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dteowner
Shoegazer
Joined: 21 Mar 2002
Posts: 7570
Location: Third Hero of Erathia |
Version 1.3 is now available. I'm not going to get it tonight, so I don't know what it does (the site mentions that it includes a modder's kit, but no details on the game changes). Consider yourself informed. 
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=Proud Member of the Non-Flamers Guild=
=Benevolent Dictator, X2/X3 and Morrowind/Oblivion Forums=
Sorry. No pearls of wisdom in this oyster.
RIP Red Wings How 'Bout Dem Cowboys! |
Wed Mar 10, 2004 3:29 am |
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corwin
On the Razorblade of Life
Joined: 10 Jun 2002
Posts: 8376
Location: Australia |
Thanks, but as with all patches, I prefer to wait a day or too in case disaster strikes!!
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If God said it, then that settles it!
I don't use Smileys, I use Emoticons!!
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Wed Mar 10, 2004 7:42 am |
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Lintra
Elf Friend
Joined: 23 Apr 2002
Posts: 9448
Location: Bermuda, the triangle place with SANDY BEACHES |
quote:
Originally posted by corwin
Thanks, but as with all patches, I prefer to wait a day or too in case disaster strikes!!
Smart move!
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=Just plain clueless= |
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Wed Mar 10, 2004 1:18 pm |
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EverythingXen
Arch-villain
Joined: 01 Feb 2002
Posts: 4342
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I patched it. I'm like that... not afraid of anything.
Well.
Some ships (M3 and M6) handle better... they don't turn any faster or slower but they turn smoother. I dunno... you have to experience it to appreciate it. My Nova was a graceful dancer today.
Capturing is harder... MUCH harder. Shield damage was taken out of the equation for capture, pretty much. I had to take 45 passes with an ion cannon to get two guys to bail, 30 against 2 more... in short, I attacked and captured an entire pirate base (60 ships) but it took me *5* hours! 
New capture strategies are forming in my mind. Mostly it involves writing off ship components and using IRE combined with Ion. Bleh. 
They stomped on SETA abuse HARD. The slighest thing will now knock you out of SETA... including a) getting within 300 meters of a target (and it will not re-engage until you are well clear) b) the first time you're shot at (not bad) c) whenever a missile is launched at you (handy, actually. More time to respond!). Plus your ranks drop fairly steadily even if you're not SETA... just AFK. Not as bad as SETA, mind you... I lost 8% of Commodore leaving the game idle for 4 hours because my GF came over.
On the plus side... Turrets! Work! They'll actually hit things at speed. May you guys never know the frustration of watching ships dance around 18 heavy weapon turrets firing full auto unscathed.
No, now the XHG (Xen's Hunters and Gatherers Corp) Tidal Kraken (M2 Boron Ray) shiny new equipped with 12 beta PPC and 3 gamma PPC destroyed an entire pirate base, all ships, all turrets, the base itself, in less than 5 minutes. From 3rd person about 2 kilometers out it was an awesome display of firepower and exploding ship fragments.
The biggest and most beautiful change was remote jumping. Gone are the days of having to use a Pegaseus taxi cab to travel between ships, or leaving valuable M3s or TPs lying about.
If Mohammed doesn't have enough energy cells to get to the mountain, he can bring the mountain to him.
Watching my TL jump into a sector followed immediately by my M2 and then my neglected M3 was like watching the Rebels come out of hyperspace on their attack run against the Death Star 2.
I caused some chaos with the sudden appearance of two capital ships. They nearly collided, for one thing... and for another the poor Teladi traders were completely taken by surprise... three slammed into Fort Max and exploded violently while the others scattered...
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Estuans interius, Ira vehementi
"The old world dies and with it the old ways. We will rebuild it as it should be, MUST be... Immortal!"
=Member of the Nonflamers Guild=
=Worshipper of the Written Word= |
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Thu Mar 11, 2004 6:02 am |
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Dhruin
Stranger In A Strange Land
Joined: 20 May 2002
Posts: 1825
Location: Sydney, Australia |
Thanks for the impressions, Xen. I tend to be an early patcher (and purchaser and...) but I'm thinking of holding out a little on this one.
The furore over at the Egosoft boards is HUGE! The tightening of SETA has many opponents but the main thing is anyone who opens the Scripting facility or uses (non-Egosoft) scripts now gets a "Modified" insignia in the top of the screen. Since I only use SETA for cross-sector travel that doesn't bother me but I don't really have an opinion on the Modified sign.
The Pro argument: tech support can identify if scripts *might* be the cause of someone's problems and those posting screenshots to boast about their 1000-strong cap ship fleet will have to prove their bona fides if they have a "Modified" sign.
The Negative: the sign is anti-immersive (actually I think it's hard to see so not a big deal) but mostly - should a game that ships with mod facilities "label" players who use those facilities? Possibly for minor conveniences or even curiosity rather than organised cheating?
Thoughts?
Personally, I can't decide whether the improved steering, framerate increase and smaller save files (5Mb, down from 25Mb!!) adequately offsets harder capturing. I don't have an issue with harder capturing but I'm nowhere near Xen's level and want some more cash from good capturing sessions.
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Thu Mar 11, 2004 9:11 am |
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corwin
On the Razorblade of Life
Joined: 10 Jun 2002
Posts: 8376
Location: Australia |
Since my current major activity is Pirate Harvesting, I won't be applying the patch in the forseeable future. Anything that makes that harder, is definitely not for me!! I'll wait for 1.4!! 
_________________
If God said it, then that settles it!
I don't use Smileys, I use Emoticons!!
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Thu Mar 11, 2004 10:13 am |
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Badger
Stripey Forest Dweller
Joined: 18 Mar 2002
Posts: 924
Location: UK |
There's a framerate increase you say?? Well then I definately want the patch. Is it a significant increase?
D'OH! I have to wait for next month to see if my magazine covermounts the patch. I bet they don't.
BAdger
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"Ducks are Dumb!" Badger-2005. Go ahead... quote me! |
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Thu Mar 11, 2004 12:32 pm |
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Ican
Captain of the Guard
Joined: 16 Feb 2003
Posts: 185
Location: UK |
Personally, the changes to SETA and the "modified" tag don't bother me either. I like to really work for my rewards ....none of this leaving SETA on overnight stuff.
I'm eager to try the new patch so I can observe the changes to turrets. I too used to get very frustrated at my Split Dragon, which was armed to the teeth, seemingly unable to hit a barn door.
Changes I would still like to see occur in no particular order
1. Better economic model. There should be more profit to be had from owning and running "higher" level factories eg weapons factories , mines etc.
2. A more open feel to space. Despite the nice graphics, I feel like I'm moving from sandbox to sandbox. I'd like greater distances between stations , landmarks etc
3.Increased ranges on some weapons ( although the new turret changes may make this less of an issue )
4. Faction wars eg Split v Boron as a backdrop to your own adventures just to add some more dynamism to the game.
I still rate this game highly though. I just wish I could fuse it with EVE ....both have their selling points, yet neither quite hit the mark. |
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Thu Mar 11, 2004 7:32 pm |
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dteowner
Shoegazer
Joined: 21 Mar 2002
Posts: 7570
Location: Third Hero of Erathia |
Sounds like there's no real reason for me to patch, but no real reason not to. I'll probably skip it for now- no urge to rock the boat just as I'm finally getting the hang of things.
_________________
=Proud Member of the Non-Flamers Guild=
=Benevolent Dictator, X2/X3 and Morrowind/Oblivion Forums=
Sorry. No pearls of wisdom in this oyster.
RIP Red Wings How 'Bout Dem Cowboys! |
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Thu Mar 11, 2004 8:46 pm |
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Dhruin
Stranger In A Strange Land
Joined: 20 May 2002
Posts: 1825
Location: Sydney, Australia |
@dte, I think I'll take the same approach.
@Ican, I'm quite happy with the economy model and the sector sizes are fine by me.
I would like much more hidden bases, wrecks and landmarks off the beaten track, so to speak. Race wars and ongoing skirmishes is definitely something I'd like to see. One of the (smaller) changes I'd like is the occasional more aggressive pirate base and much better bounty missions.
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Editor @ RPGDot |
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Thu Mar 11, 2004 9:07 pm |
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Ican
Captain of the Guard
Joined: 16 Feb 2003
Posts: 185
Location: UK |
Yup, I'd like the pirates to be a more coherent force. There is a certain passivity about this game. The Khaak alone aren't danger enough. |
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Thu Mar 11, 2004 10:56 pm |
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dteowner
Shoegazer
Joined: 21 Mar 2002
Posts: 7570
Location: Third Hero of Erathia |
quote:
Originally posted by Ican
The Khaak alone aren't danger enough.
Speak for yourself, Captain Kirk. The Khaak are more than enough for Away Team Security Guy #2 (he's the one that always gets vaporized first).
@Dhruin- perhaps a little Freelancer-esque derelict hunting?
_________________
=Proud Member of the Non-Flamers Guild=
=Benevolent Dictator, X2/X3 and Morrowind/Oblivion Forums=
Sorry. No pearls of wisdom in this oyster.
RIP Red Wings How 'Bout Dem Cowboys! |
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Thu Mar 11, 2004 11:05 pm |
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EverythingXen
Arch-villain
Joined: 01 Feb 2002
Posts: 4342
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Remote jumping alone was more than worth the patch to me. SO much easier to get resources to factories that run out because the AI keeps beating my transports to the supplies... just tell my Split Iguana to go to this sector, dock, buy the crystals when I notice it's done so, and jump to where they're needed. If my TL is approximately halfway between these destinations I simply put enough energy cells on the Iguana to make it to the first destination and back again, and then refuel with the transporter before the second jump.
_________________
Estuans interius, Ira vehementi
"The old world dies and with it the old ways. We will rebuild it as it should be, MUST be... Immortal!"
=Member of the Nonflamers Guild=
=Worshipper of the Written Word= |
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Fri Mar 12, 2004 12:14 am |
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Badger
Stripey Forest Dweller
Joined: 18 Mar 2002
Posts: 924
Location: UK |
quote:
Originally posted by Badger
There's a framerate increase you say?? Well then I definately want the patch. Is it a significant increase?
<Raises Paw>
Erm...........
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"Ducks are Dumb!" Badger-2005. Go ahead... quote me! |
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Fri Mar 12, 2004 12:39 am |
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Dhruin
Stranger In A Strange Land
Joined: 20 May 2002
Posts: 1825
Location: Sydney, Australia |
The jump commands are definitely a major step forward. However, the rest of us don't need to worry about that for a while! My little 6x SPP micro-Empire isn't jumping about the universe raining death on the Xenon...infact I'm just about to buy a Corvette but that TL is a long way off...
@dte, yep - I think that would be fun and sounds simple to script...I think...
@Ican, Badger - can't answer on the frame rate from personal experience (not installing 1.3 yet because of the capture rate) but there are lots of reports of performance increases. There's a new 3D cache option and the save sizes have shrunk 5-fold. When there was an early bug that made saves swell from 25Mb to 50-100Mb, the performance died, so it makes some sense that 5Mb saves would improve performance. I've heard reports of a 0 - 50% improvement.
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Editor @ RPGDot |
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Fri Mar 12, 2004 12:53 am |
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