Bug Fixes: - Fixed: Exception when adding a input to a Furnace with Instant craft speed - Fixed: Deconstructor with Instant craft speed destroys items - Fixed: Offline Protection Shield doesn't do damage (MP) - Fixed: Reputation drop for StructStayInTerritory does trigger each 3 seconds instead of each 5 minutes realtime - Fixed: Exploit with inventory duplication when sat in a vessel - Fixed: Not using MapMarker: Neutral for faction-owned POIs anymore - Fixed: Not all POIs were correctly attributed to factions on Moon Nascent playfield ========
Update: December 25, 2018 (Build 2097)
Bug Fixes: - Fixed: Reputation system not working correctly in MP (more improvements) - Fixed: Container under the password give access to all containers via logistic - Fixed: Lock/Unlock signal logic does not work anymore - Fixed: Possible to shoot Weapons in virtual toolbar when seated in cockpit (another fix) - Fixed: Problem when using Control Panel to fill ammo from a connected toolbar to ammo containers - Fixed: Cargo boxes BA\CV become SV\HV cargo boxes after retrieve it - Fixed: Retrieving CargoContainerSmall/CargoContainerMedium with multitool did not give back any block - Fixed: Player toolbar has wrong color when opening player window ('TAB') with connected toolbar active (another fix) - Fixed: When switching to connected toolbar while in cockpit toolbar was read-only
Changes: - When entering a cockpit with the connected toolbar active the vessel toolbar is displayed - Issue with HUD colors with POI's using the core 'NPC Core (Admin)'
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Update: December 23, 2018 (Build 2092)
Bug Fixes: - Fixed: Player turrets on vessel are not shooting or tracking enemy players or vessels - Fixed: Reputation system not working correctly in MP - Fixed: Steal O2/fuel with logistic - Fixed: Internal exception
Changes: - Re-balanced loot: Epic Drill and Epic Armor is now harder to find - Removed Epic Loot from Troop Transport
========
Update: December 22, 2018 (Build 2088)
Changes: - Re-added coloring system for HUD colors to distinguish enemy players - Console command 'faction' now also supports npc factions (like Zirax) and "Public" and "NoF" - Deep Forest biome is now less deep
Bug Fixes: - Fixed: Using DROP in Player Inventory with certain container blocks does not drop a box - Fixed: AI and enemy turrets do not shoot at public vessels - Fixed: Planet size not selectable on custom scenario.
Changes: - Added tooltip infos to give hints for the connected container concept - Updated Talon POIs with new tribal deco: Thanks to Vermillion - Color PDA description text to white by default for better readability. - Public faction do not power per default any more, use property InitialPower in yaml. - Updated PDA Robinson Protocol with Preview Pics - Block CoreNPC will now always force "no fuel" and "no oxygen" consumption in structures where it is put - RipperDog is now a bit smaller - MoneyCard is set to volume = 0, mass = 0
Bug Fixes: - Fixed: Alien (Aln) Faction Turrets do not shoot at players in MP - Fixed: SHIFT-Clicking items to pilot toolbar will make them get lost - Fixed: AI and enemy turrets did not shoot at public vessels - Fixed: When accessing a container with 'F' the left side Player Inventory dropdown list has the container as well - Fixed: SSOR deposits does not work in MP anymore - Fixed: Zirax ripper dog npc floats when the player approaches them. - Fixed: Using ESC in the 4-Way Mode Screen (Survival, Freedom, Creative, Scenario) leads to un-escapable blank screen - Fixed: Vessels in Creative mode were powered and hovering in air - Fixed: Tribal Table1 and Table2 were not visible - Fixed: Some colliders and other adjustments for TribalDeco - Fixed: Invisible Deco - Fixed: Aim-down sight aiming with Laser Pistol - Fixed: Problem behind warning in logs "Player with id X faction inconsistency: ..." - Fixed: Signals on DerelictShip - Fixed: PDA exception
Hotfix: December 20, 2018 (Alpha 9.0.2 - Build 2085)
Changes: - Logistics Window: Open player inventory in left grid by default and when the right side is pre-set (using 'F' key or 'Manage' in CP) - Added large 'Lock' icon in Constructor INPUT / OUTPUT area UI to make it clearer that it is "read-only" - Added "Default Multiplayer" scenario with 2 temperate starter planets > set per default in dedicated.yaml - "Default Random" is now pure Single Player and Coop scenario (please do not use it for "normal" MP dedi server) - Updated texts in PDA Robinson Protocol - Updated POI distribution on Akua planet in Akua-Omicron Scenario - Unique starter configuration for local coop games - Improved Logistics window 'Cannot open container on both sides' handling - Added more tribal deco blocks for Talon POIs
Bug Fixes: - Fixed: Medic Bay / Clone Chamber did not work with code lock 0000 on Aln, Talon, Zirax, Polaris POI anymore - Fixed: Portable Constructor not responsive after moving items from output to inventory - Fixed: Exception when opening a container of a player made blueprint - Fixed: Portable Constructor UI: INPUT / OUTPUT title texts not left aligned - Fixed: Exception when closing the Logistics window very quickly after opening it (MP) - Fixed: Invisible Decorations - Fixed: Destroyed vessel (PDA Mission) is now powered off - Fixed: Problem that Cargo Boxes for SV/HV were placeable also on CV/BA - Fixed: Incorrect size range for custom scenarios when template is in default content directory. - Fixed: Several internal exceptions found in logs
AI Update: - Threat system fix - multiple target switching should now work better - Alien Assassin movement fix - Alien Bug 03 movement fix - Mechanoid movement fix - 'Worm big' attack distances tuning and movement fix - Telluropod behavior tuning
Thanks so much for your feedback and bug reports. We are working very hard to polish Alpha 9 and to squeeze all remaining bugs.
We already released some hotfixes since our major Alpha 9 update. We will continue to update this thread as we release new hotfixes - so please keep an eye on this thread.
Hotfix: December 19, 2018 (Alpha 9.0.1 - Build 2082)
Bug Fixes: - Fixed: Logistic Exploit: possible to circumvent code-locked containers - Fixed: When retrieving old cargo boxes with multitool, deco blocks were returned - Fixed: Trap doors now working anymore - Fixed: 'F' button does not close all device windows anymore after opening it with F - Fixed: PDA mission system does not spawn Drones as defined - Fixed: Backpack / Escape Pod had no HUD object anymore - Fixed: [MP] Players can be kicked when withdrawing fuel from a tank - Fixed: HUD/map issues with Guided PDA Tasks. - Fixed: Exception during login when a reputation update receives the client - Fixed: AutoBrake (Button I ) does not work in space anymore - Fixed: Several internal exceptions - Fixed: Overlapping of volume/weight info for Backpack and DropContainer - Fixed: Exception spam from Furnace (or other constructor related devices) - Fixed: "Minefield" task in "UCH Story Chapter II - Ancient Revelations" was not correctly working - Fixed: PDA Minefield task - Fixed: Mechanoids stuck a doors - Possible fix for System.Exception: Invalid read container size - Fixed: Several internal exceptions
Changes: - Robinson Protocol: Added own first chapter (Basic Survival) for Arid starter planet - Updated text in Main Menu to make clearer how to start a coop server: instead of MULTIPLAYER > JOIN A GAME, instead of NEW GAME > NEW GAME (Single/Coop) - Changed message 'Skipping double player with id...' to 'Player with id 1234 faction inconsistency:...' to occur only when it is a real problem - Doors can now be closed without having to enter the lock code (behavior should now be as in A8) - Added new tribal deco models for Talon POIs - Tweaked torch and firepit deco (blocks now increase light count on BP, added flare, better particle effect)
======
Hotfix: December 18, 2018 (Build 2077)
Bug Fixes: - Fixed: Problem that sometimes wrong billboard of deco object was shown and when approaching deco object, it changed to another model - Fixed: Sporadic exception when flying over terrain for a longer time - Fixed: [MP] Deconstructor Dupe - Fixed: Items in connected toolbar lost when connected container is destroyed - Fixed: PDA check "InventoryContains" does not work when picking via Logistic Menu - Fixed: Dedicated server game scenario supplying custom solarsystemconfig.yaml using default content instead - Fixed: Reputation was awarded outside territory even if not hostile - Fixed: [MP] Issue with switching the input of a constructor - Fixed: [MP] Output container can not be set to be the same as input - Fixed: PDA chapter line hides arrow when HideTasks is false but still has player or rep restriction. - Fixed: Wrong image shows for Creative new game window for a split second first time it's opened. - Fixed: Troops transport - animation bug in MP - Fixed: Faction warfare configuration reload bug
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Hotfix: December 17, 2018(Build 2076) - Fixed: Problem when leaving starter planet
Christmas is coming closer and so we thought it is about time to release the first Part of Alpha 9 to our community, so everyone can play and test and gift us with a lot of valuable feedback on the most recent additions, like NPC Factions and the new Logistic Menu in particular.
Part I, you ask?
Yes. Unlike previous major releases, Alpha 9 was split in two parts due to the very nature of the features we added: Both NPC Factions and Logistics are adding game mechanics that are completely new and have a lot of touch points with nearly every game mechanic which means we need a LOT of feedback - and we only will get that feedback, if all of our community members can access these features. On the down side, this also means that there might be a few more rough edges than usual.
But given that the features we added have great potential for the future and will also help to shape the game in terms of immersion, we are quite sure everyone is happy to give feedback on how to improve those gameplay mechanics even further.
Here is a quick overview of the main features of Alpha 9: 1. Logistics 2. AI Factions, Reputation and Territory 3. Leveled NPCs 4. Improved Weapon Handling 5. Improved Game Start ... and many more features as documented in the changelog below.
P.S. We highly recommend starting a new game with Alpha 9. When continuing an Alpha 8 save game, your player / constructor inventories will be empty and bases will be lowered 2m into the ground. However, we added Alpha 8 to the legacy branches on Steam so you can still access it.
P.P.S. The voting for the "2018 Indie of the Year Awards" is still going on. Empyrion made it already into the Top 100. We need your help for the final mile. If you like Empyrion, please vote for it here: https://www.indiedb.com/games/empyrion-galactic-survival
==============
CHANGELOG: Alpha 9.0.0 (Build 2076)
MAJOR FEATURES:
1. Logistics
With Alpha 9, we prepared the grounds for integrating volume restrictions and weight into the game. Even though we already added and updated weight and volume for most of the items and blocks, we did not yet activate it. We still need to polish some parts and rebalance everything.
--- For those who want to test how it feels when weight and volume restrictions are active, you can enable it as follows: 1. Set "EnableVolumeWeight: True" in Steam\steamapps\common\Empyrion - Galactic Survival\Content\Scenarios\Default Random\gameoptions.yaml 2. Start a new Survival game ---
Instead of carrying around any block or item in your backpack or placing it from there, you will need to use the new LOGISTIC feature, which not only allows you to circumvent volume and weight limitations, but also allows to use this for remote actions via the Connected Toolbar.
Logistics Window Logistic as a whole, not only means how items and blocks can be moved without having to move them "through" your inventory, but also how inventories of construction devices will work from now on.
As soon as you are in reach of a Wifi or standing on your base or vessel, you can access the new logistic menu with F4 - or by facing a container and clicking F.
This is how the GUI of the logistics window looks like
On BOTH SIDES you can select - a structure (even the same structure) - a container (cannot be the same if structure is the same)
On the RIGHT side you can also select Fuel Tanks and O2 Tanks from an additional dropdown in order to fill them (fill-source needs to be selected on the LEFT side!)
You can freely move around items from one side to the other (if you activated the limitation: given there is enough volume) by drag and drop, SHIFT-Click or with the buttons in the middle.
Example: You can fill a tank of a vessel you are connected with (select vessel and tank on the RIGHT side) while standing on the base or in Wifi Range of another vessel, and moving fuel cells from any container (select source structure and container on the LEFT)
If you want to lift and place blocks or devices that are too heavy for your player or have a volume that exceeds your inventory, you can use the CONNECT button in the middle. This will "connect" you to the base and allow you to use the Connected Toolbar.
Connected Toolbar
As indicated, the integration of weight and volume limits will change how you handle blocks and items - especially the big ones: Large Constructor has 2500 L volume and your Inventory has 500 L storage capacity.
The connected toolbar is a toolbar to allow building without having run back and forth between containers due to the volume limits or be able to build at all and will stay in the future iterations, as most of the midgame blocks and devices are too heavy or voluminous for you to carry around in your backpack!
New Constructor Input / Output With the new way on how logistics will be handled, the availability of internal inventories of the construction machines has changed. When you set up one of these devices and open its GUI you will notice that the devices do not have an internal inventory anymore. Instead you can assign ANY container (except fuel tanks and o2 tanks) to the INPUT and OUTPUT fields.
Modular Containers To solve the ever-increasing demand of volume (when volume is activated as a limit), we added the new MODULAR CONTAINERS for all structures (BA, CV, SV and HV) for the initial A9 release (possibly also helpful for reworking your blueprints!)
Each Container consist of a - Container Control Unit (CC, max one per container) - Cargo Expansion Unit (CE)
Modular containers are available for normal storage, ammo and harvest.
In the last major versions, we referred to some NPCs and groups of NPCs in a way that would let you imagine, those are real factions - but they still were only "NPCs" grouped in a POI. There was only ONE enemy that attacked you with drones and troops. This has changed now - and will change in future versions.
(Polaris Mining Hub)
With Alpha 9, we introduce the first iteration of a real NPC faction and reputation system, starting with the global NPC factions of: - Zirax Empire (the former "always bad guys") - Talon (the natives) - Polaris (a company with a monopole on machines & mining) - Aliens (default faction for all the "always bad" guys; it is always hostile and you cannot change/influence the standing towards this faction)
Starting from Alpha 9, you basically can be friend or enemy to any of these factions - or all of those. This means that you can walk into a Zirax drone base and not being shot, but walk into a Polaris Trading station and be attacked right away...or the traders will not share their offers with you at best.
Said that, the NPC Faction system and its underlying "Rivalry & Reputation" matrix (See below) will be constantly evolved up to a point where you, as a creator, will be able to also customize these elements and the NPC Factions as a whole.
What you need to know for Alpha 9: 1. Action leads to reaction. Killing or looting and other actions now come at a cost or with a reward of REPUTATION POINTS 2. NPC Factions have TERRITORIES. Performing the aforementioned Actions inside or outside the territory might show different results 3. You can make friends, but due to the RIVALRY of faction, you might make enemies at the same time
Territory View: This is how the territories look on the map. They are static and NPC factions do not expand them (maybe in the future)
On the HUD in the upper right corner you can see the territory you are currently in - and the Standing towards this faction:
In the Player Menu (TAB) you can see the current Standing towards any faction. More factions are planned.
Reputation Points and Standing: There are 6 dedicated standing levels which are tied to a defined Reputation Points threshold in 6000 per-level intervals:
Example: If you see “Hostile: 5800/6000” you just slipped into “hostile” with 200 points. Gain 200 points and the counter will reset to 0 and you will advance to “Unfriendly”. You need 6000 more to get to Neutral then. Same for Neutral: 199/6000 means that you are 199+1 point away from “Unfriendly”
Special Standing Actions: Some of the actions depend on a given standing level, eg. you can only do an action as long as you are on the correct standing level with the NPC faction member in front of you
On Honored State: > get a discount at the faction trader > mine ore without RP penalty > spawn structure without RP penalty
On Friendly State: > able to trade with a faction trader > stay in territory (BA or vessel) without RP penalty > harvest plants without RP penalty
Rivalry: Factions are not necessarily friends to each other - they might even be rivals. Given the Lore behind those factions, certain actions you as a player (or faction) do in favor or against a faction might lead to a faction standing change for another faction.
Of course, running missions for a faction might rise or drop your faction standing as well.
In Alpha 9, you will notice an additional number when facing a NPC or a POI. This is the "level" of your opponent.
The level of the NPC is basically a multiplier of its attack (damage of his weapon) and defense (hitpoint) values, pretty much like the decision, which Difficulty mode to start the game with does also multiply the attack/defense parameters.
The level is an additional multiplier. If you played on MEDIUM before and now run into a Level 10 NPC on the same difficulty level, the NPC is 2.5x stronger than in Alpha 8.
4. Improved Weapon Handling - Added iron sight aiming aka "aim-down-sight" (ADS) - Added Recoil to all handheld weapons - Added separate recoil parameter "Recoil" per weapon (can be configured in Config.ecf) - Added recoil also in aiming mode (iron sight and scope aiming) - Added red dot in aim mode to weapons if they have either a red dot sight or a zoom scope - Weapons still deal damage beyond "Effective Range" up to "Max. Range" (inflicted damage decreases strong beyond Effective Range) - When in aiming mode with red dot sight or scope, crosshair becomes red if target is within "Effective Range"
5. Improved Game Start and Improved Starter Planets - Added new Tutorial-style Robinson Protocol in the beginning of normal Survival start (SP and coop) - Better guiding of new players to learn the basics of the game - Added reduced start health and food (amount depends on difficulty level) - Tweaked start equipment - Increased creature spawn rate on starter planet - Major update of POIs on starter planets
Updated New Game Menu: - Added possibility to select size of starter planet (Use range from dynamic playfield file to drive Planet Size selections, ie the dynamic.yaml determines which planet sizes are available for UI of Starter Planets)
Additions: - Added Boarding Ramps - Added 9 fully retractable landinggears - Added vessel deco parts - Added new deco blocks for Talon POIs (DecoTribalBlocks) - Added container group (SV/HV and BA/CV) with all A8 containers
Texture / Model Update: - Updated Talon NPC (and added different types for more variation): - Model update: core blocks, generator T2, troop transport, alien bug on temperate planet - Texture update: Turrets, containers, ammo and harvest box, Overseer NPC - Exchanged model of Assault Rifle and Pulse Rifle - Updated model of Pistol T1 and added shooting animation - Updated model of Survival Tool
PDA Mission Update: - Added 6 all-new standalone missions for each faction: Talon, Zirax, Polaris - Totally Overpowered is now a Polaris Story Mission (as it is basically a Polaris Company internal - with a cliffhanger for the player at its end ;) (Note: all the STORY missions will depend on each other in the future; for now they can be played individually right away for testing!) > For more details and feedback, please visit: https://empyriononline.com/threads/a9-npc-factions-new-companion-missions.46786/
Added Freedom Game Mode: - Like Survival (ie enemies, POIs, story etc) but with unlimited health, resources and no hunger management > For more details and feedback, please visit: https://empyriononline.com/threads/a9-freedom-mode.46784/
Added new type of Entity Spawner: "Static" - Spawns NPC only once and does not trigger particle effect - Spawns NPC even when structure has no core or power, ie after conquering - "Static" can be configured via CP of spawner block > The new static spawners should behave as if you actually place the NPC in the POI > Idea is to be able to create POIs where the player needs to clear a POI completely from enemies even after it has been captured > we recommend using for these static spawners the thin plate because it will be removed in Survival (ie you do not need to texture and hide it)
General Entity Spawner Update: - Added dummy model to all spawner blocks so that the spawner blocks can be easily found in Creative mode in a POI - Added the possibility to set faction on a per-spawner basis (eg you can place Civilian prisoners in a Zirax prison) - Entities that are spawned within a structure are now also saved with this structure (this means when resuming a save game, the NPCs will be at the same position as when leaving game): PLEASE test well - Entities spawned in a structure now stay within the structure and a boundary of 5 meters around - Updated Talon POIs with static spawners
Updated Decoration System: - Integrated new system for plants and trees: the decorations are now GPU instanced which should improve performance - Improved visuals of decorations (billboards etc) - Faster loading of decorations
Vessel Controller Update: - Added cruise mode info to Ship UI. To enable use the shift key with any movement key (WASDC or space bar). To disable it, press any movement key (cruise mode on/off is also displayed in Vessel HUD) - Added drag on planet depending on atmosphere density - SV and CV will not automatically glide down anymore if they pitch or roll. Only too weak thrusters will lead to a move when pitching or rolling - On planets the vertical max speed is now set to 90m/s
Improved AI Pathing: - AI can now path between terrain and bases - AI can now path in narrow bases - AI can now path through doors
General AI Update: - Reduced impact effect when hitting a drone - Do not despawn NPC creatures in space after exit to main menu - Drones do not have map marker anymore and do not show up on radar (to be consistent with other entities). Note: Planet Vessel and Space Drones still show up on radar - Reduced HP on traders, alien civilians and assault cyborg - Alienbug01 can now get aggressive if approached too close - Added Ripper Dog - Desert worms attack if their friend is damaged. note: desert worm Large is considered as different species to desert worm - AlienBug01 is now Prey faction - Improved Trader behavior (now standing at the edge of a block, does not attack and gets killed easily, will respawn after 5min if POI has not been conquered) - Reduced weapon damage on Trader and AssaultCyborg weapons - Removed entity despawn logic when stuck to avoid that guards get despawned when they don't move - Adapted faction affiliation for creatures (e.g. Crawler now belongs to Talon faction) - Added TalonChief and ZiraxCommander NPC - Added TalonSentinel and AssaultCyborgSentinel NPC that guard a certain position (added TalonSentinel to some Talon POIs) - Added new group ZiraxRipperDogPatrol to all playfields - Replaced ZiraxOverseerPatrol, ZiraxCrawlerPatrol with ZiraxRipperDogPatrol on all playfields - ZiraxOverseerPatrol, ZiraxCrawlerPatrol should not be used anymore (Overseer = Alien, Crawler = Talon). We are now spawning RipperDogs for these groups - Exchanged Troop Transport content: RipperDog instead of Crawler
Visuals / Sounds: - Grass is now growing closer to POIs, set distance to deco from 12m to 8m - Map view: slightly fading of shore instead of hard cut - All texturable devices now use tiled hull texture instead of plain hull texture - First draft of printing the player damage death reason on screen - Dark side of planet darker in space - Tweaked particle effects on SurvivalTool, MultiTool - 3d map: other player shows a bit darker now - Tweaked LOD of growable plants: later culling - Added new square sniper overlay on Sniper T2 and Sniper Epic - Floating + Underground BAs: keep grass and deco below/above, do not show underground terrain texture - Added dead model versions of Talon - Changed scope on Sniper Rifles - Reduced size of Crawler NPC
Gameplay: - Renamed "Enhanced Weapons" back to "Epic Weapons" - Added Epic Drill and Epic Heavy Armor to Purple Loot - Epic weapons cannot be crafted anymore - Updated Loot: added more weapons to Alien Containers - Using INSERT/DELETE will now rotate a blueprint before placing it - Set suspended status effect icons to gray - When placing a starter block or a BP, it can only be rotated by 90° (due to change in AI pathing) - Removed difficulty setting for spawn rate (always set to Medium) - Toolbar can now wrap around when using scroll wheel (ie from handsfree slot to slot 1 and vice versa) - No Plant Growing / No Life Check if CoreNPC or Admin - Destroying deco NPC does not give XP anymore - Added new Talon Trader content for all Talon traders in POIs - Starter block of CV does not have cockpit anymore - Escape Pod start is now a bit earlier during the day (ie it will be a bit to the west) - Entities on POIs (that already get despawned after 5 minutes no player adjacent) will now also get despawned with DSL unloaded of this POI - Do not show prompt anymore for ContainerPersonal when not configured in yaml - First draft in adding CPU points (WIP). Currently CPU limit is not yet activated
UI Changes: - Added possibility to disable HUD icons of bases/vessels and resource deposits to reduce cluttering of the HUD (Open 3d map > "HUD display" checkboxes in lower left corner) - Removed “mode” (PvP, PvE) display in map for orbit playfields in SP - Improved sector map display and UI - Changes to status effect status icon display in HUD. - Terrain Editor Window: Added "All" tab for textures - Added HSV/RGB Sliders and Color Presets to Player Setup Color Picker - ColorPalette: Change button HIDE to UNHIDE when triggered - Added "No Build" and "Landclaim" (AntiGrief) zone legend label to 3d map (Landclaim only displayed in MP)
PDA Update: - Show remaining amount for multi-count PDA task in HUD info, e.g. (1/10) - Added reputation rewards to PDA - Added PDA mission visibility by Reputation level - Added possibility to make a chapter only activateable when player has a certain reputation - Activated PDA tag “HideTasks”: when this is set, the tasks of a chapter are not displayed anymore - only the active tasks is shown (so it is more of a surprise what happens next) - Show collapse arrow behind chapter title only if tasks are visible (do not display arrow if Reputation or Level restricted and player does not have sufficient amount) - PDA will now display a default image if no image file referenced in PDA.yaml - just add a pic named "Default.jpg" to PDA folder - Refinements to Skip/NoSkip for PDA briefings. Integrate PDA SkipMessage parameter. - Improved Preamble / Description handling: when no Preamble is used, only a small welcome window will be displayed - Ignore auto-activated PDA missions when in God Mode and landing from the Escape Pod. - Implemented Faction Reputation into PDA missions. - Show PDA category Tutorial in MP games. - Added new category “UCH” > will be displayed under "SoloMissions" for now - Only copy PDA.yaml and PDA.csv to save game folder, read all images from content/scenario directories.
Scenario Creators / Modding: - Starter Planets are now unique when “UniqueStarterPlanet: true” is given in solarsystemconfig.yaml: > When now starting normal Survival game, you can still chose between 2 starter planets (temperate and arid) but when the solar system is created it will only have the starter planet you have chosen (before also the other starter planet was generated) - Added possibility to randomly generate a solar system for scenarios (see Steam\steamapps\common\Empyrion - Galactic Survival\Content\Scenarios\Default Multiplayer) > You can define your own setup of the solarsystem in solarsystemconfig.yaml in the RandomPresets folder - Added possibility to use a fixed position for Escape Pod start (eg for Coop > every player who joins server will drop at same location) - Added new gameoptions parameters for Coop games: ForcePvP and OriginFactionStart > Both parameters can be used for Coop scenarios > We enabled both parameters for our Random Default scenario which is designed for SP and Coop - Filter display of scenarios in New Game Window via '.hide.txt' file in scenario directory (we are currently hiding Dawn of Galaxy, Shadows of Starlight and Default Multiplayer scenarios) - Supporting factions "Admin" and "Public" in yaml files - Supporting now | in damage multiplier > see Config.ecf - Removed some entities from debug spawn menu - Added Status parameters to FixedPlayerStart - Added new Auxiliary algorithm for POI placements - Exporting MaxVolumeCapacity to Config.ecf - Allow to set default reputation to Polaris, Talon, Zirax depending on Origin > see DefReputation.ecf - Increased version of Config.ecf to 3 since it is not compatible with A8
Creative / Builder Changes: - Added harvest stage of player growable plants to Creative menu so Builders can use them in POIs (we will soon create a own block group) - In creative mode you can now spawn a BA in air on a planet to ease editing it - Renamed CoreEnemy into CoreNPC > Important: All PDA creators, please update your PDA and replace "CoreEnemy" with "CoreNPC" - Separated walkway and railing blocks into Small and Large - Separated ramp blocks into Small and Large - Proper separation between Shutter Doors Small and Large - Allow to set blocks to a structure that is regenerate-able in super godmode (gm iv) - Added "FillerBlock" (no preview icon yet): these blocks will be removed when spawned in Survival - Added new wood texture: "raw wood" (could be used for logs in Talon Villages): page 1 on Wood texture tool - Added Hay texture for tribal villages: page 2 on Wood texture tool - Updated all POIs and all stock CV / BA with new cargo containers that have more volume (we had to do it because in A8, there was no separation between SV/HV and BA/CV containers). You can update your BPs with these console commands: replaceblocks <entityid> 1081 1677 (2x1x1 containers) replaceblocks <entityid> 1084 1677 (2x1x1 containers) replaceblocks <entityid> 273 1676 (1x1x1 containers)
Other Changes: - Added console cmd to visualize the NPC spawn points in SP (use "dm" and then F9 twice, to zoom in use PgUp/PgDown) - Updated Invader vs Defender Scenario - Temporarily only 1 starter planet for Random Default until other starter planets are setup correctly - Added "Auto-Brake" toggle in Control Panel - Added PentaxidElement as new ingredient for energy-based weapons (replaces PentaxidOre) > no balancing changes were made, just template adapted - Converted mass into float - Deactivated old container blocks since they are now too small - Chunk loading optimization - Added block id, name and position to 'di' console command - Temporarily deactivate Modular Wing Pylon due to problems with placement - Deactivated In-Game Hints temporarily - Optimized Wheat growable plants to improve performance when many of them are placed - Temporarily deactivated WellFed status effect - Improved console cmd "ents" by only showing full data when -full is specified - More exact collider on AlienBug01 - Temporarily removed TemperateSwamp from Random Default - Showing now "< 1 minutes" instead of seconds when picking up something - Dedi: Increased playfield load timeout from 10 to 20 seconds
Rebalancing: - Rebalanced all turrets and mounted weapons against entities > now they inflict lower damage on entities (eg turret against drones / players / NPC) >>> FEEDBACK required - AtmoDensity has stronger effect on weapon range => all weapons have now a lower range on planets (goal is to have closer combats on planets) >>> FEEDBACK required - Weapon rebalancing: turret rocket HV now uses other ammo (lower damage) - Reduced HomingSpeed of Turret Rockets - Reduced crafting time of PowerBar - Parasaur loot different between parent and baby - Bandages now also heal (75HP) - Rebalancing: increased variance of rock resource drops - Stamina penalty through low food is less severe - Stamina recovers faster when walking - Updated templates for Plastic Raw Material (requires 4 Fiber + 1 Stone Dust) - Nanotubes now also use Plastic Raw Material instead of Steel Plates
Renamed some blocks / components / units: - Plastic Raw Material > Carbon Substrate (for more detail, see below) - Plastic Blocks > Carbon Composite Blocks (for more detail, see below) - Watt > Power Units (PU) - Watt Hour > PUh
Starter Planet Update: - Updated POI spawning (AlienTowers are now Alien faction, more predator spawn around AlienTowers) - Removed safe zone around starter biome (starter biome itself is still relatively safe) - LizardMule are now also spawning around Talon POIs - Resources are less deep buried - Gravity closer to earth for starter planet - Added Silicon Rocks in "Shallow Water" biome to be able to guide player more easily to this location - Renamed StarterBiome into Crashsite - Adapted deco in starter biome to have more alien deco
Planet Update: - Added AtmosphereParams: [10, 0.5] =[RayleighMultiplier, Atmosphere Contrast] that will allow to set sky colors better - Updated SkyColor on several planets - Decreased min temperature on temperate planet to obtain more variation
Blueprint Update: - Blueprint property window now supports flatten terrain and digout terrain as separate options per blueprint (ie a BP can have either of them or both) - Removed the need in blueprints to always have a y offset of -2 => offset now correctly displays the amount in meters that a POI is spawned in y direction (offset can also be Float > see eg BA_TribalCropField_TEST) NOTE: POIs in all old save games are moved 2m in the ground > please start new save game) - Updated y offset on Junk POI - Added Tribal Village (with filler blocks) and crop field - Replaced plant sprouts with harvestable version in all POIs (we added harvestable plant version to Creative Menu) - Possible to spawn POI very close to each other (when using SpawnPOINearRange)
POI Update: - Added new Polaris POIs - a big thanks to Rainyday - Added new Polaris and Talon POIs: thanks to jmcburn, Kaeser, vermillion - Added new stock BP Base Tier 7: thanks to jrandall https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1532190955 - Removed core from crashed ships - Separated ruins into Tribal (Talon) and Modern (Polaris) - Separated POI Tribal Villages in Stone and Wood (new group: TribalVillageStone) - Added new Talon fields: thanks to jmcburn, Jacoviz - Adapted y-offset for Junk T1 per POI (they also flatten ground now) - Added Crop Fields (thanks to geostar1024, vermillion) - Updated some wreckage POIs to prevent from easy collapse through SI - Polaris Mining Aux Building: Ore Mill (thanks to: Kaeser) - Tribal Bazaar (thanks to: Vermillion)
Repair-to-Template Window: - Allow shift-click to quick move ingots from bag to item drop - Increase timeout before updating Repair Data when adding ingots to 6s
Update: December 16, 2018: Alpha EXP 9.0.3 (Build 2075)
Changes: - First draft of showing reputation points when hovering over NPC faction in Faction Window - Added loot to tribal deco - Updated POIs on Lava planet + set faction to Polaris - Updated Invader vs Defender scenario
PDA Update: - Show remaining amount for multi-count PDA task in HUD info, e.g. (1/10) - Show collapse arrow behind chapter title only if tasks are visible - Don't display collapse arrow if Reputation or Level restricted and player does not have sufficient amount - Improved PDA reputation level information. - Rework Skip and Confirmation window - Updated PDA with better amount display in action title - Some faction Companion missions now have a required Standing you need to reach until you can play them - Totally Overpowered is now a Polaris Story Mission (as it is basically a Polaris Company internal - with a cliffhanger for the player at its end ;) (Note: all the STORY missions well depend upon each other in the future; for now they can be played individually right away for testing!) - Totally Overpowered: Brewmasters now have an increased range for their marker visibility (so you know where to head towards earlier and do not need to run around) - Ancient Revelations: Known issue > finding the SV Wreckage (Task 2) sometimes does not work. Please resolve manually if this is the case for you.
Changes: - Updated Localization.csv - Ship controller : Add new drag on planet depending on atmosphere density - Temporarily deactivate Modular Wing Pylon due to problems with placement - Updated Tribal Bazar + Aux POI new Tribal Deco (and other minor changes) - thanks to Kaeser
Bug Fixes: - Fixed: Problem with Harvesting - Fixed: Exception spam in Dedi logs linked to Troop Transport - Fixed: Exceptions linked to Terrain - Fixed: Container duplication exploit - Fixed: Coded Doors open on Admin Structures - Fixed: NearPOI does not work in Space anymore - Fixed: Deco overlapping POIs when you teleport there for the very first time - Fixed: Position of label "Static" for spawners in CP
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Update: December 15, 2018: Hotfix (Build 2072)
Bug Fixes: - Fixed: Harvesting of deco not working reliable anymore - Fixed: With a scoped weapon equipped when going into scoped view there is a slight freeze - Fixed: Unable to turn player model around in the player customization screen. - Fixed: Spawner dropdown get's out of view - Fixed: Exception linked to deco - Fixed: PDA Check 'InventoryOpened' didn't work for some special containers (Personal Container, O2 Tank, ATM, Fuel Tank)
Changes: - Do not show prompt anymore for ContainerPersonal when not configured in yaml - Drones are shown again on radar - Adapted faction of some mission POIs - Reduced VRAM usage - Reverted: "Picking up a stack with e.g. 999 ores doesn't work - pick up items until inventory is full" > too risky and high regression potential
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Hi Galactic Survivalists,
Here comes the next update for Alpha 9 - Experimental.
Starter Planet Update: - Updated PDA Robinson Protocol - Updated POI spawning on temperate and arid starter planets - Added TalonChief NPC to Prison POI - Reduced amount of Talon that spawn around Talon Settlements - LizardMule are now also spawning around Talon POIs - Prison is now not revealed when approaching normally and no deco is removed for buried POIs - Activated new POIs on AridStarter
Gameplay: - Added first draft of Freedom mode - Updated Plastic Material template and volume/mass for Plastic Blocks (see below for more details) - Added TalonSentinel and AssaultCyborgSentinel NPC that guard a certain position - Added TalonSentinel as example to some Talon POIs - Vessel: added cruise mode info to Ship UI - Set suspended status effect icons to gray. - Updated Talon Trader content - Lizard Mules are now Prey again (not Talon)
Additions: - Added new deco models for Talon POIs > DecoTribalBlocks - Added container group (SV/HV and BA/CV) with all A8 containers
Unique Starter Planets: - Starter Planets are now unique when “UniqueStarterPlanet: true” is given in solarsystemconfig.yaml: - When now starting normal Survival game, you can still chose between 2 starter planets (temperate and arid) but when the solar system is created it will only have the starter planet you have chosen (before also the other starter planet was generated)
PDA Update: - Activated PDA tag “HideTasks”: when this is set, the tasks of a chapter are not displayed anymore - only the active tasks is shown (so it is more of a surprise what happens next) - Set PDA chapter activatable by Reputation - Only copy PDA.yaml and PDA.csv to save game folder, read all images from content/scenario directories. - Added new category “UCH” > will be displayed under "SoloMissions" for now - PDA will now display a default image if no image file referenced in PDA.yaml - just add a pic named "Default.jpg" to PDA folder
Weight / Volume / Logistics: - Picking up a stack with e.g. 999 ores did not work -> pick up items until inventory is full IMPORTANT: please test pickup / item moving in all variants - Connected toolbar uses background color different from player toolbar - If Logistics window cannot be opened by hotkey (F4) a message should display a reason - Changed: Displaying now 2 digits for volume and weight. Volume will be displayed in m^3 if larger than 1000L
Creative / Builders Update: - Added new wood texture: "raw wood" > could be used for logs in Talon Villages - Added more plants to "farming" category: please let us know which plants are still missing - Separated TribalVillage and TribalBazaar - Added more variations for Talon and Talon Trader - Renamed some Talon POIs - Added alien turrets to Polaris Defence POIs (player turrets will not work as expected) - Added ZiraxCommander and TalonChief as NPC - Removed TalonChief / ZiraxCommander as Block: please do not use StandingTalon, TalonChief, ZiraxCommander as block anymore > rather use them via EntitySpawner
NPC Faction / Reputation: - NPC factions will not attack NPC factions any more - Updated Reputation Matrix: mining does not reduce reputation if friendly or better, mining has also for Talon negative impact - Supporting faction 'Public' now in yaml files - Public faction structure is now powered on startup, NoFaction structure is not powered on startup - Faction reputation display in HUD is a bit bigger now
NPC Spawner: - Plate (thin) will now be removed for Entity/Player Spawners in Survival (thus no need to hide plate anymore) - Removed entity despawn logic when stuck to avoid that guards get despawned when they don't move
Visuals / UI: - Higher resolution for SV Deco Parts - Updated landclaim color and no build zone colors - Adjusted AlienBug01 corpse blood: reduced blood - Changed scope on Sniper Rifles - Crawler NPC is now a bit smaller - Added Landclaim Zone to planet map legend in MP
POI Update: - Added more tribal POIs (Thanks to Kaeser + Vermillion) - Added Polaris Defence POIs (thanks to Vermillion) - Updated Talon POIs with new spawners and filler blocks
Ship Controller Update: - max speed of a ship when diving down is now also limited to 50m/s - cruise mode is now switch off also when the ship is powered off - SV and CV will not automatically glide down anymore if they pitch or roll. Only to weak thrusters will lead to a move when pitching or rolling. - Ship max velocity change : on planet the vertical max velocity is now set to 90m/s
Changes: - Updated Invader vs Defender Scenario - Increased version of Config.ecf to 3 since it is not compatible with A8 - Updated text in Main Menu - Added block id, name and position to 'di' console command
Renamed some blocks / components / units: - Raw Material > Carbon Substrate (for more detail, see below) - Plastic Blocks > Carbon Composite Blocks (for more detail, see below) - Watt > Power Units (PU) - Watt Hour > PUh - Liter > Storage Units (SU)
Bug Fixes: - Fixed: Memory Leak - Fixed: Shift-Clicking an item from inventory to structure while NO container is selected destroys the item - Fixed: With Volume/Weight enabled it's not possible to fill the warp tank through the Logistics window - Fixed: Forcefields are not fully airtight anymore - Fixed: Admin structure NPC's will fire on players. - Fixed: Items left in the VT are lost if the VT is still active when player exits a save or server then rejoins - Fixed: Some vessel devices deco is not saving in blueprints. - Fixed: Input & output setup of a constructor is not maintained in blueprints - Fixed: Constructor templates stay red even if you add relevant items to the linked input container - Fixed: Volume of ammo & harvest CC's resets to default amount when spawned in a BP until another CE is added to the structure. - Fixed: Creative mode - Vessels were hovering in air with landing gear retracted - Fixed: Faction with Origin 0 not showing in faction window - Fixed: Do not display lock icon in Vessel Toolbar anymore - Fixed: Problem that warpdrive SV became huge when prefab was rotated in preview view - Fixed: Possible to use F4 with a structure that has no core - Fixed: wipe <pf> <parameter> is not working anymore + exception - Fixed: Problem with billboards for some deco trees / objects - Fixed: Random TerrainEngine exception when starting a new game after going into main menu - Fixed: Exception when loading into a Default random scenario save game after playing in a save using the Default MP scenarios. - Fixed: Bazar spawners - Fixed: display categories for custom scenarios (backward compatibility for SoloMission) - Fixed: "BlocksDestroyed" PDA check not working anymore - Fixed: Copy & paste tool is not accessible in creative mode. - Fixed: Talon did not correctly hold spear when walking (added better walk anim) - Fixed: typos in PDA - Fixed: Zirax spawned in Polaris Warehouse - Fixed: Dead AlienBug01 could not be looted - Fixed: Default A-O scenario not displaying asteroid fields and stations in sector map. - Fixed: PDA: prevent error when a mission becomes re-activatable after the timer reset
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Updated Plastic Material template and volume/mass for Plastic Blocks:
With mass and volume in mind, Plastic as a build material, suitable of course for internal areas, not for armor plating, would be much easier to haul in large quantities than any other material. In order to get a higher turnaround from the input materials, we changed the template from grain to fiber+stone dust. As fiber can be harvested, grown AND made from wood, there are several ways to obtain the Plastic Raw Material!
Plastic Raw Material & Block: - PRM Template: requires 4 Fiber + 1 Stone Dust - Plastic Small block: now requries 1 PRM, Increased Weight, Reduced Volume. - Plastic Large block: now requires 2 PRM; Increased Hitpoints to 200, Increased Weight, Reduced Volume
Example: 1 WoodLog can now be made into 50 large Plastic blocks (incl. 5 Crushed Stone) or 100 small Plastic blocks 1 WoodLog can be made into 40 Wood Blocks (large) as a comparison
Nanotubes Now also use PRM (1 PRM instead of 2 Steel Plates, as Nanotubes are made out of a carbon source originally), which means your builds will see an increased demand for Plastic Raw Material and a drop in requirements for Iron.
Feedback Question is: do you think this is feasible with the NEW template for creating Plastic Raw Material? (given 100 PRM = ~1 Wood Log)
Renaming: "Plastic Raw Material" > "Carbon Substrate" (to have a more global name to use this material as a carbon source in other templates) "Plastic Blocks" > "Carbon Composite Blocks" (sounds cooler)
Added new type of Entity Spawners: "Static" > these new spawners should behave as if you actually place the NPC in the POI - Spawn spawns NPC once - No particle effect - Will also spawn NPC when structure has no core anymore ie after conquering - "Static" can be configured via CP of spawner block > Idea is to be able to create POIs where the player needs to clear a POI completely from enemies even after it has been captured > we recommend using for these static spawners the thin plate and texture it so it is hidden
General Entity Spawner Update: - Added dummy model to all spawner blocks so that the spawner blocks can be easily found in Creative mode in a POI - Added the possibility to set faction on a per-spawner basis (eg you can place Civilian prisoners in a Zirax prison) - Entities that are spawned within a structure are now also saved with this structure (this means when resuming a save game, the NPCs will be at the same position as when leaving game): PLEASE test well - Entities spawned in a structure now stay within the structure and a boundary of 5 meters around - Updated Talon POIs with static spawners
Faction Changes: - No reputation loss if opening container in AI faction POI that is set to 0000 - Added new trigger levels for some actions, eg when attacking an NPC or opening a container, reputation drops to neutral not unfriendly - Updated colors of player faction and admin faction
Other Changes: - Increased version nr to 9.0.2 - Added vessel deco parts: - Allow to set blocks to a structure that is regenerate-able in super godmode - Updated Localization.csv - Implemented that the Logistics window opens when you press 'Manage' in CP for fuel or O2 - Increased HP of Cargo Controller L and Extension L to 500 HP - Added proper projectile for Turret HV Rocket (FastRocketGV) - Updated dead version for AlienBug01 - Updated messages with Material Transmitter - Added TalonChief and ZiraxCommander NPC - Allow for possibility of generating a random system for a scenario - Adapted drone base attack on starter planets: only after placing turret (not when base gets powered) - Exchanged Troop Transport content: RipperDog instead of Crawler - Added new Talon Trader content for all Talon traders in POIs
Volume Balancing: - Reduced volumes of ores and ingots - Slightly adjusted volumes of (intermediate) components
Re-added Arid planet as a 2nd starter planet: - Please double check PDA Robinson Protocol - How is start on Arid (too difficult or ok)?
Default Akua-Omicron scenario: - Abandoned POI and Artifacts are now Alien Faction - No fixed Escape Pod start position anymore - Update starting equipment (like in A8)
Bug Fixes: - Fixed: When trying to add fuel or oxygen to a vessel's tank via logistics from another structure a CoQ is triggered - Fixed: Fuel / O2 withdrawal from one structure to another loses items - Fixed: Problem that some blocks on Tower (story) were missing - Fixed: When player uses a Furnace at a POI after setting up an input container a CoQ loop is triggered - Fixed: CoQ when opening a Personal Container while PDA action with 'InventoryOpened' check is active - Fixed: Using the last 4 slots of the PC results in an exception (Please start a new save game if this still triggers a exception in previous A9 saves) - Fixed: Neutral State with Zirax lead to base does not defend vs. Base Attack (now no Base Attack of Zirax if standing Neutral or better) - Fixed: Command regenerate / RegenAfter set a NPC faction structure to Public - Fixed: Issue with the Detector showing to go in directions where this is nothing to discover. - Fixed: Faction base getting changed to public - Fixed: Collider on Boarding Ramp - Fixed: Problem that in Hard setting no Energy Bar was given and thus Robinson Protocol task could not be fulfilled - Fix for regenerate POI and faction getting lost - Fixed: PF log exceptions after trying to use Deconstructor - Fixed: Reputation getting hostile for some actions (eg killing spider in Talon territory) - Fixed: Player is disconnected from a server when trying to take fuel or oxygen from a tank - Fixed: Problem that weapons without scope could be zoomed slightly and got stuck - Fixed: XP is not given in MP for killing any NPC's - Fixed: Last 2 shapes of container extensions where wrong (temporarily removed) - Fixed: potential exception when using console command 'changemode' - Fixed: Scope reflection on pistols
Thanks for your great feedback. We already integrate some of it and released a new version.
CHANGELOG: Alpha 9.0.0 (Build 2053)
Changes: - Added modular expendable harvest and ammo containers for all structures - Rebalanced reputation matrix: rivalry impact reduced by 50%, outside faction territory gain reduced by 50% - Added new group ZiraxRipperDogPatrol to all playfields - Adapted faction affiliation for creatures - ZiraxOverseerPatrol, ZiraxCrawlerPatrol should not be used anymore (Overseer = Alien, Crawler = Talon). We are now spawning RipperDogs for these groups - Replaced ZiraxOverseerPatrol, ZiraxCrawlerPatrol with ZiraxRipperDogPatrol on all playfields - Updated Talon Deco NPC with new model - Updated POI spawning on starter planet (AlienTowers are now Alien faction, more predator spawn around AlienTowers) - Changed Trader content of Talon Trader (now all AuntMary > still needs to be tweaked and renamed) - Added new gameoptions parameters for Coop games: ForcePvP and OriginFactionStart - Added headgear and clothes to Talon - Updated preview icons for several handheld weapons - Now using SpawnRateZones in playfield.yaml to prevent spider spawn at escape pod drop (radius 400m) - Robinson Protocol: display all chapters from the beginning
Logistics: - Changed: When accessing the Logistics window via the Constructor or Control Panel the left selection dropdowns are now enabled - Disabled Volume/Weight per default (before it was enabled per default but disabled with gameoptions.yaml), ie when resuming a A8 save game it will be deactivated - improved performance (especially when switching between player inventory and a container) - Constructor: Made the 'access linked container' button more obvious: recognizable button, icon now the opposite of the top-left back icon in window to return to the previous window - grids are not constant 8x8 but as defined for the container - player inventory is correctly linked with the Suit Constructor, i.e. if the constructor works, items are removed live as needed - Updated messages with Material Transmitter - Changed: Text in Constructor > now reads: "Please assign container from dropdown"
Weapon Handling: - Updated aiming on Sniper T1 - Added new red dot sight to Pulse Rifle T1 - Added new building shape to standard blocks - Added new building shape to container extensions - Added animation to pistol T1
Bug Fixes: - Fixed: Switching between F4 and TAB deletes inventory fully or partially bec. TAB has fewer slots than F4 (F4 now shows same grid as TAB window) - Fixed: Cannot put blocks into Connected Toolbar that exceed Player Inventory Volume with Volume/Weight enabled - Fixed: Accessing Container with F does not provide full Logistic Menu - Fixed: Reputation Standing not working for MP Factions - Fixed: Volume not working for ammo boxes (we added placeholder volume for now > not yet balanced) - Fixed: Removing/Deconstructing a standalone container does not drop its contents - Fixed: Faction tab NPC showing empty in some use cases - Fixed: Container extension small had wrong shapes available (now same shapes as large version) - Fixed: PDA Tutorial > Task: "Place blocks around Core" could not be fulfilled - Fixed: Drone mounted weapons randomly appearing on planets under & above terrain - Fixed: Correct position of StarterBiomes (center is where escape pod lands without steering) - Fixed: HV hover engine in wrong state when switch from the control panel - Fixed: CoQ after warping or leaving a planet - Fixed: Talon cannot be looted: no access point - Fixed: Several internal exceptions found in log of EXP server
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Hi Galactic Survivalists,
Instead of teasing you with dev blogs about the new Alpha 9 features, we decided to give you the possibility to test them hands-on. Welcome to Alpha 9 - EXPERIMENTAL.
Here is a quick overview of the main features of the upcoming Alpha 9: 1. Logistics (preparation for weight/volume integration) 2. AI Factions, Reputation and Territory 3. Leveled NPCs 4. Improved Weapon Handling 5. Improved Game Start ... and many more features as documented in the changelog below.
With Alpha 9, we prepared the grounds for integrating volume restrictions and weight into the game. Even though we already added and updated weight and volume for most of the items and blocks, we did not yet activate it. We still need to polish some parts and rebalance everything.
--- For those who want to test how it feels when weight and volume restrictions are active, you can enable it as follows: 1. Set "EnableVolumeWeight: True" in Steam\steamapps\common\Empyrion - Galactic Survival\Content\Scenarios\Default Random\gameoptions.yaml 2. Start a new Survival game ---
The change you might need get accustomed to is, instead of carrying around any block or item in your backpack or placing it from there, you will need to use the new LOGISTIC feature, which not only allows you to circumvent volume and weight limitations, but also allows to use this for remote actions via Wifi and the Connected Toolbar.
Logistics Window Logistic as a whole, not only means how items and blocks can be moved without having to move them "through" your inventory, but also how inventories of construction devices will work from now on.
As soon as you are in reach of a Wifi or standing on your base or vessel, you can access the new logistic menu with F4 - or by facing a container and clicking F.
This is how the GUI of the logistics window looks like
On BOTH SIDES you can select - a structure (even the same structure) - a container (cannot be the same if structure is the same)
On the RIGHT side you can also select Fuel Tanks and O2 Tanks from an additional dropdown in order to fill them (fill-source needs to be selected on the LEFT side!)
You can freely move around items from one side to the other (if you activated the limitation: given there is enough volume) by drag and drop, SHIFT-Click or with the buttons in the middle.
Example: You can fill a tank of a vessel you are connected with (select vessel and tank on the RIGHT side) while standing on the base or in Wifi Range of another vessel, and moving fuel cells from any container (select source structure and container on the LEFT)
If you want to lift and place blocks or devices that are too heavy for your player or have a volume that exceeds your inventory, you can use the CONNECT button in the middle. This will "connect" you to the base and allow you to use the Connected Toolbar.
Connected Toolbar
As indicated, the integration of weight and volume limits will change how you handle blocks and items - especially the big ones: Large Constructor has 2500 L volume and your Inventory has 500 L storage capacity.
The connected toolbar is a toolbar to allow building without having run back and forth between containers due to the volume limits or be able to build at all and will stay in the future iterations, as most of the midgame blocks and devices are too heavy or voluminous for you to carry around in your backpack!
New Constructor Input / Output With the new way on how logistics will be handled, the availability of internal inventories of the construction machines has changed. When you set up one of these devices and open its GUI you will notice that the devices do not have an internal inventory anymore. Instead you can assign ANY container (except fuel tanks and o2 tanks) to the INPUT and OUTPUT fields.
Modular Containers To solve the ever-increasing demand of volume (when volume is activated as a limit), we added the new MODULAR CONTAINERS for all structures (BA, CV, SV and HV) for the initial A9 release (possibly also helpful for reworking your blueprints!)
Each Container consist of a - Container Control Unit (CC, max one per container) - Cargo Expansion Unit (CE)
In the last major versions, we referred to some NPCs and groups of NPCs in a way that would let you imagine, those are real factions - but they still were only "NPCs" grouped in a POI. There was only ONE enemy that attacked you with drones and troops. This has changed now - and will change in future versions.
With Alpha 9, we introduce the first iteration of a real NPC faction and reputation system, starting with the global NPC factions of: - Zirax Empire (the former "always bad guys") - Talon (the natives) - Polaris (a company with a monopol on machines & mining) - Aliens (default faction for all the "always bad" guys; it is always hostile and you cannot change/influence the standing towards this faction)
Starting from Alpha 9, you basically can be friend or enemy to any of these factions - or all of those. This means that you can walk into a Zirax Dronebase and not bein shot, but walk into a Polaris Trading station and be attacked right away...or the traders will not share their offers with you at best.
Said that, the NPC Faction system and its underlying "Rivalry & Reputation" matrix (See below) will be constantly evolved up to a point where you, as a creator, will be able to also customize these elements and the NPC Factions as a whole.
What you need to know for Alpha 9: 1. Action leads to reaction. Killing or looting and other actions now come at a cost or with a reward of REPUTATION POINTS 2. NPC Factions have TERRITORIES. Performing the aformentioned Actions inside or outside the territory might show different results 3. You can make friends, but due to the RIVALRY of faction, you might make enemies at the same time
Territory View: This is how the territories look on the map. They are static and NPC factions do not expand them (maybe in the future)
On the HUD in the upper right corner you can see the territory you are currently in - and the Standing towards this faction:
In the Player Menu (TAB) you can see the current Standing towards any faction. More factions are planned.
Reputation Points and Standing: There are 6 dedicated standing levels which are tied to a defined Reputation Points threshold in a 6000-per level interval
Example: If you see “Hostile: 5800/6000” you just slipped into “hostile” with 200 points. Gain 200 points and the counter will reset to 0 and you will advance to “Unfriendly”. You need 6000 more to get to Neutral then. Same for Neutral: 199/6000 means that you are 199+1 point away from “Unfriendly”
Special Standing Actions: Some of the actions depend on a given standing level, eg. you can only do an action as long as you are on the correct standing level with the NPC faction member in front of you
On Honored State: > get a discount at the faction trader > mine ore without RP penalty > spawn structure without RP penalty
On Friendly State: > able to trade with a faction trader > stay in territory (BA or vessel) without RP penalty > harvest plants without RP penalty
Rivalry: Factions are not necessarily friends to each other - they might even be rivals. Given the Lore behind those factions, certain actions you as a player (or faction) do in favor or against a faction might lead to a faction standing change for another faction.
Of course, running missions for a faction might rise or drop Your faction standing as well.
KNOWN ISSUE: - Reputation towards AI faction changes when creating / leaving a player faction in MP (will be fixed soon)
3. Leveled NPCs
In Alpha 9, you will notice an additional number when facing a NPC or a POI. This is the "level" of your opponent.
The level of the NPC is basically a multiplier of its attack (damage of his weapon) and defense (hitpoint) values, pretty much like the decision, which Difficulty mode to start the game with does also multiply the attack/defense parameters.
The level is an additional multiplier. If you played on MEDIUM before and now run into a Level 10 NPC on the same difficulty level, the NPC is 2.5x stronger than in Alpha 8.
4. Improved Weapon Handling - Added iron sight aiming aka "aim-down-sight" (ADS) - Added Recoil to all handheld weapons - Added separate recoil parameter "Recoil" per weapon (can be configured in Config.ecf) - Added recoil also in aiming mode (iron sight and scope aiming) - Added red dot in aim mode to weapons if they have either a red dot sight or a zoom scope
5. Improved Game Start - Added new Tutorial-Style Robinson Protocol in the beginning of Random Survival start - Tutorial is now also visible in MP - Added reduced start health and food (amount depends on difficulty level) - Removed safe zone around starter biome (starter biome itself is still relatively safe) - Increased creature spawn rate on starter planet - Smaller welcome screen - Gravity closer to earth for starter planet - Added Silicon Rocks in "Shallow Water" biome to be able to guide player more easily to this location - Tweaked start equipment
Updated New Game Menu: - Added possibility to select size of starter planet (Use range from dynamic playfield file to drive Planet Size selections, ie the dynamic.yaml determines which planet sizes are available for UI of Starter Planets)
Updated Decoration System: - Integrated new system for plants and trees: the decorations are now GPU instanced which should improve performance - Improved visuals of decorations (billboards etc) - Faster loading of decorations
Texture / Model Update: - Model update: core blocks, generator T2, troop transport, alien bug on temperate planet, Talon (added more variation) - Texture update: Turrets, containers, ammo and harvest box, Overseer NPC - Exchanged model of Assault Rifle and Pulse Rifle - Updated model of Pistol T1 - Updated model of Survival Tool
Improved AI Pathing: - AI can now path between terrain and bases - AI can now path in narrow bases - AI can now path through doors
General AI Update: - Reduced impact effect when hitting a drone - Do not despawn NPC creatures in space after exit to main menu - Drones do not have map marker anymore and do not show up on radar (to be consistent with other entities). Note: Planet Vessel and Space Drones still show up on radar - Reduced HP on traders, alien civilians and assault cyborg - Alienbug01 can now get aggressive if approached too close - Added Ripper Dog - Desert worms attack if their friend is damaged. note: desert worm Large is considered as different species to desert worm - AlienBug01 is now Prey faction - Improved Trader behavior (now standing at the edge of a block, does not attack and gets killed easily, will respawn after 5min if POI has not been conquered) - Reduced weapon damage on Trader and AssaultCyborg weapons - Crawler now belongs to Talon faction
Visuals / Sounds: - Grass is now growing closer to POIs, set distance to deco from 12m to 8m - Map view: slightly fading in shore now instead of hard clip - All texturable devices now use tiled hull texture instead of plain hull texture - First draft of printing the player damage death reason on screen - Dark side of planet darker in space - Tweaked particle effects on SurvivalTool, MultiTool - 3d map: other player shows a bit darker now - Tweaked LOD of growable plants: later culling - Added new square sniper overlay on Sniper T2 and Sniper Epic - Floating + Underground BAs: keep grass and deco below/above, do not show underground terrain texture - Added dead model versions of Talon
Gameplay: - Renamed "Enhanced Weapons" back to "Epic Weapons" - Added Epic Drill and Epic Heavy Armor to Purple Loot - Epic weapons cannot be crafted anymore - Updated Loot: added more weapons to Alien Containers - Using INSERT/DELETE will now rotate a blueprint before placing it - When placing a starter block or a BP, it can only be rotated by 90° (due to change in AI pathing) - Removed difficulty setting for spawn rate (always set to Medium) - Toolbar can now wrap around when using scroll wheel (ie from handsfree slot to slot 1 and vice versa) - No Plant Growing / No Life Check if CoreNPC or Admin - Destroying deco NPC does not give XP anymore - Starter block of CV does not have cockpit anymore - Escape Pod start is now a bit earlier during the day (ie it will be a bit to the west) - Added possibility to use a fixed position for Escape Pod start (eg for Coop > every player who joins server will drop at same location) - Entities on POIs (that already get despawned after 5 minutes no player adjacent) will now also get despawned with DSL unloaded of this POI - First draft in adding CPU points (WIP). Currently CPU limit is not yet activated
UI Changes: - Removed “mode” (PvP, PvE) display in map for orbit playfields in SP - Improved sector map display and UI - Changes to status effect status icon display in HUD. - Terrain Editor Window: Added "All" tab for textures - Added HSV/RGB Sliders and Color Presets to Player Setup Color Picker - ColorPalette: Change button HIDE to UNHIDE when triggered - Added "No Build" zone legend label to 3d map.
PDA Update: - Added reputation rewards to PDA - Added PDA mission visibility by Reputation level - Refinements to Skip/NoSkip for PDA briefings. Integrate PDA SkipMessage parameter. - Ignore auto-activated PDA missions when in God Mode and landing from the Escape Pod. - First step to implement Faction Reputation into PDA missions. - Show PDA category Tutorial in MP games.
Modding: - Supporting now | in damage multiplier > see Config.ecf - Removed some entities from debug spawn menu - Added Status parameters to FixedPlayerStart - Exporting MaxVolumeCapacity to Config.ecf - Allow to set default reputation to Polaris, Talon, Zirax depending on Origin > see DefReputation.ecf
Creative / Builder Changes: - Added harvest stage of player growable plants to Creative menu so Builders can use them in POIs (we will soon create a own block group) - In creative mode you can now spawn a BA in air on a planet to ease editing it - Renamed CoreEnemy into CoreNPC > Important: All PDA creators, please update your PDA and replace "CoreEnemy" with "CoreNPC" - Separated walkway and railing blocks into Small and Large - Separated ramp blocks into Small and Large - Proper separation between Shutter Doors Small and Large - Added Hay texture for tribal villages: page 2 on Wood texture tool - Updated all POIs and all stock CV / BA with new cargo containers. You can do the same with your BPs: replaceblocks <entityid> 1081 1677 (2x1x1 containers) replaceblocks <entityid> 1084 1677 (2x1x1 containers) replaceblocks <entityid> 273 1676 (1x1x1 containers)
Other Changes: - Added console cmd to visualize the NPC spawn points in SP (use "dm" and then F9 twice, to zoom in use PgUp/PgDown) - Temporarily only 1 starter planet for Random Default until other starter planets are setup correctly - Added "Auto-Brake" toggle in Control Panel - Added PentaxidElement as new ingredient for energy-based weapons (replaces PentaxidOre) > no balancing changes were made, just template adapted - Converted mass into float - Deactivated old container blocks since they are now too small - Chunk loading optimization - Deactivated In-Game Hints temporarily - Temporarily deactivated WellFed status effect - Improved console cmd "ents" by only showing full data when -full is specified - More exact collider on AlienBug01 - Temporarily removed TemperateSwamp from Random Default - Filter display of scenarios in New Game Window via '.hide.txt' file in scenario directory (we are currently hiding DoG, SoS, IvD scenarios) - Showing now "< 1 minutes" instead of seconds when picking up something - Dedi: Increased playfield load timeout from 10 to 20 seconds
Rebalancing: - Rebalanced all turrets and mounted weapons against entities > now they inflict lower damage on entities (eg turret against drones / players / NPC) >>> FEEDBACK required - AtmoDensity has stronger effect on weapon range => all weapons have now a lower range on planets >>> FEEDBACK required: idea is to have closer combat on planets - Weapon rebalancing: turret rocket HV now uses other ammo (lower damage) - Reduced HomingSpeed of Turret Rockets - Crosshair gets red now if target is in reach - Reduced crafting time of PowerBar - Parasaur loot different between parent and baby - Bandages now also heal (75HP) - Rebalancing: increased variance of rock resource drops - stamina penalty through low food is less severe - stamina recovers faster when walking
Planet Update: - Added AtmosphereParams: [10, 0.5] =[RayleighMultiplier, Atmosphere Contrast] that will allow to set sky colors better - Updated SkyColor on several planets - Updated POIs on Temperate Starter: separated XenuRadarTurret and XenuRadarTurretRocket - Updated Swamp Starter and Swamp Planet - Updated some wreckage POIs to prevent from easy collapse through SI - Improved some POI so that they do not collapse so easily anymore - Decreased min temperature on temperate planet to obtain more variation - Resources are less deep buried on temp starter - Renamed StarterBiome into Crashsite - Resources on starter planets are now less deep buried - Adapted deco in starter biome on temperate starter: more alien deco - Added Tribal Tower to starter planets - Added new Auxiliary algorithm for POI placements (see Talon villages on starter planet)
Blueprint Update: - Blueprint property window now supports flatten terrain and digout terrain as separate options per blueprint (ie a BP can have either of them or both) - Removed the need in blueprints to always have a y offset of -2 => offset now correctly displays the amount in meters that a POI is spawned in y direction (offset can also be Float > see eg BA_TribalCropField_TEST) NOTE: POIs in all old save games are moved 2m in the ground > please start new save game) - Updated y offset on Junk POI: please verify if they are placed correctly - Added "FillerBlock" (no preview icon yet): these blocks will be removed when spawned in Survival > can be used to create POIs with dirt like that: https://i.imgur.com/nETXJiQ.jpg or https://i.imgur.com/Q0nk9ed.jpg (both use filler blocks) - Added Tribal Village (with filler blocks) and crop field - Replaced plant sprouts with harvestable version in all POIs (we added harvestable plant version to Creative Menu) - Possible to spawn POI very close to each other (when using SpawnPOINearRange)
POI Update: - Added new Polaris POIs - a big thanks to Rainyday - Added new Polaris and Talon POIs: thanks to jmcburn, Kaeser, vermillion - Added new stock BP Base Tier 7: thanks to jrandall https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1532190955 - Removed core from crashed ships - Separated ruins into Tribal (Talon) and Modern (Polaris) - Separated POI Tribal Villages in Stone and Wood (new group: TribalVillageStone) - Added new Talon fields: thanks to jmcburn, Jacoviz - Adapted y-offset for Junk T1 per POI (they also flatten ground now) - Added Crop Fields (thanks to geostar1024, vermillion) - Polaris Mining Aux Building: Ore Mill (thanks to: Kaeser) - Tribal Bazaar (thanks to: Vermillion)
Repair-to-Template Window: - Allow shift-click to quick move ingots from bag to item drop - Increase timeout before updating Repair Data when adding ingots to 6s
Bug Fixes: - Fixed: Explosive device does not explode in space - Fixed: Large & heavy HV's can become stuck underwater & become very difficult to get out & free from the water. - Fixed: Fuel disappears from a base if you power it on before adding fuel to it. - Fixed: Deconstructor does not give back pentaxid after energy ammo deconstruction - Fixed: When the AG zone is off for a playfield the offline protection can be disabled. - Fixed: Placing follow-up light does not use settings from the previously placed light - Fixed: Barrels of some retractable turrets could stick out of box when retracted - Fixed: Problem that some drones had the wrong destroyed model - Fixed: Lettering symbols out of alignment. - Fixed: Problem that is was not possible to have FixedPlayerStart in a Structure in Random orbit playfield - Fixed: Survival tool beam showing wrong for other players - Fixed: R2T console accepts iron, copper and silicon ore stacks - Fixed: UI/Scroll Area Movement issue in Vessel Statistics - Fixed: Containers could not be mirrored with Mirror Planet - Fixed: Problem that some creatures on temperate swamp did not respawn - Fixed: Broken deco: AlienBushRedFronds has extreme colour in distance; branches move too fast in wind - Fixed: Heightmap discrepancies between SSG preview generated and in-game generated - Fixed: Walkway & Railing blocks BP issue > Please check if still exploit possible - Fixed: Lava "Transparency" SSAO Issue - Fixed: HV sometimes sink into the water - Fixed: Plant that gives Grains did not have a harvest version - Fixed: Problem that dirt under POIs was not calculated on first entry of a game - Fixed: Jump in Lava when player moves over planet - Fixed: Small gap when placing spawner plate thin - Fixed: Event_Entity_Faction_Changed spams the API - Fixed: Warning "missing script" on certain weapons - Fixed: Preview shader is white for some devices - Fixed: SV Hitscan logic - Fixed: If MapDistance: 0 in playfield.yaml, then POI was still discoverable when teleporting close to it (now only show HUD marker if debugging ie via map command) - Fixed: Slime now only attacks player after being attacked - Fixed: Lights blocks are removing blocks that are behind them. - Fixed: Too bright grass in forests - Fixed: Big Flower model was transparent from below - Fixed: Missing hull block in Alien Tower (story POI) - Fixed: Wrong position of ModWing T-Connector
Update: November 21, 2018 (Build 1909) - Fixed: Problem with terrain not updating correctly - Fixed: Internal exception linked to AI Drones - Updated SV for story mission
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Update: November 16, 2018 (Build 1908) EAH (Empyrion Admin Helper) fixes: - Playfield Restriction for Origin set to Origin 0 by default - Please check the Playfield list for the "Belongs to Origin" column and set it to 999 for no restrictions. (You can also use the button "Set belongs to to "No") Or turn of the Playfield Faction restriction in the config, if not in use.
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Update: November 13, 2018 (Build 1907)
Changed: - Increased timeout for playfield loading to 10 sec
Fixed: - Small Oxygen Bottle has O2 value of 75 but only adds 35 to the O2 tank - When the AG zone is off for a playfield the offline protection can be disabled - Wrong configuration of several deco objects leading to spam of log files - Several internal exceptions
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Hi Galactic Survivalists,
Unfortunately, we had to revert the game engine back to Unity 2017 because several internal crashes and problems appeared after the Unity 2018 upgrade.
These game-engine related problems were almost impossible to find during the closed tester and Experimental phase and showed up only after the public release when a high number of players were playing the game on different machines.
We decided to do this step to be able to entirely focus on the upcoming Alpha 9 release and not be distracted by hunting these internal Unity 2018 bugs.
Be assured that we will revisit the Unity 2018 upgrade after the Alpha 9 release. The efforts we have invested into the Unity 2018 upgrade were not in vain because we can quickly re-integrate the Unity 2018 related changes after the Alpha 9 release. We will then again need your help in finding these nasty bugs.
Sorry for the inconveniences during this rough week with Unity 2018 and thanks for your understanding & patience.
The above screenshot shows one of the new features we are working on for Alpha 9
Update: October 29, 2018 - Build 1902
Bug Fixes: - Fixed: Several internal exceptions found in logs
=================
Hi Galactic Survivalists,
After several small stabilizing updates for Alpha 8.6 over the last weeks, today we released Alpha 8.7 where we upgraded the game engine to Unity 2018. Since it is a major engine upgrade, we had to invest a lot of time making sure nothing breaks. Paradoxically, the ideal outcome would be that you do not see any difference to the last public release version Alpha 8.6.3.
CHANGELOG: Alpha 8.7.0 (Build 1899) - Upgraded game engine to Unity 2018.1 - Temporarily deactivated trusted server label - Reduced hitpoints of some obsolete blocks to avoid exploits
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Alpha 9 Preview:
Besides the engine upgrade, our team has been working very hard on Alpha 9. However, at this point, we do not want to reveal too much about Alpha 9 but we can already say it will be a huge game changer!
Alpha 9 focuses on gameplay improvements - unlike the last major releases that focused on architectural changes. We will soon start our "Road to Alpha 9" dev blogs with more details and we are really looking forward to getting your feedback on the different topics.
So far, we just want to tease you with a couple of screenshots (maybe you can already guess on what features we are working):
Feature 1:
Feature 2:
Feature 3:
Feature 4:
But this is only a small part of the planned features for Alpha 9. Stay tuned...
Bug Fixes: - Fixed: Too dark color of planets in 3d planetary map
Changes: - Reduced hitpoints of some obsolete blocks to avoid exploits - Temporarily deactivated trusted server label
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Update: October 18, 2018 (Build 1896)
Changes: - Build number is now inline with the public release
Bug Fixes: - Fixed: Problem that all Blueprints in the BP Library were marked in red and not spawnable in Survival
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Hi Galactic Survivalists,
We have been silent the last couple of weeks because a lot of things are currently happening behind the scenes. In particular, our team is working very hard in the following two areas: 1. Upgrade of the game engine to Unity 2018 2. Features for Alpha 9 Update
Upgrade of the game engine to Unity 2018 Today, we released the first version of Empyrion that runs with Unity 2018 on the Experimental branch. Paradoxically, the ideal outcome would be that you do not see any difference to the current public release version Alpha 8.6.3. Since it is a major engine upgrade, we had to invest a lot of time making sure nothing breaks. Now, we need your help to confirm. Thanks a lot in advance for giving it a thorough test.
CHANGELOG: Alpha EXPERIMENTAL 8.7.0 (Build 103) - Upgraded game engine to Unity 2018.1
Note: We will soon increase the build number to be consistent with the public release.
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Features for Alpha 9 Update Regarding the upcoming Alpha 9 version, we do not want to reveal too much at this point but we can already say it will be a huge game changer! Alpha 9 focuses on gameplay improvements - unlike the last major releases that focused on architectural changes. We will soon start our "Road to Alpha 9" dev blogs with more details and we are really looking forward to getting your feedback on the different topics.
So far, we just want to tease you with a couple of screenshots (maybe you can already guess on what features we are working):
Feature 1:
Feature 2:
Feature 3:
But this is only a small part of the planned features for Alpha 9. Stay tuned...