This weeks update is going to be a little shorter (I took a short week) — but still filled with important information! For this week I’ll be covering a new type of overloader, a new kind of neurotweak as well as some massive bug fixing that went on post patch.

First, the bug fixing. This patch had it’s share of troubles and most of them were fixed extremely fast. Some issues with subspace instances were quickly squashed. The issue with deploying drones in instances? Found and fixed! Also, all the excess prospecting nodes created by the duplication bug have been removed (which was a time consuming and tedious process, but it needed done). As I have said in the past, I’ll be committing a fair bit of time to taking care of issues like these and I’ll keep doing it. It only makes the game better!

Some other miscellaneous updates? Prospecting Scanners will no longer show empty nodes and the Alien Ship Rebalance is well underway. Before it’s finalized I will post a list of suggested changes and let you guys give me plentiful feedback on it.

Now for the new item announcements! This week there are two. They might not be as epic as the Gunner Deathblossom, but they should prove useful to quite a few players.

The first is an Aura Tweak. It is a hybrid of an aura and a neurotweak. This means we can now make tweaks that can buff your party for a limited time without the need of having an aura equipped. Some examples where this might be useful are things like an XP tweak that you could pop to make your squad level faster, or an area-of-effect heal-over-time tweak that a Shield Monkey could pop to keep the squad up in a sticky situation. We can also use them to debuff an entire group of enemies. There are a lot of possibilities to a tweak that works like this so expect to see a slew of them in the near future.

The second item, which personally I find more interesting, is a new type of Overloader called an Charge Overloader. This special variant of overloader charges up, and on your next weapon fire after it’s charged, it’ll do tweak effect on your target. This is useful because it unties tweak effects from specific weapons; that is, you can get the tweak effect from any weapon if you are using a charge overloader. Charge Overloaders, like normal overloaders, can only have one equipped at a time.

The first uses will be for new Seer items called ambush modules. These items also have the added restriction that the effect will only take place if you backstab the target. If they are used successfully though, they will apply a powerful debuff on the target. There are other potential uses for these items though; consider special Shield Monkey variants that add a heal-over-time tweak to their healing target regardless of which shield transfer they are using. Or we could add special Berserker variants that debuff the target if they’re taking it head on. Like the Aura Tweak, there is a lot of potential for this new item class.

With these two new items that use the tweak system, we are also looking at expanding the maximum number of tweak effects to include some buffs that have been added since the tweak system first debuted. Some possibilities are tractor power tweaks and electric tempering tweaks. This is actually not a trivial change, so it might come a little later.

So, that’s it for this week. As always, sound off in the forum post associated with this post!

Client:
Additions:
* Added 2 new lkc command for the hardcore mcer / low performance pc
** /lkc renderres 0.5 (where 0.5 can be anything from 0 (fullqlty) to 0.9 (very very lowres)) This setting basically lower the resolution at which your gameview is rendered, but does not affect the gui
** /lkc renderfull 0.1 is more extreme than renderres, as it will affect the whole client (text will become very hard to read) but this produce much better gain when the gpu is the bottleneck
** those new settings are used automatically to reduce the load of clients that are not focused or completely covered by other window (multiclienting) this should fix the issue of clients having a delay when alt-tabbing (need background client rendering enabled)
* Lagkiller will also lower the resolution of the gameview slightly (this can give a great performance boost in some case, with very little ingame impact)
* (feature) Added a new button to the bottom bar “?” Which open to the player guide section of the website.
* Added back the space brake sound from C1

Tweaks:
* (tweak) shipforming now display the ship hull name in the last confirmation window before using the spacepoints.
* (tweak) tooltip from the ship inventory, now only display for item you have selected (should reduce greatly the amount of “annoying” tooltip
* Improvements to the Autopilot Code
** Don’t thrust in the wrong direction when starting out
** Don’t wiggle back and forth
** Don’t thrust all the time and lost speed bonus from afterburners or tractors and thrust as little as possible while stealthy
** Brake at the correct time, rather than braking early and pulsing the brake
** Use the break any time the ship is moving in the wrong direction, but not facing the right direction to thrust (as opposed to only braking at the very end)
** Don’t stop on the last wormhole of the AP journey and then jump through. Instead, jump through and then stop — it’s faster.
** Don’t try to end up exactly in the middle of the destination, rather suffer tolerance based on the ships jumping and docking radius
** Do reverse thrusting if the AP wants to stop somewhere and the ship is going to overshoot it
** Make the angle that the AP is “cutting in” in order to get on track be proportional to how far off it current is, rather than just either pointing 45 degrees in or straight at the target
* (lagkiller optimisation) added renderbg to the lagkiller which essentially lower the rendered resolution of backgrounds and large clouds (which are the main cause of gpu related lag on lower end hardware). There are a few camera related artefact going on when you are zoomed in too much, but they are minimal (lighting dim a bit on the cloud and what it cover).
** this optimisation took the spot between laglevel 1 and 4 pushing the full renderres effect from 5 to 12, since its pretty rare that rendering the ships them self at lower resolution help anything.

Fixes:
* fixed a long-standing bug in autopilot path that would refuse to traverse some specific galaxies.
* Improved client and server millisecond timer to be much more reliable over long duration, fixing the desync issue on asteroid and planets (i hope)
* Reduced the amount of “failsafe” network update now that sync should be fixed (planets / asteroid and the likes, currently caused quite a bit of network stress for lower quality isp / routers, especially while multiclienting).
* (bugfix) shipforming should now make the ship disappear from the docked list
* (bugfix/feature) fix for the random crash when using death tow (and possibility other galaxy change related crash, although much less likely).
* (bugfix) fixed tooltip issue when the galmap was close to the left side of screen
* Fixed a bug with engine thrust sound where it would sometimes stay on after you end AP or dock at a base
* Fixed a sound bug with fast firing projectiles where some of the ones that were getting inserted by the server to make the average RoF come out correct were having the wrong firing sound (e.g. Radish Torch)
* Fixed a bug where the Activate Controlbot option would only work if the ship was previously entered.

Server:
Additions:
+ New Mod Angelic (reduced hostility and visibility)
+ New Mod Reinforced (reduced durability damage on death, and adds inertial dampening)
+ Shield Chargers can now be modded.
+ Hull Expanders can now be modded.
+ Tractors can now be modded.
* Shielded mod now also reduces hostility.
* Super Intelligent mod now also grants critical hit chance.
* Amorphous mod has been added to engines.
* Rewired mod has been added to engines (adds thrust, removes turning).
* Rewired mod also grants electric tempering.
* Composite mod now reduces weight by 50% up to a maximum of 500k reduction.
* Miniaturized mod now reduces item size based on tech level of the item.
* Buffered mod now applies to shields. (adds resist all)
+ Transdimensional Warp Devices
+ Added AI controlled Warp Beacons to Sol, Lyceum, The Nexus, Kumari and Iq’ Bana
+ Missions to get Transdimensional Warp Devices added to Deep Space and Beta Antares
+ Added new commodity, Warpwnium, used in building Warp Beacons

Tweaks:
* Changed the base price of Psion Icicles to 50k
* Moved some of the words in the swear filter from the “partial” to “whole” list
* (Feature change) Spaceshipping no longer completely destroy the ship, Instead all items onboard the ship have their durability lowered to 0 and the ship is towed to the nearest tow station.
** (Tweak) a ship or a slave can no longer spaceship if the player is in the same galaxy (including offline) this should drastically reduce the number of accidental spaceshipping.
** (note) an item will be created soon that will allow safe stasis ship destruction (to allow getting rid of ships that cant be sold). This item will essentially work like a timed bomb, once equipped on a ship, the ship will go in stasis, and will be destroyed x days later unless recovered. (this should prevent catastrophic destruction in case of someone evil taking over an account and willing to destroy every ships since the ship will not be destroyed right away)

Fixes:
* Fixed the warhead/mass impact bug (being sent to infinity (south east)).
* (crashfix) changed the network code to support a dynamic buffer size (from 128bytes to 128mb) instead of a static buffer (32kb), this should completely fix any buffer overrun possible with the network code (server crash when opening a sing sphere with too many items to only name one)
* Fixed a bug where you couldn’t sell unequipped Augmenters to a station that vended them
* fix to prospecting node reseeding
* Fixed “Recharge Like Zeus” mission
* Fix for Zeus’ Recharging Beam, now affects both ships and drones properly
* Fixed damaged items being able to be sold to bases via ‘sell’ button.
* Fixed Miniaturized mod to give the proper amount of space reduction

Content:
Additions:
* New level names up to 10,000.
+ added some shiny new DG AI
+ added piracy drone missions (Strontium)
* added blueprints and droprates for new drones
+ added Looter drone to ai base for sale (Strontium)
+ added lance drone mk I to ai base (vervaardiger)
* Added three shiny new drones (T19-21) to dungeon drops

Tweaks:
* Aliens levelling coefficients have been changed so aliens level at the proper speed.
* Alien roaming ranges have been fixed so they won’t invade lower level leaves of subspace.
+ Subspace Tunnels have been added to reduce travel time in Subspace.
* Tweaked the ratios of dungeon drop categories
* Made the fighter bay on Mulligan’s Zebu Titan be non-sticky, but of the same sub type as the ship so people can equip better fighter/missile bays on that ship if they wish.
* Ohm and Resistance have been slightly beefed (Resistance is a ship)
+ Removed Stasis Generators from galaxies that sold them and shouldn’t
* Beefed most scoops so they have a faster scoops per second stat.
* Olympus Tractors are no longer Neurobound.
* Alien Invasion attacks are no longer contained to a single galaxy.
* Alien Invasion ‘Outposts’ are more dangerous.
* Changes to the Tractor 22 boss to ensure loot drops and mission completions.
* added fighter slots usage to their item description if its higher than 1 slot

Fixes:
* Fixed Subspace Daily “Sweep the Asteroid Field”
* Fixed Subspace Daily missions not requiring the commod given by the root mission.
* Subspace Daily mission fixes
* Rahnti DNA extraction fix

This weeks update focuses on some changes coming to the alien invasions, some new skill availability, a quick transwarp update and another brand new item that will be making its way to the game soon.

It’s been a rocky first universe for Alien Invasions, there is no denying that. Difficulty has varied wildly and we’ve not been able to find a good balance. Hopefully, this weeks patch will get us a little closer. There are two major changes to the invasion mechanics coming. Firstly, attacks will not be localized to a single galaxy. This means during the 3 hour attack window the layer will be swarmed, something many of you have told me you miss. Secondly, alien bases are getting stronger. In addition to extra shields and damage, they have been given a few new abilities when they level up — mainly in the form of some dangerous new fighters. The miniboss AI you fight in instances have been adapted to work as fighter AI which will be launched by the improved bases. This should definitely increase their difficulty as they cannot be killed while they have other aliens in the galaxy.

I have a few more transwarp details as well. Transwarps will require you to explore the galaxy with the beacon before you are allowed to warp to them. Also, you will not be allowed to use transwarp devices inside instances. These are necessary restrictions and will help keep people on equal footing during universe resets as well. For instance, a player with a transwarp would have a better chance of getting Biologique than one without if they could instantly warp to someplace like Iq’ Bana. It also keeps everyone on an equal footing when it comes to exploration, which is something we keep track of.

As part of the class rebalance, we have decided that moving forward, we are going to add new levels of Remote Control — but with the following caveat. New levels of Remote Control will be locked to your piloting level, minus two. That means you will be required to have Piloting 21 for Remote Control 19 and Piloting 22 for Remote Control 20. The new levels will be available from T21 and T22 content. Expect to see this sometime in the near future.

As for the new item. Again, a screenshot of the tooltip for the announcement!

The Deathblossom device is a special type of Gunner item that will enable them to quickly and efficiently take out large groups of smaller enemies. When equipped it increases their damage output significantly as well as starts firing the weapon currently in use at nearby additional targets. Nearby targets are randomly selected from those that are enemies, in range, visible, etc. The number of targets and energy costs is determined by the item. Here is a brief demonstration.

As you can see in the video, I cleared Rumble 2 extremely fast and with minimal effort, and in testing I could clear Rumble 3 with similar results. Overall, this item is meant to give Gunners a bit of extra firepower they can leverage in situations where there is spawn to clear (and I am sure there are a few alien galaxies where this item would be amazing).

Hopefully you’ve enjoyed yet another look at what’s been going on behind the scenes with me this past week. As always, comments are appreciated! Sound off in the forums if you have an opinion!

EFNN NEWS BULLETIN

Subspace has been stirred…

Defenders have reported a dangerous increase in hostile alien activity! Could this hostility be a feint to hide an even more nefarious plot? It is according to the Lyceum! A report recently released by top researchers claims the aliens are destabilizing the anomalies scattered throughout their sectors. This report further theorizes that should this activity be left unchecked, our universe will see increasing levels of gravimetric flux! Although graviton theory is still in its infancy, preliminary research has led the team of Lyceum researchers to believe these forces could shred the very fabric of space-time! It seems the Aveksaka have ‘gone nuclear’. Let’s hope our brave soldiers can stop them in time!

Chaz Manly, EFNN

—–

The Universe is at it’s end. The current universe will end on:

October 19, 2013 at 1:00pm Eastern Standard Time.

All ships will carry over, but permanent assets such as bases will not. For more information, check out this guide on Universe Resets.

In an effort to improve our bug tracking and reporting we are moving away from using the support ticket system for bugs that do not involve exploits or losses.

For more information please check out the bug forum post. Tickets that are not exploitable and do not involve losses will be automatically responded to and closed. Thank you for your understanding through this transition.

This weeks post details my last weeks work including some more details on Transdimensional Warp Devices, some bug fixing and a few changes for the upcoming class rebalance.

Once again it’s Monday! I’ve had a pretty busy week and there is quite a bit to talk about! First, I am sure most people are wondering how they’ll be able to get their hands on a Transwarp device. Players will be able to get their first Transwarp, a tech 0 device, in the Nexus. After that, every five equipment levels a new device will be available in Beta Antares for a modest fee. These devices will be available to everyone and will offer the following jump locations; The Nexus, Sol, Lyceum, Free Market, Kumari, Iq’ Bana, The Mausoleum and The End of the Universe. Keep in mind, you might not be able to access all of these locations from everywhere as devices have a limited number of jumps.

If you are in a team and your team decides to build their own Warp Beacons, those beacons will also be available as destinations for the entry level devices. These beacons can be placed in Wild Space and Celestial Garden. Blueprints for them will also be found in Beta Antares.

If you use the ticket system, you may have noticed that I am now handling some support tickets. We also have recruited someone to make sure the bug forums get better developer attention. As such I’ve been doing quite a bit of bug-fixing — I’d give you a list but it would make this blog unreasonably long! Expect to see me squashing more bugs going forward.

If you have been following the Dev Notes forum, you should know we are planning on a class rebalance. Since my main character in game is a Gunner, I’ve taken on the coding changes required for Gunner. Apart from some minor skill changes, the biggest project I’ve taken on so far are additions to missiles and launchers.

In order to help reduce the clicky-button spam that Gunners have to do in order to do reasonable damage in combat, we are changing missiles so they fire in salvos. These will be determined by the missile and better missiles will fire stronger salvos. There have also been some launcher changes. Apart from enabling launchers to fire the salvo of missiles, launchers will be able to give the missiles they fire augmenter stats. This will allow us to create some extremely interesting options when it comes to gearing up your Gunner. This change also allows us to give all missiles a bit of extra speed and thrust, something I’m sure everyone would agree they’re lacking.

So, that’s this week’s look at what I’ve been up to. Feel free to post comments or questions in the magically generated discussion post!

All Forum Rules, Chat Rules, and Game rules along with the User Agreement have been moved to their own dedicated page for clarity and ease of access. By using the website you agree to the rules, and user agreement outlined on that page.

You can now access the rules & EULA in the game menu of the website or going straight to this page.

The User Agreement was not changed.

So in the old tried and true we’ve decided to do Double EXP before we start making our monthly events more exciting, and dare I say, more dangerous. So level those alts and get that experience!

This monthly event will start at 12:00am EST on Friday September 27th and end at 11:59pm on Sunday September 29th.

Well well, it’s getting to that time of year again. Before you know it you’ll be blasting open presents and beating up that Astro-Grinch for his goodies, and remembering the pain that is Spiked Egg Nog. But before all of that, is a very special day, a day of candies and costumes.

To lead up to this lovely occasion, which is obviously Halloween, we, the Dev Team would like to hear all your scary stories, the more terrifying the better! The best ones will be justly rewarded.

You have until October the 13th to submit your stories. Good luck. Please post your submissions here.

This weeks dev blog is looking at an extremely exciting new feature that will be headed to game soon.

Another Monday means another update from me filling everyone in on what I’ve been up to the past week. It’s been a pretty big week and I’ve been working on an exciting new feature that I am sure everyone will be looking forward to! Once again I’m going to let a screenshot do the talking.

We are finally working on adding teleport devices! Known as Transdimensional Warpers, these new items will allow players to teleport to distant galaxies based on a few factors. First, warping distance which is controlled by the device. If the warp requires more jumps than that, it’s a no go. Second, each Warp Device has a shield and positioning requirement. If you are not at full shields and far enough away from nearby solar bodies (suns, moons, planets), it’s also a no go. Finally, you may only warp to a special Warp Beacons. There will be some AI controlled warp beacons scattered around the universe in special places like Sol, Lyceum, Iq’ Bana, etc, but the real draw is in player controlled warp beacons.

Player controlled warp beacons come in two varieties. First, there are permanent beacons. These can be built and placed in any team owned territory. Once placed, they function as a warp destination for the player who placed it, his squad and his entire team and can be used by any class of warp device. Second, there are temporary warp beacons. These are beacons that have the same placement requirements as normal drones, with the exception that they are unable to be placed in instanced or owned galaxies. As with permanent beacons, they will act as destinations for for the player who placed it, their team and their squad. The difference is they can only act as destinations for specialized transwarp devices.

Fleet Commanders (and maybe Seers) will gain initial access to the specialized devices capable of warping to temporary beacons. Even more interesting  though is the other feature of a Fleet Commander Transwarp drive. These capital ship devices will allow a player to teleport an entire squad to any warp beacon. This means you could have a speedier player scout ahead to your instance entrance, place a temp. beacon and an FC could bring the entire squad there!

Finally, for those wondering, Transwarp Devices will bring slaves along for the ride. If you have any non-stasised slaves set to follow in the galaxy with you, they’ll jump as well.

This is a really big gameplay feature that I’m extremely excited about and I’d love to hear your feedback on it. I know there are going to be a lot of questions so sound off in the forums and let me know what you think!