Episode Three releases for all platforms on May 31st and adds an entirely new destination to HITMAN; Marrakesh, Morocco.
To give you a sense of the location, we've created a 4K 360 degree video showcasing some of the areas of Marrakesh that you'll be able to explore. Wake up on a rooftop terrace, explore the marketplaces overflowing with tourists or immerse yourself in a brewing riot. For the best experience, click and drag to look around, or simply move your mobile device.
At 10am CEST on May 31st, the HITMAN servers will be taken down for maintenance in preparation for Episode Three. Maintenance is expected to last three hours. PC players will be able to download and play Episode Three at approximately 18:00 CEST.
Episode Three: Marrakesh Release Notes New Destination: Marrakesh
New Story mission: A Gilded Cage 8 new Opportunities for ‘A Gilded Cage’ 20 levels of Marrakesh Mastery, with the following unlocks: - 7 new Marrakesh Starting Locations - 8 new Marrakesh Agency Pickup locations - 6 new weapon/gear unlocks New suit for Marrakesh: Summer Suit 70+ Marrakesh-specific challenges 7 new trophies/achievements New 'The Sarajevo Six' Contract. Target 3: The Extractor. (PS4 Exclusive) Live Content for Marrakesh will include: New Escalation Contracts, Elusive Targets and New Featured Contracts (Contracts Mode)
New Gameplay Options
Weapon Balancing
Firearms Re-balanced headshot damage for all pistols. Pistols should now be more lethal at longer ranges, when performing headshots. Minor re-balancing and bug fixing of several firearms, including damage models and recoil patterns.
Shotguns Re-balanced Enram HV shotguns. Fire rates, ammo carrying capacity and recoil patterns have been adjusted. The Enram HV rewarded in Sapienza Location Mastery now comes with extra ammunition. Fixed an issue regarding gunshot audio synchronization.
NPC and Target Information Instinct Mode now displays the name of NPC’s. In Contracts Mode, kill conditions (weapon / disguise) are shown. This option can be turned off in the Gameplay Options.
Inventory Wheel Perks The perks associated with each weapon are now displayed on the in-game inventory wheel, allowing players a better overview of the weapon they are choosing to equip.
Mini Map NPC Indicators Added an option to allow players to turn off the NPC indicators on the Mini Map. Targets are still shown. This option is set to “on” by default and can be toggled in the Gameplay Options.
Game Menu Improvements
Improved Leaderboards The Top 100 scores are now loaded immediately in a scrollable list and each leaderboard entry shows the detailed score associated with it, meaning all players can see the score awarded to all leaderboard entries. A player’s own leaderboard position is always shown on the leaderboard screen, allowing them to easily see how they rank against other players.
Featured Contracts Tile Update The Featured Contracts tile now displays the location of the mission and the most recent Featured Contracts are shown as the first in the list.
Save Games Manual and Auto saves are now shown on a single menu screen. Previously, players would need to tab between two separate screens.
Challenge Saturation When viewing challenges in the menu, those that have not been completed are now displayed in greyscale to clearly show the completed and not-completed challenges at a glance.
Game and server version display The game and server version are now displayed in the ‘Options’ Menu.
Fixed Issues
Fixed an issue where subduing NPC’s could result in a non-target kill.
This was mostly occurring in small/tight spaces.
Fixed an issue where the use of savegames could result in incorrect calculation of the time bonus.
Fixed an issue where the “Escalating the Situation” challenge would not unlock after completing the requirements. Players may be required to complete one more Escalation Contract for this to unlock.
Changed the unlock requirements of the ‘Master of Disguise’ challenge, specifically removing the requirement to equip the location-specific Italian Suit.
Fixed an issue where the “Rock On” challenge in 'The Enforcer' Sarajevo Six mission would not unlock, despite completing the requirements. (PS4 only)
Fixed an issue that would allow items in Agency Pickups to be duplicated.
Fixed an issue where the non-target penalty would not be applied in some Escalation Contracts where the “No Pacifications” complication was enabled.
Fixed an issue where the ‘Body Found’ score penalty would not be applied if the body is found at the same time as the player enters the ‘combat’ state.
Fixed a rare issue that would cause a framerate drop in Paris when equipping a weapon inside the palace.
Fixed an issue where the information about being recorded by a security camera would not be shown in languages other than English.
Fixed an issue where the ‘Over Here…’ challenge in the ICA Facility would not unlock if a guard finds a coin on his way to the generator.
Fixed an infinite loading bug that was occurring when players would sign out of the game during a mission and then sign back in with the same account.
PC-specific Improvements
The Game Launcher now displays resolutions higher than 2560x1440. These options were previously available but only via the in-game graphics settings.
Fixed an issue where the FPS may lock to 60 after alt+tab
Performance and framerate improvements, particularly for DX12.
Fixed various crash issues when loading and restarting missions.
Episode Three releases for all platforms on May 31st and adds an entirely new destination to HITMAN; Marrakesh, Morocco.
To give you a sense of the location, we've created a 4K 360 degree video showcasing some of the areas of Marrakesh that you'll be able to explore. Wake up on a rooftop terrace, explore the marketplaces overflowing with tourists or immerse yourself in a brewing riot. For the best experience, click and drag to look around, or simply move your mobile device.
At 10am CEST on May 31st, the HITMAN servers will be taken down for maintenance in preparation for Episode Three. Maintenance is expected to last three hours. PC players will be able to download and play Episode Three at approximately 18:00 CEST.
Episode Three: Marrakesh Release Notes New Destination: Marrakesh
New Story mission: A Gilded Cage 8 new Opportunities for ‘A Gilded Cage’ 20 levels of Marrakesh Mastery, with the following unlocks: - 7 new Marrakesh Starting Locations - 8 new Marrakesh Agency Pickup locations - 6 new weapon/gear unlocks New suit for Marrakesh: Summer Suit 70+ Marrakesh-specific challenges 7 new trophies/achievements New 'The Sarajevo Six' Contract. Target 3: The Extractor. (PS4 Exclusive) Live Content for Marrakesh will include: New Escalation Contracts, Elusive Targets and New Featured Contracts (Contracts Mode)
New Gameplay Options
Weapon Balancing
Firearms Re-balanced headshot damage for all pistols. Pistols should now be more lethal at longer ranges, when performing headshots. Minor re-balancing and bug fixing of several firearms, including damage models and recoil patterns.
Shotguns Re-balanced Enram HV shotguns. Fire rates, ammo carrying capacity and recoil patterns have been adjusted. The Enram HV rewarded in Sapienza Location Mastery now comes with extra ammunition. Fixed an issue regarding gunshot audio synchronization.
NPC and Target Information Instinct Mode now displays the name of NPC’s. In Contracts Mode, kill conditions (weapon / disguise) are shown. This option can be turned off in the Gameplay Options.
Inventory Wheel Perks The perks associated with each weapon are now displayed on the in-game inventory wheel, allowing players a better overview of the weapon they are choosing to equip.
Mini Map NPC Indicators Added an option to allow players to turn off the NPC indicators on the Mini Map. Targets are still shown. This option is set to “on” by default and can be toggled in the Gameplay Options.
Game Menu Improvements
Improved Leaderboards The Top 100 scores are now loaded immediately in a scrollable list and each leaderboard entry shows the detailed score associated with it, meaning all players can see the score awarded to all leaderboard entries. A player’s own leaderboard position is always shown on the leaderboard screen, allowing them to easily see how they rank against other players.
Featured Contracts Tile Update The Featured Contracts tile now displays the location of the mission and the most recent Featured Contracts are shown as the first in the list.
Save Games Manual and Auto saves are now shown on a single menu screen. Previously, players would need to tab between two separate screens.
Challenge Saturation When viewing challenges in the menu, those that have not been completed are now displayed in greyscale to clearly show the completed and not-completed challenges at a glance.
Game and server version display The game and server version are now displayed in the ‘Options’ Menu.
Fixed Issues
Fixed an issue where subduing NPC’s could result in a non-target kill.
This was mostly occurring in small/tight spaces.
Fixed an issue where the use of savegames could result in incorrect calculation of the time bonus.
Fixed an issue where the “Escalating the Situation” challenge would not unlock after completing the requirements. Players may be required to complete one more Escalation Contract for this to unlock.
Changed the unlock requirements of the ‘Master of Disguise’ challenge, specifically removing the requirement to equip the location-specific Italian Suit.
Fixed an issue where the “Rock On” challenge in 'The Enforcer' Sarajevo Six mission would not unlock, despite completing the requirements. (PS4 only)
Fixed an issue that would allow items in Agency Pickups to be duplicated.
Fixed an issue where the non-target penalty would not be applied in some Escalation Contracts where the “No Pacifications” complication was enabled.
Fixed an issue where the ‘Body Found’ score penalty would not be applied if the body is found at the same time as the player enters the ‘combat’ state.
Fixed a rare issue that would cause a framerate drop in Paris when equipping a weapon inside the palace.
Fixed an issue where the information about being recorded by a security camera would not be shown in languages other than English.
Fixed an issue where the ‘Over Here…’ challenge in the ICA Facility would not unlock if a guard finds a coin on his way to the generator.
Fixed an infinite loading bug that was occurring when players would sign out of the game during a mission and then sign back in with the same account.
PC-specific Improvements
The Game Launcher now displays resolutions higher than 2560x1440. These options were previously available but only via the in-game graphics settings.
Fixed an issue where the FPS may lock to 60 after alt+tab
Performance and framerate improvements, particularly for DX12.
Fixed various crash issues when loading and restarting missions.
This update brings about a nice little feature: Frame blending!
What is frame blending? It's a little hard to explain, but it basically smooths motion between 2 poses - no more sharp motion changes! Here's a professional diagram showing off what it does:
And here's a basic demo that actually shows it off: Before blending:
After blending:
So now you can make smoother transitions, from character motions to sweeping camera passes. There are currently a few limitations - a blend frame MUST be between TWO NON-BLEND FRAMES. Blend frames aren't affected by easing (this may or may not change).
Also added is a Delete Object button. THERE IS NO UNDO FEATURE YET, SO BE CAREFUL. Clicking the Delete Object button will prompt you to delete (as a kind of confirmation). Changing the selected object or waiting 3 seconds will time out the delete prompt, so you'll have to press it again to initiate again.
REGARDING CUSTOM CONTROLLERS: Custom controllers aren't supported. In the future, an app-specific controller will be used, but until then, it'll use whatever is your controller. As far as trackpad buttons go, they should still physically work, you just won't see them. Probably. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND USING THE DEFAULT CONTROLLER FOR NOW.
So that's the features for this update! Took a lot longer than expected due to having to figure out complicated multi-dimensional mathematics (which I'm not too great at). There have been some bug fixes (hopefully the viewfinder issue is finally fixed?), performance optimizations, and a bit of menu restructuring (though still pretty ugly).
This update brings about a nice little feature: Frame blending!
What is frame blending? It's a little hard to explain, but it basically smooths motion between 2 poses - no more sharp motion changes! Here's a professional diagram showing off what it does:
And here's a basic demo that actually shows it off: Before blending:
After blending:
So now you can make smoother transitions, from character motions to sweeping camera passes. There are currently a few limitations - a blend frame MUST be between TWO NON-BLEND FRAMES. Blend frames aren't affected by easing (this may or may not change).
Also added is a Delete Object button. THERE IS NO UNDO FEATURE YET, SO BE CAREFUL. Clicking the Delete Object button will prompt you to delete (as a kind of confirmation). Changing the selected object or waiting 3 seconds will time out the delete prompt, so you'll have to press it again to initiate again.
REGARDING CUSTOM CONTROLLERS: Custom controllers aren't supported. In the future, an app-specific controller will be used, but until then, it'll use whatever is your controller. As far as trackpad buttons go, they should still physically work, you just won't see them. Probably. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND USING THE DEFAULT CONTROLLER FOR NOW.
So that's the features for this update! Took a lot longer than expected due to having to figure out complicated multi-dimensional mathematics (which I'm not too great at). There have been some bug fixes (hopefully the viewfinder issue is finally fixed?), performance optimizations, and a bit of menu restructuring (though still pretty ugly).