DarkSpace new version and beta info

Drafell dropped by to give us this news... I figured it would live happily out here in the open! --Hoza -------------- [url=http://www.darkspace.net]DarkSpace[/url] is a Massively Multiplayer Online Game that combines tactical ship to ship combat with strategy in a team orientated game. Players gain rank and prestige, which expands the ships they can command and the strategic decisions they make. This version is a major overhaul of thip ship design and components for [url=http://beta.darkspace.net]DarkSpace Beta.[/url] We are looking for feedback from those new to the game as well as experienced players to help gain a fresh perspective on the changes. The previous 1.481 and 1.482 patches were mainly for the server backend and to enable the roll out of a single universe server instead of seperate zones which were accessed by Jumpgates. You can download the beta game client [url=http://beta.darkspace.net/index.htm?module=files.php&download_id=171]here.[/url] There is no limitation on the number of beta testers. Everyone is invited. A current list of changes and updates is listed below:-

- Ship spawning bug should be fixed. - Weapons can now fire in any combination of the 4 possible facings (FORE, LEFT, RIGHT, and AFT). For example, a weapon can fire LEFT/FORE now. - All noun objects now have a technology specification. This means, each hull can be limited to certain types of devices can be installed on that hull. - Cloaking device has been refactored. A cloaked ship can never be detected now, unless it has a beacon attached. Additionally, a cloaked ship cannot jump, unload, or fire weapons. Energy cost increased from 5 to 25 since it's no longer based on how much signature it's deflecting. This is currently the same energy cost as the interdictor device. Additionally, all hull types have a cloaking modifier value, which will modify this energy usage based on the size of the hull. - Fixed a crash with the editor when importing a scenerio map into a running server. - Changed string formatting code so that is uses thread-local storage instead of a semaphore internally. This should actually result in a speed increase, especially for servers which do quite a bit of string formatting. - Velocity and cloak energy usage modifiers are on all ship hulls now. - Added code to support homing mines and missiles that will automatically aquire a new target if their current target is lost. - New hull/devices values have been implemented for balance. - All hull types now have shield and armor modifiers. This allows the same armor device to be more powerful for larger hulls (i.e. dreads) than for smaller hulls (i.e. scouts). - Implemented levels for all gadgets. This means, each gadget now has a level from 0 to 10 (even higher if we want). - Scenario map times now doubled to allow for more time in beta testing. - All rendering is grouped by material now, which should result in less of a frame rate drop when rendering high numbers of objects (i.e. bombs, mines, fighters). - When gadgets are uninstalled, they will retain their level now, so if re-installed they will have their previous level. Additionally, devices in a port will display their level before buying and will not merge into other gadgets of different levels. - Disabled decay of items in a star port - Following ICC Ships configurations updated: M239J, M245A, M190A, M190B, M192F, M194A, M194E - Following UTGO ships configurations updated: 7010, EAD - Following Kluth Ship configurations updated: Claw, Shell, Stinger

I look forward to seeing somenew faces there. Drafell, DarkSpace Game Moderator