Release notes:
http://arcengames.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=The_Last_Federation_Alpha_Release_Notes#Alpha_Version_.815Restart steam to force a quicker update if you like.
Another biggie in terms of its impact on how you play the game. Of course.
1. Fixed some bugs on the solar map that were preventing progression in the prior version. So, yeah, that's pretty important.
2. Panning is back, and feels great. Folks were really right on the money with the need for this.
3. Combat balance has been adjusted a bunch, and has new physics attached to your flagship movements, as well as new visualizations for showing you where you are to move.
4. Enemy bullets now show you lines of where they recently were, so that you can better plan your next move.
5. There is now power management for your flagship, letting you manage things between weapons, shields, and engines. You'll notice that it auto-manages these for you in cases where one system simply isn't being used, so that cuts down on the fiddle-factor enormously. Instead this gives you extra flexibility in playstyle (moment to moment or otherwise), without having you need to fiddle with it constantly to play optimally.
6. Destroyed planets can now be harvested, and the solar map now starts with the remnants of the Hydral planet on there, too.
7. A bunch of events that only have a one-time immediate effect now just end after that effect and then let another event come up. This has an impact on solar balance for sure.
8. A lot of the pointless chatter has been cleared out, so that the chatter bar contains more interesting stuff rather than just armadas-blew-up messages all the time.
I'll try to do a video later tonight.
Caveats (Same as last time):1. All of the Operational abilities are still having their ships slaved to your attacks, and I don't intend for that to remain the case.
2. If you are running into specific mission types that are un-fun slow in the new combat model, then please send us saves. I tested (for instance) dropping off spacefaring tech, and it was a tense 60-second excursion or so.
3. I think I have a pretty good handle on making the combat tactical now, and honestly I think we are pretty much there already, in the main. There are some overall structure-of-special-abilities changes that I am planning that will make those a lot more relevant as well as safer to use as well as making it actually valuable to have more abilities than just the three in your currently-equipped lineup. Those things I think will add a lot, as will an expanded roster of abilities and enemies in general, and in particular some turrets with some new firing patterns, etc. But honestly that is just content development aside from the basic changes to the special abilities concept, so it's a matter of having more of a good thing rather than trying to find a good thing, if that makes any sense. I'm liking where we're at with this, in other words; but if anyone feels differently, please speak up and let me know what you think and (as well as you can) why and what you would want done about it. I can't promise to actually do that of course, but I want to know these sorts of things sooner than later, as I'm hoping that I can make as many people as possible happy with the combat while at the same time homing in on what my current vision for this has become.
Enjoy!
