Planets 20% Bigger
Planets and moons are 20% larger now. This forced the spacing to expand and so your moons will be farther away. This also increased the size of solar systems, sectors, and the galaxy by about 20%. Since light speed is defined as '10 min. per parsec', the speed of light increased also to just over 150,000m/s.
Creature DNA Changes
Size values in creature DNA are now interpreted differently. Loading an old .chr file attempts to make changes to keep the creature the same. This can't always work and you may need to tweak your old DNA to use it in the new game. The result should be a lot fewer gigantic creatures and more fine granularity of control over body part sizes when setting up your DNA.
Name Species
Creature species (animals, AI citizens, and players) can now be named. A sentient specie can only be named by a member of that specie. A specie name cannot be changed except by the person who originally named it. You earn a social standing point for naming a specie.

To name a specie, spot it using the ` or ~ key. Then go to the Log channel and press the new button that is there.
Animal and Fish Carcass DNA
Animal and fish carcasses now store the DNA of the creature they came from.
Design Studio Load/Save To Local File
Completed the 'Load' option here. Now a ship design can be stored in a local file and restored from there. When you load a design from a file, it is treated as if you are the architect.
Spacecraft Design Rules Changes
Spacecraft design rules were changed. Mainly, tech level thresholds for unit count and for structure points were removed. This was replaced by a tech level calculation based on the total mass of the ship, at 350,000kg per tech level.

Equipment units now have individual mass.

Empty hull contributes little to the mass of the ship.

The result is that you can be much more generous with open spaces, instead of being driven to make the tightest possible hull around the equipment. It's the equipment that contributes most to the total mass of the ship.

Passenger berths are now limited to one per tech level.

Troop berths are now limited to one per tech level.

Armor is limited to one per tech level.

The overall size of the design space was increased by 20% in all 3 dimensions. The limit now permits maximum ship dimensions of about 680' in length and width and 84 decks in height. (Please don't make a spacecraft that big.)

Wormhole drive units calculation based solely on hull volume. It is no longer affected by armor or streamlining as it was previously.
Turret Windows Opaque
Fixed a texture error that resulted in opaque windows on turrets. I don't know if that bug made it into the last client update before the restart. Maybe nobody observed this but me.
City Capture - Tech Level Objects No Longer Purged From Inventory
Tech level objects are no longer purged from a city's inventory when the city is captured.
City Lights Texture
Improved the texture used for the appearance of distance cities, at night and during the day.
Comodities Empire of Origin
All commodities now know their empire of origin. This has two effects.

When selling commodities, the local supply-and-demand calculation does not consider the city to have local production of a commodity that is from another empire. This results in a price premium on imported commodities.

Tech level objects from a foreign empire will only upgrade your buildings by one tech level at a time. You can use any tech level that is higher than the building, but the building will only go up by one tech level. This is unlike your own tech level objects that will upgrade a building all the way up to the tech level of the object.
Inscribe Items
Most items can now be inscribed with a message. We will add a piece of paper or something that looks like an obvious note for leaving notes. For now you'll have to inscribe a carrot or something.
Icons Missing in Stand-Alone Mail Client
Fixed
Movement Speed of Default Human
Movement speed of the default human DNA is way too fast. Adjusted it to 4, which is about 5.5km/hr walking speed. Used to be 10, a really fast human.

Also adjusted run speed to be 2.5x walk speed. Used to be 2x walk speed.
Political Stance Changes
Political stance now shows the date/time that you declared that stance toward the other empire. Other empire shows when they declared their stance toward you.

Vassal stance now allows the tribute % to be set when the stance is set. This can be anywhere from 0% to 100%. Previously this was hard-wired at 50%. Now perhaps a federation is easier to create by having everyone swear allegiance to 'the federation'. Setting a 0% tribute is about as close to being an ally of someone as you can get.
World Population Limits
Planet population limits were severely cut back. An earth-sized planet now would have a population limit of about 700 before getting a penalty. The smallest moon is 100 before they complain.

Ringworld population limit is now split by zone. I think the limit is 1000 per zone. This is based on the zone in which the city was founded. A city that sprawls into a neighboring zone does not get an increase to it's population limit.
Sector Star Density Reduced
The number of stars in each sector was cut in half.
Spacecraft - Store Quality and Tech Level of Each System
Spacecraft now store the quality and tech level of each system. This is in preparation for upgrade kits that will enable system-by-system upgrading of a spacecraft.