Update 2.44.0: Terrain Deformation, Fog of War Removal and Accuracy Rework
This week's update brings terrain deformation to all campaigns and a handful of adjustments to fully support it. Most importantly, the default setting for Fog of War has been changed to off. Thanks to the hills created by terrain deformation, fog of war is no longer required to limit sight lines and engagement sizes. Weapons accuracy has also been changed to be mostly dependent on Granvir-wide aim wobble built up by firing weapons so the shorter range weapons can modulate their firerate to fight at the longer ranges enabled by disabled fog of war and higher elevations.
The accuracy changes are also intended to add some extra depth to ranged combat. Compared to melee, ranged has always lagged behind in complexity lacking emphasis on positioning or heat management. The addition of bloom caused by dashing should create a tradeoff between defense and offense where previously ranged weapon damage output could easily stay consistent with little risk.
As with any major rework, I'll be looking to make more adjustments in future updates to ensure everything is fitting together nicely. The areas I'll be paying attention to the most are how the enemies fight and hold up without fog of war and how impactful the accuracy changes are on the flow of ranged combat. Even if you don't have any specific feedback to give, just sharing your experience with the new mechanics helps me understand the impact of the changes.
2.44.0
Major Features
Added random terrain deformation to all campaigns. Terrain deformation is active by default but can be disabled with custom difficulty.
Changed the fog of war setting to be off by default.
Renamed Visibility Range to Targeting Range.
Quadrupled most weapon's firing accuracy.
Added Granvir-wide targeting accuracy. Targeting accuracy is a wobbling effect caused by firing weapons, aiming beyond your targeting range and dashing.
The maximum wobble caused by firing (takes about ~4 seconds to reach) has been adjusted to equal 75% of a weapon's previous accuracy. Weapons should now be 4x as accurate for their first burst and 1.3x more accurate after firing for ~4 seconds.
Firing wobble build up is increased by 50% while moving. The increase applies linearly from 0 to 600 speed. A Granvir firing one weapon for ~4 seconds while moving will be equally accurate as before.
Most firing wobble decays in ~2 seconds without any additional build up.
Certain low firerate weapons like the Belltower and Fisherman have been given additional wobble build up since their low firerate means the build up will usually decay before the next shot.
Certain low accuracy weapons like the Konbar and Steward have been given less wobble build up and maintained more of their inaccuracy so they are less disruptive on the utilization of additional weapons.
A passive amount of wobble begins to apply once targeting a point beyond your Granvir's targeting range. Maximum passive wobble of ~3.5 degrees is reached when looking at or beyond double targeting range.
Dashes apply ~3 degrees of wobble while active. Dash wobble recovers after ~0.5 seconds of not dashing. Multiple dashes do not stack. The sliding portion of a dash does not increase wobble.
Minor Features
Changed the default maps size to 120% to create more space for terrain to deform.
Adjusted armature accuracy to impact aim wobble build up instead of projectile accuracy.
Renamed the handheld accuracy stat on armatures to recoil control to better reflect its function.
Adjusted grip adjusting accuracy effects to impact wobble build up instead of projectile accuracy.
Added a HUD rangefinder and targeting accuracy display.
Added the ability apply optimizations to reactors in Sandbox.
Added recoil control to targeting chips. Recoil control reduces the aim wobble caused by firing weapons.
Added a tier 4 Targeting Chip special module.
Added a small amount of recoil control to all tracks.
Reduced the rotation speed of all tracks by ~25%.
Changed energy cells to partially recharge up to 50% capacity after missions and fully recharge with proper facilities.
Changed dashes to not limit speed over their top speed.
Slightly expanded the invisible walls of the testing grounds.
Enemy Granvir will alert nearby allied Granvir when they are damaged. The alert range is 35% of their visibility range.
Fixes
Fixed certain visual effects not moving with the photo mode camera.
Fixed the Broomstick weapons humming like laser weapons.
Fixed certain boost effects briefly reseting speed when they activate. This was primarily caused by back boosters and boost weapons.
Fixed certain boost effects causing position snaps for allies in multiplayer when changing directions.