Arcen Games

General Category => AI War Classic => : x4000 January 27, 2011, 11:42:00 PM

: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: x4000 January 27, 2011, 11:42:00 PM
Original: http://arcengames.blogspot.com/2011/01/ai-war-light-of-spire-expansion-now.html

The Light of the Spire
Arcen Games is proud to announce the release of AI War: The Light of the Spire, the game's biggest expansion ever. Available now for $10 through ArcenGames.com and coming soon to digital distributors.

The expansion is packed full of new additions.  The "Fallen Spire" campaign brings in-game linear story elements to the title for the first time, and culminates in a whole new way to win. Players with minutes instead of hours should take to the new Defender Mode, offering bite-sized timed games against crazy AI aggression.

Light of the Spire also brings 180 new ships, including the powerful "Spirecraft" vessel class which stands as the second largest unit class in the game. New music from composer Pablo Vega, new AI types, map types, bonus ship classes, minor factions and quite a bit more packs the expansion to the brim. Prepare for a new war!

More information and a trailer can be found here, along with a comprehensive feature list: http://www.arcengames.com/w/index.php/aiwar-spire



AI War 5.0
Arriving alongside the LotS expansion is AI War 5.0, a massive update free to owners of the base game. Version 5.0 refines the title by taking the best of all past versions and blending them into the definitive AI War experience. While the game will continue to grow and evolve, 5.0 now serves as the foundation for the future.

With this update, nearly every combat ship in the game has been rebalanced in an effort to integrate all the new units added over the past year. Golems have been completely revamped and the AI have received major intelligence upgrades such as more proactive retreats, a network of core shield generators, and the new "stalking" mechanic where it lies in wait until the player is at their most vulnerable.

Players should also be pleased with significant adjustments to overall difficulty and the shortening of the early part of the game -- allowing you to "get to the good part" faster. Not to mention tons of performance improvements, as well as more of a general accessibility regardless of what level of player you are.

Interested parties can read all the additions, improvements and changes in massive detail here: http://arcengames.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=AI_War_-_5.000_Release

Updated Demos
Demos of both AI War 5.0 and Light of the Spire can be downloaded here: http://www.arcengames.com/w/index.php/aiwar-downloads

The demo can be unlocked into the full version of the game with a purchased license key.

About Arcen Games
Arcen Games entered the PC indie scene in 2009 with their cult classic AI War: Fleet Command, which was named the 40th best-reviewed PC game of the year by MetaCritic.  Their second year was a busy one, seeing the release of The Zenith Remnant, the first full expansion for AI War; Tidalis, an innovative block-based puzzle with casual appeal and hardcore depth; and Children of Neinzul, a micro-expansion for AI War with all profits benefiting the Child's Play charity, of which Arcen is a platinum sponsor.

Light of the Spire is Arcen's first release of 2011, but fans of the company are also excited about the upcoming procedural adventure game known as A Valley Without Wind.  Originally a one-man shop, Arcen Games has grown to have half a dozen part-time or fulltime contributors to its various titles.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Invelios January 27, 2011, 11:47:43 PM
Congratulations on the release of 5.0 and LotS!

So, will installing the LotS install from that link give me the music if I already have the beta of LotS, without messing my install up? Just want to make sure I don't mess up my current install.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: x4000 January 27, 2011, 11:54:49 PM
Thank you!

So, will installing the LotS install from that link give me the music if I already have the beta of LotS, without messing my install up? Just want to make sure I don't mess up my current install.

Yep, that's exactly what to do -- that won't hurt anything, and will give you the music.  If you happen to be missing any image files from the beta period, it will fix those for you, too, but it won't touch the actual executable or anything like that.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Invelios January 28, 2011, 12:02:10 AM
Thanks for the quick reply! I can't wait to hear the new music! I'm downloading the installer as fast as I can, but my college's internet isn't exactly speedy. Hopefully it downloads before I need to go to sleep. I probably shouldn't let an AI War update end up making me sleep deprived for my 8 AM Discrete Structures class.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: x4000 January 28, 2011, 12:03:18 AM
Probably good to get rest, yeah. :)  If you want to hear part of the LotS title track, check out the trailer above -- that's one of my favorites, and it gets stuck in my head for days at a time, heh.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Kemeno January 28, 2011, 12:30:30 AM
This is just awesome.  :D

You guys put a ton of work into this expansion, and you have so much to show for it. Every iteration of AI War that I've played has brought more variety and more fun to the table, and the builds leading up to 5.0 have been no exception. I can't wait to really dive into the final release!

The new music (at least the tracks I've listened to so far - there's quite a bit of new audio in there!) is spectacular. Pablo has done a really fantastic job here. It fits in so seamlessly with the rest of the AI War music, while at the same time it has its own personality, setting it apart from the music of the original game and the first two expansions. And of course, the spire ship art direction and the fallen spire plot are just totally cool. And... well...

Really, theres just too much new stuff in this version to even begin to comment on what I like best, so I'm just going to go off, round up some friends, and play it. ;) Thanks again for all the hard work!
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: BobTheJanitor January 28, 2011, 12:32:41 AM
If I could, I would bake a cake. This being the internet, I grabbed you one off of Google image search instead.

(http://i.imgur.com/aZqsS.jpg)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Echo35 January 28, 2011, 12:35:26 AM
If I could, I would bake a cake. This being the internet, I grabbed you one off of Google image search instead.

Just lay down and assume the party submission position.

Also, YAY ON 5.0 AND LotS!
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: TechSY730 January 28, 2011, 01:04:59 AM
If I could, I would bake a cake. This being the internet, I grabbed you one off of Google image search instead.

Just lay down and assume the party submission position.

Also, YAY ON 5.0 AND LotS!

Wow, not even one post before the reference. Well, at least it is not that line.   :D
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Spikey00 January 28, 2011, 01:13:53 AM
Congratulations, Chris, Keith, Pablo, and staff! 
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: KingIsaacLinksr January 28, 2011, 01:33:59 AM
Congrats on the release!

Now the long-wait-for-Steam-to-put-in-CD-keys-grrr. 

King
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: unclean January 28, 2011, 02:07:48 AM
Congrats guys, can't wait to play again!

also:
The combined release notes for those 53 betas total over 360 kilobytes of text.

Dear god, you beat 4.0!
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: lovekawakawaii January 28, 2011, 03:32:01 AM
Congrats
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Shardz January 28, 2011, 03:57:35 AM
Congratulations on yet another major milestone in the series!
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Ozymandiaz January 28, 2011, 04:23:38 AM
Congrats!

I'd bake you a cake, if I knew how to bake :)
(Edit, see someone beat me to that line :P so instead  i will eat cake myself when I load up next game ;) )
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: spillblood January 28, 2011, 05:02:11 AM
Congrats! Do the expansions (Zenith, Children) also get upgrades like they did in Version 4.0? Can't use the in-game updater because I have no Internet at home, so I need to know if the downloadable manual expansions get upgrades. By the way, nice redesign at your homepage!
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Colonel J January 28, 2011, 07:33:22 AM
Holy cow, I knew a lot of work had gone into the 'refinement and polish' to turn 4.0 into 5.0 but when you look at the massive release notes and see the length and depth of it all in one place....it's staggering. I can't think of another game that's continually working this hard to keep evolving and find the best possible experience for its players.

Right then, before I load up 5.0 I just need to finish and win the endgame of my early 4.0beta campaign that's still using the un-nerfed MLRS turrets  ;D..I want at bask in at least one gratuitous win before I go back to business as usual and all the rebalancing starts thrashing my weak skills...
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: getter77 January 28, 2011, 07:52:21 AM
Great to see yet another comprehensive update Arcen Team---starting the new year off strong.   Here's to a successful 2011 for all, and to the interesting amalgam that A Valley Without Wind is sounding like it has become----plus the not incredibly distant(Couple months beats the half a year I was suspecting...) calendar wise chance to pre-order!   ;)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Salamander January 28, 2011, 08:01:10 AM
Congrats on the release!

I'd give you a screenshot of my Minecraft cake (I just got the game 3 weeks ago and I can tell you it's evil!) but I'm at work and that cake is partially eaten.  :P

Looking forward to trying out the new changes tonight.  ;D
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: keith.lamothe January 28, 2011, 09:17:14 AM
Thank you, everyone, we're very happy with 5.0/LotS as well :)

Congrats! Do the expansions (Zenith, Children) also get upgrades like they did in Version 4.0? Can't use the in-game updater because I have no Internet at home, so I need to know if the downloadable manual expansions get upgrades. By the way, nice redesign at your homepage!

There were some changes to stuff specific to TZR and CoN (golems redone, Hybrid logic change a lot, rebalancing of all fleet ships, etc) but that's all included in 5.0 :)  No need to get separate files for TZR or CoN.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: spillblood January 28, 2011, 11:25:38 AM
Thanks for the answer. Man, I definitely have to play a full campaign at last. And I'll get the Light of the Spire expansion as soon as I've got enough money.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Red Spot January 28, 2011, 12:47:23 PM
Sweet, starting the countdown (fingers crossed it will be on steam by next weekend).  :)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: x4000 January 28, 2011, 12:50:35 PM
Thanks so much, all!

It should be on Impulse and GamersGate today, I believe (actually, on GamersGate the beta preorders have been there for months), and on Steam I don't yet have any word, but I'm hoping sometime next week.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Vinraith January 28, 2011, 02:18:14 PM
Looks absolutely brilliant guys. Congratulations on yet another outstanding release, I hope the sales validate the tremendous amount of work and care you guys have put into this. That is to say, I hope you make enough money that swimming in it Scrooge McDuck style is a viable option. :)

Looking forward to AVWW, just let me know when I can preorder.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Zhaine January 28, 2011, 02:18:47 PM
Congratulations, can't wait to play with the new toys :)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: BobTheJanitor January 28, 2011, 02:34:15 PM
My only complaint is that during the 15 minutes I had to play last night after getting everything downloaded, I didn't hear the new music. Please instruct the random music selection to cater to my whims.  :)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: keith.lamothe January 28, 2011, 02:40:07 PM
My only complaint is that during the 15 minutes I had to play last night after getting everything downloaded, I didn't hear the new music. Please instruct the random music selection to cater to my whims.  :)
You can instruct it yourself by modifying which ogg files are present in RuntimeData/Music/Ingame/ and RuntimeData/Expansions/1/Music/Ingame (and 2 and 3) :)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: SalientBlue January 28, 2011, 03:40:42 PM
My only complaint is that during the 15 minutes I had to play last night after getting everything downloaded, I didn't hear the new music. Please instruct the random music selection to cater to my whims.  :)

Check if your install actually has the music.  I think something in the installer is broken, because I didn't get the music when I upgraded.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: BobTheJanitor January 28, 2011, 03:46:55 PM
Check if your install actually has the music.  I think something in the installer is broken, because I didn't get the music when I upgraded.
Did you get the one off the site? If you use the in game installer it won't have the music, you actually have to download the full installer and overwrite the existing folder. It won't remove any of your saves.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: SalientBlue January 28, 2011, 04:24:34 PM
Check if your install actually has the music.  I think something in the installer is broken, because I didn't get the music when I upgraded.
Did you get the one off the site? If you use the in game installer it won't have the music, you actually have to download the full installer and overwrite the existing folder. It won't remove any of your saves.

Ah, I see.  Thanks.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: TechSY730 January 28, 2011, 06:09:00 PM
I'm a little sad no one seemed to have noticed my little bit of silliness. Guess I sort of have to ruin it and point it out explicitly.

http://www.arcengames.com/forums/index.php/topic,36.msg70455.html#msg70455
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Echo35 January 28, 2011, 06:55:35 PM
I'm a little sad no one seemed to have noticed my little bit of silliness. Guess I sort of have to ruin it and point it out explicitly.

http://www.arcengames.com/forums/index.php/topic,36.msg70455.html#msg70455

Ahh, the good old days. ::)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: warwon January 28, 2011, 07:34:49 PM
I hate to ask but anyway you guys can throw a monkey at Steam and push the patch for the weekend?

please I give cake
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: TechSY730 January 28, 2011, 07:46:08 PM
I hate to ask but anyway you guys can throw a monkey at Steam and push the patch for the weekend?

please I give cake

Sorry, but cake don't pay the bills. (unless you are some sort of psycho AI ;))
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: warwon January 28, 2011, 07:57:47 PM
i just want the patch sniff, sad panda
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: TechSY730 January 28, 2011, 08:02:36 PM
i just want the patch sniff, sad panda

You can always get it off the website. Just make sure to choose the steam directory for AI war, not the default path.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Red Spot January 28, 2011, 08:05:17 PM
There are several places to get it, keys being pirated should at this stage not really be an issue, so you shouldnt really have to be worried about registering it at steam later on. However, if you, like me, prefer a method payment that isnt offered on the other places where you can get the DLC you are a bit out of luck for the moment.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Echo35 January 28, 2011, 10:45:42 PM
I hate to ask but anyway you guys can throw a monkey at Steam and push the patch for the weekend?

please I give cake

You can get it through the in-game updater though.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: BobTheJanitor January 29, 2011, 12:10:34 AM
You can get the expansion through the in game updater, and if you want the music, get the download from here: http://arcengames.com/w/index.php/aiwar-downloads

Make sure to scroll down to the LotS download section, and not just download the base game again. (Like I did at first)

Edit: Pwnd by dev!
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: x4000 January 29, 2011, 12:16:19 AM
The in-game updated no loner includes the expansion, FYI. That's just something we did during beta (as with past expansions).
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Burnstreet January 29, 2011, 07:54:22 AM
News: Free DLC Campaign in progress for AI War! - AI War 4.0 Released
See top.
The Arcen Forum does not yet know it's 5.0 time.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: x4000 January 29, 2011, 11:04:05 AM
News: Free DLC Campaign in progress for AI War! - AI War 4.0 Released
See top.
The Arcen Forum does not yet know it's 5.0 time.

I actually don't know how to change that in SMF.  :-[
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Red Spot January 29, 2011, 11:21:33 AM
People here (http://www.bzuniverse.com/forum/index.php/topic,12639.0.html) will probably know :)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: x4000 January 29, 2011, 11:35:11 AM
Thanks. :)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Red Spot January 29, 2011, 12:00:58 PM
Concerning the download links on your site, I know I am nitpicking here ...

Every download has the links as followed:
-Gamershell
-Atomic Gamer
-MediaFire

However the last expansion disrespects this, and puts Atomic Gamer on top (which I do not recommend as you do not have to wait as long for your download on Gamershell <- recommend using them).

http://arcengames.com/w/index.php/aiwar-downloads


edit: Just to have it said (read the message between the lines), I just logged into paypal, which I said to myself I would not ...  ::)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: c4sc4 January 29, 2011, 01:30:15 PM
Ooh, I love the LotS title music, so awesome.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: warwon January 29, 2011, 03:02:21 PM
meh I'm not waiting.

I bought the new exp pack.

installed the exp pack on my steam install, updated to 5.0.

Added all my cd keys, worked like a charm.

Thanks guys.

: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: keith.lamothe January 29, 2011, 03:04:13 PM
Thanks for the support :)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: getter77 January 29, 2011, 08:23:14 PM
Wait, so just to be clear, those of us that pre-ordered and kept with the auto-updater up to and including now being on 5.0 need to download the LoS standalone and install it into the our existing AI War directory and just re-enter our serials again to get the fresh ingame music right?   ???
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: keith.lamothe January 29, 2011, 08:25:42 PM
Wait, so just to be clear, those of us that pre-ordered and kept with the auto-updater up to and including now being on 5.0 need to download the LoS standalone and install it into the our existing AI War directory and just re-enter our serials again to get the fresh ingame music right?   ???
That's correct, the auto-updates never included the music (it's quite a lot of bandwidth).  The LotS installer includes the music.

Edit: sorry, didn't notice the part about the serial numbers, you won't have to re-enter those.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: TechSY730 January 29, 2011, 08:37:22 PM
Wait, so just to be clear, those of us that pre-ordered and kept with the auto-updater up to and including now being on 5.0 need to download the LoS standalone and install it into the our existing AI War directory and just re-enter our serials again to get the fresh ingame music right?   ???

Except you shouldn't have to renter your serial numbers. That data is not overridden by a re-install. At least it didn't for me when I did it.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: c4sc4 January 29, 2011, 08:54:21 PM
Wait, so just to be clear, those of us that pre-ordered and kept with the auto-updater up to and including now being on 5.0 need to download the LoS standalone and install it into the our existing AI War directory and just re-enter our serials again to get the fresh ingame music right?   ???

Except you shouldn't have to renter your serial numbers. That data is not overridden by a re-install. At least it didn't for me when I did it.
Yeah, even after I installed both the original AI War (I got too eager on the download page and downloaded the wrong thing) and LotS over my steam version, I didn't have to reenter serials.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: keith.lamothe January 29, 2011, 09:00:09 PM
Yea, as long as your (ai war path)/RuntimeData/settings.dat file is unchanged (and the installer won't touch it), your serial number info is still there.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: getter77 January 29, 2011, 09:28:33 PM
Right on, seem to have it all situated now---heard a new track on opening so that must mean it all worked out.  Thanks for the clarification!

(That...and I spent the last few minutes scratching my head when it wasn't working...ya know...before it dawned on me that I'd accidentally installed it into the old AI War 3.0 folder I still had sitting on the drive for some insane reason.   :P  )
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Echo35 January 29, 2011, 10:12:29 PM
Yea, as long as your (ai war path)/RuntimeData/settings.dat file is unchanged (and the installer won't touch it), your serial number info is still there.

I just installed mine, and the new music is AWESOME. Further reinforcing my opinion that LotS is the best expansion out of all 3.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: TechSY730 January 29, 2011, 11:04:41 PM
I agree with everyone about the music. I especially like how many of the songs have a shared motif, oftentimes the one introduced in their respective expansion's title theme. However, even with these shared parts, they still sound like different songs. Pablo, if you still visit these forums, I applaud your skill. :)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Panopticon January 30, 2011, 02:29:26 AM
I've been playing a Fallen Spire/Roaming Neinzul Enclave/Dyson Sphere game though the day. Intense. So intense. And I haven't even run into the Dyson Sphere yet. I love how you guys implemented the Fallen Spire faction.

So I just wanted to stop by and say that this is the best, smoothest release of an AI War update and expansion I've seen yet. So congratulations to Arcen, you guys are amazing, and especially the core community that worked so hard on testing and making suggestions. All the hard work and love shows.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: mecharm January 30, 2011, 11:03:52 AM
/me raises cup in honour of Arcen
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: keith.lamothe January 30, 2011, 02:44:19 PM
Thanks everyone, glad to hear y'all are enjoying it :)

I love how you guys implemented the Fallen Spire faction.
I had a lot of fun writing it :)  It will probably see a bit of refinement fairly soon since some folks found it sufficiently "grindy" that they didn't want to play it a second time; I just didn't realize that was still a common feeling until it was too late in the dev cycle to change much.  So if you have any particular feedback on what you liked and didn't like about it, that could be very helpful.
: AI Spire Shield Guard Post
: Not Sure January 31, 2011, 01:51:59 AM
"AI Spire Shield Guard Post Mark..." supposed to exist in the licensed base game 5.0? I have the expansions installed, but have not purchased licenses for those yet. They are deactivated in my game and were deactivated when I started it. Just noticed that.
: Re: AI Spire Shield Guard Post
: zebramatt January 31, 2011, 03:25:11 AM
"AI Spire Shield Guard Post Mark..." supposed to exist in the licensed base game 5.0?

Yes.
: Re: AI Spire Shield Guard Post
: keith.lamothe January 31, 2011, 08:59:52 AM
"AI Spire Shield Guard Post Mark..." supposed to exist in the licensed base game 5.0? I have the expansions installed, but have not purchased licenses for those yet. They are deactivated in my game and were deactivated when I started it. Just noticed that.
Yes, just like the "Spire Starship" unit that's been in the game since before the first expansion.  These guard posts were added later, but are part of the base game.

There's also a few Zenith and Neinzul units that are base-game.
: Re: AI Spire Shield Guard Post
: Not Sure February 03, 2011, 09:07:05 AM
"AI Spire Shield Guard Post Mark..." supposed to exist in the licensed base game 5.0? I have the expansions installed, but have not purchased licenses for those yet. They are deactivated in my game and were deactivated when I started it. Just noticed that.
Yes, just like the "Spire Starship" unit that's been in the game since before the first expansion.  These guard posts were added later, but are part of the base game.

There's also a few Zenith and Neinzul units that are base-game.
Thanks for the heads up.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: fbgbt February 03, 2011, 10:26:16 AM
Any idea when Spire is hitting Steam?
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: x4000 February 03, 2011, 10:38:08 AM
Any idea when Spire is hitting Steam?

Yes -- I have heard back from them now. Looks like LotS and 5.0 will be coming on the 14th to steam. It's a ways off, I know, but at least it's a concrete date now! Thats just what worked with their schedule, given that I couldn't tell them in advance when the stuff would be ready. They were all ready to go two weeks ago, and then we hit that desync issue and missed that window; now other games are keeping them busy.

Anyway, so don't be mad at steam, it's as much my fault as theirs. Most devs leave a lot of lag time between finishing a product and releasing it for this very reason. But I always want to get it into players' hands as soon as possible, you know me. That has a lot of plusses, but it's also hard on our distributors, particularly when we run into an unexpected last minute delay (I believe this was the first that was THAT last minute, though).
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: zebramatt February 03, 2011, 11:15:35 AM
Just in time for Valentine's Day!
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: x4000 February 03, 2011, 11:20:26 AM
Indeed!
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: keith.lamothe February 03, 2011, 11:20:33 AM
Just in time for Valentine's Day!
On the wall is a comic strip of a computer, a man, and a very angry woman.  The man is sitting at the computer.  The woman is glaring at the man.  The man is saying "but honey, it's co-op!".  The woman is striking down the man.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: x4000 February 03, 2011, 11:24:58 AM
Just in time for Valentine's Day!
On the wall is a comic strip of a computer, a man, and a very angry woman.  The man is sitting at the computer.  The woman is glaring at the man.  The man is saying "but honey, it's co-op!".  The woman is striking down the man.

The computer is burning.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: keith.lamothe February 03, 2011, 11:27:04 AM
Alternatively: The woman is now sitting at the computer.

;D
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: x4000 February 03, 2011, 11:28:05 AM
Looking at an engraving of an elephant? :)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: zoutzakje February 03, 2011, 11:54:52 AM
feb the 14th.... still long to wait lol, darn it :D
ah well, at least now I won't have to look on steam every hour to see if the expansion is there yet lol
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: fbgbt February 03, 2011, 02:09:27 PM
Heh, it's good to know that a date's been set, thanks!
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: x4000 February 03, 2011, 02:09:45 PM
You bet!
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Colonel J February 03, 2011, 02:15:11 PM
Any idea when Spire is hitting Steam?

Yes -- I have heard back from them now. Looks like LotS and 5.0 will be coming on the 14th to steam. It's a ways off, I know, but at least it's a concrete date now!

We must remember too that Steam is run by Valve, who operate on Valve Time (http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Valve_Time)  ;)

: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: keith.lamothe February 03, 2011, 02:17:27 PM
Well, Valve Time hasn't applied to their figuring out release dates for our stuff, or it'd be months if not years before you'd see LotS on steam ;)

We've already taken Valve Time getting it ready ;D
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: TechSY730 February 03, 2011, 08:37:44 PM
So have you guys decided if you are going to do an early-ish maintenance stable release for this version?
And when can we get our hands on the next beta? (Yes, I am already asking for more  ::))
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: x4000 February 03, 2011, 08:49:19 PM
So have you guys decided if you are going to do an early-ish maintenance stable release for this version?

We are not planning to.  Next official would be in 1-2 months.

And when can we get our hands on the next beta? (Yes, I am already asking for more  ::))

This week!  So I guess that means tomorrow, as we're running out of week.  There's just been a lot of transitional stuff this week (a fair bit of it involving AI War) that has taken away from our normal schedule for AI War maintenance stuff.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: TechSY730 February 03, 2011, 08:57:45 PM
So have you guys decided if you are going to do an early-ish maintenance stable release for this version?

We are not planning to.  Next official would be in 1-2 months.

Aww, I was hoping the new players could soon see the polish that even the next beta version will bring. Oh well.

And when can we get our hands on the next beta? (Yes, I am already asking for more  ::))

This week!  So I guess that means tomorrow, as we're running out of week.  There's just been a lot of transitional stuff this week (a fair bit of it involving AI War) that has taken away from our normal schedule for AI War maintenance stuff.


No problem. I know you have been trying to get AVWW off the ground, so I can understand development on AI war to slow down some. It is just that the next version already has some new balance tweaks I kind of want to test, so that is why I was asking.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: x4000 February 03, 2011, 09:02:49 PM
The distributors get a bit annoyed when we do official releases too frequently, and it takes about a full day out of my schedule if I do full builds of the game.  If we run into anything super serious I'd do a maintenance release without the builds, but we don't plan for those in advance.  So far no super serious issues are known.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Zeba February 03, 2011, 11:28:33 PM
The distributors get a bit annoyed when we do official releases too frequently, and it takes about a full day out of my schedule if I do full builds of the game.  If we run into anything super serious I'd do a maintenance release without the builds, but we don't plan for those in advance.  So far no super serious issues are known.
I for one would be perfectly happy with a one month official patch release cycle just for the performance boosts and general fixes. Especially now that the game has reached a point it can stand on it own for months or even years with the current content if you have all the expansions. Up till 5.0 a combined approach to patching with a mixed bag of fixes and experimental changes made sense but tbh I think the game is at the point it can ride for a while and just concentrate on refining the current mechanics. Been plenty of times when I read the patch notes where I would think that hmmm these fixes would be awesome for the game if only they could be seperated from the reinvention.  :)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: TechSY730 February 04, 2011, 07:15:41 AM
The distributors get a bit annoyed when we do official releases too frequently, and it takes about a full day out of my schedule if I do full builds of the game.  If we run into anything super serious I'd do a maintenance release without the builds, but we don't plan for those in advance.  So far no super serious issues are known.
I for one would be perfectly happy with a one month official patch release cycle just for the performance boosts and general fixes. Especially now that the game has reached a point it can stand on it own for months or even years with the current content if you have all the expansions. Up till 5.0 a combined approach to patching with a mixed bag of fixes and experimental changes made sense but tbh I think the game is at the point it can ride for a while and just concentrate on refining the current mechanics. Been plenty of times when I read the patch notes where I would think that hmmm these fixes would be awesome for the game if only they could be seperated from the reinvention.  :)

Far be it from me telling you how to do your jobs, but here I go anyways. ;D

How about a 2-3 month reinvention, experimentation, and bug fixing release cycle. Then push that stable version. Then have a 1-1.5 month release cycle for mostly bug fixes and performance boosts (and balance tweaks that don't require reinvention) and release that as a "maintenance" stable release. Repeat.

This way, you sort of get the whole "reinvention betas" and the "polish betas" separation some people have been asking for, but without having two separate code bases. It seems like a workable compromise, without adding that much more in terms of frequency of stable releases.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: x4000 February 04, 2011, 10:02:21 AM
Guys... We're doing the best we can. There's only two of us on code, and there's only so much we can accomplish that way.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Oralordos February 04, 2011, 10:47:44 AM
I think the game is at a decent place the way it is right now. To be honest, I wasn't expecting any work on it at all for a while, what with AVWW needing development and all. But it appears we'll be getting a patch shortly to balance out the parasite ships. I'd say that we're getting a lot more than what we would get from anyone else.
Keep up the good work guys, but don't burn yourselves out. I don't think Minecraft has ever fully recovered from when Notch burnt himself out.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: BobTheJanitor February 04, 2011, 11:03:15 AM
Guys... We're doing the best we can. There's only two of us on code, and there's only so much we can accomplish that way.
But I want a PONY!!

No seriously, you guys work harder than any dev studio I can think of. Don't feel like you need to keep churning away all the time, we appreciate all the hard work but having you guys burn out would leave a sad community here.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: TechSY730 February 04, 2011, 11:26:26 AM
Guys... We're doing the best we can. There's only two of us on code, and there's only so much we can accomplish that way.

Sorry. Sometimes I forget that  :-[

Besides, it seems you are already sort of alternating between reinvention development cycles and polish development cycles.

Again thanks for your hard work. I really do appreciate it. :)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: x4000 February 04, 2011, 11:32:21 AM
Thanks for the support. :)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Zeba February 04, 2011, 03:13:20 PM
: x4000
Guys... We're doing the best we can. There's only two of us on code, and there's only so much we can accomplish that way.
Yes, we know but we are greedy little gits.  :-*
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: keith.lamothe February 04, 2011, 03:16:28 PM
Yes, we know but we are greedy little gits.  :-*
EvE has trained you well ;)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Zeba February 04, 2011, 03:18:54 PM
*bows eloquently*
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: TechSY730 February 05, 2011, 11:36:52 PM
And when can we get our hands on the next beta? (Yes, I am already asking for more  ::))

This week!  So I guess that means tomorrow, as we're running out of week.  There's just been a lot of transitional stuff this week (a fair bit of it involving AI War) that has taken away from our normal schedule for AI War maintenance stuff.

Unless you can somehow pull this off in the next 30 minutes to 3 hours and 30 minutes (depending on time zone, assuming continental US), YOU LIED TO ME.  :'(

Just kidding, take your time.  ;)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Eagleheart February 06, 2011, 05:58:18 PM
I am unable to start a multiplayer game with a friend on this version, but we've played on previous versions fine. We can connect initially, but when we start the game the sync freezes at 7% every time. We both tried reinstalling but it did not fix it. I assume it's an issue with this version? Is anyone else having this problem?
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: keith.lamothe February 06, 2011, 07:17:21 PM
I am unable to start a multiplayer game with a friend on this version, but we've played on previous versions fine. We can connect initially, but when we start the game the sync freezes at 7% every time. We both tried reinstalling but it did not fix it. I assume it's an issue with this version? Is anyone else having this problem?
I don't recall hearing that folks were having that issue with 5.0.  Can you post (on mantis is best, but here works if necessary) the savegame the host is loading?  And any error-log text files in either computer's (AI War)/RuntimeData directory?

Thanks :)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Eagleheart February 06, 2011, 08:13:21 PM
We aren't loading a game, we are attempting to start a new one. Neither of us have any error-log texts either.  :-\
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: keith.lamothe February 06, 2011, 08:44:52 PM
We aren't loading a game, we are attempting to start a new one. Neither of us have any error-log texts either.  :-\
Odd, definitely not heard of people hitting that lately.  What map seed and settings?  If I can reproduce the problem on my end I can probably fix it, but if I can't, I probably can't. 


A few things you've probably tried, but making sure:

- Try with different map seeds.
- Try with different settings (notably, with everything off, and with everything on).
- Try starting a new game in single player and then loading it in multiplayer (this doesn't give you quite the scenario you want, of course, just testing that it works or doesn't work).
- If either of you have alternate computers, try with those.  Particularly if they're in different networks.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: x4000 February 06, 2011, 09:11:37 PM
Also, it's a good idea to try it with the Network Sync Size in the network settings changed.  It might be that you need to send less data or something across your network cards on initial sync, which that will let you do.  Sometimes network card drivers or even router firmware have bugs that can cause issues with sending too much too fast.  If either of you have upgraded any network-related hardware or software lately, that could have been introduced, but AI War has a way of working around that built in.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Zeba February 06, 2011, 10:09:26 PM
We aren't loading a game, we are attempting to start a new one. Neither of us have any error-log texts either.  :-\
Just a random idea. Have you tried disabling your anti-virus/malware etc etc programs before starting a game? This has been an issue for me trying to play several online games until I added them to the ignore list.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: TechSY730 February 10, 2011, 08:13:29 PM
Um, not to be rude or pushy or anything, but what is the holdup on the current beta?
Many of the potential balance issues that are currently being discussed will be quite effected by the changes so far in 5.001.

If there is more to pushing out a beta behind the scenes than I realize, or if you are trying to get one more change that is proving to be trickier than you originally thought, that's fine. But it seems strange to me that the change log has not changed for two days even though yet Chris and especially Kieth are engaging in our discussions, so I know that they are around.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: x4000 February 10, 2011, 08:21:16 PM
The holdup is that we've been busting our butts on AVWW, and it seems like everybody and his brother wants to email me about the game at this point.  And AI War is in pretty good shape, so it's been a lower priority.  I've been up into the wee hours of the morning anyhow, so adding on one more thing hasn't been a priority.  It's coming soon, though.  Tomorrow is a day I plan to use catching up on a lot of various things.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: TechSY730 February 10, 2011, 08:29:14 PM
The holdup is that we've been busting our butts on AVWW, and it seems like everybody and his brother wants to email me about the game at this point.  And AI War is in pretty good shape, so it's been a lower priority.  I've been up into the wee hours of the morning anyhow, so adding on one more thing hasn't been a priority.  It's coming soon, though.  Tomorrow is a day I plan to use catching up on a lot of various things.

No problem. Thanks for the update, and for "busting your butts".  :)

And when you said "everybody and his brother wants to email me about the game at this point", did you mean AI War or AVWW?
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: x4000 February 10, 2011, 08:33:07 PM
Actually, both.  GDC is coming up and so vendors are emailing me like crazy, distributors emailing on this and that, the press emailing about various stuff... etc.  It's a good sort of busy, but man does it suck up the time that would otherwise be able to be split between AVWW and AI War.  There are days where I've worked 5 hours before I even get out of my email box, and I'm a really fast typist.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: TechSY730 February 10, 2011, 08:39:54 PM
...and I'm a really fast typist.

By the response times you sometimes have and the rate you can push out betas, I have already figured that out. :D
Plus you're a coder, it kind of comes with the territory.

Okay, I'll shut up now so you can get back to work.  ;)

EDIT: Is this the 30000th post in this sub-forum? If so, AWESOME!  8)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Zeba February 10, 2011, 10:26:11 PM
techsy must be an eve player.  ;D
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: TechSY730 February 10, 2011, 10:29:57 PM
techsy must be an eve player.  ;D

Actually, no I am not. I don't even know what stereotype of eve players you are making fun of. ???
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: TechSY730 February 10, 2011, 10:33:59 PM
Actually, both.  GDC is coming up and so vendors are emailing me like crazy, distributors emailing on this and that, the press emailing about various stuff... etc.  It's a good sort of busy, but man does it suck up the time that would otherwise be able to be split between AVWW and AI War.  There are days where I've worked 5 hours before I even get out of my email box, and I'm a really fast typist.

Sounds like you need a PR guy. Oh wait, you just got one.  ;)

Hope Erik can help you out with some of this communication stuff you have been overwhelmed with lately.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Zeba February 10, 2011, 11:20:55 PM
techsy must be an eve player.  ;D

Actually, no I am not. I don't even know what stereotype of eve players you are making fun of. ???
The being rude and pushy stereotype. Its ok. I know your just curious along with the rest of us but we always like to fish for fellow members on foreign forums whenever possible. Not that denying you play eve is a valid defence. ;)

/tinfoil
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: x4000 February 10, 2011, 11:38:45 PM
Oh, that is with him taking at least 75% of the load.  In the past, sometimes doing an official release would mean I wouldn't be able to do much other work for a solid two weeks after the game came out.  The fact that we've gotten so much done with AVWW in this time period with so much else going on is unprecedented, and is all thanks to Erik.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: TechSY730 February 10, 2011, 11:41:29 PM
Oh, that is with him taking at least 75% of the load.  In the past, sometimes doing an official release would mean I wouldn't be able to do much other work for a solid two weeks after the game came out.  The fact that we've gotten so much done with AVWW in this time period with so much else going on is unprecedented, and is all thanks to Erik.

Well, I'm glad he's contributing so much. With how tight I'm sure your budget it, you need to get every cents worth of work out of everyone. From the comparison you made, it sounds like he doing that and more.   :)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: x4000 February 10, 2011, 11:44:23 PM
Yep, you bet.  We have to have exactly the right staff using exactly the right tools at exactly the right time to get our stuff done at the moment.  So far it's going swimmingly.  Knock on wood. ;)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Zeba February 11, 2011, 12:23:09 AM
If I wasn't so in love of the current build I would troll you.

Saying that plx make parasites geif me many ships kkthnx.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Panopticon February 11, 2011, 01:58:41 AM
techsy must be an eve player.  ;D

Actually, no I am not. I don't even know what stereotype of eve players you are making fun of. ???
The being rude and pushy stereotype. Its ok. I know your just curious along with the rest of us but we always like to fish for fellow members on foreign forums whenever possible. Not that denying you play eve is a valid defence. ;)

/tinfoil

This guy right here is a spy.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Zeba February 11, 2011, 02:00:28 AM
: Panopticon link
This guy right here is a spy.
Not on this alt.  :-*
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Zhaine February 11, 2011, 12:22:53 PM
: Panopticon link
This guy right here is a spy.
Not on this alt.  :-*

Hah, oh god I'm getting flashbacks from the old Eve O forums ;D

Community used to be one of the more polite and well mannered amongst MMOs back in my day, but kinda went downhill as the player base expanded and with the arrival of Goons and the dev cheat scandal etc. One of the reasons I left :-[

Glad to see the game's still doing well though. And no you can't have my stuff (not that it would be worth much now I'm sure).

Um, back on topic! Can't wait for LotS to hit steam on Monday, if that is indeed still the plan?

: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: x4000 February 11, 2011, 01:12:48 PM
Yep, LotS should be on Steam on Monday!
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Zhaine February 11, 2011, 01:21:55 PM
Yep, LotS should be on Steam on Monday!

Excellent, next week will be fun :)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: ShadowOTE February 11, 2011, 11:52:48 PM
Nice!
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Echo35 February 12, 2011, 02:35:09 AM
Yep, LotS should be on Steam on Monday!

About time!
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: TechSY730 February 12, 2011, 06:47:50 PM
techsy must be an eve player.  ;D

Actually, no I am not. I don't even know what stereotype of eve players you are making fun of. ???
The being rude and pushy stereotype. Its ok. I know your just curious along with the rest of us but we always like to fish for fellow members on foreign forums whenever possible. Not that denying you play eve is a valid defence. ;)

/tinfoil

You'll know when I am being rude and pushy.

Like I will be if the beta does not come out this weekend. ;)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: keith.lamothe February 12, 2011, 08:04:20 PM
Like I will be if the beta does not come out this weekend. ;)
We might take that as a dare ;)

With the steam release of 5.0 on Monday it may really make sense to wait until after that, otherwise when steam pushes out the automatic 5.0 update it could overwrite a 5.001 steam install.  Which wouldn't really hurt much, you just re-update, but it could lead to a sudden flood of support issues when people are suddenly not able to load their 5.001 saves because they've been bumped back to 5.0.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Zeba February 12, 2011, 08:09:56 PM
Like I will be if the beta does not come out this weekend. ;)
We might take that as a dare ;)

With the steam release of 5.0 on Monday it may really make sense to wait until after that, otherwise when steam pushes out the automatic 5.0 update it could overwrite a 5.001 steam install.  Which wouldn't really hurt much, you just re-update, but it could lead to a sudden flood of support issues when people are suddenly not able to load their 5.001 saves because they've been bumped back to 5.0.
Plus it give you extra time to make sure parasites geif me moar ships.  8)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: TechSY730 February 12, 2011, 08:14:35 PM
Like I will be if the beta does not come out this weekend. ;)
We might take that as a dare ;)

With the steam release of 5.0 on Monday it may really make sense to wait until after that, otherwise when steam pushes out the automatic 5.0 update it could overwrite a 5.001 steam install.  Which wouldn't really hurt much, you just re-update, but it could lead to a sudden flood of support issues when people are suddenly not able to load their 5.001 saves because they've been bumped back to 5.0.

Well, you were warned. RAAAAAAAGE!!!  >:(

Na, I'm kidding. That is actually a good consideration that I didn't think of. I will accept that as an good reason for another delay. ;)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: keith.lamothe February 12, 2011, 08:20:23 PM
Like I will be if the beta does not come out this weekend. ;)
We might take that as a dare ;)

With the steam release of 5.0 on Monday it may really make sense to wait until after that, otherwise when steam pushes out the automatic 5.0 update it could overwrite a 5.001 steam install.  Which wouldn't really hurt much, you just re-update, but it could lead to a sudden flood of support issues when people are suddenly not able to load their 5.001 saves because they've been bumped back to 5.0.

Well, you were warned. RAAAAAAAGE!!!  >:(

Na, I'm kidding. That is actually a good consideration that I didn't think of. I will accept that as an good reason for another delay. ;)
Glad to hear it.  *Amends ninja request form by checking the "tranquilizer only, please" box

I'm actually chomping at the bit to get 5.001 out too, as I can't really iterate on the balance changes until y'all can tell me how it feels.

: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: x4000 February 12, 2011, 09:32:23 PM
I will definitely do it next week. Thanks to Friday, my inbox is significantly less insane. Still lots of things that I've been putting off far too long, but fewer critical ones. ;)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: TechSY730 February 12, 2011, 09:39:54 PM
I will definitely do it next week. Thanks to Friday, my inbox is significantly less insane. Still lots of things that I've been putting off far too long, but fewer critical ones. ;)

Good to know. Thanks to that assurance, I will now postpone my nagging for a while.  ;D
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Red Spot February 13, 2011, 06:51:41 AM
If your inbox feels to empty, we could help you with that ..  ::)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: c4sc4 February 13, 2011, 02:50:56 PM
Apparently you can activate you LotS keys on Steam now even thought they don't have it in the store yet.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: TechSY730 February 13, 2011, 02:57:42 PM
Apparently you can activate you LotS keys on Steam now even thought they don't have it in the store yet.

Thanks for the tip. I just did that.

Hang on, does that mean Steam is now pushing 5.0?
Time to test.
*Starts making copy of AI war folder*

*Asks steam to revert game cache files*

*Starts up. AI war says its version 4.021*

Drat. Not yet.

*Deletes downgraded copy, renames the 5.0 copy to be the main folder*
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Pathalone February 13, 2011, 03:01:22 PM
No Steam yet?
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: TechSY730 February 13, 2011, 03:08:02 PM
No Steam yet?

*Remembering that editing a post does not bump it or send notifications*

Nope, 5.0 is not on Steam yet, even though the LotS licensing is. Doesn't look like you can buy it from them yet, only register a preexisting key.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: KingIsaacLinksr February 14, 2011, 01:05:37 PM
I was able to register the key so I'm happy. 

But yea, the expansion itself isn't available for sale yet. 

King
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Red Spot February 14, 2011, 01:47:45 PM
Doesn't look like you can buy it from them yet, only register a preexisting key.

It is that you said you could, else I would really not looked so good to actually go into general game options to 'register a product'.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Malibu Stacey February 14, 2011, 05:20:09 PM
LotS is up for purchase on Steam now (at 10% off too so £6.29 instead of £6.99).
AI War is also on 50% discount (£5.99 instead of £11.99).

Not sure if the game updates are available for download yet. The news item for the update isn't up but that lags behind actual update releases even for VALVe games like TF2 so it could be & I just can't see it downloading yet.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Zhaine February 14, 2011, 05:22:14 PM
On steam at last! Happy days :)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: keith.lamothe February 14, 2011, 05:25:27 PM
Yep, just showed up on the front page for me too, happy days :)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Zhaine February 14, 2011, 05:50:25 PM
So. . . purchased LotS on Steam, Steam downloads 150mb update for AI War.

Launch AI War and it still shows 4.021 or whatever the old version was.

Download the official update from inside AI War, install and restart.

Launch AI War and register new LotS key (works fine).

Don't know what the hell Steam download the first time around, but it works now at least!


Will be pestering friends to get into this now  :)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: TechSY730 February 14, 2011, 05:55:55 PM
So. . . purchased LotS on Steam, Steam downloads 150mb update for AI War.

Launch AI War and it still shows 4.021 or whatever the old version was.

Download the official update from inside AI War, install and restart.

Launch AI War and register new LotS key (works fine).


I can confirm this. Steam is still pushing out 4.021, despite the fact that they are selling Light of the Spire. This is kind of a big deal.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: keith.lamothe February 14, 2011, 06:02:22 PM
Ack.  Trying to figure out what's going on.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: TechSY730 February 14, 2011, 06:05:58 PM
I sure hope it isn't something like Valve misunderstanding you and thinking you were only pushing a DLC instead of a DLC AND a new major version.

And then tell you they need two more weeks again to get the major version pushed.  :o
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: keith.lamothe February 14, 2011, 06:13:06 PM
I've seen them put up normal updates (like the last Tidalis official version) the same day we asked, actually, iirc.  Anyway, we'll see.  I can't seem to get steam's forums to let me in, if someone could make a post over there explaining the following that would be great:

1) Steam's version of AI War is currently 4.021 (at the time of this writing).  The current official version of AI War is 5.0, and that is supposed to be on steam now but there may have been some confusion or holdup, etc.
2) Light of the Spire doesn't show up if you're running version 4.021.  It does show up fine if you're running 5.0.
3) If you're running into this problem then use the in-game updater, it can bring you up to 5.0 and you can then play LotS.
4) Sorry for the inconvenience, we don't know what happened, we'll try to figure it out as soon as we can.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: TechSY730 February 14, 2011, 06:16:56 PM
I can't seem to get steam's forums to let me in...

Oh no, its begun! Valve has finally been payed off by the big name companies, and is thus locking the accounts of all the indie developers.

;)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: keith.lamothe February 14, 2011, 06:20:13 PM
Oh no, its begun! Valve has finally been payed off by the big name companies
That would be rather like bribing Scrooge McDuck ;)  During a swim.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: TechSY730 February 14, 2011, 06:21:55 PM
More seriously though. I guess Chris will check it out whenever he get off of...whatever he is usually doing this time of day?
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Malibu Stacey February 14, 2011, 06:36:22 PM
I got a bit burned out keeping up with the bleeding edge versions during the 5.0 development so I thought I'd take a break from AI War until 5.0 came out.

Now I just looked at the post-5.0 release notes (http://www.arcengames.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=AI_War_-_Current_Post-5.000_Beta) & I don't want to play until the next beta is out  :(

My name's Malibu Stacey & I'm a update addict.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Otagan February 14, 2011, 06:42:03 PM
My name's Malibu Stacey & I'm a update addict.

Hi, Stacey.  Welcome to the club.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: BobTheJanitor February 14, 2011, 06:55:21 PM
if someone could make a post over there explaining the following

Wish I could, but the Steam Forums are right up there competing with the WoW Forums for worst community ever. Since it doesn't use the default steam login (never could figure out why they did it that way) I have never been able to bring myself to sign up for that cesspool of madness and angry 12-year-olds. Hopefully someone here has a working login, though.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: TechSY730 February 14, 2011, 06:57:56 PM
if someone could make a post over there explaining the following

Wish I could, but the Steam Forums are right up there competing with the WoW Forums for worst community ever. Since it doesn't use the default steam login (never could figure out why they did it that way) I have never been able to bring myself to sign up for that cesspool of madness and angry 12-year-olds. Hopefully someone here has a working login, though.

I just registered, think I should brave the wilderness and risk a post?
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: c4sc4 February 14, 2011, 07:43:20 PM
I've seen them put up normal updates (like the last Tidalis official version) the same day we asked, actually, iirc.  Anyway, we'll see.  I can't seem to get steam's forums to let me in, if someone could make a post over there explaining the following that would be great:

1) Steam's version of AI War is currently 4.021 (at the time of this writing).  The current official version of AI War is 5.0, and that is supposed to be on steam now but there may have been some confusion or holdup, etc.
2) Light of the Spire doesn't show up if you're running version 4.021.  It does show up fine if you're running 5.0.
3) If you're running into this problem then use the in-game updater, it can bring you up to 5.0 and you can then play LotS.
4) Sorry for the inconvenience, we don't know what happened, we'll try to figure it out as soon as we can.

I made the post.
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: x4000 February 15, 2011, 10:46:59 AM
Just a note to say that I got in touch with Valve this morning.  It ought to be resolvable today, as they showed me a beta version a few weeks ago that had 5.0 and everything.  So I think that just part of the content got pushed.  That 150mb that it downloads for folks is Light of the Spire, so there's no problem there.  It's just missing another 10mb or so for the updated binaries, which includes all the code since 4.021.

They are on Pacific Time, so it's not yet 9am for them.  But with luck it will be a simple thing when they get in.  Yesterday was Valentines and so I was out with my wife in the evening, and didn't see this stuff until I arrived back in the morning.  The beta had been fine weeks ago, so I didn't expect a last minute snag like this, go figure.  First time for everything, and naturally it's when I'm not at my desk. ;)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: keith.lamothe February 15, 2011, 10:50:21 AM
c4sc4: Many thanks for posting that over there, hopefully it will short-circuit any brewing "it's not working!!" situations :)

First time for everything, and naturally it's when I'm not at my desk. ;)
Yea, I must say I was quite impressed by the timing of that particular surgical strike ;)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: x4000 February 15, 2011, 10:51:53 AM
Indeed. :)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Colonel J February 15, 2011, 12:14:03 PM
Received a 13.5MB update that got pushed on Steam about 5 mins ago, so panic over I guess  :)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: keith.lamothe February 15, 2011, 12:28:26 PM
Yea, it looks fine to me now :)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: x4000 February 15, 2011, 12:45:29 PM
Okay -- excellent, that confirms that. :)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: KingIsaacLinksr February 15, 2011, 04:55:02 PM
Okay -- excellent, that confirms that. :)

So you've made your AI so good that it interferes in Real life now to prevent you from winning...I think we got a problem on our hands.  :P

King
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: x4000 February 15, 2011, 05:12:09 PM
Okay -- excellent, that confirms that. :)

So you've made your AI so good that it interferes in Real life now to prevent you from winning...I think we got a problem on our hands.  :P

King


 ;D
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: TechSY730 February 15, 2011, 07:23:26 PM
Yesterday was Valentines and so I was out with my wife in the evening, and didn't see this stuff until I arrived back in the morning.

Gee, I feel a little guilty trying to get your attention now.  :-[
After all, what good is trying to save humanity from a tyrannical AI if you can't share that life with the one you dedicated your life to, you're wife. :)



Anyways, back to my usual pestering.  ::)
Now that your last (public) excuse (the Steam thing) for delaying 5.001 is out of the way, when is it coming out?

(EDIT: Sorry, a little too "pesterish" I guess. I know, it will be ready when it is ready. You guys have a lot of stuff to do and I want you to know I understand that.)
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Zeba February 16, 2011, 02:33:15 AM
Cripes and I thought I was bad.  :D
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: Malibu Stacey February 16, 2011, 01:07:30 PM
.....must....not.....play.....until......5.001........is......released....

If I break this evening, tell my family I did all I could to resist but the thought of all the lovely new stuff since 4.021 was too much for me ;D
TF2 may distract me if we get some scrims together. Here's hoping.

Those AI's aren't going to kill themselves!
: Re: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0
: x4000 February 16, 2011, 03:27:33 PM
And here's the new one: http://www.arcengames.com/forums/index.php/topic,8278.0.html

:)