X-Wing Alliance 2020 Mega Patch available NOW!
Posted: Fri Nov 27, 2020 2:58 pm
Welcome Pilots to our brand new release of the X-WING ALLIANCE UPGRADE 2020 Mega Patch!
We've gone over the basic idea on the news page so here we will try and give some more details.
Craft Packs are nothing new to XWAU but they do take a lot of work to make. During 2020 XWAU has released more than just Opts, there's Effects, Cockpits, Rooms etc. So a lot more things to install and understand. 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.
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.
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.
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 and more have been included in Babu Frik to give you tons of options to customize the game however you like.
They are all downloaded already to your game folder and found in one simple place which can be run from the Launcher.
An example of how this works: There are 7 different Corvette models available.
If you want to try the Phoenix option then you select that. If you don't like it then you go back and run Babu Frik's Configurator and swap it. Simple!
The same applies for the Effects by Blue Max. You can easily go back and forth tweaking and testing the options until you are happy with the looks.
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
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.
DTM has made a nice new video which highlights this update well. Watch it on YouTube
https://youtu.be/NtHGgAs33Iw
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.
It maybe a little frustrating but with so many changes this is the best way to make sure everything is working correctly and easier to fix if needed too.
If you have made custom edits to any files etc then make sure those are backed up and can be reapplied afterwards.
We've created a new Beginners Guide on the Forum to answer some questions. You can see that - HERE
We will still release updates as new things are finished but in a different way that will be simpler.
The XWAU Team have been working on this for months now so we are excited that you can try it. It's been a lot of work in our free time.
A big thanks go to our new Beta testers whose help has been brilliant with this release.
Thank you to all our loyal fans for your support over the last 20 years! Here's to another 20
Please run the game from Alliance.exe. Not Steam or other shortcuts.
For some reason the game shortcut isn't being generated as it was in previous tests. You can then make an shortcut on the desktop for it. We're going to get that fixed asap.
This is an example of where I mean
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Star Wars X-Wing Alliance\Alliance.exe"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Changelog: XWAU Craft Pack 1.6 to XWAU 2020 Mega Patch
There have been many changes since the last release. Some major and some subtle. Here are some highlights:
New Releases: Includes all the new and updated craft releases over the last year from the XWAU Team members.
New Dynamic Cockpits, Super Backdrops, Crew Quarters enhancements and amazing Special Effects!
Alliance.exe Launcher: Brand new replacement Launcher from JeremyFr that will launch the game and the menu contains all the links to the various setup areas, from Babu Frik to Joystick controller options. You can load your Pilot and skip the intro.
This great addition gives us lots of custom options for the future as well as other Shipset releases.
Calamari Cruiser: DTM has updated the Calamari Cruiser with new textures and Flightgroup colors!
Crosshair Reticles: The newly released Reticles now have the codes stored in the Ship INI files. You can still edit them as you wish. See the Crosshair Readme file for more details. It’s recommended to backup the INI before making alterations.
Death Star: Blue Max has just made some improvements in this area.
Headlights are now turned on automatically on the Death Star mission. Added a new explosion shader for the DS core.
Added .mat files for the Death Star mission and shaders to improve the way it looks.
Dynamic Cockpits: You now have the ability to turn them on and off easily! Just press D to enable or disable the original HUD
Hangars: DTM has created a brand-new Calamari Cruiser hangar. This is used in the Defiance and Pilot Proving grounds.
Some missions now have Hangar variations, such as droids, ships and Flightgroup colours. For example a Rebel Shuttle.
Vince T has made new Imperial Hangars which are used in various Star Destroyers for custom mission creators.
Pilot Proving Grounds: We’ve added the ability to fly Imperial Fighters so that you can assess your enemies capabilities.
You may also notice something slightly different about the TIE Fighter and Darth Vaders x1 Fighter when you fly them…
Ace Antilles created new Hangar Maps for: Asteroid Base, Pirate ShipYard, Platform 1 and Platform 5. They now have 5 different IFF versions included depending on the station IFF. Rebel, Imperial, Neutral and Pirate.
All the Calamari Cruisers have had some changes or updates to the Hangar Maps.
The ISD and VSD Starships have options to choose either inverted rack launch or normal ground floor choice.
Joystick Configurator: JeremyFr created a new tool for customising the Joystick buttons in the game as well as supporting multiple controllers. You can also save various setups to a text file.
Laser Colours: Based on feedback the Laser colours used in crafts have changed but still keep some uniqueness.
RedPurple Ions have been replaced to avoid confusion. Rebels use Red Lasers, Blue Ions. Imperials use Green Lasers, BluePurple Ions. Pirates / Cargo ships and other Starfighters ships use Yellow Lasers and Blue Ions.
Gun Turrets: DTM has fixed the rotation of the Gunner Turret opts that was giving bad firing angles. It’s now the same as the original.
Mission Updates: Jaeven has spent a long time trying to balance and fix the XWA missions so that they work with the XWAU better. He has fixed many small issues and tried to make sure the missions play well and are still fun.
This is a very tricky process to try and balance properly. It still comes down to skill too. So please consult the Mission Forum Subsection if you have any issues.
Mission Enhancements: Ace Antilles has added extra visual tweaks to the missions where possible.
This includes: New Hangar maps as well as individual custom hangars for selected missions. For example each Endor mission has subtle changes in the Hangar on each of the 3 missions. Another is when you fly a Fighter instead of the Otana there will be visual Hangar changes.
Opt replacements in missions is another. For example Cargo Corvettes and Rogue Squadron X-wings. Flightgroup colours being used to make ships more unique.
Modified Strike Cruiser: DTM has created a new Opt to add to the game, replacing the previous XWAU version.
Skirmish Images: Ace Antilles has gone through the many Skirmish images and updated them with new pictures.
Stormtrooper Transport: ual002 has added more Flightgroup colours to the Transport so now it has 9 different choices. You will see some of them appear in the campaign hangars and missions.
X-Wing: The Default X-Wing is newly created by Spyder. It has a new Dynamic Cockpit and four options to choose from.
You can choose the version you want to use in the options of the Babu Frik Configurator.
Y-Wing: The Default Y-Wing is newly created by Spyder. It has a new Dynamic Cockpit and two options to choose from.
You can still choose to fly Darksaber’s version too. Pick the one you want to use in the Babu Frik Configurator.