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New JA2 1.13 stable release now available!

TripJack

Hedonist
Joined
Aug 9, 2008
Messages
5,132
Download: http://www.ja-galaxy-forum.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/327457/2014_Stable_Unofficial_Release

No really informative changelog yet but here's a simple list of new shit:
Changelog since v4870:

New Features:
Expanded Quests to 255 (by Jazz)
Expanded Saveslots to 255 & Auto-saving (by Jazz)
*Improved Interrupt System (by Sandro)
Walking and Sidesteppng with Raised Weapon (by Scorpion & Sandro)
*Increase Squad Size to 8 (800x600) and 10 (1024x768) (by Bartek & Dansken)
Added UB-1.13 Source Code, selectable in builddefines (by Jazz)
*Show Merc Ranks in Strategy Screen before Name (by Jenilee & JMich)
*Faster Bobby Ray Shipments (by Jenilee & JMich)
*AP cost for Manipulating Merc Inventory (by Jenilee & JMich)
Individual Gear Kit Names (by JMich)
*Adjustable Max BR Unique Item Orders per Shipment (by JMich & Smeagol)
Walk instead of Swim on "Water" tiles for 2nd Level (by RoWa21)
Expanded Possible IMP Face Selection to 254 (by Jazz)
All Resolution Support Project (by LAFAYOHADES aka Lejardo)
*AI Turn Speed Up (FF-MOD) (by tazpn)
"Lock" / "Release" Mouse Cursor in Tactical Windowed mode (by Lejardo & RoWa21)
Release Mouse Cursor in Laptop mode (by JMich)
Increased Item Size Limit (by JMich)
*Weapon Overheating (by Flugente)
Weapon Resting (by Flugente)
Ammo Boxes and Crates (by Madd Mugsy)
Allow Attachment and Use of Underbarrel Weapons (by Flugente & JMich)
Ctrl+Click from Delete to Auto-place Item in Strategic Sector Inventory Screen (by Madd Mugsy)
Item Transformations (by Headrock & Madd Mugsy)
Coolness by sector (by Headrock & Madd Mugsy)
Impact Explosives (by Headrock & Madd Mugsy)
Better shot distribution inside aperture (by Headrock & Madd Mugsy)
Improved NCTH Burst/Autofire (by Headrock & Madd Mugsy)
Modifiable weapon degrade speed (by Headrock & Madd Mugsy)
Fragmentation Explosives (by Headrock & Madd Mugsy)
Zoomable Sector Inventory (by Headrock & Madd Mugsy)
Sort and Filter Sector Inventory (by Headrock & Madd Mugsy)
Crate-Splitting (by Headrock & Madd Mugsy)
Improved Strategic Map Icons and Labels (by Headrock & Madd Mugsy)
AI Enhancements (by Warmsteel & Madd Mugsy)
Quick Attachment Selection Popup Window (by The_Bob)
Toggle Scope modes (by Flugente)
Tripwire-triggered Mines (by Flugente)
Rifle Sling (by Flugente)
Mines/Bombs/Tripwires Display (by Flugente)
Layered Hierarchical Tripwire Networks (by Flugente)
Drug Effects System (by Flugente)
Prone Bandaging (by Sandro & PasHancock)
Pick up Items in Crouch Position (by Sandro)
New Misc filter buttons for BR by attachmentClass (by Madd Mugsy)
Block Iron Sights (by Flugente)
*Quiet Training (by Madd Mugsy)
*Zombies Spawning from Corpses (by Flugente)
Bombs Armed from Inventory (by Flugente)
Guns Traps made out with a piece of Tripwire (by Flugente)
Static Fortifications Built by Mercs (by Flugente)
Settings in Mod_Options.ini for Modders only (by DepressivesBrot)
*Food and Water System (by Flugente)
External Feeding Ammo (by Flugente)
Increased Action Items to 501 (by Jazz)
MOLLE LBE Items (by DepressivesBrot)
*Mark Remaining Hostiles (by DepressivesBrot)
Dual Weapon Burst/Autofire (by Sandro)
Alternative Weapon Holding for Hip and Single-hand Pistol (by Sandro)
Energy Cost on Weapon Manipulation (by Sandro)
Suppression Effectiveness Modified by Caliber and Gun Loudness (by Sandro)
*No Enemy Auto-ready Weapon Option (by Sandro)
Fancy Big Merc Rifle Holding and More Random Idle Animations (by Sandro)
Kick in Hand-to-Hand (by Sandro)
Jumping Across a Tile (by Sandro)
Advanced Repair/Dirt System (by Flugente)
Gearkits for M.E.R.C. Website (by JMich & Buggler)
Covert Ops Trait (by Flugente)
Modifier Tag for the Explosive Damage in Confined Spaces (by DepressivesBrot)
Clothes Items Allow Recoloring of Mercs (by Flugente)
Random Items (by Flugente)
*AI Soldiers Jump through Windows (by Flugente)
*Massive Counterattacks in all Major Cities (by Flugente)
Prisoner System/Capture Enemy Soldiers using Handcuff (by Flugente)
Stun Gun and Pepperspray Item (by Flugente)
Scuba Diving/Deep Water Stealth (by Flugente & Shanga)
*Enemy Assassins Disguised as Militia (by Flugente)
Class Specific Gun/Item Choices for Soldier Classes (by Flugente)
Multi-turn Actions (by Flugente)
Skill/Trait Tooltip on Merc Portrait (by Buggler)
*Equip Militia with Available Gear (by Flugente)
*Squad Names (by Flugente)
Items Applied to Others (by Flugente)
*Random Merc Stats and Salary (by Jazz, Buggler & Jenilee)
Load Screen Hints (by Flugente)
Deaf and Shortsighted Disabilities (by Flugente)
Dynamic Flashlights (by Flugente)
Individual Militia and Enemy Profile Definition (by Flugente)
*Encyclopedia/Briefing Room in Laptop (by Jazz & Moa)
Quests LUA Externalized, up to 255 (by Jazz)
*Civilians Drop All (by silversurfer)
Swap Merc Position Order in Tactical Team Panel (by silversurfer)
Updated Item Graphics (by Bambusar)
'Move Item' Assignment for City Sectors (by Flugente)
*Mercs Story Backgrounds (by Flugente)
Expanded Militia Training to 6x6 square (by Buggler)
*Delayed Reinforcements for Enemy and Militia (by Kriplo)
Mobile Militia Improvements (by Moa)
*Moving in Formation (by Flugente)
Improve Loading Speed of Stash (by Moa)
Added MOLLE Items (by Off_Topic)
*Racism/Sexism/Appearance/Refinement/Hated Nationalities (by Flugente)
More Buddies and Foes (by anv)
Radio Operator Trait (by Flugente)
*Enemy Taunts (by anv)
*Land Mercs Anywhere from Helicopter in Hostile Sectors (by Flugente)
Improved Bomb Planting and Mine Disarm Dialogue (by Sevenfm)
*Improved Auto Fast Forward (by Sevenfm)
Spotter Trait (by Flugente)
*Helicopter Repair & Refuel System (by anv)
*Campaign Statistics & Battle Reports (by Flugente)
*Merc and Enemy Additional Indicator (by Sevenfm)
Snitch Trait (by anv)
Compare Item Stats (by anv)

Debugging fixes (by Moa)
AI, AP Calculation and Map Editor fixes (by Kriplo)
JA, DG Mercs & previously Non-Recruitable NPCs are back for more Action (by anv, merc05, Dimitri & Kazuya)

(and many other features & fixes)
* - Optional

New XML Externalizations not mentioned above:
Vehicles (by Jazz)
Emails (by Jazz)
Hidden Towns (by Jazz)
AIM Veterans Webpage (by Jazz)
Merchants (by Flugente)
Mining Resources Names (by Jazz)
Heli Refuel Sites (by Buggler)
Creatures Placement (by Buggler)
I'm sure the new racism/sexism system will be a great hit with you bros :salute:
 
Last edited:

Severian Silk

Guest
I'm not playing again until there's a new total conversion mod. There's only so many times you can crawl across Meduna...
 

Derek Larp

Cipher
Joined
Jul 25, 2008
Messages
423
Now we need someone to make a zombie-apocalypse survival mod and release it prior to Dead State. :troll:
 
Joined
Jan 7, 2012
Messages
14,149
All I care about it whether it and all of the options are actually stable. So far I've played the mod 5 times and 4 of them ended with me not being able to take all of the crashing that started mounting when I was half way through.

Well, OK. I also want to know whether NCTH is working and non-shit. Really annoyed me when it was shit because it was a great idea. But it's a distant second.
 

Wizfall

Cipher
Joined
Oct 3, 2012
Messages
816
All I care about it whether it and all of the options are actually stable. So far I've played the mod 5 times and 4 of them ended with me not being able to take all of the crashing that started mounting when I was half way through.

Well, OK. I also want to know whether NCTH is working and non-shit. Really annoyed me when it was shit because it was a great idea. But it's a distant second.
Surprising.
I only played the old stable release 4870 for more than 2 years because i feared that .
6 monts ago i have switched to use the latest SCI (single click installer : a single package, updated very often, with the latest development, just have to unzip to install) every time i started a new game and was very please to never have experienced any problems.
To the point i know use the Bear server and the tortoise sofware to update even more often now.

About NCtH, it has been hugely improved.
Default value in the ini files aren't bad, however i recommend to lower IRON_SIGHT_PERFORMANCE_BONUS to 10 (instead of 20) but activating IRON_SIGHTS_MAX_APERTURE_USE_GRADIENT (TRUE instead of default FALSE).
The main issue with 1.13 is that it is better to read all the ja2.ini to select or unselect what you like/don't like and that can be time consuming.
 

Cassidy

Arcane
Joined
Sep 9, 2007
Messages
7,922
Location
Vault City
My experience with the August 10th Experimental SCI:

Gave up the first game because of how banal shit boring the food and drink system is, for I was hoping for something better, or at least for small yet very critical details like Hunters and Rangers being able to actually hunt wild animals for food instead of the inevitable chore of sending some Mercs to the nearest bar for buying food or drinks, worse even in sectors too arid or with salt water only so canteens won't auto-refill which turn it into a daily requirement. Because food is relatively cheap to matter strategically, that system adds zero to gameplay that I got sick of it after securing Grumm.

Playing at Expert with counter attacks everywhere instead of only Drassen turned on is borderline INSANE, and considering the default supposedly limits such massed attacks based on the game progress, one happening in Chitzena at day two means that setting is obviously glitched, because that is exactly what happened in my second game with the shitty food system disabled. Suffice to say I had to choose between leaving the Chitzena mine undefended on purpose and a grueling campaign of night raids to thin the hordes or 99.99% odds of TPK, and there is no fun in save scumming for the 0.01% odds of victory. If you can't stand the Drassen event, disabling this is a must.

NCTH was improved indeed, but a little note:

Default value in the ini files aren't bad, however i recommend to lower IRON_SIGHT_PERFORMANCE_BONUS to 10 (instead of 20) but activating IRON_SIGHTS_MAX_APERTURE_USE_GRADIENT (TRUE instead of default FALSE).

There is no need to lower the performance bonus, even with the gradient and thus less severe accuracy reduction at range for iron sights, a 2x scope remains superior from the point where a target is far enough to not give "too close" penalties.

A questionable addition a few will appreciate, and likely most JA fans in the Codex will hate is that the AIM roster had a retcon and many Mercs from Deadly Games and the first Jagged Alliance that were supposed to have retired or died in vanilla JA2 were brought back to either AIM or MERC.

Fortunately not all new features are worthless like the food and water system or questionable like a retcon of the AIM and MERC rosters. The true reason to try one of the latest experimental 1.13 versions is that someone finally added a functional system for controlling vehicles and going drive-by in turn-based mode(the coming stable version unfortunately will not have it yet), and the only major bug with it I noticed so far is that if you try to leave a sector in the tactical map while inside a vehicle, the game will crash. Other than that, you can go drive-by shooting or... transform your mercenaries into tank crewmen. I'm not sure if the latter is possible and I'm not completely sure if the tanks near Meduna will be on the move, but I'm hoping they will for maximum carnage.

First time I tried this new vehicular combat system, the ice cream truck didn't last more than one turn...

:hero:
 

Brinko

Arcane
Joined
May 7, 2012
Messages
884
Sucks to hear that the counter attack everywhere is now bugged out of its fucking mind. Really liked using that feature because it actually made it somewhat more interesting to play.

Also the AIM thing was a popular mod on the Bears pit forums that for some reason got shoved into the new release without allowing players to turn that shit off.
 

Wizfall

Cipher
Joined
Oct 3, 2012
Messages
816
My experience with the August 10th Experimental SCI:

Gave up the first game because of how banal shit boring the food and drink system is
There are some features implemented that are unwelcome like the food system and the dirt system as they add nothing except annoying micromangement IMO.
Unless it has changed the food feature is off by default.
I'm not usre if the dirt system is not on the other hand.

Playing at Expert with counter attacks everywhere instead of only Drassen turned on is borderline INSANE,.
You asked for it, the feature is off by default.
Only the Drassen CA is on by default which is already a big flaw as it completely broke the natural course of the game, only leaving you the option to go to Chitzena or cheesing like mad.
Only interesting if you change other options (like better Bobby setting and more cash), otherwise require cheesing and not like the game is suposed to be played.
All the counter attack features are awful and should be avoided IMO, cool in theory but broke a lot of mechanics (balance, economy, pacing).
If you want a more challenging game than normal expert but that felt natural and balanced, increase instead these 3 parameters (effect are quite self explanatory) :
MAX_NUMBER_ENEMIES_IN_TACTICAL (least important of the 3 parameters because it's 32 by default, already quite ok but if you want more)
MAX_STRATEGIC_ENEMY_GROUP_SIZE (expert is 20, increase if you want bigger fight)
MIN_ENEMY_GROUP_SIZE_EXPERT (the most important/intersting parameter if you want a bit less but bigger fights . 6 by default on expert is way too low and 10 is fine IMO, really change the game especially if you also increase the parameters above to something like 25).
If it still not enough you can activate reinforcement but the feature has a big flaw (reinforcement can appear right behind you making the game almost unplayable unless you set it to come with 0 action point but even then...)

There is no need to lower the performance bonus, even with the gradient and thus less severe accuracy reduction at range for iron sights, a 2x scope remains superior from the point where a target is far enough to not give "too close" penalties
Very complicated issue...
The huge flaw of 1.13 (any version) is the implementation of scopes.
It's the main reason to avoid playing 1.13 the first time.
Scopes in 1.13 are totally broken and overpowered and change the gameplay (for the worse) compared to vanilla JA2, be it with the NCtH or OCtH system
The first issue is that scopes provide a much too big accuracy bonus (you only have one scope in vanilla and i would say it provides no much more accuracy bonus than a scope x2 so imagine a scope x7 or even x10...).
The second and more problematic issue is that unlike vanilla, scopes in 1.13 provide vision range bonus (and a huge one on top of that).
To make it short not only the AI manage very badly vision range bonus and it completely change the vanilla gameplay making the game a cakewalk (and the AI making stupid things) once you have good scopes.
You are not supposed to have vision range bonus in daylight.
This require XML modification of all scopes (lower accuracy bonus and remove all or most of the vision range bonus provided, something like 5% for scopex2 to a max of 20% vision range bonus for scopex10) if you want to have a vanilla gameplay difficulty/feeling.
However a longer range of engagement (possible by using scope) is a very enjoyable feature of 1.13, especially with the increase resolution so i highly recommend to increase BASE SIGHT VISION to 15 or 16 (default is 13).
This have a huge impact on gameplay, very enjoyable and the AI benefit from it as much as you.

A questionable addition a few will appreciate, and likely most JA fans in the Codex will hate is that the AIM roster had a retcon and many Mercs from Deadly Games and the first Jagged Alliance that were supposed to have retired or died in vanilla JA2 were brought back to either AIM or MERC.
I disliked a lot this feature and did not understood why it was not an option. Wasted the "atmosphere" a great deal for me and i never hired old mercs... at first.
It was very unpleasant to me too but now... i just love it, it adds so much flexibility/options, i just find more personalities to play with too enjoyable.

In the end it is always the same, 1.13 is great because customizable at will but it requires a great deal of reading/time to be like you want it to be and absolutely enjoyable.
 

Whitewolf

Novice
Joined
Jul 11, 2012
Messages
49
The dirt system can be toggled off in the ini search for DIRT_SYSTEM and set it to false.
 

hoverdog

dog that is hovering, Wastelands Interactive
Developer
Joined
Jul 8, 2010
Messages
5,589
Location
Jordan, Minnesota
Project: Eternity
Someone said controlling vehicles on maps? Moving tanks??!

FUCKING SHIT BEST THING EVER~!

3932_pu6fp7.jpg

 
In My Safe Space
Joined
Dec 11, 2009
Messages
21,899
Codex 2012
My experience with the August 10th Experimental SCI:

Gave up the first game because of how banal shit boring the food and drink system is
There are some features implemented that are unwelcome like the food system and the dirt system as they add nothing except annoying micromangement IMO.
Unless it has changed the food feature is off by default.
I'm not usre if the dirt system is not on the other hand.
So, food and water doesn't weight anything and doesn't take inventory space?
 

The_scorpion

Liturgist
Joined
Dec 10, 2006
Messages
1,056
i tried to gave it a spin after a long break from JA. But it bores me greatly. These same old maps again. Adding 20 or 50 additonal layers of tedious micromanagement still doesn't give me a convincing reason to play it yet again.

i recently tried to pick up Aimnas but the big maps and NCTH-only balancing means it's largely a chore to play.
 

Brinko

Arcane
Joined
May 7, 2012
Messages
884
Is there any way to actually allow more than 4 aim levels? I turned on the extra aim levels option but it seems to have done dick all.
 

Brinko

Arcane
Joined
May 7, 2012
Messages
884
Ok yeah whoever they got to add all this retarded nonsense needs to be fucking shot. Not only do extra aiming levels not fucking work but I had to turn off 7 different fucking options in the INI to just take off the stupid ass soldiers having names shit.

Maybe I'll see how it fares when they decide to cull all the ridiculous options that add nothing to the overall game and just serve to make autists cum with glee.
 
Joined
Jan 7, 2012
Messages
14,149
JA2 was already an amazing game on release. If you take an amazing game and let any group of fans update it for a decade you're going to get some autistic shit. Just how things work.
 

Luka-boy

Arcane
Joined
Sep 24, 2014
Messages
1,629
Location
Asspain
I'm about to finish my playthrough of the game with this version of 1.13. Like some people have mentioned, it's a mixed bag sometimes, which is why every time I install it I spend an hour modifying the INI settings, which has become less tedious with the new editor, until everything is to my liking. For example, this time I disabled the new permanent item damage and dirt systems and enabled the overheating system, making it slightly more severe than in the default settings.

Gotta say, that new disguise and infiltration system is a blast. A bit overpowered and silly in certain situations when the merc has the spy major trait, like being able to walk with the character in the middle of a group of enemies during a firefight to act as an advanced spotter, yet if an enemy dies too close to him every enemy will blame him and he'll lose the disguise. Other times it feels much better and makes for some great high-risk high-reward gameplay where you can infiltrate bases to disarm or blow up alarms/computers or try to pick off stragglers with silenced weapons, throwing knives or a garrote and hiding the bodies, that if it works it's great but one mistake like stumbling upon a disguise-ruining elite when turning a corner or failing an attack leads to your spy getting fucked almost every single time. With some tweaking and balancing this system can be truly great.

Also I liked the new option to trigger a Drassen-style massive counterattack for every city you conquer. You can also make it so those massive attacks happen every now and then, but more than once seems just tedious to me.

I had a great AI moment during the army counterattack to retake Cambria, which happened at the Mine sector where all my mercs in the region were bunched up with 32 elite militia ready to assault the SAM site just South of there. The army attacked at night from the South with a force comprised exclusively of well-equipped elites and from the East with a second force of mostly redshirts. The militia that were closer to the enemy were quickly picked off while the rest spread towards the South and East to set up a defensive line while I hid my mercs in a small wooden building because I was curious about how the AI would act in this kind of situation. My militiamen formed in a wide perimeter and used some break lights to try to find the enemy which in most cases failed, especially in the South where the elites were damn good at avoiding the illuminated areas and it was clear they were using decent NVG.

After a couple of turns it was clear my men were losing and getting encircled, so I ordered them to take cover and most of them ran to the center of the map and set up a decent defensive position using trees and rocks as cover. That's when the enemy used a mortar to send a well-aimed illumination shell right in the middle of the militia which made then light up light Christmas trees and had a wide enough area of effect to illuminate all of my men and none of the enemies stalking them. The next turn the militia received a hail of sniper and LMG fire and sometimes there weer glimpses of other enemies moving at the edge of the illuminated area. Then the next turn an enemy officed called a mortar strike (another new feature) from the nearby SAM site sector, where later I indeed found a mortar, and four shells fell on the militia's position killing half of them and knocking out the rest.

Since nobody could spot any enemies, the game switched to real time mode and for the next half minute I heard how the enemy finished off the knocked out militia with knives. Then complete silence.

I don't know if that strategy from the AI was just a fluke since other times they act as retarded as usual, but holy shit I love this game and this mod.
:bravo:
 

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