Friday, November 27, 2020
THE X-WING ALLIANCE 2020 MEGA PATCH Posted by Ace Antilles
Welcome Pilots to our brand new release of the XWAU 2020 Mega Patch!
2020 sure has had it's ups and downs for everyone but XWAU has had more releases than maybe any other year!
This lead to the installation and setup process to be very time consuming, confusing and generally not being a good experience.
So to remedy that we are now finally ready to present you the newest all-in-one XWAU 2020 patch! A massive remake to make the whole experience a lot easier.
As there's been a lot of changes I'll cover the basics here and you can read more details on the Forum.
The "XWAU 2020 Mega Patch" is a total remake of our old Craft Packs from the ground up. It contains ALL the previous 20 years of releases in one installer.
So you no longer have to install Ships, then Effects, then Cockpits, Hooks etc. It's all been bundled into a brand new clever installer from DTM and JeremyaFr.
Now there are only a few simple choices it will guide you through that you need to install it and run the game.
No more need to download 42 different installers. One installer to rule them all, one installer to bind them...
A more detailed look at some of the changes can be read in the Forum here.
DTM has made a nice new video which highlights this update well. Watch it on YouTube here.
Then you get to meet Babu Frik! Babu Frik's Configurator is a new program which is accessed from the Launcher.
It allows you to change the game to your liking. You can choose variation versions of the ships available, configure the graphic effects and toggle the different options for VR or TrackIR and more. It won't be necessary to reinstall XWAU 2020, you just go back and alter the options to whatever you prefer to use.
All the choices from the previous XWAU individual installers are included in Babu Frik to give you tons of options to customize the design of your game however you like.
That's not all though! There are also several new ships too that have never been released before now!
An updated Calamari Cruiser Defiance and Stormtrooper Transport, a brand new Modified Strike Cruiser and several options of the amazing new X-wing and Y-wing!
You can see new pictures and videos in the Showcase and more on the new ships in the Forum here.
We also had a close look at the missions themselves and Jaeven has spent lots of time going through the campaign to make sure that it's balanced and playable.
So many missions have had small fixes or improvements so that your play through is fun and enjoyable. They also use some of the incredible new flightgroup ship colors.
Another new tool is the Palpatine Total Converter. Use the Converter to save one or two versions of XWAU 2020 modified by you, without the need to install multiple copies of X-Wing Alliance on your Hard Drive. The idea of this is if you want to have the original game but also want a custom version with new spaceships in different slots, custom missions etc, then the Converter will allow you to save multiple installations.
Read the relevant Palpatine Total Converter Readme file for more on this feature.
We've created a new Beginners Guide to XWAU on the Forum to answer some questions. You can read that in the Forum here.
The XWAU 2020 Mega Patch must be installed over a fresh copy of the game! So make sure you make a backup of your existing game, uninstall it and any other patches you installed before and install X-Wing Alliance. Then run the XWAU 2020 installer and follow the on-screen options.
You will need roughly 7GB of additional free space for installation due to adding so many updates in one pack.
Thank you to all our loyal fans for your support over the last 20 years! Here's to another 20 ;)
Sunday, November 22, 2020
Small Teaser and Update Posted by Forceflow
Hi Folks,
we are getting really close to releasing the XWAU 2020 update. The team is working hard on it and we are putting the finishing touches on it. Hopefully we will be able to release it very soon. (No promises though) We do want to tease two updates that will be included in the patch. The keen eyed among you might have noticed that Spyder has joined the XWAU Team a while back. And I am sure you all are aware of his incredible X-Wing. Well, with him on the team the XWAU 2020 will have the choice of not only using his X-Wing but also his incredibly Y-Wing. Both ships show incredible detail and are simply stunning. But you don't have to take my word for it. Below two new render videos that I whipped up to show just home much of an improvement the models are compared to the original opts:
We are all very happy to have Spyder with us and we are hoping to see more of his great work! Be sure to give him a warm welcome to the team!
You can do so here
Friday, November 13, 2020
New releases! Posted by Ace Antilles
XQ1 Platform v1.0
Vince T has been working on Platforms! Stations are an area very rarely seen so this is a treat.
There are 5 flightgroup colours including the Outpost D-34 from TIE Fighter.
Using new Hangar Hook updates there are 3 subtly different Hangar Maps in one INI file = Rebel, Imperial and Neutral.
If you have the Platform set as your Base in a mission the hangar you land on will change depending on your Faction.
Discuss this release in the Forum here.
Twin Suns Station / Family Repair Yard v1.0
Another brilliant station release from Warb Null.
A combined mix of the Shipyard and Repair Yard. With side hangar pods and a special hidden tunnel too!
Discuss this release in the Forum here.
Crosshair Reticles
These replace the standard laser and missile HUD with brand new images that can be used independently from each other.
So now if you want a TIE Fighter HUD you can have one! Plus you don't have to sacrifice your Rebel one at the same time.
See more information and pictures in the Forum: here.
There's also been some bug fixing updates to previous releases.
Imperial Star Destroyer v2.2
The OutsideHangar Hardpoint has been moved further down to prevent docking issues.
Victory I Star Destroyer v2.2
Fixed an issue with hangar hardpoints
Updated Hangar Map.
Tweaked the LOD so the wings would open/close along with their Hi-Res counterparts
Victory II Star Destroyer v2.1
Fixed an issue with hangar hardpoints
Removed the TRON FG Color. This will now be available from www.vince-t.com
Updated .mat file to match the updated texture order.
Discuss this release in the Forum here.
Saturday, October 24, 2020
New Dynamic Cockpits Posted by Ace Antilles
Blue Max has been learning even more talents! He has now created new Dynamic Cockpits for the Assault Gunboat and Missile Boat!
He's done a great job of making these nicer looking and functional. Not easy with all the Missile Boat extras.
These cockpits feature his new Holographic display system. So now your in game messages etc are floating in front of you!
You can even press Ctrl+Shift+T to toggle the holograms on or off.
But that's not all. Now pressing D will turn the classic HUD elements on or off. No more need to run an installer again.
You can still press CTRL+F to switch Field of View for a larger view if needed.
Pressing Ctrl+Alt+Shift and the Right/Left Arrow keys will allow you to move the cockpit view to your preference.
Also in partnership with the TFTC Team the Missile Boat has an alternative closed S-foils look. For those cramped hangar spaces.
The Assault Gunboat looks equally improved!
Also in partnership with the TFTC Team there is now alternative Landing Gear added.
Discuss in the Forum here.
Container Transport v2.4
That pesky Container Transport continues to give us grief. So here's v2.4!
I was going through the opt again and there was still 2 extra gun hardpoints hidden in a cargo pod. They should have been removed and now are!
So now the Opt is exactly the same as the original one so hopefully it won't cause as many issues now.
It's been online for a little while but this is the formal announcement. So new users may already have downloaded this.
Discuss in the Forum here.
You can find all of these on the Downloads page now.
Still more news to come very soon. Like the Death Star 2020 will end in a bang! ;)
Wednesday, September 23, 2020
View all news itemsUpdated Installers Posted by Ace Antilles
A while ago Darksaber updated the XWAU installers to our current nicer system. So we thank him for his work on those.
Sadly a few bugs sneaked into some and it's taken a little time to correct. Many of you may have had the bugs fixed already from our Known Issues post so you may not need to download them again.
Now the installers have been sorted I can inform you of a few new features and changes that have been added to some.
NEW UPDATES!
Azzameen Family Base v2.1.5
The Hangar Crane has been updated to include 4 FG's Yellow, Grey, Yellow, Grey.
The Hangar Work Stand has 4 FG's Yellow, Grey, Yellow/Rusty, Grey/Rusty.
Calamari Hangar v4.1
HangarDroid2 has had a small makeover.
The Hangar Crane has been updated to include 4 FG's Yellow, Grey, Yellow, Grey
The Hangar Work Stand has been updated to include 4 FG's Yellow, Grey, Yellow/Rusty, Grey/Rusty.
As well as that there are dedicated Rebel and Imperial versions which have a trooper standing guard.
The Imperial version is for use with Imperial Hangars and other future custom projects.
Imperial Star Destroyer II v2.1
Vince T has kindly made a new proper LOD for the ISD 2. Also tweaked the engine glows which had been a bit too long.
The ISD2 is still going to hit hard on the FPS but every little helps. We are looking at other improvements.
See more on that here.
Corellian YT-1300 v2.2 / Millennium Falcon v3.2
A new cockpit "cowl" has been added to each of the Base and Exterior models. This fixes a transparent view to the exterior in some angles.
The LOD distance has been fixed so it no longer has holes in it. Also the Turret Firing Arcs have been switched.
Thanks to member Exiled we now have included a Mini Falcon Opt.
A Millennium Falcon which has been reduced in size by 40% to match the original vanilla Falcon so it fits through the Death Star Run in Mission 1b7m4w.
It's automatically playable so no editing is involved, the other missions in which the Falcon is playable is the normal sized Falcon.
You will also be flying with Lando and Nien Numb inside the Death Star by default with this change.
Corellian YT-2000 (Otana) v2.2 / Corellian YT-2400 (Outrider) v3.2
Update to the opts to stop the Pilots Head having the "Exorcist Effect" and turning around 360 degrees, also switched the Turret Firing Arcs.
You can now chose to have gunner playable turrets on the Outrider or not.
It is recommended to install these with the YT-1300 to prevent gunner turret issues.
Escort Shuttle v2.3 and Skipray Blastboat v2.2
I'm happy to announce the first "official" XWAU releases from our new member ual002
With permission ual002 has taken Marco Antonio's Escort Opts and added several extra nice Flight Groups to them.
Here's a few samples but see the full selection here.
You may have recently downloaded some of these versions. So please check before having to get them all again.
For the complete list of changes please read the forum post: here.
You will find that anti-virus software doesn't like our installers. It will often flag them with a warning to stop you downloading them. We can assure you that they are perfectly safe to download and use, so just bypass any warnings.
Lastly a reminder that if a craft pack is NOT marked "NEW" then you do not need to install it again at this time.
That can lead to installation issues and bugs and other unnecessary hassle for you.
I hope to bring you some cool news soon of other things going on in the XWA Upgrade world :)
(Webmaster: Forceflow)