OB Build 1.8

Battlestar Galactica Online - Open Beta 1.8 Update

19 May 2011

This Update introduces several significant new features and adjustments to the game, including:

• Powerful new Line ships – the Colonial Gungnir and Cylon Nidhogg
• Tuning Kit items that can be used to upgrade ship Systems to Level 15
• Daily Login Bonus that increases with each consecutive day you play the game - and as a special introductory offer the 5+ day bonuses will reward Tuning Kits for the first week!
• Mine Launcher Hull Systems
• Auxiliary Power Computer Systems
• New Electronic Warfare/Support Computer Systems and a revision of all existing EW/S Systems
• Updated models for the Viper Mk II and Raider
• Plus many other improvements and bug fixes

TUNING KITS

Tuning Kits are a new item that can be used to upgrade all ship Systems:

• When upgrading the Level of a ship System, you will now be able to choose between paying for the upgrade with Tylium and/or Cubits, as before, or using Tuning Kits
• Tuning Kits can only be used to upgrade a System by one Level at a time
• When using Tuning Kits, there is a chance for the upgrade attempt to succeed
  • The more Tuning Kits used, the higher the chance for a successful upgrade
  • The higher the Level of the upgrade attempted and the more expensive the ship System, the more Tuning Kits will be required for a given chance of success
  • If an upgrade attempt fails, any expended Tuning Kits are lost
  • If you have enough Tuning Kits, you can increase the chance for an upgrade to 100%, guaranteeing success
• Tuning Kits can be used to attempt to upgrade ship Systems above the previous limit of Level 10, up to a maximum of Level 15
  • Note that upgrades above Level 10 can only be attempted with Tuning Kits – these upgrades cannot be purchased directly with Tylium and Cubits
  • For more details on upgrades above Level 10, see Combat, Ships & Systems, below
• Tuning Kits can be gained in the following ways:
  • You can purchase Tuning Kits for Cubits in Fleet Stores and Archives
  • As rare loot drops from high level NPC opponents (see Economy, below)
  • For a limited time, as rewards from the new Daily Login Bonus (see Daily Login Bonus, below)

DAILY LOGIN BONUS

Both fleets will now reward their loyal pilots via a Daily Login Bonus:

• The first time you log into the game each day, you will receive a Daily Login Bonus
• The Daily Login Bonus increases in value for each consecutive day you log into the game, reaching its maximum value after 5 consecutive days
• Each Daily Login Bonus offers three packages of rewards:
  • Pilots below Level 10 will be able to select a Strike ship package
  • Pilots between Level 10 and 19 will be able to choose between packages for Strike or Escort ships
  • Pilots of Level 20+ will be able to choose between packages for Strike, Escort or Line ships
• As a special introductory offer, the Daily Login Bonus packages for 5 or more consecutive daily logins will include a Tuning Kit for the next week!
  • Note that this special offer will only apply until 26 May

COMBAT, SHIPS & SYSTEMS

Main updates:

Line Ships

• New Line ships are available for both factions – the Colonial Gungnir and Cylon Nidhogg
• These powerful new vessels are designated as 'Multi-role' heavy attack ships
• As with the Viper Mk VII, Cylon War Raider, Halberd and Liche, the Gungnir and Nidhogg are available in two versions:
  • The Standard version of both ships can be requisitioned for Cubits
  • The Standard version of both ships can be upgraded to an Advanced version for Merits
  • The Advanced versions gain an additional Weapon slot, Hull Points and Power Recharge

System Levels

• Through the use of Tuning Kits, it is now possible to upgrade all ship Systems above Level 10, to a maximum of Level 15
• Upgrades above Level 10 continue to improve the same stats and ratings, but the size of each increase diminishes slightly with each Level as the System is pushed further beyond the limits of its original specifications

Hull Systems – Mine Launchers

• Mine Launcher Hull Systems are now available for all ship sizes
• Mine Launchers release mines that will automatically detonate if an enemy target comes within their effective range
  • All mines are launched from the rear of a ship, and will quickly come to rest and then remain stationary
  • Strike Mine Launchers release a single mine with a fairly small effective range
  • Escort Mine Launchers release a cluster of coordinated mines with a moderate effective range
  • Line Mine Launchers release a cluster of larger coordinated mines with a larger effective range
• Mines are designed to be hard for DRADIS sensors to detect, and as such are not indicated on the HUD with targeting brackets
  • However, it is possible to manually target mines by clicking on them, and they can then be destroyed with cannon fire
• Mines have a limited lifetime, after which they automatically deactivate – this lifetime increases with the Level of the Mine Launcher System
  • Mines from Level 1 Mine Launchers have a lifetime of 2 minutes
  • Mines from Level 10 Mine Launchers have a lifetime of 3 minutes
• Mine Launchers require Mines as ammunition, and there are three types of Mine available for each size of Launcher – the more expensive Mines do more damage when triggered

Computer Systems – Auxiliary Power

• Auxiliary Power Systems are now available for all ship sizes
• Auxiliary Power Systems consume Power Cells when activated to provide additional Power to a ship
  • Note that Auxiliary Power Systems require a small amount of Power to be activated, and so cannot be used when a ship's Power is completely drained
• There are three types of Power Cell available for each size of Auxiliary Power System – the more expensive Power Cells provide additional Power when used

Computer Systems – Electronic Warfare/Support

• 'Hermes'/ 'Charybdis' Electronic Support systems are now available for all ship sizes
  • These Electronic Support Systems provide a temporary increase in Avoidance, making affected ships harder to hit with cannon fire
• 'Iapetus'/'Scylla' Electronic Warfare systems are now available for all ship sizes
  • These Electronic Warfare Systems temporarily decrease a target's Avoidance, making it easier to hit with cannon fire

Electronic Warfare/Support Revision

All Electronic Warfare/Support (EW/S) Systems have been revised:

• The effects and durations of EW/S Systems now vary according to the size of the system
  • Strike EW/S Systems have the shortest durations, but the largest effects
  • Escort EW/S Systems have moderate durations and moderate effects
  • Line EW/S Systems have the longest durations, but the lowest effects
• The effects of all EW/S abilities are more significant at low upgrade Levels (the effect still increases with upgrade Level, but to a lesser extent than before)
• The Reload times of all EW/S Systems have been increased, but will now decrease significantly as the System is upgraded in Level
• The Power Costs of all EW/S Systems have been reduced

GAMEPLAY

Main updates:

Outpost Defense

• Merits will now be awarded for defending friendly Outposts – whenever an enemy player is defeated within combat range of a friendly Outpost, all players who are also in combat range of the Outpost will be awarded a small Merit bonus, based on the size of the defeated ship
  • Note that these bonus Merits are awarded in addition to any normal Merit drop for the pilot or group defeating the enemy player

Asteroid Mining

• Asteroids that contain no useful resources when scanned with a Mineral Analysis System will now be marked with a dark red color
  • Note that the red color indicates that the asteroid contained no resources when it was last scanned –an asteroid that was 'empty' when scanned may contain resources if you later scan it again, due to the way that resources are repopulated in a star system shortly after being mined
  • As before, all scanned asteroid indicators will be reset if you leave a star system by jumping out, docking or being defeated in combat

FTL Jumps

• FTL drive charge times now vary according to the size of the ship, and the modifier to charge time when jumping while in combat has been increased:
  • Strike ships have a base 'jump timer' of 15 seconds (60 seconds when in combat)
  • Escort ships have a base 'jump timer' of 20 seconds (80 seconds when in combat)
  • Line ships have a base 'jump timer' of 25 seconds (100 seconds when in combat)
  • The Pegasus and Basestar have a base 'jump timer' of 30 seconds (120 seconds when in combat)

Assignments

• The Supply Allocation assignment now requires that a pilot complete their Intercept Enemy Patrols and Drone Clearance assignments in order to qualify for their additional supplies
• The Intercept Enemy Patrols Assignment now requires slightly more enemy fleet NPC kills to complete, and the Drone Clearance now requires slightly fewer drone kills to complete
  • Note that these changes may cause minor issues with the goal displays of current versions of these assignments – completing the current version and receiving your next assignments should resolve this

Missions

• The initial tutorial for both Colonial and Cylon pilots has been revised and improved
• The first Mission available from Admiral Adama and Number One has been revised and improved

Skills

• The Decoys skill has been changed to Munition Launchers, and will now affect both Decoy and Mine Launchers
• The Decoy Efficiency skill has been changed to Munition Efficiency, and will now affect both Decoy and Mine Launchers

Game World

• The Nidhogg star system has been renamed to Nastrond in order to avoid confusion with the new Cylon Line ship class

Faction Balance

• The faction incentive bonus to XP, loot and mining yield for new pilots of low population factions has been increased to 50%
  • Note that the incentive to create characters of a specific faction will be switched on and off on individual servers according to the average populations of Colonial and Cylon players online

ECONOMY

Main updates:

PvE Loot

• 'Elite' and 'Advanced' NPC ships now have a small chance to drop Tuning Kits as loot
• The cubit drops for 'Elite' and 'Advanced' NPC ships have been revised, and their chance to drop Cubits has been significantly increased
• As a result of these changes, the average Cubit income from 'Elite' and 'Advanced' NPC ships has increased

INTERFACE

Main updates:

Controls

• Scrolling the mouse wheel will now control ship throttle, while camera zoom can be controlled by pressing [SHIFT] and scrolling the mouse wheel

Hold and Locker

• Resources and 'junk loot' will now be automatically sorted in your ship's Hold and Locker, as with other item types

Pilot Log – Ship Tab

• Fixed a bug that was preventing the effects of Systems and Skills from being displayed on the Ship Stats listing

GRAPHICS & EFFECTS

Main updates:

Ships

• The model of the Viper Mk II has been revised and updated, and now more closely reflects the ship as seen in the show
• The model of the Raider has been revised and updated, and now reflects the updated version of the ship seen in later episodes of the show

Game Content