Modern Units Database – Version 0.0.8a Update
The next iteration of the Modern Units Database is now updated on EDIBLE. You can find it here or you can use the download link at the bottom of this post. The full change log is available further in this post. This update focuses on upgrading the space game as well as adjusting the way missiles perform. This follows the last release which was focused on recon within the set, and addresses the overpowered satellites that resulted from the change.
I want to once again thank Framer for pointing out the challenges that ultimately led to me addressing this issue. I mean, while heavy anti-air missiles have debatable performance, the comments made on the Steam thread prompted me to look into it. Indeed, while the data was acting correctly, the game mechanics were making performance of missiles even worse than they should have been. This caused me to re-think some of the game mechanics to determine if there was a way to overcome the limitations of the game. Hopefully this update addresses some of that.
The last thing to note is that this release is done without playtesting in advance. I am 90% sure there are some bugs coming out with this update, because I’m testing the limitations of the game mechanics. Rather than spend the next month testing this and catching them all, let me know what happens and I will attempt to address is in my next update.
Changelog:
Cities:
- Build costs for Thermobaric weapons updated to reflect their battery cost instead of a single missile. This more accurately reflects their field usage based on recently published reports.
- Removed some build options from the city production window. Use the morphing abilities for these units instead.
Ground Units:
- Ground-based TEL’s have their carry capacity for orbital units changed.
- Geostationary orbital units are required to be loaded into a launch vehicle before they can be loaded into a TEL. This is due to a game limitation with orbital units.
Missiles:
- NEW UNITS: Anti-Ship Missiles, Anti-Air Missiles, and Thermobaric Missiles can now be operated as a new unit called Missile Batteries.
- Batteries can operate in “passive” mode which allows them to remain stationary without the aid of a transport unit.
- Batteries can be switched to “active” mode which allows their missiles to be fired without the assistance of a launch platform.
- Launching this way does not allow them to enter the “space domain”
- Their range is limited to one range increment.
- Once fired at a target (moved one tile), the unit cannot be recovered.
Space Units:
- NEW UNITS: Two Launch Vehicles, Low Orbit and High Orbit, have been added.
- These one-time-use vehicles can carry orbital units that cannot launch on their own.
- The speed of the rocket is dependent on the altitude at which it is flying, not the rocket’s listed ground speed.
- All satellites operate as geostationary objects with limited movement range by default.
- Tethers, Shuttles, and Launch Vehicles can allow the units to regain their previous movement speed, but at the expense of their recon capabilities.
- Space Shuttles received significant updates:
- The unit now has a movement range. This reflects their real-world maximum flight time and doesn’t allow them to remain in space indefinitely.
- Shuttles can now re-enter the atmosphere and land on larger airbases. This allows them to load new cargo and be re-launched as many times as needed.
- Previously, this action caused them to crash upon re-entry.
- Shuttles cannot land on all air base types (and not in cities). Before re-entering the atmosphere, double check that you can land somewhere or it will crash.
Known Issues:
- While implementing this change, it was discovered that some combinations of unit morphing will cause a crash to desktop. While several were found, I cannot guarantee that I found all of them.
- Space mechanics require some getting used to as it works somewhat different than what the manual suggests. I’ve made a note to post a short video showing how to operate this correctly.
