Evochron Legacy SE News

Version 2.0448 includes the following improvements:

- Added ability to install fulcrum jump drive and cruise drive at the same time (see notes).
- Added dedicated key/button binding options for separate cruise drive and maximum range jump control.
- Changed Alt key option in maplog to support dragging and dropping entries rather than only topping them.
- Labels on HUD gunsight, IDS indicator, and weapon firing mode centered and revised for improved clarity.
- Shape specific hull/direction status indicators for station and city modules added to target detail cockpit display.
- Added new optional 'Spears' and 'None' motion indicator modes to HUD (Options > 3D Cockpit > HUD Motion Indicator).
- By request, directional arrow character for gunsight and OCRS vertical velocity readout (VVL) moved to right side.
- By request, all allied and neutral stations will now better defend themselves and prevent docking if attacked by player (see notes).
- By request, station and city weapon turret collective activation (for cannon and missile impacts) and missile engagement ranges increased to just under 10K from 5K.
- By request, jump drive cooldown rate can be increased by up to 400% while inside a station hangar or above city docking pad (when in docking range).
- Auto-save applied for module destruction events when leaving a sector in single player to better preserve build states across save/status templates.
- Station attack system updated to reduce potential of NPC ships attacking faction blended modules if command module is not under opposition control.
- Displayed territory control percentages for ALC/FDN shifted war zones on nav map now remain linked to sub-region control level.
- Added ability to adjust cruise drive speed via limited range selection with throttle/set control input (~28K-78K).
- Added new lines (201-217) to the savedata set to read nav console values for map modes/options and nearby stations.
- Radar display images updated to separate contact/blip type color section from main image (see customizing kit).
- Market bar graphs and text in nav console adjusted to better account for 4 digit values in large font mode.
- Server programs updated to correct a rare issue that could cause a player to be kicked due to 'E2' error.
- Improved line spacing in Axis Configuration menu when two controls are mapped to the same axis channel.
- Updated the Key/Button Configuration menu device toggle buttons to support more than eight indexes.
- Local economy type now displayed with commodity price comparison display to indicate value offsets.
- Fix for 'RenderImage' error message when attempting to build several modules in rapid succession.
- Fix for station and city modules potentially getting stuck in a retargeting loop when destroyed.
- Fix for storage modules not properly delinking from weapon turrets when the former were destroyed.
- Fix for potentially incorrect shield/energy/storage linking for out of range modules upon startup.
- All station and city module link ranges for energy, shield, and storage standardized to grid shape.
- Increased size of HUD ship direction indicators to improve text legibility at lower resolutions.
- Added color coded holographic rings around weapon turrets to visually indicate threat levels.
- Added an additional sector of range for allied player locating on nav map in multiplayer.
- Added ability to cancel Fulcrum jump drive cycle by pressing key/button a second time.
- Added ability to transport a stored ship from a station to a local station (see notes).
- Message log lines now crop when enlarged map mode is active to prevent overlapping.
- 'Rev Y' mouse flight and HAT/POV control modes renamed to 'Invert Y' for clarity.
- Added name of player sending order to message log in multiplayer.
- Exodus missile baseline price level increased by about 40%.
- Minor improvements and fixes.


Notes:

Installing Fulcrum and Cruise Jump Drives Simultaneously
Both jump drive types can now be installed at the same time with sufficient equipment hardpoints. The Fulcrum drive will be considered primary and operate as usual with the default F8 key. The Alt-F8 key function is now linked to having a cruise jump drive installed at the same time as a secondary option. If no Fulcrum drive is installed, then the F8 key operation will activate any cruise drive as the only available jump mechanism. For additional options, the maximum jump range option now has its own dedicated key/button index and another new index has been added to provide an optional single key/button control for the cruise drive. Both new options are on page four of the Key/Button Configuration menu. Lastly, swapping drives is still available for those who only want to manage one equipment hardpoint at a time for a jump drive.

Maplog List Entry Position Changing
The Alt key option in the maplog menu now supports dragging and dropping entries. To move an entry, simply press and hold the Alt key, then click and hold the left mouse button with the pointer over the entry you want to move. Then drag the entry to the new position in the list where you want to place it. Then release the mouse button to place the entry. You can optionally scroll up and down the list by holding the entry over the top or bottom entry respectively.

Transferring Stored Ships to Local Stations
The ability to transfer a stored ship from a remote station to a local station has been added to the Inventory Console > News/Information menu. In order for the option to be available, the player must be docked at a station where the stored ship can be received, ships must be stored in the gameplay mode the player is currently in (either single player or multiplayer), the station must exist in the universe the player is in at the time (server universe in multiplayer or single player), ship storage space must be available in the local station's hangar, and the player must have enough credits to pay for the transport cost. If the requirements are met, the ship will be transported from the distant station and placed in the hangar of the local station, the cost deducted, and the profile auto-saved.

Allied and Neutral Station Defense
Station self-defense systems have been expanded so that a command module can now fire flak cannons at an attacking player and block them from docking if they inflict significant shield damage or any hull damage on a faction-linked module. Previously defense was limited to weapon turrets, which may not be present or be in close enough range to provide adequate defense. Now command modules can also step in to provide additional defense and also prevent the attacking player from being allowed to dock. When a command module activates to defend and prevent docking, the banner at the top will change to red to help visually indicate that the station is no longer allowing the player to dock while also changing to a defensive status. To further accommodate the requested conditions and limitations, the defensive mode is temporary and can be reset by the player leaving the sector for a while, then returning later. This will help accommodate a player who may want to eliminate a module in one of their own designs as before, but effectively keeping it as a last resort option. The secondary defense mode for command modules will allow for some accidental weapon fire to account for conditions where a player may be chasing after a hostile ship and incidentally hit a module with some gunfire or a missile. Once a shield array gets low enough (generally
Station and City Module Support Linking Corrected and Standardized
In the 2.0408 update, shield module linking was changed to a 500 coordinate unit (5K) range in a block shaped pattern. This has now been expanded to energy and storage support linking as well. So now all module links use the same range calculation and shape (500 CU on the build grid). Additionally, some calculations could initially be applied incorrectly, potentially leaving some modules with shields at first, but unable to recharge and/or other inaccurate supply link conditions. The detection and ranging mechanisms have been updated for both initial spawning/placements as well as active real time events for consistency. The changes as a whole may mean some existing stations will now have supplied modules that weren't supplied before and/or not supplied that may have been before. Many of the default stations in the game were designed around the premise of being partially constructed anyway, so a few may need additional support modules to supply power, shield, or storage support for some dependent modules to be fully enabled. Most however, will likely continue as before or acquire newly enabled modules.

Holographic Rings Added to Weapon Turrets to Indicate Threat Levels
After a number of discussions (and thanks to those of you who provided feedback), the decision was made to continue to allow weapon turrets to operate both independently and in conjunction with supply modules placed by a different faction. The latter was originally implemented years ago to support cooperative efforts between independent (IND) stations and either main faction (ALC/FDN) against an opposing faction, placing turrets as kind of space-mines (via the ability to 'hack' into the supply/energy power grid of an enemy's station module network), and to require eliminating any hostile turrets as a station's defense before rebuilding or retasking other modules. Supply modules (power, shield, crew, storage, and production) can continue to be retasked for a new station if/when a new command module is built and/or new weapon turrets are built. To better facilitate these avenues of gameplay, new holographic rings have been added to weapon turrets to visually indicate their threat level to the player. Green are friendly, yellow are neutral (only attacking if attacked first), and red are hostile. No hologram will appear until a weapon turret is powered and active. This way, players can more easily distinguish at a distance if any weapon turrets are a threat to them before they get too close (without having to target them). They can then navigate or attack accordingly.

Vertical Velocity Level Readout Arrow
By request, the VVL readout on the gunsight and OCRS will now show its direction arrow on the right side and its speed value to the left of the arrow (with right justified character cascading). This allows both the VVL and HVL indicator to have their arrows aligned nearest to the gunsight. The ability to move these arrows on the gunsight and OCRS has also been added to the 'hudtext.txt' customizing options (lines 16 and 17). For easier reference, an example of this file with default values is now included in the ZIP with the kit's sample files (inside the '\hud' folder).

Axis Configuration Control Lines
When two control functions are mapped to the same axis channel, the menu will now better space each line to prevent overlapping, including split axis binding (up/down, left/right, etc) and primary axis bindings.

Cruise Drive Variable Velocity Control
The player can now apply a variable speed setting when in cruise drive mode using throttle/set control input. The range is kept within the scope of the cruise drive's nominal operation, limiting the available range from about 28K to 78K via an input range of about 30-100% on a variable axis control and/or the 3-0 numerical keys. This way, players can now slow down a bit to perform maneuvers or search an area more slowly without having to drop out of cruise mode entirely. All secondary velocity reduction effects caused by gravity fields still apply.

HUD Motion Indicator Modes
Two new modes are now available for the motion direction indication system of the HUD. The current default 'Tunnel' is available as the first mode. Then a second 'Spears' mode can be selected which displays the ship's direction and speed using random spears for a kind of 'starfield' effect. Finally, a 'None' mode is available that will disable motion indication entirely. For the 'Spears' mode, additional options are available to adjust the spacing, size, and velocity rate to adjust the indicators for personal preference (particularly for VR). After selecting the 'Spears' mode a new file is created in the save data folder (default \Documents\EvochronLegacySE) named 'hudmotion.txt' and you can edit this file to change the effect's parameters. Line 1 selects the mode (2 for 'Spears'), line 2 sets the movement rate, line 3 sets the maximum spacing range, and line 4 sets the scaling factor. Additional details are available in section 3.5 of the updated customizing kit ( https://www.starwraith.com/evochronlegacy/customkitse/readme.htm#305 ). The texture itself can also be modified to change appearance ('hud-motion2.png').

Version 2.0428 includes the following improvements:

- Added new options to shipyard for building to support standard trade-in option as well as directly storing frame (without required duplication) or frame plus equipment, secondary weapons, and cargo.
- Various secondary HUD elements and alert prompts doubled in texture resolution and brackets added to unify overall appearance.
- Added ability to reduce the update rate of shadow render stages for increased performance (see customizing kit).
- Minor improvements and fixes.


Notes:

New Shipyard Build Options
A new menu has been added to the shipyard build system that provides three options for constructing a new frame. Option one is the original trade-in option that credits the player for the value of their current frame, deducts for the cost of the new frame, then transfers all equipment, weapons, cargo, and fuel over to the new frame. Option two stores the current frame, deducts for the cost of the new frame, then transfers all equipment, weapons, cargo, and fuel over to the new frame. This supports allowing the player to swap ships while still keeping their original in storage with its custom design parameters and without requiring them to pay for a duplicate frame before swapping to a new one. The third option stores the current frame, unloads and stores as many equipment, secondary weapon, and cargo items as the hangar has storage for, then deducts for the cost of the new frame. This last option can leave the new ship frame empty if enough hangar storage is available to store all of the items from the previous ship, so the player will need to buy all new items to replace any they may have left in storage with their previous ship. Any items that can't be stored due to limited available storage will be left with the new ship or sold if there isn't enough room and the player can optionally sell what remains or eventually store such items at another location. The hangar fee is waved when storing a ship directly from the shipyard with either storage option. The primary goal of this new build system is to eliminate the requirement for the player to have to pay for a duplicate frame of their current ship before they can store one to design and build another. The player can now directly store their current ship without having to pay to duplicate it and then switch to a new ship they've designed immediately.

Texture Resolutions Increased for Secondary HUD Elements and Alert Prompts
To build on earlier updates that increased texture detail for primary HUD elements, this update applies increases to other secondary elements and alerts to better support 1440p and higher display resolutions. Such graphics have been redrawn for improved detail and appearance, including all animated elements. Brackets have also been added to various readouts, indicators, and alerts to better distinguish edges, types, and placements.

Miscellaneous Improvements and Fixes
This update includes several improvements and fixes for reported/discovered issues including a potential error message related to the message log array being exceeded under certain conditions with particular player actions, updates the training mode for recent additions, corrects an issue with upper axis input channels not being able to be mapped to key/button inputs, and adds a few performance tweaks.

Version 2.0418 includes the following improvements:

- Jump gate, jump caster, and wormhole event horizon spheres now smoothly fade upon approach.
- Autopilot expanded to incorporate basic collision avoidance in addition to automated docking with stations, cities, and carriers.
- 'View Hangar Details' changed to 'View Station Details' and now also includes license and profit factor information.
- Station license system expanded to support a shared ownership approach for repeating payments to owning players.
- Create and Modify Pilot menu revised to accommodate new station license payment settings and improve layout.
- Added customizing options for landing gear effect to support hiding structures or rendering energy effects.
- HUD Configuration menu updated to a shader based system for immediate changes to RGB color settings.
- Added ability to retrieve list of local (in sector) inventory items at planet, station, and carrier.
- Detail mapping and shaders updated to provide improved smooth appearance for external cockpit glass.
- Local prices on quadrant map market display now reflect regional rather than global baselines.
- Autopilot also updated to fly level with terrain over planets and moons rather than ecliptic.
- LinkApp updated to highlight active Autopilot, Formation, and Match Speed modes in green.
- Added next, nearest, and gunsight object targeting controls and module faction to LinkApp.
- 'Other Controls' mode (right side) added to LinkApp to include additional control options.
- Added ability to adjust the X and Z angles of holographic cockpit displays (gauges.txt).
- Optimized resolution mode automatically activates if best setting is manually selected.
- Single device sequential 'All' axis mapping option removed to eliminate confusion.
- AI ships can now change approach hangars if player approaches first or is docked.
- Jump effect now casts light on player cockpit and ship structures.
- Added 'Medium' anti-aliasing mode.
- Minor improvements and fixes.


Notes:

Medium Anti-Aliasing Mode
A new 'Medium' setting has been added to the Options > Anti-Aliasing menu. This mode applies some of the parameters of the 'Low' and 'High' modes by providing the 2X rendering level of the 'Low' setting with the shader-based filter sampling of the 'High' mode. As a result, some players may find this mode offers better performance than the 'High' mode while still offering image quality that is fairly close. A lot will depend on the resolution the game is being run at, other settings, and the GPU/rendering capabilities of the system being used.

Sequential 'All' Axis Mapping Option Removed
Due to repeated inquiries and reported confusion over the years with the option to bind all axis inputs to a single device sequentially, the option has been removed in favor of the default standard individual axis mapping selection method. The instructions for the game have been updated to account for this change and expand on some of the new capabilities recently added. If a player still wants to map all axis controls to a single device sequentially by prompt, they can now press and hold the Alt key to have the option appear in the Axis Configuration menu.

Station License Residual Payment System
The station license option has been expanded to include an element of shared ownership for profit, so players can now earn credits from stations they build (which automatically apply licenses) as well as from those they choose to purchase licenses at. Licensed stations now provide residual payments to the owning player over time. For stations you have already built and/or have acquired a license from manually, payments will start after updating to this version of the game (by default, payments are calculated and applied roughly every 15 minutes of gameplay time as indicated by the flight timer). Going forward, stations you build will have an added bonus payment amount per cycle in addition to the license share. The payment framework applies to the gameplay mode you are in. So payments will only be received for stations in single player that you have built and/or have purchased licenses from in that mode. Likewise for multiplayer and the server you play on. Payments will also only apply for licensed stations of the same faction you are affiliated with. If a station is destroyed, then payments from that station will eventually stop (some may already be queued temporarily). In order to resume payments, the station will need to be rebuilt. If you cancel a license, payments for that station will also stop. You can view the total number of licenses currently being credited for residual payments in the News/Information console ('View Station Details' button). The baseline potential profitability of such payments will be based on the tech/econ rating of the region a station is in. So building and/or licensing stations in higher tech/econ rated regions will generally result in higher overall payments. There are also some random elements applied in calculations to simulate variable profitability. So you may be paid more or less each time, even if you still own the same number of licenses in the same locations. The potential profit baseline is divided into 10 levels. Level 1 is the lowest and provides the minimum payment baseline while 10 is the highest. These levels roughly correlate with the regional tech/econ ratings in 1/10 values (so 0-9 is around 1, 10-19 2, and so on). The factor shown is a rounded figure, so there can be decimal values in between that are considered in the calculations as well as variability. When payments are received, the amount will be displayed in the message log and also recorded in the flight log. The application and frequency of the payments can be adjusted with setting options in the Create/Modify profile menu and the amount will be pro-rated for any offset so the amount will remain consistent. This system has been added as part of the effort to implement some of the final planned features and options for the game. It has been left out in the past due to automated gameplay concerns, but has been included with some limitations designed around feedback and discussions over the years. The option to disable the system entirely is also available for players preferring to stick with the original mechanisms of station building and licensing.

View Local Inventories
A new option has been added to the Inventory > News/Information > System Information menu to view the local planet, station, and carrier inventories. The System Information mode needs to be available (via the network data link) in the inventory console in order to view such items remotely. Simply click on the 'View Local Inventories' button and the description, quantity (for commodities), and current price will be displayed in the message log (scroll up and down to view each inventory list in its entirety). The lists will also follow the selected Text or Price sorting format. If a current inventory list is not available, then 'None' will appear under its respective category heading. It should be noted that inventories can easily change by the time you arrive at one of the in-sector locations, but the option can still be used to gauge general pricing and potential availability of specific items within the sector you are in.

Enhanced Autopilot
The autopilot has been heavily revised in this update to incorporate automatic docking systems and collision avoidance. The autopilot will also still attempt to fly at the maximum IDS X9 speed your ship is capable of in open space, slowing only for docking maneuvers. Exceptions to this include planetary atmospheres and asteroid fields, where speed will be reduced for safe travel and more manageable maneuvering. As an optional partial control configuration, you can disengage the IDS to control all strafe and engine thrusters manually to adjust course and speed, leaving roll, pitch, and yaw up to the autopilot. If the nav point is set precisely at a station, city, or carrier, the autopilot will automatically disengage once you arrive at the destination and dock. If the nav point is set to a city and the autopilot is on, it will automatically keep the nav point locked to the city's docking location for you. While a new level of flight automation and safety is included, elements of manual control and risk are still part of the equation. To keep an intended element of player involvement, you can still overspeed the autopilot and collide with objects, so it's still important to maintain situational awareness to avoid such impacts. By design, the new system will not be 100% full-proof. It will merely help reduce potential collisions and lower the chance of damage if an impact does occur. So clear lines of sight to nav points, possible manual control adjustments at times, and careful route planning are still important and recommended.

Version 2.0408 includes the following improvements:

- Added support for binding dual axis inputs to individual controls (see notes).
- Added option to copy coordinates to nav console for all inter-sector contracts.
- Added indicators to contract list to distinguish between local and inter-sector contracts.
- Added deep space item recovery objective added (multi-sector distance from reporting station).
- Added contract objective to scan a remote uncharted sector near a planet as an area of interest.
- Quests can now be loaded, played, and linked between multiple players in multiplayer (see notes).
- Vonari incursions can now occur in ALC/FDN space and utilize inter-sector distress calls (see notes).
- Brighter brackets added to HUD ship direction indicators for improved visibility and target distinction.
- Added automatic throttle axis input suspension when a percentage, trim, or absolute key/button is pressed.
- Added ability to set missile lock retention mode for retargeting in-flight or fire-and-forget (see notes).
- Added ability to change Vonari territory control in war zones through combat (as well as ALC/FDN, see notes).
- Local market inventories are now synchronized in multiplayer by default, contract lists optional (see notes).
- Disruptor weapon enhanced to include gravity burst effect, proximity detonation, and increased speed (see notes).
- Added ability to apply a custom scaling level to certain independent HUD alert and readout indicators (hudtext.txt).
- Console image indexes converted to shader based coloring system for improved loading times and lower memory overhead.
- Cockpit holographic display textures doubled in resolution for improved appearance at higher screen resolutions.
- Capital ship textures updated for more selective reflections as well as a brighter and smoother appearance.
- Shield build module effective support range expanded to a more block shaped network pattern link (~500 CU).
- Shadow background and bar graph indicator added to HUD distance readout (meteor intercept and ship escort).
- Quadrant map texture redrawn and doubled in resolution for improved appearance in enlarged nav map mode.
- Terrain walker and rover cockpit textures updated to increase resolution and revise emissive layer.
- Upper HUD menu and compass bar revised to provide individual buttons and a cleaner appearance.
- Added options to import custom mesh structures for the hangar docking area banner and shadow.
- Many sound effects redone or remastered for higher quality and to rebalance volume levels.
- New ambient environment sounds added for proximity to ships and entering/exiting stations.
- Message log notifications added for civilian rating increases and military rank credit.
- Military rank credit is now awarded for combat contract objectives in ALC/FDN regions.
- New fading effect when passing through station and carrier hangar atmosphere shields.
- Improvements to ship threat level changes after territory control shifts (see notes).
- Improved automatic reconnect attempt handling when UDP signal with server is lost.
- Engineer crew member can now shorten jump drive delays (up to 200% for high skill).
- Engineer crew member can now swap equipment to/from cargo bay in open space.
- Reduced collective array damage level applied for shield-on-shield impacts.
- HUD pitch ladder now smoothly fades at top and bottom rather than clipping.
- Resistor pack scaling in shipyard standardized for consistent alignment.
- 3D radar globe texture updated for finer lines and reduced obstruction.
- Blackhole gravity fields expanded by about 250% and strength increased.
- New shield effect for energy weapon impacts (particle and beam cannons).
- Sound effect and sparks now apply for particle cannon hull impacts.
- Detail textures updated for some improved lighting/surface effects.
- Chimera cockpit updated for structural and alignment improvements.
- Added new sub-sector cruise jump drive equipment item (see notes).
- Revised explosion blast wave effect (new energy/distortion look).
- Font updated for wider characters and more visible appearance.
- Station name hologram given threat level color banner.
- Several small performance improvements/tweaks.
- Minor improvements and fixes.


Notes:

Dual Axis Inputs
The control input system has been expanded to support binding dual axis inputs to individual control functions. This has been done primarily to accommodate rudder pedal and game controller devices that provide multiple mono-directional axis signals rather than one individual bi-directional axis signal. Changes involved have also removed the conflict alert prompt if you bind more than one axis input to the same control function. To utilize this new option, simply bind the first axis you want to use for the right, up, or forward direction of a given control function. So for example using rudder control for yaw, bind the right pedal to the 'Yaw Left/Right' control first. Next, bind the second axis to the left, down, or reverse direction of the control function. So for rudder control for yaw again, you'd bind the left pedal to the 'Yaw Left/Right' control. The game will detect the dual mapping and automatically apply the bi-directional function split between the two axis inputs. It will set the center of each axis input signal to lowest value of each respective range with one adding positive input and the other negative input. You will then be able to control left/right, up/down, or forward/reverse directions with both axis inputs mapped to the one control function. You can optionally reverse the input with the checkbox next to the primary axis input channel (the one mapped to right, up, or forward) and the game will automatically invert the values for both axis inputs. You can optionally clear the secondary axis input (the one mapped to left, down, or reverse) to restore bi-directional control input or clear the primary axis input to unbind both axis inputs.

Missile Lock Modes
A new missile lock retention mode has been added that lets you manually control the tracking mode for each locking missile you fire. Previously, all locking missiles followed the live guidance principle in that you retained control of all launched missiles and could switch targets to redirect such missiles to track a new threat while in flight. This came in handy if you decided there was a greater threat and wanted to redirect a missile to a new target. But it also meant that you could only hold a missile lock on one threat at a time until any missiles being directed impacted the target or self-detonated. It also meant that the auto-targeting could increase the chance of friendly fire with a fighter suppression weapon like the Excalibur. With the new system, you can set the current missile being fired to either the default live guidance mode or a new target retention mode that continues to track only the ship being fired at, even if you switch targets to a different ship. When the retention mode is active (default Alt-L key combination), the missile will stay focused on the one target until it is destroyed or the missile itself explodes. If the ship being tracked is destroyed before the missile reaches the target, then the missile will fly off and self-detonate once it reaches its range limit. This way, you can optionally restrict the Excalibur to only strike one ship without the risk of potentially hitting other ships nearby (and with careful timing, you can even split the Excalibur firing sequence between multiple targets). This also means you can now fire missiles at separate targets when a situation might call for it. To accommodate the new missile lock retention mode (primarily for facilitating multiple target engagements) and to increase range viability, all locking missiles have had their range increased by 200%. When the live guidance mode is active, a solid dot will appear next to the missile in slot one on the lower left cockpit display. When the target retention mode is active, a hollow circle with brackets will appear next to the missile in slot one.

Ship Threat Levels
Ship threat levels now retain existing states more consistently even after a regional shift from one control level to another. Previously, there could be an immediate global change of ships from one threat level to another and from one faction affiliation to another as soon as the territory control level transferred from one category to the next (disputed to ALC or disputed to FDN for example). This process is now tapered so that some opposing forces can remain behind for a while and continue more limited attacks until all opposing forces are eventually eliminated.

Disruptor Weapon Type Modifications
The disruptor weapon has been modified to better justify its cost and accommodate some player requests by providing a gravity burst effect to better slow down a target for cargo demands and increase speed to better distance the weapon from the firing player and be more effective against high speed targets. For an attacking ship demanding the player drop their cargo, the trajectory is also now more direct to make escape a bit more difficult. Additionally, a proximity detonation system has been implemented where the disruptor will automatically explode once within a range of 500 of any hostile ship (relative to the ship firing the disruptor). Combined with the range and speed increases, this allows for some more strategic use of the weapon that can now be fired at a longer range while not requiring an excessive level of precision to be effective for detonating at just the right time. It maintains some of its unpredictability/impractically while being a little bit more controllable depending on conditions and timing.

Classic HUD Removal
As the new HUD and cockpit display systems have been expanded significantly in recent updates, it has become less practical for the 'classic' HUD mode to remain compatible. So this build removes the classic mode and sets the default mode to the latest images and parameters. The cockpit viewing program has also been updated to reflect this change. Most of the elements can still be manually added back in via the customizing options. But going forward, the new HUD and display system has been made the new default baseline to free up modifications for some of the enhanced capabilities and new textures.

Cruise Jump Drive
A new sub-sector cruise jump drive equipment item has been added. This new device takes the place of a fulcrum jump drive and provides a new method of travel. The item has been added to accommodate a few requests over the years for a short range, in-sector high speed travel mechanism. While not really providing a benefit or advantage over the fulcrum drives, it is available for those interested in controlled high speed flight within a sector for options like exploring small sections of space more comprehensively and/or having more manual control over arrival time and placement. Instead of the point-to-point space folding travel mechanism of the fulcrum jump drives, the cruise jump drive will travel within a sector at a high sustained cruise speed. The drive works by generating a persistent event horizon ahead of the ship that is able to sustain high speed travel. When activated, the ship will be very limited in rotation ability until the cruise drive is deactivated. So it is best used by pointing at a specified heading, then engaging the drive and timing deactivation with arriving at or near a destination. Cruise drives are also impacted by gravity fields and will lose their effectiveness as a gravity field gets stronger. So speed will slow down significantly if you get too close to planets, moons, or stars. The cruise drive depends on constant energy from the ship's reserves, so they can only sustain travel for as long as the ship can provide power. Once the ship's energy reserves are depleted, the cruise drive will disengage. However, a cruise drive will generally be able to cover most of the distance inside an entire sector in a given direction before running out of energy. And you can also extend its range with charge packs mounted on secondary hardpoints. Cruise speed is not only a more limited method of jump drive travel in terms of range, but also a far more dangerous approach. It is very easy to crash into an asteroid or even a capital ship and be destroyed. So a cruise drive should be managed carefully and the user aware of the inherent risks and dangers associated with travelling at speeds in a sector above 70K. Only one type of jump drive can be installed at a time, either cruise or fulcrum. However, one jump drive type can be held in a cargo bay while the other is installed, then swapped at a station or city when a different jump system is desired. Additionally, if there is an engineer crew member onboard with a skill rating above 70 and enough cargo space (2 bays), swapping can be done in open space.

Military Rank Credit Expanded
Military rank credit is now awarded in ALC and FDN space for successfully completing combat contract objectives against the opposing faction. Awarded points are the same as in war zones, including additional points for each waypoint for patrols. Docking with carriers is still required for acquisition of military ship frames.

Vonari Incursions
Vonari incursions can now occur inside ALC and FDN space. When an incursion happens, a distress call is sent from the station detecting the attack and can be picked up remotely while the player is in a different system (it will appear in the contract list like other distress calls and contracts). If accepted, the player must travel to the location indicated by a waypoint. Once they arrive in the sector, they have the option of docking at the nearby station to resupply/prepare, or immediately travel to the waypoint to intercept the incursion. The exact location of the incursion isn't available until the player arrives, so the waypoint stays with the nearest station until the player arrives in the sector at which point the waypoint is moved to the current incursion point. This objective is a little more dynamic, so the exact number of enemy ships won't be available and isn't displayed as part of the distress call description. The ultimate goal is to simply keep destroying Vonari ships until the objective is complete. However, even after the requirements of the contract are completed, there can still be some residual Vonari presence left behind that may jump in to attack or otherwise be encountered while travelling in the sector. On top of this main objective, there may also be some additional hostile ships in the area from the opposing faction if the objective takes place in a disputed system. So the player may have to contend with multiple threats from different forces. For an added challenge, players can take on the new intercept incursion objective as an independent aligned pilot to eliminate faction reinforcement support. Vonari forces aren't feasibly able to conquer a region strongly under ALC/FDN control, but will still periodically try and the player now has an option to join in the defense. As with all inter-sector objectives, only the player that accepts the contract is automatically paid while in multiplayer. However, other players can still join the accepting player to help defend and then they can arrange to divide the payment upon completion via the trade console.

Distant Item Recovery Objective
Long range item recovery objectives have been added and also share the new inter-sector framework system. These work a little differently than the in-sector recovery option. First, the station sending out the recovery request will be listed in the contract description along with its sector location. This will be the location where the item needs to be returned. Once the contract is accepted, a waypoint will automatically be placed at the search area, which will generally be within about 50 sectors of the station. The player can travel to the location to begin the search. Unlike the in-sector recovery objective, the item in this contract will generally be out of radar range and deploying a sensor station will be needed to pinpoint its location. So these contracts should only be accepted if a player has a deploy constructor and at least 5 units of metal ore on board to place a sensor station once they arrive. The item will appear as a purple dot on the nav map if it is detected. The item simply needs to be tractored aboard and returned to the station mentioned in the contract. Another waypoint will be automatically applied at the station as soon as the item is recovered.

Remote Scanning in Uncharted Space Objective
Scanning of remote uncharted space near a planet has been added as a contract objective. This objective typically takes place in an area of the quadrant not linked by the gate network, making it more difficult to access but also potentially providing guidance to new unexplored and unpopulated areas that you haven't visited before. For the explorer and those interested in building new stations and cities outside of charted systems, this can be a way to venture into such regions of space and get paid for it. Simply accept the contract, travel to the designated location, then stay within 5K of the waypoint to complete the scan. Some locations may be very remote and will benefit from building jump casters through the build console with a deploy constructor installed and metal ore. That way, the trip can be made much shorter if the distance is significantly far away from a charted system connected by a gate.

Copy Contract Coordinates to Nav Console and Contract List Indicators
A new option has been added to the 'Current Contract' display that lets the player copy coordinates for an out-of-sector contract over to the navigation console. Simply click on the 'Set Nav to Coordinates' button when available to copy the sector and in-sector coordinates over the navigation console. Also, remember that you can click on the 'Center' button to pan the nav map over to a currently selected nav point that is in another sector. This way, you can preview the destination before travelling there. You can click on 'Center' again to pan the map back over to your current location or keep clicking on it to toggle back and forth.

Additionally, new indicators have been added to the contract list to distinguish between local contracts and inter-sector contracts. Contracts that are local to the sector will have a single '>' character displayed next to them while long range inter-sector contracts will have a double '>>' character. This way, you can quickly gauge at a glance the distance type of each contract without having to preview each or rely on title descriptions only.

Engineer Crew Member Expanded Capabilities
The engineer crew member has been given additional abilities to shorten jump drive delays and transfer equipment items to or from a cargo bay in open space. The rate at which the jump drive delay counter will accelerate is directly linked to the skill rating and can increase by up to 200% (for 100 skill level). In order for an engineer to be able to swap equipment items to/from a cargo bay, they will need a skill rating above 70.

New Sound Effects
New ambient sound effects and systems have been added for ship proximity and station gates. These sounds loop and can change pitch for a doppler effect based on rate of approach/departure, fades left/right based on relative position in space, and change volume based on distance. As the result, the original 'flyby.wav' sound effect has been replaced and now uses this new format. Likewise, a separate dedicated sound system is available for capital ships and uses the filename 'flyby-capital.wav'. For station gates, the filename is 'ambient-base.wav'.

Multiplayer Quest System
The new multiplayer quest system shares its resources, location triggers, event systems, timers, object entity systems, audio system, and file management system with the single player quest framework. This means that it has nearly the same functional capabilities as the single player system and can load/play existing single player quests in multiplayer while also being able to link players together to progress cooperatively. The player that activates a quest has the option of linking other players in. This is done after activating a quest and then forming a trade link with another interested player. Once the trade link is active, a new 'Initiate Quest Link' button will appear in the trade console on the lower right side. The player with the activated quest can then click on that button to begin the linking process and quest data will then be synchronized between the two players. The length of time it takes for a link to be finished depends on the size of the quest. The largest quests might take somewhere around 20-30 seconds to fully transfer. A progress meter will appear on the trade console when the process starts and the trade link needs to be maintained until the data transfer is complete. Once the process is finished, the joining player will then be linked to the quest at its current stage and the latest instructions displayed in their message log. From there, both players can then join in the quest. If either of them completes an objective in the same sector, it will advance the quest stage for both players automatically. If an objective is completed in a different sector, then any player(s) left behind will not advance until they either enter the sector and/or complete the objective (depending on the location trigger and pending objective). For players and script writers, there are several additional conditions and limitations associated with the new multiplayer quest system that are available at this page: https://www.starwraith.com/evochronlegacy/development-mpquests.htm

War Zone Territory Control System
A new dedicated territory control system has been implemented for war zones to support shifting control levels related to combat results. It operates as a secondary system linked to the main territory control framework and enables both ALC/FDN combat successes to influence regional territory control as well as Vonari combat successes. Like the main territory control system, the war zone system bases its level adjustments on raw presence, so the more ships that are destroyed on one side or the other, the more the territory control shifts if favor of the victor. The rate of shifting is much more limited with this system (about 1/10 the rate), providing plenty of room for players to advance their military rank before an entire war zone region might be under a human faction's control. Victories by Vonari will also obviously slow the rate of conquest over time. With the secondary territory control system, Vonari presence is considered an initial determining factor for what level of control to show on the quadrant map. Then as Vonari control level may decrease, the system will transition over to considering human faction control as the main factor. So once Vonari control falls far enough, the map will switch over to displaying what human faction has primary control, whether ALC or FDN. As a result, when you hold the mouse pointer over a displayed war zone, you'll see a primary region number displayed first and a 'WZ' number in parenthesis after it. The primary region number is what both of the territory control systems use for tracking human faction control levels while the war zone region number monitors Vonari control. This way, all regions of charted space in the game can now have territory control level changes, including consideration of Vonari as a third entity for war zones.

Shield Effect for Energy Weapon Impacts
A new dedicated shield effect has been added specific to energy weapon impacts, both beam cannons and particle cannons. The original impact effect remains for collisions while the new system renders energy ring bursts at points of impact. The effect is persistent so multiple impacts can produce multiple bursts at different angles. Like the collision impact effect, the brightness is reduced when the player is in cockpit view to minimize visual obstruction. The effect is also color coded, providing blue for human ships and red for Vonari. As a result of the new systems, there are now two types of shield effects along with the new hull effect to help visually distinguish the type of impact that occurs (and when direct hull damage starts applying to a target). The new directional effect will stop once an array is low enough and the direct hull impact effects will then occur.

Server Program Updates
The server programs have been updated to accommodate the new gameplay systems/options that affect multiplayer. Also, on some system configurations, the No-GUI version of the server program could previously operate at a rate that may cause some timing mechanisms to be misaligned. The solution is to provide a CPU wait level value in line 810 of the 'text8.dat' file which allows various internal timing operations to run at a more predictable and fixed rate. A default value of 10 has now been added to the included settings file for the No-GUI version of the program.

Local Market Inventories Synchronized in Multiplayer
After a few instances of local market inventory behavior being reported as a 'bug' or something missing and requests over the years, such items are now synchronized between players in multiplayer by default. Previously, individualized vendors were provided where local market inventories would vary between players as though each were interacting with a unique vendor and what one player was offered might not be the same as another. Each vendor could have a certain collection of items they wanted to offer a player they knew so each could have unique opportunities with the items available to them. After gauging feedback and handling technical support on the subject, local inventory items are now synchronized between players on a common marketplace. This will mean that when a player buys something from a market where other players are present, that item will be removed from the inventory list for everyone. To keep a requested element in place, existing inventory pool shifting after changing sector location remains for easier restocking/shuffling options. Likewise, in-sector inventory changes also continue to function as before (affected by AI ship docking and simulated trade behavior). Price variations will also still apply depending on individual player reputation/rating and license conditions. Additionally, carrier inventories will continue to be individualized since those inventory pools are generated by player weapon selection/configuration rather than any kind of shared market conditions. If a server operator wants to restore the original individualized vendor functionality, add/edit line 958 in the 'text8.dat' settings file and include a value of 10 in that line.

On a similar note, contract lists can now optionally be synchronized between players to limit the available contracts to one set for all players, rather than individualized job offers based on player track records. Unlike local inventory markets however, this option is disabled by default, allowing players to continue to have unique job offers based on their track record. This has been retained to keep the incentive of joining with other players who might be offered better contracts with higher pay, helping to increase the potential pay of lower ranked/rated players by joining with higher rated players to cooperatively complete higher level contracts. However, for players interested in only a static set of contracts common to all players in the same sector, synchronized contract lists can be enabled by entering a value of 20 (with synchronized inventory items enabled) or 30 (with synchronized inventory items disabled) in line 958 (further details provided in the 'text8.dat' file itself). Pay will also be synchronized to the flight lead player in the sector depending on that player's earned rank/rating level. Also, passenger and patient transport offers remain unique to each player based on availability/track record, so those will be player-specific while other objectives and their parameters are synchronized when the option is enabled.

Font Appearance and Options
The default font has been modified to be larger by default with wider characters and improved visibility across a wider range of screen resolutions. In conjunction with this change are further modifications to internal spacing and placement parameters to accommodate a wider array of possible custom fonts. If you are using either the 'Medium' or 'Large' font size setting, some spacing may be slightly miscalibrated after updating to this build, potentially causing some characters to overlap slightly. Simple click on the font size setting again and the game will automatically adjust the internal settings to better align the text placement with the new font.

Update Details
This update is an effort to collectively implement some of the last remaining feature requests and development goals that have been pending for a while. Since the game is likely reaching a more finalized state, I've wanted to explore a few remaining options that have been requested over the years or were things I've been interest in. Several such options/features have been left out of the game for a while due to uncertain gameplay balance implications, bug risks, technical issues, and/or time constraints. But with more available time recently, I've been able to prototype and evaluate them to select the ones that are the least risk/error prone, have been the most popular, and/or add positive qualities to the game's intended design. Some of the additions in this update have changed and/or added large sections of code in addition to altering the way certain existing systems operate. This required some additional weeks of testing and fixing until the game reached a stable level so that the new options could now be incorporated into this update. I plan to continue working on Evochron and Arvoch (including a pending update for the latter) for the time being with potential future updates likely focusing more on fixes, tuning/tweaking, and/or finishing touches. On a related note, I am considering a new project, something I've wanted to create for decades as a concept more similar to my earliest work back in the 80's and 90's (simpler in gameplay scope, but with elements of more advanced combat and configuration options). I don't know yet if it will pan out to an actual game, but I plan on devoting some more time to it over the next year or so to explore what might be possible.

Customizing Kit
The customizing kit has been updated to add new options for the hangar docking area banner, custom scaling levels for certain HUD readout indicators, new shield effects, and custom texture options for the missile locking mode indicator: https://www.starwraith.com/evochronlegacy/customkitse/readme.htm

Version 2.0388 includes the following improvements:

- Added holographic banners (five directional projections) to cities.
- Added ability to apply custom names to player-built cities (see notes).
- Added city specific save state parameters to enable respawning at any city.
- Upper HUD image index updated to reduce vertical size and video memory consumption.
- Updated asteroid icon on nav map to reduce obstruction and scale better with zoom levels.
- Added 'City' label to highlight details on nav map to better distinguish city names from planets.
- Added ability to require minimum hull damage level and minimum fuel level to quest event directives.
- Added options to specify damage levels to subsystems and hull in quest event directives 12-14 and 99.
- VR system updated to better align viewpoint position alignment with head movement and rotation for all scaling levels.
- Updated hangar inventory and ship item lists with left-justified numbers to align with other lists.
- Message log lines now always crop when console is open (preventing layering issues with buttons).
- ILS guidance ranging for secondary cities expanded to 100K from 10K (primary still prioritized).
- Quest direction indicators now show on HUD and radar when destination is outside current sector.
- Quest destination indicator on nav map now also displayed in quadrant mode.
- Added text file option to adjust rate of movement for cockpit structures.
- Reduced shield recharger energy consumption and increased charge rate.
- Reduced afterburner drive energy consumption by about 300%.
- Font changes for improved legibility and clarity.
- Minor improvements and fixes.


Notes:

The ability to apply custom names has been added to player-built cities and works much like the space station command module naming system. When creating a city command module, the naming option appears and you can type in a desired name for the city you are building. Then when the city is highlighted on the nav map, its name and faction affiliation will appear. When the cities were originally established for the game over 10 years ago, this capability was not in place, but cities were given their host planet's name for the same field now used for this new option. So all default cities will carry the matching planet's name, but will also now use numerical sequencing along with a new 'City' label to help distinguish them from the planet they are on. The main trade city on a planet (the '+' indicator on the nav map) will have just its name displayed. All additional cities will have a sequential number after their name. So for example, the main trade city on Pearl will be displayed as 'Pearl (ALC) City' while the second city will be displayed as 'Pearl-2 (ALC) City' and so on. If you give two or more cities on a planet the same name, this same numerical distinction will apply while unique custom names will be displayed on their own. All faction link mechanisms remain in place, the displayed name can now simply be unique to each built city.

City specific save state parameters have now been integrated into the profile template, which enables the ability to respawn at different cities. Previously, the player's ship would be migrated to the local main trade city on a planet at each respawn, rather than a specific city the player may have saved at. It was originally set up this way to better account for cities that might not exist between servers or between single player and multiplayer. This new system keeps track of specific city placements relative to planet rotation and existance states upon startup, which allows for respawning at the same city you save at. If you respawn at a city that doesn't exist in a new universe you start in, the game will either default to the main trade city as before, or place you near the planet out in space at a safe distance if no cities exist at all on the planet.

The same holographic banners on stations have been added to cities as well and will update with sector control conditions. So any time you take over a sector with a new command module, the city banners will be updated to match the station's. This helps to visually distinguish which faction a city is linked to without requiring the player to hold the pointer over a city icon on the nav map.

The asteroid field icon has been updated to reduce obstruction of other icons on the nav map and to provide a more complete indication of coverage area. The texture is also now looped/tiled at different levels to better align with various zoom settings and there is now a slight 3D shape to the icon (more visible in VR).

The shield recharger has been updated to operate differently by request. First, the device now uses significantly less energy while also applying a higher level of array recharging. Additionally, the device now operates smoothly rather than in pulses, so it transfers energy in much smaller consistent increments without the staged application nor chirping sound of the earlier system. And it also now displays an indicator on the HUD when active (much like the anti-missile system).

You can now adjust the level of movement for cockpit structures with a text file named 'ccpitmove.txt' in either the save data folder ('\Documents\EvochronLegacySE') or the '\media' folder inside the game's installation folder and in the first line, enter a value for the level of movement. The default value is 1.0 and you can set it to 0.0 for no movement or a higher value for more movement.

The VR system has been updated to more precisely align viewpoint changes that occur when the player rotates and moves their head. The new system should provide consistent behavior across the entire range of optional scaling parameters. These changes will likely affect one existing parameter, which may need adjustment to accommodate the offset corrections applied in this version. The 'HeadHeight' value may need to be changed if not left at the default -1.25 value. So for VR users, adjusting this value in the 'media\vrsetup.txt' file may be needed after installing this update.