Changelog for 2013 releases

Large Shields:

• Regeneration rate 57 -> 50 charge per second.

Brawler:

• Cost 800 -> 760

Banshee:

• Turret tolerance 180 -> 90 degrees

This makes it worse at fly-overs and at shooting aircraft.

Stiletto:

• Cost 600 -> 550

Vandal:

• Damage 70 -> 80

Panther:

• Speed 3.9 -> 3.6
• Normal Damage 160 -> 180
• EMP Damage 800 -> 1600
• Reload Time 2.5s -> 3s
• Max Paralysis time 1s -> 2s

Fixed fixedwing and bomber unit type detection in gadgets for 95.0+. This was causing the "bombers fail to shoot" issue and probably some others but nobody noticed those.

Reduced debris damage 50 -> 20. This is mainly because debris damage was previously 0 and Blastwing became ridiculous.

Fixed Tick ejection from transports.

Amphibious units now automatically float when a transport is told to load them.

- Updated Bloom shader to use in-shader Gaussian distribution. This allows for
resolution-independence, and seems to perform better, at least on 2-year-old or
newer graphics cards.

- Removed Blur and Glow Amplifier settings, and Dilate pass setting from Bloom
shader. Added Maximum Highlight Brightness setting, which sets the maximum
brightness that will be added to the scene.

- Modified bloom thresholding to smoothly threshold. Pixels near the threshold
add nearly nothing, and it scales linearly to Maximum Brightness.

This update includes a slight nerf to the Vehicle factory and some fairly dramatic changes to Jumpbots. Behind the scenes we are working on compatibility with the latest development versions of the engine.

Experimental Freaker change:

• Cost 240 -> 160
• BP 7.5 -> 5
• Health 650 -> 550
• Speed 2.25 -> 2.1
• Armed with a Slowbeam which has about 1/2 the range and 1/4 the DPS of Moderator.

The Placeholder is now buildable from the Jumpbot Factory. It is a support unit designed to suck opposing units into a clump and prevent them from escaping. Once some units are stuck they can be destroyed by the many short range AoE or face-melting weapons at the Jump Factory's disposal.

Ravager:

• Speed 2.95 -> 2.9
• Projectile Speed 230 -> 215 (Thug is 200 for comparision).

Slasher:

• Cost 140 -> 150
• Damage 45 -> 40

Dominatrix:

• Post-capture reload 8s -> 12s

Gauss Turret and Scrubber projectiles can only damage each unit they pass through once. Other Gauss projectiles will gain this behaviour when we move to the new engine because it is difficult to implement in 91.0.

Air transports have gained the ability to eject their cargo mid flight.

Kodachi projectile is now ballistic instead of a missile. Kodachi and Firewalker projectiles have new effects.

Damage dealt by flying debris has changed. The amount of debris from a Blastwing explosion has been tweaked to compensate.

The stop command no longer cancels Newton firezones. There is a dedicated command for this purpose.

Polish unit descriptions have been added for many units.

Licho:

• AoE 256 -> 192
• Damage 2500 -> 2000

• Brawler cost 850 -> 800
• Multi-Stunner, +12.5% AoE, +25% spread, +100% duration, +8.5% damage
• Disintegrator Gun, ~10% more reload time
• Shock Rifle, 5% less range
• SLAM, +43% reload time, +35% damage

Spidercon income 0.15 -> 0.225 in order to conform to the income standard used by all other cons (bp x 0.03). Standarized all facs' income to 0.25.

• Fixed various units' hitvolumes.
• Fixed some compatibility issues with Spring 95.0.
• Fixed various issues with Ghost Site
• Fixed various 95.0 compatibility issues
• Fixed Flame Enhancer Module - doesn't stack for every other comm design in the battle that has one (counting multiple levels!!) and applies correctly for napalm artillery.
• Funnelweb cost 6000 -> 4500
• Fixed vanishing nanolasers when LuaShaders was disabled
• Fixed nanospray to aim at midpos instead of base pos

Funnelweb:

• Removed Gravity Lift Attack.
• Reduced shield power to that of ordinary shields for the sake of consistency.
• Removed cloak from large drone.
• Added Stealth to both drones.
• Health 16k -> 11k
• Reduced drone spawn times.

Game

• Revert several gameplay features implemented or modified after v1.1.8.2 in an attempt to fix desyncs.
• Stunned Starlights stop working.

Graphics

• Night view obscures fewer things.

GUI

• New menu icons.
• Fixed missing stats window in missions.
• Replaced "press Enter to search" in menus with a proper button.
• Improvements to blurry halo and factory panel.
• Fixed some key conflicts with inserting commands.
• Fixed missing awards.
• Fixed a crash with Russian localization.

• Reverted some model changes in an attempt to fix desyncs.
• Implemented some Russian language support.
• Moderator:
• Cost 280 -> 220
• Damage 220 -> 350
• Point marker events in chat are now clickable.
• Chat bubbles now off by default.
• Fixed the long-standing Licho jamming bug.

• Fixed missions being completely broken.
• Thanks to hmessadaa and mojjj for the report.
• Chili facpanel: Fixed bug when spectating and selecting the factory of a new player. Added sound trigger for giant eraser click (needs a cooler sound).
• Wreckages and other features are pushed out of factories as well; this fixes obstructions which prevent the factory from building.
• Thanks to sfireman for inspiring this change.
• Added a new "no Elo" modoption, for unranked games. Defaults to off.

It is easy to make releases when there is very little added since the most recent version. The changes are well understood and with the auto updater nobody is inconvenienced. It could be difficult to track the changes so here is a summary of the changes since v1.1.9.0.

Endgame Stats

We have a nice new endgame stats screen which fits with the rest of the UI. Currently it only displays the old stats but as soon as someone has the time it should be easy enough to slot new stats in.

Balance

Archer

• Impulse reduced to 75%
• Max Range 400 -> 300

Duck

• Reload Time 3 -> 4
• Damage 300 -> 400
• Projectile homes.

Racketeer

• Removed AoE
• Reduced missile turnrate

Pheonix:

• Significantly reduced turn radius

Shadow:

• Health 920 -> 1100
• Reduced turn radius

Stiletto:

• Disarm time 13s -> 16s

Vamp

• Speed 7.8 -> 7.6

Chainsaw

• Increased aiming speed to match the old Chainsaw model.

Silencer

• Cost 7k -> 8k

Anti air now prefers to shoot at Bombers, then Gunships, then Fighters.

=== Fixes===

• Fighters crash closer to their death location.
• Fixed Chainsaw, Gauss and Amphib Factory hitvolumes.
• Fixed crash in Space+Click in context menu for viewing death explosion.
• Transported units increase teleport speed correctly.
• Fixed graphical bug in Teleporter wire.
• Feature-Unit collision now does damage to the unit as if it were in a Unit-

Unit collision.

• Fixed Venom helptext.
• Tweaked Detriment animation.
• Update tooltip and helptext of Stiletto and Racketeer.
• Fixed Vulture script crash.

In this version we've accumulated more changes than would be expected for 3 weeks work. On the visuals front we have a new Chainsaw model by aiphee and many new wreckages by Kerr. The Improved Newtons widget by Wolas has been added with improvement and modification. There are some small tweaks to balance as well as more major mechanics changes.

Balance Tweaks

The raiders for the Tank and Amphibious factories are now slightly more powerful although Duck lost it's homing. Archer has much better accuracy and reliability. Phoenix and Shadow have been buffed as part of the ongoing bomber rebalance. Krow is 10% cheaper.

Commanders

The Shock Rifle, Disintegrator and Torpedo Launcher have been tweaked. SLAM Rocket has been reworked into a vertical launch weapon.

Scouting

Scouting should be more 'interesting' now that we've blocked or nerfed some of the most powerful ways to scout. Athena has an increase decloak radius, Fighters have reduced LOS and Newton launched units have spherical LOS. Vulture has more LOS in an attempt to promote 'conventional' scouting.

Disarm

Stiletto and Racketeer now deal their own kind of disable damage called Disarm. It acts exactly like EMP except that it does not prevent movement and units flash yellow instead of blue. If you're on the receiving end of a disarm attack you can choose to retreat or push onwards, this is better gameplay than a long EMP time Stiletto after which you can just sit back and watch your units die with chance to change the outcome.

Detriment

The old Detriment was detrimental for FFA play so it now moves slower and hits softer. In addition to this air transports slow down when transporting very heavy units. A Vindicator transporting a Detriment moves at about 25% speed.

Balance

Venom - Gains some damage so it is easier to use vs Fleas

• Deals 18 normal damage in addition to the EMP.

Panther

• Cost 320 -> 300,
• Turret turn rate increased.

Kodachi

• Weapon velocity 260 -> 320.
• Turret turn rate increased 60%.

Duck

• Cost 180 -> 150.
• Has the old inaccurate weapon.

Archer

• Cost 250 -> 200
• Speed 2.3 -> 2.5
• Removed stream arc
• Significantly improved accuracy
• Added AoE

Phoenix:

• Cost 400 -> 360

Shadow:

• Health 850 -> 920
• Speed 7.6 -> 7.8

Krow

• Cost 5k -> 4.5k

Avenger:

• LOS 690 -> 520

Vamp:

• LOS 790 -> 750

Vulture

• LOS 1200 -> 1400
• Sonar 1200 -> 1400
• Increased maneuverability

Athena

• Decloak distance 50 -> 125

Detriment Changes:

• Speed 1.626 -> 1.2
• Gauss damage reduced 20%

Transports move more slowly when transporting heavy loads. A Vindicator with a Detriment moves at about 25% speed. A Vidicator with a Bantha or a Funnelweb moves at 50% speed. Most other units cause the transports to move between 80% and 100% speed.

Gibs (flying debri from unit explosions) now deals damage. It was accidentally removed. This change most affects Blastwing.

Stiletto

• Cost 700 -> 600
• Disarm instead of paralysis (see below)

Racketeer

• Projectile homes
• Disarm instead of paralysis (see below)

Disarm Status Effect

Stiletto and Racketeer now use the disarm status effect. Disarm is the same as EMP except that it does not disable movement. This aims to make the units more interesting while making them able to be balanced. There is more player interaction when your opponent has the option to retreat the disabled units.

Disarm stacks with EMP. Any disarm damage dealt is treated as if it is on top of the EMP damage taken by a unit. A partially EMPed unit is easier to disarm and a partially disarmed unit can be disarmed with some EMP damage.

Slow damage now affects metal and energy incomes. It is now easy to implement this so I did so.

Spherical Line of Sight

Ground units which are launched into the sky have reduced LOS which approximates a sphere. This is to nerf newton scouting

Commanders

• Shock rifle range down by 10% (now 630)
• Commander Disintegrator reload time up by 12.5% (now 18 s)
• Torpedo Launcher reload time down to 1.2 s for 150 damage per second (+67% to DPS)

SLAM Rocket reworked to a vertical launch missile artillery weapon

• New name: "S.L.A.M."
• Very long flight time (8-9 seconds on flat terrain)
• Full damage on every unit in the 160-elmo area of effect
• 1120 damage per missile while reloading takes 21 seconds

Fixes

• Scythe no longer smokes while damaged and cloaked.
• Fixed rare overhead icon movement stutter.
• Partially built and partially EMPed units no longer look fully EMPed.
• Fixed terrain texture black stripes. Added update speed limit which should significantly improve fps while scouting large pieces of terraform.

Visuals

New model for Chainsaw by aiphee!

New Wreck models for:

• Bandit
• Black Dawn
• Bouy
• Clam
• Chainsaw (The New One)
• Crane
• Eraser
• Flea
• Gnat
• Hunter
• Leveler
• Licho
• Lotus
• Rocko (Replaces Generic Wreck)
• Scythe (Replaces Generic Wreck)
• Storage
• Starlight
• Surfboard
• Thug
• Ultimatum
• Valkyrie
• Vindicator
• Reef Wreck has been fixed

New animation for a firing Outlaw; the old wiggle has been removed.

Stiletto and Racketeer weapon effects are white to indicate that they disarm.

User Interface

Kamikaze damage statistics have been added to the contextual unit description windows.

Shield healthbar is now blue. Jump reload bar is now red (pinkish). This is to cut down on the number of teal bars.

The Improved Newtons widget has been added by default. It has an improved UI which works nicely with the command menu.

SLAM rocket nerf:

• 17% less damage (now 680)
• 12% less range (now 750)

General

• New unit, the I Win Button (requires modoption). Good for speedy resolution of !SpeedMetal games.
• New Gauss turret model, by Anarchid.
• Any cargo in a transport counts towards its Djinn teleport time.
• Blastwing description: Bomb Drone -> Flying Bomb.
• Fixed a crash in lag monitor that was preventing games from ending.
• Fixed a rare crash in the shield link gadget.
• Fixed Lups particles (jet flames, etc.) being duplicated when a unit is partially unbuilt then rebuilt.
• Thanks to versus666 for the report.
• Funnelweb requires unlocking to be built.

Commanders

SLAM Rocket redesign:

• Reload time increased to 20 from 12 (+67%)
• Damage reduced to 820 from 1200 (-32%)
• Launch angle increased to about 65 degrees (22.7 times more)
• Area of effect radius increased by 150%
• Area of effect strength coefficient increased by 50%
• Projectile speed reduced by about 50%

Site

• Games played on silly maps no longer affect Elo or Elo weight (they still give XP).

The main aim of this update is to fix planes (although this can't be done all at once). Bombers are a bit slower and the area attack bombers have been nerfed. Shadow is lighter all around and must now dive to attack if it wishes to have any chance to hit mobile units. Diving has the tradeoff of exposing the bomber to ground weaponry. Fighter battles should be more controllable with reduced fighter damage and the addition of an ability for Avenger.

Two new units have been added. Trident should even up the battlefield between planes and gunships while Funnelweb is a Jugglenaut replacement with more abilities.

Lastly shield penetration of Flamethrowers and Gauss has been removed. This is to normalise the power of shields and aid in their balance.

New Units

Trident - We finally have an AA gunship. This slow gunship missile spewing gunship should allow the gunship factory to stand up to planes.

Funnelweb - A replacement of the Jugglenaut with less cost and more abilities. In addition to the Jugglenaut abilities this unit has a fixed Gauss Gun, a shield with a large battery and spawns attack drones.

Air Balance

Shadow

• Cost 450 -> 300
• CruiseAlt 200 -> 220
• Health 1200 -> 800
• Speed 8.8 -> 7.6
• Damage 1200 -> 800
• Messed with projectile, now it is very easy to avoid if shot from high up.
• Reduced dive height.
• By default Shadow will dive attack against mobile ground units.

The intention is to reduce some 1000 range HP hardcounters, increase possibility
of attrition and add some interaction with mobile units. Accurate ground units
(eg riots or raiders) can act as a deterrent for Shadow strikes on mobiles.

Phoenix

• Cost 320 -> 400
• Health 660 -> 700
• Speed 10 -> 8
• Burn time reduced by 33%

Stiletto:

• Cost 600 -> 700
• Speed 10 -> 9

Vamp:

• Speed 9.5 -> 7,8
• Damage reduced by 19%

Avenger:

• Health 350 -> 400
• Missile Damage 220 -> 150
• Added 5x speed boost special ability

Gnat:

• Damage 400 -> 600
• Health 300 -> 350

AA Nerfs

We aim to reduce the hardcounter relationships between air and AA so here are some preemptive nerfs to AA which was particularly good against bombers.

Copperhead:

• DPS reduced 5%

Hacksaw:

• Cost 300 -> 380

Shield Penetration

Flamethrowers and Gauss Guns no longer penetrate shields. These hardcounters were just a crutch holding back shield balance which works for all factories.

Takeover Mode

Ivica in in the process of adding a gamemode in which players can capture additional units via point control. It is currently in development but is still playable in this stable. Full details are here: http://zero-k.info/Forum/Thread/5167

Interface

• Added more visibility settings for commands. These are found in Settings/Interface/Command Visibility.
• Unified F4 hotkey to show economy. F4 now shows overdrive grid, metal spots, geovents, and highlights reclaim.

Fixes

• Fixed metalconfigs for Brazillian_Battlefield_Remake_V2, Altored_Arctic
• Reduced the value of megamexes in Aberdeen6v6_Fix, now worth 2.2

After a three-month delay, huge cost overruns and the resignation of the Czech president, a new Zero-K stable is finally out! This one makes long-awaited balance changes to some particularly notorious units, and swats a good number of the most annoying bugs. Enjoy!

(The engine update will have to wait a little longer, we're still getting some bugs worked out)

Units

Outlaw:

• Damage 50 -> 20

Glaive:

• HP 190 -> 200

Bandit (through many engine changes) ended up with DPS which was 20% too high. This has been fixed.

Annihilator:

• Cost: 1800 -> 2200
• Range 1250 -> 1200
• Aimpoint to make it less able to hide behind terraform walls

Sumo:

• Now has disruptor beams each does 250 damage and 500 slow damage every 2 seconds (was 60 damage every 0.5 seconds)

Wolverine:

• HP 380 -> 450

Pillager:

• HP 700 -> 840
• Raw turnrate 329 -> 400

Dirtbag:

• Changed mound shape such that bots cannot pass them. This alleviates the factory based hardcounter and forces Shieldbots to use Dirtbag more intelligently, mindless spam could hurt yourself. Impassible area is about the size of a Windmill.
• Cost 20 -> 35
• Multiple Dirtbags no longer spread out when jumping on a single point
• Units bounce off mounds, it is now much harder to trap units by jumping on them. Quake (Seismic Missile) causes units to bounce around in the effected area as well.

Antinuke:

• Coverage 2000 -> 2500

Crane:

• Inherits land/fly state from factory

Fixes

• Fixed Leviathan tacnuke failing to fire
• Allied units obstructing a factory will automatically get out of the way
• Fixed a number of bugs with unit wreckages
• Fixed lag monitor returning units captured by the enemy if the original owner lags
• Fixed keybinds not working on first run
• Fixed various mistakes in Award gadget
• Carrier and commander drones are now captured along with their parent
• CAI checks if a mex spot is reachable before trying to cap it
• HLT fires from correct barrel
• Fix to Lups distortion effect
• Fix non-standard Spy self-destruct time

Miscellaneous

• New awards: Loot & Pillage and Traffic Cop
• Head Hunter award counts captures that last to the end of the game
• "Overwhelming numerical advantage" threshold (when weaker team's units are revealed) occurs at 25:1 unit value ratio, instead of 100:1.
• Hide comm processing debug messages
• Map Edge Extension only enabled by default on High and Ultra graphics
• Easy Facing only affects factories

After fighting through a swarm of bugs we are ready to release a version of Zero-K compatible with Spring 94.1. We've been hard (and slow) at work fixing compatibility issues and working around new engine bugs. There are many important fixes in this engine version so hopefully it has been worthwhile.

Non-ZKL users will need to update their engine but with the appearance of Weblobby and static builds for Linux this should be easy.

Engine

Pathfinding around terrain has been significantly improved. This is most noticeable for units with low slope tolerance and large turning circle. Units get themselves stuck on terrain much less often.

Plane related bugs have been fixed. There should no longer be an occasional plane which misses the airpad and has to be reclaimed. Bombers can be given orders after an attack ground order without messing up their queue.

Area of effect damage is now based on distance to hitsphere instead of distance to the center of a unit. This makes a lot more sense and fixes issues involving large units not take damage unless hit directly.

Apparently the whole game should run significantly faster.

Other Changes

Bertha, Tremor, Pillager, Disco Rave Party, Behemoth, Warlord and Catapult no longer avoid terrain when aiming. This is either because they are good at knocking down walls or because they are too inaccurate and high trajectory for terrain to matter.

Gauss weapons deal predictable damage based on the footprint of the unit they are targeting. Scrubber damage has been increased from 90 to 110 to counteract this.

Chicken Swarmers can form writhing masses which packed densely enough. Watch out, they can flow over small barriers.

== Fixes==

• Modified overall mex values for Evergreen_Haven-Redux-v02, MountDustmoreV3, Riverbedv2
• Reduced center supermexes for FolsomDamFinal, Deadlands, Motkottava_Nakkivahvero-v01
• Moved metal spot from on top of geo spot in AquariusCrossing
• Fixed missing metal spots in Atuminoa, Quoth v1
• Fixed some structure hitvolumes which were large enough for attackers to hide inside.
• Outlaw vibrates when firing.
• Fixed crash while placing Missile Silo caused by some graphics cards.
• Fixed some small, rare crashes or bugs (as always).

Major changes for this version are the ability to use priority for stockpile and morph, a Stiletto nerf and changes to the way keybinds are handled. There are also a lot of code changes a fixes.

The keybinds change has reset all keybinds. Players which modified keybinds through the ingame menu will need to rebind them. Players using uikeys.txt have a few options for keybind migration. More information is here https://code.google.com/p/zero-k/wiki/KeybindFile.

Engine

For now we are sticking with the old engine (91.0) because the update has many bugs which we cannot fix. Most of the bugs which we can fix have been fixed.

Most of the remaining bugs are graphical bugs or crash bugs which occur for some people and not others. We cannot test for these bugs. To prevent future releases like this we just need some players to occasionally try the BLEEDING EDGE host to make sure it still works. Players who experienced bugs in 93.2 should do this frequently for now such that we can actually get an engine release that works.

Morph & Stockpiling Priority

Now you can set priority to morph and weapon stockpiling just like regular construction priority.

Balance

Large Shields:

• 5% less regen rate (60 -> 57 in all 3 cases).

Stiletto

• Stun Time 15s -> 13s
• EMP Damage reduced by 10%

Outlaw:

• Can fire underwater

Clam:

• Health 1300 -> 850

Interface

• The new ZK keybinds system is now operational. See here for more information https://code.google.com/p/zero-k/wiki/KeybindFile
• More keybind-able buttons added to EpicMenu interface.
• EpicMenu also allows player to use the old ui_keys.txt instead of the new ZK_keys.lua. Go to Settings/Misc to set this option.
• F4 now will also highlight ally wrecks in addition to enemy wrecks.
• Build ETA text now has an outline for better visibility.
• More buttons for unit visibility widgets in Settings/Graphics/Unit Visibility and Settings/Interface/Selection. ie: XrayShader, Outline, Halo, TeamPlatter and Spotter widget.
• Shadow setting now uses a slider.
• Added a "Select Next Player" button to Settings/Interface/Spectating.

Graphic

Nuclear and Singularity explosions now create a bright lighting effect. This requires the engine settings MaxDynamicMapLight and MaxDynamicModelLight to be greater than 0.

Widget

• Various improvements in COFC operation, such as smoother unit tracking.
• Map Edge Extension widget can now draw a curvature effect for the region outside the playable map (VFX). The fog effect at the playable map edge can also now be toggled.
• Added Commander Info (Comm-n-Elo Startpos. Info) widget that shows ally commander selection.
• The KeyboardMenu now has buttons for building units.
• The ShowAllCommands widget will now always show commands for current selection when "Show only on shift" is enabled. Its settings are now in Settings/Interface/Command Visibility.

MetalSpot

• Added custom metal spots for PizzaTime_v02.
• Added custom metal spots for StormSiege_v3.
• Added custom metal spots for Grts_Messa_008.

BugFixes

• Fixed Space+Click on player list not working.
• Rapier wreck now use new model instead of old one.
• Fixed commander facing direction during gamestart.
• Fixed Weaver wreck/debris giving 12/6 more metal than it should have.
• Fixed CAI continuing to work when its team is killed.
• Fixed rare case of unit exiting factory and not going idle (NoStuckInFactory widget).
• Fixed chicken queen kill award. Now players can get the queen kill award.

Add experimental impulse jumpjet option to ModOption. Requires Spring93.1.1++ and therefore is not enabled by default.

Forget the new engine version, we're going in! New graphics, some long-awaited balance changes, and even a funky new GUI skin await in this February's stable.

Graphics

• New models for Crane, Rapier, Valkyrie and Vindicator by Exit_Wound
• New EMP missile trails
• New slowbeam, Halberd & Buoy impact FX
• Add flashing effect when a unit is resurrected
• Fixed Dominatrix beam position
• Fixed Detriment triple gun animation
• Fixed normals on amphibs and some jumpbots

Units

Annihilator:

• Cost 1500 -> 1800
• Reload time 8s -> 10s

DDM:

• Main cannon range 700 -> 650

Phoenix

• No longer deforms ground

Starlight

• Fixed divergence between continuous and pulse beams at long range

Firefly (companion drone):

• Health 160 -> 200

Newtons are less effective against gunships.

Valkyrie accelerates and ascends/descends much faster (general buff, nerfs transport launchers).

All aircraft can be ordered to manually land at airpads, not just bombers.

Anti-air missiles can be fired at much higher targets depending on the missile's flight time.

Sumo:

• Jump reload time 18s -> 15s

Disco Rave Party:

• Yellow shot damage 0 -> 800

Wreckages for Flea and Gnat. Now all non-suicidal units (not Claw, Tick, Roach, Blastwing, Puppy, Skuttle) should have wreckages.

Fixed some impulse values for weapons (in particular, this includes a buff for Leveler, commander Riot Cannon and Concussion Shell, Disco Rave Party and Zenith).

Commanders

Singleplayer (non-modular) comms can morph to higher levels.

Hellfire Grenade:

• Reload time 16s -> 12s

High Power Servos:

• Speed bonus 10% -> 15%

Interface

• Keybinds are now saved to LuaUI/Configs/zk_keys.lua, rather than being hidden in LuaUI/Configs
• Resorted many menu options to make the menu less cluttered. As a side effect, some options may be reset.
• New GUI skin: Twilight
• Any unit's description window can be accessed through Help -> Unit Descriptions
• Binding a key to a unit command also binds Shift+key, if it was not part of the original keyset
• Camera mode selection uses radio buttons
• Construction priority has a floating icon (when Shift is held)
• Added option for selection window background color
• Fixed cursor transparency under certain hardware settings
• Fixed clickable areas on chat
• Fixed negative healthbars
• Auto Reclaim/Heal/Assist is now under Units category in list

CAI

• CAI checks for enemies near mex spots before attempting to mex
• Constructors with jumpjets will use them to escape enemies

Chicken

• Speed mode is now a modoption
• New chicken defense, the Rafflesia static shield

Missions

• Persistent messages are stored in history; look better in non-default skins

Misc.

• Advanced (COFC) camera handles more smoothly and reliably; resets state with just Ctrl+Alt+middleclick (previously Shift was needed as well)
• Widget settings are backed up at each run

Lots of improvements were made over the month. UI optimizations, bugfixes, a few new features. But not all the changes are good, for there's something strange in the neighborhood...

New Halloween Ghost Possession gamemode (beta)

A galaxy is in danger, a new supernatural foe, ghosts possessing robots are stirring up trouble for it's rulers.
In this gamemode, you are required not only to conquer the galaxy, but make sure not to fall to ghost possession and become a sword that kills your own allies!

The rules are simple, damage (lower health to 1/3) or emp (any amount) to unpossess any unit or structure. There are 5 difficulty levels. Just pick up one and play with or against your friends with this supernatural foe that picks neither side!

General

• AFK players transfer metal along with units.
• New set of loading screens.

Commanders

• Peashooter benefits from modules.
• Fixed Bombard Commander build power.

Units

Tick:

• Cost 100 -> 120

Sumo - Weapon replaced:

• Scorpion style weapon.
• 120 dps each
• 320 range

Moderator

• Damage 178 -> 220
• Health 550 -> 680

Outlaw:

• Pulse 8% slower
• Reload time 0.9 -> 0.95

Jumping units retain velocity and trajectory on morph

Merl renamed to Impaler

GUI

• There has been a framework update which should dramatically increase performance. As a side effect some things look a bit different.
• Fixed a major performance leak.
• Set target command uses a circle instead of a rectangle by default.
• Added Newton defense range ring.
• Added persistent buildspacing widget. Buildspacing is now saved on a per-unit basis.
• Reverted A and F hotkey swap.

Fixes

• SetTarget commands are now lost within 10-15 seconds from mobile units which out of LOS/radar.
• Fixed tactical AI failing to jink on approach when set to hold position.
• Fixed Nuke Silo's lack of self-damage.
• Fixed units getting stuck in factories when queued orders are completed.
• Fixed some labhax cases.

A new commander has been added with model by CaptainBenz. The effect of the energy investment reimbursement system has been reduced.

Commanders

• New Bombard Commander
• Battle Commander damage bonuses halved; removed artillery options.
• Strike Commander range bonus replaced with speed bonus (same percentages).
• New Rail Accelerator weapon mod for Gauss Rifle.
• Integrated Radar Module cost 450 -> 300.

Overdrive Reimbursement

• Maximum repayment rate from 80% to 50%.
• Energy source repayment factor from 150% to 100%.

Bugfixes

• Fix for lagmonitor transfers.
• Probable fix for overdrive irregularities.
• Fix Singularity reactor hitbox which could cause labhax.

Interface

• Changed tooltips for Attack and Fight to make sense for their new default hotkeys; F for attack ground and A for fight. This is in line with all other RTS which use A for attack move.
• This change barely affects current players because hotkeys are only set to default upon a setting reset.