[2019] Alpha EXPERIMENTAL 10.5

Hi Galactic Survivalists,

We are excited to release the first EXPERIMENTAL version of Alpha 10.5.

Alpha EXP 10.5 features massive optimizations and bug fixes, an improved outside view of planets, new LCD panels, Talon base attack and many other changes and improvements.

Please report any bug in our EXP Bug Forum: https://empyriononline.com/forums/bugs.34/
Please read the 'HOW TO REPORT A BUG 'ahead of adding a new thread: https://empyriononline.com/threads/...ort-template-requirements-known-issues.47118/

Thanks a lot for your appreciated help and have fun playing Alpha 10.5 Experimental :)

Yours,
Emp Dev Team

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Update 2019-08-30 (Build 2625)

Fixes:
- Players cannot see other players in Local co-op

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CHANGELOG: Alpha EXPERIMENTAL 10.5

MAIN FEATURES:

1. Optimizations:
- Big internal change: dedi now calculates planets (instead of playfield server), planets are now calculated on demand (not all at startup)
- Significantly improved internal network communication > more fluid experience (less lags, less kicks etc). We are still working on the interpolation of entities to reduce rubber banding > we will add this interpolation in one of the next EXP releases
- Binarizing playfield yaml files to improve loading and networking time when the game is loaded a 2nd time
- Optimized dedicated server and playfield server: now using memory pools for the network connection to avoid heap garbage and defragmentation
- Changing terrain blocks will now be sent to only the clients that are around the changing area. Should improve drilling performance in MP a lot
- No voxel terrain chunks are built if flying above 700 meters
- Set EAC packages to unreliable/unordered. This might result in less player kicks when there is a lot of network traffic to increase fly speed on planets

2. Improved Planet Outside View:
- Improved planet 3D mesh, better atmosphere etc
- Planet outside view now using AtmosphereColor from playfield.yaml
- Planet 3D outside view: now using clouds color to color the clouds (color gets brightened a bit) and using atmosphere color without modification for atmosphere (for savegames build < 2600 the color still gets brightened, please adjust your scenarios before you start new savegames)
- Deactivated clouds when leaving/entering a planet and atmosphere fire
- Updated atmosphere colors on all playfields

Feedback thread: https://empyriononline.com/threads/alpha-10-5-improved-planet-outside-view.69767/

3. Improved LCD Panels:
- Added TextMeshPro to LCD 1x1 NoFrame as a test
- Please check with "1x1 NoFrame" LCDs how the new display system works (multi-color etc.)
- newly placed signs will by default use the new "Pro mode"
- Enhanced '2x1 LCD with frame' to work with the new mode
- Extended 'Sign Edit' window by a font symbol selection popup (usable for old and new LCD modes)

Feedback thread: https://empyriononline.com/threads/alpha-10-5-exp-improved-lcd-panels.69766/

4. Talon Base Attack:
- We added a new base attack for the Talon faction: they will not invade your base but they position around your base and will deactivate the power of your base so you have to get out of your base to hunt them down

Feedback thread: https://empyriononline.com/threads/alpha-10-5-exp-talon-base-attack.69765/

5. Improved ModApi:
- ModApi has been enhanced by some new functionality, other things have been changed
- please check the "Changelog" included in the documentation's start page (in folder Content/Extras/Modding Doc)

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OTHER FEATURES:

POI Update:
- Reworked Drone Bases (now have a one-time shield that does not regenerate when brought down)
- Added shield generator to more POIs
- Orbital Trading Station updated (Variant4 TSO)
- Updated crashed Titan POI
- Added new orbital structures (Hideout, Base, Black Market, Slave Market for further use with future Pirates Faction addition; For now assigned to Polaris)
- Talon Temple udpate
> Thanks to: Dinkelsen, Frigidman, Fractalite, Needleship, Ramachandra, ravien_ff, Vermillion

Visuals:
- Improved visuals of some sun flares (SunFlareYellow and SunFlarePurple)
- Sector map: setting color of planets now as a combination of AtmospherColor and LightHorizonColor color
- Entering a planet now creates the terrain immediately without showing intermediate results
- Tuned water shader a bit: using less local fog to give the water more its 'real' color
- Space: slightly increased light intensity
- Adjusted water parameters to use more specular again to reflect the sky stronger. Adjusted waves slightly

Improved controller support:
- Several improvements for the handling of the controller
- Add an option to turn in game controller support on & off
- D-Pad down to work with inventory to move stack in one click
- Add Logistics and Factions to the radial menu accessed by controllers

• Before starting the experimental client go to your saves folder 'Empyrion - Galactic Survival\Saves' & create a new file called it f.ex 'Input backup'
  
• Copy the file 'inputconfig_v31' from the saves folder & place the copy into the newly created folder to back it up
  
• Now when you start the experimental release another input file will appear in the saves folder but with a new version number 'inputconfig_v32' you may now also put this into the backup folder you created
  
• If you decide to go back to the public branch B2554 delete both the inputconfig_v31 & inputconfig_v32 files from the saves folder & place the backed up copy of v31 back into the saves folder & do the same if you decide to go back to the experimental branch with the backed up v32 file to restore any custom layouts you created.

Gameplay:
- Added PentaxidOre as alternative template to Advanced Constructor: Feedback required
- Added "NoShieldReload" property for Shields per POI in playfield.yaml: setting this property will not load the shields after getting them down any more
- Allow removing of structure's lock codes and device grouping in Control Panel
- When a player opens CP or a container it will now set this structure to 'visited/touched' delaying any wipe

Other Changes:
- Activated better UDP delay detecting
- Forcing now half texture resolution if the system has less than 10 GB of main memory (before 8 GB)
- Added console cmd 'structure' to manage structure internals
- Added new armored windows + railings
- Keeping the latest three input config files to allow switching between Public and EXP branches without losing the setup
- Added max size detecting when trying to spawn a blueprint to avoid too heavy server network load (max file size=3MB)
- Adjusted max blueprint size detecting: now only done when a CLIENT wants to spawn a blueprint
- Mask typical swear words and the name "Eleon" as part of a non-official server name

Bug Fixes:
- Repair console UI does not update the needed resources until exiting & re-entering the console
- Not all shutters flowing O2 1x3, 1x4 & 1x5
- c*ckpit 8 - single hit removes almost all of the c*ckpit
- Structures not getting DSL'ed on startup of a game
- Base attacks set to OFF in the difficulty setting is not working & attacks are still triggered
- Asteroids rendering issue
- Dark stretching on 3D representation of planets close the poles
- Troop transports freeze above where they should land until reloading back into the save game
- Moon playfield has atmosphere until 'Terrain LOD' kicks when getting closer to the moon
- [SELECTION BUILD TOOL] LCD screen text or symbols not maintained when copy & pasting screen
- [SELECTION BUILD TOOL] NPC settings for NPC-Spawners as well as motion sensor / light barrier areas not maintained
- Multiple block types (concrete, steel etc) when picked up from SI drops are not put into the correct block groups
- [Player report] Troop transport is triggered every time when returning from orbit to planet-side base
- 'struct remove-device-signals' command not resetting removed circuit signals
- Drones and TT set to player faction after DroneBase Capture
- Lava flickering
- Water appears in bases placed closed to lakes when player returns from being 5km+ away from a base
- POI found to always be floating above terrain & is offset from center in BP preview
- Planet terrain in the map view loses detail & goes dark after changing from a moon playfield to a planet playfield
- Fixed texture view in SSG
- Outputting when a player spawned a blueprint in MP
- Possible fix for space particles flashing
- Drilling particles did not get correctly lit
- Possible to place blocks in the center of a warp drive
- Zirax patrols are not present on Arid starting planet
- Xbox Controller: Weapons won't react to left & right triggers on first load until they are fired by a mouse button first
- Xbox Controller: Radial menus will not open for controllers on first load into a save game until they are used by a mouse
- Xbox Controller: Mounted weapons & Turrets cannot be fired from the controller until LMB on the mouse is used 1 time
- Fix for planet outside view not showing atmosphere sometimes
- Possible fix for showing "Connection lost" dialog when changing worlds
- Issue with origin & sensors
- When repeatedly using the BA command for Talon a CoQ can be triggered sometimes
- Returning to a structure that has lights setup to blink can result in some lights looking on when they should be off
- Zirax troops not firing on player despite being hostile
- POI found to always be floating above terrain & is offset from center in BP preview (better fix)
- Fix 'Start' button on controller as ESC not working in all windows
- Water appears in bases placed closed to lakes when player returns from being 5km+ away from a base
- More relaxed times for 'UDP delay detection' to avoid "connection lost" popups
- Symmetry & Copy & paste modes are both not functioning
- [Edge case] Drilled out terrain returning after loading back into save game
- No longer possible to copy & paste symbols from an input field to another (e.g. LCD screen)
- Warp lines turn back on after being turned off when the sector map is reopened
- Fixed jumping animation was not working for other player in MP games
- Fixed: Positioning of "static" checkbox for NPC spawners
- Possible to damage other players BA or Vessel shield in PvE playfield
- [SSG] Directory not found exception
- Controller/mouse UI checks fixes
- Blocks can be placed when selecting a block shape
- Fix for showing blank screen after warping when deleting cache on server side
- Fix Sector Warp Lock reticule text overlap
- Telluropod & Desert golem do not damage the player when attacking
- Drill Animation not stopping
- player looked into wrong direction on some angles when using jetpack in space
- in MP other players did not look up/down correctly.
- Using Auto level in a vessel can cause the thrusters of a vessel to get stuck switching quickly between 2 directions
- [MP] Vessel exploit
- Not possible to place a symmetry plane or place the selection area on a structure when the building tools window is open
- Black screen loading after teleport
- On screen Soft Cursor cannot be used until the controllers Right stick has been pressed/'Clicked'
- Possible fix for ghost ships appearing sometimes in MP in playfields
- Oxygen death after melee death gives wrong message
- Vessel speed is not maintained after warping when moving into a sector you have not been before
- Unable go back to main menu after pressing escape when trying to bind a key
- The "Fill all" ammo option when the ammo container is connected causes the client to crash
- Space Vessel : after resuming some games, the vessel head to the coordinates 0,0,0)
- Left & right bumper for 'Common controls' to roll left or right when the jetpack is on whilst in space doesn't work
- CoQ loop from Troop transporter when it is returning to the Drone base
- Exception triggered when crafting a T3 Auto mining device
- Problem that mission "Totally overpowered" was not possible on LavaNascent playfield since some POIs did not spawn
- CoQ triggered by o2 calculation
- Stiff, slightly twitchy grass during weather transitions
- "weather: RainMedium" resulting in very visible 'scan line' artifacts on grass