## What changed
### New Content
- **Skip Battle button** — added to battles
- **Audio feedback** — implemented for big lenses
- **Sound effects** — added across Utopia Builder menus (Tales, Communities/Factions, Maps), big lenses (base game, sandbox, DLC2), and tremors mechanics
### Balance
- **Weather timeline** — increased variance by difficulty level; citizen and officer modes now significantly less demanding
- **Extreme weather** — eliminated possibility of -40 degree weather lasting 100 weeks in Act 2
- **Resistance appearance** — increased delay of first resistance in Aurora
- **Resistance soldier abilities** — lowered weapon costs (Enforce Military Zone from 75 to 50; Force Takeover from 200 to 120)
- **Tremors rate** — lowered on steward and officer difficulty levels
- **Quest timeout** — increased for barracks building quest
- **Food rewards** — "Altering the Deal" message now grants additional 50k Food when accepted
- **Starting resources** — increased coal outposts in Frostland, exploration difficulty lowered, NE starting materials/goods increased, starting prefabs increased from 30 to 130
- **Food stockpiles** — increased in all Frostland dilemmas
- **Aurora conquest** — now auto-explores territories with Auroran outposts for faster seizure
- **Election voting** — balanced weights and streamlined occupation story arcs
- **DLC2 scenario** — tweaked global parameters for food requirements and sickliness balance
### Bug Fixes
- **Sandbox maps** — fixed volcano tile removal on NE map and volcanic tile spawn issues in Utopia Mode
- **Deployment base** — fixed placement blocking in non-frostbr
Removed the volcano tile from the sandbox when utilizing the NE map.
Fixed an issue blocking the deployment base from being placed in a non-frostbroken area.
Fixed an issue where the deployment base (Legionnaires' Hub) could be placed on deposits in a non-frostbraked area.
Fixed titles for new Sandbox maps.
Crash Fixes: Resolved several boot, runtime, and subsystem crashes that could appear under specific conditions.
Fixed a localized link where the "Buy DLCs" hyperlink erroneously routed to the main game store page instead of the dedicated add-ons library.
Balance changes Global Tweaked global parameters for the DLC2 scenario to adjust balance around food requirements and sickliness.
Weather Weather timeline - added better variance for difficulty levels, with citizen and officer being significantly less demanding.
Eliminated a possibility, where weather could lower to -40 for 100 weeks in Act 2.
Resistance Increased delay of resistance appearing for the first time in Aurora.
Resistance soldier abilities weapon costs lowered. Enforce Military Zone - weapon cost decreased from 75 to 50.
Force Takeover - weapon cost decreased from 200 to 120.
Resources Added additional coal outposts to Frostland.
Lowered exploration difficulty of a few close territories.
Increased starting stocks in NE of materials and goods.
Increased starting prefabs from 30 to 130.
The 'Altering the Deal' message now grants an additional 50k Food if the player accepts it.
Other Quest to build barracks timeout increased.
Tweaked starting research and buildings in Aurora.
Lowered tremors rate on steward and officer difficulty levels.
Increased food stockpiles in all Frostland dilemmas.
Balanced election voting weights and streamlined multiple occupation story arcs.
Conquering Aurora now auto-explores the territories with Auroran outposts, allowing for faster seizure.
Fixed an issue where reloading a save with the "Feed New Edinburgh" quest active prevented optional objectives from being completed.
Fixed an issue with Volcanic tile not spawning correctly in Utopia Mode.
Fixed an issue that could cause skyrocketing population growth.
Stabilizer Hubs now properly grant refunds when demolished.
Fixed issues where heat claim values could exceed overall generator output.
Addressed event anomalies where the food relations warning could trigger out of order or allow initial stockpiles to exceed limits.
Fixed an issue where the First Evacuation quest objective was not displaying when modal tutorials were turned off.
Disbanded battalions and military zone abilities now check parameters accurately before execution.
Settlement unlock research is no longer erroneously accessible within the DLC2 scenario.
Fixed an issue where Aurora’s communities/factions were not included in research.
Fixed an issue where Aurora counter offer had lower demands than original offer.
Fixed scenario, where player could get stuck in Battle Panel under specific conditions.
Fixed an issue on the Conquer Aurora path where players could incorrectly lose the game despite winning the vote of trust, if the vote occurred immediately before reducing resistance in Aurora.
Added Skip Battle button.
Added the failstate with the custom message for evacuating 0 people for New Edinburgh.
Graphics & FX: Fixed flickering cartographic view areas, frame anomalies during. district demolition under tremors, floating decals, and missing unsafe evacuation visual effects after reloading saves.
Cutscenes: Disabled motion blur during the volcano cutscene for better visual fidelity; ensured Frostland units are hidden during cinematics.
Fixed an exploit where tremor wear effects failed to apply to districts currently undergoing deconstruction.
Resolved issues with the Aurora Spongers story arc, Brokers "Mediate" capability after conquering Aurora, and properly prioritized retaliation events.
Audio & Voiceovers: Implemented audio feedback for big lenses and untangled voiceover levels from being incorrectly managed by three separate audio sliders simultaneously.
Fixed cut-off tremor voiceovers by ensuring they wait for camera zoom transitions.
Fixed missing battle win/loss alerts and incorrect regional colony lines triggering in Aurora.
SFXs for Tales selection (Utopia Builder Menu)
SFXs for Communities/Factions selection (Utopia Builder Menu)
SFXs for Maps selection (Utopia Builder Menu)
SFXs for base game Big Lenses (18 lenses) (Base Game)
SFXs for sandbox Big Lenses (2 lenses) (Base Game)
SFXs for DLC2 scenario Big Lenses (8 lenses) (DLC2)
SFXs for Tremors mechanics (DLC2)
Gamepad Controls: Fixed focus navigation issues on controllers, including the inability to access the 'Generator Relocation' Law, selector switches in the Generator panel, and platoon transfer sliders.
HUD & Navigation: Added a dedicated tooltip over the deathmeter and enabled full button functionality for the predicted outcome bar.
Restored proper controller focus to the trust bar on the bottom HUD.
Visual Polish: Fixed misaligned ornaments in settlement headers, corrected text alignment in the War Screen, and repositioned construction menu icons.
Text & Tutorials: Added missing intro text for Twilight Waters and fixed incorrect faction portraits appearing on subsequent panel opens.
Re-formatted overflowing text strings across German, Russian, and Turkish locales.
Replaced placeholder screenshots, corrected black circle artifacts, and adjusted formatting for weapon and platoon tutorials.
Updated Chinese Simplified subtitles for intro & outro cutscenes to match voiceover.
Volcano Night in a simplified version for Utopia Builder
Aurora map added to Utopia Builder
Fishing Hub (available only on Aurora)
A gripping new story set in New Edinburgh and Aurora Experience a brand new scenario that explores the fate of a city built in the shadow of a volcano and its former colony on a frozen lake. Navigate political turmoil, environmental disaster, and impossible choices as catastrophe looms.
Five unique Communities and Factions Meet five new groups, each with its own identities, ideologies, and ambitions. Earn their trust, challenge their beliefs, or risk pushing the city toward division.
Deadly new environmental hazards Survive the devastating Tremors and the terrifying Volcano Night , two new mechanics that will force you to rethink your strategies and adapt to ever-changing conditions.
New narrative events and gameplay mechanics Face fresh challenges through new story events, decisions, and mechanics designed specifically for this expansion, creating new opportunities and dilemmas.
Independent Colony system Shape your relationship with Aurora through diplomacy, trade, coercion, or outright conquest. Every decision will affect the balance of power between your cities.
Two new scenario maps Lead your people across two entirely new locations, each presenting unique challenges, opportunities, and strategic considerations.
Five new buildings and hubs Expand your city's capabilities with new structures and infrastructure options that will help you confront the growing crisis.
New laws and political choices Guide your society through uncertain times with new legislation, shape the future of New Edinburgh, and decide how much trust your people are willing to place in you.
Free update content for Utopia Builder New Utopia Builder map: Twilight waters
New Utopia Builder challenge: Volcanic night
Fixed the issue in calculations which could cause sudden spike in population numbers up to millions
‘Rush Researches’ now lasts 20 weeks instead of 30 and will provide less research speed bonus
Technocrats’ ‘Optimize Research’ now provides less research speed bonus
Tweaks to multiple Research Institutes research speed boost bonus so the first two institutes provide less of it
Slightly lowered base shelter demand of all communities
Lowered shelter demand on Captain difficulty level
Shelter area traits now provide less of it
Decreased population growth speed
Sickliness now increases quicker for some time after temperature change
Slightly tweaked the number of sick people generated by districts and different cold levels
Optimized functions that calculate sick people number to reduce randomness and eliminate edge cases
Outposts and settlements rebalance aimed to make Frostland gameplay more challenging Meagre Coal Mine Frostland team upkeep changed from 10 to 5
Stockpile now lasts for 70 weeks down from 140
Coal Mining Complex Coal output changed from 400 to 200
Coal Mining Complex + Coal output changed from 500 to 300
Community upkeep changed from 800 to 1200
Food upkeep changed from 10 to 25
Materials upkeep changed from 30 to 50
Coal Mining Complex ++ Coal output changed from 600 to 400
Food upkeep changed from 20 to 40
Materials upkeep changed from 60 to 110
Tar Pits Frostland team upkeep changed from 10 to 5
Stockpile now lasts for 120 weeks down from 240
Old Derrick Oil output changed from 320 to 200
Oil Rig Oil output changed from 150 to 100
Oil Rig + Food upkeep changed from 40 to 25
Oil Rig ++ Oil Output changed from 250 to 300
Materials upkeep changed from 60 to 110
Burried Village Frostland team upkeep changed from 10 to 5
Stockpile now lasts for 70 weeks down from 140
Imperial Smelter Materials output changed from 250 to 200
Imperial Smelter + Materials output changed from 400 to 300
Frostland team upkeep changed from 10 to 5
Food upkeep changed from 10 to 25
Imperial Smelter ++ Materials output changed from 600 to 400
Frostland team upkeep changed from 10 to 5
Food upkeep changed from 20 to 40
Imperial Manufactory Stockpile now lasts for 120 weeks down from 240
Imperial Manufactory + Frostland team upkeep changed from 10 to 5
Food upkeep changed from 10 to 25
Imperial Manufactory ++ Frostland team upkeep changed from 10 to 5
Fixed incorrect 300 community upkeep and set it to 2000
Food upkeep changed from 20 to 40
Oil upkeep changed from 60 to 30
Frozen Whale Outpost Stockpile now lasts for 120 weeks down from 240
Whaletown + Food output changed from 250 to 200
Frostland team upkeep changed from 10 to 5
Community upkeep changed from 800 to 1200
Materials upkeep changed from 25 to 50
Oil upkeep changed from 10 to 20
Whaletown ++ Food output changed from 400 to 300
Frostland team upkeep changed from 10 to 5
Community upkeep changed from 1400 to 2000
Materials upkeep changed from 40 to 110
Oil upkeep changed from 20 to 30
New deaths count widget
Construction panel improvements Radical buildings are now marked in the construction panel