Insurgency: Sandstorm News

[h3]Today we are launching a playable preview version of our upcoming 1.11 update. This includes the new map ‘Gap’, two new weapons (P90 and Vector), a new weapon upgrade, and more! See below for more info.[/h3]

This content is now available on the Community Test Environment. Go to your Steam Library and download “Insurgency: Sandstorm Community Test Environment” to play. Please remember this is a preview build, so some issues are expected (see 'Known Issues') and all content is considered work in progress. If you encounter any problems or have feedback for the development team please don’t hesitate to let us know in the CTE sub-section of the Steam forums. Also be sure to fill out our 1.11 CTE Feedback Survey. Our team will be monitoring feedback during the CTE and aim to push this update to players when the live version of this update releases. The CTE will be available until Monday evening.

The full changelist for the release version of Update 1.11 will be available at the time of release.

Please note: If you launch the CTE and your mods start downloading, please close the CTE and use

-DisableModSubscriptions

as a launch parameter on Steam.

[h3]New Map: Gap[/h3]
Gap is where two worlds collide. The luxurious hotel and the poor slums are a close-quarters battle ground offering an intense experience where every step can be deadly. Tight alleyways, exposed rooftops, extravagant hallways and a gold plated lobby are only a few of the various spaces the battle will be taken to in Gap.

Gap was created with the new game mode ambush in mind, requiring players to extract the VIP from the Hotel into the slums through tight alleyways and interiors.

Versus

• Push Security
  
• Push Insurgents
  
• Frontline
  
• Domination
  
• Firefight
  
• Ambush
  

Co-op

• Checkpoint Security
  
• Checkpoint Insurgents
  
• Outpost
  
• Survival
  

[h3]New Game Mode: Ambush[/h3]
We’ve added a new versus mode called Ambush, a single-elimination scenario. Escort the VIP to the objective as the Extracting team, or hunt down and eliminate them as the Ambushing team. This mode is available on the maps below:

• Gap
  
• Tell
  
• Bab
  
• Precinct
  
• Tideway
  
• Ministry
  

We hope to expand the mode to more maps in future updates.

[h3]New Weapons: P90 and Vector[/h3]
We’ve added two new SMGs available to the Advisor class: the Vector for Security at 6 supply points and the P90 for Insurgents at 5 supply points. Both weapons support Optic, Barrel, and other upgrades, and unique iron sights. These specialist weapons are exclusive to the Advisor, and offer new and lethal ways to approach combat with this class.

[h3]New Upgrade: Point Shooting Grip[/h3]
The new Point Shooting Grip is here, adding precision and changing up close quarter combat. The Point Shooting Grip is available to both factions on co-op modes only.

Survival Mode Improvements

• Increased enemy AI difficulty by decreasing reaction speed and increasing accuracy

[h3]Gameplay Improvements[/h3]

• Static plays when a character speaking through the radio is killed
  
• Voiceover lines played in-game are the same voice over line heard by all players
  
• Different reloading voiceover lines play depending whether the equipped weapon is magazine fed
  
• Added new “Intimidate” voiceover responses integrated with players and enemy AI
  
• Enemy AI that are blinded by flashbangs will play a voiceover line
  
• Added two new controller layouts: Classic and Modern
  
• The flashlight brightness has been adjusted for consistency between all primary and secondary weapons
  
• Direct hits from molotov cocktails will not cause instant death anymore
  
• The Fragger class is broken down into five classes: Assaulter, Advisor, Breacher, Gunner and Marksman Fraggers
  
• Night Vision Goggles can be worn and taken off using one hand, this allows players to keep their weapon on screen and have the ability to fire while toggling

[h3]User Experience Improvements[/h3]

• Improved the friendly teammate indicator icon
  
• Increased the thickness and transparency of the friendly teammate indicator icon
  
• Friendly icons appear around the edges of the screen similar to objective icons
  
• Updated the Appearance Selection Screen to add a gradient and vertically centered the UI elements to be consistent with other Screens
  
• Improved audio and visual feedback when interacting with supply crates and scavenging for ammo
  
• Improved responsiveness of the melee weapon attack animations
  
• Changed the default angle the weapon appears on the Loadout Screen
  
• 1.5x optics appear between 1x and 2x optics in the Loadout Menu
  
• Added icons for each section in appearance screen
  
• Disabled the ‘setname’ command

[h3]Loadout System Revamp[/h3]
We’ve revamped the look and usability of the loadout system. The list below highlights the changes that were made, but not limited to:

• Weapon upgrades and attachments appear in slots around the weapon
  
• Improved audio feedback in the Loadout screens
  
• Improved layout of the Appearance Selection screen
  

[h3]Enemy AI Improvements[/h3]

• Increased enemy difficulty by decreasing reaction speed and increasing accuracy
  
• Enemies are more coordinated and use smoke as cover to advance through the level and capture objectives more effectively
  
• Enemies will take a longer time to react and fire upon players who are hidden in the shadows
  
• Reduced occurrences of hip firing at long ranges
  
• Enemies will react to live C4s by retreating away from it
  
• Enemies will not immediately retreat off a lost objective when engaged in combat
  
• Gunner enemies will search for more effective cover locations to set up at
  
• Scavenged magazines dropped by enemies are always full
  

[h3]Resolved Issues[/h3]

• Fixed an issue that made it difficult for players to select weapons located near the Range Computer in the Firing Range
  
• Fixed an issue where dead characters would play a voice over line
  
• Fixed a visual issue with the left arm when sprinting and toggling the any 2x-1x optic on Hardcore mode
  
• Fixed an issue where the extended magazine would not appear attached to the QBZ-97 in the Loadout screen
  
• Fixed an issue when selecting the different color variations for the Combat Glasses did not change the lens color
  
• Fixed an issue where the “Enter Player ID” button found in the Stats > History screen did not work on the controller
  
• Fixed an issue in the Local Play menu where the selected scenario would reset if the a different time or map was selected
  
• Fixed animation issues when using binoculars while leaning, crouching and proning that caused deformities in 3P
  
• Fixed an issue with the ammo display showing incorrect elements when using an AK74 equipped with a drum magazine and grenade launcher
  

Please note: There are a number of fixes coming with 1.11, and this is not the full list of bug fixes coming in 1.11

[h3]Known Issues[/h3]

• There is an issue where AI is unable to damage players
  
• There is an issue where two or more players will spawn with the VIP appearance but only one should be able to capture the objective
  
• There is a crash that may occur after pressing the “Deploy” button in the Loadout screen
  
• There is an issue where the NVG point shooting is missing from the new Loadout screen
  
• There may be an issue where AI may not navigate properly towards to the objective area and will run back and forth
  
• There is an issue where Night Vision Goggles remains stuck on the player’s hand if they were killed while toggling
  
• There is an issue where the Vector is not available in the Survival weapon crates
  
• There is an issue where the VIP is missing hands upon spawning, the hands will reappear by reloading the weapon
  
• There is an issue with the finger animation when using the AKS-74U with the Point Shooting Grip equipped
  
• There is an issue with where the primary weapon will jitter when equipping the Point Shooting grip while toggling ADS
  
• There is an issue that may cause the direction of the autocannon strafe to differ from the initial request which can cause the strafe to hit at unintended locations
  
• There is an issue where dedicated servers do not appear in the server browser list, however players can still to connect to the server by IP
  
• There is an issue where replays are not being saved
  

It's been long since we've heard some news about Insurgency: Sandstorm's long-in-development console versions. This changes today, because it finally has a release date.



https://youtu.be/DmmlX0oHEg4

All pre-orders receive the Warlord Gear Set and the Peacemaker Gear Set.

Insurgency: Sandstorm was initially set for release in 2018 on consoles alongside PC, but it ended up getting pushed back to 2019, then again to spring 2020, and later to 2021. The most recent delay moved it from August to September.

Sandstorm includes co-op modes against the AI, as well as a suite of competitive multiplayer modes.

The PC version was well received at launch, despite some issues. It has improved significantly since then, with new content and a tonne of fixes released in regular patches.

New World Interactive announced today that Insurgency: Sandstorm arrives September 29 on PS4, and Xbox One. The game will be forward compatible on PS5, and Xbox Series X/S with support for up to 4K resolution and 60fps, but a next-gen enhancement patch will take it even further sometime next year.

The modern-day tactical shooter is available to pre-order now in three different editions: standard ($40), deluxe ($70), and gold ($80). The deluxe edition adds in the Year 1 Pass, and the gold edition includes that as well as the Year 2 pass. These passes each come with 16 cosmetic sets to be earned.

Read more

Hello everyone, my name is Tim Perreault and I’m the Production Director at New World Interactive. Between a very brief vacation last month and everything that was going on to prepare for our console Closed Beta, we didn’t manage to get an SOP out last month. We’re back to our regularly scheduled program, so without further ado:

Key Points for State of Production #22

• Console Closed Beta
  
• 1.11 Open CTE
  
• Major Issues - Voice Channels

[h3]Console Closed Beta[/h3]
We’re all very excited to be sharing the current state of our console work with everyone. The beta has been gathering very valuable feedback for us so far. We’ve been making tweaks and adjustments as we go, but we have a few more weeks to go before we wrap it up. If you are interested in participating and haven’t already signed up, you can go to https://beta.insurgency-sandstorm.com/ to register. You can expect some important console news coming in the near future, so stay tuned.

[h3]1.11 Open CTE[/h3]
The update is very rapidly coming together and as usual, that means we’re going to be having our open CTE testing period. Anyone will be able to check out our next update from August 26 until August 30. During that time, we’ll be running three play-with-the-developers events to focus testing on specific elements of the update. If you’d like to join, grab the update for your Insurgency: Sandstorm Community Test Environment that will be released August 26 and then join the developers by queuing into the appropriate playlists.

• Thursday, August 26 - New Map: Versus Modes
  
• Friday, August 27 - New Map: Co-op Modes
  
• Monday, August 30 - New Game Mode

All playlists will be available for the duration of the event, but if you’d like to play with developers, aim to play those specific game modes from 11AM MDT / 1PM EDT / 5PM GMT / 7PM CEST.
More details will be given closer to the start of the event on how to participate and how to provide feedback. Join us and get a sneak peek at what’s coming.

[h3]Major Issues - Voice Channels[/h3]
Since our migration to using Vivox as our voice communication provider, there has been an issue where occasionally players will hear voice comms from channels they shouldn’t have access to. We are working on this issue with our partners.


We’ll have a lot more exciting news coming next month. Until then, keep your stick on the ice.

To make up for missing last weekend we are offering TRIPLE XP from Saturday at 11:00am MST until Monday at 11:00am MST.

[h3]Hello Gamers™,[/h3]

Welcome to July’s Community Blog. A lot has changed since we last spoke, I’m sure by now fatherHank is riding kangaroos and eating some vegemite in the Oceania region. (sorry Aaron)

With all the departmental restructuring/personnel shifting, I figured that this month’s community blog would provide a great opportunity to introduce myself and my other colleagues that currently make up the Communications Team at New World. Read on!



[h3]LUKE[/h3] Player Support Lead / Interim Community Manager

This month actually marks my first official year with New World! I started at around the same time as fatherHank when I was tasked with doing some contract work in Player Support. In July 2020 I was given the opportunity to lead and evolve the Player Support Department to where it is today. I hope that our efforts in decreasing cheating and toxicity in Sandstorm have shown since then.

This is probably the first time any of you have heard from me via a public forum like this. I was able to work quite effectively behind the scenes within Player Support - it has definitely taken me some time to adjust from that now that I’ve been given a platform where I have a spotlight shining on me. With all that being said, I’m still super excited to take on the task for the time being and hope that I can work with the community to ensure that your feedback is always being heard.

I’m starting to hang around the Official Insurgency: Sandstorm Discord a lot more (I guess that is kind of a part of my job now though…) if you see me there, don’t be a stranger! Always happy to chat or jump into a game of Push with anyone who asks.


[h3]LOGAN[/h3] Community Associate / Will Slaughter Your Sergeants

Hello all! Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Logan (A.K.A. Sgt_Slaughterer) and I'm the new Community Associate here at New World Interactive. I have the honor of training to step into the spacious Jordan's of our previous Community Manager Aaron (fatherHank) and continuing to uphold his high standard of transparency and respect. I'm not going to lie, it's going to be no small task to follow in the trainer shaped footsteps that he left in the community, but I'm committed to the task and excited to continue the good work that he started.

I figured I should tell you a bit about myself here so let's see; some of my personal interests outside of gaming are drawing, playing guitar, and cult horror movies and comic books. I cut my teeth on old-school FPS Like DOOM (still have the floppy disks!) and from there I became very interested in the Source modding community and the amazing mods that came out of that (CS, DoD, Insurgency). My preferred genre is still FPS but I also enjoy "relaxing'' with rogue-likes like BoI/Spelunky/Rogue Legacy, etc. I'm currently re-playing Control on the Series X and Noita (pretty great indie rogue-like) on PC, and attempting to hold my own in Insurgency: Sandstorm, but this community is no joke! Part of my daily routine has become hopping on to learn the ins-and-outs of the game and getting immediately humbled every time. It's a process for sure, as there’s a ton of depth to this game, but man is it rewarding and I feel super lucky that I get to play and learn a game with a community as passionate as you guys. Feel free to hit me up on Twitter @SgtSlaughterer


[h3]BRUNO[/h3] Player Support Analyst / Johnny “Bravo”


Hey everyone, my name is Bruno, but most of you probably already know me within the community as Bravo. I joined NWI back in November of 2020, yet it feels like I've been part of this incredible community for what seems to be an eternity at this point.

During this time, I've seen the release of Operation: Cold Blood and Operation: Exodus, worked on a Trello Board for the community and helped a few thousand of our players through our support desk. I'm always working on something, so I may not be as active as I wish I could be on Discord. However, I'm always happy to have a chat whenever I have time, so if you see me in-game or on Discord, feel free to say hi!





Oh man, July was a pretty jam-packed month for the Community Team. While taking this month to welcome and onboard Logan to the team we also happened to announce our first-ever Community Cosmetic Contest! With the success of the 2020 Mapping Contest that we held last year, we thought it would be fun to hold another contest that is similar in vein, but is way more accessible this time around. Be sure to check out the official rules and terms - if you’re a capable concept artist or game asset creator, now is your time to shine!

This month we also announced the release of our first console beta! That feels so good to finally say. If you haven’t signed up yet, you can find beta applications here - we will be having multiple betas so don’t worry if you haven’t been picked to playtest straight away.





As some of you probably know, the Player Support team has emphasized community engagement because we know that we all share a common goal. We consider ourselves lucky to have such a vocal community, and we want our community to see that they are being heard and that their opinions matter.

We appreciate all the feedback we've received so far, and I promise that we have some good stuff coming in the future, so hang tight, and thank you again for all your help!





[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]Another quality weapon case study from one of our very own Sandstorm Partners, sacrilcious__. - Luke


[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]I would have broken both ankles attempting this. - Logan ( Twitch.tv/TheProfessianal Discord: ExtremelyStiff#5410)


[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]Ladies and gentleman, the insane power of mods!(SnakeyI0 on Reddit)

Amazingly stylish screenshot curated by Bravo (Credit: Fetcher)





That’s it for July’s Community Blog. Thank you for reading and as always, thank you for playing Insurgency: Sandstorm.