Aaron Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 Firstly, if you do not know how to access the experimental branch on Steam, please read the instructions (and warnings!) in this thread. The major focus of this new build is introducing my first pass at balancing the strategic level Geoscape gameplay. Research, manufacturing, air combat, item recovery, national relations etc... pretty much everything has been reset in a systematic way. I fixed many bugs in the process, but I'm sure I will have introduced some new ones too - I expect you guys will find some weirdness. It is also very rigid right now, there is no mixing of UFO types as the invasion advances etc... those things will come after we have nailed the simple progression of the invasion down. The new style of Geoscape map which Chris put together has also been implemented. It is very different from the previous one, and is intended to match the new UI style better (basically by not being 50% black). Here are is the changelog: Fixes - Fury research no longer requires inaccessible technology - Terror attacks now cause nation relations damage if failed/ignored (previously no effect!) - Submap editor: fixed sounds not loading - Forecast funding change is now rounded to the nearest $5000 Additions - Camera during AI turn now pauses for 1-2 seconds after each alien action for clarity - New Geoscape map + UI (this is still a work in progress, continent "glow" overlays need updating too) Balance - Complete re-work of Geoscape balance. - Only air superiority UFOs will attempt to shoot down Xenonaut craft (previously other mission types might try too) - Alien bases no longer drain national relations regardless of time compression Please post your comments on the build here. If you encounter any bugs please post them in the experimental build sub-forum of the bugs forum. I will post a thread in the bet a forum for in-depth discussion of the new Geoscape balance, but feel free to post brief opinions here too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StellarRat Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 (edited) "Alien bases no longer drain national relations regardless of time compression."Are you saying that time compression no longer affects the rate at which national relations are lost because of an alien base OR do you mean alien bases have no effect on national relations whatsoever? I think it's the first one, but I want to clarify. Edited June 21, 2013 by StellarRat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 Just a quick note here to say that the new UI is far from finished. I just thought I'd put the new blue tiles in this build so you don't have to look at the ugly black oceans any more. The continent highlighting doesn't even work at this stage - it's still using the old land detection. The next build will also have improved alignment for cities and so on, so that we can start the final work of populating all the capital cities of the world etc. So, please, no complaints about the new map being rubbish (or not yet, at least). It's literally just prettier tiles at this stage. That said, I think it makes a remarkable difference to the way the game looks already! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenomorph Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 <3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basher Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 I like the air combat better now, its harder but you actually have to control the airships from the very 1st fight. I don´t know about the 1st base buildings removal, gotta play more to check the effect on the 2nd base contruction delay. It´s like you start with about 300k less cash... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thothkins Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 good news about the alien base drain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nathanjw Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 Does this prevent previous v19 game saves from working or am I just having exceptional bad luck? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GizmoGomez Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 Save games will ALWAYS break with new versions. Always. (Not always, but if you just count on them breaking you'll be happier than not.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nathanjw Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 Hence I've now stopped Steam from auto-updating the new versions. Is it possible to revert to the previous v19 so I can continue my game? I really don't want to have to start again each time a new version is released unless I choose to do so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thothkins Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 There's every chance each build will render previous games unplayable. It has certainly been that way in the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightzy Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 FFS the only thing currently that you change by letting aliens successfully roll to evade is that you now need twice as many airplanes. This of course, makes destroying squads of alien fighters impossible unless you either somehow got to real advanced tech (and still are willing to have all of your planes damaged in the fight) real quick, or if you can now have 6 planes in combat instead of 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elrim Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 How long does it take to auto research alien autopsy and ship datacores? Captured one light scout but no research so far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raziel1981 Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 just seen the new Casesan's close up picture in the autopsy - fantastic work! Also prefer the new hidden movement over the v19 build 1. MUCH better In fact better then the original hidden movement that was in the game Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThunderGr Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 Hence I've now stopped Steam from auto-updating the new versions. Is it possible to revert to the previous v19 so I can continue my game? I really don't want to have to start again each time a new version is released unless I choose to do so. This is the experimental build. You do not play it to finish it. You play it to test it. If you would rather play something stable, you should play V18. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nathanjw Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 This is the experimental build. You do not play it to finish it. You play it to test it. If you would rather play something stable, you should play V18. A fair point, however I'd still like to choose when I finish the test. Perhaps this is something that could be added to warnings page? Besides which, the incredible off-screen shooting skills of the more advanced aliens makes V18 albeit unplayable for me at the moment. 3 squad members shot and killed from off screen did not leave me amused. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basher Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 Jesus, is the escalation much quicker? Found an alien base already, and i'm still doing crashsite-10. Didn't even get lasers yet. Also, torpedoes are much more reliable. Now the MIGs can down fighters without taking damage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felgraf Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 Aircombat seems heavily altered? My sidewinder missile range now appears to be BARELY longer than my autocannon range, and there's no longer a count-down timer for the lock-on. (Neither of which were listed as changes for the build, which I find to be odd...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StellarRat Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 Aircombat seems heavily altered? My sidewinder missile range now appears to be BARELY longer than my autocannon range, and there's no longer a count-down timer for the lock-on.(Neither of which were listed as changes for the build, which I find to be odd...) Sidewinders are dogfighting missiles so the range should be very short compared to larger missiles. Whether or not Goldhawk intended that is another question. It is realistic though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felgraf Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 Makes sense, it just seems *way* shorter than it was in previous versions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basher Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 Makes sense, it just seems *way* shorter than it was in previous versions. Yeah, but the torpedoes range are much higher and travels way faster than before, which makes it safer for the foxtrots. But the fighters cannons got the ammo reduced to 50 from 250, but I can´t tell yet if the damage got adjusted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StellarRat Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 Yeah, but the torpedoes range are much higher and travels way faster than before, which makes it safer for the foxtrots. But the fighters cannons got the ammo reduced to 50 from 250, but I can´t tell yet if the damage got adjusted.50 is WAY TOO LOW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solver Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 Autocannons are useless that way. I admit I suck at getting them into the right position to even shoot, that was always a challenge for me, but with 50 shots they can't even do enough damage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GizmoGomez Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 (edited) 50 is pitiful. 250 was fine. Heck, the F-16 has a selective fire feature that can fire 50 rounds in one burst. EDIT: The F-16 carries 511 rounds for it's cannon. Edited June 21, 2013 by GizmoGomez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StellarRat Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 (edited) 50 is pitiful. 250 was fine. Heck, the F-16 has a selective fire feature that can fire 50 rounds in one burst. If I remember correctly, 500 rounds is the ammo load out for the 20mm Vulcan in the F-16. Edited June 21, 2013 by StellarRat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GizmoGomez Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 It's 511, I just looked it up. I guess I edited my post right after you posted yours. An even 500 would work just fine, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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