This is a massive update, and while the game is still very much the same, a LOT has changed. With this the core of development and production has been wrapped up. But bug fixes will continue to roll out as they are made and as new bugs are found and squashed. Though I should note that there is a DLC being planned for later down the line, but that is still a LONG way off.
For these patch notes I won’t detail everything, partly because some of the patch notes I have are only relevant to issues that cropped up on the experimental branch, and partly because a number of the changes can be consolidated into a single item. That said, let’s get into it.
OVERHAULS
- Overhauled planetary maps, expanded from 30km to 60km radius with a 22km flight cieling. Dogfights can now happen at high altitude.
- Overhauled space maps, expanded from 30km to 90km radius and 60km height. Planets now spin on space maps.
- Overhauled all planetary maps with a new terrain tool to allow for high levels of fidelity, better scaling, and larger more detailed levels.
- Overhauled all scenario by re-plotting and re-timing them to the new maps.
ADDITIONS
- Added support for floating origin to make the larger maps possible.
- Added new Overdrive mode to the fighters so players can travel quickly across the map at the expense of lots of fuel and heat build up. Currently bound to the O key.
- Added a new RCS toggle so players can toggle the RCS system on for drifting over long distances in space, currently bound to the R key.
- Added the ability to invert the camera for look behind, currently bound to the X key.
- Added a camera zoom when in cockpit mode, currently bound to L-CTRL.
- Added new lockboxes for bonus salvage and an assault on Earth as an endgame mechanic with tweaks to how the Warmap will behave after destroying Blackstone.
- Added a new fighter, the RX-01 Garuda.
- Added the ability to add custom logos to the fighters.
- Added 2 new weapons, Beam Lasers and Flak Cannons.
- Added the first and only piece of starfighter equipment, Scanning Probe Launcher.
- Added an Easy Mode to character creation.
- Added wildlife spawns back to the Frontiers Reach map.
- Added 2 new Warmap scenarios : MBR Rig and Invasion.
TOUCH UPS & REPLACEMENTS
- Touched up several smoke and fire VFX.
- Touched up several destruction models.
- Touched up and simplified the edges of planetary maps and how they blend with the skybox for a more seamless experience and better overall performance.
- Replaced all water with a new custom water shader for faster performance and better blending in the environment.
- Replaced the world boundary shader with a new custom version that will fade in as you get closer to the boundary.
- Replaced the entire warp sequence on the bridge for better animations and audio as you travel between planets.
- Replaced all asteroid artwork.
- Replaced all tunnels and caves artwork.
OPTIMIZATIONS
- Optimized sky and cloud rendering by updating to the latest version of the Expanse plugin to address some transparency bugs and increase performance on all maps.
- Optimized artwork for a number of fighters.
- Optimized artwork for the Siren.
- Optimized several miscellaneous art assets for better performance across the breadth of the entire game.
- Optimized lighting and shadows for better performance across the entire game.
- Optimized code under the hood for radar and IFF tags.
- Optimizations for loading and unloading the main menu.
- Optimizations for loading and unloading levels by adding key elements to a preloading phase on game start.
CHANGES
- Changed targeting computer so it is now possible to lock on to a target even if the currently equipped weapon is not guided.
- Changed respawning to a checkpoint so player will no longer spawn all the way back in the hangar.
- Changed travel speed of friendly transports.
- Changed the warmap so that battles can be won even when players have only contributed salvage to the node and not run any missions on them.
- Changed how missile/incoming alerts are trigger, this is a minor change and still being worked on.
FIXES
- Fixed a bug in the AI for NPCs that made them behave unexpectedly.
- Fixed a bug that kept the player fighter from yawing, pitching, and rolling, when the throttle and the velocity was at zero.
- Fixed keybindings for pitch and yaw axis.
- Fixed Track IR not working at all and changed how the toggle works.
- Fixed Warmap not recording some victories.
- Fixed an error with the mission token for mission 41.