Mobious and I have completed stage one of
1.3.0.
You can now get
FULL COPY of 1.3.0 at
StellarFrontier.net, at the
Stardock SF download page, or by upgrading via the SF.Net Nexus in game. However, there may be some new bugs still, but hopefully we killed all the bugs that all the new features add.
I'd suggest using 1.3.0 over 1.2RC7 due to the bugs that are solved that secure the server against devmode attacks/few crashes, and solves a major bug that allows your computer to act as a FTP due to the insecurities 1.2 always seemed to have. However, 1.3.0 may have its moments of crashing, we have only been able to test with a couple players! If this is true, please report it ASAP so we can get a bug list and release a more stable version (1.3.1) if this is the case. Hopefully the server should be stable though.
It's been noted that trails do require a moderate CPU when many are fired, so for now, I have created a "DISABLE TRAILS" in the options. In the future, I'd want to see missiles act like missiles, not a barrage of 200 missiles being fired in under 5 seconds. But for now, it is fine. On a laptop I dont' experience lag that effects me at all while launching many missiles. Just try to keep it down or disable trails. Trails can be added and removed to missiles, and can act differently, such as being infront of the bullet/missile, and acting like the bullet is 'cutting air'... Etc.
There are a good amount of improvements, and should solve one of the biggest nags, the black screen of death. Hopefully this makes you all more happy. Just to let everyone know, ships are in the process of being balanced, there are mid-sized modules to cope with this. Mid-size modules can fit on the moderately big ships, something that sorts them out against smaller ships vs what it is now. We need to tweak them, feel free to state what needs tweaking, and how to tweak them to be more balanced! Please do not state 'current ships are bad!'.. Tweak them with a group, and speak to me!
Another change you may want to know about is starbase damage. You can set SB damage with starbase_damage and starbase_popdamage, default values are in the sf_game_data.sec.. I am aiming to have it so that a team or 3-4 skilled players can kill it, but no less. Please change the values and try to figure out a good setting for future gaming to use for SF, and post it up. 100% is normal damage, 0% is immune to damage. pop damage is population damage, the less pop, the slower regen it gets for repairing, however, they can orbit to gain these back up, which they will do eventually. Starbases are pretty much tanks now, and you cannot ambush them with rams+cloak for a cheap kill.
As for what's new in this, please head over to
http://stellarfrontier.net/devlog.php for all changes so you can see them all.
For modders:If you have a 1.2RC7 or below, you will need to update your mod to 1.3.0 if you want to play it. There are a few changes for colonies, missile/debris trails, new gun type, etc. Please head over to
http://stellarfrontier.net/1.3upgrade.php for details on how to update it, but normally, just check out the new dat files... You should understand them if your a modder. If you have any questions, feel free to post. Unfortunatly, this will probably continue, as we are trying to make SF better!
SF 1.3.0 is bigger because of new images, and uses MP3s now. MP3s made by ATC, and images done by Sandtrooper.
Good luck! And again, please remember, see this as more of a BETA version until we get it all going! I apologize for any issues it brings, but it will be very much worth it in the end!
