Contra 009 Beta 2 changelog (part 18) news

Contra 009 Beta 2 Changelog:

Fixed errors:

- Text fixes for English and Russian localization.
- Special powers such as Barracks Deployment and War Factory Deployment displayed “Cost:” yet they cost nothing. Fixed (cost string removed).
- CommandSet changes and fixes. Rearranged some buttons.
- Drop powers such as Comanche Drop, Stinger Drop, etc. caused mismatch when dropped on water. Fixed.
- Possible fix for Seraph mismatch.
- Some GLA units were speaking English when they should be speaking their native language (bug since 009 Beta). Fixed.
- Artillery units would sometimes get stuck while shooting and would not obey orders. Fixed.
- Cyber General’s Dominator missiles destroyed each other on ground impact when two or more Dominators fired on the same spot, resulting in less damage dealt to the target. Fixed.
- Assault General's Temple displayed “Elbrus Storm” countdown in the top right corner of the screen. Fixed. It now says “Hatf-III Missile”.
- GLA AI Supply Beacon damaged nearby allies. Fixed.
- There was leftover code of removed maps which caused crash when attempting to load them. Fixed.
- Guardian Droid TOW, Valanx TOW and Hazael AT cannon weapons dealt less damage to anti-air vehicles. Fixed.
- Tank General’s Huang Zhong (Manticore) had increased weapon range when force-fired. Fixed.
- Cyber General’s Builder Mech did not trigger Demo Traps and Nuclear Defense Sites. Fixed.
- Mosquitoes spawned from the ground. Fixed.
- Reinforcement general’s powers (Comanche Drop, Zipper Call, etc.) triggered land mines when used. Fixed.
- Infantry General’s Troop Crawlers did not use the proper death behaviour when they got destroyed by poison (wheels went flying). Fixed.
- Ion Defense Tower took longer to fire a shot in some cases (old Fire Base turret turn and pitch rate settings were left over). Fixed.
- Cyclone and SSM Site did not require Supply Center. Player could get in a case where he can’t build Ion Defense Towers, but build Cyclones and SSM Sites. Fixed.
- Flame General’s Thermite Shells upgrade button disappeared when Propaganda Center was upgraded with land mines. Fixed.
- Mobile Barracks (Artillery Caller): Artillery Barrage ability got reset by propaganda. Fixed.
- Demo Command Truck had a Demo Trap attached to its back after HE Bomb upgrade. Fixed.
- Demo Trap Group was stealth while being constructed unlike single Demo Trap. Fixed.
- Cockroach’s destroyed model did not appear when player used Suicide Now ability. Fixed.
- Karakourt did not have sounds when going in and out of stealth. Fixed.
- Players could target Palace for capture. Fixed.
- Improved Spy Satellite did not detect camouflaged infantry. Fixed.
- Drone Controller’s drones disappeared when sent directly toward a tall structure. Fixed.
- Group of Terrorist Bikers’ cost was not reduced by Oil Refinery. Fixed.
- GLA Airfield scaffolding used wrong texture. Fixed.
- Incendiary weapons automatically fired at fuel pools. Fixed.
- Nuke General’s White Dragon plane automatically returned to airfield and kept a parking space when airborne. It was very inconvenient because White Dragon rearms in the air. Fixed.
- Thors and Angry Mob could target units they couldn’t attack (for ex. Demo Traps). Fixed.
- Battle Bunker was still available for purchase after upgrading Immolator with Dragon Tail. Fixed.
- Tuna fish, Butterflies and Fireflies blocked units’ way. Fixed.
- Suan Ni Gattling Cannons did not benefit from Chain Guns upgrade. Fixed.
- Raven anti-air missiles did not benefit from Laser Guidance upgrade. Fixed.
- Sparrowhawk was not affected by Countermeasures upgrade. Fixed.
- Game crashed when a Fake Command Truck was built. Fixed. There was leftover code from Command Truck weapon.
- Demo General’s Saboteur and Saboteur Biker disabler ability was available the other way around (Biker had it, but Saboteur on foot didn’t). Fixed.
- Jarmen Kell had problems with targeting infantry. You had to manually target each soldier. Fixed.
- Nuke Carpet Bomb decal got downsized after confirming target. Fixed.
- Infantry General’s Artillery Training did not affect Artillery Troop Crawler. Fixed.
- Security Systems did not trigger a blood effect on the infantry attacked by them. Fixed.
- Katyusha, Luna, Spider Tank, Dominator and USA Boss Tomahawk did not spawn salvage crates. Fixed.
- Troop Crawlers, Militia Tank, UN Soldier and UN Humvee could shoot through buildings without line of sight. Fixed.
- Civilian PT Boat gunner did not use correct bone. It appeared at the object origin instead. Fixed.
- Battle Fortress and Zhu Rong geometries did not match their physical size. Fixed.
- GLA Cargo Train’s wagons got destroyed as soon as the train started moving. Fixed.
- Selfdestruct could not be used by China Boss Supply Center. Fixed.
- Walking bears used wrong animation. Fixed.

Balance changes:

- Air Force: Coyote cost and build time increased.
- Air Force: Pave Low damage type changed. Less effective vs. units, even less effective vs. AA units.
- Air Force: Valanx comes with TOW by default.
- Super Weapons: Ion Defense Tower now has a 1-second pre-attack delay and slower recharge.
- Super Weapons: Grendel damage decreased.
- Super Weapons: Saturn moving speed increased.
- Super Weapons: Thor missile damage increased.
- Super Weapons: Valanx comes with TOW by default.
- Laser: Paladin damage increased, health decreased.
- Laser: Valanx comes with Blue Lasers by default.
- Cyber: Nemesis armor resistance to AA decreased.
- Cyber: Raven cost and build time decreased.
- Cyber: Mosquito Paradrop spawns one less mosquito at each level. Mosquitoes have less health.
- Cyber: Terminator health increased.
- Cyber: Cylon health decreased.
- Tank: ECM Tank does not disable vehicles by default. Ability comes with upgrade at rank 3.
- Infantry: Some Troop Crawlers have less transport slots.
- Infantry: AT and MG Troop Crawlers cost slightly less.
- Infantry: Artillery Troop Crawler armor slightly decreased.
- Infantry: Minigunners have more range against aircraft.
- Infantry: Dragon Tank damage increased.
- All GLA: Command Trucks limited to 1 at a time.
- All GLA: Toxin Tractor damage and range increased.
- All GLA: Rebel Ambush spawns less soldiers.
- All GLA Tunnels hold more units, but no longer have weapons. They are built faster, cost less and have more vision range.
- Stealth: Elbrus Launcher countdown decreased to 1 minute (was 3).
- Stealth: Hijacker Ambush spawns 3 Hijackers (was 2).
- Assault: Marauder cost increased.
- Toxin: Pollution powers’ countdowns decreased.
- Toxin: Silicon Clouds weakened.
And many other adjustments…

General's powers changes:

- Air Force: Removed Pilot Training, Helicopter Training and Shockwave Bomb powers.
- Air Force: Fighter Training affects Comanche as well.
- Air Force: Bomber Training affects Chimera and Pave Low as well.
- Air Force: New power: SEAL Drop. Three Black Hawks deliver nine SEALs at a target area. SEALs are armed with grenade launchers. Effective vs. all ground targets. Stealth when standing still.
- Laser: New power: Lasers Training. All laser units are built as veterans.
- Super Weapons: Zone Capture power separated into 4 powers. R1: 1 Patriot; R2: 1 Patriot and 1 Grendel; R3: 2 Patriots and 2 Grendels; R4: 2 Patriots, 2 Grendels and 1 Ion Defense System.
- Super Weapons: Removed A-10 Thunderbolt Missile Strike powers.
- Nuke: Emergency Repair 1 available at rank 1.
- Flame: Artillery Training removed.
- Flame: New power: Flame Mixtures Training at rank 1. Affects flame firing units.
- Infantry: Hacker Training removed.
- Infantry: Infantry Training affects Hackers and Lotus too.
- Demo: Demo Trap Deployment and Cluster Mine Deployment both split into 3 powers.
- Demo: New power: AA Mine Deployment. Requires AT Mine Deployment.

Other changes:

- Players can now rank up to rank 6. In case players play for hours and game gets boring, they get a good opportunity to make the game less boring and possibly end the game. 6th rank grants 3 science points, but requires a lot of experience to reach.
- China Field Engineers, Earth Shakers, GLA Katyushas and USA Drone Controllers now have a “Hold Fire” option.
- Added “Fire at Will” and “Hold Fire” to terrorists so that the player can stop them from attacking aggressively (they auto-acquire targets).
- Added reload indicators to Artillery and Grenade Troop Crawlers.
- Aircraft missiles (F-18 Hornet, Thor, Comanche) can now damage Obstacles.
- Cyber General’s Lancers have their guns pointed up by default.
- Laser units gain more powerful lasers as they rank up.
- Blue laser turret removed from Paladin.
- Zhu Rong has a new weapon replacing the old one.
- Stealth and Assault have been given the Quad, AT and Artillery Defense Sites. Stinger Sites removed.
- Assault: Demolisher (Attack Dozer) cannot attack moving units anymore.
- Toxin Tractor added to Demo General.
- Gun Buggy passengers can no longer fire from inside.
- Changed how Burton lightsaber works. You can’t switch between rifle and lightsaber. Instead, you only have a button for lightsaber. Player needs to click on it and select an enemy target to attack (like the way Knife worked in ZH). This prevents Burton from attacking enemies from long distance once he gets to swing once (when targets had a lot of health and didn’t die from one swing like Overlords and super units). He now has to move next to the enemy target each time he swings.
- Infantry cannot fire from inside Valanx now.
- Saturn can now fire over buildings.
- Flame: Fuel Truck moved from Command Center to War Factory.
- Demo: Mad Mob (Suicide Squad) removed.
- Tank General’s Black Lotus can now use Vehicle Hack (disabling ability).
- Colonel Burtons can now swim.
- Terminator can crush infantry. Physical size increased.
- Returned experience given when a player destroys a worker/dozer or a supply collector. However, they don’t give much experience.
- Radar Van Disintegrator ability removed (destroyed fake units around).
- Scorpion rockets do not attack infantry anymore.
- Returned Death Hand with its original stats. Changes to it may come in the future.
- Returned default Strategy Center cannon for all generals.
- GLA Spies upgrade changed. It now appears as a shortcut icon on the screen. Each time it is activated, Supply Centers on the map get revealed for a short amount of time. Players have to wait for the countdown until they can use it again. This change fixes the problem where Supply Centers constructed after the upgrade research did not get revealed.
- Command Centers can now use “Selfdestruct” ability. Helps players fix a glitch in-game where players could not use general’s powers caused by having multiple Command Centers or change the location of the Command Center without having to manually destroy it with units.
- F-35 armament revised. Fires 5 high-explosive missiles which have a large spread. Effective vs. all ground targets.
- White Dragon armament revised. Fires nuclear bullets and nuclear missiles now. Still reloads in the air.

New units, buildings, upgrades and abilities:

- New trap for Toxin General: Chemical Pump. Spills toxins and acids. Gains self-protection (from acids) after Neutralizers upgrade. Replaces Demo Traps.
- New defense structures for Cyber: Gatling Defense System and Missile Defense System. They replace Pop-up Patriots.
- New unit for Cyber: Cybernetic Dog. Strong but pricey early game unit. Kills infantry with one bite. Resistant vs. infantry fire, but very vulnerable to anti-tank weapons.
- Cyber Spider-class units replaced with Angel-class units – Uriel, Remiel and Hadriel.
- Laser Avenger is a brand new AA unit. It has better armor by default, and also benefits from Composite Armor upgrade. New 3D model.
- New power plant for Super Weapons: Ion Plant. Supplies less power, but takes less time to build.
- New unit for Super Weapons: Centurion tank. Moves on ground and water. Receives damage bonus from nearby Ion Plants. Available at rank 1. Unlockable via the general’s powers menu.
- New unit for Demolition: Ratel. Available at rank 3. Can suicide. Can transport 6 infantry.
- New unit for Stealth: Ratel II. Available at rank 3. Can transport 4 infantry.
- New upgrade for Tank: Tank Armor. Available at rank 3. Affects tier 1 tanks.
- New upgrade for Super Weapons: Advanced Energy Capacitors. Increases Centurion’s damage, but consumes energy.
- New ability for Jarmen Kell: Sandstorm.
- New ability for Black Lotus: Hologram.

Graphics:

- Some scorch marks were edited.
- Seismic explosions now leave cracked ground scorch marks only, not random ones which included craters too.
- Area jamming effect was made more transparent.
- Tropical water texture reverted back to previous one.
- Laser Crusader texture improved.
- Flame Tower snow and damaged snow textures improved.
- New textures for vanilla GLA buildings completed.
- Temple 3D model edited, new cameo and new textures.
- Nemesis lost texture quality in the distance. Fixed.
- New decal for Comanche Drop.
- New decal for Satellite Hack 3 and Data Upload.
- Battle Mechanic drone cameo was changed.
- Robo Raptor cameo was changed.
- Improved some unit training cameos.
- New cameo for Inflammable Acids upgrade.

Audio:

- Jamming Field special power now uses proper initiate sound.
- GLA_11 music track (from the new music pack) removed. It was insulting to some people’s religion.
- Burning infantry sounds limited to 3 at a time on screen and volume slightly decreased.
- Propaganda ambient sounds removed from propaganda buildings, units and unit addons.
- Bears now have death sounds.
- Wyvern no longer plays Raptor death voices. Wyvern death voices added.
- New ambient sounds for hovering units.

Particle Effects:

- Adjusted blue fire ring color.
- Flamethrower fire ring size decreased to match the actual damage radius.
- A-100 MLRS missiles didn’t have a flame exhaust. Added.
- Some units upgraded with Black Napalm left yellow fire rings instead of blue ones. Fixed.
- Optimized some particles.

Challenge mode:

- Players can now change the game speed using a shortcut button on the right side of the screen.
- Brand new Challenge maps: Flame and Demolition.
- Some AI opponents did not build super units. Fixed.
- Air Force Challenge: Potential crash fix.
- Air Force Challenge: Fixed units going under bridge.
- Super Weapons Challenge: Added a bridge to her base.
- Nuke Challenge: Fixed challenge getting stuck on intro. This time for real.
- Infantry: Added rocky terrain to water areas.

AI (CPU bots):

- AI players often didn’t capture Tech buildings inside base perimeter. Fixed.
- Tank General does not have a Carpet Bomb special power, but AI used it. Fixed.
- AI did not use some powers. Fixed.
- Laser AI almost never attacks. Units were stuck in base. Fixed.
- Changed the placement angle of some buildings.
- Updated AI to use new units, buildings, upgrades and special powers.

Maps:

- New map: Sequoia Forest (2v2) - Huge destructible trees in the center of the map.
- New map: Operation Dry Storm (2v2) - Neutral units around the map.
- New map: Operation Hot Oasis (2v2) - Neutral units around the map.
- New map: Iron Fist (2v2) - Two small neutral USA Boss bases and a hostile USA Boss base in the middle. Some neutral units as well.
- New map: Railed Woods (2v2) - Three capturable trains on the map.
- New map: Tournament Island Storm (2v2) - Visual remake of Tournament Island.
- New map: Lagoon (1v1).
- New map: Melting Snow (1v1).
- Oak Valley: Added more supplies and fixed impassable areas on random places.
- Winter Wolf: Added two Sequoia trees in the middle area.
- A Tale of Two Generals map removed. It was badly designed.

Contra Launcher:

- Fixed some unhandled exceptions preventing the launcher from starting Contra.
- Error message box will now display the exact error reason.
- Added a button which leads to Contra’s official Discord chat.