MAPS
https://resource.openra.net/maps/27032/
Race Tracks
https://resource.openra.net/maps/27031/
Pitfight
https://resource.openra.net/maps/27033/
Badger Hills
https://resource.openra.net/maps/27034/
Doublestep(2v2)
https://resource.openra.net/maps/27035/
Frozen Headland (2v2)
https://resource.openra.net/maps/27030/
Warwind (Classic)
https://resource.openra.net/maps/27029/
Sidestep (Classic)
Patch Rararara (v8 )
GPS changes were overall received well. Some mentioned it felt a little quick so I upped the cooldown from 4:00 -> 4:30.
I decided to go back to the Hind this patch since I nerfed it into the ground. Repeated play has shown that it's just a little too weak, so I gave it a 20% damage boost (-20% ammo). It now 2 shots infantry instead of 3 shots.
While the new Chronosphere is fun, I've had an ickling of a feeling it's a little OP. Now that GPS comes up quicker Allies has quite the power spike at T3. I removed the cooldown reduction on the Chrono, though the shift time reduction is still there.
Arty once again received another rework. Cost is up to 900 again (I'm still debating this one constantly), and now damage is more consistent. (Due to the way I set up the AOE before sometimes you'd kill no infantry and then sometimes you'd kill a whole bunch).
Future Direction: I didn't lower hind anti-light but upped the damage. One hind can kill an undeployed MCV. Might need to tweak there.
Patch Sonar Pulse (v7)
This is the last major patch I plan to do in the near future. I feel confident enough now to adjust GPS.
GPS is now on a 4:30 cooldown, lasts 16 seconds upon activation, and does not have a global countdown timer. Unfortunately most of GPS is hardcoded, so Unano helped me out with a workaround. Tech center spawns a building (silo) when activated, which generates the GPS. The building self destructs after 16 seconds, and then you lose the GPS. If the enemy kills the building or you sell it beforehand, you lose the GPS early, so place it safely!
In other news I also tweaked the MT/Arty relationship some more. First I redid the damage values on MT. Damage is 4500 now (which is -6% from previously, still about +12.5% better than before). Arty lost 1000 health (17500 -> 16500) so they still die to the same # of MT shots. Most importantly, Arty received a 33% damage boost vs none (30 -> 40), so now they do decent damage to infantry. They simply weren't performing well before.
Future Direction: GPS tweaks for sure. Does it last too long? Is the cooldown too short? It's hard to get a feel for these things in debug. Also, I might take a look at hinds again as Lorry has suggested. I've got a few ideas.
Patch Notes v6
An unofficial patch. This was played during N/a's streamed domination tournament. I didn't have enough time to write a post and I felt there was enough testing from the stream to push us to v7.
I reverted the Ranger cost/health changes. Nobody seemed to like the change and it's honestly not an important one.
I reduced arty cost to 800 again. This was mainly because I reduced the health last patch.
Mechanic husk capture health reduced from 50->40%. It was a little too powerful before.
Main Changes
My objective was to nerf the traditional advantages of Allies (Hinds, AAguns, Artillery) and move these advantages somewhere else. I wanted to emphasize mobility so I buffed the tank force. This synergies well with Allied mid-late game tech, such as mechanics, radar jammers, and the Chronosphere.
Below you'll find a simple change log and a detailed one. I highly recommend reading the simple change log and just diving into the game, to get a feel for it before reading the hard numbers.
LT: Cost 850, +HP, +Vision, +Heavy Damage, -Light Damage
MT: Cost 1000, +HP, +Damage
Arty: Cost 900, +Health, +Accuracy, +Turn Rate, -Reload Speed, -Projectile Speed, -Damage vs Inf/Light
Hind: -Damage, +Ammo, +Light Damage
AA Gun: -1 Range, -Damage
Turret: Power -30
Helipad: Power -20
Ranger: +Transport
Chronosphere: Shift Time -20%
Medic: -Speed
Mechanic: Cost 650, -Speed, +50% Repair, 40% health husk capture
Camo Pillbox: Cost 800
Spies: Cost 400
GPS: Temporary Ability. Place the ability somewhere safe!
-----------Detailed Change Log-------------------
Light Tank: Cost 850 (+150), HP 22000 -> 26600, Vision 5c0 -> 6c0, Light 116 -> 75, Heavy 48 -> 58
The first unit I worked on was the Light Tank. By increasing it's cost I was able to feel more free to buff it. It now has the same cost as the APC. It now takes 6 rocket shots instead of 5 to kill, and has the same vision as a flak truck. Early tests showed it ended games too quickly with fast MCV kills, so I heavily nerfed the light damage.
Medium Tank: Cost 1000 (+150), HP 45000 -> 50000, Damage 4000 -> 4500
The noodle tank as I like to call it, MT's always felt weak compared to Heavy Tanks. They could tank rifle fire or crush but that was about it. I upped the cost to make it like a medium-heavy tank and increased the damage/health proportionately.
Arty: Cost 900 (+100), HP 10000 -> 16500, Turn Speed 2 -> 4, Inaccuracy 1c938 -> 0c614, Bullet Speed 204 -> 170, None 90 -> 40, Light 60 -> 45, and a ton of Falloff adjustment
Artillery is a tricky beast to tackle, and I will assuredly need to tweak the numbers further. I have basically turned it into a rapid fire V2. Shots on direct hit will kill infantry and heavily damage surrounding infantry, rather than killing everything like before.
Hind: Ammo: 24 -> 40, Damage 2500 -> 1500, Light 72 -> 108
When I halved the damage randomly initially I was rather surprised with how well it matched with how I wanted it to perform. The idea here is that hinds will still do the same total damage, but take more time to do it. This means you can close with rocket infantry and kill the hind. I buffed the light damage because Allies had a really difficult time with chronotanks.
AA Gun: Range 10c0 -> 9c0, Damage 1200 -> 900
With the hind nerfed and artillery HP buffed, I felt free to nerf the notorious AA gun. It still blasts things out of the sky, but now you can escape with your yak if you're quick on the trigger finger.
Turret: Power 40 -> 30
A minor buff. I always felt the turret cost an absurd amount of power. Also with better Allied tanks I figured Allies would need better deterrents. (Change received Mo seal of approval)
Helipad: Power 10 -> 20
Airfields cost 20 power, so why don't helipads? I also did this to do an additional nerf to hinds.
Ranger: Max Weight 1->2
Smitty is putting this in his playtest, so I see no reason not to include it.
Chronosphere (and German): Shift Time 500 -> 400
Ideally the Chronosphere should have close to the same utility value as the Iron Curtain. The shift time is a buff because often times your units will finish their job and sit around, waiting to be killed until they get shifted back. You're more likely to retain your units with the shorter shift time.
Medic: Speed 56 -> 50
Medics often suicide because they end up at the front of your army. With this change they have the speed of a mammoth tank, and often end up nice and safe at the back of your army.
Mechanic: Cost 650 (+150), Speed 56 -> 50, Repair -2000 -> -3000, Capture Husk Health 25% -> 40%
Mechanic got the same speed treatment as the medic. The cost increase is because I increased the cost of medium tanks, and didn't want to increase the value of the husk capture. Additionally the cost increase freed me up to boost their repair speed.
Camo Pillbox: Cost 800 (+100)
Camo's are a buggy unit. They have multiple targeting bugs relating to artillery and you can't scout them with planes. This just encourages campy play and frustration. At 800 cost this pushes them into niche play, where they belong.
Spies: Cost 400 (-100)
This was suggested by a player and I don't see any reason not to. Spies are an interesting unit that should see more use. I also did this so it was closer in cost to the British Spy (British spy cost unchanged).
GPS: Cooldown 4:30, Duration 22s
GPS has for a long time received as much critique as the arty/AA gun shenanigans. I've changed it so that it works much like a super spy plane. You get GPS earlier than usual, but it only lasts 16 seconds. Since it's GPS, it doesn't show what the units/structures are, so spy plane still has an important uses (such as scouting nukes). Since GPS is hardcoded Unano had to help me with a workaround. When using the GPS ability you spawn a building that generates GPS. The building self-destructs after 22s. If you lose the building early you lose the GPS early, so place it safe!