Discovery Freelancer: Fire and Fortune Release Date Announcement

[Haste]

Art by @Kauket

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The Discovery Development team is proud to finally announce the release date for our next patch. We know it's been a long wait, and we're extremely grateful for both the anticipation and excitement the playerbase has shown, as well as your continued patience.

Discovery Freelancer: Fire and Fortune will release on September 1st. It will bring a large array of additions and changes to the game, including major balance overhauls, such as the long-awaited battlecruiser and gunboat reworks, and a much needed shake-up of the Sirius Sector's status quo through vibrant new story developments.

That's not all there is to this announcement, though. We'll be sharing some details about what to expect from the patch:

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Balance: Battlecruiser Rework

First of all, it has to be emphasized that our primary aim with the rework was to set out to try and make these capital ships really feel like capital ships. We implemented changes ranging from relatively minor things such as a third person camera that fits the ship size for that proper "heavy" feel, all the way up to more significant changes such as altering mass values to fall in the tens of thousands, which drastically alters how the ships behave in combat. Even their engine kill is different, no longer allowing them to drift around like they're fighters, but instead causing them to come to a full stop much quicker than simply throttling down.

Consequently, on top of the other changes below, we're confident that battlecruisers now have a unique playstyle that is drastically different from anything before seen in Freelancer combat.

Big Ships, Big Vulnerabilities

Preview image (click for larger version) -- Art by @Leo

Every battlecruiser comes with three main components which serve as the ship's weak points: the engines, the shield generator, and the fire control section. As with all ships that have these components, the base armor value of these capital ships is enormous -- a battleship's Heavy Mortar striking your battlecruiser is essentially meaningless in terms of damage inflicted as long as it misses the ship's components. Speaking of these components, here's a further breakdown of each one:

• Engines: These are the propulsion system for your spacecraft. If one or both are destroyed, you'll slow down. You will also probably explode very soon afterwards.
  
• Shield Generator: This is what keeps your shield up and running. If it's destroyed, so is your shield.
  
• Fire Control: Situated at the very front of the ship, the fire control module controls and coordinates the ship's offensive weaponry. If it's destroyed, a good chunk of your powercore recharge goes with it.
  

These components are all unique in shape, size and position on each respective ship. The Corsair Battlecruiser, for example, has two engine components. In contrast, the Rheinland Battlecruiser has only one. Some ships have their components aligned vertically, some horizontally. Each component will pass two "damage thresholds" before it is fully destroyed: the first at 66% health remaining, and the second at 33%. Each time a component is damaged past one of these thresholds, the battlecruiser itself loses a large portion of its remaining hitpoints. This is the main way to whittle down the huge health pool of a battlecruiser. As a result, picking and choosing when and how to target a specific weak point based on what enemy you are fighting is crucial. Sometimes, it is better to focus down the engine to get three huge damage instances in quick succession. Other times, half-damaging the entire ship is preferable. It all depends on who you're fighting, what they're flying, and how you play, leading to lots of split-second decisions that make every fight against one of these things a blast.

Every Turret Matters

A ship is only as good as the guns you put on it. From relatively straightforward primary turrets to devastating, apocalyptic torpedoes, battlecruisers come equipped with a wide range of weapons, but in a strictly limited configuration. Each battlecruiser has 10 turrets in total: 1 Battlecruiser Heavy Turret, 4 Cruiser Heavy Turrets, and 5 Battlecruiser Standard Turrets.

Ten turrets in total might seem like too few, but this choice allowed us to make each and every slot that much more important. Players are now required to put some thought into what they put in each slot, and with less weapons on the ship as a whole, disabling individual weapons is a more viable tactical choice than ever before.

The Battlecruiser Heavy Turret is one of the class' defining features: aimed towards the rear of the ship with a generous firing arc, this weapon is the bread and butter of battlecruiser combat. It can deliver withering firepower to anything caught in its sights, but its slow turn rate provides a potential weakness for its target to exploit. We envision smart battlecruiser play to involve the constant challenge of staying out of the enemy vessel's firing arc while keeping your own on target as much as possible.

Meanwhile, the ship's Cruiser Heavy Turrets provide frontal firepower where the Battlecruiser Heavy cannot, with a diverse range of equipment on offer for these slots. The newly rebalanced Marauder and Devastator Torpedoes allow you to apply fierce pressure at long range -- but up close, Tachyon Lances and Impact Cannons are as lethal as ever.

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Story: A Vicious Cycle

“Sir! Lord Ellesmere!”
The chief of intelligence glanced over his shoulder, spotting his adjutant running down the hallway after him.
“What is it, Harper?” He growled, reaching up to adjust his necktie. “I’m about to meet with the minister.”
“Sir,” Adjutant Harper sputtered, sliding to a panting stop beside him, “you should see this first.” The younger man reached into his briefcase and pulled out a PDA.
“What’s this?” Lord Ellesmere muttered as he took the small tablet.
“The latest intel report from Dublin, Lord Ellesmere.”
The chief read over the document displayed on the PDA’s screen, furrowing his brows.
“And Wyatt is certain of this?”
“Yes, sir,” Harper panted, still catching his breath.
Lord Ellesmere glanced once more over the report, distractedly tugging at his tie.
“So, the Mollys really are making a move on Graves, then,” he finally murmured, more to himself than anyone else.
Harper nodded. “Yes, sir. But,” he said, pulling a second PDA out of his briefcase and handed it to his superior, “you should have a look at this, too.”
“Oh?” Lord Ellesmere raised an eyebrow as he studied the text scrolling across the small display. “Ah, I see. We’re not the only ones aware of their plans.”
“No, sir.”
So, the chief of intelligence thought, handing the PDAs back to his adjutant and adjusting his necktie once more, the Corsairs have caught wind of their plans, too. He rolled his shoulders and straightened his back, facing the large, wooden double doors beyond which was the minister of defence’s office.
It seemed that Dublin’s fate was about to be sealed.

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Systems: Alaska Revamp

As a part of an effort to encourage more active play, the systems team has begun to reintroduce genuine hazards to the game—minefields, gas pockets, radiation, and other dangers to the inattentive player. Alaska is a pilot system for such changes, with new chokepoints and hidden areas, and the risk of attack by the systems' patrols for those who violate its access restrictions.

Meanwhile, Ageira has been working on their supergate...

[Fab]

It's gonna be a new game. There are so many new and exciting features that were not spoken of in the OP that will definitely change how the game is played as a whole.

I'm very satisfied to have playtested this update and I can't wait to fly the new ships and weapons on live server.

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[sane]

:o sick

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New Discovery Freelancer Wiki

[SnakThree]

So commodities merged and roleplay flavours taken away?

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[TheSauron]

Art by @Kauket

New York before /conn command was added, circa 815 AS (colorized)

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One MD Admiral

[Mort]

This is gonna be great *___*

[xenomorph]

Good stuff. Hopefully, everything turns out according to plans.

[BobMacaroni]

seeing how cool bcs and the new meta / story development is going to be is great, but I really like the idea of systems adding more threats, and hidden dangers of gas pockets and minefields is amazing.

it would be cool to see more systems go through what is said for Alaska, that is probably one of the coolest additions imo

[Chronicron]

hopefully the upcoming patch is going to bring more systems to discover than it's going to remove/merge

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[Fhoxi]

Whoa this looks amazing! Thanks for all that you devs and staff do. Can't wait for this to be added!

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Blessed in he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.