Tag: video game

Significant performance improvements with A-Spec First Assault Update 0.22.0

Posted on by Dan Woods in Video Games

Welcome, pilot! With this latest update it is no exaggeration to say there are have some huge performance improvements with less frame rate drops, and more increases. This has been a huge undertaking and took precedence over the Chapter 6 update, which not a decision taken lightly. While there is no new content, I believe these performance gains and other general improvements, make the game experience much better.

With how much of the backend was changed to eke out improved performance there may be bugs. If you notice anything out of place and behaving different, bizarrely or just plain acting outright annoying, let me know and I will investigate it. I have been through the campaign several times and caught some soft-locks, broken AI behaviour, etc, etc. But alas, I am just the one dev. While I catch many bugs, there’s always more lurking in the shadows, seemingly hidden, until someone brings it to my attention. So if you find one please report it, and big thanks to all the players who have!

With all that being said and done. Thanks for the continuing support and patience. This was meant to be a 1-year project, extended into a 2 year project, and became a unintended 5 year (and ongoing) project. All being well, A-Spec First Assault the release goal line is now firmly in sight. The focus is on completing the campaign, adding more content, improving existing features along with balancing. I’m aiming to be a full release this year. There, I said it, just don’t try and pin me down with an exact date. It will be in the fullness of time.

And without further ado, here are the patch notes for A-Spec First Assault Update 0.22.0

Patch Notes 0.22.0
Overview

  • This update provides significant performance improvements, along with general bug fixes and improvements and fixed the accuracy of the players primary guns when enabling the “Homing Projectiles” option

Added

  • AI manager to handle management of AI Actor logic updates for improved performance
  • Combat AI Actors now perform a threat assessment against nearby hostiles to determine the best target to engage (closest comparable to itself)
  • Combat AI Actors are capable of making attempts at reducing the likeliness of getting stuck against other ships/structures in the world

Changed

  • Gimball Gun tracking and movement logic updates are now processed with ECS Jobs for improved performance
  • Turret tracking and movement logic updates are now processed with ECS Jobs for improved performance
  • Ship exhaust lens flare logic updates are now processed with ECS Jobs for improved performance
  • Ship exhaust lens flare quad texture visuals are now rendered more efficiently for improved performance
  • Projectile logic updates are now processed with ECS Jobs for improved performance
  • Projectile quad texture visuals are now rendered more efficiently for improved performance
  • Stellar dust logic updates are now processed with ECS Jobs for improved performance
  • Gun Muzzle Flare quad texture visuals are now rendered more efficiently for improved performance
  • Radar contacts logic updates are now processed with ECS Jobs for improved performance
  • Improved the logic used for stretching projectile tails for better visual appearance
  • Removed the in-game FPS montor and associated key binding

Fixed

  • The players main gun projectiles are now 100% accurate against targets when “Homing Projectiles” have been enabled in the game options
  • Campaign soft lock in Chapter 5 Mission 3 as no random side missions are generated preventing progression towards unlocking this main mission
  • Refactored hazard field processes (asteroid and nebula fields) for performance improvements
  • Projectile Stats from installed modules are not applied to the guns when in a mission (Muzzle Speed, Max Range, Rate of Fire, Explosive Radius)
  • Ship Fitting: Launcher Subsystem Damage display values are being calculated incorrectly
  • AI Actors now correctly calculate stopping times, preventing the fast overshoot/fly-bys when using the afterburner

A-Spec First Assault: Patch 0.20.1 is live

Posted on by Dan Woods in Uncategorized

There is no significant evidence of spontaneously combusting turrets which may or may not be linked to…

Patch Notes 0.20.1

Note: This update will reset all existing bindings to default values to avoid conflicts with new generic HOTAS and generic flight pedal default bindings

Overview

  • Added an overview screen as a place to easily reference control bindings
  • Artillery and Autocannon weaponry adjusted to provide more distinct differences and use
  • Improvements to Torpedo Launchers (installation costs, flight specs, damage)
  • Kherson turrets significantly less likely to spontaneously combust when firing a launcher salvo

Added

  • Default bindings for generic HOTAS controllers
  • Default bindings for generic flight pedal controllers
  • Controller Bindings Overview screen (For a quick glance reminder of controller bindings accessible from the pause menu during mission flights)

Changed

  • Adjustments to all Artillery and Autocannon variants towards defining distinct useage of these weapons and to Artillery:
    • Artillery are long range weapons (range increases, while muzzle velocities decrease, as slot sizes go up)
    • Burst and Standard Autocannons are medium range weapons (range increases, while muzzle velocities decrease, as slot sizes go up)
    • All Autocannons have a slightly faster muzzle velocity than the equivalent it’s Burst Autocannons
    • Adjusted maximum projectile range and muzzle velocities to move autocannon use from long range to medium ranged
  • Torpedo Launcher (Medium):
    • Fitting Points cost changed to 61 (from 169)
    • Prestige Points cost changed to 1464 (from 1624)
    • Adjusted lock range and flight time and flight velocities
  • Torpedo Launcher (Large):
    • Fitting Points cost changed to 243 (from 675)
    • Prestige Points cost changed to 5832 (from 5400)
    • Adjusted lock range and flight time and flight velocities
    • Adjusted Explosive damage values
  • Torpedo Launcher (Extra Large):
    • Fitting Points cost changed to 648 (from 2250)
    • Prestige Points cost changed to 15552 (from 18000)
    • Adjusted lock range and flight time and flight velocities
    • Adjusted Explosive damage values
  • The launcher status bar in the flight HUD weapons panel will no longer play out the reloading UI animation when the launcher ammo is 0, instead it will remain as an empty bar
  • The Save/Load window in the Equipment Loadout Screen:
    • Window real-a-state has been increased and equipped items are listed with consolidated totals to ensure specification text is fully displayed
    • Players can now select Save/Load Slots 6-8 when using controller navigation
  • Controller axis binding for roll is now inverted by default

Fixed

  • Hard at work Akkadian Technicians have corrected a minor fault with the Kherson’s new forward positioned keel turret mounts. In completely unrelated news, the Kherson’s launchers have been repositioned further forward allowing missiles to reach their intended target that little bit quicker, oh, and-any-keel-mounted-turrets-will-no-longer-spontaneously-combust-when-firing-said-launchers
  • Several side missions were not using overrides to spawn vessels and instead used the data in the mission file (therefore no random spawns!)
  • Firing a secondary launcher with multiple salvo’s and then immediately switching to another secondary launcher will pause the firing of the previous launcher
  • Projectiles were applying the shooters velocity to position offsetting the spawn location from the muzzle (which is no longer needed due to a script execution order change in a 0.19.x change)
  • Explosive Damage Enhancer Passive Module is not being applied to equipped launcher missile explosion damage
  • Equipment Loadout Screen now highlights locations (Primary, Secondary, Turrets) and equipped weaponry (primary guns and Turret models) on the vessel when hovering or selecting the relevant equipment slot
  • Vessel Selection Screen: Vessel loadout specification text for assigned wignmen is not updated when navigating the UI with the directional keys/buttons
  • Adjusted Turret Hierarchy Order so that turrets listed in the fitting screen in a standard convention
  • Muzzle Velocity and Max Range stats for projectiles do not display correct adjusted values with the Frictionless Coils Passive Module equipped
  • Rate of Fire stat for projectiles do not display correct adjusted values with the Magnetic Callibration Passive Module equipped
  • Using a Controller with a Throttle Axis binding assigned will set the throttle value to 0 while a Flight Group (1,2,3) button binding is held
  • Help Glyphs are not using a fallback for generic controllers without glyphs, which would instead use the element descriptive name of the controller for the bound action

A-Spec First Assault: Chapter 4 Arrives! Patch 0.20.0 Delivers New Content, Revamped Corvettes & Smoother Gameplay

Posted on by Dan Woods in Uncategorized

Greetings, Commander.

There is a lot to digest in the patch notes below, so I’ll cover some of the more noteworthy inclusions for update 0.20.0:

Chapter 4
3 new main story missions brings the player to the front lines of the war. Encounter tougher and bigger enemies than before. Chapter 4 side missions up the ante as well, if you want a real challenge then test your mettle with the ‘Ambushed’ side missions.

Corvette Ship Improvements
The Akkadian corvettes (Player faction) have been given additional equipment slots, varying by ship across primary, secondary, turrets and passive modules. The Luhansk, Donetsk and Kherson have significant increases in Max Fitting Points to make the most of these.

  • Akkadian cruiser group flies through the great expanse towards the front lines
  • A major threat to the cruiser eliminated before it could do any harm
  • Getting up close and personal with the Auxiliary craft
  • The fleet emerges from the dark side of a moon
  • A Sumer Battlecruiser looms over the debris of its latest victim

Optional Player Assists
Near-Miss
Do you love flying into the enemy head on guns blazing, but hate how the enemy chews you up as much as you do them? Then hate no more, and increase the chances of enemies missing your entirely with the Near-Miss assist.

Find it from the main menu under Options > Game > Near-Miss Spread Angle
Increase the slider to make the enemies aim worse or reduce to 0 to turn it off entirely. Velocity changes, and relative speeds are factored into calculation, so you’ll still need to make a few flight adjustments.

Homing Projectiles
You position the target in centre, your gimbal guns swivel to line up the perfect shot, squeeze the trigger and… Damn, the target fired its thrusters and adjusted its velocity enough for the projectile barrage to harmlessly pass by!

Feel more like a crack shot pilot at the extremes of your guns max ranges with the Homing Projectiles assist. When enabled any targeted vessel with the guns lined up for the kill will have their projectiles home in on the target. A bit like a heat seeking missile, but for projectiles!

This doesn’t guarantee a 100% chance hit rate, if the projectile travel time is long enough the target has a chance to evade if they put enough thrust into it.

Find it from the main menu under Options ? Game > Homing Projectiles
A simple toggle on or off.

Patch Notes 0.20.0 (Merged with 0.19.x Release Candidate Builds)
Overview

  • Chapter 4 added to the story campaign
  • Increased Prestige rewards for completing main missions
  • FPS performance improvements
  • Various additions, gameplay improvements and bug fixes


Added

  • Chapter 4:
    • 3 Main Missions
    • New (tougher) Side Mission spawn pools for: Ambush, Ambushed, Seek and Destroy, Convoy Escort/Destroy, Distress Call
  • Added weighting system to reduce the possibility of the same mission name types being overly repeated in side mission offers.
  • Allowed Akkadian Combat Pilot Actors to use afterburners (does not apply to other factions as adding this feature dramatically changed the difficulty and timings of a variety of missions)
  • Collision Avoidance conditions to stop AI Actor Pilots of larger ships evading much smaller ships
  • Targeted Substructures now have subsystem health and substructure health bars and values displayed in relevant flight HUD sections
  • Radar detection range can be adjusted on a per structure type basis (used to reduce detection range for specific structures in a Chapter 4 mission)
  • Improved FPS during explosions (Object Pooling relevant)
  • A couple of Particle Explosions missing from Object Pooling have now been included
  • Burst Autogun XXSmall (as a replacement for Sumer fighter craft using the Prologue Autogun XXSmall within the main campaign)
  • Projectiles being fired against the player (when the player is) will now calculate the chance that the projectile should be a near-miss based on local velocity and distance (All Blaster gun variations are excluded from this check)
  • Gameplay Assists (Options > Game > Gameplay Assists) for reducing enemy accuracy against the player and improving player accuracy with homing projectile weapons (excluding Blasters)


Changed

  • Luhansk Corvette:
    • Max fitting points increased to 404 (from 273)
    • Additional (+1) Primary Port group (x2 guns)
    • Additional (+1) forward launcher slot (Small fitting)
    • Additional (+1) Small Turret slot (rear keel)
    • Additional (+1) Small Passive Module slot
  • Donetsk Corvette:
    • Max fitting points increased to 1200 (from 566)
    • Additional (+3) turret slots on the keel
    • Additional (+2) forward launcher slots (Small/Medium fitting)
    • All small only turret slots on the deck can now fit Medium fittings (in addition to small fittings)
    • Additional (+1) Small Passive Module slot
  • Kherson Corvette:
    • Max fitting points increased to 1542 (from 960)
    • Secondary weapon slot has been re-positioned to a forward launcher towards making it more useful and in keeping with every other secondary weapon slot on other ships
    • Additional (+1) forward launcher slot (Small/Medium fitting)
    • Additional (+5) turret ports on the keel
    • Additional (+2) Small Passive Module slots
  • Adjusted Prestige rewards for completing main missions. Players will now have more Prestige to spend on ships and loadouts. This has been retroactively applied to existing campaigns
  • Thruster Optimizer Module description has been improved for better clarity
  • Thruster Tuning Modules description was using the original Thruster Optimizer Module description and has now been corrected to better summarise the modules’ effect
  • Collision Avoidance checks for AI Actors now exclude distinct debris in the world
  • Improved FPS performance (linked to Radar system updates)
  • Sumer Fighters and Gunships have reduced armour and hull points to make them feel much less spongy
  • Reworked Subsystem damage through projectile penetration of armour layer:
    • Previously subsystem damage scaled down linearly based on the max armour hitpoints (HP) and current armour HP. If we have two armour quadrants, one with max 500 HP and the other max 1000 HP, they would offer the same level of subsystem protection based on their HP percentage. To make subsystem penetration more consistent a weapon has a defined threshold for how much HP it can ‘pass’ through to achive penetration. The subsystem damage is scaled based on the threshold (passing through more armour HP will reduce the projectile subsystem damage down to 0 when it reaches the penetration threshold). This make positioning and angle of attack more important when wielding penetrating weapons (with the railgun, and lesser the autocannons) for damaging deeply housed subsystems on armoured targets.
  • Adjusted the main campaign mission progression unlocks due to C01M03 being made available immediately available after C01M02.
  • Prologue Mission 6 (Based on feedback about objectives around destroying enemy turrets proved too difficult to manage for a tutorial mission – thanks StoneofTriumph):
    • Swapped out the Choke Blaster for Autogun player primary weapon (due to Choke Blaster limited range)
    • Disabled the offline repair ability for enemy turrets
    • Changed Xenia comms dialogue around turret repair
    • Added Medium Autocannon 8 to the frigates
  • Chapter 2 Mission 3 (C02M03):
    • Reinforcing friendly cruiser now spawns as an Akaddian Cruiser (instead of Sumer Cruiser) and given some speed mods to get it into the action quicker
    • Reduced the reinforcing Akaddian Donetsk corvettes to 3 (from 4) allowing the Akaddian Cruiser more opportunity to get in on the action
    • Sumer Gunship loadouts’ have been adjusted giving 2 (from 4) gunships bombs to drop (bringing mission balancing back in line with pre 0.19.0 changes)
  • Chapter 3 Mission 2 (C02M02):
    • Fixed vessel names for several rebel frigate spawns
    • Admiral ship cannot be destroyed
  • Chapter 3 Mission 3 (C03M03):
    • Adjustments to rebel frigate and tug loadouts to improve their threat
    • Renamed the station
    • Civilian frigates now use correct prefab for ship data
  • Chapter 4 Mission 3 (C04M03):
    • Moved the starting spawn location of Sumer transports 15000 meters further away from the warp out point to provide the player more breathing room when engaging them (for a whopping extra 60 seconds)
  • Adjustments to rebel frigate and tug loadouts to improve their threat and challenge during chapter 3 side mission encounters
  • Combat Pilot AI: Adjusted calculation values for pilots deciding if they should change target to a bigger threat (should stick with designated targets for longer while under fire)
  • Combat Pilot AI: Logic on afterburn useage has been tuned towards reducing the overshooting targets and inappropriate usage overall
  • Removed peneration ability from Autogun and it can longer apply damage to covered subsystems
  • Mini Gun (used by the Sumer Gunship) renamed to Cannon and increased direct damage by 5DPS (30DPS total) and increased subsystem damage by 10DPS (60DPS total)
  • Player HUD Weapon Panel now counts down number of rounds remaining to be fired from a trigger pull (i.e. Burst Autocannons) on the weapons reload status bar
  • Updated the equipment text stats format and layout in the fitting screen
  • Sorting order improvements for inventory items listed in the fitting screen
  • Reinforced Armor Plating (Small) changes
    • Type I = Fitting points increase to 18 (from 6)
    • Type II = Armor HP increase to 3000 (from 2000), Fitting points increase to 84 (from n) and Prestige cost increase to 1120 (from n)
    • Type III = Armor HP increase to 7000 (from 3000), Fitting points increase to 270 (from n) and Prestige cost increase to 4992 (from n)
    • Percentage values are now penalized (reduced with multiple modules affecting the same stats) instead of just being a additive flat value
  • Progression with Equipment Unlock time changes
    • Artillery Medium X1 TURRET unlocks after completing C02M03
    • Autocannon/4 X1 (61) unlocks after completing C02M01
    • Autocannon/4 X2 (62) unlocks after completing C02M01
    • Autocannon/4 X3 (63) unlocks after completing C02M02
    • Burst Autocannon/2 X3 (59) unlocks after completing C01M01
    • Burst Autocannon/2 X3 (60) unlocks after completing C01M01
    • Explosive Damage Enhancer I unlocks after completing C01M03
    • Explosive Damage Enhancer II unlocks after completing C02M03
    • Explosive Damage Enhancer III unlocks after completing C03M03


Fixed

  • Replaced ship loadout secondary weapon references to old MLRS Launcher to new MLMS Launcher(s).
  • Skirmish Menu: Players will no longer be able to see or select factions not intended for use by the player
  • Sumer Light Frigate was incorrectly used as friendly unit in Ambush mission, and has now been replaced with Donetsk Corvette
  • Burst Autocannon/04 X1-X3 Turret Gun DPS has been increased to expected output values (due to wrong reload time being applied)
  • Gunship now uses its own unique XS turret
  • Corrected typos in various mission texts
  • Explosive Armor Protection III (S) module had a vastly inflated price
  • Null Reference Exception when a turrets target warps out
  • Sumer Gunships’ secondary launcher slot size was forgotten and has been restored back to Extra Small
  • AI Actor will no longer use full throttle when in a sweet spot behind a target
  • Disabling AI Actor causing Invalid Operation Exception error
  • Resolved an issue with mission scripting logic for checks on subsystem health when the subsystem is attached to a damageable (and destructible) substructure which would return incorrect values when the substructure is destroyed
  • Null reference exception when an engine substructures(s) health reaches 0 on the Sumer Cruiser
  • A wingman with their own wing will not spawn their wing in formation when playing a Skirmish match
  • Vessel Loadout Screen: Equipped ship weaponry DPS overview list are significantly over inflated for primary weapons
  • Explosions hitting a dying substructures will continue to feed additional damage through to the main structure
  • Projectile guns which fire off multiple rounds on a single trigger pull start the reload timer as soon as it starts firing instead of after the last round being shot off (affecting Burst Autocannons and Blasters)
  • Blaster/4 Primary Gun was using a Medium slot size when it should be Small slot size and has been corrected
  • Ship overview panel in the fitting screen now shows individual applied stat values and correctly shows applied weapon damage stat values
  • Stopped the filter being re-applied when equipping an inventory item into a slot in the fitting screen (which would reset the scroll view back to the top each time)
  • Corrected known typos across several main mission briefings, debriefings, and communication dialogue

A-Spec First Assault fitting screen improvements

Posted on by Dan Woods in Uncategorized

Check out this screen snap of the fitting screen layout improvements along with more exposed stats

Screenshot displaying a detailed screen layout of a game interface showing performance stats, base stat adjustments, and artillery specifications for a gaming vehicle.

Info text has been expanded on for weaponry and stat adjustments are now properly displayed for secondary and turret weapons when equipping passive modules (something overlooked but was still being applied in gameplay!). You can also get an overview of all individual applied stat adjustments in the ship overview panel (top left), along with the adjusted stat values displayed for the ships equipment.

A lot more has been done for the next A-Spec First Assault update, but I shall leave that for a future update (and the lengthy patch notes) to be released in just over a couple of weeks.

A-Spec first assault patch 0.17.0 early access

Posted on by Dan Woods in Uncategorized

Welcome pilots, the 0.17.0 update is here.

This latest update was intended to include the campaign’s Chapter 4, which will be released in the next planned milestone release. With this features update out of the way I will be focussing on the story campaign. In an effort to get more content out of the space dock, new features will be limited to allowing progression through the campaign missions.

Patch Notes 0.17.0
Overview

  • New cruiser and battlecruiser ships available to fly in Skirmish, along with existing weapon variants for their slot sizes
  • New and improved Multiple Launch Missiles (MLMS-CTAT, MLMS-POXY)
  • Performance and visual improvements
  • Lots of other additions, bug fixes and improvements

Added

  • Missing descriptions for certain guns and turrets
  • Reinforced Armour Plating module L and XL sizes
  • Engine Optimiser XL modules
  • Engine Tuning XL size modules
  • Explosive Armour Protection XL size modules
  • Frictionless Coils XL modules
  • Kinetic Armour Protection XL modules
  • Kinetic Damage Enhancer L and XL modules
  • Magnetic Callibrations XL size modules
  • Nanite Repair Optimisation XL size modules
  • Thruster Optimiser XL size modules
  • Thruster Tuning XL size modules
  • XLarge Artillery Main Gun
  • Large Artillery Main Gun
  • Hardpoint and Launcher mounting sizes
  • Battlecruiser for enemy military faction
  • Cruiser for player military faction
  • Mining Outpost model
  • Science Vessel model (functions like all Transports)
  • Rocket S, M, L and XL
  • Multiple Launch Missiles (MLMS) S, M, L, XL sizes (replacing previous MLMS secondary weapon)
  • Multiple Launch Missiles with Proximity detonator (MLMS-POXY) S size
  • Added scripting logic for defining Wingleader/Wingmen behaviours
  • Distinct debris for enemy faction transport

Changed

  • Added MLMS-POXY/02 secondary weapon to player starting ship default loadout in the main campaign
  • Reduced disk size requirements by using texture packing techniques (on going)
  • Changed Autogun muzzle flare VFX
  • Changed Autogun projectile VFX
  • Changed Autocannon muzzle flare VFX
  • Changed Autocannon projectile VFX
  • Changed Artillery muzzle flare VFX
  • Changed Artillery projectile VFX
  • Changed Railgun muzzle flare VFX
  • Primary weapons will target the center of a turret rather than the turret pivot point
  • Engine Optimiser S, M and L size modules modifier, prestige and fitting cost values adjusted in line with rulest
  • Engine Tuning L size modules modifier, prestige and cost values adjusted in line with ruleset
  • Explosive Armour Protection L size modules modifier, prestige and fitting cost values adjusted in line with ruleset
  • Frictionless Coils S, M, L size modules modifier, prestige and fitting cost values adjusted in line with ruleset
  • Kinetic Armour Protection L modules modifier, prestige and fitting cost values adjusted in line with ruleset
  • Magnetic Callibrations L size modules modifier, prestige and fitting cost values adjusted in line with ruleset
  • Nanite Repair Optimisation L size modules modifier, prestige and fitting cost values adjusted in line with ruleset
  • Thruster Optimiser L size modules modifier, prestige and fitting cost values adjusted in line with ruleset
  • Thruster Tuning L size modules modifier, prestige and fitting cost values adjusted in line with ruleset
  • Allowed Substructures to be protected by the damageable layer of the parent on a per substructure basis
  • Update the dying throes of all enemy faction ships
  • Reduced number of particle explosions called for death explosions across all ships from prologue to campaign, by using fewer more appropriate sized particle explosions
  • Blaster 4/8/16 direct and subsystem damage along with Fitting and Prestige costs
  • Torpedo model and VFX
  • Rocket model and VFX
  • Multiple Launch Missiles model and VFX
  • Improved raycasting times for AI actor collision avoidance checks

Fixed

  • Medium and Large turrets now use correct size projectiles and muzzle flares for their sizes
  • Null Reference error in Subsystem Repair
  • When a substructure is destroyed any attached turrets are destroyed resulting in null reference exceptions
  • Using the “Target turret under reticule” targets turrets which are offline and under repair and therefore invisible
  • Engine subsystems will stop being repaired when 2 or more engine subsystems exist but at least 1 engine subsystem is attached to a substructure which has been destroyed
  • Reinforced Armour Plating modules missing Thruster Max Velocity modifier
  • Reinforced Armour Plating modules modifier values adjusted in line with ruleset
  • Calculations for DPS and RPS for guns with multiple rounds per shot (Blaster & Burst Cannons)
  • Turret highlights become disconnected from F2 Cruiser when targeted
  • Explosion VFX on ships are included in the target highlight
  • Sub-targeting turrets will use the wrong turret mesh for the highlight (and other weird highlight behaviour)
  • When a ship is fitted with the Kinetic Damage Protection module and a substructure (i.e. Turret) takes direct damage, the damage feeds down to the ships hull even though if the ship has enough armour to absorb the full amount of damage
  • Group spawning without a wing leader will clump spawn at same location (spawning inside each other)
  • Equipment Screen: Equipped Turret slots arcs display issue
  • Invalid Operation Exception when disabling an active AI Actor by script

A-Spec First Assault: The Interception Update

Posted on by Dan Woods in Uncategorized

The front lines of the war are dynamic and shifting rapidly. We need fast vessels to respond to emergencies and intercept hostile stragglers, with enough firepower to take them down, before they can group up into larger forces. With this need, we are authorizing the deployment of interceptor corvettes.

The Avdiivka provides similar speed with greater firepower than our light corvettes. A large range of turret mounts ensures the Avdiivka can be outfitted to respond to a range of incidents that require fast deployment. Excelling at adaptability, and quick strike capability to weaken or destroy hostile forces separated from main groups across the front lines.

Play A-Spec First Assault with the demo and buy the Early Access version on Steam.

Patch Notes 0.14.0
Overview

  • New Interceptor Corvette (Avdiivka)
  • New passive modules to enhance your ship
  • Bugs fixes, improvements, and balance changes

Known Issues

  • Autospeed match ‘close’ setting does not work as expected
  • Colliders for Fighter, Gunship, Carrier, and Large Transport are not optimized for best-fitting
  • Jump-out animations are not scaled correctly for ships bigger than a gunship

Added

  • Avdiivka Interceptor Corvette (Unlocked from completing Chapter 1 Mission 3)
  • Armour plating module small and medium modules
  • Explosive Armour Protection small and medium modules
  • Kinetic Armour Protection small and medium modules
  • Additional icons for module items
  • New module inventory items are unlocked progressing through chapter 2 missions
  • Player fleet size increased to 3 after completing Chapter 2 Mission 3
  • Progress rewards will be retroactively unlocked based on players’ current progress

Changed

  • Balancing Ships to allow the player to approach a target strategically affecting ship Mass, Armour/Hull HP, max speed, and acceleration/deceleration for velocity and rotation
  • Percentages are now used for all module stats displays
  • Amended text layout for Loading a saved preset in ship fitting to limit text wrapping from long equipment item names
  • Adjusted prestige price, fitting, applied stats, and their values for module items
  • Module slots now have slot sizes that will only fit the same size module item
  • Starting a tutorial now goes straight into the mission, bypassing the ship selection screen

Fixed

  • The mouse cursor was never visible on the 1st time welcome screen
  • Ship stats displays for Yaw/Pitch/Roll and Horizontal/Vertical for acceleration are not updated in the ship fitting screen when modules applied
  • Null reference errors on ship loadouts with multiple launcher groups
  • Weapon models not being updated in fitting screen preview when added and/or removed
  • Null Reference error caused exiting the Vessel Fitting screen and then going straight back into it, preventing loadouts from being displayed correctly

A-Spec first assault gets the escalation update with patch 0.13.0 (February 2024)

Posted on by Dan Woods in Uncategorized

The war is escalating, captain. Sumar forces are bringing in their bigger ships in an attempt to gain a foothold in the system. Bring your wingman and push back the tide.

Patch Notes 0.13.0

Overview

  • Chapter 2 campaign added with 3 new story missions, new side missions, and a new ‘Autogun’ weapon type
  • Unlock, customize and fly with a wingman
  • Ship fitting screen sorting and filtering
  • Many bug fixes and improvements

Known Issues

  • Autospeed match ‘close’ setting does not work as expected
  • Colliders for Fighter, Gunship, Carrier, and Large Transport are not optimized for best-fitting
  • Jump-out animations are not scaled correctly for ships bigger than a gunship

Added

  • Player campaign progress will be updated in line with changes that have occurred to Chapter 1 missions involving Prestige reward increases for the main missions and new weapon unlocks
  • Added Chapter 2 with three new story missions
  • Side Mission: Added new ‘Ambush’ mission type
  • Side Mission: Added new ‘Ambushed’ mission type
  • Side Missions Added a new variant of ‘Distress Call’ mission type
  • Railgun (S) is unlocked after completing Ch. 01 Mission 03
  • Player fleet size is increased to allow for 1 wingman after completing Ch. 01 Mission 03
  • Autogun (S) and X1-X3 versions unlocked after completing the Prologue
  • AI Actor can now follow assigned priority targets including subsystem targets
  • F3 key (Comms Action C) will order player wingmen to attack the subsystem component targeted by the player
  • When the player enables autopilot the player’s wingmen will move to enter formation during the autopilot transition cinematic
  • Allowed variable replacements in dialogue for transmission panel on the HUD
  • Player wingmen can be configured in empty fleet slots (slots are unlocked by progressing through the campaign)
  • Added options to reset the campaign to the start of the prologue or to the start of chapter 1, accessible via the campaign menu options button
  • Added Sort functionality to Ship Equipment Screen
  • Added Filter functionality to Ship Equipment Screen
  • Players can now use the cancel button press to exit out of the Options menus (i.e. by pressing the Escape key)
  • Added Prograde and Retrograde indicators to the flight HUD
  • Added Guided Bomb Minimum Range Release Condition (>= 2000m) for AI Actor consideration
  • Added the Sumar Cruiser as a selectable ship in Skirmish mode

Changed

  • Audio volume adjustments to avoid certain sounds drowning out others
  • Prestige Balance no longer abbreviated below values of 1 Million in the ship fitting screen
  • Briefing/Debriefing font has been replaced
  • Made improvements to text on the main menu screen to make them more easily readable against bright background elements
  • Adjusted text sizes to min-max range, and prevented text wrapping with text in the HUD Target Info Panel
  • Reduced MLRS missile damage
  • Went through briefings and debriefings for main and side missions to ensure they all used the same layout along with some typo and grammar fixes
  • Wingmen formations can now account for an indefinite number of wingmen without worrying they will spawn inside each other and become a Tuvix
  • The Options button in the Campaign Menu now opens a sub-menu, with the ability to open the game options added to a new button inside
  • Skirmish: Kherson default loadout changed due to cost adjustment of Railgun: Primary Railgun (M) replaced with Railgun (S); Rear Turret Blaster/2 X1’s replaced with Autogun/2 X2’s
  • Equipment not meant for the player’s eyes no longer shows up on the Equipment Fitting screen with exceptionally high values. Instead, they are no longer visible at all.
  • Adjusted font size for scaleability based on length of descriptors for inventory items
  • Adjusted turret long and short naming schemes

Fixed

  • Reinforced Amour Plating module text description now correctly refers to ‘armor’ instead of ‘shield’
  • The Briefing/Debriefing Scrollbar was not working as expected
  • AI Actor will no longer fire off a guided missile without a valid target locked
  • The directives panel will remain open if its list is cleared or the last objective is removed from the list
  • Improved Missile Pool calculation to avoid excessive pool counts being used
  • Emergency thrusters now engage to ensure ship control is maintained when engines are severely damaged
  • Railgun causes damage to armor and hull (but does not penetrate outer damageable layer)
  • Railgun subsystem damage scales based on the armor section it penetrated
  • Damage Control subsystem repair priorities were not being honored
  • Missile Null ref on collision with distinct debris
  • Missile Null Ref on collision with an asteroid
  • Removed code meant to prevent audio cascading but made it worse
  • Actor AI collision avoidance now works as correctly
  • Added missing audio priorities for Hydra Cannon and X1 Mini Gun sfx
  • When an AI actor wingman is first enabled it will engage nearby enemies, instead of waiting for wing leader orders
  • Default ship configuration is not applied properly in the level editor
  • Turrets and modules attached to a destroyed substructure are no longer referenced by the parent structure
  • Item rewards are unintentionally given via a legacy game mechanic. Rewards are still correctly granted for completing specific main story missions
  • ‘Convoy Escort’ side mission had suffix numbering on the convoy random generator names
  • ‘Convoy Escort’ side mission enemy wing was not given a display name
  • MLRS Missile MissingReferenceException: The object of type ‘Transform’ has been destroyed but you are still trying to access it
  • Text will be cut off in subsequent mission briefings and/or debriefings if previously the text was scrollable and the player scrolled down
  • HUD gun pips will no longer display when viewing the rear of the ship
  • HUD reticule now adjusts to the forward view of the ship (instead of being centered on the camera)
  • Prestige and Experience for kills incorrectly calculated or not calculated at the end of each completed campaign mission

A-Spec First Assault Progress Update (January 2024)

Posted on by Dan Woods in Uncategorized

Read on for the latest development news for A-Spec First Assault and what will be appearing in the next patch.

Storyline

I have planned how I would like A-Spec to finish by the end of the final mission in the campaign. As of writing this update, I have ideas for several chapters leading up to that endpoint. Currently, it’s looking like each chapter will be comprised of 3 story missions for a beginning, middle, and end for each chapter.

Chapter 2 Story Missions

3 additional story missions will be added for Chapter 2. They have already been scripted, the briefing and debriefing texts are 90% written, and all require extensive testing to ensure the scripting does not break during play.

One of these missions required additional improvements to the AI, to assist the player in completing their objectives. These improvements are 75% completed.

As the player leaves the asteroid field a battle erupts in the distance with weapons fire visible from both sides of the conflict.

Side Missions

Chapter 1 included side missions, randomly presenting a new selection after each mission, for the player to choose from between main missions.

Chapter 2 will expand the number of side missions. I have about 2 dozen side mission themes to choose from which will also be used in the main story missions. I have yet to start on the side missions for Chapter 2, but will do so once the 3 main story missions are completed.

I’d like to know your feedback on how you feel about them so far. Like, are they fun for you, what would you like to see, would you rather just go through the main story missions, etc. Post them in the comments below!

Chapter 1 Briefings/Debriefings

The briefing and debriefing text for the Chapter 1 missions were written back before the prologue existed. Since the prologue is now starting to expose some of the game’s lore, they needed updating to fit in. They were also a bit bland. This is already completed.

Expect text and dialogue to continue evolving through development as I learn and improve on creative writing.

Wingmen

Players will be able to have wingmen join them as they progress through the campaign. Chapter 2 will open up a wingman slot, for ship selection and configuration of wingmen. This is optional, the player can choose to go alone and use that extra Prestige to fit better weapons and equipment to their ship.

Audio ImprovementsSome repetitive audio effects are cascading and these will be significantly reduced (if not eliminated).

Also, explosions were cutting off too soon, this is fixed.

Streaks of missiles fly off into the distance striking their targets.

Explosion Damage Bug

TL;DR: Explosions would sometimes not damage the target. This is now fixed.

There was an interesting (read annoying) bug where exploding missiles would not damage the target. I believed I had solved this in the previous patch, but by a stroke of luck, I was able to reliably replicate the problem and on investigating found the actual cause. This was most notable on missiles striking the Gunship, but applied to any weapon with explosion damage.

When a missile explodes it creates a collider sphere and checks for objects overlapping it. The sphere can be configured to expand each frame (like a shockwave). I added some code to keep the test performant and avoid re-checking past collisions. This is a bit difficult to explain, a ship can have multiple damageable parts (i.e. the main ship and child objects including attached turrets and additional substructures). These are made up of separate collider objects. If a child collider is checked before the main ship collider the ship will not take any damage. I removed the relevant check, ran some additional tests, and determined the poor attempt at making it performant didn’t make a difference. That single line of code is gone, the problem is gone, and no performance loss either.

Weapon Adjustments

Since explosion damage now works 100% of the time every time, I needed to reduce the MLRS explosion damage caused as became overpowered as a result.

Railgun damage has been scaled properly as they were overlooked the last time I re-scaled weapon damages. They are still very powerful and their Prestige and Fitting costs reflect that power.

A new, larger, enemy ship makes its appearance

The next patch will reveal a new much larger type of enemy ship whilst introducing a new game mechanic. I won’t explain more as it’s something the players can discover for themselves (or maybe they won’t notice?). If you follow me on Twitter, this is a feature that I was working on around 14 months ago, for this very same ship. Now that the ship will make its appearance, I am now able to include the mechanic. It’s functional and in the game, requiring some minor adjustments and additional configuration.

The player zooms past the large enemy ships to tackle some easier foes further ahead.

Bug fixes

I have found a lot of bugs since the last update. All that I have found has been squashed.

If you find a bug yourself, please let me know on either the Discord or the A-Spec Steam forum, explain the problem, and if you can repeat the problem or not.

If you can repeat the problem, provide the steps on how to do it, like a list of actions to perform to make the bug happen. Using that I can investigate and follow your steps to replicate the problem, and if I can replicate the problem I can then start working on a fix.

If it’s a bug that appears often, but also seemingly random, if you are willing to provide a video recording of that moment, it may help.

Ultimately I want to keep A-Spec free of jank and bugs. Most of the bugs I found myself, which should be the case as I am on the front line. Though I am only one guy, and bugs do fall through, I work quickly to resolve them.

Game Bundles

A-Spec First Assault and Absolute Territory are part of the fantastic Independent Space Alliance Bundle 2024 containing an amazing collection of space games from other independent game developers.

This bundle is a refresh of the original Independent Space Alliance Bundle containing even more space games.

Both bundles have 60% off. Buy to complete your collection and Steam adjust the bundle costs based on any games you already have in your library.

A large enemy ships looms just ahead. As the player approaches the enemy ships heavy turrets slowly turn to face the threat.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading. I’m truly looking forward to the future of A-Spec First Assault. Given this is an Early Access game the first week sales were on par with Absolute Territory which was released as a full title.

Though putting it in perspective, Absolute Territory is still a failure sales-wise. I have learned a lot since then and hope to put that experience into making A-Spec a better success when the full release day arrives (which is still a while off).

A-Spec First assault – the drums of war update

Posted on by Dan Woods in Uncategorized

The Drums of War update (Early Access version 0.12.3) for A-Spec First Assault brings huge enhancements to sound effects, removing harsh sounds and improving the quality of frequently played sound effects like gunshots and explosions.

AI behavior has been improved and they will now change their targets based on the biggest threat to them along with improvements to how they decide who to target next.

Help glyphs used in the tutorials and prologue missions for controller commands that don’t have a defined icon (there are so many types of flight devices out there) will now display the relevant control element name instead.

Check out this latest trailer showing off the gameplay you will experience in A-Spec First Assault prologue missions.

Buy A-Spec First Assault on Steam

Patch Notes 0.12.3
Overview

  • Big improvements to all sound effects!
  • Lots of other miscellaneous improvements!
  • Bug fixes!

Known Issues

  • Autospeed match ‘close’ setting does not work as expected
  • Colliders for Fighter, Gunship, Carrier, and Large Transport are not optimized for best-fitting
  • Jump-out animations are not scaled correctly for ships bigger than a gunship
  • Guard My Target command is not implemented

Added

  • Vessel names can now be randomly generated
  • AI Actor will now change targets if another hostile is more of a threat
  • AI Actor uses a fuzzy target selection of the nearest hostile (rather than using the ‘Select closest hostile’ command)
  • Ship wings will now jump in formation to their leader
  • Flash Radar Quadrant On Hit effect attached to a toggle option in Options > Game
  • Added Autogun (XXS) as a replacement primary weapon for hostile fighters in the prologue (due to fixing AI firing weapons slowly)
  • Added UI Volume slider
  • Audio priorities adjustments for sound effects during gameplay to better manage many simultaneous playing sounds

Changed

  • Controller Glyphs now display the control element descriptor for controllers without a defined glyph icon
  • Prologue mission 1: Added Throttle Axis to help glyphs
  • Prologue mission 1: Removed diagonal help glyphs as the vertical and horizontal glyphs communicate this
  • Prologue mission 2: Updated directives text regarding waypoint references in line with Prologue mission 1
  • Prologue mission 3: Removed the distress call waypoint when in range
  • Prologue mission 7: Fixed typo during friendly spawn message near end of mission
  • Corrected spelling and grammar throughout all prologue mission briefings and debriefings
  • Navigation tutorial 2: Can now use throttle axis during throttle acceleration and deceleration section
  • Navigation tutorial 2: Allowed 8-way hat to work during diagonal thrust sections
  • Navigation tutorial 3: Disabled autopilot
  • Mining beam SFX replacement
  • Increased size of flare and muzzle VFX for mining beam
  • Removed hull Hit Effect for mineable asteroids and normal asteroids due to excessive calls from using the mining beam
  • Updated main missions and side missions to use directives and monitoring panels as needed
  • Dying throes explosions VFX/SFX improved
  • Death explosions VFX/SFX improved
  • Gun sound effects improved
  • Round robins are used for repetitive sound effects (i.e. gunshots, impacts, explosions, etc)
  • Replaced most Heads Up Display sound effects
  • Directives Panel: When directive status changes the text now flashes with an audible bleep
  • Player Received Transmission: Play audio bleep at the start of a transmission
  • Main menu: Increased vertical button spacing for easier mouse highlighting on mouse over

Fixed

  • Prevented mineable asteroids and Mining Station from being pushed around easily
  • Particle explosions from weapon damage on the player seem to jitter/skitter during player movement
  • Attempt to set pitch to infinite value from script ignored!
  • Prevented autopiloting out of Skirmish when all enemies were destroyed
  • Explosion lighting source only lights up for 1 second, where it should be limited for the particle animation time
  • Turret Railgun shell mass not scaled correctly (decreased accordingly)
  • Burst Autocannon 2/4/8 shell mass not set correctly (increased accordingly)
  • Impact Hull/Armour SFX now calculated for pooled items
  • Audio Asset pooling counts are under-calculated for guns and launchers
  • Skirmish: Player not spawning in the correct position
  • Projectile spawn location offsets more as the shooter’s velocity increases
  • Primary weapons fire faster the more the gun control subsystem is damaged
  • AI Actor would trigger pull-release for each primary weapon shot, unintentionally slowing down the fire rate of fast-firing weapons
  • Button UI audio interactions are not affected by the audio volume sliders
  • Fixed duplicate audio sources from being created for parent objects not added to the pooling system
  • Fixed issue of audio popping where played audio was stopped too early for explosions
  • AI Actor severely under-calculated the effective firing range (effectively preventing the AI Actor from using primary weapons)
  • Prologue mission 2: After mining 1st asteroid, engines should not be activated until 2nd asteroid is targeted
  • Prologue mission 4: Enemies at Navpoint 2 can no longer be goaded into attacking the player instead of transports