BallisticNG 1.3.1 is now available! This is part 1 of 3 for our 1.3 support cycle where we have focused on a track update, a new track and addressed feedback from the 1.3 release. The Unity Tools package for modding has been updated, you can view the changelog for that here: https://ballisticng-documentation.readthedocs.io/en/latest/unity_tools/whats_new.html

Harpstone Update

Harpstone has seen a major scenery rework and some revisions to its layout! As we try to avoid needing to reset leaderboards, we've been careful to make sure the tweaked layout is as compatible with existing leaderboard times as possible. The new scenery brings together many iterations of the track over the course of the game's development and brings everything up to modern BallisticNG standards. The layout update sets out to primarily fix the pitlane by straightening it out and making the entrances for both forward and reverse much more approachable. We've also straightened out the jumps landing slalom and removed the chicane coming into the final tunnel as we felt they didn't add anything to the layout and threw off what should otherwise be a straight forward racing line. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCr9IzEuC8o

Vespera Heights

Welcome to the new free track set in the Lance Systems Virtual Environment! This is an experimental track that has been made to test out ideas for the virtual themed expansion coming after 1.4, building on what was previously done for Nova Park. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFjb0uLWFMo

More Liveries

Community member NathanCubed has kindly submitted sponser themed liveries for the Barracuda Model B, Barracuda Model C and Aster vehicles! Here's a look at some of them:

Multiplayer Changes

Improved Connection Handshake

With 1.3 we had introduced an issue where the player data sent on server connect could exceed the maximum packet size we've set, which would result in people not being able to connect. This is because of changes to the game's livery system and how we now share that information in multiplayer. Player data is now sent in individual packets to stay under the maximum packet size. This change will also give us more headroom to add more player data in the future if we need it.

Bans

It's now possible to ban people from lobbies. This works for both IP and Steam lobbies and the ban lists are stored in plain text under User/Config for you to edit at any time. IP strings are stored for IP lobbies, Steam IDs are stored for Steam lobbies. The in-game kick menu has been updated to a manage menu, where you can both kick and ban players.

Shield Bar Lobby Setting

Lobby hosts can now disable the shield bar UI element to keep everybodies shield levels hidden from those who have shield bars turned on. This can be useful if you want to prevent people from targeting others they know have low shield energy.

Other Changes

Stunt Height Aid

Some people have noted that they find it hard to determine when the ship is grounded or not in Stunt, so we've created an additional visual aid to help with that. This is enabled by default and can be disabled with the Game -> General -> Stunt Height AId option.

Stunt Steer Roll Option

We've added an option in the controls menu to disable rolls being triggered by steer input so you can now get twitchy in the air without worrying about accidently rolling!

Campaign Unlocked Scorplet

The scorplet is now unlocked by beating the Aster League Forklift Certification campaign event with a gold or platinum medal. As this is no longer classified as a cheat ship, it will also be able to set leaderboard times!

Full Changelog

Tracks

• Added Vespera Heights. Available under the Extras category,
• Tweaked Harpstones layout and redesigned its scenery
• (Maceno Island) Fixed incorrect tile texture on Freyr Falls Reverse

Ships

• Added Sponsor liveries to the Aster LB221, Aster VB221, Aster KA10, Barracuda Model B and Barracuda Model C. (Thanks NathanCubed!)
• Fixed the barrel roll animation snapping back to zero if the ship leaves the ground while it's still playing.
• The Scorplet is now unlocked by earning forklift certification instead of through the nanomachines cheat
• The scorplet can now set leaderboards times

Multiplayer

• Added lobby option to turn off shield bars for all players
• Added support for banning. The kick menu has been renamed to manage, where both kicks and bans can be handled. Bans are stored in separate txt files for IP and Steam bans under the User/Config folder and will be created the first time you ban somebody under each network backend.
• Fixed connection issues caused by handshake packets exceeding maximum packet length,

Modding

• Fixed incorrect Mechanics layer in Barracuda Model B livery template

User Interface

• Fixed internal ships with custom frontend material overvides not being blacked out in the advanced/in-game turntable ship selector
• Renamed reset cheats in custom race to reset cheat modifiers
• Ship selection turntables now remember the previous highest livery index when navigating through ships with lower livery counts.
• Fixed the input cooldown bar being rendered under the combo fill in Stunt.

Options

• Added a height aid visual to Stunt. Enabled by default, can be disabled in the Game -> General menu.
• Added an option to disable steer roll inputs in Stunt. See the controls menu.

Engine

• Added support for applying the virtual sky material to meshes in virtual mode. This can be used in conjunction with render culling materials to make sure the virtual sky is rendered properly.

[ 2023-03-13 16:21:42 CET ] [ Original post ]