Fine Tuning Update Notes - 1/27/2016


(RazielWarmonic) #1

You want maps? We’ve got maps! In this Fine Tuning update we’re unveiling two brand new prototype maps for you to try out for a limited time. On top of that, Dome has been given a makeover and numerous bugs have been stomped. Read on for more…

Dome Revisited
We’ve put more spit and polish into Dome, with major improvements across the board for your objective pleasure.

Lighting

The environment has had a picnic pass - An early evening setting means that colors stand out and areas of light and shadow are more prominent.

Visual Design

To ease newcomers in, and to improve the navigational flow for everyone, several changes have been made -

  • Updated coloration and visual composition to clarify certain routes
  • Ground textures now better communicate primary routes and those which are more optional
  • Graffiti tags now direct Jackal attackers towards the objectives through main routes
  • The Pylons are now distinctly labelled A and B for both Jackal and CDA

Gameplay Changes

To direct the flow of the map and make it more balanced for Jackal attackers, these changes have also been made -

  • The first objective has been reduced from two deliverables to one, reducing CDA bias and allowing the rest of the map to be played in the majority of matches
  • Both Jackal and CDA spawns have been moved forward to reduce travel times
  • To help prevent spawn camping, a third route has been added to allow Jackal more safety in moving out towards the first objective
  • Sewers are friendlier - Arrow graffiti on the grates above indicate the direction they travel in, and a dead end has been shut off to avoid confusion
  • Some redundant areas have been removed entirely, and less used ones have been made more accessible

Prototype Showcase
This weekend we’re letting you at two brand new maps, Dockyard and Gallery, in prototype form.

From Friday 29th January until Tuesday 2nd February, they’ll be available on select servers in the server browser. We’ll be seeing how you play, listening to your feedback, and touching your heart (with a Stiletto, if you see us in-game).

Dockyard

The next Objective map is a direct continuation of Dome - the captured CDA airship has crashed and Jackal need to get there with an EV before destroying a portion of it.

Gallery

The third map to be created for Execution Mode surrounds a riverside landmark, providing plenty of combat variety.

We’ll be revealing more on these maps as they hit the servers, so keep your eyes peeled!

Balance Changes

  • Reworked how jumping impacts bullet spread, to balance the effectiveness of jumping in combat
  • Added a small amount of bullet spread to jumping-ironsight and jumping-scoped accuracy
  • Increased the additional jumping bullet spread to 2.5 degrees (from 2.0 degrees)
  • Ironsighting during jumping no longer causes the weapon to maintain high spread when landing, or revert to maximum spread when exiting ironsights

(RazielWarmonic) #2

Augments

  • Ice-Cold - Fixed to correctly increase time to overheat by 40% to 7s (instead of the previous 12s!)

Sparks

  • Added damage falloff to the REVIVR attacks
  • Damage falloff begins at 18m and falls off to ~66% damage at 36m

Ahnuhld-12

  • Reduced flechette falloff minimum damage to 1 (from 5)
  • Increased flechette damage falloff end distance to 48m (from 19m)
  • Damage falloff still begins at 3.84m

Hollunds 880

  • Reduced pellet falloff minimum damage to 1 (from 5)
  • Increased pellet damage falloff end distance to 32m (from 14.8m)
  • Damage falloff still begins at 1.7m

Remburg 7

  • Reduced pellet falloff minimum damage to 1 (from 5)
  • Increased pellet damage falloff end distance to 28m (from 13m)
  • Damage falloff still begins at 1.4m

Damage Falloff Explained
Damage falloff is controlled by three different variables, these are:

  1. Minimum Range - where damage falloff begins
  2. Maximum Range - where damage falloff ends
  3. Minimum Damage - the lowest damage that the weapon will falloff to

In between Minimum Range and Maximum Range, the damage will gradually falloff towards the minimum damage.

Other Changes

Gameplay

  • Mines and other projectiles will no longer fall into geometry when thrown
  • Removed Objective notifications for Defenders when Carryable is dropped or picked up mid-carry
  • Removed dropped Carryable IFF unless defenders have line-of-sight
  • Halved the requirements to complete the ‘New Player’ Missions
  • Players can now fully load a map while a game is paused
  • Playing in Ranked Matches now rewards a 50% bonus to Credits earned
  • User Interface
  • Chat history now carries over into the End Game Review and the next match Lobby
  • Already owned items are now greyed-out in the Store
  • Enemy team Merc selection is now no-longer visible in the Lobby
  • Added visible server name, map and capacity when joining a session
  • Updated the front-end video setting descriptions and tooltips
  • Added several in-game only settings to the front-end options menus
  • Clan Tags now display in game review chat
  • Added the player name to Carryable Objective notifications
  • Added CDA & Jackal icons to the private match screen
  • Added Loadout Card counts to Merc tooltips
  • Added “Quick-open Case” and “Quick-open all Cases” features (right-click on a Case in your inventory to use these)
  • Added the ability for Cases to be quick-opened from the notification dropdown from within lobbies

Audio

  • Continued improvements on the overall mix to prioritize important gameplay audio
  • Mercs will now yell ‘Medic-on-route!’ when heading towards an incapacitated player with Defibs or REVIVR in-hand
  • Added lines for Sparks’ successful revives.
  • Added audio for broken generators.
  • Reduced volume of footstep audio when players are turning around on the spot
  • Updated the Stilnotto Stiletto handling audio
  • Improved audio for Arty & Kira’s Targeting Lasers, making invalid locations and successful targets more obvious
  • Added sounds for gates opening and closing in Trainyard and Canary Wharf
  • Improved the audio for the train crash sequence in Trainyard

Notable Bug Fixes

  • Fixed bug where Rhino’s Minigun audio could loop after spectating him
  • Fixed bug where audio could loop with several other abilities
  • Fixed bug where the Simeon .357 was missing hit beeps
  • Fixed bug where turning off Dynamic Lights would disable the sun
  • Fixed bug where the secondary key-bindings for selecting Mercs were not functioning
  • Fixed bug where incapacitated players wouldn’t receive some XP types
  • Fixed bug where the moving train on Trainyard would not always kill players
  • Fixed bug where players on the opposing team could vote on a Vote Kick
  • Fixed bug where the in-game Voice Enabled option would not function
  • Fixed bug where spectating Redeye could result in a black screen
  • Fixed bug where the wrong image would show for Founders or VIP trinkets
  • Fixed bug where the Auto-join prompt in the Server Browser wouldn’t always retry
  • Fixed bug where several auto-says (I.E. “Health Pack Dropped”) were also audible to enemy players
  • Fixed bug where the user status in a Party would not always update correctly
  • Fixed bug where ‘Toggle Use’ option wasn’t functioning correctly
  • Fixed bug where Trinkets would sometimes appear to float
  • Fixed bug where the Bomb could be dropped and unable to be picked up again in Execution
  • Fixed bug where Quick Join would sometimes fail to join a server
  • Fixed bug where Carryable audio could be heard anywhere, by all players
  • Fixed bug where players couldn’t spawn in if there was a vote active as they joined the server
  • Fixed bug where repairing a Secondary Objective would take priority over picking up a nearby Carryable
  • Fixed bug where players who dropped the Bomb on being incapacitated and then revived in Execution could still plant the Bomb
  • Fixed bug where dead players could leave behind player-blocking collision
  • Fixed bug where Molotov flames could fall through the blocker carriage on Trainyard
  • Fixed bug where Pliers and Screwdriver audio wouldn’t be audible for nearby players
  • Fixed bug where Bomb planting wouldn’t be audible for nearby players
  • Fixed bug where Loadout Cards could not be dragged on the Trading screens
  • Fixed bug where “Settings saved” notifications would cover the “Close” button of the settings menu
  • Fixed bug where players could use Loadout Cards for the selected Merc to Trade In

(Tanker_Ray) #3

NOOOOO!!! THUNDA! THUNDA! THUNDA!!!

At least I got the shotgun range nerf… such happiness…


(Balance&Composure) #4

great update!!! I love everything that has been done in this update. Amazing job guys!! Now we all wait for the next merc to drop :smiley:


(nokiII) #5

That is how I feel about the update / impact on the game:


(dnbradio) #6

Sparks
Added damage falloff to the REVIVR attacks
Damage falloff begins at 18m and falls off to ~66% damage at 36m


(VincentRJaeger) #7

I look forward to try these changes out.


(asparagusMist) #8

looks like you been busy excellent work.


(frankopeti) #9

Rip Sparks:(


(DMaster2) #10

Major nerf to Sparks, was it really needed?


(SYNERGYWalker) #11

Great job :slight_smile:


(p4v) #12

[quote=“dnbradio;142779”]Sparks
Added damage falloff to the REVIVR attacks
Damage falloff begins at 18m and falls off to ~66% damage at 36m

http://i.imgur.com/Rr5R45R.png[/quote]

Oh poor you, your medic can’t be better than snipers anymore :’(

Yes it was needed. You can still 1 hit people within 18m and revive everyone in your sight.


(Talak) #13

Aww, I can’t snipe with my Ahnuhld-12 anymore. :frowning:

I don’t see why the nerf to Sparks was necessary. She has one of the highest skill requirements in the game.


(dnbradio) #14

Still owning… doesn’t seem to have effect this nerf

Edited for language. :slight_smile:


(Eox) #15

Quick question : are headshots affected by falloff ?


(CirclesofJerk) #16

[quote=“Talak;142801”]Aww, I can’t snipe with my Ahnuhld-12 anymore. :frowning:

I don’t see why the nerf to Sparks was necessary. She has one of the highest skill requirements in the game.[/quote]

Sparks had the ability to completely trump conventional sniper rifles like the MOA and FEL-IX. The revive gun is able to fire at an immense amount of accuracy, while moving, without even bothering to use ironsights, and get one-shots on a headshot. The balancing for long-range rifles is meant to be the loss of FOV and movement speed when scoping in, where shot spread is otherwise too inaccurate. Not to mention Sparks sharing the highest movement speed in the game with Aura, making here much more difficult of a target than spotter classes. There’s also the ridiculous flexibility of being able to charge shots up or rapid-fire them, essentially breaching the balance gap that semi-auto rifles and bolt-action rifles are supposed to have.


(dnbradio) #17

I played a ranked game… we won … I was elite… now suddenly cobalt 1 with an exclamation point ??? New bug detected.
There is also a bug there … posting ss:
http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/365157825943390232/60968061D2A0DFD30336765CE1075F01C873736F/

Played another game… now cobalt 2… rofl


(Terminal_6) #18

Praise. I feel like it takes too many clicks to navigate the menus.
Also, can we stop my loadout list from sorting by name by default?
Well, now I’m going to have to get used to NOT clicking to sort by rarity.


(pinkOrchid) #19

Still nothing for phantom. I was hoping for a support ability there. And some changes to thunders nades.

also: time to get a blishlok loadout for fletcher.


(bontsa) #20

Is anyone not yet realising how huge impact simple change of giving ability to open cases in-lobby will propably create in pubs once peeps realize it? No more massive lobbyquits that start from 2 fellas wantin’ some imaginary bling. Moar of yer balance probably too since people stay in longer and ELO can do it’s magic.