After a month of both open and closed beta testing on the discord server, we’ve nailed down most of the major bugs found in 1.7 and 1.7.2. Along with that, some well-needed overhauls reworks, and polish work have finally been completed!
Maps:
The older 3x3km blizzard and archipelago maps have been completely replaced with new closer range Dunes and Mudslide maps!
The main reason we have decided to put forward this change was simply due to the large amount of distance needed to be covered by foot with the removal of vehicles from the game.
These new maps provide unique gameplay possibilities; the Dunes map is more open while the Mudslide map is filled with cover.
Further, minor changes have been made to the Factory and Wetlands maps to provide more cover.
Movement:
1.8 provides much more responsive and faster paced movement, with more polish given to the B-hopping (bunny hopping), Grenade jumping and climbing mechanics in the game. Air control has also been added which allows the player some control when jumping.
Combat:
The combat systems from 1.7 have been completely overhauled with the 1.8 update.
One of the main issues that our players found with combat pre 1.7 was how the game punished the player when being low on health. This has now been removed with the damaged effect now being more subtle.
Further, auto-health regeneration has been put into place, though as to not render the med-kit useless with this mechanic, the regeneration lacks the ability to regenerate shield, and the med-kit now has a shorter cool down.
In order to make combat more interesting, the bazooka will now be able to damage the player if used at too close of a range. This is both in part to balance the bazooka and encourage the use of secondary or primary weapons at these ranges.
Bugs with the crosshair have also now been fixed, and you are now also able to hold grenades in your hand and only throw it when you let go of the mouse.
New SFX have also been introduced for the weapons to better fit a paintball theme.
Matchmaking, AI and Spectator:
Seperate buttons have been added for each map in order to make it easier to join a preferred room. Further, rooms are now capped at 8 players, and should extra players join, they would be sent to another room.
To assist with a lack of players at times, a basic AI has been added while a player is waiting for other players to join a room. This will encourage players to wait for others to join rather than quitting the game.
This AI will not damage the players, but will earn the player XP when killed.
A new spectator mode has been added and the ability to hide UI in game has been added to assist people who would like to record gameplay without UI.
Other major changes:
Environment:
- Environment particles
- Added unique reverb presets to each map
- Added lens flare to sunny maps
Movement:
- Added ability to step up on platforms
- Removed vehicles
- Fixed flying ragdolls
Weapons:
- Removed Uzi
- Fixed a bug that prevented bazookas and grenades from dealing damage
- Increased grenade jump force
UI:
- Brand new menu UIs
- Removed redundant parts of old menus
Other:
- Improved chat moderation system
- Shortened the launching sequence
- New preloader