Steel Beasts 4.2 Thread

[Rinix]

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/14423-2021-new-steelbeasts-version-features/page/7/?tab=comments#comment-211257

We're on the last legs, there were some last minute snags (as usual), e.g. the witch-king of Angmar apparently cursed some of our trees to glow at night, but it seems like a case that's simple to correct. On the upside, you'll get better scene lighting especially when the sun is close to the horizon, and vehicles with dozer shields have become more important now, as they are the only ones capable of removing Steel Beams and Concertina Wire obstacles.

You'll get a unified web installer, which should make installation easier for most.

This year we'll also adopt CodeMeter Cloud as an option for those of you with time-based licenses. This will make them robust against Windows reinstallations and computer loss. Finally.

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/14423-2021-new-steelbeasts-version-features/page/7/?tab=comments#comment-211259

Does that mean that mine ploughs can no longer do it?

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/14423-2021-new-steelbeasts-version-features/page/7/?tab=comments#comment-211260

Yes.

[Rinix]

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/14622-what-is-steel-beasts/page/2/?tab=comments#comment-211274

The primary focus is to keep Steel Beasts as a viable product for the next two decades. Military development contracts are, in this context, a necessary evil to keep the show going. It remains to be seen if a realistic tank game like GHPC can also be popular enough to support a larger development team for an extended period while retaining its focus on realism. Also, we wouldn't see modern equipment in SB Pro without access to those contemporary systems, and access to those systems is granted only if you generate value for the owners.

Without those maligned military contracts there would have been Steel Beasts 1.x, and the story would have ended right there.

Nobody is vilifying the military contracts.

But at the same time, I find these conversations to be pointless, almost laughable. To think that players (or maybe even developers!) can provide input that can influence change in the overall direction of the game.

If your Mil customers proposed a contract to have a new game engine - we would see a new game engine
If your Mil customers proposed a contract to turn SB into a wargame - we would have a new wargame

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/14622-what-is-steel-beasts/page/2/?tab=comments#comment-211280

But there are things that get added outside the military contracts.  They exist in the game.  So just getting a voice out there is a good thing.

[Rinix]

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/14423-2021-new-steelbeasts-version-features/page/7/?tab=comments#comment-211311

Can dismounted engineers still clear C wire?

Absolutely, also other infantry.

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/14622-what-is-steel-beasts/page/2/?tab=comments#comment-211312

If your Mil customers proposed a contract to have a new game engine - we would see a new game engine
If your Mil customers proposed a contract to turn SB into a wargame - we would have a new wargame

But the first would never happen, and the second is very unlikely to happen for the same reason; military customers are also public customers, and therefore bound to adhere to procurement and (in the EU) common market laws. The replacement of a render engine could be seen as a subsidy, likewise the development of an entirely new functional branch. These are things that we must do on our own, which is only fair, but they can be done only in the remaining fraction of development time.

[Rinix]

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/14423-2021-new-steelbeasts-version-features/page/8/?tab=comments#comment-211331

Well, look, "mid of the week". Don't bother before Thursday, effectively. But a day or two before the weekend, OK?

[Rinix]

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/14423-2021-new-steelbeasts-version-features/page/8/?tab=comments#comment-211354

Well, look, "mid of the week". Don't bother before Thursday, effectively. But a day or two before the weekend, OK?

This week? Next week? What week number is 'the' week?? The third week from now minus 2?

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/14423-2021-new-steelbeasts-version-features/page/8/?tab=comments#comment-211355
 

Yes.

[Rinix]

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/14423-2021-new-steelbeasts-version-features/page/8/?tab=comments#comment-211379

4.250 is Go.
Still means some last minute work, updating the Release Notes etc., but I think you can expect it from Thursday this week. Whether that'll be Thursday morning, evening, or Friday morning for some will depend on your time zone, our ability to update the website with the download links, and related topics.
You'll get a new user's manual, and a unified web installer that will download what it needs (but not more) depending on the checkmarks that you apply at the beginning of the setup process. You can also set it to keep downloaded files so that you don't have to download them over and over.
A patch in a few weeks seems likely. We had better lighting planned but as mentioned before, that was an opportunity for the Witch-king of Angmar to curse some of our trees, so we decided that it was safest to leave the old lighting (which is a pity); hopefully, we can deliver it with the patch.
I also wrote that certain obstacles would now be immune to mineplows (specifically, concertina wire and steel beams). Apparently I was wrong here partly because of complications arising from not all dozer shields being equal (like, those tiny ones that bridgelayers and some ARVs use to stabilize themselves on soft ground), so that may also be subject to more refinement in a patch. And then, whatever you manage to uncover that escaped the prying eyer of our QA team.

in our new web shop, we'll be adding - probably not this week - an option to order user manuals via print on demand. It's difficult to accurately predict the optimal batch size for a traditional print run, so it seems reasonable to do this step even if that means that the price might go up a bit. It's still going to be cheaper and nicer than going to your local copyshop (at least, that's what I expect; with print there's always a chance of things going wrong, somehow).

[Rinix]

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/14423-2021-new-steelbeasts-version-features/page/9/?tab=comments#comment-211418

Anyway, the programmers worked overtime but we decided to give it 12 more hours. Attached are the preliminary Release Notes.

The status of bug 8920 is unclear. It could be that old scenarios involving the generic cal .50 weapon station may no longer allow you to operate that weapon station on some vehicles (while on others it'll be replaced by the Protector M151).
So, I put it into the Release Notes as a "known issue" although, who knows, maybe it will be fixed tomorrow morning and these Release Notes here are then obsolete. All in all though, they should give you a pretty accurate overview however.

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/14423-2021-new-steelbeasts-version-features/page/9/?tab=comments#comment-211419

All in all though, they should give you a pretty accurate overview however.

There is however a new feature in 4.250 that we haven't mentioned anywhere, and the team thought it'd be fun to surprise you with it. That runs a bit against conventional marketing wisdom, but then again, this one is free, so ... enjoy!

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/14423-2021-new-steelbeasts-version-features/page/9/?tab=comments#comment-211421

No, considerably smaller. But it goes bang.

[Rinix]