Hello, once again Sandstorm community.
We would like to welcome you to the release notes for Update 1.13 Operation: Livewire! We know you have all been waiting patiently to see what’s in store for this update, and we’re happy to finally be sharing it with you.
You may have been following along with the content reveals and promo activities for this update, but this is where we get to deep-dive into the details and changes you can expect from Operation: Livewire.
We'll see you on the front line.
-Jude, A.K.A. Koventry
New Game Mode: Defusal
Defusal is our new high-intensity objective-based PVP mode where each team takes turns attacking and defending chemical weapon caches. Insurgent Forces will attempt to plant explosives on two cache points while the Security Forces try to intercept and deny them control of the points.
Each round will start with a five-minute timer. If Security can hold the line and stop the Insurgents from detonating a cache, they will win the round and get points for every cache remaining intact. However, if the Insurgents manage to destroy one of them, the timer will reset to five minutes and Security will need to defend the remaining cache until the clock runs out.
At the end of the two rounds, each team's points will be tallied with Security gaining points for caches remaining intact and the Insurgents gaining points for destroyed caches. In the event that the teams finish with the same number of points, the match will end in a draw; otherwise, the team with the most points overall will be declared the winner.
Cache A
Cache B
Key Points
Match info
- 2 rounds per match.
- 5-minute round timer, resets if one objective is destroyed.
- Player count: 4v4 - 12v12 (10v10 on console).
- The team with the most objective points at the end of the match wins.
Round info
- 10 second respawn timer.
- Caches can only be destroyed with the timed charge.
- Timed charge has a 40 second timer.
- Defusal takes 5 seconds.
- Insurgents gain objective points for each destroyed cache.
- Security gains robjective points for each cache remaining intact.
Available Classes
- Rifleman - Unlimited
- Breacher - 3
- Advisor - 3
- Demolitions - 2
- Marksman - 2
- Gunner - 2
Layouts
Citadel - Defusal
Gap - Defusal
Outskirts - Defusal
Precinct - Defusal
Prison - Defusal
New Weapons: M60 and RPK
Coming soon in Operation: Livewire we are introducing two workhorses of the LMG world: the M60 and the RPK. Both come in at a 3 supply point cost and have the same attachment compatibility as the Galil and Galil SAR.
M60 (SEC)
Stand strong against resistance and lay down some serious firepower with the M60 for Security.
RPK (INS)
Strike fear into the heart of your oppressors at 600 rounds per minute with the RPK Gunner weapon for Insurgents.
- Added the M60 and RPK to the Firing Range
- Added the M60 and RPK to Survival Crates
New Free Cosmetics: Gunner and Seasoned Fighter
Jump into the action with two new free cosmetic sets. Hold fast as the Gunner or break through as the Seasoned Fighter, the choice is yours!
Gunner (SEC)
Put the power back in firepower with the Gunner gear set!
Seasoned Fighter (INS)
Bust out the salt and pepper shakers and show them that experience matters with the Seasoned Fighter Gear set.
New DLC: The Livewire Set Bundle
These new DLC will be available for purchase upon the release of Operation: Livewire and are included in the Year 2 pass for those of you who have it standalone, or via the Gold Edition. These cosmetic items can be combined with others in-game.
Here is the breakdown:
Technician Gear Set (SEC)
You know what they say, the best offense is a good defense! Prove it with the Technician Gear Set for Security.
This Gear Set includes four items.
- Technician Helmet (Headgear)
- Technician Top (Torso)
- Technician Bottom (Legs)
- Technician Boots (Feet)
Black powder Weapon Skin Set (SEC)
Black looks good with everything! Strut your stuff with the Black Powder Weapon Skin Set for Security.
These skins can be applied to six different weapons.
- M60
- AUG A3
- Honey Badger
- Tavor 7
- M110 SASS
- M45
Dealer Gear Set (INS)
Whatever you need, he’s got it. Get ready to take up arms with the new Dealer Gear Set.
This Gear Set includes six items.
- Dealer Hat (Headgear)
- Dealer Glasses (Eyewear)
- Dealer Gloves (Hands)
- Dealer Top (Torso)
- Dealer Bottom (Legs)
- Dealer Shoes (Feet)
Damascus Weapon Skin Set (INS)
Be unique, be stylish, and be deadly with the Damascus Weapon Skin Set for Insurgents.
These skins can be applied to six different weapons.
- RPK
- FAL
- P90
- M99
- Desert Eagle
- UZI
Firefight
Yes, that’s right, we have been listening and talking to many of you in the community about the changes made to Firefight during the Summer of Sandstorm event. With the collected feedback, we have made the decision to revert Firefight to its original 12v12 player limit (10v10 on console).
Our intention is to eventually come back to the 5v5 mode, but that will happen after much more testing and tweaking so as to properly balance it.
Lighting Improvements - Night Maps
We’ve made changes to improve the lighting in various night maps in order to increase the viability of all night equipment across all maps and provide a more balanced experience to the player. Some of these maps needed more love than others, so the visible changes will vary from subtle to drastic depending on the map.
Crossing
Old Lighting
New Lighting
Farmhouse
Old Lighting
New Lighting
Hideout
Old Lighting
New Lighting
Hillside
Old Lighting
New Lighting
Outskirts
Old Lighting
New Lighting
Power Plant
Old Lighting
New Lighting
Precinct
Old Lighting
New Lighting
Refinery
Old Lighting
New Lighting
Summit
Old Lighting
New Lighting
Tell
Old Lighting
New Lighting
Tideway
Old Lighting
New Lighting
New Map Layouts
We are introducing a whopping thirteen new layouts as part of Operation: Livewire! Take a peek at the images below for an idea of what’s been added.
Ambush
Bab - Ambush
Hideout - Ambush East
Outskirts - Ambush East
Precinct - Ambush East
Summit - Ambush West
Tell - Ambush East
Domination
Bab - Domination East
Gap - Domination West
Precinct - Domination East
Tell - Domination West
Firefight
Gap - Firefight West
Survival
Bab - Survival
Ministry - Survival
NVG Point Shooting
That’s right, you heard it here first. Update 1.13 marks the return of NVG Point Shooting to night scenarios!
Party Colour / Colour Picker
Good news! We have addressed the issue where all team members were displaying with the same colour as the party. Additionally, the colour picker has been made much more user-friendly, as players no longer have to enter distinct RGB values.
Spawn Protection
Spawn protection at its launch suffered from some issues that meant that it wasn’t functioning as designed, so we’ve enacted some tweaks to ensure that it’s far less intrusive and functions the way we originally intended.
Spawn Protection should now last for 30 seconds OR until the player performs any of the following actions, move, aim, activate equipment, shoot, at which point the timer is reduced to 5 seconds.
We appreciate all of the feedback we received from the community about its functionality. If you witness it behaving counter to any of these points please let us know by filing a support ticket here.
Resolved Issues
It is important to note that not all bugs or issues are experienced by all players, and there are differences between platforms. If anything below is still affecting you after the update, please contact our support team here.
Art & Graphics
- Resolved an issue where the M4A1 could be missing the carry handle when using Universal Digital skin.
Audio / VO
- Resolved an issue where accepting changes in menu while using a controller would not play the appropriate sound.
- Added a hover sound to the Create Party button.
- Resolved an issue where Molotovs extinguished by sprinklers would still play audio.
Gameplay Improvements
- Overhauled grenade behaviour.
- When thrown, the grenade spawns further away from the camera.
- Grenade now rotates while in mid-air.
- The final position on the ground is more natural.
- Supply Crates in the Push mode now work consistently across all game maps.
- The Supply Crate near the next Spawn Zone opens at the moment when an Objective is captured, except for the Supply Crate in the attacker’s final spawn zone.
- The Supply Crate in the attacker’s final spawn zone opens when this spawn zone becomes active and remains available until the end of the round.
- The defending team has an additional Supply Crate near the Weapon Cache location when the final objective is active.
- The smoke effect from the M81 grenade now can’t be removed by an explosion.
- Resolved an issue where players using the QBZ could scavenge mags from a QTS 11 with the extended magazine upgrade.
- Vehicles now always spawn when selected from the spawn menu in the Range mode.
- Fixed an exploit regarding the M1 Garand.
- Explosive Drones can now fly up while navigating to the target mark.
- Reduced the cost of Point-Shooting Grip from 4 to 2.
- Night-Vision Point Shooting is now available in Versus night scenarios.
- Fixed an issue where players in a party that were kicked from a server could rejoin immediately by re-joining on the same party.
Level Design Improvements & Fixes
- Removed sandbags from objective C on Summit Push Security.
- Moved the initial spawn on Farmhouse Checkpoint Security to improve flow, allowing players to reach objective A more naturally.
- Reduced capture zone for Refinery Domination objective C to limit it to the first floor.
- Resolved an issue where AI would spawn facing the wrong direction on Crossing Checkpoint Security
- Geometry tweaks across a number of maps and game modes:
- Bab Domination: completely revised the layout.
- Gap: added an additional pathway through the slums area; added cover objects in the hotel area.
- Gap Ambush: completely revised the layout.
- Gap Push Insurgents: moved the Insurgents objective D spawn closer to the hotel area; revised restricted areas around objective D.
- Summit Push Security: removed sandbags on objective C to open an easier way for attackers to get inside the objective.
- Hideout Push Insurgents: added an alternative way to access second floor objective A for Security.
- Refinery Domination: limited the capture area of objective C to the first floor.
- Farmhouse Checkpoint Security: moved the initial spawn so the players could navigate towards objective A more naturally.
- Removed various geometry exploits, invisible collisions, and out-of-bounds exploits across all maps.
- Reworked Gap day lighting to make it less saturated and contrast.
- Resolved an issue where not all interact-able doors on Prison had destructible hinges.
- Resolved a seam on Citadel that could be fallen through.
- Fixed an area on Citadel where players could get stuck in rocks.
- Resolved a collision issue on Bab where players were unable to fall through holes in the roof.
- Resolved an issue on Tell where players were unable to jump off a balcony.
- Adjusted the playable area on the Firefight East scenario of Precinct.
- Fixed an exploit on Crossing.
- Fixed an exploit on Outskirts.
- Fixed an exploit on Prison.
- Fixed an exploit on Summit.
- Fixed an exploit on Tell.
Mod Tools
- Fixed missing floor on example map.
- Fixed Audiokinetic events not playing sound.
- Fixed custom audio in mods overridden by game default sounds.
- Fixed existing assets missing in editor.
- Fixed textures missing in several master materials.
UI / UX
- Resolved an issue where radio icons would appear for both living and dead players rather than the talking head icon or skull icon.
- Resolved an issue where HUD would reappear after match end.
- Resolved an issue where in-game hints were showing as unbound when using a controller.
- Resolved an issue where players would still receive the “toggle optic” prompt when using a weapon with both Point Shooting Grip and a toggle-able optic.
Miscellaneous
- Resolved an issue where party members’ avatars were absent on the main menu.
- Resolved an issue that was causing AI to T-pose upon death.
- Improved ragdoll behaviour on consoles.
- Resolved an issue where the colour of the 6x-3x connectors were showing as tan.
- Resolved an issue where if a player kills a suicide bomber at the exact moment they explode the body and backpack where not destroyed.
- Resolved an issue where the characters fingers would bulge out during speed reloading.
- Resolved an issue where the Range was missing the M19 mine.
- Resolved an issue where pressing the “start” button would bring up the class selection instead of the loadout tab.
- Resolved an issue where players could not use the report function on console.
- Resolved an issue where accepting a party invitation while the game is not running will cause a crash on start-up.
- Resolved an issue where the mountains on Outskirts would render in low resolution.
- Resolved an issue when wearing a poncho, the player sees a different torso while in first person.
- Resolved an issue where in third person the magazine floats in the air during idle and crouch reload.
- Resolved an issue where dismemberment would still display although dismemberment option was toggled off.
- Resolved an issue where S.O.R.T DLC on precinct would show up incorrectly.
- Resolved an issue where a gas mask would appear on the ground between characters’ legs in third person.
- Resolved an issue where the first objective in survival visibly switches during insertion phase.
- Resolved an issue where the Rifleman default loadout displayed the wrong supply cost.
Known Issues
Finally, the known issues section. Everything that is reported to our support group greatly helps us with logging and investigating issues. If you have encountered something you believe to be an issue, please file a ticket with our friends in the support department here. Don’t forget to take a peak at the FAQ while you’re there!
The following list is not exhaustive so if yours is missing, it doesn’t necessarily mean we aren’t looking into it.
- Players may encounter issues with party system functionality on Playstation platforms
- Certain taglines are not showing on the round end screen in Ambush.
- Player voice chat may be live regardless of push to talk setting.
- Gloves may clip when turning the steering wheel in a vehicle.
- AI will sometimes not raise their weapon when firing.
- There is a chance players may be booted to the title screen on map transition.
- Tariq Flash Hider and Compensator are incorrect size for Tariq Model.
- The Two-Tone Green cosmetic is not displayed correctly on the M4A1’s foregrip.
- S.O.R.T. Top clips through gloves.
- S.O.R.T. Bottom clips through player hands in 3rd person.
- Bad Day Hands may clip through various player torso cosmetics.
- NVG’s clip with some Insurgent Facewear and Headgear.
- Ammo carrier and armour may disappear from the player model when entering a vehicle in PVP.
- The “True Grit” Weapon skin may remain on the MR73 upgrades after removing it in the loadout.
- Player character hand does not hold the AUG A3 grip correctly.
- If both the “Warlord Top” and “Warlord Bottom” cosmetics are equipped there is a visible gap between them.
- Launcher smoke may turn black if multiple shots are fired in succession.
- Brute head is clipping with some headgear in 3rd person in online play.
- When entering a vehicle while wearing a gas mask, the gas mask may show outside of the vehicle.
- Vehicle lights may not render correctly when turned on.
- Distant water may suffer from visual distortion.
- Muzzle flashes may fail to render after switching between primary and secondary weapons.
- Some distant textures may render incorrectly.
If you're reading this, thanks for sticking with us till the end! We can’t wait for you to dive into this update as a lot of hard work went into it! As always, see you out there gamers.