Mercenaries,

Our fight with the bugs and issues you have found continues! However, we do not neglect the development of new features either. All this requires time to prepare, code, test and fix, and that is why we switch to the two-week patch delivery schedule. We understand that some players may choose to see this like the volume of attention we’re giving to the updates have decreased; however, our goal is quite the opposite - we want our patches to become big and joyful events not only for separate groups of our players, but for everyone.

At the same time, we’d like to make the development process as open and transparent to you as possible, and we have several ideas in that regard. First one is to create a special section on the project website where you would be able to view the development status for the major features (e.g. 32-bit version or new game mode), what is going to be in the next patch, and vote and/or suggest the changes or fixes you are most interested in.

Please take part in the poll on FB so we could understand if such initiative is worth the trouble or not.

Mercenaries,

Our fight with the bugs and issues you have found continues! However, we do not neglect the development of new features either. All this requires time to prepare, code, test and fix, and that is why we switch to the two-week patch delivery schedule. We understand that some players may choose to see this like the volume of attention we’re giving to the updates have decreased; however, our goal is quite the opposite - we want our patches to become big and joyful events not only for separate groups of our players, but for everyone.

At the same time, we’d like to make the development process as open and transparent to you as possible, and we have several ideas in that regard. First one is to create a special section on the project website where you would be able to view the development status for the major features (e.g. 32-bit version or new game mode), what is going to be in the next patch, and vote and/or suggest the changes or fixes you are most interested in.

Please take part in the poll on FB so we could understand if such initiative is worth the trouble or not.

Soldiers of fortune! We are glad to announce the following changes in the update 0.9.471:

• Reworked sprint logic - new algorithms and activation/deactivation conditions provide enhanced capabilities of reacting to changing tactical situation in combat. For instance, now you can start sprinting immediately from crouching position, or start firing on the move.
  
• New minimap - the player marker is now fixed at its center, and the minimap spins along with the camera movement. Additionally, you'll be able to adjust the size and opacity of this interface element on your screen and switch between two magnification scales for quick assessment of combat environment.
  
• Fixed Hold-to-Aim bugs; most of the known issues related to this feature are now fixed. If you happen to encounter any problems, please report them through the in-game report system with a detailed description.

The Site map is now available in the Team Elimination mode.

Changed the contrast and lighting filters on the Evacuation, adjusting the visual component of the map according to your comments. Hopefully, you will now find it more comfortable to play.

Also, we have introduced several system fixes and changes that should improve the game performance on some PCs; however, that does not mean, unfortunately, that the update would give a noticeable performance boost for everyone.


The main development focus is now both on preparation of the 32-bit version and the performance optimization, as the latter is a prerequisite for the former. To make the 32-bit version of the Hired Ops we need to significantly alter optimize the game architecture which should improve the performance for all of our players. Despite the complexity of the task we are happy to say that the prototype 32-bit version is already in the internal testing. Its results will reflect on the date of public availability. Please be patient and thank you for understanding.

Moreover, based on your feedback, we have started the first iteration of the map rebalancing of the original five maps to improve their competitive aspect and diversify the tactical means of achieving the victory. The precise date of updates for each map will depend on the results of the internal testing.

And, of course, the team is still working on the new content you are waiting for! In December we hope to introduce a new mode and two more maps, one of them being completely new and the other - a well-known Contract Wars arena. Stay tuned!

Soldiers of fortune! We are glad to announce the following changes in the update 0.9.471:

• Reworked sprint logic - new algorithms and activation/deactivation conditions provide enhanced capabilities of reacting to changing tactical situation in combat. For instance, now you can start sprinting immediately from crouching position, or start firing on the move.
  
• New minimap - the player marker is now fixed at its center, and the minimap spins along with the camera movement. Additionally, you'll be able to adjust the size and opacity of this interface element on your screen and switch between two magnification scales for quick assessment of combat environment.
  
• Fixed Hold-to-Aim bugs; most of the known issues related to this feature are now fixed. If you happen to encounter any problems, please report them through the in-game report system with a detailed description.

The Site map is now available in the Team Elimination mode.

Changed the contrast and lighting filters on the Evacuation, adjusting the visual component of the map according to your comments. Hopefully, you will now find it more comfortable to play.

Also, we have introduced several system fixes and changes that should improve the game performance on some PCs; however, that does not mean, unfortunately, that the update would give a noticeable performance boost for everyone.


The main development focus is now both on preparation of the 32-bit version and the performance optimization, as the latter is a prerequisite for the former. To make the 32-bit version of the Hired Ops we need to significantly alter optimize the game architecture which should improve the performance for all of our players. Despite the complexity of the task we are happy to say that the prototype 32-bit version is already in the internal testing. Its results will reflect on the date of public availability. Please be patient and thank you for understanding.

Moreover, based on your feedback, we have started the first iteration of the map rebalancing of the original five maps to improve their competitive aspect and diversify the tactical means of achieving the victory. The precise date of updates for each map will depend on the results of the internal testing.

And, of course, the team is still working on the new content you are waiting for! In December we hope to introduce a new mode and two more maps, one of them being completely new and the other - a well-known Contract Wars arena. Stay tuned!

Mercenaries, the update 0.9.451 is already here! It features the previously announced fixes and content:

• The new Evacuation map, available in Deathmatch and Team Elimination modes.
  
• Fixed some of Hold-to-Aim issues.
  
• Fixed a number of additional issues with the group matchmaking, including the ability of any group member (beside the creator) to kick other members of the group.
  
• Partially fixed the Team Auto-balancing logic in matches with groups.

Apart from that, we are happy to introduce the test version of the Competitive matches and Ranking system. Now, when selecting a map, You’ll be able to decide if you want to participate in a ranking or training match. The difference is simple: in training matches you risk nothing and are free to try new weapon or tactics; in the ranking matches, however, you bet your rating, also known as MMR (Matchmaking Rating).


As we have mentioned before, Hired Ops uses the Glicko-2 algorithm to calculate every player’s MMR. This system is essentially a further evolution of the Elo Rating, that was introduced into the gaming from chess and has since been used in many competitive games.

The players start on their competitive matches path with the basic rating value of 1500. Over the course of the match the system compares every player against other participants by the amount of experience gained since the last evaluation and awards win, loss or draw in the competition. To put it simply, if you have gained more experience than your rivals, you have won in comparison to them.

The rating is evaluated on round end, match end, and on connection or disconnection of other players, and the MMR value is dependent on the amount of time that have passed since the last re-evaluation. For more technical details of the calculations please refer to this article on the system’s official website.


Based on your MMR, you get awarded a particular rank:



The ranking icon is displayed next to your nickname and allows other players to quickly assess the level of their adversaries.


We’d like to point out that this system is running in the test mode, so we’d like to receive your feedback on how smoothly and transparently it works. We’d also like to remind you that the MMR progress will be reset several times as we introduce the new features and start new testing phases.

The currently available functionality is just the beginning of our work on the competitive mode, however, in the closest upcoming updates we’ll be primarily focusing our attention on the overall technical stability of the project and the previously announced features like the 32-bit version of the game, hit detection and minimap.

Mercenaries, the update 0.9.451 is already here! It features the previously announced fixes and content:

• The new Evacuation map, available in Deathmatch and Team Elimination modes.
  
• Fixed some of Hold-to-Aim issues.
  
• Fixed a number of additional issues with the group matchmaking, including the ability of any group member (beside the creator) to kick other members of the group.
  
• Partially fixed the Team Auto-balancing logic in matches with groups.

Apart from that, we are happy to introduce the test version of the Competitive matches and Ranking system. Now, when selecting a map, You’ll be able to decide if you want to participate in a ranking or training match. The difference is simple: in training matches you risk nothing and are free to try new weapon or tactics; in the ranking matches, however, you bet your rating, also known as MMR (Matchmaking Rating).


As we have mentioned before, Hired Ops uses the Glicko-2 algorithm to calculate every player’s MMR. This system is essentially a further evolution of the Elo Rating, that was introduced into the gaming from chess and has since been used in many competitive games.

The players start on their competitive matches path with the basic rating value of 1500. Over the course of the match the system compares every player against other participants by the amount of experience gained since the last evaluation and awards win, loss or draw in the competition. To put it simply, if you have gained more experience than your rivals, you have won in comparison to them.

The rating is evaluated on round end, match end, and on connection or disconnection of other players, and the MMR value is dependent on the amount of time that have passed since the last re-evaluation. For more technical details of the calculations please refer to this article on the system’s official website.


Based on your MMR, you get awarded a particular rank:



The ranking icon is displayed next to your nickname and allows other players to quickly assess the level of their adversaries.


We’d like to point out that this system is running in the test mode, so we’d like to receive your feedback on how smoothly and transparently it works. We’d also like to remind you that the MMR progress will be reset several times as we introduce the new features and start new testing phases.

The currently available functionality is just the beginning of our work on the competitive mode, however, in the closest upcoming updates we’ll be primarily focusing our attention on the overall technical stability of the project and the previously announced features like the 32-bit version of the game, hit detection and minimap.

Soldiers of fortune! We're happy to announce that starting today we commence the bonus distribution among players who switched to Hired Ops from Contract Wars. The prizes are being awarded depending on your activity - our algorithm analyses your Contract Wars activity throughout the whole history of your account and unlocks one or several bonuses accordingly:

- character camo (SKULLSWT);
- AK105 and M4A1 weapon camo (KILLCAM);
- QBU-88 weapon camo (SKULLS);
- access to QBU-88 assault rifle.

Please note that in order to claim the bonuses you should connect both your Steam and social accounts in your profile on our website. The bonuses are only awarded for one account in one social network, so if you have multiple accounts, please make sure to firmly decide which one will take part in the bonus program.

The bonuses can be claimed in your profile on the official Hired Ops website. AbsolutSoft thanks all of the Contract Wars players for their years-long commitment to the game's development!

Soldiers of fortune! We're happy to announce that starting today we commence the bonus distribution among players who switched to Hired Ops from Contract Wars. The prizes are being awarded depending on your activity - our algorithm analyses your Contract Wars activity throughout the whole history of your account and unlocks one or several bonuses accordingly:

- character camo (SKULLSWT);
- AK105 and M4A1 weapon camo (KILLCAM);
- QBU-88 weapon camo (SKULLS);
- access to QBU-88 assault rifle.

Please note that in order to claim the bonuses you should connect both your Steam and social accounts in your profile on our website. The bonuses are only awarded for one account in one social network, so if you have multiple accounts, please make sure to firmly decide which one will take part in the bonus program.

The bonuses can be claimed in your profile on the official Hired Ops website. AbsolutSoft thanks all of the Contract Wars players for their years-long commitment to the game's development!

Soldiers of fortune! Today we are glad to introduce the technical update primarily aimed at improvement and correct performance of the group matchmaking.

Changes in 0.9.444 patch:
- Added ability to switch weapon loadouts on the respawn screen, providing you with means of adapting to the tactical situation on the map without having to leave the match to the main menu.
- Fixed a number of bugs and issues with group matchmaking - we would like to express our gratitude to all testing participants for detailed reports sent to us via in-game Support screen.
- Fixed matchmaking region settings reset after every match or restart of the game.
- Introduced additional tuning of performance optimization and fixed a number of issues that caused abnormally low performance on some PC configurations.

This week we intend to release one more patch that should contain the following changes:
- Further improvement of hit detection due to enhanced procedure of player position interpolation on server and client.
- Fixed issues with Hold-to-Aim functionality.

Also, in this release we intend to include the Evacuation map we announced last week, as well as reworked Minimap; however, their inclusion in the patch depends on stability of their operation by the results of internal testing.

As usual, the Hired Ops team is extremely grateful to you for the efforts you put into helping us test the game! We shall continue doing whatever we can to meet your expectations from the game and hope you’ll be reflecting it in your Steam reviews!

Soldiers of fortune! Today we are glad to introduce the technical update primarily aimed at improvement and correct performance of the group matchmaking.

Changes in 0.9.444 patch:
- Added ability to switch weapon loadouts on the respawn screen, providing you with means of adapting to the tactical situation on the map without having to leave the match to the main menu.
- Fixed a number of bugs and issues with group matchmaking - we would like to express our gratitude to all testing participants for detailed reports sent to us via in-game Support screen.
- Fixed matchmaking region settings reset after every match or restart of the game.
- Introduced additional tuning of performance optimization and fixed a number of issues that caused abnormally low performance on some PC configurations.

This week we intend to release one more patch that should contain the following changes:
- Further improvement of hit detection due to enhanced procedure of player position interpolation on server and client.
- Fixed issues with Hold-to-Aim functionality.

Also, in this release we intend to include the Evacuation map we announced last week, as well as reworked Minimap; however, their inclusion in the patch depends on stability of their operation by the results of internal testing.

As usual, the Hired Ops team is extremely grateful to you for the efforts you put into helping us test the game! We shall continue doing whatever we can to meet your expectations from the game and hope you’ll be reflecting it in your Steam reviews!