March 30, 2026 CotB v0.9.4

ARIA Takes the Helm

ARIA has always had opinions. Now she has authority. v0.9.4 introduces Commander Mode — your AI advisor can dispatch scouts, adjust fleet doctrine, and queue research autonomously. She still reports to you. She just doesn't wait for permission on the small stuff anymore.

Commander Mode

ARIA now supports tool-calling through OpenAI-compatible providers. In Commander Mode, she evaluates the game state and takes actions: dispatching scouts to anomalies, adjusting mining priorities, recommending doctrine shifts. When Commander Mode tools aren't available, she falls back to regular advisory — same personality, same opinions, just no hands on the controls.

Carrier Docking

Ships can now dock to carriers. A new DOCKED state keeps miners attached to their parent hauler with position sync and visual grouping. This is the foundation for the carrier dispatch system coming in v0.9.5 — think of it as the scaffolding for StarCraft-style fleet operations.

Guest Access Restored

The "Play as Guest" button on the login screen was accidentally removed in a previous deploy. It's back. No account required to play — that's the deal, and we're sticking to it.

Cultures of the Belt is free to play. Pay what you can if you want to keep the lights on in the belt.

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