V1.21 (2014/11/03) :
#) TERRAIN (only for Full version) :
When you start a new game, you can choose to generate the random terrain !
If you load an old game or choose to not generate the terrain, the ocean will be flat, with a fixed depth of 1000m.
But if you choose YES, in the map you will have land masses and zones of sea with different depths !
This will let you to restart each game with a different map, but this will also make the game more difficult because you will have to take care of the depth below your submarine !
Always look at the indicator at the top of the screen (Sea Depth), it indicates the depth of the sea (from surface to floor), if it is green or yellow it is ok, if it is RED then your submarine is too near at the ground and can be damaged !
If for example the sea depth is 200m, stay at 194m or less (5m is the limit).
The zones with a dark blue are safe, zones with light blue are dangerous, it can be difficult to stay undetected there !
Don’t go to brown or green zones, they are land masses !
And check the sea in front of your submarine at a big zoom, because at low zoom some little pieces of ground are not visible…
The “map” button has 2 states now, press this button to show or not the terrain on the map.
Note: I will have to optimize the drawing of the terrain in the map, at the moment it uses a lot of device’s power (and slows down the game a bit)…
If your device has low battery or you want to preserve it, look at the terrain only when needed, and keep the option “Force always the map color dark” active, it can help a lot to preserve energy.
#) Some improvements for the User Interface :
I added transparency for the top and lower bar, to give more space on the screen for the map and 3D.
And the buttons in the lower bar were grouped in 2 groups of 4 buttons, use the button on the bottom-left of the screen to open/close these groups of buttons.
Note: the “exit” button was removed, use the “back” key of your device to go back to the main menu or to close the app.
#) Some bugs fixed :
This should fix the bug causing a crash when looking at Depth Charges’ explosions in 3D.
And other little bugs fixed…
V1.20 (2014/10/17) :
#) 3D: effects for fire and for explosions of depth charges and torpedoes :
Little improvements for 3D 🙂
#) Ships destroyed :
Before this update, when a ship was destroyed it disappeared from the screen.
Now when a ship is destroyed, it sinks in the ocean and disappears only when it is at a big depth.
(The score is updated when the enemy ship disappears)
#) Radar :
Times ago I put a minimum probability of 2.5% to be detected by radars of enemy units.
Now I have removed this minimum probability, it makes easier to remain undetected when enemies are near and the submarine is at periscope depth (with the periscope raised).
If for example you see on the information panel that a enemy unit has a probability of 0.9% to detect your sub, it will not detect you.
The other units can detect your sub only if the probability is >= 1%.
#) Some bugs fixed :
I hope it can solve some issues !
V1.19 (2014/09/29) :
#) 3D ENABLED :
The 3D needs yet a lot of improvements but it is now enabled and available !
Thanks a lot to all beta testers !
There are 4 different views : periscope, binoculars, deck and fly (external view).
To switch between views, use the button on the bottom left of the screen.
As in the map, use your fingers to move the 3D views.
On the left there are some new buttons :
1) To CENTER the view to the selected unit.
2) To FOLLOW the selected unit (on/off, it keeps the view always centered on the selected unit).
3) To ZOOM the view (only in periscope view, to switch between 1.5x and 6x zoom).
4) ROTATE : to rotate the Fly view.
5) MOVE : to move the Fly view ahead, behind, left, right, up, down.
6) SLIDE : to slide the Fly view on the orizontal, frontal and vertical plane.
7) ORBIT : to orbit the Fly view around the selected unit.
#) Game engine improved :
I created a new indipendent thread for the game’s logic, it should give better performances.
There are other threads for the map (UI) and for 3D, but the frame rate for them is limited to preserve battery.
(Some adjustment will be needed in future).
#) Periscope depth is now 8m :
More realistic, it respects now the real dimension of the submarine.
#) New options for easier game :
1) Realistic torpedo reload time : it was already present, but now it switches between 5 and 20 minutes.
2) Realistic unit’s speed : when DISABLED, all other units proceed at low speed, not very realistic but it makes the game easier.
3) Realistic dive speed : when DISABLED, the dive speed is fast, not very realistic but it makes the game easier.
#) Large visual range (3x) added :
There is a new extended visual range, it permits to see units at a big distance (but it is not possible to identify them exactly)
#) AI improved.
Some little improvements in the AI for convoys !