- 16 new ships: 1 new energy reactor, 3 new starships, 8 new turrets, new mercenary space dock with 3 new mercenary ships.
- Major visual improvements -- planets and backgrounds, some effects, parts of the HUD, and a few ship classes.
- Massively updated economy that is easier to manage and which scales better to very long games.
- New Energy model that provides more incentive for expansion while also fitting within the updated economy.
- Faster Starts: The repetitive activities from the first 5 or so minutes of a new campaign have now been automated to let players get right to the real game.
- Several major AI improvements: tactical retreats, better aggression against key targets, better tactical intelligence in a number of different scenarios.
- Revamped cross-planet attacks that are better balanced for players.
