As 2022 comes to a close, we’ve got a new MCC update to share with you that's available today!
From continuing to expand our support for modding with Steam Workshop and Plug ‘n’ Play, to adding new Skulls and campaign collectibles to Halo 4 and Halo: Combat Evolved, as well as a new Match Rejoin feature, retroactive Spartan points, UI updates, and more – let's give you the full debrief on what today's update brings...
Just last month, we celebrated the tenth anniversary of Halo 4. In a special blog post looking back on the creation of this game, we also dropped in a few glimpses at what’s scheduled to come in the future – so let’s talk a bit more about what’s arriving in today's update.
Acrophobia and Bandana Skulls added to Halo 4
Whether you’re looking to get boots-off-the-ground and explore the vast world of Requiem as you’ve never seen it before, or simply don’t want to have to worry about running out of ammo, these additions continue the work we started in the last update where we brought these Skulls to Halo: Reach.
Additional polish work was done to make sure the infinite ammo behavior was respected in additional use cases. One such case is removing overheating turret behavior when the skull is on.
The Target Designator used in the campaign mission Reclaimer will not have infinite ammo from Bandanna, however. This is due to how the level is scripted, where it has a state machine that depends on the weapon's total rounds going to zero in order to progress the mission. However, if the Target Designator is used anywhere else somehow (such as mods or multiplayer), then the infinite ammo behavior will be respected.
Campaign moa collectibles added to Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 4
As part of the “Scavenger Hunt” system we introduced to Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST, the golden moa statues hidden throughout campaign missions have come to Halo: CE and Halo 4.
Each week, a different subset of these collectibles are enabled – you can check the Challenge Hub to see which missions have active collectibles. Claim these collectibles by shooting them (and, as a note, it is generally advised not to attempt to claim any real-life collectibles by doing this.)
Note that these moa statues appear in classic Halo: CE graphics as they are built into that engine, not the remastered one.
Match Rejoin
With this update, we are introducing the Match Rejoin feature for Social and Ranked matchmaking.
Match Rejoin is not a standard join-in-progress feature – this is exclusively for rejoining a match that you disconnected from.
So, how does it work?
As soon as you enter the loading screen of a matchmade game, you’ll save a handle to rejoin the match. This handle is saved to your profile – just like your customization, player ID, and other settings – which allows it to roam between devices in the same platform family (settings also roam between Xbox and Windows Store). If you are disconnected from the match in any way prior to its completion, the next time you enter matchmaking, your rejoin handle will be checked and you will receive a dialog explaining whether you are eligible to rejoin.
If you were booted from the match (for betraying teammates, for example – not that you would do such a thing, right??), you will not be allowed to rejoin and you will immediately receive a matchmaking ban. In all other cases, you'll have until the match ends to rejoin to avoid a ban. We’ve made some other improvements to matchmaking bans as well. Only the first half of players to quit from a team will receive a ban (except in the betrayal boot case above). This now appropriately takes into account players who “dodged” the match by quitting during the loading screen.
The rejoin dialog will provide information if you are not eligible to rejoin. For example, if the match is ending by the time you attempt to rejoin, an error message will explain this. If you try to get clever and change your preferred input device or platform in a playlist that supports input and platform matching restrictions, you will be prompted to restore these and not be allowed to rejoin until you’ve done so.
What games does Match Rejoin work in?
Match rejoin is available in all games in MCC. As with joining in progress in custom games, all of your match statistics are retained upon rejoining, except in Halo: CE (this may be fixed in the future). You will always rejoin the team you were originally on.
Firefight does not currently support join-in-progress in custom games, so it also does not support Match Rejoin. We look forward to adding this support in the future.
How does Match Rejoin affect Challenges?
For Challenges that track in real time (such as “kill X enemies, earn Y medals”), progress is persistent. There are some nuances around the save windows (it's possible to close the game immediately after earning a kill and lose that progress before it has the chance to save), but beyond that that progress is never reverted and is unaffected by rejoining.
For Challenges that track at the end of a match (like “win X games”), you must be in the match when it ends to earn progress. If you disconnect and then rejoin prior to the match ending, you receive credit. If you don't rejoin, you don't receive credit.
Is there a time limit?
You have up until the match ends (when the announcer says “Game Over”) to rejoin.
An Update on Mod Tools
Mod Tools: Halo 4 & Halo 2: Anniversary Multiplayer
Like all previous mod tools, owners of the Halo 4 and Halo 2: Anniversary MP DLC for MCC on Steam will have access to them.
Like Halo: Reach, these games support multiplayer game variant creation via MegaloEdit. You can hot-load Megalo variants from the MCC pause menu for rapid iteration.
We’ve fixed various issues when scaling objects in Megalo for Reach and ported these fixes to Halo 4 and Halo 2: Anniversary as well.
Plug 'n' Play
This is how we defined how mods should “Just Work” when starting out planning. If a player plugs in a mod, they should just be able to play it without additional hassle.
Mods can be "plugged into" MCC in two ways:
First, if you are a Steam user, you can use Workshop to find mods of interest and "Subscribe" to them. This then downloads the mod to your computer and MCC will be aware of it the next time you launch it in EAC-bypass.
Mods are never enumerated under EAC-enabled. Additionally, for this launch, MCC will not detect new subscribed items which are downloaded while the product is already running. This is a feature that could not make it into this update due to additional UI work and edge cases that need to be handled.
Second, if you are a Steam user or own the game on the Microsoft Store, there is a ModManifest.txt file which MCC will read in EAC-bypass to find mods on your computer. Each line in this file relates to a directory somewhere on your computer. Inside each of those directories MCC will then enumerate all immediate subdirectories looking for a ModInfo.json file, which it will then use to determine what, if any, content in the mod can be used.
Each individual mod may only target a single engine. So, you can have a mod for Halo 2 which includes a new campaign (a series of levels), plus a collection of multiplayer maps (there's no hard limit to how many at this time). If you want to also have a mod for Halo 3 multiplayer maps – for instance, say you ported the mod’s Halo 2 multiplayer maps to Halo 3, then those would need to be in a different physical mod that targets the Halo 3 engine.
MCC Mod Uploader
The Halo MCC Mod Uploader is a WYSIWYG (“What You See Is What You Get”) tool for crafting mod metadata. This metadata is what MCC uses to know how to load mods and inform the engines on how to use them.
The tool is also used for uploading mods directly to Steam Workshop.
Mods are not limited to Steam or Workshop, although the Workshop experience will be the most straightforward. The tool provides a simple editor that lets you configure the paths in the ModManifest.txt config file which are then enumerated by MCC to find mods on your computer. This enables you to test your mods locally before uploading to the Steam Workshop, and the ModManifest.txt setup lets Windows Store players also enjoy mods.
Fun fact: the ModManifest.txt setup was based on a similar setup that was originally added to Halo Wars: Definitive Edition to facilitate modding its files.
The MCC Mod Uploader is available on Steam for anyone that owns MCC on that platform.
Mod Documentation
Your one-stop shop for mod documentation for all Halo games in MCC has arrived!
Mod documentation will be found on MSDocs. For the launch of this site, we're prioritizing MCC Mod Uploader, Halo 3, FBX to GR2 (Halo: Reach, Halo 4, and Halo 2: Anniversary MP), and some Halo 2 Classic sections.
We plan to upload documentation for every game, so keep an eye out for more details in the future.
As we bring the mod section to a close, we wanted to take the opportunity to showcase some of the amazing mods that have already been made by some of our intrepid Reclaimers. Hit the title link or associated images below to head to each mod’s Steam Workshop page and try ‘em out with just one click!
(Note that the listed content below is user-generated and user-supported, it is not official content from 343.)
A 20th anniversary project by VKMT. Features eight new multiplayer maps along with new weapons, Spartan designs, and even remade cut content from Halo: CE's development. Also adds a new campaign experience: Canyon CE+.
“What have you done with my armor?” / “Just a few... additions I made.”
Use your multiplayer Spartan armor color in campaign; backpack weapons and player-carried weapons appear in cutscenes; enable Campaign Customization for extra weapon customization – and more!
A complete gameplay and visual overhaul of Halo: CE with the purpose of creating a fresh campaign experience for CE veterans. Also features enhanced visuals that bridge the gap between classic and anniversary, along with challenging gameplay achieved via enemy AI behavioral changes.
Progression
Retroactive Spartan Points
Back in our August Update blog, we spoke about the retroactive granting of Spartan Points in great detail regarding the specifics of how it will work. Be sure to check that blog out for the full breakdown.
With the December Update, we are actioning on this – let's talk a bit more about what’s going to happen...
Spartan Point rewards for levels have previously been quite opaque, and so MCC will now display the SP rewards earned from leveling up as part of the post-game carnage report flow.
The big question, of course, is how many points will players get?
Every progression level in MCC now awards a Spartan Point (that’s 329 in total). Previously, only the first 100 levels did. Any levels past that which were previously reached will immediately pay out upon logging into MCC after this update.
For example, I am currently at Tour 7, level 25 (the 205th level overall). I previously received a point for levels 2 through 101 (because players start at level 1, it doesn’t award a point). When I log in after this update, I will receive points from levels 102 through 205 (104 points total). In the future, I’ll receive a point each time I level up.
Exchange UI Expansion
The UI for the Exchange in MCC has received a slight update to improve visual clarity, along with support to display more items at once so we can provide richer Exchange offers each week.
We opted to design the Limited-Time Items with gold borders to signify their rarity, while also providing a clear visual separation to differentiate them from the Featured Items. We also wanted to avoid having the Exchange UI compete with a potentially “noisy” background video. So, we’ve added a dark transparent backdrop with some blur to help support the visual legibility of the Exchange offerings.
General Updates
New (Old) Upgrades
We’ve got some outstanding Tactical Packages and Support Upgrades from Halo 4 making their way back into MCC with this update. These enhancements are now available to all players when configuring loadouts – they are available in all modes and game variants which support custom loadouts.
Like with some of the armor and weapon skins that we’ve restored or added, this also includes Spartan Ops. This does not change multiplayer game variants that don’t support custom loadouts, such as Legendary Slayer and our Squad Battle variants. Of course, it should be noted that these traits are also are not featured in competitive variants and playlists.
We also fixed a few quirks and legacy bugs with these traits when we re-implemented them, so they’re better than ever. The returning traits across Tactical Packages and Support Upgrades are:
Resistor: Resistor allows the player to retain full mobility despite taking fire
Shielding: Recharge lowers the time it takes before one’s shields begin recharging
Survivor: Survivor prevents the death of operators when their vehicle is destroyed
We’re also offering Challenges based on the original Achievements that were associated with these traits, so be sure to give them a try.
Survive three vehicle explosions in a row with the Survivor package
Score a goal in Ricochet while taking damage with the Resistor active
Recover full shields from low health with both Resistor and Recharge active
Halo 2 Classic Emblem Support
With this update, emblems will appear on Spartan and Elite player models in all game modes, and for the Territories game mode the legacy behavior has been restored so that when a player captures a territory their emblem will appear on that territory’s flag.
This will use MCC emblems instead of legacy Halo 2 emblems, similar to other titles in the MCC (such as Halo 3).
A new gametype option has been added to CTF that will display the emblem of the player with the most kills on their team on their team's flag. In Neutral Flag, it will be the emblem of the player with the most kills out of all teams. Note that matchmaking gametype variants will not have this option enabled, but it is available for use in custom games.
The CTF emblem behavior was originally prototyped during the development of Halo 2 on the original Xbox, but was incomplete.
Fiesta Fix
We’ve fixed a legacy issue which caused players to occasionally spawn with two of the same weapon in Fiesta which resulted in them spawning with only a single weapon. This issue was present in Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Reach, Halo 4, and Halo 2: Anniversary, and it has been fixed across the board.
Killing Frenzy!
We’ve fixed a legacy issue which resulted in a two second delay being applied to the display and announcement of the Killing Frenzy medal in Halo 3 (as well as several gametype specific events like disarming a bomb).
New Nameplate
For the start of every year, we like to expand upon cultural and holiday events to support diversity and inclusivity among our players. One of the new holidays we are looking forward to supporting in 2023 is the Lunar New Year with a sparkly new animated nameplate. Make sure to sign in during the Lunar New Year to grab it for yourself.
We stated at the start of this year that we had a laundry list of items we wanted to check off for MCC in 2022, and while we’ve hit on many of them to continually improve the experience of this legacy collection, we’re still not quite done yet...
We’ll have more to say about what’s coming to MCC in 2023 (such as Theater support for Halo 4’s Campaign and Spartan Ops) later on, but for now we close the book on 2022 with a lot of great stuff that we hope will continue to empower our players’ creativity.
The things folks have been doing with mod tools this year has blown our minds; we’ve had tremendous fun teaming up together against the Flood in Firefight; the Digsite crew have been working on reviving the ancient past of Halo’s cutting room floor; we’ve brought new tools to legacy Forge experiences, and that’s just scratching the surface of this year’s additions.
We hope you enjoy this update, and we’ll see you in 2023!
We can finally let you know that development on the game is picking up pace! It’s still a long way until the release, but you can expect more activity in the News tab in the coming months.
Today we’d like to let you know about an important change, albeit a very subtle one. The game’s title RV Renovation has been changed to Camper Renovator. You might have noticed it even before opening this devlog, but we’d like to explain the reason behind it.
While planning and further working on the game, it has come to our attention that the title might appear ambiguous to many. Title of the game should give you a general idea regarding what to expect from it. “RV” abbreviation will be recognized right away among people from the USA, but that might not be the case for players from other countries. For that reason, the decision was made to switch “RV” with “Camper” instead – a term easily recognized all around the world.
Of course, a new name equals a new logo! Here it is!
Yes, we still sneaked that “RV” into the logo. 😉
Aside from that, nothing else changes. “Renovator” half of the title is here to tell you what you’ll be doing in the game – renovating old campers and giving them new life!
The player will start in an abandoned junkyard renovating wrecks and will slowly expand his workshop to ultimately become a magnate producing Luxury RVs!
Thank you for your support so far and for your attention!
The auto-exposure system is still being modified; RC3's light levels are the same as RC1/RC2. Third party developers can get detailed notes on the state of lighting and how to update in the X-Plane developer lobby.
RC3 does change how brightness is managed in glass displays; authors should enter the real world max luminance of their displays.
We expect to be able to re-enable auto-exposure to improve the look of the sim under various lighting conditions next week.
Flight model: Airfoil critical mach number improved. Transsonic airflow over wings improved, particular in swept-wing aircraft such as airliners. Developers can watch Austin’s explanation video for more information
XPD-13524 - Warning and quit when loading Aerolite.
XPD-13489 - Multi monitor clouds rendering error when both monitors are at different resolutions.
XPD-13516 - Shader missing on RC1, AMD.
XPD-13403 - Crash With Out of Bounds Shader Constants at Shader Build Time.
XPD-13015 - Runway light spills WAY too bright on ground.
XPD-11770 - Make library.txt and .for files carry 1200 version numbers.
XPD-13526 - Updated luminance for various objects.
XPD-13515 - Can only load 4 saved flightplans in alphabetical order into Citation X FMS.
XPD-13514 - dataref sim/weather/barometer_current_inhg not consistent with pressure measured by the altimeter.
XPD-13513 - Can't delete hold from flightplan in Citation X FMS.
XPD-13512 - Can't access missed approach on the Citation X FMS.
XPD-13505 - Aerolite toe brakes inop.
XPD-13502 - Dev assert when loading sit (soun.has_master_bank()).
XPD-13499 - KingAir nav lights don't create spill.
XPD-13491 - Autogen and World Terrain libraries version 1200.
XPD-13486 - VelocityOne Joy Files.
XPD-13450 - acf_throtmax_FWD set to above 1.0 does not increase MPR.
XPD-12697 - Request: Ability to toggle misc objects on and off on the fly.
XPD-13144 - King Air External Lights Not Showing / Landing Light Wrong Location.
When the pony cars of its era were getting bigger, the 1971 AMC Javelin-AMX fit right in. No longer a unique model, the AMX emulated the look of the Corvette with bulging fender arches and a Trans-Am-inspired V8 capable of 330 horsepower and mid 14s in the quarter mile.
The Javelin AMX is a classic muscle car and one of the last of its kind – an audacious pony car that drove for dominance at the height of the muscle car era and was considered a potent competitor at every racetrack. Now you can bring it and all 330 of its horses to the drag strip in Forza Horizon 5 by earning 20 PTS on this week’s Festival Playlist.
You can also test drive the 2022 CUPRA UrbanRebel Racing Concept and set your fastest lap time in Forza EV Rivals on the Arch of Mulegé circuit. You’ll be able to redeem this car for free from your Message Center once the new series begins. Elsewhere in Mexico, our Monthly Rivals spotlights the 2013 Cadillac XTS Limousine on the Estadio Circuit. Post a clean lap to qualify for the leaderboard.
Available through January 5, 2023, here’s a look at the series rewards for Horizon Holidays:
80 PTS: 2022 Extreme E #22 JBXE
160 PTS: 2014 Ferrari California T
Secret Santa has also returned with the Holiday Tree Outfit and a secret new-to-Forza car up for grabs! Simply send gifts through the Forzathon Shop or Gift Drop to contribute to the progress bar. Once enough gifts have been sent to meet the criteria, rewards are distributed to all players and can be redeemed through the Message Center.
Throughout the Horizon Holidays, look out for festive decorations all over Mexico, from the Horizon Wonderland in Mulegé to the Ice Rink Stadium and even your own Player House!
This week’s events and rewards in Forza Horizon 5 are available through Thursday, December 15:
20 PTS: 1971 AMC Javelin AMX
40 PTS: 2010 BMW M3 GTS
The Weekly Forzathon Challenge spotlights a small but mighty experience. Get ready for bubble trouble behind the wheel of the 1957 BMW Isetta 300 Export. Spend those newly acquired Forzathon Points on the 1997 Lotus Elise GT1 and the 1995 Porsche 911 GT2 and get into the festive spirit with the Reindeer Antlers and Red Nose clothing items and the Jingle Bells car horn.
The Trial is a Super Saloons special with the 1991 BMW M3 as your reward. Over in EventLab, Fame and Fortune await courtesy of Fatefu1Bliss. Cross the finish line first to unlock a Super Wheelspin.
You’re invited to push the 2022 CUPRA UrbanRebel Racing Concept to the limit in Seasonal PR Stunts, including the Basejump Danger Sign and the Escarpment Speed Trap where you can win a pair of Super Wheelspins. And don’t forget to check out the Frozen Rush Speed Zone on Hot Wheels Park to win another Super Wheelspin.
There’s a triple serving of holidays events in Seasonal Championships. Unlock the 2015 Jaguar F-TYPE R Coupé in Toys Under the Tree, the 2013 Audi RS 4 Avant in Yule the Boss and the 2018 TVR Griffith in Not so Silent Night. Over on Hot Wheels Park, you can also win the 1989 Porsche 944 Turbo by Melting the Ice.
This week’s Treasure Hunt is all about the Driving Season. The clue reads: “Drive home for the Holidays in a famously green manufacturer.” Solve the riddle and find the chest to be rewarded with 100 Forzathon Points. Also, we’re hearing the Snowmen are playing hide and seek around your home! Photograph the Snowman at the Casa Bella Player House in Mulegé to unlock the Sleigh Bells car horn.
Lastly, earn 3 Clean Start Skills in Horizon Open Racing and you’ll earn the Holiday Sweater to keep your warm throughout the festive season.
It's been now almost 3 weeks since our last update and due to a recent Covid illness, we had to slightly delay the date as well as the amount of planned content for the current Crimson Dawn major update. That's why now we are so excited to finally share something brand new for your adventure in the game.
New Class: Druid
Become a protector of nature, a master of ancient magic with increased resistance. The Druid can equip any weapon in the first slot, but only magic weapons in the second. Druid is tougher than the rest adventurers, he has a tendency to get more healing and the potential to gain the highest defense level. Special ability: For every 10 damage taken, defense increases by 1% up to a maximum of 80%.
How to unlock: Druid class will be available for hire in the tavern once you complete the 3rd mission on Mystic Meadows map.
New Weapon: Roots
Shoots roots through the ground at the nearest enemy, damaging and rooting them in place for a while. While rooted, enemies take damage over time and also get bonus damage from other weapons. Druid class uses Roots as a default primary weapon though it is also available for all other classes.
How to unlock: Roots will be automatically unlocked after you hire Druid in the tavern.
New Weapon: Wolf
Summon Wolf companion which stays at a medium range from you, constantly running around and pouncing on enemies, protecting its master.
How to unlock: Wolf weapon will be unlocked once you complete the 4th mission on Mystic Meadows map.
You can discuss your experience with the game and report bugs on our Discord server: https://discord.gg/N4Arfz7UqH We will keep reading your feedback and do our best to provide you with hotfixes and new content as soon as possible.
v0.13 is now out! It took a little longer than I had hoped - post-launch has been very hectic to say the least! I wanted to start off right, so v0.13 brings a bit of everything - Many bug-fixes and balancing changes, but also new content and features. From items to new meta-progression, to balancing in every single area of the game (and the much requested / reported issues!) - it should have something for everyone! This update affects the difficulty of the game quite a lot, so definitely let me know what you think. Trainee mode has been extended to 10 runs, so make sure you let me know which difficulty you are on when commenting on the difficulty/balance!
Early Access v0.13 - Full Changelog
New Content & Features
Smart shop: the first two shop items will now be within 1 tier of your character, and all other shop items have a 25% chance to be within 1 tier of your character. (Update 2 will further expand on this - eg. removing duplicates)
Added Rank up Reward: Permanent gold increase, up to max 5000 (all characters)
Added Rank up Reward: Permanent fame increase, up to max 5000 (all characters)
Added Rank up Reward: Permanent skills increase, up to max 10 (all characters)
Added Game Option: wait with loading untill any key pressed (enable if you want to read loading screens if they are too fast)
Iron Cuirass added (Masterwork)
Iron Cuirass added to item pool of troop types Hanian Captain and Hanian Commanders
Splitter Chaka added - new 2h axe
Splitter Chaka added to item pool of troop types Pit Barbarian and Pit Boss
Added iron greaves (Masterwork)
Added iron greaves to late game troop types
Added a new variation to 'City Center' map
Small pit has 2 new map variations
Added Maille Orucien Helmet (variant)
New troop type: Executor. Look out for them in the mid game!
Myrodon Troops now have extra shield variations. Myrodon Flailmen only have smaller shields.
Added a quick save backup system (will be expanded further later, + cloud saving will be added)
Camera panning adjusted to allow lower angle panning
Camera zoom min and max adjusted slightly
Stray / unequipped shields in the arena are now physical entities
Balancing Changes & tweaks
The first (leftmost) battle option will now NEVER have shroud
The first (leftmost) battle option will now NEVER be 1 v Many or Many v 1.
Damage to weapon after shield hit reduced to 10% from 25%
Shield AI health lowered at mid and high tiers by roughly 15%
Added a chance to stun shield-user on all shield hits, based on damage dealt. (Player too)
Added a chance to disarm shields upon all shield hits, based on damage dealt. (Player too)
Hitting the shield also counts as a hit to the audience (in regard to audience favor)
Minimum max stamina from skill is boosted by 10 (all backstories)
Maximum max stamina is decreased by 75
Minimum Stamina Regen rate is increased by about 15%
Maximum Stamina Regen rate is decreased by about 5%
Max Stamina penalty from being damaged is reduced by 10 at lowest level but increased by 30 at highest
AI now also suffer Max Stamina penalty as they get damaged
AI minimum Max Stamina reduced by 20
AI maximum Max Stamina reduced by 50
General armor decay increased
All flails have received a big damage stat nerf (compensating for their higher velocity) and a slight durability nerf, as well as more accurate velocity/range stats (for price)
Lowered the Thrill Seeker Civilian legacy reward a bit (no details - spoilers!)
Trainee mode (gradual difficulty increase) has been spread over the first 10 runs instead of 5.
added small skill increase on every rank up (1 on all skills)
Training flat gain and learning rate at maximum training regime are reduced by roughly 15%
Mysterious Malaise event now depletes less health and less max stamina
Fixed balance on Many vs Many so it won't spiral into you fighting the enemy team alone nearly as often.
Early game rate of leveling has been slightly decreased
Aggression of all AI slightly increased
Increased chance for villa maps to appear (for more map variation)
Effect of weapon stat velocity slightly reduced (<10%)
Added momentum damping on disarms (so significantly less chance to lose your disarmed weapon to the audience etc!)
Bugfixes
Fixed bug with AI getting stuck in the floor after a teleport on Lion's Roar Arena
Fixed bug where you can get a shield from an event even though you already have a polearm or 2 handed weapon
Fixed bug where thrown weapons ended up having much lower momentum than they should
Possibly fixed (likely reduced) crash after re-entering career menu, in particular in late game.
Fixed (or reduced) corpses launching into the stratosphere on kill
Fixed some shop items getting stuck/frozen in some cases (Needs confirmation)
Maybe fixed issue where 2 backstories would sometimes have overlapping effects. (eg. play a Civilian with 50% gold tax etc.)
Maybe fixed issue with cursor getting stuck (double cursor) after exiting ESC menu on tutorial, causing character not to rotate etc.
Fixed issue where AI would not actually drop broken weapons once they hit 0 durability and continue to use them.
Fixed Promotions and Fundraising reporting the wrong values
Removed some old code that was sending out some data (may have caused a firewall error on startup first time, not sure if that was it.)
Fixed bug where weapons would still take some damage during Insurance matches
Adjusted some map corners / areas where AI can get stuck
Minor adjustments
Reduced small pit light brightness
Shield damage splinters now scale in size based on damage dealt for a visual cue
Wooden weapons colour has been made darker (lower some confusion about them being trash wooden weapons)
Fixed wrong wording on shop unlocks
Renamed deprecated 'skip match' to 'reroll' match (oversight)
Added shadow on italic text in events for readability
Minor UI updates to shop item tier coloring
Added warning to 'reset Combat Tutorial' that it will abandon your character
Some minor spelling fixes.
Added a changelog to the main menu. Should open on its own first time on a new update.
Performance issues (high end GPU's in particular)
I've had reports that in some specific instances with very high end machines (ironically) there is lower performance than expected. (eg. 40 fps instead of 120.) Seems some 30xx and 40xx GPU's are suffering this, but its not clear yet. It's being investigated.
There is also an issue where sometimes performance (increasingly over time) is impacted possibly when running razer apps and/or Geforce Experience, closing them may fix it.
Launching with launch option '-DX12' may solve both these issues and any other performance/graphics issues, however it could also be unstable. Update 2 will work towards a permanent fix / running on DX12.
What next?
Besides the obvious (continued bugfixing, balance changes), more and more content will be added each Update. I am planning to add one backstory for Update 2 already (and many more to come).
For Update 2 one major goal is to update the engine behind the scenes, which should hopefully solve the issue mentioned above, improve performance and fix a few more issues (eg. related to Full screen)
You can play the Sacrificial (experimental/beta) branch for early early access which will receive more frequent updates. Enable this under properties>betas>sacrificial branch.
I am also going to take it 'easier' for a few weeks during the holidays after many years of hard work (but still going to upkeep v0.13 if needed), and plan to start 2023 with full force - all focus on Update 2 first and then constant, frequent meaningful updates! The current plan is also to expand the team and finally step away from the solo-development!! I'll be preparing and planning everything in the next weeks before 2023 so I can get this expansion going ASAP - very very excited about 2023 and on.
Fun Fact!
To end this update announcement, here's a fun fact! The carpet featured in-game prominently (eg. in the main Armory) is a 1:1 recreation of a real carpet I own -- in fact most of the game was built on top of it!
