This release contains a radical upheaval of the saved game system, and adds support for Steam Cloud. It also introduces weapons lock and engine boost mechanics, which represent significant changes to core gameplay. For a more complete list of changes, the release notes are available here:
http://steamcommunity.com/games/zigfrak/announcements/detail/1387405181554376302
Because of the large scope of these changes, we're treading lightly and doing an initial opt-in release for anyone who wants to help test the waters. We'll likely be rolling out future releases in this manner as well. All players are welcome, and we're particularly interested in feedback from players with many hours logged, and/or those who have Steam Cloud enabled for Zigfrak.
To opt in, right click on Zigfrak from your library. Navigate to the "Betas" tab, and select the public test branch. The Steam client should patch the game shortly afterwards. Consider enabling Steam Cloud from the "Updates" tab while you're in there!
To help calm any fears for would-be testers, we've taken a few steps to prevent the possibility of data loss due to unforeseen bugs.
Your old save data will be migrated to a new location and format, but will not be removed at this time. We'll add some logic to clean out the old save location in a future release.
Backups -- We keep 'em. Under the new save system, the game creates a permanent backup of your saved game file at each promotion tier. Additionally, a backup of the previous save file is created each time the game is launched, keeping up to 10 historical snapshots (for now).
Hopefully, we'll be able to roll forward to the new version for everyone with little or no changes, and any character progress you made while testing will persist. In the unlikely event that we need to postpone or revert these changes, your old save data will still be around, but will not reflect any progress you made while testing. Please keep this possibility in mind before deciding to opt in!
If you're testing Cloud support, please bounce between different machines to make sure everything works as expected. Keep in mind that cloud publishing occurs after the game has exited, and changes may take a minute or so to propagate.
Instructions for contacting support@entheogen.net with your saved game data have changed for Zigfrak 1.11 or newer. The updated steps are available here:
http://forum.zigfrak.com/?p=/discussion/32/how-to-export-a-saved-game
I hope many of you will opt in. If all goes well enough, we'll set this build to be generally available soon. Please chime in with feedback on this thread: http://steamcommunity.com/app/259430/discussions/3/630800445897543756/
--Alex
Zigfrak 1.11
This release is available, on a beta opt-in basis for now.
* Steam Cloud support is here (Steam builds only, obviously.) - "Steam Cloud" section added to Game Options.
- Syncing for character progress, game options, and keybindings may be toggled independently.
* Added weapons lock-on mechanic, which is required by default. - To hold a weapons lock, your combat target must remain within the area of the targeting reticle and line of sight.
- If a weapons lock is not held, auto-aim will be disabled and rockets may not be fired.
- To revert to the old behavior where auto-aim was always on, untick "Require combat target lock-on" in Gameplay Options.
- The "Look at Target" command may not be used when requiring weapons lock; made some HUD changes to help make up for this.
* Added engine boost mechanic, now built-in to all ships! - Boosting provides a substantial increase to forward thrust.
- To boost your engines, press shift while thrusting. This keybinding may be remapped to your liking.
- If you boost for too long, your engines will overheat, and may not be used at all until they've fully cooled down.
- While boosting, fuel will be consumed at an accelerated rate, and your engines will lose durability. Use it sparingly!
- Gotta go fast!
* Enemy AI behavior tweaks: - Enemies now enter Berserk mode at 65% health.
- Enemies may use engine boost when evading. Evasion behavior kicks in when an enemy sustains critical damage.
* Minor HUD tweaks: - Untargeted units now have a diamond indicator to distinguish them from the current target, which has a hexagon.
- Increased size of off-screen arrow indicator for the current target. Decreased arrow size for untargeted units.
- Added indicators for weapon lock status.
- Added indicator for engine temperature.
- Fixed issue where enemy overshield/armor bar was partially blocking their velocity and distance.
* "Advanced Options" Game Options section removed. - Target FPS moved to Graphics Options.
- "Enable Debug Menu" option removed.
* Save system rewritten. Location and format of save files changed. - Import/export debug commands removed. These options are no longer needed under the new save system.
- Upon launching Zigfrak 1.11, any existing saved game data will be imported into the new save system.
* Added descriptions for graphics quality settings slider.
* Added gameplay hints to loading screen.
* Updated several tutorial missions to mention weapons lock-on and engine boost mechanics.
Fixes:
* Fixed an issue where no more than 10 ships could appear in the player's shipyard.
Zigfrak 1.10
We just issued another small patch to address a blocking issue with the mission "An Unusual Robot Dialect".
We've completed a full playthrough unimpeded, and it looks like all blockers are taken care of for now.
Hope this didn't catch too many of you, have a happy rest-of-the-holiday!
Zigfrak 1.09
This build includes an emergency fix for the Wrath of LGoD encounter.
Zigfrak 1.08
This was a minor release to address loading performance and rebalance early-game difficulty.
WIP:
Auto-equip options, ammo/fuel systems overhaul, and Steam Cloud support are still in development, and not included in this release.
Fixes:
Fixed issue which was causing the game to appear frozen when loading.
Fixed keyboard y-axis inversion.
Changes:
The game will pause when certain mission objectives change, giving the player a chance to read the updated mission objectives instead of instantly transitioning into a frantic combat situation. This can be disabled from the objectives window, or from the Game Options menu.
Moved GUI-specific options to new "Interface" section in Game Options.
Enemies will no longer scale to the player's threat level if the game difficulty is on the easiest setting (configure this under Game Options > Gameplay), or if the player's level is 9 or lower, or if the player's threat level is 25 or lower.
Reduced mitigation on NPC Armor and Overshields.
The Deimos:
Emergence: Reduced number of spawns, lowered objective totals.
Spirit Station:
Droneswarm: Reduced number of spawns, lowered objective totals.
Mira Station:
Disruptoids: Increased cooldown on the Xenoid Blink Drive.
Save Our Station: Lowered objective totals.
Completing "Save Our Station" will now reward the player with a choice of epic shields, providing increased survivability for the challenges ahead.
My First Overshield: Increased damage mitigation.
Deep Negotiations: Reduced number of spawns, lowered objective totals.
I Told You I'd Shoot: Reduced number of spawns, lowered objective totals.
Linux Notes:
Known issues with Linux build:
Quitting the game by closing the application window may not save progress made after the last auto-save. We recommend you exit the game by using the Save and Quit or Exit buttons.
Locking cursor while dragging the camera causes spastic mouse deltas, so cursor lock is still disabled.
Because we can't lock the cursor while dragging the camera, if the cursor leaves the window area or reaches a screen edge, position data stops being read.
