?But if you’re thinkin’ about my baby
It don’t matter if you’re black or white ?

In preparation for the next round of PlanetWars, the five factions have been condensed into two, according to their alignments at the end of the previous round. Thus:

Machines, Cyber, Empire -> Synthetic Pact
Dynasty, Liberty -> Dynasty of Man

If you wish to have your clan moved to the other faction, please file a request in the comments thread 🙂

The Dynasty of Earth and its allies in Liberated Humanity have established themselves as the dominant power in the galaxy!After over a thousand battles, intense political intrigue, multiple betrayals and the firing in anger of planet-destroying superwe…

Just so you don’t get very bored, there’s three new casts by ShadowFury33 – including one where Godde tries to kill Kyubey, apparently over a contract gone bad.

HD Zero-K 2013/09/25 – 1v1 (Obs): Godde(Sp) vs Kyubey(Cl) on Calayo 2
HD Zero-K 2013/09/25 – 1v1 (Obs): cortezthekiller(Cl) vs CyberneticPony(J/Gs) Battle for Planet XVII
HD Zero-K 2013/09/25 – 1v1 (Obs): steel_blue(LV/Gs) vs norm0616(Hov) on Finns Revenge

We’ve had a few versions since v1.1.9.0. Some of them were to fix bugs and some were just because I can. To help people keep track I’ve compiled a list of change for all those versions. Some of the changes have been in effect for several days and there are even fixes for things that nobody noticed.

We have a nice new endgame stats screen which fits with the rest of the UI. Currently it only displays the old stats but as soon as someone has the time it should be easy enough to slot new stats in.

There are some noticeable balance changes such as AA target priority and some light bomber buffs. The amphibious raiders have been messed with again; Duck regained tracking and Archer lost quite a bit of range. Vamp is a bit slower to make Avengers more important for interception and Nukes are more expensive because Godde sort of suggested it and it sounds like a good idea.

Full changelog here: http://zero-k.info/Wiki/ReleaseNotes2

In this version we’ve accumulated more changes than would be expected for 3 weeks work. On the visuals front we have a new Chainsaw model by aiphee and many new wreckages by Kerr. The Improved Newton widget by Wolas has been modified and added. There are some small tweaks to balance as well as more major changes to mechanics.

Balance Tweaks

The raiders for the Tank and Amphibious factories are now slightly more powerful although Duck lost it’s homing. Archer has much better accuracy and reliability. Phoenix and Shadow have been buffed as part of the ongoing bomber rebalance. Krow is 10% cheaper.

Commanders

The Shock Rifle, Disintegrator and Torpedo Launcher have been tweaked. SLAM Rocket has been reworked into a vertical launch weapon.

Scouting

Scouting should be more ‘interesting’ now that we’ve blocked or nerfed some of the most powerful ways to scout. Athena has an increase decloak radius, Fighters have reduced sight range and Newton launched units cannot see the ground because they are too high up. Vulture can see further in an attempt to promote ‘conventional’ scouting.

Disarm

Stiletto and Racketeer now deal their own kind of disable damage called Disarm. It acts exactly like EMP with two exceptions: affected units are able to move and flash yellow. If you’re on the receiving end of a disarm attack you can choose to retreat or push onwards. This is much better for gameplay than a long EMP time Stiletto, if you’re hit by one of those you can just sit back and watch your units die with no chance for interaction.

Detriment

After being deemed detrimental for FFA play, Detriment now moves slower and hits softer. Additionally air transports slow down when transporting very heavy units. A Vindicator transporting a Detriment moves at about 25% speed.

A full changelog is available here: http://zero-k.info/Wiki/ReleaseNotes2

This small update combines a number of quick fixes with a cool new unit model. Enjoy!Full changelog at: https://code.google.com/p/zero-k/wiki/ReleaseNotes2#Zero-K_v1.1.8.0

The main aim of this update is to fix planes (although this can’t be done all at once). Bombers are a bit slower and the area attack bombers have been nerfed. Shadow is lighter all around and must now dive to attack if it wishes to have any chance to hit mobile units. Diving has the tradeoff of exposing the bomber to ground weaponry. Fighter battles should be more controllable with reduced fighter damage and the addition of an ability for Avenger.

Two new units have been added. Trident should even up the battlefield between planes and gunships while Funnelweb is a Jugglenaut replacement with more abilities.

Lastly shield penetration of Flamethrowers and Gauss has been removed. This is to normalise the power of shields and aid in their balance.

New Units

Trident – We finally have an AA gunship. This slow gunship missile spewing gunship should allow the gunship factory to stand up to planes.

Funnelweb – A replacement of the Jugglenaut with less cost and more abilities. In addition to the Jugglenaut abilities this unit has a fixed Gauss Gun, a shield with a large battery and spawns attack drones.

Air Balance

Shadow

• Cost 450 -> 300
• CruiseAlt 200 -> 220
• Health 1200 -> 800
• Speed 8.8 -> 7.6
• Damage 1200 -> 800
• Messed with projectile, now it is very easy to avoid if shot from high up.
• Reduced dive height.
• By default Shadow will dive attack against mobile ground units.

The intention is to reduce some 1000 range HP hardcounters, increase possibility
of attrition and add some interaction with mobile units. Accurate ground units
(eg riots or raiders) can act as a deterrent for Shadow strikes on mobiles.

Phoenix

• Cost 320 -> 400
• Health 660 -> 700
• Speed 10 -> 8
• Burn time reduced to by 33%

Stiletto:

• Cost 600 -> 700
• Speed 10 -> 9

Vamp:

• Speed 9.5 -> 7,8
• Damage reduced by 19%

Avenger:

• Health 350 -> 400
• Missile Damage 220 -> 150
• Added 5x speed boost special ability

Gnat:

• Damage 400 -> 600
• Health 300 -> 350

AA Nerfs

We aim to reduce the hardcounter relationships between air and AA so here are some preemptive nerfs to AA which was particularly good against bombers.

Copperhead:

• DPS reduced 5%

Hacksaw:

• Cost 300 -> 380

Shield Penetration

Flamethrowers and Gauss Guns no longer penetrate shields. These hardcounters were just a crutch holding back shield balance which works for all factories.

Takeover Mode

Ivica in in the process of adding a gamemode in which players can capture additional units via point control. It is currently in development but is still playable in this stable. Full details are here: http://zero-k.info/Forum/Thread/5167

Interface

• Added more visibility settings for commands. These are found in Settings/Interface/Command Visibility.
• Unified F4 hotkey to show economy. F4 now shows overdrive grid, metal spots, geovents, and highlights reclaim.

Fixes

• Fixed metalconfigs for Brazillian_Battlefield_Remake_V2, Altored_Arctic
• Reduced the value of megamexes in Aberdeen6v6_Fix, now worth 2.2

Want more zero-K experience beside just playing?Why not watch some videos!Player Shadowfury333 has uploaded some nicely commentated replays.Click here to go the youtube playlist