Releases: FAForever/fa
Game version 3770
Game version 3769
Please refer to the notes of versions 3765, 3766, 3767 and 3768 for the full patch notes.
With gratitude to all those who took the time to report issues,
Jip
Bug fixes
- (#5454) Fix a bug that can enable the Seraphim MML to launch an endless barrage of missiles.
- (#5454) Fix a bug where the command queue is stuck on a launch order.
This specifically occurred with the tech 3 strategic submarines and the tech 3 Seraphim battleship. As a result, the unit would be 'stuck' on the launch order, and any other order issued after the launch order would never be executed.
- (#5454) Fix a bug where distributed launch orders would not actually launch a missile.
This occurs when you issue launch orders and then distribute them. The new, distributed orders are processed and removed from the queue even though no missiles have been launched.
- (#5470) Fix a bug that cause gunships to have a tough time to hit certain units.
When a projectile experiences multiple collisions in a single tick, the engine does not always return the first collision. This issue frequently occurs with gunships, as they often fire from nearly vertical angles. Consequently, gunships can appear to 'hit' the terrain, even though they clearly hit the intended unit. To resolve this, we now ensure that every collision box of every unit has a minimum length of 0.5 ogrids.
- (#5470) Fix a bug that allows certain units to evade beams in specific conditions
Most notable the Brick no longer has the ability to evade beams.
Contributors
With thanks to the following individuals who contributed through coding:
Contributors
Assets 2
Game version 3768
Contributors
Assets 2
Game version 3767
Please refer to the notes of versions 3765 and 3766 for the full patch notes.
With gratitude to all those who took the time to report issues,
Jip
Features
- (#5427) Introduce a basic visualizer of the performance metrics that we gather as players play the game.
- (#5448) Generate additional metadata when generating markers for AIs.
- (#5422) Introduce a resource deposit grid for the AI.
This grid allows for computationally efficient lookups for the AI to scan the environment for resource deposits.
Bug fixes
Beams that miss
We examined all tech 1 and tech 2 naval units and found that some had the ability to reliably evade beam weapons, with one particular submarine even doing so without moving.
The Seraphim destroyer should now be able to reliably hit all tech 1 and tech 2 naval units with its beam weaponry.
Additionally, the Galactic Colossus can no longer evade beam weapons and should now be hit reliably, especially by the Spiderbot.
Other bug fixes
- (#5437) Fixed units being able to miss the Galactic Colossus while it is being constructed.
- (0883d0c) Fixed errors when an AI would be defeated.
- (0fecc7d) Fixed tree groups breaking when building structures.
- (#5412) Quickly fixed an issue where coop had trouble understanding the mobile factories.
- (#5441) Fixed the AI misinterpreting blank markers.
Contributors
With thanks to the following individuals who contributed through coding:
- @relent0r
- @Garanas
- @xXEddieXxx
- @clyfordv (Slicknixon)
- @Dhomie (Grandpa Sawyer)
With thanks to the following individuals who contributed through model, texture, and effect changes:
And last but certainly not least, with thanks to those who took part in constructive discussions:
- A-Army
- Yolo-
Contributors
Assets 2
Game version 3766
See the patch notes of 3765 for the full patch notes.
With thanks to all those that took the time to report issues,
Jip
Features
Capping of a structure
In the previous patch, we reduced the ability to cap structures by assisting a structure. Thanks to an assembly patch by 4z0t, the technical reasons for this reduction have been fixed. As a result, we are now reintroducing the feature with improvements.
The feature now sorts the build orders by the distance to the nearest engineer relative to the structure they are assisting. This helps reduce pathfinding issues. Additionally, the feature now applies a single build order to all engineers, which reduces the framerate impact that players previously experienced.
Upon release, players can enable the following assist-to-cap behaviors through the game options:
- Cap an extractor with mass storages
- Cap an extractor with 4 or 8 mass fabricators
- Cap a radar or tech 2 artillery with tech 1 power generators
- Cap tech 3 or experimental artillery with tech 3 power generators
Other features
- (#5398) Introduces a hotkey to issue an upgrade to the structure currently under the mouse cursor
- (#5394) Introduces a hotkey to cap the structure currently under the mouse cursor
- (#5397) Introduces a hotkey to select all units consuming resources
- (#5407) Introduces the generation of Naval Area markers for AIs
The average AI is now more likely to construct naval factories.
- (#5405) Improvements to the Mods Manager
No more text bleeding, and the URL dialog is temporarily removed when you open links in the lobby.
Bug fixes
- (7f101c3) Exclude external factory unit from the unit restrictions menu
- (cfd0eae) Fix Solace dropping the torpedo salvo way behind the target
- (09cec46) Fix a bug where the build preview of templates would reset every few seconds
This was a mistake on our end. With this fix, the game is more compatible with UI mods such as Eco Manager and UI Party again
- (#5405) Fix the bleeding of water ramps on sharp cliffs
Contributors
With thanks to the following people who contributed through coding:
- @gordenwunderlich (Nex37)
- @Garanas (Jip)
- @HUSSAR-mtrela
- @BlackYps
With thanks to the following people who contributed through binary patches:
And, last but certainly not least - with thanks to those that took part in constructive discussions:
- Babel
- Valigo
- @MostLostNoob
- LoliNekoTrap
Contributors
Assets 2
Game version 3765
The third developer's iteration contains more new features than any release in the past two years. It opens up new ways for players to approach the game.
However, some features are being left behind. One of the most notable changes is the removal of the feature that allowed players to hover over a deposit to initiate the build mode for extractors or hydrocarbon plants. This feature was computationally expensive and is no longer part of the standard FAForever experience. However, it is still available as a UI mod for those willing to accept the performance penalty. You can find the 'Hover to Build' UI mod in the vault.
Another feature with reduced functionality is the ringing feature. You can now only ring extractors with storages, while all other options are integrated into the new Context-Based Templates feature. You can read more about this in the features section. This change was made because the old ringing feature was computationally expensive and could cause stutters and frame drops for players. Therefore, it has been limited to its most commonly used functionality: the ability to ring extractors with storages.
Lastly, any functionality that relied on the old spread attack implementation will no longer be operational. The previous implementation was susceptible to abuse and could even crash the game. We hope that the new implementation will better serve your needs as a player.
With appreciation towards all the contributors that made this iteration possible,
Best regards,
Jip
Features
Mobile Factories
A long-standing functional myth has now become a part of the FAForever experience! All Tech 3 Aircraft Carriers, plus the Tempest, the Atlantis, and the Fatboy, can now build using a separate build module attached to the unit. The build module is located at the back of the unit. Clicking just over the back (on land/water) will select the build module. All factory hotkeys interact with these build modules.
We're open to ideas from players on how we can further improve this feature, especially in terms of user interactions.
The Megalith remains unchanged, while the CZAR temporarily loses its ability to build. We were unable to finalize it, but we hope to include it in a future patch.
Advanced orders
We're enhancing existing advanced orders and introducing new ones. The most notable change is the complete reimplementation of the Spread Attack feature from the ground up. This wouldn't have been possible without the dedicated work of Strogo, RTD, and KionX.
All of the mentioned orders are linked to hotkeys. In the key bindings menu, you'll find new world-wide-web icons next to hotkeys. If the world-wide-web icon is present, you can click on it to learn more about the hotkey on the FAForever wiki. We highly recommend checking out the Wiki; it even includes short videos that can explain concepts better than a thousand words ever could.
The following hotkeys have been improved or added:
- Distribute orders (formerly Spread Attack)
- Distribute orders (for the unit your mouse is hovering over)
- Copy orders (for the unit your mouse is hovering over)
- Load into transports
- Filter engineers
- Cycle templates (see below: Context-based templates)
Advanced map shaders
We're excited to announce the introduction of advanced map shaders that map authors can now apply to their new maps. Existing maps will remain unchanged. These new shaders enable you to incorporate properties such as shadows, ambient occlusion, normals, and albedo textures directly into the terrain. This integration makes them an integral part of the rendering pipeline, rather than applying them on top of the terrain, as decals typically do.
Context based templates
An alternative use of the build templates system! With this new feature, you can cycle through build templates that adapt to the context of your selection and your mouse location. FAForever includes a set of default templates for this feature. The functionality is fully customizable, allowing you to remove existing templates or add your own to cycle through via UI mods.
You can find the hotkey by searching for 'Context.' It defaults to 'Tab' for new players or those who have reset their keybindings.
Other features
- (#5321) Pausing engineers will also pause reclaiming props.
- (#5300) The score graph now uses square root scaling to make it easier to view the first few minutes.
- (#5326) We've improved CPU resource utilization to reduce frame stuttering for CPUs with 6 or more logical cores.
In practice, many CPUs have 6 or more logical cores. If we detect that your CPU has sufficient cores, we change the process affinity to ignore the first compute core. The first compute core is often used by processes, including the OS. When the game ignores the first compute core, the render thread (which is otherwise locked to the first compute core) has more room to operate and is less influenced by other processes and the OS. As a result, you'll experience fewer stutters and overall better frame times.
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9e73421 On average, there is a 5% performance improvement (both in simulation and UI) across the board.
A free Cybran Cookie for anyone who can explain how it works without asking the assembly magicians. -
120d32 Added a new hotkey to load all units of your selection into the transports of your selection.
-
(#5333) Added tread crushing damage to the Fatboy.
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(#5367) Added the standard Cybran build effect to the Megalith.
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(#5362) Added links to the Wiki to explain hotkeys in the key bindings menu.
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(#5360) Sped up the death animations of a wide range of structures.
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(#5312) Extend depth preview to help indicate when the water is deep enough for submarines
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(#5365) Add high quality water textures that map authors can now use
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[fe6db21] Improve the Damage over Time (DOT) effects of the Mercy
Bug fixes
- (#5317) Bombers with multiple projectiles are now less likely to miss their target when micromanaging them.
- (#5294) Gifted structures now properly copy the orientation.
- (#5335) Fixed a bug that occurred with the navigational mesh for non-square maps.
- (#5329) Disabled intel and maintenance costs of units inside a carrier.
- (#5374) Fixed upgrading structures losing their control groups.
- (#5371) Fixed invulnerable props being removed when building on top of them.
- (#5371) Fixed light particles when building structures being visible through the fog of war.
- (#5343) Fixed a bug that could cause the simulation to freeze.
- (#5303) Fixed a bug that could cause weapons to reset their targets prematurely
- (#5368) Reduce aliasing of water when anisotropic filtering is enabled through the Nvidia settings
Contributors
Unlike previous changelogs we no longer list the commits of each individual contributor.
With thanks to the following people who contributed through coding:
- @RabidPope
- @gordenwunderlich (Nex37)
- @HUSSAR-mtrela
- @BlackYps
- @Basilisk3
- @speed2CZ
- @Dhomie (Grandpa Sawyer)
- @Hdt80bro
- @maudlin27
- @relent0r
- @Garanas (Jip)
- Deribus
With thanks to the following people who contributed through binary patches:
With thanks to the following people who contributed through model, texture and effect changes:
- @MadMaxFAF
- Deribus
- @Garanas (Jip)
And, last but certainly not least - with thanks to those that took part in constructive discussions:
- @ChessBerry
- Tomma
- @gordenwunderlich
- @MostLostNoob
- FemtoZetta
- @Sheikah45
- @ComradeStryker
- Resistance
- @maudlin27
- @MadMaxFAF
- IndexLibrorum
- Derp
- Deribus
- Magge
Contributors
Assets 2
Game version 3764
See the patch notes of 3762 and 3758 for the full patch notes.
With thanks to all those that took the time to report issues and participate in feedback sessions,
Jip
Features
-
(#5264) Enhancements to the unit restrictions menu
- Filters out dummy units
- Filters out insignificant units
- Fixes various bugs
-
(#5269) Enhancements to the unit cheat menu
- Add unit count input
- Add faction logo to a unit
- Add tech level to a unit
- Improve readability of blueprint id
- Fix various styling issues
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(#5274) Allow tree groups to block a construction site
Based on player feedback, tree groups now obstruct construction sites and are therefore reclaimed by the engineers
This is not to be confused with 'broken tree groups'. A tree group that is broken is split into individual trees. Once broken, these individual trees no longer block the construction site
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(#5275) Additional hotkeys to unpause or pause all units
These new hotkeys allow you to express your intentions when (un)pausing a selection of units, especially when only a few of them need to be paused or unpaused
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(#5276) Additional hotkeys to surface or submerge all units
These new hotkeys allow you to express your intentions when surfacing or submerging a selection of units, especially when only a few of them are submerged or surfaced
Bug fixes
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(#5290) Resolved the issue with the navigational mesh causing crashes during the save-load sequence
Most notable when playing the campaign alone. The navigational mesh was written as a large cycle. As a consequence, once the navigational mesh was generated the save process would be unable to serialize it and crash the game
-
(#5291) Fix the Ythotha storm discriminating allied units and patches of ground
There was a bug that would prevent the Ythotha storm from firing upon allied units. As a result, the storm would only deal damage to hostile units. Now, the storm treats all units and ground patches equally, inflicting damage without bias.
-
(#5277) Prevent the intel recharge thread from hijacking the work progress bar
Most notable with the Cybran ACU once he has the stealth enhancement. This prevents the chaotic behavior when multiple Lua threads are trying to claim the progress bar
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(#5282) Adjusted the positioning of tech 3 anti-air units in formations
The Bouncer and the Lightning tank have a direct fire weapon. As a result, they were considered to be a direct fire unit by the formations script. They are now recognized as anti-air units and therefore end up at the middle or the back of the formation like other anti-air units
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(#5285) Remove the ability to cap Tech 3 air factories
The previous hotfix (3763) was unexpected and this change wasn't supposed to go live immediately. Regardless, we understood the feedback and are removing the behavior again
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(#5287) Sanitize the anti-surface threat value of ACUs
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(#5292) Fix a bug where Seraphim torpedo bombers can trick torpedo defenses
Other changes
- (#5283) Add platoon form callbacks for conditional builds
Contributors
Game version 3763
See the patch notes of 3762 and 3758 for the full patch notes.
There was a misconception with the distribution of files and as a result, wrecks would be removed in the release branch when you build on top of them. It was fun while it lasted 😄
Jip
Features
-
(#5262) Introduce the ability to cap additional structures
You can now also cap the following structures:
- Tech 3 air factories with tech 3 power generators
- Tech 3 or experimental artillery with tech 3 power generators
To use these you need the game option 'Automate Structure Ringing' to be on 'Full Suite'
Bug fixes
-
(#5266) Fix wrecks being removed when constructing on top of them
-
(#5265) Fix the UI scaling of the unit cheat menu
-
(#5237) Fix the visuals and damage output of the Mercy
The visuals can now be seen when you're zoomed out and the Mercy deals exactly 600 area damage at the center of the target
-
(#5191) Fix the size of the zapper on the Cybran Aircraft Carrier
Contributors
Game version 3762
See the patch notes of 3762 and 3758 for the full patch notes.
Jip
Features
-
(#5197, #16) Small props and trees are ignored when building
You can now build on top of logs, bushes, cacti, (fallen) trees and tree groups. This is a quality-of-life change to prevent your ACU or your engineers from delaying your build order because there is an invisible prop (due to Level of Details (LODs)) 'blocking' your construction site. This can significantly delay the construction. Instead, the before-mentioned props are destroyed when you start the construction.
To be specific, the following props will still block your construction site:
- Any wreck, regardless of mass value
- Any rock, regardless of mass value
- Any non-tree prop of significant (>= 10) mass value in general
For the next patch, the goal is to allow you to entirely rely on the reclaim overview to manage your expectations of whether the construction site is blocked by props.
-
(#5246) Do not immediately destroy units of teams that recall
There was a suggestion on the forum to be able to review the final game state when a team recalls. With this delay, the units are preserved in the final game state, yet still destroyed when you play FFA-like setups
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(#5247) Re-introduce a hotkey that allows you to filter your selection and assist the highest tech engineers of your selection
AI
-
(#5234) Fix a bug where nuke launchers did not generate the correct threat
They were categorized by AI as a unit with excessive surface threat, instead of economic threat. As a result, the AI would essentially never attack a base with a nuke launcher in it
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(#5234) Fix a bug where mobile artillery and missile launchers did not generate the correct threat
They were categorized by the AI as units with economic threat instead of surface threat. As a result, the AI would recognize them as bulky engineers instead of something more dangerous
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(#5156, #5164) Add additional debug utilities for the Navigational Mesh
Bug fixes
-
(#5218) Fix a bug when trying to give a unit a veterancy of 0
A few campaign maps did this and the bug prevented the scripts to continue
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(#5219, #5236) Fix a bug in campaign maps related to missing categories
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(#5219, #5236) Fix a bug with the unit restrictions menu related to missing categories
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(#5162) Fix shield visibility on land-only maps
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(#5245) Fix a bug where the idle animation of the Seraphim tech 2 extractor does not stop when upgrading
Graphics
- (#5171) Add or fix existing LODs of various Aeon units
Performance
- (#5250) Reduce the performance impact of the AA weaponry of Seraphim frigates
Contributors
Game version 3761
The main objective of this patch is to enhance the viability of a diverse range of strategies by boosting raiding capabilities, balancing overpowered units, and introducing novel ways to utilize existing units.
This changelog is just a snippet of the total changelog. In this balance update, more than a hundred units have been tweaked in some fashion. You can read the complete changelog by clicking on the 'Beta Balance' button below. This snippet only includes bug fixes and unit reworks.
The Balance Team
Bug fixes
-
(#5222) Fix a resource glitch that allows the Megalith to produce units for free
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(#5221) Fix a bug with the animation of the Cybran extractors not stopping when upgrading
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(#5220) Fix a bug where the Wailer (Tech 3 Cybran gunship) would half its damage output
This bug occurs when the Wailer would engage a ground target and an air target at the same time. The damage output of the air-to-ground weapons would be reduced by half
Unit reworks
-
(#4985, #5194, #5175) Rework the Mercy
The mercy has been completely reworked. The role of the unit is changed from being a sniper to area denial. It now deals damage over time over a large area
With thanks to Deribus for the initial idea and implementation
Contributors
- Terminal
- Farmsletje
- Tagada
- SpikeyNoob
- Rowey
- Blodir
- Turinturambar
- RabidPope
- Basilisk3
- Hdt80bro
- ComradeStryker
- Jip
- 4z0t
- Deribus
- Archsimkat