Huge update! All Base Game Changes

After months and months of non-stop development, I can finally tell you all about the exciting changes coming to Mothership's base game.

After the last campaign, I took what I thought was going to be a permanent hiatus from Mothership. I was proud of the game that I had made and was even prouder that so many people loved playing it. Then we found a publisher, which breathed new life into the game. After a year or so, I was only supposed to be consulting/advising on the new expansion but...I couldn't help myself. I came up with so many new ideas that I couldn't help but work on the game again.

Control Panel

The new control panel is a complete overhaul of the original. While smaller in size, it still provides the players with all of the essential go-to information of the original, plus some additional information we thought would be helpful. Everything you need to know about your ship's stats and the things you can purchase is clearly displayed on the Control Panel for quick reference.

You'll notice that the hexagonal spaces and circular tokens have been removed, and replaced with squares and translucent cubes. Also, the number of red HP counters has been reduced to two per control panel. The single cubes will act as sliders and will make setting up the game even quicker than before.

Stretch Goal: I wanted this from the beginning, and now you have the power to make it happen! One of the first stretch goals in the new campaign will be thicker player surfaces with indents for the Control Panel cubes, saving us from the frustration of having all of those cubes knocked around the control panel mat mid-game!

Technology Tree

The Tech Tree received the same visual overhaul as the Control Panel, complete with coloured icons.

There's even been some balance changes as a result of your feedback and play testing with the new content. Remember the orange tile? Gone! You'll see why when you take a look at the new resource.

Most notably, the biggest change is an entirely new purple tree called 'Colony'. This focuses on developing your strength in the Galaxy through the defence. Before the new Guardian Cannons can be deployed on the battlefield, some initial research will need to be completed. But, for those willing to invest, a wide range of new tactics, both defensive and offensive, will be opened for your exploitation.

New Resources: Gas and Minerals

Single-value resource cards have been completely scrapped and replaced with two new resources: Minerals (green) and Gas (orange).

Minerals: These replace everything that the old resource cards previously bought. Minerals will be gathered through the same means as before. They are the basic currency and are still the focus of your economy.

Gas: This new resource achieves what I intended with the old orange tile on the Tech Tree, but now it can also be used in conjunction with Guardian Cannons. Use it to buff any Mothership or Guardian Cannon roll, up to five per dogfight. This rare resource can be gathered from Gas planets and some Action and Tech Tree abilities.

Stretch Goal: Gas Giant. This was originally a stretch goal in the expansion campaign, but we didn't quite get there. If reached, this new miniature will be added to the base game and provide new worlds to capture and will supply your fleet with Gas resources.

New Card Designs

Every card in the game, including those in the expansion, now has unique card backs and symbols to help distinguish each card type. The cards back above are (from left to right) Action, Artifact, Class, Beacon and Objective.

The front of the cards has also received a huge design overhaul, including the same coloured icon style from the Tech Tree and new background artwork.

You might also notice the little 'Mineral' symbol on the card. This is one of many symbols added to all sections of the game containing text, to help quickly and easily identify the rewards and requirements of some actions.

There are also some new Artifact Cards coming in the base game which will replace the valueless cards currently included. I always thought players could simply choose whether or not to play with them. However, as it seems that everyone always chooses to play without them (including us...), I thought I may as well make some new ones to replace them with! The design of the exploration tokens has also changed so as to complement the new look of the rest of the game.

Slight Changes to Board and Asteroids

Some slight changes have been made to the original 20" board. The hex count remains the same, but the hexes now extend to the edge of the board. This means that you now have the option of extending the playing surface as far as you want by seamlessly joining two or more boards together.

The standard asteroids are changing colour slightly, from a light greyish look to a darker, carbon-fibre type of look. The tile shapes will remain the same though.

But wait, there's more!

There are even more new features that I haven't announced! You gotta wait a little longer for that though...

For first-edition backers who want to know how they can get their hands on the new content without having to buy a whole new game, check your inbox. Alternatively, if you have any questions, feel free to message me.