TFTC Version 1.3.3 Released + Other News - TIE Fighter: Total Conversion (TFTC) mod for Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s been a very long time since I last posted an update but I finally have something new for you and its to announce the release of the 1.3.3 patch as well as other updates that have been happening since! This new patch will bring TFTC up to date with the recent XWAU 5.6.2 patch that was released back in May and will also introduce a bunch of bug fixes, balance updates and even some new updates. Let’s quickly go through what you can expect to see in this patch.

A brand-new main concourse screen - This was showcased some months ago but didn't make it into 1.3.2 at the time. Now though you can fully enjoy this updated visual feast in 1.3.3. The concourse will show new animations and backgrounds depending on your current progress in the campaign.

New models including the Imperial-I Star Destroyer and the addition of several new ships, including the Predator Star Destroyer, Zaarin's new flagship for TFTC Reimagined and the Valiant Cruiser which will serve as a flagship for the Nami faction. The inclusion of this new ship has meant some minor changes to Reimagined have been made to account for this wherever the ISDII Glory previously showed up. The Glory will instead be first introduced as this new ship in Battle 6, Mission 4 whereas previous appearances of the Glory will simply be a different Star Destroyer now. You will also find the new Valiant cruiser in B6M4-R as well, replacing the Venator that was previously there. Don't worry, Venators will still be showing up later in future Reimagined missions!

Ray Tracing - Yes, the wizards of the XWAU team have added Ray Tracing to the game! This further improves the visuals but at the expense of performance so make sure your system is capable of handling it. By default, it is disabled, but you can enable it by going to the Babu Frik Configurator from the launcher under the Ray Tracing checkbox.

Gimbal Lock Fix - This issue has plagued all versions of the engine from the original X-Wing to XWA. What is this gimbal lock issue you ask? Well, you may have noticed when flying directly up or down, particularly when chasing enemy targets, it suddenly feels like you're fighting your controls to stay straight and steady, almost as if a magnet is pushing you away. Basically, the game is programmed to use pitch, yaw, and roll as defined axes. Based on how the numbers crunch down, if any of the axes overlap on the same plane, gimbal lock will happen and so your craft ends up pushing away from the direction you're trying to go in. Well, I'm happy to say that this issue has been fixed by rewriting this function of the flight mechanics.

Along with these changes, you can also expect to see new explosion visuals and hopefully some noticeable improvements to both VR and non-VR performance levels.

A full list of all changes made can be viewed on our website via the changelog section which is also included in the patch download itself. A brand new, completely re-written installation tutorial video has also been posted along with this announcement. This tutorial should better address and explain things than previous versions, including a more expanded approach to VR and other more common issues people tend to face.

To install the patch, make sure you restore your current version of TFTC back to XWAU by using the Palpatine Total Converter to 'Restore the Light Side' and then run the installer and follow its instructions. If you are new to the mod and installing from a fresh copy, then make sure you first install v1.3. You don't need to install any of the older TFTC patches first as 1.3.3 contains all updates since the initial release of 1.3. If in any doubt, please take a look at the aforementioned new tutorial video that has also been posted to my channel for details.

So, what else has been going on these past few months? Well work is slowly continuing on finishing the Reimagined campaigns. Battles 9 and 10 are now fully playable in their entirety and have been under beta testing and Battle 11 is well on course to becoming fully playable by the end of August, this then just leaves Battles 12 and 13 to finish creating which I'm hoping will be done by late Autumn or at the end of 2023. Its slow going, but as my scope is much bigger than previous battles, the increased narrative complexity and the fact I'm the only one designing and making these missions, it will take time, but I hope the wait will be worth it.

Aside from mission creation, we have also been working on designing new HD concourse screens for every room. On your screen you can see examples of current WIP scenes including the new pilot's room and an updated briefing room, giving you even more immersion as we can also tie in more cutscenes and animations to them. We are also considering our options for remaking all cutscenes using in-game engine footage for exterior shots and then 3D interiors created specifically for the cutscene with some character interactions. If we think we can pull this off well enough, I will probably be adding a lot of new cutscenes as well as remaking the existing ones, as I believe its a much better way to give additional context and flavour to the narrative vs just relying on the giant walls of texts we're forced to use in the briefings. If and when we get a concept ready, I will post it publicly for further feedback from the community.

And that pretty much covers it for this update. I will be back in the future of course with new updates as I have them and I promise I'll try to get back to doing some development livestreams which I've not done for a few months now. So, until next time pilots, fly safe.