Patch V1034.3 now available
Edited May 24th @ 5:42pm UTC to correct the omission of the new Lean Roll (POV) feature — now listed under the Gameplay and animations section.
Happy Thursday, everyone!
Patch V1034.3 is now available. While it downloads and installs, please take a moment to read the patch notes below — that should help you figure out what changed, what to be on the lookout for and what to report.
[h3]📢 IMPORTANT NOTICE to server owners re: rubber-banding[/h3]
We're aware of the severe online rubber-banding issue, and although we haven't fully determined the cause yet (we have a lead!) we did notice that the issue keeps increasing in severity the longer the server is live. Restarting the server usually fixes the issue.
👉 As a temporary solution, we suggest admins/owners set up their servers to automatically restart every 4–6 hours.
General notice
In preparation for the official release of modding via Steam Workshop and the GROUND BRANCH SDK in the near future, we undertook a major reorganization of game assets and code. This has taken a lot of time and work, and though we have put most of it back together, there are still a few unresolved bugs out there — most noticeably visual issues (e.g. ghosting) relating to rendering and overlays.
We also had a lot of important fixes (and a lot of AI changes) that we couldn't wait any longer to tackle. Of course, any big change to the code base always has knock-on effects, so please bear with us while we hunt down and squish any remaining issues relating to the code rework.
Patch notes
[h2]AI[/h2]
As promised, we have spent a lot of time in V1034.3 giving the AI behavior a new iteration. Most of this is Chris bug-fixing and evolving AI behavior to be more plausible and consistent with player expectation, as well as more noticeable variations between difficulty levels.
However, we have also spent some time going over the existing maps to AI-proof staircases and other trouble areas, and otherwise to improve the interface between AI and level geometry. Some AI audio issues have been fixed, but some remain. In more detail, AI has had the following changes:
- AI difficulty settings have been updated
- Adjusted Untrained and Trained to compensate for better hearing
- Untrained AI are generally easier to fight
- Changed aiming bone for Untrained AI so they are less likely to headshot the player
- Adjusted difficulty settings and reaction time for Veteran AI
- Veteran AI are now more reactive to footsteps than other difficulties and are more likely to engage faster
- Adjusted Untrained and Trained to compensate for better hearing
- Updated doors to allow for Kythera navlink override position, which removes the need for some of the old door bits and bobs
- Adjusted auto-firing timings (duration and firing pause) for full auto when the AI is very close, to accommodate recent balancing changes
- Updated behavior for Guard AI when investigating noises: they will now walk a short distance (guard radius), multiple times, then return to their current guard point
- Distance and target point varies based on noise loudness and distance
- Loud noise up to 10 m away: will walk directly to the noise
- Up to 25 m away: will walk a short distance towards target
- Above 25 m: will just look in the direction (distances are subject to change upon further testing)
- Loud noise up to 10 m away: will walk directly to the noise
- Prevented AI from crouching when engaging up close (minimum distance of 25 m is required)
- AI logic has been updated in relation to aiming and tracking targets; AI will no longer fire into the direction where footsteps are coming from
- Adjusted how the AI reacts to losing sight of targets; this is now different for Veteran AI than for others
- Added new variable AddedMissDeviation to AI settings which prevents Untrained and Trained AI reaching 100% shot accuracy even after a long period of time
- Exposed skill level to behavior tree to enable different behavior patterns based on skill level
- Added more switches between High and Low Ready weapon positions, especially when following GoTo command, to reduce issues with getting stuck on edges
- Adjusted how AI approaches near targets (e.g. gunshots close by):
- Will approach more deliberately
- Veteran AI will approach faster (more likely to sprint) than other difficulties
- Adjusted searching for previously known targets:
- Patrol AI are now more likely to approach faster
- Guard AI will still hold back and not engage very far
- Added MissTarget threshold (for first shot to miss) to AI settings, adjusted settings for different AI difficulties
- Reduced angle which AI scans when they hear a gunshot, will now look more closely towards the source of the noise
- Updated parameters for advance towards target (NoCoverAdvance) to always have a minimum distance of 2 m, so that the AI doesn't get too close
- Updated fallback spatial query for NoCoverAdvance to move away from target (in case we are too close) and enforce a minimum distance; prefers greater distances now
- Updated .bot files: removed bad magwell names; removed country patch flags, missing or otherwise; removed bad pouch attach point names
[h3]AI bug fixes[/h3]
- Fixed reaction time variable being ignored in close proximity when AI would move towards the player
- Fixed prone and crouch not resetting on AI when it loses sight of target for a brief period of time
- Fixed AI shooting each other, now doing a check whether another AI is in front of them before firing
- Fixed incorrect rotation for AI after engaging an enemy at a different height level
- Fixed an issue where aim miss deviation was calculated incorrectly for Untrained AI
- Fixed an issue where aim values were not being applied properly based on skill level
- Fixed AI characters being rotated in weird angles
[h2]Gameplay and animations[/h2]
- New Video setting: Lean Roll (POV)
- Allows tweaking how much to roll the camera when leaning left/right (0 = no roll; 10 = camera fully rolls along with character animation)
- Currently available under Settings › Video › Camera
- Allows tweaking how much to roll the camera when leaning left/right (0 = no roll; 10 = camera fully rolls along with character animation)
- New anti-cheat measures:
- Disabled some cheaty console variables
- Metadata for stamina and sway variables removed from config files
- Night vision overlay is one and the same with the post-process effect now, making it harder to remove
- Disabled some cheaty console variables
- Another attempt to fix the “gun shake” bug (commonly appeared after sprinting)
- Re-enabled collision between dead bodies
[h2]UI[/h2]
- The Main Menu has received a beauty pass
- Cleaned up and did a minor style pass on all pop-up hints
- Created new pop-up hints:
- No NVG equipped — for when players try to activate NVG without having any equipped on their character
- NVG proximity blur — to alert players that the NVG’s fixed focal range make them difficult to use with most sights
- Fallback patches — to instruct players that any custom (modded) patches equipped require a fallback stock patch selection to display to players that choose not to see modded patches
- No NVG equipped — for when players try to activate NVG without having any equipped on their character
- Cleaned up teamkill warning: added support for handling multiple teamkill victims at a time; resets names if detects a player a second time
- Updated Customize Patches dialog:
- Style consistency and update pass
- Added hint for custom (modded) patch visibility
- Added [MOD] tag and tooltip to specify custom patches
- Style consistency and update pass
- Created Patch Visibility setting under Settings › Gameplay: this allows players to determine the visibility of other players’ custom patches online
- Minor visual update to radial menus (partial, WIP)
- Various small visual and text tweaks to a lot of UI elements for better appearance and consistency
💡 When using the new Patch Visibility settings, please bear in mind that your preferences will not be updated on other players until you restart the level, leave or enter the ready room, or reconnect. There may be a few other quirks with this system that we will hopefully iron out in V1034.4.
[h2]Modding[/h2]
- Modding menu now opens on the first tab by default
- [PREVIEW] New tab under Modding: the Quick Create menu allows simple (non-asset) mod types to be easily created and uploaded to the Steam Workshop
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
🛑 Although the Workshop is not yet public, mods can already be uploaded to it via the Quick Create menu, and installed via Local Mods and Server Mods (as long as the Mod ID is known).
💡 There may also be some unresolved kinks in the mod sync system, especially if you cancel a download mid-update or spam subscribe and unsubscribe requests, and so on. We are not kink-shamers, but we will nevertheless look to eradicate these issues in V1034.4. Usually the game needs to be restarted after a brief pause to make sure your modding settings are up to date regarding Steam Workshop downloads and housekeeping.
[h2]Maps[/h2]
- Updated Ready Room signage to static lightboxes
- Re-enabled volumetric fog in Small Town, Compound, Rig and Storage Facility
- General cleanup and addition of blockers to navmeshes for better AI navigation
- Rebuilt navmesh on all maps
- Fixed tree coming through wall in Run Down
- Removed glass shards with bad material from Run Down
- Replaced foliage in Run Down due to poor collision setup with existing meshes
- Fixed "double pane" glass in City that was showing incorrect bullet holes when shot out
- Fixed floating sign on generator in 747
- Fixed some navigation and collision issues in 747 (stairs in main building and in lower level of aircraft)
[h2]Game modes[/h2]
- Fixed bad laptop under stairs in City (Intel Retrieval)
[h2]Inventory[/h2]
- Fixed NVG Head Mount not having any NVG mounted by default
Known issues
- Attachment points are sometimes incorrectly highlighted in the Customize Operator screen (e.g. visible attachment point is gray, and attachment point on opposite side of the rail is white); only happens when accessing the customization screen via Main Meu
- Ability to equip anything while on the ladder (players can draw their primary, secondary, and items like grenades)
- Toggling NVG on/off while prone may require multiple attempts
- [Spectator Mode] Headcam feed text will appear in other camera modes (fixed next update)
🐞 Hostage Rescue remains in a provisional state. Technically it is more fixed up now in terms of functionality, but there are some lingering issues with the sacks persisting on the hostage after they are released (but the hostage can see OK) and some lingering/broken UI prompts afterwards. Please bear with us, and hopefully it will be back to full fighting fitness in V1034.4.