Alien Swarm: Reactive Drop News

An update for Alien Swarm: Reactive Drop has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Steam. The major changes include:

• Added Bonus Mission 7, which is the original undivided Area9800 Power Plant mission(thanks to jhheight )
  
• Cheat cvars and commands will no longer work in single player mode
  
• Grenade Launcher's grenade will now correctly collide with doors
  
• Player's status in Steam Friends window will now be shown correctly if player is playing on a dedicated server which has lobbies disabled
  
• Dedicated servers will not(by default) check for workshop updates on mission restart(this can be controlled by a cvar)
  
• Improved pathing in Sewer Junction. Aliens couldn't follow marines in a few places, hordes failed spawn because of this too.
  

• Fix nodegraph in SewerJunction. Aliens couldn't follow marines in a few places, hordes failed spawn because of this too. Used ai_show_connect_crawl to find problematic spots. First place is on stairs after turning west. Second place is the passage that is created by exploding barrels.
  
• Added Bonus Mission 7(thanks to jhheight). This is the original undivided version of Area9800 Power Plant, or, in other words, Power Plant's Cooling Pump and Generator in one mission.
  
• Fix grenades collide with doors during open or close animation
  Grenades previously were exploding on contact with air in door frames
  when the door was opening or closing. Now grenades correctly fly through
  the door frame and only collide with the door itself. This didn't happen to rifle grenades, but to grenade launcher, vindicator,
  freeze and hand grenades.
  
• Add rd_grenade_launcher_explode_on_contact cvar. If set to 0 grenade will not explode on contact with rigid world. However grenades will explode on contact with aliens
  
• Add rd_grenade_launcher_num_clusters cvar
  
• Fix leader crown is not displayed during briefing when autoready is on
  
• Remove blood effects from Grenade Launcher grenades. Previously grenade when flying in air would emit blood because it was damaged by explosions from other grenades.
  
• Fix rich presence for clients who play on dedicated servers without lobby info. Previously clients who play on dedicated server that has
  sv_allow_lobby_connect_only 0 were displaying incorrect Steam rich status.
  
• Prevent grenades to fly into the sky in place after the biomass block on TimorStation
  
• Add rd_interpenetrating_entities_warning cvar.
  
• Add several fence models to lights.rad
  
• Make ChaseNearestMarine() VScript function wake alien if it is asleep
  Previously this function did nothing if alien was far from marines and
  was sleeping.
  
• Add rd_clearhouse_on_mission_complete cvar. If 1 all NPCs will be removed from map on round end
  
• Add rd_workshop_update_every_round cvar. If 1 dedicated server will check for workshop items during each mission restart(workshop.cfg will be executed). If 0, workshop items will only update once during server startup
  
• Prevent displaying of computer interface if asw_simple_hacking 1. Computer hacks, such as the computer at the end of Landing Bay, will
  no longer show a UI for hacking if asw_simple_hacking is set to 1. By element109.
  
• Suppress weapon stats missing message. When setting "rd_weapons_show_hidden 1” messages display in
  console just changed to DevMsg. By element109.
  
• Add new VScript functions
• Fix horde positions are blocked by player clip brushes
  

An update to Alien Swarm: Reactive Drop has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Steam. The major changes include:

• Improved game performance in many maps. Frame rate is more stable now.
  
• Added Bonus Mission 6, which is the original undivided version of High Tension mission(thanks to Eerie-Eg)
  
• Improved medic bot's healing abilities(thanks to element109)
  
• Reworked the starting area of Arctic Infiltration mission
  

• Fixed frame rate stutter and various little things in several maps
• Medic bot now heals infested marine without waiting until health reaches low limit. By element109
  
• Make medic bot immediately heal marine which is on fire. Also fix medic couldn't start healing infested marines because their health was not lower than 85% of total health.
  
• Add more fence models to lights.rad to forcetextureshadow list. These affect Deima map, near the first hack there was a big black unrealistic shadow coming from a fence. Compiling with this new lights.rad make shadow more accurate.
  
• Fix minor issues in Deima mission
  
  • Removed a light stand which was floating in-air
    
  • Fixed some spawners spamming errors in console for missing activities
    
  • Fixed players could get under map during death camera slowdown
    
  • Fixed aliens could run through air after marines passed the ship bridge and ship flew away
    
  • Added more player spawn points to fulfill 8 spawn points requirement
    
• Fix minor issues in Timor Station mission
  
  • Prevented Grenade Launcher's grenades to fly into the sky in place near the biomass block
    
  • Fixed aliens from hordes getting stuck in non playable map areas
    
  • Added more player spawn points to fulfill 8 spawn points requirement
• Rework the starting area in til3ArcticInfiltration
  
• Fix several minor issues in area9800LZ and til2RoadToDawn
  
• Fix pipe glitch in par5crucial_point, by Eerie-Eg
  
• Fix crashes at first holdout area in par4high_tension, by Eerie-Eg
  
• Add bonus_mission6 into Bonus Missions campaign. High Tension undivided.
  
• Improve bonus_mission6(High Tension undivided), by Eerie-Eg
  
  • Fixed crashes during first holdout
    
  • Ported changes from split versions of High Tension into the undivided one
    

An update to Alien Swarm: Reactive Drop has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Steam. The major changes include:

• Added Vietnamese translation for game UI by Nguyễn Tuấn Long
• Added ability for each map to have its own background image for the loading screen.
  
• Fixed white screen crash
  
• Added new ConVars, VScript function, bug fixes
  

• Add rd_sentry_refilled_by_dismantling cvar. If set to 1 marine will refill sentry ammo by dismantling it.
  
• Fix bot frags are not counted for co-op missions. This caused ammo to not spawn from aliens in challenges that used the rd_spawn_ammo cvar
  
• Fix white screen crash
  
• Show yellow icon when player is speaking in Player List window. Also added rd_speaking_r, rd_speaking_g, rd_speaking_b ConVars to allow players to set their own color for speaker icon
  
• Add rd_ray_trace_distance convar. Can be modified by challenges or maps(using Convars.SetValue() vscript) to increase the distance which can be targeted using grenade launcher.
  
• Add VScript Function to spawn fire StartFire(). StartFire( Vector position, float duration, int flags ). Returns a handle to the created env_fire entity.
  
• Add ConVar rd_biomass_ignite_from_flares(thanks to element109)
  
• Add rd_auto_kick_low_level_player for challenges ASBI, TIER 1 and 2
  
• Fix difficulty in ASBI is lowered for 3 or less marines. asw_adjust_difficulty_by_number_of_marines 0 was applied after the mission start but difficulty adjustment happens before this. This cvar was moved from
  challenge_asbi.nut to asbi.txt
  
• Add rd_auto_kick_high_ping_player convar. If not zero the value will be compared to players ping and player is kicked if the ping is higher than the value.(thanks to element109)
  
• Add ability for each map to have its own background image for the loading screen. The window's background image which is shown during map load can now be customized to show a unique image per each map. Added rd_loading_image_per_map cvar which can be used to turn this feature off.
  By default it is set to 1 which means the feature is enabled. This works for all maps, including community maps. Example of files required for the custom loading image to work(for rd-til4area9800.bsp map):
  reactivedrop/materials/vgui/swarm/loading/rd-til4area9800.vmt
  reactivedrop/materials/vgui/swarm/loading/rd-til4area9800.vtf
  reactivedrop/materials/vgui/swarm/loading/rd-til4area9800_wide.vmt
  reactivedrop/materials/vgui/swarm/loading/rd-til4area9800_wide.vtf
  Files with "_wide" suffix are meant for 16x9 aspect ratio resolutions.
  Files without suffix are meant for 4x3 aspect ratio resolutions.
  If custom material is missing a default material is used.
  
• Fix uber drones are smaller when spawned from spawners. Uber drones default to 1.3 in size of regular drone. asw_spawner, alien selection and vscript code can change the size of asw_drone_uber by setting the Size Scale parameter. It is no longer required for asw_spawner to manually set uber drone's Size Scale to 1.3.
  
• Add Vietnamese translation for game UI by Nguyễn Tuấn Long
  
• Add antlion guard NPCs to the asw_clearhouse
  
• Add rd_chatwipe cvar, set it to 0 to prevent chat wiping
  
• Fix crash on connect introduced by custom loading image feature
  
• Prevent inserting blank page to chat on mission restart if rd_chatwipe set to 0
  
• Prevent camera rotation when not in game(thanks to element109)
  
• Fix tech marine requirement is not disabled after hack on ocs2landingbay7
  
• Fix skybox blinking black at start of bonus_mission2
  

Known issues

rd_chatwipe 0 can lead to chat being invisible after map just loaded, only happens once at first game start. This happens randomly. We are investigating this issue. If you have additional details on this issue, provide them in the feedback section of our discussions.

A default background loading image is shown when joining lobby for the first time.

An update to Alien Swarm: Reactive Drop has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Steam. The major changes include:

• Difficulty no longer increases for 5+ marines. Thanks to everyone who left their feedback regarding this feature.
  
• Voice mute buttons. Players are now able to mute separate players using the Player List window(F9)
  
• To improve user experience when browsing for public games players with in-game level below 30 and no promotions will not see games with a challenge enabled or difficulty harder than Hard.
  
• [Modding]VScript access to info_node positions, new cvars
  
• Miscellaneous fixes
  

• Added rm_prespawn_num_biomass cvar. It can be used in user challenges to randomly create biomass around a map. Requires rd_prespawn_scale to be set to 1 or higher.
  
• Updated description of rm_prespawn_num_* cvars
  
• Set rd_increase_difficulty_by_number_of_marines to be 0 by default. Game difficulty will not be increased for 5+ players
  
• Add mute button to player list window(F9). Thanks to element109 for the initial pull request.
  
• Added VScript Functions to Get info_node Data.
  
  • InfoNodes.GetNumNodes() //Returns the amount of info_nodes in the network array
    
  • InfoNodes.GetNodeOrigin( int nodeID ) //Returns the origin of the node
    
  • InfoNodes.GetNodePosition( int nodeID, int hull ) //Returns the hull specific origin of the node
    
  • InfoNodes.GetNodeType( int nodeID ) //Returns the type of node
    
• Add rd_drone_uber_knockdown cvar. Set to 1 to make uber drones knock down marines like shieldbugs do. Also added related cvars rd_drone_uber_knockdown_force and rd_drone_uber_knockdown_lift
  
• Make asw_trigger_fall, trigger_hurt and env_laser kill marines even if reviving is enabled
  
• Display number of incapacitations in player list window. If reviving is enabled F9 window(player list) will now display the number of times marine was incapacitated during current mission.
  
• Fix marine is deleted after asw_suicide. This bugged out challenges with reviving enabled
  
• Grey out difficulties above Hard and challenges for players below 30 level in Find Public Games window
  
• Disable blinking light on area9800PP1 map to improve frame rate
  
• Fix help hint is displayed permanently during bonus mission 1
  
• Fix aliens getting stuck in huge yellow door on lan3_maintenance
  
• Fix alien getting stuck inside wall on LandingBay_01
  
• Fix uber drones getting stuck in door frames and windows
  
• Add rd_auto_kick_low_level_player. Server auto kick players below level 30 from challenges which have this cvar set to 1. This cvar is meant for players who use dedicated server browser to join games, since Public Games window already restricts filters to max Hard difficulty and challenge being disabled
  

This update brings support for rich presence in both Steam and Discord.

If you participate in Steam Beta you will now see more information in your Friend List window. What map is your friend playing, difficulty, number of slots taken and number of maximum slots available on server, as well as the active Challenge name.



Discord users will see similar information.



Also in Discord players are able to post invites in chats to invite players to join their lobby. As well as using the "Ask to Join" button when clicking on player's nickname.



Feel free to join our Discord community to chat and invite people to play with you.

If you are working on a map you may want to check out the community Source Engine Discord server to gather feedback, share screenshots or invite for playtests. Feel free to share your favorite Discord servers in comments section.

Another major change is we've fixed a bug reported by NoName which was causing game difficulty to become lower after a mission restart. Now mission restart will not lower difficulty. 8-player games on Brutal will become harder. 4-player games are slightly affected too. As this issue was present since Alien Swarm's release we want to hear your feedback to decide whether we keep the change or revert it to how it was before. Please use this discussion to leave your feedback on this issue or create a new discussion if necessary.

• Added rich presence for Steam and Discord. You need to have Steam Beta installed to see the new features in your friend list window. If you have Discord desktop app installed RD will send an extended status in it. You can also invite people to your lobby using Discord.
  
• Added soundscripts required for bonus_mission2 map(thanks to Rock N Roll)
  
• Fixed medic rifle has infinite heals with rd_infinite_ammo(thanks to element109)
  
• Disabled blinking light at til1MidnightPort. Blinking light at map start was causing frame time fluctuations. Looks like lights with changed appearance are causing frame-time to increase which makes next frame time to be decreased. Such fluctuations in frame-time cause monitor to display the same frame during two monitor refreshes. This results in reduced actual framerate even if game's reported framerate is 60
  
• Added rd_suggest_difficulty cvar. If set to 0, game will not show a message suggesting player to change their difficulty(thanks to element109).
  
• Added rd_hud_minimap_drawing convar. If set to 0 the player cannot draw on the mini-map and does not receive other's drawings. This does not affect other players ability to draw and receive drawings(thanks to element109).
  
• Fixed asw_spawner Skill Level. Brutal and Insane are no longer treated as the same Skill Level.
  
• Fixed alien health is being lowered after mission restart. Difficulty modifier was not properly updating, affecting aliens' health(lowering it). Thus asw_adjust_difficulty_by_number_of_marines and rd_increase_difficulty_by_number_of_marines cvars didn't properly work.