And just like that we're back for another edition of Weekly Apart, the dev blog in which we neatly summarize the small and big milestones that we have reached each week developing Dawn Apart. So strap in for this edition as we share some cool gameplay details about what it actually takes to make your stay on Aurora worthwhile and leave your mark in the history books as one of the galaxy's fiercest Lucrum miners.
But first, in case you haven't already, make sure to join our Discord server (quick reminder: the good folks in our Discord will be the first mortals to playtest our demo scheduled for summer!) and leave a follow, like or comment on our various social media channels - we'd really appreciate it!
Stockpiling Influence
The key to becoming an interstellar mining tycoon is to steadily expand your control zone on the planet Aurora. You achieve this by crafting and placing beacons, energy-consuming systems which enable you to claim land and build on it instantly. Within this "Sphere of Influence" (SOI), which initially consists of a 200-tile radius, you'll be able to place machines, walls, feeders, turrets, and other items - god-like that is (The SOI is visible in both the build and terraform view, but players cannot build or terraform if there are enemies within a 50-tile radius). However, here comes the catch: each placement costs Lucrum, the most sought-after resource in the galaxy that is buried deep beneath the surface of Aurora.
The Lucrum cost of placing an item depends on the distance to the nearest stockpile. Stockpiles are a key gameplay mechanic that allows players to manage their resources efficiently and strategically. Each SOI can have multiple stockpiles, which can be merged to increase storage capacity. The storage capacity of a stockpile is limited by the number of tiles and slots available. Each tile contains four slots that can hold up to 100 pieces of the same item, for a total of 400 items per tile. To expand the storage capacity of a stockpile, players can add more tiles vertically and horizontally, but this requires additional energy consumption costs.
Mo Lucrum Mo Problems
The stockpile tile itself looks like an open shelf or rack that visibly holds items, making it easy to keep track of resources. Stockpiles can be fed by pioneers or feeders. While feeders add items as long as there is space, pioneers can be directed to move items to the warehouse or remove specific items from the warehouse using the Stockpile Detail View. Overall, stockpiles are an essential part of resource management in the game, requiring players to balance their storage needs with the cost of expanding their stockpile capacity.
Ultimately you'll be able to merge various SOIs allowing for larger and more expansive control zones, allowing for a fascinating interplay between fulfilling your own Lucrum needs, expanding your empire and provoking and reacting to increased attacks by the indigenous It'ak - all while fulfilling the growing Lucrum export quota of your corrupt contractor, the Kobayashi-Schwarz Corporation.
What do you think of the system? Let us know in the comments and feel free to drop more gameplay suggestions into the "idea chute" channel of our Discord server - we’re always happy to hear what kind of ideas the community would like to see implemented (of course we cannot grant every wish:) See you next week!
The second update is in, bringing another batch of fixes:
Sound effects have been updated or improved for a better experience. Added "Exit to Lobby" confirmation message. Vizibility improvements on night-time fog Corrected display errors with player avatars on map Other stability fixes and collision fixes As always, we can’t wait to see your feedback and welcome your suggestions for future updates.
Introducing new campaigns: DCS: F-14 Speed & Angels Campaign by Reflected DCS: MAD AH-64D Campaign by Stone Sky DCS: Mosquito FB VI - V for Victory Campaign by Reflected Simulations DCS: AV-8B Kerman Campaign by Ground Pounder Sim DCS: F/A-18C Inherent Resolve Campaign by Looking Glass
DCS World Weapon. MIM-104 missile guidance error has decreased. Weapon. BLU-97/B penetration warhead and damage effect has increased. Weapon. CBU-87 with HOF 300 had no effect on tanks. This has been adjusted so it will at least damage them now (see F10 view damage levels). Weapon. Corrected nozzle flame of rockets at the moment of launch. Weapon. AMRAAM fixed an issue with Home on Jam (HOJ) mode. Fixed liveries name for ground units (this fixes seasonal textures for some units). Added Ropucha-class landing ship BDK-775. Removed dust effect when ships are firing. Fixed incorrect unit direction when mounted on a ship. New sounds for AK-series, M249, L94A1, PKT, 2A72, 2A42, M242, GSh-6-30K, M240C, ZU-23-2, ZU-23-4, Rheinmetall Mk20, KPVT, 2A38, Vulcan, Oerlikon-KDA, L21A1, Utes, MG3, M2 Browning. Fixed inability for submarines to attack ships. Fixed crash when the "Unit AI set life" trigger is used for EWR AN/FPS-117. Fixed stuck SON-9 radar when aircraft fly directly overhead it at high altitude. AI Aircraft. Removed old and unusable Kh-28 missile from payloads from the Su-17. F10 map. Big Smoke is always shown on the F10 map regardless of 'show' setting - fixed. AI Aircraft. Corrected damage and collision model of the CH-53. AI Aircraft. F-15C cannot AAR in right turn - fixed. AI Aircraft. Incorrect negative AOA of slow planes in formations appears in some cases - fixed. Crash when vehicle destroyed during task Embarking - fixed. AI Aircraft. Su-34 damage model corrected. MP. Server panel, players pool. Added clients counter. All weapons still visible on multiple weapon mount if base runs out of that weapon - fixed. Resource manager of air bases has been corrected. Scripts. StaticObject.getByName fails if the unit name contains a dot - fixed. ME. Ka-50. GUI Error when you press delete on INU Fix Point (NAV target point) - fixed. ME. Ka-50. Comment in NAV target point remains from last mission - fixed. Weapons. Jettisoned racks don't die when hitting the ground/sea - fixed. SA-19 Tunguska. The power of warheads has been reduced so that it cannot destroy tanks. Input controls adjustment window now preserves user state layout and selection during the mission session for convenience. Module Manager now allows to uninstall and install Caucasus terrain. Mk-82 bomb fuse on Mirage-2000 fixed FC aircraft. Cyclic target Lock On by Enter key like easy avionics style - removed OpenXR is removed from autosearch. DCS has a chain of VR vendors in priority oculus, OpenVR, Varjo, etc. OpenXR was in that chain in top priority, now it is removed from this chain and only available when you explicitly specify it in command line of DCS. if you wish to use Open XR, a shortcut with the following commands will need to be created: --force_enable_VR --force_OpenXR Game Options. Game avionics mode removed Rain in cockpit fixed on numerous modules Added LODs to Hangar on Caucasus Map Runway craters cause no damage to aircraft taking off/landing - fixed Weapons. AGM-84. The minimum launch altitude has been reduced to 200 feet AI Aircraft. B-17G. Ailerons are deflected as flaperons on landing - fixed Weapons. Improved AA missile launch catapult mechanics F-15, F/A-18 Weapons. AIM-7 and AIM-120 autopilot tuning for FLOOD mode Weapons. Corrected AIM-7E warhead data Weapons. Adjusted aiming errors for 9M39, FIM-92C and MIM-72G CTD. DCS crashes on heavy missions without pagefile - fixed Added grass to some terrain shelters Fixed excessive amount of triangles and objects when terrain objects shadows set to FLAT/OFF Corrected shadows by mountains ME Triggers. Aircraft 3D model gets corrupted if its given Unit AI Set life equals 0 Fixed M-60 MBT Fixed model UAZ-469 SON-9 radar elevation fixed Added BDK-775 for Ukraine and Yemen Fixed max speed for BDK-775 Added flir details for old model Expanded the list of countries for historical mode for AN/FPS-117 CTD. Animation crash in MP, client hangs caused by M1097 Avenger - fixed Campaigns. Custom campaigns shown in the "My Campaigns" menu sometimes won't let the user click the End Mission button - fixed CTD. Crash on server if client is used as leader for a task Big Formation - fixed CTD. Crash during landing at some airfields - fixed Weapons. 8K14 SCUD missile. Explosion very small - fixed Weapons. Low damage from FIM-92C Stinger - corrected AI aircraft. AI can't properly use HD bombs - tuned ME. Error in case of file MissionTheatreCache.lua is empty - fixed AI ground. Dead ground vehicles keep emitting engine sound - fixed TF-51. Fixed flap lever movement AI aircraft. Fixed CBUs distribution along vehicle group Weapons. AGM-62 Walleye missile will not be able to hit targets in pitch-black night AI aircraft. Tuned defensive behaviour in the SAM danger area AI aircraft. MQ-1A can't land in some case - fixed AI aircraft. AV-8B goes 'zombie' when dropping GBU-54 - fixed ME. Triggers Add Radio Item for group and coalition don't work for neutrals - fixed Cockpit. MFD surface render increased from 80 to 150 km range Settings. Add item for Blur Flat Shadows to graphics options VR. Upper part of FOV become black in VR when head pitching down - fixed Helicopters. Sling load feature stuck when unhooking same cargo twice - fixed Current User Aircraft Mods crashing in Multithreading version RWR stops registering SAMs with multiple users Scripting: crash on output to log with formatting symbols F10 map. Added direction and speed vector to aircraft and help symbols. F10 map. Add tooltips to new icons. F10 map. Add Show/Hide buttons for labels AI ground units. AA Unit stuck after firing - FIXED AI ground units. Distance error for the sights with laser rangefinder corrected. AI ground units. User set invisible receives no RWR warnings from SAM. AI ground units. Fixed accuracy of KS-19. Ground units. Units dying with agony do not burn after explosion - Fixed. Ground units. Georgian EWR radar does not respond - Fixed. ME Setting ‘COLD AT START’ now working as intended for FLIR rendering. Not selecting this option will allow units to have infrared signatures at mission start rather than first needing to heat up. AAR basket jittering around probe - fixed. Mi-24 AI. Sometimes it would not attack targets - fixed. MQ-9 AI. Reaper doesn't maintain Altitude - fixed. AI jet aircraft. Proper implementation of thrust reversing. Engine mode and deceleration has been tuned. AI helicopters. Helicopters collide on the runway after landing. Reassign holding/cleared for landing. AI helicopters. Helicopters fall through the deck on landing in some cases - fixed. AI aircraft. E2D collision when trying to taxi from parking on deck - fixed. AI aircraft. Sound update for C-17A. AI aircraft. Aircraft without off-boresight lock ability can do off boresight IR missile launches - corrected. AI aircraft. Su-25T. Corrected wrong suspension of the right ECM pod. Corrected old naming of payloads. AI aircraft. Su-27, fully extended leading edges at wingmen 2, 3, 4 in cruise flight - fixed. AI aircraft. There is a plane in mission with option "No report waypoint pass" in mission. On the next waypoint it performs the Orbit task. The plane sends a message about taking a zone each time if it sends a trigger message using radio. Fixed. AI aircraft. Attacking AIs with GBUs stay on the attack course forever after bomb run - fixed. AI aircraft. A-10C AIs can’t use the whole range of ARC-210 and ARC-186 - fixed AI ships. Some submarines fly when setAltitude is given a negative value - fixed. MP. Scripting: fixed crash on output to log with formatting symbols. MP. There is no notification about the request for permission to join the MP crew in some cases - fixed. MP. Disconnecting from the server when controlling a vehicle in CA causes the vehicle to become immortal - fixed. MP Events. onGameExit event fires 2x on mission_end - fixed MP Events. Base captured events each time a player joins the server - fixed LAU-10 rocket pod weight inconsistency - corrected LAU-10 mass to represent LAU-10D/A. Weapons. GWS-30 Sea Dart doesn't give an RWR warning - fixed. Weapons. ASM Kh-31A does not guide to ships - fixed Weapons. Anti Ship missiles will extrapolate the ship's speed for intercept point calculation. Weapons. Adjusted GWS-30 Sea Dart fuze and guidance parameters. Weapons. R-27R/ER and R-33 missile seekers are synchronized with fighter radar. If target tracking fails, synchronization is lost and lock recovery becomes impossible. Weapons. Kh-31 booster phase corrected. No guidance at booster phase. Weapons. Fixed rate of fire for 127mm and 130mm naval guns. ME. GUI Error when click on group in Suppliers list in some case - fixed. ME. Ground units sometimes jump around and change heading when increasing group size - fixed. The burning time of the destroyed weapons depot is limited to 40-70 minutes instead of infinity. Setting "forestDistanceFactor" to negative value hides all trees - fixed. Fixed inability to use FM modulation to communicate with AI wingmen in some cases. Fixed typos in Encyclopedia texts (RU mainly). Craters from bullet impacts cause FPS drop over time - Fixed. MP. Dedicated server. Crash reports will send in silent mode without host interaction Fixed a core's layout on AMD processors like AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D (core group with lesser L3 cache size now used by IO pool only) Scripting. Added world.removeJunk. Taking volume as first arg, returning amount of deleted objects. Volume declaration is same as for world.searchObjects. Usage: local volS = {id = world.VolumeType.SPHERE,params = {point = {x = -303780,y = 5,z = 629149},radius = 1000}} world.removeJunk(volS) VR Mask in native OpenXR is upside down - fixed F10 map. Draw function setMarkupTypeLine only works once in a mission - fixed Crash on EagleFM - fixed MP. User don't get any notification on connect to a full server - fixed Weapons. Kh-29 missiles loft down after launch - fixed MP. Added a real-time procedure for checking the required modules in mission loading
Falcon has officially returned to MicroProse's line-up (you can read more at "MicroProse is back on the Falcon series"), and as part of this new era we've made a few changes to the classic Falcon packages.
For Falcon AT we have added our classic games launcher, where you can comfortably change different options for a more accurate or nostalgic experience, including the emulated machine speed. We are also working on releasing a proper digital version of the original manual, so stay tuned!
We hope you enjoy these improvements as much as we did making them! We plan to continue improving the experience, so let us know if you have any feedback.
Hey folks! After a busy week in Lyon with last week's F101 training, we were able to resume development and contacts in this slightly shorter week (with a public holiday on Monday). On the agenda: our progress on the building editor, discussions with healthcare professionals, and new furniture!
Moving and modifying objects
We have been thinking about different essential features of the editor, including editing objects placed in the game. Nico developed a first version of the object editing menu, and we improved snapping (you can learn more on our Patreon). We will soon create more video previews to show you all of this, and a video that brings together all these aspects in the coming weeks.
Discussions with psychologists
We also discussed with psychologists about VirtualSociety, and what video games can bring in terms of health and social relationships. This exchange was extremely rich, and they talked to us about many health issues where our project could actually help. We will share all this with you very soon, with a bit of perspective on all these possibilities.
New props
Finally, Jimmy has designed new furniture for the game, which in addition to adding more objects to the game's collection, will allow us to test new customization options, and different issues that we had not yet addressed, such as the placement of sinks (and therefore the on-the-fly creation of a hole in the work surface to place the sink). This week, Jimmy focused on different kitchen furniture, which we will show you soon!
Thank you for your support, and see you next week!
