Sins of a Solar Empire II 'UI Horizons' Update Notes (30th April 2026)

UI overhaul, in-game map editor, new defense platform abilities, and more arrive in the v1.6 update

View the full changelog

\[Part 2 coming soon!]

Front-End UI Overhaul

The entire front-end UI has been rebuilt from the ground up. The new layout surfaces more information at a glance, cuts dead space, and brings a cleaner visual style throughout. A new Faction Selection screen gives you a breakdown of each faction's identity, special abilities, and units, including a live 3D Unit Preview Window where you can rotate and inspect any ship or structure, complete with any unlocked mesh upgrades. Single- and Multiplayer lobby windows have been refreshed, and the Random Map UI now lets you pick your star type and skybox before you ever hit launch. Player colors have also been expanded with a new set of team colors and sliders for saturation and brightness so you can dial in exactly the look you want.

In-Game Map Editor

Back by popular demand (literally), a simple, easy-to-use map editor is now built right into the game. Create a map, and it automatically imports to your local map listing. Later this year we'll add mod.io sharing so you can publish and browse community maps without ever leaving the client.

New Defense Platform Abilities

All three factions are getting new tools for their defensive lines:

TEC The Autocannon Defense Structure gains Flechette Blast, an arc-radius burst ability. The Gauss Defense Structure gains Meson Bolt, which debuffs target armor. The Hangar Defense Structure gains Enhanced Production to reduce strikecraft build times.

Advent The Beam Defense Structure gains Synergetic Ward, generating a protective AoE field. The Hangar Defense Structure gains Empowered Anima, boosting strikecraft weapons and shields. The Laser Defense Structure gains Psionic Burst, a penetrating beam attack that passes through targets. The Transcencia Starbase also gets two new items: Power Surge and Pulse Resonance.

Vasari The Missile Defense Structure gains Disruptor Nanites. The Pulse Defense Structure gains Phasic Trap.

Advent AI: Unity Ability Use

Advent AI players now have a dedicated controller for managing Unity abilities. Expect the AI to start using these strategically rather than sitting on them.

Lobby & Setup Improvements

You can now drag and drop player starting positions directly on the map preview screen, and map selection can be swapped from inside a multiplayer lobby. No more backing all the way out just to try a different map, and no more guessing where everyone spawns.

Performance & Engine Work

New game saves are now automatically compressed, reducing save file sizes by 70% or more. This update also includes a significant number of additional under-the-hood improvements: a reworked spatial grid system, optimized mesh and shader rendering, improved missile targeting precision, better unit formation handling, refactored visible object culling, and a long list of math, physics, and asset loading optimizations. The full list is in the changelog.

Vasari Balance

Several Vasari capital ships (Kortul Devastator, Skirantra Carrier, Vulkoras Desolator, Marauder, Jarrasul Evacuator) have had their resource costs increased. Ship Factory and Fleet Beacon costs have also been adjusted. A number of research items have moved tiers or had their effects tuned. See the full changelog for details.

Modding

v1.6 adds new constraint types, a new autocast type for long-range abilities (pick_unit_anywhere), research buff provider definitions, NOT constraint logic, and improved buff stacking limit support. Note: this update will break most mods until authors update them.

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