Game Update 10

Game Update 10 – Like a beacon in a dark world


We are deploying an update to all live servers on Thursday, June 13th. This update will contain the new jump transponder mechanic, the Outpost Beacon and further bug fixes.


Finally: The days of the long haul to the Outposts are over. With this update we are introducing the Outpost Jump Beacon - a technical device that allows all pilots to jump directly to their Faction's Outpost in any sector. This makes jumping quicker and easier because you will jump close to the Outpost if a Beacon is present. If an Outpost is without Beacon you will find yourself at the sector's borders as usual.

Beacons spawn in a sector at 125% Outpost progress automatically and everyone will be notified. That will also happen if the Beacon is attacked or destroyed. You will also see on the Galaxy Map which sector has a beacon - just look for those little icons:



But most important about this new feature: It adds a tactical note when it comes to Outpost attack and defense! Because now the attacking force will need to decide: Are we going to destroy the beacon first to avoid defenders incoming and force them to appear at the sector borders when jumping into the contested sector? Or do we have enough firepower to eliminate the Outpost and take the risk of a stronger defense?

We also added a section to the Outpost Leaderboards where you can find those pilots you kept you from defending - the Beacon destroyer!

Additionally we made some important changes to the FTL Transponder System.

We generally raised the power cost for FTL Transponder Modules. On the other hand we reduced the power cost of those modules for all Command ships significantly to make those ships more suitable for their role and interesting to play.

Even though it is still necessary to be in a squadron to jump to the Transponder carrier, you do not need a transponder cell anymore. This mechanic has been removed. Only the carrier of the FTL Transponder will need a cell to activate the module!

Also the Tylium costs for FTL jumps have been adjusted to be in line with the ship class and the destination of the jump. Of course a sector jump would be the cheapest, whereas a jump to an Outpost beacon would cost more and jumping directly to a player would be the most expensive.

This update will need a server maintenance of approx. 120 minutes overall. We are going to start to shut the servers down at 10.30 am CEST (UTC+2). The countdown will start around 15 minutes beforehand on each server.
The game update will be deployed as following:

10.30 am CEST – EU Kobol
11.00 am CEST – Libran, Virgon, Canceron
11.30 am CEST – EU Tauron, Picon, Sagittaron
12.00 pm CEST – US EAST
12.15 pm CEST – US WEST

Features:

Sectors:

- We implemented the Outpost Beacon, for convenient Outpost visits and to add a big tactical note

Resources:

- In order to achieve a better resource balancing and beginner protection we rearranged the resource distribution within the whole sector map. More valuable resources are now rather located in the most contested sectors. We also improved the mining experience by lowering the chance of empty asteroids.

Items:

- We adjusted the FTL Transponder mechanic to make it more interesting and add appropriate ship roles

UI:

- We implemented a small delay when cubit winnings in Triad / Prophecy are being added to the total amount in order to avoid misunderstandings that the prize wasn't added

Ships:

- In order to improve the usability of strike class Command ships we significantly improved their power points and power recovery for Heavy Raider / Adv. Heavy Raider, Heavy Raider Recon, Raptor / Adv. Raptor, Raptor Recon additionally to the FTL transponder power cost reduction mentioned above

-We slightly raised HP for Adv. Rhino and Adv. Marauder as well as Viper MkIII and War Raider MkII in normal and advanced version

-We slightly raised Boost Speed, Turning Rate and Flank Speed for Adv. Viper / Adv. Raider and Turning Rate for their normal versions

Bugfixes:

- Fixed an issue where it was possible to enter and fly through planetoids, ships and other objects

- Fixed an issue where it was possible to sell high level items out of the locker. It is now again impossible to sell items upgraded to level 8 and above.

- Fixed an issue where the scroll bar was missing when looking into the locker

- Fixed an issue where enemy NPCs spawned in Alpha Ceti and the other protected sectors

- Fixed an issue where the Cylon Outpost was sometimes marked blue on the sector map

- Changed the icon for the mine launcher

You can discuss the update in this thread: >Game Update 10 discussion<

Your Battlestar Galactica Online Team