United Nations Space Command PR-TRANSMISSION 44877I-09
Encryption Code: Green
Public Key: file /sierra-one-four-three/
From: >>FLEETCOM.MO.BL.AM
To: >>CAWCOM
Subject: STATUS REPORT
Classification: Restricted
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The June patch has been released, it doesn't require any previous CaW releases for it to work. This release is SPACE SKIRMISH ONLY, you'll get all kinds of weird bugs if you try and play galactic conquest.
Installation Instructions
1. If you have installed any previous versions of CaW, uninstall them (delete them from Star Wars Empire at War Forces of Corruption\mods).
2. Once downloaded, open the .zip archive CaW.zip (easily done with winrar: Rarlab.com )
3. In CaW.zip you will find a folder called CaW, extract this folder to your Forces of corruption mod folder, which should be something like this: C:\Program Files\LucasArts\Star Wars Empire at War Forces of Corruption\Mods
4. Download the EaW/FoC Mod Launcher, which you can find here: Empireatwar.gamefront.com , run it, select CaW and hit start.
Changelog
UNSC:
- New UNSC Charon and Paris Frigates
- New MAC projectile
- UNSC AI will now fire MAC cannons correctly
- UNSC SMAC Platform added
- UNSC Prowler space mines now explode like proximity mines (extremely hand against corvettes and fighters)
- Added more resource upgrades
Covenant:
- Added Covenant SDC Corvette
- New Covenant Light Cruiser
- New Covenant Destroyer
- New Covenant Assault Carrier
- Added upgradeable ship system
General:
- Several performance optimizations, including:
* LoD models for a few ships and projectiles
* Most reworked models from the above lists are significantly lower poly
- Countless balancing tweaks, you'll find the game plays quite differently to the last version
Upgradeable ships?
That's right, several Covenant ships can now be upgraded on the go in skirmish simply by clicking the ship you want to upgrade and selecting the desired upgrade. At the moment the ships only have generic upgrades that improve/add more weapons, and boost shield strength, but over the course of the next few months we will be adding in many unique upgrade paths that will give you some serious fleet customization options.
The only ships currently using the system are:
- Picket ship
- SDV Corvette
- Light Cruiser
- Destroyer
SMAC Platforms
These are a game-changing addition in the UNSC's fight against the Covenant, SMAC platforms are long range turrets that can be built anywhere on the map. They can be used to take out large chunks of an oncoming fleet before it can get anywhere near you, but be careful of the Covenant's in-system slipspace ability, if you don't pay attention a whole fleet could easily slip straight into your SMAC cluster and take it down.
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upgrade ships in skirmish?! MUST have it!!! great job guys!
Excellent work, Downloading now!
MAC defence structures? Great decision!
The new models for the frigates feel a bit too compacted. It seems like the front section with the MAC cannon should be longer.
Balance is better but I think the covenant still need to be nerfed slightly. My problem is that the ai will spam out close to 30 units of fighters/bombers. At that point nothing I have can stop them from over running my defenses and wiping me out. The specialized ship to deal with fighters is effective but when the bombers number in the 20-30 they are destroyed in a single shot. Aside from that this release has added great content. The MAC super weapon structure is a must have for UNSC and I find that in the short term making a good defensive line is very rewarding allowing the player to actually go on the offensive. Still here are some suggestions, first I think that there needs to be a dedicated anti fighter/bomber structure or at least a current structure do more damage. Secondly I think that customization with the UNSC would be very cool. Examples of what I think could be done is say a reactor overload upgrade that allows the unit to explode upon death allowing for kamikaze frigates to be made. Otherwise upgrades like speed both in game and if possible speeding up the actually warping in from reinforcements. Thirdly I think that the UNSC should either receive a buff to the space station credit rate or, again make the covenant ships more expensive to help UNSC gain map control early game which is almost always dominated by the Covenant player.
So that was my problems but this update is great and has balanced the game much better. Correct me if I'm wrong but at the moment the only way to win with the UNSC is to either rush very aggressively or play very defensively. Also, those mac cannon visuals look amazing now. Finally a performance bug I encountered, when you press the speed up game it actually slows the whole game down. Maybe that's because of all the weapon projectiles on screen? All in all this update is great and getting ever closer to perfect. Keep up the great work guys!
Although this patch is closer to our original plans it's still not complete in a certain sense. The UNSC should've had the advantage of the Shipyard system we came up with (as described in blog 19). The Shipyard system makes it possible to place your structures all over the (visible) level. This way you could reinforce some choke points with frigate shipyards, which would spawn frigates (you'll have to build them manually though!). The big plus is that the frigate shipyards build ships as reinforcements, which means they don't take up any space in the pop cap. In addition they are cheaper than their starbase variants (which are removed in this type of gameplay). This way we're complementing the 3:1 balancing (UNSC numbers vs. Covenant tech) as often described in the Halo Lore. You can build multiple shipyards as well so this gives you a great strategic advantage. Unfortunately even after working on it for more than a year it is still showing up with bugs. Blamtroid did an amazing job at eradicating most of them, but it's still not flawless. We're hoping to include this additional gameplay element in the future summer map packs (as mentioned in the news update). These mappacks will contain specific maps that have this type of gameplay. Which means there will be two versions of a level: a regular foc version and a shipyard gameplay version.
[I had to split my comment in two parts, this is still part of the initial reply]
Additionally a few tips (concerning the AA ‘problem’ you described):
- Use the prowlers minefield. Since the mines now detonate as proximity mines you just drop them and lure the fighters in. It's highly effective against said fighters and small ships.
- Use the UNSC railgun and Archer turrets to defend important structures. When used in great numbers they can provide great AA backup. Although they are quickly destroyed at times, they are also quite cheap and therefor easily replace able.
- You can strengthen your structures by placing a repair yard in the vicinity
- There are three Credit upgrades for the UNSC now (so they do gather income quicker)
I am also very happy you mentioned the 'defensive line' strategy. The original idea behind the UNSC gameplay (including the shipyard mechanics) was that the UNSC could build something we've been calling a 'Defensive Grid'. This defense grid is made up of the various stations, turrets and shipyards. I think I'll dedicate a blog to this subject.
I'd also like to address the performance bug. I do think that speeding up the game will cause lag due to the amount of projectiles/particles on screen. We're doing our best to optimize the game, but it proves difficult at times.
Last but not least, thank you for taking the time to write this piece of feedback. You've taken your time to consider various situations. I do suggest to continue playing the game as it is. I've found that it takes a while to adjust to the new mechanics we’ve implemented even when playing on easy. Usually with every update in the Dev build I tend the lose the first 3 or 4 games I play (on easy).
Does anyone know when the land battles are coming? I really hope that you guys can make an update which includes land battles. The space battles are amazing by the way :)
Not for a while, eventually though :).
So if I download this update I won't be able to do any galactic conquest?
Well you can, but I strongly recommend against it, it's really glitchy, no more so than it was in the last version though.
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What happened to this mod? Will it ever be finished?
When I build two Covenant Assault Carriers, I can't build anymore. The option is just gone. Is this intentional?
Awesome what you achieved by now!
I also love how you start each news with the header and
"Classification: Restricted
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Just too cool ^^