Arena Commander Alpha Patch 1.1.5
AC 1.1.5 was deployed to the PTU over the weekend – that’s test environment. I rarely if ever deal with MMO test servers. I’ll just wait until it’s pushed to production. Most of what’s coming are balancing changes such as ship durability, weapon damage and improved HOTAS usability. Along with thruster and flight mechanics changes – see lots of posts about changes in “drift”. The long awaited P-52 Merlin, a short ranged combat support ship that comes aboard the Constellation is flyable.
My Interest in 1.1.5
What I care about are any improvements with respect to using joysticks. I’m still struggling to adjust settings to where my pitch doesn’t make me float all over the place. It’s getting better. I downloaded a custom XML configuration for people who are experiencing too much “float” when maneuvering and that has helped. But I’m hoping the patch closes the gap even more.
I don’t have a Merlin and don’t plan to get one. However, I was interested in seeing the cockpit. CIG is continuing to refine the cockpit dashboard. I really dislike the current radar. It’s more like make myeyesbleeddar. I need more function and less flash.
A radar that is a light blue sphere with white indicators superimposed over blue panel (in some ships) is virtually unfreaking readable!!! Clearly the elements were designed separately from each other (readouts vs. the various cockpit designs) but this one is really annoying. The whole 3D of it is more distracting than helpful in my opinion.
Other things of note are that the AC map sizes have been increased from 4v4 (8 players) to 8v8 (16 players). People are also posting screenshots of the hangars with improved lighting effects that look really good!!! I’m not a huge fan of the white ultra-modern Revel and York hangar but the others looked too dreary and monotone because of the lighting. Guess I’ll try them all out again to see if I can switch now.
Beyond Patch 1.1.5
Although there’s no new content in the game, we’re anxiously waiting on AC 2.0, I still enjoy logging in to practice dogfighting and racing. I am at the point now, however, that I want to push real-life friends to finally install SC and start learning to fly. If not, they’re going to be completely clueless when 2.0 introduces multiplayer. It wasn’t until this weekend that I realized you can do private groups vs. NPCs. I’m going to try to get some folks together to give it a go over the weekend.
I finally gave up on my Origin Jumpworks 325A. It’s supposedly like the Lexus of small ships. 325A is the interdiction variant (combat). It’s sweet looking on the outside. Has a decent amount of room on the inside but is undergoing a redesign for improvements. So I know it’s a nice ship but I don’t like the way it flies and never have. I kept trying to like it but it just didn’t work for me. I felt like I was flying a bucket and shooting a musket. I kept thinking, "I have a $90 USD ship that I don't like. Why??"
This is all so new to me that I wasn’t sure it just wasn’t me, so I asked on Reddit. I’ve been very lucky so far, no one has ever trolled me or been abusive in the responses when I’ve posted to Reddit. And while there were many who didn’t understand my not liking the 325A, there were plenty who felt the same as I did. People who’d flown a lot more AC than I have had come to the same conclusion. They chalked it up to personal style and tastes, melted it and moved on.
People left comments which suggested other ships to try. By playing AC you can earn in-game credit which allow you to rent ships and equipment. I had enough to rent one of the ships suggested, the Gladius. I also realized the other one, Cutlass, which was already available to me as a loaner for having purchased a Cutlass Red (Search and Rescue ship). I liked both but with a Cutlass variant incoming anyway, I focused on the Gladius.
After several runs I knew I liked it much better than the 325A. I used the cross chassis buy option to replace my 325A with a Gladius – gives full credit for the one ship toward purchase of another of higher or lesser value. I flew it exclusively all weekend and could immediately see an improvement. For whatever reason, it suits my combat style much better. That said – I’m having to learn to use the throttle more. Although the 325A is more nimble the Gladius is faster. Attempting to turn or bank at max speed was causing me to blackout.
I’ve had red-out before, where the screens starts getting red around the edges and darkens because the g-force is too high. However, in the 325A or Hornet I just push through it – keep going and things are fine. I attempted to do the same in the Gladius and end up blacking out. At first I thought it was a bug. Then it finally clicked. *sigh* I have to downshift on the throttle when making aggressive turns in the Gladius. More skills and techniques to learn. People are saying it takes roughly 300 hours to become good with a HOTAS setup. Yikes, that’s a lot of hours. It’s getting close to the time where I’m going to be knocking on doors, asking my friends to come out and play.
P.P.S.
I also download a nice SC iOS app last week, Star Citizen Navigator. It takes the content from the RSI website and abbreviates it to its most salient points. I particularly like being able to quickly find ships – there are so many. I can click thru the starmap of the systems that have been announced so far, see where they are in relationship to one another and read a brief overview on each of the primary planets. Those two features alone are worth $1.99 USD.
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