• Client ship damage fx are now propagated
• FIXED: crash which would sometimes occur when a station was resupplied by NPC crafts (AG)
• FIXED: server was launching counter-attack NPCs when clients jumped to a new region

2.00.30 RC13 | 06-08-2005

• Revised the DJP menu so that it is now grouped by region. This makes it easier to figure out where you are jumping to.
• NPC personnel escorts are less likely to fire if they would otherwise hit their leader.
• FIXED: When an object (which can rebuild) on the planet was destroyed and becomes invisible, you couldn’t move past it because it takes a few seconds before the model is actually removed. Now, collision detect is just disabled for objects that are in this state.
• Multiplayer
  • The TLM menus in vehicles (OC crafts) were sometimes not activating.

2.00.30 RC12 | 05-27-2005

• The MD5 encryption in the LANGUAGE.LNG (was ENGLISH.LNG) file has been disabled. A bunch of in game strings have been exported to this file allowing anyone wishing to localize these to their native language, to do so. There are usually two columns in the file. The column on the left should remain untouched. Only the right columns should be translated. This is 100% UNSUPPORTED so please don’t ask for tech support. If you do localize a version, be sure to post notice on the website forum so that others can obtain it.

  WARNING: If you are running a localized version (e.g. Russian), before you apply a new patch, be sure to backup the (Russian) LANGUAGE.LNG file or it will be overwritten by the English version. After patching, replace the version added by the patch with the backup version.

• FIXED: Sometimes error messages were not displayed on screen when the game was running in full screen mode. e.g. if your CD-KEY was rejected by the server, you would not see the error message in order to click on it; leading to the conclusion that the game had crashed.
• Multiplayer
  • FIXED: The date/time was not being updated in Frontend screens (e.g. Logistix). This issue also caused the personnel locations to not be updated (in real time) in Tactical.

2.00.30 RC11 | 05-17-2005

• FIXED: A localization function call was causing several problems on foreign machines. e.g. the oceans weren’t rendered properly (e.g. in IA0111) because the incorrect map and texture were being loaded.
• Multiplayer
  • FIXED: some issues with CD-KEY authentication.

2.00.30 RC10 | 05-12-2005

• Added extra packet buffering options for (hopefully) better latency.
• The “server_welcome_message=” string in the ucsetupmp.ini file is now sent to the connecting player if it contains text.
• Re-organized and added more server stats to the in game ASE server browser

  
server_bandwidth_limit (BL)
server_max_connection (MC)
spawn_time (ST)
start_delay (SD)
allow_ag (AG)

  e.g.

  205.237.207.134:2302 V:2.00.30.09 BL:1.5Mbps MC:NO LIMIT ST:20 SD:20 AG:ON

2.00.30 RC9 | 05-07-2005

• The DIE radar range restriction in space has been removed. The previous range of 5000m caused targets to not be tracked in the NID/TRS radar systems. This also affected multiplayer.
• FIXED: misinterpreted keys in the single player game authentication dialog box.
• Multiplayer
• Server created auto-gen crafts now send reposition packets if they are in a space region. Server objects send additional packets after moving to another region; which allows clients to track them even when those regions are not being monitored. These addresses an issue whereby AG
  crafts were sometimes not being updated on servers with AG enabled.THIS NEEDS FURTHER EXTENSIVE TESTING!!!

• Enabled the ability for stations to launch ALERT 5 crafts at detected hostiles.
• Implemented some bandwidth tweaks from the latest ReplicaNet v5.1 SDK.

2.00.30 RC8 | 04-25-2005

• Disabled the game authentication system in single player version.
• Multiplayer
• The alliance matrix is now sent to all clients at the same time. This solves an issue whereby the server version of the alliance matrix differed from the client version. When this happens e.g. Vesperon/Military assets on the clients will not appear to be hostile to Terran/Military.
• If the AE leaves his CC (e.g. to enter a support craft), the status is now set to “deployed” instead of “unknown” by the server. In this sample chat log, the AE moved to a support craft, then launched the support craft and flew it to a new region.
  
Wed Apr 21 10:22:17 2005 SERVER (GCV-Warmonger) entered hyperspace
Wed Apr 21 10:23:09 2005 SERVER TER/MIL Derek Smart (deployed) moved from MP_CASTRINZ to MP_SOMARISZ


• FIXED: misinterpreted keys (e.g. up/down arrows) in chat window and CD-KEY prompt dialog

2.00.30 RC7 | 04-23-2005

• Due to potential “Right of First Sale” issues, the server based authentication system for the single player, has been disabled. This will allow users to sell their old copies of the game if they want to, without the buyer not being able to use it because of the
  server side CD-KEY authentication.

• Ground avoidance system avoids pull up when velocity is very small as this indicates a hovering state whereby the craft should really level out instead of pulling up (see below).
• When not performing a pull up ground avoidance (due to AOA restrictions or low speed) and in HALT state, the craft will instead perform a level out. This prevents craft settling at strange attitudes.
• FIXED: Due to a fix in v2.00.25, crafts positioned on the decks of naval units (e.g. carrier and assault craft) were attempting to take off and land because they were slightly offset from the deck of the craft.
• FIXED: Prior rule changes prevent craft in HALT state (which includes gunships in scenes) from falling under gravity (they hover instead). This prevents them from attaching to a naval carrier because the deck of the carrier will sink into the water, moving away from the craft which hover
  above the deck. The hover condition is now disabled long enough to allow craft to fall onto the deck and attach.

• FIXED: some naval units were placed on the seabed instead of floating at sea level. This bug was due to revisions to the LCACs (which can drive on land and sea without sinking) dynamics model which is also shared by other naval units.
• FIXED: The fatal error message box now displays correctly when running in fullscreen mode. The ucFatalError.log file is also written to disk and contains the error description.
• Multiplayer
  • Added additional player info to SHIFT-ESC online clients display
    id, xpid/lciid, race/caste, career, player name, asset name, asset type, rank, EP, region

  • FIXED: “Logged On” data in the chat log window after respawn reflected the previous launch base/station
  • FIXED: Region for other players not displaying correctly in the SHIFT+ESC online clients list
  • FIXED: some incorrectly interpreted characters when entering text in chat box
  • FIXED: Problem entering server password when connecting using in-game browser
  • FIXED: player (client) name not displayed in chat window when message sent/received
  • FIXED: some data not being recorded in chat log files

2.00.29 | 04-04-2005

• The single player game now uses the same server based authentication system as the multiplayer game. An internet connection and a valid CD-KEY is required in order to authenticate the game.

  NOTE: the CD-KEY will need to be authenticated once only. From that point on – and as long as the CD-KEY exists on the computer – no further authentication is performed unless the game folder is deleted after uninstalling the game.

• FIXED: Some rendering anomalies related to texture blending on coastal tiles
• FIXED: Going to CONFIG via the bridge COMMAND tab menu and exiting, would quit the game. This is related to a fix made in 2.00.27.

2.00.28 | 03-26-2005

• Minor revision to planetary fogging.
• FIXED: If you were standing on the DJP model when you activated it, you would sometimes not be transported to the new destination. This was happening because the DJP model is a support structure.
• Multiplayer
  • The online clients (SHIFT+ESC) list now displays the Experience Points for all clients on the server
  • FIXED: problem with chat log sometimes not being updated after respawning
  • FIXED: client Experience Points were not displayed in the server browser info
  • FIXED: a crash on the console server after repeated client connects

2.00.27 | 03-14-2005

• FIXED: Going to Config from within any frontend system (e.g. Navitron) in the game, would prevent exiting back to the previous system.
• Multiplayer
  • The UCServerConfig tool has been updated to take into account recent multiplayer config revisions
  • If the client has no valid cached CD key, then the CD key entry and validation is now done as soon as the multiplayer client starts. This prevents the need to first join one of our official mp servers in order to validate a CD-KEY for hosting Net or LAN games.

2.00.26 | 03-06-2005

Multiplayer

• Players can now be banned from the server using the Remote Server Admin app. This tool will not be released to the public at this time.
• The in-game browser now displays the player name, asset name and experience points when you select a server.

2.00.25 | 03-04-2005

• You can now delete the current waypoint using X if the NID has focus and WRS is the current mode
• FIXED: You can now delete all Tacops waypoints. Previously you could only delete the first six waypoints.
• FIXED: Destroying a mining drone object in the 3D world (e.g. when destroyed) was sometimes not setting its state to being destroyed, causing it to still be listed in Tactical as being active.
• FIXED: Some craft units within planet scenes were slightly offset from the ground, causing them to be pitched up when the scene was loaded.
• FIXED: Personnel units will now pick a random (of four) dynamic waypoints when recovering
  from a collision. This seems to solve the problem with them repeatedly colliding with an object that is in front of them, and being unable to avoid it.

• FIXED: misaligned power level bars in the cockpit at high resolutions (e.g. 1280×1024)

2.00.24 | 02-28-2005

• FIXED: a crash would sometimes occur when you end up in a region with a debris field. e.g. using the flx-20 in Vega Eridani/Alteris

2.00.23 | 02-21-2005

Multiplayer

• Changed disconnection detection and how transmission propagation deals with old connections.
• Removed a workaround for the bandwidth settings. A value of zero really does mean no limit now.
• Added IP address to the online clients list display.
• When the USCDEBUG.LOG file gets to be 100MB, it gets copied to a sequential filename e.g. UCSDEBUG001.LOG, UCSDEBUG002.LOG etc etc. The existing UCSDEBUG.LOG file then gets deleted and re-created. It is then up to the server op to either delete or manually archive the sequential files.
• FIXED: A bug in the transmission code which would sometimes cause a recursive loop on the server.

v2.00.22 | 02-19-2005

Multiplayer

• FIXED: problem reconnecting to the server after quitting (ALT+Q).

2.00.21 | 02-16-2005

• Revised the attack matrix in order to prevent stations from launching too many cap ships when under attack, since this will cause more fighters to be in the region.
• Changed display fonts to Tahoma due to localization issues
• When a craft is in HALT state and in the air, it no longer falls to the ground due to gravity (assuming engine integrity is greater then 25%). So when egressing the CC on a planet, it remains in place instead of briefly pitching up (employing ground avoidance) and back down.
• The ground avoidance pull-up (pitch up) maneuver is disabled if the craft is not “in flight”, i.e if it is simply falling under gravity. A craft is “in flight” if the AOA (Angle Of Attack) is less than about 45 degrees.
• A craft that is resting on the ground but not attached to it due to the terrain height not being known when the object is created initially, has a downward velocity due to gravity which now exceeds the 45 degree AOA limit. So it should no longer perform a pull-up maneuver.
• FIXED: The Mission Zone menu list now overrides the default 99 menu item limit which prevents some zones being lost from the list
• Multiplayer
  • Ported the networking protocol from GameCom to ReplicaNet; resulting in VAST improvements in the networking code.
  • Removed the 56K transmission cap. Packet transmission is now scaled according to user settings in the server browser. The INI file variable that controls this is “MPConnectSpeed”. NOTE: that if you are connecting from the commandline, you need to first run the in-game browser, make your
    connection selections (by choosing the appropriate box), connect to the server, then disconnect. This will add the correct values to the UCSETUP.INI file which will then be used when you connect to the server from the commandline. Or you can always edit the INI file directly using Notepad.
    For appropriate values, refer to the DOCS\UCSERVERCONFIG.PDF file.

  • Limited the max client connection type using “server_maxconnection” value set in UCSETUPMP.INI. The client uses what the server says to use if the server requires lower bandwidth from a client.
  • Limited kilobits (Kbps) packets sent to/from the server depending on bandwidth using “server_bandwidth_limit” value set in UCSETUPMP.INI.
  • Various tweaks in order to smooth out transmissions for 56K modem clients joining servers with predominantly broadband clients. 56K modem uses MUST use the “modem” setting!
  • Revised and updated DOCS\UC_MANUAL_REVISIONS.PDF (section 13.1).
  • The CD-KEY is now requested and checked when a client attempts to login to a server. You have three chances to enter the correct key before you are disconnected from the server. If the server detects a duplicate key, the key will be rejected, logged and the client already online
    using the same key, will also be ejected. The key will no longer be allowed to login. So, bear this in mind if you even think of joining a server with a stolen key, your Grandma’s key or otherwise.

    Note that regardless of the game type (LAN or Internet), your CD-KEY will need to be authenticated once only. From that point on – and as long as the CD-KEY exists on your machine – you will not be prompted again. If you uninstall and re-install and decide to join a multiplayer game, you will
    need to re-authenticate your CD-KEY.

  • Added +up and +down command line parameters. These specify bits per second for up and down connection speeds. The config file conection speed is ignored if these are set. So using the following, will configure a DSL type connection. Use these parameters ONLY when you want to fine
    tune your connection settings. The following will configure a DSL type of connection:
    +up 128000 +down 512000

  • FIXED: If you connect to a password server using the in-game browser, after you enter the correct password and have pressed enter, the dialog would re-appear, even though the password was in fact correct.
  • FIXED: The online clients list will now be updated with your location when you switch regions. Note that this list will NOT display the new location of other clients as this will prevent stealth and strategic tactics for opposing sides, if everyone knew where they were
    headed. Only their initial location upon connecting to the server will be displayed.

  • FIXED: repeatedly refreshing the in-game browser would sometimes cause a crash

2.00.20 | 01-16-2005

• FIXED: Landing on a planet without first setting a waypoint and exiting the craft in fp mode, would cause the weapon in the commander’s hands to jitter. This can be cleared by going to Tacops, viewing the map, and returning to the fp view.
• FIXED: switching to a SAM unit in fp mode and manually firing its missiles will no longer cause the missile to collide with the terrain.
• FIXED: The name of the explosion preset used for buildings on the planet was wrong. This caused the explosions to not be played unless the building was designed to collapse into the ground when destroyed.

2.00.19 | 11-24-2004

• NPC fighters will no longer resupply stations when they dock there. Only cap ships should be able to do this.
• Multiplayer
  • FIXED: When AG ships (on a server with AG active) docked with a station and attempted to resupply, the server would crash because this feature is not supported in multiplayer.

2.00.18 | 11-14-2004

• You can now issue dock orders to scripted NPC marines using the Team Orders Menu. Note that if you issue this order to NPC personnel who are NOT your assets, they will be removed from the world and cannot later be created. If you issue this order to your own support personnel (Commander career) and the dock target is one of your assets (e.g. CC, vehicle, shuttle etc), they will dock as normal and appear in the manifest.
• There is now a limit to the number of NPC marines which can be generated in a planetary scene. This prevents too many marines being created (thereby causing a performance issue) when you deploy marines to a scene or when you DJP from one mzone scene to another. e.g. if you had four marines escorting you and you beamed to or jumped to a scene in which several objects (e.g. bunker, barracks etc) detected you; each object that detects you will previously launch two marines per detected threat (you + four marines). This can easily amount to lots of marines in
  the scene.

• Revised and updated DOCS\UC_MANUAL_REVISIONS.PDF (section 3.7)

2.00.17 | 10-31-2004

• Most Windows keys are now ignored when the game is running in full screen mode using sample code introduced in the October release of the DirectX 9 SDK by Microsoft. I guess they finally figured out that this was a serious problem with games that run in full screen exclusive mode. This however will probably only work on WIN2K and WINXP and possibly with WIN98. It most definitely won’t work on WIN95, which you shouldn’t be running anyway!
  WARNING: This doesn’t always work; so use at your own risk!!

• Navitron is now accessible in IA scenarios. Was previously disabled back when IA scenarios did not feature the Commander career. Navitron is still not accessible in multiplayer because it uses a different galaxy that Navitron does not support.
• The max range of planetary first person VTT tags reduced from 250m to 25m. Makes combat on planets more challenging if you have to look around to see who is putting bullets in your cranium.
• Combat Kills for all career types are now displayed in COMMLINK when the IA scenario ends. Was previously only recorded for pilot careers.
• The asset name (if any) is now displayed in COMMLINK/STATS for IA scenarios
• Revised and updated DOCS\UC_MANUAL_REVISIONS.PDF (sections 2.1, 3.6)
• Revised and updated several appendix pages related to crafts.
• FIXED: Animated jump anomalies (flux field and wormhole) not rendered in the VDD/VID display. This seems to have been broken in 2.00.15 patch as a result of recent graphics optimizations.
• FIXED: Unable to take off from naval carrier in some cases.
• FIXED: Seams sometimes noticed on terrain slopes.
• FIXED: Mouse auto-scrolling in Navitron.
• Multiplayer
  • The tactical jink layer in the NPC flight dynamics which enables engaged NPC crafts to alter their flight path in order to better evade inbound laser shots, has now been disabled. This was disabled in the single player game in 2.00.15 in order to make dogfighting a bit easier. In multiplayer, it cannot be enabled using shortcuts, like you can in single player.

2.00.16 | 10-21-2004

• Rebuilt all scripts because some people reported problems with some scenarios in the previous patch version. This absolutely, positively invalidate all previous saved games starting with v2.00.14.
• Scripting
  • SAD, SEAD and CAP now accept an optional numeric class parameter.
    
    i.e in addition to

    SAD [region] [class]

    ...the following is also valid.

    SAD [class]

    e.g: SAD 11

    # class 11 is the LPAD as defined in OBJDEFS.SCR

    This restricts the object to selecting from only the specified class for targets until no more can be found. The object then reverts to
    selecting any target class.

    The object must have selected a target of the restricted class at least once before it can revert to selecting from any class.

    Sample usage:

    [dynamic]
terran military,,f1,phantom,tango00
[ai]
.f1,100,100,100,100,100,100,0
start on_planet earth earth00[sbase] 177.022 51.844 0 0
stop
events
!startup
navigate this earth earth00[sbase] 181.743 53.680 0 wp1
!reach ^wp1
broadcast "TANGO-00: REACHED WAYPOINT. ENGAGING DETECTED LAUNCH PADS"
sad 11
endevents


  • DOCKWITH ‘object’ [vanish|deactivate] is accepted. The object remains (inactive) at the dock position when deactivate form is used, which requires
    the script to relocate and re-activate the object at the appropriate time.

    Sample usage:
    
[dynamic]
terran military,,f1,marine_eforce,sam
[ai]
.f1,100,100,100,100,100,100,0
face marine_eforce.bmp
start inactive on_planet earth earth00[sbase] 177.180 51.469 0 0
stop
events
!beginl1
activate this
!startup
dockwith f2 vanish
!docked f2
broadcast "SAM: I have entered the vehicle and vanished"
endevents


  • Added new checks in order for an object to detect another using a specific range
    
    e.g

    IF HERE 'object' 'range' THEN...
    IF HERE PLAYER 'range' THEN...
    IF HERE BC 'range' THEN...

    The HERE condition is true when the object is less than 'range' meters from the object in scope. (the limits of range are 1 to 65535 meters)

    As previously, if the range is not specified or is 0, then the condition is TRUE when the objects share the same region.

    Sample Usage:

    [dynamic]
terran military,,v1,cav,tango00
[ai]
.f1,100,100,100,100,100,100,0
start on_planet earth earth00[sbase] 177.218 51.682 0 0
stop
events
!beginl1
IF HERE player 250 THEN
broadcast "TANGO-00: I can detect the player within 250m"
ENDIF
signal check_for_player
!check_for_player
IF HERE player 5 THEN
broadcast "TANGO-00: I can detect the player within 5m"
ELSE
broadcast "TANGO-00: I cannot detect the player"
ENDIF
endevents
[event]
#check for player today and at two minute intervals
!check_for_player
0,2


2.00.15 | 10-18-2004

• The tactical jink layer in the NPC flight dynamics which enables engaged NPC crafts to alter their flight path in order to better evade inbound laser shots, has now been disabled by default in order to make dogfighting a bit easier. To enable it, just add the -J or /J command line parameter to the game shortcut.
• Increased the speed when running backwards. Also added support for walking left/right while crouched.
• Minor adjustments to character first person weapon view POV
• The IVM mode of the DIE is now a lot brighter during extremely dark conditions.
• Revised the model preload option so that it is only called during the first run of the game.
• The turret shots are no longer rendered in the front view. It looks odd on crafts
  (e.g. Starcruiser) which had forward mounted turrets that were ahead of the cockpit view vector.

• The bitmap for the current scene, displayed in the first person HUD has now been disabled because it is too expensive for what it does. This results in an average increase of +8 fps in most cases.
• Units will now perform collision avoidance tests on support structures (i.e. those you can walk/land on) in order to minimize the possibility of getting stuck inside one (at low frame rates during which a collision is not detected fast enough). This is not perfect,
  but minimizes the problem.

  By default, this type of avoidance is disabled. To enable it, add /A or -A (uppercase!) to the program shortcut.

  When enabled, in some rare cases (e.g. buildings with complex structures), the units will perform several path tests in order to navigate around the building and this can cause them to take a bit longer to navigate around it, instead of just walking/driving over it.

• The Missile/Mine filter in the VDD/RTM is now disabled by default in order to declutter the TRS threat display. If you want to see these threats in the TRS, you need to enable the filter. Note also that the F7/F8 missile view keys will not work unless this filter is enabled.
• FIXED: If you armed a grenade and didn’t throw it, when you switch back to a weapon, you couldn’t fire it without first holstering and re-equiping the weapon.
• FIXED: personnel units without jetpacks and which end up in the air will now drop to the ground under gravity.
• FIXED: Going to the Config screen while flying around in the game world, would sometimes introduce some corruption in the display. You really shouldn’t be running Config from within the game (only from the main menu) anyway; because with each change, you have to exit the game entirely and restart in order for them to take effect.

2.00.14 | 09-24-2004

Some saved games will be invalidated by this patch but the patch will not delete any existing saved games because only certain types are invalidated.

• Implemented an Altitude Hold System, AHS, which assists in instances where you are attempting to fly to a distant location, don’t want to use a waypoint and you want the craft to remain at a specified altitude. It also helps when flying around in the dark on open terrain; because the craft will climb the highest peak to get past above it, then descend down to the preset [lower] altitude. For more information, refer to p6 of
  the manual revisions PDF file.

  The new IA0121 and IA0122 scenarios take place in very hilly terrain and can be used to test this feature.

• Revised the terrain rendering pipeline. It should look a lot better now and a bit faster. Also, the flickering on coastal terrain titles has probably been eliminated on all video cards.
• Revised the texture garbage collection so that it takes longer before it flushes model textures to make room for new ones. This significantly improves processing on the terrain, especially when flying over dense (with 3D models) scenes which used to cause repeated pausing and stuttering as older textures are flushed in order to load new ones.
• Revised the target acquisition and prosecution logic for planetary Enemy Air Defense (EAD) units such as SAMs, SALs etc. They will now aggressively engage threats and are better equipped to dynamically adjust their acquisition cone when engaging airborne targets. Expect to see a LOT of SAM missiles as well as SAL laser fire if you’re not flying NOE (Nap Of the Earth) while en-route.
• Added two new IA0121, IA0122 planet based scenarios which show how the new AHS works.
• All ground structures can now be destroyed by gunfire. Previously some could only be destroyed by missiles.
• The MipMapping Config option has been removed; so this is always on by default.
• Updated DOCS\APPENDIX\FPITEMS.HTML and removed the inventory items that were not implemented in multiplayer. Also updated several files in DOCS\APPENDIX with links to the history section. The DOCS\UC_TUTORIAL.PDF and DOCS\UC_MANUAL_REVISIONS.PDF files were also updated to reflect new entries. The tutorial has eight more pages in which a new tutorial is between p62-69. Be sure to read the revised p1.
• FIXED: The supply station would sometimes not re-arm some careers (e.g. AFM)
• FIXED: a slight graphics glitch which would cause text to be left on the screen when switching from/to the Options screen from the main menu.
• FIXED: Destroyed buildings on the planet will now sink into the terrain when destroyed and textured correctly when rebuilding (as they rise up from the terrain).

2.00.13 | 08-30-2004

• The CC is now added to the recently ordered list if orders are issued from the COMMAND CRAFT/ORDERS tab in the main cockpit HUD.
• If the AE attempts to asset switch to his FC with a pilot on board, the pilot first leaves the FC to make space. The pilot is then marked for EVAC. This allows the AE to now assume control of any of his deployed (not in space!) fighters by ordering them to first land, then asset switching to them.
• The Tacops waypoint buttons SETPOS and TARGET are now enabled according to the orders setting.
• The Tacops waypoint target crosshair is now visible at all zoom factors except planet global map level.
• Characters now disarm weapons before performing a gesture, they now rearm with the weapon they were holding (if any).
• Increased the planetary terrain visibilty from 9.6km to 20.0km
• CTRL+T hotkey can now be used to toggle the PTA turrets on/off
• Added new DOCS\APPENDIX\PLANET.HTML file created by Pugwash
• Revised and updated DOCS\UC_MANUAL_REVISIONS.PDF (p4,p8,p15)
• Revised and updated DOCS\UC_TUTORIAL.PDF (p57). The tips section at the end of this document have also been removed and are now contained in a new UC_TIPS.PDF file.
• FIXED: Attempting to collect cargo pods using any asset other than your own, will cause a crash. You can no longer collect cargo using an asset that is not part of your support crafts; so this logic is now disabled.
• FIXED: Added check for the AE located in a vehicle that is in the shuttle when the latter docks with the CC. If the AE is present in the vehicle then the logic is now set correctly so that Tactical/Logistix work as intended (i.e. with the full CC interface access, instead of the limited OC/SC access).
• FIXED: Trying to give your asset an order to take you from planet to an object in space (e.g. RTB, ESCORT, ATTACK, DEFEND, FLY TO) causes instant planetfall without entering space. If the asset is in the moon it does planetfall to the planet instead the moon.

  To resolve conflicting requirements, the automatic egress is now performed only when the A/P is engaged and the player craft has LEAVE_PLANET tactical state (which
  would be appropriate when ordered to interact with some object in the surrounding space region).

• FIXED: When deploying from a vehicle, player crew would be created with the default NPC loadouts in some cases. This prevents a deployed pilot from selecting a weapon.
• FIXED: The ammo loadout for the NPC pilot’s SCAT2 pistol was incorrect.

2.00.12 | 08-03-2004

• If you engage units while your SOS emitter is active, they will now designate you as a hostile target and engage you. Previously, they would not engage you because of the SOS emitter being on. Remember, once this happens, the NPC unit will not forget about the previous transgression and will engage you henceforth; even in multiplayer.
• The Commander career can now asset switch to gunships, fighters and shuttles which are not part of his CC support craft complement. You cannot dock these assets with your CC, so don’t even think about it.
• Violations for docking at a legal station with illegal items in cargo are now only for Terran/Military and Terran/Earthcom players. Previously, violations were given for others e.g. Gammulan/Military.
• Moved Flux Field 19 out of planet GAMMA-1
• Revised and updated DOCS\WAYPOINT ORDERS.PDF
• Major improvement in tree model rendering on planets. In some cases (where the CPU is the limiting factor), fps increased by about +85 fps
• Extensively overhauled the character pathfinding around objects on planets which now prevents them from being stuck or repeatedly colliding with some types of objects blocking their path.
• Implemented ability for transports to deploy probes as the missile tags are no longer used for probe launches.
• Revised probe launches in order to minimize their colliding with the CC during the launch phase. They are now launched using the /POD instead of /MISSILE tag.
• Implemented ability for probes to use hyperspace. Will reduce transit times. They have a 30 secs jump transit time and a 15 secs jump recharge time.
• The rules regarding the mass of an object being propaged along a tow chain have been relaxed; making it possible to daisy chain towed ships and still be able to jump.
• If a ship is being tractored, its contrails are now turned off
• FIXED: Some crafts flying within the vicinity of stations can get stuck inside their structures (e.g. TYPE 0 and 1 stations) because they cannot change direction fast enough in order to find a suitable exit route from within the structure. The same can happen to some slow crafts operating around cities (which have closely packed buildings). This issue cannot be entirely prevented, as it depends on the craft’s flight dynamics and profile.
• FIXED: If you docked with dead engineers, a crash will occur when the system attempts to take your system engineers off station in order to assign station engineers to your CC. The problem is with taking the dead engineers off station. Until this is fixed, don’t dock with dead system engineers.
• FIXED: In some rare instances, systems under repair/upgrade would cause their status and integrity to fluctuate if the game was improperly saved (using Quick Save) and restored. Since Quick Save and Auto Save (on exit) are now only used in cheat and debug modes, this problem should not occur otherwise.
• FIXED: Exploit resulting from use of the Team Orders Menu on an invalid target.
• Multiplayer
  • Revised the icons used in the in game browser. They now use the same color scheme.
  • Removed obsolete and unused options from server config tool. This patch will reset your UCSETUPMP.INI file to the default values. You then need to reconfigure it post patch.
  • The NPC threat assessment and prosecution matrix is now enabled in mp. This allows NPC units (e.g. stations, carriers) etc to launch support units when engaged. This could seriously clutter the server depending on the number of clients playing, so it is a server side config named “NPC Defense Matrix” and should really only be used for co-op sessions. This feature is disabled on 3000AD servers.
  • If you launch from a station which happens to be in the same region as another (e.g. you are playing as Ter/Ins and launch from Antilles), you may be relocated closer to the other station (the Mul/Rai Rangon station in the same region) and ultimately be destroyed by the station, since raiders will attack anything. Whats happening is that when a client joins the server, the server will start sending it info about all objects in the region. Then it will launch the client from the first station (it only expects one station in the region) it finds and at a random distance (in order to prevent multiple launch clients colliding) from it. So, since Rangon and Antilles are in the same region, if the server sees Rangon first, thats the one it will use as the launch location because it doesn’t have any logic that says not to launch a client from near any hostile station. Now, all MULtinational entities are resolved at both the race/caste level, making the MUL/RAI neutral to TER/INS.
  • Previously when you deployed, the server would launch you from the first station it finds in the region. This is not desirable in regions (e.g. ROVARIX) with more than one station. Now, you are launched from the station you selected; and the station won’t deploy you in the
    game world until it finds that station.

  • FIXED: If you dock at a station, the information in Tradcom/Info is now correct.

2.00.11 | 06-13-2004

This patch will delete ALL detected saved games which were created using the unsupported Quick Save feature

• Revised DOCS\APPENDIX\NAVLINKS.HTML. There was an invalid jump link between Scorpia and Herin.
• The quick save (CTRL+Q) feature has once again been disabled
• If ground units (e.g. mining drones) end up under the terrain for whatever reason, they will now be warped upright.
• The nuclear and solar reactors are no longer tagged as support structures, thereby preventing anything from landing on or driving over them.
• The bunkers will no longer appear in the list of radar emitting targets.
• Revised the NPC threat assessment and prosecution matrix. What the hell does this mean? You’ll see.
• NPC carriers and stations can once again launch Space Force Marines
• The three reserved (SAD2, INTERCEPT2, ESCORT2) FC assignment/weapon profiles, previously only available in Tacops/Waypoint setting, are now available in Tactical/Launch.
• FIXED: The Victory starstation (type 1) had fewer turret definitions than model tags. The type 5 and 8 stations had duplicate turret tags. These could lead to unexplainable problems.
• FIXED: Sometimes if a character collided with an object containing a polygon with a low angle (e.g. front of ZX15), the character would be warped under the unit while being bounced back. This can cause it to end up under the unit and subsequently under the terrain.
• Multiplayer
  • NPC crafts will no longer launch escape pods (shuttles) when destroyed, as this just clutters the server.
  • Added EarthCom as playable caste for the Terran race. As in single player, this caste can launch and operate from any Terran/Military station/base.
  • Revisions to mp galaxy as well as station/base distribution as follows. The GALAXY_MAP_LINKS_MP.JPG image has also been updated to reflect this.
    
    World revisions:

    Foron region is now Mixed/Raider alliance
    Junae region is now Mixed/Trader alliance

    Station revisions:

    Irax (Vesperon/Military) station removed
    Polox (Mixed/Raider) station moved to Foron
    Velran station is now Mixed/Trader alliance
    Last Stop (Mixed/Trader) station moved to Neutral Zone region.

    Station additions:

    Guardstar (Terran/Military) station added in Junae region
    Eterna (Terran/Military) station added in Neutral Zone region
    Antilles (Terran/Insurgent) station added in Rovarix region

    Planetary base revions:

    All bases on Junae are now divided between Terran/Military and Terran/Insurgent
    All bases on Rovarix are now divided between Terran/Military and Terran/Insurgent
    All bases on Foron are now Mixed/Raider alliance
    There are now two Terran/Insurgent bases on Gendar

    Terran/Military Fleet station distribution:

    Paladian - Prime Fleet
    Victory - Orion Fleet
    Guardstar - ISS Fleet
    Eterna - Wraith Fleet

    Terran/Insurgent Fleet station distribution:

    Farpoint - Spectre Fleet
    Resilient - Eversor and Balor Fleets
    Antilles - Bishamon Fleet

    There are currently no established or official Vesperon, Empirian or
    Gammulan fleets.

    The traders and raiders do not have fleets. But raiders with organizations
(e.g. The Devil's Hand) operate from wherever they like as they have several
stations to operate from.


2.00.10 | 06-03-2004

• Revised the “ASSET SWITCHING & USAGE – AIR/SPACE CRAFTS” section of the UC_TUTORIAL.PDF game tutorial.
• Multiplayer
  • FIXED: When turrets were firing and a client was moving from one region to the
    next, a crash would sometimes occur on the client.

2.00.09 | 05-27-2004

• An extensive eighty page tutorial is now included in the UC_TUTORIAL.PDF file located in the DOCS folder where the game is installed. This is accompanied by an extensive tutorial scenario.
• Revised section 3.5, 3.6, 4.0, 8.1, of UC_MANUAL_REVISIONS.PDF
• If a craft is landing and performing a yaw turn (circling), the craft is forced to decend and does so at a much faster rate. This assists the shuttles and gunships so that when intercepting waypoints, they don’t spend too much time in this landing profile.
• Tweaking the terrain detail mesh handling for objects. Should make things a bit faster and smoother.
• FIXED: Transporting the AE once and then attempting to deploy again would cause a crash.
• FIXED: When AE uses an asset, on exit his armor is set to what it was before entering the asset. It also is limited to the starting armor.
• FIXED: When the game is saved, the AE armor is stored in the save game file if he is currently in an asset. WARNING: This invalidates all saved games in which a player was previously deployed and is now in an asset. So to preserve the old save games, you should load the game with the previous game version, deploy the AE (planet or space), then save and quit the game. This will bring it into compliance with this update. You can then apply this patch.
• FIXED: There was no message in Tacops if you attempted to evac a person using the transporter and the TO or CE were not on-station. There was a message if you were attempting deployment however.

2.00.08 | 05-25-2004

• The CC personnel will now appear in the “support units” target filter (like crafts), making it easier to locate your own troops – especially on the planet.
• Moved the cockpit tag of the Nightstar slightly forward
• Reduced the speed of the Space Force Marine’s jetpack from 250 to 100 m/s
• FIXED: The commander texture was not being set correctly when the set_career script command was used in a script (e.g. in IA scenario scripts)
• FIXED: The new fighter craft weapon profiles in the Tacops waypoint tab were not translated correctly.
• FIXED: Attempting hyperjump with an object in tow would introduce a long delay while the system waits for all objects in the tow chain to disappear (since all objects will not disappear if being towed and in hyperspace).
• Multiplayer
  • Changed the skybox type in the Boranis system
  • Changed the “unknown” name of jump gates to the Neutral Zone, to “NZone”
  • Added the station “name (type)” to the GALAXY_MAP_LINKS_MP.JPG image in the appendix. Note: I can’t imagine anyone playing on an mp server without a printed copy of this map.

2.00.07 | 05-23-2004

• Revised section 4.2 and 13.1 of UC_MANUAL_REVISIONS.PDF
• Crafts now bleed speed in yaw turns in space as well as on the planet
• Logic that prevented pitch maneuvers for shuttles on a planet is now disabled in space
• In space, when an objective is vertically above or below from the perspective of an object, it is encouraged to perform a pitch maneuver
• If an object is ordered to tow another object it no longer stops moving when near the objective if it has not yet obtained a tractor lock
• If you attempted to tow a cargo pod while flying the craft (shuttle/cc), you will be prompted to transfer the cargo pod contents (if any).
• The towed object and tow lines are no longer visible when in hyperspace
• FIXED: Personnel not visible in TACOPS.
• Multiplayer
  • FIXED: Pressing CTRL+Q to quick save the game would cause a crash. You can’t save multiplayer games.
  • FIXED: When a client info is cleared from the server (quits, destroyed, spawning), the data is now cleared. This solves the problem where if you were playing as TER/MIL and then quit and logged back on as TER/RAI (without quitting to the OS), your stats were still showing as TER/MIL to other clients.

2.00.06 | 05-22-2004

• FIXED: Turrets on some crafts (e.g. on the Nightstar carrier) were not firing
  due to the turret assuming it would hit its own ship if it fired at a certain time.

• Multiplayer
  • Minor tweaks to NPC auto-generation (spawning) parameters

2.00.05 | 05-21-2004

• Cargo pods created when ships are destroyed, can now contain between 5 to 10 items, instead of 1 to 10. Also revised to reduce the probability of emtpy pods (perfectly normal) being created. Don’t forget, a shuttle will not collect an empty pod. So use the VDD/SMD mode to scan and make sure it contains something before dispatching a shuttle.
• Increased the min/max cargo displacement for pods generated when objects are destroyed, to 150/650. This allows the pods to contain more interesting objects. Previously the min/max values were 50/450 which means that any item that has a cargo displacement (see data\items.ini) higher than 450, would never appear in a generated pod.
• Multiplayer
  • FIXED: spurious server crash when a station was destroyed
  • FIXED: spurious server crash when an object was destroyed by turrets

2.00.04 | 05-18-2004

• FIXED: If an object performing a pursuit loses it’s objective it can now revert to a new navigate or target search state where previously it would get stuck in a vertical pitch up state
• Multiplayer
  • Added message to indicate when a client docks at a station.
  • Modified dock/launch messages to indicate station name if possible.
  • If the server received a destroy_object message it will report that an object was destroyed and by what.
  • The destroy object message has an additional flag that indicates that a destroyed chat message should not be generated. This is set when a
    player disconnects or quits, which destroys all his assets.

  • The predicted position of a tractored object is no longer predicted from the tractored object but from the towing object. Position update packets
    of a tractored object are no longer sent as the position can be calculated from the towing object.

  • If a remote object is towing a local object, all the local objects properties are now updated locally. Previously they were not updated at all.
  • Tractor alignment no longer has a positional time lag (until tractor problems are fixed this simplifies debugging). Previously the tractored
    object would lag the tractor point slightly so when the tractor is accelerating the tractored object would fall behind the tractor slightly
    (except in hyperspace, where the lag is always disabled due to the high degree of acceleration)

  • All navigation control functions are now disabled for the towed client. This may inhibit use of weapons while being tractorted.
  • FIXED: when using a Frontend system (e.g. Tactical, Logistix), messages would not be processed or issued (especially on faster systems).
  • FIXED: After a remote client docks, the asset craft name appears as “unknown” or “()”
  • FIXED: When a client support craft enters hyperspace the server incorrectly reports it as the clients craft.
  • FIXED: The objective displayed at the bottom of the CVD sometimes indicates the CVD object has itself as objective.
  • FIXED: If a client is tractoring a local object other clients will not observe the tractor beams as the tractored object is not accepted as tractorable (e.g not emitting SOS) and no lock will occur. Provided both tractor and tractored objects are remote, the lock is now assumed to be valid.
  • FIXED: If the player exit and then re-enters an asset, a chat message to the effect that the player was destroyed was issued.

2.00.03 | 05-13-2004

• Updated section 4.2 in the UC_MANUAL_REVISIONS.PDF file
• Revised the Megaron carrier’s support crafts loadout. DOCS\APPENDIX\CARRIERS.HTML.
• FIXED: The ASSETS.INI file was out of synch with some upgrade entries in the ITEMS.INI file, resulting in incorrect shield/reactor artifact upgrades being listed in Logistix.
• Multiplayer
  • FIXED: A time synch problem related to the position of the two objects.
  • FIXED: Units (e.g. starbases) created on the planet with “on_planet this_region” directive were searching for routes though they can’t move. This eats up AI processing time.

2.00.02 | 05-09-2004

• When the SOS emitter (CTRL+ALT+T) is on, “SOS” is now displayed on the FP HUD status bar
• FIXED: Tractor beam was hard to lock-on when used in certain crafts
• Multiplayer
  • FIXED: Sometimes messages sent by the server are logged and decoded in the chat message window as being sent by other clients. There may still be others. They too will be removed as they are discovered.
  • FIXED: When a player in Commander career launches support crafts, they were not visible to other clients or the [graphical] server.
  • FIXED: Tractor beam didn’t lock-on. Remember, in mp you cannot tractor any other craft unless they have their SOS emitter in broadcast mode. i.e. if you want to tow another player, they should first manually activate their emitter using CTRL+ALT+T, then they can be towed.
  • FIXED: Strobe and blink timers not updated on server (causes SOS circle to remain fixed at TTD size)

2.00.01 | 05-07-2004

• FIXED: Minimized a problem with “going back in time” when time/pos packets were sent. This problem may still occur, especially if you are moving too fast. The effects of this is that you will experience a massive drop in fps as the AI and display timers go out of synch. In this situation, even ALT+Q won’t work and you have to use CTRL+ALT+DEL to quit the game and the server. This problem is still being investigated as part of the existing problem recorded in the issues section above.

2.00.00 | 05-07-2004

Initial public release

• Revisions to AI engine:
  • NPC troops can now more frequently self-heal (using medkits) and self-repair (using repair kits). They can also do this while clearly close to the point of death (Grey TTD). Previously they won’t pause to do this during a combat engagement or if badly injured.

    Since there is no ability for you or an NPC to carry an injured comrade to safety (wait for the next game), you have to ensure that you manually pull your people out of a hostile zone if they are badly injured as they will NOT abandon their order (and subsequently their comrades) without a direct order. i.e. an Assault Force Marine, carrying the devastatingly powerful A9MAG will never leave – even if he has a very low LF or very high FF. You have to find a safe location and then give him the order to escort you (and subsequently to that location) or another NPC (in a safe location). If you give the RTB, he will bugger off home and be lost to you.

    NPC marines have long term memory – so treat them nicely or they will get you killed at the very first opportunity, by ignoring a direct order.

  • NPC troops can now use supply stations (like the player) – even ones located in hostile bases.
    • The supply station object is now a support platform so that NPCs (and player) can get closer to it, since several NPCs may decide to use it all at the same time.
    • The supply station must must exist in the current 3D world to be usable.
    • A supply station is not usable if more than six people are already using or intend to use it.
    • A supply station is not usable if a hostile person is using or intends to use the station.
    • A supply station is not usable if more than 5km from the position of the person trying to use it.
    • Persons currently do not go to a supply station of their own accord because there are situations where they will bugger off in search of one – just when you need them to be engaging enemy forces. They must be given an order using the Proceed to Supply Station order in the Team Orders Menu. The order is ignored if there is no suitable supply station nearby.
    • Once a station is selected, the person will then proceed to the supply station, stand at a vacant position, and orient towards it. The supply operation takes 10 seconds to complete. On completion the person is rearmed, healed, resupplied and the armor is restored. The person then resumes previous orders.
    • Supply station use is implemented as a gesture. The disarm/pose change/rearm gesture sequence begins when the person arrives at a certain distance from the TEAM tag position being used that is defined in the station object. The person uses side steps to position accurately similar to when escorting a person.
    • The supply station use is cancelled if an order is issued that sets the objective of the person e.g. “Attack My Target”
  • The LAND waypoint order will now cause the craft to land and halt, instead of taking off 10 seconds later. To have a craft take off after this command, either change the waypoint command or create a new waypoint, then issue the Resume Waypoints order to the craft.
  • NPC personnel troops can now RTB to a Mobile Forward Base
  • Sometimes when you (as the leader) of a marine team goes prone, some members of the team do not follow suit. This is because members who do not have direct orders from you, will take orders only from their leader. So, if you have marine A escorting you and you go prone, only marine A will go prone, as
    marine B (escorting marine A), will not. This has been addressed so that orders are propagated based on the chain of command within the team.
• Changes to NPC repair/healing
  • Armor repair takes priority and has a higher “must repair” threshold. Unit will now repair armour if it is less than 50%.
  • After performing healing/maintenance the NPC will repeat until he runs out of supplies or is repaired/healed.

    NOTE: that using a single MEDPAK, NUTRIPAK, or TOOLKIT (as viewed in the CVD/SMD) will not immediately change the stores manifest as they each have 2 and 4 uses
    respectively. The stores manifest will change after the healing process is completed, not when it starts.

  • Disabled persons will not repair/heal themselves. They are considered unconscious, it is up to something else to treat them.
  • The pain timer is used to reduce the number of pain SFX. The pain SFX will not be issued for 3 seconds. (this uses the pain timer).
• Increased the spectrum coverage of planetary SAM/SAL threats so that they acquire and fire on hostile targets more frequently. This was heavily revised from previous BC games in order to make the game a bit more playable without overwhelming the first time player with a barrage of hostile fire they simply couldn’t avoid. Now, their previous rules have been restored, but a margin of error has now been introduced so that experienced players don’t cry foul.
• Added target acquisition/prosecution logic to several units in order to make it more difficult to wipe out bases. If you are assaulting a base, the
  high priority targets are bunkers, barracks, command and control, starbases etc. If you even think of dropping inexperienced troops on the ground without first softening these targets, they’ll all die. Quickly.

  NOTE: STO silos are still disabled until they can be prevented from activating several planet maps during their flight from planet to space. Once re-enabled, observing a base from orbit in order to execute an OTS strike, will trigger an OTS launch if a silo exists on the base/city being viewed.

• Revisions to Dynamics engine:
  • Tweaked the CALS system (manual p59) a bit more in order to alleviate twitching when landed on some terrain slopes. Also resolves some issues related to landing profiles in some instances.
  • Tweaked the landing profile for NPC gunships in order that they can better intercept landing waypoints especially when under fire.
  • You can now eject from a craft (while in VTOL mode) without having to first land it. This allows you to do silly and crazy things like, oh, I dunno, say (a) flying a fighter into another unit while ejecting at the last minute (b) dropping in on a carrier deck and stealing a fully functional fighter from its deck (c) ejecting from a craft that is sure to be destroyed in the coming moments etc. Naturally, if you jump at a high altitude and end up on land instead of water – without a jetpack – you’re dead.
  • Significantly revised and tweaked the collision detect and avoidance so that it is less likely to fail during low frame rate processing. NPC units will now predict a collision more quickly and can avoid them where possible. This is mostly beneficial on planetary scenes where there are a lot of buildings and NPC (mostly troops) have too many buildings to process in order to eliminate from their decision tree.
  • The orbits for stations and orbital defense systems have been moved out from 800km to 8000km and 500km to 5000km from the center of the planet, respectively.
  • The egress altitude has been reduced to 14,000 feet because some players were unable to reach this altitude and breach some planets escape velocity in order to return to space – because they’re not reading the docs.
  • The sea to surface ascent rate of subs has been reduced to prevent them overshooting the surface level and then having to drop back down again, as observed in IA0111 scenario.
  • The 0-9 keys can now be used to set the thrust of crafts and vehicles to preset values. You can still use the W and S keys, which effectively act like afterburner and retros. e.g. if you set your max speed to 5, the craft will slowly ramp up to thrust factor 5. However, if you then press and hold the W key, you can exceed this thrust setting and go up to the max speed of the craft. When you let go of the W key, the craft will slowly reduce it’s thrust back to factor 5. A thrust factor of 9 sets the max thrust of the craft, while 0 brings it to a halt.

    If you are using a joystick the speed value is modified by the joystick throttle if enabled. This means that if you have thrust factor 9 set, then setting the throttle to min level will effectively bring the craft to a halt. While setting it to the max level (pushing it all the way forward),
    will take the craft up to the max thrust speed set by the 1-9 thrust settings. e.g. if you have thrust factor 9 set, then moving the throttle all the way
    forward will ramp the craft all the way up to its max speed. In the CC, this is dependent on the Logistix engine power setting. See below.

    In the case of the CC, this is also dependent on the Logistix engine power settings. By default this is set to 5 (which keeps the engines on) which means that the thrust value of 9 will take the craft up to near cruise speed. e.g. if the craft’s max speed is 400 m/s, a thrust factor of 9 with a power setting of 5, will take the craft up to around 300 m/s. At higher engine power settings (6-10), the craft will ramp up accordingly and use more fuel. e.g. at engine power 10, the craft can go up to 400 m/s.

  • Revisions to Logistix power setting as related to CC thrust controls
    • Reducing the Logistix power level now causes the craft speed to drop if higher than the limit set by the new power level. e.g. if Logistix power level 10 and thrust level 9 are set (causing the craft to attain its max speed) and Logistix power level is later reduced to level 5, the craft’s thrust level will also start to drop.
    • Logistix power level greater than level 5 no longer increases the craft’s max speed beyond the craft’s defined limit
    • The default power setting of level 5 now sets the craft’s max speed to half the limit and level 10 gives the maximum speed
  • The orbital speed for stations is now 5 m/s (was increased from 1 m/s to 100 m/s in RC1)
  • The orbital speed for Orbital Defense Systems is now 100 m/s (was increased from 50 /ms to 750 m/s in RC1). The rotation speed has also been increased.
  • The speed of the jetpack has been revised as follows
    
PLANET - increased from 12.5 m/s to 15.0 m/s and boost reduced from x5 to x2
SPACE - increased from 42.0 m/s to 250.0 m/s and boost reduced from x5 to x2

• Revisions to UI:
  • Revisions to the Priority List Viewer (PLV)
    • The PLV is now active in all craft views. Was previously only available in the fp mode view. It was originally designed for ease of handling combat troops in this mode.
    • The image of a speaker is no longer displayed if the PLV is active
    • Adding a target to the priority list (P) now plays a sound and provides visual feedback (same as target designation using G)
  • Revisions to the Team Orders Menu (TOM)
    • Now has three new orders: REPAIR, DOCK WITH, PROCEED TO…WDU/SUPPLY STATION
    • The 1-9 command keys have been remapped to F1-F12.
    • Entries that have no effect are displayed in Red
    • The “DOCK WITH” order tells a person to dock with a player asset. When completed the person will disappear. This command will later be revised for
      better support so that if an NPC docks with, e.g. a vehicle, it can later exit when you do. Also, if you order your own CC team to dock with one of your own assets (e.g. SC), they will appear in the cargo manifest.

    • The “REPAIR” (NYI) command tells a person to repair either another person using a Medkit for LF or Toolkit for armor. Since NPC do not currently assist each other in this regard, you can order them to do it.
    • The “PROCEED TO…” command takes either a (1) WDU (Waypoint Designator Unit) which you can select from the list, if you have deployed any or (2) a supply station (the NPC will seek out the nearest supply station in the vicinity).
  • Completely revised the DJP menus. Are now cascade style menus; making selection navigation easier
  • The gun hotspot in the HUD now works like the turret one, so that you can toggle it ON/OFF. Previously since the gun was always on, there was no need to turn it off.
  • The altitude digits and orbit marker have been relocated so they do not visually intersect. The altitude digits have been shifted vertically to improve registration with the overlay.
  • The Egress Altitude Indicator (EAI) now blinks when the required egress altitude has been reached.
  • The WAYPOINT button in Tacops is now available in first person mode when playing the commander career
  • The ASSET and GEAR buttons are no longer displayed in campaign mode, since you can’t alter the user details required by the campaign.
  • The launch command menu for fighters, now shows the missile class which will be loaded into the selected profile prior to launch. For a list of missile class and loadouts, refer to the appendix.
• Revisions to content:
  • Revised the numbering scheme of the IA scenarios to go from IA0101 to IA0115 for those non-programmers who don’t understand that numbering starts at zero. Not one. And thus wondering what IA0100 to IA0114 is all about.
  • Revised the APR_GPR rocket (fired by some weapons e.g. the KLMP launcher) attributes and added a shockwave explosion for better effect and coverage
  • The intensity in the textures for artic (White) animals has been reduced in order to prevent shimmering.
  • The pilot’s texture has been revised so that it looks better when his hand
    (holding a pistol) is visible in the front view.

  • The ASSETS.INI had incorrect entries for a reactor and shield upgrade type
  • The class for the Medical Officer was missing, so sending her on away missions was not possible.
  • Added a second ROAM scenario to the CMDR career for training purposes.
  • Revised the CAMPAIGN scenario script and fixed a bug related to repeated EPs being awarded when player reaches LV-130 (the final destination system).
  • Changed the skybox type used in the Eluria (mp) starsystem
  • Revised some terrain textures to use higher detail variants
  • Replaced tree billboard textures with new ones created with Bionatics natFX
  • Revised ALL scenes with smaller and better organized variants. All bases now have an abundance of assets, buildings etc.
  • Cities (scenes also revised as above) now have defense systems. Also due to their new revision, fp combat in cities is now a ton of fun. HINT: Got a launcher? Take out the bunkers first!!!
  • Revised all IA scenarios to support new mzone/scene revisions
  • Added five new adrenaline pumping IA scenarios : IA0116 – IA0120.
  • Revised the Marauder and Intruder gunships by removing the problematic rear tail gate and the door separating the cargo area and gun compartment.
    This allows more players to pack into these gunships.

    Also tweaked some properties of all gunships e.g. they are now a tad faster, the Blackghost gunship now has a pair of mounted guns etc

  • Increased the volume on some soundfx files
• Revisions to gameplay:
  • All capital naval (sub, carrier, cruiser) units can now be used by any career if the EP is 500 or higher. Previously (see the manual addendum) for game balancing reasons, only some careers could use them, regardless of EP.
  • Revised the damage factor for some missiles (ATS/APM/APR)
  • Due to their vulnerability and need for precision strikes, gunships no longer use conventional ATA/ATS missiles. They now all (those with weapons) use the more powerful and accurate all purpose RALIX and RALAR missiles.
  • Implemented turret target prediction, mostly to prevent friendly fire within planetary scenes
  • Enabled gesture animations in single-player mode and taught NPC marines how to use/respond to them. This allows NPC personnel to (a) use them (b) react to them based on your use. e.g. if you salute and a bunch of NPC marines are around (and friendly to you), they will also salute. If you wave, they will wave back. If you tell them to hold position or follow you, they will comply. As long as they see you do the gesture. Refer to the keyboard commands sheet for a list of gestures. WARNING: Go saluting your troops in the middle of a hot zone and they’ll all get shot in the head (since they have to drop their weapons in order to return the gesture).
  • When starting the Elite Force Pilot career in ROAM mode, a wing of four fighter escorts is also launched. This is only for aggressive castes (Military, Insurgent etc) and not harmless ones (Trader, etc). Since these are escorts, they will respond to team order commands (see Team Orders Menu info for details).
  • Threat generation has been activated for the Elite Force Pilot career in ROAM mode.
  • The fighter loadouts in LOADOUTS.INI have been revised so that fighters going on planetary sorties, no longer have STS missiles. To see what missiles are loaded for an assignment
    (TACTICAL/LOADOUT), see the updated appendix LOADOUTS.HTML file.

  • In IA0111 and IA0112 scenarios, the fighters now have only ATA (loadout profile 7) missile loadouts
  • The VTT tags for personnel has been reduced to a min/max value of 1/250 m in space and 1/1000 m in space. This was done for gameplay reasons. What is the VTT? Refer to the UC_MANUAL_REVISIONS.PDF file.
  • The max range of the DIE radar is now 5km (same range as a craft’s PASSIVE radar mode when on a planet). This makes it easier and faster to scan for targets in the immediate vicinity. The average size of a scene is about 2.5km edge-to-edge (depending on furthest object in the scene) and an mzone is 204.8km, edge-to-edge. So, since the default radar scan range is 250km global (i.e. in crafts, DIE etc), in the heat of fp combat (when NPCs with weapons of mass destruction are hell bent on, well, sending you to hell), when you’re searching for a target, you don’t want to be cycling through targets that are up to 250km away when an important threat could be less than 1km from your location.
  • Revised some entity attributes so that they can be destroyed with lasers and fp weapons. Some folks didn’t understand why some units (e.g. bunkers) could not be destroyed with lasers or fp weapons – only with missiles. Some still remain laser and fp weapon resistant, but it should be easier to have a team of NPC marines flatten a base or city.
• Revisions to graphics engine:
  • You can now toggle OFF planetary clouds in Config
  • Several improvements to the rendering kernel e.g. lighting, detail texturing, optimizations etc
  • Implemented Pixel Shader or TnL toggles for clouds and oceans rendering on the planet. This is for cards that have a lower than 1.1 Pixel Shader version; or if the shader versions don’t look good on your video card. If you do want to use the non-shader version of the clouds and oceans rendering, then you can change this in the OPTIONS screen, save the settings, and quit/restart. See the CONFIG OPTIONS.PDF file for more details.
  • Revised blending of alpha bitmaps (e.g. on trees).
  • Implemented a new model caching scheme via the PRELOAD 3D MODELS option. WARNING: This increases game load times and takes up an additional memory –
    but its worth it, as you will soon find out. See the CONFIG OPTIONS.PDF file for more details. The previous /preload command line option has been removed.

  • Implemented a new character animation loader via a new 3DM file format. This is significantly faster. On high end machines, this in addition to the model caching (above) virtually eliminates the delay when new character models (and their animation models) enter a scene. e.g. in IA scenarios which take place on a planet, when a batch of NPC ships appear in space etc. NOTE: The patch will run a process which converts all 3D animation models to the new 3DM format. As such, do NOT interrupt the patch process until you get the prompt that the patch process has completed!!
  • Revised several explosion specialfx settings
  • Rockets fired from fp weapons (KLMP, LR12) used by the AFM, will now generate post-destruction fragments and sound. WARNING: These weapons, by their very nature, are absolutely dangerous – especially in the hands of low AI marines. Expect to get killed a lot unless you learn how to dodge these rockets.
• Miscellaneous Revisions:
  • Updated several appendix files, as well as the CONFIG OPTIONS.PDF and UC_MANUAL_REVISIONS.PDF files
  • In first person mode, the numeric mappings for step L/R keys have been changed from from END/PGDOWN to HOME/PGUP. This is so that stepping left and right works when using a weapon with a zoom scope. Previously you could not use END to step left with such a weapon because that key would effect zoom in instead. Using HOME/PGUP avoids this problem because the zoom out function provided by HOME has no effect when zoomed out (off) so the key can function as step left. Stepping left/right is disabled when zoomed in.
  • The numeric arrow keys are no longer effected by the state of NUMLOCK
  • ALT+J max toggle rate has been reduced to 0.25 seconds so that it does not switch rapidly
  • Implemented (UNSUPPORTED!) quick save (CTRL+Q). This will save the current game state and which allows it to be resumed via the Main Menu. ALT+Q no longer auto-saves the game on exit; so if you use this to quit the game and you don’t have a quick saved version of the game, you won’t be able to resume the game. If you are killed in a game or just wish to revert to a previous quick save point, simply use ALT+Q to quit the game, then resume via the Main Menu. In order to do a full game save, you must use ALT+G or the Command Menu; both of which will take you to the Roster save screen.
  • Changed the Designate Target from G to CTRL+P in craft and also now implemented in fp mode when the DIE is active. NOTE: CTRL+P no longer activates the PTA system (the menu must be used instead) and G is now undefined for crafts.
  • Updated EP.HTML, VEHICLES.HTML, TRADEITEMS.HTML, CASCRAFTS.HTML, ARTIFACTS.HTML, UCFAQ.HTML, CONFIG OPTIONS.PDF and UC_MANUAL_REVISIONS.PDF files
  • Added UC_TUTORIAL.PDF which takes player through various tutorials in order to be better introduced to the more advanced elements in the game. This does NOT replace the manual, which, in itself, is a MUST READ.
• General Bug Fixes:
  • FIXED: Naval units could sometimes not be moved if they were too close to land e.g. there is a naval base on Earth and even when you switch to the carrier (assuming you have the required EPs and rank), you couldn’t move it. Same thing applies to subs, LCACs etc. This bug actually crept in as a result of a recent seabed detection routine revision and nobody noticed it (since naval units aren’t that sexy to play with).
  • FIXED: The PL12 sniper rifle and FG45 combat rifle had incorrect export values. This resulted in them being incorrectly attached to a jetpack or backpack when holstered. They attach just fine to the characters back holster, as long as there
    is no jetpack or backpack.

  • FIXED: Grenades are no longer removed from list of inventory ammo when running an IA scenario. This also fixes an issue whereby NPC troops are created without grenades (for manual throwing) if they don’t have a weapon (ZS10 rifle or GLE22 launcher) that uses them.
  • FIXED: A crash related to escort NPC troops trying to copy the pose of a target that has not yet selected one.
  • FIXED: Escort troops remain in prone state and move at running speed when leader decides to up and run
  • FIXED: Excessively injured characters no longer instantly vanish instead of being correctly killed and thus causing the death animation to be played. If you ever see a marine killed and he instantly disappears with no death animation, that’s what this fix corrects.
  • FIXED: commlink personnel image sometimes not being displayed in FP front view e.g. in some IA scenarios the image of the speaker (e.g. NPC marines) is only displayed in other views
  • FIXED: Player gun no longer fires (left-click) after using the DJP menu to make a destination selection
  • FIXED: Turning some planetary terrain options off in CONFIG, had no effect
  • FIXED: Game was attempting to auto-save (when player killed) in INSTANT ACTION mode. This could cause a crash in some instances.
  • FIXED: The person would not re-arm or resume action after maintenance if the gesture time was decreased to exactly zero.
  • FIXED: The invert Y axis toggle in CONFIG did not work in first person mode or when in turrets. Now operates in the first person view and mouselook. It now also effects the turret pitch when controlling a turret in a vehicle (OC).
  • FIXED: Switching to some assets (e.g. AX25 SAM) would sometimes cause a crash due to incorrect missile loadouts defined in the DATA\ASSETS.INI
  • FIXED: The environment weather was not being overwritten via a script command if not running in debug or cheat mode. e.g. IA0115 should take place in stormy weather.
  • FIXED: Crash in some Frontend modules (e.g. Logistix, Tradcom) due to inventory not being initialized
  • FIXED: Crash resulting from items inventory not being initialized. This resulted in weapon modes containing incorrect clips counts for weapons with more than one mode e.g. ZS10
  • FIXED: The NAVCHART.INI file was missing some military base entries. This would result in a crash if you tried to start on EARTH08_MB01 using a marine career.
  • FIXED: A crash would occur if you tried to select an asset for the Space Force Marine career. At one time this career could not use assets, but in UC it has access to shuttles.
  • FIXED: When attempting to repair a reactor, the ship’s alert condition is set to Red. This in turn sends all personnel to on station and ready for evac. A crash would occur when station engineers were sent to on station, though you weren’t actually docked.
  • FIXED: In first person the view position would drift due to precision loss.
  • FIXED: A 90 degree orientation/direction snap in first person mode. This was caused by the previous fix.
  • FIXED: When NUMLOCK is on, keys in the control cluster (between the numeric pad and main keyboard) were innefective.
  • FIXED: The NUMLOCK key (which has the same scan code as the PAUSE key) no longer pauses the game.
  • FIXED: The GAME PAUSED message was sometimes not displayed (it was behind by a frame)
  • FIXED: The player image in Start New Game didn’t change when the sex of the Commander was changed
  • FIXED: The commander’s Wristlaser was not firing
  • FIXED: At resolutions higher than 1024×768, the menus would sometimes be incorrectly positioned at the left or right edges of the display.
  • FIXED: If you changed the default commander gear profile and then tried to exit the craft while in space, the game will no longer crash due to missing SFM profiles.
  • FIXED: The status of destroyed mining drones was not being updated in some cases. This causes the drone to not be located on the planet (since it is destroyed), but the CC still thinks it exists and thus continues to track its location, status, contents etc in the Tactical computer.
  • FIXED: when an object moves off the boundary of a support structure while over water, the object is no longer relocated onto the seabed. This used to happen in instances where you had landed on a naval carrier (e.g. IA0111 scenario).
  • FIXED: Repair levels should no longer exceed 100 units
  • FIXED: If you first exited the CC in space using ALT+E, then entered a planet, landed and tried to again exit, the operation would fail because the SFM profile (used by the AE when in space) was still active.
  • FIXED: Medkits were not being updated correctly when used
  • FIXED: If a prisoner died while in detention, his status was not being updated when player docks at a station/base and the prisoner removed.
  • FIXED: When you asset switched to some SAM units (e.g. AX25) the missiles would not lock on because the missile launch tables were out of synch or not defined in ITEMS.INI
  • FIXED: A rendering problem on gaseous (e.g. Jupiter) planets

MULTIPLAYER

• Developed an all new console based server. To use it, add /console to the “Start MP Server” shortcut. You should also use some form of logging when using this console server. e.g. /console /l3
• The multiplayer console server no longer does the vertex shader check, so you can now host a console server on a spare machine with a video card that does not have a shader engine.
• Significant improvements to packet sizes, rates, transmissions etc resulting in a marked improvement in multiplayer games.
• Enabled client side gestures (wave, salute etc). This no longer needs to be configured on the server.
• If you joined a server using the server browser, using ALT+Q to quit the game will now return you to Start New Game (SNG) screen. If you want to quit the game, just use the CANCEL button. If you joined a server using the +connect command line option, you will quit the game entirely. If you are killed in the game, you still spawn (as normal) instead of returning to the SNG screen.
• The multiplayer executable is no longer SafeDisc copy protected. This allows you to host a dedicated server by installing a copy of the game on another machine and not required the game CDROM in the drive.
• All server/client chat messages are now logged to the MPCHATCLIENT.LOG and MPCHATSERVER.LOG files. This requires the /logchat parameter to be added to the “Join MP Server” and “Start MP Server” shortcuts. All messages that you (local client) send, are preceded by a “>” character.
• Implemented a new chat log window display which can be activated by pressing ESC twice. This window is open by default.

  Messages are displayed in a first in, first out fashion (they scroll up) and contain info about the sender such as race/caste alliance, time sent etc.

  Up to 16K worth of messages are displayed in the chat log window. These are identical to what is recorded in the .LOG files, though those files can grow
  larger than the 16K that is displayed in the chat log window. The chat log window can be navigated when the chat message window is active, as follows :
  
UP/DOWN arrow: scroll up/down one message at a time
PGUP/PGDN : scroll up/down one page at a time
HOME/END : scroll to top/bottom of the list

  If the chat log window is closed, use of a navigation key will open it.

  If a chat log navigation key is used, the chat message window is not closed when ESC is pressed to leave the chat message window.

  Normally when chat messages arrive, the chat log scrolls to the end of the list so the message is visible. This is disabled while navigating the chat log.

  The chat log window has a header that indicates the number of messages in the log and the number of messages that have not been “read” (i.e. seen). The header has two carets similar to Perscan that indicate that there are additional messages before or after the section being viewed.

  The chat message log is color coded as follows :
  
On Client

  Yellow: outgoing messages
  White: messages from server
  Green: messages from friendlies
  Red: messages from hostiles
  Cyan: all other incoming message sources

  On Server

  Yellow: outgoing messages
White: incoming messages


  In order to send a message, press the ESC key as before, type the message and send it as normal (e.g. by pressing ENTER).

  To remove both the chat send and log windows, press the ESCAPE key twice.

  To see the clients on the server, use SHIFT+ESC to activate the clients list.

  Chat and mp related messages are no longer sent via the COMMLINK system. They all go through the chat log system.

  Because the PLV is only active for 4 seconds it has higher priority than the chat log window since they are both displayed at the same screen location.

• You can now use the UP/DOWN arrows to cycle through the multiple recipient list in the chat message box.
• Client date/time stamps are now synchronized from the server upon connect
• The GEAR/ASSET/CAREER buttons are now also available in the multiplayer SNG screen.
• You can now manually activate your SOS emitter in fp mode using CTRL+ALT+T. This will allow your allies to come to your aid. Of course, the enemy can also see this emitter if they have you targeted or if they are viewing the region from Tacops. Note that your TTD/VTT tag will go Grey when you have your emitter activated.
• The following OPTIONS are now ignored and set by the game in order to remove any advantage that one client may have over another.
  
PLANET TERRAIN GRASS ON
PLANET TERRAIN TREES ON
PLANET WILDLIFE FLOCKS OFF
EXPLOSION FRAGMENTS ON


• Created all new mp specific scenes. Like the newly revised single player versions, these are better laid out, contain a lot of assets etc. There are
  now a total of 34 mzones and 278 scenes containing 80 starbases, 111 military bases and 65 cities.

• Can now start at all base types (starbase, military, naval) which your starting race/caste alliance has access to.
• The following asset usage rules have been implemented
  • Marines (all except SFMs) can no longer have an asset selection option. If you want an asset, go find one when you deploy.
  • Planetary Support Pilots now have access to light and medium class fighters as a starting asset.
  • Elite Force Pilots now only have access to super and medium class fighters as a starting asset.
  • Space Force Marines now have access to heavy class fighters as a starting asset. Remember, if you enter a planet and attempt to exit the craft….well, try it.
• For performance and speed of update reasons, the graphical server no longer renders the planet terrain. So if you observed the planet from the server, you won’t see any features, just the clients that are there.
• FIXED: In some cases a dropped client object remained on the server indefinitely, though the client had physically disconnected.
• FIXED: Starting as Terran Insurgent at the Farpoint station located in the MP_TAPESTRAN region would cause the game to exit due to an incorrect INI file setting.
• FIXED: Dragging the server window or exiting it, would sometimes cause a crash.
• FIXED: Minimizing the console server or covering it with another window will no longer cause display corruption on some cards.
• FIXED: If you exited the CC in fp mode, it would crash the server, due to a missing texture asset (the commander can use one of two texture types for male or female)
• FIXED: When the player is in fp mode, the character is no longer 3 ft above the ground.
• FIXED: The client spawn time is now obtained correctly from the UCSETUPMP.INI file instead of using the default 30 secs value. NOTE: If you are on a LAN server, you can safely reduce this to as low as 5 secs. On a Net server, you don’t want to go lower than 10 secs (since 30 secs may be too long for some players).
• FIXED: The console (/console) server will now start more reliably if logging is not enabled in the shortcut. NOTE: you really SHOULD use server logging (at the very minimum use /l3) at all times.
• FIXED: The status messages at the top of the display (e.g. when you press ALT+Q) are now displayed correctly instead of flashing with a Black background
• FIXED: Due to the target prediction, when viewed from an external camera view, the speed of the target will fluctuate. This is just a display glitch.
• FIXED: The target info in the CVD was in a different format from the single player game. This is due to the fact that everything appears neutral to the server (since it does not have a race/caste alliance).
• FIXED: Entering a chat message which contains direction letters (e.g. WSAD) will no longer pass those characters through, causing client movement.
• FIXED: Some characters when typed in the chat box were not echoed because they are reserved meta-characters used in menu systems. e.g. you couldn’t type “Hi There” because the quotes will not be displayed. Also *G* could not be typed because of the asterisk character.
• FIXED: Due to a recent change in the first person mouse view controls, when playing in multiplayer and standing on the ground, your view position will slowly drift and making it seem as if you are actually moving – when in fact you are not.
• FIXED: Over time, clients position (predicted) will sometimes go out of synch. This results in anomalies such as missiles locking on incorrect target positions, radar tracking an incorrect target location etc
• FIXED: Clients jumping from one system to another, are not updated on client radar systems (only on the server). This causes “ghost” clients to be left behind at the previous region. The same thing happens when moving from space to planet and vice versa. The problem is that when the client jumps to another region, the clients still think it is in the previous region and thus cannot see it on radar in the new region.
• FIXED: Sometimes if the first client on a server either disconnects, quits (ALT+Q) or dies and respawns, when they reconnect to the server (from the server browser) without entirely quitting the game (to the Main Menu), their object will be “ghosted” on the server. This sometimes causes problems such as other clients thinking this client is either connected when not and vice versa – which in turn results in comms messages
  (to this client) from being received etc.

• FIXED: Sometimes a crash will occur if the first client on a server is destroyed and then respawns.
• FIXED: To the server, when clients join and start on the planet, they seem to be falling gradually to the ground (this does not appear on the client side).
• FIXED: When in a Frontend (e.g. Logistix) module, the time was accelerated by six times the normal rate.
• FIXED: Pressing ALT+S would sometimes crash the server
• FIXED: A separate packet containing data for scripted entities with name overrides (e.g. a station) is now sent. This for example, corrects the station info as displayed in the VDD/VID mode.
• FIXED: The hyperspace effect is now disabled on the console server. This should fix the problem related to the HJ timer not being updated on clients running on a console server.
• FIXED: If you took extensive damage and messages were queued up prior to your death, when you respawn, the queued messages (from the pre-death situation) are now flushed.
• FIXED: If a client disconnects and then reconnects (or respawns after death), the sound system is now re-initialized.
• FIXED: If a planetary building which can collapse into the ground when destroyed, was in fact destroyed, the server would CTD if logging was turned on.
• FIXED: When any client quits the server, it causes all the other clients to disappear from the server because the server was sending a disconnect packet to all clients and not just the one that was disconnected.
• FIXED: Turret beam graphics are now always rendered on clients
• FIXED: Clients joining a server are now properly separated in order to prevent launch collisions when clients launch around the same time from the same station.
• FIXED: A significant problem with packet queues in which the queue, though filled up, wasn’t being allowed to send more than a certain amount based on a limit imposed by the GameCom network driver. This manifests itself in a host of problems, all of which made mp on the planet near impossible (due to the massive amount of data that needs to be sent). This problem also resulted in positional updates being lost, choked etc. This was the cause of the massive delays when playing on the planet.
• FIXED: A major problem related to object creation on the planet. When a client entered the planet, a set of objects on the planet were created and tracked. The same set of objects were then also created by the server. This resulted in duplicate objects (e.g. as seen in Tacops) which in turn also led to the problem described above.
• FIXED: The fp weapon for remote clients wasn’t being sent; so you could sometimes not see someone holding a weapon in their hands, even if they were.
• FIXED: Sometimes when you establish planetfall the shield burnup effect is not cleared on some clients.
• FIXED: Chat messages are no longer aborted if the OUT queue is filling up.
• FIXED: Was unable to set waypoints in Tacops if playing any career other than Commander.