Future Patches? Will this be in?

from Sins Forums

Sorry, I'm still very new here, and I am not clear as to what the state of development is here. IIUC, the last official patch is quite some time ago, and things look they are fairly stable, and if I am not mistaken, the developer is busy elsewhere while the publisher has its hands full with Elemental and other woes. So the main question is:

Is there any consensus regarding another patch? Will there be one, and if so, sometime this year?

The second main question would be regarding what would be in it. The only thing I would be interested in besides a few balance tweaks (I'd like to see anti-medium damage toned down vs. capital and very heavy, as well as the composite damage that very heavy units do vs. at least vs. capital) would be improvements to AI. I am primarily interested in SOSE as a single-player game, for lots of reasons, I would like to see the AI improved beyond mere bonuses to production / cheating. I'd like to see the AI be able to coordinate something like a "plan" and be able to launch something like an attack, instead of just dribbling in forces piecemeal into a system it cannot really take that way. Also, I'd like to see it attempt to recoginze meaningful systems as worthwhile resource elements and attempt to defend these reasonably. I'd also like to see it attempt to research somewhat more systematically and meaningfully. Is this something that is thinkable, doable, at least to some minor degree? Or is this basically not on the radar screen (because, perhaps, the game is seen now as primarily multiplayer)?

Thanks so much

10,644 views 9 replies
Reply #1 from Sins Forums Top

Currently, there's no indication.  Barring a developer comment (which would be nice), there's basically nothing to say.  What kinds of things we'd like to see have already been discussed, but we just don't know what, if anything, is actually coming.

If we're not going to get anything substantial, I'd say the best patch the devs could throw at us is to revert scouts back to their 1.18 strength, nerf the Advent scout's durability, and then tweak scramble bombers.  I'd say aside from the illuminator bug, 1.181 was probably the best version of Sins.  People complain about scout-spam, but this was only a problem with the seeker due to its obscenely high shields.

Reply #2 from Sins Forums Top

 OK thanks. I wasn't sure if there was a developer comment somewhere that I had missed. I searched here a bit and haven't seen anything since February 2010, but since I am so new I cannot tell if a developer has commented under a moniker with which I am unfamiliar. It seems odd for me to see a product like this with a relatively new expansion made by such a relatively small company without any recognizable developer interaction -- I would have thought they would somehow profit from dropping small signs or tokens of attention.

I am not really interested in micro-balance, since I won't play multiplayer for another half a year or so, if ever. I'd be keen on better AI, small UI improvements, and one fairly obvious and, it appears to me, not so terribly difficult to implement change to game setup: Let Pirates have a scaling difficulty toggle instead of merely On/Off: From Very Weak to Very Strong. This way, Pirates can still be turned on (I think it is a neat feature) without them being so maddeningly powerful (as it appears to me now).

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Reply #3 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting Darvin3, reply 1
Currently, there's no indication.  Barring a developer comment (which would be nice), there's basically nothing to say.  What kinds of things we'd like to see have already been discussed, but we just don't know what, if anything, is actually coming.

If we're not going to get anything substantial, I'd say the best patch the devs could throw at us is to revert scouts back to their 1.18 strength, nerf the Advent scout's durability, and then tweak scramble bombers.  I'd say aside from the illuminator bug, 1.181 was probably the best version of Sins.  People complain about scout-spam, but this was only a problem with the seeker due to its obscenely high shields.
End of Darvin3's quote

I would disagree with you on that as far as scouts but we have sorta been beating a dead horse as far as balance is concerned.  There is more wrong with vasari than scramble although its a big one.  It is my opinion that sins has run its course and this is all you can expect from the devs on it.  I may be surprised.  We have done well to have them do the amount they have.

 

[_]-Greyfox

Reply #4 from Sins Forums Top

The only thing really going for another patch is that Ironclad often releases a patch out of nowhere after a long period of silence, though this is getting extreme. Just cross your fingers and hope for the best, as that's all you can do.

Reply #5 from Sins Forums Top

I hope there is, hopefully that the patch will address the engine (memory, network, etc) over nerfing or buffing units and buildings

Reply #7 from Sins Forums Top

There is more wrong with vasari than scramble although its a big one.
End of quote

Definitely, but "fixing" Vasari would require a more extensive patch.  A final quick-fix to the most glaring problems couldn't possibly deal with the issues here, which is why I didn't mention them. 

We have done well to have them do the amount they have.
End of quote

Oh agreed, but I would like to see a final capstone patch just to fine tune the most glaring issues. 

Reply #8 from Sins Forums Top

i think the most glaring problem with the ai that needs fixing are its behavior with light carriers

i do agree that it's unlikely that a new patch will come out

i would prefer a sequel

Reply #9 from Sins Forums Top

Another patch?  It's possible, but I wouldn't count on it.  Unfortunately people can't mod the AI, which would allow for a "marketplace" to offer better AIs.  At least for now if you want more challenging opponents capable of real strategy, online multiplayer PvP is probably your only option.  However, if you wait for 6 more months before coming online there might not be any players left.