The v1.02 update for Ashes of the Singularity is now available with a new map and scenario in addition to balance and stability fixes. Check out the full changelog below:

 

HIGHLIGHTS:

  • New Map and Scenario!

  • Balance Changes

  • Stability & Bug fixes


  • Gameplay

    • Balance Changes

      • Creeps at regions grow up to potentially 24 units eventually instead of maxing at 8

      • Creeps at regions can include a T2 unit along with a higher variety as they get bigger

      • T2 unit speed slowed slightly

      • Guardian unit added (creep unit)

      • T1 unit HP slightly reduced to make the quality difference between T1 and T2 more readily apparent

      • D11 Brute reload time reduced slightly (higher DPS)

      • AI update

      • Sky Factory no longer requires a factory to first be constructed

      • Orbital Fabricator no longer requires Quantum Relay to first be built

      • Orbital Fabricator now requieres radioactives before it can be built.

      • Orbital scan ability cost increased to 50 but now only increases in cost by 10% per use instead of 25%

      • Call Engineer quanta cost reduced from 50 to 30, cost increases by 20% instead of 25%

      • Incursion quanta cost increased from 100 to 120

      • <NOT available yet> Orbital ability added: Call Probe (C++ code behind it is not checked in for 1.02, so it's not technically available)

      • Area heal healing increased from 33 to 40

      • Plasma storm damage reduced from 16 to 15 per sec

      • Carving Turret quanta cost increase reduced from 25% to 10%

      • Avatar weapon cooldown reduced from 2.6s to 1.8s

      • Avatar weapon will no longer target drones

      • Avatar weapon now penetrates all armor

      • Avatar weapon damage reduced from 33 to 20 per shot

      • Call Avatar orbital cost reduced from 90 to 30

      • Shield regen orbital now recharted 2500 instead of 2000

      • Reaper cannon max range increased from 550 to 600m

      • Defensive buildings given additional armor.

      • Avatar HP reduced from 600 to 300 (Avatar is much cheaper to produce now)

      • Avatar Shields reduced from 900 to 200

      • Avatar Shield regen increased from 6 to 10

  • New Scenario and Map: Assault

    • NEW MAP: Assault (only available via the Assault scenario

    • NEW SCENARIO: Assault. The PHC Renegade Arthir has violated the PHC covenant and illegally taken the planet of Pythos. You must lead an assault on his well defended position that is being supported by a Substrate Guardian force. Defeat the PHC Renegade before he captures the world of Pythos. Access it via Ascendancy Wars.B23

  • Bug fixes

      • Fixed Beam Weapons to have impact effects against buildings

      • Max_Missions reduced from 1024 to 64 to fix assert that could potentially cause an end of mission crash

      • Fixed bug where changing game speed did not affect trigger timings

      • Network improvements for GOG Galaxy

      • GOG Peer in MP doesn't always receive GameWinLose message, but still needs to Exit Lobby on match end.

      • Fix for Factory ground skirt showing square in ground and for the Substrate Radioactives Extractor having holes in the terrain


Note: This update will invalidate old save games. Overall campaign progress in Ascencdency Wars is maintained, however.


Comments
on Apr 16, 2016

I can't help but feeling that PHC is really getting the wrong end of the stick between the changes in both v1.01 and v1.02. Although I do think that the PHC was overpowered previously, with all the frigate nerfs they have received (in both patches) and the zeus nerf, they now have become more difficult to work with. I'm getting the feeling that there were too many changes made at once and it has affected the balance in the opposite direction.

Although it's possible I just haven't adjusted myself to the changes yet. 

on Apr 17, 2016

PHC needed the stick, now I think they need a little pat on the back.

 

The Avatar is worthwhile using now, which is a significant improvement to Substrate, however I feel that its shield regen is a little bit high.

The AI makes very good use of the improved balance to the Avatar. Which makes playing PHC vs Substrate much harder than it used to be. Against AI it used to feel easier to play PHC vs Substrate than Substrate vs PHC, now it is the other way round.

on Apr 17, 2016

And talking something different... The map Cygnus, the starting point "2" got the expansions a little to far, an comparison of the starting point "1", where the 2 expansions is closer. I tested in skirmish, in "2" i must send the constructor in 13sec to reach almost 40sec in the radioactive expansion, but in the "1", i can send in 15 ou 16sec, and manage to conquest the expansion.

 

The metal spots in the base in "1" are behind the nexus, in the "2" are in front. Why?

on Apr 17, 2016

Cygnus is my favourite map, and I don't mind which starting point I get. The lack of symmetry gives the map character.

on Apr 19, 2016

But to the game be competitive, or the spots must be equal, or the worst spot must have some compensation.

on Apr 20, 2016

With the way the map generation works, there is never going to be perfectly equal distances between nodes.

If there is too much imbalance in Cygnus which is leading to an unfair advantage, then it might need to be removed from ranked play.

 

Pros to bottom position:

The bottom position has 1 less node to travel to the central node.

The bottom position has 30% less distance to the central node.

(The central area is metal rich, which can be very beneficial to get control of it.)

 

Cons to bottom position:

The bottom position has 20-60% greater distances to travel for the starting 3 nodes.

The bottom position has 3-10% greater distance to the Computronium (Turinium) generators.