2021/10/8 - Patch v11.3

v11.3 (aka the "Artillery. Again." release) has been released to the installer. This patch is a fairly fast turnaround patch, meant to address a present issue and get a few new things out the door, so let's get into it.

UPDATED MECHANIC: Artillery weapons, specifically the Thumper, Sniper, Long Tom, Arrow IV, and Cruise Missile/50, have been reworked significantly. For a more complete explanation see the latest Developer Blog.

The following details the overall stat changes:

• Arrow IV:
  • Direct damage reduced to 30 (down from 60)
  • Variable Damage reduced to 10 (down from 20)
  • Scatter range reduced to 40m/80m (down from 60/120)
  • AoE damage (generic ammo) increased to 75 (up from 60)
  • AoE range (generic ammo) increased to 180m (up to 120m)
  • AoE heat damage (generic ammo) increased to 10 (up from 0)
  • AoE stability damage (generic ammo) increased to 10 (up from 0)
• CruiseMissile/50:
  • Scatter range reduced to 115m/175m (down from 150m/275m)
• Thumper:
  • Direct damage reduced to 25 (down from 50)
  • Variable Damage reduced to 5 (down from 10)
  • Crit chance reduced to +50% (down from +100%)
  • Recoil reduced to 2 (down from 3)
  • Scatter range reduced to 35m/75m (down from 50m/100m)
  • Heat generated reduced to 15 (down from 20)
  • Direct stability damage reduced to 15 (down from 30)
  • AoE range (generic ammo) increased to 125m (up from 100m)
  • AoE damage (generic ammo) increased to 55 (up from 40)
  • AoE heat damage (generic ammo) increased to 5 (up from 0)
  • AoE stability damage (generic ammo) increased to 5 (up from 0)
• Sniper Artillery:
  • Direct damage reduced to 50 (down from 75)
  • Crit chance reduced to +50% (down from +100%)
  • Recoil reduced to 3 (down from 4)
  • Direct stability damage reduced to 30 (down from 40)
  • Scatter range reduced to 50m/115m (down from 75m/150m)
  • AoE range (generic ammo) increased to 210m (up from 150m)
  • AoE damage (generic ammo) increased to 90 (up from 60)
  • AoE heat damage (generic ammo) increased to 15 (up from 0)
  • AoE stability damage (generic ammo) increased to 15 (up from 0)
• Long Tom:
  • Direct damage reduced to 70 (down from 90)
  • Crit chance reduced to +50% (down from +100%)
  • Recoil reduced to 3 (down from 4)
  • Direct stability damage reduced to 40 (down from 50)
  • Scatter range reduced to 75m/135m (down from 125m/250m)
  • AoE range (generic ammo) increased to 325m (up from 250m)
  • AoE damage (generic ammo) increased to 135 (up from 100)
  • AoE heat damage (generic ammo) increased to 20 (up from 0)
  • AoE stability damage (generic ammo) increased to 20 (up from 0)
• Ammunition:
  • Thumper, Sniper Artillery, and Long Tom Shaped Charge ammo AoE damage has been removed. It is now an all or nothing damage dealing option in the same vein as autocannons
  • Shaped charge bonus damage increased from 50% to 150% to compensate for lost AoE damage

NEW BACKGROUND OPTIONS: Sharp Negotiating, which provides one of each airdrop beacon and the strafing run comm suite, and This Man's Tank, which provides a faction-specific tank, have been added. Start with a heavy tank! Start with airdrop beacons! Have fun!

NEW STARTING MECH OPTION: The Urbie Derby has come to town, now you can start with all Urbies if you're feeling wild.

NEW COMPONENTS: A number of small (0.5/1 ton) components have been added to BTA. Specifically, the Mini Heat Sink, two types of Modular Armor, the Magnification and Laser Zoom Arrays, and the HarJel Self-Repair System have all been added to BTA. Find them in stores semi-rarely (HarJel only available at select Diamond Shark retailers).

COMMUNITY CONTENT: The Snub-Nose Gauss Rifle has been introduced and the HGN-IB has been updated to carry it.

• Several Clan omnis have their cDHS kits fixed, as intended.
• Ferro-Lamellor is corrected to properly reduce armor weight. Whoops!
• The Blakist starting planet is changed to Keid.
• Some Magistracy of Canopus planets now actually have descriptions, hurrah!
• Apollo MRM crit chance corrected so it behaves properly now, it was too high before.
• t-bone's BTA Team pilot now has his proper mech affinity.
• B-Team and Show the Flag forced AI pilots (such as Pontoon, Burger Time, and the VIP) now have a unique ability, Training Wheels! They're slightly more interesting! Hurrah!
• LAM noise turned down a bit further.
• ER Micro Laser and Micro Pulse Laser received minor tweaks.
  • ER Micro Laser:
    • Range brackets changed to 0/30/60/90/120 (was previously 0/40/60/70/80)
    • Crit chance increased from -50% to -25%
  • Micro Pulse Laser:
    • Crit chance increased from -50% to -25%
    • Heat reduced from 6 to 3
• Heat sink-related quirks and affinities had their text changed to better reflect their actual effect (purely descriptive, no mechanical changes).
• The Argo pods now hold an additional 4 barracks slots each.

IMPORTANT: v11.3 is an "update" update. Run the installer again to let it just update your files and you're set to go. The installer auto-updates the CAB and injects Modtek for you.

IMPORTANT: v11.3 is not a save breaking update, your saves are compatible and will work fine.

IMPORTANT: You can see v11.3's patch notes, as well as any BTA patch notes, on our wiki on this page: https://www.bta3062.com/index.php/Patch_Notes

REMINDER: This update, and others like it, are made possible by my Patreon supporters. Without their support, updates would come slower and be less impactful. If you feel like being a part of the support for BTA, you can find me here: https://www.patreon.com/bloodydoves

REMINDER: Custom mod commissions are still available if you're interested. If you'd like to get your own community content added to BTA DM me, bloodydoves, and we can work something out.