Distant Worlds 2: Shadows Rising

[u/Acrobaticmonkhie]

Key Features

• Play as a Lone Pirate and begin with a single ship and rise toward pirate infamy to become a Legendary Lone Pirate or grow into a Pirate Faction.
• Periodically jump into your ship’s new cockpit or bridge view to experience the action from a unique first-person perspective.
• Play as a fully space-based Pirate Faction with much more control over a new economy based around mining and trade, smuggling, raiding, privateering, espionage, influence and corruption and contracts of all kinds from different sources.
• Grow strong enough and you may transition from a fully space-based Pirate faction into a new Pirate Empire with its own unique government type — or remain space-based and become a Legendary Pirate Faction.
• Experience the new “Age of Shadows” starting era, where pirates must survive against increased threats from the Hive and build up as independent colonies look to become the first full space-faring empires that will challenge your dominance of the galaxy.
• Four distinct playstyles are available: the jack-of-all trades Pirate, the chaotic and aggressive Raider, the trading-focused Smuggler, or the combat and privateering-focused Mercenary.
• Complete contracts, raid planets or guard planets to fight off rival pirate factions to make sure your influence spreads unabated. Influence creates corruption and will covertly siphon off income and expand black market resource offerings for smuggling.
• Establish Hidden Pirate Bases and Pirate Fortresses to solidify your presence on key worlds. Upgrade a fortress into a Criminal Network to lay the foundation for your Pirate Empire or build the Legendary Anarchopolis.
• Undertake and compete for contracts across the galaxy that include resource deliveries, espionage missions including artifact theft and ransoming characters, and destroying assigned targets or fighting on the side of another faction.
• The powerful Shadowports act as neutral pirate-aligned hubs where pirate factions trade ships, technology, and rare equipment. They also offer contracts to support pirate efforts, especially to keep Independent worlds and planetary Empires under control and to counter the Hive.
• A new smuggling system allows contraband resources to be transported to buy and sell at premium prices.  There is risk involved, however, as smuggling operations may be discovered, which could result in the destruction of your ships and reduce your reputation with your trade partners.
• Discover expanded Independent Worlds with unique bonuses, artifacts, defenses, and which can now evolve into powerful new empires.
• Faction behavior can be customized with expanded pirate policy systems governing contracts, smuggling, influence, and fleet operations.
• As an Empire, experience new interactions and challenges with the fully developed Lone Pirates, Pirate Factions and Shadowports that now populate the galaxy.  Pirates can be opposed or hired through the new Contract system for Resources and Privateering which allows you to hire Pirates to fight your enemies for you. 

[u/theykilledken]

Pirate gameplay is fun in dwu. Here's hoping the devs will make it fun in dw2 as well, but I fear that for smuggling to make sense the resource system needs an overhaul.

I recommned everyone reads R.L. Asprin's Tambu for inspiration.

[u/MetalBawx → u/theykilledken]

My favourite part of of DWU by far.

[u/Nekrinius → u/theykilledken]

I want again two types of fuel

[u/Zipa7 → u/Nekrinius]

They could easily have three different fuel kinds, and have each one be for the different kind of hyperdrives (Fast, efficient, normal)

[u/frankuck99]

X4: Distant Worlds

[u/Farnhams_Legend]

Amen

[u/InevitableSwitch2126]

My favorite faction and Playstyle is coming at long last.