This amazing game just got even BETTER! | Starsector .96a Update Review

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What is the Starsector .96a update? In this video, we cover the biggest update Starsector has ever received! Over three months in the making, this has become one of my biggest projects ever!
Big thanks to the Starsector dev team for not only creating this game, but continuing to update it for over 11 years! Your dedication and commitment to quality is legendary.
Check out Starsector on the Fractal Softworks website here:
fractalsoftworks.com/
Full Starsector .96a Patch Notes:
fractalsoftworks.com/forum/in...
#starsector #starsectorgame #IroncladLion
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Starsector .96a Update Review Sections:
Intro: (0:00)
Background: (1:22)
Ships: (3:16)
Fighters: (12:12)
[REDACTED] Ships: (12:44)
Weapons: (14:22)
Hullmods: (19:11)
Major Events: (22:01)
Story Missions: (25:38)
Quality of Life: (30:02)
Final Thoughts: (31:59)
Credits: (34:17)
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IroncladLion Channel Links:
Other platforms:
Twitch: / ironcladlion
Twitter: / ironcladlion
Help me keep my freedom:
Patreon: / ironcladlion
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Thumbnail background art by the awesome CY / Milkydromeda:
/ c_yukimaru
Askonia Sunshine is from the Substance Abuse mod by SirHartley:
fractalsoftworks.com/forum/in...
I was also recording with GraphicsLib by Dark.Revenant for a majority of the video. You can find it here:
fractalsoftworks.com/forum/in...
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Video made using Sony Vegas Pro 14
Music by Dark Fantasy Studio & Music Mania Bundle

[@freefiremclin9379]

I like the star sector flashbang so I like how they added it to options instead of removing it outright

[@a-blivvy-yus]

I dislike it but am also glad it was added as an option and not removed outright because I can see how people could like it!

[@Aereto]

I typically keep around the flashbang, as those ships are flying antimatter-nuclear reactors. Telling crew to brace for sensor whiteout.

[@sneakersneakersneaker]

being in a pitch black room and being flashbanged every so often in combat is one of the most immersive experiences i've had in starsector

[@AnonD38]

I am utterly offended by the notion that I don’t want my retinas burned out after more than 30 minutes of gameplay.

[@user-qn1yi5cw6r]

Tbh i am always playing at night in a dark room... i forget the flashbang is a thing and i get blinded for a good 3 secs. I love it but hate it too lol

[@Roman-zc8gf]

Can't believe I'd live to see the day that Starsector Light Mode could be disabled without mods. Truly we are blessed!

[@snafu2350]

It was as simple as changing a value in a text INI file, but I'm glad it's finally been incorporated into the UI now

[@nobob8564]

I started playing StarSector with mods, and never knew the base game had the whiteout screen on explosions. WOW, I dodged a bullet there.

[@TTHJJD100]

It's a vanilla game option.

[@nobob8564]

@@TTHJJD100 It is now, it wasn't before this recent update.... Ahhh god, why are people so dumb?....

[@ryanlorenzo5003]

If you can't witness your enemies blowup in a fireball that flashbangs your eyeballs then what was the point?

[@johnlemon756]

I love the whiteout screen. It makes the explosions so epic

[@NightRunner9]

Kinda makes you flinch each time and you have to refocus.

[@PressA2Die]

I usually play Starsector in my room with the lights off. When a capital ship goes up it physically hurts to look directly at it. Honestly its one of my favourite things about the game and is hands down the most immersive thing in the game. I always imagine the bridge crew having to shield their eyes from the explosion it's so powerful. I hold my breath when out of supplies too but I'm just weird I guess.

[@selfnico]

Hahaha, you were the original target audience that Alex wanted to touch with his ship whiteout explosions.

[@Imagine_Baggins]

Agreed, I thought it was excessive when I first started playing a week ago, but it's grown on me and it adds some pseudo-scale to the destruction (albiet in a very roundabout and peculiar manner).

[@atransarcticfox]

To me that flash is extremely cathartic, especially when you win a tough fight Those are the I'm winning :D lights

[@cyrilleyukimaru6675]

Great review video! This is extremely useful to stay up to date with the vanilla for someone like me whom are simply too deep into modding development and procrastination. Congratulations on the video release, I know you worked hard on it with pain and suffering along the way! This post is approved by Auroran High Command.

[@zerjager4340]

UAF Megabreve when

[@inciacci549]

@@zerjager4340 Megabreve is not real, and will not hurt you. The Gigabreve, however...

[@zerjager4340]

@@inciacci549 nah mate, for that I just use Rama class frigates and dabble in ancient yet effective combat maneuver of 'Kamikaze' when things got too spicy

[@doubt3430]

ight but when do we get the breve

[@zerjager4340]

@@doubt3430 when they decides that they need even more dakka on the Solvernia

[@crimsonharvest]

did you see how smoothly those missiles tried to navigate around the shattered hull remains at 24:26

[@playwars3037]

I love that the philosophy of the early domain was literally to make a giant brick of armor plating with covered with a wall of guns and throw it at the enemy XD . A fitting ancestor to the Onslaught, truly !

[@mortaljacket]

Honestly starsector... Great game, in this day and age where we are getting AAA products that are ridled with mediocrity this one stands out like a shining beacon of hope. All done by a small team. This game had given me easily around 700-800 hr of entertaintmet. All spent well. I can only recommend it to all who like a game with a fair amount exploration in it. Think I going to jump back at it with this new update. (2024.01.17.) EDIT: OH GOOD GOD MY LIFE... This green thing called grass... its strange...

[@Mitch3ll6900]

Been waiting for this, thanks Lion! I know this video was a challenge to make, and it turned out great! Thank you for the informative way you presented this, sometimes it's a bit hard to read the 1200 line.... patch notes.

[@user-pr2rr9sf8j]

So much nostalgia with the screen flashbang… I used to play starsector on my laptop in bed before going to sleep, lights off. I always kept an eye on the enemy ship integrity and literally closed my eyes as hard as possible if the ship was about to go kaboom… good ol days

[@temperusmaximus7268]

Invictus dreadnought is quickly becoming my new favorite. Give it the infernium/antimatter injectors from PAGSM and it becomes a brick flying at 142 SU and maintains that boost up to 10% flux level. Add in the hegemony's alcohol from substance abuse and watch it regenerate 1% its total armor value every second in combat. It is a flying brick of armor and guns and this museum piece WILL steamroller your enemies into their graves.

[@foof7352]

A fairly chonky update. I haven't played in a while, the event system sounds super cool for the colony management side of things! Much thanks for condensing the new stuff.

[@luke4010]

I like em thick

[@gabinboillon1102]

I've been playing starsector for 4 years now and honestly i've nerver had that much fun playing a game, i spent countless hours, nights and weeks playing it: exploring, fighting, building colonies, optimizing and last but not least modding. This game is one of my all time favorite development is taking time but it' s worth it abd the modding community make the waiting fun i love every single one of you guys starsector players, modders and devs

[@Joeman9833]

Beautiful job bringing it all together man. There was a lot more to the update than I realized and I am glad to have gotten to see some of the bigger stuff discussed. Keep up the great work!

[@katarjin]

Not been keeping up with Starsector for over a year so this video is nice way to catch up on things.

[@PhroXenGold]

Regarding your discussion at the end about whether the patch is enough, my attitude is that I've already got more than my money's worth out of the game. I mean, I've already played it for hundreds of hours. As such I'm basically getting a bunch of new ships, weapons, missions and other features for free. Which is fantastic.

[@DarkZero008]

I can't describe how much each of your videos hype me about Starsector. Your way of telling something is just epic and big. Looking forward to future videos and thank you for making them.

[@nightflyer40]

Great vid! Just bought this yesterday, a lot to learn but loving the depth and setting.

[@mattyrogue8619]

Thank you, IroncladLion, for your continued coverage of Starsector.

[@nothingisreal64]

Why would anyone want to dissable the warm flash of victory that so gracefully burns out my retina everytime I purge the unbeliever?

[@3NC3PH4L0N]

Sir, youre an absolute legend. This is one of the best update video i have ever seen! Mad respect. o7

[@angellestat5937]

I started playing starsector as soon as i got myself a pc thanks to my HS efforts, sweat and blood, sadly, as i am a darn highschooler i could not get to pay for the game, gettng it through Sseth's video, thanks for him, and the fact Alex allows activation codes to be reusable, is something that i am incredibly thankfull about, i love this game, and if we all live another day to see the Starsector 1.0, i will goddamnn find my way to buy the darn game

[@klynt2763]

Just right after I watched after the Sindrian Fuel Company video you made hearing the glimpses you shown and man didn't know it is here now

[@playwars3037]

13:59 Okay that section made my laugh way harder than it probably should have XD

[@LordInsane100]

Escape Velocity Override, the game in the EV series before Nova, is actually getting a remaster (Cosmic Frontier), so there might be a more modern engine to run Nova on in a not-too-distant future.

[@Alphascrub_77]

I'm very excited to see where modders take the major events system. I can already think of mods that have questlines or stories that could use this system quite effectively. The gameplay potential is great. Having a cause and effect event or situation that is directly or indirectly affected by the players actions could be used in so many ways. From hunting pirates/bounties to exploration and more. Even older things like the annoying heg "AI inspections" could be improved and integrated into something more complex and interesting with this system.

[@wild6702]

How you managed to get Glenn from Superstore and Kronk as voice actors in the video is beyond me, props dude.

[@amaladiguna8873]

Ship explosion flashbang is a great dramatic tool for me to immerse myself in the universe, but I do get bored of it sometimes. Love the option to change it!

[@ThePilot_]

You mention EV Nova. I click the like button. That's how this works.

[@wkipsas]

Am I the only degenerate here that actually enjoy the flashbang? The burn in your retinas when you witness the beauty of enemy ships exploding... Magnificent!

[@Fallub]

Crazy that they even changed the white screen. Great support. And the inclusion of the S-class mod shows their appreciation of fans and modders. Great game and great developer. Thank you for the video.

[@neverr9028]

Love your videos man, definitely the best Starsector content creator out there. You rock!

[@Davad66]

Thanks for the rundown, I have been considering getting back into the game. Great vid.

[@KennethThysbjergJensen]

Great job on the video mann! lol, THE GIGA CANNON! OH YEAH! 🤣😂 I just discovered this game and it is now consuming my life!

[@corpsious]

love u mr lion. really appreciate your excellent attribution in the description box

[@magmarlegionarre2276]

This is absolutely excellent! This was an extremely detailed but not stuff video, going over the good points of everything and giving the lore/explanation for it all! I also like it a lot because you really do go over everything, so it's a good watch for sure to learn everything about the patch! Thank you for your hard work!

[@knight_lautrec_of_carim]

Starsector, like Kenshi, is just one of those games you can always return to after a while :)

[@SubconsciousGameJournal]

Haven't played in a while, and now I want back in. Subscription earned. Thank you.

[@ludovicm5585]

Thanks for keeping us informed! It is probably time for a new playthrough.

[@mrmatejator]

I remember that first thing I did with Starsector was modify amount of max ram usage and second was turning off on death white effect(maybe just turning radius to 0 I do not exactly remember 😅). What a update 👍

[@d7u8d9e]

I just found your channel through this video and I've got to say you have the best starsector content I've ever seen on youtube, keep it up man.

[@XCharger]

this should be required viewing for the new update patch. as usual the quality is top notch.

[@ExtraRaven_]

your videos absolutely rule. i can always count on these to be informative and flashy, but not show too much. I'm super hype to try the new update for myself and now realize how cool events could be. also, is that an avorion review i'm sensing? thanks for all your entertaining content :>

[@akairibbon4658]

a 35 min ironclad lion SS video, feelsgoodman

[@user-pr2rr9sf8j]

Once the game reaches 1.0, and releases in major stores like steam, gog, epic etc. It’s gonna be glorious… I mean Rimworld class of Glorious!

[@Spooky_Spookerson]

I love these reviews, always look forward to more Starsector content!

[@IvisibleCat]

Thanks a lot for this review video !

[@dtaggartofRTD]

As a point of clarity, in software parlance the .96 is the minor revision number. it needn't necessarily roll over to 1.0 when it ticks over a tens/hundreds number. It's an awesome game and I'm happy to see it quietly marches onwards.

[@coconutpro9991]

I HAVE SPENDS MONTH WITHOUT ANY OF YOUR NEW VIDEO, AND NOW FINNALLY A GOOD STARSECTOR COMMENTARY VIDEOS 😋

[@coffeefox5703]

Fuck yeah, EV Nova! To this day I always name my character "Shane Merrol" and my first ship the "Snowy Owl" - Good times.

[@gnorse373]

appreciate you doing these brother keep it up

[@whatevermanh7657]

Last time I've played starsector was like 2 years ago. Since I play modded, specifically with nexerelin and ship/weapon pack, I didn't even notice that most of these stuff are vanilla updates! I thought they were modded as well. also god bless the no-more-screen-flashbang-on-kill option, helps keepin my eye sharp.

[@i0am0superBlast]

Haven't platyed in quite a while. Seems like a good time to get back into it.

[@YukitoOnline]

Finally!!! A new Starsector video from you~

[@styxrakash4639]

Dude. Thank you. I feel like this game really suffers in its advertising department. This video was detailed and immediately let me know it would answer what I was looking for. No rambling. No begging for likes etc hey what’s up star sector natioooon

[@boursemolle6412]

Wow this storytelling, in the last minutes of the video it sounded like the swan's death in blade runner, but that was just a "patch note" video. Man, your videos are insane !

[@IroncladLion]

Appreciate it my friend.

[@TheyCalledMeT]

wohoo .. a huge update to one of the best bang for the buck games out there!

[@BenchongDy]

Man I bought this game for like $15 in 2018 I think. and I played this game on and off for hours. Now that there's new content, Imma get more hours on.. Just such a great game even on vanilla (mods are awesome af too). SN: I actually forgot about this game. Good thing I'm subbed here.

[@rhynimstonehedge5271]

Long Live the Vel'os and Polaris, May the Orhi-Hii Forever be entertained in the playthrough of the aftermath.

[@KainYusanagi]

Awesome! I see new IroncladLion video, I drop what I'm doing to watch!

[@wgreywind7038]

Dolos Macario lives rent free in my head.

[@a-blivvy-yus]

With this update, I've built a swarm of Tempests armed with Gazers. Pairing with their Terminators, I have a swarm of frigates which launch drones that think they're missiles and missiles that think they're drones. In unrelated news... a Pegasus and a Conquest (so far) seem to be a pretty good pair for first capitals to be running...

[@Ischemiaa]

As someone who plays on an ultrawide on 60% brightness, the screen whiteout was unironically a flashbang and disincentivised long sessions. Which is great because I needed a reason to do life things :)

[@Nanolis]

While I am glad you can now easily turn off the flashbang, you never really needed mods for it either. Was pretty easy to disable just had to go into the config files. Definitely love the new update and where the game is at right now, and eagerly looking to the future of what it may become as well. The devs and modders alike of this wonderful passion project are all incredible and wouldn't want to see what this game was like without even a single one of them.

[@daanstrik4293]

I played with mods for the first time with this update and I thought all those story missions where added by a mod. To know they’re actually Vanilla makes me very happy. And I found the writing and *especially* the branching paths extremely enjoyable

[@feluto7172]

personally i can't live without the flashbang, it's such a key part of the experience

[@IDESTROYER236]

To me, Starsector is the lovechild of Freelancer and Starflight.

[@FurrKnight]

I truly love this update but I do think the "Hostile Activity" Major event needs serious balancing, using Alpha cores for your colonies is a death sentence and it requires constant babysitting of them. (you can just go and fine tune it yourself) and I do get it, it was designed to prevent another AI war in a sense but those colony debuffs... are just nasty. But I do think as long as you steer clear of using cores and use colony administrators it is survivable. Oh and fellow Lion, I think you missed one event regarding the Hegemony (maybe I never had encountered it before) Excellent weapons showcase and explanation. Well done!!!

[@Kingofdragons117]

There are two ways to reduce Hostile Activity. You can do a mission for the Pathers infiltrating your colony via the base they operate out of, or go to Kanta's Den to offer her something to reduce the Activity.

[@FurrKnight]

@@Kingofdragons117 what you say is kinda true but it should not be the only way, do the core worlds do those missions to reduce hostile activity? I don't think so and they are not nearly as penalized. Pirates are somewhat manageable, but pathers? Out of control

[@Grimmwoldds]

@@FurrKnight He just needs to remove the stat malus. Honestly, I wouldn't care if it was just "invasion" or "ambush". But the fact that invisible people who cannot be affected are screwing up my game is annoying. Yes, my response to things like "pirate" or "terrorist" is genocide. Logically, nobody wants "that guy" to be living next door, because the margin of error in my indiscriminate justice is measured in AUs.

[@omicronixzerus2929]

The starsector flashbang is my favorite feature of the game and I will die on that hill.

[@akatsukiwolf2735]

Honey, wake up the kids! There's a new IroncladLion video on StarSector!

[@wedge_one]

I want this game on my Steam Library YESTERDAY

[@henryhamilton4087]

13:25 the Energy Bolt Coherer on the Apex (as well as the other drone ships) are better than the one on the Executor, granting double the range bonus. Also the Terminator drones are point defense drones first, because they basically have a built in Integrated PD AI mod

[@isiffrin]

I will sneak into Lions walls and won't stop knocking until he makes a Nebulous video.

[@NightRunner9]

OMG, I've heard of a wall of text but man was this a wall of word talk, I was exhausted by about 3/4 of the way through trying to absorb all the data. Seriously, you really did that in one breath?! Simply WOW, I turned up the volume and never heard a vader like breath even once.

[@IroncladLion]

Haha, thanks friend. It's a LOT of meticulous audio editing.

[@flaviusiacob1558]

Really good video man

[@johnnyfrolicsome664]

I love the whiteout personally, the weapons feel so much more powerful!!! 😍

[@heraldofthemetalgods2620]

TY 4 THE INFO

[@nazaxprime]

Wow, how the time has passed... 11 now? Sheesh. I feel like it might even be a bit older if I really think about it... Dang, that dust in the wind got it right. 😂

[@admiraltorvosaurus8513]

The executor is a decent heavy, 9 out of 10.

[@ghostbirdlary]

3:38 thats actually a real thing that scientists considered for interplanetary travel. except nukes instead of antimatter

[@ThatSlowTypingGuy]

I really like the Executor. It's basically what I'd been trying to build an Atlas Mk2 into for awhile now, except actually effective. Invictus is quite good too but I haven't got the hang of the other new capitals yet.

[@archiethedog4515]

This is the Kenshi of sci-fi space games.

[@Aaron-sb6kx]

I hope the devs decide to release it on steam for 1.0, it would bring so many more eyes to game. Not to mention how much money it would earn, which they deserve after working on this game for years

[@Zyrithithrall]

Beautifully covered the DEM missiles, there was a lot of negative press against against them. But that seems to be turning around now-a-days. And yes the Events are greats I want to see what the future will provide with this.

[@shawnp6653]

Great video - well done! Trying to figure out why I keep putting off getting StarSector.

[@belltowersubductions5104]

Is it enough? Yes. It wasn't a massive flashy content-filled expansion update, it was all about reinforcing and strengthening everything that already existed in the game. Qol, bugfixijg, deepening of systems and stories, tbh I think it's more than enough.

[@akiwoo5205]

I think Star Sector will get a Steam release when Dwarf Fortress doe....wait a second... I love this game. I was just straight up lucky to have found it. I think I saw it on a KZbin video a long time ago. Still can't believe how much it has changed over the years.

[@comradeblin256]

Bro Pegasus actually made AI Persean League able to defeat star wars mod faction and invade their worlds lol. The dragonfire spam is glorious.

[@kyris1158]

Liked the review, yush. ^^

[@casslane3932]

love this game my first playthough was as a smuggler so fun

[@hundun5604]

10:18 That's some serious dakka. Orks would be jealous.

[@Kirkmaximus]

Once again Lion makes the most impressive Starsector update review on the web. His mod videos are the stuff of legends. Though, that does make me wonder: What will he think of "Squad Galactic Contention"? I cannot recommend highly enough the short videos Bullwon does to showcase this mod. May be we will see a Lion video on this in the future? Only time will tell...

[@DahParagon]

Have a comment for the algorithm :) Great video, entertaining and informative at the same time. And I personally just try and deal with the hostile activity permanently - the debuffs are a lot more trouble than it's worth to see what happens if I let the bar max out..

[@DahParagon]

Also, having the Atlas superfreighter named Evergreen is hilarious

[@superdau]

Starsector has to be one of my most (in hours) played games of the last decade. Hard to tell if it's this or Rimworld. Cities Skylines and Factorio take third places. What is common to all the games is the large number of mods (admittedly with hugely varying quality). The mods are what gives so much replayability (and often also increase playability with QoL mods).

[@battenburg6089]

Thanks for this vid, I've yet to play the new update. I've been busy remaking all the portraits from ALL THE MODS, because I was sick of inconsistency. Nice to know whats changed without reading all the notes lol.

[@Patton1944]

I *just* got the game, and, after some serious deliberation during my first campaign, an Eagle was the first cruiser I ever purchased since I was looking for something that'd make me more confident against the pirate fleets that I'd started seeing with cruiser sized ships of their own, and it's been a fantastic investment. It's funny that the ship that carried me out of the extreme early game (I think) had just recieved a handful of buffs.

[@milesbarnes6777]

I finally have a reason to go Luddic Path! I love my fighter wings and long range mounts on the front of my ships :) I’ve been… kinda unimpressed by the missile options, so I’m glad there’s new ones. I’m also overjoyed that Better Deserved S-Mods got integrated!

[@ZearthGJL]

And if you want a modern version of EV Nova, we have Endless Sky! The spiritual successor to EV!

[@yaldabaoth2]

Lol to this day I thought the Usurpers was part of the Sindrian Fuel Company mod. I guess that's what happens when you install new mods on new base game version.

[@davidaward82]

you used to have to change the setting in settings.json unless you modded the whiteout away... SO happy they implemented the on/off button.