The Phantom Update v47388 - 07/07/2015

[stayfreshshoe]

Another update, another Merc! Phantom is here- well, he was here a moment ago at least, but in addition to the sneaky assassin, we’ve got an number of other tweaks and additions for you with this update. Read on for all the details!

Meet Phantom

//youtu.be/nBqAXM5gY20

Phantom is somewhere around here, but good luck finding him before he strikes! Willing to do anything to get rid of him, his Commanding Officer volunteered Phantom to take part in an experimental Refractive Armor test program. Returning the favor, Phantom promptly stole the suit and used it to plant incriminating evidence/livestock in his former Commanding Officer’s quarters. Since then he has been a legend in his own mind. Never, ever lend him money, or your mobile phone.

PRIMARY ABILITY: REFRACTIVE ARMOUR

Phantom’s pride and joy, his Refractive Armor, is the piece of technology that justifies his code name. He can activate this specialized suit of camouflage and, in only a few moments, fade from sight. The armor’s power will drain for as long as he’s invisible, although while he is moving the power will drain faster, as well as visually disrupting, making him easier to spot when chasing down the enemy.

Of course, this is armor, not some magic cloak! If Phantom is shot while Refractive Armor is enabled, that damage will instead deplete the Armor’s remaining power, giving him enough time to close the gap and take advantage of his shiny new toy.

INTRODUCING THE KATANA

Phantom brings an entirely new melee weapon to the field: A razor-sharp Katana, ready and waiting to plunge into the back of an unsuspecting medic. It’s slower and more unwieldy to use, but when it finds its target it hits for massive damage, carving foes up into nice little pieces.

LOADOUT CARDS

As we all love to see the new shiny selection of Loadout Cards our new Mercs are able to equip, here is a sneaky peek at some of what is to come.

EVERYTHING ELSE

User Interface

[ul]
[li]Improved server browser performance
[/li][li]Updated the in-game voting UI to make it more obvious when a vote is triggered, and how close the vote is to passing
[/li][li]Updated Coherent UI to the latest version, this should result in improved stability on the Main menu.
[/li][li]Added player rankings to the scoreboard at the end of a Ranked game
[/li][li]Removed 5v5 as an option from ‘Quick Join’ searching screen as the minimum server size is 6v6
[/li][li]Added more obvious notifications when players received a new item
[/li][li]Sped up several lobby and warm-up times
[/li][li]Fixed server filtering box to allow quoted strings
[/li][li]Added functionality where servers will disconnect all players at the end of a match if a new build version is available
[/li][li]Updated the audio when getting a Cobalt Loadout Card from a case
[/li][/ul]

Levels

[ul]
[li]Updated lighting and post-processing on Bridge to make it more consistent across all graphics settings
[/li][li]Fixed broken roof on the train station in Terminal. Now you should get damaged by all bullets and explosives
[/li][li]Updated the audio mix on Terminal and Chapel
[/li][/ul]

Gameplay

[ul]
[li]Adjusted view kick so the kick speed also scales up with the amount of incoming damage received
[/li][li]Reduced the invulnerability window incapped players have after dying to 366ms (from 800ms) – This exists so gibbing a player is a separate distinct action, rather than just continuing to fire while a body is collapsing to the ground
[/li][li]Revive invulnerability now begins once the player has stood up and can move – This allows players a final chance to ‘gib’ the revived player just before they get-up
[/li][li]Players now spend 0.7s getting up after a revive (from 1s)
[/li][li]Added ‘Human Shield’ XP. Players can now gain XP by taking fire for a nearby teammate who is performing an objective
[/li][/ul]

Balance

Stilnotto Stiletto Knife

[ul]
[li]Secondary attack damage reduced to 85 (from 90)
[/li][/ul]

Notable Bug Fixes

[ul]
[li]Fix for REVIVR occasionally not reviving an incapped player
[/li][li]Fixed an issue where rebinding keys could cause some functionality not to work whilst incapped
[/li][li]Fixed an issue where players below level five could be invited to ranked matchmaking parties
[/li][li]Fixed an issue where players could not ‘Quick Join’ into servers that were in the ‘Lobby’ state
[/li][li]Fixed the searching timer not displaying for matchmade games when in a party
[/li][/ul]

[Szakalot]

woot woot woot!

very very nice, and a new merc too - aaaweeeesome! :armadillo :

Very excited about melee and gib/revive changes, I think it will make players much more tactical!

Still hoping for a fix to fletcher sticky bombs… maybe for xmass? :rolleyes:

[stayfreshshoe]

[QUOTE=Szakalot;532636]woot woot woot!

very very nice, and a new merc too - aaaweeeesome! :armadillo :

Very excited about melee and gib/revive changes, I think it will make players much more tactical!

Still hoping for a fix to fletcher sticky bombs… maybe for xmass? :rolleyes:[/QUOTE]

UPDATED^^ Melee changes got bugged so they’ll be back soon…Sorry about that, but at least you know we’re working on it

[Seanza]

Love this:

Added ‘Human Shield’ XP event. Players can now gain XP by taking fire for a nearby teammate

Potentially love this if it means we can search for a server by typing its name:

Fixed server filtering box to allow quoted strings

[spookify]

New Merc and Nice Fixes. Steady as she goes!

Awesome Changes!!!

[QUOTE=shoe.;532634]New Merc!
User Interface

[ul]
[li]Improved server browser performance[/li][li]Added server region to the server browser[/li][li]Updated the in-game voting UI to make it more obvious when a vote is triggered, and how close the vote is to passing[/li][li]Added player rankings to the scoreboard at the end of a Ranked game [/li][/ul]

Gameplay

[ul]
[li]Adjusted view kick so the kick speed also scales up with the amount of incoming damage received[/li][li]Reduced the invulnerability window incapped players have after dying to 366ms (from 800ms) – This exists so gibbing a player is a separate distinct action, rather than just continuing to fire while a body is collapsing to the ground[/li][li]Revive invulnerability now begins once the player has stood up and can move – This allows players a final chance to ‘gib’ the revived player just before they get-up[/li][li]Players now spend 0.7s getting up after a revive (from 1s)[/li][li]Added ‘Human Shield’ XP event. Players can now gain XP by taking fire for a nearby teammate[/li][/ul]
[/QUOTE]

Better matchmaking???

[Runeforce]

[ul]
[li]Reduced the invulnerability window incapped players have after dying to 366ms (from 800ms) – This exists so gibbing a player is a separate distinct action, rather than just continuing to fire while a body is collapsing to the ground[/li][li]Revive invulnerability now begins once the player has stood up and can move – This allows players a final chance to ‘gib’ the revived player just before they get-up[/li][/ul]

I hate you guys! :eek:

You just gimped the medics into oblivion. gg

[BioSnark]

Really looking forward to seeing how the revive changes play. Whackamole against a team with a good sparks wasn’t very fulfilling. Also, the cobalt sound is nice, I’m sure. Remember that there are sounds people actually hear hundreds of times in every round that are still placeholder :3

[PixelTwitch]

[QUOTE=Runeforce;532647]I hate you guys! :eek:

You just gimped the medics into oblivion. gg[/QUOTE]

I would argue that the ability to revive actually outweighs any changes you could make to gibbing and revive speed.
Provided that the revives are balanced across all Medics, each medic will remain very important to a team comp.
I see this more a case of fixing bad game design than a nerf honestly.

[meat]

Muaaahh my man phantom is back!

[DarkangelUK]

Can’t wait and looks good etc. etc, but those katana swings on Phantom look quite slow and sluggish, can see it most at 44secs. I’ve always found it difficult to tell when the actual hit is dealt, is it when you press fire or is it when the edge of the sword hits the player so there’s a tiny delay from press to hit?

[Szakalot]

Can’t wait and looks good etc. etc, but those katana swings on Phantom look quite slow and sluggish, can see it most at 44secs. I’ve always found it difficult to tell when the actual hit is dealt, is it when you press fire or is it when the edge of the sword hits the player so there’s a tiny delay from press to hit?

there is a tiny delay; same is true for other melee weapons.

[Smooth]

[QUOTE=Seanza;532639]Added ‘Human Shield’ XP event. Players can now gain XP by taking fire for a nearby teammate
[/QUOTE]

Updated to include the fact that it only counts if you protect a player actively performing an objective

[Smooth]

Can’t wait and looks good etc. etc, but those katana swings on Phantom look quite slow and sluggish, can see it most at 44secs. I’ve always found it difficult to tell when the actual hit is dealt, is it when you press fire or is it when the edge of the sword hits the player so there’s a tiny delay from press to hit?

The damage is dealt when the sword/knife/bat model actually hits the player model, so there will always be some delay after firing.

We do have plans to do quite a bit more to improve melee as a whole, there are things slightly higher on the priority list right now.

PS. The Katana has been sped up a little since some of that footage was recorded.

[Anti]

[QUOTE=spookify;532643]
Better matchmaking???[/QUOTE]

We’re going to be working on this but we need more data to help is debug the issues we have. There are new Echo stats added in this patch that will allow us to start gathering that data. Hopefully then we’ll be able to improve matchmaking within a patch or two.

[Ashog]

Nice patch! Thanks for speeding up wait times on server/lobby.

Question: What does "Fixed an issue where rebinding keys could cause some functionality not to work whilst incapped"exactly mean? What exactly has been fixed?

Also, will the obvious lag issues caused by hud be fixed in the patch?

[BioSnark]

Question: What does "Fixed an issue where rebinding keys could cause some functionality not to work whilst incapped"exactly mean? What exactly has been fixed?

likely relates to this,
http://forums.warchest.com/showthread.php/44664-Two-years-later?p=531890&viewfull=1#post531890

[Ashog]

[QUOTE=BioSnark;533226]likely relates to this,
http://forums.warchest.com/showthread.php/44664-Two-years-later?p=531890&viewfull=1#post531890[/QUOTE]

Yeah, thought so. I was also wondering if Smooth finally managed to fix the chat swallowing 1st letter and not working at all when gibbed when bound to rightshift, rightcontrol or enter. I noticed that also VOIP wasn’t working when gibbed for some reason (bound to middlemousebutton).

I was finally able to circumvent the chat/VOIP not working when gibbed by adding this to shooterinput.ini at the section [ShooterGame.SGPlayerInputSpectator] though:

Bindings=(Name="enter",Command="SayAll",Control=False,Shift=False,Alt=False,bIgnoreCtrl=False,bIgnoreShift=False,bIgnoreAlt=False)
Bindings=(Name="rightshift",Command="SayTeam",Control=False,Shift=False,Alt=False,bIgnoreCtrl=False,bIgnoreShift=False,bIgnoreAlt=False)
Bindings=(Name="middlemousebutton",Command="StartTalking | OnRelease StopTalking",Control=False,Shift=False,Alt=False,bIgnoreCtrl=False,bIgnoreShift=False,bIgnoreAlt=False)

and made the ini file readonly ofc.

That still doesn’t fix the 1st letter being swallowed however.

And btw I was unable to add your bind with hud toggle in the [ShooterGame.SGPlayerInputPawn] section of the same ini:

Bindings=(Name="ThumbMouseButton",Command="ToggleHUD",Control=False,Shift=False,Alt=False,bIgnoreCtrl=False,bIgnoreShift=False,bIgnoreAlt=True)

I also tried to exchange the thumbmousebutton with leftcontrol button in the bind but to no avail - nothing happens.

Also all attempts to change m_hudalpha=100 to 0 in configs didn’t work for me.

What am I doing wrong?

[Ashog]

[QUOTE=Ashog;533229]And btw I was unable to add your bind with hud toggle in the [ShooterGame.SGPlayerInputPawn] section of the same ini:

Bindings=(Name="ThumbMouseButton",Command="ToggleHUD",Control=False,Shift=False,Alt=False,bIgnoreCtrl=False,bIgnoreShift=False,bIgnoreAlt=True)

I also tried to exchange the thumbmousebutton with leftcontrol button in the bind but to no avail - nothing happens.

Also all attempts to change m_hudalpha=100 to 0 in configs didn’t work for me.

What am I doing wrong?[/QUOTE]

OK, found why it didn’t work - the system somehow didn’t like control aka leftcontrol as a button to be bound on. And thumbmousebutton too.

Tried to bind the hud toggle as

Bindings=(Name="u",Command="ToggleHUD",Control=False,Shift=False,Alt=False,bIgnoreCtrl=False,bIgnoreShift=False,bIgnoreAlt=True)

to the u button in both [ShooterGame.SGPlayerInputPawn] and [ShooterGame.SGPlayerInputSpectator] sections of the shooterinput.ini and it works now.

[Pytox]

really want to get credits for this bad boy

[Ashog]

really want to get credits for this bad boy

Need to grind 18K more