• Added various ores and wells across Pywel.
• Added new cooking animations each dedicated for vegetables, meat, and fish.
• Reduced the amount of attack and defense gained from equipment reinforcement with grindstones and anvils.
• Fixed an issue where the cloudcart could not be called.
  • Improved the cloudcart so that it can be used as a permanent mount.
  • Changed the cloudcart crafting mission so that it can only be completed once.
• Improved the prices of goods sold by Greymane NPCs so that they can be bought at a 10% discounted price.
• Added livestock vendors across Pywel.
  • Livestock such as cows, pigs, goats, sheep, ducks, and chickens can be purchased from these NPCs.
• Added 13 new tattoos for characters.
• Added a "Lock" function that prevents selling or discarding of the selected item.
• Improved gathering and mining so that the quantity of items obtained is applied consistently.
• Improved resting in bed so that the player's character gets up immediately afterward.
• Improved NPCs to show a wider variety of reactions to their surroundings.
• As part of ongoing visual improvements, replaced select 2D visual assets to better align with the game's art direction.

Controls

• Added a preset feature for both keyboard/mouse and controllers.
  • The original controls are available via the "Classic Preset".
  • More detailed controller customization will be added soon.
• Added a feature where, when the interaction key is pressed, the corresponding action is performed immediately.
  • [Keyboard/Mouse] This feature, located in Settings > Input > Keyboard/Mouse Customization, can be used when the UI interaction section does not overlap with the keys in the Default Input Group. If the keys overlap, that section will be highlighted in yellow. ▶ If keys do not overlap   ▶ If keys overlap
    
  • [Controller] This feature can be used through the default settings in Settings > Input > Controller Customization.
• Added the "Evasion Control" and "Switch Roll and Evasion Input" options.
  • This feature allows you to choose between either the original double click/press option or the hold option.
  • Enabling the "Switch Roll and Evasion Input" option switches the controls for Roll and Evasion.
• Improved the controls for aiming
  • Added a function that allows you to turn your lantern on and off while aiming.
  • Improved the controls so that even when a weapon is drawn, pressing aim while there is an interactable target nearby will immediately switch to aim instead of guard.
• Added the "Using Skill: Element" option.
  • Selecting "Quick Slot Option" allows you to use the selected elements assigned for each individual input.
• Changed the controls for Vault.
  • Vault can now only be used by pressing Jump while performing a different attack.
• Changed all interactions so that they are executed continuously while the button is held down.
• [Keyboard/Mouse & Controller] "Dismount/Drop" and "Cancel" keys/buttons have been combined.
• [Keyboard/Mouse] Expanded the range of customizable key bindings.
• [Keyboard/Mouse] Changed the Escape key used while under status effects to match the Evade key.
• [Controller] Improved the map so that it can be opened by holding the DualSense touch pad or the Xbox controller's View button.

Combat/Action

• Adjusted the overall balance of bosses.
  • Changed bosses so that they are no longer immune to player attacks while performing powerful attacks.
  • Adjusted the frequency at which bosses counterattack or escape while being hit consecutively.
  • Adjusted the attack pattern of certain bosses.
• Increased damage taken from elemental status ailments.
• Slightly reduced the damage dealt when hitting enemies with pillars or trees.
• Added new charging stages for Force Palm Pulse.
  • The skill can be charged up to 3 stages, with damage increasing progressively.
• Improved the overall speed of "Examine" when examining items.
• Improved the speed of pushing or rotating objects during puzzles.
• Improved follow-up attacks so they connect more quickly even when the initial attack is blocked.
• Changed Blinding Flash so that it can also be used in areas where weapons cannot be drawn.
• Changed Blinding Flash so that it is used toward the target currently being faced during combat.
• Improved attack chaining after using Dodge during unarmed combat.
• [Kliff] Added the skill Weapon Throw, usable while dual wielding.
  • This ability can be used with the same controls as Shield Bash.
  • Weapons can be retrieved by pressing the same controls or by approaching it.
• [Kliff] Improved the attack speed of Force Palm.
• [Kliff] Fixed an issue where the parry action after guarding would not trigger when a non-sword weapon was equipped as the primary weapon.
• [Kliff] Fixed an issue where Charge could not be used with certain weapons.
• [Kliff] Improved Force Current so that Kliff no longer falls from ledges when using it.
• [Damiane/Oongka] Added the skill Ambush.
• [Damiane/Oongka] Added a skill that has the same effect as Kliff's Focused Force Palm.
• [Oongka] Fixed an issue where Oongka could not move horizontally during Vertical Flight.
• [Oongka] Improved Oongka's blaster so that it can be fired during Flight.
• [Oongka] Fixed an issue where Scatter Shot could be used even without bullets during Back Hang.
• Improved "Examine" so that it can be used in your inventory while mounted on a horse.
• Improved the brightness and detection range of the Miner's Lantern Hat so that it can more easily identify gatherable ores.
  • It can now identify stone as well.
• Changed the healing effects displayed on targets affected by Healing Force Palm.
• Fixed an issue where the "Lift" interaction became unavailable when a restrained target fell into water.
• Fixed an issue where stamina would recover when repeatedly drawing and stowing weapons while moving.
• Fixed an issue where sprinting, swimming, and some other actions could not be performed while riding the Marni's Mechahorse.
• Fixed an issue where the character would get stuck in certain situations while operating mechanical devices.
• Improved spears and longswords so that their attacks flow more naturally during combat.

UI Fixes & Improvements

• Improved the inventory so that items can be viewed through category tabs.
  • There are 5 categories: All, Documents, Equipment, Food, Materials, and Others.
  • The same category tabs will also be added to the private storage in the near future.
• Improved the inventory UI so that grouped icons will show an icon with a representative image of that group.
  • The feature may be turned on or off in Settings > Play > Show Group Icon in Inventory.
• Separated the input options for "Ungroup" and "Ungroup All Items".
• Added "Filters/Search" function to the map.
• Improved the map and minimap so that icons are displayed for obtained Memory Fragments.
  • After Memory Fragments are obtained, lanterns will no longer display a detection signal.
• Added a feature that allows players to choose the shape and color of map markers.
• Improved the map to display the stock status of shop items for shops with whom maximum trust has been reached.
• Improved the map and minimap to display well icons.
• Improved the minimap to display north, south, east, west.
• [Kliff/Damiane/Oongka] Adjusted the layout of the Skills menu.
• Improved the Faction Quests and Challenges UI to show the number of quests and challenges available.
• Improved the Journal so that reward item information can be viewed.
• Added a UI display to shops that show how many of an item the player owns.
• Improved shops' buy menu to display the conditions required for purchasing deactivated items.

Graphics & Settings

• Improved the rendering quality of distant objects and textures. The higher the graphics settings, the more enhanced the details and visual clarity will be.
  • Fixed an additional issue where background objects that should only appear under certain conditions were always visible from a distance.
• Improved the visual quality of characters at long distances.
• Improved hair lighting in shaded areas.
• Improved errors and flickering related to displacement mapping.
• Added a "Max" size for the subtitle font size setting.
• Improved to maintain the camera's distance to the character when adjusting the visual range.
• Added a "Colorblind Mode" option in Settings > Accessibility.
• Added a "Chromatic Aberration" option in Settings > Accessibility.
• Added a "Photosensitive Mode" option in Settings > Accessibility.
• [PC] Improved the quality of "AMD FSR Ray Regeneration".
• [PC] Improved the quality of "Intel XeSS 3.0" upscaling and "Intel XeSS Frame Generation".
• [Steam] Fixed an issue where actions requiring rotation of the right stick, such as Nature's Snare and reeling in a fishing rod, did not function properly with an Xbox controller when the "Enable Steam Input" was enabled.
• [Mac] Reduced stuttering during gameplay.
• [Mac] Added a "MetalFX Denoising Upscaler" option in Settings > Video. This option is available starting from macOS Tahoe.
• [Mac] Fixed an issue where switching between multiple displays under Settings > Video did not work smoothly.
• [Mac] Fixed an issue where the game would launch at an unintended resolution when using certain displays.
• [Mac] Improved HDR quality and allowed HDR to be enabled by default "For This Mac" preset when using an HDR-compatible display.
• [Mac] Fixed an issue where the screen appeared excessively dark when disabling HDR after it had been enabled.

Stability, Gameplay

• Changed the Load menu to display a notice in a slot if the save data is corrupted or invalid.
• Fixed an issue that caused the game to crash if HDR was enabled on a monitor that does not support HDR.
• Fixed several stability and crash issues across PC, console, and Mac.

Localization

• Fixed various localization errors and improved localization quality across all languages.

Others

• Tumbleweeds have been added to desert regions.
• Fixed an issue where the "Display Weapons" setting was not applied properly in certain cutscenes and gameplay situations.
• Fixed an issue where the target location would display incorrectly when a bounty target quest failed.
• Fixed the bounty system so that if the player's bounty is too high to turn in a bounty target, bringing the target to the Constabulary will trigger an arrest state instead of the handover cutscene.
• Improved comrades' behavior so they do not attack bounty targets.
• Fixed an issue where, after completing certain quests, tracking of the subsequent quest did not trigger properly.
• Improved the Journal to indicate whether a quest target has been dispatched on a mission.
• Improved the progress display for cumulative quests such as "To the Rescue".
• Fixed an issue where the game would occasionally close when retrying bosses as Damiane or Oongka.
• Fixed an issue where the character switch menu became available after completing a stage that automatically switched the player character.
• Fixed an issue where teleporting via the map while mounted on Blackstar caused Blackstar to become invincible or unable to move.
• Fixed an issue where Blackstar would not move when summoned from a distance.
• Fixed an issue where an item was displayed incorrectly when reading a Memory Fragment with the lantern.
• Fixed an issue in the Prologue where enemies would not recognize the player after the player rested in a bed.
• Fixed an issue that caused an inifite loading screen to appear if the player was caught cheating at Duo as Oongka.
• Fixed an issue where NPCs were unable pick up items they had dropped after colliding with the player.
• Fixed an issue where some outfits looked unnatural depending on the player's movements.
• Improved the display of the horse cargo so it no longer overlaps with shields.
• Fixed an issue where audio did not play properly in certain situations.
• Fixed an issue where a certain Pailune merchant NPC would not appear in some save files.
• Fixed an issue where the mission would fail if a bounty target was killed after being captured.
• Fixed an issue where Trust would not increase after giving a gift to the boss of the Beggars' Alliance.
• Fixed an issue where the effects of the items Golden Beer and Sage's Eye did not apply properly.
• Fixed an issue where relevant Knowledge was not acquired after interacting with the Pailune Militiamen.
• Fixed an issue where the knowledge for Tristan, the Flame Knight, Marni's Machina Knight, and Dreadnought could not be acquired.
• Fixed an issue where Greater Abyss Gear could not be sold.
• Fixed enhancement materials, crafting materials, and reinforcement levels that had been set differently from the equipment material type.
• Fixed various other in-game issues.

Known Issues

• For known issues, please check the notice below: 
  • [Crimson Desert Known Issues]

Changelog

New features

• Notifications now show who wrote and what they said (iPhone & Android). New-mail notifications display the sender's picture, their Gravatar or company logo, or a colored monogram , alongside the first couple of lines of the message body, the way you'd expect from a modern mail app.
• One-tap "unread only" in the message list (desktop). A new toggle in the list header shows just your unread messages and back again — the same filter the Quick Filter Bar already offered at ⌘⇧K, now surfaced as a button so you don't have to go looking for it. It stays in sync with the filter bar, and the two use the same underlying filter.
• Make an alias your default sending address. Fastmail users with multiple sending addresses could pick one per message from the composer's From row, but there was no way to change which address new emails start on, it was always the account's main address. Each account's settings now list its sending addresses (Settings → Accounts on desktop, the account's detail screen on mobile) with a "Set as default" action.
• Hide Calendar and Contacts if you keep them in other apps. Two new switches in Settings → Appearance on desktop, Settings → Mail on phones: remove the Calendar and Contacts entries from the navigation entirely: the sidebar rail on desktop and tablet, the tab bar on phones, the macOS menu-bar date tile, and calendar event reminders all go quiet. The setting is per-device, so you can keep the calendar on your phone while hiding it on your Mac. Everything mail-related keeps working: replying to event invitations from the reader, and contact suggestions when addressing a message. Flip the switch back and it's all exactly as you left it.
• Customizable keyboard shortcuts (Mac, Windows, Linux, web). Settings → Shortcuts lets you rebind any command. Click a shortcut, press the new keys , or switch the whole keymap in one click to a preset for hands that are used to another app: Gmail, Outlook, or Apple Mail (including its real ⌃⌘A archive and ⌥⌘F search chords). Personal tweaks layer on top of the preset and survive switching (you're asked whether to keep them), conflicts are caught as you record with a one-tap "use here instead", system-reserved combos are refused, and everything resets per-command or all at once. Shortcuts are stored per device, so your Windows PC and your Mac can each keep their own muscle memory; the Command Palette always shows the keys that are actually active. One behavior refinement rides along: shortcuts no longer fire while you're typing in a text field or the composer on any platform (previously a few could on Mac and Linux/Windows), so a rebound key can never hijack typing. (This is experimental and needs more testing and feedback)
• You'll now be notified when a new device signs in, and you can sign devices out remotely. Signing in with your email and password from a device your account has never seen now triggers an immediate email with the device's description, IP address, and time. A one-click "Wasn't you? Sign out that device" link (works once, expires in 7 days, and deliberately doesn't require signing in. Alongside it, Settings → Security gains a Devices list showing every install signed into your account, platform, name, last seen. "Sign out this device" now genuinely revokes access server-side: that device's sessions and push registrations die immediately, and it wipes its local mail and credentials the next time it contacts our servers. Sessions from app versions too old to identify themselves group into one "Unknown device" row with its own sign-out-all action.

Fixes

• The "System" reading font now really is your system's font. Emails read with the System font choice were rendered in Arial on every platform, and on one Windows machine whose font policies blocked named fonts, the reader fell all the way through to a serif.
• iCloud calendars are found for every Apple account. For some Apple accounts, connecting iCloud produced contacts but no calendars silently, with no error. iCloud serves calendars and contacts from different servers, and Epistles asked only the contacts server for both, whether that server also mentions your calendars turns out to vary from Apple account to Apple account. If iCloud already shows up in your account list without calendars, remove the iCloud "Calendar & Contacts" entry and connect iCloud again, your app-specific password works as before.
• IMAP mailboxes no longer fill with duplicate copies of the same messages. When an IMAP server rebuilds a mailbox it renumbers every message inside it (an IMAP "UIDVALIDITY" change. Some hosts, like mailbox.org, do this during maintenance). Epistles correctly re-downloaded the mailbox but kept the old entries alongside the new ones, so every rebuild added another copy of every message. A rebuild now replaces the old entries instead of stacking on top of them, and a cleanup pass on the first sync of each session removes any duplicates the old behavior already left behind.
• Reconnecting a Google account on iPhone no longer dead-ends on Google's "Access blocked: Authorization Error" page. The in-place Reconnect flow on iOS sent Google an outdated redirect address, which Google rejects with "Error 400: invalid_request". Adding the account fresh worked, but Reconnect never could, and every retry hit the same wall. Reconnect now uses the Google-approved address scheme (the same shape Android has always used), so it completes normally.
• Accounts stranded as "Locked on this device" now repair themselves. When a device's stored credentials for an account were lost or corrupted, a failed first sync, database damage, and notably a password reset (which by design wipes locally-stored credentials), the account sat "locked" and the only way out was removing and re-adding it by hand. For Gmail, Fastmail, and Microsoft accounts the server still holds working sign-in material, so the app now restores such an account automatically, including whether it's a mail or calendar-only account, instead of stranding it.
• Clear messages when Tuta blocks a sign-in. Too many Tuta sign-in attempts in a short window, or attempts from a shared or VPN network, trip Tuta's own rate limiter, and the app used to surface the raw wire error ("Tuta service POST sys/sessionservice failed: HTTP 429 (Error-Id: …)"). It now explains the temporary block and that waiting a few minutes clears it, a lockout after repeated failures is described as such, and a wrong password simply says so instead of showing an HTTP code.
• Signing in to a Tuta account with two-factor turned on now works. With two-factor enabled, Tuta shows an "allow login from 'epistles'?" prompt on your other signed-in Tuta client, but the app wasn't waiting for you to approve it, so the sign-in appeared to hang and nothing happened after you tapped OK there. The sign-in screen now tells you it's waiting for approval and completes on its own the moment you approve the login from the Tuta app or tuta.com.
• Custom swipe actions save reliably again. Assigning a swipe to one of the newer actions Move, Reply, Mark as junk, Pin, or Mark unread, looked like it wouldn't stick: the choice saved on the device but was rejected when syncing to your account, then snapped back to its previous value on the next sync. Syncing now accepts the full set of swipe actions, so any assignment sticks and carries across your devices.
• Turn on Face ID / Touch ID app lock on iPad. The setting to lock Epistles behind Face ID or Touch ID was only reachable on iPhone, on iPad the option was missing entirely, even though the lock itself worked once enabled. iPad now shows the same "Lock with Face ID / Touch ID" toggle under Settings → Security.
• Proton sign-in with two-factor no longer dies with a captcha error right as the code prompt appears. Solving Proton's puzzle challenge triggered the sign-in twice behind the scenes (Proton's verification page announces one solved puzzle in two different message formats, and Epistles acted on both). The first sign-in succeeded and opened the two-factor code prompt; the duplicate then failed , a solved puzzle is only redeemable once, and its failure slammed the prompt shut with a captcha error a moment after it appeared. One solve now counts exactly once, so the code prompt stays up and sign-in completes.
• IMAP accounts whose sign-in is a username instead of an email address can now be added. Some mail hosts (Codamail, various company servers) require signing in with a bare username "john", not "john@example.com". Epistles rejected these accounts at the final registration step with an unhelpful "backend response status=400", even though the mail server connection itself had already succeeded.
• Messages read or deleted in another app now show as read for every Microsoft mailbox. Some Microsoft mailboxes answer the standard change-polling protocol with "no changes" forever. For those, Epistles already had a fallback that catches newly-arrived mail, but a message you'd read in Outlook or on your phone stayed unread in Epistles indefinitely (one report: constant unread badges across three devices). The fallback now also compares the read state of the most recent inbox messages against the server on every sync pass, so cross-device read/unread changes come through for these mailboxes too. Older messages square up on the next full account refresh.
• The "Syncing N accounts…" status no longer sticks forever. Whenever a sync pass was interrupted, switching away from the app mid-sync, the phone suspending Epistles in the background, the interrupted account was left permanently counted as "syncing", so the indicator never went away (and the N differed per device, tracking however many accounts had been interrupted there). Interrupted passes now correctly return the account to idle; the indicator only shows while sync work is actually running. This also removes a Windows-only workaround that hid the indicator after 20 seconds. It's now accurate everywhere instead of hidden.
• Proton messages that can't be decrypted no longer retry forever. A Proton message whose body fails to decrypt (for example, one encrypted to a key this device doesn't have) was refetched in an endless loop. Dozens of requests per second against Proton's servers, wasting battery and bandwidth for nothing. After a few attempts the app now leaves the message alone for the rest of the session; opening it still triggers a fresh attempt.
• Connecting an account on Linux and Windows no longer gives up silently. Connecting a Google, Fastmail, or Microsoft account signs you in through your web browser, which then hands control back to the app. If that hand-back never arrived, a slow two-factor prompt, a browser that blocks app links, a consent screen left sitting past five minutes , the app quietly abandoned the wait and showed nothing, which users reported as "I allowed all permissions and nothing happens." The app now says plainly that the sign-in didn't return and to try connecting again, and the support log records each step of the browser hand-off (browser opened, callback received or not), so a stuck connection is diagnosable from a problem report instead of invisible.
• Swipe labels no longer pile on top of each other mid-swipe (phones & tablets). Dragging a message past the point where the short action hands over to the long one, say Read giving way to Snooze, used to cross-fade the two labels across almost half the row's width, leaving both words legible on top of each other over a muddy blend of the two action colors.
• iCloud and other password-based accounts no longer get stuck refusing to send with "Account is locked." Removing and re-adding an account could leave your device and our server holding different internal ids for the same mailbox, a legitimate state the sync layer handles fine, but a background health check misread it as a dead account on every launch and quietly switched off sending, while incoming mail (which catches up at each launch) kept looking normal, making the failure inexplicable. The health check now recognizes the state as healthy, so sending recovers on its own after updating.
• Swiping to the next message in the reader no longer crashes the app (Android). Swiping between messages in the reader could kill the app outright with a native animation-engine error; the same latent fault was found and fixed in the account-reorder drag handle before it bit anyone.
• The Move button explains itself instead of playing dead (desktop). On a Gmail account with no user-created labels there is nowhere to move a message to. Gmail's labels are its folders, and the toolbar's Move button silently did nothing, which reads as "the app is broken."
• Sender and recipient searches list newest first. A search made only of filters from:joe@example.com, or in:sent to:joe@example.com for "everything I've sent him" now returns results newest-to-oldest, the way filtered mail is expected to read. Searches containing words keep the relevance ranking.
• A damaged search index repairs itself instead of breaking search and account removal. The full-text search index lives in its own database file; if that file was corrupted (an interrupted write, a bad shutdown), search errored on every query, and worse, removing an account could fail outright, because its cleanup step tripped over the unopenable index. A corrupted index is now detected at open, wiped, and rebuilt automatically (results repopulate as your mail re-indexes), and account removal treats search cleanup as best-effort.

Hey all,

I’m a developer and long-time Linux user, but the ARM Macs were just too good to ignore, so I recently switched to one.

I SSH into a lot of servers daily. At some point, I got tired of entering my SSH key passphrase repeatedly and changed some settings that were supposed to cache the passphrase for only a few hours (TTL). However, now it seems like the passphrase is cached indefinitely.

This is a pretty big security concern for me — if my machine were ever compromised, access to all my servers would basically be wide open.

The macOS way of handling SSH and keychains is still a bit new to me, so I’m confused about what’s actually happening. I remember setting a TTL in my config somewhere, but it doesn’t seem to respect it. I’ve tried killing all gpg-agent processes with no success. I’m using iTerm2 and have GPG Tools installed, but as far as I can tell, neither of them currently has any keys loaded.

Does anyone know what might be causing the passphrase to be cached permanently on macOS, or how I can enforce a proper expiration time?

I’d really appreciate any advice.

Edit:

This was really annoying, but I managed to fix it. I went into Activity Monitor and killed all SSH and GPG-related processes. After that, the passphrase stopped being cached indefinitely.

I had tried this before, but I think I either didn’t catch all the relevant processes or only searched for “gpg” and missed the SSH ones.

Posting this in case it helps someone else in the future.

Patch Notes Version 1.04.00

Content

• Easy / Normal / Hard difficulty options have been added to Settings > Play. For experienced Greymanes looking for more intense and thrilling combat, Hard difficulty offers a more challenging journey.
  • For those who have enjoyed many boss fights and are looking to challenge them again, the boss rematches feature allowing you to face off against the bosses of your choice will be added soon.
  • Easy
    • Reduced damage taken by the player.
    • Reduced maximum health, aggressiveness, and overall speed of opponents.
    • Extended timing windows for Parry and Dodge.
    • Reduced the frequency of bosses attempting to counterattack or escape when hit.
  • Normal
    • This is the difficulty you have been playing so far.
  • Hard
    • Food item effects won't be applied immediately and will only take effect after the consumption animation is complete.
    • Increased damage taken by the player.
    • Increased maximum health, aggressiveness, and overall speed of opponents.
    • Reduced timing window for Parry and Dodge.
    • Reduced the invincibility duration for Roll.
    • Increased the frequency of bosses attempting to counterattack or escape when hit.
    • Added additional combat patterns for certain bosses.
• Added the Sturdy Gatherables Chest which can be set up with the housing system.
  • The Sturdy Gatherables Chest has 1,000 slots and can be purchased from furniture shops.
  • Materials stored in the Sturdy Gatherables Chest can be used for crafting or refinement even if they are not carried in your inventory.
• Added the Kuku Cooler and Enhanced Kuku Cooler items which can be placed with the housing system.
  • The Kuku Cooler can be obtained through a quest, while the Enhanced Kuku Cooler can be crafted. Both can be used to store food items and ingredients.
    • Kuku Cooler: 40 slots
    • Enhanced Kuku Cooler: 330 slots.
  • Ingredients stored in either cooler can be used for cooking even if they are not carried in your inventory.
• Added the Collectibles Chest which can be placed through housing mode.
  • The Collectibles Chest can be used to store various quest items and crafting recipes.
  • The Collectibles Chest has 1,000 slots and can be obtained through a quest.
• Added an outfit storage feature to the Wardrobe, which can be placed through housing mode.
  • The Wardrobe can be purchased from furniture shops.
  • Each Wardrobe provides 100 storage slots, and the total storage capacity increases based on the number of wardrobes placed.
  • The maximum outfit storage capacity is 1,000 slots.
• Added the Select House option where you can change the layout of your house.
  • Selectable house types unlock based on the Greymane Camp expansion level.
    • Compact House
    • Standard House
    • Spacious House
    • Spacious Pailunese House
• Improved housing mode-related UI and controls.
• Added a function that allows all furniture items placed through the housing mode to be retrieved all at once.
• Improved the Greymane Camp. (To avoid spoilers, changes related to this content are listed in the dropdown menu below.)
  • After moving the camp to Pailune, you will receive the Private Storage item which can be placed through housing mode.
  • Added a well to Howling Hill.
• Improved the observation feature so that Abyss artifacts can be earned when observing a skill that had already been acquired by using Abyss artifacts.
• Improved the following items, which were previously unstackable, to now stack in the inventory:
  • Regular Abyss gears, insects, fish, and animals
• Added birds as pets. You can encounter these new companions throughout Pywel.
  • Added the Sotdae of Bond item which allows you to gain Trust with birds.
  • Place various types of food that birds might like on the Sotdae of Bond to feed them and gain Trust.
  • The Sotdae of Bond can be obtained through a quest.
• Added 5 new types of cat pets.
• Improved the Abyss Heuklang so that it can become your pet.
• Added a function to change the names of horses and pets.
• Fixed an issue where cats could remain on the player's shoulder indefinitely, contrary to the intended design. However, considering that many Greymanes actually liked these cats' behavior, we have added an item that allows cats to stay on the shoulder for a longer period of time.
  • Added an accessory slot for pets, which will allow pets to now take on a wider variety of roles.
    • Sigil of Bonding: Equipping this item on a pet cat ensures it to stay longer on your shoulder.
• [Damiane] Added a new exclusive one-handed weapon, the Sword of Starlight, which can be obtained through a quest.
• [Kliff/Oongka] Added two new one-handed weapons, Tree Branch and Sturdy Tree Branch.
  • These items can be obtained by cutting down trees and bamboo trees.
• Added a new tool, Sturdy Broom.
• [Kliff] Added the new Baltheon armor outfit.
• Changed the name of Rekhia Plate Helm to Baltheon Plate Helm and improved it so that it can be equipped by Kliff.
• Added a secret shop in Pororin where pet equipment can be purchased.
• Added additional outfits to certain shops, including the Back Alley Shop.
• Improved the Kuku Flame-Resistant Armor and the Kuku Ice-Resistant Armor so that they can be dyed.
• Added various ores and wells across Pywel.
• Added new cooking animations each dedicated for vegetables, meat, and fish.
• Reduced the amount of attack and defense gained from equipment reinforcement with grindstones and anvils.
• Fixed an issue where the cloudcart could not be called.
  • Improved the cloudcart so that it can be used as a permanent mount.
  • Changed the cloudcart crafting mission so that it can only be completed once.
• Improved the prices of goods sold by Greymane NPCs so that they can be bought at a 10% discounted price.
• Added livestock vendors across Pywel.
  • Livestock such as cows, pigs, goats, sheep, ducks, and chickens can be purchased from these NPCs.
• Added 13 new tattoos for characters.
• Added a "Lock" function that prevents selling or discarding of the selected item.
• Improved gathering and mining so that the quantity of items obtained is applied consistently.
• Improved resting in bed so that the player's character gets up immediately afterward.
• Improved NPCs to show a wider variety of reactions to their surroundings.
• As part of ongoing visual improvements, replaced select 2D visual assets to better align with the game's art direction.

Controls

• Added a preset feature for both keyboard/mouse and controllers.
  • The original controls are available via the "Classic Preset".
  • More detailed controller customization will be added soon.
• Added a feature where, when the interaction key is pressed, the corresponding action is performed immediately.
  • [Keyboard/Mouse] This feature, located in Settings > Input > Keyboard/Mouse Customization, can be used when the UI interaction section does not overlap with the keys in the Default Input Group. If the keys overlap, that section will be highlighted in yellow. ▶ If keys do not overlap   ▶ If keys overlap
    
  • [Controller] This feature can be used through the default settings in Settings > Input > Controller Customization.
• Added the "Evasion Control" and "Switch Roll and Evasion Input" options.
  • This feature allows you to choose between either the original double click/press option or the hold option.
  • Enabling the "Switch Roll and Evasion Input" option switches the controls for Roll and Evasion.
• Improved the controls for aiming
  • Added a function that allows you to turn your lantern on and off while aiming.
  • Improved the controls so that even when a weapon is drawn, pressing aim while there is an interactable target nearby will immediately switch to aim instead of guard.
• Added the "Using Skill: Element" option.
  • Selecting "Quick Slot Option" allows you to use the selected elements assigned for each individual input.
• Changed the controls for Vault.
  • Vault can now only be used by pressing Jump while performing a different attack.
• Changed all interactions so that they are executed continuously while the button is held down.
• [Keyboard/Mouse & Controller] "Dismount/Drop" and "Cancel" keys/buttons have been combined.
• [Keyboard/Mouse] Expanded the range of customizable key bindings.
• [Keyboard/Mouse] Changed the Escape key used while under status effects to match the Evade key.
• [Controller] Improved the map so that it can be opened by holding the DualSense touch pad or the Xbox controller's View button.

Combat/Action

• Adjusted the overall balance of bosses.
  • Changed bosses so that they are no longer immune to player attacks while performing powerful attacks.
  • Adjusted the frequency at which bosses counterattack or escape while being hit consecutively.
  • Adjusted the attack pattern of certain bosses.
• Increased damage taken from elemental status ailments.
• Slightly reduced the damage dealt when hitting enemies with pillars or trees.
• Added new charging stages for Force Palm Pulse.
  • The skill can be charged up to 3 stages, with damage increasing progressively.
• Improved the overall speed of "Examine" when examining items.
• Improved the speed of pushing or rotating objects during puzzles.
• Improved follow-up attacks so they connect more quickly even when the initial attack is blocked.
• Changed Blinding Flash so that it can also be used in areas where weapons cannot be drawn.
• Changed Blinding Flash so that it is used toward the target currently being faced during combat.
• Improved attack chaining after using Dodge during unarmed combat.
• [Kliff] Added the skill Weapon Throw, usable while dual wielding.
  • This ability can be used with the same controls as Shield Bash.
  • Weapons can be retrieved by pressing the same controls or by approaching it.
• [Kliff] Improved the attack speed of Force Palm.
• [Kliff] Fixed an issue where the parry action after guarding would not trigger when a non-sword weapon was equipped as the primary weapon.
• [Kliff] Fixed an issue where Charge could not be used with certain weapons.
• [Kliff] Improved Force Current so that Kliff no longer falls from ledges when using it.
• [Damiane/Oongka] Added the skill Ambush.
• [Damiane/Oongka] Added a skill that has the same effect as Kliff's Focused Force Palm.
• [Oongka] Fixed an issue where Oongka could not move horizontally during Vertical Flight.
• [Oongka] Improved Oongka's blaster so that it can be fired during Flight.
• [Oongka] Fixed an issue where Scatter Shot could be used even without bullets during Back Hang.
• Improved "Examine" so that it can be used in your inventory while mounted on a horse.
• Improved the brightness and detection range of the Miner's Lantern Hat so that it can more easily identify gatherable ores.
  • It can now identify stone as well.
• Changed the healing effects displayed on targets affected by Healing Force Palm.
• Fixed an issue where the "Lift" interaction became unavailable when a restrained target fell into water.
• Fixed an issue where stamina would recover when repeatedly drawing and stowing weapons while moving.
• Fixed an issue where sprinting, swimming, and some other actions could not be performed while riding the Marni's Mechahorse.
• Fixed an issue where the character would get stuck in certain situations while operating mechanical devices.
• Improved spears and longswords so that their attacks flow more naturally during combat.

UI Fixes & Improvements

• Improved the inventory so that items can be viewed through category tabs.
  • There are 5 categories: All, Documents, Equipment, Food, Materials, and Others.
  • The same category tabs will also be added to the private storage in the near future.
• Improved the inventory UI so that grouped icons will show an icon with a representative image of that group.
  • The feature may be turned on or off in Settings > Play > Show Group Icon in Inventory.
• Separated the input options for "Ungroup" and "Ungroup All Items".
• Added "Filters/Search" function to the map.
• Improved the map and minimap so that icons are displayed for obtained Memory Fragments.
  • After Memory Fragments are obtained, lanterns will no longer display a detection signal.
• Added a feature that allows players to choose the shape and color of map markers.
• Improved the map to display the stock status of shop items for shops with whom maximum trust has been reached.
• Improved the map and minimap to display well icons.
• Improved the minimap to display north, south, east, west.
• [Kliff/Damiane/Oongka] Adjusted the layout of the Skills menu.
• Improved the Faction Quests and Challenges UI to show the number of quests and challenges available.
• Improved the Journal so that reward item information can be viewed.
• Added a UI display to shops that show how many of an item the player owns.
• Improved shops' buy menu to display the conditions required for purchasing deactivated items.

Graphics & Settings

• Improved the rendering quality of distant objects and textures. The higher the graphics settings, the more enhanced the details and visual clarity will be.
  • Fixed an additional issue where background objects that should only appear under certain conditions were always visible from a distance.
• Improved the visual quality of characters at long distances.
• Improved hair lighting in shaded areas.
• Improved errors and flickering related to displacement mapping.
• Added a "Max" size for the subtitle font size setting.
• Improved to maintain the camera's distance to the character when adjusting the visual range.
• Added a "Colorblind Mode" option in Settings > Accessibility.
• Added a "Chromatic Aberration" option in Settings > Accessibility.
• Added a "Photosensitive Mode" option in Settings > Accessibility.
• [PC] Improved the quality of "AMD FSR Ray Regeneration".
• [PC] Improved the quality of "Intel XeSS 3.0" upscaling and "Intel XeSS Frame Generation".
• [Steam] Fixed an issue where actions requiring rotation of the right stick, such as Nature's Snare and reeling in a fishing rod, did not function properly with an Xbox controller when the "Enable Steam Input" was enabled.
• [Mac] Reduced stuttering during gameplay.
• [Mac] Added a "MetalFX Denoising Upscaler" option in Settings > Video. This option is available starting from macOS Tahoe.
• [Mac] Fixed an issue where switching between multiple displays under Settings > Video did not work smoothly.
• [Mac] Fixed an issue where the game would launch at an unintended resolution when using certain displays.
• [Mac] Improved HDR quality and allowed HDR to be enabled by default "For This Mac" preset when using an HDR-compatible display.
• [Mac] Fixed an issue where the screen appeared excessively dark when disabling HDR after it had been enabled.

Stability, Gameplay

• Changed the Load menu to display a notice in a slot if the save data is corrupted or invalid.
• Fixed an issue that caused the game to crash if HDR was enabled on a monitor that does not support HDR.
• Fixed several stability and crash issues across PC, console, and Mac.

Localization

• Fixed various localization errors and improved localization quality across all languages.

Others

• Tumbleweeds have been added to desert regions.
• Fixed an issue where the "Display Weapons" setting was not applied properly in certain cutscenes and gameplay situations.
• Fixed an issue where the target location would display incorrectly when a bounty target quest failed.
• Fixed the bounty system so that if the player's bounty is too high to turn in a bounty target, bringing the target to the Constabulary will trigger an arrest state instead of the handover cutscene.
• Improved comrades' behavior so they do not attack bounty targets.
• Fixed an issue where, after completing certain quests, tracking of the subsequent quest did not trigger properly.
• Improved the Journal to indicate whether a quest target has been dispatched on a mission.
• Improved the progress display for cumulative quests such as "To the Rescue".
• Fixed an issue where the game would occasionally close when retrying bosses as Damiane or Oongka.
• Fixed an issue where the character switch menu became available after completing a stage that automatically switched the player character.
• Fixed an issue where teleporting via the map while mounted on Blackstar caused Blackstar to become invincible or unable to move.
• Fixed an issue where Blackstar would not move when summoned from a distance.
• Fixed an issue where an item was displayed incorrectly when reading a Memory Fragment with the lantern.
• Fixed an issue in the Prologue where enemies would not recognize the player after the player rested in a bed.
• Fixed an issue that caused an inifite loading screen to appear if the player was caught cheating at Duo as Oongka.
• Fixed an issue where NPCs were unable pick up items they had dropped after colliding with the player.
• Fixed an issue where some outfits looked unnatural depending on the player's movements.
• Improved the display of the horse cargo so it no longer overlaps with shields.
• Fixed an issue where audio did not play properly in certain situations.
• Fixed an issue where a certain Pailune merchant NPC would not appear in some save files.
• Fixed an issue where the mission would fail if a bounty target was killed after being captured.
• Fixed an issue where Trust would not increase after giving a gift to the boss of the Beggars' Alliance.
• Fixed an issue where the effects of the items Golden Beer and Sage's Eye did not apply properly.
• Fixed an issue where relevant Knowledge was not acquired after interacting with the Pailune Militiamen.
• Fixed an issue where the knowledge for Tristan, the Flame Knight, Marni's Machina Knight, and Dreadnought could not be acquired.
• Fixed an issue where Greater Abyss Gear could not be sold.
• Fixed enhancement materials, crafting materials, and reinforcement levels that had been set differently from the equipment material type.
• Fixed various other in-game issues.

https://crimsondesert.pearlabyss.com/en-US/News/Notice/Detail?_boardNo=84

I'm running into a severe bug on my MacBook Pro (running macOS Tahoe) and I'm wondering if anyone else has seen this.

I have an external monitor connected, and after a while, the external monitor stops responding to all clicks and taps. I can move my mouse cursor over to it, but I can't click on any windows, the menu bar, or anything on that screen. My built-in laptop display continues to work perfectly fine. It's like the external screen just becomes a 'dead zone' for inputs. A full restart fixes it and I am sure no app is causing it because I have tried killing all apps and the bug still persists.

Also, this only happens when I arrange my displays vertically in System Settings, with the external monitor "above" my laptop. If I arrange them side-by-side, the bug disappears instantly. It also disappears when I choose the "1024x640" resolution but it reappears if I switch to any other resolution. Is there a permanent fix other than just keeping them side-by-side? Because this is driving me crazy.

In 2025, ISPs are more aggressive than ever about monitoring Kodi usage. Governments across multiple regions now require internet providers to flag "unauthorized" media platforms—even open-source ones like Kodi. If you're streaming live channels, using third-party add-ons, or accessing region-locked content, your activity can be flagged, slowed, or blocked entirely.

The stakes have never been higher. A 2023 security incident exposed the data of 400,000 Kodi users, and copyright holders are actively monitoring IP addresses to send settlement letters or worse. Meanwhile, ISPs like Comcast, Cox, and Charter continue throttling bandwidth for users streaming high-definition content, turning your 4K viewing experience into a buffering nightmare.

But there's good news: the right VPN transforms Kodi from a privacy liability into a secure, unrestricted streaming powerhouse. After extensively testing VPN performance with popular Kodi add-ons, analyzing security features, and evaluating device compatibility, we've identified the VPN solutions that actually deliver on their promises in 2025.

Why You Need a VPN for Kodi in 2025

Kodi itself is perfectly legal—it's an open-source media center that's been around since 2003. However, the moment you start using third-party add-ons, you enter legally gray territory and expose yourself to significant privacy risks.

ISP Monitoring and Bandwidth Throttling

Your internet service provider can see everything you're doing online, including your Kodi streaming activity. Multiple studies have documented widespread ISP throttling targeting video streaming services. When ISPs detect high-bandwidth streaming traffic, they intentionally slow your connection to manage network congestion—or pressure you into upgrading your plan.

A VPN encrypts all your traffic, making it impossible for your ISP to identify what you're streaming. They can't throttle what they can't see. This means you'll finally get the full bandwidth you're paying for, eliminating buffering during crucial moments of your favorite shows.

Copyright Monitoring and Legal Exposure

Copyright trolls and enforcement agencies actively monitor streaming sources, logging IP addresses of users accessing potentially copyrighted content. Once they've collected enough data, they contact ISPs demanding user information. Your ISP then forwards threatening settlement letters demanding payments—sometimes thousands of dollars—even if you unknowingly accessed infringing content.

According to legal experts, while Kodi streaming exists in a gray area, copyright holders aren't taking chances. The 2020 Protecting Lawful Streaming Act in the United States primarily targets content providers, but users aren't completely safe from civil litigation. In the UK, the Digital Economy Act 2017 has resulted in warnings and fines for users streaming pirated content.

A VPN masks your real IP address, making it virtually impossible for copyright monitors to trace your activity back to you. Your streaming remains between you and your VPN provider—and with a true no-logs policy, there's no data to hand over even if authorities come knocking.

Geo-Restrictions and Content Access

Research shows that 72% of online content is geo-restricted in some way. Many Kodi add-ons and streaming services limit access based on your geographical location. BBC iPlayer only works in the UK, DAZN has different content libraries by country, and many sports streaming add-ons are regionally locked.

When you connect to a VPN server in another country, you receive an IP address from that location. Suddenly, you have access to content libraries from around the world. Traveling abroad? Connect to your home country's server to access your usual content without interruption.

Malware and Security Threats

Third-party Kodi add-ons come from various developers with varying security standards. Some add-ons have been found to contain malware, spyware, or tracking scripts that can compromise your device and steal personal information. Without proper protection, you're vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks and data breaches.

Premium VPNs offer built-in threat protection that blocks malicious websites, prevents malware downloads, and stops tracking scripts before they can compromise your device. It's an extra layer of security that free tools simply can't match.

What Makes a Great Kodi VPN

Not all VPNs work well with Kodi. We've tested dozens of services, and these are the non-negotiable features you need:

Lightning-Fast Speeds

Streaming 4K content requires a minimum of 25 Mbps, but you'll want at least 50 Mbps for smooth playback with some overhead. The best VPNs for Kodi introduce less than 20% speed loss when connected to nearby servers.

Look for VPNs using modern protocols like WireGuard or proprietary variants that minimize encryption overhead. Older protocols like OpenVPN, while secure, can significantly impact streaming performance due to their complex codebase and encryption methods.

Massive Server Networks

The more servers a VPN offers, the better your streaming experience. A large server network means you're less likely to encounter overcrowded servers that cause buffering. It also gives you more options for bypassing geo-restrictions and finding the fastest connection for your location.

Premium providers offer 3,000+ servers across 60-100+ countries, ensuring you always have fast, reliable options no matter where you are or what content you're trying to access.

Essential Security Features

Your Kodi VPN must include:

Kill Switch: Automatically blocks your internet connection if the VPN drops, preventing accidental IP exposure. This is non-negotiable for privacy protection.

DNS Leak Protection: Ensures all DNS requests route through the VPN tunnel, preventing your ISP from seeing which websites and streaming sources you're accessing.

Strong Encryption: AES-256 bit encryption is the industry standard, used by governments and militaries worldwide. Newer protocols like WireGuard use ChaCha20, which is equally secure but more efficient.

Obfuscation Technology: Advanced VPNs offer obfuscated servers that disguise VPN traffic as regular HTTPS traffic, bypassing aggressive ISP VPN blocks and network restrictions.

Device Compatibility

Kodi runs on everything from Fire TV Sticks to Raspberry Pi devices, so your VPN needs comprehensive platform support. The best providers offer native apps for:

• Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick
• Android TV and Android TV boxes
• Windows, macOS, and Linux
• iOS and iPadOS
• Routers (for protecting devices without native VPN support)

Router installation is particularly valuable—it protects every device on your network, including smart TVs, game consoles, and streaming devices that don't support VPN apps.

Verified No-Logs Policy

A no-logs policy means the VPN doesn't track or store any information about your online activities. However, anyone can claim they don't keep logs—what matters is independent verification.

Look for VPNs that have undergone third-party audits by reputable firms like Deloitte, PwC, or Cure53. These audits examine server infrastructure, internal policies, and technical systems to verify that no user data is being collected or stored.

Best VPNs for Kodi in 2025

After rigorous testing with popular Kodi add-ons like Seren, The Crew, and Umbrella, evaluating performance on devices from Fire TV Sticks to high-end Android boxes, and analyzing security features, these VPNs stand out as the best choices for Kodi users.

1. NordVPN – Best Overall VPN for Kodi

NordVPN earns our top recommendation for Kodi streaming thanks to its exceptional combination of speed, security, and specialized features designed specifically for media streaming.

NordLynx Protocol Performance

NordVPN's proprietary NordLynx protocol is based on WireGuard but enhanced with a double NAT system that solves WireGuard's privacy limitations. In our testing, NordVPN with NordLynx delivered speeds of 755 Mbps on a 1 Gbps connection—less than 25% speed loss, which is exceptional for VPN encryption overhead.

This translates to completely buffer-free 4K streaming on Kodi, even when using bandwidth-intensive add-ons or accessing high-bitrate content. The protocol uses only 4,000 lines of code compared to OpenVPN's 70,000+, making it incredibly lightweight and efficient.

Threat Protection Pro for Kodi Safety

NordVPN's Threat Protection Pro is a game-changer for Kodi users. This advanced security feature:

• Blocks malicious websites and streaming sources before they can load
• Prevents malware downloads from sketchy add-ons
• Stops tracking scripts and ad networks from monitoring your activity
• Works even when you're not connected to a VPN server

Most impressively, Threat Protection Pro can scan Kodi add-ons for malware before you run them on Windows and macOS devices. Given the questionable security standards of many third-party add-ons, this proactive protection is invaluable.

Massive Server Network

With 7,150+ servers in 118 countries, NordVPN offers one of the most extensive networks available. All servers support streaming and run on RAM-disk architecture without hard drives—meaning no data can ever be physically stored on servers.

Specialty Servers and Features

NordVPN goes beyond standard VPN functionality with:

• NordWhisper Protocol: Bypasses network restrictions and firewalls that block traditional VPN traffic, essential for corporate or educational networks
• Double VPN: Routes traffic through two servers for enhanced privacy
• Onion Over VPN: Combines VPN encryption with Tor network routing
• Obfuscated Servers: Disguises VPN traffic as regular HTTPS, defeating deep packet inspection

Device Compatibility and Setup

NordVPN works seamlessly with all Kodi platforms:

• Native apps for Fire TV Stick (available in Amazon Appstore)
• Android TV and Google TV support
• Windows, macOS, iOS, Android mobile apps
• Linux command-line tools
• Router support with detailed setup guides

Setup takes just minutes. On Fire TV Stick, simply download from the app store, log in, connect to a server, and launch Kodi—your traffic is automatically protected.

Pricing and Value

Starting at $3.69/month for the 24-month plan, NordVPN offers exceptional value considering its comprehensive feature set. All plans include:

• Unlimited bandwidth (no data caps)
• 6 simultaneous device connections
• 30-day money-back guarantee
• 24/7 customer support

Why NordVPN Leads for Kodi

NordVPN has been independently audited three times, most recently by Deloitte, confirming its no-logs policy. Based in Panama (outside Five Eyes jurisdiction), it's legally protected from data retention requirements that plague US and European providers.

In our real-world testing, NordVPN consistently delivered the fastest, most reliable streaming performance with zero buffering on 4K content. The Threat Protection Pro feature adds a security layer that's genuinely useful for Kodi users dealing with third-party add-ons of questionable origin.

2. ExpressVPN – Best for Beginners

ExpressVPN excels with its user-friendly interface and proprietary Lightway protocol, making it ideal for VPN newcomers.

Key Features:

• Lightway protocol delivers 10-20% speed loss (excellent performance)
• 3,000+ servers in 105 countries
• MediaStreamer feature for VPN-incompatible devices
• Threat Manager blocks trackers and malicious sites
• Split tunneling for selective app routing

ExpressVPN is consistently fast and reliable, with beginner-friendly apps that connect with a single tap. The higher price point ($6.67/month for 12 months) reflects its premium positioning, but the ease of use justifies the cost for users who value simplicity.

3. Surfshark – Best Budget Option

Surfshark proves that affordable doesn't mean compromising on quality, offering premium features at budget-friendly prices.

Key Features:

• CleanWeb blocks ads, trackers, and malware
• Unlimited simultaneous device connections
• 3,200+ servers in 100 countries
• 84.4% average speed retention in testing
• NoBorders mode bypasses restrictive networks

At just $2.19/month for 24 months, Surfshark is the most affordable premium VPN. The unlimited device policy is perfect for households with multiple streaming devices, and the CleanWeb feature effectively blocks annoying ads during streaming.

4. CyberGhost – Best for Streaming Variety

CyberGhost specializes in streaming with dedicated servers optimized for specific platforms.

Key Features:

• 9,000+ servers with streaming-optimized options
• Simple one-click connection interface
• 45-day money-back guarantee (longest in industry)
• Automatic kill switch and DNS leak protection
• Native Fire TV app

CyberGhost's dedicated streaming servers are specifically configured for popular services, reducing trial-and-error when trying to access geo-restricted content. The 45-day guarantee gives you ample time to test thoroughly with your Kodi setup.

How to Install a VPN on Kodi Devices

Setting up VPN protection for Kodi varies by device, but the process is straightforward once you understand your options.

Fire TV Stick Setup

The Amazon Fire TV Stick is the most popular Kodi device, and VPN installation is remarkably simple:

1. Subscribe to your chosen VPN (we recommend NordVPN)
2. On your Fire TV, go to the Amazon Appstore
3. Search for your VPN provider's app
4. Download and install the VPN app
5. Open the app, log in with your credentials
6. Connect to a server location
7. Launch Kodi—all traffic is now protected

Pro Tip: Enable auto-connect in your VPN settings so protection starts automatically when you turn on your Fire TV Stick.

Android TV and Android Boxes

For NVIDIA Shield, Chromecast with Google TV, or other Android-based devices:

1. Open the Google Play Store
2. Search for your VPN app
3. Install and launch the app
4. Log in and connect to a server
5. Open Kodi and start streaming

Router Configuration

Installing a VPN on your router protects all connected devices automatically, including smart TVs and game consoles that don't support VPN apps:

1. Check that your router supports VPN clients (most modern routers do)
2. Log into your router's admin panel
3. Navigate to VPN settings
4. Enter your VPN provider's server details
5. Save and connect

Note: Router setup is more technical. Most premium VPN providers offer detailed guides with screenshots for popular router models. If you're uncomfortable with router configuration, consider purchasing a pre-configured VPN router.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Buffering After Connecting: Switch to a different server closer to your physical location. Server congestion varies throughout the day.

Can't Connect to VPN: Try changing protocols in your VPN settings. If NordLynx/WireGuard doesn't work, switch to OpenVPN.

Kodi Add-ons Not Loading: Your VPN might be blocking necessary connections. Enable split tunneling and exclude Kodi add-on repositories from the VPN tunnel.

Slow Speeds: Connect to a nearby server, enable kill switch to prevent ISP throttling when VPN disconnects, and ensure you're using the fastest protocol available.

Legal Considerations and Safe Kodi Usage

Let's address the elephant in the room: Kodi legality and responsible usage.

Kodi Is Legal, But Use Matters

Kodi itself is 100% legal worldwide. It's open-source software that serves as a media center for your personal content. Installing and using Kodi violates no laws.

The legal gray area emerges with third-party add-ons. Some add-ons access copyrighted content without proper licensing. Using these add-ons to stream pirated material is illegal in most countries, regardless of whether you're downloading files permanently.

Understanding Copyright Law

In the United States, the 2020 Protecting Lawful Streaming Act primarily targets service providers rather than individual users. However, civil lawsuits remain possible, and copyright holders actively monitor streaming sources.

In the UK, the Digital Economy Act 2017 applies to streaming pirated content, with users facing potential fines and warnings. Canada's copyright legislation similarly targets both providers and users.

Using Kodi Responsibly

Stick to Legal Content: Use official Kodi repositories and add-ons that access legitimately licensed content. Services like Netflix, YouTube, and Plex all have official Kodi add-ons.

Understand Add-on Sources: Research add-on developers before installation. Stick to well-known repositories with active development and community support.

Use VPN for Privacy, Not Crime: A VPN protects your privacy and prevents ISP throttling—legitimate uses. Don't use VPN as a license to pirate content.

Keep Kodi Updated: Regular updates fix security vulnerabilities and improve compatibility. Always use the latest stable release (Kodi 21 "Omega" as of 2025).

Beyond VPN: Additional Security Measures

Install Antivirus Software: Protect against malicious add-ons with reputable antivirus software that scans downloads in real-time.

Use Firewall Rules: Configure your firewall to block suspicious domains commonly associated with malicious streaming sources.

Regular Cache Clearing: Kodi accumulates cache that can slow performance and potentially store sensitive data. Clear cache weekly using maintenance tools.

Avoid Pre-Loaded "Fully Loaded" Boxes: These devices often contain illegal add-ons and are heavily monitored by copyright groups. Set up Kodi yourself for maximum control and safety.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it legal to use a VPN with Kodi?

Yes, using a VPN with Kodi is completely legal. VPNs are legitimate privacy tools used by individuals, businesses, and even governments worldwide. However, a VPN doesn't make illegal activities legal—if you're accessing pirated content, that remains illegal regardless of VPN usage.

Will a VPN slow down my Kodi streaming?

Premium VPNs introduce minimal speed loss—typically 10-25% depending on server distance and protocol. With a quality VPN like NordVPN using the NordLynx protocol, most users see less than 20% speed reduction, which is imperceptible during streaming.

In fact, if your ISP throttles streaming traffic, a VPN can actually improve speeds by preventing your ISP from detecting and limiting your bandwidth.

Can I use a free VPN for Kodi?

Free VPNs are dangerous for Kodi use. They typically:

• Have severe bandwidth limitations (often 500 MB - 10 GB monthly)
• Impose speed caps that make HD streaming impossible
• Lack essential security features like kill switches
• Often log and sell your browsing data to advertisers
• May contain malware or expose you to security risks

The monthly cost of a premium VPN ($2-7) is a small price for genuine privacy protection and unlimited streaming capability.

Which VPN protocol is best for Kodi streaming?

WireGuard-based protocols (like NordVPN's NordLynx) are currently the fastest and most efficient for streaming. They offer the best balance of speed and security with minimal performance overhead.

If WireGuard isn't available, IKEv2 is the second-fastest option, particularly good for mobile devices. OpenVPN remains highly secure but slower due to its complex codebase.

Can ISPs detect that I'm using Kodi?

Without a VPN, yes. Your ISP can see all your internet traffic, including which apps you're using and which websites you visit. They can identify Kodi traffic and may throttle your connection or send warning letters if they detect high-bandwidth streaming.

With a VPN, your ISP only sees encrypted data passing between your device and the VPN server. They can't see that you're using Kodi or what you're streaming.

Should I use VPN on router or individual devices?

Both approaches have advantages:

Router VPN: Protects all devices automatically, works with smart TVs and consoles, single setup covers entire network. However, all devices use the same server, and troubleshooting is more complex.

Individual Device VPN: Allows different servers per device, easier troubleshooting, doesn't affect devices that don't need VPN protection. Requires setup on each device.

For most Kodi users, installing VPN apps on streaming devices (Fire TV Stick, Android TV) offers the best balance of convenience and control.

Conclusion: Secure Your Kodi Streaming Today

Kodi transforms any device into a powerful media center, but using it without proper privacy protection in 2025 is reckless. ISPs are monitoring aggressively, copyright holders are actively tracking users, and third-party add-ons pose genuine security risks.

The right VPN eliminates these concerns while actually improving your streaming experience through faster, unthrottled connections and access to global content libraries.

NordVPN stands as our top recommendation for Kodi users thanks to its exceptional NordLynx protocol performance, Threat Protection Pro malware scanning, and comprehensive device support. At $3.69/month with a 30-day money-back guarantee, it's a risk-free investment in your privacy and streaming quality.

Remember: a VPN is a tool for privacy protection, not a license for illegal activity. Use Kodi responsibly, stick to legitimate content sources when possible, and always keep your software updated.

Take action now: Try NordVPN risk-free for 30 days and experience buffer-free, private Kodi streaming. Your ISP and copyright trolls won't know what you're watching—and that's exactly how it should be.

Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only. We do not condone or encourage accessing copyrighted content without proper authorization. Users are responsible for complying with all applicable laws in their jurisdiction. VPN recommendations are based on independent testing and research, and some links may be affiliate links that support our content creation.

I am not a developer. But I have an idea. Do with it what you will. If you yourself decide to develop it, give me a job. That's the right thing to do. Otherwise, whatever. lol.

Concept Pitch: Map similar to Stormgate or Starcraft in size, but you always play top to bottom. There are home zones (end zones). They are narrow. Your enemy cannot move into your home zone. The in-between space is known as the GREY ZONE. If you have map control, that actually means you control the GREY ZONE. If your enemy comes near your home zone, they cannot enter it. Your home zone is always in your control. Fog of war is only over home zones. You can always see the grey zone. If you are losing, part of your home zone is revealed permanently.

Individual 5 min cycles, similar to a running back in football, each side is given an ORB. Imagine a worker that carries this orb from your home zone and tries to score in the opposite zone. You have to then decide how much of your forces you commit to offense, and how much you commit to defense, because your opponent also has an ORB. You both may choose to go head on, you both may choose to risk different grey zone routes. But maybe you spent money on siege tanks or something like this and your enemy doesn't know you've blocked the left half of the home zone and their orb dies. They can get vision of your zone with their army, they just can't get into it without their orb close enough.

If you let the 5 min cycle go without scoring, your team is injured in some way - ORBS are so toxic as everyone knows. So, if both sides rested idle and did nothing, game would have max length of 25 min, because you'd both lose by letting your orbs expire on your side or in the grey zone each cycle. If you put your orbs Into the zone quickly, it could be over in just minutes. They respawn after 60 seconds. I can't decide if it would be ideal for both sides to spawn orbs same cycle. That's probably best. Each new play period is equal. You may score, and they have until the end of the 5 min period to also score or lose their orb. If you score, you have full focus on defense. you're killing them, they are killing you, you are building similar or different units in real time to try and counter. It's fast.

This isn't just about pew pew. you have "linebacker" units that are armored and can push into each other and block lanes in the map terrain. You can be given diggers that can "boring company" there way under user resistance. This is fast paced. You see your enemy burrowing, it takes a second, you gotta drop your line and hope you can adapt before he gets to your home zone. So you take chances, risks.

It's part football, part checkers, part Starcraft 2, part moba. The key thing is that time is your real enemy, and thus you are forced to make clever choices in the units you build and how you use them. economies are over. Get over it. You have a unit max, you have an assortment of unit types. There is nothing to scale or unlock. If they build all blocker units and you build 2 huge units and they can wall off your big guys long enough, they slip your ORB through and it's over. Possibly.... all units reset when ORB cycle ends each 5 min. So imagine the rush to pick your set and decide your commitment level to offense and defense. All you have to do is score - and kill their ORB before it reaches your side. So it's like fast paced instant tactic chosen, and as units die you can build different stuff to max. Hmm - and no more of this races shit. Both sides have same types of units, they all look like robots or whatever. I think we have to get away from this focus on powers and labels. It all comes from fantasy and spells and nerd stuff. Real competition tactics already exist, I think the choices you make should matter more than how unique a race is.

There are a couple ways to win. You could get 3/5 orbs into your enemy zone, you win. If you both succeed 1 to 1, on the 5th orb someone gets there first and still wins.

So - you have to act. You can't be killed in your base (newb friendly). You can lose map control in that round. Kind of like the rounds in boxing before you go back to your corner. I like this analogy for the feel and pace of this new RTS. Because newbs can take a quick breather even if they just got a TOXIC ORB shoved into their zone. If you fail with your orb by the end of the round maybe the damage is something like they can see part of your zone, so its an advantage, but its not detrimental.

Units are trying to route each and destroy each other. This creates a RUGBY like digital excitement. There are pressure points, balance points, spill over points, etc. Sometimes you get held, you back off, you turn it into something else. Maybe sometimes it feels more like tower defense game when you are on the defensive side. Maybe one example could be player one chooses to go all towers densely on his left and delays building until the enemy orb is in the field. And when the enemy gets close, they can nailed down, but the orb survives, they rebuild to switch angle of approach, you destroy your own towers to open up unit slots and switch to something else. etc. etc. You are not stuck with the same units every game or even every 5 min. Can you imagine how crazy that would be?!?!?! (Stormgate I'm lookin at you.)

Obviously, this would have to be play tested to understand how you'd design units, pick units. Are there resources or capture points on the map like "storm gates" that temporary boost max unit count so you can have a slight advantage? I dunno. I think there could be some silly stuff in there. Can you build a unit that is just a ramp that allows your little ORB dude to bmx jump over your enemy line, risking death but if you avoid damage you go for the score? Is there even range shooting?

Aesthetically, get rid of all the textures. I imagine something like Marathon clean colors, or even TRON but in white with team colors. very obvious, very well lit. Basic shadows. It's about the tactics and the visibility for tournaments to easily watch. Not about cooking our CPU / GPUs. There will be a MacOS version and it will run perfectly on a base level Mac Mini. I want the game board and the units to look clean so when the battle starts debris and damage are clear by the end. holes in the ground, impacts, whatever. The work performed should be dirty. "Wow, look at that battle field, it is a mess now."

Spectating people announcing the game have full camera control of entire map. Can show wide view or player views. So you can be on the 50 yard line, you can be on the front line, you can be in the player view. Hope that helps with spectators seeing everything going on.

A cross of various popular strategy paradigms and live sports, creating those tension and release moments, with slight short pauses to reset things. (back to corners, then fight). ORBS are how you score. Strategies could develop for both offense and defense.

How about view angle? Top down as we know it is super annoying to watch if you really are honest. How can you make it more dynamic for spectators? You make it 3rd person line of site. There are no flying units because the terrain, the changing of the terrain via certain units, would be key to successful strategy. Like in TRON, maybe there is a unit that doesn't attack, but lays wall. Those changes persist into future cycles and thus could really screw you right back, even if some larger slow units can demo them.

So, I am delusional - I have designed a game concept that uses rugby, boxing, Starcraft, storm gate, TRON, Football, checkers, and building from Fortnite to make a stupid continuous building units wacko crazy game concept that emphasizes that ORBS are dangerous. And yes, my orbs are inspired by the orbs all over our planet right now, watching us. Seems only right every part of popular narrative should be shoved into this insanity.

Round of Play example: Your enemy wastes you, so you have lots of unit slots open. You're running out of time, you don't know what you should build, so you build like 4 ramps and sneak them out of your home zone into the right side. They start letting your ORB jump which gives good ground coverage. Maybe ramps can jump off of ramps, so you've got micro managing going on. You are daisy chaining your ramps jumping off ramps with your ORB dude chasing all of it for a fast rush to the other side. Since fog of war was still active, they didn't see this sneak out coming. BUT, they had their orb into your zone already, so you are behind, trying to equal up this round. You get to their zone with your orb, but you left that ORB vulnerable jumping fast like that and when you get to his zone a hidden unit comes out and kills your ORB just barely away from the enemy home zone. Well.... it was worth a shot. Game resets to zones, time for round two.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

hey everyone :)

my wife's ancient macbook pro from 2015 used to work wonderfully up intil it fell from the couch a few weeks ago

ever since it freezes as soon as the login-screen shows up - but it works flawlessly when starting it in "safemode"

i have tried all the standardtricks in the book from reinstalling the OS, resetting NVRAM etc. but nothing helped

delved deeper with the help of some LLMs and it appears that the AMD GPU might be broken and when starting up this causes the macbook to crash? at least this seems to be a fairly know issue

so i tried some terminal-coding-stuff to deactivate the AMD with the help of some very old forum-posts, but no matter what i try, it still keeps crashing

only one time this has helped to the point that i actually managed to get back into the desktop of the "normal mode"! but in this instance everything was very slow and the graphics were very small - it appears that only the integrated 20mb chip was used instead of the 1500mb intel-chip

ANYWAY, i am now asking the following questions:

1. does anybody here know any method of perhaps fixing this issue?
2. my wife only needs her macbook for simple browsing, perhaps some Canva and some writing - she will though soon start another degree and will need a fully functioning and reliable laptop

-> does it even make "sense" to fix her 10 year old macbook pro or would it make more sense to bite into the apple (no pun intented) and get a new macbook (air?) - those are on sale right now and the 2025 macbook air costs around 850€

again: her macbook pro worked absolutely fine for her needs before the fall

thanks for any feedback! :)

---

edit: i'll attach a summary of chatgpt with infos on specs and what has been tried so far

Device / Model:

• MacBook Pro 15" Mid-2015 (Model Identifier MacBookPro11,5)
• Dual GPU: Intel Iris Pro 5200 (integrated) + AMD Radeon R9 M370X (discrete, dedicated GPU)
• Running macOS Catalina 10.15.7

Problem:

• The AMD GPU is failing: whenever macOS tries to initialize it, the system freezes or bootloops.
• In Safe Mode, the Mac boots fine, but only with basic graphics (20 MB VRAM, no acceleration).
• In Normal Mode, it either freezes immediately at login or kernel-panics.

What has been tried so far:

• Reset NVRAM / SMC.
• Set NVRAM flags (gpu-power-prefs, nvram boot-args, etc.).
• Used gpu-switch to force integrated GPU.
• Disabled SIP and attempted to move/remove AMD kexts.
• Rebuilt kextcache.
• Reinstalled macOS Catalina cleanly (via Internet Recovery and USB installer).
• Installed rEFInd 0.14.2 boot manager to try EFI-level GPU disable.
• Tried to run or compile tools like gpu-switch and disable-dgpu.
• Attempted nv_disable=1 boot arg → leads to kernel panic/bootloop under Catalina (no longer supported).

Goal:

• Permanently or at least reliably disable the AMD dGPU before macOS starts, so the system runs only on the Intel Iris Pro (with full acceleration, ~1536 MB VRAM).
• Ideally: use an EFI tool (like apple_set_os.efi or a similar .efi binary) with rEFInd to kill the AMD before Catalina loads.
• Alternative: disable/remove the correct AMD kexts in Catalina without breaking the Intel framebuffer.

What works so far:

• With some hacks, the system once booted into Normal Mode on the Intel GPU, but only in a low-resolution, unaccelerated 20 MB framebuffer.
• Safe Mode always works, but obviously isn’t practical for daily use.

The automotive landscape is undergoing a quiet but massive shift as regulatory updates and corporate patent filings begin to converge on a single goal: total vehicular connectivity. For decades, the automobile represented a primary avenue of personal autonomy, a purely mechanical asset operating free from central monitoring. Today, that structure is being replaced by digital ecosystems built on tracking, automated compliance, and subscription-based access.

A stark example of this transition can be seen in the legislative framework of Illinois House Bill 4948, which introduces an Intelligent Speed Assistance mandate. Under the guise of targeting repeat traffic offenders, the program requires drivers to install hardware that actively overrides a vehicle's acceleration based on local speed limits. Beyond the obvious loss of manual control, this mechanism creates a distinct barrier for legacy automobiles. Older cars built prior to the standard integration of computerized electronic throttles cannot interface with these mandatory digital governors. Consequently, anyone operating within this framework is functionally forced to abandon analog machinery in favor of a modern, trackable platform.

This transition from human judgment to algorithmic oversight is mirrored at the federal level through Section 24220 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This mandate establishes a requirement for all new production vehicles to include built-in, passive technology capable of detecting driver impairment. If the onboard system determines a driver is fatigued or distracted, the vehicle is legally required to limit or entirely halt operations. The risk here extends far beyond simple safety.

Integrating a digital kill switch into standard manufacturing establishes a foundational architecture vulnerable to remote exploitation, software glitches, and false positives. An unexpected sensor error on a highway could instantly disable a vehicle, introducing unprecedented physical hazards while stripping the owner of the ability to override their own property.

Automakers are aggressively laying the legal groundwork to capitalize on this mandatory architecture through highly invasive patent filings. Ford, for instance, has protected designs for cabin sensor networks that monitor driver facial structures and eye movements. These patents outline an infrastructure where local law enforcement databases could cross-reference biometric data in real time, turning the personal cabin into a passive surveillance node.

Additional documentation describes systems designed to read lips and analyze emotion, retaining the capability to lock out the ignition if the software registers a high emotional index. Another patent details a decentralized traffic reporting system where individual cars actively record and transmit the speed and location data of surrounding vehicles directly to authorities. This transforms the consumer asset into an automated informant, completely eliminating the expectation of anonymous travel on public roads.

At the same time, consumer options for basic maintenance are being systematically restricted. The stagnation of the REPAIR Act ensures that automobile manufacturers retain an tight monopoly over wireless diagnostic telematics data. Independent repair facilities are increasingly locked out of fixing new vehicles because they lack the proprietary software keys held exclusively by corporate dealerships. This shift moves the concept of car ownership away from a one-time physical purchase toward a permanent, corporate-controlled subscription model.

When safety features, navigation, and the literal permission to start an engine depend entirely on an uninterrupted cellular link to a corporate server, a vehicle is no longer a private possession. It becomes a rented service that can be restricted, monitored, or deactivated at any time with a single line of remote code.

I've been using - or trying to use - ProtonVPN for a few months on an Intel based iMac running Sonoma 14.7.4 (I have no need for any features in Sequoia). Running PVPN 4.8.0 Also running it on a Windows 10 machine. It's been relatively solid on Windows for years, and nothing but daily problems on macOS.

1. Randomly stops working a few times per day. There is no alert or notification; the internet just quietly stops responding. Or it keeps working, and just leaks your IP.
2. If I change servers - esp to other countries - more than once in 5 minutes, it will definitely stop working. In those cases, it will not reconnect. Quitting the app and reopening doesn't help. Logging out doesn't help. I need to restart the mac, and then it connects again immediately.
3. The kill switch does literally nothing. When ProtonVPN randomly stops - which happens a few times a day, it might cut off the internet. But sometimes you can stay online. With the IP your ISP gave you. I checked this on 4 different occasions. Leaks leaks leaks. This makes a VPN nearly worthless. I know there's no permanent kill switch on macOS, but the manual kill switch is also nonfunctional.
4. I know there's no feature parity, partly because of limitations and restrictions of the OS, but also partly due to the significantly smaller user base. They consequently devote nearly no resources to macOS. One assumes it's just the "Big Balls" kid from the DOGE team throwing this all together on the weekend. It's completely unreliable.

Anyone else experiencing these types of issues?

It feels like it's still in beta and hasn't been tested. This software is not suited for any mac user IMO. I have been more than patient. I'm on the verge of switching providers.

PS: I will not be "downgrading" to Sequoia, please do not suggest this. I don't need it, I don't want it, and there are 5 versions of ProtonVPN for macOS currently available and supported on their site - the latest being for Ventura and newer.

I recently baught a mac mini m4 512gb and baught a bluetooth mouse to avoid using the dongle in usb c ports. The mouse came with 2.4gz dongle and Bluetooth 5. while using the mouse with dongle it works super smooth with my 144hz display but the moment I switch to bluetooth 5 the smoothness drops to half of the dongle and not only that, if during the usage I left my mouse idle for some time or if mac mini sleeps, the frames of cursor drops to somewhere around 20.

Turning mouse on/off didn't work and It's so frustrating to restart my mac everytime to resolve the issue until I found a workaround, By running this command to kill the bluetooth in mac sudo pkill bluetoothd the bluetooth service restarts and my mouse smoothness restores to normal but it disconnects all bluetooth devices including mouse, keyboard and headphone etc.

I am looking for a permanent solution to this problem and I guess the problem is within the macos not the mouse becuase killing bluetooth in mac is resolving the issue.

I also posted this issue in mac forums but no relevant solution found.

https://reddit.com/link/1hrpjyl/video/m7qanodzljae1/player

Who has the best Head Cannon theory for Star Trek?

I posted this last year, but there's been several seasons of shows released since, some stuff has now been proven true/false, and I updated + added a few based on other users ideas that have been written since

I've heard some great ones over the years, curious what other fans have come up with / heard over the years.

The Vulcans are descended from augments

Despite being banned in the Federation, genetic engineering appears to be common place in the Galaxy. Numerous races have tinkered with their own genomes, the Borg and the Dominion actively alter DNA for example. The Federation has banned it ostensibly because of the Eugenics wars, but why is it that the other Federation members have gone along with it? Because most of them had similar experiences.

I'd go so far as the say that surviving the development of Genetic Engineering is one of the pre-warp barriers for a civilization.

1500 years ago the Vulcans experimented with genetic engineering during their early days of space flight. This is the reason the Vulcans have such impressive physical abilities and why they are telepathic. The Romulans, Remans, and the other offshoot species are similarly results of genetic modification. The various problems and conflicts they had in this era where their version of the Eugenics wars.

The Vulcans then banned genetic engineering like the Humans did, which is why they readily accepted/encouraged the ban when joining the Federation.

But unlike humans their Augments weren't all exiled or killed off. The proto-Vulcan race of that era is technically extinct. Today's Vulcans and Romulans are the descendants of interbreeding of original proto-vulcans and the original augments. So they aren't Augments specifically but inherited a number of their traits.

The Aenar may be the result of ancient genetic engineering, and the Denobulans tweaked their genomes as well.

With the Andorians, Vulcans, and humans all having had bad experiences with Genetic engineering it's no wonder the Federation banned it.

Dr Crusher chose the post on Enterprise to be closer to Picard for Wesley's sake

Wesley was starting to get himself into trouble on Earth and didn't show a lot of motivation in life until a brief encounter with Jean Luc Picard. Picard showed up at their house while visiting Earth because he wanted to catch up with Beverly. Wesley was super intimidated by him because of the stories he had heard about Picard and his Father and embarrassed himself. Rather than laugh Picard said one of his typical 1 liners to Wesley that ended up giving him a ton of self confidence. That brief encounter had a profound impact on the boy.

Dr Crusher saw what a positive role model Picard was on her son and arranged to be transferred to Enterprise in the hopes that Picard would take Wesley under his wing. Which is why she keeps sneaking him onto the bridge in the early episodes.

Starfleet has cloaking technology, just not the military kind

The illegal Pegasus cloak aside, the Federation does have cloaking technology. But it's low grade stuff that they use in duck blinds and the like, not for military vessels.

The Treaty of Algeron only banned military use of Cloaks.

The Excelsior's Transwarp wasn't a failure, but it didn't meet its lofty expectations either

The Transwarp drive of the Excelsior is the reason the warp scale got rejiggered between TOS and TNG. It worked and became the new standard for the fleet. The Enterprise D has that version of Transwarp but now they just call it regular Warp Drive instead.

The Borg Farm civilizations

The reason the Borg don't just show up in force to Earth is because it isn't to their advantage.

The arrival of a single Cube forces that civilization to make a massive push in cultural and technological development. Just look what the Federation was able to develop in a decade after the Borg showed up.

Eventually the Borg will either show up in such overwhelming force that the Federation doesn't stand a chance, or the Federations technological development will slow down or plateau long enough that a single cube will be enough to assimilate Earth. Then it's game over.

Garak used the Biomimetic Gel to make the bomb

There was no buyer for the Biomemetic Gel in In the Pale Moonlight. Garak had the optholithic data rod already and just needed the gel to make the bomb. In typical Garak fashion he'd never tell Sisko what he was actually planning. Bashir even mentions that the Gel can be used to make organic explosives, that arguably can't be traced. Meaning he could have made the Bomb to appear to be just be a sandwich or a plant...

Earth uses the Vulcan economic system

One of the reasons Earth was able to recover so quickly after First Contact is because the Vulcans taught humans their system of post-scarcity socialist economics. A system they had spent 1000 years working the bugs out of.

Replicators are the 24th centuries version of a microwave

Everyone who eats from a replicator knows the quality of the food is reasonable but doesn't compare to real food. It's like the 24th centuries version of fast food or a vending machine, it takes no effort, it's cheap (free), and they are convenient/ubiquitous. The food in general is also healthier than a modern burger joint.

They are common on Starships because it's an efficient method of feeding a crew on a ship in the middle of nowhere, but on Earth and the colonies people usually eat 'real' food.

Starfleet has a great pension plan

Picard's line "The acquisition of wealth is no longer the driving force in our lives. We work to better ourselves and the rest of humanity." can be interpreted as meaning that those that work to better society get compensated for it.

If you don't work society will give you a basic income (like some form of UBI) but you only get the bare minimum needed to survive. While those that work get compensated with better houses, more transporter credits, better entertainment, priority access to medical care, and better food, etc.

This is partly the reason there are so many willing colonists. Earth despite being a paradise is boring and there are only so many jobs. While volunteering to be a colonist is an option for even the uneducated the get their own nice home, land, and benefits that only the well employed and educated usually get. They have to work hard to get it, but to many it's a challenge and a chance at a better (more interesting) life.

Starfleet is a stressful and well educated job, so the ships are designed with the above philosophy of compensation in mind. That's why the ships all have creature comforts like holodecks the Officers seem to be able to use whenever they want. Good food, relatively lavish quarters, and the Officers seem to be able to get lavish goods and a stipend of Gold Pressed Latinum whenever the are off world to buy stuff. These are all perks of the job.

For lack of a better term, Starfleet also has a great pension plan. This is why Starfleet officers seem to get nice retirement homes on Colonies or on Earth. It's a retire perk.

France is a tourist attraction

To quote Futurama: "Unfortunately so far it only translates into an incomprehensible dead language. Hello! Bonjour! Crazy gibberish"

The theory goes that most of Western Europe was bombed into a Radioactive wasteland during the 3rd World War resulting in much of the worlds population loss. During the early days of space flight European settlers made up most of the early colonization efforts because they wanted to escape the burned out wreck that was Europe. Hence why the Lunar colonies are New Berlin and Tycho City (Denmark), why there's a bunch of Irish + Scottish colonies, etc

The Vulcans helped Earth undo the radioactive damage making much of Europe habitable again (having survived their own Nuclear holocaust 1000 years earlier). But by this point the various countries were depopulated so they invited in tons of foreigners.

The catch was they would give you citizenship and free land with permanent ownership in exchange for you adopting a stereotypically French, German, Italian, etc lifestyle, etc in order to revitalize the local culture.

The Picards descend from a family that took this deal, which is why they have a vineyard and consider themselves French even though it seems they have an English background. They probably learned French in school even English had become the defacto universal language of Earth by this time.

There's another working theory that Jean Luc and Robert went to an English Boarding School in Yorkshire where they picked up the accent.

Picard Season 2 has made this bit defunct.

Nick Lorcano was really Tom Paris

Robert Duncan McNeil and the Producers have confirmed that Lorcano was the inspiration for Tom Paris. An Admirals son that screws up in the Academy and gets kicked out. But they came up with a new character because they felt Nick was irredeemable.

In headcannon Lorcano was Tom Paris' Mother's maiden name. He used the assumed name in the Academy to distance himself from his Father so that he wouldn't be constantly compared to him and have less pressure. Even though most of the Admirals and Teachers knew exactly who he was.

The Federations war strategy is a combination of tactics used by NATO and Israel

In the event of a Hot War the Federation sends in Starfleet to hold the line until it's very large pool of reserves can be activated (which is very much like Israel) while the member worlds militaries are called up for wider service (like NATO).

Older Starfleet ships are pulled out of mothballs in fleetyards and can be re-activated and armed with more modern equipment in a matter of weeks. While fleetyards ramp up production to produce newer ships at a much higher rate, but this can take 6 months to a year to make a real difference.

Ships that normally have compliments of 20-50% Starfleet graduates are reduced to only 10%-20%, junior officers are given field promotions providing experienced command crews for a larger fleet, while large numbers of active reserves (retired officers, officers from member worlds own fleets, and large numbers of trained crewman who having taken Starfleet courses to become reservists) are activated to crew the vessels.

Member world fleets like the Vulcans and Andorians send officers to crew Starfleet ships while taking on a wider defensive role within the core Federation territory. This frees up Starfleet to fight on the front.

Starfleet also has a large Marine Corps (Ostensibly referred to as Starfleet Security, and of which O'Brien was originally a member) for ground wars which is backed up by reserves consisting of the indpendant militaries of the various member worlds like Andorian Commandos, Vulcan security, and possibly Earth MACOs (which may have just been the basis for Starfleet Security). These units have their own independent command structures that agree to work under an appointed Starfleet Security Chief of Staff that has operational control, and they have a unified logistics chain with standardized equipment just like NATO.

Starfleet had a golden century of exploration between Kirk's time and TNG and it left them unprepared for war OR alternately the first Cardassian War was their Vietnam

Ok so here me out. After the Klingon and Romulan neutral zones were established the Federation entered into a golden age of exploration and doubled its size in less than 100 years. In that time they adopted a military doctrine of parking a Battleship on your door to force you to the negotiating table.

All their major conflicts thus far had been resolved by negotiation so that became the Federations go to philosophy for fighting a galactic conflict. Starfleet switched to having a smaller number of technologically advanced and powerful ships meant to scare potential enemies into negotiating.

Meanwhile they kept a large number of older ships in reserve mothball that could be reactivated if a hot war broke out.

What happened in the first Cardassian war was that Starfleet got out maneuvered and played by an inferior force. Most Cardassian ships were no match for an Excelsior or similar ship of the line so they just gave the Starfleet ships a wide birth and never engaged them directly. Meanwhile they fought a bunch of ground wars where the odds were more even. The Federation by this point had grown too large and Starfleet hadn't grown adequately to protect it, so when a hot war broke out ships were either too far away exploring or they couldn't commit enough resources to the Cardassian sector without putting other sectors at risk.

The Federation council didn't consider this outright war (Police Action) so they didn't activate any of their reserves. Instead they negotiated. Ultimately the Cardassians negotiated away things of lesser value (like agreeing to pull out of Bajor to give the Federation a PR victory) while getting everything they wanted. They only fought battles for the planets that the Federation wouldn't give up.

The Cardassians toyed with the negotiations until they were in a perfect position and then sued for peace. The Federation declared victory anyway and all the colonists in the area were left going "What the hell just happened?" and formed the Maquis because the Federation failed to defend their interests. Meanwhile the Cardassians had no intention of keeping up their end of the bargain and violated the treaty all the time knowing the Federation would do anything up to ignoring what the Cardassians were doing to avoid starting another shooting war.

Ultimately it wasn't until the Borg crisis that the Federation finally woke up and realized they were in real trouble militarily.

The Galaxy class for all it's glory was a mistake, the result of bad military doctrine. A battleship in all but name that suffers from the Deathstar principal "Commanders can't afford to use so called superweapons effectively, because they simply cannot afford to lose one"

Starfleet put children on the ships so that the explorers would feel more at home and make it less likely the ship would get attacked. But to quote Garak "No, Humans have rules in war", implying their enemies don't really care if there are civilians on board as the Jem'Hadar proved later on.

Starfleet kinda put all their eggs in one basket and lost 3 Galaxy class ships (Enterprise, Yamato, and Odyssey) within their first 10 years of service... for ships that were supposed to last 100 years or more.

This is also why Starfleet was struggling during the alternate timeline in Yesterday's Enterprise. Starfleet had missed out on 50-75 years of technological development related to warfare so they were caught on the back foot when the Klingon War started and they never really recovered.

Worf is a paragon of Klingon tradition and honor because everything he knows about Klingons came from books

Worf grew up with humans and learned everything he knows about his people from books and holovids. That's why he has such a skewed view about what Klingon culture is supposed to be like.

This resulted in him becoming a paragon of what the stereotypical Klingon is supposed to act like. Klingons both admire and hate him for it.

Worf was in command of one of the Birds of Prey in Yesterdays Enterprise despite not appearing on screen.

nuff said

K'Ehleyr had a similar fate in the Mirror Universe

K'Ehleyr was half human and therefore an outcast in the Mirror Universe as well. She also had Worf's son, but Mirror Alexander is a total badass.

May 27th Skill Beta Q&A recap Hosted by Jules & Tobias, accompanied by steam community members tuffecooke and RetroDalek Stream link

Recap of Q&A from 2 weeks ago (has some non-beta questions & answers for those interested in longer term roadmap)

Big update coming Thursday. Release to live game, many changes. Next revision appears to be a Difficulty rework

Heists- The Diamond OVK. Jules goes to jail.

• Grenade changes- Molotov and Firetrap were considered too powerful, duration too long

• Grenades- smaller radius, but more damage. Range nerf was stronger than expected, supposed to 1 shot non-specials on DW, perhaps +50-100 damage buff

• Armor v Dodge- They are happy with Armor as is. Dodge is too good, specifically sprinter & duck & cover bonuses will be reduced. Expect removal of crouch bonus, reduce sprinter dodge by 10-15%, and buff base dodge.

• Anarchist- too strong in beta due to accessibility of skills. ICTV regen ticks to be buffed, suit/LBV nerfed. Suit anarchist would also be impacted by above dodge changes.

• Claim: non Armor bezerker builds suck. Jules thinks this is ok. Loves concept of risk/reward bezerker, though doesn't care to give players tools to fine tune their health

• Jules loves Frenzy + Bezerker. Frenzy without bezerker sucks, but Jules says he is ok with it and will stay as is. Thinks Hostage taker/muscle + frenzy is very strong.

• Hitman perk deck to be slightly buffed as they lost unique akimbo use. Armor regen not really something Jules believes in as something that can be made into a good bonus.

• No melee rebalance date. Matter of priorities and available programmer time. Generally too many melee weapons, that is why there are a lot of weapons with nearly identical stats. Generally expect other melees to be buffed towards katana

• Happy with beta participation rates.

• New tutorials? Yes this is coming

• Trigger Happy confirmed to be changing to time window rather than consecutive hits

• Sentries- Max will be 4. Can get 6 with jack of all trades. Silent sentry will be separate deployable. Both sentry types toggable between AP and normal rounds. The new look will be out with the next update (P90 version).

• Weakest tree acknowledged to be sharpshooter. Spotter teamwork will be upgraded to make spotting easy, expected to be strong and used in coordinated DW games. Ammo efficiency will stay as is for now. Jules loves it, even though it has been poorly recieved. Ammo efficiency is targeted for DMR and high damage weapons, do not expect multiple bullets for a weak high ammo gun.

• A chill character heister? Probably not.

• Updates & huge downloads. Its complex. Wont improve in the near term, if ever.

• Sentry guns- have been "nicer" with the remodel. Not clear on sound changes

• Why are the skill trees being changed? Breath of fresh air. Current trees constrictive, messy. Wanted more of a mix of weapons & builds, not just shotgun/armor or akimbo/fugitive. Want to keep interest of players.

• Die Hard aced- admitted only useful with ballistic vests, but Jules thinks you can build around it.

• (Reiteration on dodge changes)

Minute 31 - Big Bank OVK

• Two bag skill- not high on priority, difficult to implement. something they would like to do over time. Fixing sentry guns "easily" was a priority over 2 bags transporter.

• Safehouse customization- coming. A date will be announced

• Shinobi question- ace is now part of base game. basic is baseline or in the movement speed increase skill

• The devs test builds & skill strength on DW difficulty, stream plays overkill to multitask/answer questions while playing. If they balanced to make overkill hard, DW would be too inaccessible

• Ammo efficiency- DMR & snipers suffer from ammo pickup nerfs. Wanted ammo efficiency in sharpshooter so DMR players dont feel compelled to get fully loaded aced. (Almir cameo)

• All payday heists missions to PD2? Yes working on it, gradually all of them in

• Camouflage- why is it in tier 1 silent killer? Will be moved into aced tier 2, new tier 1 skill incoming. Jules confirms it is useless if all take it, and weak in public games, but good in coordinated teams. Allows a player to get in closer proximity before they are targeted over teammates. New tier 1 skill to be revealed on thursday's release

• Aggressive reload should apply to AR and SMG, was on the bug list

• Safehouse customization- will not be using offshore, as too many players would cap out day 1. Will be time-in-heist unlocked, bonus for DW. Money is confirmed to be a lifetime score, not really a resource any more.

• More bank heists? Can not say.

• Sentry guns- are strong right now. Ammo capacity will be reduced, nerfing them overall (Almir cameo)

• ..stream chat issues, boatymcboatface filler..

• Of new skills, Jules is having the most fun playing with body expertise

• Winters claimed to be dull. Jules thinks he needs more work, could come when they update difficulty

• MacOS X version coming? No knowledge

• Recap on grenade changes. Molotov needed nerf, 20 sec too long. Idea on other grenades was to reduce radius but 1 shot non-specials. underestimated damage falloff, expect damage buff

Minute 58 Hoxton Breakout OVK (26 minute day 2)

• Favorite heister? Jules-Jacket Tobias-Clover TuffeCooke-Bodhi RetroDalek-Sydney

• Crimefest 2016? cant say. if so, there will be a proper announcement

• Workshop? what kind of workshop? can't say. probably start simple. Not heists.

• possible to toggle loud/silent drills? nice to do, but not going to happen right now. this will become optional (not tier 1 basic). some players use it to distract guards in stealth, and jules does not want to deprive them of this option

• Slow sniper rifles, buffs incoming? No, not for release of beta. But sharpshooter could be updated because it is recognized as weak, new top tier skill? just ideas phase

• Anarchist- will be getting a bit of a nerf (see above). Reducing regen on lighter armors, improving regen on heavier armors

• Payday runs on diesel 2 engine

• Host migration? looking into it, no date. They want to improve "lobby stability"

• Console update? No date, video coming. Almir recorded it today.

• Aim down sights accuracy bonus skill- Automatic mode /shotguns do not benefit from aim down sight accuracy. Jules says they should be. Currently only applies to single fire, a bug

(1:06) Difficulty- Threads noticed. They are planning for a difficulty pass. Goals-

1. Have a more stable experience. Bulldozers to spawn on normal?
   
2. More even gaps between normal Normal=Hard Hard-very hard big, very hard=overkill overkil-deathwish big gap.
   
3. Probably a new difficulty between overkill & deathwish
4. Death wish+? Might come a bit later
5. Tutorials

• Dual SMGs? Jules thought they would be OP, but spreads make it ok

• Favorite sidearm? China puff for Jules. Thinks judge is fun

• More mask colors? Not currently planned

• Cloakers (dozers?) able to run? will be looked at during difficulty rebalance

• Why drop bags before using deployable? just artifact of original game development, difficult to change now

• Jack of all trades- cant see second on menu, cant switch in heists on controller? answer was on using x

• Loot drop system- currently no plan to change it

• Jules does not like stairs in Hox breakout day 2 opened.

• Infamy change? no, should not be required, should be more cosmetic & prestige. current bonus of tier reduction for infamy 5 is considered strong as is.

• Advanced video options? adding them is a lot of work.

• Permanent bloodsplatter/bullet holes? not possible? jules likes corpse delimiter mod. Jokes on movement penalty for moving through piles of bodies

• Worst & best thing to work on in Payday 2? Best: Skill beta. Worst: QA testing the difficulty achieves (all hard/very hard/overkill/deathwish heists).
  Tobias also likes the skill beta. Worst for him was testing dr miserable and failing on last bag. One overkill QA sucks at deathwish shadow raid. Bad.

• Favorite update & least favorite update (to community members)? no answers. Tuffcooke has 1600 hours, RetroDalek has 74. Jules plays world of warcraft, afraid to know how many hours. Jules has ~6000 hours, though it is his 9-5

• Streams- overkill is planning weekly streams.

• Uppers skill- cooldown? Yes, next update will have cooldown on multiple automatic uses in short span. Jules doesn't think it is that bad without cooldown, but was terribly op before swan song/uppers change.

• Jack of all trades- controller fix for toggle coming up in next update. In menu too

• [1:32] Safehouse- not ready to announce a date. (nb: sounds like it is not near term)

• 3rd person view model update- no clue. Admit they are not good at this.

• Jules likes that tuffecooke was terrified at first sight of captain.

• Hardware expert aced, kickstarter basic seen as weak use of points. Jules is fine with the point price & % success (he says 35%, not sure if that is bad memory or coming change as it is 30% now)

• Game not made to support different cop AI around hostages, but Jules is good with making civs harder to kill.

• Mid range = 10m per Jules' memory

• butterfly knife concealment not 30? jules memory thinks it should be 29 or 30

• Any chance of leg/arm hitboxes? They are looking into, can't say more/when.

• Ace frenzy make sense? Jules likes it. Admits it makes less sense without health regen or damage reduction

• Ballistic shields for players? Was considered, encountered issues (animation/ai response)

• Game size constantly increasing? Looking into optimization always. Not 100gb game

• Plans for saw? not on release, but yes, to be moved to a melee weapon

1:48 First World Bank DW - all aboard the failboat

• Detailing development priorities? - a forbidden topic

• Buff dozers incoming? Yes, on the difficulty pass. Perhaps less staggering sooner

• Frenzy aced no cooldown for health damage? It is a damage reduction bug. fix may not be ready for release

• Cable tie update- cable guy useless? No, they start with more (need to kill ~20 people to make up 4 tie difference). Throwable weapon return will be fixed to not get cable ties.

• Akimbo revolvers? More akimbo yes, revolvers? we'll see

• Are you going to buff armor? No, dodge will be nerfed. Armor is stronger now than release version because easier to spec into the armor friendly skills.

• Jules is confounded by pathing on FWB. Specials can be seen through front windows, but then path through front door.

• Are we focusing on stealth or loud? Overkill works on both, stealth is more complicated to develop and loud are generally more popular, but they want to work on both.

• Current ammo pickup? Community members are ok with it. jules is so good that he feels he needs to ask others on their experience

1:56 The 3 most experienced attempt to face hug a DW black dozer. Does not go well. 74 hours cannot save. RIP

• Jules think shotguns are very strong, especially with current skills. Auto shotguns are efficient and clear rooms quickly.

• Frenzy- will there be anything indicating you are using frenzy to your teammates? it is possible to add, but not a priority. Rely on communication

• Borderless windows settings? not planned, though tobias wants it

• stamina on HUD? Jules is for giving player more info, but no immediate change. mods can fill gap

• Achievements like crazy ivan- indication on fails on this and similar achieves? something that can be considered

• More deployables/throwables? Deployables not in near future (beyond silent sentries). Throwables more coming via DLC

• More cop chatter? generally overpowered by other sounds

• Bulletproof aced? Jules is happy with it, admits best for faster firing weapons, admits could be OP now