Chris Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Build V9.1 has been finalised and is released on Desura! This is only available with the Desura client download (it should give you an update icon on the Play page) - downloading without the client as a .rar file will take a day or two to update yet. Full update notes are below, but the big news is that AI is back in and now the aliens are moving and shooting. It's not particularly refined and hopefully we'll make big improvements on it over the next month or so, but at least the game is playable once again. Sorry for the delay on this front - I know it's been painful. Two other major things to talk about quickly: Firstly, I've put new tiles in for the Scout and Light Scout (new UFO type) and there will be more UFO tiles coming, as well as the Chinook tiles being added to the game now. Generally this is great, but right now there's no UFO interiors so there's a couple of things missing that are needed for the tech tree to reach lasers / Wolf armour. We'll patch them back in next week, likely next weekend, when we add the interiors for the various craft. Secondly, as part of a much wider revamp of the research / manufacturing in the game that I did in the last week, we've made the MiG interceptor researchable instead of purchaseable. Unfortunately, there's a complication - it turns out the functionality to manufacture aircraft is not yet in place so you can unlock the manufacture but it doesn't work. Again, we'll get this fixed and patch this in next weekend. As the F-17s are now all you need in the early game, you're not missing out - just be aware of it. We're working on some features arriving in the next few weeks that I'm looking forward to showing off, but this update should keep you ticking over until next weekend. As always, if there's any bugs then post them up on our forums...but hopefully this should be a pretty stable build. Features: - AI is back in. - A new UFO has been added, the Light Scout. This is slower than weaker than previous UFOs and can be shot down by a single F-17 (it is set up to be shot down after two Sidewinder hits). As such, the MiG-32 is now researchable (although for the reasons mentioned above, not yet manufacturable). -The research project Alien Invasion has been added to the start of the game. This is the trigger for the MiG research becoming available. - New ground combat tile have been added for the Light Scout that has landed or crashed on the Farm tileset, and the Scout crashed on the Farm and the Industrial tileset. - The new Chinook tiles have also been added. -New ground combat UI has been added. This is still a WIP but includes an improved AP Reserve slider which shows the shot costs next to it, a Quick Reload and Quick Grenade throw button. Tooltips are also partially implemented. - Units in the Chinook will now automatically re-arrange themselves to accommodate vehicles instead of simply blocking the vehicle assignment if there is no 3x3 space present. - An extra copy of the select circle now appears above the head of units on mouseover, making it easier to select and identify units behind walls. - Weapons now have reload sounds. - Soldier portraits will repeat less frequently. - We have added new tiles for the Chinook and new tiles for the crashed Scout, although this is currently only present on the Farmyard tileset. We will roll out additional UFOs in the next few weeks. - Buildings now display roofs until you have a unit inside them, irrespective of camera level. There’s still some teething issues with this system but we’re working through it. - You can now modify the construction times and maintenance costs of buildings in /assets/buildings.xml, and building maintainance costs have been significantly reduced. - The alien invasion AI can now be balanced – the AM_ file in /assets/ allow you to specify which alien UFO types will appear flying the mission at what points. - UFOs are now less likely to immediately flee from combat when attacked with superior numbers of human craft. Bugfixes (amongst others): Ground Combat: - The camera is no longer restrained by the edges of the map on the Farm tileset. - The random crash associated with reaction fire has been fixed Air Combat: - Interceptors now move at correct speed when fightning against corvettes - The ”Invisible Fighter” issue (where the icon sometimes did not display) should be fixed. Geoscape: - Undetected UFOs will no longer spam the game with UFO Detected notifications if they attack Xenonaut craft. - Interceptors will now detect alien bases as soon as the base enters radar range of the craft. - Selling items on the store screen no longer results in an extra item being sold. - The Intercept window will no longer appear in duplicate if you intercept a UFO using the Intercept button Miscellaneous: - Pressing the ESC button will now correctly take you to a higher level of the menu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 This has been released now. I've edited the original post cleared the previous comments to avoid confusion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorlom Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Chris does MiGs have to be manufactured just because they need to be "researched"? Its not like you design them from scratch right? ^^ Oh and: YAY! =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 @Gorlom: we've made the MiG interceptor researchable instead of purchaseable. Unfortunately, there's a complication - it turns out the functionality to manufacture aircraft is not yet in place so you can unlock the manufacture but it doesn't work. Again, we'll get this fixed and patch this in next weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sulphy Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Awesome news... now i cant wait to get home and download! Good job guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xPDxTV Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Awesome! I was hoping this would be out by today =) so i could go along with my Daily LP Episode. Great work Chris and everyone at GoldHawk! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyman1971 Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Great news! Looking forward to that AI interaction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yevgeniy Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Great news! When will be available for download? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The New Romance Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 (edited) Edit: I'm sorry, I misunderstood the link. Edited March 12, 2012 by The New Romance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 Yevgeniy - this evening or tomorrow. It takes a while to upload that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPyro Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Hi Chris, Any news on the save/load research tree bug? Thanks for this; downloading as I type. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellstormer Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Yevgeniy - this evening or tomorrow. It takes a while to upload that. Awesome! That will be great. Until then I can just use Desura but I do prefer using the zip file. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorlom Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 @Gorlom:Originally Posted by Chris we've made the MiG interceptor researchable instead of purchaseable. Unfortunately, there's a complication - it turns out the functionality to manufacture aircraft is not yet in place so you can unlock the manufacture but it doesn't work. Again, we'll get this fixed and patch this in next weekend. I do not feel that answered my question =S. Is researchable and purchaseable mutually exclusive or could you combine the functions? Is there a programmable limitation that prevents you to unlock items in the store later on (like say after research), or that you feel it should be manufactured if you need to research it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 Oh, OK - no, you can't set an item to be researchable and purchaseable. You can only link it to a manufacturing project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorlom Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 ok, thank you. ^^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FranTorres Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Since I played the game since 9.0 this is the first time I can actually see the AI take part of the game, and I certainly like the steps taken here : ) the improvement to the interface are also superb. I just can't wait for more goodies !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNoyce Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Chris, The new graphics look really nice. Immediately saw changes which make the game look much more professional. Looking forward to getting further into the game.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemeo Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Chris, do you have a detailed list where you keep track of what feature is considered complete and what feature is not (be it sprite, sound, balance, anything)? If you do, could you publish it and try to keep it up to date, please? I ask that because I feel uneasy about criticizing or giving an opinion about something that you don't consider final. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorlom Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 No, he doesnt. his lists scattered all over his comp and somethings are only keept track of in his head... Imo don't feel uneasy about that. criticize away all you like. If it is not a final version you will be told that and no harm done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gauddlike Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 If Chris considers something to be final and complete that doesn't mean we won't criticise it if we don't like it or it doesn't work properly If it isn't final or complete then all feedback will be useful in order to make that feature as good as it can be. Plus I doubt Chris will have enough spare time to keep another web page updated so the list would be next to useless for testing purposes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slippery Jim Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 I always wonder if people consider how valuable Chris' time is when they ask him questions on the forum. Every time someone chats him that is just less time he has to concentrate on making the game Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superpirson Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 I always wonder if people consider how valuable Chris' time is when they ask him questions on the forum. Every time someone chats him that is just less time he has to concentrate on making the game someone needs to talk to the community, otherwise they feel excluded or ignored. you have to remember that, like most indie devs, he probably cannot afford to have an army of P.R. guys. often times, the act of going public with beta/alpha/ect. is an exchange from your time as a dev to funds. besides, I like it like this, its more personal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeraan Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 I always wonder if people consider how valuable Chris' time is when they ask him questions on the forum. Every time someone chats him that is just less time he has to concentrate on making the game I'm an developer myself (Beyond Beyaan) and I often have free time where I'm not actively developing the game to respond to comments. I also need to eat, spend time with my wife and daughter, work full-time, etc. I don't have issues with Chris' time management, I'm sure that when he's motivated to work on the game, he will do so. When he's feeling tired or wants a break, he'd browse the forums, eat, or do whatever it is that he does. This is good because if he spend too much time on the game, he runs the risk of being burnt out. Normal people work 40 hours a week for their job (this is a normal workload), working more than that exhausts the worker in most cases. There's even some research in this, programming 80 hours a week is about as productive as programming 40 hours. The reason is that the more well-rested/fed you are, the more you can focus and come up with solutions to problems. The less-rested you are, the more prone you are to introducing bugs and spending time trying to understand why things are not working. Often I have a problem that I've spent hours on the day previous, only to solve it within 10 minutes the next day due to my brain being fresh from sleep. Sorry about the lengthy post, I just thought I'd like to inform people that programmers are humans, not robots Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slippery Jim Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Normal people work 40 hours a week for their job (this is a normal workload), working more than that exhausts the worker in most cases. Whew! Glad you were here to inform us of these things. Sorry, I am just being a jerk, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeraan Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Whew! Glad you were here to inform us of these things. Sorry, I am just being a jerk, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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