Prerelease 3.098 (Perf+, Sentinel Frigate buff, transport nerf, bugfixes)

[x4000]

The latest beta is available via the Updates window in version 3.060 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 3.060 or greater, you can download 3.060 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 you can easily create your own manually-installable beta patch!  Please note that current betas can only be successfully applied to version 3.060 of the game or later (if you later wish to revert to the official version for any reason, you can download the full raw files from the above link to do so).

To create your own manual beta patch, simply download these two files:
1. Current Beta Director Xml File.
2. Current Beta Zip File.

If you try to open that zip file, it will say it's corrupt -- that's okay, it's not really a zip file.  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.  Please note that "Beta" in the filename is case-sensitive.

What's new since 3.097:
(Cumulative release notes since 3.060 are attached at the bottom)

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- in unexplored games, now only scouts can go through a wormhole to an unexplored planet; and only scouts can be given the auto-explore command

- transport ships attrition-on-wormhole-traversal (into a planet that is out-of-supply) increased from 12.5% to 45%

- fixed a bug where CPAs were basically not happening on difficulty 8+

- Data Centers are now not autotargetted, but can be attacked by a simple right-click (X+Right-Click is not necessary)

- Hostile Dyson Gatlings (the ones that spawn while you hold the dyson golem planet) are now much more aggressive about trying to hurt the human, and have a somewhat easier time doing so.

- Zenith Reserves, and Distribution nodes now require X+RightClick to attack

- Sentinel Frigate energy cost from 10000 to 1000 (Scout starships and Light starships are 1000, for reference)

- Sentinel Frigates now have tachyon beams, range 1000 * ship level

-The speed at which the program loads, and the speed at which savegames link FG Objects together, have both been notably increased.

[WinterBorn]

- transport ships attrition-on-wormhole-traversal (into a planet that is out-of-supply) increased from 12.5% to 45%

- Hostile Dyson Gatlings (the ones that spawn while you hold the dyson golem planet) are now much more aggressive about trying to hurt the human, and have a somewhat easier time doing so.

OMG     LOL

[ShadowOTE]

Ouch. Now I have to finish my current games before upgrading, cause the transport nerf kills our current strat. That, and I want to finish one of my games without worry for CPAs

[eRe4s3r]

I very much approve of the transport nerf.

But datacenter auto-targeting gone.., does this mean when we set attack preferences to datacenters ships won't shoot at them by themselves anymore? This was the only way to prevent suicidal units (snipers) from leaving the fleet range while moving through a sector.

[RCIX]

Like Shadow, i plan to hold off on upgrading till i finish my first game -- i want a chance at winning

[allmybase]

Still couldn't fix the AI using force fields/super forts with heavy defenses off, eh?

[RogueThunder]

Mmmm. Good to see on the sentinel frigates... Them's does make them a bit more plausible.

But seriously 45% on transports? Sheeesh. Seems like a bit much... That limits em to 3 systems out... and one directional even then. 4 I suppose if you don't mind being dumped out on the other end of the wormhole on the wormhole? One less if a HBC is anywhere in the path I imagine. I know they were still a little too usable as it was... but still... this seems a bit much.

Though. I suppose it doesn't stop me from sending cloaker starships with them and repairing them in fringespace with impunity, does it... *sighs* More microing eh. Alright. I do suppose it is what I do.
It does kinda make owned systems have to be max 3 jumps apart though for functionality(or alot of constant micro upkeep when transporting between...)... which makes me have a sad face.

Edit: Awesomeness? 3.098 is 3.999MB XD... sorry that just made me chuckle

[quickstix]

I approve of a Transport Ship supply nerf. It felt like they were getting a little too good at what they did to the point where investing in them felt like a no brainer.

My two cents.

[Voodoomancer]

So, as I understand it you'll be at around 10% health with a transport after 2 jumps? Seems rather harsh to me, really limits them mostly to duties you can eliminate by moving your spacedocks to the frontline...

[keith.lamothe]

Still couldn't fix the AI using force fields/super forts with heavy defenses off, eh?

Yea, I was in the middle of investigating that one when I ran out of time for this release.

But datacenter auto-targeting gone.., does this mean when we set attack preferences to datacenters ships won't shoot at them by themselves anymore? This was the only way to prevent suicidal units (snipers) from leaving the fleet range while moving through a sector.

I don't think I understand, were snipers just running off by themselves while the fleet stayed still, or were they staying still and shooting while the fleet moved on?  Or something else?

On the transport nerf, it's intentionally pretty intense, to match the intensity of folks ranting about how OP they were   I'm happy to reduce the nerf if there's some kind of player consensus but it sounds like even at this intensity there's a fair bit of player support for it (though play-experience may change that).  To clarify the meaning of the self-damage, you should be able to do this:

H-P-1 ---> A-P-1 -> A-P-2 (55%) -> A-P-3 (10%) -> A-P-4 (10%) -> H-P-2

Where H-P-1 and H-P-2 are both planets human owned and providing supply to themselves and their neighbors, and A-P-2 and A-P-3 are both AI owned and not in supply (A-P-1 and A-P-4 being neighbors of the human planets and thus in supply; no coprocessors in this example, those could be murder).  When it was 12.5 percent this chain could be pretty long indeed, though finite (which was a big improvement).

So being able to hop over 4 AI worlds is still pretty good, though you can't afford to lose more than 10% health to other sources of damage as you do so.

I just checked the code to make sure that it should work this way, but please let me know if it's different in practice.

For the micro-repair thing, I agree that having to run off to fringe-space to repair is pretty mental (though the cloaker starship combo is quite valid and clever, reminds me of WC2 with an invis'd mage in an invis'd transport shoving off to magebomb an island goldmine).  My initial reaction is to make transports non-repairable-by-normal-means (remember that on a friendly planet, the green ones above, they auto-regen from 0 to full in 30 seconds), and give them some sort of buff to counterbalance that because I can already hear the wailings of agony

[eRe4s3r]

Yeah, the snipers stop but not only them, everything with long range stops while some units seem to think its suicide day.. which is rather unhealthy ;p Well its a minor thing

[x4000]

New version already: http://arcengames.com/forums/index.php/topic,4869.msg33649.html#msg33649