Star Trek Armada II: Fleet Operations 3.0.6 released! news

So now, here is the big update you have all been waiting for - 3.0.6 Veteran Ranks! Now for the first time you can let ships that have gained an officer rank in combat raise their status to 'vetaran' which unlocks special weapons or abilities that are unique for each race. Once a Klingon Negh'var was promoted to veteran rank, it will get the heavy disruptor weapons which once crushed Deep Space Nine, just to give one example.

The Borg build system has been simplified. Configuring a Borg Cube has been quite a pain with high number of different modules available, especially for players new to Fleet Operations. You had to remember each module you had previously selected and if you accidently selected a wrong module, you weren't able to go back and reconfigure the cube without loosing resources. That was not because we intended this feature to be this way (awkward), but due to various limitations within Armada 2. Quite a lot of coding was required to let Fleet Operations overcome these limitations, so now this feature is a lot more as we intended it in the first place. The redesigned build screen for the borg now shows all available modules at once. You can switch between them as often as you'd like and see what the resulting vessel will cost and which capabilities it will have.

The federation warp-in feature now additionally has the Ambassador class available and finally the ugly old Klingon Imperial Yard model has been replaced with a brand new version. Speaking of shipyards: As an extra, you can add an upgrade to them that allows an allied player to use your shipyard for repairs, which may be a nice addition to improve the teamplay character in multiplayer games. I'd recommend you take a look into the changelog for all the changes and additions we made. Overall since 3.0.0 a lot files have been changed, replaced or even deleted, so to avoid possible trouble or incompatibilities, 3.0.6 is not a patch actually, but a full version - a 3.0.6 prepatched 3.0 installation if you like. We won't make an incremental patch available this time.

Thanks again for all your input in the forums and through emails.

3.0.6 is a full install. A previous installation of Fleet Operations or Armada II is NOT required.

Additions

• Veteran Ranks for all your vessels! Check www.fleetops.net for details!
• Improved Borg vessel construction: A new build-menu allows you to select your modules on one screen and to preview the final vessels without spending resources
• Reduced game loading times
• An new upgrade has been added to all repair-capable shipyards allowing them to be used by allied players as repair-stations
• A complete new Klingon Imperial Yard model
• Added hints to the game loading screen
• The Ambassador is ready to support Federation players via Warp-In
• System Value does now also give a unit resistences against subsystem failure. Higher System Values reduce both the duration and the chance to be affected by a subsystem disabling effect
• The Borg Detector popular from Armada 1 has been added as a new Borg scout

Changes

• General
  • Vessels do not automatically open fire on enemy targets that an allied player is beaming to anymore
  • Double-clicking units now does select units of the same type regardless of their rank
  • Selectable teamcolors have been changed to get a wider variety
  • Vessel Team/Race affiliation badge behavior improved for combat
  • Improved AI vessel handling and cloaking behavior
• All Races
  • Slightly redone technology-tree formulas, causing smaller cost changes on nearly all vessels
  • The firing arc of vessels has now greater influence on their construction costs
  • Starbase weapon upgrades will now add new weapons instead of improving the existing ones, including a multitarget weapon
  • Either reduced the costs or increased the attributes on all stationary defense structures. They cost supplies to be build now
  • Many special weapons that disable subsystems work different now or have adjusted energy costs or durations
  • Many special weapons that deal damage have now adjusted damage values or energy costs
  • Many special weapons that deal area damage do now split their damage across all possible targets. Those changes are noted in the specific tooltips
• Federation
  • Descent Class cooldown for Shield Reset decreased to 300 seconds (bf.: 360)
  • Quantum Torpedoes will now always fire volleys instead of single torpedoes
  • Blockade Breaker (Miranda II Class) special energy costs increased and duration reduced to 20 seconds (bf.: 30)
  • Precise Volley (Remore Class) changed to deal shield damage (bf.: disabling the shield subsystem). Cooldown removed
  • Critical Shot (Defiant Class) now deals additional damage
  • Admiral Mayson's Canaveral Class gains now the same bonuses from ranking up as all other Canaverals
  • Saber Class vessels gain higher overall attributes when ranking up to keep in line with other starting vessels
  • Nebula Class vessels gain higher Defensive Values when ranking up
  • Hypercharge Magnan Emitter (Phalanx Class) effectiviness increased
  • Type 3 Torpedoes (Galaxy Class) may now miss, but lowered the shield regeneration rate reduction
  • Warp-In limit increased to 10 slots (bf.: 9)
  • ACS-Torpedo (Excelsior-II Class Admiral Mayson) damage reduced
  • Tricobalt Torpedo (Intrepid Class) damage reduced slightly
  • Proximity Torpedo (Monsoon Class) damage reduced
  • Torpedo Barrage (Akira Class Officer ability) damage greatly increased and deals direct hull damage on officer rank 2
• Borg
  • Directive: Assimilate does now also increase the Defensive Value for Pyramids and Assimilators by 20
  • Directive: Optimize does now reduce the costs of selecting a Borg chassis by 30 percent instead of reducing the costs of the first module installed
  • Borg Sensor Relay sensorrange reduced
  • The Nanites Collective Feature consumes two slots now and the Uni-Complex Collective Feature one slot. They switched places
  • The Transwarp Feature consumes three slots now and the Perfect Logistics Collective Feature four slots. They switched places. Perfect Logisticst changed to unlock a Resource Assimilator upgrade
  • Sensor Relays no longer count towards the victory condition and are placed more carefully by AI players
  • Datamining sensorrange bonus lowered to 30 percent
  • Devestating Attack now deals high shield damage (bf.: disabling shield subsystem). Cooldown removed
  • Regeneration Modules do now grant the vessel a chance to completely resist subsystem failure caused by special weapons and the like. Each Regeneration Module installed increases the chance to resist
  • Collective Uplink Defensive Value greatly increased
  • Borg Probe sensor range reduced and requires the Conduction Matrix now to be built. System Value and construction costs reduced
• Romulan
  • General Mijural now increases the Offensive and Defensive value of all Warbirds by 3 (bf.: 4)
  • Romulan vessels do now fire faster when opening combat. The rate of fire drops after each shot. If a vessel stays out of combat for 15 seconds the effect is refreshed. Does not apply to the quadcobalt torpedo
  • The Fakairu Class may now also use the Stationary Cloak special ability once a Cloaking Generator is present
  • Stationary Cloak special energy costs reduced to 10 per second (bf.: 15)
  • Griffin Class (General Helev) base attributes increased to 25 Offensive Value, 21 Defensive Value and 14 System Value (bf.: 20 / 16 / 11). Costs increased
  • Sensor Jammer (Griffin Class) has now a chance to fail, but duration has been increased to 6 seconds (bf.: 3 seconds) and there is a chance that weaponsystems will be disabled. The Grifin Class officer ability will eliminate the chance of the Sensor Jammer to fail
  • Reduces the energy costs of the Sleer Agent and Saboteur Agent special abilities (Intelligence Center)
  • The Rhienn Class Torpedo Refit officer ability Infiltrate has been changed to have a certain chance to disable a stations weapons with a fixed period of a few seconds (bf.: fixed chance with a variable duration)
  • The Generix Class Support Refit officer ability Plasma Storage duration bonus increased to 2/4 seconds (bf.: 1/2)
  • Vector Torpedo (Rhienn Class Torpedo Refit) range increased to artillery range (bf.: medium) and special energy costs increased
  • Cehlaer Class (General Mijural) base attributes reduced to 37 Offensive Value, 31 Defensive Value and 19 System Value (bf.: 39 / 33 / 21). Costs greatly reduced
  • The Tavara Class officer ability Modularization now increases the attribute bonuses from upgrades by 20/40 percent (bf.: granted free offensive and defensive upgrades)
• Dominion
  • Reduced dilithium and tritanium costs for all vessels
  • The C-17 Siege Cruiser gains higher System Values while ranking up. Base attributes changed to 38 Offensive Value, 30 Defensive Value and 22 System Value (bf.: 26 / 20 / 32). Costs increased
  • Phaseshield (C-17 Siege Cruiser) special energy costs reduced to 345 (bf.: 432) and duration reduced to 8 seconds (bf.: 10)
  • Perimeter AT-Charges damage increased
  • Excessive Strike (V-13 Battleship) changed to deal high hull damage (bf.: disabling shield subsystem and dealt normal damage)
  • Dampening Missile (Breen Battleship) now deals additional shield damage and may disable up to two subsystems
  • Breen Cruisers and Battleships are now armed with special Breen Torpedoes
  • Breen Battleship officer ability Breen Technology has now a chance to disable subsystems per shot for a longer duration, but no longer drains special weapon energy
  • A-20 Attack Destroyer base attributes increased to 14 Offensive Value, 11 Defensive Value (bf.: 13 / 10). Costs increased. Collision damage increased and changed to direct hull damage
  • A-26 Bomber base attributes increased to 21 Offensive Value, 15 Defensive Value (bf.: 20 / 14). Costs increased
  • The S-2 Escort Cruiser gains higher Offensive and Defensive Values while ranking up, but no longer gains System Value. Base attributes increased to 25 Offensive Value, 18 Defensive Value and 10 System Value (bf.: 22 / 16 / 9). Costs increased
  • Adjusted the costs of Breen research to be in line with other Dominion upgrades
  • The Mixed-Tech EM Blast (Federation) engine shutdown duration reduced to 3 seconds (bf.: 12)
  • The C-17 Siege Cruiser officer ability Bombardement Loadout now increases the damage of the Tetrion Disruptor by 10 / 20 percent (bf.: 30/60)
  • Tetrion Photon Torpedo (A-26 Bomber) damage reduced
  • Cascade Feedback (C-11 Interception Destroyer) has now a chance to drain special weapon energy
  • Borg and Klingon Mixed-Tech Dreadnoughts are now equipped with additional torpedo launchers instead of beam weapons
  • The T-15 Heavy Cruiser Officer Ability Impulse Implosion deals highly increased damage
• Klingon
  • Klingon pulse disruptors do now fire bursts of multiple shots. Each shot can hit or miss seperately
  • Weapon Overload (Negh'var Class) torpedo cooldown increased to 30 seconds (bf.: 6) and weaponrange increased to long (bf.: medium)
  • Alternative Ammunition (Veqlaragh Class) torpedoes may now miss
  • The K'Vort Class officer ability Verteron Particle Loads has been changed to have a certain chance to disable engines with a fixed period of 4 seconds (bf.: fixed chance with a variable duration)
  • Polaron Torpedo (Vorcha Class) now deals additional direct hull damage
  • Compound Torpedoes (Sang Class) may now miss and no longer targets cloaked vessels but deal increased damage
  • The Mixed-Tech Sang' Class (Romulan) now improves the compound torpedoes and gains multi targeting, but no longer always hits
  • Torpedo Drone and Heavy Disruptor (K'beajQ Class) damage reduced
  • Last Ditch Assault (SuS'a'Class) positive effect duration increased to 35 seconds (bf.: 25)
  • K'beajQ Class base attributes increased to 19 Offensive Value, 19 Defensive Value and 7 System Value (bf.: 13 / 13 / 5). Costs increased
  • K'Vort Class base attributes increased to 23 Offensive Value, 20 Defensive Value and 8 System Value (bf.: 20 / 18 / 7). Costs increased
  • Vutpa' Class base attributes increased to 34 Offensive Value, 25 Defensive Value and 11 System Value (bf.: 32 / 23 / 10). Costs increased

Fixes

• Rankup sound is not played with maximum sound volume anymore
• Map Editor: Map Type is now saved correctly
• Manual IP connections should now work properly again
• Savegames did unintentionally appear in the map selection
• Fixed a rare crash when starting a game or loading a map for editing
• A leaving player in multiplayer games could cause the game to crash for the remaining participants
• Fixed a rare crash that occurred right after launching the game executable on some systems
• Fixed Borg Sensor Relay explosions
• Supply buttons visibility in free tech mode corrected
• Ship selection shouldn't "shuffle" anymore when a ship in a group gains a new rank
• Fixed Warp-In handler that should prevent warp-in vessels from sometimes being not command-able
• Fixed a possible crash when a race other than Federation was using the Starfleet Command Warp-In
• Gameplay
  • Cloaked vessels gaining a new rank don't lose their cloaked state anymore
  • Romulan Sleeper Agent special ability is no longer able to infiltrate objects unrelated to gameplay
  • TaQ´rojas B'rel Class offensive value bonus is now correctly applied at ranked-up B'rels
  • Federation Plasma Bolts (Canaveral Class Mixed Tech: Romulan) do now last the correct duration as mentioned in the tooltip
  • Qaw'Duj Class vessels are no longer built in an invalid officer rank and gain experience correctly
  • Mixed-Tech Sang' Class vessels (Borg) no longer switch to long range when ranking up
  • Mixed-Tech Cho'naQ Class vessels (Dominion) are now artillery range as stated by the tooltip
  • Mixed-Tech Defiant Class vessels (Klingon) now stick to their rapid pulse phaser even while ranking up and all Defiant Mixed-Tech variants will increase their quantum torpedo damage on max officer rank correctly
  • Fixed a bug causing the Defiant to get invalid stats in certain situations
  • Mixed-Tech Rhienn Class vessels (Klingon) rank up now correctly
  • D'deridex Class warbirds gain the correct attributes while ranking up
  • It is no longer possible to build more then one Intelligence Center or Cloaking Generator under certain conditions
  • The Breen Battleship no longer incorrectly gains the Breen Cruiser officer ability when ranking up (increased shield regeneration rate)
  • Most vessels with quantity limitations, including veteran vessels, can no longer be transfered to friendly players. You may transfer some ships like repair vessels or carriers, but the receiving player has to meet the limitation requirements
  • Refined Disruptor (Vor'cha Class Mixed Tech (Federation)) deals now correct damage
  • The Mixed Tech NoQ'Duj Class (Dominion) gains correct speed and sensorrange
  • Dominion Cascade Feedback deals damage as intended now
  • Dominion Active Tachyon Scan works as intended now and costs proper special energy
  • Repair vessels will no longer incorrectly target hostiles with repair beams
  • Romulan Multi Purpose Weapons consume correct amounts of energy now
  • Romulan Vector Torpedo is now correctly affected by damage reduction effects
  • Fixed a bug causing many incorrect hull repair rates
  • Corrected the Federation Class Mixed-Tech (Borg) Intrepid Class attributes
• Tooltips
  • Corrected several spelling and formating errors
  • Klingon Heavy Disruptor and Torpedo Drone research no longer incorrectly states to apply to the K't'inga Class
  • Admiral Risners avatar bonus is now correctly displayed in the Avalon Class tooltip
  • Galaxy Class vessels will show their correct attributes if Type-3 Torpedoes are active and the Galaxy ranked up
  • Combat Cloak (Generix Class Specter Refit) will now show the correct energy costs
  • The Mixed-Tech Leahval Class (Federation) tooltip shows the correct weapons on officer ranks now
  • Corrected the spelling of Tachyon and Tetryon particles