Version 1.18.3
[h2]BACK TO NORMAL[/h2]
The Meltdown Event has now concluded!
Two new maps, a whole new playable dino class, and oodles of new cosmetics. It's been wild!
We hope you all enjoyed the past 3+ months of hot new content, there's a lot more planned in future!
Halloween is just around the corner, with some spooky surprises coming up at the end of October. Beyond that, the major winter update will bring overhauls to many parts of the game this December.
Just as a reminder:
If you're feeling creative, we have our first PCE mapping contest running right now!
[h2]SANDSTORM VALLEY UPDATE[/h2]
We have worked with the original creator of the Sandstorm Valley community map to improve the game flow of its Team Deathmatch version. There is now a lot a more cover to hide behind, or weave your way through to lose your pursuers. The map also had some collision optimizations and lighting tweaks.
We hope you enjoy this new and improved version of Sandstorm Valley!
[h2]GAMEPLAY CHANGES[/h2]
Today's patch introduces a number of gameplay adjustments and fixes. There will continue to be further tweaks and re-balancing over the next few months. Here are some of the highlights...
[h3]Momentum Madness[/h3]
A bug was recently introduced as a side effect from changes to how impact momentum works...
Certain weapons accidentally applied forces to live characters, which resulted in guns like the M4 carbine being able to slow down dinosaurs every time a bullet hit them. Patch 1.18.3 fixes this issue, and allows Bruisers to get some payback with newly updated ragdoll knockback on their attacks.
Over the past few weeks the momentum system has actually been completely reworked, using more efficient code that has better network replication for attacks. This is part of an ongoing effort to optimize and improve our netcode, with larger renovations planned over the next few months.
[h3]Respawn Rework[/h3]
This update changes how respawning works. You are no longer able to respawn right away as the same class, instead you are now returned to the class select menu after the timer has expired. This means the game now frees up the previously occupied class slot instantly for other players.
There are many reasons for this change, which is a long time coming. For one, it can be problematic when the same person keeps respawning as the same class over and over again for a whole match. In the case of something like a Tyrant, this can lead to a human team being utterly dominated, and other dino players not getting the chance to try the class out.
Forcing a return to class selection addresses this, and mitigates several serious bugs that can arise from changing classes or loadouts while dead (we're sure you've seen some nightmarish monstrosities here and there as a result of this very thing). When these errors occur, it places a major strain on the server hosting the match, which can lead to both clients and the server itself crashing completely.
[h3]Tyrant Tune-up[/h3]
One of the biggest new changes is a reworking of the Tyrant classes to be somewhat less invincible...
Tyrant health has been reduced globally. It felt like the time was right, considering recent improvements to their attacks and the fact that devouring enemies gives more health than it used to. There are some changes to offset this though, including an increase to walking speed and the addition of armor.
Tyrants now have strong points at various spots on their body. This means that although their overall health has been reduced, certain parts take less damage than others when shot. Although their head is still their weakest area, the diagrams below should give you a good idea of where (not) to shoot when fighting these behemoths..
Tyrants and Bruisers now have strong points in their tails, so you're less likely to be killed while dashing round a corner because your tail was still peeking out slightly. Moving forward, the strong point system is something that will continue to be extended and refined in future updates.
We hope these changes spice things up! Playing and fighting Tyrants should now take a bit more skill.
Info on other balance adjustments included in this update can be found in the full changelog below.
As always, we'll be closely watching how these tweaks unfold now they're out in the wild.
[h2]MORE REWARDING CHALLENGES[/h2]
We are currently modifying the weekly challenge system to reward you with a multi-item bundle once a set of challenges is completed. This change will come into effect in time for the next challenge rotation on Tuesday.
Once this change has gone live, you'll receive an unlock bundle when all three challenges are finished. These unlocks will include:
We wanted to provide another potential method of obtaining precious crafting tools such as Dino DNA Strands and Human Requisition Orders, so there's a chance to receive one as part of a reward bundle. Something to keep in mind as we will be introducing new crafting tools in future updates.
(Challenges also still reward tiered EXP for completing each one)
[h2]STORE UPDATES[/h2]
We're adding a bunch of fresh new items to the in-game store today, see details on some of the striking new looks available below! Alas, aside from a select few featured items in store, the Meltdown Event has now departed and its item codes have been deactivated.
[h3]Bold... Intricate... Orange...[/h3]
This rotation features the Tarakona Skin Pack, which includes 5 new brilliant dino skin designs in one great bundle. Created by community artist Ruby Talon, these skins have incredibly intricate stripes and one vivid colour palette. The bundle includes Tarakona Ptera, T.Rex, Spinosaurus, Dilophosaurus and yes- Ceratosaurus!
[h3]New Gift Giver Rewards[/h3]
As announced previously, we now regularly rotate in new Gift Giver Rewards for the currently active gifts. See below for a guide to what you will receive for your generosity if you open one of these gifts today...
Summer is just about over, so they won't be around much longer. All three of the Meltdown gifts will be leaving the store towards the end of October, so grab them while they're hot.
[h3]Ceratosaurus In Focus[/h3]
If you look in-store, you'll see for the time being we're putting a spotlight on our new friend Ceratosaurus. So if you weren't around during the Meltdown Event, don't worry! All the Cerato items introduced last month will remain in stock for the next couple of rotations. And we'll be adding a selection of fresh new skins for the big brawler every rotation as well.
New looks available today: Swamp Ceratosaurus, Archipelago Ceratosaurus & Muerta Ceratosaurus.
A new set of Cerato skins arrives to replace these with the next rotation, so snap 'em up while you can!
Elsewhere, we are also bringing back a bunch of classic skins this rotation. Check the Specials tab of the store for a couple dozen blasts from the past at a tasty discount!
Finally, outside of the store- there are three new free drops added with todays update:
Above: Beach Cerato skin, Target Tupa skin, and PRAVUS Dilo (mutation)
We also have the first Ceratosaurus mutation for everyone to enjoy. Falcatus is a default mutation for Cerato, featuring sharp headcrests curving towards the front of the skull. Find it in your inventory today!
[h2]FULL PATCH NOTES[/h2]
Below are all of the changes from today's update.
Please be aware there is an issue with using spectator mode currently, we advise you avoid using it as there's a chance it may crash the game.
That's all for now!
We'll be back near Halloween with another frightfully delightful update, see you then!
-The Primal Carnage Team
The Meltdown Event has now concluded!
Two new maps, a whole new playable dino class, and oodles of new cosmetics. It's been wild!
We hope you all enjoyed the past 3+ months of hot new content, there's a lot more planned in future!
Halloween is just around the corner, with some spooky surprises coming up at the end of October. Beyond that, the major winter update will bring overhauls to many parts of the game this December.
Just as a reminder:
If you're feeling creative, we have our first PCE mapping contest running right now!
[h2]SANDSTORM VALLEY UPDATE[/h2]
We have worked with the original creator of the Sandstorm Valley community map to improve the game flow of its Team Deathmatch version. There is now a lot a more cover to hide behind, or weave your way through to lose your pursuers. The map also had some collision optimizations and lighting tweaks.
We hope you enjoy this new and improved version of Sandstorm Valley!
[h2]GAMEPLAY CHANGES[/h2]
Today's patch introduces a number of gameplay adjustments and fixes. There will continue to be further tweaks and re-balancing over the next few months. Here are some of the highlights...
[h3]Momentum Madness[/h3]
A bug was recently introduced as a side effect from changes to how impact momentum works...
Certain weapons accidentally applied forces to live characters, which resulted in guns like the M4 carbine being able to slow down dinosaurs every time a bullet hit them. Patch 1.18.3 fixes this issue, and allows Bruisers to get some payback with newly updated ragdoll knockback on their attacks.
Over the past few weeks the momentum system has actually been completely reworked, using more efficient code that has better network replication for attacks. This is part of an ongoing effort to optimize and improve our netcode, with larger renovations planned over the next few months.
[h3]Respawn Rework[/h3]
This update changes how respawning works. You are no longer able to respawn right away as the same class, instead you are now returned to the class select menu after the timer has expired. This means the game now frees up the previously occupied class slot instantly for other players.
There are many reasons for this change, which is a long time coming. For one, it can be problematic when the same person keeps respawning as the same class over and over again for a whole match. In the case of something like a Tyrant, this can lead to a human team being utterly dominated, and other dino players not getting the chance to try the class out.
Forcing a return to class selection addresses this, and mitigates several serious bugs that can arise from changing classes or loadouts while dead (we're sure you've seen some nightmarish monstrosities here and there as a result of this very thing). When these errors occur, it places a major strain on the server hosting the match, which can lead to both clients and the server itself crashing completely.
[h3]Tyrant Tune-up[/h3]
One of the biggest new changes is a reworking of the Tyrant classes to be somewhat less invincible...
Tyrant health has been reduced globally. It felt like the time was right, considering recent improvements to their attacks and the fact that devouring enemies gives more health than it used to. There are some changes to offset this though, including an increase to walking speed and the addition of armor.
Tyrants now have strong points at various spots on their body. This means that although their overall health has been reduced, certain parts take less damage than others when shot. Although their head is still their weakest area, the diagrams below should give you a good idea of where (not) to shoot when fighting these behemoths..
Tyrants and Bruisers now have strong points in their tails, so you're less likely to be killed while dashing round a corner because your tail was still peeking out slightly. Moving forward, the strong point system is something that will continue to be extended and refined in future updates.
We hope these changes spice things up! Playing and fighting Tyrants should now take a bit more skill.
Info on other balance adjustments included in this update can be found in the full changelog below.
As always, we'll be closely watching how these tweaks unfold now they're out in the wild.
[h2]MORE REWARDING CHALLENGES[/h2]
We are currently modifying the weekly challenge system to reward you with a multi-item bundle once a set of challenges is completed. This change will come into effect in time for the next challenge rotation on Tuesday.
Once this change has gone live, you'll receive an unlock bundle when all three challenges are finished. These unlocks will include:
- 2 items of either Common or Uncommon quality
- 1 Rare item that is from a more curated list than the regular drop pool
- 1 item that can be Common, Uncommon or a crafting tool
We wanted to provide another potential method of obtaining precious crafting tools such as Dino DNA Strands and Human Requisition Orders, so there's a chance to receive one as part of a reward bundle. Something to keep in mind as we will be introducing new crafting tools in future updates.
(Challenges also still reward tiered EXP for completing each one)
[h2]STORE UPDATES[/h2]
We're adding a bunch of fresh new items to the in-game store today, see details on some of the striking new looks available below! Alas, aside from a select few featured items in store, the Meltdown Event has now departed and its item codes have been deactivated.
[h3]Bold... Intricate... Orange...[/h3]
This rotation features the Tarakona Skin Pack, which includes 5 new brilliant dino skin designs in one great bundle. Created by community artist Ruby Talon, these skins have incredibly intricate stripes and one vivid colour palette. The bundle includes Tarakona Ptera, T.Rex, Spinosaurus, Dilophosaurus and yes- Ceratosaurus!
[h3]New Gift Giver Rewards[/h3]
As announced previously, we now regularly rotate in new Gift Giver Rewards for the currently active gifts. See below for a guide to what you will receive for your generosity if you open one of these gifts today...
Summer is just about over, so they won't be around much longer. All three of the Meltdown gifts will be leaving the store towards the end of October, so grab them while they're hot.
[h3]Ceratosaurus In Focus[/h3]
If you look in-store, you'll see for the time being we're putting a spotlight on our new friend Ceratosaurus. So if you weren't around during the Meltdown Event, don't worry! All the Cerato items introduced last month will remain in stock for the next couple of rotations. And we'll be adding a selection of fresh new skins for the big brawler every rotation as well.
New looks available today: Swamp Ceratosaurus, Archipelago Ceratosaurus & Muerta Ceratosaurus.
A new set of Cerato skins arrives to replace these with the next rotation, so snap 'em up while you can!
Elsewhere, we are also bringing back a bunch of classic skins this rotation. Check the Specials tab of the store for a couple dozen blasts from the past at a tasty discount!
Finally, outside of the store- there are three new free drops added with todays update:
Above: Beach Cerato skin, Target Tupa skin, and PRAVUS Dilo (mutation)
We also have the first Ceratosaurus mutation for everyone to enjoy. Falcatus is a default mutation for Cerato, featuring sharp headcrests curving towards the front of the skull. Find it in your inventory today!
[h2]FULL PATCH NOTES[/h2]
Below are all of the changes from today's update.
Please be aware there is an issue with using spectator mode currently, we advise you avoid using it as there's a chance it may crash the game.
- End of Meltdown Event
- Updated version of Sandstorm Valley with more cover and collision fixes
- Changed game flow for respawning.
- Prevented access to customization when respawn process has begun to mitigate model glitches.
- If a player changes class while alive and was recently damaged, their attacker is awarded a kill.
- Completely reworked how impact momentum is handled
- Fixed bullet damage applying momentum to live pawns
- Fixed momentum not being applied to ragdolls in some cases
- Reduced cooldown period between sprinting and crouching
- Increased dinosaur corpse healing speed
- Increased Tyrant walking speed
- Halved special attack stamina cost for T-Rex
- Reduced health of Tyrannosaurus from 4000 to 2800
- Reduced health of Spinosaurus from 4400 to 3100
- Reduced health of Acrocanthosaurus from 3600 to 2600
- Made it easier for T.Rex and Spino to trample humans
- Explosives now ignore armour strong points
- Added armour strong points to various parts of the Tyrant classes
- Tyrant and Bruiser tails now take reduced damage from weapons
- Increased damage of Trapper dual pistols from 50 to 60
- Increased max ammo of Trapper dual pistols to 100
- Dual pistols are now more damaging at maximum range
- Reduced damage at long range for shotguns
- Reduced maximum range for shotguns
- Adjusted timing windows of all dino melee attacks to be more responsive
- Updated the Spino and T-Rex swipe attacks to use better directional logic.
- Increased T-Rex swipe animation speed to 1.3x
- Added better loadout verification, optimized server traffic for loadouts
- Fixed errors while in the main menu when certain keys are pressed.
- Updated specular lighting shader for dinosaurs
- Updated electrocution visuals
That's all for now!
We'll be back near Halloween with another frightfully delightful update, see you then!
-The Primal Carnage Team