Evochron Legacy 1.0118 Update...

By Rebecca Smith,

- Performance increase for experimental Oculus Rift mode.
- Center key added to experimental Oculus Rift mode (F12).
- Module build system expanded to cover wider area from -80K to +80K.
- Sensor probe system updated to properly align with 75K placement region.
- Image quality and legibility increases for experimental Oculus Rift mode.
- Option added for Steam users to clear their current save files and update from the cloud.
- Fleet mining system updated to better support leaving mining ships unattended in same sector.
- Nav map position marker for player's ship now remains visible when centered on outside sectors.
- Nav map placement in 3D space adjusted to better calibrate with the experimental Oculus Rift mode.
- Accurate head positioning regardless of rotation angle implemented for experimental Oculus Rift mode.
- Meteor intercept distress call objectives now correctly fail if player abandons the intercept waypoint.
- Combat pilot role starting locations moved to Pearl (Arvoch WZ) for Alliance and Sierra (WZ) for Federation.
- Mining probe deployment in asteroid cave would occasionally leave containers in inaccessible location, fixed.
- Planet build verification could be off slightly and could deny build requests in valid locations, fixed.
- Command modules given powerful EMP type weapon to protect again short range attacks.
- Consolidating and transferring commodity in cargo bays no longer affects values.
- Mining probe being deployed even without a deploy constructor installed fixed.
- Fuel packs, charge packs, and shield packs reduced in price by about 90%.
- Energy cores now correctly displayed for ship being built in shipyard.
- Weapon impact camera shake effect reduced by about 50%.
- Base price added to frame descriptions in shipyard.
- Training drone practice made easier (see notes).

**** Edit: I've uploaded a quick hotfix for this build, which solves an issue with an object error that could occur when trying to build a command module. It was a fairly rare issue and probably one that's been in the game since launch. But since it involves a potential crash, I wanted to roll out a fix quickly.

Notes:

The instant death event that would occur when firing weapons in/near station command modules has been replaced with a new cyclical weapon system. If a player tries to attack a command module at very close range, the station is able to defend itself with this short range weapon system. This should help resolve the exploit potential of firing from vulnerable location near the top/bottom of the modules and give the player more of a chance to stop firing before they are destroyed if they accidentally fire particle cannons.

The experimental Oculus system now uses significantly higher resolution by default, providing improved image quality and text legibility. This change goes along with some significant performance improvements that help the system to run significantly faster, which should help offset the increase in resolution. It should be much easier now to maintain that 75 FPS target. A new line has been added to the VRSetup.txt file option (VRCenterKy=88) which lets you specify the scancode of a key you want to use for centering the HMD. 88 will be the default setting and represents the F12 key. A note to those using the VRSetup.txt file, a new default setting has been applied to the 'EyeDistanc' parameters. Previously, this value was set to 2.0, it should now be updated to 3.0 used as default for any further adjustments or testing.

The drone combat sequence in the training mode has been made easier. In addition to the reduction of camera shake by 50%, the drones also spawn much farther apart, giving the player time to select and briefly engage the first one before the others enter range if they so choose. Their spacing also provides several additional escape routes to avoid getting trapped in the middle (an important practice tactic the drone combat is designed to provide). Previously, the player needed to fly directly up or down to avoid getting caught in the middle of the inbound drones. Now the player can take some diagonal routes toward/between the more distant drones before they enter range. As long as the player avoids letting them cluster or surround them, it should now be easier to pick off the drones during this sequence. It's also important to keep the shield arrays charged to prevent direct hull impacts, which causes the shaking effect.

I've added the option to manually update save files from the cloud. The new option will appear in the main Options menu and will prompt you to accept or cancel if clicked to avoid accidentally activating it. Normally, the game will preserve any local save game files and will only restore from the cloud if some/all save files are missing. This is to protect local content from being overwritten by cloud files that may be older. With this new option, you can manually import cloud save files and allow them to replace the ones currently on your system. The game will still take precautions by backing up your current save files to a folder named \SaveFileBackup before attempting to import the cloud save files. This way, if you accidentally import old save files from the cloud and want your original files back, you can restore them from the back up folder.

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Written by Rebecca Smith

Rebecca is the Newshound Manager at TrueSteamAchievements, TrueAchievements and TrueTrophies. She has been contributing articles since 2010, especially those that involve intimidatingly long lists. When not writing news, she can usually be found sharpening her very, VERY, pointy grammar stick in anticipation of its imminent use. Outside of TSA, TA and TT, she works in an independent game shop so that she can spend all day talking about games too. At home, with a variety of PCs and consoles on hand from which to choose, starting with a ZX Spectrum, games are never far away there either. However, as you're not supposed to have an unhealthy obsession with just a single subject, she also likes to read and dream about owning her own tribe of minions. She'll occasionally go outside.