Development is still under way for next version of Project Phantom, numbered 1.1, following the initial release from last September. It was initially scheduled to be released during last year but several factors have unfortunately contributed to it being delayed significantly beyond the initial planned release window. Below is some more info on the changes and additions that will be introduced in this version.
 
Artwork Updates
 




Some units and buildings, including Subjugator, Coalition Laser Cannon and Phantom Research Lab have received a facelift.

In addition those with keen eyes can notice some adjustments to offensive support powers in the preview for Research Lab, they now all have same warning animation (with some color differences) and sound.

There has also been some updated animations, particularly for muzzle effects on gun and cannon weapons of all types.

Experimental Unit Improvements

There have been balance changes to almost all experimental units as well as their associated support powers. Below is a sneak peek at some of the changes.



Experimental tech unlock options also no longer benefit from multiple factory build time bonus and can only be placed within fixed distance from a friendly Construction Yard.

Other Gameplay Additions & Changes

Jet Changes


Jet aircraft are now allowed to use waypoint and guard mode. Not all jets will be able to automatically pick targets in waypoint or guard mode, but those that do will scan nearby area automatically for them when in either. Unlike other types of units, guard mode is not persistent on aircraft, meaning that once assigned, the unit will return to idle mode upon returning to airfield or if there was no suitable target found when assigned to guard mode - this may change in future.

Jets also no longer self-repair while in air but repair at rate corresponding to rookie-level self-repairing on vehicles for free when docked.

Some may also notice there have been some additions to the factions' airforce.

Tank Drop and Usurper Shock Tank


Tank Drop no longer drops Oppressor Tanks but a new Usurper Shock Tank with electricity-based weapon much like Shock Troopers or Shock Pylon. Usurper is more effective against infantry than Oppressor but performs considerably worse against buildings and base defenses - making Tank Drop less effective as a surprise base killing tool but potentially more effective for anti-unit harassment. Additionally all Dominion tier 1 vehicles - that is Oppressor, Tyrant and Usurper now share the destruction horde firepower bonus that was previously exclusive to Oppressor and the effect duration now replenishes for all stacks when new stacks are added to the effect. Usurper also gains a weapon range bonus near friendly Shock Pylons.

Usurper is not buildable except if reverse-engineered in Scavenger mode.

Mercenary Faction Additions & Improvements


Fist of Titans arsenal has had bit of a cleanup and facelift. Mercenary Motor Squad and Deliver Crocodile Tank/Vulture Copter have now been merged into one support called Mercenary Strike Force and Mercenary Troops now delivers some of the Fist of Titans infantry periodically at the Outpost free of charge. Savage is no longer trainable at the outpost due to being a mostly redundant pick over the main factions' basic infantry, but in exchange some of the vehicles have acquired new abilities.

Crimson Crown now uses similar Experimental Unit system as the main factions, offering two choices - the existing Blackout Signal Jammer that has been improved and the new Desecrator MLRS crowd control weapon. Both of these choices also unlock a new support power to use alongside the unit.

In addition, Crimson Contract has been split into two support powers with fixed unit loadouts, with the second one requiring a T3 laboratory and some Crimson Crown units have received tweaks to make them bit more interesting to use.

Excelsus Research Lab will now unlock a new buildable unit in form of Sentinel Utility Truck if a T3 laboratory is also owned. Sentinel can repair damaged vehicles & structures as well as boost armour strength of nearby base defenses and detect cloaked enemies.

In addition, Excelsus Research Lab itself can now be found on more maps.

Some general misc. improvements & balance changes

• Transports can now load in units without them having to queue up first - they will however still need to exit one by one.
• Credits generation rate for T4 structures and Oil Derricks has been reduced from 100 to 75 credits per 10 in-game seconds.
• Scout infantry attacks have been normalized and will now deal damage on same frame of their attack animations.
• Map reveal support powers now temporarily fully decloak enemies that are in the area of their activation.

Game Options Additions


There are now several new game options that can control availability of certain features in battle such as garrisons, tech defenses and support powers / superweapons.



Merc Alliance is a new 'fun'-type game option that enables players to pick a mercenary faction to choose at game start that permanently unlocks their technology for player's use for duration of the game - this choice cannot be changed later. Any support powers that would deliver units at the mercenary HQ building will instead deliver them at coordinates considered the player's base center.

New Maps


Mortarmouth Challenge pits players against Dominion commanders fielding large amount of artillery weapons, ranging from tech defenses that cannot be recaptured by players (including the brand new Artillery Bastion) to Marauders and Brimstones and even the fearsome Ironblight.

In addition, there are new skirmish/multiplayer maps.



Final Words

There is currently no set release date for the update, however it will be revealed once it is more certain that the planned release can be delivered in that time window. Currently, this is a rough outline of what you can expect.

• A large number of balance tweaks and bugfixes
• Changes to experimental units, to balance out more outstanding ones and make the less interesting ones more desirable choices
• Some new units and/or support powers across the factions, including new jet aircraft for all factions
• QoL improvements like improved jet aircraft behaviour, faster transport loading etc.
• Overhaul of mercenary faction arsenals & bonuses
• New and overhauled game lobby options
• 1 new Challenge map
• 12 new Standard skirmish maps.
• Updated version of World Altering Editor included, with bugfixes and new features
• Support for multiplayer save / loading (currently only one multiplayer game session is preserved at a time, may change in future)
• Built-in custom mission support in game client

Yes, you read that last one right.



Expect to hear and read more about the upcoming update in the near future.