predominant figure behind the codex is Dane Beltrami, the head developer of Twilight Imperium Fourth Edition. Differences between editions Third edition vs previous versions The third edition significantly changed many of the game mechanics. While some of the core elements remained the same, the game as a whole was completely revamped. Here are some of the more significant differences: In 2E, only the Hacan, Letnev, N'orr, Jol-Nar, Sol, and Xxcha were playable races. The Mentak and Yssaril were introduced in the Hope's End expansion as new playable races. The L1Z1X were present as non-player hostile invaders, introduced to gameplay via some of the events. The Naalu were completely new to the 3rd Edition (although it first appeared in the first edition expansion: The Outer Rim). While the races present in both games kept the same basic flavor and feel, the racial abilities changed between editions. In 2E, the game rounds were broken into phases: the political, production, movement, invasion, and technology steps. Each player had equal access to these phases every round. In 3E, these phases were largely spread out among the Strategy Cards, coupled with the new threaded activation sequence. In 2E, players collected credits as tangible money that could be spent from round to round. 3E's spending is mostly done by exhausting planets, though the Trade Good concept does allow some limited form of savable liquid assets. In 2E, the only spaceships that could be built were Cruisers, Carriers, Dreadnoughts, and Fighters. 3E introduced Destroyers (cheaper and weaker than Cruisers, but more mobile than Fighters), and War Suns (expensive and powerful super ships). While most of the technologies were ported from 2E to 3E, many of the effects changed significantly (largely to fit with the 3E sequence better). Politics in 2E was done at the beginning of each game round by drawing a card from a Political Card deck, and voting on the agenda. Some of these cards were events which automatically affected the game in some way (such as introducing hostile L1Z1X forces). In 3E, the concept of "events" was removed completely. In 2E, players achieved victory by progressing along a fixed set of objectives, largely centered around the number of resources, influence, and planets controlled, as well as technologies. In 3E, players instead try to achieve Victory Points by completing objectives revealed during the game; these objectives could change from game to game. The tiles, cards,