Broken Arrow News

[p]This update focuses mainly on stability improvements, anti-cheat improvements and fixes to the most major known issues and errors. We are also happy to bring new PvE scenarios.[/p][p][/p][h3]New features and content:[/h3]

• [p]Ability to change map size in Skirmish and Custom lobbies: the map is determined automatically, but you can override that according to your preference;[/p]
• [p]New PvE scenarios for 1-3 players on Kaliningrad and Ruda maps;[/p]

[h3]
Balance changes:[/h3][p]We are closely monitoring the evolution of the best performing strategies and their counters. The situation is still evolving so we don’t want to add lots of major changes simultaneously, so we have decided to start with this change first:[/p]

• [p]Reduced sprint cooldown from 60 to 30 seconds for every infantry/recon infantry unit.
  This modification will deeply impact the balance by giving infantry the ability to use one sprint charge to attack a position and sprint away when artillery starts raining. It also allows to disengage more easily when overwhelmed by vehicles;[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Stability and network:[/h3]

• [p]We have fixed most cases of memory leaks, which were followed with crash-to-desktop situations;[/p]
• [p]Reconnect functionality received multiple important fixes, both on server and client side; we will continue our work on this subject in the future;[/p]
• [p]We have applied tweaks and improvements to our Matchmaker in order to provide better game experience for everyone;[/p]
• [p]Numerous fixes and improvements;[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Anti-cheat improvements:[/h3][p]This update improves the anti-cheat system, which will now be more efficient in detection.
The team has also been expanded with new members dedicated to thoroughly reviewing all cheating reports, ensuring fairness in the ban process. With this added expertise, we’re confident the staff will be even more efficient in detecting and addressing cheaters.[/p][p][/p][h3]Plans for the near future:[/h3][p]First of all, let us reassure you that we plan to further improve our game by fixing known issues and solving problems that were highlighted by our community as well as bringing new content and making the overall game experience better for everyone.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Currently we want to highlight these fixes, features and improvements, but note that this list is not exhaustive:[/p]

• [p]Fixes and improvements for Co-op scenarios synchronization;[/p]
• [p]“Surrender” feature for multiplayer games and progressive penalties for leavers;[/p]
• [p]New UI screen for scenarios;[/p]
• [p]QoL improvements for single-player scenarios experience;[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Full list of changes:[/h3][p]Added:
Added option to change map size in Skirmish and Custom lobbies. The size is changed automatically based on the number of players by default but can be forced in the additional settings of the lobby;[/p][p]Added game servers in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia (We’re monitoring the amount of players from all over the world and dynamically adding new servers accordingly. Full list of currently available game servers geolocations in GLOBAL region: US West, US East, Hongkong, UK, France, Germany, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia);[/p][p]Added portraits for Baltic states vehicles;[/p][p]Added swimming animation for ground troops (where applicable);[/p][p]Added PVE 1-3 Kaliningrad scenario (tower defense style);[/p][p]Added PVE 1-3 Ruda scenario (tower defense style);[/p][p]
General fixes & improvements:
Fixed multiple CTDs (crash-to-desktop) due to memory leak issues;[/p][p]Fixed memory leak issue on our server infrastructure. This should increase overall multiplayer stability.[/p][p]Fixed multiple cases of “Reconnect to battle” button not appearing;[/p][p]Fixed multiple cases of “Player.log” file consuming excess amount of space;[/p][p]Fixed an issue with Campaign menu being stuck;[/p][p]Fixed an issue when players may have empty map without playable zone/capture zones/spawn points after loading to the game (in both: single player and multiplayer);
Fixed an issue when players may have 99/99 units in a deck after loading to the game;[/p][p]Fixed an issue when player may get disconnected from game server with corresponding error message;[/p][p]Reduced max FPS cap from 300 to 144;[/p][p]Fixed an issue with dropdown options being unclickable in some cases;[/p][p]Fixed an issue in the reporting system which prevented showing the correct player’s profile upon clicking (this was a UI issue only).[/p][p]Adjusted matchmaking system in order to minimize games with big difference in elo rating between teams;[/p][p]Adjusted matchmaking mechanism to be more accurate while looking for a more suitable (ping-wise) game server. Please be advised: turning on VPN, “connection boosters” and other proxy-like solutions may in fact lead to worse multiplayer experience.[/p][p]Fixed an issue with transferred units movement interpolation;[/p][p]Fixed an issue where some input devices (joysticks, gamepads, racing wheels, vJoys, some particular mouse and keyboards) may interfere with options selection on UI.
Fixed an issue with displaying incorrect date:time format in various in-game messages;[/p][p]Fixed “Flares! Flares!” achievement not counting;[/p][p]Fixed an issue when player wasn’t able to override anti-overkill with his AA by clicking RMB on a desired target;[/p][p]Fixed an issue when Steam workshop scenarios were incorrectly initialized in some cases;[/p][p]Fixed CIS region servers popup screen overlap;[/p][p]Fixed incorrect “ready up” UI sound;[/p][p]Rebinded default camera rotation button from LCTRL to MMB;[/p][p]Fixed mission unlock conditions hints on Campaign screen being misleading;[/p][p]Fixed M712 Copperhead VFX looking like a cluster round;[/p][p]Adjusted 127mm gun VFX (Arleigh Burke);[/p][p]Adjusted mortars and howitzers impact VFX life time;[/p][p]Fixed MC-130H having no model under certain circumstances;[/p][p]Fixed Tochka-U’s missile texture being pink;[/p][p]Adjusted parachute animations;[/p][p]Fixed CAAT Tow marines' pose with M240;[/p][p]Fixed an issue with S300V/S350/S300PM deployment animation being stuck resulting in missiles being fired directly into the ground;[/p][p]"Bay of winds" zones capture time adjusted from 30 to 15 seconds to match other maps;[/p][p]Various fixes for weapons icons;[/p][p]Various localization fixes.[/p][p]

Campaign fixes & improvements:[/p][p]“Blackout” mission:[/p][p]Fixed mission being stuck in some cases.[/p][p][/p][p]“Show time” mission:[/p][p]Fixed time-related medal could not be earned;[/p][p]Fixed the case of players being stuck if they fail the bombing runs too many times.[/p][p][/p][p]“Peacekeeper” mission:[/p][p]Fixed mission’s intro cutscene not scaling correctly for 4K resolutions.[/p][p][/p][p]“Self Service” mission:[/p][p]The timer for the final stage has been increased to 20 minutes (it was 5 minutes by default);[/p][p]When bringing supplies to Cap. Batalin, he will now give you 2 helicopters right away instead of adding them to the reinforcements.[/p][p]
[/p][p]“Papers please” mission:[/p][p]Fixed cases of invisible units appearing in the mission;[/p][p]Improved balance of pre-placed equipment at the storage base;[/p][p]Various improvements to the behavior of allies and enemies;[/p][p]Enemy attack pattern on the HQ has been slightly improved;[/p][p]Fixed an issue of mission stuck due to losing HQ zone;[/p][p]All units received appropriate camouflage (winter).[/p][p][/p][p]“Operation Cold Harbor” mission:[/p][p]Various improvements for each difficulty level. Player now has slightly more resources and units;[/p][p]The behavior of attack waves from Narva has been improved;[/p][p]Fixed a bug when pilots could have been detected prior to secondary mission pops up.[/p][p]Minor improvements to Batalin's movements;.[/p][p]All units received appropriate camouflage (winter).[/p][p]
“Forbidden waters” mission:[/p][p]Various improvements for each difficulty level. Player now has slightly more resources and units;[/p][p]Improved AI behavior.[/p][p]
“Broken arrow” mission:[/p][p]Various fixes for voice overs;[/p][p]Fixed a bug when the Green Light Team was able to capture the last objective (Bennett Plan).[/p][p]
Balance:[/p][p]Reduced sprint cooldown from 60 to 30 seconds for every infantry/recon infantry unit.
Fixed mistake in base price of CAAT TOW 110 =>100 this could result in deck value being inconsistent;[/p][p]Spetsnaz GRU Verba option: added a second Verba launcher to balance the interest of this option with the two others;
Ingenery-Shturmoviki price 60 => 70;[/p][p]Fixed optics value for Skrezhet with Zu-23M + Igla to detect helicopter further away;[/p][p]Fixed TOS-1 rear HEAT armor value being inferior to kinetic armor;[/p][p]Fixed A-222 Bereg howitzer having lower reload times in mixed loadout.
[/p]

[p]Since launch the development team has been working hard on the anti-cheat system, in order to ensure that the multiplayer environment is safe, fair and fun to everyone.[/p][p]We have been monitoring reports and more than 2000 players have been banned on suspicion of cheating since launch.[/p][p]Unfortunately, after internal analysis of the logs and a review of the banning procedure, we've observed some cases where false positives may have occurred in the process, and while we have made every effort to ensure fairness, we cannot fully guarantee that some players haven't been banned unfairly. It is also the reason why we have been quiet in the past few days, we were undergoing a rigid and serious analysis of our internal processes.[/p][p][/p][p]For this reason we have decided we are going to review all cases of bans which might be the result of false positives or result of human error from our staff.[/p][p][/p][p]There have also been cases of players banned from multiplayer for having cheated in single player. Our system cannot differentiate between single player and multiplayer at the moment, so while we wouldn’t object to use of cheats in single player in normal circumstances, we cannot allow them right now, as it wouldn’t be a simple change.[/p][p]We don’t take this decision lightly, but it is the only right thing to do in this case. Rest assured that there is only a very small % of players affected, but our aim is 0 false positives - there can’t be any doubts.[/p][p]We apologize to those who have been banned unfairly.

Rest assured that we remain determined to stamp out cheating in all its forms. [/p][p]
Update 1.08 includes improvements to the anti-cheat system, and the team has been expanded with new members dedicated to thoroughly reviewing all cheating reports, ensuring fairness in the ban process. With this added expertise, we’re confident the staff will be even more efficient in detecting and addressing cheaters.[/p][p][/p][h3]Update 1.08 released tomorrow[/h3][p] Tomorrow on July 11 we are going to release update 1.08. We are aiming at releasing it at around 9 am GMT, so hopefully we’ll be punctual. As usual, we will accompany the update with a post and a detailed changelog.[/p][p]Please note that we will take the servers down in order to deploy the update. Estimated downtime: 15 - 25 minutes.[/p][h3]
Community Call[/h3][p][/p][p]Broken Arrow has players from all over the  world. We come from many different countries and cultures, and we all have different sensibilities. All of us need to be more understanding and tolerant towards everyone. It is a game and we are here to have fun.[/p][p]Stop accusing different nationalities of cheating, or having assumptions that different nationalities are more prone to cheating than others. That is simply not the case.  Simply put, the proportion of cheaters is globally the same in every country, but some countries have more players than others.[/p][p][/p][p]We must be clear on one point: we do not accept or tolerate any form of racist language or behavior. We are one big family and we want people to enjoy Broken Arrow and to feel at home in the Broken Arrow community, no matter where they are from or who they are. [/p][p][/p][p]This is our call to the community: cheating makes things harder for everyone. [/p][p]Cheaters are only making things harder for the developers, as they need to put more time into that rather than focussing on new additions.[/p][p]Cheaters are only making things harder for the staff, as they are putting a lot of time into ensuring that cheaters get banned.[/p][p]Most importantly, it makes the game not fun for people who play multiplayer. [/p][p]If you love Broken Arrow, consider this and please help us by contributing to creating a healthy environment for everyone.[/p][p]
[/p]

[p]Broken Arrow launched last week and it’s been a tremendous success.[/p][p]Hundreds of thousands of copies sold and the number of players in the game has never gone under 10.000 once since launch.[/p][p]While no game is perfect, the response from the community has been incredible, and we’re just getting started.[/p][p]We have been closely monitoring feedback and we know there are some points that stand out more than others:[/p]

• [p]Lack of a save game feature mid-mission in single player;[/p]
• [p]Problem with people leaving mid-game in multiplayer;[/p]
• [p]The anti-cheat system needs to be fine tuned and improved;[/p]
• [p]Some more issues with connectivity and stability;[/p]

[p]In the first week the team has been hard at work to fix the most immediate problems, and they started addressing Skirmish mode, localizations and multiplayer stability.[/p][h3]
What is coming with Update 1.08?[/h3][p][/p][p]We sat down with the developers to discuss what is coming next for Broken Arrow. The next patch is going to be 1.08 and it’s going to be a big one. Compared to the immediate hotfixes on launch week this update will be larger and will need more thorough testing, so we’re currently targeting the week of 7th July for its release.[/p][p]Let’s have a look at what it is going to contain:[/p]

• [p]First off, improvements to stability, both offline and online;[/p]

• [p]Fix to the most significant problems related to memory consumption;[/p]
• [p]Reconnect fixes and improvements;[/p]
• [p]Update to the anti-cheat system; [/p]
• [p]The possibility to choose between a small or large layout for the maps has been added for custom matches and skirmish for players looking for smaller matches than 5v5. The game will automatically select the layout corresponding to the number of players+AI but you can also force one layout or the other;[/p]
• [p]The tower defense mode that was present during the beta is back and has been improved;[/p]

[p][/p][h3]What is coming after that?[/h3][p]
We will continue our work on fixing major issues, and overall improvements of the game client as well as server-side software.[/p][p]We’re going to address the issue of the lack of a penalty for players who leave during a multiplayer match: we’re going to introduce a time-out system that will penalize leavers with progressively longer time-outs. Furthermore, we’re planning on introducing a Surrender option.[/p][p]We’re not going to stop our fight with cheaters and we will continue working on improvements for our anti-cheat. [/p][p]As for Save Games, we know it’s a highly requested feature. However, implementing it is more complex than it may appear. Currently we’re investigating our options to make your single player experience more convenient.[/p][p]While it’s no secret that we’re planning on expanding the game with new factions and new DLCs, this post doesn’t focus on that. We have plans, but we’re not going to give any spoilers just yet. [/p][h3]
I’m still having technical problems! Help![/h3][p][/p][p]As the devs are working on the update, we’ve prepared a list of solutions to some of the issues that players are currently facing. You can find it here.
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