To those disenchanted by the bugs, don't write us off yet. Realize that the reason for doing a public beta is actually to identify the bugs for the development team so that we can fix them. We don't have formal in-house testers, so it's up to you all to fill this role. So far, the people on the forums have been great in doing this. Their good work has resulted in a number of hotfixes that you can apply to your copy of the mod to address some of the issues before we release a comprehensive patch. Those fixes can be found scattered around the forums, but most of them have been compiled here. Just be cautious when making these changes, as they will prevent you from playing multiplayer.
Now that we've reached our major milestone with the version 1.0 release of Space, what's next for the mod? My goal right now is to get space combat working to perfection - or at least as close as can be attained through modding - which will eventually culminate in a version 1.1. The long-term goal is to have our vision of land combat done by version 2.0, but that is realistically still a long ways off.
In the short time span since the release, I've already made a great deal of changes to address various bugs and balance issues that have cropped up. I'll attempt to detail the most important of those changes:
A lot of people have commented that the galaxy map is too crowded. I was actually aware of this before the release, but because of our timeline, did not want to attempt such a massive undertaking on short notice. I had set the scale last summer, but without knowing which planets I would need for the campaigns, it was just a best guess. Since Thrawn's campaign had never been presented in a topographic format before, I wasn't readily aware that most of the flashpoints actually occurred in just a handful of sectors. Now we know and can better accommodate.
The rescaling is done, but that wasn't the major issue with it. The biggest problem is making sure that all planets are still connected to each other at the increased distance, which I'm still working on. I had decided that connectivity was more important than scale for the release, but now that I have more time, we can eventually have both.
I believe we've solved the crashes involving bombing runs. See the forums for details. This is only one source of the exceptions, so keep reporting bugs and we will find the others!
This is important. All turbolaser and turboion weapons have had their damage and range increased by half. The problem was that I had used the RPGs to judge relative damage, but RPGs operate on a six-second round or something similarly synchronized, so it seems their damage had been adjusted for time. Well, in real-time, lasers can fire about every two seconds and turbolasers every three, as it is in the mod. To account for this, I've increased the damage (and thus the range) so that turbolasers are three times as powerful as a comparable laser, but since they're slower to fire, they effectively output twice the damage. As it was, they were doing four-thirds the damage output, which felt weak to me. Prepare to lose some frigates if you're not careful!
Line of sight has been changed to being class-based opposed to armament-based. If the range of your guns exceeds your line of sight, you will require spotters to fire at the maximum distance.
All ships transport size or larger have been given a damage control ability. This allows them to make slow repairs to hull damage at approximately one-tenth of their shield refresh rate. It is not a replacement for dedicated repair craft, however.
The BTL K-wing has been given a fresh conversion thanks to the new version of Starships of the Galaxy, which is actually the first source to give it detailed stats. I've also taken the opportunity to redo its upgrade branch. I had actually gotten the K-wing close on pure speculation, but a few aspects have changed. Speed, acceleration, maneuverability, hyperdrive, and shielding remain the same on the base model, while hull increases modestly. The main differences are to payload. It now features a total of 18 proton torpedoes and 6 plasma torpedoes, spread out three to a launcher instead of being directly affixed to a hardpoint. On top of that, 4 concussion missiles are added on the first upgrade. To compensate, the double laser turret has been downgraded to light, which effectively makes it a turreted version of the Y-wing's laser cannons. So it trades some of its fighter defense for roughly double the warhead capacity of the released version. The cost has also been increased accordingly.
The Modular Taskforce Cruiser has also gotten a new conversion (and upgrade branch), this time from WEG sourcebooks. Intended as a non-combat vessel, it loses much of its shielding and hull from where it was, but I've also given it a built-in system spy ability to simulate some of the other modules, such as the Observation Module. Build cost for the MTC has been decreased to compensate for its loss of durability.
Due to some sort of confusion on Wookieepedia, it turns out that the ATR Assault Transport doesn't actually have laser cannons at all, so I've removed them. The ion cannons remain, but I've switched them to light turboion cannons, thus stripping it of all starfighter-scale weaponry. Make sure you escort these in the future.
The IPV has switched roles. All of its turbolasers have been replaced with laser cannons and the capacity of its launcher has been increased to 24 missiles, but otherwise the upgrades remain the same. Sources lean towards its guns being "boosted laser cannons" instead of actual capital-scale turbolasers, which is more in-line with its mission profile as a counter-smuggler ship.
I've added the YV-666 Light Freighter as a neutral transport. I went with the 62 m Fact File length of Hound's Tooth to allow it to fill a role as a heavy freighter-transport for CEC, despite the remaining canonical designation. You can read about it (and the rest of the changed ships) in the Units section.
Speaking of freighters, I found out that I had overpowered their income generation ability such that they were capable of producing more revenue fully upgraded per planet than mines in terms of population and structure slots respectively. This had never been my intent, so I've halved the extent of their income upgrades. Fully upgraded freighters now produce 250 credits/week instead of 400. In Skirmish, however, they produce slightly more than the previous levels. Meanwhile, mineral extractors generate less.
Golan platforms in Skirmish are now "reinforced" with double shielding and hull since all other ships are at full upgrade status. I may also improve their armament; I haven't decided yet.
The AI now builds more balanced fleets in Skirmish, in addition to better selecting targets to attack. For one, less battlecruisers are being built and the star dreadnoughts have been removed from the AI's building options completely, such as to avoid the massive build delays. AI players will also upgrade their Golan base quicker than before.
Finally, the AI has been disallowed from scouting with its starfighters. Fighters, bombers, and transports will now actively dogfight and engage your ships, so be prepared. Also, the AI should be smarter about hiding freighters/non-combat ships, escorting capital ships, and exploiting lowered shields in tactical combat.
Changes are occurring all the time, so keep reporting those bugs for us!
Edited by Phoenix Rising, 28 January 2008 - 02:36 AM.
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