This is a smaller update with some bug fixes and quality-of-life features.
Respawn icons
When toggling the scoreboard (holding TAB), you can see which aircraft each player is currently flying. After this patch, you'll instead see a skull icon on all the players that are currently dead and respawning.
Radar hotjoining fixes
When hotjoining a game, all sorts of spooky tech things happen as basically the whole game state is transfered to the hotjoining player (all positions, health states, score etc). Preferably in such a way that it doesn't cause massive lag spikes. Due to a bug in this code, sometimes the radar was not functional right after hotjoining. Sadly, this often made you become an easy target as you didn't see enemy aircraft until they had respawned.
I found the issue, and hopefully this should work as intended now. Just let me know if you see any more ninja jets, please!
Best regards
//Bankler
PS. Be amazingly awesome and follow Sky Knights on Facebook and Twitter! :)
https://www.facebook.com/skyknightsgame/
https://twitter.com/SkyKnights_Game
Patch notes
1.3.2 <*> In the scoreboard (hold TAB), added a death skull marker next to respawning pilots' names, instead of showing their last flown aircraft.
<*> Fixed issue where enemy aircraft sometimes were not visible on radar right after hotjoining a game.
<*> Added a URL link field in the event panel, to make it easy to go to patch notes and other interesting stuff that's announced.
<*> Fixed small glitch in Scrapyard where it said the wrong number of recycled modifications if you selected one, backed out of the menu and then went in again and recycled.
Higher amounts of stored items possible
Patch 1.3.0 brought modification to the table. Today, this hotfix patch takes care of some of the unexpected side effects these modifications brought with them.
Backend limitations fixed!
With the old system, there was a storage limit of 100 items per player account. This space was shared between customizations and modifications. This was simply the way our backend provider had designed this system. I have now made a different system for storing this data, that allows for much higher numbers.
Thanks TorchedForever for hitting the ceiling, making me aware of this issue.
All your items should be intact and things should work just like before. Behind the curtains, a lot has changed though, and there's always a technical risk with these kinds of major refactorings. Please let me know if you're having any problems with your items (customizations and/or modifications) after this transition.
Best regards
//Bankler
Patch notes
1.3.1 <*> Major refactoring of inventory (i.e customizations and modification) storage, to allow for much higher amounts of stored items.
<*> Fixed bug where modifications sometimes could give a double stat bonus.
<*> Changed Advanced Speedbrakes upgrade from giving a x5 multiplier to increasing the breaking power with +30.
<*> Fixed wonky gamepad navigation in Scrapyard.
Introducing aircraft modifications!
This patch brings Modifications into the game. A new game feature, intended to give the player a long-term goal, as well as providing some interesting choices when it comes to tweaking the aircraft!
What is a modification?
Modifications are small buffs that you can slot into the planes. They are similar to Traits, in the sense that you equip them from the menu (not during a match). However, the effects only provide the buff to the aircraft in which it's equipped.
Cool, how many can I have? A million?
Each aircraft has four modification slots. Gun, Tech, Airframe and Engine. In other words, if you equip a modification that increase gun ammo, you can't also equip one that increases gun damage on that same plane.
And how do I get them?
Modifications are unlocked by playing matches against other players. The same way you collect wings really. You'll only get modifications for the planes that you have in your decks (and only for the side you're playing, i.e NATO or PACT). Winning the match increases your chances of unlocking one (currently you'll always get one if you win).
Uhm, I'd have a ton of these after a couple of matches...
Yes, but modifications that you don't want can be turned into Scrap in the new Scrapyard (in the Hangar). In the Workshop You can also spend this Scrap along with old modifications to craft new, better ones.
Wait, won't this be unfair to newer players?
Good question! This was a big design concern. I don't want to go down the road where a player who has played for a long time has an unfair advantage over a beginner. At the same time, I want to give players a sense of long-term progression. In a way, this is an almost impossible equation.
The way I have approached it, is that it should go really fast to collect a base set of modifications for the aircraft you primarily use. This first upgrade tier will bring a small but significant performance boost to the airplane. Later, as you turn your less powerful modifications into better ones, the differance will be much more subtle, with just a few percent total increase. So the differance between the lowest tier modification and the highest, won't be that important.
For comparison, even the most powerful version of a gun damage upgrade, only gives a small fraction of the increase the High-Explosive Bullets upgrade gives.
Think of it as small tweaks, rather than game changers.
Most importantly, player skill and team tactics should always over-shadow all stats, numbers and what not. I believe it still does, but if it doesn't, let me know. Because this is priority number one!
Are they carefully balanced?
No, honestly I haven't spent that much time on modification balance yet. I have tried to be quite conservative, so things don't get completely crazy. Please give me feedback in Discord, so we get these numbers where they should be! :)
Also, since this is a major patch, with lots of technical changes, chances are one or two bugs might have sneaked in. Let me know if you experience anything weird!
You done soon? Can we fly yet?
Yes! Let's fly! Hope you'll enjoy this update! See you in the skies!
If you haven't already, please join us on Discord!
Best regards
//Bankler
Patch notes
1.3.0 <*> Implemented modifications foundations.
<*> Implemented 12 different kinds of modifications.
<*> You can now equip unlocked modifications in the hangar.
<*> New system for match rewards that can grant modifications, scrap and wings.
<*> Implemented Workshop where you can craft new modifications by spending old ones along with a scrap cost.
<*> Implemented Scrapyard where you can recycle modifications you don't need for scrap.
<*> Added gun range stat (same for all aircraft at the moment, but can be slightly buffed by modifications).
<*> Changed icon for the External Fueltank upgrade to more clearly indicate the fuel increase effect.
<*> Changed privacy agreement/GDPR text to be less cheesy.
GDPR Compliant
GDPR/TLDR
You have already gotten at least ten, or a hundred, or a thousand emails about this. So I'll keep it brief.
Sky Knights is now GDPR compliant. In short and simplified terms, this means:
We are open with exactly what personal data about you we save.
When starting the game for the first time, you need to give us permission to collect the data we need.
You have the means to request to view or delete this data.
You can read the not-so-short privacy policy by clicking a button in the game.
While this has taken some time and effort, don't worrry! There are cool things baking in the oven, that I hope to get out in the next few weeks or earlier.
Best regards
//Bankler
Patch notes
1.2.9
Sky Knights is now GDPR compliant.
Fixed bug where MiG-21 started with two bombs instead of zero.
Fixed incorrect size on runway number on west diagonal runway in Coldsnap.
1.2.8
Aircraft will now explode if they touch the runway when not landing or taking off.
If you lose connection and rejoin the same match, the game will now remember your stats and the team you belonged to.
After spawning or buddyspawning, you are now invulnerable for 3 seconds or until you open fire.
Fixed bug where all aircraft got 120 gun ammo instead of the correct amount for that aircraft type.
Fixed incorrect runway number on west diagonal runway in Coldsnap.
Fixed bug where waypoint particle effects in the race mode sometimes were not removed when exiting the race.
Watch the mountains!
Update 1.2.7 brings tweaks to how the aircraft moves, adds transparency to aircraft stats, and irons out quite a lot of smaller bugs! And don't forget to login to receive your FREE supply box!
New maneuver code
Previously, when holding the maneuver button, your aircraft started pitching up at a constant rate, regardless of what aircraft you were flying. Now, this rate is instead limited by the aircraft's turning power. So agile fighters will now loop around faster than the sturdy CAS aircraft.
Limited terrain avoidance
When the aircraft detects that you are about to run into a mountain or into the ground, the terrain avoidance system kicks in. Previously, the game forced your aircraft to pitch up extremely fast, overriding the normal limits for how fast the aircraft can point its nose upwards. After this patch, this movement is limited by the normal rules. Aircraft will no longer pitch up faster than their turning power allows. And if you're out of stamina, you won't pitch up at all...
What this means is that you can slam into the ground easily if you're not careful. Making a hard maneuver near a mountain and losing stamina while your nose is pointing downwards is really dangerous. If you're inverted or if your afterburner is lit when this happens, you are in deep trouble.
Visible stats
I wanted to add some transparency as to how the different aircraft types differ from each other, and to what extent upgrades and traits matter. Now, you can see a little window with these stats in the HUD. The stats are also shown in the hangar (in the main menu) so that it's easy to compare different aircraft to each other.
New season and FREE supply box
Season 10 starts today, and to celebrate it we're giving out a free supply box to each and every player. You'll find yours in the hangar in the main menu.
Aces generating wing vouchers
During this season, every player that reaches ACE rank (better than rank 1), generates a voucher with the player's name in it, like "[PlayerName]_IS_GREAT", that the community's players (yep, everyone!) can redeem for wings, in honor of the ace player! Time to get famous!
Race Leaderboard reset!
Since there has been quite a lot of tweaks to how the aircraft moves and lands, I have decided to reset the race leaderboards. TorchedForever and Rocko, your crazy sub-minute times will never be forgotten though! :)
If you haven't already, please join us on Discord!
Best regards
//Bankler
Patch notes
1.2.7 <*> Maneuver intensity is now based on aircraft's turning power (before, it was the same for all aircraft). So an F-5E will make a loop quicker than an A-10A.
<*> Maneuver intensity (i.e torque) is now scaled by the aircraft's corner speed curve (just like turning works). So a loop at cruise speed will be more effient than a loop at low speed.
<*> When releasing the maneuver button and the aircraft recovers, the aircraft can no longer pitch up harder than it would do when holding a maneuver. Specifically this fixes the issue where you could exploit the recovery to make tighter loops.
<*> Due to new the pitch up limits, if you now release the maneuver button (or run out of stamina) while inverted and having your nose pointed towards the ground, you will probably crash your aircraft.
<*> Simplified terrain avoidance. When an aircraft detects an inbound obstacle, it simply enforces a maneuver. This should make this situations look more natural but also be more dangerous.
<*> Aircraft stats are now visible in the HUD.
<*> Aircraft stats are now visible in the Hangar.
<*> Chaff count is now visible in the HUD.
<*> High Vision Canopy now gives a 10 degrees FOV increase instead of 5 degrees.
<*> When unlocking a new upgrade or trait after a game, the popup window now shows a description of what the unlock does rather than just the name and image of it.
<*> Speedbrakes are now ineffective when already flying at the aircraft's minimum speed.
<*> Fixed bug where you could engage afterburner even though the pause menu was up.
<*> Fixed bug where an aircraft in the hangar sometimes would not show the correct external stores after a match had been played.
<*> Fixed bug where you instantly started taking damage if you buddy spawned in a turn-back zone.
<*> Fixed bug where two traits were shown in the HUD even if you only had one equipped.
<*> Fixed a bug where you couldn't fine-tune the aircraft speed as intended after going into the landing state.
<*> The nose-dip effect when braking on the ground is now scaled with the actual brake power. So the post-game landing braking should now look more natural.
<*> Increased F-5E afterburner effect quality.
New map: Coldsnap!
New map! Bring gloves and hot chocolate!
Finally a new map, straight out of the oven. Or the freezer rather? This time the combat takes place on snowy fields and iced rivers. There are many new visual effects in there, like snow storms, light snowfall and snow covered mountain tops.
Gameplay-wise this map is a little different from the other ones. The size is somewhere in between Desert Trap and Woodlands. There are four FOBs on each side, positioned on the flanks, creating two rather distinct lanes. There are only two fronts of ground vehicles, however, instead of the usual amount of four vehicles, on this map there are six vehicles in every wave.
Finally, this map features diagonally crossed runways. It required quite of lot of tinkering on the technical side, but I think the result looks pretty cool so hopefully it was worth it!
Ground vehicle steering
Previously, all the ground vehicles were driving in perfect lines towards their next waypoint. I've always thought this looked a little robot-like, so I decided to make them steer around in a little more natural way, sometimes crossing each others' paths and so on. I also put an effect in there making the trails from their tracks visible on the ground. This should further make them look a little better and make them easier to spot.
HUD Outlines
The main HUD in the game is white. As you can imagine, the white snow on the new map made the HUD really hard to read. I've implemented a black outline on all HUD elements. I can tweak the intensity and thickness of this outline per map, so don't be afraid to feedback on how well you think it works in the different maps.
The opacity (i.e the opposite of transparancy) on the aircraft reticules and sights has been increased on this map. It might be a good idea to fiddle around with the HUD color options to find something that works well for you against the white background.
Halp! I have quit my job(!)
The reception of Sky Knights gave me the courage I needed to take the decision to go all in! While I have no idea how things will work out in the long run, I feel that you only live once. Hence, I recently quit my dayjob (which was also in game development) to fully focus on Sky Knights. Hopefully, this will give me the time and energy I need to continue the path of making Sky Knights a great game!
Thank you so much for all the support so far!
If you haven't already, please join us on Discord!
Best regards
//Bankler
Patch notes
1.2.4 <*> New level "Coldsnap" featuring four FOB:s on each side.
<*> Added vehicle track trails on the ground.
<*> Vehicles no longer drive in perfectly straight lines but acts more human-like.
<*> Added outline on white text for readability.
<*> Added a semi-transparent background behind the chat window for readability.
<*> Fixed some typos in the Flight School section.
<*> Fixed typo in the scoreboard.
<*> Fixed some details in the Flight School descriptions.
<*> Changed aircraft images in Flight School to aircraft types that make sense for the subject.
<*> Improved the looks of the MiG-21 afterburner effect.
Hit the Brakes!
Speed Brakes
You can now hold 'Throttle Down' to extend your speed brake and reduce your speed faster than before. The effect isn't dramatic, but should help you get down to landing speed with the faster jets a little easier. If you feel you need some more brake power, you can buy the new upgrade "Advanced Speed Brake" and you'll surely notice the differance!
Landing eye-candy
The aircraft's landing gear can now move up and down a little, like suspensions. I've added a nose dip effect when the wheel brakes are applied. The landings should now look more appealing and maybe even a bit more realistic.
First win of the day
From now on, there is a repeating 'First win of the day' challenge that gives a small reward of wings. Try to jump in and give your aircraft a spin on a daily basis, to keep your skills in shape!
If you haven't already, please join us on Discord!
Best regards
//Bankler
Patch notes
1.2.3 <*> Implemented speed brake. When fully holding throttle down at low throttle settings, the speed brake will extend and slow the aircraft down at a slightly more effient rate than without.
<*> New aircraft upgrade "Advanced Speed Brake" that provides an extra effient speed brake.
<*> You now unlock the Chaff upgrade at level 2 and External Fuel Tank at level 4 instead of vice-versa.
<*> New static "First win of the day" challenge giving 5 wings each time it's completed.
<*> Fixed an issue where you in rare cases could hit yourself with gun fire in the F-5E.
<*> Muzzle flashes should now be better aligned with the direction of fire.
<*> Added a small amount (approx 1 degree) of random spread for aircraft gunfire.
<*> Aircraft now engage wheel brakes 2 seconds after touchdown (instead of right away) but also brake 1.5 times harder.
<*> Aircraft nose gear now compress when the aircraft brakes on the runway.
Gamepad Keybindings!
Gamepad keybindings
This patch provides functionality for rebinding the buttons on your gamepad to different functions. I've wanted to implement this for a long time, but I've pushed it until now since I realized it would take some time to get it right. There are so many edge cases related to how analog controllers work.
You can say I'm now quite understanding as to why lots of games, even AAA ones, don't allow gamepad rebindings (or only allow pre-defined layouts). :)
The weapon selection button I believe is a good example on something some players wanted to move. Some think it's fine to have it on L3 (which is default), as it gives you instant access without moving your thumb. But on some gamepads you accidently pushed it while turning.
Since the afterburner normally is engaged by pressing and holding the throttle, this was dependent on the throttle being mapped to an analog control. After this patch, this is optional. If you want, you can instead disable the "Analog Throttle Afterburner" option and bind a separate button for the afterburner (much like how it works when playing with mouse/keyboard).
New season!
We're soon entering Season 8, so get ready for a new chance to climb to the top of the leaderboard!
Congratulations to everyone who made it all the way up to ACE during Season 7. Great flying Pecka, Zeropoint, Spaid and TorchedForever!
TorchedForever's Sky Knights guide
I'm amazed how great this community is. The willingness to share tactics and welcome new players in Discord is almost unparallelled. One thing that really blowed me away was this comprehensive guide written by TorchedForever. Check it out!
1.2.2 <*> Implemented gamepad controls rebinding.
<*> Fix for bug where a player who was tied with another showed up in two different spots on the leaderboard when changing the view style.
<*> Tutorial button symbols now show the correct image even after the player customized their keybindings.
<*> Option to disable the "hold analog throttle for afterburner" feature.
Update 1.2.1 and verified Discord
Verified Discord server
The Discord server has gone through Discord's verification program, and has a much nicer URL than before. Thank you for keeping the Discord an awesome place!
https://discord.gg/skyknights
Bug fixes
This is a smaller patch, taking care of some bugs reported by the community. Thanks a lot for helping out with finding bugs and glitches!
Best regards
//Bankler
Patch notes
1.2.1 <*> Fixed some main menu texts that weren't fully visible in all resolutions.
<*> Fixed bug where the Quit button only could be clicked in the lower part of the button.
<*> Fixed bug where FOB health bars could be visible even if the camera was looking in the opposite direction.
<*> Fixed yet another bug where AAA could start driving towards the map's center if a hotjoining player took over hosting upon the previous host's disconnect.
<*> Smaller AI fixes.
<*> Adjusted bomb position on MiG-21 right pylon.
<*> Added support for 3000x2000 Surface Book resolution.
Ace medals and HUD color customization
In-game options
There's now an options panel under the pause menu (similar to the one in the main menu). So you can now change resolution and other graphics- and gameplay settings in the middle of a match.
HUD color customization
You can now choose from a selection of colors to customize your HUD color scheme. This could be useful if you need increased contrast on certain maps. For color blind players, you can now avoid the red on green problem.
Ace medal
Season 7 has just started! From now on, if you reach Ace rank (surpass rank 1), you'll be awarded a medal that is visible on your prematch-portrait. Aces from previous seasons will get a significant rank bonus for free this season, but will have to progress through the final ranks to unlock the medal.
American Daily Match Hour - 9.00 PM EST
Our American players have voted to decide an official daily match hour for the US server. Most player prefered 9-10 PM EST. This match hour (which should correspond with activity peak hour) is now visible in the server browser.
Form teams! Get fancy Discord names!
If you form a team with at least three players and jump on Discord, send us a message and we'll kit you up with fancy golden colors for all team members' Discord names. The requirements are that you wear [clantags] in Discord, that you have a leader/spokesperson and that you as a team play at least one match against another team on Discord.
Bug fixes and QoL stuff
There are quite a bit of bug fixes. Thanks to everyone who has helped out with reporting. Smaller QoL features have been added, like selecting region in the server browser, instead of having to open the options screen. You can now also see what aircraft the other players are flying in the scoreboard.
See you in the skies!
Best regards
//Bankler
Patch notes
1.2.0 <*> Can now switch region directly in the server browser instead of having to go to options.
<*> New pause menu with full options panel (so you can change resolution and other options while in-game).
<*> Can now change HUD colors in the options screen.
<*> Can now reset the key bindings in options.
<*> Smaller player name text on contact icons.
<*> Added players' currently selected aircraft as icons in the scoreboard.
<*> Implemented option to lock the game camera in top-down when grounded (available in options).
<*> Using afterburner during take-off now only consumes 33% fuel compared to what it otherwise does.
<*> Staying outside the level bounderies for more than 5 seconds now causes you to take damage.
<*> Fixed exploit where you could reach very high altitudes by initiating a landing while you were in a maneuver, pitching upwards.
<*> Heatseekers now have a slightly less tendency of losing track of their target due to large relative angles.
<*> Aircraft starting points are now slightly offset forward/backwards to each other.
<*> Added an unlockable medal for becoming an Ace (i.e better than rank 1 on the leaderboard).
<*> Fixed bug related to aircraft outline, where other aircraft than the player aircraft sometimes got an outline.
<*> Fixed bug causing runway numbers to not show up.
<*> Fixed bug causing the afterburner sounds effect to continue if you ran out of fuel while holding afterburner.
