Monday, September 28, 2015

1.1.25 Released!

This is a large balance update.  After talking with a few players and brainstorming a bit, I think these changes will have a very positive effect in many ways and give the game some more life.

Some of these changes were specifically to address weaknesses, and others were made to encourage the use of less commonly seen units and tactics.  Fremen and Sardaukar for instance have been given more interesting roles to ensure that Troopers and Infantry still have valid use cases.  Turrets have had their ROF reduced so that they do less sustained damage, but still have the range and power to discourage initial confrontation and loitering.

Changes since 1.1.24:

  • Atreides now get free MCV research instead of Microwave Power (this was simply too strong)
  • Warriors are now proper guerilla assassins.
    • Now fully stealthed.  As with Saboteurs, they can only be detected when moving too close to an enemy or when in combat
    • Base damage increased to 4 from 3 and bonus damage vs Foot units increased to 16 from 15
  • Sardaukar are cheaper and still strong in the open, but less useful against bases.  Troopers do 66% greater DPS to structures so we should see even mixes
    • Strength reduced to 60 from 75
    • No longer do any bonus damage vs Buildings
    • Cost reduced to 100
  • Saboteurs cost reduced to 150 from 200
  • Trikes are now 20% faster
  • Raiders repurposed to be the ultimate flanker vs artillery lines and harvesters.
    • Speed is now slower to match Trikes
    • Strength reduced to 40 from 45
    • Weapon type is now Small Missile with half the ROF
    • Weapon now does bonus damage to Heavy Vehicles
  • Quads and Flak Trikes are now 4% faster
  • Ornithopters should be very viable again.  Possibly overpowered.
    • Range is now 6 up from 5
    • Strength is now 70 up from 60
    • Now prioritize hostile enemies with Anti-Air abilities
  • Deviators buffed to give Ordos more late-game power.
    • ROF now matches Sonic Tanks
    • Range improved to 3-9 from 3-8
  • Rocket Launchers receive one small change that will dramatically change the game.
    • AOE reduced by half
  • Armed Harvesters now have a weapon similar to the new Guard Turret to better defend against light units
  • Guard Turrets changed dramatically.
    • Is now a rapid-fire bullet weapon doing extra damage to Foot units, instead of AOE
    • Range is now 5 from 6
  • Gun Turrets nerfed.
    • Rate Of Fire is now 50% slower
  • Rocket Turrets nerfed.
    • Rate Of Fire is now 50% slower
  • Fixed issues with Results web site (http:\\krizikcraft.no-ip.info) preventing results from being submitted properly.  Note that you still need to play until the "mission complete" or "failure" message has been received for this to happen.
It's very likely I'll have to make another patch after this one to even things out.  Some of these balance changes are going to have very wide-ranging effects.  I'm actually very worried I just made the Ordos the strongest faction by far with these simple changes, but time will tell.  I encourage you to have patience and try some new things. :)

Monday, September 07, 2015

1.1.24 Released!

Hey guys,
This may be out of left field but it's really just a fix update.  I recently noticed the server list wasn't working any longer, and a couple players mentioned it as well.  It would seem the site originally hosting the DB was updated to the point where it couldn't handle the old code from this game any longer.  So, in order to fix it, and to avoid dealing with my $*@! web hosting company any further, I decided to pull it in-house.

The crux of the update is that the server list is fixed, and I also added a page for historical game info:
http://krizikcraft.no-ip.info
You may want to bookmark that site.

Do me a favor also, if anyone knows much about server security and they feel like they see some holes that need plugging in what I've set up, please let me know!

Changes since 1.1.23

  • Game server list URL is now kept in the config.ini file (and now works)
  • Client now updates additional result information
  • Shift-Enter now also activates All-Chat

Friday, September 04, 2015

Server list issues

Hey guys,
I recently looked at this old gem again and I've noticed the feature that registers and lists server hosts for D2TGP is no longer working for most people.  I don't yet have an explanation; the call is coming through as it should be from the game, and the sites it points to are easily accessible by hitting the web address in a browser.  My best guess currently is that a recent Windows update that was pushed to almost everyone has changed something in security.  If you have any suggestions please post them in the forum.

In the mean time, please be aware that you can easily host games just by giving out your IP address for others to connect to manually (though keep in mind you may still have to open ports 10191 and 10192 on your firewalls as usual).

Cheers
Drackbolt

Sunday, June 16, 2013

1.1.23 Released!

Changes since 1.1.22:

  • Flak Trikes now cost 250 up from 200
  • When Flyer Repair is enabled at the HTF, flying units will retreat after taking any damage (previously they only retreated after being driven down to 33% health)
  • PageUp and PageDown keys can now be used to zoom in/out
  • TEAMCHAT is now enabled. :)  Pressing Enter will Team-Chat, while pressing Y will use All-Chat
  • In-game chat font size has been doubled

Sunday, May 12, 2013

1.1.22 Released!

Kind of a drastic update, and rather random in nature.  I needed something fun to code in a couple hours. :)

Changes since 1.1.21:

  • Added a new terrain type, Treacherous Dunes!
    • This spawns on random maps about half as often as regular Dunes
    • It is completely impassible by any ground unit (due to sinkholes, water traps, worms, etc)
    • It looks like a high contrast version of regular Dunes and shows up slightly lighter colored than sand on the minimap
  • Doubled the cost of Refineries and increased build time
    • Hear me out on this one... I realized after much thought that somehow down through time I had allowed Refineries to get much too cheap.  In the original game they were 400 Credits and while the first Harvester was free, every additional one was 300 credits more.  Now in that context, 800 credits for unlimited harvesters (albeit one at a time) doesn't seem so unreasonable.  And the simple fact is that it is just too easy to rush to a massive economical advantage.  Yes, this change will slow down the early game, but I think the change to the meta game will be fantastic in that nearly every game should make it to mid-game (especially with the recent defensive buffs), and making good building decisions will have a greater effect toward the late-game.  Battles will be smaller and more interesting.  There will be more time to build strategies and counters.  I'm very interested to see the ripples this will make through the community!
  • Added graphical icons showing when units are receiving a defensive bonus (from Dunes or Crags)
  • Fixed more bugs associated with new queues being created in odd circumstances for Flyers at the HTF

Tuesday, April 02, 2013

1.1.21 Released!

Changes since 1.1.20:
  • Guard Towers now do 5 damage (down from 6.25)
  • Subtitles are now enabled correctly when sound volume is set very low
  • Aggressive Units is now set to Enabled by default to cause units to fire at unarmed enemies/buildings more readily
  • Fixed bug preventing clients from building where infantry had moved in some cases
  • Fixed bug with Radar Upgrade not working correctly in some cases
  • Fixed bug with visible power produced by Atreides Windtraps being at 200%

Sunday, March 24, 2013

1.1.20 released!

Hey guys,
Felt like doing a little fun coding this weekend, so I sat down with Frontliner and went over a bunch of ideas.  This version has some sweeping changes for faction balance.

Changes since 1.1.19:

  • Faction bonuses for health and speed no longer apply
  • Instead, each Faction has certain research items granted or restricted to effect a total playing style.  Atreides now have bonuses that make them both more effective and more reliant on using open rock space and spreading out.  Ordos have greater intelligence but cannot build heavier units.  Harkonnen cannot build faster and cheaper units but begin with combat advantages researched.
    • Atreides
      • Cannot build Troopers, Raiders, Devastators or Deviators
      • Cannot research Power upgrade
      • Begin with Auto-concrete and Microwave Power researched
    • Harkonnen
      • Cannot build Infantry, Raiders, Trikes, Tanks, Sonic Tanks, Deviators, or Ornithopters
      • Cannot research PSM Detection
      • Begin with Siege Tanks, Trooper Squads, and Armed Harvesters researched
    • Ordos
      • Cannot build Quads, Siege Tanks, Sonic Tanks or Devastators
      • Begin with MTP and PSM Detection researched
  • Fixed bug preventing client from using HTF controls to force flyers to return and remain docked (Ornis should be easier to keep alive now)
  • Fixed bug sometimes preventing Tier 2 research items from showing up
  • Fixed some minor issues