Hello Gamers™,
We did it, we announced the next thing!
If you missed the stream on Tuesday we announced our next (minor) release, 1.9.1.
This update will be focused on celebrating Lunar New Year and will be releasing next week, on February 2nd.
1.9.1 will include two new weapons, new Character Cosmetic DLC, new Weapon Skin DLC, bug fixes, and some map improvements.
Normally we only have one minor release between major releases (i.e. 1.8.1 between Operation: Breakaway and Operation: Cold Blood), but this time there will also be a second minor release (1.9.2) coming before 1.10. We will have more details on that release in the coming months.
To reiterate: This is not replacing a major update nor is it the normal minor release that comes between ‘Operations’ - this is a standalone update to celebrate Lunar New Year.
The two new weapons coming next week are the QBZ-97 (for Insurgent Rifleman, Demolitions, Commander, and Observer) and the QTS-11 (for Security Rifleman, Demolitions, Commander, and Observer.
The QBZ-97 is a bullpup assault rifle with an optional upgrade for a unique 3x optic. It's the export version of the QBZ-95; the standard service rifle for the People’s Liberation Army since 1995. It offers single-fire and fully automatic firing modes. Cost hovers around $700USD.
The QTS-11 is an assault rifle with integrated grenade launcher and has been in service of Chinese military since 2015. The weapon has very low recoil and functions as a step up from the AUG A3, but has a slower fire rate at 550 rpm. It uses the 5.8x42mm ammunition along with a 20mm grenade. It also costs $78,000USD. Definitely not priced for Insurgents.
With 1.9.1 There will also be a new set of Character Cosmetic DLC and Weapon Skin DLC for each faction.
EDIT: After the publication of this blog the team at NWI decided not to release the 1.9.1 cosmetics. Thank you for your feedback.
Another change coming with 1.9.1 will be the removal of the Competitive playlist as an official playlist.
This was not a decision made lightly, but after a lot of discussion we feel it’s best for the health and identity of the game. Competitive didn’t really end up feeling like a complete experience and felt a bit forced. To be honest it didn’t really feel like Insurgency.
Competitive mode suffered from a low population problem and could be a very bad first time player experience - clicking on a mode and queueing for 10-15 minutes isn’t something that will help grow our community.
Since release, Co-op and Versus have been what the majority of the community responded positively to and were the more successful modes. There will likely be detractors stating that had we put more resources into the mode it may have been more successful - the team decided that it made more sense to put those resources into the modes that were already flourishing and helping them continue to grow. New maps, guns, modes, and weapon upgrades are a better use of our resources at this time.
People who still want to play competitive will have the option on community servers, and one thing we are looking into is converting the existing competitive mode into a limited time playlist that we can bring back from time to time.
I know this is short notice, but like I said, it was not a decision made lightly and it was being discussed up until very recently. It didn’t feel like something that should just be announced in a social post, so I felt it was necessary to announce it on a stream ‘in person’ before presenting it in text.
The next release for Sandstorm will be another minor release, 1.9.2. There is no concrete date for this yet, but it will be coming before 1.10 (would be weird if it came after to be honest, you know, because of how numbers work).
1.9.2 will more closely resemble the minor releases you’re used to - community driven, with quality of life improvements, more bug fixes, and light on content.
I keep a (very large) document of all your feedback, and as something starts to get mentioned more often or seems like a particularly good idea I bring it to our Production Team and we discuss:
- Is it a good idea in the way of game design?
- Is it feasible to implement this given the time we have?
- Will it please the (majority of) the community?
Using those discussions we make decisions and plan the release.
I think we have a pretty solid list to work off of, and as we nail down details I will bring that information to all of you so you know what is coming next. Soon is very subjective, so I will say that details are coming soon™.
After 1.9.2 will of course be 1.10 - this will be our next “Operation” or major release. While we have an idea of what this will look like, it’s a bit early to be sharing the details.
The first State of Production for 2021 came out a couple weeks ago and was a nice summary of what happened in 2020 (remember the before-times?), what we learned during the year as a team, and what the future looks like for us. It was a super strange year for pretty much everyone world-wide so I would recommend taking a look - Our Executive Producer, Tim, is a much more professional writer than I am.
You can read it here: State of Production 16
The Insurgency: Sandstorm Mapping Contest has officially come to a close and submissions have been… submitted.
Public voting has now begun, so please help us determine which of the submissions should make the Top 10. After that vote concludes, the top ten will move on to the next round where NWI will vote and discuss each submission.
You can find details on voting and more right here: Sandstorm Mapping Contest
The final week of DGL Season 4: Round 2 has come to a close, here's the news on the upcoming events and reminders about other existing events.
Oceania Open Cup
The Oceanic Cup takes place on the 30th and 31st of January.
DGL is working alongside the Oceanic Sandstorm Group Discord.
Event begins @ 6PM AEST on the 30th with the round robin group stage
- Each team will play 3 games in groups of 4
- The 31st will start at 3PM AEST with the semi-finals
DGL Season 4
The third round of DGL Season 4 is open for sign ups, starting on the 7th of February!
Any new teams signing up will start out at the bottom of the rankings.
For any new teams or players who are not aware of how the season works, each team plays a match a week with 2 maps played. For more information please go to the event page.
New year, new community content; welcome to From the Field for the first time in 2021. We’ve got some 16 bit art, an S-Tier challenge from Insurgency (2014), explosive overkill, ESP, massive achievement, and of course a meme.
Ever wanted to see all the weapons in 16 bit form? SAME (from Hashashaaaa on Reddit).
One Knife. Three smokes. One Grenade. Brutal Difficulty. The Ninja Challenge (from Vakuta on Reddit).
I think they’ve played this map before (from ImaBuckDatAsh on Reddit).
Science experiment gone… right (via WintorOperator on YouTube).
Celebrate small victories (from ribeyeballer on Reddit).
The way to Hank’s heart? Dumb memes (from AcogTrust on Reddit)
That wraps up this month’s word pages. 2021 is already 1/12th over, and it’s already 12 times better than 2020!
It’s going to be a great year for Sandstorm and we are hyped to show you all what we’re working on.
fatherHank