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Some recent advances to report in the game:
1) There are now Towers scattered throughout the maps. These Towers are easily controlled (no 15-minute timer to expire after hacking) and have gun turrets, lockers and bind tubes. In otherwords, they're strong points on the maps that you can use for either offensive or defensive strategies when attacking/defending facilities. They are also fall back positions for spawning...as long as your Empire controls them. There are three types of Towers: Gun Tower, Watch Tower, and Air Tower. Gun Towers are three-stories with turrets at the top. Air Towers are similar to Gun Towers, but with air vehicle landing pads. Watch Towers have no turrets, but are five stories tall allowing great sniping and observation points. There is a secondary balcony on the third floor.
2) The Global Weather system is up and running. When viewing the global map, you can see weather patterns moving across the world. As you watch a weather system sweep across your position on a continent, you can switch back to first-person view and actually watch the thunderstorm/snowstorm/etc. move into view. Now you can actually plan to "attack under the cover of the oncoming storm" and air units need to be alert to changing weather conditions as visibility can change radically.
3) Our basic Resources system is in-place now. Each facility requires an NTU Silo to be powered in order to maintain energy in the grid for terminals and such. The Silo drains as the facility is used, and very slowly even if not used, and if it reaches zero, then all energy to the facility is lost. (Time from full power to zero is still being tweaked.) However, unlike when a generator is destroyed, if a Silo loses all energy, then the facility reverts to Neutrality and must be recaptured (rather than merely resecured).
To power a Silo with a full charge of NTUs, a driver must acquire an Advanced Nanite Transport (ANT) at any vehicle terminal, drive it to a warpgate where it will deploy and charge from the energy in the bubble, and then drive to the Silo that needs recharging. The ANT is then deployed next to the Silo and energy is transferred smoothly.
No certification is required to drive an ANT. Anyone can do it, but ANTs are neither speedy nor super-tough. You *do* gain Battle Experience for resupplying a Silo via the ANT. This xp can be shared by squadmates in the area. ANTs *can* be carried by Galaxies.
More details on this system later.
4) We used to have an "auto-landing" system where you tapped "L" to either launch or land an air vehicle. Launching was pretty cool, but landing was kind of a pain because when you tapped "L" because the algorithm took over and you couldn't control your rate of descent manually. We've replaced that now with a more maneuverable system. You use "E" to ascend and "C" to descend. To land, you just hit "C" until you get close to the ground. If it's not a safe spot, you'll be warned. If it is a safe stop, you will simply land at that position and can dismount. It's much more graceful now.
5) To make it easier to move around in the world, there are now vehicle pads at all facilities. The Galaxy dropship is still restricted to only the Sanctuary and Dropship Centers, but all "standard" vehicles (vehicles that don't require a pre-req certification to learn to use) are available at all facilities now. If your Empire owns a Tech Plant on a continent, then you can acquire ALL vehicles (except the Galaxy) at ALL facilities on that continent.
Expect more info soon. The game is shaping up rapidly
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