Artificial Intelligence is the future! Are we doomed?
Update 1.8.X includes even smarter artificial intelligence, the return of 'Personal' Drones, and a slew of brand-new jet trails coming to our skies for you, Pilot! Alongside these gameplay-changing upgrades, it's all about MAJOR polish to UI and general Quality of Life as we inch closer and closer to our biggest milestone ever... worldwide release!
SBM Commentary: Polish, polish, polish. Information and general screen flow much easier in and out of menus, contextual messages, tooltips, and notifications for game events appear correctly. Matchmaking was given more tweaks (and ultimately ready to be tested best by a 'global' scenario for more enhancements), A.I. is even more dynamic, and the store now has more options! Let's dig into the release notes for the most polished version of Armajet yet!
Feature Updates
- Customize your Pilots even further with all-new and improved Jet Trails now available in the Armory!
SBM Commentary: You may want to check out the newly revamped 'Default' jet trails which now match the new 3D Pilot model polish of the prior patch. So many more have been added to the Armory and will only help your "FashionJet" experience! Looks can kill, right?
- Jackal Pilot Model facemask FX updated with X's and O's!
- Improved Main Lobby UI
- Updated Pilot fly-in and landing animations!
- Updated animated hex background, overall button UI text consistency, shades, and visual FX improvements
- Updated fade FX screen transitions between scenes
- Spin your squad mates in the main lobby to check out their equipped loadout!
- Pilot bases now glow according to equipped skin rarity
- Improved idle timing animation for Pilots
- Improved Valor Road Clarity
- Bigger league icons and added mini icons for unlockable rewards
- Improved tool tip messaging on unlockable rewards
- Improved Matchmaking Screen FX and Voting Flow
- Updated Map voting animation, previews, selection sound FX, and confirmation FX
- Map and mode selection now randomized in the event of a tie vote
- Increased Map voting time from 5s to 7s ;)
- Improved Squad Updates & Notifications
- "Create a Squad!" Pop-up reminder to get social and party up!
- Joining a squad currently in-game now sends the squad a message during end of round
- Improved lighting FX on all 3D Maps
- Update to Snow Base Fan
- Improved in-match leaderboards for clarity
- Renamed Custom Games to Custom Matches
- Settings, Social Screen, Friends and Clan UI Improvements
- Improved Player Profile Screens with updated League tier, season, stats and progression visualizations
- Namechanging moved from Profile to Settings menu
- Suggested Friends now correctly displays # of matches played together
- Improved Clan UI creation and Clan Suggestions (if player is not already in one)
SBM Commentary: All of the above? POLISH!
Gameplay and Progression
- Improved matchmaking algorithms for players opting back in to play at end of round
- Improved matchmaking ping, valor, and level requirements to reduce matchmaking disparity
- Fuel Frenzy now includes a sudden death, neutral countdown, triggered after 25 cells appear to force a match-ending condition (the team with highest fuel count after the ten second countdown wins!)
- Pilot levels greater than 60 have been adjusted
Dynamic Store Improvements
- Even more items available in the store with upcoming Seasonal Offers
- Improved store cards for various store items
- Improved Visual FX for Packs, Paragon, and Gold
- Opt-in advertisements for free Paragon (Note: the amount and ad-cap are flexible as of now as we observe your behavior)
Weapon Balancing
- Testing new "Personal Drones" (Overall Buff)
- Reduced drone health by 50hp (Sentries are still 200hp)
Major AI Overhaul
- Smarter AI/Bots have dynamic difficulty and adjust to player skill and match conditions
- Bot Pathing, Strafing, Corner Cutting, Objective Control, Fuel Economy, Dive Mechanics and Aiming improvements
- Improved Visual FX for Packs, Paragon, and Gold
- Drone pathing and "leashed" speed improved with "Personal" drone update
SBM Commentary: Not much to say here other than your A.I. teammates did need quite a bit of help! Check them out and let us know if you see anything else quirky on maps/game modes.
Community Known Issues
- Some bots on Temple get confused... (working on it!)
- Opening Pilots in packs results in them sometimes missing and/or strangely 'orbiting' (working on it!)
See you in the skies, Pilots!