Mar 16, 2010

Product Update - Valve

Updates to Global Agenda have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include:

New Features:

New items and features in this patch include:

4v4 Arena Queue: The 4v4 Arena Queue is for pre-made teams of four players, and offers two new maps built specifically for 4v4 combat.
Theft Missions(AvA): Agencies may now launch Theft Missions against enemy production facilities. Theft missions are launched just like capture missions, through a new option available on the bid window. Winning a theft mission grants an immediate reward to the attacking strike force, and shuts down operation of the facility for 15min (during which time the facility is also in lockdown). What you steal is dependent upon the tech level and type of the facility you ar raiding.
Defense Facilities (AvA): A Defense Facility allows you to SHIELD any two adjacent territories of your choice. These shields operate just like those made available from a base - they prevent all attacks on the shielded territory unless tactical missiles are used to break through the shield (from a Missile Complex in range). Unlike base shields, however, the shields provided by Defense Facilities can be removed by attacking the defense facility directly.
Trading and Abandoning Territories (AvA): Agencies will be able to trade or abandon territories! Both options are handled from the Agency Screen. For trading territory, you must offer the territory to a player who is currently online, and has permission to manage Agency Facilities for the Agency they are in. No more ghosting needed.
Lockdown Timers Increased (AvA): All lockdown timers for defending a territory will be increased to 15min.
Territory Tax Change (AvA): Territory not connected to your Agency HQ will count as double towards calculating territory tax in a zone. This means crossing a river, or owning territory in an additional zone, is going to become increasingly more expensive. If you are expanding around your HQ, you will not be affected by this tax change. (Note for large Alliances: We suggest making use of the new trading territories feature also in the content patch to better group your agency holdings).
Bidding Change - Personal Currency (AvA): All bidding for attacks now comes from PERSONAL INVENTORY rather than AGENCY INVENTORY. This will allow more players to lead strike forces, and it also helps fight some of the griefing we've seen in allowing a large number of players access to Agency funds. Agency members with the correct permissions can still withdraw any Agency funds they need prior to bidding.
Maximum Player Tax Cap (AvA): The maximum tax rate an Agency can set for it's members is now capped at 50%. Agencies needing to get more funds from their players can always ask for donations (anyone can donate to the Agency bank!)
Requirement to Form a Strikeforce (AvA): Agencies with fewer than eight (8) members can no longer form strike forces.
Map Adjustments: Bases now only shield the six hexes immediately around them. We recognize this change will affect a number of groups, but felt it was necessary with the implementation of Defense Facilities. Bases still offer better defense - as they require missiles to break - and we'll be adding on to what bases provide in the near future. We've also made some ADDITIONS to resource bonus areas. No resources have been removed.
New No-Facility: Battles in a territory where the facility is destroyed now play in a new map, with a new mission type.
City Chat Channel: Version 1.2 introduces a City Chat channel, which spans all public instances (Dome City and VR Arena). This is useful for looking-for-group communications. By default, the City Channel appears only under your "ALL" tab, but remember that you can configure your tabs using SETTINGS | CHAT.

Conquest Zone Changes

Each conquest zone is now open for 2 hours instead of 2.5 hours. Production will tick every 8 minutes instead of every 10. Zone start times have been adjusted for Daylight Savings Time (additional Daylight Savings Time adjustments will be made as Europe and Australia switch to DST later in the Spring). See article at: http://hi-rez.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/168

Bug Fixes, Device Mods and Minor Enhancements:

General: Added generic icons for Helmet and Armor Suits.
General: Fixed issues with the alliance invite timeout and sending notice to new agency after accepting invite.
General: Fixed queuing issue where users could get stuck in queue if a map doesn't launch correctly.
General: Fixed issue with push objectives colliding with player cameras sometimes.
General: Fixed issue with character customization slider when using "Back" button.
General: New UI sound for Level Up.
General: Fixed animation issue with player mesh not culling when camera enters it from ceiling.
General: Fixed issue where player mesh does not cull when the camera enters the pawn's collision from the ceiling.
General: Optimizations to memory use. May resolve some client-side crashes.
Device: Medic Regeneration now properly influenced by Heal Duration skills.
Device: Pain gun modified to provide buff points of 2, on top of normal damage effect. User will accumulate buff points on scoreboard from use.
Device: Fixed the Recon Stim Duration skill to increase the duration of the damage buff portion of the Visual Scanner.
AvA: Added ability to give a hex to an agency.
AvA: Fixed issue with transfer hex accept/decline box not going away when invite times out.
AvA: Transferring of territory to another agency now clears any production queue first.
AvA: Added credit reward for AvA (100 credits for every minute of a match, up to a max of 10 minutes -- so 1,000 credits max per mission).
AvA: Players can now bid with personal funds rather than agency funds.
General: Deployables and turrets now remember their health percentage correctly if they are picked up while deploying.
AvA: Fixed display issue with building a defense facility on a resource hex.
AvA: Fixed issue with steal missions going into overtime and requiring defenders to push objective all the way back to beginning.
AvA: Minor cleanups on cargo screen.
Crafting: Added paging buttons to crafting screen.
AvA: Fixed UI issue with facility production queue display not being readable.
AvA: Fixed issue where AvA turrets would color incorrectly if they just became relevant.
AvA: Transfering of territory to another agency now clears any production queue first. Resolves issue with incorrectly transferred items.
AvA: Fixed issue with deletion of strikeforce inventory stacks.
PvE: Fixed issue with Minion Ballista appearing to fire from face.
PvE: Improvements to strafing on Minion Ballista.
PVE: Improved animations on Boss Switchblade.
PvE: Boss Viking, Boss Vanguard and Support Guardian no longer shoot behind themselves.
PvE: Boss Shrike machine gun doesn't fire out of both sides.
PvE: Added AOE Stomp support to Uberwalker tree.
PVE: Improvements to Support widow tractor beam and other animations.
PvE: Fixed animation mesh issues with Boss Vanguard.
PvE: Improved death animation on bosses.
PvE: Added muzzle flashes to Boss Reaper.
PvE: Fixed animation mesh issues with Boss Switchblade.
PvE: Improved fire animations on support utility drone.
PvE: Added new lance style effect for the melee punch animation on the Boss Vanguard.
PvE: Fixed issue with Boss Viking spinning while deploying.
PvE: Fixed issue in which mesh on Support Utility Drone would go into ground slightly when idling.
Voice: Cleanup on Voice Settings menu.
Auction House: Clicking buyout properly pops up confirm box and locks out clicking in grid.
Auction House: Fixed issue with Combo Box on Auction house.
Mail: Fixed issue with mailing multiple quantities of same item.
Mail: Fixed issue where replies were sometimes not recognizing player names.