2021/2/13 - Patch v8.5

v8.5 (aka the "The Goodyear Special" release) has been released to the installer. This has some THINGS, let's get to it.

NEW FUNCTIONALITY: Playable vehicles are starting to trickle into BTA, starting with this patch. Our first two playable vehicles, a pair of zeppelins (you read that right, zeppelins), have arrived. There is an extensive FAQ post about how playable tanks will work, be certain to read it in detail. The two zeppelins will be detailed here for your entertainment and information. Please please PLEASE read the FAQ post about playable tanks though, it has a lot of very important information I can't easily put here.

NEW FUNCTIONALITY (kind of): Vehicle armor and structure values are changing. Vehicles are gaining some armor and losing a lot of structure. This should have the general effect of making them slightly easier to destroy, especially in the early game.

NEW MECH: The Naga, an 80 ton Clan artillery mech sporting double Arrow IVs and a very large engine. Find it with the Clans.

NEW ZEPPELIN (really): The Kirov Attack Zeppelin, a 95 ton behemoth of a blimp. You can fight against it in the Deep Periphery and you can get one for yourself from the Hanseatic League's faction store. NEW ZEPPELIN (really): The Dixon Peacekeeping Zeppelin, a 65 ton smaller behemoth of a blimp. You can fight the Dixon in the Deep Periphery an you can buy one from the JarnFolk's faction store.

NEW MODEL: The Hunchback has a new beautiful community-made model. It's a bit of a makeover, now the Hunchie is as pretty as he feels!

• There are a handful of new pilots to be found out there, check 'em out.
• The X-Mas Urbie event should now only fire on actual Christmas.
• Fixed some spawning holes with Clan Nova Cat.
• Battle armor got a speed boost, they should now walk as much as they run, give or take.
• There's some limited battle armor gear in the starting parts crate.
• You can no longer start with battle armor outside the BA-specific start.
• Battle armor still spawn in urban ambushes, but fewer of them spawn per ambush.
• The BA SMG is slightly better, but don't expect too much of it.
• 0.5 skull contracts can actually spawn an allied lance now.
• There's a new start option, the Melee start, every mech has a melee weapon, go nuts.
• The Cougar's identification code is now COU, not CGR.
• There are some new tank models, such as the Odin and Shamash clan tanks, and the Alacorn and Manteuffel IS tanks.
• cDHS costs less, which will have the side effect of making a lot of clan mechs cheaper to buy. It's a sale from the Diamond Sharks! Hurrah!
• Vehicle tags have been somewhat modified to get a little more reasonable distribution of vehicles between the factions.
• Turrets now spawn based on faction, like tanks and mechs. The more advanced the faction, the scarier the turret. Also a couple of turrets that weren't spawning properly are now. Watch out for that twin Arrow turret. :wink:
• The Pallas has been properly resized down from its absurd gigantic size. Whoops!
• TTS and FCS components now have a new icon, just to look pretty.
• iMMLs now properly can indirect fire in ATM mode.
• The Max Armor button in the mechbay now should actually max armor all the way, regardless of your current available tonnage. *It completely maxes out when you click the button.
• The Improved Binary Laser (iBlazer) has been changed rather seriously. Its description should be very clear about how it behaves. Give it a try! Also, the standard Blazer has got a power boost (a little one).

IMPORTANT: v8.5 is an "update" update. Run the installer again to let it just update your files and you're set to go. The installer auto-updates the CAB and injects Modtek for you.

IMPORTANT: v8.5 is not a save-breaking update, your saves are compatible.

REMINDER: This update, and others like it, are made possible by my Patreon supporters. Without their support, updates would come slower and be less impactful. If you feel like being a part of the support for BTA, you can find me here: