Prerelease 3.023 (Bugfixes, Electric Shuttle Nerf, Range Overflow fix)

[x4000]

The latest beta is available via the Updates window in version 3.000 or greater of the game.  Just open the game and you can quickly download the prerelease through the updates tab.  If you don't yet have 3.000 or greater, you can download 3.000 here.  This prerelease version is compatible with any vendor's version of the game -- Steam, Impulse, whatever.

Note:  If you have bug reports related to this release, please log them in the bug reports subforum with one bug per topic.  It makes things infinitely easier for us.  Thanks!

Looking for a Patch That Can Be Manually-Installed?
Because of the time involved in creating multiple versions of each patch, we only create manually-installable patches for official versions of the game, not each beta prerelease.  But, if you're running version 3.022 of the game or higher, you can easily crete your own manually-installable beta patch!  If you don't yet have 3.022, but do have 3.000 or greater, you can download a simple zip containing the files of 3.022 here.  Simply unpack those on top of your existing files in your AI War folder, and voila -- you're on 3.022.

To create your own manual beta patch, you'll want to go here.  This folder contains all of the beta updates.  You just need whatever the most recent one is at the time (probably the same version number as this post).  Download that zip file, which if you try to open will say it's corrupt -- that's okay, it's not really a zip file.  Next download the updated Director.Xml file from that folder.  Finally create a new zip file on your computer, and put both the director and the fake-zip-file inside it.  Call your outer zip file something that starts with Beta and ends with an extension of .zip.  Beta.zip will work just fine, or you can name it after the specific version number if you want to hang onto it.  And that's it!  Now you have your very own manually-installable package of the AI War beta version of your choice, which you can install by simply selecting via your Updates window in the game.

What's new since 3.021:
(Cumulative release notes since 3.000 are attached at the bottom)

-------------------

-Fixed a bug where very long range ships (like Zenith Bombard; not snipers or other infinite-range ones since those are handled differently) were not auto-firing at all due to an overflow calculating their guard range.

-Fixed a bug where "pause all" was not properly causing the game to realize that the paused constructors were not assistable, so frd engineers would sometimes waste time assisting them.

-Fixed bug where you could get an achievement from playing a game started in someone else's profile

-Made Core Warhead Interceptor much lower priority target for AI

-AI viral shredders now only have a 10% of replicating when they amass enough build points to replicate.

-Fixed bug where group-moving through a wormhole to a planet with a rally post was causing the ships to break out of group-move and travel full speed.

-Made Electric Shuttles immune to munitions boosting (I'd like to look at letting them have a 1x boost, but let's try this for now)

-Reduced Electric Shuttle attack power to 50% of what it was in 3.0 (so 200,600,1000,1500)

-Reduced Electric Shuttle aoe-delay from 15 to 12 to speed up the rolling thunder a bit

-Electric Shuttles now do 30% of normal damage against Teleport Raiders (who they used to eat alive)

-Fixed bug where a unit assisting an allied constructor could not assist if the allied constructor's player did not have sufficient resources.

-Made it so that Interplanetary Munitions Boosters will not be placed on or adjaent to AI homeworlds

-Made it so that Dyson Sphere Golems will not be placed on AI homeworlds (but can still be adjacent)

-Fixed bug where an engineer that had previously failed to assist (due to a space dock queue running out or some such) would draw a red fuzzy line instead of a green fuzzy line when repairing a ship, even though it was successfully repairing the target.

-The rendering of many attack ranges has now become a bit more efficient.

-Turret and mine remains, as well as mines themselves, are now blind so as not to provide inapproprite scout intel by existing on enemy planets.

-An updated 3.0-specific manual and shortcut keys reference (in-game and printable) have been added.

[RCIX]

I think i can tell what Keith did: it's the items without a period on the end

[x4000]

I think i can tell what Keith did: it's the items without a period on the end

Close, but not quite.  Mine do always have periods at the end, but so do his sometimes.  The only two that were mine were the two at the very end of this list.  Although, there were some localization-related stuff that I did that I did not log.  Mostly my day was spent on Tidalus, though, which was good -- finally getting more done there.

[Shardz]

Thanks very much for this patch as I'm very happy to see Viral Shredders toned down - hopefully this doesn't incite a riot with torches or pitchforks in the process. Cool stuff with the manual updates, too! I did notice that this 3.0.2.3 patch was about 6 megs versus the normal 2+ megs - was there some resources that were replaced or something? Anyway, thanks a bunch!

[x4000]

Thanks very much for this patch as I'm very happy to see Viral Shredders toned down - hopefully this doesn't incite a riot with torches or pitchforks in the process.

Yeah, should be good.  People like certain units an inordinate amount when they are overpowered (see parasites in the past, for example), but tending to balance is an important part of keeping the game functional and fun over the long haul, and most people get over any short-term angst surrounding a nerf or buff as long as it isn't without reason.

Cool stuff with the manual updates, too!

Yeah, should be the best of both worlds this way, not extra load on me but that functionality even for betas for those who want it.

I did notice that this 3.0.2.3 patch was about 6 megs versus the normal 2+ megs - was there some resources that were replaced or something?

Oh, I forgot to include that in the updates list -- will rectify -- but an updated manual and shortcut keys reference (in-game and printable) have been added now.  Given that updates are cumulative, this is pretty much the new baseline size of updates for a while.  Back there pre-3.0, each update was around 30ish megs!  We definitely won't hit anything like that for a long time, that was all the images of the expansion plus a bunch of overhauls in the main graphics.  Until we hit another expansion, I bet the updates can stay under 10-15 MB total while retaining that helpful cumulative-ness.

Anyway, thanks a bunch!

My pleasure!  Keith did most of the work on this one, as with the last few prereleases, anyway. I've got him properly added to the game credits, but I need to get him on the About Us page for Arcen and get him properly announced.  He's freeing me up to work more on Tidalis, our next game, while at the same time we'll make more progress on AI War than we would have.  Such a load off me, I'm really happy about that!  I'm still handling the design aspects of AI War, don't get me wrong, but most of the programming for these prereleases is going to Keith while my programming time is on Tidalis.  But, I'll still manage to program a few features for AI War each week, either way, I think -- it's hard to stay completely away, even if I do have a mountain of other work to do.

[Shardz]

Ok, I was just wondering about the size difference out of curiosity really - it doesn't affect me in the least as I'm on cable. I'm sure that those on dialup will weigh the the benefits versus file size and make their decisions properly.

That is really great you have modular programmers for AI War and I know Keith (no e) has been sitting in and squashing bugs while freeing you to work on your other endeavors. You both must have similar coding habits and interests to be able to do this with no noticeable interruptions between updates. It's almost like cloning yourself so that you can get some stuff done! I think I need one of those, too! Hehehe!

[x4000]

Ok, I was just wondering about the size difference out of curiosity really - it doesn't affect me in the least as I'm on cable. I'm sure that those on dialup will weigh the the benefits versus file size and make their decisions properly.

Sure -- just figured I'd explain what was up.

That is really great you have modular programmers for AI War and I know Keith (no e) has been sitting in and squashing bugs while freeing you to work on your other endeavors. You both must have similar coding habits and interests to be able to do this with no noticeable interruptions between updates. It's almost like cloning yourself so that you can get some stuff done! I think I need one of those, too! Hehehe!

Hahaha, yeah, I was really lucky to find him -- or, really, he found me.  But we'd talked way back and so I knew we had similar approaches in general, and similar interests regarding C# and general coding practices, etc.  I think some of my performance-centered non-OOP optimizations occasionally throw him a bit at this stage (I'm as OOP as I can be, but not where I can squeak out a tad more performance boost by not being), but other than that we're a surprisingly close match in styles and thinking, etc.  I really lucked out, what can I say?

[SgtScum]

-Fixed a bug where very long range ships (like Zenith Bombard; not snipers or other infinite-range ones since those are handled differently) were not auto-firing at all due to an overflow calculating their guard range.


Awesome!

Just bought the game a weekish ago and fell I love with the z bombards when I decided to try them but my heart was quickly broken when over time they were not firing at all unless I gave them a specific target. ..

Was just tooling myself up to bug report it or at least ask on the forums and bam its fixed! I wish eve online would fix things this quickly.

*crys over ruined fleet fight and wasted hours due to node death*

*ahem* sorry. But we take our pew pew seriously and it tends to leak all over the place. :p

Btw love this game! Finally a worthy successor to the mighty master of orion II battle at antares for my space strategy fix as I don't like those newer flashy 3d arcadish 4x games like soase or sots. =)

[RCIX]

Btw love this game! Finally a worthy successor to the mighty master of orion II battle at antares for my space strategy fix as I don't like those newer flashy 3d arcadish 4x games like soase or sots. =)

Psst... AI war is part 4x....

[keith.lamothe]

I think i can tell what Keith did: it's the items without a period on the end

Observant, aren't you?   I noticed a few prereleases ago that I wasn't putting the periods at the end and started making a point (no pun intended) of doing so.  As you see I've not entirely succeeded, but rest assured that the code modifications are more thoroughly controlled

Just bought the game a weekish ago and fell I love with the z bombards when I decided to try them but my heart was quickly broken when over time they were not firing at all unless I gave them a specific target. Sad..

I'm glad that it was reported and fixed.  For one thing I also really love long-range high-power artillery (when I played Empire Earth I would, ah, "adjust" the range of certain siege weapons to create the Intercontinental Ballistic Trebuchet).

I wish eve online would fix things this quickly.

CCP has a lot of other considerations that make this kind of response time very difficult (affecting entire player base simultaneously, uptime requirements, etc), so it's not an apples-and-apples comparison.  In any case, one of the things I've loved about AI wars is Chris's continual and rapid improvement, and I am very happy to play some role in keeping that going while he works on other projects.

[Ozymandiaz]

I wish eve online would fix things this quickly.

*crys over ruined fleet fight and wasted hours due to node death*

*ahem* sorry. But we take our pew pew seriously and it tends to leak all over the place. :p

As a fellow EVE player I agree. I was in the fight in D-G and basically the node crashed and all 1000 players where experiencing imense lag

Edit: But hey, no otehr gmae i know had 50000 players online at teh same time in teh same universe, and can actually support 1000+ player battles. CCP even made new technology for it to happen, but players have again pushed teh liit of that new technology .

And what better to do then load up AI War when stuck to lag in EVE?

Tho, I like to break away from EVE now and then and play some other types of strategy games. I am a big fan of games like Civ 4, StarCraft (and broodwar), old age of empire games. But so far AI War has the most interesting and well made AI (as well as nice flavour to it). I never really played against the AI much in Civ 4, I perferd humans, but AI War is dedicated to fight the AI, it it does so in a great way .

But I digress...  

[Oewyn]

Thanks very much for this patch as I'm very happy to see Viral Shredders toned down - hopefully this doesn't incite a riot with torches or pitchforks in the process. Cool stuff with the manual updates, too! I did notice that this 3.0.2.3 patch was about 6 megs versus the normal 2+ megs - was there some resources that were replaced or something? Anyway, thanks a bunch!

Assuming the patch notes weren't incorrect, this "nerf" to viral shredders was only for the AI.  Unless you know some rather intelligent AI who can post to this forum, I doubt you'll see any virtual riots with their corresponding viral torches or pitchforks.

:-)

[x4000]

Thanks very much for this patch as I'm very happy to see Viral Shredders toned down - hopefully this doesn't incite a riot with torches or pitchforks in the process. Cool stuff with the manual updates, too! I did notice that this 3.0.2.3 patch was about 6 megs versus the normal 2+ megs - was there some resources that were replaced or something? Anyway, thanks a bunch!

Assuming the patch notes weren't incorrect, this "nerf" to viral shredders was only for the AI.  Unless you know some rather intelligent AI who can post to this forum, I doubt you'll see any virtual riots with their corresponding viral torches or pitchforks.

:-)

True.  The last release was the one with the nerf for humans with them.

[Oewyn]

True.  The last release was the one with the nerf for humans with them.

Oh you mean the 1500 cap per class?  I don't really see that as much of a nerf since, if you're running with more than that many shredders, you have way too many resources tied up in energy production (unless you have multiple Z Power Gens).  Normally when i get ~800 spare shredders, I send them on very important missions, whose outcome dictates the tides of battle (well the tides of AIP at least :-) )

[x4000]

True.  The last release was the one with the nerf for humans with them.

Oh you mean the 1500 cap per class?  I don't really see that as much of a nerf since, if you're running with more than that many shredders, you have way too many resources tied up in energy production (unless you have multiple Z Power Gens).  Normally when i get ~800 spare shredders, I send them on very important missions, whose outcome dictates the tides of battle (well the tides of AIP at least :-) )

Yeah, that was the hope, is that this was such a high cap as to not even really affect normal gameplay.