Hotfix: May 11, 2017
We just released a hotfix that addresses the severe FPS drops that you experienced (especially in multiplayer). It was a regression from our lagshot fix. Please let us know if the lagshot fix is still working and the FPS drops are gone.
Changelog: Alpha Experimental 6.0.11 (Build 1022)
Bug Fixes:
- Fixed severe FPS drops (especially in multiplayer)
- Fixed problem with starting on "Trader Residence" in Scenario "Invader vs Defender"
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Initial Post: May 10, 2017
Hi Galactic Survivalists!
Good news: We are nearing completion of the Empyrion Alpha 6.0 development cycle! As of today, we are officially feature complete for the upcoming version. :)
What does it mean? No big additions, no big changes, but bug fixing, small refinements, feature polishing and even more bug fixing!
That’s also why we release this update with the special remark for everyone to pay close attention to the overall functionality of the newly introduced features as well as bugs that are related to those features.
Alpha 6.0 Experimental RC1 bug reports: http://empyriononline.com/threads/bug-reports-alpha-experimental-6-0-release-candidate-1.11094
Feature changes (like RCS and Max Speed for CV) and larger updates on functionality, based on your feedback, will be a topic of the version 6.x schedules, as those would inevitably push back the go live of 6.0 even more. Thanks for your understanding.
Said that, and given everything goes according to plan, we expect the full public release to hit end of May! The exact date will be announced in due time.
Lagshot Problem:
We worked hard to fix the so-called lagshot problem that was driving a lot of you crazy. We are sorry that it took so long but it was a quite complex and complicated topic. To test different strategies to fix the lagshot problem, we used this CV to approach a heavily defended base:
We used a layer of thin hull plates (with 25000 hitpoints) and behind them we placed windows to immediately see if an explosion penetrates the hull layer.
Workshop Scenarios can now be set to visible:
Last but not least, a final note regarding the Steam Workshop - Scenarios: Everyone who has already uploaded a scenario to the Steam Workshop is now welcome to set his/her scenario to “visible”. However, please temporarily add (EXPERIMENTAL) in brackets behind the scenario name until public release in order to make it clear that downloading a scenario is only for players on the experimental branch. We are looking forward to seeing your scenario creations.
Now please enjoy the latest experimental version - and send us your feedback about the questions asked in the changelog below!
Cheers,
Empyrion Dev Team
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Changelog: Alpha Experimental 6.0.10 (Build 1021)
Updated Random POI Distribution:
- Added new spawn near / avoid rules for POIs and resources (you have now more control over the spawning of POIs and resources): for more info, see example playfield.yaml in Content\Playfields\ExamplePlanet
- Adapted POI + resource distribution on all playfields. Feedback Question: What do you think about the new distribution of resources?
We have now much more control over the distribution of POIs / resource - for example we can now ensure that there is no enemy POI in shooting distance to the trading station.
POI Update:
- Added some new wreckage POIs. Thanks to the following creators:
* smeissl (Old Base)
* Maloverci (Old Farm)
* JMCBurn (EngineCompartment/OppBackBase)
* Kaeser (Shack + Wood Cabin)
- Updated old wreckage POIs
- Updated TSO Akua with more lights
Destroyed Hull Blocks Update:
- Added more destroyed hull blocks
- Added proper separation between large and small destroyed hull blocks. These new destroyed hull blocks can be upgraded to un-destroyed hull blocks
- Destroyed hull blocks are not airtight anymore
- Added more damage states to destroyed blocks, i.e. when you damage these blocks you can create more variations (destroyed blocks that have more damage states are marked in darker red color in the block shape menu)
There are more destroyed hull blocks in the game waiting for you.
GUI Polishing:
- We are now starting to polish the new GUI by adding more colors and fine tuning it
- Updated several windows: Player inventory, Blueprint Window, Map Planet Info, Sector Map Planet Info, Armor Locker (more to come)
Visuals and Sounds:
- Added new deco plants: see "Artificial Plants (Deco)"
- Updated sound for motorbike
- Increased intensity of player light
- Enabled Map Markers icons on planets (we will add better icons soon)
- Reduced size of Cyborg weapon
- Increased resolution of background stars in space
- Civilian and Trader sound is now played even fewer times.
- Tweaked damage texture of space drone
- Improved height interpolation on steep mountains to avoid visual steps
- Starmap: removed mouse projection sprite and circle
- Armor locker for SV, HV is now only 2 blocks high
- Added better dead plant models.
- Updated textures on Lava plant
- Reduced volume of footstep sound
- Added 2 new plants to Aitis
- Added new bush on Akua
- Added tentacle plant to Masperon planet
- Tweaked clouds color on Zeyhines.
Gameplay and Rebalancing:
- De-activated max speed limit of vessels
- When spawning a not powered blueprint, the default inside temperature is now 22° and adjusts slowly to the outside temp
- Structures: temperature towards 22° still rises with 1° per second, towards other temperatures with 0.5° per second
- Added durability to all weapons and some tools
- Increased damage inflicted by NPCs between 20% and 50% (note: in easy difficulty settings, drones did not cause any damage to player when wearing medium armor)
- Sentry turret is now craftable in Survival Constructor
Changes:
- Improved NPC controller: animals are now walking less on steep slopes
- Planet Vessel navigation update
- Workshop Scenarios: Now checking for more forbidden files (area and dat) and also total scenario size (limit is 5 MB)
- PDA: Action completed messages in chat output are localized now
- Added Trader block to "Trading" group in CP when auto-grouping
- Optimized several tree models for better performance
- Updated scenarios "Dawn of Galaxy" and "Invader vs Defender"
- Updated EAC to version from 2017-04-03
- Optimized all plants and tree model setting
- Changed: Custom PDA action complete messages are only shown in player chat and no longer as upper right notification popup
- Changed: Blueprint Library: If no preview pic exists, a substitute will be displayed
- Added console cmd 'ticks' to set/increase the tick time of the game
- Continued Window Polishing/Colour Changes
- Show names of all growable plants when pointing at one
- Set Player Window and Armor Locker Temperature Displays to use °F/°C Conversion
- Updated PDA
Weather Update:
- Added new weather: dark clouds, heat wave, cold wave, radiated fog purple
- Tweaked weather on all planets: each planet has a predominant weather (eg Akua = good weather with few rain periods etc)
- Arranged weather in playfield.yaml in order of likelihood
Restructured all Planet Playfield.yamls:
1. General Characteristics Planet (Atmo, colors, weather, etc) - special effects + weather further down
2. Terrain + Deco
3. Resources
4. POIs
5. Drone Base
6. Creature Spawning
> there is no need to change your custom yamls (note: ordering in yaml does not matter)
Bug Fixes:
- Fixed: Lagshots- Please let us know if you still find use cases where it is not fixed
- Fixed: Custom Groups / Signals (MAIN tab) do not save with blueprint
- Fixed: Not possible to remove abandoned signals from device
- Fixed: Signal logic name can not be recycled, leads to broken circuits
- Fixed: Not possible to trigger multiple explosive blocks with one signal
- Fixed: A published blueprint that has been deleted in the Steam Workshop or published via another Steam account can now be renamed. This will remove the workshop link and thus, a warning is displayed.
- Fixed: NPC walking animation issues in trading stations.
- Fixed: Plants die instantly in a BA although conditions are met.
- Fixed: Planet Vessels are attacking structures even if no player is nearby
- Fixed: Planet vessels are flying on top of player base and "park" there
- Fixed: AI Vessel gets stuck at own base if base is too high
- Fixed: Sometimes player vessel has a strange position on vessel base
- Fixed: Issue with setting waypoints when leaving the game & reloading
- Fixed: The green Durability bar is sometimes different between Player inventory & Armor locker.
- Fixed: Problem with durability bar of weapons not updating correctly
- Fixed: Plants that are in harvest stage disappear instead of transforming into dead plant when dying
- Fixed: Traders always respawn on new entry of a TS (they fall through the world)
- Fixed: CoQ when overwriting internal or stock Blueprints (deactivate EAC when dealing with those Blueprints)
- Fixed: De-constructing HV Jet thruster gives back a M-Thruster
- Fixed: Issue with Drone bases & AI PV landing/spawn pad.
- Fixed: Patrol-Drone Sound can be heard over the whole playfield
- Fixed: MAIN tab switches for O2 and Power are sometimes not reflecting current setting
- Fixed: Possible to set HOME button on every base and vessel
- Fixed: HOME feature does not work anymore
- Fixed: Two planet vessel bases are spawned on each planet
- Fixed: Exiting any storage containers in the devices Tab always exit to the Main tab.
- Fixed: Creating a logic circuit or renaming an output signal needs to close & reopen CP to make the new signal name available for devices
- Fixed: Not possible to move device to an auto-group
- Fixed: "Black Hole" look to sun in Sector Map
- Fixed: Control Panel signals (Main tab) do not save with blueprint
- Fixed: Error linked to sector map circles (world unload bug)
- Fixed: Issue with warping & leaving atmospheres
- Fixed internal problem with turrets
- Fixed: PDA shows Tutorial tab even if there exists no tutorial
- Fixed: PDA menu: Action descriptions not visible when opening menu window the 2nd time
- Fixed: PDA: Reward count checks actual limit for specified item
- Fixed: LCD text size can not be set back to 7
- Fixed: LCD text size info wrong
- Fixed: Problem with Instance Playfield on Sector Map
- Fixed: PDA: Check 'NearUnit' needs to also work for Traders
- Fixed: Sometimes Minigun drones don't deal any damage to the player.
- Fixed: CoQ when exiting Set waypoint window
- Fixed: Error in Marketplace
- Fixed: Color on Sector Map Planet Selection
- Fixed: Random Coq when starting a new survival on Masperon
- Fixed: Random CoQ when starting FRESH