BallisticNG News

BallisticNG 1.1.5 is coming this Friday on the 20th!

In 1.1.5 we're introducing three new major additions:

The option to host and join games through Steam is being added! The options will be available alongside the Direct IP hosting and joining a game through Steam is done through a lobby browser. Steam invites are also implemented so you can invite your friends or have them join you at the click of a button.

On top of these updates we also have various improvements coming!


In collaboration with GRIP we've added the airblade version of the C.Y.G.O.N Tempest! The Tempest is a combat orientated ship with a lot of firepower, good shielding and high acceleration. A little while back GRIP also added a BallisticNG skin to the Mirage, so be sure to check that out if you haven't!










To support the Tempest the backend for the ship engine effects has been rewritten from scratch and designed to allow a lot of customization. Ship creators will have control over existing effects and brand new settings, some of which include:

• Addition of two internal custom ship modules (more information on these will be available on Friday)
  
• Setting whether the players trail is always used
  
• Controlling the width of AI trails
  
• Controlling what boosts the engine colors intensity
  
• Various settings for controlling the scale of trails
  
• Controlling UV scrolling for trails
  

1.1.4 focuses on introducing new mechanics for modders and implements our own frame limiter to work around how imprecise Unity's internal one is.

Soundtrack

• Added Vonsnake - Challenge Every Extreme
  

Engine

• Replaced Unity's frame limiter with a our own to eliminate micro stuttering caused by Unity's
  
• Added no tilt lock flag to sections (see below for more details)
  
• Fixed weather vortex particles not emitting
  
• Section data can now be interpolated which allows for smoother rotations when ships are airbourne
  
• Implemented physics modification zones (see below for more details)
  

Gamemodes

• Fixed invalidated speed laps still being eligible for leaderboard uploads
  

VR

• Moved the main menu further away to a more comfortable viewing distance
  

Multiplayer

• Fixed client lobby's not refreshing when a peer disconnects
  
• Fixed the spawn rotation being tilted with the track in 2159
  
• Fixed the server not sending weapon pad deactivation triggers to clients
  

Weapons

• Potentially fixed steering exploding occasionally when the autopilot disengages. This has been a tough one to find the exact cause for and in our testing the issue hasn't returned yet.
  

User Interfaces

• Fixed the tournament eliminated screen not showing platinum medals when they're awarded in campaign events
  

Ships

• Fixed 2280 sideshifts being reversed when using mirror mode
  
• Revamped how the track chase/2159 rear chase track height offset is calculated to improve how it reacts on maglocks, in floor hugger and to improve it's feel on jumps
  

Tracks

• The water caustic animations on Hydrome Bed are no longer framerate dependant
  

Layout Creator 2.0

• Added a toggle for no tilt lock (press o to toggle)
  
• Added a toggle for allow out of bounds (press / to toggle)
  
• Added a toggle for the track floor. This allows you to disable it for use with zero gravity with no track floor.
  
• Added a physics mod zone editor
  
• Added an option to export physics mod zones to an XML
  
• The open file dialogue window can now open physics mod zone XML files
  

Unity Tools

• Added survival ignores track option to the scene references object. This currently does not do anything and is just a preemptive implementation for later.
  
• Added Europa's tile set to the tiles folder and tile database
  
• Added the Europa terrain shader [BallisticNG/Terrain/Terrain (4 Blend)]
  
• Added physics modification zones. These can be added from the add component menu [ BallisticNG -> Triggers -> Physics Mod Zone ] or imported from an XML using [ BallisticNG -> Track Configuration -> Import Mod Zones From XML]
  
• Added no tilt lock section flags. The option can be found in the track editor's section metadata tab.
  
• Added select all sections button under the metadata tab
  
• Added a vertex editing mode to the TRM editor
  
• Section metadata changes are now undoable
  
• Tweaked the track editor section rendering:
  
  • Selected and highlighted sections now have a slightly larger and solid position cube
    
  • Tile overlays are now drawn for every selected section
    
  • Section tag labels are now much easier to see and scale/fade over distances.
    
  • Section tag labels are now drawn for the following:
    
    • Rotation multiplier when it's not set to 1
      
    • No tilt lock flag
      
    • Junction and pitlane entrances
      
  • Route start, route end and junction labels now display section indicies. Start/end show their end, junctions show the route start section index
    

Physics Modification Zones
Physics modification zones are a new modding feature that allow you to manipulate the physics of any ship inside of them. These support:

• Changing gravity or disabling it with the zero gravity mode
  
• Zero gravity mode which completely removes gravity and disables some other ship behaviours that react to gravity
  
• Control over grip and drag
  
• Track spring mode, a highly configurable spring mechanic that is designed to be used in conjunction with zero gravity mode
  

In this update we've made some tweaks to vanilla campaign time trial targets and made some improvements to the layout creator.

Vanilla Campaign

• The separation between bronze, silver and gold medals has been increased to 6 seconds from 4 seconds. This means silver medals are now awarded for being 6 seconds slower then gold and bronze medals are awarded for being 12 seconds slower.
  
  We hope this helps with some of the difficulty problems people have been reporting. We'll be keeping an eye on the threads to continue making any tweaks to these times if needed.
  

Layout Creator 2.0

• Added the reference image plane feature from the legacy creator. You can find more information about this feature on the wiki:
  https://ballisticng.gamepedia.com/Layout_Creator_2.0#Reference_Image_Plane
  
• Added tangent pitching (Ctrl + F)
  
• Added UI controls for manipulating tangents in the node tools window
  
• The speed class and physics mode options are now remembered when loading a CTL file
  

As BallisticNG 1.1 introduced a new physics mode we thought it deserved a track that is designed around it.

Introducing Europa! Available now in forwards and reverse for free as part of the new free tracks expansion. You'll find it under the new extras category in the track selection screen!


Europa is set on the moon of the same name and serves as the initial testing grounds for G-Tek's latest development in AG engine technology, built for use in extremely low or zero gravity racing environments.

https://youtu.be/eYakI89bz2I

We've just released BallisticNG 1.1.2. This update addresses some of the issues we've seen pop up over the past couple of days.


These were addressed in some quick patches released before this so they're being mentioned here just to clarify:

• Fixed in-race music not working
  
• Fixed gamepads not working after the first race
  
• Fixed vibration not working
  

• Fixed precipitation not being occluded by environment meshes when in VR
  
• Mirror mode is now disabled when playing in VR. The new method of handling the mode is not compatible with VR so we'll be looking for a work around in a future update.
  

• Made the Survival campaign awards overlay wider so it can fit triple digit targets
  

Fixed the Marina Rush Survival event in the Reflex block not starting (forced ship was enabled but a ship name wasn't given).