We could probably stop the patchnotes right there. It feels surreal to be finally getting ready to push that button to leave Early Access on Steam. I believe we will go down in the record books as the game in Early Access the longest, and absolutely the one that had the biggest evolution and active development in that phase. Update number 266, build 73025 was pushed this morning.

During these almost 6 years, the definition of Early Access has changed. When we started, it was the only way to do an open beta as F2P was just becoming a thing way back then. And while the game has changed, we have not wiped player data, and only very rarely had any downtime. We have put a lot of effort into operating the game as if it were fully released--because it was fully released.

So why stay in Early Access? As Carbon's first game as a studio, and our first shot at F2P, we had no idea what we were doing. We know a lot more now, not sure how much of it is useful, but we immediately saw how tricky it is to find a good spot where a F2P game can survive. When we started out, the goal was simply to make a good game, and we figure the money stuff will just work out. But designing from a traditional point of view was not a great fit for F2P. The goal evolved into "make the best game you can AND try to earn enough to pay the dev team to keep working on AirMech".

We found this incredibly difficult, and in fact found the most success in partnerships to help continue to move AirMech forward. Working with Ubisoft to create AirMech Arena for consoles, then working with Oculus and Valve to bring AirMech Command to VR. Working on these projects was our way to bring resources back to the core AirMech game.

The addition of the Warzone map series to AirMech was a significant investment and a new approach to what the game would offer. More PvE content, to see how that would be liked. Feedback was very positive actually, but it further reduced the PvP player pool. We gained new players, but lost old players, and while the player population was stable we found the revenue was significantly reduced. We spent a ton of money making a lot of new content for the game which ended up killing revenue for the game. Oops.

This was the inflection point. AirMech either gets "released" at that moment, and probably never touched by us again (because we can't afford to based on what it was making), or we double down and go back to AirMech's PvP roots--in a way, AirMech 2.0. This is AirMech Strike. We gutted lobbies, groups, stripped out progression based power, every aspect was inspected and considered if it was interfering with fair and balanced PvP in any way--and removed if so.

All the things that were "removed" of course became quite a large collection of things--enough to make a game out of. The 7 Warzone maps would become the foundation of AirMech Wastelands, which is over 40 and counting, as it is still in the middle of development. Just like Strike was no longer held back by PvE, Wastelands was no longer held back by PvP, which meant we were free to go full RPG with everything becoming about leveling up and getting sweet loot. Parts are "balanced" in the same way they would be in any loot based RPG, where later missions are harder, so you need to level up, find better gear--and reset to the next heroic difficulty level if you make it all the way through. It's really exciting stuff, but I don't want to get too distracted talking about it here.

And here we are. So many things not done, yet things are in a pretty stable spot making this a great time to slip out of Early Access ahead of the next big features coming to AirMech--key among them is a new automated Tournament system. We have been working on this for a while, and it's not something we want to turn on if we have a bunch of new players flowing in, but after things calm down we will immediately start running these automated tournaments for players. It is safe to assume that in every region there will be at least one tournament a week, and we may even open up this system for player or Faction created tournaments. Prizes are setup when you create them, along with the conditions to enter, the size and mode, with built in tools to track your status and get you into your matches. I feel this is the crowning component to make AirMech fulfill its PvP promise.

Veterans, I cannot say thank you enough for your support to get us to this point. Your feedback, encouragement, and financial support have made AirMech possible. Half of the funding from AirMech has come from the players, and without that it is unlikely we would have been able to continue to spend so much time working on it. AirMech has never been in danger of being shut down--to me the danger is always that we can't put enough developers on it to make it as great as I'd like it to be. Revenue from AirMech will continue to be invested back into AirMech--and there is no limit to what I would like to improve or expand with sufficient revenue.

And to newer players, it is great to have you join us. I hope you have a good time and enjoy our community and game. We really appreciate feedback from everyone more than you realize. Either using the ingame tool, Discord, or the forums, all feedback is an equal voice here.

Without further delay....PREPARE FOR BATTLE!

-James

We could probably stop the patchnotes right there. It feels surreal to be finally getting ready to push that button to leave Early Access on Steam. I believe we will go down in the record books as the game in Early Access the longest, and absolutely the one that had the biggest evolution and active development in that phase. Update number 266, build 73025 was pushed this morning.

During these almost 6 years, the definition of Early Access has changed. When we started, it was the only way to do an open beta as F2P was just becoming a thing way back then. And while the game has changed, we have not wiped player data, and only very rarely had any downtime. We have put a lot of effort into operating the game as if it were fully released--because it was fully released.

So why stay in Early Access? As Carbon's first game as a studio, and our first shot at F2P, we had no idea what we were doing. We know a lot more now, not sure how much of it is useful, but we immediately saw how tricky it is to find a good spot where a F2P game can survive. When we started out, the goal was simply to make a good game, and we figure the money stuff will just work out. But designing from a traditional point of view was not a great fit for F2P. The goal evolved into "make the best game you can AND try to earn enough to pay the dev team to keep working on AirMech".

We found this incredibly difficult, and in fact found the most success in partnerships to help continue to move AirMech forward. Working with Ubisoft to create AirMech Arena for consoles, then working with Oculus and Valve to bring AirMech Command to VR. Working on these projects was our way to bring resources back to the core AirMech game.

The addition of the Warzone map series to AirMech was a significant investment and a new approach to what the game would offer. More PvE content, to see how that would be liked. Feedback was very positive actually, but it further reduced the PvP player pool. We gained new players, but lost old players, and while the player population was stable we found the revenue was significantly reduced. We spent a ton of money making a lot of new content for the game which ended up killing revenue for the game. Oops.

This was the inflection point. AirMech either gets "released" at that moment, and probably never touched by us again (because we can't afford to based on what it was making), or we double down and go back to AirMech's PvP roots--in a way, AirMech 2.0. This is AirMech Strike. We gutted lobbies, groups, stripped out progression based power, every aspect was inspected and considered if it was interfering with fair and balanced PvP in any way--and removed if so.

All the things that were "removed" of course became quite a large collection of things--enough to make a game out of. The 7 Warzone maps would become the foundation of AirMech Wastelands, which is over 40 and counting, as it is still in the middle of development. Just like Strike was no longer held back by PvE, Wastelands was no longer held back by PvP, which meant we were free to go full RPG with everything becoming about leveling up and getting sweet loot. Parts are "balanced" in the same way they would be in any loot based RPG, where later missions are harder, so you need to level up, find better gear--and reset to the next heroic difficulty level if you make it all the way through. It's really exciting stuff, but I don't want to get too distracted talking about it here.

And here we are. So many things not done, yet things are in a pretty stable spot making this a great time to slip out of Early Access ahead of the next big features coming to AirMech--key among them is a new automated Tournament system. We have been working on this for a while, and it's not something we want to turn on if we have a bunch of new players flowing in, but after things calm down we will immediately start running these automated tournaments for players. It is safe to assume that in every region there will be at least one tournament a week, and we may even open up this system for player or Faction created tournaments. Prizes are setup when you create them, along with the conditions to enter, the size and mode, with built in tools to track your status and get you into your matches. I feel this is the crowning component to make AirMech fulfill its PvP promise.

Veterans, I cannot say thank you enough for your support to get us to this point. Your feedback, encouragement, and financial support have made AirMech possible. Half of the funding from AirMech has come from the players, and without that it is unlikely we would have been able to continue to spend so much time working on it. AirMech has never been in danger of being shut down--to me the danger is always that we can't put enough developers on it to make it as great as I'd like it to be. Revenue from AirMech will continue to be invested back into AirMech--and there is no limit to what I would like to improve or expand with sufficient revenue.

And to newer players, it is great to have you join us. I hope you have a good time and enjoy our community and game. We really appreciate feedback from everyone more than you realize. Either using the ingame tool, Discord, or the forums, all feedback is an equal voice here.

Without further delay....PREPARE FOR BATTLE!

-James

Below is a catchup of the recent patches from the last couple weeks. We always post patchnotes ingame, but as we have been super busy preparing to leave Early Access we have let posting here lag a bit behind. Post-Early Access, updates will always be posted here along with ingame.

As we move into the home stretch toward leaving Early Access, we wanted to give the Player Market one more chance of being opened up. The game has changed a lot in what items are desireable and what affects gameplay, so our concerns about keeping the Player Market restricted to VIPs may no longer be needed. We will definitely be keeping an eye on all things related to the Player Market since we would love to have it open to everyone again if we can avoid the headaches that came along with it.

Please be aware that for convenience we allow items that are intended for AirMech Wastelands to be shown in AirMech Strike. As the new Player Market was originally supposed to be exclusively for Wastelands players, this was fine, but it does have the potential to cause confusion. If new players are confused a bit about things which have the Wastelands icon, try to help explain how it works and be patient as we give this a shot.

• update saucer deathray AOE damage to council numbers (25%, 2->4 range)
  
• allow saucer deathray to target airmode airmechs and air units
  
• adding pulsed AOE damage to Saucer Deathray ability
  
• prepare market for non-VIP use
  
• add market chat tab
  
• add Rumble 3 promo banner and billboard
  
• merge selling dialog into main market window
  
• add more use tips for how to sell on market window
  
• make mail close buttons like others in the UI
  
• add dedicated Market chat channel
  
• add icon shortcuts for inventory/market/friends to info tab
  
• Enable PiDay items on Strike/Wastelands
  
• don't mark books as wastelands content, since they aren't anymore
  
• Added sfx for when unit configuration ui slides open
  
• Added sfx when market ui open/closes
  
• add 'Collection' and 'Market' ui nav links
  
• Updated AirMech class buttons in customization ui
  
• Make it rain Diamonds during a Diamond Roll
  
• make chat window not dragable
  
• improve spectate hud layout
  
• fix display of recalibrated airmech parts in strike
  
• animate lobby tree
  
• add proper art for Rumble 3
  
• testing game event cards
  
• reduce keypress influence to switch from gamepad back to mouse keyboard input. So you can more easily play with gamepad, and use the keyboard for some commands
  
• Added springtime lobby tree
  
• More sound effects hookups for ui
  
• FollowMech: Tighten up the moving target, increase the range where it will settle for when stopped.
  
• FollowMech: units more likely to stay put once they get into position.
  
• Add Wind sfx to Training level, to break up some of the quiet spots when no action takes place
  
• Add additional Sets for missing holidays
  
• Add additional themed content sets
  
• Move holiday Sets and put them in calendar order
  
• Add missing and new items to existing Sets
  
• Remove pre-placed stasis mines on lower pathway of Storm, council request
  
• reduce helix missiles activated buff to 2x charge speed (down from 3x)
  
• move color chooser above units in lobby
  
• Fixed crash bug in the editor related to dragging a tile quickly.
  
• Updated Saucer Abduct tool-tip with activated ability information
  
• update saucer abduct activated ability per council input +100% rate (base and percent) for 5s on 45s cooldown
  
• TankFlak/Gorgon hp 5000->3500 per council decision
  
• remove activated spinup ability (resets cooldowns) per council discussion
  
• Remove Activated Ability text for Warthog Spin Up ability
  
• make 'spectator' UI time controls work in replays
  
• fix uplink quest promo display
  
• attach email quest used a promo which was in the promos file with stopparse at the top, started a new Common.txt
  
• add activated state for saucer's abductability per Council discussion. 30 second cooldown +1000% base HP rate for 1 second
  
• call 'gfx refreshMinimap' from 'onRenderChangeViewport' script
  
• white minimap state should be fixed after window resize operations
  
• new lobby promo for Pepper (rocket turret)
  
• Add JungleRain sfx
  
• Allow you to unlock colors from color chooser ui
  
• update the generation of the excluded servers list
  
• update gun activated ability buf to 25% damage (from 50%) normalize all cooldowns to 45 seconds and increase duration from 5 seconds at all levels to 8,10,12,14
  
• Display units stats when hovering over the icon in the mini inspect/unlock dialog
  
• Adding AES Icon for Saucer
  
• Added activated state reveal for saucer abduct ability

• clear bishop menu on match loading screen, which is only an issue because of promote to top stuff, meaning for almost a year we haven't been clearing it properly...might be unintended consequences from this "fix" so watch out
  
• remove tax book popup from clicking on tax rate (causes problems)
  
• fixes to various windows focus/close states
  
• fix not being able to create market listing
  
• Updated "turret drop" in Strike tutorial so that it works better (can be dropped on any socket now to continue)
  
• Fix transition when exiting out of a match
  
• small fixes to shop background
  
• fix some ability trigger input not respecting cooldown buffs
• Saucer teleport
  
• Added different diamond roll effects based on graphics quality
  
• Added video option to disable diamond roll effects
  
• Added a button to clear the diamond roll effects early
  
• Comment out UseScript for GVIPCube7 and GVIPCube30, since these are no longer consumable items
  
• Make "tab" button only cycle loadouts when ui open
  
• Make "tab" cycle chat tabs if loadouts ui is not open
  
• Fix team slot when in custom room and switching to a 1v1
  
• Mark TruckRatters as noTrade to be consistent with other units
  
• Hide more chat ui elements when using a gamepad
  
• potential bugfix for Angel being locked out of sniper rifle after in air ability activation of loop
  
• fix jerky camera transitions when watching different players as a spectator
  
• update spectators to be able to see player cards w/ carried units all the time
  
• fix unit pickup/drop scripts to correctly update carry unit UI tab states for update of spectator seeing them all
  
• bug fix for collection sets stat display/counts
  
• comment out Gorgon's "MeleeDPS" so it doesn't show DPS vs Ground on the stat card
  
• Stubbed in faction kudos/xp boost indicators in the lobby ui
  
• Hide 'EventDoubleTitleXP' and 'EventDoubleTitleK' if unit customization ui is open
  
• Fix unlock dialog not displaying the right icon on the endgame screen
  
• Fix unlock dialog and menu3d overlapping on the endgame screen
  
• Fix 'TryOutQuit' button placement
  
• Fix assert when unlocking heads on endgame screen
  
• update attempt for player status cards for everyone when spectating
• WIP
• this is much more work than originally thought
  
• Some cleanup for settings/pause menu
  
• Small tweak for showing stats in mini inspect ui
  
• Remove local build speed display in spectate ui
  
• quick and dirty potential 'fix' for stuck special stance state req
  
• on market filter change, reset the page count to 1 so you see the top of the list
  
• increase get market data defer delay from 0.7 seconds to 2.5 seconds so you are less likely to see the game system notify full screen popup when re-requesting market data, and the backend has to regenerate the universe
  
• if there are team 1 bots, do 2P pvp style listing in watch tab rather than '1v1 pvp'
  
• remove some old icons from AMS game watch listings (infinite no overtime symbol and ultimates allowed symbol)
  
• Hook up 'Market' chat link
  
• Fixup some naming inconsistencies with Player 0-6 in the Editor
  
• Fix tryout/try me button hidden state not getting set correctly
  
• Fix for unit stats not showing up when hovering over icon in mini inspect/unlock dialog
  
• fix decoupling of rendering state for helix grenades targeting. Add display position slewing. Moved from SimTickPlayer to VisTickPlayers
• probably some other rendering in there that should come out..
  
• Updating LobbyEventSpring
  
• Update text for "Communication Uplink" Quest, now that reward is back to Diamonds
  
• Sword and Snake pets link in chat
  
• Some minor fixes for when going in/out of "the pit"
  
• Some timing tweaks for map preview ui
  
• Pull IntroCam2 on Thar down slightly, so it doesn't display the north-eastern map edges during pans
  
• Move starting cameras in a bit on Twin Peaks, to fix seeing level bounds
  
• Move starting cameras in a bit on Crater, to fix seeing level bounds
  
• Move northern starting camera on Vale in, to fix seeing level bounds
  
• Move northern starting camera on Sandrim down slightly, to fix seeing level bounds
  
• Hide 'PromoLobby' if in lobby menus
  
• Hide 'DailyRewardMaster' if in a simple group
  
• Hide "LobbyIconSimpleGroupMembers" if AirMech customization ui is open
  
• Fixed going into "the pit" from ranked 1v1 using play sub button
  
• Fix spamming of going in/out of "the pit"
  
• Fix 'LobbyMenuStatus' overlapping AirMech customization ui
  
• Fix gamepad focus for map preview/pregame loadout selection
  
• Fix gamepad command press after clearing pregame loadout selection ui
  
• Fix editor issue with pets flickering across the map.
  
• Fix challenge continue button bringing up the pause menu
  
• Fix being able to see level bounds on both side of Nesthorn during intro camera pans
  
• Fix AirMech selection not saving when swapping class/skins
  
• Don't swap loadouts when holding down right shoulder to bring up the ability upgrade ui
  
• Another fix for going into "the pit" when in a 1v1 ranked lobby
  
• use emission start offset on guardians spawn to fix stretched initial spawn (was noticable on the blade guardian)
  
• update autoexecsrv for 72028 (desync testing patch)
  
• Some tweaks for gamepad build menu
  
• Some more tweaks for ability upgrade ui for gamepad
  
• Some cleanup for 'SwitchToPad' scripts
  
• show/hide correct server locations
  
• Possible fix for missing unit name in mini inspect/unlock dialog
  
• Fix selection outline in loadout customization ui
  
• only transport the low byte of iparam on PadStartGlide input action
  
• move t99 missile fire smoke puff up a bit
  
• [HEAT] use M_HashStringCased instead of 'HeatHash::StringCaseSensitive' on literal strings to hash them at compile time instead of run time
  
• [HEAT] pfx system clamp 'maxparticles' to 'stopafterparticle' count if it's <
  
• More cleanup of description text for Units (AM-9345)
  
• misc nonsense looking at saucer abduction stuff
  
• Make left shoulder always bring up the build menu on gamepad
  
• Make gamepad build menu show up after a delay
  
• Don't swap loadout if gamepad build menu comes up
  
• local action state blocking ofr Pad Start/Stop SelfDestruct input actions
  
• If brining up the build menu with left shoulder on gamepad, don't do a loadout swap
  
• Fixed clipping geo on green sea bomber
  
• Fix 'MinimapViewboxSm' size for spectators
  
• Fix gamepad ability upgrade ui not clearing when swap loadouts is mapped to right shoulder
  
• fix for unit shot leading against other units
  
• fix 'DetailQuality' to account for the last quality level now being '4' rather than '3'
  
• Fix '_OrderMode' not getting reset when using gamepad to swap loadouts
  
• Don't show "GamepadHintDpadIconUpgrade" if not using gamepad
  
• add action request blocking state for recycling units m_isRecyclingUnitReq so we don't spam start/stop input actions while we are waiting for a delta action to occur. Might clean up some issues that occur w/ net game action rescheduling

Below is a catchup of the recent patches from the last couple weeks. We always post patchnotes ingame, but as we have been super busy preparing to leave Early Access we have let posting here lag a bit behind. Post-Early Access, updates will always be posted here along with ingame.

As we move into the home stretch toward leaving Early Access, we wanted to give the Player Market one more chance of being opened up. The game has changed a lot in what items are desireable and what affects gameplay, so our concerns about keeping the Player Market restricted to VIPs may no longer be needed. We will definitely be keeping an eye on all things related to the Player Market since we would love to have it open to everyone again if we can avoid the headaches that came along with it.

Please be aware that for convenience we allow items that are intended for AirMech Wastelands to be shown in AirMech Strike. As the new Player Market was originally supposed to be exclusively for Wastelands players, this was fine, but it does have the potential to cause confusion. If new players are confused a bit about things which have the Wastelands icon, try to help explain how it works and be patient as we give this a shot.

• update saucer deathray AOE damage to council numbers (25%, 2->4 range)
  
• allow saucer deathray to target airmode airmechs and air units
  
• adding pulsed AOE damage to Saucer Deathray ability
  
• prepare market for non-VIP use
  
• add market chat tab
  
• add Rumble 3 promo banner and billboard
  
• merge selling dialog into main market window
  
• add more use tips for how to sell on market window
  
• make mail close buttons like others in the UI
  
• add dedicated Market chat channel
  
• add icon shortcuts for inventory/market/friends to info tab
  
• Enable PiDay items on Strike/Wastelands
  
• don't mark books as wastelands content, since they aren't anymore
  
• Added sfx for when unit configuration ui slides open
  
• Added sfx when market ui open/closes
  
• add 'Collection' and 'Market' ui nav links
  
• Updated AirMech class buttons in customization ui
  
• Make it rain Diamonds during a Diamond Roll
  
• make chat window not dragable
  
• improve spectate hud layout
  
• fix display of recalibrated airmech parts in strike
  
• animate lobby tree
  
• add proper art for Rumble 3
  
• testing game event cards
  
• reduce keypress influence to switch from gamepad back to mouse keyboard input. So you can more easily play with gamepad, and use the keyboard for some commands
  
• Added springtime lobby tree
  
• More sound effects hookups for ui
  
• FollowMech: Tighten up the moving target, increase the range where it will settle for when stopped.
  
• FollowMech: units more likely to stay put once they get into position.
  
• Add Wind sfx to Training level, to break up some of the quiet spots when no action takes place
  
• Add additional Sets for missing holidays
  
• Add additional themed content sets
  
• Move holiday Sets and put them in calendar order
  
• Add missing and new items to existing Sets
  
• Remove pre-placed stasis mines on lower pathway of Storm, council request
  
• reduce helix missiles activated buff to 2x charge speed (down from 3x)
  
• move color chooser above units in lobby
  
• Fixed crash bug in the editor related to dragging a tile quickly.
  
• Updated Saucer Abduct tool-tip with activated ability information
  
• update saucer abduct activated ability per council input +100% rate (base and percent) for 5s on 45s cooldown
  
• TankFlak/Gorgon hp 5000->3500 per council decision
  
• remove activated spinup ability (resets cooldowns) per council discussion
  
• Remove Activated Ability text for Warthog Spin Up ability
  
• make 'spectator' UI time controls work in replays
  
• fix uplink quest promo display
  
• attach email quest used a promo which was in the promos file with stopparse at the top, started a new Common.txt
  
• add activated state for saucer's abductability per Council discussion. 30 second cooldown +1000% base HP rate for 1 second
  
• call 'gfx refreshMinimap' from 'onRenderChangeViewport' script
  
• white minimap state should be fixed after window resize operations
  
• new lobby promo for Pepper (rocket turret)
  
• Add JungleRain sfx
  
• Allow you to unlock colors from color chooser ui
  
• update the generation of the excluded servers list
  
• update gun activated ability buf to 25% damage (from 50%) normalize all cooldowns to 45 seconds and increase duration from 5 seconds at all levels to 8,10,12,14
  
• Display units stats when hovering over the icon in the mini inspect/unlock dialog
  
• Adding AES Icon for Saucer
  
• Added activated state reveal for saucer abduct ability

• clear bishop menu on match loading screen, which is only an issue because of promote to top stuff, meaning for almost a year we haven't been clearing it properly...might be unintended consequences from this "fix" so watch out
  
• remove tax book popup from clicking on tax rate (causes problems)
  
• fixes to various windows focus/close states
  
• fix not being able to create market listing
  
• Updated "turret drop" in Strike tutorial so that it works better (can be dropped on any socket now to continue)
  
• Fix transition when exiting out of a match
  
• small fixes to shop background
  
• fix some ability trigger input not respecting cooldown buffs
• Saucer teleport
  
• Added different diamond roll effects based on graphics quality
  
• Added video option to disable diamond roll effects
  
• Added a button to clear the diamond roll effects early
  
• Comment out UseScript for GVIPCube7 and GVIPCube30, since these are no longer consumable items
  
• Make "tab" button only cycle loadouts when ui open
  
• Make "tab" cycle chat tabs if loadouts ui is not open
  
• Fix team slot when in custom room and switching to a 1v1
  
• Mark TruckRatters as noTrade to be consistent with other units
  
• Hide more chat ui elements when using a gamepad
  
• potential bugfix for Angel being locked out of sniper rifle after in air ability activation of loop
  
• fix jerky camera transitions when watching different players as a spectator
  
• update spectators to be able to see player cards w/ carried units all the time
  
• fix unit pickup/drop scripts to correctly update carry unit UI tab states for update of spectator seeing them all
  
• bug fix for collection sets stat display/counts
  
• comment out Gorgon's "MeleeDPS" so it doesn't show DPS vs Ground on the stat card
  
• Stubbed in faction kudos/xp boost indicators in the lobby ui
  
• Hide 'EventDoubleTitleXP' and 'EventDoubleTitleK' if unit customization ui is open
  
• Fix unlock dialog not displaying the right icon on the endgame screen
  
• Fix unlock dialog and menu3d overlapping on the endgame screen
  
• Fix 'TryOutQuit' button placement
  
• Fix assert when unlocking heads on endgame screen
  
• update attempt for player status cards for everyone when spectating
• WIP
• this is much more work than originally thought
  
• Some cleanup for settings/pause menu
  
• Small tweak for showing stats in mini inspect ui
  
• Remove local build speed display in spectate ui
  
• quick and dirty potential 'fix' for stuck special stance state req
  
• on market filter change, reset the page count to 1 so you see the top of the list
  
• increase get market data defer delay from 0.7 seconds to 2.5 seconds so you are less likely to see the game system notify full screen popup when re-requesting market data, and the backend has to regenerate the universe
  
• if there are team 1 bots, do 2P pvp style listing in watch tab rather than '1v1 pvp'
  
• remove some old icons from AMS game watch listings (infinite no overtime symbol and ultimates allowed symbol)
  
• Hook up 'Market' chat link
  
• Fixup some naming inconsistencies with Player 0-6 in the Editor
  
• Fix tryout/try me button hidden state not getting set correctly
  
• Fix for unit stats not showing up when hovering over icon in mini inspect/unlock dialog
  
• fix decoupling of rendering state for helix grenades targeting. Add display position slewing. Moved from SimTickPlayer to VisTickPlayers
• probably some other rendering in there that should come out..
  
• Updating LobbyEventSpring
  
• Update text for "Communication Uplink" Quest, now that reward is back to Diamonds
  
• Sword and Snake pets link in chat
  
• Some minor fixes for when going in/out of "the pit"
  
• Some timing tweaks for map preview ui
  
• Pull IntroCam2 on Thar down slightly, so it doesn't display the north-eastern map edges during pans
  
• Move starting cameras in a bit on Twin Peaks, to fix seeing level bounds
  
• Move starting cameras in a bit on Crater, to fix seeing level bounds
  
• Move northern starting camera on Vale in, to fix seeing level bounds
  
• Move northern starting camera on Sandrim down slightly, to fix seeing level bounds
  
• Hide 'PromoLobby' if in lobby menus
  
• Hide 'DailyRewardMaster' if in a simple group
  
• Hide "LobbyIconSimpleGroupMembers" if AirMech customization ui is open
  
• Fixed going into "the pit" from ranked 1v1 using play sub button
  
• Fix spamming of going in/out of "the pit"
  
• Fix 'LobbyMenuStatus' overlapping AirMech customization ui
  
• Fix gamepad focus for map preview/pregame loadout selection
  
• Fix gamepad command press after clearing pregame loadout selection ui
  
• Fix editor issue with pets flickering across the map.
  
• Fix challenge continue button bringing up the pause menu
  
• Fix being able to see level bounds on both side of Nesthorn during intro camera pans
  
• Fix AirMech selection not saving when swapping class/skins
  
• Don't swap loadouts when holding down right shoulder to bring up the ability upgrade ui
  
• Another fix for going into "the pit" when in a 1v1 ranked lobby
  
• use emission start offset on guardians spawn to fix stretched initial spawn (was noticable on the blade guardian)
  
• update autoexecsrv for 72028 (desync testing patch)
  
• Some tweaks for gamepad build menu
  
• Some more tweaks for ability upgrade ui for gamepad
  
• Some cleanup for 'SwitchToPad' scripts
  
• show/hide correct server locations
  
• Possible fix for missing unit name in mini inspect/unlock dialog
  
• Fix selection outline in loadout customization ui
  
• only transport the low byte of iparam on PadStartGlide input action
  
• move t99 missile fire smoke puff up a bit
  
• [HEAT] use M_HashStringCased instead of 'HeatHash::StringCaseSensitive' on literal strings to hash them at compile time instead of run time
  
• [HEAT] pfx system clamp 'maxparticles' to 'stopafterparticle' count if it's <
  
• More cleanup of description text for Units (AM-9345)
  
• misc nonsense looking at saucer abduction stuff
  
• Make left shoulder always bring up the build menu on gamepad
  
• Make gamepad build menu show up after a delay
  
• Don't swap loadout if gamepad build menu comes up
  
• local action state blocking ofr Pad Start/Stop SelfDestruct input actions
  
• If brining up the build menu with left shoulder on gamepad, don't do a loadout swap
  
• Fixed clipping geo on green sea bomber
  
• Fix 'MinimapViewboxSm' size for spectators
  
• Fix gamepad ability upgrade ui not clearing when swap loadouts is mapped to right shoulder
  
• fix for unit shot leading against other units
  
• fix 'DetailQuality' to account for the last quality level now being '4' rather than '3'
  
• Fix '_OrderMode' not getting reset when using gamepad to swap loadouts
  
• Don't show "GamepadHintDpadIconUpgrade" if not using gamepad
  
• add action request blocking state for recycling units m_isRecyclingUnitReq so we don't spam start/stop input actions while we are waiting for a delta action to occur. Might clean up some issues that occur w/ net game action rescheduling

Sorry for the servers being down everyone, a combination of issues has the AirMech shard offline but the programmers are working to fix it along with help from our server host.

We expect things to be fully restored tomorrow--could be sooner or later, hard to tell right now.

When things are back online, we'll do what we can to make up for it--double XP, double Kudos, and the new unit Pepper (scheduled to come out Friday) will be awarded FREE to everyone who signs in over the next few days.



Anything else we can do to make it up to you?

Sorry for the servers being down everyone, a combination of issues has the AirMech shard offline but the programmers are working to fix it along with help from our server host.

We expect things to be fully restored tomorrow--could be sooner or later, hard to tell right now.

When things are back online, we'll do what we can to make up for it--double XP, double Kudos, and the new unit Pepper (scheduled to come out Friday) will be awarded FREE to everyone who signs in over the next few days.



Anything else we can do to make it up to you?

The Gangster makes short work of lighter units.


The Gangster is now available! With wheels in stead of treads, this heavy truck chassis has a lot of mobility, decent armor, and a nasty gattling gun. Sounds pefectly OP--be aware it isn't cheap to build and requires level 6 to build, so don't think you'll be Fort rushing using these out of the gate. But once you can build them, they are quite a threat to infantry and AirMechs alike.

We have another new unit coming next week, however our primary focus is on bugfixes right now, next up being a deeper balance pass to prepare for finally hitting that "release" button and leaving Early Access! There are always a ton of things we want to do but the game is in a nice stable spot where it makes sense to leave Early Access.

A feature we have been working on but probably won't be finalized for leaving Early Access is our new automated Tournament system. Inspired by Bloodline Champions, we wanted to make it much easier to host weekly tournaments all around the world on a regular and automated schedule. More info on this soon, and we might be running some small and quick tournaments over the next week for testing. This is intended to replace the previous weekly leaderboard race for PvP rewards. It's also possible (but not yet confirmed) that players or Factions will be able to create tournaments specifying their own rules and prizes. We see a lot of really cool things that can come from this.

We love getting bug reports, balance feedback, and whatever is on your mind using the ingame reporting tool! While we can't reply to them, we do read them all and appreciate your feedback. Especially now as we are working down to our final short list of things to do before we fully launch AirMech Strike to the world!

• Gangster - fast attack vehicle with a chaingun. Level 6 build requirement.
  
• Protectorate of Justice- pet designed by Liquidsnake3 (Shop variant, can be Gold plated)
  
• Wisdom Guardian- pet designed by Liquidsnake3 (special reserve)
  
• Disco Ball- pet designed by ProProProPro (Shop variant)

• Local Player fog now focuses on the watch player, not the local player.
  
• let allies, spectators and replays show cloaked units w/ a min clamp on the cloaking (0.75) as the local player sees themselves
  
• Updated FAQs
  
• increased Missile Silo Marker HP to prevent Striker Sword from destroying it without assistance 3500 > 4500
  
• add even lower quality 4 level, no shadows (Wreckz mode)
  
• reduce default quality for weaker GPUS to 3 and 4 respectively
  
• reword shadow sampling logic for all shaders and quality levels
  
• add gaussian blur passes and offset subpixel sampling in most shadow sampling
  
• update Disco Ball icon
  
• tournament UI work (in progress)
  
• setting up tournament join commands
  
• setting up brackets and qualifiers for tournament
  
• preliminary gamepad support for main menu (work is being done, still not useable)
  
• make invite list background size dynamic
  
• Hide chat during map preview mode
  
• Don't show map preview on tutorial map
  
• Disable tournament billboard in lobby
  
• Update Common Name for Gold VIP Cubes
  
• Some more setup for faction boosts
  
• Update some mini inspect buttons
  
• on unit stealth, don't make completely invisible to spectators and replays
  
• Adding crate sequence back into strike and fixing up timing

• fix missing checkbox for central asia region
  
• don't refund ability point on extra guardian removal, since this system has long changed and it's a bug/exploit
  
• Fix overlapping "Leave the pit" button
  
• Intro cameras adjusted / all rotation cams replaced
  
• Changed lighting effects to start after intro cams
  
• Some tweaks for for clearing the sample map fixed height when going into tryout/pit
  
• Some misc updates for Wastelands promo
  
• Some fixes for inviting players/adding bots while in "the pit"
  
• Setup "map preview" before pregame loadout choice
  
• put in extra check if spectator for bindings
  
• move around leaderboard menu
  
• Possible fix for loadouts getting copied and saved
  
• fix conflict of activeloadout name for ingame (possible Loadout duplication/swap fix?)
  
• more fixes for lobby slots with different game modes
  
• fixes to lobby slot order, invites, teamswapping
  
• Fix tooltip for sg member icons while in "the pit"
  
• Fix chat in lobby
  
• show ping info for Hong Kong server
  
• Fix assert when scrolling in inventory ui
  
• Disable late glow once crate opening sequence is done
  
• change where backend disconnect messages are logged
  
• change indexes of practice pilots to sync bot adding and training menu
  
• Updating text for SYS_IsOnline and SYS_IsOffline, and adding game tags
  
• updates for traditional chinese language usage
  
• Updated "OpenCrate3D" so that it can be skipped and cleared correctly
  
• Tweeks to the rocketeer to help not get stuck in the air, away from the land.
  
• Some tweaks so that the ingame loadout stuff doesn't touch the "ActiveLoadout" symbol at all
  
• Some more cleanup for ingame loadout stuff
  
• some gnd/air SI force updates to reduce first time visual popping particularly when transforming down to ground mode for the first time
  
• more state initialization to try to address debris position popping
  
• Fix up overlapping text in quests ui
  
• Fix up market listings ui after getting inventory
  
• Some cleanup for mini inspect/unlock dialog
  
• Fix repeat build name label being the wrong unit
  
• Fix gamepad ability ui not clearing correctly
  
• Fix mini inspect info when inspecting something from mail ui
  
• Fix market ui after accepting the terms
  
• Fix going into editor mode from pause menu
  
• Fix "resume" button on pause menu
  
• draw units in the stealth state so you can actually see them at clamped stealth amount for allies/spectators/etc this includes mines
  
• use a ModelMatPresent material on the assassin/InfantrySpy so you can actually see it on the fort/outpost present platform
  
• don't show HpWarnRing or HpCriticalRing when spectating, since these are LocalAM_ symbols which will be 0 index when spectating
  
• Clear some dialog menus when using item from mini inspect dialog
  
• add non-stealthed versions of mine materials so they don't disappear on the unit present platform in forts and outposts

That's all for now. Over the next week we'll be making more annoucements about the exact end of the free Founder's badge window, the end of the Beta Bundle, and the date we will be leaving Early Access. Thanks to everyone who helped along the way, you will find lots of benefits for being counted among those who played the game before the full launch!

The Gangster makes short work of lighter units.


The Gangster is now available! With wheels in stead of treads, this heavy truck chassis has a lot of mobility, decent armor, and a nasty gattling gun. Sounds pefectly OP--be aware it isn't cheap to build and requires level 6 to build, so don't think you'll be Fort rushing using these out of the gate. But once you can build them, they are quite a threat to infantry and AirMechs alike.

We have another new unit coming next week, however our primary focus is on bugfixes right now, next up being a deeper balance pass to prepare for finally hitting that "release" button and leaving Early Access! There are always a ton of things we want to do but the game is in a nice stable spot where it makes sense to leave Early Access.

A feature we have been working on but probably won't be finalized for leaving Early Access is our new automated Tournament system. Inspired by Bloodline Champions, we wanted to make it much easier to host weekly tournaments all around the world on a regular and automated schedule. More info on this soon, and we might be running some small and quick tournaments over the next week for testing. This is intended to replace the previous weekly leaderboard race for PvP rewards. It's also possible (but not yet confirmed) that players or Factions will be able to create tournaments specifying their own rules and prizes. We see a lot of really cool things that can come from this.

We love getting bug reports, balance feedback, and whatever is on your mind using the ingame reporting tool! While we can't reply to them, we do read them all and appreciate your feedback. Especially now as we are working down to our final short list of things to do before we fully launch AirMech Strike to the world!

• Gangster - fast attack vehicle with a chaingun. Level 6 build requirement.
  
• Protectorate of Justice- pet designed by Liquidsnake3 (Shop variant, can be Gold plated)
  
• Wisdom Guardian- pet designed by Liquidsnake3 (special reserve)
  
• Disco Ball- pet designed by ProProProPro (Shop variant)

• Local Player fog now focuses on the watch player, not the local player.
  
• let allies, spectators and replays show cloaked units w/ a min clamp on the cloaking (0.75) as the local player sees themselves
  
• Updated FAQs
  
• increased Missile Silo Marker HP to prevent Striker Sword from destroying it without assistance 3500 > 4500
  
• add even lower quality 4 level, no shadows (Wreckz mode)
  
• reduce default quality for weaker GPUS to 3 and 4 respectively
  
• reword shadow sampling logic for all shaders and quality levels
  
• add gaussian blur passes and offset subpixel sampling in most shadow sampling
  
• update Disco Ball icon
  
• tournament UI work (in progress)
  
• setting up tournament join commands
  
• setting up brackets and qualifiers for tournament
  
• preliminary gamepad support for main menu (work is being done, still not useable)
  
• make invite list background size dynamic
  
• Hide chat during map preview mode
  
• Don't show map preview on tutorial map
  
• Disable tournament billboard in lobby
  
• Update Common Name for Gold VIP Cubes
  
• Some more setup for faction boosts
  
• Update some mini inspect buttons
  
• on unit stealth, don't make completely invisible to spectators and replays
  
• Adding crate sequence back into strike and fixing up timing

• fix missing checkbox for central asia region
  
• don't refund ability point on extra guardian removal, since this system has long changed and it's a bug/exploit
  
• Fix overlapping "Leave the pit" button
  
• Intro cameras adjusted / all rotation cams replaced
  
• Changed lighting effects to start after intro cams
  
• Some tweaks for for clearing the sample map fixed height when going into tryout/pit
  
• Some misc updates for Wastelands promo
  
• Some fixes for inviting players/adding bots while in "the pit"
  
• Setup "map preview" before pregame loadout choice
  
• put in extra check if spectator for bindings
  
• move around leaderboard menu
  
• Possible fix for loadouts getting copied and saved
  
• fix conflict of activeloadout name for ingame (possible Loadout duplication/swap fix?)
  
• more fixes for lobby slots with different game modes
  
• fixes to lobby slot order, invites, teamswapping
  
• Fix tooltip for sg member icons while in "the pit"
  
• Fix chat in lobby
  
• show ping info for Hong Kong server
  
• Fix assert when scrolling in inventory ui
  
• Disable late glow once crate opening sequence is done
  
• change where backend disconnect messages are logged
  
• change indexes of practice pilots to sync bot adding and training menu
  
• Updating text for SYS_IsOnline and SYS_IsOffline, and adding game tags
  
• updates for traditional chinese language usage
  
• Updated "OpenCrate3D" so that it can be skipped and cleared correctly
  
• Tweeks to the rocketeer to help not get stuck in the air, away from the land.
  
• Some tweaks so that the ingame loadout stuff doesn't touch the "ActiveLoadout" symbol at all
  
• Some more cleanup for ingame loadout stuff
  
• some gnd/air SI force updates to reduce first time visual popping particularly when transforming down to ground mode for the first time
  
• more state initialization to try to address debris position popping
  
• Fix up overlapping text in quests ui
  
• Fix up market listings ui after getting inventory
  
• Some cleanup for mini inspect/unlock dialog
  
• Fix repeat build name label being the wrong unit
  
• Fix gamepad ability ui not clearing correctly
  
• Fix mini inspect info when inspecting something from mail ui
  
• Fix market ui after accepting the terms
  
• Fix going into editor mode from pause menu
  
• Fix "resume" button on pause menu
  
• draw units in the stealth state so you can actually see them at clamped stealth amount for allies/spectators/etc this includes mines
  
• use a ModelMatPresent material on the assassin/InfantrySpy so you can actually see it on the fort/outpost present platform
  
• don't show HpWarnRing or HpCriticalRing when spectating, since these are LocalAM_ symbols which will be 0 index when spectating
  
• Clear some dialog menus when using item from mini inspect dialog
  
• add non-stealthed versions of mine materials so they don't disappear on the unit present platform in forts and outposts

That's all for now. Over the next week we'll be making more annoucements about the exact end of the free Founder's badge window, the end of the Beta Bundle, and the date we will be leaving Early Access. Thanks to everyone who helped along the way, you will find lots of benefits for being counted among those who played the game before the full launch!

Love is in the air (literally) in the world of AirMech--and this year we see the arrival of Valentine Neo as a timed exclusive Variant! New tracers are also available, the Cupid's Arrow, and the return of the Pink Heart and Rainbow Heart exhaust cosmetics.




If you used the Try Out feature recently, you've seen how you take cosmetics and mechs for a little test run in a mini arena to see what it looks like in game. You might have also found the area to the north that takes you to a combat arena where you can fight things. But you might have also been disappointed to see there wasn't a way to use that mode while in queue.

We saw this as a lost opportunity for anyone waiting in queue. Yes, wait times are way down, but if you are looking for a specific mode, you have high rank and/or are in a part of the world with less players, the wait is never fun. So we decided it should be fun.

Currently in testing, this mode takes you to the Try Out zone, then just head north to enter the Pit. You'll face mini-waves of enemies to clear before new ones spawn. Just a few are there for testing now, but we will add a lot more to keep things interesting.

Love is in the air (literally) in the world of AirMech--and this year we see the arrival of Valentine Neo as a timed exclusive Variant! New tracers are also available, the Cupid's Arrow, and the return of the Pink Heart and Rainbow Heart exhaust cosmetics.




If you used the Try Out feature recently, you've seen how you take cosmetics and mechs for a little test run in a mini arena to see what it looks like in game. You might have also found the area to the north that takes you to a combat arena where you can fight things. But you might have also been disappointed to see there wasn't a way to use that mode while in queue.

We saw this as a lost opportunity for anyone waiting in queue. Yes, wait times are way down, but if you are looking for a specific mode, you have high rank and/or are in a part of the world with less players, the wait is never fun. So we decided it should be fun.

Currently in testing, this mode takes you to the Try Out zone, then just head north to enter the Pit. You'll face mini-waves of enemies to clear before new ones spawn. Just a few are there for testing now, but we will add a lot more to keep things interesting.