Spotting & Accuracy
One of the biggest issues infantry has had in Drone Sector is dying too quickly. In some situations that makes sense. They aren't super soldiers, and if a shell lands next to them, they will probably die.
The problem was broader than that, though. In infantry-to-infantry firefights, entire squads could get wiped out within seconds, even at ranges over 100 meters. A big reason was that infantry effectively always hit their shots and dealt considerable bullet damage. The system did not really account for the fact that most shots in a firefight should miss.
The new system has a few layers to it.
Before any shooting happens, units first have to spot potential targets. Previously this was mostly just a line of sight check. If an enemy was visible and within a certain distance, they were spotted almost immediately, regardless of what the target was doing or how visible it actually was.
Now line of sight is only the prerequisite. From there, visibility depends on the target itself. Moving units are easier to detect, while prone and stationary infantry are harder to spot. Large vehicles are naturally much easier to see than individual soldiers. Firing a weapon also makes a unit much easier to detect for a short time.
Spotting also depends on the observer. A stationary unit can focus more on watching its surroundings, while a unit on the move takes longer to detect targets.
This also gives me more room to differentiate units in the future. For example, troops with NVGs could spot enemies faster at night, while suppressed weapons could make firing less revealing.
Once an enemy is spotted, accuracy uses a separate but similar system. The longer a target has been observed, the easier it becomes to hit. Firing at the same target also gradually improves accuracy against that specific target. If an AT crew misses its first shot at a tank, it should have a much better chance of landing the second one.
Movement matters here too. Moving targets are harder to hit, and firing while moving reduces accuracy.
Overall, a squad holding a position should now have a real advantage over an enemy approaching it. The moving troops are easier to spot first, while the stationary squad has more stable aim and more time to observe them.
There are a lot of variables involved in these systems, so getting the balance right will take some time, testing, and player feedback.
Background Work
Besides the bug fixes, smaller feature additions, and the larger visibility changes, there has also been some less visible background work.
For example, I created my own procedural road generator. Previously I used a plugin, but it had several issues that kept bothering me. It was tedious to work with, visually quite limited, and recently started causing navigation problems around road junctions.
The new system gives me much more control, the roads look better in my opinion, and they are considerably faster to work with.
I've also spent some time looking into externally configurable unit stats.
Balancing the game takes a lot of work, and it is probably impossible to find one balance setup that feels perfect for everyone. Allowing unit stats to be modified outside the game could make it easier for players to experiment with their own balance setups, while also making it easier to test different values and provide useful feedback.
This is still experimental and there is a lot of work left before it becomes something properly usable, but I now have a much better idea of what would be required.
- Ingmar
Full Patch Notes
Added
Time speed settings. Added separate multipliers for speeding up and slowing down time.
Added an option to use either toggle or hold controls when changing time speed.
Added an option to keep the game running while unfocused. The previous automatic pause when the game lost focus has been removed.
Added a Quick Manufacture button to the ammunition selection screen.
Gunship weapons and flares can now trigger enemy alarms. Previously alarms were only triggered by enemy deaths, threatening explosions, and destroyed objectives.
Added options to disable unit tracking box and unit icon fade-out.
Added localization for the new settings and UI text.
Changed
Reworked unit spotting. Units no longer detect enemies immediately after gaining line of sight. Detection now depends on the target's visibility and the observer's spotting ability. Units in cover are harder to detect, while units firing their weapons are significantly easier to spot. Stationary units are also better at spotting enemies.
Reworked unit accuracy. Accuracy is now more dynamic and affected by unit movement instead of relying on static projectile or damage randomization. Repeated shots at the same target progressively improve accuracy.
Infantry attacks can now miss. Previously infantry attacks effectively always hit, causing firefights to end too quickly. Prone and moving units are harder to hit than stationary units.
Improved roads on Dry Foothills. Roads now blend into the surrounding terrain more gradually, and several additional paved road sections have been added.
Unit icons no longer overlap objective icons.
Reduced the size of infantry unit icons.
Smoke no longer guarantees complete concealment. Instead, it greatly reduces how visible units are to observers.
Fixed
Fixed time speed changes causing weapon audio pitch to be incorrect.
AA missile and flak weapons now fire more reliably.
Fixed AA explosion damage sometimes being calculated from the wrong position. Missile steering and flak fuse logic can target flares, but explosion damage should always calculate its distance from the gunship itself.
Technical
Created a new procedural road generation system. It is faster and more flexible to use when creating maps, slightly less demanding on performance, and fixes an AI navigation issue that could cause units to bunch up around road junctions. It is currently only implemented on one map.
Started exploring support for externally modifying unit stats. This is still experimental and focused purely on gameplay values, not models or other game content. It could eventually help with testing different balance setups and allow players to customize the game's balance.
Known Issues
The new spotting and accuracy systems are still being tuned, so values will change based on testing and player feedback.