Feel the HEATWAVE!
Running for over a month, the Summer Heatwave Event starts today with a hot new game update!
The new Dead Tide map is now available to play on, we've added a whole bunch of new UI features, shaken up a few combat mechanics, and thrown in some vacation wear to sweeten the deal.
So enjoy the sun, visit the beach, and grab some sizzling new looks!
Here are the Heatwave highlights...
NEW MAP: Dead Tide
Dead Tide is the latest map developed in collaboration with the community, and was the winner of the first official mapping contest for Primal Carnage: Extinction!
A largely deserted stretch of white hot sand caressed by the ocean, Dead Tide's beach is an exposed and dangerous zone littered with the bones of those who thought it'd be fun to go paddling. Venture deeper inland and the jungle takes over, with lush greenery spilling out from the tropical interior and oasis-like pools of brilliant blue water.
We hope you'll love this new addition to the Team Deathmatch rotation!
If you wish to show your appreciation to its creator, there's a new Dead Tide map stamp available to buy on the in-game store. A majority of profits from map stamps goes to community creators and you will receive a special Precursor Spinosaurus skin for your generosity. You may recognize it from somewhere.
Congratulations once more to map maker Toa Metru 6 for getting their level into the game!
Roar Ability Updates
Novaraptor Frenzy Roar
Previously, your stamina would be almost instantly gone after roaring as Novaraptor. This made it hard to really get into position to use your boosted attack speed, and often led to raptors just being killed right after they roared since they couldn't run away.
We've totally shaken this up now, by removing the instant stamina loss upon roaring. Instead, you are unable to *regenerate* stamina while under the effects of your roar. When the roar is active, every time you attack you drain a little stam until you have none left. You can still attack after depleting your bar, but you will be unable to run or jump during this time.
This is a change we hope makes Novaraptor's roar ability less awkward, and which we feel promotes slightly more tactical play with the need to watch how much of your bar is full before roaring.
Carnotaurus Ravenous Roar
We recently updated the Carnotaurus roar to give more health back from attacks while it is active. That plus changing it to where ALL Carno attacks give health back while under the influence of your roar certainly helped it. However, we thought it still needed a little extra.
So we decided to look at its duration - having it wear off so quickly made this ability less useful because it would often run out before you'd closed the ground to an enemy. As of this update, Carno's roar now lasts 50% longer, affording you more opportunity to actually use it and reap the rewards.
Roar Notifications
A major new UI feature is the roar popup notification system. Whenever you activate your roar ability, or receive a buff from another player's roar, you will get a centre-screen popup informing you of the effects it has granted you. Buffs received from other players even tell you who has bestowed the effect on your character.
These roar popups are other helpful tips can be turned off in the gameplay options menu if you're familiar enough with the game. We will be looking at further ways of tutorializing concepts in future to help players get to grips with all the different classes and abilities.
One last additional HUD feature clues you in to when you are able to roar again. If you look to the bottom right, you will now see the roar icon in the corner flashing and hear a new UI sound cue when your roar has just finished recharging.
Stungun Modifications
There's been some additional tinkering with the stungun to hopefully give more control to the player. You can now quickfire the stungun by tapping primary fire, or charge up a more powerful shot by holding alt fire (default right mouse button).
A good deal of engineering work was done to remove unwanted lag when you let go of the stungun's trigger, so it should now feel more responsive with no delay between releasing and firing.
Summer Heatwave Event
In-game Store Update
Summer Heatwave unleashes a special store event on the in-game store! There's a new gift available containing over 24 potential items inside, open it on a server to shower everyone with hot stuff. You'll receive the Falcatus Tupa mutation for your generosity!
Almost a dozen new mutations have arrived in total, from the weird and wonderful to the majestic...
There's also some new beachwear for a couple of our mercenary friends! Commando has taken up lifeguard duty and the scientist found her wetsuit, though we don't recommend the diving around here!
Specials
In addition to the new hotness, there are boatloads of cosmetic items returning from yesteryear with a tasty discount. Check out the Specials area in-store to grab some classic gifts and customizations!
Not to mention, there are several new free drops entering the game today as well...
Ultimate Skins, Wave 4
Ultimate skins feature special animated emissive effects that run throughout the body, obtained either as uber rare drops or through crafting legendary items together. The fourth wave of these special items is now stomping into the game!
THALASSIC ultimates are themed around deep sea bioluminescent creatures, with intricate strands of pulsating glows emanating from within. They have a vaguely pearlescent appearance punctuated by dozens of tiny jewel-like orbs that are reminiscent of beautiful nightmares from the dark abyss. The first six Thalassic skins debut today, with the second six arriving alongside the next major update.
Click here to see ALL the new items on our special event Trello board!
Visual Updates
There are a few shader upgrades with this latest version, adding some extra layers to certain effects and materials. The two most notable changes are for pickup items and dinosaurs that are on fire.
Ammo pickups in the world are now more obvious, whereas they were quite hard to spot sometimes previously. They're now labelled and have a golden glow effect applied. The throwable ammo kits will be receiving a new lick of paint as well in future.
If a dinosaur is ablaze, their skin will now heat up over time as the flames burn. Should the dino survive its brush with burning, they will now appear slightly charred and blackened by soot. This burnt skin effect persists for a short while before slowly fading out, and is removed if you heal up to full health again.
Full Changelog - Version 2.5.0
For the full list of changes in version 2.5.0, see below:
- NEW deathmatch map: PC-DeadTide
- NEW info popups for when a roar is activated and when a buff is given/received
- Changed stungun controls to have separate tap / hold functionality
- Fixed delay after clicking when firing the stungun
- Novaraptor no longer loses all of its stamina upon roaring. Instead, it cannot regenerate until it has exited frenzy mode.
- Carnotaurus roar ability now lasts about 50% longer.
- Fixed an issue where Flyers experienced sudden speed loss in mid-air
- Reduced chances of Tupa being able to nosedive forever along the ground without landing
- Updated textures & shaders for health and ammo items
- Added new skin glow effect from being on fire
- If a dinosaur has been burned but lives, they now look a little scorched
- Crosshair hit indicators are now more accurate / reliable
- Added bonus EXP for double kill / skillshot (using assault cannon)
- Updated localization text strings for some cosmetics and UI messages
- Fixed a couple of MK pistol skins being usable by trapper
- More optimizations and refactoring of economy item code
- Fixed an issue with nametags and description tags not persisting
Steam Summer Sale
You might've noticed it's that time of year! If you have yet to jump into the carnage or know someone who would have a blast being (or hunting!) a dinosaur... have them check out our Jurassic-sized sale!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/321360/Primal_Carnage_Extinction/
We're 70% OFF until July 8th during the Steam Summer Sale!
Pick up Primal Carnage: Extinction or a 4-pack bundle for your friends!
Our Next MAJOR Update
We're not quite sure how long it will be until this one will be in your hands, but we're already hard at work on the next major update to Primal Carnage: Extinction, which will feature our newest playable dinosaur: Pachycephalosaurus!
Keep an eye out for more info in the coming weeks about our hard-headed friend.
We can't wait to get this thing out in the wild!
Until then, have a great summer!
-The Primal Carnage Team
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