November News (Also October!) - Red Alert: A Path Beyond

We have not updated you at ModDB in a while. In that time, we've had some staffing changes. Replacing Raapnaap as a mapper, we welcome Occult13 on board. He's already shown some promising work with his progress on fan map RA_Hitherto, is one of our translation crew members (Spanish), and is an all-around eager guy. We have also replaced the bulk of our testing crew, and have promoted a couple former testers into moderator positions.

The testers, speaking of them, have been very busy. They compiled a spreadsheet detailing time-to-kill for all weaponry against all structures, which has revealed some surprising things. This prompted a long-time-in-coming rebalance effort for infantry versus buildings, and some slight tweaks for particular vehicles.

With new builds of Gamma and Cold Fusion coming out regularly, along with updated code base builds and updates to the main app and launcher/configuration tools, the testers have been quite busy actually. We've got some new network code, which Stealtheye in particular is working on, plus some new funtionality jonwil, danpaul, and ghostshaw have whipped up for Scripts 4. All of which, of course, needs testing! Here's a highlight of some recent work:

Sweet new codework

-New version of APB.exe to handle some underlying changes
-New version of wwconfig.exe to handle new W3D configuration options
-New version of LevelEdit.exe to unlock new editing options and fix memory etc. errors
-Brand new Launcher.exe to eventually supplant the old one and support a server browser & news feeds
-Brand new TDBEdit.exe for unicode multi-language strings editing, searching, import/export and more
-Fixes to weapon ammunition updates (no more ammo count flipping)
-Fixes to reloading (no reloading while full)
-Fixes to positional update at long ranges (no more lag sniping)
-Fixes to ladders (no more warping/teleporting)
-Console commands updated; new BAN and KICK system inbound
-Console command fixed: WIN now always works on every map
-Extended debugging output, to make crash logging and bug reports easier to post and diagnose
-Fixes to better support sidebar purchasing, without piles of scripts on each terminal
-Game logo will no longer disappear after returning to the menu from LAN
-Entirely new building class: Construction Yards, which constantly heal your base and objects (such as vehicles) flagged as structures, with a setting for full power and low power.
-Upcoming new building classes for Missile Silos, Tech Centers, etc.
-UAC (modern Windows access control) support, for writing changes that normally require Admin access
-You can set your default map prefix (RA_, CNC_, etc)
-WOLAPI data, such as login info, now stored in its own location
-Map thumbnails, crashdumps, chatlogs, screenshots, and the like are placed in My Documents\BlueHell\APBClient to make them easy to find
-Cleaned up registry and file writing code
-Rare issues reading HUD, killstrings, etc. configurations have been fixed
-Serial checking will no longer fail if you have no serial
-In-game web browser fixed up, and we can override which default pages it loads

Gap Generator Touchups

Tada, the Gap Generator effect now has a nifty "funnel" that is formed around the fork. We've got a sweet "spotlight" effect for when you are inside an enemy gap zone, and are experimenting with performance speedups for all these effects. There is also an experimental effect that makes the gap look as if it encompasses the entire world.

Cold Fusion Rundown

Some people have gotten confused between our two new versions that we are working on. We hope to clear some of that up here, with an explanation of what will be in Cold Fusion, the coming-soon update for APB: Beta Patch 2 (the current public version). We'll explain what you won't see, and what you will end up getting.

What's not in Cold Fusion
We've talked about a lot of things recently, and shown off a lot of neat stuff in our blogs. Much of it is Gama content for version 2.0.0 and it won't be in CF, 1.2.0. To keep you on the right page, here's what CF won't change:

• No tech levels
• No new units/buildings graphics
• No new surface effects
• No new scoring system
• No Scripts 4

What's actually in Cold Fusion
Here's a list of what Cold Fusion will actually have:

• Increased AI & player Ore Truck speed
• Armor.ini fixes, has changes to aircraft armor
• Hind sports new Heavy Aircraft armor, very strong against small arms
• Reduced Redeye range/damage
• Reduced LAW splash radius
• Rebalanced Mechanic repair rate/amount
• Reduced Sniper range (around 270m)
• Increased SVD accuracy
• Increased Tesla Tank range
• Increased Flamethrower splash radius
• Reduced AT mine damage
• Increased AT/AP mine health
• Rebalanced AT/AP mine armor
• Rebalanced Phase Tank health/armor
• Rebalanced Phase Tank weaponry
• Increased Longbow rocket speed
• Incrased LAW rocket speed
• Reduced Volkov handcannon range
• Reduced Missile Sub SSM range
• Reduced Destroyer Stinger range
• Reduced M60 range (around 70m)
• Reduced PKM range (around 70m)
• AA/SAM can now aim below zero degrees (flat)
• Naval units are now invulnerable right after creation
• Demo Trucks begin unarmed
• Tesla Tank and MRJ texture fixed
• Hind forest texture fixed
• Tesla Tank and MRJ rerigged, better movement now
• Ranger has better traction
• V2 has better traction
• Artillery has better traction
• Artillery has new camera settings
• Reduced M16 volume
• "Classic" and "Standard" control profiles; F2 vs Y for chat, etc.
• Replaced & corrected entire string table
• Replaced "Radio Commands" with new "EVA Announcements"
• Improved existing building interiors
• Improved installer/patcher probably
• Improved launcher
• Improved font
• Updated server listings
• Sweet new water effects
• Possibly new scripts updates and fixes for thieves, helipads, demo trucks
• Maps
  •Seamist
  •Bonzai
  •Bunkers
  •Camos Crossing
  •Classic Fjord
  •Fissure
  •Forest of Illusion
  •Keep off the Grass
  •Metro
  •North by Northwest
  •Pacific Threat
  •Ridge War
  •River Raid
  •Shallow Grave
  •Stormy Valley
  •The Woods Today
  •Volcano
  •Wasteland

We'll update you on more recent happenings soon, but this finishes off the news from September and gets us into the start of November. A Mid-November/Mid-December update will happen later.