I'm on-target for a release of Beta #2 on Monday morning. This beta fixes some game balance issues and other things that were identified during Beta #1. There are still some outstanding issues that won't be corrected in time for Monday, so they have been tabled until Beta #3.

Major changes:

1) Reworked the raindrop effect. In order to reduce the risk in case the raindrops cause lag on the server, there will be a server-side CVar added so that admins can control the number of raindrops. Setting "syb_rain_nodes" to a value between 0 and 10 allows you to control the max # of raindrops visible for each player on the server. Good values are probably 2-4. You can also disable the raindrop effect by setting "syb_rain_nodes" to zero. (This information is also in the ADMIN README file inside the PK3 and ZIP files.)

2) The area south of G1 has been reworked. The pak40 has been moved NW to be closer to G1 and have a less commanding view of the SW Bridge. There are new rocks, trees and foliage that make the defense of G1 more complex.

3) All pak guns have had their firing angles adjusted. It should now be possible to hit what is visible in the firing arc but not possible to arc shells across the map to hit spawn areas or bases.

4) The R2 pak45 has moved south to the middle of the stone wall overlooking the field at R2. The wall in front of the pak45 is taller then the old wall. I'm waiting to see if the pak gunner needs additional protection beyond that.

5) There is a new spawn bunker with attached trenches in the Russian spawn. Two of the Base Assault spawn points have been moved closer to R2 and R1. This should also help with spawn-rape situations in the Russian spawn as the spawn points are spread out more. Also moved some vehicles around in the Russian spawn area.

6) Fixed the double-spawning T34 and double-spawning jeep situation.

7) The Russians have traded in one of their KV1s for a stock T34 tank. The current vehicle balance for Base Assault is as follows:

German
(2) Jagd
(1) StugIII
(3) Panzer IV
(3) Panzer III
(3) Halftracks

Russian
(2) KV1
(2) T34 stock
(2) T34_76
(3) BT7
(3) milk trucks

And 12 jeeps / horches spread across the map.

8) A few more trees and rocks around G2 make it more difficult to defend and give attackers places to base attacks from. Replaced the tank-eating snow drift and replaced the tank-eating old-style trench with a new one. The trench on the south side of G3 will be replaced in a future beta (ran out of time).

9) Two new paths through treelines have been added along the north flank of the German's side. These allow infantry to get closer to G3 without being spotted.

10) Fixed a bunch of road segments that exhibited the "pothole" effect. (Vehicles going wonky as they travel over that section of road or players that fall through the road surface.) I'm still on the prowl for any other reports of broken road segments. General locational information is enough as I will replace all of the road segments in a particular area when a broken one is identified.

11) A pair of FG-42s have been added to the map. Admins may wish to turn them off in their configurations. I'm leery of adding them because they are too powerful (the scope does not unseat after a round is fired like a standard sniper rifle does).

12) A few additional satchel spawns and anti-tank ammo spawns have been added on the map. They are on 30 sec respawns. Also added 2 more flamethrower spawn points (also on 30 sec respawn).

13) Fixed some of the uneveness in the Farm area, but there's a lot more to be done.

14) Added rocks and foliage around the North Bridge.

15) Fixed the exploit where players could hide in the treeline on the southwest side of the German Spawn.

16) Added additional VCLOG data to the map (which is the major reason why the BSP and PK3 are getting larger). This should help players to get more even performance across the entire map.

17) Reworked terrain around the bases. It should now be slightly easier to jump through the side/back windows of a breached base.

Known broken (or possibly broken) or outstanding issues:

1) The DOM gametype is broken and I didn't have time this week to examine why.

2) There are still two russian bunkers in the Russian spawn area that need to be detailed.

3) Hill 13 possibly needs some foxholes.

4) The fence lines in the East Farm area are still incomplete.

5) I may remove one tank from each side in order to add a jeep to each side. Unsure yet, waiting to see how it balances out in Beta #2.

6) No crater holes on the map yet. I keep meaning to add them. There are also other missing details such as changing the color of the lamps inside of bunkers and adding the flag poles during BAS.

7) Haven't added CTF yet.

8) Didn't get around to adding a flowing water sound to the riverline.

9) Still some trenches left to replace or to be added in various locations. I'm thinking of adding a few tunnels in the Farm area.

Misc Notes:

1) We're running a 20-sec bomb plant time on the .76 server. The default timer is 15 seconds to plant. That extra 5 seconds is just enough to give defenders a slight edge, yet the plant vs success rate is still 63%.


This post has been edited by ScrapyardBob: 04/16/06 5:05pm

Filename for beta #2 will be: mp_uo_tuchola_b1.pk3

Download link for beta #2 mp_uo_tuchola_b1.zip (7436KB) - Apr 17 2006

This version will be going up on .76 soon.

If you were on the .76 server during restart, you may have downloaded a partial PK3. Please look in your UO folder for files named "mp_uo_tuchola*" and delete any incomplete downloads.

Also, players may want to delete the old beta1 pk3 and any early versions of the map files (not required, but suggested).

running on anarchic-x now as well

I think CuF-League is also running Tuchola Forest (at least, beta1) on their large-map Base Assault server.

Waiting to see how the gameplay balance is between Germans and Russians this week. That's one reason I rushed beta2 out the door even though it has some detail missing.

can we add server side colored smoke? red and blue?

Smoke would be a server-side (client-side?) mod such as AWE (which has it? I forget...)... so I defer that question to Druid.

...

So, 56 bases destroyed in the past 7h40m. 28 were allied bases, 28 were axis bases. Looks about even to me.

Things I plan on changing in Beta #3:

- The incomplete russian bunker just north of the tank barn will be removed. It blocks the KV1s from having a clean exit out of the barn. It will probably be replaced with a trench.

- The incomplete russian bunker just SW of the intersection in the russian spawn will be moved south a bit, made smaller, but with trenches extending west and south. Again, this current location constricts the flow of the russian vehicles as they leave their starting positions.

- The new bunker/trench in the russian spawn will be adjusted slightly to allow vehicles to cross over easier. Vehicles get hung up in the middle of the western trench as they try to cross from south to north.

Scrap, all your changes are great! I really like the new paths leading to G3. Very easy to get there now and cause some real trouble.

I continue to moan about the After-Hourz tanks. The damage zone from a shell just doesn't match the stock tanks. Can't understand why they decided to limit them that way. It would be nice if an 88mm shell acted the same no matter what shot it. The KV-1's are so limited on this map due to their cumbersome movement. It would be nice if that shell acted like a typical 88mm shell to match those on the Elefant and SU-152s.

Anyone else have an opinion about this??

my opinion is to raise their rate of fire (i'm assuming you use AH settings for that as well?)...

we have our own rate of fire at anarchic-x and it makes it a bit more interesting

speaking of, tuchola b2 is NEXT in the rotation if anyone wants to taste the different flavor

this will be my first run at b2 so i'll give you some feedback later bob

- Need to fix the bazooka box at the NE mortar spawn, players are still getting stuck

was firing on R3 from the NE and backed my jagd into a rock where it got stuck

http://halo.anarchic-x.net/images/screens/shot0097.jpg
http://halo.anarchic-x.net/images/screens/shot0098.jpg

Our solution is quite obvious ... we never back up!!!

The smaller damage zone radius probably gives infantry more of a chance. I think Tuchola especially demands this...

The overall slower rate of fire also means that blowing bases takes longer, which gives the opposition a better opportunity to defend, I like...

The KV1's are indeed pretty limited, but I think they play a more of a defensive role for the Russians. Rarely do they make it all the way to a German base unscathed on an offensive simply because they are too slow. Damage caused by the KV1 is greater than the other tanks, and I dont think it should be increased any more...

The Elefant is one of the reasons I DO NOT play the MOB stock server - I dislike how any shell that lands within 1 mile of my location causes my death!