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G'day Forts fans!
[p][/p][p]We've cooked up another update for you, this one long anticipated. The headline items are ranked arbitration and matchmaking by playtime.[/p][p][/p][h2]Ranked Arbitration[/h2][p]After much work the ranked arbitration server is now operating. It monitors the game clients as before, but now it determines the winner. Players who disconnect during the match will record a loss and the remaining player a win.[/p][p]We are hopeful that this change will improve the ranked competition significantly, and allow us to announce season results earlier.[/p][p]To celebrate this milestone we've added 'Spirals', a runner up map from the Forts Map Making Contest 2, to the ranked map pool.[/p][p][/p][p]
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Spirals by M4r0x has been added to ranked[/p][p][/p][h2]Playtime Matchmaking[/h2][p]Next, we've added a simple form of match making. Players are divided into three experience levels using their total playtime: New Players (0-50 hours), Advanced Players (50-200 hours), and Expert Players (200+ hours). These levels are indicated by one, two and three stripes.[/p][p]When configuring a lobby, hosts can now exclude those outside of one level equal to or above their own. Put another way, a new player can create a lobby accepting only new players, or advanced players, or expert players. An expert player can create a lobby accepting only expert players.[/p][p][/p][p]
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Set an accepted experience level for a lobby's public listing[/p][p][/p][p]In the Lobby Select screen the host's level is shown next to their name, and the level being accepted is shown in a column on the right. In the lobby the accepted level is shown next to the lobby name, in the case where a player does not match it their level is shown next to their name.[/p][p][/p][p]
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The host's experience level, and that accepted by the lobby are shown in the lobby select screen[/p][p][/p][p]Hosts can invite friends not in the lobby's configured level, but the level of these players is shown if it doesn't match the setting.[/p][p]And of course you can still make a lobby open to everyone.[/p][p][/p][h2]Other Highlights[/h2][p]The Smokebomb now blocks the Firebeam for almost its entire duration. This is to provide a better counter to the Mortar/Firebeam combo.[/p][p]Spook's active duration is a few seconds longer, but she takes longer to charge and steals less.[/p][p]Some functions that are called each tick and which bog down as the scene grows in complexity have been optimised. Replays which contain many screenshots are faster to browse in the replay menu.[/p][p]For modders, we've added a flag 'Mirror' to sparks and sprite effects so their direction can be symmetrical with respect to weapon facing.[/p][p]Cheers,[/p][p]EWG[/p][p][/p][h2]Change List 1.34.0 r20032[/h2][p][/p][p]Add: Matchmaking by play time[/p][p]Add: Ranked arbitration - disconnecting during match will cause loss[/p][p]Add: 1v1 map 'Spirals', runner up of the Forts Map Making Contest 2 by M4r0x
[/p][p]Balance: (Firebeam) Damage multiplier vs smoke reduced from 65 to 21 (-68%), making it more effective at blocking[/p][p]Balance: (Spook active) Duration increased from 20s to 24s (+20%)[/p][p]Balance: (Spook active) Resource theft reduced from 200 metal, 2000 energy to 150 metal, 1500 energy (-25%)[/p][p]Balance: (Spook) Increase GaugeAttackHitpoints from 8640 to 11088 (+28%)[/p][p]Balance: (Spook) Increase GaugeDamageHitpoints from 4050 to 4725 (+16%)
[/p][p]Fix: (Map editor) Right clicking on an underwater strut selects water terrain[/p][p]Fix: (Vanilla 2v2 MS) Terrain on cliff face can be attached to[/p][p]Fix: (Vanilla 2v2) Terrain on cliff face can be attached to[/p][p]Fix: Both Menu Skin and HUD Skin dropdowns can be opened simultaneously[/p][p]Fix: Can't sell devices after a move is interrupted[/p][p]Fix: Mute control doesn't work in some circumstance[/p][p]Fix: Projectile gameplay effects of special theme can be out of sync with base version, causing desyncs[/p][p]Fix: Resource limited team-mates can create struts at the same time[/p][p]Fix: Result at time limit sometimes incorrect[/p][p]Fix: Smoke produced from the destruction of the Smoke Bomb is destroyed instantly by Plasma Laser[/p][p]Fix: Sprite idle animations are stopped by reload[/p][p]Fix: Unsubscribed mods are activated via saved Skirmish settings[/p][p]Fix: Upgrading an overheated machine gun causes the minigun to be permanently overheated[/p][p]Fix: Ranked maps can be selected twice in a row
[/p][p]Improve: (Ranked) Spirals included in ranked pool from Season 38[/p][p]Improve: AddTextButtonControl and AddStaticControl add to the replay root if in a replay[/p][p]Improve: 'Draw' is displayed when there is no winner[/p][p]Improve: Fire effect sparks and sprite effects emission angles can be mirrored with weapon facing by adding Mirror = true[/p][p]Improve: Lobby alert popup works within menus and map editor[/p][p]Improve: Moved replay screenshot option to Video tab[/p][p]Improve: Set bounds to FramesRate, Oversamples, MinimumMass, FramesPerTick, TickLookahead and CollisionLookaheadDistance to limit abuse
[/p][p]Optimise: Checksum calculation and desync debugging[/p][p]Optimise: Loading speed of replay screenshots[/p][p][/p][h2]Change List 1.34.0 r20076[/h2][p]
Improve: Ranked matches are listed below lobbies with unmatched playtime limits[/p][p]Improve: Match making brackets are shown as tooltips in the lobby settings screen[/p][p]Improve: Increase expert bracket from 200+ to 300+ hours
[/p][p]Fix: Low frame rate in ranked matches[/p][p]Fix: Crash when instant replay fails to decompress[/p][p]Fix: Crash when lobby is full and change team panel is used[/p][h2]
Change List 1.34.0 r20112[/h2][p][/p][p]Fix: Spirals background is asymmetric, favouring side 2[/p][p]Fix: Desync when player connects to an isolated node[/p][p]Fix: Desync after ranked matches complete[/p][p]Fix: Host can fail to receive 'other player has forfeited' message when client forfeits in commander select screen[/p][p]Fix: Mashing escape while ranked opponent forfeits can cause soft lock[/p][p]Fix: Pausing as the game is won can cause soft lock[/p][p]Fix: Crash starting instant replay when weapon groups are set[/p][p]Fix: Crash when NULL node is passed to MarkStructureBreadthFirst via queue
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Make Sure To Join Our Discord[/h2][p][/p][p]If you haven't already, join our
Forts Official Discord server to connect with other players, share strategies, create maps/mods, and receive advance notice of upcoming events.[/p][p][/p][p]Cheers,[/p][p]
EWG[/p]
Ghoulish grievers fill the fire alarm!
Souls burn for eternity in the demented reactor, unless unleashed if their tomb is destroyed!
It's raining blood in the Cursed Landscape. Which team are you on? Team Gargoyle or Team Skull?
Halloween themed front end image!
Skullbags, Witchy Warheads, Ghost clouds and Cobweb cladding & cables join the hallowe'en party!
*Cursed landscape replaces 'Canyon' environment set.
**Haunted HUD replaces 'Default' HUD skin. Toggle theme and HUD on/off in options.