Prerelease 3.030 (Riot Starship, Munitions Boosting Updates)

[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 3.028:
(Cumulative release notes since 3.000 are attached at the bottom)

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

-Munitions Boosts no longer stack, the highest available to a given ship is used.

-Munitions Boosts are now more incremental instead of 100%, 200%, etc.

-Munitions Booster speed from 12 to 24 (will almost certainly nerf this back down).

-Bulletproof fighter stats adjusted to be more unique from the fighter.

-GameCommand objects now pooled for some performance boost.

-Playable prototype of Riot Starship MkI added to the starship constructor (requires tech to unlock).  This is a customizable modular ship, which is also new.

CHANGES TO PAST PRERELEASES
--------------

-Simultaneous munitions boosting caps effectively removed, replaced with a circular area calculation cap that shouldn't normally have any effect.

Updates in 3.030:

-Fix to the GameCommand exception.

-Fix to the missing tech image.

[keith.lamothe]

In the recent prerelease (3.029) we added the Riot Control Starship MkI (MkII and probably MkIII are planned).  It's a some-assembly-required product, so here's how to get started:

1) Unlock the Riot Control Starship at the Science Lab
2) Build one at a Starship Constructor (costs comparable to a dreadnought)
3) When it is finished, it only has the base gun which is decent but relatively short ranged
4) Select the Riot starship, and click on the "MOD:RIOT" construction group tab at the bottom
5) Now you can queue up construction of its subsidiary modules, the in-game descriptions should be good enough so I've attached images of them.
6) This construction of modules will take time like any other, and engies help.

You can mix and match as you please, and if any point you want to change you can select the module(s), scrap them (careful not to scrap the ship), and rebuild.  You can also rebuild (even during combat) them if they are destroyed, and they *can* be destroyed individually (though the forcefield will provide cover if you have one, or two).

The customizable-modular-ship thing is new, so there are undoubtedly some bugs in how it behaves.  Notably it doesn't readily display the attack ranges of the modules, just the base ship (which is pretty short), so it can be difficult to know how close to get. Please let us know of any other issues you encounter.

It probably goes without saying, but the balance of the starship and its modules is preliminary at best, please tell me what is broken

Thanks,
Keith

[keith.lamothe]

Attaching the other two images since I can only put 4 in one post.

[x4000]

Oh, and I did put that in the wiki, too: http://arcengames.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=AI_War_-_Starships#Riot_Starships

[Collic]

Haven't had chance to play with the riot starship yet, but theres a floating block of colour just off from the rest of the buttons near it in the science lab menu. Haven't attached a screen shot, i guess you guys already know it's there?

Off to have a bit of a play with them now

PS (light starship ship boosting ranges feels fine to me now )

[x4000]

Haven't had chance to play with the riot starship yet, but theres a floating block of colour just off from the rest of the buttons near it in the science lab menu. Haven't attached a screen shot, i guess you guys already know it's there?

That would be a missing image.  Most likely something just didn't get checked in or pushed -- thanks for letting us know!

[keith.lamothe]

Ah, sorry, I forgot to upload that because it was in with a chunk of other images that I wasn't committing because they were old.  It's committed now, but won't make it into the beta until the next push.

That's the Unlock Riot tech, as you can see by mouseover

[vonduus]

Oh shite, I just saw this, a ship built in modules, I simply must try this out right away. But now it is late in the evening and I have to get up early in the morning and go to work and aaarrrggghhh....

Well, suppose I can sleep when I get old. But I am old. Drat!

[keith.lamothe]

a ship built in modules, I simply must try this out right away.

I was hoping for that reaction

[Ozymandiaz]

If I had not been away on a work trip right now i would test this new cool stuff

[Collic]

Yeah, they seem awesome ! I have however just this error ' waiting for players ' at the top of the screen. I was just building some of the new starships, and in the middle of attacking a planet when this happened.

edit: wasn't actually using the new ships at this point, sp game started before the new pre-release.

[keith.lamothe]

Thanks for the report, Collic, that's being fixed as I type.  It's funny that after all the effort on ship modules and making sure they weren't going to totally bust the game that a little 10 minute change like the GameCommand pooling would get me...

[x4000]

Updates in 3.030 (which is now out):

-Fix to the GameCommand exception.

-Fix to the missing tech image.

[Collic]

no worries, glad to be of help

edit: christ you guys are fast !

edit: All fixed, and I really like the modular guns on the new starships (ave it!)

[Goekhan]

In the recent prerelease (3.029) we added the Riot Control Starship MkI (MkII and probably MkIII are planned).  It's a some-assembly-required product, so here's how to get started:

1) Unlock the Riot Control Starship at the Science Lab
2) Build one at a Starship Constructor (costs comparable to a dreadnought)
3) When it is finished, it only has the base gun which is decent but relatively short ranged
4) Select the Riot starship, and click on the "MOD:RIOT" construction group tab at the bottom
5) Now you can queue up construction of its subsidiary modules, the in-game descriptions should be good enough so I've attached images of them.
6) This construction of modules will take time like any other, and engies help.

You can mix and match as you please, and if any point you want to change you can select the module(s), scrap them (careful not to scrap the ship), and rebuild.  You can also rebuild (even during combat) them if they are destroyed, and they *can* be destroyed individually (though the forcefield will provide cover if you have one, or two).

The customizable-modular-ship thing is new, so there are undoubtedly some bugs in how it behaves.  Notably it doesn't readily display the attack ranges of the modules, just the base ship (which is pretty short), so it can be difficult to know how close to get. Please let us know of any other issues you encounter.

It probably goes without saying, but the balance of the starship and its modules is preliminary at best, please tell me what is broken

Thanks,
Keith

This is good! Damn good! I always wanted a way to customize ship!

I haven't checked this out, but assuming the possibility of customizations in the future, like a near-golem-sized-ship (I don't know the size of the ship either), building&upgrading anything you want - upgrading its shields, buying new engines etc... lol that would be cool!

This game is grand strategy, RTS, 4X, etc, but this addition in particular (customization), brings this game more closer to a 4x (MOO series, SOTS and expansions etc..)

Maybe in the future we can get a mini-customization-UI or a seperate view (like when you press M, map opens, you press XXX, design&customization window opens) which allows you to desing your ships