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Sins v1.02 Changelog

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Sins v1.02 Changelog

Coming soon...

from Sins Forums

Sins of a Solar Empire v1.02 is coming...

We hope to get this out this week. Ironclad has been working hard to make v1.02 available as soon as possible but we also have to finish testing.

Updated info at bottom:

Here is what will be new:

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Gameplay / Balance:
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-Tutorials moving into bad states at random fixed.
-Siege frigate survivability decreased.
-Pirate raid frequency decreased.
-Later stage missions to destroy ships and structures have had their expiry times increased.
-Clairvoyance: duration increased from 30, 45 60 seconds per level to 50, 100, 150 seconds.
-Guidance: cooldown changed from 20, 15, 10 seconds per level to 20 seconds at all levels.
-Guidance: ability cooldown rate changed from +20%, +35%, +50% per level to +40% at all levels.
-Guidance: duration changed 20 seconds at all levels to 15, 30, 45 seconds per level.
-Reverie: friendly units will no longer auto-acquire enemies under the effects of reverie as attack targets.
-Reverie: duration increased from 15, 20, 25 seconds per level to 20, 30, 40 seconds.
-Gravity Warhead: range decreased from 7000 to 6000 at all levels.
-Gravity Warhead: cooldown increased from 18, 16, 14 seconds per level to 25 seconds at all levels .
-Gravity Warhead: antimatter cost raised from 80 to 100 at all levels.
-Gravity Warhead: duration changed from 12 seconds at all levels to 12, 15, 18 seconds per level.
-Gravity Warhead: Speed reduction changed from 15%, 30%, 45% per level to 30%, 45%, 60% .
-Gravity Warhead: Acceleration reduction changed from 20%, 40%, 60% per level to 60%, 80%, 120%.
-Nano-Disassember: range increased from 4500 to 6000 at all levels.
-Nano-Disassember: antimatter cost decreased from 85 to 75 at all levels.
-Ion Bolt: antimatter cost increased from 65 to 85 at all levels.
-Ion Bolt: cooldown from 9, 11, 13 seconds per level to 10, 12, 14 seconds.
-Shield Projection: radius of effect increased from 2500 to 5000.
-Game update rate change hooked to - and = buttons (singleplayer only).
-Two new pirate-less maps.
-First tutorial now handles players spending their ability point before they were intended to and thus not being able to spend it when instructed.
-Phasic Transmissions research is now effective even at max fleet supply research.
-Reduced Phasic Transmissions supply bonus from 20% down to 15%.


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Graphics:
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-Shield projection's bubble less opaque.
-Various new ICO art.


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Networking / Multiplayer:
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-Games in progress causing "Rejected by Host" error fixed.
-Multiplayer lobby screens now have Map Designer tab.
-Whisper functionality for ICO
-Refactored join game screen.
-Fix for not seeing friend's games.
-New chat friendly ICO font.
-ICO user names are now sorted.
-Self and friends are colored in ICO channel player list.
-Events for players entering and leaving channels.
-ICO nows preserves history when changing channels.
-ICO logged in user count now displayed. This number will only update when you change channels or login.
-Added some default lobby names.
-Reorganized numbered lobbies to increment sequentially as they fill.
-Added notification of what channel you are in.
-Fix for rare multiplayer lobby crash when host leaves a game in ICO.
-Various new ICO message strings.


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UserInterface / HUD:
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-Added counter descriptions for all frigates and fighters.
-Game menu now mapped to F10 by default instead of Esc so people can repeatly press Esc to close any submenu they may-Fix rare bug in group selection.
 be in w/o going all the way to the escape menu.
-Various strings cleaned up.


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Modding:
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-Loading mods supported

Might be ready by Friday. Maybe.

Update:

Some people are complaining that we're simply catering to "whiners".  I would remind those people that Stardock has many many years of experience in putting together lists based on user feedback and making its own judgments on the matter.  The GalCiv series, for instance, has evolved plenty over the years and it's unlikely you're going to find any reasonable person who would say that we simply make changes based on who is loudest.

Prior to release, our internal testing of the game has produced a lengthy list of suggestions for future updates (1.01, 1.02, 1.03, and so on). Stardock and Ironclad get together, discuss what things we would like to change, and then prioritize it. The only thing that was "rushed out" for this release was some additional maps that don't have pirates so users have a choice.

It is not hard to defend against siege units.  But that is irrelevant. No counter to a given strategy should require more effort than the initial strategy. Throwing a swarm of siege units, takes virtually no effort. Defending against it requires considerably more. Similarly, the strength of the pirates is fine.  It's how OFTEN they strike.  The changes are not drastic, however.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Stardock, we can understand your concerns.  For those of you who have GalCiv II,  I would hope you all know better than to think that we make changes on a whim based on who posts loudest on a forum by now.  Ironclad shares the same views as we do on this matter. It's their game and we get together and discuss these things at length.

 

231,135 views 260 replies
Reply #151 from Sins Forums Top
Oh, Prof. Good point there, man!
And
Simple, they skipped other planets and appeared at the capital.
End of quote

is further evidence for the need for this nerf. On the point of that WW2 stuff, could those arty groups have charged straight through Allied ranks and reach their destinations (if, for example, their range were too short?).

Siege units don't behave like that.
Reply #152 from Sins Forums Top
It's just childish, IMHO, to claim a game is ruined because the developers have made early changes. Or state that they "jumped the gun."
End of quote

no, I've seen the devs in action. I'm concerned that they will enter a slippery slope issue that WILL eventually bring the game to its knees, its happened in far too many novel games where developers are far too eagre to please.
How is that different from any other game release?
End of quote

most good games take their time between patches so that they can make sure that the steps they're taking arent going to be regretted in a few weeks.
And our argument is why are you concerned about such a minor change, it's not like you utilize this strategy, right?
End of quote

I do not utilize strategies that do not work, sending wave after wave of ships is an ineffective strategy. however, sending them in through sneak avenues is a different story, and this nerf threatens to ruin that, something I find particularly fun and skillfull about the game

anyone can claim that something that requires a particular amount of skill is "overpowered", even if its easily counterable. I'm afraid thats whats happening here.
ObjectDock - Access shortcuts and frequently used applications from an animated dock.
Reply #153 from Sins Forums Top
you cannot stop them. Try it out right now, see how fast a planet drops with 20 siege frigates.
End of quote

a homeworld takes ~ 2-3 minutes, 20 frigs (lets ignore everything else for right now) drop a single siege frig in ~ 5 seconds, I dont exactly see the issue.

as for "letting them slide past" your planets: if you have THAT much forewarning and do not move to intercept them, that is your bloody fault.
Reply #154 from Sins Forums Top
This thread makes pandemic flu seem like nothing.


Why does everyone feel the need to fire back at...everyone? Don't be scared to say nothing. As much as people might thing, "This is a knee-jerk patch," people are acting in a "knee-jerk" reaction before even seeing the patch.

Give the thing some time.
Reply #155 from Sins Forums Top

NO counter strategy should ever be more challenging than the original strategy. PERIOD.


THAT is why we decreased the hitpoints of the siege frigates. And those of you in the beta should also already know that siege frigates were already toned down considerably from the betas based on our own private testing.


It is not very hard, IMO, to defend against siege frigates in general. But as I said before, that's irrelevant.


 


End of quote


Thank you. This ideal was one of the selling points that got me to buy this game.
Reply #156 from Sins Forums Top

you cannot stop them. Try it out right now, see how fast a planet drops with 20 siege frigates.

a homeworld takes ~ 2-3 minutes, 20 frigs (lets ignore everything else for right now) drop a single siege frig in ~ 5 seconds, I dont exactly see the issue.

as for "letting them slide past" your planets: if you have THAT much forewarning and do not move to intercept them, that is your bloody fault.
End of quote


2-3 minutes? Versus 20 siege frigates? I must admit I chuckled.

Intercept them? BWHAHAHAHAHAHA. What game are you playing? This game has a lot of awesome features, but the interception part was removed in beta. Are you even playing retail?
Reply #157 from Sins Forums Top
Prof you really are dumfounding...

1) a homeworld you said, correct? at 4500 health yes it DOES take 2-3 minutes for a siege frigate swarm to, unimpeded, take down a planet. if you're refering to a frontline planet you should be UPGRADING those anyway.
2) by intercept I mean send back some units from the front, obviously if they're piercing your empire THAT shouldnt be hard.
interception part was removed in beta
End of quote

I have absolutely no clue as to what you could be refering, there was no "interception" feature in beta that was not included in release.

seriously, get more familiar with the game before you blow all this sort of crap my way.
Reply #158 from Sins Forums Top
No one has actually refuted the point that Frogboy backed, and which also happens to be the point our side is trying to make.
Reply #159 from Sins Forums Top
Don't bother arguing with schod, it's not really worth it.

The changes are excellent, I haven't had much of a problem with siege stuff but the pirates did need to be toned down. Changelog looks good, looking forward to the lobby, wish I could see previous messages from the lobby and from the game channel though when I switch between them.

Reply #160 from Sins Forums Top
However, as a point of principle, seige units shouldn't be very tough.

I'm fine with points of principle, but dont let it ruin gameplay.

of all the things said on this thread I do agree with this. just I'm concerned that in making them potent enough to handle sneak attacks we may end up with a more severly exacerbated situation.
End of quote


The whole point of a sneak attack is not getting caught. If you play well enough and don't get caught, hence the sneak attack, the health and/or armor of the seige unit is irrelevant, end of story.
Reply #161 from Sins Forums Top



The whole point of a sneak attack is not getting caught. If you play well enough and don't get caught, hence the sneak attack, the health and/or armor of the seige unit is irrelevant, end of story.
End of quote


Excellent point.
Reply #162 from Sins Forums Top

Prof you really are dumfounding...

1) a homeworld you said, correct? at 4500 health yes it DOES take 2-3 minutes for a siege frigate swarm to, unimpeded, take down a planet. if you're refering to a frontline planet you should be UPGRADING those anyway.
2) by intercept I mean send back some units from the front, obviously if they're piercing your empire THAT shouldnt be hard.
interception part was removed in beta

I have absolutely no clue as to what you could be refering, there was no "interception" feature in beta that was not included in release.

seriously, get more familiar with the game before you blow all this sort of crap my way.
End of quote


1. It does indeed take longer then 30 seconds to a minute to take down a home capital, but not much longer than that (and god forbid your magical scouting mechanism doesn't allow you to have a fleet waiting, if you don't you are certainly screwed). The fact that sieges can take massive amounts of damage before dying means that even with a large fleet you may still not take enough of them down to prevent the planets death. That is a fact. Regardless, even for a frontline planet, you should not lose one in a matter of seconds to a practically invulnerable spam fleet of crap ships.

2. By interception I mean phase jump disruption. Back in beta these structures created choke points by blocking the bypassing of systems. A.k.a. interception/interdiction. Or did you miss that part of beta?
Reply #163 from Sins Forums Top
It seems to me that Schod is, no offence to him, changing what actually happens in the game to suit his argument. Remember that this isn't a matter of not seeing the onslaught, but of not being able to stop it, even with what should reasonably be called good defences. That wouldn't happen with either WW2 bombers or unsupported artillery.

Whoops. Getting all involved again.
Reply #164 from Sins Forums Top
One problem there genious.

World War I and World War II didn't take place in space. Unless you are living in some kind of alternate reality.

Attempting to compare Sins of a Solar Empire to World War I or II is idiotic.


was there a well co-ordinated plunge into weak areas of an enemy's territory consisting only of siege units

I'm sorry, have you ever heard of that little war known as WWI? how about WWII and germany with its lovely artillery? how about that giant-I-cant-remember-its-name-gun that shelled Paris from forests some 144 miles away? how about all of those medieval bickering-wars? how about the multiple sieges of Jerusalem? how about that little old nobody-knows-it battle of Gettysburg?

siege units are commonly used to hit an enemy's weak point, they just make sure that they know if the enemy is coming so that they can defend or retreat. siege units are 100% useless if you're attacking an enemy who has, *cough* fortified himself.

now I'm sure people would all agree a nerf is in order IF THATS WHAT WE FIND IN A WEEK, but its far far far too early to tell now.
Oh master of Sins, please continue to share your great wisdom of video games and their development processes with us! Us ignorant newbies could not live without YOU here to explain the mysteries of our "epic failures." Since Ironclad and Stardock certainly must agree with your total dominating brilliance, will you not continue to impart more of it upon us?

I would quote your own post about bitterness, but it would be particularly inflamatory and needlessly assish.
End of quote


Reply #165 from Sins Forums Top
Hey Stardock and Ironclad. I see this complaining stuff in every game when changes are made...
Here I was coming to applaud you for being proactive and sharing your plans in as a forward looking changelog, now I'm forced to take it in another direction due to some impassioned comments.

The key is, you made the game, you had the vision and you believed it to be right...now maintain that vision...What a difficult balance that is to not drink too much koolaid and yet be firm in knowing what you want.

Whether you are tempted to change things from a vocal community or being accused of changing things from the community...do what you know to do regardless!

You know impassioned people will complain about "any" change at times, pay it no mind and stick to your guns.
You guys hit on an interesting gameplay experience don't spoil it by any pressure from without, however self righteous a persons opinion may be.

"make this another starcraft, not another supreme commander." was the funniest thing I read. I mean c'mon.

Congrats on a well polished game and hopefully you keep up the proactive approach in notifying gamers of patch plans, regardless of a few outspoken individuals, I really applaud that.
Reply #166 from Sins Forums Top
"make this another starcraft, not another supreme commander."
End of quote

I must admit, that was one of the oddest comments I've read in the past few weeks. Really.
Reply #167 from Sins Forums Top

"make this another starcraft, not another supreme commander."

I must admit, that was one of the oddest comments I've read in the past few weeks. Really.
End of quote


Indeed. But it is not surprising, since the original poster of that comment is now known to be fond of zergling rushes.

KEKEKEKEKEKE ^_^
Reply #168 from Sins Forums Top
KEKEKEKEKEKE ^_^
End of quote

I don't usually like such abbreviations, but ROFL!
Reply #169 from Sins Forums Top
"make this another starcraft, not another supreme commander."

I must admit, that was one of the oddest comments I've read in the past few weeks. Really.
End of quote


The one thing I will say in regards to this comment is that I do not want this game to play like starcraft. I'll play starcraft 2 for that. However, Blizzard is known to be one of the best in the industry when it comes to game balance between sides. That's why it is still played in world tournaments and on Battle.net to this day. I do believe that this could part of what the OP was referring to with regards to this comment.
Reply #170 from Sins Forums Top
This is Sins of a Solar Empire. IT is Sins of a Solar Empire and should remain Sins of a Solar Empire. I didn't like starcraft online play because it was a race to see who could find who first and who could hit with more firebats.

Sins Actually requires you to build up. I know that that may be a new stragaey for some of you but come on! Siege Frigites are EASY to counter. Its called Tactical Strucures. Do not rely on the comp to autoplace them. It takes a bit of fiddling around but I have develope several excelent ways to kill 10 siege before im even half down on infestructure. I am unable to comment on Advent because I really have not gotten a chance to play them yet.

This is a new kind of game with different tactics. Adapt.
Reply #171 from Sins Forums Top
@ Xenpo
Regardless, this game stands diametrically opposed to the rushing, micro, APM that is Starcraft and all other mindless RTS's that follow that formula. Blizzard came to be known as the best at balancing because the game got overrated quickly, by Koreans mainly. The ironic thing is Schod was using Blizzard in the context of not pandering when I don't doubt for a second Blizzard were guilty of pandering to extremists button mashers to mold that game, exactly like what these devs are being accused of. Which is why SC2 looks like a ten year old RTS with a fresh paint job, pandering, not being very innovative. The two games shouldn't be in the same sentence, which is what was funny.
Reply #172 from Sins Forums Top
Eh did you even read my post? Let me give you the gist of it, Sins should remain it's own game, end of story. Starcraft is still played close to ten years later because it was well balanced. Balance in any game should be strived for.
End of quote


Eh did you even read my post? Let me give you the gist of it, Sins should remain it's own game, end of story. Starcraft is still played close to ten years later because it was well balanced. Balance in any game should be strived for.
Reply #173 from Sins Forums Top
@ Xenpo
Regardless, this game stands diametrically opposed to the rushing, micro, APM that is Starcraft and all other mindless RTS's that follow that formula. Blizzard came to be known as the best at balancing because the game got overrated quickly, by Koreans mainly. The ironic thing is Schod was using Blizzard in the context of not pandering when I don't doubt for a second Blizzard were guilty of pandering to extremists button mashers to mold that game, exactly like what these devs are being accused of. Which is why SC2 looks like a ten year old RTS with a fresh paint job, pandering, not being very innovative. The two games shouldn't be in the same sentence, which is what was funny.
End of quote


I understand what you are saying, though I personally do not hold the same belief for starcraft. What I will say is innovation when you've got something that plays great is highly, and I mean highly overrated. Take Master of Orion 3 for example. Instead of just improving upon the second game and possibly pulling realtime back into the mainstream, they tried to innovate and failed horribly, and sunk the hopes of ever seeing another one of the greatest 4x games ever made.
Reply #174 from Sins Forums Top
These are the right changes...siege frigates retain their power but hopefully as a much more fragile force it will be considerably more expensive to siege rush without proper support.

Look forward to many more improvements.
Reply #175 from Sins Forums Top
The question isn't balance as much as spamming. The computer spams units that shouldn't be spammed. End of story.
That's why the nerf was good.