Nov 28, 2018

Game Update V1.9 - Pleasant Valley Nightmare

Z1 Battle Royale - NantGamer

Arcade Event

At 10 am PST / 7 pm GMT Thursday, this weeks Arcade Event "Pleasant Valley Nightmare" will unlock.

Hosted Games

We have made the addition 7 new Hosted Game servers with at least one for each region have been added to the expanding lineup. Number of servers per region are as follows:

2 Europe
1 North America
2 South America
1 Asia/Pacific
1 Australia/New Zealand

Minor Changes

On the main menu the "Career Stats" option has now been changed to "Leaderboards".
All scroll bars on the front end menu have had a color change, and are now gold.

Bug Fixes:

Loot distro issues around the PV Clock tower and some camp grounds were corrected. A few of these spots were what we considered to be "jackpot" locations that had an excessive amount of loot and have now been scaled back to be more in line with the distribution of loot across the rest of the map. We are aware of a few case instances such as some camp sites and other locations that are not generating enough loot, and we will be looking to correct these in a future patch.
Breaking windows with certain weapon types will now properly play the audio file associated with glass breaking.
Fixed various geo issues (floating art, visibility problems around Matthys baseball field, and one very troublesome office building in Ranchito).
When spectating in team games, there was an issue with extraneous nameplates. These have been removed.

Nov 15, 2018

Game Update - V1.7 OFFSEASON w/Z2 Map, Rankings & Rewards!

Z1 Battle Royale - NantGamer

Z2 Returns

This release marks the end of Season 2 and the beginning an Off Season that will last several weeks before Season 3 begins. During this Off Season, we'll be testing and tuning the Z2 map, adjusting season scoring to work with Dynamic Matches and introducing some new arcade modes, in addition to a host of bug fixes and tweaks.

You WILL receive new rewards for reaching higher ranks during Off Season!

Season 2 Rewards

The rewards for Ranking up in Season 2 have been granted to all qualifying players.

Z2 Map

Z2 map for Solos, Duo, Fives, and Arcade modes.
Z2 now supports dynamic match starts.
Removed 3 large POIs from Z2 based on community feedback. Ponyvale Equestrian Estates, Coy's Car Salvage, Harris County Fairgrounds (Carnival) have all been removed.

Season Scoring

Scoring thresholds for Royalty have been adjusted:

SOLO 1,810,000
DUOS 1,870,000
FIVES 1,950,000

The new "Conquest Crate" will be awarded for Off Season Rankings as follows:

Royalty - 5 crates
Master - 3 crates
Diamond - 2 crates
Platinum - 1 crate
Gold and below - 0 crates

You can earn these rewards for EACH mode. Reaching Diamond in Solos and Master in Fives means you'll get 5 Conquest Crates! In Season 3, Conquest Crates will be earned only through achievement and can never be purchased from the game.

Arcade Mode

Introducing the new Heavy Metal Arcade Mode! LMGs and Rocket Launchers have been added to the loot table. See how quickly you can get multiple kills for an achievement award.

Misc

Loot bags have been swapped back to their normal model
Min Spec and Recommended Spec have been updated

Bug Fixes

Fix for our #1 crash (sometimes referred to as the "Hosted Games" crash)
Crouch animation has been tweaked to avoid getting in the way of the reticle.
While Spectating, the B key will once again toggle Nameplates on/off
Tutorial Challenge #12 is now able to be completed
Tweaked the model of the crane to look more appealing

Known Issues

Loot distribution needs additional tuning on Z2.
Bandages are not dropping in the Heavy Metal event.
Some Trailers have more loot than normal (lots of helmets!). Expect a hotfix soon.
There crane has a known art issue with a texture.

Oct 31, 2018

Game Update - October 31

Z1 Battle Royale - <DGC>Lieutenant_Toast

Features:

Witch Hunt Crate – 25 new items 6 of which are Ultra Rare along with 1 extra special LEGENDARY item. This Legendary item is in limited quantity with only 60 available
Legendary Countdown System – There are only a LIMITED number of LEGENDARY items in each crate, as each person finds a legendary item the total number of legendary items available will countdown until that number reaches 0. ONCE ALL THE LEGENDARY ITEMS ARE FOUND AND THE COUNTDOWN REACHES 0 THE CRATE WILL INSTANTLY RETIRE FROM THE STORE AND WILL NO LONGER BE PURCHASABLE! Unopened crates can still be opened but no more Legendary items can be won.
New preview functionality for the legendary item
Crate prices and bundles have been adjusted
- 2x Unlocked WH Crates 495 Crowns
- 7x Unlocked WH Crates 1595 Crowns
- 15x Unlocked WH Crates 3295 Crowns
- 40x Unlocked WH Crates 7995 Crowns
Brightened up the Showdown 2 AR-15 skins
Removed the time granting of Locked Crates
Adjusted UI Customization Menu a bit by slightly moving some parts around
Added a check box, “Show Owned”, to the Customization window that will hide skins you don’t own

Bug Fixes:

Vehicle spawns and Spawn select for Z2 are now working in Hosted Games
More fixes to Loot spawns in games with Dynamic Gas
Fixed edge case for Spectate Killer system that previously could you leave you stranded without someone to spectate

Known Issues:

Sometimes when you receive the Legendary item, you don’t get a text notification for it at the top of the crate opening screen but it will still be clearly visibly obvious you received a legendary item
A couple of buttons aren’t translated, “TRY ME” for the Legendary Eyepatch in the Crate preview screen and the check box for “Show Owned”
Hosted Games have the wrong full screen map for Z2

Oct 26, 2018

Game Update - October 26

Z1 Battle Royale - <DGC>Lieutenant_Toast

Patch Notes:

You now have the option to Spectate your Killer. The system will try to find the next nearest player if it can’t find your Killer (he dies during the transition).
- There is a known issue if you die and you hit Spectate but there is no one nearby. Your UI can disappear leaving you stuck until the match ends or you close the client down.
- There is a little number on the HUD that denotes how many spectators you have at the time. Don’t mess up!
Updated the Graphics engine for better performance and stability.
Swagnum Opus Arcade Event – kill 5 players with the Swagnum to complete the Event Challenge
Fixed several issues with loot distribution when Dynamic Gas is used
Fixed a bug where you could parachute though buildings
Fixed an exploit where crouch macros could disconnect the camera from the player
Fixed several other misc. bugs.
Removed Skull boosts
Reward grants of Showdown 2 and 2D
Reward grant of Ma Boi helmet. Eligible players = “For everyone who BELIEVED and played the game between the time Jace Hall started the "soon" movement on July 5th 2018 and the announcement of the NantG joint venture on Sept. 6th.” – Jace Hall

Known Issues:

The Spectate Killer system can fail to transition you to a valid player if there aren’t any players nearby. This can lead to your UI disappearing and causing you to remain in the match until it ends or you close the client down. We are working on fixing this and hope to get it patched out shortly.
There is an issue where you land your parachute on vehicles at certain angles and get stuck.
Your ping value is missing at the Region select screen. We have a fix that will go out in the next hotfix.

Oct 9, 2018

Game Update - October 9

Z1 Battle Royale - <DGC>Lieutenant_Toast

Patch Notes:

Ping-monitoring for Spectator Cam. Our spectators will now be able to monitor player pings during the showdown to ensure fair play.
Loading screens now promote the showdown events.
Fall is here and Halloween is coming soon. A spooky phenomenon is transforming loot bags into pumpkins!
E-tips - Airdrops will only contain 2 explosive arrows and the explosive arrow recipe now requires 12 shotgun shells.
All current crates and skull store items are being retired! There's now timer in the marketplace and skull store to let you know how much time remains before these items are retired.
You can now purchase 1 crate at a time.
There's a one-time interstitial page to remind players that crates and skull store items are being retired.

Bug Fixes:

Ghost bullet fix - Bullets fired from long distances will now be heard from inside a car.
Removed some poor starting spawns for dynamic matches.

Sep 23, 2018

H1Z1 gets 're-formed dev team' and a new name: Z1 Battle Royale

Z1 Battle Royale

Battle royale shooter H1Z1 is getting a facelift. Under a "re-formed dev team", it will soon be known as Z1 Battle Royale, and its latest update aims to help smooth the transition by tackling lengthy waits for matches and adjusting a bunch of weapons.

Bullet speed, bullet drop and fire rate have been tweaked on a variety of weapons, including the AR-15, AK-47, M-9 and Shotgun—you can read about the changes in the patch notes. But perhaps more interesting are the changes to matchmaking, which should ensure players can jump into matches faster.

H1Z1 still has a decent player count—as I write this, 7,000 people are playing—but that's not enough to ensure matches instantly fill up. To counter that, Daybreak Games is capping the lobby wait time at 135 seconds, at which point matches will start as long as there are two or more players waiting. The fewer the number of players, the smaller the starting safe zone.

You'll also no longer be able to choose where you spawn in solos, duos or fives, but the dev team has changed starting locations to "ensure decent looting at start of match". The in-game time has also been set to mid-afternoon, and the weather will be sunny 90% of the time, making it easier to spot enemies.

Lastly, all matches will now count as ranked matches, so you'll be rewarded even if there's only a handful of players, and you'll be matched with other players based on your account level.

Once again, you can read the full patch notes for more detail.

Developer Daybreak Games recently retired H1Z1's survival mode, citing low player counts.

Sep 21, 2018

H1Z1's PC version begins transformation into Z1 Battle Royale

Z1 Battle Royale

H1Z1 for PC has had a bit of a rough time. Despite H1Z1's recent success on PlayStation, the PC version has been dogged by complaints from the community about irregular updates and clunky mechanics, while the original Just Survive mode is to shut entirely in October. It's a problem Daybreak has been trying to tackle, as the developer appointed a new PC lead (Jace Hall). As part of a new joint venture with NantWorks called NantG Mobile, the dev team has also been reformed, and there are some major changes coming to the PC version.

The H1Z1 PC version is shortly to be renamed Z1 Battle Royale, and the new patch is the "first major step" in this transformation process. Apparently the team is making efforts to listen to the community "to prioritise features and changes that return the game to its roots as the world's most competitive BR Game".

According to the patch notes for release 1.0, one of the biggest changes includes reduced matchmaking times. Solo players will be matched based on account level, and instead of a potential wait of eight minutes, time spent in the lobby is now capped at 135 seconds - with only two players required for a match to start. Importantly, all matches will count as ranked, meaning players will still be able to progress even with small numbers of players.

Sep 19, 2018

Version 1.0 Release Notes

Z1 Battle Royale - <DGC>Lieutenant_Toast

Welcome Home!

H1Z1 on PC will soon be known as “Z1 Battle Royale”! This release is the first major step in that transition. The newly re-formed dev team worked closely with the community to prioritize features and changes that return the game to its roots as the world’s most competitive BR Game. For the most up-to-date information on the team’s priorities, please visit https://www.z1roadmap.com/.

Version 1.0 Release Notes:

Gameplay

Weapons
- The AR-15, AK-47, M-9, Shotgun* & Magnum have been adjusted based on their Preseason 3 characteristics:
  - Bullet Speed
  - Bullet Drop/Drag
  - Fire Rate
  - Reset Time
  - Recoil
  - *The Shotgun's pellet pattern will remain the same as Season 1 & 2.
  - No changes have been made to bleed mechanics or pass through damage.
Other weapons that were not present in Preseason 3, such as the Hellfire and the M40 Sniper Rifle, have not been changed. We want the community's feedback before determining how we will deal with these items.
Weapons that were present during Preseason 3 but have since been removed, such as the 1911 and R380, may be addressed in a later update, pending feedback from the community.
The “Classic Camera” was changed to behave the way it did in Preseason 3 (zoom, shake, lerp, etc…)
The AR-15 firing sound effect from Preseason 3 now plays for the person firing the weapon.
The “muzzle flash” has been removed from the AR-15, AK-47 and Magnum
“Aiming Down Sights”
- Players can now aim down sights while jumping and fire accurately.
- Players can now shoot while in the process of aiming down sights.
- Movement
  - Jumping is now more responsive so that players should always jump if they press jump while on the ground.
  - Loosened the ENAS restrictions so that players are less penalized when moving in a way that triggers the system.
  - Players can now swap seats while a vehicle is moving, as long as it is not accelerating.

Matches

Match-making
- Solos – Game will match players based on account level.
- Solos, Duos and Fives now have a maximum lobby time of 135 seconds, as long as there are 2 or more players (down from 8 minutes). Games that start with fewer than 100 players will dynamically adjust the match to accommodate the number of players.
  - ALL MATCHES WILL COUNT AS RANKED MATCHES.
  - Spawn selection is turned off for Solos, Duos and Fives.
  - Spawn selection is still an option for Hosted games.
  - Starting locations have been tuned to ensure decent looting at start of match, based on gas phase.
  - Dynamic matches will only have 1 airdrop at a time (instead of 3).
  - Dynamic matches will start as follows:
    - 100+ players: Starts at gas phase 0 (no gas)
    - 50-99 players: Starts at gas phase 1
    - 30-49 players: Starts at gas phase 2
    - 20-29 players: Starts at gas phase 3
    - 10-19 players: Starts at gas phase 4
    - 2-9 players : Starts at gas phase 5
Your new dev team has really enjoyed playing and testing this feature internally and can't wait to play it with all of you. Jace has by far been the worst player in testing and could barely get 1 kill.
Adjusted the climate weights and set the default time of day to 2pm.
- 90% sunny
- 5% gloomy
- 4% sundown
- 1% nighttime
- You can now go to the "gameplay" category in the options menu and choose when you want to see players' names in the Box of Destiny. There are three choices:
  - Always display nameplates
  - Only display nameplates when someone is speaking
  - Never show nameplates
  - The player will see a 2 minute 15 seconds count down timer preparing for the match in the Box of Destiny. Once the match is ready to start, the timer will jump to a 30 second count down.
  - New Event Challenge - Top 15 with 3 kills 5 times
  - In game leaderboards – The Match Lobby now has daily, weekly and monthly leaderboards per region! Fight your way to the top and see your name in lights.

Hosted Games

30 games a week (up from 20)
Toggle dynamic start
Toggle spawn selection
Broader control over match start time.

Miscellaneous

New splash screen – New “Welcome Home” screen when game is launched
New weapon skin: H1Z1 Pro League AR-15 skin for the players of Season 1.
New shirt skin: “Soon” shirt to be released… “Soon.”
Minor changes to some VFX for localization.

Bug Fixes

Players should no longer get “bumped” when exiting a vehicle.
Classic Hit Markers now play vehicle hit impact sound effects.
Transitioning between 1<sup>st</sup> & 3<sup>rd</sup> person no longer cancels recoil
Hosted games will now end automatically if no players are present.
Minor localization fixes