Hi everyone. Another dev post! We are revealing some of the other new features for ALPHA 18. Since the focus of the update is combat improvements, we have been working on ways to either expand combat capabilities, or improve the combat experience.
First off, in the "improve combat experience" section, we have added the "Lock On Target Window". This is a small, resizeable window that can be toggled on and off (and is completely optional) that will give you a view of whoever you have selected. This should allow you to have a better idea of the condition of your target, and help with aiming as the window can be clicked on, which brings us to the second new feature: tile lock-on targeting.
(Explorer Union intelligence provided an image enhancement from a recent covert scouting mission) You can now right click and select a specific tile to target. Once done, you now focus on flying and navigating, while the aiming computers do the rest. It is still possible to manually fire weapons if you wish, so the freedom and flexibility for even more clever trick shots remains.
The next new feature is based off community response. You have asked for it, and now the time for it has arrived. Control groups. You now have up to 10 control groups to assign weapons to, for selective firing. It is also possible to fire all groups if desired. Sadly, moving individual items to the action bar is now lost, but our data suggested hardly anyone utilized it, and items are still usable from inventory as they previously were.
Last but not least, the new weapon type: Pulse Cannons. These weapons require a charge up phase, and expend massive amounts of energy at a specific location. They prove to be inaccurate against fast and nimble targets, though that can be compensated for with masterful targeting. They have an "aiming phase" where the weapon can be aimed, an "armed phase" where the target position is locked and charge up begins, and a "firing phase" where the weapon discharges. These series of weapons also feature a new form of splash damage, linear splash damage (as opposed to radial splash already seen in reactor explosions or torpedo hits), where damage will now propagate in the direction of aiming. We have also decided against putting drones into the game. We did some initial testing, and felt it was not right for the game, in the scope we were aiming for. We feel that with the target window and tile lock-on we accomplish similar outcomes. We will also be looking at making certain mining lasers be able to automatically pick up ore, rock and crystals. We have a few more things we want to work on adding, as well as making the AI somewhat compatible with the new weapon types, so it will be a few more weeks at a minimum. But we may put the first Pre-Release test build out as soon as next week for players to try out the new weapons, help us test for bugs, and give initial feedback. Have a good weekend!