New computer controlled players (“Bots” / “CPU Players”) are now available in both Single Player and Multiplayer Skirmish modes.
Players can add bots to their own team or fight against fully bot controlled teams. Bots now feature different difficulty levels and personality settings, allowing players to find the perfect ally or opponent for their preferred playstyle.
Besides the ability to operate in teams and participate in multiplayer skirmishes, the new bots also differ from the old ones in how they actually "play". There are no more "money cheats" for bots, they now rely on the same economy gains as players. The ships they build are no longer randomized either, but instead follow specific builds, each with its own designated role and tactics.
Aggressive (prefers offensive actions)
Balanced (acts according to situation in a match)
Turtle (prefers defensive actions)
Tech (focuses on gaining technological advantage)
Eco (focuses on developing strong economy)
New custom maps have also been added, giving players the opportunity to experiment with different team compositions — with or without bots.
Please note that this is a very large patch. While we did have tests and had no issues on our end, you might experience some bugs. If you do, please report them here here https://discord.gg/buPYSTaGPT .
Adding bots to multiplayer required us to completely rethink and redesign the multiplayer lobby interface. The lobby now looks and functions much more like a classic RTS skirmish lobby.
Add or remove bots
Change bot difficulty and personality
Select maps from a whole new list of skirmish maps
Players can also select their spawn positions either through a dropdown menu or directly by clicking a position on the map preview.
(2) Cinder Rift
(2) Violet Veil
(3) Lumen Drift
(4) Ashen Gate
(4) Jade Circuit
(4) Mistborne Belt
(4) Umbra Null
(5) Crownfall Array
(6) Magma Crown
(6) Nebula Veil
(6) Pragmatica Umbra
(6) Tideglass Reach
(7) Black Halo
(8) Iron Bastion
(8) Quiet Convergence
(8) System 04
(8) System 07
(8) Verdant Lattice
(9) Corsair Null
(9) Ember Lastlight
We have added several Automated Assistance Modes for players who prefer focusing their attention on one task at a time.
If you often find yourself distracted by combat micro-management or base building while trying to manage everything else at once, these assistance systems are here to help:
Economy Assist — helps keep your economy growing and production running smoothly
Defense Assist — helps reinforce your position with defensive structures
Army Build Assist — helps maintain military production and reinforce your fleet
Combat Assist — helps direct your forces once battles begin
These assist modes are designed to support the player, not replace them. They do not provide unfair advantages and will not outperform skilled human players on their own.
Added basic text chat to both the multiplayer lobby and in-game UI. Players can now press `ENTER` to quickly send messages to everyone in the current lobby or match.
Discord notifications can now automatically mention the `@Looking For Game` role when players create multiplayer lobbies, helping players find matches more easily.
Added a new UI scale setting to both the main menu and in-game options, allowing players to increase or decrease GUI size
Updated the minimap visuals
Players can now move the camera and issue unit commands directly through the minimap
Improved visibility for buildings icons
Game now displays Icons for all visible Zabu facilities when shipyard is selected
Fixed minor tooltip positioning issues in the building menu on rare screen resolutions
Added new sound effects for GUI interactions and certain economy-related events
Classic Camera mode can now focus (`F` by default) on any selected unit or object
Added support for multiple strike groups on carriers
Some carrier units now feature a second strike group
Carrier fighter squadrons can now engage and damage light units such as Corvettes, Fish, Bees, etc. Fighters will still prioritize intercepting enemy bombers and enemy fighters first.
We currently don't have a publisher. If you like this game, please consider supporting our indie gamedev efforts via www.patreon.com/TenseGames . Thank you for being part of this journey!
Happy Hour drop rates & balance patch! While we do feel that the current drop rates are good as they are, we also want to have some ingame events that boost these droprates for those of you with little time. Now there's a drop rate 'Happy Hour' 3x per day in which the drop rate is up to 3x higher!
In addition to that, while we are working on getting several languages ready for Stellar Warfare we decided that it was time for a balance patch as well. The following ships and weapons have been updated:
Ships: Type-D Health 1300 to 1500
Hive Changed health from 4400 to 4600
Stinger Changed health from 80 to 90
Weapons: Auto Brawler Damage changed from 22 to 28
Azauri MK2 Damage changed from 72 to 80
Buckshot Damage changed from 24 to 29
Double Barrel Xati Damage changed from 32 to 40
Duo Cannon Damage changed from 32 to 40
Ion Cannon Damage changed from 78 to 86
Medium Cannon Damage changed from 20 to 25
Mini Cannon Damage changed from 28 to 35
Multi-ion Damage changed from 20 to 24
Plasma Repeater Damage changed from 12 to 15
Rail Artillery Damage changed from 6 to 9
Railcannon Damage changed from 12 to 15
Railgun Damage changed from 24 to 28
Raquor Damage changed from 7 to 9
Repeater Barreler Damage changed from 8 to 7
Repeater Cannon Damage changed from 12 to 10
Repressor MKII Damage changed from 16 to 20
Repressor Damage changed from 8 to 12
Sarkuth Damage changed from 4 to 6
Tiamat Damage changed from 60 to 75
Wrecker Damage changed from 20 to 25
Weldcannon Damage changed from 90 to 100
Modules: Mirror Optics Speed debuff increased from -10 percent to -15 percent Range bonus increased from 7.5 percent to 10 percent
An often requested feature was infinite waves for the wave defense game mode. We've had to brainstorm a bit on how to best implement it, but I think we found a good solution. You can now toggle the infinite waves checkbox in the wave survival setup menu. Instead of 1 big boss after 10 waves you now get a mini-boss assault-platform that attacks you every fifth wave! They have long range weaponry but aren't especially tanky... Their damage output is serious though!
In addition to that we did the following:
The following ships now have Green Engine Flames:
The following ships now have Yellow/orange Engine Flames:
The following ships now have Purple Engine Flames:
The following ships now have Teal engine flames:
The following ships now have Red engine flames:
Wrapup
That's it for this update! There's a few things we still want to improve upon and we will gradually add those as well. May you be safeguarded from The Light. See you in space!
Time for another update! Among other things we have:
Along with the above we've looked into localization since that has been often requested as well and we might do something with that in the near future.
Share your ideas! We also want to give you guys the opportunity to contribute to the project by sharing your ideas. You can do so on our discord in the feedback and suggestions channel. We'll go over each of the submissions there and see if we can pick up an idea or two and implement those for you guys.
More coming, cheers!
