Endless Space 2 welcomes the Horatio in second major update

Those familiar with the first Endless Space will recall the Horatio as the rather eccentric race of egg-headed clones whose leader was into eugenics. As promised last November, Endless Space 2 has now launched its second of three proposed major pre-release updates, which sees the return of the deceptive doppelgangers as the turn-based strategy's newest playable faction.

The update also brings with it a couple of new minor factions—the Gnashast's Scavengers, and the Tikanan's Eusocials. A new technology tree, some reworked game menu options, and five new victory conditions are also among the most significant changes. The latter adds Supremacy, Conquest, Science, Economy, and Wonder; while two new galaxy shapes by way of 4-disks and Ring await players too.

Here's developer Amplitude discussing that and more at length:

A number of tweaks and adjustments have been made to how the game plays, its battle sequences, diplomacy, UI and AI—not to mention a range of bug fixes—the sum of which can be found this way.

Amplitude notes that saves from update one are not compatible with this latest version of Endless Space 2, however previous saves can be accessed via the 'Beta' tab should you wish to play on minus the latest changes.