Ground of Aces News

[p]Our first MAJOR UPDATE with big new features and content is here. Update Ground of Aces and get ready to SCRAMBLE!![/p][h2]New Features:[/h2]

• [p]Plane Scrambling Before Attacks[/p]
  • [p]When the alarm sounds, you can now choose which planes to scramble.[/p]
    • [p]In the new scramble UI you can define which planes should take off in what order.[/p]
    • [p]Fighter and multirole planes will help defend the base by selecting an incoming enemy plane and fighting it[/p]
    • [p]Bombers and special planes will fly to safety so they are unharmed during the attack[/p]
  • [p]Be careful, only planes that took off in time will contribute to the scramble result.[/p]
  • [p]Having sirens on a pole and radio towers will give you more time to scramble[/p]
  • [p]You can practice scrambling anytime by manually ringing the alarm.[/p]

• [p]Ammo Management for planes and defensive structures[/p]
  • [p]Planes need ammo to fly on combat missions[/p]
    • [p]Fight and bombing missions will use up ammo of participating planes[/p]
    • [p]Poorly stocked or empty planes will get maluses on their performance[/p]
  • [p]Defensive structures use up ammo when used[/p]
    • [p]Make sure they are stocked well before attacks, or they might not work anymore[/p]

• [p]Air Crew Stats[/p]
  • [p]Air Crew has stats in 6 categories: Flying, Shooting, Bombing, Endurance, Engineering and Navigating.[/p]
    • [p]These stats will rank from Untrained to Ace in 7 steps each.[/p]
    • [p]Depending on the person's role, they start with different base stats.[/p]
  • [p]Plane crew will get better and rank up in successful missions.[/p]
  • [p]Better stats will result in bonuses to skill checks for missions as well as improving secondary effects[/p]
    • [p]Flying: Better Maneuver Checks and taxi speed[/p]
    • [p]Shooting: Better Fight checks and less ammo consumption[/p]
    • [p]Bombing: Better Bomb checks and faster rearm speed[/p]
    • [p]Endurance: Better Transport checks and run speed[/p]
    • [p]Engineering: Better Stealth checks and maintain effectiveness[/p]
    • [p]Navigating: Better recon checks and less fuel consumption[/p]
• [p]Air Crew Training[/p]
  • [p]Plane crews will also use training objects to rank up if they have no work to be done during the work phase.[/p]
  • [p]Build Training Objects on your base to have your air crew work on their stats.[/p]
    • [p]Options include:[/p]
    • [p]Bombing Simple Bench[/p]
    • [p]Endurance Simple Rack[/p]
    • [p]Engineering Simple Mechanic Workstation[/p]
    • [p]Flying Simple Wooden Construction[/p]
    • [p]Navigation Simple Board[/p]
    • [p]Shooting Simple Target Range[/p]
  • [p]Get stronger, state-of-the-art training equipment through shipments.[/p]
    • [p]Options include: [/p]
    • [p]Bombing Advanced Simulator[/p]
    • [p]Endurance Advanced Bike Exerciser[/p]
    • [p]Engineering Advanced Engine[/p]
    • [p]Flying Advanced Link Trainer[/p]
    • [p]Navigation Advanced Navi Trainer[/p]
    • [p]Shooting Advanced Turret[/p]
• [p]Concrete Bunker Structures[/p]
  • [p]You can now build ground level concrete bunker structures.[/p]
    • [p]Bunkers have excellent durability against enemy bombing attacks[/p]
  • [p]Bunkers are also top priority for fleeing personnel during attacks.[/p]
  • [p]Bunkers have different camouflage colors depending on the map they are built on.[/p]

[h2]Improvements:[/h2]

• [p]Automatic ammo and fuel shipments from HQ[/p]
  • [p]Shipments will automatically allocate and deliver ammo and fuel depending on your base needs.[/p]
  • [p]You can still build fuel tanks or reshell ammo at the metal press station if in need, but at reduced effectiveness.[/p]
• [p]Better logic for planes takeoff[/p]
  • [p]Planes will now start taxiing towards the runway as soon as the previous plane starts takeoff[/p]
  • [p]Planes will now more smartly choose alternative runways to take off from.[/p]
• [p]New music during attacks[/p]
  • [p]There are now alternative music tracks playing during attacks.[/p]
  • [p]There is also a track in streamer mode to protect from flagging.[/p]

[h2]Other fixes and changes:[/h2]

• [p]Gloster Gladiator has been weakened.[/p]
  • [p]The Gloster Gladiator has been too powerful for its free cost and has been reduced in fight power and recon capability.[/p]
• [p]Metal hangar roof building times have been increased.[/p]
  • [p]To reduce the power of metal hangars a bit, they now have a higher build time, making them a more time-intensive object.[/p]
• [p]Flamingo fight and bomb power is now 0.[/p]
  • [p]Since the flamingo carries no guns and bombs, its fight and bomb power has now been made a flat 0[/p]
• [p]Planes no longer receive a skill check bonus for a fully matched crew.[/p]
  • [p]This bonus is now covered with the Stat system.[/p]
• [p]Meteor now has a proper jet engine sound instead of the default propeller sound.[/p]
• [p]Malus for low morale values on missions has been increased to counterbalance the new stat bonuses.[/p]
• [p]We replaced the air raid siren with a new sound because it regularly got flagged by an unrelated music track.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue of brick wall elements floating above the ground.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue of the alarm not being active anymore after loading a save during the alarm phase.[/p]
• [p]Building floors are now all the same height.[/p]

[h2]Issues we are currently working on:[/h2]

• [p]We want to make ammo piles highly explosive. This will come out very soon, so keep it safe from enemy attacks.[/p]
• [p]We are aware some wall decorations are not placed correctly on bunker walls as of right now.[/p]
• [p]We are investigating an issue where the size of a runway is not calculated correctly anymore if it already has existing materials on it.[/p]
• [p]We are investigating an issue of Mac silicon users not being able to load late-game maps anymore.[/p]
• [p]We are investigating several instances of wrong behaviors happening on load, crew eating twice during leisure time.[/p]
• [p]We are currently watching the incoming reports from the report tool very closely to react to needed hotfixes.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Thank you for all your reports, feedback, and reviews. We can't wait to hear what you think about the new features![/p]

[p]World War II airbase management games are rare treasures, but Ground of Aces isn't the only title out there: Check out UNTIL THE LAST PLANE to command more airbases, but this time in pixel graphics.[/p][p][/p][p]Just for this weekend, you can grab them together in the WW2 Airfield Management Bundle for 20% off![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Already own one of the games? No problem, you can complete your bundle at a discounted price.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]

[p]This update introduced the new feature of[/p][h2]MAP STARTING PARAMETERS[/h2]

• [p]Start the game with new map parameters[/p]
  • [p]Starter Shipment: Choose between large, normal, small or no starter shipments from HQ.[/p]
  • [p]Starter Crew: Choose anywhere between 4 to 20 starter crew to get your base started.[/p]
  • [p]Starter Victory Points: Give yourself up to 12 victory points as a head start to get more expensive planes.[/p]
  • [p]Enemy Attack Severity: Play with stronger, normal or weaker enemy attacks. Or disable them completely.[/p]
  • [p]HQ Strikes. Disable HQ from penalizing your shipments or even disable them being able to close your base with strikes.[/p]
• [p]More map parameters will come in the future.[/p]

[h2]Other fixes and changes:[/h2]

• [p]Pathfinding fixes and optimisation[/p]
  • [p]Even with lots of people, crew should now react smoother and be less stuck in deciding how to move.[/p]
• [p]Improved performance optimisation[/p]
  • [p]Small changes to the batching algorithm should improve overall performance in any quality setting.[/p]
• [p]Rolled out a minor Bugfix concerning the analytics[/p]

[h2]Issues we are currently working on:[/h2]

• [p]We are currently working on the feature set of our first major update. Stay tuned for news on that in the next days[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][h2]Challenge yourself and the community![/h2][p]You have an idea for a special challenge that uses these new starting conditions? Or did you achieve something else impressive in the game? Join our Discord and share your challenge ideas and achievements with the community![/p][p]JOIN OUR DISCORD[/p]

[h2]Small Hangar Doors[/h2]

• [p]Small Hangar Door (for people)[/p]
  • [p]By popular demand, there is now also a small door for people to access hangars.[/p]

[h2]More Crew Management and Minor Updates[/h2]

• [p]Firing Mechanic: You can now select people from the crew list and dismiss them.[/p]
  • [p]Firing people will get them to leave the base forever.[/p]
• [p]You can now use the management popup from defensive buildings to assign people to safety zones.[/p]
  • [p]This allows you to more easily decide who uses what safety zone.[/p]
  • [p]Keep in mind: assigned people will always use that zone, no matter how far away it is.[/p]
• [p]New pressing issue: Lots of low integrity items.[/p]
  • [p]This pressing issue will warn you if you have several items on your base that will decay soon[/p]
• [p]Added minor performance tweaks.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue of certain workstations having their collider misaligned and thus being inaccessible at certain angles.[/p]
• [p]You can now schedule repair, refuel, and maintenance from the plane detail menu.[/p]
• [p]Added a new event trigger for modding: Dog is sniffing around[/p]
  • [p]This new trigger can now be used to make events happen when the dog finds something.[/p]

[h3]Issues we are currently working on:[/h3]

• [p]When you get two missions and one timer runs out, it can lock up the other.[/p]
• [p]Actually showing a plane's unique identifier on its livery: we are working on a system that can show dynamic plane codes on the sides of planes.[/p]
• [p]We have several reports of runway tier not being calculated correctly -> we are currently investigating this[/p]
• [p]We are currently working on the feature set of our first major update. Stay tuned for news on that![/p]
• [p]On Mac: We are aware that some (large) save files have issues with loading. We are currently investigating this (if you have any save files you'd like to share, please send them to us in our Discord) [/p]

[p]Thank you so much for playing and your feedback! We will be back with more information in August. Come to our Discord if you want to stay up-to-date and talk with the devs directly.[/p]

[p]While our programmers were working on additional refinements and bug fixes, our 3D artists finished a new airplane for the RAF roster - a unique aircraft with an interesting history.[/p][p]This update introduces [/p][h2]The RAF Mustang Mk.1[/h2]

• [p]The predecessor to the iconic P-51 Mustang was built when the RAF asked North American Aviation to produce P-40s licensed by Curtiss. However, NAA proposed building a completely new aircraft using the same Allison engine - just with better performance and quicker delivery. The result was the RAF Mustang Mk.I.[/p]
• [p]Later, the Mustang P-51 came out of this development. It is the most iconic long-range bomber support fighter of the US air force.[/p]
• [p]This plane is a 5 victory points cost, tier 3 runway fighter with great stats rivalling the Spitfire but boasts better recon stats and far higher range.[/p]
• [p]It comes with 1 pilot and the RAF livery (painting).[/p]
• [p]The stats card and wallpapers of the Mustang Mk.I have also been added to the Ground of Aces supporter pack.[/p]

[h2]Other improvements of this update:[/h2]

• [p]Earlier alarm time to react to attacks[/p]
  • [p]You now get 1h of alarm time before any attack. You can boost that to 3h with pole sirens and 5h with pole sirens and a radio tower.[/p]
• [p]Added a new sped up animation for people to wake up in the event of an alarm[/p]
  • [p]This should make it way more feasible to man defensive equipment and get to safety zones.[/p]
• [p]Workbenches that are set to “Produce Until X” will now also produce if they can't stock the full amount to reach it.[/p]
  • [p]This will now allow you to still produce necessary resources if you have only a few of the required prerequisites.[/p]
• [p]Airplanes now get unique codes for identification.[/p]
  • [p]Planes are now identified by XX-Y. The first XX denotes the squadron and base they are stationed, while Y is the plane’s own letter.[/p]
• [p](In Testing) Roofs can now be repaired after damage.[/p]
  • [p]Like walls, you are now able to repair roofs that have been damaged in attacks but not fully destroyed.[/p]
• [p](In Testing) Bombs and Bullets visually explode on roof height[/p]
  • [p]Bombs now visually also explode on the height they actually do damage.[/p]

[h2]Other fixes and changes (Hotfix Batch #9):[/h2]

• [p]Czech community translations have been added to available languages.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue of mission results showing the failure text after successful missions.[/p]
• [p]When you delete a storage zone, resources that were part of it now get sorted correctly.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue of the Pre-War Gloster Gladiator being labelled as a Spitfire[/p]
• [p]By popular demand: Renamed the “Sandbags” resource to just “Sand” to make it more distinct from sandbag structures.[/p]
• [p]The shipment truck will now only arrive on Monday morning if you already unlocked the HQ by being a “Field C” airfield.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue of equipment not being movable by the move tool[/p]
• [p]New smoke effects for plane wrecks[/p]

[h2]Issues we are currently working on:[/h2]

• [p]When you get two missions and one timer runs out, it can lock up the other.[/p]
• [p]Adding the crew management popup to better manage who uses safety zones.[/p]
• [p]Actually showing a plane’s unique identifier on its livery -> we are working on a system that can show dynamic plane codes on the sides of planes.[/p]
• [p]Better way to manage safety zones -> we want to add a new UI to better manage what people use which safety zones.[/p]
• [p]An option to be able to fire people and get them to leave the base.[/p]

[p]Thank you so much for playing and your feedback! We will be back with more information in August. Come to our Discord if you want to stay up to date and talk with the devs directly.[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]