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BallisticNG News

1.4 Dev 7 Now Available

It's been more then a year since we started work on 1.4. To allow us to focus on releasing the most important aspects of the update, we're splitting out a few planned features into smaller releases that'll come after 1.4. Dev 7 is the final development build for 1.4 and our next announcement will be a release date!

Check out our roadmap for more details on what we'll be working on between now and 1.4s release, and throughout 1.4s support cycle (1.4.1 and 1.4.2).

[h2]Playing on development builds[/h2]
  • Right click BallisticNG in your steam library and go to Properties
  • Go to the betas tab on the window that opens
  • From the dropdown select development. If the update doesn't automatically queue for download, restart Steam
  • Once you have opened the game, the version at the bottom right of the menu will read 1.4-d62


Overview

[h3]Gullfoss Run[/h3]
Gullfoss Run is the first of three 2280 tracks coming to the game. Although it's designed for 2280, you can also play it in 2159 and floorhugger!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymO62XJxsek

[h3]2280 Leaderboards & Leaderboard Reset[/h3]
Leaderboards are now available for 2280! The physics mode is also no longer considered a cheat, so you can now also set local 2280 records.

We've also updated the API naming scheme for leaderboards, resetting them from 1.4-d62 onwards. As Steam has a limit to how many leaderboards we can have, we'll be removing leaderboards for 1.3 and versions before it once 1.4 has released.

As we had mentioned with the release of a previous development build, we've moved the NX2000 into the high-end ships category so the standard category has a much more balanced range of ships. As 1.4 is our last major update, we've decided this is the right time to clear out scores and start fresh.

[h3]Rich Presence[/h3]
We previously had support for DIscord rich presence, and we've now extended it to Steam and GOG Galaxy! We've also made some improvements to rich presence by allowing it to display the ship variant you're using, present campaign event information and let others know when you're in a lobby.

Steam and GOG Galaxy rich presence is enabled by default and can be disabled in the options menu (Game Options > General > Integrations) if you'd like to keep your in-game activity private.

Changelog

[h3]Gamemodes[/h3]
  • 2280 is no longer a cheat and can now be used to set local records

[h3]Integrations[/h3]
  • Added 2280 leaderboards
  • Added support for Steam and GOG Galaxy rich presence (enabled by default)
  • Rich presence now shows the ship variant being used, campaign events being played and when you're in a multiplayer lobby
  • Reset leaderboards for 1.4-d62 onwards. Older builds will have their leaderboards removed when 1.4 releases to ensure there's plenty of space available on Steams backend.
  • Fixed Discord rich presence not reporting menu activity

[h3]User Interface[/h3]
  • Settings that have disabled saving are now shown on the pause menu instead of logged to the console
  • Merged 2159 and floorhugger records into a single physics mode option in the local records menu (not possible to set records for both so this improves UX)
  • Fixed custom ships using the .ship and .shp file formats not being selectable when the selector is in a utility context (AI presets, ship viewer)
  • Input actions being presented with button glyphs no longer trigger while the debug console is open

[h3]Tracks[/h3]
  • Added Gullfoss Run (2280 category)

[h3]Engine[/h3]
  • Fixed Practice Makes Perfect achievement triggering a lap early

[h3]Campaign[/h3]
  • Fixed Speed Freak - Luna Survival allowing a ship selection
  • Fixed Aftermath - Relay Novice Race having weapons enabled

[h3]Options[/h3]
  • Added options to toggle Steam and GOG Galaxy rich presence (Game Options > General > Integrations). These options only show when the relevant client is running.

[h3]Commands[/h3]
  • Added gm_setconfig. When in debug mode and in-game, this allows you to manually adjust configuration data for the active gamemode.

The Wipeout-like racer BallisticNG gets Steam Deck Verified

That's another game with the green tick that you might want to pick up. BallisticNG is a Wipeout, Rollcage and Jet Moto inspired racer that's genuinely good. With the still in-development updates, it's now Steam Deck Verified.

Read the full article here: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2025/02/the-wipeout-like-racer-ballisticng-gets-steam-deck-verified/

1.4 Dev 6 Now Available - Steam Deck Verified!

The past two months have been a busy few. We've added cockpits for all of the 2280 ships, continued to work on the new UI and along the way have had the game Steam Deck verified.

If you're playing on a Steam Deck, make sure you hop into the development branch for the best experience!

[h2]Playing on development builds[/h2]
  • Right click BallisticNG in your steam library and go to Properties
  • Go to the betas tab on the window that opens
  • From the dropdown select development. If the update doesn't automatically queue for download, restart Steam
  • Once you have opened the game, the version at the bottom right of the menu will read 1.4-d60


Overview

[h2]2280 Cockpits[/h2]
Finishing off development of the 2280 ships, every 2280 ship now has a cockpit and are ready for VR. Thanks to community member Kabelsalat who helped design the majority of these!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80_kBnr0tVc

[h2]UI Updates[/h2]
We've continued to work on the UI, addressing feedback from both the community and Valve through the Steam Deck verification process.

[h3]Standardized Input Prompt Positions[/h3]
Input prompts now have a standardized position along the underside of the menus bottom bar. This frees up space in the menu which has allowed us to better balance UI layouts.


[h3]Campaign Info Tabs[/h3]
The campaign info pages are now presented as tabs, making it much easier to keep track of what you're looking at. These are also intractable with a mouse, allowing for much faster switching if you're clicking around at a desktop.



[h3]Controller Events[/h3]
The game now reports controller events! Tying into the Input Improvements mentioned below, the following events are now reported to you at the top of the screen:
  • Controller connected
  • Controller disconnected
  • Controller assigned to a player
  • The player navigating the menu has changed




[h2]Input Improvements[/h2]
[h3]Controller Assignment[/h3]
Two controllers can now be automatically assigned to players by default. This fixes a conflict issue on the Steam Deck between the built-in controller and any external controllers.

Unassigned controllers will now be automatically assigned to a player when pressing a button on them (this can be disabled in the Input Options menu). Controllers are assigned to the player who currently has menu navigation control.

Finally, splitscreen is now inaccessible until Player Two has a controller assigned. The game will let you pick a controller in the menu before navigating forward, using the same selection interface as the Input Options menu.

Note: enabling debug mode bypasses the player two controller check.

[h3]Improved Controller Saves[/h3]
Controller data is now saved by device ID instead of a hardware ID.

The device ID is a way to uniquely identify a specific controller instead of just bundling everything under the controllers generic hardware ID, which finally allows two controllers of the same type to have unique binds and calibrations saved for them. Note that for Xbox controllers, the XInput player is the unique identifier, so binds and calibrations are stored and recalled in the order that the controllers are plugged in.

Changelog

[h3]Ships[/h3]
  • Added G-Tek 2280 cockpit
  • Added Wyvern 2280 cockpit
  • Added Hyperion 2280 cockpit
  • Added Scorpio 2280 cockpit
  • Added Omnicom 2280 cockpit
  • Added Diavolt 2280 cockpit
  • Added Nexus 2280 cockpit
  • Added Tenrai 2280 cockpit
  • Added Caliburn 2280 cockpit
  • Added 2280 Barracuda Model A, 2280 Barracuda Model B, 2280 Barracuda Model C and 2280 Barracuda Model 0 cockpit
  • Added 2280 Barracuda Model S cockpit
  • Added 2280 Orbitronix cockpit
  • Added 2280 Protonic cockpit
  • Added 2280 MTech cockpit
  • Added 2280 Precision Delta cockpit
  • Added NX3000 cockpit
  • Increased camera height for the Barracuda Model B in 2280
  • Fixed wobble when entering maglocks at an angle in 2280
  • Fixed 2280 Barracuda Model S not being delectable from the Survival ship category before Rank 24


[h3]Custom Race[/h3]
  • Added Force Weapons option
  • Added Weapon Pad Time option


[h3]Multiplayer[/h3]
  • Added Force Weapons option
  • Added Weapon Pad Time option


[h3]User Interface[/h3]
  • Increased event details font size in the results screen (Steam Deck compatibility)
  • Increased tooltip font size (Steam Deck compatibility)
  • Increased font size in advanced selectors (Steam Deck compatibility)
  • Increased font size of the details and description pages in the campaign menu (Steam Deck compatibility)
  • Restructured practice mode guide descriptions to provide space for larger input glyphs (Steam Deck compatibility)
  • Campaign event info pages now have a tab header which can now be interacted with using a mouse.
  • Moved the game version text and expansion list to thee bottom edge of the screen
  • Moved input bind displays below the menu's bottom content divider. Menus such as the campaign menu, multiplayer menu and option menu now take advantage of the additional space
  • Device connect and disconnect events are now logged on screen
  • Player two must now have a device assigned before entering menus for splitscreen. An overlay for assigning a device will now be displayed if no device is assigned. Enabling debug mode bypasses this
  • Fixed softlock in options menu after switching from exclusive fullscreen to another screen mode if there's multiple refresh rates available
  • Fixed incorrect values for refresh rate being reported in the options menu save review list
  • Gamemode settings in the custom race menu and lobby config tab now use an adaptable grouping system to eliminate stray option listings
  • The device assigned message is now shown after assigning a device to player two in the player count select menu
  • A global message is now displayed when the player providing menu navigation control changes
  • Fixed input binds not being assignable when there isn't an input already assigned


[h3]Options[/h3]
  • Added option to toggle automatic device assignment (input options -> devices -> auto assign devices)
  • Increased max value of frame limiter to 360fps
  • Fixed Survival Palette option not saving


[h3]Gamemodes[/h3]
  • 2280 angular velocity is now reset when teleporting to the start line on point to point tracks in Speed Lap


[h3]Engine[/h3]
  • Players can now have two devices automatically assigned to them (fix for Steam Deck compatibility - allow the built in controller to be assigned alongside an external controller by default)
  • Automatic controller assignment is no longer evenly distributed. Player one will need to have two controllers assigned before player two receives any. Controllers can be assigned as needed in the input options menu.
  • Pressing a button on an unassigned device now assigns it automatically to the player that currently has UI navigation control
  • Decreased the cockpit camera near clipping plane distance
  • Saved controller data is now identified by device ID instead of hardware ID. New config files with device specific IDs will replace the old files when input settings are saved.
    • The hardware ID is an identifier for a general make of controller and is shared between units. The device ID is a unique identifier for the specific unit.
    • There may be cases where a unique ID can't be determined based on the controller itself and the operating system. The hardware ID is still saved and can be used in case a unique device ID is unavailable.
  • Controller settings are now saved on game exit (allow automatic assignments to be remembered and consistent across sessions without a user triggered save)
  • Fixed known unassigned devices being auto assigned to players on the next game boot
  • Fixed softlock when loading custom tracks with zero-g sections
  • Fixed the 2280 chase camera being reset to the world origin for a single frame when being switched to
  • Fixed controllers being unassigned when entering the input options menu if they had been automatically assigned when the game started
  • Dedicated Server
  • An attempt to determine if the terminal has a cursor is now made. If a cursor isn't found, the server is now ran in an output only mode.
  • DedicatedServerExample.cfg updated with default setting entries for ForceWeapons and WeaponPadTime


[h3]Campaign[/h3]
  • Fixed precision run entries not being visible unless the previous run had an associated save file

1.4 Dev 5 Now Available

The past few months of development have been spent almost exclusively on the game's UI.
We've been pushing out builds along the way, so most of what's listed here has already been available for a while. If you're not in our Discord server, this will bring you up to date with all of the changes since Dev 4.

[h2]Playing on development builds[/h2]
  • Right click BallisticNG in your steam library and go to Properties
  • Go to the betas tab on the window that opens
  • From the dropdown select development. If the update doesn't automatically queue for download, restart Steam
  • Once you have opened the game, the version at the bottom right of the menu will read 1.4-d51
Notices

[h3]Dedicated Server Changes[/h3]
There have been a lot of backend changes for multiplayer in this release which changes variable names used in dedicated server CFG files and changes how the LUA API is used for for changing lobby data.

See the updated example CFG, random lobby lua example script and LUA documentation txt for more details.

[h3]Menu Background Animation Options[/h3]
Two options have been added to customize the background animations on the menu. Some people don't like the new flying ship animation or find the particles in particular are too distracting, so we've added options to customise this. You can turn the particles off, or swap back to always using the old turntable animation.

  • Options -> Game Options -> Interface -> Always Use Turntable
  • Options -> Game Options -> Interface -> Flying Ship Particles

[h3]BNGL Bundled[/h3]
To coincide with the gallery update in this build, we've worked with Radracer to officially distribute a portion of their BallisticNG legacy project with the game!

We've taken the mods which are relevant to the game's development history and packed them in a ZIP which you can find in the Additional Content folder where the game's installed. A readme is included with installation instructions.

If you're a GOG user, we're currently working with them to have the ZIP added as a goodie.

When uncompressed, the ZIP provides just over 700mb worth of old ships and tracks from the game's past for you to play around with!

The UI Overhaul

Dev 5 finishes up the majority of work on interfaces that we had started on with Dev 4. The changes here span across the entire game and a detailed breakdown about all of them would take a long time, so we'll touch upon the most significant changes since Dev 4.

[h2]Scaling & Padding[/h2]
UI scaling and list padding can now be customized! The game starts at 100% scaling (the maximum) and 72% padding to make sure everybody can see the UI regardless of the screen they're playing on.

Here's the custom race settings list at 60% scaling:

[h2]Multiplayer Lobby[/h2]

The multiplayer lobby screen has seen a major layout change to accommodate for vertical navigation and to maintain more consistent scaling with other UIs.

Information is now split into three tabs: players, config and chat.

The player tab shows the player list with chosen ships and liveries. Name tags are now also shown above each ship in 3D so you can more easily identify who's who visually.

The config tab shows the full lobby configuration, listed in the same order that the host sees in the configuration screen. If the host changes the settings while you're in this tab, a soft flash animation will play to let you know.

The chat tab shows you the full chat log for the current menu session. When you're not in this tab, chat messages are posted to the center region of the screen for a brief time. This is called out of context chat and can be disabled in the options menu if you'd like to keep the chat hidden.

Whenever the content of a tab changes, it'll flash green to let you know there's something new you haven't seen yet.

Sending chat messages is now also activated with a button press instead of needing to navigate to a text entry field. Note that there's still a chat entry field that you can click into with a mouse. Sending a chat message will automatically move you into the chat tab.


[h2]Result Screens[/h2]
The old result screens featured a lot of contrasting black and white in a very cramped space at the center of the screen. For this update we wanted to space things out a bit, using more of the available screen real-estate to give everything some breathing room.

We've also added some details about the event you've just played at the bottom left. When you're in a tournament and still have tracks lined up, this is replaced with the next track preview.


[h2]Campaign Menu[/h2]
The campaign menu is now split into three tabs: official campaigns, custom campaigns and precision runs.

Our previous UI had an issue with too much information being displayed at once. It was actually so much that playing the game in 4:3 would push a fair chunk of that information off-screen.

The new UI breaks information down into three pages that you can cylce between, allowing us to ensure that all of the information is readable and consistent in size with everything else regardless of the display aspect ratio.


[h2]Options Menu[/h2]
[h3]New Design[/h3]
A criticism we've frequently received over the years is that options are not logically laid out and that manual saving is a pain. The input options menu in particular has been a complete mess, arguably the worst in the game.

We've added a lot of options over the years without changing much about the menu, so this has been an opportunity to redesign it from scratch.

There are now two option menus instead of four. One for everything related to the game, and one for inputs. Everything in these menus has been re-organized into a much more suitable set of tabs which can be easily switched between. You can now also search for options!

Quite a few options have also been given more descriptive names. With tooltips now also being moved into a permanent area on the side, we've updated a lot of them with more in-depth explanations.


[h3]Change Tracking[/h3]
There is now only one way to leave the menu: pressing back.

The game now tracks which options you change and now asks to save when backing out if you had made any changes. With this feature implemented, we also figured an optional change review UI would be a nice thing to have:


[h2]Updated Gallery[/h2]

The gallery has been completely re-made from scratch, is much more rich in information and includes more history items.

[expand]

[/expand]
[h3]Image Viewer[/h3]
We now have a fullscreen image viewer for looking at concept art and getting a better look at the images provided in pages with descriptions.

Any scanned sketches are inverted by default so we're not blinding you, however this can be disabled if you'd like to see the original images. Like so:

[expand]

[/expand]
Full Changelog

[h3]General[/h3]
  • A portion of Radracers BallisticNG Legacy mod project is now available through official means. These are optional and need to be installed manually.
    • `Mods - BallisticNG Legacy.zip` is bundled with the game in the Additional Content folder
    • A readme with installation instructions and credits is included in the ZIP

[h3]User Interface[/h3]
  • Added input to select the search box in advanced content selectors
  • Added support for right click back in advanced content selectors
  • Added skip button to survival elimination sequence
  • Added feedback sound when generating a random tournament
  • Added option to open the game's folder in the modding menu
  • Redesigned result screens
  • Redesigned advanced content selectors
  • Redesigned sound pack list menu
  • Redesigned leaderboards menu and overlay HUD
    • Returning to the menu from a race started in the leaderboards menu now returns you to the leaderboards menu
  • Redesigned code mod management interface
    • Any errors that were encountered during loading are now viewable per listed mod
    • Any mods that were added before launching the game are now marked as new
  • Redesigned records menu
  • Redesigned stats menu
  • Redesigned achievements menu
  • Remade gallery
    • Gallery content is now only loaded while in the gallery to reduce memory usage in the menu
    • Content history now includes post-release changes
    • Added more information, additional history tidbits and updated all images
    • Added ship and track concept drawings
    • Added a fullscreen image viewer
    • Added option to open additional content folder to install the bundled BNGL when present (Steam)
  • Updated loading screen design
  • Updated content loader design
  • The right stick scrolling speed on a gamepad is now consistent
  • Entries in track lists now scale text down instead of wrapping it onto new lines
  • Entries in the selected tournament track list now scale text down instead of of wrapping it into new lines
  • Updated award medal shader with rim and specular lighting
  • Renamed labels for insert input bind displays to better describe what they're doing
  • Input fields no longer open the onscreen keyboard while the mouse cursor is visible
  • The special inputs for the onscreen keyboard are now displayed
  • The onscreen keyboard can now be canceled out of
  • List dialogs called from buttons which provide additional options to access sub-menus are now placed on the right hand side of the calling button
  • Elements no longer play selection animations while a scroll rect is being left click dragged
  • Content selector variant options are now vertically centered
  • Content selector text can no longer wrap onto new lines and now shrinks when the length of text is too long
  • The option slider arrow now scales down below 70% UI padding to keep it framed
  • Fixed various issues with the handling of the Steam keyboard overlay
  • Fixed track list selector overlay not stretching to fill the screen in non 16:9 aspect ratios
  • Fixed the practice guide description background not filling the text area on first open
  • Fixed typo in Speed lap gamemode description
  • Fixed typo in Ship Viewer material settings header
  • Fixed in-game menus not working if an advanced selector was open during the menu to track scene transition
  • Fixed various issues related to the random button in advanced content selectors
  • Fixed the advanced ship selector not allowing anything other then the Aster LB221 to be selected from the small vehicles category
  • Fixed the scroll wheel and left click drag scrolling not working in the advanced content selectors
  • Fixed issues relating to tooltips sometimes getting stuck on screen
  • Fixed scroll rect jittering when scrolling the mouse wheel while left click dragging
  • Fixed unstable scroll bar position in content selector menus when moving the mouse cursor very fast through them
  • Fixed double sounds when switching categories in content selector menus
  • Fixed content selector menu typewriter animations not playing when navigating back and forth between them

[h3]HUD[/h3]
  • Updated all HUDs with signed distance field text rendering
  • Updated shield bar overlay design
  • Updated name tag design and added maximum length before the font size is reduced instead of overflowing
  • Updated lap and position designs
  • Updated lap times design
  • Updated player list design
  • Updated speed lap design
  • Updated score list design and added animation for when a score changes
  • Updated shield energy list design
  • Updated team score list design
  • Updated campaign awards design

[h3]Gamemode[/h3]
  • Increased global drain rate in Rush Hour by 50% (faster pacing)
  • The Rush Hour drain rate is now logarithmic instead of linear to prevent clumps of eliminations
  • Increased minimum speed pad zone charge amount in Upsurge by 100% (faster pacing)
  • Wall collisions no longer break chains in Stunt
  • Increased Stunt combo chain time from 2.5 to 3 seconds
  • Stunt now disables 2280
  • Time trial now awards medals in custom race depending on the time difference when beating a previous record:
    • Setting first record: gold
    • Beating previous record by half a second: bronze
    • Beating previous record by 1 second: silver
    • Beating previous record by 2 seconds: gold
    • Beating previous record by 4 seconds: platinum
  • Fixed total time being counted while the ship is eliminated in Survival
  • Fixed eliminated and results screen opening when both players are eliminated in splitscreen
  • Fixed numerous issues in Knockout
  • Fixed Rush Hour not ending in splitscreen
  • Fixed typo in Rush Hour description

[h3]Custom Race[/h3]
  • Added custom race presets. These save and load the entire state of the custom race menu
  • Added clear tracks button to the tournaments menu
  • The previous tournaments tracks are now preserved when entering the tournament menu
  • Fixed speed class selector not refreshing the UI if the laps slider isn't present

[h3]Campaign[/h3]
  • The unlock screen now reports where the unlocked item can be found

[h3]Multiplayer[/h3]
  • Hunter is now available
  • Added score differential to tournament results
  • Ship scores are now synced (will be used in a later build)
  • Lobby settings are now remembered across game sessions
  • The lobby menu title now shows the player count
  • Chat messages are now timestamped and no longer support rich text tags
  • The lobby countdown is now stopped instead of frozen when the host goes into the options menu.
  • Updated lobby interface design:
    • Options are now on the left with vertical navigation
    • Lobby information is now split into tabs on the right
    • The lobby config tab is structured like the custom race menu settings
    • The option for clients to vote is now only shown for dedicated servers
    • When the chat tab is not active, the latest messages will be briefly shown in the bottom center region of the screen (out of context chat)
  • Updated connecting and error popup designs
  • Unexpected disconnects while racing will now show an error when returning to the menu
  • Servers now request configuration confirmation from clients. If a client doesn't receive the latest configuration data or can't apply it (missing gamemode) then they can't join races.
  • The lobby settings button is now hidden while the start countdown is running
  • Server settings are now merged into custom race settings
    • Configuration is now compressed and sent as INI data
    • Settings for the chosen gamemode are automatically synced without additional work required (code mods)
  • New settings are available
    • Pause autopilot
    • Custom weapon pools
    • Ai speed
    • Gamemode (not yet changeable, will always be race for now)
  • Fixed the pause autopilot conflicting with the pickup
  • Fixed projectile spawn position prediction becoming increasingly inaccurate over the duration of races
  • Fixed early end of race not triggering when bots are present

[h3]Dedicated Servers[/h3]
  • Updated example CFG with changes to variable names
  • LUA: Updated example scripts with latest changes
  • LUA: Lobby settings are now handled through Get() and Set(). See the API functions section of SvrScripts/Documentation.txt for more information

[h3]Weapons[/h3]
  • Increased Hunter slowdown
  • Reduced Hunter pickup weighting from 45 to 12 (same as Tremor)
  • Added 30 second cooldown between hunters being available in the weapon pool after one has impacted

[h3]Ships[/h3]
  • Fixed the right airbrake of 2159 Hyperion using the left airbrake's uvs
  • Fixed raised airbrakes on 2159 Hyperion
  • Fixed mipmapping on Barracuda Model S 2280 clean livery

[h3]Engine[/h3]
  • Additional components attached to an object with a PhysicsModZone script in custom tracks are no longer lost on track load
  • The cockpit camera look and offset inertia is now based on the ships physics and is tuned for 2159 and 2280 individually
  • The 2159 rear chase and 2280 rear chase camera FOVs no longer decrease below the base FOV setting when moving backwards
  • Code mods that fail to load due to errors no longer cause a boot softlock
  • Fixed controllers that have been unassigned from a player being assigned again on the next input settings load
  • Fixed controller calibration issues when switching between the native Linux build and Windows builds through Proton.
    • When saving controls, calibration files for connected controllers will be replaced with an OS specific file.

[h3]Commands[/h3]
  • Added debug_logrcinterfaces. This logs all of the race settings in the game.
  • Added svrapply. This must now be used after svrset to apply changes on the server and then send the updated ini configuration to clients
  • svrset and svrget now use a new race settings backend for variable names and provide autocompletion

[h3]Options[/h3]
  • Added option to set UI padding between 60% and 100% (interface > menu > menu padding). Defaults to 72%
  • Added option to set menu scaling between 60% and 100% (interface > menu > menu scaling). Defaults to 100%
  • Added option to disable out of context chat in lobbies (interface > menu > out of context lobby chat)
  • Added option to disable particles in the menu flying animation (interface > menu > flying ship particles)
  • Added option to disable the menu flying animation and use the turntable instead (interface > always use turntable)
  • Added option to toggle dynamic FOV for the 2159 rear chase and 2280 rear chase cameras (camera > 2159 rear chase > use dynamic fov and camera > 2280 rear chase > use dynamic fov)
  • Added option to toggle cockpit camera inertia (camera > cockpit > cockpit inertia)
  • Added option to set the cockpit camera tilt percent when using player tilt (camera > cockpit > cockpit player tilt ratio)
  • Increased FOV option ranges to 40 - 170. FOVs set above 115 for cameras with dynamic fovs will lock the fov to the option
  • Tooltips for camera FOV options now show the value converted into a horizontal FOV for the current display aspect ratio
  • The VR cockpit camera mode options are now available outside of VR
  • Redesigned options menu
    • Graphics, Audio and Game options are now in a single menu with a more logical set of tabs
    • Manual saving is removed. The menu keeps track of what you change and offers to save when backing out. You can also view a breakdown of all the changes you've made
    • Options can be searched
    • Holding a category navigation button and then pressing the other will open a selector list for the current tab, like with content selector menus
  • Redesigned inputs menu
    • Player two now has navigation control in player two's menu when there's an available controller.
  • Removed prefer options for VR. The game will now set the appropriate default options for VR when first creating the User\Config\Ini\config_vr.ini file
  • Legacy options can be accessed on the main menu by entering debug_legacyoptionsaccess true in the command console.

[h3]Photo Mode[/h3]
  • Fixed background gradient behind input buttons not scaling correctly at lower menu interface scale percentages
  • Fixed the back button working while moving the camera
  • Fixed the FOV being reset when stepping the game

[h3]Music[/h3]
  • Added Vonsnake - Lance Systems
What's Next?

We'll now be shifting our focus onto some content with the 2280 ship cockpits and a 2280 track. Stay tuned!

1.4 Dev 4 is now available

With 1.4 being our last major feature update, we want to make sure that we're leaving the game in the best possible state that it can be in. The user interface is an area of the game that's needed some love for a very long time, and we're now giving it the attention it needs.

We haven't finished every interface yet and will be completing them in a future development build. The interfaces we still need to update are:
  • Campaign, campaign editor and precision runs.
  • Multiplayer lobby.
  • Multiplayer connecting popups.
  • Options.
  • Records, stats, achievements.
  • Result screens.
  • Code mods management.
  • Gallery.
  • HUDS (text rendering update, minor aesthetic tweaks).
  • Probably some other Uis somewhere (we have a lot).


[h2]Playing on development builds[/h2]
  • Right click BallisticNG in your steam library and go to Properties
  • Go to the betas tab on the window that opens
  • From the dropdown select development. If the update doesn't automatically queue for download, restart Steam
  • Once you have opened the game, the version at the bottom right of the menu will read 1.4-d35


[h2]Notices[/h2]
  • UI preset locations have been changed and the game won't automatically move them. If you've been using presets for custom AI rosters or multiplayer lobbies, you'll want to move the following folders:
    • User > Config > Ini > Ai Presets, to User > Config > Presets > Ai Rosters
    • User > Confg > Ini > Lobby Presets to User > Config > Presets > Lobby Settings


[h2]Unity Tools[/h2]
The Unity Tools have been updated with this release. Click here to view the changelog and download the latest package.

The New Menu

The UI element style that we debuted with the content selectors in 1.4 Dev 3 is now being rolled out across the entire game.

The main menu has been reorganized with fewer options being displayed immediately. What we consider important options are at the forefront of this new menu, then everything else that was previously available on the start page can be found a layer deeper.

We've also introduced a new style to the menus 3d rendering. When you're not in the track selector, ship selector or in a multiplayer lobby, you'll now be looking at this animation inspired by the game's cover art:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVJjsFEUmAc

Navigation through all currently updated menus is now vertical only. Horizontal inputs are reserved for changing options.

Combined with menus now resetting their selection to the first option when you navigate forward into them, we hope this will help with forming more consistent muscle memory for quickly breezing through interfaces to get into the game.

Signed Distance Field Text

Every text element in the game is being updated to Unity's TextMeshPro component, which uses SDF rendering to keep fonts sharp at any resolution. This not only has a benefit for people playing at higher resolutions like 4k, but it also improves readability at really low resolutions too.

Here's a look at what this actually means. The top is using the old text renderer, the bottom is using the new text renderer.



Tournament Setup

Tournament track setup has seen some major changes. You'll now be presented with a menu where you can freely insert, move and delete tracks.

With this build we've also finally implemented a long requested feature: tournament presets!
Also worth noting, custom weapon pools in custom races now have support for presets too, and we plan to add presets for the entire custom race menu.



Photo Mode Updates

Other then the updated UI, there have also been a few other updates to Photo mode.

[h3]Increased FOV range[/h3]
The FOV can now go as low as 1 degree and as high as 179 degrees. 1 degree can be useful, like the image below, and 179 is basically useless but it's also funny to have.



[h3]Thirds grid[/h3]
You can now enable a thirds grid to help with shot composition!
Full Changelog (since 1.4-d28)

[h3]User Interface[/h3]
  • Added keyboard input icons.
  • Updated controller input icons with more consistent dimensions and a new design for improved readability.
  • Updated main menu background with an animation inspired by the game's cover art.
  • The main menu title on the menu now changes to provide context of the menu / overlay currently opened.
  • Cheats & Secrets elements now update immediately after activating Unlock All.
  • Redesigned most pages on the main menu. More updates coming in future builds.
  • Redesigned first startup and VR welcome overlays.
  • Redesigned update profile overlay.
  • Redesigned the pause menu.
  • Redesigned the practice mode introduction popup and pause menu guide. All guide entries have also been rewritten.
  • Redesigned the credits interface.
  • Redesigned the data selection elements. These do not automatically replace the old elements, and are being deployed to new interfaces only.
    • Clicking a values text area now opens dialogs for faster input interactions with keyboard and mouse.
    • Selectors now always wrap. With two options, mouse clicking the value text acts as a toggle. With three or more, a full list will show.
    • Sliders show a preview for how the mouse will change the value. Dragging the slider no longer allows scroll rects to follow mouse movement. Mouse clicking the value text opens a text field to manually enter a value, which is rounded to the relevant step size as you're typing.
    • Text inputs now require menu submit to be pressed before typing (clicking / tapping will also work). Data type validation is also now supported.
  • When ending a session from the pause menu in Survival and Speed Lap, an explanation of what ending the session does is displayed in the confirmation dialog.
  • Menus now have a brief fade in animation. This is being rolled out to interfaces as they're updated and is replacing the sequenced element toggle animation.
  • Main menu meshes are now toggled based on the current context (noticeable in VR)
  • The first item of a menu list will now always be selected when navigating forwards on redesigned menus.
  • Tooltips redesigned, are more consistently positioned and no longer open while the left mouse button is held (sliders).
  • Autoscrolling scroll rects now center the scroll position to all elements correctly and can now handle centred content alignment.
  • The ship selector will now show standard ships if the only available ship category is custom ships while no custom ships are loaded.
  • Right click back now works on the update profile interface.
  • Fixed the resume button not being highlighted when opening the pause menu more then once.
  • Fixed the ship selector showing nothing if custom campaigns that only allow custom ships are used.
  • Fixed startup epilepsy notice automatically skipping too fast.
  • Fixed startup epilepsy notice not DPI scaling.
  • Fixed fallback input bind text being used if no input is pressed before reaching the menu.

[h3]Custom Race[/h3]
  • Added weapon damage multiplier option.
  • Added collision damage multiplier option.
  • Added AI speed multiplier option.
  • Added speed pads option.
  • Added support for custom weapon pool presets.
  • Added support for tournament track list presets.
  • Redesigned the interface.
  • Difficulty renamed to Ai Difficulty.

[h3]Multiplayer[/h3]
  • Added weapon damage multiplier option.
  • Added collision damage multiplier option.
  • Added speed pads option.
  • In-game host menu settings are now saved and recalled.
  • In-game configuration of max players can now be set freely between 2 and 16.
  • The IP list now saves as a json file (User > Cache > Interface > IpList.json). The previously used .bin file will be converted automatically.
  • Fixed 2280 Model B and 2280 Model C always showing default liveries for peers.

[h3]Photo Mode[/h3]
  • Added an exit confirmation.
  • Added thirds grid option to the camera tab.
  • Redesigned the interface.
  • Exiting is now handled with the menu back and pause inputs.
  • Effects are now automatically toggled based on their settings.
  • The cursor is now left hidden when exiting move mode if it was hidden before entering it.
  • The FOV can now be set between 1 and 179 degrees.
  • Fixed cursor being visible when using move mode with a mouse.
  • Fixed 240p output resolution using the wrong width.

[h3]Tracks[/h3]
  • Fixed typo in Arrivon XI's location name.
  • Fixed speed pad wall tile on Maceno Interchange Reverse.

[h3]Ships[/h3]
  • Disabled mipmapping on 2280 Barracuda Model S stealth texture.
  • Fixed typo on 2280 Tenrai gold livery.
  • Fixed typo in Scorplet frontend description.
  • Fixed black spot on 2280 MTech's Outer Reaches livery.
  • Fixed incorrectly rotated logo on 2280 Hyperion Alt livery.

[h3]Gamemodes[/h3]
  • To prevent an exploit, continuously scraping walls now inflicts collision damage in 2280 Survival.

[h3]Campaign[/h3]
  • Fixed typo in an Outer Reaches campaign event name.

[h3]Precision Runs[/h3]
  • Now accessed through the campaign menu. In a future update these will be a tab instead of a sub menu accessed through a button.

[h3]Pickups[/h3]
  • Increased absorb shield replenish values by 2 (epack excluded).

[h3]2280[/h3]
  • Ships now correctly rotate to face the direction of gravity when falling.

[h3]Tracks[/h3]
  • Added no anti-skip volume to Project 9's hairpin.
  • Fixed ships being thrown into the hole before the Nova Park hologram on Nova Split in 2280 Survival.
  • Fixed ships sharply nose diving off of the Zephyr Climb jumps in 2280 Survival.
  • Fixed ships hugging the start grid station roof on Luna in 2280 Survival.

[h3]Engine[/h3]
  • Respawning ships now have their collision mesh set to a trigger instead of being disabled, allowing trigger enter/exit events to run.
  • Moved AI roster presets from User/Config/Ini/Ai Presets to User/Config/Presets/Ai Rosters.
  • Moved lobby presets from User/Config/Ini/Lobby Presets to User/Config/Presets/Lobby Settings.

[h3]Commands[/h3]
  • Added debug_respawn to manually trigger a ship respawn.

[h3]Music[/h3]
  • Fixed arcade mode introduction music continuing to play after the race has started in splitscreen.

[h3]Ship Viewer[/h3]
  • Redesigned the interface.