Today's update focuses on fixing some bugs with Umbrella. Also, the integration of Umbrella's VO is going well, but it will not be included in a build until it is fully finished.
UMBRELLA
If a character swallowed from Feeding Time (Lv3) is no longer dead (often triggered by training mode settings, or a solo vs solo down period), Umbrella will be forced to perform her taunt for Hungern to spit up the character. (... Yes, this prevents all the fun training mode stuff, but it kept getting reported as a bug. It also fixes a soft lock during 1v1 downs.)
Added a new reflect effect when Retina Reflector's Projection Lens reflects a projectile. (... Note: This doesn't work correctly for projectiles that aren't currently reflected, so this will only work correctly for Peacock right now.)
Fixed a bug where Hungern Rush could release opponents the wrong way after the throw finished.
Fixed a bug where Hungern Rush would always do the boosted damage from the Ravenous version even in the Satiated state. (... Final hit damage reduced from 1000 → 650)
Fixed a bug where Feeding Time (Lv3) errantly triggered preblock, preventing it from throwing opponents holding back. (Whoops!)
Salt Grinder now causes preblock, and the recovery of Tongue Twister no longer triggers preblock.
Fixed a bug where Bobblin Bubble could be out multiple times under some circumstances. She can now only have one out at a time, as intended.
Fixed a bug where only 1 bar of Dramatic Tension (meter) was required to Blockbuster Sequel (DHC) into Feeding Time (Lv3).
Adjusted the priority order for Umbrella's special moves. The order in highest to lowest priority is now [Down Up Charge > Quarter Circle Back > Back Forward Charge.]
We've added the long-awaited Multi-Table Tournament (MTT) game mode! True to the name, MTTs take place over many tables at once. However, unlike Shootouts, this mode will jump players to new tables as others are eliminated (or new players join) to keep a relative balance. Tables will be removed as the number of remaining players dwindle, until one table remains. Players may be able to "Late Join" an MTT for a certain period after a game has started.
Changes / New
Lobby now lists all available and upcoming quickplay STTs and MTTs
Lobby now has a "Create Home Game" button
You can now choose to show one -or- both of your cards at the end of a hand
You can now bind your spacebar to an action
Clicking on a STT/MTT game's current blinds in the top left will now reveal a blind structure flyout, including breaks
Active breaks are now displayed prominently in the bottom right of a game view
New gameplay setting: "Show Flop/Turn/River", defaults ON
Dealers now have a card shuffler animation on the table
Dracula and Ragnarok rooms now have passive animations
Tweaks
Table hole card now have a more exaggerrated perspective
Table gifts now sit directly in front of players to avoid confusion as to who it belongs to
Table cards and chip positions adjusted to accommodate new gift positions
Third-person nameplate has been refactored to always show your name
Namplates now flash when its your turn, and the countdown animation is slightly delayed before starting
Avatars at tables and your dashboard are now thinly stroked with a semi-transparnet black line for clarity
Hole cards on the table are now thinkly stroked and will now always fan outward despite table position/rotation
Lobby standard game filter no longer has a blind range
Lobby standard games will now list up to 50 rows per page
Lobby loads are much quicker, resizing much more responsive
Lobby now passively reloads itself on a periodic timer
Tables you are playing at now appear with a green tint in thee Lobby
A new seat effect has been added to symbolize an MTT jump-in / jump-out.
Timebomb dealer no longer changes to a skeleton when the bomb explodes
Lobby STT/MTT sidebars now show a list of players queued for that game
Lobby STT/MTT sidebars now show the first place prize under their images
Shootout final tables now have a dedicated blue/purple icon
Halloween skin updated
Now clamping outgoing gem trades to a player's max gem count when rounding errors push value above it
Axe and Crowbar Swing speeds nerfed to half a second Knife added with quarter second swing time Added Omak Adjusted Spryward sprite to make him look more like he is in Apastron Episode 3 Added more ammo crates around all maps Added secret Omak weapon spawn to Bluffs Added secret AA12 weapon spawn to Holly Raygun impact now does twice as much damage Revolver Critical Hit chance increased to 60% Thurm damage increased Thompson damage increased Scar damage increased G36c damage increased M1014 damage increased Added intermission music to map menu Adjusted grapple shot spawn position
Where have I been? :
I've been working on the last expansion for Apastron. Vacancy Unlimited is a game that takes place in the Apastron universe. For Apastron's last expansion Time of Crisis I decided to have Geoff and Spryward crossover. This event will have ramifications for the continuity for the entire Apastron universe. For the next few updates I'm going to be working on the Time of Crisis tie-in for Vacancy Unlimited. I'll be giving you the moment when Geoff and Spryward enter the crossover and when they come back. Once Geoff and Spryward return there will be a 3 month time skip as they return 3 months later. I'm really excited for how this will impact VU's story. If you're interested in seeing what Geoff and Spryward have been up to since I've been gone, please go check out Apastron Episode 3 Time of Crisis.
In a covert Spetsnaz operation, the operations staging center for western Europe, Site-30 has been raided.
Several terabytes of data were stolen from Site-30 servers. Much of which consisted of weapon development research, government covert operation briefings, metallurgy test results, and the release of a high importance object. While awaiting Level 5 clearance for transfer to Site-19, AO-186-6 "The Hide" was knowingly released by the operatives, presumably to take the asset themselves. However, they were then promptly eviscerated by AO-186-6.
Site security has since regained control of the facility, AO-186-6 escaped the premises.
The assert requires immediate recollection. Termination orders are pending.
Aurora Soldier
Once your squad has infiltrated the AO, ROE is weapons-free. The target must be eliminated by any means, bagged, then extracted to point KILO. Contain the asset at all costs. Work as a team with the tools at your disposal to accomplish the mission. The Hide is hard to spot and must be kept away from feeding on corpses.
Trip Alarm With a Surprise
Protect and secure an area with this sophisticated trip alarm. The laser beam has the ability to relay back to the device a nominal DNA sequence, or an abnormal one. It will signal when a fellow squad member passes when the beam is broken. However if a non-friendly breaks the beam, a different alarm will sound alerting your team of the location of a non-friendly. Also it contains a minor explosive device that will detonate.
Tranquilizer
An XG-505 non-lethal dart will disorient the asset and obscure its vision without destroying them.
Aurora flashbang
Overwhelm the senses of the monster by forcing them to cry out in pain which reveals their location if deployed close enough. The wavelength emitted by the grenade is blocked by Aurora Operative visors.
Adrenaline shot
Shove this auto-injector in your intramuscular tissue for an instant temporary speed boost and 15% damage resistance to protect yourself under extreme duress.
Bandage kit
Recover health instantly by ripping the perforated easy-tear package and applying it with your trigger button.
The Monster
You're not meant to be caged up. You cannot be captured or killed. You regain health by feeding on the flesh of the dead. Blades have been fused with the bones of your forearms. You have also been granted a wonderful ability to see through walls and in the dark. Not only that, the lab has granted you the strength to leap far higher than any human and grab onto any vertical surface. You've also have the ability to refract light around your skin by regulating your body temperature, this makes your body and pants extremely hard to see with the naked eye.
Smoke grenade
Use this screening device to assist in stalking your prey. Despite the ability of your skin to use adaptive camouflage, you can further introduce confusion when trying to attack an entire squad of highly alert soldiers.
Fragmentation grenade
Dispatch damage to a group of enemies with a stolen Aurora fragmentation grenade.
Night Maps
Due to the tone of this additional game mode, It was important that the proper atmosphere is in place for the environment it should be played in. As a result, we have created night versions of our official maps for Stalingrad, Sand, Santorini, Station, and Industry. Not only will it be fun gameplay for The Hide but with the addition of flashlight attachments, we hope it will but a fun alternative take on deathmatch.
New buy menu
We have updated our buy menu, but we're not finished yet. We wanted to get the buy menu in the hands of players now so they can access all the new items such as the canted sight, laser, flashlight, new modern weapons, and more. At a later time, we're going to hand the keys to the community to let them edit the buy menu themselves for their custom game mods with JavaScript.
Improved first-person vests
The first-person vests have been visually overhauled. Your vest will match the character skin that you are using. The color and detail are also much more present!
Visual Damage feedback
When you are now damaged, the edges of your vision will provide a damage indicator.
$10,000 Map Contest
Our good frozen friends at Arctic VR are hosting a map designing contest aimed at the Search and Destroy game mode and we are happy to sponsor the winners totaling up to $10k in cash prizes!
This contest is free and open to enter for everyone and specifically for Pavlov Shack version of Pavlov for mobile VR. The submission is now open and closes on January 1st 11:59 PM Easter Standard Time.
Core -Added new game mode: The Hide -Added new first-person vests -Added new dark versions of maps: station_night, sand_night, stalingrad_night, industry_night) -Added new painkiller model -Added visual damage feedback/indicator -Added bayonets to tanktdm and koth -Added temporary Halloween themed item swaps -Adjusted tiger liveries -Adjusted AR style charging handles so that they aren't as linear -Adjusted splash screens to fix border issue for Oculus headsets -Adjusted Pak system for faster validation (future updating) -Adjusted flashlight shader -Fixed exploit abusing playspace to clip ceiling and floor with head -Fixed M1 Garand ping not playing sometimes -Fixed menu walking exploit -Fixed slapping bolt removing 2 rounds -Fixed for guns triggering filter out sound -Fixed being able to see through the scope while flashed -Fixed inventory not rotating when trying to start sprinting -Fixed issue with error sound incorrectly triggering with gun handling
KOTH -Added gradient to the cap zone
TTT -Added UI for Teleporter and DNA scanner -Added 10% damage resistance to all players -Added special roles: Jester, Glitch, Assassin, Sheriff, Tank -Added rcon commands for community server owners (Commands: tttflushkarma, tttsetkarma, tttsetrole, tttsetrole, tttendround, tttpausetimer, TTTAlwaysEnableSkinMenu) -Adjusted TTT armor system -Added DNA revamp -Added textures for Discombobulator grenade -Adjusted TTT C4, leaves DNA when armed -Adjusted TTT C4 long time blast radius (increased) -Added covert body searching -Adjusted Silent Cet 9 magazine ammo to 12 -Adjusted TTT Knife stab sound range (decreased) -Adjusted TTT Medkit to WW2 Medkit -Adjusted Mercenary and Survivalist special roles (Survivalist is no longer a guaranteed special role) -Adjusted Several backend improvements to TTTv2 -Fixed round waiting issue -Fixed Newton Launcher not shooting players in the correct direction
In this update, the graphics and the technical aspect of the game have been drastically improved! The ability to activate a timer has been added to allow speedrunners to express themselves at their best. The gameplay has been completely rebalanced for a much more dynamic and responsive gaming experience. There is a new graphic style of the main menu and an effect has been added to simulate an old CRT tv with scanlines.
We are excited to introduce the MEGALODON Update! This is the largest and quite possibly best Gridiron update we’ve ever released. Packed with features and gameplay changes, we hope you all enjoy playing it as much as we’ve enjoyed making it!
Blocking 3.0
Blocking 2.0 fell short of our expectations. We've been in the lab grinding on the latest version of the shields and we’re excited to show them to you!
Shield Changes
The shield now drains shield stamina when holding it out and not blocking anybody.
The shield stops draining stamina when you make contact with a defensive player, or put it away, in which case it will start regenerating.
The shield now only slows players when they physically contact the front of the shield.
The shield can no longer be abused or glitched via jumping when you make contact with it.
Blocking in the back is no longer possible.
The shield now has a concave hitbox to better hold players.
You can now dive and dashe off of shields horizontally.
Bash Blocking
With Shields 3.0, linemen can now bash players that are contacting your shield and send them back a short distance, creating room and relieving pressure on your QB.
Bash can be bound to any key you like but is set to RMB by default.
Bash is tied to your shield stamina. Executing one bash costs 40 shield stamina. You have a total of 100 shield stamina that regenerates over time.
After 2 seconds of holding up the shield, the shield will enter a charged state, and upon successfully bashing a player with a charged shield, will slow the player hit by by 15% for 2 seconds.
Pancake Blocking
With the introduction of the bash mechanic, you can also now pancake defensive players trying to get to your quarterback!
The pancake block will send the player hit by it back a few yards, and knock them to the ground for up to 1.5 seconds depending on the distance travelled while dashing.
To execute a pancake block, you must dash into a player with your shield up and use your bash as your shield makes contact with them.
The player you intend to bash must be in a "Vulnerable" Status(Indicated by a yellow bleeding eye above their head) which can be applied via a bash from yourself or another linemen.
Defensive Line Spin Move
We also are introducing a spin move for defensive linemen! A clever new mechanic that can be used masterfully to get off of shields and to make great plays.
The spin move costs 15 stamina to use and spins the player to the left or the right(Q and E by default) a short distance.
The spin move can be used most effectively to get off the edge of a shield that is blocking you, or to bait out a pancake block.
Using the spin move as a offensive linemen tries to pancake you and forcing them to miss will award you with a free dash(your next dash executed within 4 seconds will cost 0 stamina)
The Underwater Stadium
Humans have returned to Kepler-1989g aka Styx, the home planet of the Scyllians. The Purpose? Some good old-fashioned diplomatic football. Humanity is in for a tough away game though, as the home team and their fans may not be too fond of them...
This exoplanet whose surface is 92.43% covered in water is home to the brand new underwater Gridiron stadium. Check out the reveal trailer to see the stadium in all its glory!
Players can now select which stadium they’d like to play in in custom games. The Underwater Stadium will also appear more often in public matches for a limited time!
Competitive Ruleset Changes for Runningbacks and Linemen
We want competitive games to feel more competitive, so a few changes are coming to the runningback and offensive line positions in ranked and custom matches with the competitive ruleset enabled.
Linemen in the competitive ruleset will now receive permanent ineligibility if they activate their shield. This does not apply to runningbacks, quarterbacks, or wide receivers.
The Runningback will no longer make a loud sound when receiving a handoff.
These changes do not apply to other positions and are only applicable during a normal play(Kickoffs and Punts will have normal rules.
General Changes
Added the ability for players to name their team and set a team abbreviation in custom lobbies. Your team name and abbreviation will appear during gameplay!
Ball Carrier Stamina Drain is now 1.65x greater then the default stamina drain instead of 1.75x greater.
Players can now close some UI elements by pressing the escape key, including the in-game chat prompt.
Changed how the camera behaves when a player is tackled.
Bug Fixes
Fixed an issue where the tackle hitboxes were not behaving correctly and allowed for tackles to happen when the tackler was not close enough to the ball carrier.
Fixed an issue where the down and distance would be incorrect after a team intercepts the ball.
Fixed an issue where the tutorial prompts would appear over the options menu.
Fixed an issue where changing your FOV in the main menu would cause issues with the character being displayed in the locker room.
Accepting a game invitation before opening Gridiron will now put you in the lobby with the player who invited you instead of just opening the game.
Fixed an issue where spectators could not see the touchdown and conversion graphics after a team scores.
Fixed an issue where a player would start the next play from the spot they were tackled instead of their appropriate spot in the formation.
Status Effects
This patch introduces several status effects as described above. These are the icons of the different status effects that you can receive and what they mean:
Vulnerable: Lasts 2.0 seconds - This debuff is applied when an offensive lineman bashes a defender. Players with the Vulnerable status effect can be pancake blocked.
Shield Charge: 2.0 second charge up period - When a shield is charged, you can discharge it by bashing a defensive player, giving them the Slowed status effect.
Slowed: Lasts 2.0 seconds - Applied by a charged shield bashing into a defensive player.
Rocket Boots: Lasts 0.5 seconds - Increases player speed by 25% after successfully bashing a defender.
Pancaked!: - Lasts 0.75 seconds - You've been knocked to the ground by a charging offensive lineman. You can get back up after the duration expires!
Pancaked!: - Lasts 1.5 seconds - You've been knocked to the ground by a charging offensive lineman. You can get back up after the duration expires!
Pancaked!: - Lasts 2.25 seconds - You've been knocked to the ground by a charging offensive lineman. You can get back up after the duration expires!
