Hey everyone, we are happy to announce the launch of a new branch for the game! This new branch will give you access to new updates every fortnight, this has been setup as we want to bridge the gap between each major release for those who don't mind a bit of instability. However, if you donate on Patreon you can get access to the developer branch, which updates nearly every day.
How do I get on it?
To get onto the beta branch, right click BallisticNG in your steam library and go to properties, then go to the betas tab and select beta from the dropdown then click close. The game should start updating immediately, if it doesn't then restarting Steam will work.
If you join the beta branch, we highly encourage you to report any bugs you run into as it will help making the major releases much more stable. You can do so on our Discord server linked below, or on the bugs discussion board - http://steamcommunity.com/app/473770/discussions/1/
Where can I find changelogs?
Changelogs are available on the game's discord server - https://discord.gg/0136l5AIRn7eiT70A
There is a channel dedicated to them, each developer branch update's changelog is posted there, beta branch updates will be marked when posted!
What's new?
There have already been a handful of updates since 0.8.2, so here's the rundown:
Updated the game to Unity 2017.1, now running .net 4.6
Added three new drag tracks
Work in progress versions of 4 2280 exclusive tracks added
Added tonemapping post processing effect
Numerous 2280 physics and camera tweaks
2280 now handles the engine sounds differently
Hypethruster has been buffed
0.8.2 is now out!
The second patch for 0.8 is now out! This focuses mostly on modding tools and preperations to start work on 0.9.
Changelog
Added new ship trigger system and animation scripts for Ballistic Unity Tools (reimport Unity package for update!) - this is a preliminary update and more will come in the future
Removed Atlantica, XL Prototype and the vault tracks (these are legacy tracks not using the updated track system - atlantica and XL prototype are not planned to be remade)
Added introduction voice to Luna
You can now load custom .wav files for ship engines in the ship importer (soundpacks need to be disabled or have no engine sound for this to work) - check the game's modding folder for the default engine sounds
Fixed Barracuda reference mesh in ship importer
Mines now rotate
[Backend] Added weapon manager - will be fully utilized later for optimizing weapon updates and pooling
Documentation for the new Unity Tools features can be found here:
http://ballisticng.wikia.com/wiki/Trigger_System
http://ballisticng.wikia.com/wiki/Animation_System
0.8.1 is now out!
0.8.1 has just been released, containing some small updates and a complete overaul to Omega Habour's scenery!
Changelog
* Rain is now routed through the audio mixer
* Added invisible floor to Dovers jump
* Updated demo mode UI
* Demo mode can now pick custom tracks and ships, and will now cycle through tracks every minute
* Finished camera's side view is now an orbit camera
* Removed black background from session complete menus before the results screen
* Omega Harbour scenery update
* Updated mines mesh
* Fixed common null reference with tutorial hints system - potential fix for black screens
The updated Omega Harbour
0.8 is out!
BallisticNG 0.8 is now out!
Note: Check your input bindings before playing, a new binding was added for the new leaderboards and the input library the game is using seemed to have messed up some peoples bindings.
No more tutorial
The required tutorial is now removed from the campaign. The events are still there for now, but there aren't any popups. Replacing this is a pilot assist feature and hint system. The pilot assist is disabled by default and the hint system is enabled by default. Both can be toggled from the pause menu.
New Gamemodes
0.8 comes with two new gamemodes as part of the game's new gamemode system. A lot of the game's code has been rewritten and moved around which has also led to optimizations. This part of the update is one of our Patreon goals.
Knockout Knockout is like standard racing except the ship in last place will be eliminated once every other ship has passed the start line. This gamemode is particularly challenging on higher AI difficulties as you will need to be on the top of your game to stay out of last place.
Target Target is a time-trial derivative where you can shave off time from the clock by piloting as perfectly as possible. Boosting decreases the time at which time ticks and scraping or entering the pitlane increases it. When you finish a lap, how much time you have been shaved will be displayed.
New AI
The AI has had a large update that allows them to play more like human players. You will now see AI ships airbraking around corners and following different racing lines. The difficulties have also been rebalanced. If you are making a custom track then reimport the unity tools for the new racing line system!
Audio Updates
A lot of the game's sounds have been updated and the game now utilizes Unity's audio mixer. The usage of the audio mixer has now solved all mixing problems (some sounds not being affected by the volume sliders) and some new audio features have been added too.
Music Ducking The ingame music will now be ducked slightly if ingame sounds become too loud or if a system voice is playing.
Sonic Boom Reaching Mach 1 will now play a sonic boom and all audio will be heavily muffled. You can turn this off in the audio options.
Weapon Updates
Weapons have had numerous updates, including the introduction of a new one - the hunter. The hunter seeks first place to slow down and damage them. There have been fixes for existing weapons such as the autopilot shield now working again and all of the weapons have updated effects.
Track Updates
Harpstone, Zephyr Ridge, Aciknovae and Utah Project have had some visual updates. Luna is now complete(ish) and the first of 4 new survival exclusive tracks has been added.
2280 Update
2280 has had a huge update. The steering and airbrakes now run on their own physics instead of using the normal physics and there has been a plethora of various other tweaks and changes. The external chase camera has also been rewritten and feels much more fluid.
New Leaderboards
The game now has a new leaderboard system! The menu leaderboard now has a much better interface and the ingame leaderboard is now a panel that slides out from the side to show you the leaderboard for the current event that you're playing. The default binding for this is Tab on the keyboard and L3 for controllers.
XP System
A new XP system has been added to the game, while it doesn't do much at the moment it will be used in future updates for unlocking new content. You can see how much XP you have and your rank in the profile menu.
Multiplayer
Multiplayer has been removed from the game as the new gamemode system has broken it and our main focus is the singleplayer experience for the time being. However, the previous version of the game with multiplayer is still available if you switch to the multiplayer branch.
Other Changes
Updated the missile reticle
Explosions and other events such as firing weapons now cause the screen to shake
Survival now works in three stages where stage one progresses every 5 seconds and stage three progresses every 10
You can now playtest survival in the track creator
Fixed open file reference in track creator - you can now save a new track and use the save button without having to reopen the track
Fixed illumination map bug for cockpit in ship importer
Added Vonsnake - Bullet Time and Vonsnake - Ballistic64 to the soundtrack
Xpand - Hydronium and Xpand - Raging replaced with Xpand - Variance and Xpand - JetStream
Barracuda cockpits have been updated
The survival ship now has its own cockpit
You can now select custom ships for survival
Added new ship elimination physics
Added a command console, press Ctrl + Backspace to open/close it. Type help to print out the available commands.
And loads of other fixes.
We hope you enjoy the new update!
0.8 Progress Update - Coming July!
0.8 will be adding two new gamemodes to the game, with more to come in future updates. So without further ado:
New Gamemodes
Knockout Knockout is like standard racing except the ship in last place will be eliminated once every other ship has passed the start line. This gamemode is particularly challenging on higher AI difficulties as you will need to be on the top of your game to stay out of last place.
Target Target is a time-trial derivative where you can shave off time from the clock by piloting as perfectly as possible. Boosting decreases the time at which time ticks and scraping or entering the pitlane increases it. When you finish a lap, how much time you have been shaved will be displayed.
Coming Gamemodes
Eliminator Many have asked for it and in a future update you will get it! In eliminator the goal is to inflict as much damage to other ships as possible. Everybody respawns and weapons deal a lot more damage. Once a target score has been met, the event will end.
Last Man Standing Last Man Standing is an eliminator derivative, instead of trying to get to the target score first you instead have to eliminate everybody else and be the last ship on the track.
Detonator Detonator is a Survival derivative where you must shoot explosives on the track, crashing into explosives will quickly deplete your shield energy. Each lap more explosives are added to the track and you will increase in speed. The objective is to obtain the highest score before you die.
Blockade Blockage is another Survival derivative where you must avoid an increasing number of obstacles on the track. To aid in avoiding obstacles, sideshifting will be enabled regardless of physics mode in this mode.
It is worth mentioning that all non-time trial derivative gamemodes will be getting full splitscreen support!
Other Features
Brand new campaign target HUD The campaign now has a new target HUD which shows you all of award targets and which you are currently at. Here's a gif of the Time Trial award UI in action:
HUD notification system All notifications that you recieve during a race are now sent to a single location, they stack up in a list to the side and swipe off after a few seconds.
New leaderboard interfaces The leaderboard interfaces have been revamped. Ingame you can open/close the leaderboard anytime and it will show you the leaderboards for the current event.
Other Changes
2280 Improvements - Massive improvements to 2280 mode which make the ships feel much nicer to pilot. Track chase camera has also been rewritten and now feels much more fluid for both normal and 2280 physics.
Elimination Physics - When eliminated your ship will now continue flying for a bit after setting fire and will then eventually fall to the floor.
Huge Optimizations - To get the game running well with 16 racers (that's an option now!) many large CPU optimizations have happened. The increase in performance scales by how many ships there are.
And many more... All of the small details and various other features will be listed in the changelog when 0.8 is released.
The downside
The new gamemode system meant completely breaking multiplayer, and because multiplayer isn't on the todo right now it has been stripped from the game. However, there is currently a multiplayer branch up on Steam and it will still be available when 0.8 releases if you want to still play on it.
Multiplayer will come back post-release of the game as the game's development focus is on the singleplayer experience at the moment.
Note: Multiplayer does not mean splitscreen! Splitscreen is still in the game
0.9 and 1.0
And to finish this announcement off, what's in store for the future after 0.8?
0.9 0.9 will be focusing on adding the remaining content to the game. The final gamemodes, 3 more drift and drag tracks and the hellstorm weapon. More information on that at a later date.
1.0 1.0 will be focusing on making the final version of the campaign which incorporates all of the gamemodes and includes new grids specific to the drift and drag tracks. Layout Creator (the successor to the Track Creator currently in development) will also be available. The rest of the update will be improving user experience, enabling C# mods and polishing everything up.
