Game version 3771 (29th of October, 2023)

This patch introduces a number of significant changes that once again affect the game’s balance. The balance team is fully aware of this and is actively making adjustments to adapt to these changes. If you want to experience the latest in balancing, be sure to select the FAF Beta game type when hosting a game; it contains the most up-to-date improvements. We encourage you to provide feedback on the forums and through Discord.

The previous patch (version 3770) was a silent update designed to address several commonly exploited attack vectors. Notably, we closed an attack vector that had been causing issues in lobbies. As a consequence of this, side-loading Lua scripts to modify the lobby (such as Kyro’s Lobby) or to alter strategic icons (ASI) is no longer functional. Fortunately, there are alternative UI mods available in the vault.

Many have asked us why we don’t allow changes to ASI and the uploading of such modifications to the vault. The reason is straightforward: the author clearly specifies in the description that no alterations are permitted. While we must respect this rule, it can certainly be frustrating. Personally, I take this as a reminder to appreciate software and assets with open source and/or Creative Commons licenses that permit people to create derivatives of the work.

With thanks to all those that took the time to report issues and participate in feedback sessions,

Jip

Features

Physically based rendering (PBR) shaders

We’ve been discussing shader improvements, and the initial changes are now live! PBR shaders have been implemented for all units, including mods, when you have the high fidelity preset selected. The medium fidelity preset now corresponds to the previous high fidelity setting, while the low fidelity preset remains unaffected.

This marks a significant advancement, and we’re eagerly anticipating further graphic refinements in the upcoming developer iterations. If you happen to be a texture or 3D model artist, your assistance would be greatly appreciated in this endeavor. If you’re interested in contributing, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us via Discord.

Tactical missiles

They’ve been left neglected for a considerable amount of time, but that’s about to change! Tactical missiles have undergone extensive adjustments to enhance their behavior and introduce added immersion. These changes encompass alterations to their trajectory, velocity, and impact or intercept effects. Additionally, tactical missiles now exhibit distinct behaviors based on their faction:

  • UEF: Tactical missiles are capable of reaching significantly higher altitudes.
  • Cybran: Tactical missiles split into multiple projectiles when intercepted.
  • Aeon: Tactical missiles follow a zigzag pattern.
  • Seraphim: Tactical missiles can achieve higher speeds.

Anti-projectile weaponry

In a previous developer iteration, we addressed the issue of excessive “overkill” by anti-projectile weaponry. The concept was to “lock on” to a projectile, which would prevent other anti-projectile weaponry from locking on, and this generally worked well. However, there were exceptions when a weapon maintained the lock on a projectile while reloading.

To rectify this, all anti-torpedo and anti-tactical missile weaponry have now been modified to disable their weapons during the reloading process. This action prevents them from locking onto projectiles, effectively ensuring that the weapon won’t block other nearby weapons to intercept projectiles. Consequently, Tactical Missile Defenses (TMDs) and Torpedo Defenses (TDs) now function with greater reliability and increased efficiency.

Mobile Factories feature

In the previous developer iteration, we introduced the mobile factories feature, and thanks to valuable player feedback, we’ve made some improvements:

  • You can now manage the queue of the factory module while selecting the primary unit. This includes queuing units and pausing or setting the factory module to repeat-build.
  • For Aircraft Carriers, you can now simply right-click the deploy button to automatically deploy aircraft when they are created.
  • You can now easily toggle between selecting the primary unit and the factory module. This simplifies the process of directly managing the factory module, such as setting rally points.

And last but certainly not least, the CZAR now has the ability to build air units, following the same behavior as other aircraft carriers.

These enhancements aim to provide a smoother and more efficient experience when working with mobile factories, making gameplay even more enjoyable.

The navigational mesh plays a crucial role in helping AI entities decipher and navigate the map. In this iteration, we’ve implemented several improvements:

  • The computation of the navigational mesh now takes 20% to 30% less time compared to the previous version. On an average computer and a typical 20x20 map, it should now take no longer than two seconds to generate the navigational mesh.
  • We’ve introduced a separate graph, similar to a mesh surface, for the actual pathfinding process. This adjustment reduces the overhead involved in generating paths, effectively skipping details that are irrelevant.

As always, we strongly discourage direct code interactions with the navigational mesh. We encourage users to utilize the ‘NavUtils’ wrapper. Code that employs the ‘NavUtils’ wrapper remains unaffected functionally and automatically benefits from these runtime improvements.

Other features

  • (#5370) The toggle to select drones now selects all drones from all drone carriers within your selection.
  • (#5125) When you right-click a control group, it appends your current selection to the control group.
  • (#5487) Visualizations of raised platforms are now displayed when spawning units through the cheat menu.
  • (#5507) Translations for Simplified Chinese have been added.
  • (#5500) Descriptions concerning TMLs (Tactical Missile Launchers) and SMLs (Strategic Missile Launchers) have been updated.
  • (#5566) Descriptions for (S)ACU enhancements have been extended for better clarity and information.
  • (#5514) Introducing a wall overspill mechanic:

Walls now have an overspill mechanic similar to Shields. They overspill damage to directly adjacent walls. The overspill factor is 20%. For example, when a wall receives 10 damage, all adjacent walls receive an additional 2 damage.

  • (#5524) Enhancing the performance of end-game score graphs:

The score graphs now render significantly faster, thanks to the same optimizations applied to speed up the simulation.

  • (#5541) Resource deposit detection in context-based templates while zoomed out:

The search radius for resource deposits now extends as you zoom out, making it easier to build and place extractors.

  • (#5543) Context-based templates can now trigger on your build preview:

Context-based templates no longer rely solely on the context of the mouse. With this change, they can also use the build preview as context to cycle through templates. For instance, if you have a Tech 2 Radar in the build preview, you can cycle to a build template that surrounds the radar with power generators. Similarly, if a Tech 3 Power Generator is in the build preview, you can switch to a build template that surrounds the power generator with air factories. These new templates can be edited, extended, or replaced just like the old ones.

  • (#5540) Assistance in copying the command queue of an engineer:

This feature can be enabled in the game options. When holding CTRL and assisting, an engineer will now copy the command queue of the engineer being assisted and apply it to your current selection, making engineering tasks more efficient.

Bug fixes

  • (#48) Resolving the bug where projectiles hit the wrong unit:

In the past, there was an issue where projectiles would occasionally strike the incorrect unit. This problem typically occurred when a projectile intersected with multiple units at the same time, resulting in it targeting the last unit it encountered. This bug was particularly noticeable when walls positioned behind a point defense structure absorbed most of the damage, causing walls to function unreliably. The bug was most prevalent with tightly packed units or high-velocity projectiles, such as those fired by the Rhino.

Fortunately, this bug has now been fixed. Projectiles will strike the first unit they encounter, ensuring that damage is allocated correctly. Consequently, damage will be absorbed by the walls in front of a point defense, enhancing the reliability of the gameplay. Additionally, small non-hover units can now effectively use walls as cover, as the walls will consistently absorb incoming damage.

  • (#5550) Corrected the issue of beam weapons sometimes missing various (hover) units.
  • Addressed the problem of missing targeting bones in various (structure) units.
  • Resolved a crash that occurred when distributing reclaim orders.
  • Fixed the Aeon tech 1 bomber (occasionally) flipping over its axis.
  • (#5553) The Seraphim regeneration field now properly applies to Transports.
  • (#5554) The Seraphim regeneration field now properly applies to Sparkies.
  • (#5254) Fix the Monkeylord from being able to get stuck.
  • (#5489) Units no longer rotate drastically as they finish building.

This would happen when a change to the rally point would change the roll off point. Instead the unit now rolls off the direction it is facing and the next unit will be properly orientated again at the start of building

  • (#5503) Visual glitches related to the Ahwassa have been resolved.
  • (#5511) A bug that caused the map to be flattened has been fixed.
  • (#5522) The closing rate of the in-game menu screen for large displays has been adjusted to improve usability.
  • (#5538) Secondary ranges for the Seraphim Sniper and the Loyalist are now displayed.
  • (#5549) The breakoff distance for the Solace has been increased to enable proper bombing runs.
  • Icon mods now apply immediately without requiring the next game to be loaded.

However, this change is made at the expense of disabling asset prefetching during the lobby, ensuring that icon mods behave as users expect.

  • (#5537) Various bugs related to the Seraphim Sniper have been addressed.

Contributors

With thanks to the following people who contributed through coding:

  • Clyfordv (clyf)
  • RabidPope
  • Jip
  • BlackYps
  • Balthazar
  • Relent0r
  • lL1l1
  • Nex37
  • Pokute
  • Basilisk3
  • Rowey

With thanks to the following people who contributed through binary patches:

  • 4z0t
  • hdt80bro
  • Kionx

With thanks to the following people who contributed through model, texture, description and effect changes:

  • HaoJun0823
  • Jip
  • Pokute
  • lL1l1
  • Basilisk3
  • Fichom
  • Clyf

And, last but certainly not least - with thanks to those that took part in constructive discussions:

  • BuildMoreRadar
  • CheeseBerry
  • Sheikah
  • Magge
  • MostLostNoob
  • Fichom
  • Clyf
  • BlackYps
  • Rowey