[EA SITREP #13] Patch Notes, the State of the Game & the Team

Note & credit: Action screenshots were provided by players on the game’s Discord - today featuring [WSMR]xGNARxOWNAGEx, Ferda, Joshuu, Matlock, Munchlol, Poodle07 and robz!

Early June was a fine time to be alive for Task Force Admiral, as the updated demo and the Ocean Fest did much to increase the ranks of our prospective admirals. Although progress has been a bit on the slow side, some important fixes have still been implemented, allowing us to improve in-game performance quite a bit. We also owe you an update about the team itself, so here we go.

Kentai Kessen around the corner

Kentai Kessen isn't out just yet, mostly because a few objects and a couple of in-game functions still need to be integrated. Their ships are getting ready as we speak, and we still hope to release the scenario before the end of the month. As you know, it is quite an endeavor that will push our unit count and our gameplay to their respective limits.

The US side will attack from two rather different directions against a force that is pretty much as big as the original Midway armada, with a few tweaks. Expect some interesting flavor choices when it comes to the aircraft complement, all based on the hypothesis of having kept all the carriers at Pearl Harbor a bit longer than what happened historically.

Another scenario being worked on is a blue-on-blue experiment to see how well the game handles USN-on-USN combat. It might not look like a genuine "Fleet Problem" just yet, and it would open quite a can of worms, but it would also allow you to play against an opponent that actually has radar, and we're curious to see where that will lead the player.

The possibilities for Task Force Admiral are not mathematically endless (nothing is), but they still remain mostly untouched. There is still much to learn, and much to play and experiment with, so thank you for sticking with us until we get all this done.

Until then, here is a look at the new units being integrated into the game. Some 3D models were already around, but obviously they weren't actually in-game until now. Notably, the American cruiser family is getting bigger, along with the fleet oilers (two units that are very important for any future Doolittle-themed affair) and Japanese battleships.

Latest Patch Notes & Next Steps

A series of very small patches have been pushed. Most of them did not really require much attention, but still, among the few things already patched or about to be patched, please note the following:

• FixedChanged fighters wingmen logic to make them attack more frequentlya previous change to the tactical structure of USN fighters prevented the wingman from attacking targets during fighter duty against bombers and snoopers. Now that it has been corrected, you should notice that fighters on duty will engage much more efficiently any target that qualifies as such, while still covering each other when engaged in dogfights.

• Fixed bugs causing the missions to be inserted in the wrong order in the timeline.

• Fixed overlapping UI elements in Battle Outcome screen

• Fixes and ajustements on flight deck damage model.

• New natural environment around Lunga on Guadalcanal (plantations, buildings and airstrip still to come).

In the few next days, a number of fixes should come out, including a fix on Japanese air-dropped torpedoes, that might have noticeable (positive) repercussions on US carriers' ability to evade attacks. You'll tell us about it!

Also, cooking, the animated little guys on deck, nearly ready to roll (and probably pretty buggy too, and we'll need your help to keep them in check).

The State of the Game and of the Team

So, where do we stand on the front and the home front?

First, the front. There is no question that we are far behind our expected roadmap, especially regarding the Kickstarter side of things. Although we will post specific apologies directly on Kickstarter soon, it is obvious that our focus on working on the game itself since the Early Access release has prevented us from properly executing reward tiers. This is particularly problematic because physical rewards are closely tied to the advancement of the game itself, despite what one might think: there can be no physical soundtrack if the soundtrack isn't finished yet, let alone recorded live, nor can the manual be printed if the game functions aren't fully implemented yet. Don't get me started on how slow things are on the quality control side regarding the boxed edition, and how the availability of the team itself is often a challenge. In all these situations, our backers who are waiting for a physical box lose out, and I am deeply sorry about that. We will find ways to make up for it, but I want to reassure everyone that none of this means we do not intend to fulfill our obligations. The boxed edition is still on track; it is just running a marathon over a long distance.

The home front is where things get complicated for the game in general. Personal disaster has struck several members of the team, especially regarding health of their loved ones, and these unexpected and unpleasant developments have led to a lull that is turning into a general pause for the next couple of weeks, as we all take some R&R with families before heading into the summer with a more cohesive plan. This means you will still see updates and news about content being added, but don't expect much new material beyond what was announced above for the next two weeks.

I understand this comes as a regrettable statement, but we are all adults and we are not in the business of making excuses, except for the harsher realities of real life as it is the case here. We can only hope for a prompt and full recovery for those affected, with a happy outcome that will allow us all to return to work with good spirits and a peaceful mind. Thanks to all our fans for their kind understanding and their prayers regarding this matter - and anything else that might befall us hopefully nothing more, we had our fair share for the rest of the decade!).

Discord & Modding – Quick Reminder

Reminder about the modding discord here, where Matlock3462 will entertain you with his experiments (see screen above):

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE BUORD DISCORD

And as you know Task Force Admiral also has its own server. For any in-depth, direct support for technical issues, please do pay our tech support section a visit.

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE OFFICIAL TFA DISCORD

Thank you all again for your kindness & your friendship, and for sticking around. Cheers and take care.

The TFA Team