Egosoft's feature guide to version 2.00 can be found here, and they explain version 2.5's Diplomatic Aid missions in this video.
Version 2.00 (183618) - 2014-05-20
• New Feature: Three new gamestarts, each with a new cockpit configuration.
• New Feature: All new Argon Secret Service missions.
• New Feature: Rebalanced combat with three difficulty settings.
• New Feature: Additional commands for your ships.
• New Feature: Autopilot can fly your ship while you are busy.
• New Feature: All new highway flight model.
• New Feature: Most tasks can now be performed without landing on stations.
• New Feature: Full screen HUD detail monitor option.
• New Feature: Clicks on event monitor now open relevant menus.
• New Feature: Map/radar on event monitor.
• New Feature: New ships in Omicron Lyrae.
• New Feature: Huge new Xenon ship.
• New Feature: Four new missile types.
• New Feature: Improved graphics for an even more beautiful universe.
• New Feature: New graphics options and presets.
• New Feature: New start menu scene.
• New Feature: New Steam achievements.
• Added support for up to 8 input devices (now even your pet octopus can get the most from the game).
• Added option to buy replacement player ship cockpit layout from certain traders.
• Added shield damage for collisions.
• Improved responsiveness of main menu and dialogs.
• Improved event monitor with more space for important information.
• Improved positioning of interface elements in first person mode.
• Improved production logic now skips products where the station has too much stock.
• Fixed gamepad mode switching on when axis has non-zero value while at rest.
• Fixed problem with wrecked state of ship/station surface elements not always being loaded from savegames correctly.
• Fixed collectable objects not showing a target element.
• Fixed gates not showing a target element.
• Fixed info points not being displayed at drone launch pads.
• Fixed cases where clicking on larger targets didn't work.
• Fixed rare instance of mission objective bar being stuck on screen.
• Fixed text field not being reset when closing and reopening trade menu.
• Fixed problems with overlapping/truncated text on first person event monitor.
• Fixed cases resulting in jumping target elements.
• Fixed incorrect text in certain conversations.
• Fixed icon size in licence encyclopedia entry.
• Fixed distance sorting in trade menu.
• Fixed capital ships becoming invisible when boosting while player is close.
• Fixed cases where build icons were displayed without a builder ship in the player squad.
• Fixed missing trade offers for architects with no money.
• Fixed rare case of missing target elements (usually build locations or player owned cap ships).
• Fixed cases where targeting objects using gamepad/joystick controls did not work correctly.
• Fixed trade restrictions menu getting stuck.
• Fixed several causes of occasional crashes.
• Various optimisations resulting in small performance improvements.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Jonathan "MAD Joker" Ziller whose NESA mod was a major source of inspiration for our version of the functionality to allow most tasks to be performed without landing on stations.
Update 2.10 (184088) - 2014-06-11
• Improved dock info menu by marking enemy NPCs in red.
• Fixed incorrectly sorted NPCs in the dock info menu.
• Fixed CVs being unexpectedly relocated when rammed by boosting capital ships.
• Fixed item trader telling you about an "excellent choice" when you didn't buy anything.
• Fixed long range scanner effects not showing for distant objects.
• Fixed resource menu not opening for ship trader.
• Fixed mission finding player-owned objects as targets.
• Fixed several other small mission issues.
• Fixed architect not being set up correctly on plot CV.
• Fixed capital ships trying to use their jumpdrive when they should go through a gate directly.
• Fixed several cases of incorrectly oriented ship parts on the radar.
• Fixed issues with sending cargo collector drones from certain capital ships.
• Fixed Omicron Lyrae sectors not having an owner faction.
• Fixed inconsistent interact menu item positions.
• Fixed one cause of cargo collector drones having trouble launching/docking.
• Fixed event monitor sounds coming from the wrong direction in first person mode.
• Fixed text errors in German localisation.
• Fixed repair not being available for damaged objects when some sub-components are damaged.
• Fixed build duration and resources required when running a "partial" build (usually in response to missing components).
• Fixed build durations generally not taking into account production method and efficiency.
• Fixed repair resources not being calculated correctly.
• Fixed integrated sub-components sometimes being wrecked independently.
• Fixed various issues with visual build progress becoming inconsistent during building.
• Fixed inconsistent component states, both visual and functional, after destruction/repair in certain circumstances.
• Fixed NPCs on destroyed player platforms not being killed resulting in problems assigning new ones.
• Fixed problems with stop task and with clear shopping list not clearing the shopping list.
• Fixed pilots losing money when they are no longer in the squad when they finish their last planned trade.
• Fixed ships sometimes failing to line up correctly to trade offer docks, blocking trades.
• Fixed problems with drones not returning to dock.
• Fixed problems of losing reputation in wrong cases.
• Fixed various issues with upkeep and Secret Service missions.
• Fixed cases with missing target elements (especially for newly built stations).
• Fixed cases where a super-highway exit incorrectly showed a target element.
• Fixed target element at left side for the playership, when player is under cover.
• Fixed police ships sometimes attacking innocent objects.
• Fixed keeping PageUp/PageDown pressed down not cycling through target when being inside a drone.
• Fixed keeping Shift+F pressed down causing an FPS-drop.
• Fixed achievements for Hard difficulty not unlocking in some cases.
• Fixed several minor physics issues.
• Fixed one cause of "micro-stutter" during gameplay.
• Fixed several causes of occasional crashes.
• Various optimisations resulting in small performance improvements.
Update 2.20 (184360) - 2014-06-27
• NEW: The 64-bit EXE is now the default. See below for more information.
• Fixed Secret Service missions constantly reminding player to talk to mission actor.
• Fixed campaign progressing unexpectedly when docking at station.
• Fixed player occasionally being in wrong position on platform when loading savegame.
• Fixed trade offers on player ships/stations occasionally not appearing in trade menu.
• Fixed claimed ships not showing up in property menu.
• Fixed ships continuing to move when ordered to wait.
• Fixed trade orders not being executed when ship has been ordered to wait.
• Fixed various cases of drones being unable to dock/return.
• Fixed missing docking bay on Wheat Plantation.
• Fixed missing container storage on Pharma-Spice Farm.
• Fixed missing MK2 weapons after completing plot (you may need to change zones before this kicks in).
• Fixed map not showing player stations.
• Fixed incorrect positions of some elements on map.
• Fixed menu slider controls breaking under certain circumstances.
• Fixed controls no longer working when opening ability menu on a platform.
• Fixed controller A-button not working after having left the cockpit while an interactive notification was displayed.
• Fixed station under construction becoming invisible after Alt-Tab.
• Fixed a leak causing savegames to grow slowly in size over time.
• Fixed several causes of occasional crashes.
64-bit
We are now sufficiently confident about the 64-bit version of the game to make this the default. Both 64-bit and 32-bit versions now include this information in the game's start menu. If you encounter serious problems with 64-bit and would like to try reverting to 32-bit then you can subscribe to the 32-bit "beta" using the Steam client. To start using the 32-bit version, right-click X Rebirth in the Steam client, select Properties and go to the Betas tab then select release_32 from the dropdown list. If you are running a 32-bit version of Windows you will automatically receive the 32-bit version of the game, though such Windows versions remain unsupported.
Note: The system requirements for the game have always stated that it requires a 64-bit version of Windows, and that future updates for the 32-bit version are not guaranteed indefinitely.
We suggest that if you create a savegame in 64-bit you use that savegame with subsequent 64-bit-versions only and do not load it into a 32-bit version. While we do not know of any issues in practice with savegames between the two versions, there is a theoretical possibility that you might corrupt your savegame to a point where it cannot be restored if you load a 64-bit savegame into a 32-bit version.
Steam does not currently support automatic crashdump upload for 64-bit applications. We are therefore using a third party tool to provide this facility. If there is a crash then a standard crashdump will be created and uploaded to the third party site, from where we can perform analysis to determine the cause. As with Steam crashdumps no personal information is included in these crashdumps.
Note: The primary aim of the 64-bit version is to remove the memory limitations of 32-bit. This should improve stability, because the game is less likely to run out of memory, and reduce stutter, because certain essential assets that cannot be loaded in the background can stay in memory for longer. It is not likely to significantly improve general performance, though it's possible that it may do so for certain people under certain circumstances.
Version 2.50 (187052) - 2014-10-09
• New Feature: New side-bar based main menu.
• New Feature: External camera view.
• New Feature: Free look in cockpit.
• New Feature: New shipyards for small and medium sized ships.
• Added Drone Hunt generic mission.
• Added Protection Detail generic mission.
• Added Diplomatic Aid mission chain.
• Added respawning of specialists with increasing hire fees.
• Added incoming remotely ordered wares to item trader menu.
• Added auto-refuel setting.
• Added small ship traders.
• Added primary shields to large ships which did not already have them.
• Added "civil war" behaviour between Plutarch and Heart of Albion in Albion.
• Added ability to replace destroyed CVs so that station construction can continue.
• Added ability to assign ships to other ships of same size or to any large ship.
• Added option to choose between stopping and maintaining speed while in menus.
• Added event monitor display to drone control mode.
• Added target elements for player-owned small ships.
• Added statistic for storage modules hacked.
• Added crash report option with privacy settings.
• Improved event monitor with "picture-in-picture" mode.
• Improved hacking gameplay.
• Improved engine animation and effects.
• Improved ship AI behaviour in numerous situations.
• Improved generation of mission enemies.
• Improved "Assign new superior" command.
• Improved ability menu to show when a drone is unavailable.
• Improved mission target indicator to point always to the closest mission target.
• Improved trade offers menu (shopping list is included in ship cargo).
• Improved docking behaviour of drones.
• Improved build tree menu user experience.
• Improved several mission briefings.
• Improved Open Comm Link menu in legacy main menu.
• Improved scan time for police scanning illegal activities.
• Improved lifetime of containers dropped from cargo bays.
• Improved remote controlled player drones flying back to the player ship.
• Improved rendering of distant objects to reduce flickering slightly.
• Improved Mission Bar so it no longer obstructs menus.
• Improved crash report content to help us find and fix causes of crashes.
• Fixed several plot and other mission issues.
• Fixed player ship cover faction not being reset from Xenon after plot.
• Fixed player ships returned during the plot being inactive.
• Fixed incorrect Player relations with Plutarch.
• Fixed Reiver reputation not being mutual in new games.
• Fixed drones not being able to return to their home base.
• Fixed an issue with station expansions not completing out-of-sector.
• Fixed multiple ship dealers per platform.
• Fixed escort ships disappearing after loading a savegame.
• Fixed a pathing issue for ships flying to stations.
• Fixed an issue with gas collectors not collecting.
• Fixed production module animations being stuck after having been out-of-sector.
• Fixed incorrect AI ship behaviour after having been forced out of a highway.
• Fixed several problems with drone docking.
• Fixed problems with transport drones not picking up containers.
• Fixed drones failing to get a new commander if theirs is destroyed.
• Fixed several mining bugs (resource gathering, movement, searching...).
• Fixed cases of player drones getting lost when you enter a highway.
• Fixed police not detecting illegal cargo in player inventory in many cases.
• Fixed station building not proceeding correctly when not in the player zone.
• Fixed refuel budget menu assuming that the trader has no money.
• Fixed case where build resources are requested for the playership.
• Fixed problem involving disappearing wares.
• Fixed managers pestering the player for money.
• Fixed stuck trade offers and refunded money to all participants.
• Fixed shields not protecting surface elements on several ships in Omicron Lyrae.
• Fixed jumpgates sometimes sending the player to invalid positions.
• Fixed mining drones not picking up asteroids in some cases.
• Fixed ships getting stuck waiting for drones.
• Fixed some ships not shooting at large objects.
• Fixed some trade ships ignoring trade opportunities for extended periods of time.
• Fixed storage calculations for intermediate products that caused storage requirements to be vastly overestimated.
• Fixed exploit allowing repeated instantly-profitable trades on shipyards.
• Fixed temporary loss of faction discounts when temporarily losing reputation.
• Fixed remote transport drones ending up in the player squad.
• Fixed station-to-station trades sometimes ending prematurely.
• Fixed dropped inventory items being picked up again immediately.
• Fixed picked-up objects disappearing due to timeout.
• Fixed several problems associated with hacking gameplay.
• Fixed mining drones being unable to return to some capital ships.
• Fixed Split "Gangrene Chaser" turrets disappearing and allow re-building.
• Fixed upgrade resources being counted twice for building.
• Fixed upgrade level rounding issues resulting in incorrect upgrade counts.
• Fixed ship category in encyclopedia for Hermod, Light Sul and Heavy Sul.
• Fixed inconsistent upgrade counts between encyclopedia and ship dealer.
• Fixed player ship selectable in Assign to Commander conversation.
• Fixed unidentified station modules having a name in the map.
• Fixed being able to remote comm NPCs in the same room.
• Fixed offset mouse position in borderless window mode.
• Fixed mouse confinement when starting the game in borderless window mode.
• Fixed minor button selection bugs in menus.
• Fixed issues with scrolling down in some menu tables.
• Fixed automatically changing selection in map menu.
• Fixed initial button selection in menus not being highlighted.
• Fixed rare cases of hotkey buttons not working.
• Fixed occasional freeze when opening the options menu.
• Fixed cases where the dialog menu was not displayed.
• Fixed mode options being available in the player ship's back room.
• Fixed left mouse clicks not closing ability/interact menus in some cases.
• Fixed double clicks on current target not always opening interact menu.
• Fixed stuck scroll-bar when returning to a previous menu.
• Fixed platform trader menu getting stuck with discounts.
• Fixed various other issues with UI and targeting behaviour.
• Fixed dialog or legacy main menu sometimes not showing buttons as selected.
• Fixed pressing ESC/DEL on loading screen returning to startmenu after loading is done.
• Fixed target cycling not working in highways.
• Fixed targets being lost in some cases.
• Fixed mission targets showing group target elements for ships instead of single ship target elements.
• Fixed certain invisible ship/station components being selectable as target.
• Fixed keyboard navigation selecting options from time to time.
• Fixed input actions and states mapped to axis on joystick 3-8 not working.
• Fixed ability to comm from a remote control drone using the "C" shortcut.
• Fixed stuck shift keys when alt-tabbing or changing window focus.
• Fixed station hints not being shown in non-plot games.
• Fixed mission offer locations being displayed when in a drone.
• Fixed weird camera behaviour when flying relative to moving capital ships.
• Fixed main menu font issue in Chinese and Korean.
• Fixed the boost effect not stopping in some situations.
• Fixed missing Ad Sign text in event monitor.
• Fixed wrongly-scaled buy ship menus on detail monitor.
• Fixed wrong message text when standard drones arrive via remote delivery.
• Fixed subtitles changing too fast for long lines.
• Fixed incorrect English voice lines for a Teladi speaker.
• Fixed excessively bright lights on certain objects.
• Fixed disappearing ice asteroids.
• Fixed missing advertising signs.
• Fixed several of the most common causes of crashes.
• Various optimisations resulting in performance improvements.
Version 2.51 (187332) - 2014-10-17
• Fixed failure to deselect current target under certain circumstances.
• Fixed crash when loading certain savegames.
• Fixed several other causes of crashes.
64-bit
The system requirements for the game have always stated that it requires a 64-bit version of Windows, and the 64-bit version of the game is now successfully in general use.
This is the last version for which a 32-bit executable is available.