After more than a decade in development we have finally decided to drop the "Beta" label from major releases. Today's "full" version is the first major release out of beta. This full version features a new scout class, scouting mechanic, faster boltguns, balance improvements and bug fixes.
If you're not sure if you have everything you need to play Exterminatus (EX) we have prepared a Getting Started article to help you on your way to glorious battles in the 40th millennium.
Scouts
The scout class came about when Australian student and modeller Wikkyd contributed a spacemarine scout player model that he'd made from scratch as practice for his modelling and animation course work. With weapon models from the Swiss contributor Clay_more, sound effects from Ukrainian student DontAsk, voiced by Danish voice actor Bulwark, coding from British developer ChromeAngel, bring the scout to the battlefields of the 41st millennium.
The scout is a starting level class available from the beginning of each map. Faster, but more vulnerable than his power armoured team mates, scouts operate with speed and caution. Like his tabletop counterpart the scout has access to shotguns, boltguns and sniper rifles as his primary weapons (the later being unlocked as rewards).
The shotgun's secondary allows him to mark enemy targets for his team to net the scout additional points. This ability is also available to the Genestealer as the secondary to their talons.
The sniper rifle was particularly difficult to balance, and went though many revisions before it settled down as a four shot, high damage (50 points per hit), scoped rifle. It's the only weapon in the game that can be scoped and fired while zoomed in on it's target.
Faster Boltguns
Boltguns, Bolter, Blasters, whatever you call them, they are the trademark weapon of the spacemarines and the cornerstone of balance for EX. Since our earliest days the EX bolt has gone for the most powerful, solid, slow bolters. In this latest incarnation of EX the bolter has been re-tuned for a faster firing, assault role, akin to the bolters seen in newer games like Dawn of War and Spacemarine,
Stance
How players are moving, standing or crouching (stance) is now factored in to the accuracy and kick of all ranged weapons. Jumping or sprinting will send your aim wide, which stopping and ducking will improve accuracy. This has been a feature of EX for a while, but has been amplified in recent builds to add a layer of realism and player skill.
Chapter Packs
Of course with a new imperial player model all the chapter skin packs needed updating too. Bulwark pitched in with specific battle cries recorded for each of the major chapters. We had to find a way to include those too. The old skin packs only really worked with the Beta versions. So we spend the time to re-make chapter packs for all the major chapters, but improved on them too, by adding support for custom battle cries and using chapter packs with alpha versions. These improved chapter packs can be downloaded from the Exterminatus Addons page.
The full version of Exterminatus is also available as a 7z package for server operators ans those who have difficulty with the installer version (linked above)
Where's it all happening?
The EX Discord channel is really starting to take off. If you have questions about the mod, want to find players for a pickup game, get teasers of features under development or contribute join the Discord and come talk to us.
Future Plans
Out of beta. So, is this it? Is its done? Is this the final version of EX?
Nope.
Since we started work on this release the excellent modeller and texture artist Joazzz has joined the EX community and pledged to make all new spacemarine models from scratch. Here are just a few of things he's been working on:
Joazzz did not come alone either, he brought two of his mates with him. Kharos and Warekit are both Source Film Maker animators and have offered to animate all the new models that are being added. This is the first time in the long history of the mod that we have dedicated animators working on EX (you can tell, I know).
Minor versions of EX (not normally posted about on ModDB) will continue to be referred to as "Alphas". With all these contributors and more there will be plenty of Alphas to come.
Fantastic work.
Decent.
Bot support?
Those are really good news.