Hi everyone,
Today we are releasing our next patch: Patch 1.1.4. Our team has been focused the last two weeks on optimization and bug fixes based on your feedback. Today's patch includes fixes for jittering scopes, incorrect restricted areas on the Tactical Map, improvements to our AI’s vision cone/perception logic, and much more.
More changes are in the pipeline and coming soon, including broader optimization improvements and new server browser features. Bug fixing and optimization are still our top priority for the next few weeks. Later on however, we are planning to add new content including a new map, two new weapons, and a new official game mode. While we can’t reveal specific dates or info, we can say we will be releasing more details in the coming weeks.
We’d also like to say we’ve decided to take a community-first approach to Sandstorm’s post-release content development. We will soon be polling the community to identify on which areas, features, and content players feel our team should focus. As always, we will continue scouring the forums and monitoring social media for community feedback. All of these channels of community to dev communication are of course still important and taken into account. We encourage players to continue provide constructive feedback for our team by following our community posting guidelines.
See our changelist summary below:
Optimization
- Decreased memory usage of various animation sequences.
- Optimized animation blueprint sequence usage.
- Optimized HDD read times with .pak file ordering.
- Extended blueprint nativization to additional assets.
- Fixed potential hitches introduced by Scoreboard background logic changes.
- Optimized AI logic, reducing game thread usage by 15%
- Disabled wind shader and blood pool spreading effects on low effect quality.
- Optimized fire barrel particle LOD distances.
Stability
- Fixed a startup crash that was reported by some players.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed an issue where restricted areas were not being displayed correctly on the Scoreboard and Tactical Map.
- Fixed an issue with Binds menu under Settings where cancelling a key assignment from a conflict would show the new key being bound anyway, even though it didn't actually change.
- Fixed an issue where scopes would jitter while idle.
- Fixed an issue where vehicles could despawn after 2 minutes even if they had not been entered yet.
- Fixed an issue where the player would immediately throw an equipped grenade if they opened the Comms Menu.
- Fixed an issue where looking up and shooting would allow you to bipod inside a wall.
- Fixed an issue where you could pick up a third rocket from Supply Crates.
- Fixed an issue where weapons with initial trigger delays, such as LMGs, could occasionally continue playing their weapon audio even if the weapon was no longer firing.
- Fixed an issue where translucent geometry could be shown with jittering artifacts.
- Fixed an issue where the wrong weapon would sometimes be highlighted when switching weapons rapidly.
- Fixed an issue where the third person character legs could appear as “locking” at the knee joint if the player was looking down while moving.
- Fixed an issue where the player could occasionally be permanently flagged as being within a spawn zone.
- Fixed an issue where it was possible for the player to obtain infinite magazines by continuing to Scavenge them in Local Play.
- Fixed an issue with Eyewear cosmetics when wearing the Covered Hair option.
- Fixed an issue where a player would sometimes see a floating cube in Local Play when putting on a Gas Mask.
- Fixed an issue where voice over would continue to play even if the player had been shot in the head.
- Fixed an issue where camera movement from weapon idle animations could play in vehicles.
- Fixed an issue where a player’s Gas Mask could be visually replaced by their weapon.
- Fixed an issue with the Gas Mask animation not playing when spectating.
- Fixed an issue where scopes on the G36K would clip with the camera when using Aim Down Sights with a grenade launcher attached.
- Fixed an issue where scopes on AKs would clip with the camera when using Aim Down Sights with a grenade launcher attached.
- Fixed an issue where the Browning HP Extended Magazine upgrade could be visible during speed reloads.
- Fixed an issue with missing first person animations for the Browning HP’s extended magazines.
- Fixed an issue where blood pool spreading would not occur properly in some instances.
- Fixed an issue where crawling in certain directions with a grenade or pistol equipped could cause strange wrist rotations.
- Fixed an issue where Heavy Armor groin plates could clip with the player in the Loadout menu.
- Fixed an issue where a player’s feet could clip into the bed of the Checkpoint Security transport truck while seated.
- Fixed an issue where decals were not always being cleared from dismembered limbs.
- Fixed an issue with the blood pool spreading and scaling effect.
- Fixed an issue where ammo was not showing during the first person Makarov reloads.
- Fixed an issue where AI enemies would use fallback cosmetic outfits if they changed class while still alive.
- Fixed an issue with LMGs using the incorrect third person empty reload animation.
- Fixed an issue where the Gas Mask could clip with the player’s camera when dying while wearing it.
- Fixed an issue where a radial menu (Comms, Fire Support) could remain visible if open when the player was killed.
- Fixed an animation weighting issue with third person MG3 and M240B lids during reloads.
- Fixed an issue where the insertion truck driver and suicide bomber AI could occasionally be seen with duplicated cosmetics.
- Fixed an issue where Insurgents planting an explosive on a weapon cache would not show the proper IED model in third person.
- Fixed clipping issues with beards and certain Head options.
- Fixed clipping issues with Combat Goggles Eyewear option.
- Fixed clipping issues with Three Hole Facewear option.
- Fixed clipping issues issue with the Patrol Headgear option.
- Fixed clipping issues issue with various T-shirt cosmetics.
- Fixed clipping issues with the Track Top Torso.
User Experience
- Motion blur is now its own dedicated setting and is no longer influenced by the player’s chosen quality preset.
- To help improve the spectator/replay experience, switching from free roam to first person will now attempt to go back to the player you were previously watching.
Visual Improvements
- Added new flailing death animation for ragdolls. Shooting a flailing ragdoll in a vital organ will stop it from flailing and is seen as a humane act appreciated by most nearby players.
- Improved the blood puddle decal.
- Decreased blood pool sizes.
- Made improvements to prone transition animations.
- Added dedicated third person reloads for the MP5A2 and MP5A5.
- Added new animations for drawing and holstering pistols while prone.
- Decreased size of the Insurgent Heavy Carrier backpack slightly.
- Added chin straps to the Bump Headgear option.
- Improved animations for characters with weapons equipped in vehicles.
Gameplay
- AI
- Reduced AI vision cone from 180 degrees to 124 degrees to better match human vision.
- AI can no longer hear footsteps from players who are prone or crouched.
- Reworked AI’s “Investigation” logic. They should now search an area more extensively and for longer.
- Fixed AI ignoring molotovs or burning cars as a dangerous area if someone has died there recently.
- Set AI hearing distances to match that of a player’s. AI can now hear a player’s running footsteps from 20 meters and sprinting footsteps from 35 meters.
- Helicopter gunners can now see players seated inside vehicles.
- Voice Over
- Added suppression voice over triggered specifically by suppression from Fire Support.
- Reduced minimum suppression requirement for explosion and Fire Support lines.
- When getting a tinnitus effect from an explosion, a player’s suppression level will increase to 75%. This was previously set to 35%.
- Improved hitboxes for the Insurgent Heavy Armor groin plate.
Map Balance & Fixes
- Crossing
- Fixed an issue where players could enter objective A’s capture zone outside the intended area on Push Security.
- Fixed a spot within the objective A capture zone on Push Security where the player would stop capturing.
- Fixed a spawn camping issue at Security objective B spawn on Push Security.
- Fixed an issue where Security could destroy Insurgent weapon cache objective from too long of a distance on Skirmish.
- Summit
- Tweaked HLOD clusters at market area to improve performance.
- Fixed a spawn camping issue at Insurgent spawn on Firefight East.
- Added extra cover for Security leading to objective A on Push Security.
- Expanded restricted area slightly for Insurgent objective A spawn on Push Security.
- Fixed spawn camping issue at Insurgent objective B spawn on Push Insurgents.
- Fixed an issue near objective D on Checkpoint Security where a player could get stuck vaulting inside of a rock like some kind of rock morphing person.
- Fixed an issue where a player could get stuck after vaulting over a table near objective E on Push Security.
- Fixed an issue where shutters would vanish at long distances and expose players inside objective B on Firefight West. Some details in the environment vanish or “cull” when not seen for optimization purposes, but the culling for these shutters was previously too aggressive.
- Hideout
- Reduced terrain layer usage to improve performance.
- Fixed a spawn issue where players would sometimes spawn on top of each other at Insurgent objective A spawn on Push Insurgents.
- Fixed an issue where Insurgents could destroy the final weapon cache objective from too long of a distance on Push Security.