After a long wait, v8 has finally been released. For those coming from v7, here's a rundown of the major changes.
Serpulo Campaign
- The entire Serpulo campaign has been overhauled; most maps have been completely reworked
- All sectors from the tech tree now have unique icons
- Launch pads have been reworked, and now require landing pads at destinations
- Difficulty modifiers have been added, for those who find the new campaign too difficult (or too easy)
- All procedurally generated base sectors on Serpulo have been replaced with player-submitted ones
- Core zones have been added to several maps, allowing for multiple cores to be placed, like in Erekir
QoL
- Building plans are now synced to other players in multiplayer
- Locations can now be pinged on the map (Default key: P)
- The camera can now be "detached" from the unit if enabled in the settings
- Buildings like sorters and unit factories can now be configured as plans before placement by ctrl+clicking the plan
- Improved unit pathfinding
- Added queuing of command for units
- Stances for boosting, patrolling, holding fire and more
- New commands for mining specific resources or moving unit payloads continuously
- Multiple unit factory blocks can now be selected at once via rectangle selection
Mapping
- A new 'marker' system for world processors, allowing rendering of arbitrary game sprites or shapes in maps
- A new UI for viewing and editing world processors easily
- A data patch system for modifying weapons, stats and other attributes of blocks, units and items per-map or per-server
- Improved in-game editor UI with support for editing terrain
- Buttons to toggle specific layers in the map editor
- New decorative metal & colored blocks
Audio
- Completely reworked most sound effects, with an emphasis on Serpulo
- Updated audio system to allow for a much higher active sound cap
- Added sounds for many new events, such as units walking
- Improved audio behavior in general; sounds should cut each other off far less frequently now
Misc
- Colored Serpulo turret bullets based on their bullet types
- Added new ammo types for Erekir turrets
- Added a few new utility/production blocks for Erekir
- New instructions for displaying text in logic displays, as well as a new tiled display block
- Rendering performance optimizations
- Many more things; it's been 2+ years, so I've probably forgotten something
Future Plans
- As many might have noticed, this update does not have the Neoplasm faction content that was shown ages ago in various places; that will be my main focus in v9.
- Many user-submitted Serpulo sectors still need a lot of work, so expect further updates on that front.
- The campaign(s) still lack any kind of conclusive "ending" or story, but I'm still deciding on whether a proper story would fit the game, or whether it would be viable at all. I'm not sure if people even want yet another rework to the campaign.
- The Erekir campaign will likely be undergoing a similar rework to that of the Serpulo campaign, but that may only be added in v10 or beyond.
Changes since Beta Build 157
- Fixed empty packets causing UDP errors and server disconnects
- Fixed naval units not pathfinding around destructible blocks on water properly
- Fixed some minor JSON and data patcher bugs
- Made core unit projectiles inherit unit speed as before, but keep range the same
- Re-ordered some tech tree requirements in Serpulo
- Reverted changes related to display scaling on Windows
Hotfix 157.2
- Fixed waves spawning in Ground Zero before the tutorial is completed
- Fixed incorrect sounds being spammed in a specific submitted sector
- Translation updates
Build 157.3
- Added a processor instruction for spawning bullets
- Added sensors for player ping text/position
- Added a global Steam ban system for known griefers
- Fixed Horizon units not being able to circle large blocks
- Fixed bullets fired from core units while moving backwards lasting longer
Build 157.4
- Fixed spawn bullet instruction causing save issues
- Fixed sensor name conflict with bullet properties
- Fixed minor issues with guardian hints & initial arc research in Serpulo campaign
- Made players respawn instantly upon joining a server, even when the host paused it
- Added a world logic spatial query instruction
- Made "core is under attack" warning clickable; pans to last attacked core
- Minor map submission fixes