5.2.1 - patch notes

[jammi]

Discovery 5.2.1

- Feature: Ability to cause explosive weapons to instakill missiles regardless of damage dealt (used for flaks)
- Feature: Updated explosion damage logic: explosions check range from the target hitbox boundary instead of ship's center. Explosion ranges adjusted across the board to account for this effect.
- Feature: Armor and Armor Penetration mechanics added: Ships can now have inherent damage reduction (Armor), Weapons can now have inherent Armor Penetration that allows them to bypass part or entirety of ship's Armor. Gunboats, Transports and heavier ships use Armor, and their Hull values were removed to keep their effective health at the same level as before. This shouldn't affect cap on cap combat a lot, but allows low efficiency fighter/bomber guns to be effective against capital ships.
- Feature: Ship Dealers can now sell more than 3 ships per base.

- Added: Battlecruiser siege cannons.
- Added: Several Nomad Capital Weapons.
- Added: Galileo Platinum mining zone replaced with multi-component asteroids (NuMining).
- Added: Pennsylvania Helium mining zone replaced with Deuterium mining using multi-component asteroids (NuMining).
- Added: Starfliers active probing scanner (ammoless anomaly scanner), faction perk equipment.
- Added: Archon-class Modular Miner
- Added: PoBs can now build the Barge and the Bustard.
- Added: Support for 3+ ships sold per station:

• Dramatically expanded range of civilian transports sold on Baltimore.
  
• Full Rogue fighter line now sold on each Rogue base. Additional ships where appropriate.
  
• Full Liberty cap line + Bison now sold on Norfolk Shipyard.
  
• Full BHG line sold on Deshima + Sheffield, fighter line sold on other BHG bases.
  
• All Junker snubs + freighters sold on all Junker bases. Invergordon Salvage Yard + Drydock merged. Invergordon transport selection expanded.
  
• All Pennsylvania stations reviewed.
  
• All New York stations reviewed.
  
• House battleships sell entire snub shipline of their respective house.
  
• And many more!

- Changed: Player ship wireframe moved fully outside of weapon selection box.
- Changed: Player ship wireframe is now possible to click-through.
- Changed: Cambridge patrol paths expanded.
- Changed: Cloaked player ships can now decloak each other.
- Changed: Coronado - Pecos and Jericho infocards updated.
- Changed: Limoux and Lodeve station designs.
- Changed: Cruiser Mauler effect updated.
- Changed: HOWLER impact size updated.
- Changed: Hornet CD refire rate 1.00 -> 1.5 YELLOWJACKET CD refire rate 1.00 -> 2.00
- Changed: Kunashir Cloud infocard updated.
- Changed: Light Mortar/Trebuchet beam trail effect updated.
- Changed: Nightmare Torpedo smoke effect updated.
- Changed: Nomad encounter moved to Omicron Iota.
- Changed: Nomad encounter station takes +40% explosion damage.
- Changed: Novablast blueprint dropchance slightly buffed.
- Changed: Omega-7 nav map scale slightly adjusted.
- Changed: Omega-7 patrol paths updated.
- Changed: Uncharted 4 mining zone is a bit easier to find and no longer drops Alien Organisms.
- Changed: Order ID descriptive text updated.
- Changed: Padua and Attica Stations merged. Infocards, econ data and base model updated.
- Changed: Profitability of Passenger Cabins and Criminal Blocks significantly boosted to full HRC status.
- Changed: SURIEL moved back to class 2, stats adjusted.
- Changed: Scalpay Outpost now fighter only.
- Changed: Skyblast A buffed to 900ms.
- Changed: Slightly reduced Sigma-15's sun corona sizes.
- Changed: Narita Outpost adjusted with more cargo storage, some under construction. Vanilla position and habitable space restored. (Infocard states many companies have offices there)
- Changed: Thunder Bay to be different to Rochester. Added docks to match infocard.
- Changed: Texas gate to lane distance to not have long ships immediately touch the lane.
- Changed: Titan Encounter NPC AI slightly nerfed.
- Changed: Torshavn Space Port has a new model and infocard.
- Changed: Turrets removed from Gallic jump gates
- Changed: Unlawful capital ship loot updated to standardise pilot drops; gunboats 5, cruisers 25, battlecruisers 45, battleships 55 - 65.
- Changed: Ship components doubled construction time.
- Changed: Battleship Heavy Turret base velocity increased by 50; range and efficiency recalculated.
- Changed: Adjusted Fighter / Bomber gun power usage formula: higher velocity guns are slightly more efficient. Higher velocity, higher alpha strike weapons like ASMDs are particularly big beneficiaries. Overall efficiency has increased.
- Changed: Fighter / Bomber Pulse weapons now do half as much energy damage, but do as much shield damage as before. Fighter pulse weapons are now much more efficient, especially higher velocity ones.
- Changed: Light, Heavy and Very Heavy Fighter shield rebuild draw increased: LF: 425 -> 510; HF: 245 -> 305; VHF: 295 -> 380. Light Fighter shield powercore recharge increased by 85, offsetting the increased draw.
- Changed: Light (Class 3) Bomber gun mass increased from 5 to 15. Heavy (Class 4) Bomber gun mass increased from 15 to 20.
- Changed: Bomber mass reduced/standardized: Class 4 shield ("Light") Bombers are now 350 mass; class 5 shield ("Heavy") Bombers are now 400 mass.
- Changed: Bomber shields: recharge reduced by 20%. Rebuild power draw significantly reduced. Bomber shield boost duration per battery increased by 50%.
- Changed: Bomber powercore recharge reduced by 50.
- Changed: Reworked Freighter shields. They now have much smaller capacities, much shorter rebuild times, and longer shield boosts. Freighter powercore recharge increased by 300 across the board.
- Changed: Reworked 'light' Fighter missiles (Javelin, Longbow, etc.): no longer burstfire. Now have a top speed of 275, but accelerate very quickly and reliably to this velocity. Detonation distance reduced; turn rate increased significantly. Damage increased.
- Changed: Reworked Cruiser Primary Turrets. Velocity increased dramatically (up to 3,000 m/s for Solaris Cruiser Turrets). All Cruiser Primary Turrets now have varying degrees of dispersion to keep them in check at longer ranges. Damage is much lower, and efficiency is - predictably - dramatically lower. Cruiser Primary Turrets do significant energy damage, but unexceptional shield damage. Pulse weapons are unchanged.
- Changed: Reworked Battlecruiser Primary Turrets. Velocity increased dramatically (up to 2,600 m/s). Refire rate reduced and standardized at 3.03, with the sole exception of Melters. Minor dispersion added. Damage and efficiency reduced very significantly. Like Cruiser Primary Turrets, these turrets do increased energy damage but the usual amount of (0.5x hull damage) shield damage.
- Changed: Cruiser and Battlecruiser Flaks energy damage reduced by 50% (shield damage unchanged!). Power usage increased. Cruiser flaks are now slightly burstfire, firing two shots prior to a short reload.
- Changed: All forward guns on cruisers and above have been reworked. Cruiser forward guns now do hybrid damage with a burst fire mechanic. Battleship forward guns now do burst fire but are a general flavour and range profile of their non-forward gun counterparts.

• Gallic BS FWG: Burst fire version of Heavy Mortar
  
• Hessian BS FWG: Burst fire version of Mortar
  
• Nomad Artillery: Burst fire version of Razors

- Changed: Cruiser (thrust) top speed reduced from 220 to 210. Average speed reduced from 176 to 160.
- Changed: Battlecruiser (thrust) top speed reduced from 170 to 160. Average speed reduced from 156 to 140.
- Changed: BLUE BLAZE and GARNET (1.5 codes) are now CLASS 1 guns
- Changed: YELLOWJACKET got an acceleration buff and range increase. Hornet CD received a range buff.
- Changed: All Snub NPCs now have powercore instead of infinite power.
- Changed: BERSERKER, FRENZY, and ROSEGUARD shields now have a different effect for their shield hardens and discharges.
- Changed: All positron shields now harden in a different colour .
- Changed: Dunlin Camera and bank angle
- Changed: All LF, HF, and VHF heavy fighter slots are now no longer centered.
- Changed: Various commodity sourcing adjustments:

• Criminal Block (Rheinland) now sources from Elbe Border Station.
  
• Criminal Block (Bretonia) no longer sources from Sprauge (only Providence).
  
• Industrial Materials now additionally source from Junyo, Planet Holstein, Planet Marne (Amiens now reseller)
  
• Robotics now additionally source from Planet Amiens.
  
• Hydrocarbon, Optical Chip and Polymer resell points expanded across source regions.
  Various price adjustments:
  
• Hydrocarbons base price decreased from 5 > 2
  
• Polymer base price increased from 5 > 6
  
• Optical Chips base price increased from 5 > 10
  
• Consumer Goods base price increased from 12 > 15

- Changed: Barge and Bustard now produced on POBs. NPC sellpoints for Bustard removed.
- Changed: Earhart / Uncharted materials, other than Chirodebris, now use 2 cargo space on Freighters. They still use 10 cargo space on all other classes.

- Fixed: Added missing Refugee import points on Bretonian planets.
- Fixed: Akita Border Station can now accommodate ships of all sizes.
- Fixed: Bristol added as a corporate Competitor to Kishiro and Samura IDs.
- Fixed: Civilian Outpost model draw distance increased from 20k to 80k.
- Fixed: Correct engine added to Elbe purchase package.
- Fixed: Defunct Heavy Cloak Batteries no longer sold anywhere.
- Fixed: Expanded exclusion zone sizes in Frankfurt and Thuringia minefields to prevent desync instakills when jumping in.
- Fixed: Fuse error that prevented Kusari Destroyer and Kusari Prototype Destroyer from dying.
- Fixed: Missing texture for Nomad station explosion.
- Fixed: Object IFFs around Jericho, Coronado restored back to CR.
- Fixed: Omega-11 radiation corrected to new system.
- Fixed: Planet Amiens docking ring now longer crooked. AGAIN.
- Fixed: Removed Alaska Security IFF from modules of the Norfolk fuel moor.
- Fixed: Removed typo in Burgundy jump connection name
- Fixed: Restored large number of cut lawful patrol paths in New York.
- Fixed: Typos in Geb infocard.
- Fixed: error causing Cruiser Shillelagh's commodity trader NPC not to appear
- Fixed: Languedoc: several visual glitches and stations with hardpoint issues
- Fixed: removed rep requirements from all zoner IDs
- Fixed: NPCs spawning inside Erie, I-d-F planets
- Fixed: Lane names in Gallia
- Fixed: Bulwark cargo tractor bug


CREDITS
Developers:
@Aingar - Coding: 3 ship limit, explosion logic, Armor (Penetration),
@Alex. - Keeping It All Running
@Antonio - Systems
@Barrier - Systems
@Enko - Economy
@Haste - Art: NuMining Rocks, Balance, Economy
@HonourWolf - Balance
@Kauket - Art
@jammi - Art, Economy, Infocards, Systems, NPCs
@Skorak - Art: NuMining Rocks, Station parts, Systems
@Sombs - Systems
@Titan* - Art: Weapons, NPCs

Community:
@Fab - Art: Archon Modular Miner
@Laz - Coding: Interface plugin, used for more than 3 ships per station currently
@Emperor Tekagi - identifying Kusari Cruiser bug
@Tenshi Kuonji - identifying Kusari Cruiser bug

(There's likely more to be edited in)

[Chronicron]

no battleship changes?

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[Major.]

Omega-11 still old mining - sad and angry hessian noises
Edit: Can we get a new pic of the new mining vessel @Fab

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[Fab]

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ARES / Faction Information / Feedback

[Antonio]

Note to people: Capital ships and transports losing hull is compensated by the fact that they have % hull damage reduction, similar to old armor upgrades, meaning nothing changed in cap vs cap combat. You can check the exact % changed in the ship's infocard, most ships got 50% damage resistance and -50% base hull. This change was done in order to balance snubs' damage output vs caps, which was far too low previous patch.

Edit: This also means certain ships lost the same % of nanobots, because of the way armor upgrades work. Nothing changed overall.

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SNAC Montage Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Thruster SNAC

[Trakais]

what sector in Galileo is now platinum mining?

[Haste]

no battleship changes?

There are, all the heavies were sped up and efficiencies, if I recall correctly, are up on them as well. I just forgot to put this into the patch notes

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[NOVA-5]

Problem with the new unchartered mining & getting out of...
ERR This jumphole is unstable, can't take more than 650 cargo through!

[Nodoka Hanamura]

So now, as someone who's been working towards a bustard, I have to ask - who in the [Expletive] do I go to for one, and how much do I have to pay now?

[NOVA-5]

Also is the system of requesting a Bargify now defunct?