Ultimate Admiral: Dreadnoughts News

Hello all,

We usually offer betas prior to the release of a major patch which includes new ships and 3D content. Now we make an exception because we have prepared something that should please the majority of the game's community,

The most frequent complaint of players was the occasional long loading times in the campaign. So we have addressed just that. Please read:

*v1.6.0.7* (Beta 5)

• Complete overhaul of the campaign system, greatly improving the loading times. When you start a new campaign the AI will use pre-made designs so the campaign will need a few seconds to start instead of several minutes as before. We will gradually enrich the pre-made ships to greatly increase the variability of AI initial designs.
  
• The campaign loading time between the shipyard and world map or battle and world map have been decreased significantly. Previously, according to how many designs the player and the AI had active, it would often delay too much to load the next game scene.
  
• Campaign turn times have also been reduced significantly due to refactoring of the related code.
  
• New options "Mixed", "Fast", "Slow" for starting the campaign, allow you to use the pre-made AI ships according to your liking. If you want to play in the fastest way, you choose “Fast” so all AI designs are pre-made. In “Mixed” mode only the starting units are pre-made and in “Slow” mode all AI designs are generated on demand, making it a full sandbox mode, but it will cost the most time during turn times.
• Important:* Mods will be compatible only with the “Slow” mode.
  
  
• Fixed a minor auto-resolve issue, not causing adequate transport losses in “Undefended Port” battles.
  
• Several improvements in the auto-resolve system to make results even more consistent based on the power of ships. This will not be a "hand holding" mode for players. You will expect more sunken ships for the side that is inferior in techs and overall firepower of the fleet for both AI and player. Mods are not guaranteed to have the same results, as always, so if you want to test it out, you need to use the default game values (auto-resolve is affected not only by dedicated parameters but also cost and many other aspects of ships).
  
• Fixed and improved various aspects of Campaign’s Victory points system. You will notice the impact of submarine raiding of transports more noticeably and battle results will be much more consistent.
  
• Increased the impact of Crew rescuing/healing techs.
  
• Weight fixes in several late tech destroyers, which had very heavy towers and were very difficult to design, creating delays in the auto-design. These various destroyers of your fleet will gain free tons which you can use to improve them.
  
• Weight fixes in several late tech destroyers, which had very heavy towers and were very difficult to design, creating delays in the auto-design. These various destroyers of your fleet will gain free tons which you can use to improve them.
  
• Added shipyard capacity indication in Ship Design and Map interface.
  
• Visual optimizations in combat environments.
  
• AI units will now not be able to retreat in campaign battles where they "Fail to withdraw" as Task Forces on the map. They may still attempt to fight at a safe distance but they will not try to leave the map as before.
  
• Experimental more aggressive Division AI logic making the ships which are on screen or scout to behave more independently, often more effectively as the previous AI command. This change will also affect the opponent AI.
  
• Technology priorities/penalties got a milder effect, addressing cases where technology could either be researched too quick for the era or it could delay too much the AI, when it used the priorities.
  
• Tension mechanics tuning to make tension more dynamic.
  
• Economy balances. Army cost affects the expenses more. Transport Capacity and Crew Training costs are more dynamic, and depend more on National GDP. Fleet maintenance and repair costs increased slightly. Shipyard capacity limit affects more the building times and costs.
  
• Various minor bug fixes.
  

This beta version should be fully compatible with your current saves (as it includes everything from the latest stable version). So you can continue your older saves or start a new campaign and use any of your current shared designs without any problem.

However, because it is a beta after all, it is advised to back up your saves, or start a new campaign with the beta in order to test it out.

With this beta, we would like to receive your feedback regarding the loading times, and if in the campaign you notice something not working right, such as the AI not following up the latest tech in its designs, does not refit often or there are pathfinding issues etc.

We also think that modders who occasionally want to restart their campaigns or pass several turns to see the impact of their changes, will find the new improvements welcome.

In order to participate in this beta, you need to follow these simple instructions:



- Find the game on your Steam Game Library and right click on it:

- Click on properties...

- ... and in the opened window, select from the list the "Betas" option. On the appearing list, select the "beta branch" to switch to the latest beta version of the game.

- If you want to switch back to the stable live version, repeat the procedure and select from the Beta list "None".

As usually, Beta Feedback can be shared in the Steam Beta Forum:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/1069660/discussions/3/

or in the Official Forum:
https://forum.game-labs.net/topic/44122-beta-1607-fast-loading-in-campaign/

Hello all,

We have some new additions that further improve the game. You can read below:

*v1.6.0.6*
- Fix of the bug that caused ships to freeze aiming and movement due to a code exception (very old bug) caused in campaign rarely when players saved a refit design which involved a change of guns and those ships participated in a battle the same turn. Hopefully this is the definite fix . Please report if you anticipate it again.
- Fix of another rare bug that could cause overweight ships due to a wrong save of engine data.
- Adjusted the ship damage model to make "All-or-Nothing" armor schemes more viable. Taking damage out of the citadel will have smaller impact so well protected ships will distinctively endure more damage.
- Gun accuracy improved slightly at all ranges.
- Shell dispersion logic optimization, addressing issues that could be caused at the edge of range for large caliber guns,which previously would not be able to find a firing solution.
- Ship maneuverability mechanics’ optimizations and fix of the reverse bug, that could make ships in division to not be able to complete their reverse movement. These changes also improve the way that ships maintain their division formations.
- Fixed auto-refit mode reducing too much the speed of the ships.
- Further auto-design optimizations, making it faster and more effective.
- Minor other fixes.

Uploaded optimized build including:
- Auto-Design further optimizations.
- Armor penetration thresholds fine tunings. In short, armored ships will be even more durable in combat but full penetrations will result in an even more catastrophic damage.
- Battle AI adjustments to exploit more effectively the advantages of its ships.
- A minor camera fix in campaign map.
You need to restart Steam to get the update.

Uploaded optimizedx2 build including:
- Auto-Design further optimizations.
- Increased ammo replenishment in campaign.
- Fixed FPS limit not being saved in settings.
- Fixed some problems in camera scrolling in campaign map, being either too sensitive or not fast enough.
- End techs improved to not cause overweight ships.
- Fixed remaining issue of shell ballistics not being able to find a fire solution sometimes. Gun ranges and accuracies have been adjusted accordingly.
- Adjusted further the armoring logic and damage model, addressing cases where some ships with very high endurance were too hard to sink plus other fixes.
You need to restart Steam to get the update.

Note: There will be a new beta shortly introducing a radical change in the game, making a new campaign to need only a few seconds to start, and overall to greatly reduce the loading times. Mainly this update will improve the number one issue of the game, as stated by the community.

Uploaded optimizedx3 build including:
- A further improvement for the FPS limit in settings. You should notice also a slight fps increase.
- Battle AI fine tuning.
- Tension slight tone down.
- Other minor.
You need to restart Steam to get the update.

Note: In about 2 hours, we will provide the promised beta.

Uploaded optimizedx4 build including:
- Auto-Design further optimizations.
- Further shell dispersion optimizations.
- Further ship movement optimizations.
- Rudder options became more distinct in their effect.
- Aiming became more persistent when hitting the enemy.
- More aggressive Division AI logic for Screen/Scout commands (passed the change from the current beta)
You need to restart Steam to get the update.

Uploaded optimizedx5 build including:
- Fixed issue in Campaign forcing the AI to design ships too often, delaying the turns.
- Further optimizations for auto-design.
- Further improvement on how snapping works in the ship constructor, fixing previous problems causing difficulties to add guns on barbettes.
You need to restart Steam to get the update.

Note: The beta version of the game will be updated soon, most probably today.

Uploaded optimizedx6 build including:
- Possible fix for minor nation ships not cleaning up after being sunk in battle.
- Optimization in ship movement at sea mechanics.
- Optimizations in shell ballistics (affects penetration due to different shell physics applied).
- Optimization in environment lighting for battles.
- Optimization in auto-design.
- Optimizations in Battle AI.
You need to restart Steam to get the update.

Note: This version aims to be stable and good enough as a safe build to revert if you have any issue when we make the beta version finalized and released. We will offer a release candidate of beta tomorrow.

Hello fellow admirals,

We offer another small update with important fixes and improvements.

*v1.6.0.5*
- Fixed a memory leak which could cause a freeze prior to a campaign battle after long gameplay sessions. It is needed feedback if you ever get such a bug again, after this fix.
- Optimized ship acceleration logic. You should notice a battle fps increase and more consistent acceleration for ships during combat.
- Fixed reverse bug, causing ships to turn in one direction when executing a reverse, which created problems in their formations.
- Improved Battle AI division logic, the AI should attack more aggressively when it has many ships.
- Adjusted ship instability mechanics, so that it is easier to balance the weight offset.
- Gun aiming fine tunings, guns will be on average a little more accurate at closer ranges.
- Reduced further the Beam/Draught effect on accuracy and visibility.
- Campaign AI will be more effective in researching technology so that its fleets will be more powerful.
- Naval Academy funds increased for several missions to allow more flexibility after latest cost changes.
- Auto-Design improved to make better ships on average.
- Other minor fixes.

Uploaded optimized version including:
- Optimizations on AI making it more efficient and saving fps performance.
- Reduced cost of ship maintenance, repair, and ammo replenishment in campaign. This change should give more flexibility in funds for both player and AI.
- Increased the armor damage threshold (the amount of penetration power needed to trigger a partial pen). Ships that are heavily armored will be more durable on average.
- Fine tuning in accuracy factors, increasing the overall efficiency in aiming and gun accuracy.
- Reduced smoke screen effects on accuracy and duration.
- An extra fix for the memory leak in campaign that can cause ships to freeze aiming and moving. Thank you for the continuous reports on this.
- Optimization in Ship Constructor, reducing the calculations per second that could cause unnecessary lag.
- Auto-Design further optimization to be faster and more efficient.
You must restart Steam to receive the update

Uploaded optimized x2 version including:
- Ongoing fix for the rare memory leak of campaign. Thank you again for your continuous reports on this. It might need one more thing to fix it, if we receive new reports.
- Fixed an issue with ships of minor allies not repairing and being used on fleets.
- Improvement on the hull design mechanics making the adjustment of displacement affecting the hull stats directly. For example, you will reduce the displacement of the ship and parts will play a bigger role in affecting the ship's targeting signature. Maneuverability of the ship and its hull structure strength will be also affected dramatically according to minimum/maximum tonnage settings. Damage model and ship maneuverability aspects got balanced after this new functionality.
- Bad weather probability reduced.
You must restart Steam to receive the update

Hello everyone,

We offer this patch which includes several improvements and fixes that were needed. Please read:

*v1.6.0.4*
- Improved AI task forces to actually try to escape and fight unfavored battles only if cornered.
- Important improvement on auto-resolve to give predictable results and not force the player to play too many meaningless battles.
- Task Force pathfinding improvements, also improving the consistency of engage distance for In Being / Sea Control radius for ships that are in port. Previously, sometimes, ships in ports would generate battles too far away.
- Further ship costs balances plus Campaign/Mission funds adjustments for compensation. The new costs will represent even better the combat power of ships, which aids the AI and Auto-resolve systems.
- Funnel capacity balanced so that the importance of funnels, engines and boilers is increased.
- Adjusted the replenishment rate for ammo and fuel of task forces, to increase the necessity of having allies and friendly ports nearby.
- Auto-Design optimizations.
- Battle AI adjustments.
- Ship visibility adjustments, fixing also the previous overpowered effect of beam/draught ratio which allowed ships to make ships too hard to spot or hit.
- Ship maneuverability further balances to increase the overall realistic ship handling.
- Shell dispersion logic improvements. Gun accuracy consistency increased.
- Fixed various possible (and rare) cases which could cause a code exception when starting a campaign battle and make ships to not be able to shoot or move, forcing the player to restart the game. If you still anticipate problems, please let us know.

Repaired version uploaded
- Adjusted fuel/ammo replenishment. It should be not so strict now and Task Forces can remain at adequate levels of ammo and fuel if properly supplied.
- Further potential fixes for the reported issue of ships not firing or steering at start of combat in campaign (due to a code exception).
Please restart Steam to get the update

Repaired x2 version uploaded
- Fixed, possibly, the reason of rare code exception in campaign causing freeze of shooting / steering at start of combat. Thank you for the continued reports.
- Important performance optimization for this update, finalized. You should notice an overall increase in fps in all levels of gameplay.
- Fixed a minor casemate gun issue reported for USA Dreadnought II hull.
- Optimizations in shell dispersion and section hit logic. This is an important improvement. You should notice extreme consistency of armor protection when hitting a section, for example, previously all-or-nothing armor schemes could be more vulnerable due to sections of the fore or aft belt wrongly triggering a penetration on the mid belt when hit from the side, depending on angle of hit.
Please restart Steam to get the update

Hello,

You can check the latest small update which we have just deployed:

*v1.6.0.3*
- Balanced the cost of torpedoes/torpedo propulsion. Electric torpedoes now are lighter but more expensive. The oxygen torpedoes are much more expensive. Speed of torpedoes according to propulsion has been re-adjusted.
- Gun accuracy balanced further towards realism.
- Shell ballistics balanced further.
- Long-barreled guns fire rate vs Short barreled has received slight re-balance.
- Crew losses Surrender threshold increased to 80%.
- Fire spread chance increases further according to structural damage.
- Fixed 7-inch damage error (it was lower than it should be).
- AI screen/scout logic improved to send ships in more effective attacking positions.
- Tension will increase and be more dynamic (as it was requested by several players, due to recent economic changes, tension calculations were too mild and it took too long to trigger a war).
- Ship turning rate, acceleration, maneuverability balances. Ships could turn too fast before.
- Improved auto-design to use guns of longer barrel length.
- Fixed a memory leak caused by successive battle starts.

Uploaded repaired version including:
- Tension mechanics adjustments, to have more consistent negative effects.
- Shell kinetic energy fine tuning (affects shell ballistics and penetration).
- Fixed some graphic setting issues. Vsync and FPS limit settings work more consistently. You may notice performance increase depending on your system.
You need to restart Steam to get this update