GR Build 5

Battlestar Galactica Online - Game Release 5 Update

21 September 2011

This Update introduces the first Variant Ships, several new Hull and Computer Systems, Starter Kits and many interface and gameplay improvements and fixes.

COMBAT, SHIPS & SYSTEMS

Main updates:

Variant Ships

• This Update introduces the first ‘Variant’ ships, the Raptor FR and Heavy Raider FR
• The FR (Fleet Recon) Variants are modified versions of the Raptor and Heavy Raider designed for high speed recon missions and tactical squadron deployment. They differ from the Advanced Raptor and Advanced Heavy Raider in the following ways:
  • The FR Variants trade a Weapon and a Hull slot for two additional Engine slots, giving them a total of 3 Weapon, 1 Hull, 4 Engine and 5 Computer slots
  • DRADIS range extended to 4000
  • FTL Range extended to 6.75 LY
  • FTL Charge reduced to 12.5 sec
  • The Power cost of using FTL Transponder Systems is reduced by 50% (see ‘Computer Systems’, below, for details of the new FTL Transponder systems)
  • All other stats are as an Advanced Raptor or Advanced Heavy Raider
• The FR variants of the Raptor and Heavy Raider become available for purchase from the Ship Hangar once a pilot owns the Advanced Raptor or Advanced Heavy Raider (for more details, see ‘Ship Hangar’ in the INTERFACE section, below)
• Additional Variants will be added in future Updates

Player Ships

• The base Armor Values of all ships have been adjusted - in combination with the changes to the Armor Piercing of Weapon Systems (see below), these changes are intended to improve the balance between the different sizes of player ship
  • The base Armor Value of Strikes has been increased to 5 (10 for Assault Strikes)
  • The base Armor Value of Escorts has been reduced to 25 (30 for Assault Escorts)
  • The base Armor Value of Lines has been reduced to 40 (45 for Assault Lines)
• The base Firewall and Emitter Ratings for Multi-role Strike ships have been increased to 100

Starter Kits

• The first Starter Kits are now available
• Starter Kits are packs of Ship Systems and associated ammo types designed to allow players to quickly outfit a ship
• When a Starter Kit is purchased, you will be given the option to install the included Systems to your ship – any currently installed Systems in the same slots will be uninstalled and placed in your Hold
• Starter Kits are automatically filtered so that you will only see Kits available for your current Ship
• This Update includes basic Starter Kits for all four ships available to new players (Viper Mk II, Raptor, Raider, Heavy Raider) – these kits are intended to get new players ‘up and running’ quickly and easily
• Starter Kits for other ships, and more specialized or advanced Kits will be added in future Updates

Weapon Systems

• The Armor Piercing of all Weapon Systems have been adjusted - in combination with the changes to the Armor Value of ships (see above), these changes are intended to improve the balance between the different sizes of player ship
  • The Armor Piercing of Strike Missile and Mine Launchers has been reduced to 15 (Nova/Ruiner Launchers have been reduced to 35)
  • The Armor Piercing of Escort Cannons has been reduced to 15
  • The Armor Piercing of Escort Missile and Mine Launchers has been reduced to 25
  • The Armor Piercing of Line Cannons has been reduced to 35
  • The Armor Piercing of Line Missile and Mine Launchers has been reduced to 35

Hull Systems

• Several new Hull Systems have been introduced – note that Systems that affect multiple stats have lower values (per stat) than Systems that only increase a single stat
  • Armor Plating Systems increase a ship’s Armor Value
  • HT Plating Systems increase a ship’s Critical Defense
  • Composite Plating Systems increase a ship’s Hull Points and Armor Value
  • HT Hull Plating Systems increase a ship’s Hull Points and Critical Defense
  • HT Armor Plating Systems increase a ship’s Armor Value and Critical Defense
  • HT Composite Plating Systems increase a ship’s Hull Points, Armor Value and Critical Defense
• The Torque and Acceleration penalties for Hull Plating Systems are now fixed, rather than increasing with upgrade Level – the Torque penalty is more significant than the Acceleration penalty
• Armor Plating Systems also have fixed Torque and Acceleration penalties – the Acceleration penalty is more significant than the Torque penalty
• Systems that combine Hull Point and/or Armor Value bonuses also feature appropriate Torque and Acceleration penalties

Computer Systems

• A new FTL Transponder System is now available
  • The FTL Transponder System allows a ship to broadcast an FTL ‘beacon’ to other ships in the same Squadron (group), which may then jump directly to the location of the broadcasting ship at the time it activated the FTL Transponder System
  • Each use of the FTL Transponder System consumes an FTL Transponder Cell – these are available for purchase from the Store (in the Resource section)
  • Once a ship has broadcast an FTL ‘beacon’, other ships in the same Squadron will see the relevant star system highlighted on their Sector Navigation map – clicking on the highlighted star system will allow them to jump directly to the location of the ‘beacon’ by expending an FTL Transponder Cell (in addition to the usual Tylium cost of the jump)
  • Note that only the ‘broadcasting’ ship requires an FTL Transponder System – other ships in the same squadron jumping to the beacon only require an FTL Transponder Cell
  • Note that each ‘beacon’ lasts for 180 seconds (3 minutes) or until the broadcasting ship leaves the star system
  • Note that the FTL Transponder System and FTL Transponder Cells allow ships in the same squadron to exceed their normal jump ranges, or to jump from one location in a star system to another location in the same star system
  • New Emitter and E-War Systems have been introduced - note that Systems that affect multiple stats have lower values (per stat) than Systems that only increase a single stat
  • Emitter Systems increase a ship’s Emitter Rating, increasing the duration of any Electronic Warfare Systems the ship uses
  • E-War Systems increase a ship’s Emitter and Firewall Ratings, increasing the duration of Electronic Warfare Systems the ship uses, and reducing the duration of enemy Electronic Warfare effects

GAMEPLAY

Main updates:

Missions

• A new mission is available from Admiral Adama and Number One – in order to access this mission, a pilot must have completed all previous missions and be Level 13 or higher

‘In Combat’ State

• Using engine boost or being pursued by an enemy missile will now keep your ship in the ‘in combat’ state, as indicated by the ‘THREAT’ warning on the HUD (note that while ‘in combat’, your ship’s Hull Points will not regenerate and FTL jumps take longer to charge up)

Friend Invites

• Many improvements and minor bug fixes have been made to the Friend Invite system (available in-game via the Pilot Log window or by pressing the Friend Invite button in the upper-right of the HUD)

Bugs

• The “too many players in sector” bug MAY now be fixed
• Fixed a glitch that sometimes allowed players to jump to their current star system
• Fixed various interface bugs and glitches in certain web browsers

INTERFACE

Main updates:

HUD

• When changing ammo type by Right-clicking on a Weapon icon in the lower-right of the HUD, you may now select the ‘All’ button to switch all weapons of the same type to the selected ammo
• When changing ammo type by Right-clicking on a Weapon icon in the lower-right of the HUD, you may now quickly purchase a pack of ammo by clicking on the Cubit button next to the ‘All’ button – the number under the Cubit button shows how many rounds or warheads you will purchase
  • Note that ammo purchase in this manner costs the same as ammo purchased from the store – the buttons just act as shortcuts
  • Note that the In-Flight Store is still available from the Ship tab of the Pilot Log window if you wish to purchase larger or smaller amounts of ammo
  • The effects indicating when Weapon and Ability icons are activated, reloading or there is not enough power to activate them have been revised to make them clearer

Store

• The filter buttons along the bottom of the Store window have been replaced with a drop-down menu at the lower-left
  • A new filter option has been added for Starter Kits (see ‘Starter Kits’ in the COMBAT, SHIPS & SYSTEMS section, above)

Ship Hangar

• The Ship Hangar (where you can purchase and upgrade ships at your faction’s reclaimed base) has been revised in order to incorporate Variant Ships
• In order to purchase a Variant, you must first own the Advanced version of the basic ship – you may then click on the icon for the Variant (below the 3D preview of the ship) in order to view and purchase the Variant
• This Update introduces the first Variants – the Raptor FR and Heavy Raider FR (see ‘Variant Ships’ in the COMBAT, SHIPS & SYSTEMS section, above)

Ship Selection

• The Ship Selection window (where you select which of your ships to command) has been revised in order to incorporate Variant Ships
• If you own a Variant of a basic ship, clicking on the icon of that ship will display a drop-down menu where you can select either the basic ship or one of its Variants

Options

• The Options window will now display your Player ID number next to the Revision number of the game – including both of these numbers in any Support requests will help our Customer Support team deal with your requests quickly and efficiently

GRAPHICS & EFFECTS

Main updates:

Ships

• The Heavy Raider model has been revised and updated

NOTE IMPORTANT:

After the update we will start sending out the EGAs 2011 reward for the “Best Browser Game” category.
Please be aware not to delete the in-game message for the reward, before you have collected the attached items.

Accidentally deleted messages will not be replaced.

The EGAs reward will only be sent to accounts which were above level 10 during the voting for the award.

Game Content