Friday, December 11, 2009

1.69 Release

This isn't a typical bugfix release. Please read the list below carefully. Wormsign has been much changed after I concluded the randomness of their attacks was actually a worse idea than if they always attacked. Many other changes you'll care about also.
This may the last update you see until late January as my overseas trip is less than two weeks away. Anyone who feels like donating could really bring some holiday cheer my way by doing so.

Changed this version:
  • Move and Retreat orders now provide a 10% bonus to speed
  • Units on Retreat orders are no longer slowed down by being damaged, and will no longer default to Move orders within a certain distance of the player's Retreat Flag
  • Wormsign has been drastically altered. It will last about a minute on average, and during this time, don't even think about breathing on the sand. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED
  • Wormsign also gives a warning ten seconds before it starts. That's how long you get to stop your groups and get off the dunes
  • Pre-spice masses are only created and will only naturally blow (i.e. from aging, not from being disturbed) when the worms are quiet. Their frequency of both creation and eruption has been slightly increased to account for the difference
  • Pressing the Tab key doesn't just show statistics; now it also shows a halo around all of your units representing their general health
  • Added a "Default to Attack" option at the Outpost, which when enabled will cause any units produced to go on Attack orders toward the queue location
  • Trading Posts are now invisible to enemy players, although they will still be attacked in range
  • Sonic Tanks and Fremen have had their ranges reduced by 1. However, their shots will "follow-through" one extra whole cell beyond the target now. This has been shown to increase their overall damage against enemy armies and bases in most cases. Also, like Sonic Tanks, Fremen no longer hurt friendly units
  • Increased speed of mousewheel selection oval growth
  • PSMs are now drawn on the minimap if the IX upgrade has been researched
  • Fixed bug with Harvesters and some other units defaulting to Stop orders inappropriately
  • Fixed bugs with some menu selections
  • Fixed bug with some information remaining when exiting and restarting a game
  • Fixed bug with music overlapping when exiting from a game
  • Fixed self-destruct explosions not being net-synced
  • Fixed Death Hand launches not being net-synced
  • Fixed rare bug with Frigate draws
  • Made slight changes to performance which may or may not be noticeable