1.4 Dev 1 is now available

We've kicked off development of 1.4 and to get things started, we've been working on some modding features alongside some general features and improvements!

Playing development builds

• Right click BallisticNG in your steam library and go to Properties

• Go to the betas tab on the window that opens

• From the dropdown select development. If the update doesn't automatically queue for download, restart Steam

• Once you have opened the game, the version at the bottom right of the menu will read 1.4-d4

Notices

Legacy Layout Creator Depreciated

1.4 is depreciating the legacy layout creator. It's still in the game and can still be used to create tracks, but has been tucked away so layout creator 2.0 is the focus.

The legacy layout creator can now be accessed by using the mod_legacylayoutcreator console command. Note that it isn't being removed entirely as this is a feature that's important for backwards compatibility.

Unity Tools Update

If you're making mods, you can now download unity packages for development builds of the game: https://github.com/Neognosis-Workflow/BallisticNG-Unity-Tools/releases/tag/1.4

All changes to releases towards the current major version will be documented on this release page.

Overview

Ship Lua Scripting

The game's Lua implementation has been extended to ships!

These enable you to do anything you can imagine, from setting up additional cosmetics to adding new mechanics and physics! Like with custom track lua scripts, these are sandboxed so they're confined to only doing stuff inside the game.

Download the latest Unity Tools to get started with ship lua scripts.

Documentation:

• Creating Lua Runners

• Ship Functions Reference

• API Reference

Trkd files

Trkd (Track Data) files are a new addition to custom tracks which allows menu data to be provided with the track.

Trkd files are compiled and placed next to your tracks trk file. When present, the game will load everything it needs from the trkd, instead of going through the lengthy caching process.

Trkd's can also be embedded into Wtrk files, and will be automatically added / updated if they're next to the Trk when creating / updating the Wtrk.

It's safe to distribute both Trkd and Wtrks with embedded Trkd files to the current public stable release (1.3.3). Older versions of the game will just ingore the files.

Also note that while Trkd files are not required and the game will continue with the current cache process without them, we highly reccomended you start shipping them with tracks as they offer similar load performance to the old system but without the extremely long load time on the first game launch.

Download the latest Unity Tools to start building Trkd files.

Reload mod content in-game

It's now possible to reload mod content without needing to restart the game!

Use the new mod -> refresh content button on the menu to start the refresh. This will remove mods that have been deleted, register mods that were added and will also handle content being moved between folders.

Steam Deck / Big Picture keyboard overlays

If you're running the game on a Steam Deck or in Big Picture with the Steam overlay enabled, any text input required (setting your name, entering data for custom campaigns, etc) when using a controller will now prefer the relevant Steam based keyboard instead of our internal overlay!

HUD Scaling

BallisticNG now has a HUD scaling option! This setting is particularly useful for use with the Steam Deck or other handheld computers. Scaling ranges from 80-120%, which is setup to accommodate overlap