Dear all,
Announcing V1.07d-2 patch! In this patch, we've dealt with issues to do with stability (rare cases), some new features and a load of bug fixes.
New Implementations
- You can now rotate the camera! This is accomplished by clicking on the mouse wheel button and dragging to the left or right of it to rotate. Rotation is not of a first-person perspective but rather, looking at a point. (That means you don't turn your head, instead the camera rotates around a point).
- 3 widgets deployed to handle basic camera needs. Most importantly, a reset button should your camera for whatever reasons, run wild or undesirable.
Please note that the camera rotation is hugely dampened so that it'll not cause a problem with excessive rotation which might cause dizziness to come players. We're still tweaking and fine-tuning the magnitude of rotation and will update in future patches if necessary
- Pressing Ctrl+(scroll map up/down) will now act as zooming in/out respectively.
- Pressing Ctrl+(scroll map left/right) will now act as rotating camera CW/CCW respectively.
- Speed button now has a shortcut - default '\' key. Key is changeable. Makes it easier for you to adjust game speed without the need to click.
- Added 2 new options in the gameplay section.
1) Reset camera whenever a sector is changed. This is a preference option. When turned on (default) it'll always reset the camera to the original orientation whenever you switch a sector. You could turn it off if you're confident that the current orientation won't mislead you.
2) Prompt when auto-saving. It's understood that some players have feedback that it's unnecessary to prompt when auto-saving. While this may be the case for some players, we hear you, some players might be more comfortable wanting a prompt before auto-save. Nevertheless, if this option is turned off, auto-save will save with a notification without prompting. Suits players who want a smoother gameplay without interruptions.
Modifications
- The keybinding system has been modified to by default take Core and General actions into consideration during a check. The only exception is that "Dossier" is doesn't check against "General" keys. This is in response to keys being mapped in UNC/SS/NSAU ships/general tabs that clashes with General mappings. In the end, the same key doesn't work when both actions appear at the same time, ie, when a UNC Outpost is selected.
- Some default keys have been changed. I understand some folks may want a default button. Rest assured, we'll implement that by the next patch.
- Changed the ping of the direct objectives (ie, the line that appears in the middle telling you what to do next) to only ping ONCE when it first appears.
Bug fixes
- Fixed a bug where strict target mode icon is shown even on enemy ships.
- Fixed a weird multiplayer bug where the 1st client connection is ALWAYS rejected as timeout. The fix was only to give it more time (24 seconds instead of 12 seconds before timeout).
- Fixed a bug where statistics are still being collected and updated onto Steam EVEN when the game is technically over. (ie, declared Victory or Defeat). This causes a difference in statistics on the multiplayer between the server and clients. (Because the client takes a final report from the server and the server continues to update itself)
- Fixed a bug where tool tip main title doesn't warp, causing characters to overflow to the right edge of the screen.
- Fixed a bug in multiplayer when you build a SS Salvager and you open the Options menu while at it, since it's multiplayer the game doesn't pause. As the Salvager is done, a weird blood usage text appears out of nowhere. Fixed.
- Fixed a major bug in target prioritization in which a ship doesn't automatically attack structures even when there're no more enemies in range. This is due to a mistake in the prioritization predicate.
- Ships can now join a fleet using the shortcut albeit, not direct one. You'll need to press Fleet (L) default, Join Fleet (J) default, then Ctrl+Shift+F1 to join fleet 1. This, however, must be mapped at the key binding area under General tab. Otherwise it won't work!
- Fixed a bug when you send your UNC ships to be repaired at a UNC Shipyard, an attack cursor appears instead. A new cursor now replaces that shows an Orange repair tool with a slight glow instead.
- Fixed a bug that prevents ships from going into Dormant via Shift+D and getting out of Dormant using Ctrl+D. The extreme strictness of key strokes was the cause. Special cases are now coded to ensure that these 2 indirect shortcuts are always available. Please note that if you've changed Dormant to another key - it'll be Shift+yourKey and Ctrl+yourKey instead.
- Fixed the space environment sound effect as it appears to be extremely loud on default settings.
- Fixed a bug where you can set keys to scroll the map but nothing happens.
- Fixed a rare bug between ship groups and fleets with 2-step commands. Usually, a first ship will be used as the craft to create flight plan and it was assumed that this first ship will always be alive, thus the crash. It's hard to reproduce this bug and we're glad to have found it.
- Fixed a rare bug in fleet control where in the absensce of a flagship, the game might crash when you attempt to recall the entire fleet back to you. (that is, your fleet commander is still alive in a shuttle)
Known issues to be fixed in V1.07d-3
- We know that the camera rotation require more attention but it may take more time than desired for this release. A proper solution requires a few more days to implement and be tested properly. This will be fixed in V1.07d-3. As of now, you might experience, at some positions, that the camera can't be rotated at all.
- Multiplayer. More issues were found when testing. We've already logged the issues on our bug tracker and has scheduled it to be fixed asap. The previous LAN session also yielded several bugs and design issues with the server. We're currently working on a solution to it so that the server doesn't get lagged by lagging clients so much.
Conclusion
We've come rather far since launch to support and implement new features or fix existing issues to the best of our abilities. We'll look forward to implementing the multiplayer lobby and improvement of the player's AI by October.
Meanwhile, we'll be devoting time to ensure that all the 31 missions can handle well when we revise the AI's attacking strategies. On top of that the tutorial missions will be further improved to make sure that you'll armed with the necessary knowledge for the next 28 missions after mission 3.
We thank you for your kind support and look forward to bring you exciting changes to Foresight soon.
Regards,
Jeremy