Alpha EXPERIMENTAL 10 - Part III

The updated Alien Planet

Hi Galactic Survivalists!

Welcome to the third installment of Alpha 10 Experimental, where we added even more new stuff for your enjoyment! This time we introduced a highly requested balancing parameter for shields (recharge delay when the shield is hit) and a hotkey to activate / deactivate the shield. In addition, we added a first batch of new window shapes (Heavy Windows for testing), as well as more variants for doors and shutters.

Moreover, the new blockshapes menu can now be configured with less hassle: We renamed all the internal ‘key names’ that are used in the config file. Now, you simply need to skip the blank of the localized name. If you want to add ‘Ramp C Low’ to a slot, simply use ‘RampCLow’ - and so on. You do not need to dig through the Loca file or other configs anymore!

Please check the Experimental forum for our feedback threads where we are now asking about your ‘Basic Shapes’ (or ‘Favorite Shapes’) recommendations:
https://empyriononline.com/forums/experimental-features-discussion.35/

One word about the current development plan since some of you asked how long the Experimental phase will still last. At the moment, we do not yet have a fixed release date for the A10 public release other than early-to-mid June. We plan to stick with the major EXP update at least once per week until we think the Experimental version is ready for release - or the feedback given indicates that some features might require a bigger player base, while all the breaking bugs are solved.

Thanks in advance for your dedicated help! Please keep reporting bugs in our bug forum and please revisit issues that you had and bump threads if they are not solved, although listed as solved in the changelist below: https://empyriononline.com/forums/bugs.34/

Enjoy EXP Phase III!

Yours,

Emp Dev Team

======


CHANGELOG: Alpha EXPERIMENTAL 10.2 (Build 2481)

Shield Update:
- Add 5 sec “recharge delay” (cooldown) for shields, each time the shield is hit. This will reset the regeneration countdown and prevent recharging as long as the shield is ‘under fire’.

- Added hotkey “X” for activating / deactivating shield generator (default key can be remapped)
- Adapted color of shield particle effect: instead of green, it is now purple/blueish (to reflect color of Pentaxid)
- "Shield" console command now shows also shield charge in percentage

Additions:
- Added more heavy window shapes


- Added more variants for Hangar Doors, Shutter Doors and Shutter Ramps (new blocks still need balancing)

Block Shapes:
- Renamed many block shapes for consistency (no impact on save games)
- Added "Basic Shapes" tab in shape window

- "All Shapes" tab now display shapes without line break > they now fit on 2 pages

Gameplay:
- Auto level player when near water line to avoid being in an in-between state above/below water

- Added large drill module to techtree and templates
- Display "last base attack time" in the Statistics Panel

Visuals:
- Increased resolution of displays for Constructors
- Lerping shield + power values in control panel for better visuals
- Reduced intensity of fog on volumetric lights
- Block preview: wire frame tiles now on each block
- Slightly updated Boarding Ramps
- Playfield tweaks on Alien, Barren, Ocean (clouds, weather, terrain textures)

Config.ecf Update:
- Renamed some hangar doors for consistency (now their internal names indicate their size)
> Config.ecf has to be adapted (increased number to 6)

Changes:
- Reduced attack damage of Alien Bug 02 (also slightly for 03 and 04)
- Driller: outputting bedrock and indestructible message also when drilling with HV
- Changed new chat's internal command prefix from '/' to ':'
- Drilling: added message when trying to drill bedrock or any terrain layer that is too hard for the driller
- Temporarily disabled Ocean Planet in random scenarios (until playfield is better optimized)
- Updated several POIs with better offset, terrain removal or flatten settings

Modding Changes:
- Changed: New ModApi is no longer a static class but an instance of the new interface IModApi, new mods need a class that implements IMod (analogous to the former ModInterface)
- Playfield server now also operates mods (independent of EAC usage)
- Moved chat message functionality from IGui to IApplication since IGui is only available in client mods
- Delivering the mini DemoMod no longer as zip (you should delete Content/Mods/DemoMod.zip) but as a folder with files
(however, the mod dll is configured as inactive - see DemoMod_Info.yaml for details)
- Improved documentation
- Old ModGameApi no longer sends the temporary 'Event_ChatMessageEx' event, please use the new ModApi event
(for some time there's still the classic 'Event_ChatMessage' which tries to map the new chat data fields to the old structure)
- It's now allowed to place more than one dll in a mod folder if the corresponding xx_Info.yaml files exist
- Added dedi demo mod (in addition to client demo mod)
- Added IPlayfield.IsPvP, IStructure.IsPowered and IPlayer.SteamId

Updated Console Commands:
- Console 'ba' command now provides feedback to clients in MP.
- Added Epic Armor to console cmd "equip armor"
- Enhanced console command "di damage" to enable per entity debug output on console (only SP)
- When using 'di', now also showing shield information (shield points/percentage/shield state) in the debug panel

Bug Fixes:
- Fixed: Exception after changing between half & max textures
- Fixed: Shield status not showing on HUD
- Fixed: Several issues with SI (collapse of devices that should not collapse after placement, eg Force Fields, Solar Panels etc)
- Fixed: When you "draw" a line to place multiple blocks at once, SI can break
- Fixed: [Co-op] Not possible to start a coop game 'Data for ClientId not found'
- Fixed: HV / CV DrillLaserBeam Broken
- Fixed: Underwater area grants clear view if player is on the brink of the transition zone
- Fixed: [MP] Player can take damage through intact hull blocks
- Fixed: [MP] Ion cannons can disable shields with 1 shot.
- Fixed: Exit point of certain cockpits is broken
- Fixed: Shield generator lets you place blocks inside it's bounding box
- Fixed: Damage multipliers in Config.ecf > sometimes eg shield multipliers were not taken into account (especially when used with "Ref:" items)
- Fixed: Exception when opening Map Official EXP Server
- Fixed: Color mask on solar panels
- Fixed: Warp lock target HUD object disappearing when re-entering orbit.
- Fixed: Dirt terrain texture did not show for base in BA Attack scenario
- Fixed: Generic Resource texture missing in "te" resource tab
- Fixed: Retractable rocket launcher turret for all structures types has parts still visible when retracted
- Fixed: SSG can't generate playfields anymore
- Fixed: Page Down Logic with blueprints
- Fixed: "Player A has Entered B" System Faction Messages: fixed translation and discarding own messages
- Fixed: Texture problems on Furnishings (Deco) Closet
- Fixed: Barrels of SV Weapon Rocket Launcher were not round due to scaling > replaced model (it is now 1x3x1)
- Fixed: First Person View in open cockpit camera height
- Fixed: Water plane getting cut too early on some beaches
- Fixed: TribalOven: Broken texture
- Fixed: The old ammo box triggers exception when placing a item into any row past row 4 in the UI