Era IX: The connections matter more

Era VIII, “New World”, has been available since 30 October. The landing, local supplies and the growth of the colony are now part of the playable journey. For the next chapter, I want to carry that economy forward and put more attention on its connections.

When one upgrade matters in several places

In Era IX, I am working with precision alloys, recovery, storage cells and industrial research. A stronger business needs materials and power; what it produces becomes a requirement somewhere else. Those are the choices I enjoy shaping: where will the next investment help, and which part of the chain is holding the rest back?

The new era is called “Age of connections”. Its six stages lead from the industrial base through qualified materials and stable energy to precision couplers. The Weltenwerk gains further construction stages along the way. The spaceport also has a place in that development, with returning cargo feeding specific processes in the current industry.

The work between the larger additions

Alongside the content, I have worked on repeated tasks such as saving, production calculations, display refreshes and cargo queries. The existing rules and familiar controls remain the foundation. Four more languages, calm music and optional haptics are also part of the work.

The images are development captures of the research interface from 15 October. They show the branching structure; prices, timings and the final presentation may differ in the coming update.

The next date

Version 1.3 with Era IX is planned for 1 December 2026. I am preparing the detailed patch notes for 25 November. Until then, my focus is on making the new chains understandable and bringing their transitions together.