A recap of updates since the Holidays:

Vendetta 1.8.632
- Four new custom-made missions.
- Capital Rail Cannon Turret weapon fire is now displayed on the radar as yellow blips for Windows, Linux, and Android platforms. Mac and iOS updates are forthcoming.
- Added a GetPOI() function for plugins, returning known wormhole and station locations in the local system.
- Fixed issue with Android version not saving chat to errors.log file.
- Fixed issue with users with renewed membership not being able to use the /report spybot command.
- Experimental performance enhancements to sectors, for conditions involving large battles or extreme NPC counts.

Vendetta 1.8.631.1
- Fixed isue with lua 'Error in error handling' error on Linux and Android platforms.

Vendetta 1.8.631
- Four new custom-made missions, available in various trees.
- Added a /selfdefensetime command to show the status of your self defense timers against other players within your radar range.
- Fixed issue with Self-Defense timers ending after 15 minutes from first attack instead of from last attack under certain conditions.
- Fixed issue with non-addons being displayed in the Addon Equip list while piloting a capship.
- Fixed issue with Turn and Strafe Left/Right analog gamepad commands becoming inverted when moved to the opposite analog stick.
- Fixed issue with SN30 Pro Bluetooth gamepad not setting up default values for the L2 and R2 buttons on Android.
- Prototype of new game-client Lua runtime environment with enhanced performance, now available on Android and Linux platforms.
- Server-side performance optimizations, relevant to large-scale battle conditions and high NPC counts.

Vendetta 1.8.630.1
- Fixed lua errors with various plugins.

Vendetta 1.8.630
- Eight new custom-made missions.
- HUD leadoff indicators now match the color of the weapon group each port is in when group coloring is enabled. If a port is in more than one group, the color of the first group it is in will be used.
- Fixed lua error when a group member destroys another ship.
- Fixed issue with plugin-generated commands doing the wrong thing after an interface reset. All commands created by plugins are now unregistered when the interface is reloaded. Plugins now have to re-register their commands.
- Fixed issue with ipairs and the # operator.
- Fixed lua error when attempting to display the Ship Buy-back menu.
- The Game.OpenWebBrowser() function now only accepts HTTP and HTTPS urls.

Vendetta 1.8.629
- Prototype of new game-client Lua runtime environment with enhanced performance, being tested first on Windows.

Vendetta 1.8.628
- Four new custom-made missions.
- Strikeforce will no longer attack their target after the TempKoS expires.
- Fixed rare issue with Strikeforce not properly leaving when they cannot find their target.
- Fixed issue with putting the player at the wrong location after taking control of their capship.
- Fixed issue with Keyboard/Mouse setting not being saved on Android devices that have both a touchscreen and gamepad connected.

Vendetta 1.8.627
- Testing of internal client architecture improvements and analytics, to aid next-generation game performance and stability.

Vendetta 1.8.626
- Four new custom-made missions.
- Repair weapons no longer reset the capship shield repair timer.
- When a player targeted with homing missiles docks to any capship to which they possess a key or own, the missiles will re-target to the capship.

Vendetta 1.8.625
- Four new custom-made missions.
- Changes to Strike Force AI, possibly mitigating usage of TempKoS to attack adversaries.
- PowerCell Blasters are now considered hostile weapons, and will trigger No Fire Zone responses and aggro NPCs.
- Added more specific absolute limits and alarms to NPC spawning, to mitigate "unforeseen" extreme runaway bug scenarios.

Vendetta 1.8.624
- Four new custom-made missions.
- Player-owned capships now have their faction standings immediately updated when the owner's faction standings change.
- Added warning and confirmation when attempting to edit the login password entry field so users don't accidentally change their one-click account password.
- Station access key selection menu is now requested to be opened a second time in the event the menu didn't open or was accidentally closed by a plugin the first time.
- Added code to attempt to repair corrupt ship presets.
- Fixed incorrect rendering of the ice refraction effect on Linux when dynamic lights are enabled.
- Fixed lua error when plugins attempt to auto-select ship presets in the Ship Buy-back menu.
- Fixed issue with not hitting storms when coming from certain directions.

Vendetta 1.8.623
- Four new custom-made missions.
- Fixed issue when a player's remote capship disappears after following a convoy NPC that goes away.
- Fixed lua error when the Faction Reset menu appears after the interface is reloaded.
- Fixed lua error when attempting to save gamepad settings but the gamepad had disconnected.

Some helpful visible updates and tweaks (including some requests from Suggestions), along with some really complex and significant developments "under the hood" in the game client, the benefits of which haven't become fully apparent yet.

These architectural changes will make a lot of the plans for next-generation gameplay more feasible; but to keep the game stable, each major change has to be rolled at one-at-a-time, on its own, well "in advance" of being used. That way we can quickly react to any unforeseen issues that didn't show up during internal testing.

Beyond this, there's also a new Pinned thread at the top of Suggestions giving some insight on the current "areas of development interest". Not a concrete plan or specific schedule, but some insight for those who are interested.

Similarly, there's a new Request For Comments thread on the Suggestions Forum, all about the "Future of Mining", discussing plans for a next-generation gameplay change for the process of prospecting and mining an updated, denser and more expanded galaxy.

That's all for now, have a great weekend everyone!