We've started work on a major update to BallisticNGs multiplayer! We're working towards multiple gamemodes being available for multiplayer, but before that we're making some smaller changes to the core multiplayer systems.

Remember to check out our roadmap for a look at what we're working on for 1.4.1.

Playing on development builds

• Right click BallisticNG in your steam library and go to Properties

• Go to the betas tab on the window that opens

• From the dropdown select development. If the update doesn't automatically queue for download, restart Steam

• Once you have opened the game, the version at the bottom right of the menu for this release will read 1.4.1-d6

Multiplayer

Improved Collisions

While we still recommended keeping collisions disabled, we've made some changes which improves them. Whether people can collider with each other (both have each others ships installed) is now also synced. If collisions are enabled and somebody is in the null ship, you'll no longer collide with that particular person and vice versa.

Combat Stat Sync

Ship combat stats are now synced at the start of every race. If you're using a ship that others don't have installed, your weapons will now deal the damage they're supposed to.

Rollback Netcode

Rockets, missiles, cannon and plasma hits are now synced using rollback on the server. This is actually customizable where the host can switch between three hit detection modes:

• Server Authoritative (default)

  • The server performs rollback to determine if it was possible for a client to have hit another client.

• Receiver Trusted (pre 1.4.1-d6 behaviour)

  • Clients will decide if another client hit them.

• Sender Trusted

  • Clients will decide if they hit another client.

Behind the scenes we've been refactoring the code for projectile weapons to cleanly implement rollback, and as a result of this there are some other general projectile changes. See the full changelog below for more details.

Full Changelog

Ships

• Fixed AI trails not being reset when teleporting

• Fixed airbrake animations with a steer response not working on AI

Multiplayer

• Dedicated server example CFG updated with NetHitDetectMode setting

• Added auto-synced network time for event tracking

• Added hit detection mode option:

  • Server Authoritative (default) : The server performs rollback to determine if a ship has been hit by a projectile

  • Receiver Trusted : The client being hit decides if it was hit by a projectile (pre 1.4.1-d6 behavior)

  • Sender Trusted : The client firing a projectile decides if it hit somebody else

• Ship combat stats are now synced between peers

• Peers now share whether they can collide with other peers (ships not installed)

• Improved quaternion compression (7 bytes to 4)

• Peer ship transforms are now synced with extrapolation and faster interpolation (more accurate player positions with prediction and less jitter)

• Peer ship tilt is now interpolated

• Ship teleportation events are now synced

• Airbrake animations are now synced

• Improved accuracy of predicted spawn transform for projectiles (uses predicted position without interpolation and now accounts for predicated rotation)

• Peer ships now have basic PhysX rigidbody physics running to improve collisions

• Fixed in-game host resetting ship collisions to off after the initial lobby settings load if it was enabled in the saved settings

Achievements

• Look Ma can now trigger if the hit ship has a shield deployed

• Fixed Look Ma triggering when a missile has a lockon

• Fixed being able to shoot your own mines to unlock the Minesweeper achievement

Pickups

• Player cannon hit sounds now play in multiplayer when using the Server Authoritative or Sender Trusted modes

• Mines now have the same explosion sound radius as projectiles

• Cannons now play their destroy animation and sound when colliding with mines

• Fixed multiple projectiles being able to trigger an explosion for the same mine if they collide with it in the same frame

  • Shooting rockets at a line of mines head on now allows you to destroy 3 of the 5 mines

Tracks - Outer Reaches

• Fixed random pitlane tile on Project 9 reverse

Debug Hub

• When in a multiplayer game, the network time and latency are now displayed. The latency is updated every 5 seconds alongside the network time sync