2020/12/21 - Patch v8.0
v8.0 (aka the "Merry Battle Armor-Mas!" release) has been released to the installer. There's some big stuff in here today, so let's hop to it.
NEW FUNCTIONALITY: Battle Armor! We've implemented true Battle Armor suits. They are a small squad of 4 suits that run around and can do stuff (mostly shooting enemies). They have a lot of details to them, so check our FAQ post about them for further details.
NEW FUNCTIONALITY: Precision Strike has been overhauled. Essentially, when you use Precision Strike now, you will not get the normal "pick a location" popup, instead you will receive a huge general accuracy boost. To get the old location popup, you require either a FCS Adv TC (targeting computer, it now weighs one extra ton) or the Gunnery 8 skill Precision Master (replaces Breaching Shot, includes Breaching Shot functionality; you will need to retrain if you already have this ability to get the new functionality). The FAQ has an extensive post about why this change happened and what it means for BTA. Give it a read, and then give the changes a shot, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised after a little adaptation to them.
NEW BATTLE ARMOR: Inner Sphere Standard, the gold standard of IS battle armor. Can be found in most shops.
NEW BATTLE ARMOR: Fa Shih, the Capellan minelayer suit. Get it from the Cappies.
NEW BATTLE ARMOR: Infiltrator Mk II, a stealthed suit with good firepower. Get it from the Lyrans and Davions.
NEW BATTLE ARMOR: Phalanx, another stealthed suit with good firepower, this one is Marik though.
NEW BATTLE ARMOR: Kanazuchi, the beefiest suit in BTA, it comes with mech-scale weaponry! The Dracs sell it.
NEW BATTLE ARMOR: Void, a stealthed suit with a PPC-style weapon. The Dracs sell this too.
NEW MECH: The Thunder, a 70 ton Capellan AC/20 that walks like a man, has arrived. Find it with the Cappies and Canopians.
NEW MECH: The Pulverizer, a 90 ton "Clan" (not really, kinda) fast assault mech. Find it with ComStar and the Outworlds Alliance(!).
NEW MECH: The Cyclone, a 30 ton engine that walks like a mech. Find it with every great house except the Lyrans.
NEW PILOT AND VOICEPACK: Grampa Tex has stumbled onto the battlefield. Try to not let him break a hip. He's available in the Radio Crowd start, for the record.
NEW PILOT: The BTA Team's very own Turtrus has gotten a pilot, he's good with lasers and Crabs, check him out via the Pioneering Comrades start.
NEW PILOT: Everyone's favorite model maker, Lt. Shade, has gotten a pilot. He's a melee guy and likes Valkyrie IIs, check him out via the Pioneering Comrades start.
NEW EVENT: Zinterklaas has come to the Argo! Merry Holidays, one and all. (Only spawns if you have Wulfbanes in your company.)
NEW EVENT: A pirate has a present for you, keep an eye out for it! You'll like it, probably.
- To go with the new Precision Strike changes, the FCS Adv TC now weighs 2 tons instead of 1 ton. See above and the FAQ for information.
- OpFor should be a little less silly about heat now and should be less prone to self-detonation.
- Hatchets are now slightly more accurate.
- A few weapons have new sounds: Arrow IV, Plasma Rifle/Cannon, and the RACs all have new sounds.
- Buildings now have their max health increased properly. No more visual bugs, no more needing tab to select buildings that are partially damaged.
- Pilot bleed outs will now be clearly noted via floaties in combat. Pay attention so you don't miss them!
- Range brackets are now more clearly defined in combat via the weapon popup panel.
- A few new variants exist: Black Python BP-5, Dragon Fire-6F, a pair of new Imps
- Bunch of various fixes for lots of little errors.
- A number of Core dlls updated.
IMPORTANT: v8.0 is an "update" update. Run the (new) 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: v8.0 is not a save-breaking update, your saves are compatible.
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