May 29, 2018

Battlestar Galactica Deadlock - Alberto

We are releasing the Endurance Update for Battlestar Galactica Deadlock!

It accompanies the The Broken Alliance expansion which will be released later today at 4 pm UK time.

We talked at length about it in our Developer Diaries, and it is here now!

Read the full changelog down below.

Update 1.0.35 Changelog

Features and General Updates

- Persistent Damage system, available when starting a new campaign; damage persists
between battles, and can be repaired in the war room; repair costs vary based on
location; additionally, units assigned to Fleet Group Daidalos are given an amount of
free repairs each round
- Damage visualisation on damaged units during battles
- New ship info UI in war room; includes ship repairs, battle history and slot management
- Wardriver squadron Jamming ability
- Raptor squadron Boarding ability, and Dock Target renamed to Boost Firewalls
- Fleet models on the war room table animate when moving to a new location
- Auto-assigning a squadron to a squadron group is now optional (configured in Options)
- New SIGINT advisories added to the Intelligence screen
- Ambient soundscape added to the Daidalos war room
- DRADIS sfx added to the tactical minimap
- Dialogue in cinematic scenes is skippable
- Blueprint screen shows significantly more information about unlockable ships
- Ship List in battle is more compact
- Right clicking ships in the Ship List will now open their ship action menu
- Ships can be renamed in Skirmish/Multiplayer by selecting from a (long) list of names
- Munition and squadron slot icons dim when a command has already been given
- Improvements to highlighting behaviour in the war room
- Planets are now highlighted by the current entry in the Battle Queue
- Quantity of flak explosions is based on Armoury subsystem health
- Supply costs mouseover tooltip during FTL Insertion
- Updated Planet Info UI elements for readability
- Fleet location added to Fleet List in war room
- New strategy layer barks
- Resolution slider added for recording autocam replays
- Performance improvements
- General AI improvements

Balancing

Economy
- All colony Steadfast and Concerned income increased.
Officers & Fleets
- Officer base Fleet Point cap raised to 4000. Each rank in the Command ability has been
reduced to +1000 Fleet Points.
- Higher chance to recruit rank 2 and 3 officers in Fleet Academy.
- Fleets now have a "support slot" to accommodate an eighth support ship. Daidalos and
Celestra units will automatically assign themselves to the slot.
- Quantity of Cylon fleets now capped by difficulty.
- Officers aboard a flagship have a higher chance of surviving auto-resolve.
Munitions
- Colonial Torpedo stack size increased to 60
- Colonial AP stack size increased to 21
- Cylon AP stack size increased to 35
- AP Missile speed increased to 65 (Colonial and Cylon)
- Deployment pitch range for mines increased to 400
EMP Mines
- Subsystem damage reduced from 7 to 6.
- Stack size reduced from 10 to 6.
- Trigger range reduced by 15%
Viper MkII
- Hull increased to 34.
- Cannon accuracy increased.
Wardriver
- New Jamming Mode ability decreases hostile squadron speed and evade, and has a
chance to redirect guided munitions.
Raptor
- Dock Target renamed to Boost Firewalls; units with boosted firewalls now show Firewalls
UI without needing to be hacked.
- New Board Target ability initiates combat with centurions. While aboard a hostile ship,
colonial ECM tech teams disrupt the ship's systems, reducing accuracy, subsystem
repair, and processing power.
- Raptors now automatically provide their Boost Firewalls bonus while docked on their
carrier.
Minotaur & Berzerk
- Minor adjustments to Fire Control subsystem values to increase effectiveness at higher
posture levels.
Jupiter
- Hull increased to 165.
Atlas
- Max speed increased from 0.75 to 0.85
- Medium turrets added to ventral sector
Sweepers
- Chaff lifetime decreased from 5 to 4 turns

Fixes

- Fixed a number of issues with restoring mid-battle saves
- Replaced the system used to capture videos during a post-battle replay, so crashes
should no longer occur
- Being awarded two Galacticas after Mission 12 should not longer occur
- Evolution achievement should unlock when DLC is active
- Correct markings and symbols for SDU Vipers and Rangers
- Squardon group settings are saved correctly, so they carry over to future missions
- Low pass filter fixed for all battle sfx
- Fleet models on war room table no longer overlap
- Sweepers stop deploying chaff when destroyed
- Edge panning now disabled when focus is on another application
- Cerastes AI updated to help prevent kiting
- Resupply costs are no longer shown as a negative value
- Selecting ships during a single turn replay no longer confuses selection
- NPC ships are now added to the bottom of the Ship List
- Ship List now ordered by Fleet Point value instead of build value
- More support for special characters on ship nameplates
- Using numeric keys in MP chat no longer selects ships

May 28, 2018

Dev Diary #7 - 'The Endurance Update'

Battlestar Galactica Deadlock - Alberto

“We call it nondestructive testing. It’s a suite of processes to rigorously test a mechanical system for damage or flaws. The entire purpose is to find potential faults without causing any permanent damage to the system.” Piotr Magnus looked up from his lectern, and was met with dozens of faces; serious, sleepless. Someone near the back coughed. “A lot of the tests use processes that would otherwise be hazardous to a person - electrical currents, radiation, liquid submersion - but aren’t supposed to cause any material damage to the machine.”

“So they’re using chemical weapons because they’re robots. We already know this, Piotr. What we need to know is how to prevent further attacks like this.”

“We don’t.”

Exclamations and angry mutterings rippled around the room.

“We won’t see another attack like Aerilon or Sagittaron again,” continued Piotr, wanting to make sure his point was heard before he was inevitably escorted out. He touched his wispy moustache with a finger, a nervous tic he’d developed since growing it. “Those attacks weren’tmade to kill populations; it was to test the system for faults. This ‘Clothos’ isn’t trying to kill us. It’s attempting to calibrate us.”

The room quietened to a raised hand. “To what end?” asked Admiral Cain, her face skeptical. Piotr Magnus took a breath, closed his eyes, and prayed he was right. “Equilibrium.”

Attention, nuggets! Today we’ve got a substantial entry to let you know about some of the balancing updates coming in the new patch, called the Endurance Update, which will launch on PC tomorrow in parallel with The Broken Alliance, our new story campaign DLC. Along with persistent damage, UI updates, damage models, new squadron abilities, war room animations… this is our biggest update yet!

Strategy Layer Balance

One of the most common bits of feedback we receive is regarding the officer fleet point caps in the single player campaign. As of the Endurance Update, the base fleet point cap of all fleets (with or without an officer) will be increased from 2500 to 4000.
This lets new officers field more viable fleets straight away, without needing to explicitly look for opportunities to hunt down those Nemesis and Cerastes strike groups for promotion XP.

Officers still have the Command ability to increase this base, however each rank in the ability will only increase the cap by 1000 instead of 1500. This does mean the maximum cap remains at 8000; however, Colonial Fleet will get to take advantage of the new support slot feature. This support slot allows all fleets to bring an additional eighth support class ship for no FPV cost, similar to how the Daidalos is accounted for in its own fleet group.

Additionally, Cylons will also have a manufacturing cap on their fleet production, which is limited by the difficulty selected at the start of the campaign. This cap hard limits the number of fleets Clothos can manufacture at any given board state, which in turn makes certain Daidalos Colony bonuses even more effective at slowing the tides of Cylon forces.

Battle Layer Balance

A number of balancing changes have been made to the pre-existing units in the Endurance Update. We’ve already talked about the new abilities brought to the battlefield by the Raptor and Wardriver squadrons in the previous developer diary, however they aren’t the only units to have had their numbers looked at.

The effectiveness of Viper MkII squadrons has been increased, putting their fighter skill further ahead of the curve compared to the larger Raider squadrons. This was a necessary rebalance for both single player scenarios, and multiplayer matches, where Cylon fleets can often outnumber Colonial squadrons. Severely outnumbered Viper squadrons will still struggle to keep their fighters in the air, but in general, dogfights will be more of a balanced playing field.

The larger capital ships have also had some adjustments made, which have fared well in our beta testing. The Jupiter class battlestar will have its hull rating increased from 150 to 165. This increase will give it an extra edge in longevity against the new Cylon tactics introduced in The Broken Alliance.

Most dramatically, the Atlas will be given a speed increase to match the Jupiter, and a new battery of ventral Medium Colonial turrets along its underside. This update to the Atlas upgrades the carrier’s performance, and when paired with other Colonial heavies like the Jupiter and Janus, can make for some long-lasting Colonial firepower.

This is only a selection of the balancing and bugfixing we’ve undertaken for the Endurance Update. The full patch notes will be released with the launch of the update, alongside our new story DLC, The Broken Alliance.

We’ll continue to keep an eye on the game’s balancing going forward with the patch, and look forward to seeing the new fleet compositions and tactics that will arise. In the meantime, keep your mag-cats primed, and Viper pilots on alert. So say we all!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/726560/Battlestar_Galactica_Deadlock_The_Broken_Alliance/

May 23, 2018

The Broken Alliance - Out on May 29th!

Battlestar Galactica Deadlock - Alberto

We have news that will thrill all Battlestar Galactica Deadlock players: the new expansion, The Broken Alliance, will be available on PC on May 29th!

The DLC greatly expands on the single player experience, adding 8 brand new story missions filled with intrigue and deceit to the single player campaign. Delve in Colonial politics and learn about a plot that could shatter the Quorum alliance...

The Broken Alliance also comes with a new range of ships available to both Cylon and Colonials. Command the new mighty Minerva class Battlestar, face the new dangerous Cylon Argos class Basestar, send new types of squadrons into battle and much more!

If you want to see more of the ships coming with The Broken Alliance then look no further: Spacedock has been making some amazing videos about them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLlVMQbvNRU

The Broken Alliance will be released alongside a new sizeable update, one that we have already covered in a number of Developer Diaries. This update will bring new free features available to everyone.

We will release the Steam and PC version on May 29th. We are now focusing on the console version, which will be released a bit later. Stay tuned for more information.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/726560/Battlestar_Galactica_Deadlock_The_Broken_Alliance/

May 15, 2018

Dev Diary #6 - "The Broken Alliance"

Battlestar Galactica Deadlock - Alberto

“You’d think they’d be better shots,”said Tobias. There were slugs littered throughout the plating beneath him, but the belt armour had taken most of it. It was like the Cylons hadn’t even tried to aim anywhere else. “Y’know, for sentient calculators.”

Emaline crested the hull a few metres further down, the headlamps of her helmet lost in the flood lighting of the yard’s dock. “Why should they be any better? Field ballistics requires intuition just as much as calculations.”

“You’ve seen their fire control systems. That processing power alone--”

“Still doesn’t match gut instinct. Doesn’t matter what they try, the toasters will never be able to rival the power of the human brain.”There was something about the way she sounded so damn patriotic all the time that made him want to groan. “Anyway, no signs of penetration on fore dorsal. I'm ready to pass this one through to the replating team.”

“Yeah, nothing on this side either.”Tobias sighed and kicked off from the hull, aiming for the station’s airlock. “Maybe tomorrow we’ll see a proper repair job come through.”

He winced, and turned to look back at Emaline as he drifted away. She had her hand over her shoulder, her thumb pointing out beyond the glow of the floodlights, feet planted firmly on the scorched hull of the warship. “For their sake, you’d better not mean that.”

Attention, nuggets! By now, you should have all the intel on our next DLC, The Broken Alliance, and the accompanying free update. We look forward to finally sharing everything we’ve been working on, and hope to see some more great stories from the First Cylon War from you all.
We’ve already revealed some big new features in the upcoming patch, but today let’s talk about some more that we haven’t yet had a chance yet to talk about! These features and upgrades will be available to all players as of the patch release.

Blueprint For Success

A long awaited request from many members of the community, the Blueprint screen has beengiven a significant update!

To start with, under the wireframe we have the basic data; hull points, armour and available slots. Easy on-hand information to determine which ships have the better armour ratings, and which units provide the firepower or squadron support.

However, it’s the new information panel on the right that gives us the deep dive on each individual ship. Here we display a breakdown of every bit of info a Commander needs, including build data, turret battery placements, and a quick reference for all of the unit’s unique subsystem advantages and penalties.

Pieces On The Board

We’ve updated the war room table and surrounding UI elements for usability and functionality. The highlighting system is now more intuitive; the Planet Info UI has had some of its troublesome elements refactored for easier reading; and perhaps most importantly, the little fleet pieces move across the table! It’s now much easier to track fleet movements each round, and plan out your strategy for the Twelve Colonies accordingly.

Squadron Updates

Two new abilities have been added to existing squadrons from the base game. Colonial Raptor Squadrons will now have the ability to board enemy ships; and the Cylon Wardrivers can actively jam the area around them.

Similar to the Heavy Raider, the Colonial Raptor board command deposits a team of marines on the enemy ship, which starts the process of boarding combat. Unlike Cylon centurions, however, the Colonial marine squadrons are accompanied by an ECM tech team that use their proximity to the enemy to wreak havoc with their systems. While an enemy ship has a Colonial marine presence on board, the ship suffers penalties to subsystem repair speed and turret accuracy. Additionally, if the enemy is a Cylon ship, the tech team can disrupt the core processing system, effectively reducing the amount of energy the ship can distribute between subsystems.

On the other hand, Clothos has been improving the field ECM technology of the Wardriver units. While not hacking, these agile tech utilities can activate jamming mode, which disrupts the navigation systems of all hostile squadrons in its local area. Additionally, the Wardriver can attempt to hack any guided munition that enters its jamming radius, giving it a chance to redirect the munition back at the cruiser that originally launched the missile.

That’s everything for now, nuggets. We can’t wait to share all of these updates with you, and appreciate your patience. So say we all!

May 10, 2018

Battlestar Galactica Deadlock The Broken Alliance is announced!

Battlestar Galactica Deadlock - Alberto

Tensions are rising during the First Cylon War.

Anti-Caprican sentiment threatens the Quorum alliance. Discontent and pessimism spreads throughout the colonies. While politicians and diplomats frantically negotiate to keep the alliance together, Colonial Fleet receives a strange request from Aquaria. It’s the start of a chain of events that could change the tide of the war…

Battlestar Galactica Deadlock™ is back with a new expansion: The Broken Alliance!

With a new story, new missions and plenty new ships The Broken Alliance is a must-have for every Deadlock fan. Explore the new plot coming with the expansion, a story of intrigue and betrayal, and meet new characters taking part in Colonial politics.

Command new ships like the Minerva-class Battlestar and fight against a new powerful Cylon vessel, the Argos-class Basestar. On top of that, the addition of a new class of support ships for both the Colonials and the Cylon broaden your tactical possibilities.

The Broken Alliance is due to release in Q2 2018. Battlestar Galactica Deadlock continues to improve: we’ve only just started! Stay tuned, the best is yet to come.

Last but not least: a very special guest will be streaming The Broken Alliance today, on Twitch: Spacedock! Stay with us at 9 pm CEST on Spacedock's Twitch channel and don't miss the chance to get an exclusive first look at the expansion.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/726560/Battlestar_Galactica_Deadlock_The_Broken_Alliance/