Petroglyph Announce Conan Unconquered!

Posted by Digz at Petrolution News on December 26, 2018

 

The title says it all and the trailer certainly wets the appetite! Alongside Command and Conquer re-mastered Petroglyph are working on another title due to be released in the summer of 2019 called Conan Unconquered. 

 

Phoenix Rising v2.0 Demo

Posted by evilbobthebob at Phoenix Rising News on January 13, 2018

After 5 years, we finally have v2.0 of Phoenix Rising ready to demo, with the Operation Skyhook Campaign.

Download here for a manual installation: http://www.moddb.com...rising-v20-dlt;/a>
Or find us on the Steam Workshop at: http://steamcommunit.../?id=1235783994

Experience the lead-up to A New Hope from both sides of the Galactic Civil War, as told in the Legends universe

Selection of missions provide guidance in the early stages of the campaign. The later stages are up to you!

Command the Rebel Alliance from hidden fighter bases, striking against Imperial convoys and trying to discover the location of the Death Star construction site

Lead the Galactic Empire to victory, protecting the Death Star and crushing the Rebellion across the galaxy

The Galactic Empire is recommended for first time players of Phoenix Rising.


Short summary of changes:

• Sweeping optimization improvements, including a "light" campaign for those having performance problems.
• Rewritten galactic conquests (Demo featured: Operation Skyhook)
• Rewritten AI to be more intelligent and challenging
• All hyperspace travel now done via hyperlanes, with bonus speed and income from different sizes of route
• Complete overhaul of planet locations, bonuses, and abilities
• Over 50 new ground maps for v2.0, many new space maps
• Both land and space skirmish are available (though land skirmish is still unfinished for the CSA)
• Space skirmish has been completely rebalanced to be more of a competitive experience
• New armor/shield/damage system for space combat, bringing it in line with our ground combat changes from v1.2. New space units and ground vehicle
• Improved weather system and atmospheric effect
• New hero system

For a full changelog, see https://forums.revor...-v20-changelog/

Forged Battalion has been announced

Posted by Banshee at Petrolution News on October 17, 2017

Petroglyph Studios has announced a new RTS game for Steam known as Forged Battalion. Here's the trailer:



In this game, you're part of a resistance group, taking the world back from a military force called The Collective at the end of the 21st century.

It should come with the following features:

- Strong focus on unit customisation and building your own faction. You can alter every unit's chassis with different weapons, locomotor types and regenerative armor.
- There will be a 'persistent tech tree', meaning that each battle will contribute to your overall progress, helping to unlock new blueprints.
- There'll also be co-op and competitive multiplayer for up to eight players, also something that is being called a 'dynamic story campaign' and Steam Workshop support.
- Expect superweapons.
- The first early access version should include at least five campaign missions, different multiplayer modes and five multiplayer maps.

Forged Battalion will launch in 2018 on Steam Early Access. Thanks to Plokite_Wolf for the news tip.

AI Breakthrough

Posted by Ghostrider at Phoenix Rising News on June 7, 2016

After weeks and months of testing, and trying to figure out how to get the AI to react as a human does in a galactic environment, the PR team have finally achieved a significant AI breakthrough:

 

The AI now aggressively attacks independent planets, takes worlds, builds fleets, and stomps all over unwary humans if given half a chance. 

 

The AI equasions to do this have been in place do this for years, but for months the AI has lain dormant, effectively asleep. We have tried hundreds of different ideas to get the AI to activate - all to no effect. 

 

And how did we achieve this? 

 

The frustrating answer, familiar to most modders out there is simple. We changed 1 value in the XMLs, instead of increasing the value from 1.0 to 1.25 we should have decreased the value to 0.75. It just took 6 months of testing to realise that is what we needed to do!

 

WOW. Did the AI react or what?

It annihilated one of the testers in Core Worlds in under a quarter of the time taken for a human player to "WIN" Core Worlds if unopposed. 

 

Now that we know the AI is working, I have to go back and undo many of the campaign changes put in place that were an attempt to make the AI respond, but the mod is finally alive and kicking. We need to test and polish a bit more, but this makes us a lot closer to where we want to be. 

 

Ghost

Traveling Through Hyperspace Ain't Like Dusting Crops

Posted by Phoenix Rising at Phoenix Rising News on November 29, 2012

Research has always been an integral part of our development process. No demand has been more of a challenge in that regard than our need to place each planet at a definite galactic location for strategy mode.

When I began the process in the alpha phase of v1.0, there were maybe four official maps available that held any degree of accuracy; all were clearly related by the reference angle. Beyond that were hundreds of raw sources netting thousands of remarks about regional or relative location. Had that been the end of it, my task would have been nearly impossible.

Fortunately, an adolescent Wookieepedia was available to help cut through much of the clutter. And then I found this fellow called Modi, who had translated the askew maps onto a Cartesian plane, allowing me to derive coordinates that could be fed to the engine. It was the Internet equivalent of striking gold - a starting point. Later, JustinGann expanded on Modi's work to include speculative placements, which afforded me a second opinion. The end result was an independent interpretation of the galaxy unique to Phoenix Rising.

It took the single most important update to the canon to void all that effort - for the better. Midway through v1.2, The Essential Atlas hit bookshelves. Every star system that had ever been mentioned was now bound to a region of space 1/576^th the area of the galaxy. A great many were placed with certainty. The unprecedented accuracy of the atlas created a dilemma though, as several campaigns had already been finalized for the release. Rather than scrapping them and starting over, we chose to forge on knowing that v1.2's astrography would be flawed. I am pleased to report that the next version will be anything but.

TEA contains dozens of maps, each with its own scale and set of planets. My first step in replotting the galaxy was to composite them at a scale of 1 pixel = 10 lightyears to create a supermap. The digital Mid Rim sector map served as the foundation, since it had no loss of precision from scanning and little artifacting.

With that done, the actual measuring was trivial. The results were better than I ever could have expected: the first planetary coordinates for Abregado-rae came in identical to those already in use. They were not alone. Although I had corrected our most glaring differences - generally those with no frame of reference or cases where TEA chose to reject Rebellion placements while I did not - when prudent in v1.2, our interpretation really held up to intense scrutiny. Only Spuma, which Children of the Jedi had confused with Protazk, and Orinackra were completely off.

The present and final representation of the galaxy is 20% larger than v1.2 and approximately 92 times the area of vanilla. That should be enough space to prevent planetary overlap in all future cases. Several worlds always have to be manually relocated regardless of scale, but not so much as to be a distraction.

As profound as it is to finally have set astrography, a different facet of TEA had an even greater impact on strategic gameplay. The once-sporadic and eclectic collection of hyperlanes was replaced with a vibrant trade network.

In v1.2, we had two kinds of routes: "the Big Five" and "other". There are now four classifications, the most I could objectively derive from official maps. These can be thought of colloquially as "super", "major", "minor", and "trace" routes. Their benefits are scaled linearly, so while traces provide only meager income, they are much quicker than using a navicomputer to punch though an unstable course, as is the case with non-route connections. Obviously not every system can be linked via hyperlane, so we have tried to balance between using intersections and minimizing campaign planet counts.

These connections are now critical to military operations in the Galaxy Far, Far Away. In the next release, fleets will not be able to travel from a planet unless there is an explicit line - we have eliminated proximity jumps. No longer can an invasion bypass Anaxes on the way to Coruscant, players need not guess where to attack and defend, and the AI has fewer perceptions to crunch when executing plans. This is arguably the single best change that has ever happened to strategy mode.

When FoC was released, I never imagined we would be able to deduce coordinates for every star system. If our trials and errors played even a miniscule part in affecting that change, then it was all worth it.

We Would Be Honored If You Would Join Us

Posted by Phoenix Rising at Phoenix Rising News on December 28, 2011

For two years, Nertea has been my Shadow Hand, operating strictly behind the scenes in our effort to transform land combat. While it was great for the suspense of the announcement, admittedly, that was a terrible way to welcome someone to the team. I'd like to use this post, which highlights his remaining vehicles realized under v1.2, to give him a proper show of community appreciation. Without his contributions, the ground revamp would not have been possible.



Mobquet designed the Overracer Speeder Bike to do one thing: zoom. In terms of raw velocity, it's one of the best bikes on the market that isn't hampered by the control issues shared by swoops. Other than the optional light blaster cannon, there are few amenities of note, which is fine to the racers and scouts that primarily employ the Overracer. It's become a favorite of groups opposed to the New Order, which have been known to strip it even further to maximize stealth potential.



The newfound Empire conscripted Uulshos Manufacturing to build an armored command landspeeder to replace the LAAT in the role of ferrying officers in battle. The result was the QH-7 Chariot Light Assault Vehicle. Despite the bulk associated with tactical computers, encrypted comm units, and active countermeasures, the Chariot boasts impressive speed thanks to five thruster engines. On backwater worlds, the belly laser cannon allows it to double as a combat vehicle.



The Arrow-23 is a utility landspeeder that Aratech markets towards nature enthusiasts on semi-developed planets. It is larger and better armored than the typical family speeder to provide a certain level of comfort in the wild. It's also blazingly fast and highly modifiable, qualities that make it attractive to paramilitary organizations. The Alliance ended up with so many Arrow-23 Landspeeders that it became the default option for tramp shuttle, heavy scout, and battlefield ambulance.



When the Confederacy collapsed, the potential size of the Empire effectively doubled and, despite omnipresent propaganda, its forces were continuously spread thin as it pushed Rimward. Nen-Carvon offered a solution in the form of the PX-10 Compact Assault Vehicle, a self-driving light tank with a singular crew requirement. The tracked chassis is near impervious to pre-industrial technology, although its sensory inputs can be electronically jammed. Still, the PX-10 has been used against unruly Core denizens.



Ubrikkia Transports debuted the Talon I in the interwar period when galactic crime was on the rise. It is a modern example of an older concept: a militarized airspeeder built to engage starfighters in atmosphere. Although lacking the shields and powerplant of a spaceworthy craft, its sleek fuselage allows the Talon I Combat Cloud Car to excel at dogfighting. They are common to metropolitan defense forces and are occasionally fielded by the Empire in favor of noisier TIEs.

Happy Birthday Digz!

Posted by Darthbyron56 at Petrolution News on July 22, 2010

Our Division Leader Digz is Celebrating his Birthday today.

I'd like to wish him a Happy Birthday from myself and the team at Petrolution.



Enjoy your Day!

Release Nudged Back

Posted by Phoenix Rising at Phoenix Rising News on December 18, 2008

Now for the bad news. I just found out that jdk002's new computer isn't up yet as expected, which means he'll be unable to do the maps for the release. This means I'll have to do them, but I just can't make the time before the 20th - I'm still making last-minute corrections on my end. Unfortunately, this will force me to delay the release of version 1.1 until Tuesday, December 23rd.

I should explain why the map changes are so important. Without changes to the Galactic Conquest maps, the new, individual star bases will not work. You'll be able to build them, but they won't show up in a battle, so even after you defeat all of the space forces, the stations will remain in galactic, preventing that space from changing hands. Without changes to the Skirmish maps, there will be no secondary station to build starfighters at and the interface problems will persist.

The only responsible option is to delay the release and make sure these features work. Three more days will give us enough time to implement and test everything without dictating consecutive all-nighters. I'm just sorry it had to come to this, but we've literally worked for the past month straight, so this is the soonest possible it can reasonably be done. Thanks for your patience.

Economic Stimulus Part III

Posted by Ghostrider at Phoenix Rising News on December 11, 2008

Some time ago you may remember the background developments that we put into place to form the basis of the GFFA campaign. Many of these ideas resulted in some interesting spin-offs, including a number of economic changes.

First, you will find that all the planetary base economies have been redone and these values are consistent with the planetary population, industrial level and galactic location. Weekly revenues range from $60 to $400.

This in turn formed part of the basis (along with military capabilities) to determine fleet strengths, and the whole process has now turned full circle as we have completely changed the entire basis of the planetary capture values.

Capture values are now highly indicative of the fiscal and potential military value of a planet and range from a puny $400 for a forgotten Outer-rim ball of rock, through to $3000 for a typical small trading community, up to a scary $12,000-$17,000 for a Core World of galactic significance.

For the first time, you can actually plan a viable offensive income strategy – if your fleet does not take too much damage in the process! Be careful though. Capture values only work once per planet, and you must make sure that you don’t leave planets undefended or your opponent gets a free financial gift to power their war machine in addition to the planet!
One final word of caution – these capture values are highly representative of the power of most defense fleets.

Skirmish Returns!

Posted by Phoenix Rising at Phoenix Rising News on December 2, 2007

I have some very exciting news for you just in time for the upcoming release: Skirmish mode, which was disabled in the mini-mod, has made its triumphant return and will be featured in version 1.0! For those of you who don't have the time or patience for a drawn-out campaign, you will finally have the option to get straight to combat in a Skirmish match as the Rebel Alliance or Galactic Empire and battle it out for technological supremacy.

First let me back up and explain why it wasn't enabled all along. It just so happens that story scripting for EaW only works for Galactic Conquest mode. Unfortunately, this is how I've accomplished the asynchronous tech tree, which means that it doesn't work in Skirmish. As battling without upgrades kind of defeats the purpose of this mod, I originally just turned Skirmish off to concentrate on Galactic Conquest for the mini-mod. But for the full release, I wanted it functional.

As traditional upgrades weren't going to work for Skirmish, I had to compromise. I decided to remove the upgrading process entirely and instead, all ships start fully-upgraded. To defeat your enemy in Skirmish, you must beat not only his tactics, but his best technology. This is the basis of Skirmish in Phoenix Rising; let me get into the details.

Each team starts with a Golan I platform that serves as their base. From here, players can build tier zero ships from the tech tree - the same starting units you would get in Galactic Conquest before researching. You also have the option of upgrading the base and unlocking the next tier. Instead of the five starbase levels from vanilla, PR has only three, each corresponding to a bigger Golan platform and deeper tier. The Golan II level can build up to tier one ships, or your first level of research in GC, and the Golan III level unlocks everything. A team wins by destroying the enemy Golan and cementing their claim to that system, or by wiping out the opposing force entirely, depending on your options.

Scattered throughout the maps are also various capturable neutral stations that allow you to do one of two things: summon heroes to the fight or build Republic-era ships (albeit fully upgraded). The heroes offer an important edge over your adversaries with their leadership abilities and unique starships. They also use the upgrade build queue, so calling on them doesn't halt production. The X7 Factory is able to produce upgraded starfighters from the Clone Wars, including the Alpha-12 Nimbus-class V-wing, Eta-11 Actis-class, and ARC-170J. Both of these factors make map control a priority.

Finally, the last implication of Skirmish is that players will now be able to play Phoenix Rising against each other properly. The same issues that prevent the tech tree from working in Skirmish also prevent it from working in multiplayer Galactic Conquest, so for the first time in version 1.0, players will be able to go head-to-head as intended. And I, for one, can't wait to own my endearing fans.

Buildable Heroes

Posted by Phoenix Rising at Phoenix Rising News on May 30, 2007

The second significant change since the mini-mod affects the hero system. Major heroes no longer respawn when killed and are no longer free; they are now purchased at the officer academy. To avoid over-cluttering the interface, heroes are buildable from only one planet, which is generally their home planet, although if it is not known, another relevant planet is substituted. If that planet is not featured in the game, the nearest available galactic neighbor is used based on the most accurate star charts that currently exist.

That means it will be harder to field fleets of heroes. Players may also have to adapt their strategies to the strengths and weaknesses of the heroes that they have available. But most importantly, this allows for hero upgrades.

There won't be nine upgrades for each hero like there are for units, but there may be more than one upgrade per hero. There may also be no upgrades for a hero; it just depends on who it is. These will generally be upgrades to the company transport unit, although other possibilities are being explored as well.

As with the heroic starfighters in the mini-mod, these transports will come fully upgraded, but will otherwise lack the hitpoint and damage bonuses of the starfighters. I know this isn't necessarily canonical, but it's the best compromise possible within the restrictions of the engine. Consider it a representation of the fact that heroes are assigned the best elements in the fleet with the best crews. Plus it provides an interesting option between purchasing all of the upgrades or just getting one really tricked out ship.

If you go back and look closely at the screenshots from last week, you will notice an Imperial-class Star Destroyer in formation with Mon Calamari star cruisers firing red turbolasers. This is the Rebel Dream, Leia Organa's transport upgrade. I've also added four completely new heroes to the mod: pilots Jek Porkins and Tycho Celchu for the Alliance and Cassio Tagge and Antonio Motti, completing the Death Star's command triumvirate, for the Empire.