I just applied for beta testing and here's some of the new 1.7 things.
NEW WEAPONS
Back of the torpedo and unguided rocket.
"Cleaver" Missile (hidden)
Size of missile in blocks. First and last block are half covered, red block is attach point location.
- Weapon part
- Air to Ground targeting
- 10 miles of range
- Probably Boom 50 explosive power (see video)
- Heavy, will fall when in an unguided launch (see video)
- Cool launch animation (see video)
Missile-Ground-2
It's not in the editor yet.
Unguided Launch From Stationary Object - Video
(Sorry about the loud background noise, should be removed now)
Torpedo
Haven't tried it out yet.
Individual unguided rockets
Editor
Pretty much the same as rocket pod rockets.
Countermeasure Dispenser
Drops chaff or flares, according to what you choose in the part settings. The chaff isn't accurate to real life (just one blob instead of many little pieces) but the flares seem ok.
Something that bugs me is that the dispenser has 16 holes but only shoots 12 times. Also, the chaff spawns a significant distance away from the dispenser.
Editor
Chaff
Flares
NEW MAP ELEMENT - WW2 DESTROYER FLEET
Small fleet consisting of two WW2 Destroyers and the USS Tiny Two. Destroyers don't have missiles and their AA guns are flak cannons.
(Don't mind the drone, I used it to take pictures of the fleet)
If you turn back from Yeager Airport, you should be able to see it.
NOTABLE (TO ME) CHANGES
Damage System
You know what it is already. It definitely makes dogfighting more realistic.
Flight Model
The flight model has been changed. This made a few of my planes more unstable, especially smaller ones :(
Guns
The main change is that the bulletWeightKg and bulletCaliber parameters are now missing. Instead, all gun bullets fired deal a pre-fixed amount of damage. Sadly, it means we can't send trucks flying anymore.
Bullet sprites have also been changed. Bullet sprites can still be colored, but are more transparent at the back.
New ability to prevent bullets from colliding with your builds mean you can now hide guns in aircraft noses, or simply build better looking weapons.
Weapon Delay
Allows you to make rockets and missiles fire off one by one at fixed intervals. It also lets you actually do some carpet bombing.
If it's in detachers (I forgot to check), I think you can use it in rotary bomb bays.
Definitely worth the hype. Will build missile pods and launchers with it.
[Edited:] New inputs
New Boolean type input for each activation group. Useful for cargo bays and bomb bays, among other things.
Activate1, Activate2, etc.
New countermeasures input. Activates when held. Maybe you can make better looking countermeasure pods with it.
Tweak to Boolean type inputs. They now return 0 when inactive, 1 when used.
Invert any input by putting a negative sign - in front of it in the input parameter. Example: -Throttle.
Part Transform Tool
New menu in the editor that allows for nudging and free rotation of parts, without Fine Tuner.
However, it lacks the ability to scale parts. It also does not allow you to freely choose the distance covered by each nudge or rotate to specific angles.
I won't see myself use it, but iOS players would benefit from it.
HUD
New images are given for the Fire Guns and Launch Weapon button. The Countermeasures button (shield) is the rightmost button.
Ground targeting range has been increased to 10 miles.
You can see the USS Beast's fleet from Wright
OTHER CHANGES
Damaged ships produce flames AND smoke, instead of just smoke.
Water has a lighter color now on Android.
BUGS TO FIX
On starting, the main menu lags for a few seconds before accepting any input. But at least no crashes :D
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS
Rated tem outta tem
The update is n0ice, especially the weapon delay. Finally can I build rocket and missile systems that fire off one by one, without using all my activation groups.
Suggestions:
- Add Cleaver missile to editor menu
- Give back the bulletWeightKg option!
Here's some screenshots and gifs I managed to take:
Click the link at the top for more pictures, I guess.
Aircraft used are either default aircraft or mine.
"Unguided missile" There's a word for that, it's rocket.
@EternalDarkness and we have also countermeasure input.
@Oski idk
@PilotOfFuture how much booms50 do you need to take out beast?
Good one. I just wanna say that the power of the new missile has more power than a boom50, it has about the power a boom100 would have
Nice presentation. It might be worth mentioning that not only AG1 is now an input. You can use any activation group in that manner. Also, input can be negative. For example, -LandingGear will make the beacon glow when the gear is extended, or -Activate3 will make a an engine work only when AG3 is off.