V3.7.4

It's finally here, the 3.7.4 update.

Lampshaded a while back, this fairly large update adds new mechs to the player roster, some item reworks, and some nice fixes.

First up, metals.

Warden

Light mech and light mech hunter.

"MILITAR burned out their best hackers on black ICE breaking into a salvaged Federation data core. Amongst the encrypted modules was blueprints for a highly advanced light metal - the WARDEN."

Sporting 5 hardpoints, more armor for its weight class but less shields. The Warden keeps its weapons close to the chest, able to use its armor-panel arms for extra protection.

Sapper

Medium mech specialist and second-line support.

"SAPPER mechs were drafted and produced right before the Federation treaty was ratified. Off-world concerns asked for a strong second-line METAL to support other medium formations. What they got from the factories was dubbed the SAPPER based on its hardpoint configuration and shield output."

8 hardpoints with half of them dedicated to module upgrades!

It has more shields than the Matok which gives it an uncanny ability to survive against focused fire. The module slots give the pilot a wide array of play style options even if the direct-fire weapons are some what limited.

Equipment Shakeup

A while back Missile Lock-on was reworked. Players were having trouble figuring the mechanics out, so lock-ons were made easier. Due to this, the Advanced Target Module lost one of its primary use-cases; and it really wasn't used much either. To that end, I replaced with the a new item, Advance Ballistic Reloader. The ABR decreases reload-time for medium and large projectile weapons by 20% and they can be stacked!

Ditto for the Heatsinks which replace the Large Sensor Array, heatsinks decrease the energy cost of medium/large energy weapons by 20%.

Newgame+

Finally got around to making Newgame+ a thing. Upon completing the last mission of the main/extended campaign your save file will be flagged as Newgame+. It sets your saved map back to the first mission of the game but leaves everything you've unlocked in place!

Now you can rage through the campaign again with ALL the toys in the sandbox!

Fixes

• AI mech weapons on destroyed components were still being shown.
• Repair  bay not updating HUD when destroyed weapons have been repaired.
• issue where AI would move backwards forever and get stuck.
• Weapon muzzle flash for players, they are now drawn where they should be on the mech.
• O2M1 - enemy destroyed counters for all difficulties.
• O1M4, O2M1 - pathfinding node graphs rebuilt.
•  issue with player shield regen and ctrl-key regen.

Balance

• Electro-static Repeater wind-up time increased, spread increased.
• Turbo charger now also buffs mech [i]forward[/i] speed.
• Quantum Rifle - minor increase to shard max random.
•  High-Strength Shield Emitters should be working as intended now.

Modding SDK work

Proud to say I did a major clean-up of the code base to make modding easier.

Mech, Vehicle, and Item data files are now easier to read and edit, cutting down on redundant function calls.

I also implemented a Mod-flags system for player mechs; this allows modders to quickly stand up mechs that act like they're from certain other mech games. 

Looking forward to producing more how-to articles and fan modding efforts!

Happy Holidays!

Last word, I'd like to wish everyone a happy holidays! I hope you all enjoy the results of another 3 months of hard work. 2021 was quite a year for battleMETAL and I think it really shines now.

stay frosty, DEAD_HANDS.