Hello, Agents. We're back with another update today which mainly focuses on improving the overall feel of the game while improving performance and upgrading some of our backend systems. On top of that we have gameplay changes and additions to existing official maps.
Also as it is spooky season, Intruder will be on sale for 50% off and there will be 200% XP plus Halloween unlocks available for the next 7 days.
Improved Syncing, Voice Chat and Server Stability.
Players, ragdolls, projectiles, and props now move with greater accuracy and lower latency. These changes also reduce the overall bandwidth usage of these objects by 75% despite them moving a lot more accurately now!
Similarly, we've changed how voice chat audio is encoded and sent across the network. This has no change on gameplay with the same audio quality, but the bandwidth usage is decreased by 70-80%.
All of these changes should improve server stability.
Quick Play (Beta)
A new quick play menu allows you to automatically join matches with other players.
Faster Map Loading
On all official 2.0 versions of our maps you should notice drastically improved load time. From our testing, SBA players loading Cliffside and other official maps went from 40 seconds for some down to 10 seconds or less. The only downside is a slight increase to map file sizes but we believe the faster load time outweighs that.
The next Map Maker version will also have this improved load time capability as well as the ability to only upload a single version of your map maker files. Prior versions had to separate Mac and Windows versions of map builds, but asset bundle and shader code changes have allowed us to get that back into a single build. This can reduce the size of your map files by 50% and shorten your build times significantly. We will have more tips for that as well on the Map Maker channel of the official Discord.
Mirror-Camera-through-floor fix
Ahead of the new character models and animations update, the Mirror Camera now has greatly improved third-person accuracy. Prior versions allowed players to sometimes pass their third-person Mirror Cams through floors or other objects that did not line up with their first-person perspective. This animation/collision issue is now fixed with a new shader added to make the cam less visible from far distances.
Pistol Input Buffer
The Shrike and Panther now have an "Input Buffer" when firing the weapon. Previously if you happen to click your mouse button between the weapon cycling your input would be deleted and not registered. With this update any amount clicks after a bullet is fired will be registered and will force your weapon to automatically fire one extra time. You click one time or one-hundred times once a bullet leaves the barrel and your pistol will now fire one bullet as soon as possible. This system smooths out your weapon's fire rate and makes shooting your pistol extremely consistent.
After this rework we felt that the pistols fired too quickly as it was possible to achieve maximum rate of fire 100% of the time. We've reduced the firing speed of the Shrike by 12.5% and the Panther by 7.33% to compensate for this change.
Cliffside Rebalance
Some stats and gameplay observation showed us that Cliffside was a bit elimination heavy. To change things up and focus on objectives more, the Hack Goals for Hubs A (Guard Spawn/Control Room), B (Conference Room) and C (Projector Room) have been reduced from 12, 8 and 8 down to 8, 6 and 6. Hub D (Garage) has not been changed. These changes should allow Intruders to hack the terminals a bit faster and help contribute to more wins by hack than wins by headshots.
Control Room (or Top A) has been reworked to provide more cover for Intruders hacking the terminals. Intruders would often get shot in the back from the Ladder or pre-sprayed by Guards rushing in from the Doorway. With this update it should be easier for Intruders to take control of the Control Room by hiding behind the control terminals.
The vent from Projector/Executive Bathroom to Control Room is now a crouch-sized vent, meaning you can now travel from bottom of the vent to the top around six seconds faster now.
Below you'll find two screenshots of the new version of Control Room.
Checkpoint Night
Checkpoint has received a stealthy night variant to contrast it's bright sunset lighting. With our recent performance fix and new time of day, Checkpoint is now out of beta.
At night, the lobby has some darker shadows making it easier to hide. The outside rocky ledge of Restaurant is quite dark too. Guards will have to be extra careful during the night, or take advantage of the shadows themselves.
Note to Guards: The outside turrets have Infrared Sensors. They will find you. Do not leave the building.
Riverside 2.0 Beta Testing
We talked briefly about testing out Riverside 2.0 in our last update. Our first beta test will be going live within the next few days. If you're interested in taking a look at the map before it's release, and willing to provide feedback and opinions on some of our changes compared to the original, you're welcome to opt-in by joining our Discord server and applying to our Secret Base Alpha program. Below are some screenshots we've recently shared on our Discord server.
Spooky Cliffside & Halloween Unlocks
Various Halloween themed hats, skins, red dot sights, patches and more will be available through the next 7 days! This comes with a 200% XP boost for the duration of the event. Definitely explore Cliffside Halloween while you are at it but beware agents or you might get jump-scared.
Hats
Skins
Sights & Patches
Spooky Cliffside
Once again, thanks to the Intruder community and Secret Base Alpha. Their suggestions, feedback, and ideas are a constant source of inspiration for the Superboss Games team.
DiD yOu KnOw ThAt!?
The Bloon gadget is commonly paired with Remote Charges but can also be stuck with Laser Sensors and Remote Speakers!