Developers Iteration I of 2023

[Anachronism_]

@jip Partial Share isn't one of the things that makes a game unrated.

[Jip]

We've released a hotfix, we hope this also helps with people that constantly encounter issues with the preference file.

See the patch notes of [3751](https://github.com/FAForever/fa/releases/tags/3751) for the full patch notes.

## Bug fixes

- (#4741) Fix build preview of underwater storages

- (#4739) Fix Aloha being ignored by tactical missile defenses

- (#4740) Fix reclaim values of wreckages

- (acc6893) Enforce UTF8 encoding of preference file
    We weren't entirely aware that we stopped enforcing the encoding of the preference file. As a result a lot of people encountered issues. We hope by enforcing it again that those issues are resolved

## Contributors

- Jip (#4741, #4739, #4740)
- KionX (acc6893)

[haifron]

#4524 is missing from the changelog

[Jip]

Oh no, my apologies! It is this one:

• https://github.com/FAForever/fa/pull/4524

I've been using it since , I'll update it next weekend

[Saver]

@jip Test in Normal FAF or Develop?

[Elmi]

Incredible how you're still improving the game 15 years later... Thank you !

[Saver]

@jip Bug fixed, thank you

[Jip]

A new hot fix has been released, this should fix the majority of issues that people encountered and reported this week. Some people approached me with concerns about the changes to the factory line ups. You can read more about that here:

• https://forum.faforever.com/topic/5790/redesign-of-all-hq-and-support-factories

Feel free to leave your thoughts and suggestions in the topics dedicated to a specific line up.

We would like to remind people that we're always open to feedback. Specifically for the changes surrounding the factories we made a few topics for you to give feedback on the various line ups. You can find them here:

- https://forum.faforever.com/topic/5790/redesign-of-all-hq-and-support-factories

If you can't click on that link then navigate to `General Discussion -> Suggestions` on the forums. The overview topic is pinned at the top.

At the moment there is a game-breaking issue with Nomads. The maintainer has been informed.

With kind regards,

Jip

## Features

- (#4745, #4779, #4781) Tweaking of network parameters in an attempt to reduce lag

## Bug fixes

- (#4755, #4783) Fix various issues with build mode

- (#4756) Fix extractors not aligning with the terrain

- (#4743) Fix civilians not being revealed

- (#4752) Fix auto balance button when no faction is selected

- (#4757) Fix hot build not being reset after a build order

- (#4759) Fix beam weapons continiously restarting as they ground fire
    This also fixes the bug where beam weapons that are firing on the ground apply the damage twice

- (#4763) Fix veterancy triggering before death weapons do

- (#4771) Fix a typo in `CreateIntelTriggers`

- (#4777) Fix a bug where reclaiming props with no value could prevent the ACU from shooting

- (#4778) Fix tractor beams from making units invulnerable

- (#4768) Fix orientation of structures with pre-defined orientations (from the editor)

- (#4782) Fix cursor not changing when you manually issue an attack order

- (#4719) Fix significant weapon delay on the anti air gun of the Sky Slammer, Siren and Bouncer

- (#4784) Fix units receiving full vet after being transferred

## AI

We would like to remind people that there are various mods that provide different AI experiences. We can highly recommend you to download them from the vault and give them a spin.

A short list of AIs we recommend at this point:

- M27: made by Maudlin
- RNGAI, as made by Relent0r
- Sorian Edit, as made by Marlo
- Uveso AI, as made by Uveso
- Dilli Dalli, as made by Softles
- Swarm AI, as made by Azraeel

And not to forget the AI that ships with the Total Annihilation mod that is maintained by Dragun.

- (#4674) Fix base AI logic running with AIs from the vault

## Navigational mesh

The navigational mesh is an abstract representation of a map. The AI can use that representation to gain an understanding of what the map 'looks like'. The navigational mesh is generated at the start of the map and works on any map.  

- (#4761) Fix labels being culled even though they have resources

- (#4762) Introduce a search threshold when searching for a valid leaf

- (#4776) Fix navigational mesh being able to be generated multiple times

- (#4780) Fix order of execution so that expansion markers are properly generated

## Physics Based Rendering (PBR)

We're slowly but surely preparing the game for a significant visual improvement. This is a long term project that is going to consume hundreds of hours. We're hoping to find additional contributors that have an interesting in creating (and fixing) meshes and textures. If you have that interest and/or experience and you'd like to help out then you can introduce yourself in the dedicated channels in the official Discord channel!

- (#4713) Fix animation problems with the Cybran air factory line up

## Other changes

- (#4758) Add division icon for the unlisted 'division'

## Contributors

RabidPope (#4719)
Relentor (#4674)
Rowey (#4752)
Jip (#4745, #4756, #4743, #4757, #4759, #4761, #4763, #4762, #4778, #4777, #4776, #4768, #4780, #4782, #4719)
Wotan (#4745)
SlinkingAnt (#4755, #4783)
4z0t (#4771, #4758)

[Jip]

@haifron forgot to update it

[Jip]

And we reverted the changes to the network parameters

[haifron]

@jip I just meant the changelog on this post fyi xd, just that the new setting & PR aren't mentioned.

[Sam-site]

I just want another thank you to @Jip and the rest of the contributors for all the work they've put in to keep improving the game!

[Jip]

@Sam-site we appreciate it

Hopefully the last hotfix for now, see also:

# Game version 3756 (18th of March, 2023)

Hopefully this is the last hotfix for now. Includes various fixes of recent and longstanding bugs.

Jip

## Features

- (#4770) Overhaul of the cheat menu
    The menu now inherits from the Window class, as a result it can be moved around and rescaled. Units
    can now be dragged into the game, instead of the old box spawn formation. Includes a section to
    spawn in props, meshes and a new section to preview and spawn in entire templates.

    This was long over due. The new cheat window is completely configurable, note the little wrench next to the title.

## Bug fixes

- (#4805) Fix orientation of structures being applied multiple times after gifting or capturing

- (#4793) Fix disabling of the tabs (in the center) when you are in a replay and your focus army is defeated

- (#4806) Fix lingering draggers around window controls such as the chat and console window

- (#4807) Add a check before applying a platoon function to fix a co-op problem

- (#4804, #4813) Fix various options not listening to the game settings
    This includes the following options:

     - Options for the water depth indicator
     - Options for the plane height indicator
     - Toggle for rendering mouse positions when observing

- (#4809) Re-order the sync in an attempt to mitigate 'unknown results' of ladder games

- (#4812) Fix overcharge damage not scaling with your power supply

## Other changes

- (#4795) Lobby option to share unit cap now defaults to share the unit cap to all allies

- (#4800) Auto-hide the mass fab panel when you change to the observers view

- (#4789) Forward the old ACU-kill event to the UI layer

## Contributors

- Balthazar (#4770)

- Jip (#4805, #4793, #4806, #4807, #4795, #4800, #4770, #4789, #4804, #4809, #4812)

- Rigomate (#4789)

[Deribus]

@jip said in Developers Iteration I of 2023:

The new cheat window is completely configurable, note the little wench next to the title.

The little what?

[Jip]

A wrench, of course

edit: apparently that was a pretty bad typo