Evochron Legacy SE News

Version 2.0378 includes the following improvements:

- Contract preview list mode added to provide a summary of all available contracts.
- IDS scale factor and control mode are now also displayed on the gunsight indicator in HUD mode 2.
- Added key and button binding options to open/close each fleet menu mode and select fleet ships for orders.
- Added support for exporting certain control and physics values via UDP for use with motion tracking devices.
- Increased frequency of eliminate enemy ace and contraband smuggler contracts (bounty hunting) in disputed regions.
- Added key/button mapping options to access quest, system information, and regional news sub-menus as well as viewing hangar details.
- Holographic layer added above station command modules to display station names and faction affiliations.
- Holographic banner system added to display images between hangar entrances for station command modules.
- Missile indicators now display red when targeting the player, yellow when targeting other ships/objects.
- Added new textures/indexes for green level direction indicators to more clearly indicate fleet ships.
- Territory control boxes on nav map now properly inversed when player is affiliated with Federation.
- Indicator symbol added to HUD indicators and target range list/detail display to mark fleet ships.
- Added customizing options to set launch HUD mode, HUD cycle direction, and mode restrictions.
- Added icons to 'Items for Sale' menu list for various commodity, equipment, and weapon items.
- Music systems (both default and custom) added to station lobby, hangar, labs, and shipyard.
- Added ability to specify custom music tracks for particular regions or sector locations.
- Font system updated to standardize color levels between button edges and center bars.
- Pathway lighting added to station gate entrances and other select module sections.
- Added buttons to activate Territory or Econ/Tech overlays in quadrant map mode.
- Maneuvering thrusters (both nozzles and exhaust) reduced in size (see notes).
- Redesigned commodity value display in Econ/Tech quadrant map mode (see notes).
- Added Alt key shortcut to open Econ/Tech quadrant map mode in nav console.
- Added single key/button mapping option for Econ/Tech quadrant nav map mode.
- Added option to enable/disable listing available weapons for sale by type.
- Added options to sort 'Items for Sale' list alphabetically or by price.
- Added ability to load media files from quests in save data folder.
- Added ability to require minimum number of credits in quests.
- Added ability to require specific ship frame type in quests.
- Added ability to spawn cargo containers in quests.
- Minor improvements and fixes.


Notes:

A new contract preview list mode is available in the inventory console which allows the player to view a summary of all available contracts (or missions if in a war zone) with a brief description of each along with the price being offered. The player can then select one from the list to view more details about it. Clicking on 'Contract List' will return to the preview list mode (as will switching between items for sale and contracts). This way, the player doesn't have to toggle through all contracts to see what's available.

The IDS scale factor and control input mode are now displayed on the gunsight indicator in HUD mode 2. New image indexes have been added to support the X1-X9 scale levels along with the 'Off' mode. A dedicated character index has also been added for the control input mode and can be modified to optionally display the scale value. Details available in the revised customizing kit: https://www.starwraith.com/evochronlegacy/customkitse/readme.htm#305

A new option for exporting certain control and physics values has been added to the main Options menu, adding to the previous '3D Head Tracking' setting that is now named 'Head/Motion Tracking'. The new button allows you to activate both the head tracking (TrackIR) mode as well as a new 'Motion' option that enables broadcasting values over a UDP port. Motion tracking devices can then receive this data and process it for simulating motion effects. Details on exported values and custom configuration options are available in the customizing kit: https://www.starwraith.com/evochronlegacy/customkitse/readme.htm#507

A new customizing option has been added to specify the HUD mode upon launching, the direction HUD modes cycle, and restrictions on available HUD modes. To apply such options, create a text file named 'hudcyclesettings.txt' in either the save data folder (\Documents\EvochronLegacySE) or the '\media' folder within the game's installation folder. You can then enter these lines to set values:

HUDLaunch=2
HUDCycleD=1
HUDActive=0

The 'HUDLaunch' parameter will set the HUD mode when the game starts or when respawning. Set to either 1 for mode 1 or 2 for mode 2. The 'HUDCycleD' parameter will set the direction the HUD modes are cycled in. Set to 1 for increasing increments or -1 for decreasing increments. The 'HUDActive' parameter will select which HUD modes will be available/active in the range. Set to 0 to allow the full range of HUD modes that includes off, mode 1, and mode 2. Set to 1 to not allow turning off the HUD entirely, leaving only mode 1 and mode 2 available. Set to 2 to restrict the modes to off and mode 1. Set to 3 to restrict the modes to off and mode 2.

The font system has been updated to standardize color levels between button edges and center bars. This allows for more consistent color matching (no more trying to guess between the different color levels, they are now 1:1) and provides more available variety for brightness when holding the mouse over buttons in the game. The included default font images (in the '\media' folder) has been updated for this new alignment and can be used as a reference for how to change any existing custom font images that may be in place.

Maneuvering thrusters have been reduced in size by about 2/3 for a more subtle appearance (based on feedback/requests over the last few years). The game will automatically update any custom thruster placements and scaling for the new layout, so changes can be made later if larger thruster nozzles are desired. Otherwise, both the nozzles and exhaust effects have been reduced to give the frames a little more of an aerodynamic appearance with less hull surface disruption. The thruster placement utility for the customizing kit has also been updated to accommodate these changes.

The custom music system has been updated to support specifying music tracks for particular regions or sector locations. This way, you can have the game play specific music that takes location into account in addition to threat level. To implement this option, first place the maximum number of global music files you want added to the '\music' folder. This tells the game what the maximum number of tracks is to search for. Next, if you want to specify tracks for sectors, create one or more folders inside the '\music' folder with sector locations in their names using underscores to separate the values. For example, to add music files to the sector specific to the planet Pearl, the folder name would be '3500_0_-1800'. Then copy the tracks you want over to that folder starting with 'musiclevel1-1.ogg'. Remember to keep music files in sets of three for each threat level (1-1, 1-2, and 1-3). The game will allow an existing track to finish before selecting a new one, either sector/region based or just baseline random, unless a new threat level condition triggers a new load event as per normal operation. To specify music files by region, use the word 'region' in the folder name along with the region number. For example, to add music files to the region that contains the entire Pearl system, you would use the folder name 'region179'. You don't need to include the total number of music file sets located in the base '\music' folder, the maximum number of tracks specific to a sector or region folder simply needs to be the same or less than the music file sets in the '\music' folder.

The commodity value display in the navigation console's quadrant map mode has been redesigned to show both the price variation bar graphs as well as the specific values for all commodities at the same time. So highlighting a region will now provide a more comprehensive and detailed overview of market conditions. The Econ/Tech quadrant map mode can also now be quickly accessed with the default Alt-F1 key combination, making the mode accessible with one input rather than requiring three. Additionally, an optional single key/button binding option has been added to page 4 of the Key/Button Controls menu.

Key and button mapping options have been added to access inventory console sub-menu options that generally require two or more layers of selecting. With the new key/button options, they can now be optionally accessed with one selection input. For the the Quest Menu, System Information, and Regional News options, pressing a key or button mapped to one of those options when the inventory console is closed will immediately open the console in the selected mode. Pressing the same key or button again will close the console (just like the default F3 key). That is, if the inventory console is already open and is in the specified mode, then it will simply close (or not respond if inside station lobbies). If the inventory console is open and not in the specified mode, then the sub-menu mode will simply activate. So these options are designed for quick access to their respective modes. Since the View Hangar Details option reports information in the message log and doesn't involve a separate sub-menu mode, it can be accessed any time.

Fleet ships now have new indicators for their descriptions and HUD elements. For ship descriptions, a filled circle character has been added to the target and non-target direction indicators to mark them as fleet ships. The filled circle character has also been added to the target detail and range cockpit display modes. You can optionally specify custom characters by creating a text file in either the save data folder or '\media' folder named 'fleetshipcharacters.txt' and in the first two lines, enter the left and right characters you'd like to apply. You can enter just a left character to leave an extra character for ship descriptions or you can also enter blank lines to remove the characters entirely. As an added measure of visual distinction, new dedicated texture indexes and images have been added to the HUD direction indicators. The default indicators will display 'Fleet' above their targeting circles and can be replaced by different images, if desired. Details are available in the revised customizing kit (target3green-fleet.png, target7-fleet.png, targetshadow-fleet.png, and targetshadow2-fleet.png).

A holographic banner has been added above station command module to display the name of the station and its faction affiliation. If a station is part of the same faction as the player, its affiliation text will appear green on the banner. If its neutral (IND relative to ALC or FDN player), it will appear yellow. If it's hostile and blocked for docking, it will appear red. Options to hide or change this banner and the other holograms below are available in the revised customizing kit.

Holographic images have also been added between station entrances. This system can also import custom images, including sector specific and animated (up to 10 frames each). To import custom images, simply replace the images in the '\media\stationbanners' folder. Images with the prefix 'alc' will be displayed for ALC affiliated stations, 'fdn' for FDN affiliated, and 'ind' for IND affiliated. You can have up to 5 still images (filenames ending in 'banner#.png' where '#' is a number between 1 and 5). Still images will cycle after a few seconds. Importing left/right seamless images can support scrolling (for caution banners, waveforms, etc). To enable the scrolling mode, a 'bannerscroll.txt' (with faction and dash prefix characters) can be used to set the scrolling speed. The 'ind-bannerscroll.txt' text file that is included with the game in the '\stationbanners' folder can be used for reference. A positive value will scroll in one direction, negative value in the other. Alternatively (and using a little more video memory), you can import a series of images for each holographic surface for an animated effect (limited for memory and best used for effects like spinning logos, sparkling effects, and/or moving letters). Filenames for animated indexes include a dash and a number at the end, so 'banner1-1.png' (again with faction and dash prefix characters, ie 'alc-banner1-1.png') would apply a first image for an animated set and additional images added up through 'banner1-10.png' for a complete group. Missing images in a set will be skipped, so you can use gaps for short pauses, but the first 'banner#-1.png' filename need to be included as a baseline. In addition to importing images globally by faction, custom images can also be applied to specific sectors by placing them inside a folder with the sector location separate by underscores. For example, placing image files inside a folder named '3500_0_-1800' within the '\stationbanners' folder will apply those images for a station built in that sector (so you can use this to apply custom images to a station you build in single player).

Version 2.0348 includes the following improvements:

- Carrier catapult launch system implemented (see notes).
- Training mode updated to accommodate recent changes to MDTS indicator system (persistent display and 'Off' label) and custom waypoints.
- Targeting system now automatically cycles to the next nearest object when a currently targeted object is destroyed or exceeds tracking range.
- Tighter restrictions applied to hostile reinforcement support during most active combat contracts (better conforming to stated numbers at waypoints).
- Added 'Set Nav' button on left side of navigation console (under 'Add New') to set nav point to sequential waypoints.
- Added improved support for the 'clinklinkcolors.txt' file option for specifying custom button frame and text colors.
- Texture improvements for capital ships, including docking hangar and illuminated runway/catapult path for carriers.
- Lock tractor beam key/button control changed to allow for more time to tap to disengage once at full strength.
- Fix for excessively frequent updates to contract and inventory lists when territory control shifted slightly.
- Fix for carrier HUD direction indicator potentially remaining visible after jumps.
- Fix for gunsight occasionally not enabling properly after starting from carrier.
- Collision system updated to have more sliding behavior based on angle of impact.
- 'Load' buttons now only appear next to compatible items in hangar menu list.
- Items are now color coded by category type in the hangar menu lists.
- Capital ship anti-shield torpedo range increased (roughly doubled).
- Minor fixes and improvements (UI alignments, low light mode depth).


Notes:

You can now quickly toggle the nav point through all available plotted sequential waypoints with the new 'Set Nav' button located below the 'Add New' and above the 'Delete' button on the left side of the navigations console. As you plot new waypoints, the button will automatically update to the latest waypoint. Then once you are finished plotting the waypoints you want, you can click on the 'Set Nav' button once and it will set the current nav point to waypoint 1. You can optionally continue to click on the button to toggle through all available waypoints. Left click to select waypoints in increasing increments, right click to select waypoints in decreasing increments. This way, you can quickly set the nav point back to waypoint one after you have plotted waypoints in a group.

The ship's targeting system will now automatically switch to the next nearest object (rather than the next ship) if an object you currently have targeted is destroyed or exceeds radar range. So when you have a ship targeted, the system will target a ship next. When you have an object targeted, the system will target an object next. This will help keep targeting more manageable for objectives such as meteor intercepts where targeting the next meteor is the priority, rather than switching to a nearby ship. If no other object is nearby, then the system will automatically switch over to targeting ships again.

A catapult launching system has been added to carriers. This method of launching from a carrier provides an automatic takeoff sequence up to near maximum speed with no fuel cost. While mostly designed for Arvoch Alliance SE, this system has now been implemented in Evochron as well as an option. To activate the sequence, simply park inside the blue indicator and stop. The carrier's tractor beam system will automatically align your ship to the required position, heading, and pitch. Then when ready, increase throttle to maximum and the carrier will engage the catapult launching system. Your ship will then accelerate at a rapid speed until it reaches the end of the catapult and you reach open space. You can turn off the IDS to maintain the launch speed or allow your engines to slow your ship down after the takeoff. You can skip the catapult sequence and leave the carrier yourself by just flying through or around the blue position indicator located at the beginning of the catapult. New lines added to the 'text8.dat' file are in the 2912-2918 range and can be removed to no longer display the notices and instructions for the catapult system.

Version 2.0328 includes the following improvements:

- Added ability to plot multiple sequential waypoints (see notes).
- Added new passenger transport objective - medical patient (see notes).
- Added passenger and patient transport objectives to multiplayer mode (see notes).
- Passenger and new patient transport objectives are now integrated into the contract system.
- Autopilot now aligns with jump gates via flight controls when linked to an active sequential waypoint.
- Autopilot now reduces speed as needed to recover from high levels of horizontal and/or vertical drift.
- Autopilot now waits until jump cycle completes before applying flight control inputs to reduce unnecessary fuel consumption and to provide time for sequential waypoint updates.
- Improved planetary atmospheric effects and related water shader reflection elements (including more distinction for sunrise/sunset sequences).
- Jump drive now automatically disengages main engine to no longer require manual control to minimize fuel consumption.
- Jump drive arrival distance placed about 1K further back to give more time for docking directives to be broadcasted.
- Added ability to specify multiple joined objects as well as transparency/energy effects in quest event type 4.
- Added ability to specify multiple ships in quest event types 3, 29, 30, 31, and 32 (comma delimiter).
- Cargo bay menu when tractor beam is active now has highlight buttons for mouse over and discarding.
- Distance to nearest planet (estimate to minimum surface level) added to System Information console.
- Non-target direction indicators updated to be a little more distinct from the target indicator.
- Shield arrays now sustain damage upon general impacts (level based on direction and velocity).
- Snap zoom sequences removed from cinematic view mode for a more consistent viewing distance.
- Main gunsight textures doubled in resolution for improved appearance at higher resolutions.
- Added ability to view multiplayer player/stats list while inside main station lobbies.
- Missile fuel reserves increased by about 70% and lock ranges increased to accommodate.
- Improved support for 0.1875-0.28125 ratio display resolutions (ie 5760X1080/5120X1440).
- Inventory database menu updated to better accommodate Large font size setting.
- Tiling detail texture layer added to ship and station/city module shaders.
- Line 146 in the savedata value set expanded to indicate docked location.
- Crew wage cycles and passenger delivery timers standardized to seconds.
- Payment alert notification sound added to player-to-player contracts.
- Civilian rating credit now awarded for building station modules.
- Smooth scrolling added to mouse-over of entries in maplog menu.
- Gunsight shield indicators now also shown in HUD mode 1.
- Most radar indicator textures doubled in resolution.
- Nebula cloud added to Deneb system.
- Minor fixes and improvements.


Notes:

You can now set multiple sequential waypoints for the ship's navigation system to follow. Two new buttons have been added to the navigation console for this system 'Add New #' will add a new waypoint at the currently selected nav point. You can then change the nav point to a new location and click on 'Add New #' again to add a second waypoint and so on. The number of the waypoint being added in the sequence is displayed in place of the '#' symbol on the button. Up to 10 waypoints can be set this way and you can optionally enable the autopilot to follow the course you plot. You can pick up a course in the middle of a waypoint set or start from the beginning. When you're ready for the autopilot to follow a course you plot, simply right click on the waypoint you want the autopilot to fly to and engage the autopilot. The ship's autopilot will use the currently selected radar range as the distance to detect when a waypoint has been reached. It will do this by calculating 1/5 of the current radar range setting. So if you have the radar set to a range of 25K, the waypoint activation distance will be 5K. This way, you can decrease the range of activation for slower and closer approaches by reducing the radar range setting. Once the autopilot reaches the selected waypoint at the specified range, it will automatically toggle to the next waypoint in sequence. Once it reaches the limit, it will hold at the last waypoint. You can swap back to previous waypoint or skip waypoints by right clicking on their icons on the nav map. You can also manually fly to a waypoint to activate each one in sequence, rather than use the autopilot. To repeat a course of sequential waypoints, simply plot the last waypoint in range of the first waypoint and the system will automatically advance back to the first waypoint and then the second when you arrive at the last waypoint.

The 'Delete #' button will remove the last sequential waypoint from the current set. The '#' will indicate which waypoint will be deleted. You can optionally right click on the button to clear all waypoints.

Plotting a waypoint to a jump gate will suspend the automated advancement to the next waypoint until you pass through the gate, preventing the system from trying to jump to the next location that may be many sectors away and allowing the jump gate to activate for its destination instead. When active, the autopilot will apply horizontal and vertical thruster inputs to align your ship with the selected jumpgate linked to a current sequential waypoint. You can assist the autopilot by applying thruster controls manually as may be needed for certain environmental conditions or approach angles.

The new sequential waypoint system operates independently from contract waypoints. So you can use this new system in conjunction with contracts or on its own. Sequential waypoints will display a number above their indicators to distinguish them from contract waypoints, if both are active on the HUD at the same time. And only the currently selected/active sequential waypoint is displayed to prevent clutter/visibility issues.

Planetary atmosphere effects have been updated, including the addition of several new shaders and changes to the water reflection system to accommodate varying color changes and horizon blending. Previously, planet background haze, reflection, and lighting effects were limited to merely dimming toward the night side of planets and during sunrise/sunset cycles. Planets can now have more pronounced sunrise and sunset phases where atmospheric coloring and lighting shifts to orange/red hues based on angles and range from the nearby star.

A new objective has been added to the passenger transport system, requiring the safe delivery of a medical patient to a specific station. This new objective works much like the passenger transport, except that the payment is fixed and does not decay over time. So what is offered is paid in full if the player is able to deliver the patient before the timer runs out. The time offered is based on the distance required to deliver the patient. Before accepting the agreement, the player can analyze the destination and decide if they think they can make it in time. Like passenger transport, patient delivery also requires an available crew slot.

Passenger and patient transport objectives are now integrated into the main contract system for improved discovery and accessibility. This way, such objectives are much easier to find and don't require activating a separate inventory console mode to view. A description of each objective is provided along with the option to accept the agreement directly in the contract menu. Such objectives, if/when available, will be added near the end of the current contract list for the sector in the last few indexes. Unlike other local sector objectives, these objectives span multiple sectors and will generally need to be completed by travelling through system gates to reach a destination quickly. Any passenger/patient transport objectives available in the sector will be added to the end of the available contract pool for the location the player docks at (either the station or planet). Once a passenger or patient has boarded the ship, the agreement can't be cancelled like regular contracts can. The passenger or patient must be dismissed from the crew management console to terminate the agreement.

Both the original passenger transport and new patient transport objectives have been added to the multiplayer mode. To accommodate this addition, the server programs needed to be updated in order to broadcast the additional required data to clients. As a result, server operators will need to update to the new server builds (2.0408) for the new objectives to work. Older server builds will continue to work with newer client builds, but clients won't receive the data needed for the new transport objectives, so they just won't be available.

Long range passenger and patient transport objectives are considered multi-sector contracts, even though they are now displayed among other available local contracts. Multi-sector transport contracts do not impact local sector contracts, so you can accept and manage them separately. And since they involve transporting only one passenger, they aren't included among the contracts that can be shared. So other players can still link into a local contract together without impacting a player accepting a passenger transport objective and vice versa.

Civilian rating credit is now awarded for building station modules. 1 point is awarded for smaller modules, 2 for production and storage modules, 3 for city docking modules, and 5 for space station command modules.

Shaders used for ships, carriers, stations, and cities have been updated to incorporate a tiling detail texture. This helps provide a much higher detailed appearance to the surface of these objects in the game (anywhere from around 300% up to 1800% depending on type and size). This additional texture layer adds more panels and surface contours to help fill in some of the empty/blank areas of the base texture layers and applies details to the diffuse, specular, and reflective elements. Details on custom options are available in the updated customizing kit.

All locking missile types have had their fuel reserves increased by about 70%. This means that the flight time before missiles self-detonate due to running out of fuel (and hence, no longer being able to maneuver or track a target) has been extended. To accommodate this change, the locking ranges of missiles have also been increased significantly.

By request, shield arrays can now be damaged by impacts with other objects/structures in space. The severity of damage is dependent on the overall velocity and type of impact. Collisions with small/low mass objects such as debris from an exploding ship or bits of asteroid will not inflict damage while impacts with most other larger objects will, if the overall velocity is high enough. The direction of the impact will determine which array is affected and faster impacts will deplete the array level at a greater level.

New/changed lines for the 'text.dat' file are 975, 1262, 1516 (< Passenger boarded - ), and 2890-2910.

Version 2.0318 includes the following improvements:

- Added faction affiliation for station and city modules to target status display.
- Drop down menu added for available ship item category lists in hangar storage menu.
- Added options to map VR controller buttons to energy bias control in the 'vrsetup.txt' file.
- Added options to map VR controller buttons to shield augment control in the 'vrsetup.txt' file.
- Added option to swap the strafe thruster and roll/yaw axis input controls between VR controllers in the 'vrsetup.txt' file.
- Added options to assign different axis inputs for roll, pitch, yaw, strafe, and inertial forward/reverse thrusters on VR controllers in the 'vrsetup.txt' file.
- Expanded IDS scale up and down inputs to either joystick or throttle flight control mode in VR (existing mappings may need adjustment).
- Added option to retain last axis input values from VR controllers when a flight mode is disengaged in the 'vrsetup.txt' file.
- Added options to map VR controller buttons to target nearest hostile ship and target ship in gunsight controls in the 'vrsetup.txt' file.
- Added options to set the flight control mode to listen to button input from for each button control option/set in the 'vrsetup.txt' file.
- Added ability to paste values from clipboard into nav console coordinates, command module name, and fuel entry fields with Control-V.
- Added options to map touchpad/thumbstick axis inputs to button control options in the 'vrsetup.txt' file.
- Added options to apply custom roll, pitch, and yaw alignment levels to VR controller orientation in the 'vrsetup.txt' file.
- Asteroids in Federation quest (2) modified to show 'High' level of metal ore with new science ops reporting system.
- Hovering over a carrier's docking pad inside the hangar will now automatically open the inventory console.
- Planetary imaging objective updated to require a 'grid pattern' scanning course and pay increased by 20%.
- Atmospheric burn effect now better aligns with ship movement direction and overall velocity factors.
- Asteroids with trace levels of materials could display the type twice in science ops report, fixed.
- Added support for right/left arrow, home, end, and delete keys to in-game multiplayer text chat.
- Quest systems updated to account for changes since original quest scripts were written.
- Visual beam effect added for mining probes on the surfaces of moons to match asteroids.
- Production rate for deployable fuel stations increased by 400%.
- Minor fixes and improvements.


Notes:

The faction affiliation for station and city modules is now displayed on the target status display. City modules are controlled when a station command module is built in the same sector, so they will display the controlling faction of the local station, if one is present. If no station command module is present, city modules will display 'IND' for independent.

Several new options are available for the VR controller system. You can now set custom axis input channels for each flight control and set the default input response when a controller is disengaged from a flight mode. During the course of working on these systems, additional button index details were explored and tested for Oculus Rift S devices. In addition to the lower values (some of which may overlap), these optional indexes can be used for additional dedicated button inputs:

Triggers - Button Index 33
Grips - Button Index 34
Thumbsticks - Button Index 32
Left X - Button Index 7
Right A - Button Index 7

These values can be used in place of existing values for any button input option in the 'vrsetup.txt' file. Due to expanding the IDS scale button option for both flight control modes, some existing configurations may need adjustment to ignore a controller you don't want to use for these controls. To do that, simply enter the number 99 for any button input control you don't want to map input to. This will direct the game to ignore input for those controls and only listen to values between -2 and 63, preventing any button duplication. You can also now specify which flight control mode to listen to input from for each button control (or set of buttons for a common control group, such as shield augment control). To retain compatibility with existing configurations, some button mappings (IDS On/Off, cannons, missiles, and afterburner) have been kept to their respective flight control modes to listen to input from. A revised 'vrsetup-bak.txt' file is included with the game in the '\media' folder with revised default and new lines as well as new instructions for reference.

Version 2.0308 includes the following improvements:

- Added ability to store and retrieve secondary weapons directly to/from station hangars.
- Items stored in stations hangars now automatically shift to higher list positions when loaded onto ship.
- Items in cargo bay list now automatically shift to higher list positions when transferred to station hangars.
- Cargo bay list is now displayed on HUD when tractor beam is at full strength for easier reference when mining.
- Added ability to discard and consolidate cargo with the tractor beam list without having to open the inventory console.
- Combat contract waypoint arrival spacing increased to provide more energy recovery time and expand distance further with capital ships.
- Most combat contract waypoints involving capital ships now placed in between or next to larger ships to reduce arrival course interference and for more evenly divided spacing between opposing forces.
- Plus symbol ('+') added to related capital ship description on target detail display and direction indicator for spy, escort, delivery, and strike objectives.
- Space station ship launch system now automatically aligns player's ship with nearest exit gate when launching or exiting station.
- Space station tractor beam system now also aligns player's ship with nearest exit gate while inventory console is open.
- Full docking animation sequence added for entering/exiting space station (can be optionally disabled in exit/pause menu).
- AI independent mining system (non-fleet) improved to display recovered material with cargo scanners in real time.
- AI independent mining duration extended to recover more material per cycle (before switching asteroids or flying away).
- Added checkbox option to pause/exit menu to enable or disable the new auto-aligning system for docking with stations.
- Radar contact blips for cargo and other objects updated to retain alignment when using panning view controls.
- New cockpits added to expand the number of available designs for improved variety among different ship types.
- Science ops crew member now provides more details on nearby asteroid contents, planets, and nebula clouds.
- By request, higher availability bias given to commodities in markets with lower global baseline values.
- 'View Hangar Details' operation made much faster and visual side effects (due to disk access) removed.
- Successfully defending stations against Vonari attack in war zones now awards 5 military rank points.
- Capital ship repair support (available on contract) for subsystems and equipment increased by 200%.
- Repair system efficiency for subsystems and equipment increased by 200% for all three classes.
- Pitch control input indicators on upper HUD display inverted for correction.
- Military ship frames are now equipped with 5 resistor packs by default.
- Expanded explosion sequence for destroyed capital ships.
- Minor fixes and improvements.


Notes:

This update introduces new cockpits that vary based on ship class. Previously, there were only two cockpits, one for civilian and one for military. There are now several designs linked to frame type with some sharing the same basic cockpit layout based on a common design/manufacturer.

If you would prefer to use the original two default cockpits only, create a text file in either the '\media' folder within the game's install folder or in the save data folder (default location is '\Documents\EvochronLegacySE') named 'ccpitmode.txt' and in the first line enter a number 0. That will limit the available cockpits to just the two original designs, one for civilian and the other for military. Remove the file or change the number to 1 to enable the full range of designs.

A new cargo bay list is now available whenever the tractor beam is at full power. It will appear in the upper right corner of the HUD and provides a list of all cargo bay contents that makes it easier to view and manage material recovered while mining. This way, you don't have to keep opening the inventory console to view what you've recovered and then close it again to return to full visibility for mining. The new list will provide an immediate visual reference of your ship's cargo bays during mining. The tractor beam cargo list also supports sorting and discarding in open space, just like the inventory console list.

The server programs have been updated to correct an issue that would display an incorrect attacking faction in one area during a station attack.

Repair options, both repair devices installed on ships and on contract repairs provided by capital ships, have been increased by 200%. This has the net effect of reducing the time a subsystem may be down by about half, leaving such systems less vulnerable over time to the effects of subsystem weapons and high energy lightning from nebula clouds.

New and revised lines for the 'text.dat' file are 1313 (Current Secondary Weapons), 1774 (Auto-Align with Station Tractor Beam), 1913 (Full station docking sequence), 879-882, and 2848.