We’re closing in on the start of week three in Early Access. I know players are looking to hear about the development and release schedule of upcoming multiplayer modes that lets you play together with your friends in the wasteland. We’re putting together some info on that we hope to share soon, but running up before that are some plans that directly affect our optimization and performance which I’m sure you’re all likely eager to see as well.
In the meantime, a few additional changes in the dev build have been pulled together for an update going out later tonight. We aimed for a Friday release last week, but there was one major thing we wanted to get into this recent Patch Fix that needed just a little bit more test time. With the player numbers lower, we wanted to also tackle ways in which players can enjoy the game and less so the lobby queue. It’s all in there, so let’s go to the notes!
Additional Bug Fixes:
- Addressed issue when player character is launched into the air after adding wheel modification to Razorback
- Addressed instances when fixed flags appear to clip into the environment
- Addressed issue where player audio FX while in the storm was too frequent
- Addressed instances of faulty collision in and around the STORMRIDER STRONGHOLD
- Addressed instance where vehicle engine audio FX lowers without cause
- Addressed issue where player level briefly displays as “0” on the Front End screen
- Revised the kill tree display nodes to a limit of a seven-player sequence
Revisions and Adjustments:
- Greatly reduced the possibility for shooting another player to result in “kill trading”
- NOTE: Kill Trading defined as the instance a player shooting another player manages to die to the bullet fired by an opponent despite killing them before the bullet hit
- Increased the reverse speed of Dustrider and Razorback
- Disabled zooming function while using a boost item
- Switching weapons now cancels the use of a boost item
- Revised health and repair item icons to make them more recognizable as such
- Added “vehicle flip” function
- NOTE: When a vehicle (Dustrider) flips, a function to right the vehicle will appear next to entry points of the vehicle This function requires 20 seconds to execute, and the player must be at the entry point of the vehicle in close proximity A player can still use rocketjump wheels to flip the vehicle while in it, but once exited, cannot reenter the vehicle without flipping it first A vehicle flip will not guarantee the vehicle is righted properly and close proximity to objects/buildings can interfere with this function similar to rocketjump wheels This is a first pass of this function, and additional balance efforts will be made in future updates
- Adjusted player round scoring to balance XP reward
- Lowered per-kill reward from 10 to 5
- Lowered damage score by 50% to reflect new per-kill score
- Lowered placement score when placing in the remaining 10 and below
- Added more placement tiers above top 10, with increased reward scores for these tiers
- Added “Play Again” function in the spectator screen, allowing spectating players to queue for the next match while in spectator mode
The Play Again function, new scoring, and vehicle flip were all additions designed to alleviate player queues and short matches, but are welcome additions all the same. These and any future updates are considered not just as stop-gap measures but continuous improvements for evaluation and reevaluation by the community and the team. We hope they make each Fractured Lands match a more enjoyable one, and get players in their vehicles driving and shooting faster!
As mentioned above, a large integration is coming soon, we’ll update you as it gets fully tested.
Living on the edge, you can’t help yourself from flippin’
Robert