A new hotfix for Stellaris is now live on PC via Steam, GOG, and the MS Store, addressing a critical issue introduced in version 4.4.5 where automated science ships were disappearing forever while exploring Astral Rifts. Previously, these ships would vanish upon reaching a rift, effectively stranding the scientist and clogging the Outliner with "Missing In Action" alerts. That behavior has now been corrected.

Automation and Quality of Life Improvements

Beyond the bug fix, the update brings several functional improvements to fleet automation. Automated ships will no longer abandon their current tasks—such as constructing stations, researching anomalies, or exploring rifts—when avoiding hostile fleets. Additionally, fleet automation menus now offer per-action settings, allowing for finer control over logistics and construction.

Nomadic players see significant changes to how they manage their fleets. Harvest, Strip Mine, and Deep Scan automation can now be fine-tuned, and settings can be saved as defaults for specific ship types. Construction automation has also been expanded to include specific toggles for Mining Stations, Research Stations, Observation Posts, and Special Projects.

New Galaxy Settings and Operational Reserves

Players looking to customize their galaxy generation now have access to a Resource Abundance slider. The setting ranges from "Scarce" to x5, with x1 representing the baseline abundance of version 4.3. The default is set to x2, which the developers acknowledge may be slightly confusing but provides more granularity for custom setups.

The update also introduces major changes to Operational Reserves for Nomadic empires:

  • Reserves now track Energy and Minerals at a 1:1 ratio, rather than the previous 3:1.
  • Maximum capacity now scales based on the number and tier of owned Arkships, rather than relying on a fixed cap.
  • A new "Critical" stage has been added to the Operational Reserves track, which imposes severe penalties on research, Unity, and Alloys, while also negatively impacting pop growth and job efficiency for specific species types.

Additional Fixes

The patch includes a wide array of balance adjustments and bug fixes, including:

  • Space Fauna: Creatures will now disable waystations instead of destroying them, re-enabling them once the fauna departs or is defeated.
  • Map Modes: The Details map mode now toggles through three states: Normal, Detailed, and Hidden.
  • Forever Cruise: Various balance tweaks for the origin, including new event options that allow players to accept temporary economic penalties to influence the situation's direction.
  • AI Improvements: The AI will once again correctly assign leaders to sector capitals and newly constructed Arkships.

For players using the beta branch, the update also includes increased effects for the Shrinkspace and Extra-Dimensional Depots on Operational Reserves, boosting their capacity contributions to 2,500 and 5,000 respectively.