AirMech Version 16704.0 April 19th, 2013

Parts! You've seen the Parts section of the Shop and been asking about it, and now we are rolling out the first steps of this system. We've had to redo the AirMech customization system to support this, and moved Pets to be their own 3 slots, so you don't have to choose which 3 Flair you use now. Every Variant remembers it's own settings, so you can set each one up exactly how you want and save some time. Not all images have been made to support the new card display, and this will be worked on in the coming patches.

This first round of Parts has been added automatically if you have the Beta Bundle or Prime, and they also have a chance to drop. You will get Parts in different ways in the future, so not all will come with the bundles, and to be honest we're still figuring out the plans for this. We do plan to have a lot of Parts to let you customize your play style.

Note that you need to have the base AirMech class unlocked to customize the Parts or to gain levels. That's right, AirMechs can now gain levels, though it doesn't make them more powerful. It's something that will affect the parts you can use and will be added later. The level tiers may also change, but the XP will not get reset. Just as when we adjusted player levels, we just store total XP for each AirMech and we will do the final balancing when we've collected more data.

Drops are live for everyone! We have finally finished our initial testing and have turned on drops for all players. The way it works for the most common drop (units) you either get a "trial" stack of units, or if you have the unit unlocked already, and an Alternate exists, you can get that. For example if I don't have Bucky, I might get a stack of 5 Buckys as a random drop sometime. If I already own Bucky, then instead of a trial stack I would get something like Bucky Aggressor.

Artillery is fixed! Not how it was before, but actually working as intended, and from this point we should be able to balance things into a nice place. As a "thank you" for your patience, we've had time to get in a new system of destructible path blockers which we have wanted to do for a long time now. We've placed test versions on Sandrim and Crater, and will be using them more in the future once we get the bugs worked out.

Steampunk Neo is here! It's been a long time coming, but we think it's worth the wait. This actually marks the first time we have a "set" of Variants for each AirMech, and we're wondering if we should have a Quest (not Achievement) for completing the set. We could maybe have a little Steampunk themed pet as a reward. It's important to us that it feels like a reward, and not something we're holding back, which is why we wouldn't want it to count like a normal Achievement. Let us know what you think on the forums.

We have some changes this update that might seem small at first, but they will likely have significant impact to the flow of the game. First is the Halftime Heal, which can now be interrupted. Before, there was nothing you could do and many players felt it was pointless to launch an attack before the end of the second Quarter. Now, if you are actively damaging the enemy Fortress, you will interrupt both their heal and their income. So do you attack the enemy, or defend your own Fortress? A critical decision point for sure.

Updates:
- Updated Hangar and Loadout UI
- New Parts Customization System for AirMechs (settings saved per Variant now)
- Earth Day limited time items available: Sunflower Seed item, Lady Gaia Pilot, Earth Day Cake, GreenSea Bomber, Fluorescent Bulb
- Ken's Birthday Cake available for a short time (Happy Birthday Ken!)
- Osprey Healing ability has been updated, can now overcharge units with full health giving them a shield
- Server pings can now be seen for each server on the "Location" menu's global map
- Updated localizations based on latest suggestions from the Steam Translation Server
- New Variant: Steampunk Neo
- Added new Unit and Item alternates for the drop system
- Sandrim and Crater now have alternate paths that can be opened
- Shark Neo and Star Neo Robot modes have been updated
- added pilot: Ultimate Lexi!
- added new unit: Roller - a cousin of the Grinder
- updated Prime Helix visuals
- display friends and max friends count on the social UI
- many additional AirMech variants updated to use new animations
- updated aiming mechanism for Artillery units
- press U key to toggle UI (good for screenshots)
- F2 in spectate will allow freecam
- click-hold-drag when spectating now pans the camera

Balance:
- Osprey healing is now a hard lock and needs to be released to select a new target
- Changes to the way Osprey healing is calculated (not directly comparable to old system)
- Osprey can now apply a "shield" to units by using Repair on them for 2 seonds after they are at max health. The shield will protect 100% against a single attack.
- Lockbox/Safebox/Vaultbox new HP: 1000/2000/4000
- Lockbox/Safebox/Vaultbox new Armor: Medium/Heavy/Heavy
- Lockbox/Safebox/Vaultbox new Cost: 5000/10000/20000
- Lockbox/Safebox/Vaultbox new Build Time: 2/4/6 seconds
- Some Kudos rewards have been slightly increased for Level Up Quests
- Final two Sockets removed from center of Nesthorn
- updated Half time heal mechanic to award credits and fortress HP over time and be interruptible
- fixes to HAAT and Seeker targeting and line of sight checks

Bug Fixes:
- Fixed a bug where some characters wouldn't appear correctly when language was set to Czech
- Fixed some bugs related to units sometimes not firing at other units or AirMechs
- Fixed a bug where neutral artillery units wouldn't appear deployed
- Bug fix for Artillery behavior
- Update displayed DPS to account for units that have a reload time
- Potential crash bug fix in Link unit order logic
- bug fixes to Artillery targeting logic
- fix links and references to 'Helix' AirMech (which used to be named Chopper)
- fix a bug when exiting a map in free camera mode
- collision bug fix for units passing under bridges
- fixed accidentally disabled Steampunk Helix

AirMech Version 15008.0 January 28th, 2013

We're introducing a new feature with this patch--Salvage! Now you can clean up that mess left after a battle and profit from it at the same time. Any units or AirMechs with a repair ability can also use it to Salvage destroyed units for Credits ingame. It's still a bit buggy, and a work in progress, but we're interested to see how this adds to options during gameplay. Do I spend time cleaning up this area for extra income, or press the battle against the enemy? As time is your most valuable resource in AirMech, it opens up interesting choices for the player. Feedback in the forums is welcome!

Faction Charters! They are working now, but be aware that the Faction Charter is consumed when you create the Faction! We do not want a million Factions, and do not want people renaming them. Think very carefully before you create it, because it costs 1000 Diamonds every time you create one. This price is designed so that people only create Factions when they are serious. Don't have the Diamonds? Chances are someone who you want to start the Faction with does, just ask nicely.

Updates:
- New AirMech Variant: Steampunk Saucer
- New Hat Flair: Football Helmet
- New Quests: Power Play
- Faction Creation interface implemented
- Increased the range in which healing units willing prioritize disabling an active ‘Bear Trap’ by.
- Increased the amount of quests that award diamonds.
- Re-added the ‘Help’ button to the pause menu.
- Made some modifications to secure/capture outpost order regarding how units attack outposts they are securing
- Added Salvage System. Destroyed units can be reclaimed by healing units and Osprey.
- Network error messages should now appropriately be translated to their respective languages.
- Added a ‘Waiting’ timer to the matchmaking lobby.
- New badges added for people with gold/silver VIP status.

Balance changes:
- Fixes to overly high Grinder damage. Grinder base melee DPS is now 210.
- Grinder can now be impacted by the ‘Stasis’ effect, reducing damage by half. Normally this effect only applies reduced attack speed, but due to how the Grinder functions it made more sense to work towards damage instead of attack speed to achieve a similar result.
- Grinder will no longer damage stasis mines/bear traps.
- Modification of neutral units on Duel and Nesthorn
- make map neutral units not abductable
- add a short radar ‘unjam’ range on all AirMechs

Bug Fixes:
- Fixed a bug with the ‘Tomcat’ Striker variant preview displaying detached wings.
- Cleaned up text display at lower resolutions.
- Fixed the explosion effect on the creeper detonate animation.
- Fixed the alignment of the version number display in game that was trailing off the right side of the screen.
- Hats should now fit correctly on all Warthog variants.
- Fixes to CPU lag detection (previously referred to as FPS lag)
- Bug fix for spectators sometimes stuck in game at the end of a match
- Bug fix to Saucer’s increased abduction rate on ability level up (wasn’t working)

AirMech Version 14829.0 January 19th, 2013

Some nice fixes and optimizations for you in this patch! In video settings, you now have a slider to adjust destruction effects, since the physics can cause performance issues on lower end computers. Definitely pull this down if you find Survival games with lots of destroyed units slows you down.

The Crater map continues to be modified for gameplay, and now features two additional Outposts placed between the Fortress and the middle. The result is that it makes the map instantly feel "smaller" since there's less distance to travel between safe spots.

We had an unfortunate bug with the FPS kick code being disabled. That is fixed, so if someone is lagging your game due to FPS, you can tell them to lower their destruction detail settings, and then kick them as needed. Sorry about the laggy games you had to endure!

Updates:
- Modifications to 'Crater' map - new outposts
- New setting to change the detail of destruction pieces (if you have framerate issues in game, try turning this down)
- Added 'Badges' to collection UI - drag from collection to Chat window to activate
- New options to filter games on the Browse Menu
- New feature to confirm video changes made in the Settings Menu
- Localization support for Main Menu UI buttons
- Updated localizations with latest suggestions from the STS

Balance changes:
- Armadillo now costs 2600 instead of 2400 to build

Bug Fixes:
- Fix for bug where the vote kick buttons wouldn’t show up

AirMech Version 14740.0 January 14th, 2013

As of this patch, if you do not have Silver VIP status or higher, you will earn diamonds from daily quests as if you had VIP status, but they will be unusable until obtaining Silver VIP or higher. Since we changed how outpost capturing works a few patches back, we inadvertently rendered the probe basically useless. In this patch we have gone ahead and re-armed it so it can once again fill its intended role. We have also added a really cool feature allowing infantry units to be able to dodge larger caliber shots like tank shells and artillery shots which should give them a bit more of an edge weaving through enemy lines en route to outposts. You'll also notice a new abduction sound when the Saucer is attempting to make off with your tanks and/or prized livestock. We've had a lot of good feedback on the new Crater map and consequently have been able to address a few of the lingering bugs, but be sure to keep your eye out and let us know if you see any 'funny business'. Here is the full breakdown of the changes this patch:

Updates:
- New unit: Jammer Truck. (Currently in testing phase, but available to all)
- Artillery now require having radar sight on their target(s).
- New Ultimate Pilot: Ultimate Kira!
- Added Pending VIP diamonds feature. If you aren’t VIP, you can earn diamonds which will display on the upper left, and unlock when you become Silver VIP or higher.
- Changed VIP quests to be redeemable by anyone, with Locked VIP diamonds as the reward.
- Added a Filter to Unit selection dialogue.
- Added an additional Frankfurt Germany server.
- Probes have been re-armed.
- Added system for Infantry units to be able to have a chance to 'dodge' larger caliber shots, like tank shells. (will be tweaking)
- Added option to disable the mouse wheel from toggling the build menu.
- Continued work on Gamepad compatibility in menus (work in progress).
- Some fixes to spectator camera movement.
- Sound added to Saucer abduction effect.
Bug Fixes:
- Network desync bug fix regarding AI players and using a controller.
- Fixed a crash bug in the game related to using the game location markers.
- Fixed bad creep spawn locations on Crater.
- Fixed a bug with pathing on Sandrim.
- Fixed missing abduction sound on Pumpkin Saucer.
- Updates to improve timing/display of vote kick buttons.
- Fixed a bug with neutral artillery on Sandrim causing desyncs.

Patch Notes for AirMech Beta Version 14553.0

For this update we are introducing a new map: 'Crater', as well as adding the first features of the faction system to the game. Both are in testing phases so be sure to shoot any feedback you have to us on the forums or Steam chat. We also added a couple changes to matchmaking which should minimize the possibility of getting into games that are sure to have higher than ideal pings by binding players to region specific server groups. There are also some optimizations to how the game handles player connections that should reduce the chance of lag in several situations. See the full changelog below:

Updates:

- New Map: Crater (still in the balancing phase)
- The tutorial has been updated, the first of many changes to learning for new players.
- Matchmaking is now done by grouping players in the same server region determined by the country you are playing from to prevent higher pings in game due to distance.
- Made some optimizations that should reduce situations that cause lag.
- Updated Localizations with latest content from the Steam Translation Service
- New Faction Quest: 'United in Combat'
- New 'Buy Diamonds' tile in the store.
- New option to purchase Silver VIP in the store.
- New '+' and '-' buttons added two switch between 1 and 3 days boosts in the store.
- Improved Toy Angel visuals.

Bug Fixes:

- Fixed a bug where enemy AirMechs and units could target a cloaked Neo.
- Fixed a bug allowing the booster trails to show on Neo while cloaked.
- Fixes for potential chat text corruption.

AirMech "Big & Scary" Update
Halloween has come to AirMech! Along with it, a major overhaul of the UI as we move closer to full open beta on Steam. A lot of balance changes, new Global chat, the start of Friends and Faction systems, almost too much to list!

Halloween Treats
The Pumpkin King appears! Our most outrageous AirMech Variant so far, the "Pumpkin" Saucer transforms into a giant monster with vines for legs and fiery eyes. As with all of our Variants they are just cosmetic alterations of the base AirMechs, but prove to be very popular collector's items and are only offered once a year. Also available are Halloween Pets: Ghost Buddy, Jack O' Lantern, and Vampire Bat. There's also "Pumpkin" Bombs and a Candy Bucket item. All items will be gone after November 6th, so get them while you can!

User Interface 3.0
A significant rework of the UI has gone in which combines elements from Dota 2 and Starcraft 2 that we like, and provides a solid foundation for the next set of features we want to add. The most functional change is that Global Chat has a reserved spot in the UI so it can always remain open in the menus. There's also Faction and Party tabs added, with functionality coming soon. As we move everything over to the new UI we will have some bugs and missing features, but rest assured we are hard at work to get everything done.

New Referral System
We really like it when people bring others to AirMech and have wanted to make this easier and more reliable. You'll see a major change with the new UI for players who have not set their referrer yet, which should greatly increase the number of people getting credit. Many games only let you set a referrer when you sign up, but we let you set it up to level 5 and have also increased the referral rewards. When you set your referrer, you get 1000 Kudos, and the person who you listed will be able to get Diamond rewards from the very first referral. We think it's win-win for everyone!

Ultimate Samson Awakens
If you are lucky you might see Ultimate Samson make an appearance in Global Chat. When he shows up, he will ask that you /roll for a chance to win Diamonds! This has been a lot of fun and are looking at ways to expand this system. You might see other AirMech personalities show up in chat to give you some tips in response to certain questions.

Patch Notes for AirMech Beta version 13071

- New Variant: "Pumpkin" Saucer (Halloween)
- New Unit: "Pumpkin" Bombs (Halloween)
- New Item: Candy Bucket (Halloween)
- New Pet: Ghost Buddy (Halloween)
- New Pet: Jack O' Lantern (Halloween)
- New Pet: Vampire Bat (Halloween)
- New Variant: "Deep Sea" Osprey (included with Beta Bundle)
- New Menu System
- More Matchmaking Options
- Global Chat now active
- Referral System Overhaul
- Twin Peaks map has been reworked
- New Server Locations: Manchester (UK), Frankfurt (Germany), Johannesburg (South Africa)
- AirMechs now do 75% damage to units
- Preview of "Power System" which will be like upkeep and replace Unit Cap
- Fog of war displayed correctly on Mini-Map
- Bunkers added to Outposts for Infantry defense

We are planing on moving to Open Beta on Steam soon (Valve Time) but for now you can still get early access by purchasing either the AirMech Beta Bundle or the Steam Starter Pack. Even though we are in Beta, we are not wiping or resetting any content, just ask any of our Alpha testers! We're happy for people to gain some advantage by playing early and helping us test, so jump on in!

AirMech Beta Update + Moon Festival Event

New Units, Matchmaking, and a special seasonal Event highlight the most recent AirMech update. Still in closed Beta testing, players can gain early access by purchasing the Beta Bundle which unlocks much of the content and is retained after full release of the game.


Three new Units have been added: Turtle (walker), Aegis (turret), and Grinder (melee tank). Each one introduces new strategic options on the battlefield allowing players to develop more specialized roles. All new Units are included with the Beta Bundle, and will be added to your account the next time you log in.


A couple new Ultimates have been added as well. Ultimates are non-PvP variations of existing Units or Pilots which amplify their abilities to extreme levels. They were originally created as a response to Solo mode players who enjoyed having an advantage, and didn't mind that they could not use them against human opponents, so we thought this was a great solution. Ultimate Erik gains XP ingame at 150% the normal rate, giving him usually a 2x advantage in levels. Ultimate Money Maker generates credits ingame at 2x the normal rate, but it otherwise the same.


The first track from Front Line Assembly has been added as menu music! As a refresher, we teamed up with Front Line Assembly to create an original soundtrack for AirMech, which will be available for purchase on November 13th. We will be integrating the music over time by breaking down the tracks and making proper loops of everything. The music was authored with this in mind and there's a really wide range of styles in the album. It is a great finishing touch to the game!


It's Moon Festival time! We wanted to do something fun for the holiday so we are rolling out our "cake" social Achievements. Through October 4th, the Mooncake Item is available in your inventory and while it gives no bonuses, it does give you the Cake buff and makes you eligible to "share cake" with other players doing the same. You can only get credit for sharing cakes with Matchmaking.


Matchmaking! This is a big step for AirMech, the first implementation of matchmaking. Right now we limit games to 2v2 PvP games so we can keep games cycling fast and gather data for our next steps. We're finding bugs, fixing them, and we really appreciate everyone's help by using the Matchmaking system. We also have our first pass of Ranking added to the game. Playing matchmade games will enter you in this system and your score will be modified based on an Elo system. Both of these areas will evolve quickly over the coming weeks and we love getting feedback on them!


Here's a breakdown of changes for AirMech Beta version 12311:


- New Unit: Turtle (slow walking robot, retracts to protective mode)

- New Unit: Aegis Turret (shoots down missiles/rockets)

- New Unit: Grinder Tank (modified industrial driller)

- New Pilot: Ultimate Erik (Solo games only)

- New Unit: Ultimate Money Maker (Solo games only)

- New Pet: Husky Pup (designed by HuskyStarcraft)

- New Pet: Moon Rabbit (limited time only)

- New Achievements: Cake Sharing

- New flair items: Magenta and Cyan colored contrails

- Trial AirMechs/Units/Pilots changed around

- Grinder turret renamed to “Gatty”

- Contrail Flair now wider

- New music when in the Main Menu (first track from Front Line Assembly)

- New Loadout Slots - now more, work in all modes, can be renamed

AirMech Version 11669



Updates:

- New Warthog Variant: Pirate

- Switched guns/armor passive abilities of the Striker and Warthog

- Striker now has Air-to-Air Homing Rockets Ability when in Air Mode (replaces the Air Shield Ability)

- Striker missile base damage set to 60

- New Collection UI that shows all the items in your inventory (under the Social tab)

- New Gameplay tips appear when waiting to respawn

- Stasis fields now affect grounded AirMechs

- Creep spawns from Level 0-2 now have Light Armor. Level 3 Creeps have Medium Armor

- New Guardian Ability icon

- Made self destruct blast damage not hurt allied team objects



Bug Fixes:

- Fixed the description numbers of the gun passive ability

- Fix for the respawn cooldown timer and gameplay tips displaying when spectating a game

- Fix for simultaneous respawning messing up respawn display counters

- Fixed a bug where the promo images would sometimes appear over the lobby ui

- Fixed a bug where Boomers would attempt to go after mines and CTF core units

- Fixed a bug where Boomers would stutter when team had map control

- Fixed a bug where AI would attempt to destroy mines and CTF cores

- Fixed a bug where the player’s AirMech would get stuck firing if they clicked on the power station/outpost icons

- Fixed a bug where the main weapon audio would sometimes play over the secondary ability audio

AirMech Version 11507

Updates:
- New Unit: Stasis Mine
- New Flair Item: Missile Party Streamers
- New Flair Item: Red tracers
- Last Stand map has been updated
- Added a Random Map option
- Reduced MoneyMaker credit production and kill XP by -25%
- Updated smoke trails and particle effects
- Added weapon/armor level display for units on the Customize Army UI
- Player must be Level 10 to unlock Husky pilot
- Slight model tweaks to Warthog
- Small tweak to Osprey NVision air model
- Update infantry animation state play rates to respect the 'slow move' effect entering outposts
- Update animation speed state when 'slow move' state changes (polish fix)
Bug Fixes:
- Fixed a bug in CTF regarding picking up your own core at your base
- Fixed a bug where units would sometimes not take the correct order
- Fixed bugs related to the Survival spectator ui
- Fixed a bug related to the spectator freecam
- Fixed a bug where in AirMechs would appear to fire with their arms lowered
- Fixed bug with Spiral map not ending after wave 9

AirMech Version 11330

Updates:
- New Osprey Variant: N-Vision
- New Pilot: Husky
- New Item: Red Tracers
- New Survival Map: Last Stand
- Slight buff to Warthog Air/Ground damage
- Doubled Honeypot supply range
- Slight Bucky buff for anti-tank purposes. Range was increased from 20 to 23
- Reduce AirMech repair/recharge rate in CTF mode when carrying the Core
- Reduce Air damage range falloff
- Tweaks to Survival map Wave 7,8,9 and general rebalancing on Spiral and Survival maps
- Updated Missile trail effects
- Flair shot colors now cycle if you have more than 1 equipped
- Updated translations from Steam Translation System
- Added “/mute” and “/unmute” commands

Bug Fixes:

- Fixed bugs related to Warthog ground Airmech targeting
- Various collision bugfixes for unit projectiles
- Fix target ranging bug on attack fort order
- Fixed a bug related to Team Color not showing up correctly when coming out of network game
- Fixed a bug where AIs could get locked in place, doing nothing, trying to pickup a built unit
- Fixed a bug where the Bomber's “Mantis Strike” could be shot down
- Fix spectator pan keys to use correct key bindings, and minor cleanup to Spectator UI