Aug 13, 2016

Empires 2.9.0 released - Linux now supported!

Empires Mod - Bob2

Empires 2.9.0 "Battery"
August 13, 2016

* Features:
Linux client and server, including easy installation using LGSM
Building upgrades are now split into their own script definitions which allows values to be overridden when a building upgrades. For example turret damage can now be set when it is upgraded.
Removed various code restrictions that meant only turrets could be upgraded. This means that new building upgrade definitions are now a possibility.
Maximum carcass health is now defined in scripts, defaults to vehicle health.
Concussion grenades re-added.
Resource income now displays total income from all captured refineries and flags without using averaging; this should make it easier to notice when your income changes without random fluctuations. Resource deductions will display as and when they occur.
Resources and wages will now display as rounded figures. This helps to make sure all the information stays visible without overlapping or going off-screen.
Removed hardcoded layout for hud ammo indicator.
Standing near an unbuilt refinery point shows a hint that you have to move away.

* Bugfixes:
Made walls placable in Hammer.
Fixed the bug causing players to spawn in Barracks facing East; players will now spawn facing the nearest exit.
Fixed a bug where an engineer could place small walls even though they hit their limit.
Fixed persistent wall ghosts when holstering engineer tool.
Fixed a bug where the start position of a wall would be the map origin, meaning players would be unable to place a wall until they right clicked.
Engineer recycling no longer gives more resources when recycling without repair upgrade.
Turrets upgrade instantly after turret upgrade research.
Fixed scout class being named assault at the end of a round.
Removed unused emp_sv_refinery_interval cvar.
Made default class on start of game engineer instead of scout.
Fixed guard order drawing outline with an extra side.
Fixed gui images becoming blurry on low graphics settings.
Intro video has been fixed.
Hints should no longer show when inside a vehicle; destroyed vehicles show their own hint.
Engineer buildables no longer block building placement for commander.
Fixed news panel in menu.

* Non-code changes:
Added emp_money_2016 with prebuilt walls on the entrances.
Fixed third flag on emp_escort giving Brenodi reinforcements multiple times.
Added ocean water material for use in mapping.
Improved NF jeep VGUI images.
Hud style updated.
Updated some collisions for old Brenodi props.

* More detailed balancing changelog:
NF SMG3
Damage 40->38
MinimalDamage 30->28

StandingSpreadMax 0.3->0.25
DuckingSpreadMax 0.2->0.17
ProneSpreadMax 0.2->0.14

StandingSpreadIncrement 0.009->0.0082
DuckingSpreadIncrement 0.006->00055
ProneSpreadIncrement 0.005->0.0046

Sticky Grenade
Damage 150->175

Commander vehicle
InfantryStickyResist 0->0.25

Advanced Coolant Engine
Heat Output At Max
6->5 for AFV/LT
7->6 for Medium
6->5 for Heavy

GL
Gravity 1->0.92
Cycle time 3->2.5
Total Ammo Clips 2->4
Reload Time 10->6
UGL
Gravity 0.9->0.88
Total Ammo Clips 3->4
Reload Time 12->8

Bio MG
Vehicle Bio Damage 3->4

Plasma MG
Damage 4->5
Cycle time 0.4->0.35
Heat to Target 1.6->1.8

HEMG
Projectile Spread 0.015->0.025
DUMG & DUHMG
Projectile Spread 0.03->0.02

Guided ML
Heat 7->7.5
Cycle Time 1.0->1.2
Reload Time 6.0->5.5

Salvo ML
Weight 50->60

Plasma CN
Heat 20->15
Heat to Target 10->7
Explosion Radius 350->325

Artillery tank
Base cost 1000->850

180mm arty cannon
Gravity 0.7->0.55
203mm arty cannon
Speed 1800->1900
Gravity 0.6->0.57

Scout
Ranged arty resist 0->0.1
Other arties resist 0->0.15
Rifleman
Other arties resist 0.1->0.15
Grenadier
Other arties resist 0.3->0.4
Engineer
Ranged arty resist 0->0.1
Other arties resist 0->0.15

Capacitive Armor
Damage To Heat Absorbed 0.06->0.045

Regenerative Armor
Health 70->72

Deflective armor
Health 72->75
Angle Modifier 0.95->0.88

Absorbant Armor
Health 66->67
Speed to Damage Modifier -0.00011->-0.000112
Bio Modifier 0.3->0.45

NF Heavy Rifle
Clipsize 12->10

Aug 13, 2016

Empires 2.9.0 released - Linux now supported!

Empires Mod - Bob2

May 8, 2016

Empires 2.8.0 released

Empires Mod - Bob2

Empires 2.8.0 "Asymptote"
April 6, 2016

* Bugfixes:
Crash when spawning an APC, if you fire the MG immediately after constructing it
Comm crash fix
Commander can once again place buildings near enemy walls, engineer cameras & radars, and unbuilt buildings
Reverted unintentional change, so that vehicle weapons aim towards the crosshair again, rather than parallel to your aiming direction (dual cannons still work)
Fixed exploit building through the walls of emp_canyon, by reinstating a check from 2.6.9 that was missing
Reverted unintentional change; you can now build through ammo crates again (and multiplayer physics props)
The squad popup back in your face every round, because we just can't trust you to remember
Fixed building underwater and through world, found in 2.8.0 beta
Fix vehicles not being forced out of vehicle factory on creation.
Removed emp_gauntlet descriptions since that map is gone
Map description file for emp_noreturn

* Balancing changes for "Asymptote"
For years, there have been only 1~2 usable armors. We would like each armor to have its own special trait that makes it a decent option to research under different circumstances; to that end, we've modified capacitive, absorbant and reflective, as well as bio MG and plasma MG, to better suit the strategic commander. We've also buffed railguns and nerfed walls to make for a faster endgame. Artillery is back, baby! The new 180mm Artillery Cannon packs a much better punch than before. See the full changelog below.

* Other code fixes:
8 traces in cilinder to establish evenness of terrain; draw traces that fail
No more building placement on top of buildings/players/vehicles.
Arty Max Weight 870->855 Health 150->125
Reduced collision radii of all buildings to fit snugly around the model, allowing the ramps on all buildings to stick out and overlap. Added OffsetZ of 10 for all buildings to enable placement on not quite even terrain (except for walls, those weren't touched)
Added building_flushscript cheat, to allow you to keep the game running while adjust building collision bounds
Added con command to give a team resources, only usable by server admins; "emp_give_resources"
Added cl_mute_all_comms to mute chat as well as voice.
Don't count player dropped buildings towards the max turret limit.
Disabled stripping symbols for server for better sourcemod support
Rename Assault class to Scout.
DefaultLightmapScale is now 64; this is a setting for new brushes created in hammer, and was requested by DocRabbit; it does not change how existing maps will compile
A player's ticket usage is also incremented for first spawn, as they use a ticket anyway.
Save player stats when they spawn and are killed.
Re-added building hints, reimplemented much simpler than the old ones, and properly scaling to screen size
Updated the Source SDK with the latest code from the TF and HL2 branches. (now on 0d8dceea431 in the Source SDK, latest commit)

* Non-code fixes:
New models for Brenodi engineer camera and radar, courtesy of Smithy.
emp_streetsoffire: Fixed misaligned overlay outside BE main. Change contributed by D.D.D. Destroyer.
emp_district402: Fixes flag model for be 3rd flag using the wrong emp_cap_point
Add a template map for new mappers: SteamApps\common\Empires\empires\mapsrc\emp_template.vmf
Change starting armor in emp_glycencity to absorbant instead of budget.
Replaced the broken "test microphone" textures.

* Semantic versioning:
We're now using semantic versioning as described on http://semver.org/
The major version number is 2, and is bumped whenever we change so much that the game is fundamentally different.
The minor version number is 8, and is bumped for any change that requires both server and client to update
The patch version number is 0, and is bumped for any change that does not require an update to remain compatible - so, only crash fixes.

See the forums for more discussion on our versioning system.

In addition to semantic versioning, which is useful for server owners and devs mostly, each future version will maintain a name for the current balancing (or "scripts"), with an optional suffix to indicate small tweaks or (potentially major) bugfixes. This also helps for beta testers to know what balancing they are testing.

* More detailed balancing changelog:
HEMG Damage 11 -> 10.5
Reflective->Deflective (thanks Mr.X), also corrected a typo (absorbant).
Bio MG rework, more single shot dmg, longer cycle time, much shorter bio dmg interval.
Plasma MG rework, lower heat gen & heat to enemy, longer cycle time, higher damage.
Angle modifier 1->0.95 & 10% shell/missile/MG resist for Deflective, 15% MG resist for Absorbant.
HML dmg 45->52 clipsize 6->7 reload time 6->5 SHML lock time1.5->1.2 total clip 6->7
5% shell/missile resist for Deflective, 15% vehicle MG resist for Absorbant.
Capacitive cost 15->20
Capacitive rework, more hp, no degen, negative angle modifer, increased bio dmg.
Absorbant health 60->66
Explosion force 100000 -> 70000, less flipping.
Artillery cannon rework, higher "alpha" damage, lower DPM. Higher radius except for ranged. (2.8.1 buffed the range for the small and medium arty)
wall resist against kinetic/missile 0.95->0.925, everything else 0.97->0.94 (mortar and seismics unchanged); NB; effective strength against tanks halved
Always spawn with max ammo for BEHR.
Reactive weight 20->18
HMG Stamina drain decreased significantly, slight damage buff.
Abs bio damage modifier 0->0.3
DUMG/DUHMG spread 0.04->0.03
Regen health 60->70 Regen 0.067->0.07
Composite cost 15->20, reason same as Deflective.
Deflective cost 15->20, this is to make cheaper armor stands out.
NFHR rework, damage buff, slightly increased cycle time, better standing acc, lower crotch/prone acc.
BEAR rework, damage & accuracy buff, slightly longer cycle time.
NF&BE ref now have same resists.
Budget armor removal.
Rail gun damage 45->50
Absorbant cost 12->4
DUMG damage 4->5 DUHMG damage 6->8
Coolant engine buff; +10% heat dissipation, -25% heat output at max

May 8, 2016

Empires 2.8.0 released

Empires Mod - Bob2