Forts News

G'day Forts fans!

This regular update brings three new maps, and a raft of improvements and fixes. The new maps are courtesy of the recent Forts Map Making Contest III. Pyro's map Battlegrounds 1v1 has been included in the first ranked season map rotation. The map rotation reduces the map count to 6, and is shuffled each season, to give each a more distinct flavour.

The maps for Season 15 are:

• Balls
  
• Ledge Grab
  
• Moorings
  
• Stalactites 1v1
  
• Desert Ruins
  
• Battlegrounds 1v1
  

Winner: 'Battlegrounds 1v1' by Pyro



Runner-up: 'Elephants' by Mech70



Runner-up: 'Crevice' by Cronkhinator



The headline improvement may be the new categories for the key binding menu, making it easier to find the key you're looking for and discovering functionality. In ranked, the same map will not be selected twice in a row during the same lobby. In addition, to save time you no longer have to wait for all historic seasons to be discovered before starting a ranked game.

Device population caps are now enforced; excess devices are automatically scrapped. This is not so important for tech buildings, but modded weapons will see the benefit. It allows authors to place strict limits on the number of their devices.

Another improvement for mod authors is that weapons can now have a fire delay, a zero round period, as well as multiple rounds per burst. This will provide some new possibilities. In addition, a new 'FireRetriggerEffect' weapon parameter will allow more visual and audio customisation.

There are a bunch of important desync and crash fixes, plain bug fixes, and a few minor balance changes. See the full change list below. We invite you to provide feedback here or via the Official Forts Discord, and look forward to the next one.

Cheers,
EWG

[h2]Changelist 2021-12-03[/h2]

Add: map making contest 3 winners to built-in map list: Battlegrounds 1v1, Crevice and Elephants
Add: Battlegrounds 1v1 to new ranked season rotation
Add: secondary fire effect FireRetriggerEffect for when spawning delayed projectiles (defaults to FireEffect)
Add: translations of Training Ground environment name
Add: 'Community Manager' to the credits
Add: disable mods for Moonshot weapons (Buzzsaw, Smoke Bomb, Howitzer, Magnabeam)
Add: 'Full' to the map field to full lobbies to clarify state
Add: 'Open' to the map field to open lobbies to clarify state
Add: 'language' and 'keyboard' headings to options screen

Balance: (Swarm) decrease impact force from 150,000 to 75,000 (-50%)
Balance: (Warhead) decrease impact force from 150,000 to 120,000 (-20%)
Balance: (Warhead) decrease splash max force from 100000 to 80000 (-20%)
Balance: (Howitzer) increase impact force from 20,000 to 100,000 (+400%)
Balance: (Howitzer) increase splash max force from 10000 to 80000 (+700%)
Balance: trigger target painted effect for local side and observers for weapons that require spotters

Improve: (options screen) add categories to key bindings
Improve: (ranked) don't wait for all seasons to be found to allow start
Improve: (ranked) don't select the same map twice in a row
Improve: (ranked) start map season rotation - 6 per season
Improve: layout of Options -> Game tab to prevent overlap of Russian text
Improve: translation of all modified strings
Improve: weapon aiming keys can be used in multiplayer
Improve: made target painted effect not attenuated by distance
Improve: no video hardware detected message links to custom Steam guide
Improve: workshop error messaging for error code 3 (No/failed network connection)
Improve: add 'mActivated' node flag to projectiles checksum
Improve: re-organise credits screen for consistency, removed unimportant credits (QA & localisation)
Improve: (Chinese) suggestions by Rothes
Improve: (Russian) suggestions by Wellory
Improve: (Smoke Bomb) ProjectileAngle script function can handle different RoundsEachBurst values
Improve: (Pillars) increased vertical world extents in both directions
Improve: (Pillars) lowered wind/view floor between the pillars

Fix: (desync) if playing client drops out and reconnects before host times them out other clients get out of sync
Fix: (desync) when previewing a weapon which has a Null state for a MuzzleFlash sprite (thanks Mech70)
Fix: (desync) reflected projectiles and returned-to-sender missiles change their owner, but not their projectile parameters
Fix: crash when triple deleting a node with an attached rope
Fix: crash when beams are reflected by terrain
Fix: crash in Leaderboard::Log when connecting to full ranked lobby
Fix: crash when % characters are passed to the Log script function
Fix: (ranked) commanders can be disabled
Fix: devices can't be placed on the edge of team specific hazard blocks
Fix: devices surplus to pop cap are not deleted on connection
Fix: population caps don't apply to inverted weapons
Fix: if you replace a strut while a repair station is repairing it the conversion doesn't complete
Fix: repair stations will repair damaged portals in warm up, and making them appear to turn on
Fix: rotation break at a node always removes any temporary braced nodes
Fix: weapons won't fire if FireDelay is > 0, RoundsEachBurst > 1 and RoundPeriod == 0
Fix: FireEndEffect is not set to ignore hidden like other firing effects
Fix: increase/decrease weapon power buttons don't update previous shot position
Fix: weapon aiming keys don't apply to the entire selected group
Fix: looping projectile fly (trail) sounds
Fix: inconsistent attenuation on target painted between swarms and warheads
Fix: materials that do not have their prerequisites satisfied don't show a lock icon
Fix: adjustment of laser sights on weapons without them still creates a sound effect
Fix: inverted devices don't have their sprite reset to Normal state during placement like regular devices are
Fix: some nodes don't break cleanly, causing issues for rebuilding by the AI and player
Fix: messages shown on the main menu are obscured by DLC and Discord button
Fix: main menu message showing that video hardware was not detected is not triggered
Fix: (Buster) DU rounds can impact devices more than once
Fix: (Eagle Eye) RoundsPerBurst differences of mg and minigun is not in description
Fix: (Armourdillo active, AP Sniper) there is no muzzle flash effect
Fix: (Scattershot) name of Smoke Bomb is incorrect
Fix: (Scattershot) Smoke Bomb is not mentioned as an exclusion for the 2 extra rounds
Fix: (Scattershot) Buzzsaw's increased build cost is not mentioned
Fix: (Scattershot) translations for new description line missing
Fix: (Phantom) moving a device counts it twice against the pop cap, which can prevent you building another
Fix: (Sever and Seize) incorrect ground texture on block under first derrick
Fix: (Dingo Breeder) obsolete field generator surfaces on middle islands
Fix: (Potholing) buildable terrain at the first portal
Fix: (Arms Race) the enemy cannon platform is not connected to the ground
Fix: (Pillars) a foundation node is not aligned to the terrain corner and can't be consistently built to
Fix: (Pillars) Team 1 terrain below lowest mine position prevents construction of 2 mines without exposure
Fix: (Reactor) bounding rectangle is not symmetrical

Remove: obsolete commander tool tip strings
Remove: client database dump to console from replay to remove clutter
Remove: full local prefixes for map paths in replays

[h2]Changelist 2021-12-14 (hotfix)[/h2]

Add: script function GetMapFilename

Fix: pop cap enforcement can apply incorrectly when connecting to a node which breaks
Fix: pop cap enforcement can apply incorrectly to structures connected via non-conductive materials (e.g. rope)
Fix: crash when a device type found in the map is removed by a mod, switched between platform and ground, or device and weapon
Fix: structure break can reset EMP disable period of doors and portals
Fix: (blast doors) missing opening sound
Fix: (expanded HUD) lock icon missing for materials
Fix: (Hurricane) machinegun, sniper and warhead are missing fast reload icons
Fix: (Howitzer) projectiles can be reflected
Fix: (Crevice) previews are out of date

[h2]Changelist 2021-09-16 (hotfix)[/h2]

Improve: (GetMapFilename) returns published file Id for Workshop maps

Fix: replays desync when opened via file association
Fix: (Howitzer) no impact when colliding with shields

G'day Forts fans!

Congratulations to Pyro, winner of Forts Map Making Competition III!

Pyro
With so many quality submissions our judges were hard pressed to select 10 finalists. Their task became no easier trying to narrow it down to a single winner. In the end one map did manage to resonate with all of our panelists. To set the scene, two bases clinging to the hillsides overlooking a field of abandoned tanks amidst a landscape scarred by explosions. Pyro's map tells a story of battles past and battles yet to come.

As the winning map it qualifies for entry into the ranked map pool for the upcoming Season 15.

[h2]2nd Place[/h2]
Mech70
In second place Mech70's beautiful design also produced one of the best showcases of the event. We highly recommend watching the replay currently available within the featured tab. The match was so compelling even the judges occasionally got lost in the action. For a map vying to become the next addition to the ranked pool this is high praise indeed. Allowing the players and their skills to shine is the goal of every ranked map. It also by far made the best use of an elephant out of all the submissions.

Our judges may have struggled to pick a winner for ranked but had no reservations awarding this map a place within Forts' list of included maps, available within the From Scratch tab.

[h2]3rd Place[/h2]
Cronkhinator
And in third place we have Cronkhinator, winner of the previous Forts Map Making Competition II. Cronkinator set out to create a spiritual successor to Skylands, keeping the variety of attack angles and the featured center obstruction, but with more immediate action and quicker resolutions. That proved to be the case in the showmatch as an attack from an unexpected direction quickly proved decisive.

Cronkhinator's crevice themed map was also selected by the judges to be included in the general map list. Making it the second map from Cronkhinator to earn a place in Forts, alongside his winning entry from last competition, Desert Ruins.

[h3]Honourable Mentions[/h3]
Thonio
We would also like to highlight two maps in particular that went to extraordinary lengths.

Thonio's Skylands replacement Heavy Rain was a tour de force of scripting and map design. There absolutely will not be any long, drawn out stalemates on this map. It featured several innovative mechanics and represented an enormous amount of work. It did find itself somewhat ill-treated by our map testers, all top ranked finishers from last season. As ranked players do once they were unleashed upon it they scoured it to find every possible way to secure an advantage over their opponents.

Ximsa
Ximsa's subterranean battleground separated the players with destructible terrain. Oft mentioned in Forts lore it has long been a requested feature. It opens up a world of new possibilities. However, the processing demands proved too much for some participants to handle. We look forward to seeing what further optimizations and refinements can be made.


Thank you to everyone who submitted a map and we wish you the best of luck in future competitions. Every competition the bar continues to rise and so many excellent maps are being produced. Forts just recently surpassed 15,000 maps on the Steam Workshop, here's to 15,000 more.

Thank you also to our showcase players, Etan, Matteo, Firework, Geiger, KillerGruetze, Teutonick and Noha for field testing the maps live on stream.

And to our hosts and judges, EWG developers Blammo and Noze, streamers Bobereto Gaming and Project Incursus. Recordings of this event can be found on their channels.


[h2]Discord[/h2]
If you haven't already, join the Forts Official Discord server to find these and other maps and for more information on mapmaking, modding, strategy, and upcoming events.


In honor of Skylands, enjoy playing on these amazing new maps!

Cheers,
EWG

G'day Forts fans!

Over the past couple of months some creative members of the Forts community have been hard at work designing and building maps for the third iteration of the Forts Map Making Contest. The deadline has passed and we can now say the quality of submissions has raised the bar again. Such was the high standard of the submitted maps, our judges had a difficult task narrowing them down, but eventually they arrived at the final ten, seen below.

Help us congratulate the successful finalists by joining us for the Forts Map Making Contest III - Finals Stream where the winning map will be chosen after a series of battles by some of the top players in the community. The winning map will be added to the ranked map pool, with the creator being awarded the Map Making Champion in-game medal. Additionally, runners-up have the chance to be added to the built-in selection of maps included with Forts.

The action starts Saturday November 6th at 8pm UTC with our judges and hosts Project Incursus and Bobereto Gaming, with contributions from judges and developers Nozehed and Blammo.




[h2]Finalists[/h2]
In alphabetical order, the maps selected for inclusion in the finals stream are:





















Live streams starting November 6th at 8pm UTC
Bobereto Gaming Project Incursus

Joining us will be several of the top finishers from season 13 to help field test the maps. Current and former champions EtaN and Matteo along with Firework, Geiger, KillerGruetze, Shadow Knight Wolf, and Teutonick. Once again we would also like to thank everyone who submitted a map. Our judges struggled right up until the last second making their selections.


[h2]Discord[/h2]
If you haven't already, join the Forts Official Discord server for more information on mapmaking, modding, strategy, and upcoming events.



Join us to watch as the successor to Skylands is chosen!

Cheers,
EWG

In the fort you were commander,
Your guns were all gatling.
Now you sit on the verander after a long day's battling.
A drink you are sipping,
Recalling fights all taxing
When the sound of ripping interrupts your relaxing.

Off in the distance,
From a tear on the horizon.
Comes hell's resistance your officers are advisin'
You issue the command
'Put them to the sword!'
'Defeat,' you demand, 'the undead horde!'

[h2]Haunted Main Menu[/h2]


[h2]Cursed Landscape* & Corrupted Console**[/h2]



*Replaces 'Canyon' environment set.
**Replaces 'Default' HUD skin.

Wishing you a happy Hallowe'en,
EWG

G'day Forts fans!

Season 13 celebrates the triumphant return of former champion EtaN. After being dethroned in season 12 by long time rival Matteo and having his record setting three season win streak snapped his response was to go 53 - 1(!) to retake the gold. An almost perfect season was thwarted on the very last day of competition by none other than last season's 3rd place finisher Firework. Matteo still managed to fight his way to silver, and reaching the podium for the first time is KillerGruetze taking bronze.

While the top 3 places receive Gold, Silver, and Bronze, every player finishing within the top 20 will receive a Season 13 Medal. Congratulations!

You may have noticed that a significant number of widespread internet disruptions occurred this season. We noticed it too. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and some corrective actions that were necessary as a result.

There are only a few days left to enter Forts Map Making Contest III. The deadline is Oct 23rd 6pm UTC with the live judging taking place Nov 6th 8pm UTC. Don't miss out on your chance to create the next Forts ranked battleground!

1. EtaN
   
2. Matteo
   
3. KillerGruetze
   
4. Bowser
   
5. Geiger
   
6. bl00dparasite
   
7. 皎邬
   
8. Firework
   
9. Shadow Knight Wolf
   
10. mcc72k
    
11. Teutonick
    
12. Amburulo
    
13. [DFC] scyth3r
    
14. Noha
    
15. LongusD
    
16. Finn
    
17. Mällek
    
18. SavageGamer
    
19. sco
    
20. Malme
    

Season 14 is now underway and will run through November 30th. Will your name be on the next list?


If you haven't already, join our Forts Official Discord server for discussions on weapons, strategies and modding with our friendly and helpful community!

Cheers,
EWG