Early Access version 47

MAIN CHANGES

Photon Swarm rework. The projectiles now have a homing ability. This was… difficult. Hopefully the result will be worth it. Further tweaking will be required in a 2nd pass – try it out!

Some anti-exploit measures: Removed a lot of the session-dependent randomness from missions. This means that if you disconnect and reconnect, you’ll still get exactly the same waves. Boss movement is now repeatable (e.g. UCO slams). ‘Usable’ equipment (e.g., Special Weapons, Poultry Payback, etc.) is now permanently lost after being used, even if you dis/reconnect. More to come.

A lot of other minor improvements. Check the full list below.

Bug/Idea medals will be awarded later in the day (even after your medal is awarded, you’ll need to re-connect to see it). :warning: Your medal cannot be awarded if your in-game callsign doesn’t match your forum name (send it to me in a private message).

COMPATIBILITY

You will lose:

  • any in-mission progress
  • any graphics options you have configured (under particular circumstances, all menu options could be lost)

CHANGELOG

:new: New features – :bulb: Tweaks – :bug: Bug fixes – :gear: Internal changes

  • :gear: Deleted users that haven’t logged in in the past 4 weeks and have less than an hour of playtime.
  • :bug: Destruction meter now also includes screen and area damage (e.g. Missiles, Clucker bomb, Plasma area-of-effect) (@minasam123 :medal_sports: Bug)
  • :bulb: Destruction meter max. range is now 10k (was 8k)
  • :bug: Fixed bullets disappearing before they leave the screen completely (caused by “Removed debugging aids” fix in v.46) (@505 :medal_sports: Bug)
  • :bulb: Reduced Plasma area-of-effect opacity to 50% (@Jasnah_Kholin :medal_sports: Idea)
  • :bug: Store: Updated Plasma description to include area-of-effect (@BoggY :medal_sports: Bug)
  • :bug: Store: Updated Lightning Fryer description to include chaining (@minasam123 :medal_sports: Bug)
  • :bulb: “Trash Compactor” wave: Moved anomaly zones off-center (@Akemisora :medal_sports: Idea)
  • :bug: Improved area damage calculations to take each collision area into account separately (rather than just the enemy’s center) (@anon48763505 :medal_sports: Bug)
  • :bug: Darkness missions: Fixed excessive darkness removal on zoomed-out waves.
  • :bug: Fixed Saucer Wreck disappearing too early when leaving screen (@SonicCrazyExe :medal_sports: Bug)
  • :bug: Advanced Graphics options: Fixed one-frame lag before UI controls are disabled (@minasam123 :medal_sports: Bug)
  • :bulb: Mission now won’t end until all keys/bonuses/etc have been collected (or have disappeared) (@Enhawk a.k.a. Enhawk :medal_sports: Idea)
  • :bug: Fixed stale colors when returning to the Profile screen after changing color theme.
  • :bulb: “Surrender” text (in most recent/best result) is now orange to match ‘X’ icon (@minasam123 :medal_sports: Idea)
  • :bug: Power-ups dropped by Henterprise upon death now obey the “tone down effects” setting when deciding whether to spawn them raised or not (@anon48763505 @minasam123 :medal_sports: Bug)
  • :bulb: Charity is now given even if no lives have been lost.
  • :bug: Due to “Charity is now given even if no lives have been lost” change, desync crash (“Could not find object ID”) caused by charity spawning has now been fixed.
  • :new: Added CIU theme track (ambient & intense) as purchaseable music (@Recruit_75 :medal_sports: Idea)
  • :bug: Store: Fixed incorrect text wrapping of hardpoint descriptions.
  • :bulb: Utensil Poker: strong projectile now deals 400 damage (was 375).
  • :bulb: Ion Blaster: weak projectile now deals 200 damage (was 165). (@1galbatorix1 :medal_sports: Idea)
  • :bulb: Customize screen: Flagship is now marked with a flag icon (@MoonKnight :medal_sports: Idea)
  • :new: Color theme customization: Themes can now be named (@505 :medal_sports: Idea)
  • :bulb: Egg Cannon Cannon Cannon Cannonade: 3rd phase: Shotgun attack is now 25% slower at 100% difficulty, lower difficulties also increase the time between attacks (2 seconds @0% difficulty) (@harakat :medal_sports: Idea)
  • :bulb: Added specific “is empty” messages to contact/squadron search fields (@minasam123 :medal_sports: Idea)
  • :bug: Fixed dark-widgets-on-dark-background for dark color themes (@BoggY :medal_sports: Bug)
  • :bulb: Renamed “Additional Droid Patrol” wave to “Backup Droid Patrol”.
  • :bulb: Removed per-session randomness from following waves (randomness is now only per-mission): Three by Three, Look in All Directions, Bullet Spray, Chicken Aerial Show, Egg Cyclone/Egg Hurricane, The Weakest Link/The Strongest Link, Caught in the Crossfire/Trapped in the Crossfire, Security Droid Patrol/Backup Droid Patrol, Supply Droids/Supply Line, Eggshell Fields, Caged Animals/The Zoo, Chicken Interception, Electrifying Descent/Electrifying Dive, Bend it like Beckhen/Kick it like Beckhen, Chicken Geometry (partial), Gyroscope Malfunction, Invader Crossing, Invader Fly-by, Omnidirectional Onslaught, Alien Container, Shoot and Scoot/Shoot and Loot, Visitors From Another Dimension, The Magic Flute, Armored Division (partial), Supernova Debris, Do the Backstroke, Swimming in Space, Technological Advances, Lethal Connections (partial), Interchangeable Parts, Divide and Conquer, Chink in the Armor, Chicken Rings/ Bubble Rings, Do Not Cross. (@BoggY :medal_sports: Idea)
  • :bulb: Removed unused “Egg Hurricane” wave variation (“Egg Cyclone” incorporates both variations via mirroring).
  • :new: Added “The Strongest Link” wave variation (starts appearing at 80% difficulty) (@Sammarald :medal_sports: Idea)
  • :bulb: Removed per-session randomness from movement patterns of all bosses (randomness is now only per-mission).
  • :bulb: ICBM satellite: Ammo is now 5 (was 3), rocket now accelerates (@1galbatorix1 :medal_sports: Idea), reduced explosion shake by 25% (@Akemisora :medal_sports: Idea)
  • :bulb: Microgun satellite: Ammo is now 250 (was 125) (@Enhawk :medal_sports: Idea)
  • :bug: Upon being triggered, Berserk/Assassin orientation is now reset to “preferred” (@Sammarald :medal_sports: Bug)
  • :bulb: ‘Usable’ equipment (e.g., Special Weapons, Poultry Payback, etc.) is now permanently lost after being used, even if player dis/reconnects.
  • :bulb: Moron-only missions now receive a 25% score “weapon virtuosity” boost (@Francis :medal_sports: Idea)
  • :new: Reworked Photon Swarm. Projectiles home-in on targets (strong projectile has greater homing ability). Heat generated and firing rate now follow inverse-quadratic rather than linear progression. Overheat time @ power 10 increased to 10 s (from 3.8s). Projectile damage: 100/170. Strong projectile appearance: 10% @ 6, 20% @ 7, 30% @ 8, 40% @ 9, 50% @ 10, 100% @ 20. 25% thinner weaker projectiles, 15% thinner strong projectiles. Projectiles are now more translucent. (@1galbatorix1 :medal_sports: Idea)
  • :bulb: Assassin chicks now have a visual ‘tell’ (spoiler: their bandana is flipped horizontally), even before they’re damaged (@youraveragegrant :medal_sports: Idea)

BACKUPS

You are reminded that during Early Access you are responsible for backing up your own progress. Make a copy of everything under C:\ProgramData\InterAction studios\CIU (including all sub-folders). :warning: Never rename files or move them from one version folder to another. Simply make a copy and then later put it back exactly where you found it.

24 Likes

Wohoo, lets rock!

4 Likes

Neat.

3 Likes

Oh yes, the perfect update for photon swarm.

3 Likes

lets play

2 Likes

We’ll see about that.

4 Likes

Update description to include the homing ability? Also the “red glow when supercharge” part might be misleading now?
image

8 Likes

Photons don’t heat almost at all after picking up a firepower while autofiring, not sure if it’s only the transition from 8 to 9 fp though

10 Likes

Hm. Photon Swarm’s overheat rate at fp 9 is REEEEEEEEALLLLLLY slow. It’s almost as good as never overheating.

Other than that, the homing capability is rather weak (weak enough to entirely miss a target and go off-screen when it’s trying to home in on targets in some situations. Look at screenshot for example). Perhaps slow the projectiles down so that the homing capability can have more effect? (or make the homing capability stronger) At the same time, I think increasing the Normal Photon damage to 130 and Supercharged to 200 would be good.

Also, a question: Do the photons home in on targets that will take no damage? If they do, I suggest adding 2 Straight Firing Photons to the front that do not home in on targets. Just so that there is something that can hit the intended targets in some situations.

4 Likes

Fixed in v.48

Well, rapid fractional firing rates such as these are very sensitive to your frame rate. I’ll have to rework the firing mechanism to avoid this. On the list.

4 Likes


iA, can you change the positron’s description a little bit, since it got reworked? Also, the line “Its focused power generates a lot of hear, so make sure you fire it in short bursts for maximum efficiency” should be changed since now it takes more time for it to overheat when it’s stronger

This IS the new description. And, I don’t see any notes about Positron overheat rate having been changed. It’s the same as it always has been, is it not?

6 Likes

Not sure why, but previews for the CIU theme seem to be not working correctly (it’s just silence).
And yes, it happens with both versions.

EDIT: After playing a mission with the intense theme equipped
(or even just previewing it), going back to the map or the title screen doesn’t even play it anymore. Also noticed that, for the intense version at least, after this bug occurs it plays but only for a couple of seconds.

1 Like

Update the description of ICBM as it now has 5 shots?
image

7 Likes

Actually it’s fine

It does say “minimum order”

“minimum order” is supposed to mean the quantity per satellite, so…

Fixed in v.48 :medal_sports: Bug

10 Likes

uhh
For some reason, dark text combined with light-colored glows ends up being almost unrecognizable, yet the dark text affects everything else in the HUD except the score which is just fine. (the former only)

Maybe adding outline would help?

1 Like

A small QOL change suggestion: Double click the mission to fly it?

1 Like

That, or make the rest of the HUD text as dark as the score, and this is on option 1. Option 4 is the lightest color for text and it shows everything just fine, hence why I’ve shown the latter.