9-Bit Armies: A Bit Too Far News

Second hotfix after the last feature update. The team is back at work this week on things coming soon.

• Fix for not being sent back to the campaign world map after playing co-op
  
• Other minor fixes under the hood
  

- Petroglyph Team

A quick hotfix after the Marching Orders update. We hope everyone has a great weekend.

• Balance improvements and bug fixes to new challenge "Gun Shy"
  
• Removed several in-progress maps which will be released at a later date.
  

- Petroglyph Team

Commanders,

Our next feature update for 9-Bit Armies: A Bit Too Far is now available. This one includes some big changes to balance, new content and improvements to the map editor, along with a host of various fixes and improvements.

Read on for the full list of changes and updates.

[h3]Highlights[/h3]

• New Challenges: Two new challenges added.
  
• Operation: Charge It! - Don't build refineries, instead get passive income from power plants.
  
• Operation: Gun Shy - Protect your allied AI from nearby opponents.
  
• Challenges use new scoring system.
  
• Hotkey Pop-up UI: New contextual hotkey tactical UI - Get a list of all hot-key commands for the units you have selected.
  
• Map Editor: Creating new maps is much faster with our new templates system. Choose your size then jump ahead to customizing your map!
  
• Major Balance Update: We’re watching the forums and taking action on your feedback. Keep your comments and suggestions coming!
  

[h3]Balance[/h3]

• Mobile HQ: Can now be deployed in the fog of war.
  
• Economy Rebalance: The default for resources per node has been increased to 16,000 (was 10,000). For Skirmish and Multiplayer, the Resources per Node slider now runs from 8k to 24k (past which is infinite).
  
• Bunkers: Power drain of bunkers (both factions) increased to 30 (from 15).
  
• Overlords:
  
• Base infantry health increased to 80 (from 50).
  
• Armored Car:
  
• Cooldown between weapon volleys increased to 2.5 (from 2.2).
  
• Build cost increased to 120 (from 100).
  
• Move speed reduced to 350 (from 400).
  
• Chain Tank:
  
• Base range reduced to 600 (from 800).
  
• Weapon AoE radius reduced to 75 (from 100).
  
• Commando:
  
• AoE Radius of C4 Charge reduced to 150 (from 200).
  
• Torpedo Boat:
  
• Weapon cooldown reduced to 2.4 (from 3.2).
  
• Base health increased to 160 (from 120).
  
• Sentinels:
  
• Base infantry health increased to 80 (from 50).
  
• Rocket Car:
  
• Build cost increased to 100 (from 80).
  
• Move speed reduced to 350 (from 400).
  
• Tadpole:
  
• Shot volley delay increased to 0.2 (from 0.1).
  
• Weapon cooldown increased to 2.5 (from 2.0).
  
• Speed reduced to 350 (from 380).
  
• Infiltrator:
  
• Base weapon damage increased to 10 (from 4).
  
• Base weapon volley cooldown reduced to 2.2 (from 3.2).
  
• Rage Tank:
  
• Damage thresholds for the bonus stages reduced to 50/100/150 (from 100/200/300).
  
• Damage threshold for the vent effect reduced to 350 (from 500).
  
• Portal Creatures:
  
• Floating Brain:
  
• Increased range by 50%.
  
• Increased base damage to 9 (from 4).
  
• Water Elemental:
  
• Now dual role Anti-Vehicle/Anti-Navy.
  

[h3]AI[/h3]

• Portal creatures should be more responsive at longer distances.
  
• AI will place more priority on building remote refineries.
  
• Revised "call for help" for all player units and structures. This should make all player units more responsive when being attacked.
  
• General overall improvements to make AI to use more diverse tactics.
  

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• Fixed missing pickup sound effect on mission-specific story crates.
  
• Fix for harvesters getting stuck in a loop near resource nodes that prevents any further action.
  
• Fixing bugs in "See the Light" and "Crushing Da Feet" which could cause objectives to be reported incorrectly.
  
• Improved grid structure placement on water.
  
• Fix for some visual effects being seen in fog of war.
  
• Fixed enemy units appearing under the fog of war when they were ejected from a bunker.
  
• Observer mode crash fix.
  
• Improved UI support for widescreen/ultrawide resolutions.
  
• Fix for selection UI not displaying when units are moving across bridges.
  
• Fix for units not visually moving across bridges properly in replays.
  
• Fix for shifted start positions on radar map in setup screen after enabling or disabling a map mod.
  
• Mega-Structures now correctly refund money back when sold.
  
• Infantry will now die correctly when bridges are destroyed.
  
• Fixed missing text in quickmatch user interface.
  

[h3]Other Improvements and Changes[/h3]

• The portal creatures correctly use damage roles.
  
• Additional buildings and units now have proper destruction animations.
  
• New French/Francais translation completed by community.
  
• German/Deutsch translation started (work in progress).
  
• Added reminder that Loopwell cannot swim.
  
• Player now sees turret range when initially placing structure.
  
• Added custom mod options pane in online game lobby.
  
• Added a few more AI names to skirmish.
  

Once again a big thank you to our community, it is thanks to you that we are able to make games like 9-Bit Armies.

Commanders,

Join us this Wednesday for another developer livestream. We will go over the results of the tournament, current plans coming in the next update and play some games.

• Steam: https://steamcommunity.com/broadcast/watch/76561198035338554
• Petroglyph Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/petroglyphgames
• Schism Navigator Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/schismnavigator

Commanders,

This feature update includes some huge new features, as well as countless bug fixes and updates across the entire game.

The core three parts to this update are:

• 9-Bit.tv - Observer Mode and Replays
  
• Overlords Campaign Refresh
  
• Quality of Life Updates
  

[h3]Game Changes[/h3]

• Turned on the 9-Bit.tv button for everyone and limited observer matches to those that match your build.
  
• Integration of new subtitle system.
  
• Adjusted target priority list for cyclops units.
  
• Improved structure placement to snap to the nearest valid location near the placement position.
  
• Improved Dominion Crossing shaders and cleaned up the map perimeter.
  
• Updated Options to enable the Profanity Filter by default, ensuring it works with the Game Options Default button as well.
  
• AI difficulty adjusted for Casual and Easy.
  
• Increased the "no build" zone radius around all capture points in the campaign to match the capture radius.
  
• Made transport capacity attached UI always visible if any units are being transported.
  
• Added a leave lobby confirmation prompt.
  

[h3]Campaign Changes[/h3]

• General adjustments across missions including Bark timing, extra flavor barks, Defensive AI unit pop caps, and various mission-specific changes for all missions, focusing on layouts, AI behavior, objectives, and cinematic adjustments.
  
• Specific Missions Adjusted:
  
• Mission 1 Steel Shore
  
• Mission 2: Fleeing Rats
  
• Mission 3: Prototype Panic
  
• Mission 5: Hidden Truth
  
• Mission 7: Against the Odds
  
• Mission 10: Ground Zero
  
• Mission 11: Behind the Curtain
  
• Mission 12: Kaiju Chaos
  
• Portals Campaign: Adjusted counts and respawn rates across the entire campaign.
  

[h3]General Fixes[/h3]

• Various gameplay, map, and modding fixes including memory issues, unit phasing, and crash resolutions.
  
• Fixed an issue with "invisible firing" from stealth units.
  
• Paracannon firing issues fixed, including missing movement/facing interpolation and units sticking at the apex of their trajectory.
  

[h3]Engine Updates[/h3]

• Addressed issues related to build requirements, including fixing tags on the stealth bomber.
  
• Added additional checks to stealth units to address the "invisible firing" issue.
  
• Now supports a second set of Scroll Up/Down/Left/Right commands for Tactical mode, remappable in Keyboard settings.
  
• AI optimizations that improve large PVE game performance.
  

[h3]UI Updates[/h3]

• Campaign Objectives Hide/Show button now works.
  
• Fixed issues with sliding elements in the mod select GUI.
  
• Corrected the restart mission option in the pause menu to work for campaign, challenge, and skirmish modes.
  
• Observer mode received updates with added graphical elements for enhanced visibility and functionality.
  

[h3]Modding Tools[/h3]

• XML Mod Handling Improvements, Terrain Editor Enhancements, and various fixes to improve mod development and deployment experiences.
  
• Updated the default biome set and added specific biome sets for each map.
  
• Resolved issues with mods appearing disabled in the multiplayer join dialog when they aren't.
  
• Example maps added in game files.
  

[h3]Unit Changes[/h3]

• Pen-Gwen Adjustments including increased base health, enabled use of all transports, para-cannon, and bunkers, and increased weapon AoE radius.
  
• Professor Loopwell unit adjustments for naval transports, APCs, and bunkers, including added voice lines and updated tooltips reflecting his fear of heights.
  

[h3]Audio[/h3]

• Added ambient audio loops to the arc turret and for ability activation upon targeting completion with a nuke.
  
• Introduced audio for the animations of nuke silo doors opening and closing when firing.
  

[h3]Miscellaneous[/h3]

• Addressed a file size issue for trading cards.
  

Thank you to all the commanders out there who are playing our game. It is through your support and feedback that we can continue to work on 9-Bit Armies and make it the best game it can be.