Ship Software Updates

Description

Ship Software Updates adds an automatic firmware tuning system for player ships. Your ship receives a modest performance tune based on its current configuration, with no vendor, no terminal, no upgrade purchase, and no credits spent.

The mod is designed to feel like improved calibration, power routing, targeting assistance, shield tuning, grav-drive optimization, and role-specific ship firmware rather than free hardware upgrades.

Version 1.4 improves firmware role selection with stricter configuration-based scoring. Specialist roles now need stronger supporting signals before they are selected. The diagnostic slate also adds a short Primary Signals line so players can see the main configuration signals behind the current firmware choice.

Important Compatibility Note

Ship Software reads the live ship values the game exposes at runtime. If another mod changes cargo modules, reactor output, engine values, shields, grav-drive stats, mass, speed, or similar ship data, those changed values can affect the tune and role selection. In other words, the mod evaluates the ship the game currently sees.

Version 1.4 is more conservative with extreme cargo values. Very-high cargo does not count as cargo-role intent unless the ship also has very-heavy frame support. This helps prevent externally boosted cargo values from turning light or medium ships into cargo roles or unrelated specialist roles.

Installation Instructions

Install from Creations and enable the mod in your load order.

The tune applies automatically when your home ship changes, when your current ship changes, or when your ship is modified. Existing saves are supported.

To uninstall, land your ship, save outside of ship combat, then remove the mod. For the safest uninstall, load the save once after disabling the mod and make a new save.

Main Features

• Fully automatic ship tuning
• No credits required
• No terminal, activator, vendor, or upgrade purchase required
• No SFSE, X-Tech, Cassiopeia, or DLC requirement
• Tune strength is based on stable ship configuration data
• Supports Balanced, Mobility, Combat, Range, and Hauler tune profiles
• Adds automatic firmware roles for different ship builds
• Adds role-specific performance overlays for specialized ships
• Adds role signatures at Tier 3 and above
• Shield bonus scales by tune tier
• Tier 5 includes a modest +1 reactor power routing bonus
• Includes a read-only diagnostic slate for the current ship report

Tune Tiers

• Tier 1: 3% tune and +5% shields
• Tier 2: 6% tune and +10% shields
• Tier 3: 7% tune, +15% shields, and can activate role signatures
• Tier 4: 9% tune and +20% shields
• Tier 5: 11% tune, +25% shields, and +1 reactor power

Firmware Roles

Ship Software Updates automatically evaluates your ship and assigns firmware that best matches the build.

• Balanced
• Courier
• Combat
• Explorer
• Hauler
• Armed Freighter
• Scout
• Long-Haul Freighter
• Logistics Platform
• Patrol Cutter
• Interceptor

Balanced ships remain the neutral control role and do not receive a specialist overlay.

How Ship Evaluation Works

The mod evaluates reliable ship data exposed by the vanilla game: reactor capacity, engine capacity, shield capacity, grav-drive capacity, weapon group count, grav fuel, cargo, mass, speed, and current grav range.

The tune tier and the firmware role are separate decisions. The tier describes overall capability. The role describes the ship's build style and decides the firmware flavor, overlay, and role signature.

Cargo role selection uses cargo design support instead of cargo value alone. For very-high cargo values, the system is intentionally stricter: cargo at 3000+ needs very-heavy frame support before it can drive cargo-family firmware.

Long-range role selection looks at stable grav-drive and fuel capacity instead of relying only on visible current grav range. The diagnostic still shows Current Grav because that is what players see in game.

Combat-style firmware is intentionally conservative. Dedicated combat, patrol, and interceptor roles need supporting ship design signals instead of being selected from weapon count alone.

Example Notification

Ship Software: Explorer | Range T5 | Tune 11% | Shield +25% | Reactor +1 | Current Grav 25.5 -> 28.3 LY

Example Diagnostic Slate Line

Primary Signals: grav-drive capacity + fuel

Requirements

No additional mods required.

No SFSE, X-Tech, Cassiopeia, or DLC requirement.

Compatibility

Ship Software Updates uses its own records and does not override vanilla records.

The mod reads the current ship values the game exposes at runtime. If another mod changes ship modules, those changes may still affect what Ship Software sees.

Version 1.4 Notes

• Improved firmware role selection with stricter configuration-based scoring
• Added minimum role gates so specialist firmware requires stronger ship-design support
• Added Primary Signals to the diagnostic slate
• Improved Combat, Patrol Cutter, Interceptor, Explorer, Scout, and cargo-role selection
• Added a conservative very-high cargo guard requiring very-heavy frame support
• Improved profile selection for specialist roles
• Preserved no-SFSE, no-Cassiopeia, no-DLC design
• Preserved existing save support
• Preserved automatic no-cost tuning behavior
• Preserved read-only diagnostic slate behavior