XWAU 2020 Mega Patch Update 5.5

[Ace Antilles]

XWAU 2020 Mega Patch Update 5.5 is out now!
Brand new versions of the A-wing, TIE Advanced x1, Escort Transport, X-wing changes, TIE improvements, Effects, Updates and more!



We hadn’t planned to release a new update for a while but the team have made massive improvements in recent months!
Ideally we wanted to do more to celebrate Star Wars Day but better late than never.
So Ace Antilles has been working extremely hard to compile this Update for your enjoyment over the summer months.
There may not be another patch for a while but there's more than enough in this one to keep you busy.

The team have been working very hard on a lot of these new ships for some time now so we are delighted to let you pilots have fun.
Testing has been done on this release but not for as long as we would like. Please post if you find any bugs connected to this release.

This release is a little different due to time restraints. You need to have the Update 5 installed before this 5.5.
Not a problem for our regular users but new visitors follow the instructions below.

Here's the current Update notes Readme file. Take a look
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

INSTALL XWAU 2020 MEGA PATCH, THEN UPDATE 5
BEFORE YOU INSTALL UPDATE 5.5!

This Update is NOT for use with the TFTC. That will come later.

Please make sure you play the game by opening the Alliance.exe launcher program.
Do NOT open the game via Steam, GoG or other shortcuts. Disable Automatic Updates too.
Make sure those programs are CLOSED during play or it will affect the XWAU files.

Please backup any Pilot saves, custom configuration files or changes that you have
custom edited before installing this Update. We are not responsible for lost game progress.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.0 New Releases

Spyder’s A-wing Starfighter v1.0: First release of the Spyder’s A-wing Starfighter by Spyder and DTM.
Spyder’s excellent version of the A-Wing has now been released. It is a unique new model with HD textures.
DTM has also created a new Dynamic Cockpit to be used with this wonderful version of the Starfighter.
Now when you land in the Hangar your canopy will open and close automatically!
Updated Cockpit with Diegetic Joystick. Now your on-screen cockpit joystick will follow your actual real joystick movements!
There are also different profiles for 2 different pilot versions for use in custom missions.
Azzameen = Rebel Pilot helmet based on Ace Azzameen from the game campaign.
ROTJ = Green suited Pilot based on the look from Return of the Jedi. (Default)

Escort Transport v1.0: First release of the totally new Escort Transport model by Vince T.
Included are 2 Object Profiles to create two variations of the Modified Escort Transport version with transmitters.
These profiles are used in XWAU Battle 2. It also comes with 5 Flight Group colors for use in missions.
Please see the readme file for the full details here: Readme\XWAU Crafts\Escort Transport Readme.docx

TIE Advanced x1 v6.0: DTM has rebuilt the TIE Advanced x1, or Darth Vader’s TIE, from scratch based on reference material.
It comes with a new Dynamic Cockpit, HD textures and a fully detailed Exterior with modelled pilot.
Updated Cockpit with Diegetic Joystick, to be used with the latest Effects by Blue Max
New optional profiles: TIE Avenger Prototype, TIE Advanced V1 and TIE Advanced x1 Prototype.
Also 4 different FG pilot choices from TIE Pilot to Darth Vader and Imperial Inquisitor.
Please see the readme file for the full details here: Readme\XWAU Crafts\TIE Advanced x1 Readme.docx


2.1 New Updated Versions

Luxury Yacht: Ace Antilles has made some changes and improvements to this nice model. The Exterior and Base opts have been merged into one model using the Object Profiles feature. So now you can choose whether to see through the side windows or not on a per mission basis. The default look has also been restored with the comm transceivers added to the normal version.
The Lady Luck has had its top cannon removed and now only has 2 lasers and 1 ion cannon.
The Lando Calrissian pilot now wears his outfit as seen in Jedi Knight Outcast. Also, there is a new cockpit screen texture.
You can still choose the default version you see using Babu Frik’s Configurator.
Please see the readme file for the full details here: Readme\XWAU Crafts\Luxury Yacht Readme.docx

Otana YT-2000: Ace Antilles has made some improvements to the internal pilot and ship. Material files have been added.
The old Han Solo looking pilot has been replaced with a new one. The idea is to look a little more unique for Ace Azzameen.
Please see the readme file for the full details here: Readme\XWAU Crafts\Millennium Falcon Readme.docx

Super Star Destroyer: The SSD has a new hangar from Vince T. It also has an updated and unique Hangar map
Fixed overall model normal maps to improve shading on both Base and Hangar Model. Also fixed material files.
Please see the readme file for the full details here: Readme\XWAU Crafts\Super Star Destroyer Readme.docx

TIE Fighters: All the TIE’s have had updates from DTM. Damage effects added for Tie Fighter and Tie Interceptor exterior models. The new Diegetic Cockpit feature has been added to the TIE’s. Now your on-screen cockpit joystick will follow your actual real joystick movements! So, if you move the ship left you will see the joystick move left etc.
For more information on this feature read below and see this YouTube video.

Victory Star Destroyer I & II: The VSD have an all-new larger Hangar Model from Vince T. Allows for more space for the Droids, Shuttle etc. They also have updated and unique Hangar maps.
Fixed overall model normal maps to improve shading on both Base and Hangar Model. Also fixed material files.
Victory Star Destroyer II has had its FG Textures converted into Skins to reduce file size.

X-wing Starfighter: With the new Object Profiles feature we no longer need 3 X-wings. DTM has merged them into one.
Updated Cockpit with Diegetic Joystick. Now your on-screen cockpit joystick will follow your actual real joystick movements!
Now when you land in the Hangar your canopy will open and close automatically!
There are also different profiles for 3 different Astromech versions for use in custom missions.
Previous versions have been converted to optional skins: Damaged, New Republic, Partisan, Red Squadron and Void choices.

Flightmodel Opt Improvements: Over 70 different Opts have had Normal Maps smoothed and fixed to improve shading.
This means they will look more round in some places and shading issues can be improved too. More opts will have this treatment.

You can see pictures and videos of the XWA Upgrade releases in the Showcase section on our website.


2.2 New Effects

Thanks to JeremyaFr we now have an experimental set of hooks that allows us to offload most of the 3D work from the CPU to the GPU. This means that almost all the 3D computations are performed in parallel with a corresponding increase in performance.
Blue Max has taken this and added the details to his own Ddraw.dll file which includes the VR and Effects elements.
What this means is a big boost in performance to the game! As now the graphics card can finally help the game run.

While this new feature is working now there are still some bugs and areas to improve. Some areas of VR may not work properly for example. Overall though this a massive leap for this old game and we thank both JérémyaFr and Blue Max for their efforts!
For more details or to report any issues that might relate to this please see this thread in the XWAU forum.

Diegetic Joystick: Blue Max has added a great new feature for use with selected Starfighter Dynamic Cockpits.
Now your on-screen cockpit joystick will follow your actual real joystick movements! So, if you move the ship left you will see the stick move left. Also, levers can move forward and back, such as throttles and more.
This feature is currently active in the TIE Fighters. For a demonstration of this feature please see this YouTube video.

VR Improvements: Thanks to m0rgg's genius, we now have 6dof in the hangar and gunner turrets!
Mission loading screens no longer will block tracking in VR modes and the transition between 3D and 2D modes is now smooth.

Please see the readme file for further details here: Readme\Special Effects\Special Effects Readme.docx


Opening Hatches: Using S-foils JérémyaFr has allowed us even more Starfighter, Transport or Capital ship customization.
The Lambda and Escort Shuttle now have openings ramp when landing inside a Hangar!
The X-wing and A-wing will now close and open their cockpit canopies automatically when exiting or entering a Hangar Bay.
More ships will be edited to use this down the line. You can also create opening exterior Hangar doors too!

DDraw Golden - The latest Ddraw update from Jérémy Ansel (JérémyaFr) is Ddraw.dll 1.3.25.0.
This is included and can be selected from Babu Frik’s Configurator. It is useful for people who can’t support the Special Effects.

Splash Screen: JérémyaFr has added a splash screen when the game is launched, and mission ends. An image will be displayed instead of a black screen. The image is filename is Splash.jpg. If this image doesn't exist, then Alliance.jpg will be used.
The image is disabled by default but can be enabled via Babu Frik’s Configurator or Hooks.ini.

Hooks - The latest Hooks and CFG files by JérémyaFr as of the date of this release.
Jeremy has been super busy and added many nice features for future use and improved the performance of several Hooks.
There have been many improvements to custom Sound features, Weapon FG choices, Mission editing and Hangar options.
Note: The Hook files are only overwritten if the existing file is older than the new file, otherwise installation is skipped.
For more details or to report any issues that might relate to Hooks please visit the XWAU Forum.


3.0 Other Updates

Please backup any Pilot saves, configuration files or changes that you have custom edited before installing this Update, as this release could reset them to defaults.
This release has many changes to Effects, Flightmodel INI, Dynamic Cockpits and Material files.

Weapon Colors: Assault Transport, Corvette, Escort Shuttle, Golan Platforms, Modified Frigate, Nebulon B Frigate, Stormtrooper Transport – All will now change laser colors, depending on the faction selected.

Babu Frik’s Configurator: Ace Antilles has updated Babu with the latest Starfighter files and improvements.

Combat Sim Cockpit: Added illumination to the dials. Fixed model normals to improve shading.

Eject Rescue Shuttle: Thanks to JérémyaFr this feature is fixed! If you use a custom Shuttle and it flies you back to the station it will now finally land in the right place. No more landing in the middle of walls or space.

Escort Shuttle: The Escort Shuttle now has an opening ramp when it lands inside a Hangar. Added Material files.

Guides & Tutorials: Vince T has opened a new Guides section of the Forum. Here you will find helpful topics relating to XWAU.

Hangars: Numerous capital ships have had camera tweaks and coding updates to the Hangar maps.

Imperial Star Destroyer: Vince T updated the hangar model to match that of an ISD.
Fixed model normals to improve shading. Tweaks to Hangar Map and camera fix.

Interdictor: Vince T created a new hangar using the VSD hangar and the Interdictor's lower domes.
Fixed model normals to improve shading. Some tweaks to Hangar Map and coding.

Lambda Shuttle: The Shuttle now has an opening ramp when it lands inside a Hangar.

Showcase: Forceflow has made some new animations for the screenshot page. Also he has added new and improved many of the ship renders with high quality versions. Make sure you check out his great comparison videos!

Slave One: Slave One will now fire different color lasers depending on the flightgroup color it is using in a mission.
Slave One will fire Red lasers, Andrasta will fire Yellow lasers, Generic Firespray will fire Green lasers.

Space Colony 1: Every faction now has a different Hangar map.

Stormtrooper: Improved texture quality. The Helmet will now rotate slightly. Added a Materials file.

Suprosa: Moved turrets backwards to be closer to original vanilla HP positions. This makes the mission a “little” simpler.

XQ-1 to 6 Platforms: Recalculated normals to improve model shading with new ddraw.
Tweaked Material files. Fixed a camera issue in the hangar map and coding improvements.

Trash Compactor Clean-up – As we add many new files or correct others it can lead to a lot of obsolete game files.
The installer now goes through and deletes those files that we setup. They will be added to the Backup directory if needed.
There is now an extra Babu Frik cleanup process to delete any files related to the recent changes.


4.0 Bug Fixes

Previous crashes due to Hook issues have been resolved.
Numerous Hook improvements with some bug fixes.
For more details or to report any issues that might be bugged please visit the XWAU Forum.


5.0 Mission changes

Please backup any missions or configuration files that you have custom edited before installing this Update, as this release will overwrite them with new versions.
This or previous releases have many changes to Mission INI files and the Mission TIE files.

See previous Update Readmes for the full list of recent Mission changes. Readme\Updates\XWAU Mega Patch Update

1B0M2FW, 1B2M3FG, 1B5M1G, 1B5M2G, 1B5M4G - Added Luxury Yacht window profile options for missions.

1B2M1G – 1B6M6G – Added Modified Escort Transport profiles for mission.

1B4M3FB – Added Vader pilot FG choice for the TIE Advanced X1.

1B6M5B – Closed S-foils on Landing Craft and Shuttles.

1B7M3W – Removed “Must Not be Destroyed” Goal for Reef Home Maria. Prevents mission failure

[Leofus]

awesome! thanks so much! cant wait to try

edit: loving the new awing and x1 but the escort transport was the most desperately needed change. what an eyesore the old one was. the new one looks amazing!

edit2: idk if you guys meant to do this but in the ini for the new x1 it reads

//DEFAULT STATS PROFILE FOR REFERENCE - Remove ; in Header to activate
[StatsProfile_Default]

obviously there is no semicolon there to remove and the ini is overriding the craft setting.

[haui]

Thanx will try it this evening

[Michal]

Nice! I love the new OPTs.

[rogue518]

Awesome guys.... Also I really love the header page, where you can click on a certain opts and it is highlighted in the lower right-hand corner... very nice touch guys!!!


Sincerely, Rogue518

[Ace Antilles]

edit2: idk if you guys meant to do this but in the ini for the new x1 it reads

//DEFAULT STATS PROFILE FOR REFERENCE - Remove ; in Header to activate
[StatsProfile_Default]

obviously there is no semicolon there to remove and the ini is overriding the craft setting. also b6m5 has a shuttle sticking out of the floor

Thanks it was supposed to have a ; in the code. Not a big deal for this ship and I've fixed it for future versions.

Mission 1B6M5B was not changed in the final release. Any previous test versions are not included and not used. Only the INI was altered.

Smission.jpg

From your pic it seems to be Shu Deuterium. On my version when I checked the S-foils were open as default.
Thanks for your bug reports.

[Ace Antilles]

The new TIE Advanced x1

TIEx1.jpg

[Ace Antilles]

that is strange. if the mission wasnt edited to accommodate the closed sfoils all the shuttles would be floating off the floor of the hangar. also the file says it was modified june 19 2022. anyway there is definitely a shuttle sticking through the floor of the hangar in the official release. it was not there before. also there is no 'my version your version.' this is the official release with no modifications.

The shuttles are floating off the floor of the hangar but it's hard to see in my pic.
I'm looking at the installation files and I can assure you that there's no mission included.
If a mission was added by the installer you would find it in your Backup folder.

XWAU5.jpg

June 19th, 2022, 2:52 am I posted a test mission which you tried out. In that I lowered the shuttles. You pointed out it had some issues so I removed it from the forum.
If that was still in your folder it would not have been modified by this release and still remain.

[Leofus]

that is strange. if the mission wasnt edited to accommodate the closed sfoils all the shuttles would be floating off the floor of the hangar. also the file says it was modified june 19 2022. anyway there is definitely a shuttle sticking through the floor of the hangar in the official release. it was not there before. also there is no 'my version your version.' this is the official release with no modifications.

The shuttles are floating off the floor of the hangar but it's hard to see in my pic.
I'm looking at the installation files and I can assure you that there's no mission included.
If a mission was added by the installer you would find it in your Backup folder.


XWAU5.jpg


June 19th, 2022, 2:52 am I posted a test mission which you tried out. In that I lowered the shuttles. You pointed out it had some issues so I removed it from the forum.
If that was still in your folder it would not have been modified by this release and still remain.

I have included below the current Mission that is in XWAU. This does not have a Shuttle in the floor.
The Shuttles will be a little off the hangar floor but this isn't going to changed at this time.

my mistake. i didnt realize i left that test mission in my clean xwau build. i tried to delete the post before you saw it but maybe you were already writing the reply. anyway great work!

[Ace Antilles]

my mistake. i didnt realize i left that test mission in my clean xwau build. i tried to delete the post before you saw it but maybe you were already writing the reply. anyway great work!

No worries. Glad we got it figured out. This patch was supposed to be small but grew massively.
It gets tricky juggling over 1000 files in many many folders. So mistakes can happen.
Have fun, there's a lot more cool stuff to come later this year we hope!

[Leofus]

my mistake. i didnt realize i left that test mission in my clean xwau build. i tried to delete the post before you saw it but maybe you were already writing the reply. anyway great work!

No worries. Glad we got it figured out. This patch was supposed to be small but grew massively.
It gets tricky juggling over 1000 files in many many folders. So mistakes can happen.
Have fun, there's a lot more cool stuff to come later this year we hope!

when i first got xwa in 1999 if you told 13-year-old me that i would still be playing it at 36... ok well i mightve believed you because i was a dumb 13-year-old kid but that doesnt make it any less amazing. now that im dumber and older, if i ever get rich somehow im gonna hook all you guys up.

[Ace Antilles]

This release wouldn't even have happened if it wasn't for the talents of: @Vince T, @DTM , @Spyder , @JeremyaFr , @blue_max, @m0rgg and @Forceflow who made all the amazing achievements that are included.

Plus a big high 5 to the testing team of @rogue518 and @Will T who checked over the work

[Porkins_BB]

Awesome work again folks! Thanks to everyone who was involved in making this happen, just tremendous!

[ShadowOwl]

Amazing work as always!

Eager to try these new TIEs in in TFTC I have made the terrible mistake to apply the upgrade on my TFTC install which is now terribly broken. You might want to include a warning for hotspurs like me.

[Ace Antilles]

Amazing work as always!

Eager to try these new TIEs in in TFTC I have made the terrible mistake to apply the upgrade on my TFTC install which is now terribly broken. You might want to include a warning for hotspurs like me.

You make a good point and it's something we will try and remember. We do note that you should make backups.
TFTC will soon be updated with these features too.

If you download these Tools from the site https://raw.github.com/JeremyAnsel/XwaT ... loader.zip
You can run the XWA Backup Restorer. That might fix your install. Otherwise just copy from the Backup folder in the XWA main directory.

[Erd]

There's enough content in this holdover patch to probably warrant a whole number. 7 distinct craft is no small thing, never mind the new hangers, profiles and normal maps. Makes me excited for the 2022 update if all this is just a stepping stone patch. Particularly excited for the new ETRs since they have an oversized presence in the main campaign.

I do have one concern though; the A-wing cockpit holographic displays have tiny text and the targeting displays odd shape may cut off targeted components. I understand the long narrow shape of the cockpit makes it a bit of a squeeze but I think there's at least room to scale up the holographic squares. Feels a shame to nitpick, because it is a beautiful cockpit otherwise.

[Xoriss]

So just to clarify: I can't have this and TFTC installed in parallel, correct? Or I just can't install it while TFTC is selected in the configurator?

I ask because everything looks amazing and I'm eager to check it out but I'm currently burning my way through TFTC missions...

[Forceflow]

Currently installing 5.5. will break your TFTC installation. If you want to check out the new models and effects make a copy of your current XWA folder and then install 5.5
You can then start your TFTC by using the copied folder. An update of the TFTC incorporating the 5.5 changes is being worked on as well though. Hopefully that should be available soon

[Marcos_Edson]

Great work, guys, great work!

[haui]

Currently installing 5.5. will break your TFTC installation. If you want to check out the new models and effects make a copy of your current XWA folder and then install 5.5
You can then start your TFTC by using the copied folder. An update of the TFTC incorporating the 5.5 changes is being worked on as well though. Hopefully that should be available soon

Ok Thanx for this information. I wondered what happend to my TFTC. So i will do da new installation

[Tigellinus]

Hi. i have one problem after this nice and awesome update. i playing XWA from starta nd when i playing mission 2 (gunnery skills) always game falls when i am before landing in Dunari Casino on the end of mission. i have problem with memory of my PC or it is a bug? thank you for youe answer

[Forceflow]

Do you know what happens before the game fails? Is there some message anywhere? As far as I can remember you don't actually land in the Dunari Casino in that mission. You are supposed to leave that area after the fight with the Viraxo and return to your home base. Only reason I see this mission to fail is that the Andrasta gets destroyed. But there should be a message coming up for that.

[Tigellinus]

Do you know what happens before the game fails? Is there some message anywhere? As far as I can remember you don't actually land in the Dunari Casino in that mission. You are supposed to leave that area after the fight with the Viraxo and return to your home base. Only reason I see this mission to fail is that the Andrasta gets destroyed. But there should be a message coming up for that.

You are right. after viraxo chasing near to dunari casino i must return to home. and i have second problem. when i delivering bacta to a hospital station i cant using automatic cannons when show up Corrupter and her squadrons of tie bombers.

[Tigellinus]

Do you know what happens before the game fails? Is there some message anywhere? As far as I can remember you don't actually land in the Dunari Casino in that mission. You are supposed to leave that area after the fight with the Viraxo and return to your home base. Only reason I see this mission to fail is that the Andrasta gets destroyed. But there should be a message coming up for that.

and no any messaag do not shws up.