Since the last LAN, Artemis has had a few important things happen:
First of all, version 1.7 was released. This update focused on bug fixes, tweaks alternate inputs and keyboard shortcuts.
Artemis version 1.7 Patch Notes
- Fix problem with comms text color changing over time.
- Now engineering has another key (RETURN/ENTER) that resets all the coolant values to zero. Also, pressing the key that resets all sliders to 100% (SPACE) and then pressing it a second time will do the same thing (reset coolant values).
- F9 and F10 will now cycle through all the consoles active on your client.
- On Helm, press RETURN/ENTER to center the rudder of the ship. Press ESC to toggle reverse on and off. Yes, Helm now has reverse.
- On Science, press Y to select the closest object to your ship. Press U and I to cycle through all the scannable objects on your screen. Scan selected objects by pressing RETURN/ENTER.
- On Science, you can now use the mousewheel to zoom.
- On Engineering, there's a dark red bar around the "selected" system of the eight systems you can adjust. Move the selection using the A and D keys. For the selected system, change the power slider using the W and S keys. Adjust the coolant for that system using the E and C keys.
- You can toggle shields with the Q key, but now you can also use the K key to raise shields, and the L key to lower them.
- On Weapons, Auto Beams can be toggled with the B key.
- All references to USFP have been changed to TSN.
- Scriptors now have more power over the text of a unit that science sees. They can adjust text fields for race, class, small desc, and science desc. Small desc appears in the info dialog of the science console. So does science desc text, but only after a unit has been scanned twice.
- You can now type in values for the jump drive.
- Engineering DAMCON systems have been adjusted, so they (hopefully) don't fall out of sync with the server.
- An expression evaluator has been added to the scripting system. Now, everywhere you might use a literal number (like 1, or 3858, or 34.56), now you can use an equation (like 5+3, 45.6 * 65/ 2, etc.) You can even use variable names in the equations, (like myVal, 5 * speed - 2.44, etc).
- The Comms console now uses the number keys was well as mouse clicks to navigate the menus.
- The scripting system has new commands that let you ask certain clients for keyboard input. Those clients will now send keyboard press messages to the server, which can be used by the script (using the "if_client_key" conditional) to trigger events.
- Collisions have changed, from a soft bounce to a hard bounce. This changes how space objects bump against each other, in a subtle but significant way.
- Vector normalizing code was changed to trap a zero-normal condition
- Removed "invisible to sci" from Skaraan abilities
- Changed the way torpedo unloading is handled. "Tube lock" should no longer exist.
- Enemy fighters often showed up with USFP textures and science details. This has been fixed.
- The ship option controls on the Helm and Main Screen consoles (when NOT playing) have been changed. There's no longer a "submit" button; changes are automatically submitted.
- The initial dialog box that lets you set a resolution has a new mode; full-screen windowed mode. This makes the screen a borderless window that covers the entire desktop.
- Changed sound code to tolerate a missing sound device (for rackmount servers).
- Show/hide arcs in weapons now also has the option to show player arcs only.
- Made drones fall into black holes.
- Fixed problem with comms text color over time.
- DAMCON Team Replenish message always popped up when docking, even if no teams took casualties. Fixed.
- The warp slider has been recalibrated, so you have to drag it all the way up to reach warp 4.
- Clients and servers both now have a toggle button called "3d Chase Camera" that lets you choose a chase cam OR an "out-the-window" view.
- On the client login screen, there's now a bit more information about the status of the login attempt.
You can download the Artemis patcher to update your client to 1.7 here.
Some more cool news: Thom Robertson (Artemis developer) has announced that he's working on version 2.0, which should drop in a few months time. We can expect lots of changes, but no details yet.
Finally, Artemis has now launched for iOS devices on the Apple Store for £1.99 ($2.99). Fully featured, and compatible with the PC version, this should be great for iPad users and for cutting down on space/layout requirements. Unfortunately the iOS version has not yet received the 1.7 update, and as such is only compatible with version 1.661 of the PC client for the time being.
Check it out here.
It is also incredibly good fun, especially if you have a large group of players with several ships on the go.
