Technical Preview 3 Change Log

Release Status: *** Available ***

Welcome to 2023! Our first release this year is Internet Multiplayer testing, with support for up to 5 players (this will increase to 10 in the future).

NOTE: This update is currently available on Sins of a Solar Empire II - Test Edition from the Epic store. This update is not save game compatible with prior versions.

Change Log

Multiplayer

• Added multiplayer fundamentals:

  • Create/Join lobby

    • Public and Private: When toggled to Private, others must join via game code.

  • Join/Rejoin with game code (auto-created by the system - snag in-game via Options menu)

  • Save/Load multiplayer games - only 1 player needs a local save.

  • Rejoin games-in-progress.

    • If you drop from a game, you can rejoin it in progress without having to load a save game.

    • If you’re playing with AIs and a human wants to join in, they will replace an AI player and take over their empire!

Pings

• Added attack, defend and attention pings.

• Press the 'g' key to load the ping cursor.

  • Pings can also be accessed from the chat menu (Enter).

• Iterate through the ping types by pressing 'g' or the mouse button repeatedly.

• Pings are sent to your last target in the chat menu (e.g., all, allies, specific player, etc.).

Garrisons

• Added a ‘Toggle Hold Garrison’ button to the Advanced Planet Actions menu.

  • A red button means garrison units are on hold and will not leave the garrison gravity well.

  • A blue button means garrison units are not on hold and will roam to attack/defend nearby gravity wells.

• Garrisons are now on hold by default, so they won’t wander without permission.

• Garrison units ordered by the player to move to a foreign gravity well will stay in that gravity well until there are no more enemy targets (and will then return home).

• Fixed the regular “hold position” order from being ignored by garrison units under certain circumstances.

• Added garrison unit underlay when unit is in icon form.

• Added garrison prefix to the unit name.

• Fixed garrisons not checking unit limits.

Derelict Loot

• Capture progress now slowly decays if the capturer leaves the capture area.

• Capture progress indicators now use the capturing player’s color.

• Units from another player that enter a decaying capture area accelerate the decay.

• Added capture time remaining to the derelict tooltip.

Pirates

• Pirates will now auto-raid the lowest bidding player(s) in the pirate auction.

  • If there are multiple tied lowest bidders, they will all be raided.

• The highest bidding player still wins the auction reward to send a pirate raid at their discretion.

• Added penalized bid amount to the auction tooltip.

• Added “Raid supply” line to pirate raid auctions and rewards.

Misc. Gameplay

• TEC players now start with a Retrofit Bay at their homeworld.

• Updated capital ship armor leveling curve.

• Fixed culture from not working properly.

• Added auto-queuing of research tiers when conducting research.

• Fixed alliance offer assets and exotics not being properly refunded in all cases.

• Defeated players now reset their auction bid state so they cannot win an auction.

• Added charge duration capability to weapons.

• Fixed units sometimes breaking out of ‘hold position’ order.

• Added check that there are at least two teams to allow starting a game.

• Fixed starbase tradeports.

• Fixed AI picking a starbase as a desired factory to build at the start of the game.

• Fixed strikecraft not using hangar points.

• Fixed dead units from instantly losing their momentum.

• Changed “Unbreachable Hull” research to unlock the last structural integrity component rather than the first.

• Fixed missing burst pattern and misuse of phasemissile for TEC missiles.

• Removed asteroid as valid location for Porous Core and Rusted Core planet bonuses/penalties.

• Fixed Missile Barrage not benefitting from Precision Targeting tech.

• Removed Akkan as a valid tradeport destination target (but he can still target other tradeport destinations).

• Delinked Missile Barrage from a target that phase jumps.

• Made most NPCs friendly with one another.

Models

• Improved meshes and textures of: Kol, Sova, Marza, Dunov, Harkca, Javelis, Prova, Ogrov, Bomber and Fighter.

• Added new Pirate Base mesh.

• Added new Pirate ship meshes.

• Added new Neruda mesh.

• Added new Sova pod mesh.

Particle Effects

• Fixed infinite effects bug (e.g., pirate flare effects).

• Fixed capital ship level up effects not playing.

• Fixed beam weapon effect orientation.

• Separated beam core and glow tiling animation rates.

• Added intermediate update to Kol beam effect.

• Added PSIDAR effect.

• Added Hoshiko EMP effects.

• Fixed various death sequence effect references.

Audio

• Updated a variety of muzzle and impact sfx.

• Rebalanced various weapon sfx.

• Rebalanced various engine sfx.

• Updated various explosion sfx.

Research User Interface

• Added new, thicker research completed border.

• Added new research frames.

• Added completed research frame glow.

• Added new research_has_external_link icons (e.g, pre-requisite).

• Added first batch of new research icons.

• Improved research completed notification tooltip.

• Added research domain specific icon to insufficient_research_tier queries.

• Added research queue claws.

• Added research tooltip title pictures.

• Removed research prerequisites from purchase tooltip in certain states.

• Added uppercase research names for tooltip title.

• Added flash to research tier buttons when acquired.

• Added glow to research being unlocked or completed.

• Added states to research link arrows.

• Added completed overlay to research tier buttons.

• Added research button outline state for unavailable.

• Added glow to research field header labels.

• Fixed research tree field windows not using full width.

• Added alternating colors to research fields.

• Added research field seperators.

• Added alpha and disabled states to research tier buttons.

• Added alpha fade out of research subject icons that don’t have unlocked tier.

• Added research field picture stretch to fit.

• Removed research field icons.

• Added research domain details to tooltips.

• Added research level indicators to domain buttons.

• Added build overlay to research tier button.

• Fixed production window showing over research window.

• Improved research tier button tooltip title.

• Added display of research needed in future to purchase tooltip.

• Added auto-acquire previous research tiers when acquiring high level tier.

• Added auto-acquire research tiers to all purchases.

• Added research acquire_tier time tooltip section.

• Changed research field names to be all uppercase.

• Fixed some research window margin values.

• Added new research tier button backgrounds.

• Fixed research domain active glow only showing when mouseovered.

• Removed hover flare glow from top of research buttons.

• Improved waiting for research tier tooltips.

• Added unlocked weapons to research tooltips.

Exotics User Interface

• Fixed HUD exotic_factory_count_window not using proper count.

• Fixed can build exotics not going false during last exotic factory death.

• Fixed exotic counts of 0 showing up in alliance offers.

• Covered building exotic buttons to same style as research buttons.

• Added exotic type name to missing exotic error messages.

• Improved can_make_purchase queries to show missing exotic, not that a factory is needed.

• Added display of dominant missing exotic icon instead of generic icon.

Diplomacy User Interface

• Added offer expired error.

• Added alliance offer details to diplomacy window tooltips.

• Added offer duration to create/accept offer button tooltip.

• Added team icons to diplomacy window.

• Improved visibility of offer being accepted.

• Added not_included_in_offer transparency.

• Improved alliance offer tooltip anchoring.

Auction User Interface

• Changed exotic bid button to generate an error status message if the player has none of the required exotics.

• Changed auction bid button tooltip titles to include the names of the asset and exotic used in their respective bid.

• Added penalized bid amount to auction tooltip.

• Added “Raid supply” line to pirate raid auctions and rewards.

Misc User Interface

• Changed pan direction default setting.

• Improved chat text readability.

• Improved cursor picking.

• Added culture change indicators to planet icon.

• Added blinking “upkeep” indicator to planet icon.

• Fixed notifications of “never detected” planets.

• Added player icons to notifications to indicate context.

• Fixed notification size and layout to handle other sizes.

• Fixed missing waiting_for_factory_to_be_built tooltip icon.

• Fixed jittering of unit group bandboxing when one unit is selected.

• Fixed jittering unit group tooltip.

• Added tooltip for bandboxed units.

• Improved purchase section of starting tooltips.

• Improved visibility of disabled lobby options.

• Improved player tooltip section spacing.

• Fixed camera focus target being lost on unit leaving gravity well.

• Camera now detaches from focus target when panning.

• Disabled rendering of planet bonus and artifact windows if empty.

• Fixed new ability buttons not rendering passive abilities properly.

• Added big build extractor buttons to colonized planet window.

• Unified all build structure buttons to use pips.

• Fixed “not ok” planet track upgrade icon not showing in tooltip.

• Added status icons to planet track buttons.

• Added HUD icon button pips.

• Fixed tooltip window being stuck in huge size when changing dpi.

• Fixed cannot build unit icon showing up too often.

• Added waiting for supply icon.

• Fixed assert in unit_items when attempting to sell a planet bonus (you can’t sell planet bonuses).

• Added standardized waiting/cannot build icon style to tier buttons.

• Updated scroll bars.

• Added drag and drop player slots between teams in lobby.

• Split planet components and civilian structure views in colonized planets window.

• Improved tradeport tooltip.

• Improved one,two decimal place text rendering.

• Added ability to refund fully built items.

• Added display of refund amount on tooltips.

• Aligned tooltip value column when label is too large.

• Improved purchase tooltips.

• Updated alliance type tooltip icons.

• Removed flare from planet bonus buttons.

• Added new metal and crystal asteroid icons.

• Fixed Military Orbital Structures string.

• Fixed structure tooltip adding culture_side_effects when base provided culture is 0.

Misc.

• Added auto-scaling of dpi to fit minimum dimensions.

• Fixed dpi setting providing bad scaling values.

• Fixed running out of memory crash bug.

• Fixed double-click scenario picker bug that caused duplicate game client setups.

• Fixed issues with can_make_purchase with exotics and research tiers.

• Fixed oceanic planet track pip assert.

• Fixed culture propagation not working (for real this time!)

• Fixed Hoshiko Robotics Cruiser getting multiple infinite orders.

• Fixed crash sending pirate raid to a player that has no planets.

• Added alert for tracking bug in a bad carrier window model.

• Improved GDPR wording.