New Features
* A Command Points system has been added to the game which affects fleet sizes based on empire logistical capability. The option is enabled by default for new games, old games will have it turned off.
* Full modding support has been added including the ability to create quests via script. Documentation and more info is available on the Horizon wiki/forums
* 8 new random events have been added from the original contest selections
* A configurable Governor system has been added to easily manage the development of planets (automation) for late stages of a game
* A sample mod has been added which enables playing the 3 ancient races in the game previously locked
* A convenient user interface has been added for mass refitting ships and Starbases to a new design
* Players now have the ability to continue playing the game (as an option) even after winning the game

Enhancements
* Many optimizations for super-fast turns in late games on very large galaxies

* Management Lists (colonies/fleet/planets) have been reworked for performance and should be a lot more convenient to use, sorting has been improved. Usability improvements such as keyboard shortcuts for scrolling, list size and colonize buttons. The colony list will now highlight the selected colony in colony view

* Added a button to cycle through Idle ships on galaxy view and a button to open the planets management list directly
* Added a next colony button in colony view to cycle through colonies quickly
* The Journal will now distinguish unread entries in a different color and the button will blink until all entries have been viewed
* Added a random events icon and a tooltip on the planets panel and screen
* Added a treasury warning icon on planet view when expenses are greater than the empire treasury

* Tactical combat Camera zoom level increased by popular request
* The camera can now be moved during auto mode and during other ships turn with mouse dragging

* The Council view will now visibly cycle through the candidates to better distinguish each voting option to the player (including nominating themselves)

* Task forces that have completed their Invade orders will now display 'awaiting orders' on their info panel
* Task force Patrol orders will now display a movement vector and their destination when ordered to patrol other systems

* Additional Autosaves are now available from the load menu by toggling the autosave button
* Many other improvements to various parts of the game including the AI and nice-to-haves requested by players

Balance and other changes
* Torpedoes and Missiles space use has been adjusted to bring it more in line with other types of weapons
* Missiles fuel range will now last for an extra turn before expiring
* Races now start with one or more scouts and colonizers based on galaxy size settings
* Ships with no combat capabilities are considered non-combatant and won't use command points
* Homeworld planets now have a much higher civilian buildings cap and start with higher building levels and a starbase
* Terraforming planets now have a cost/turn based on the planet size, also the bonus per level of the tech has been reduced*
* Planet special bonuses will now apply once the appropriate building (shown on tooltip) has been built regardless of workforce distribution
* Tribute effect on refusal or cancellation will now incur a much higher tolerance penalty
* Diplomatic threats now have a hit on race tolerance

Fixes
* Several improvements to how the AI manages it's fleets for attacks and defense

* The shortcut key 'A' for the optional Attack button during combat has been restored
* Fixed a loophole where during instanced combat mode the player could attack other colonies in the system
* The Fleet score will now exclude stationary defenses (planetary defenses and orbitals)

* Fixed a bug that occasionally could cause a diplomacy event dialogue which happened many turns ago to repeat after saving/loading a game
* Techfield ratio/research distribution is now transferred to the other techfields when all techs in that category have reached their maximum level
* Barsig Junkyards bonus will now provide a larger boost for research breakthrough chance
* Creative race trait will now work correctly and apply the displayed bonus

* Civilian Buildings cap is now affected by condition of building
* Independent faction and mission mobs will now regenerate health between turns
* Fixed a bug where AI races colonies would have no pollution

* Fixed orbitals displaying the wrong estimate for completion once shipyards were built
* Industry capacity (cap) will no longer show shipyards bonus (which only apply to ship building)
* Fixed galaxy background not updating when loading or creating a game after the first time it's loaded

* Gold and Gem deposit bonuses will no longer be affected by other factors and will always provide the stated bonus
* Intelligent life forms bonus will now require the world to be a research colony

Achievements
* Tech research related achievements are now active on Steam and can be achieved