Evochron Legacy SE News

Version 1.0718 includes the following improvements:

- Damage state system added for installed equipment (see notes).
- Quadrant location icon no longer remains visible in 3D and slide map modes.
- Ability to use the ship formation system to approach targeted objects added.
- Contracts enabled for ALC/FDN players at IND cities when no station is present in the sector.
- Set speed selection for autopilot formation system updated for smoother behavior at closer ranges.
- Optional OCRS (Off-Center Readout System) added to HUD for off-center pilot rotations/views (see notes).
- Axis precision for Mouse Look mode can now to scale up to the current display resolution for smoother control.
- Engine damage now impacts its percentage of operational functionality based on damage level, rather than only set speed.
- New contract type added for players with installed repair beams to provide on site repairs of stranded ships with heavy damage.
- Minor fixes and improvements to the recent contract acceptance and management system for opposing factions in the same sector.
- Reinforcements can now be placed at waypoints in disputed regions upon arrival (rather than delayed) for larger scale battles.
- Waypoint marker now renders on terrain walker HUD if another player accepts a contract and/or if player transfers from ship to terrain walker.
- In high econ/tech systems (above about 85), AI ships can now use high end missiles, including disruptors and Leech EMP.
- Initial planet and city inventory configurations/updates better linked to latest regional econ/tech levels.
- Improvements to AI decision making in combat, particularly when/where engaging capital ships with weapons.
- Hostile ships destroyed count notifications added to message log for player-to-player arranged contracts.
- Military contracts in war zones from carriers now better aligned with parameters for station contracts.
- Improved contract pool updates for combat objectives in multiplayer when station conditions change.
- Contract pay value for patrol objectives increased from 50% to 110% for each additional waypoint.
- Improved synchronizing between players for intercept meteor and destroy asteroid contracts.
- Residual MDTS lock state that could occur when switching views now disables as expected.
- Minor visual artifacts that could occur with mining/repair beams on other ships fixed.
- Waypoint total now included with each 'objectives completed' message log notification.
- Attack smuggler contract now more likely in systems supporting the objective type.
- Asteroid cave detail texture aligned with new structure also applied to moons.
- MDTS tracking behavior improved for smoother indicator movement.
- Effective range of repair beam increased to about 180 meters.
- Minor UI click range improvements.


Notes:

By request, installed equipment items can now be damaged in battle, rather than only having the potential of being destroyed. They can now also be repaired at a station or by a repair system (if undamaged itself), much like the subsystems on the ship. If an equipment item is damaged, it won't be able to function (a 'not installed' message will appear when trying to activate an equipment device that requires manual control), but it can still be restored through repair. Previously, there was only a chance of it being destroyed, which required replacing it. There is still a chance of equipment items being destroyed, but it is now much more likely that they will initially just be damaged with the possibility of repair. Damaged equipment items will be considered repairable, but not sellable or useable. So you won't be able to sell, store or transfer a damaged equipment item until it is repaired. Likewise, all equipment items will be sold to the player undamaged.

A dedicated OCRS (Off-Center Readout System) has been added to the helmet visor HUD system. The OCRS will display your ship's velocity (all six readouts), hull damage status, weapon energy status, compass heading, and pitch any time your head rotation is beyond about 30 degrees yaw or 20 degrees pitch from center. With this new system, you can look around (including rear and above camera views) and remain aware of the various readouts that would otherwise only be available when you look directly forward. The only conditions for this system are that the OCRS mode is enabled and the HUD must be turned on. You can optionally turn the system off and on using the new default Alt-H key combination.

Reinforcements can now be present at a waypoint in disputed regions upon arrival. Previously, they could arrive, but would often be delayed. Allowing reinforcements to join in at the beginning of a battle allows for larger scale battles involving more ships of each faction type. This also provides a little more balanced gameplay in regions where such conditions should apply. The same difficulty conditions will still apply in regions where the opposing faction has majority control.

If the engine subsystem sustains damage, it will now operate intermittently based on the percentage of damage, rather than only impacting the available set speed range. This is a fairly significant change to the damage state behavior, but one that provides a more realistic sense of engine damage rather than just linearly capping set speed.

Edit: Quick update to fix a reported bug, version number changed to 1.0718.

Version 1.0718 includes the following improvements:

- Damage state system added for installed equipment (see notes).
- Quadrant location icon no longer remains visible in 3D and slide map modes.
- Ability to use the ship formation system to approach targeted objects added.
- Contracts enabled for ALC/FDN players at IND cities when no station is present in the sector.
- Set speed selection for autopilot formation system updated for smoother behavior at closer ranges.
- Optional OCRS (Off-Center Readout System) added to HUD for off-center pilot rotations/views (see notes).
- Axis precision for Mouse Look mode can now to scale up to the current display resolution for smoother control.
- Engine damage now impacts its percentage of operational functionality based on damage level, rather than only set speed.
- New contract type added for players with installed repair beams to provide on site repairs of stranded ships with heavy damage.
- Minor fixes and improvements to the recent contract acceptance and management system for opposing factions in the same sector.
- Reinforcements can now be placed at waypoints in disputed regions upon arrival (rather than delayed) for larger scale battles.
- Waypoint marker now renders on terrain walker HUD if another player accepts a contract and/or if player transfers from ship to terrain walker.
- In high econ/tech systems (above about 85), AI ships can now use high end missiles, including disruptors and Leech EMP.
- Initial planet and city inventory configurations/updates better linked to latest regional econ/tech levels.
- Improvements to AI decision making in combat, particularly when/where engaging capital ships with weapons.
- Hostile ships destroyed count notifications added to message log for player-to-player arranged contracts.
- Military contracts in war zones from carriers now better aligned with parameters for station contracts.
- Improved contract pool updates for combat objectives in multiplayer when station conditions change.
- Contract pay value for patrol objectives increased from 50% to 110% for each additional waypoint.
- Improved synchronizing between players for intercept meteor and destroy asteroid contracts.
- Residual MDTS lock state that could occur when switching views now disables as expected.
- Minor visual artifacts that could occur with mining/repair beams on other ships fixed.
- Waypoint total now included with each 'objectives completed' message log notification.
- Attack smuggler contract now more likely in systems supporting the objective type.
- Asteroid cave detail texture aligned with new structure also applied to moons.
- MDTS tracking behavior improved for smoother indicator movement.
- Effective range of repair beam increased to about 180 meters.
- Minor UI click range improvements.


Notes:

By request, installed equipment items can now be damaged in battle, rather than only having the potential of being destroyed. They can now also be repaired at a station or by a repair system (if undamaged itself), much like the subsystems on the ship. If an equipment item is damaged, it won't be able to function (a 'not installed' message will appear when trying to activate an equipment device that requires manual control), but it can still be restored through repair. Previously, there was only a chance of it being destroyed, which required replacing it. There is still a chance of equipment items being destroyed, but it is now much more likely that they will initially just be damaged with the possibility of repair. Damaged equipment items will be considered repairable, but not sellable or useable. So you won't be able to sell, store or transfer a damaged equipment item until it is repaired. Likewise, all equipment items will be sold to the player undamaged.

A dedicated OCRS (Off-Center Readout System) has been added to the helmet visor HUD system. The OCRS will display your ship's velocity (all six readouts), hull damage status, weapon energy status, compass heading, and pitch any time your head rotation is beyond about 30 degrees yaw or 20 degrees pitch from center. With this new system, you can look around (including rear and above camera views) and remain aware of the various readouts that would otherwise only be available when you look directly forward. The only conditions for this system are that the OCRS mode is enabled and the HUD must be turned on. You can optionally turn the system off and on using the new default Alt-H key combination.

Reinforcements can now be present at a waypoint in disputed regions upon arrival. Previously, they could arrive, but would often be delayed. Allowing reinforcements to join in at the beginning of a battle allows for larger scale battles involving more ships of each faction type. This also provides a little more balanced gameplay in regions where such conditions should apply. The same difficulty conditions will still apply in regions where the opposing faction has majority control.

If the engine subsystem sustains damage, it will now operate intermittently based on the percentage of damage, rather than only impacting the available set speed range. This is a fairly significant change to the damage state behavior, but one that provides a more realistic sense of engine damage rather than just linearly capping set speed.

Edit: Quick update to fix a reported bug, version number changed to 1.0718.

Version 1.0578 includes the following improvements:

- Target pointer moved to outer gunsight rim.
- Moon texturing updated for improve detail.
- Dedicated texture set added for Earth's moon.
- Particle cannon impact effects added for moon surfaces.
- Ability to enable terrain walker on the surface of moons added by player request.
- Mining options on moons significantly expanded for more variety and abundance of materials.
- Target pointer textures updated and default scaling set to 110 to accommodate new pointer location.
- Improved AI targeting for station weapon turrets and ships firing missiles at players with an active gun turret.
- Improved AI behavior when IND players are close to ALC and/or FDN players/ships to eliminate unprovoked attacks.
- In gun turret mode, target hull and shield status will now only be displayed when in range to avoid incorrect values.
- Drop down menu option added to control device selection system (top middle of axis and key/button configuration menus).
- 'AUTOLEVEL' text indicator added to HUD to let player know when the flight control computer is actively levelling the ship automatically (over terrain, water, etc).
- Contract restriction system that would prevent players of opposing factions from accepting in-sector contracts removed by request.
- Mouse wheel zoom, right click snap zoom, and left click nav point selection options for offset SY sector locations expanded.
- Allied player ship blips on nav map could occasionally be duplicated (spanning two locations) in multiplayer, fixed.
- Improved trade link activation if two players send trade link request at about the same time in multiplayer.
- Sensor and ship blips on nav map better aligned with 3D map structure and its object icon placement system.
- Drop down menus added to Global Deadzone setting options (for both joystick/gamepad and mouse modes).
- Axis configuration menu restructured in various places for improved spacing and mouse click ranges.
- Improvements to physics and collisions for conflicting gravity fields between stars and moons.
- Exhaust flares would remain when autopilot reached max cruise speed, now correctly disable.
- Both cockpits updated to adjust seats so headrests are better aligned with pilot viewpoint.
- New customizing options added for the AVL (Absolute Velocity Level) indicator (see notes).
- Inventory console no longer shows lowest sell price for cannons when one isn't loaded.
- Selected sector location indicator added to nav console in nav map mode (lower left).
- New option for global custom values added for civilian engine types (see notes).
- Server programs updated to allow for twice the packet update rate (see notes).
- Ship pathway tracking indicators added to ship's Heads-Up-Display (see notes).
- Improved update performance for AI ships in multiplayer for smoother movement.
- Target range and faction indicators added to gun turret's Heads-Up-Display.
- Faster initial loading of save game list for Pilot Manager menu.
- Performance improvements for high station/city module levels.
- Performance improvements for close proximity to planets.


Notes:

The tapering and alignment cap values for the AVL indicator can now be customized. Use a filename 'avlsettings.txt' created and placed in the game's install folder and use line one for the tapering value (default value is 10.0) and line two for the alignment cap (default value is 0.0018). This can change the behavior of the AVL indicator to be less responsive so it is less prone to momentary variations by making the indicator slower to respond to rapid changes in distance over time measurements, which can better accommodate possible significant intermittent performance fluctuations on some systems.

Pathway tracking indicators have been added to the Heads-Up-Display in mode 2. These indicators provide short term tracking of a ship's direction and speed to provide pilots with a better visual reference for the movement of ships around them. The new indicators are optional and can also be changed. By default the indicators will be enabled, you can deactivate them in the Options > 3D Cockpit selection menu by unchecking the box next to 'HUD Ship Pathways'. The setting for these indicators is kept in a file named hudpathways.txt in the save data folder and it will be created the next time you launch the game after installing this update. After the file has been created by the game, you can also optionally open the hudpathways.txt file in the save data folder to change the zdepth mode of the indicators. Mode 0 will not render the indicators at all, mode 1 will render the indicators with zdepth at distance, and mode 2 will render the indicators without zdepth consideration (making them visible through cockpit structures as with other HUD indicators, mode 2 is the default mode). The second line in the file will set the scale factor in case you want to make the indicators larger or smaller (1.0 is the default value). You can also optionally change the textures used for the indicators, see the customizing kit for details.

A new system has been added for custom engine outlet placement values for civilian spacecraft. The filename is 'enginesciv.txt' and the file needs to be placed in the custom \ships folder for its values to apply. Custom outlet placement values can be entered for each civilian engine type, providing a way to specify global values for each engine type not bound to a specific civilian ship type. More details and a sample file are provided in the updated customizing kit. The 'EvochronLegacyTEUtility.exe' viewing utility in the customizing kit has also been updated to support this new option.

The server programs have been updated to allow for a 50ms update speed, half the previous minimum. This can provide a faster update speed for smoother ship movement. However, to minimize potential bandwidth overload problems, this option is only recommended for LAN or very fast and close proximity internet connections and/or with only a few players. The option can only be specified in the text8.dat configuration file. There are no other significant changes to the server programs, so this is only an optional update if you want to have the setting available (LAN groups that were/are interested in the option). As with any server update, if you install this version, be sure to back up your text8.dat, factionmap.txt, and universemulti.txt files before installing it to retain your server settings, territory map status, and build modules.

For players with a rather long list of save games, the initial loading phase to populate the list in the pilot manager menu has been improved significantly. During local testing, it would take about 8 seconds on average to generate the list of profiles with 12 save games. After the improvements, the load time was reduced to a little over 3 seconds, more than twice the speed.

Some players are using a number of different control devices (sticks, throttles, rudder pedals, control panels, etc) spanning several different USB ports. This can create a significant list of devices from which to select each one when binding controls. Using the left and right selection arrows at the top of the axis and button configurations menus can require a lot of clicking to toggle through them all to get to a desired device. So a new drop down menu has been added to the device selection system, allowing the player to select a specific device quickly with just two clicks, rather than have to keep clicking on the arrow buttons to toggle through them all.

Updates will likely progress at a slower pace at this point as this update largely completes the request and to-do list I've been working on since the game launched. So with the list reaching a point of being fulfilled along with some recent real life things (which may also keep me away from a computer periodically over the coming weeks/months), I'm now looking toward what things to possibly work on in the future for the game. Such things might or might not be larger in scale and/or involve significantly more time and coding work. If you have comments on things you'd like to see implemented that are within the space flight simulation and combat focus of the game, please send your feedback to me via e-mail (starwraith.com > contact). I'm also considering starting to write a strategy guide and/or create tutorial videos that include the game's recently expanded features/options and changes, if time permits. So if there are also specific topics or details you'd like to see included in one of those, I'd welcome your input.

Version 1.0578 includes the following improvements:

- Target pointer moved to outer gunsight rim.
- Moon texturing updated for improve detail.
- Dedicated texture set added for Earth's moon.
- Particle cannon impact effects added for moon surfaces.
- Ability to enable terrain walker on the surface of moons added by player request.
- Mining options on moons significantly expanded for more variety and abundance of materials.
- Target pointer textures updated and default scaling set to 110 to accommodate new pointer location.
- Improved AI targeting for station weapon turrets and ships firing missiles at players with an active gun turret.
- Improved AI behavior when IND players are close to ALC and/or FDN players/ships to eliminate unprovoked attacks.
- In gun turret mode, target hull and shield status will now only be displayed when in range to avoid incorrect values.
- Drop down menu option added to control device selection system (top middle of axis and key/button configuration menus).
- 'AUTOLEVEL' text indicator added to HUD to let player know when the flight control computer is actively levelling the ship automatically (over terrain, water, etc).
- Contract restriction system that would prevent players of opposing factions from accepting in-sector contracts removed by request.
- Mouse wheel zoom, right click snap zoom, and left click nav point selection options for offset SY sector locations expanded.
- Allied player ship blips on nav map could occasionally be duplicated (spanning two locations) in multiplayer, fixed.
- Improved trade link activation if two players send trade link request at about the same time in multiplayer.
- Sensor and ship blips on nav map better aligned with 3D map structure and its object icon placement system.
- Drop down menus added to Global Deadzone setting options (for both joystick/gamepad and mouse modes).
- Axis configuration menu restructured in various places for improved spacing and mouse click ranges.
- Improvements to physics and collisions for conflicting gravity fields between stars and moons.
- Exhaust flares would remain when autopilot reached max cruise speed, now correctly disable.
- Both cockpits updated to adjust seats so headrests are better aligned with pilot viewpoint.
- New customizing options added for the AVL (Absolute Velocity Level) indicator (see notes).
- Inventory console no longer shows lowest sell price for cannons when one isn't loaded.
- Selected sector location indicator added to nav console in nav map mode (lower left).
- New option for global custom values added for civilian engine types (see notes).
- Server programs updated to allow for twice the packet update rate (see notes).
- Ship pathway tracking indicators added to ship's Heads-Up-Display (see notes).
- Improved update performance for AI ships in multiplayer for smoother movement.
- Target range and faction indicators added to gun turret's Heads-Up-Display.
- Faster initial loading of save game list for Pilot Manager menu.
- Performance improvements for high station/city module levels.
- Performance improvements for close proximity to planets.


Notes:

The tapering and alignment cap values for the AVL indicator can now be customized. Use a filename 'avlsettings.txt' created and placed in the game's install folder and use line one for the tapering value (default value is 10.0) and line two for the alignment cap (default value is 0.0018). This can change the behavior of the AVL indicator to be less responsive so it is less prone to momentary variations by making the indicator slower to respond to rapid changes in distance over time measurements, which can better accommodate possible significant intermittent performance fluctuations on some systems.

Pathway tracking indicators have been added to the Heads-Up-Display in mode 2. These indicators provide short term tracking of a ship's direction and speed to provide pilots with a better visual reference for the movement of ships around them. The new indicators are optional and can also be changed. By default the indicators will be enabled, you can deactivate them in the Options > 3D Cockpit selection menu by unchecking the box next to 'HUD Ship Pathways'. The setting for these indicators is kept in a file named hudpathways.txt in the save data folder and it will be created the next time you launch the game after installing this update. After the file has been created by the game, you can also optionally open the hudpathways.txt file in the save data folder to change the zdepth mode of the indicators. Mode 0 will not render the indicators at all, mode 1 will render the indicators with zdepth at distance, and mode 2 will render the indicators without zdepth consideration (making them visible through cockpit structures as with other HUD indicators, mode 2 is the default mode). The second line in the file will set the scale factor in case you want to make the indicators larger or smaller (1.0 is the default value). You can also optionally change the textures used for the indicators, see the customizing kit for details.

A new system has been added for custom engine outlet placement values for civilian spacecraft. The filename is 'enginesciv.txt' and the file needs to be placed in the custom \ships folder for its values to apply. Custom outlet placement values can be entered for each civilian engine type, providing a way to specify global values for each engine type not bound to a specific civilian ship type. More details and a sample file are provided in the updated customizing kit. The 'EvochronLegacyTEUtility.exe' viewing utility in the customizing kit has also been updated to support this new option.

The server programs have been updated to allow for a 50ms update speed, half the previous minimum. This can provide a faster update speed for smoother ship movement. However, to minimize potential bandwidth overload problems, this option is only recommended for LAN or very fast and close proximity internet connections and/or with only a few players. The option can only be specified in the text8.dat configuration file. There are no other significant changes to the server programs, so this is only an optional update if you want to have the setting available (LAN groups that were/are interested in the option). As with any server update, if you install this version, be sure to back up your text8.dat, factionmap.txt, and universemulti.txt files before installing it to retain your server settings, territory map status, and build modules.

For players with a rather long list of save games, the initial loading phase to populate the list in the pilot manager menu has been improved significantly. During local testing, it would take about 8 seconds on average to generate the list of profiles with 12 save games. After the improvements, the load time was reduced to a little over 3 seconds, more than twice the speed.

Some players are using a number of different control devices (sticks, throttles, rudder pedals, control panels, etc) spanning several different USB ports. This can create a significant list of devices from which to select each one when binding controls. Using the left and right selection arrows at the top of the axis and button configurations menus can require a lot of clicking to toggle through them all to get to a desired device. So a new drop down menu has been added to the device selection system, allowing the player to select a specific device quickly with just two clicks, rather than have to keep clicking on the arrow buttons to toggle through them all.

Updates will likely progress at a slower pace at this point as this update largely completes the request and to-do list I've been working on since the game launched. So with the list reaching a point of being fulfilled along with some recent real life things (which may also keep me away from a computer periodically over the coming weeks/months), I'm now looking toward what things to possibly work on in the future for the game. Such things might or might not be larger in scale and/or involve significantly more time and coding work. If you have comments on things you'd like to see implemented that are within the space flight simulation and combat focus of the game, please send your feedback to me via e-mail (starwraith.com > contact). I'm also considering starting to write a strategy guide and/or create tutorial videos that include the game's recently expanded features/options and changes, if time permits. So if there are also specific topics or details you'd like to see included in one of those, I'd welcome your input.

Version 1.0528 includes the following improvements:

- Customizing options added for target direction pointer.
- Target direction pointer relocated to edge of inner gunsight rim for improved legibility.
- Internal font creation/coloring optimized to use fewer indexes and provide faster loading.
- Forward/reverse inertial thruster output now displayed at engine outlets in external view modes.
- Space station radio chatter voice selection now set to a fixed value based on location (player request).
- New green highlight lines added to quadrant map to better indicate player's current sector location visually.
- Server programs updated to improve behavior with large 'chatlogfull' file save delays potentially causing player drops (optional update).
- New bar graph indicators added to outer gunsight rim for weapon energy, hull damage, set velocity, forward velocity, gravity, and altitude.
- Server programs updated to accept default 'Dedicated1' as a server name if using private mode for LAN/direct IP hosting (also an optional update).
- Cargo, equipment, and missiles that can't be transferred to a newly built replacement ship is/are now automatically sold for credits rather than discarded.
- When fuel is sold during item transfers to a newly built replacement ship, the event is now displayed in the message log along with the credits received.
- MDTS system updated to auto-lock weapon aiming almost instantly when a target initially reaches range, eliminating the previous momentary delay.
- Automatic repair and restore system for sw.cfg settings file implemented to attempt to recover a lost or damaged file due to external interference.
- Optional digital readouts (enabled through hudtext.dat) now display in both HUD modes 1 and 2.
- 'INERTIAL', 'IDS X', and 'IDS OFF' labels moved to 'text.dat' file for optional customizing.
- Several minor UI improvements (click ranges and mouse over sound prompts where needed).
- Screen resolution list in Options menu updated to better sort from lowest to highest.
- Quest marker not appearing in nav map rear view mode under certain conditions fixed.
- Destination jump/nav waypoint (yellow marker) is now displayed on quadrant map.
- Nav Map/Quadrant map toggle button added to zoomed map mode.
- Highlight bars added to multiplayer public server list.
- Compass tape given brighter band for better contrast.


Notes:

Servers that had the setting for saving the full chatlog enabled could run into long delays when trying to save large full chatlog files (particularly if the system running the server program had a slow hard drive). This could happen if the server programs were left for long periods of time without occasional moving/backing up of the full chatlog file(s). The long delay during the save operation could result in players getting dropped. The new server programs can now contend with this condition and better handle long save operation delays without dropping players. It is still recommended that you back up any chatlogfull.txt file periodically to prevent long save delays from impacting gameplay status for connected players.

The target direction pointer has some new formatting and options to accommodate its move to the inner gunsight ring. The pointer is now smaller than before, so it uses a larger arrow pointer relative to the image size as a result. So any custom target pointer images will need to be updated for the new format and placement system. The size of the pointer itself will need to be about twice the size, unless a much smaller pointer is desired. The customizing kit has also been updated with new images to show how the pointer textures should look for the new formatting. The target direction pointer can also now be customized further, beyond just its textures. And these new options will allow you to continue to use the old format, if desired. Just keep in mind that doing so will render the target pointer along the outer gunsight ring on top of the new bar graphs. The texture surface can be scaled as well as the 3D surface it is rendered to. To specify custom scaling values, use a file named 'targetpointer.txt' in a custom \hud folder and include these values in each line:
- 1st value sets the texture UV X scale (default value is 1.0, use 0.5 to use an old format texture image)
- 2nd value sets the texture UV Y scale (default value is 1.0, use 0.5 to use an old format texture image)
- 3rd value sets the texture UV X offset scale (default value is 0, use 0.25 to use an old format texture image)
- 4th value sets the texture UV Y offset scale (default value is 0, use 0.1 to use an old format texture image)
- 5th value sets the scaling percentage for the 3D surface (default value is 40.0)

This build introduces new bar graphs on the rim of the gunsight. These bar graphs provide optional quick visual cues for their respective values. Each bar graph starts from the center of the line that is drawn from the digital readout it corresponds with. So each bar graph starts at its zero value at the center of each corner of the gunsight. Included for gravity and altitude are bar graphs indicating the rate of change with 5 lines used for center, so more lines indicate an increasing rate of change and fewer lines indicate a decreasing rate of change.

The new bar graphs can also be customized or disabled. The bar graphs use a circular format designed to fill in the gunsight, so the placement options for them are based on angles and distance from center. The distance from center value simply sets how far away the circular placement pattern will be for the bar graphs. The starting angle for upper bar graph sets how far above and below the center line to place the upper bar graphs. The lower angle sets where to start the lower bar graphs. All angular distances start from 0 for the horizontal center line of the gunsight. The step distance values tell the game how far apart to space each line in the bar graph, also in angle values. The character index tells the game which character to use for each line in the bar graph. The bar size values tell the game how large to make each bar indicator. The default 12113 value is for a '-' symbol. Characters start from index value 12100 (blank space) and increase from there using the character layout in the bitmap font image. The color mode will render the bar graphs in either standard white/blue with the default 1 value, or green with yellow medium and red low levels when the value is set to 0. To specify custom placement values, use a file named 'hudbargraphs.txt' in a custom \hud folder and include these values in each line:
- 1st value sets the distance from the center of the gunsight (default value is 2.31)
- 2nd value sets the starting angle for the upper bar graphs (default value is 42.5)
- 3rd value sets the starting angle for the lower bar graphs (default value is 48.5)
- 4th value sets the step distance for the upper bar graphs (default value is -1.5)
- 5th value sets the step distance for the lower bar graphs (default value is 1.5)
- 6th value sets the bar X size (default value is 225.0)
- 7th value sets the bar Y size (default value is 50.0)
- 8th value sets the character index to use for the bar graphs (default value is 12113)
- 9th value sets the color mode to use for the bar graphs (blue/white or green with mixed coloring, default value is 1)
- 10th value sets the offset width parameter (longer width for minimum and maximum lines, default value is 1)

Since some users reported problems with the automatic DPI detection and scaling system capping their mouse pointer limits (seemed to be related to using a desktop resolution that was far below what an attached monitor was capable of), the original system has been removed and replaced by one that merely switches to full screen exclusive. This won't provide the maximum potential image quality the display may be capable of, but should now allow for 1:1 mouse limit alignment under such conditions. You can still manually select a desired resolution if you want to try a different setting.

Both the customizing kit and the custom cockpit viewer program have had their version numbers changed to align with the minimum client build they support. The latest updates to both are available on the customizing page here: http://www.starwraith.com/evochronlegacy/customkit/readme.htm

Edit: For Steam, a small update has been applied to provide a redundant achievement check upon loading a profile in case a past achievement award is missed on the Steam side of things for some reason.