Hello everyone!
The teams here at Tripwire Interactive and Antimatter Games are working hard towards update 1.03, our next Quality of Life and Content patch. Key items for this next update include the following:
- Our previously mentioned ‘Instanced Rendering’ system
- Two brand new weapons and a new variation
- New Community Testing Branch (CTB) and CTB Steam Discussions section
Now, let’s dive right into the details for each!
Instanced Rendering System
Instanced Rendering is a new addition to the engine and therefor will be OFF by default while we deploy it for public testing. This new rendering system takes batches, or draw calls previously done by the CPU and places the work on the GPU. This means underutilized GPUs can do more work and take the load off the bottlenecked Rendering Thread. Players with low frequency CPUs (sub 3.0Ghz) and a high-end GPU (Geforce GTX 980+) for example, might experience better and more stable framerate while playing.
Additionally, this system does not support LODs on instanced geometry and as a result there are no popping or visible transitions in mesh geometry while moving around the level.
More in-depth technical details about Instanced Rendering will be covered in the Update 1.03 changelog. Changelog will be posted once the Community Testing Branch is open.
CTB (Community Test Branch)
Our goal with the CTB is to make patch builds available to the community before their official launch so we can have wider coverage to catch issues that we do not see in-house or with smaller test teams. Players will be able to opt into this build via the Steam settings for the game and choose the Community Test Branch from the beta tab drop down menu. The first CTB build will contain the content, systems, and fixes for the 1.03 update which we hope to release later this month.
We hope to have the CTB up and running by Monday August 21st (as long as we encounter no issues that would cause us to delay) so we can gather player feedback and bug reports as soon as possible. As part of this effort we’ve created a new sub forum in Steam to focus on feedback and issues encountered with the Community Test Branch which will be found by clicking the below link. As always, please be as specific as possible with details when reporting an issue. Screenshots are also very useful.
Community Test Branch forum: http://steamcommunity.com/app/418460/discussions/6/
*Note, this forum section will be unlocked and available for posting once the Community Test Branch is open.
2 Brand New Weapons and a New Variation
Brand new to update 1.03 are two new handguns and a silenced variant of the XM21. The new handguns are the Makarov for PAVN/NLF and the M1917 S&W revolver for the US Army/USMC.
The Sionics Suppressor used on the XM21, combined with subsonic ammo, make this variant bolt-action and very quiet!
XM21 with Suppressor
PM Makarov
S&W M1917
The team is also already working towards 4+ additional brand new weapons and brand new maps over the next few months. We’ll have more details on this at our PAX presentation!
The Work In Progress 1.03 Changelog should be available as we open up the CTB. We look forward to your feedback and once again thank you for your continued support.
Tripwire Interactive and Antimatter Games