Companion to Shifting Sands: The v1.13 update in a nutshell

Earlier today, the v1.13 update to Command was “unofficially pre-released” on the MatrixGames forums ahead of its official October 19 release. This update accompanies the Shifting Sands standalone expansion and will also be freely available to existing CMANO users.

Following the release of v1.12 and Chains of War, with their ground-breaking gameplay features (communications disruption, aircraft damage , the new weapon types and cargo, amphibious and airdrop ops), v1.13 returns to the more traditional “a thousand little things” form. That said, there are still a few stand-out items worth mentioning.

As in every past update, a major development focus is on simulation performance. Large, complex scenarios should now run even faster on the same available hardware.

The pan/zoom operations on the map have been given a major boost (or conversely, if you are having a lag issue this should now be significantly eased). Map icons are now also significantly “sharper”, for lack of a better term.

Tactical chaff laying is now available, allowing players to create chaff corridors to protect their offensive packages as in historical raids in WW2, the Middle East, Vietnam etc. The advantages as well as limitations of chaff corridors (and the technological reasons that gradually led to their obsolescence from the late 1970s) are faithfully modelled.

Sprint & drift behavior is now also available for single, non-grouped units.

AAW & ABM engagement mechanics have received a major overhaul. Various nuances have been added to the aircraft damage model, generally increasing lethality against large aircraft, conferring significant lethality bonuses to late-generation weapons (here is an example of how modern AAW weapons are scarily smart about optimizing their destructive effects), and properly rewarding hit-to-kill warheads. Numerous AAW/ABM weapons have had their max-target speed values adjusted so that they are realistically less capable at rising-speed targets (e.g. RVs), and the intercept aspect angle is also taken into account (a fully “crossing shot” can reduce the nominal PH by up to 50%).

An all-new Lua console is introduced, offering a substantially better editing experience and functionality. The Lua API has also received myriads of improvements, additions and fixes (as always, the online reference is the best resource).

The development team is already gearing up for the next game-engine update, which will match the release of the next Command-LIVE scenario. Stay tuned!

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