Patch 1.2.0 "Meat Maker Marinade" Now Live

The patch we announced in our State of the Frozen Union address is here!

Wasteland 3 Patch 1.2.0 “Meat Maker Marinade”

Highlights

• Balance changes have adjusted some core systems to ensure a true wasteland experience. Developer commentary is included below from David Rogers to help explain the thought process and intentions behind the changes.
• We finally resolved the issue that could cause the two starting Rangers’ attributes to go into the negative. Thanks to everyone who had to deal with this for your patience.
• We resolved a few progression blockers which were giving some of you grief, including the Yuma County Speedway door and Little Hell gondola.
• The incredibly annoying slamming-into-cover issue is now addressed! If you still want your controller to vibrate endlessly we hear there are apps for that.
• Brazilian Portuguese and Italian subtitles are now available!
  • Note: These additional subtitles are expected to be available on PlayStation by early next year.

Gameplay

• The intro cinematic and live-action short are now viewable from the main menu under a Special Features option.
• When switching away from and back to the original two Rangers, their attributes will no longer change to negative values.
• Resolved an issue where characters would play the cover animation repeatedly when moving into cover from a crouch.
• Sawblade ammo has been added into merchants and enemy drop tables.
• You were right. More sniper ammo has been added into the intro Ambush scene.
• Vendors have smartened up and will no longer trigger Antique Appraiser on junk that you’ve repurchased.
• Fixed an issue where Yuma County Speedway Doors were not interactable under certain conditions.
• Fixed two conversation issues with Liberty that could fail to advance and require restarting the game.
• Fixed an issue where the Rebel Scout would not appear in Hoon Homestead after being sent there to meet .
• Fixed an issue with the Photon Amplification Lens that caused the UI to fail to load.
• Medical Marvel should now be working as intended. For realsies.
• An issue preventing players from completing the ‘Unwelcome Guests’ quest, which previously would not allow them to confront Mama Cotter, has been resolved.
• Resolved an issue preventing the Varangian Blood perk from activating upon an ally being downed in combat.
• Resolved an issue where Rangers could get another blank disc and redo the quest to talk to the Machine Intelligence after transferring a certain consciousness into a certain somebody.
• The Machine Commune faction’s AI has been flashed with the latest firmware, and the Commune will now no longer hate the Rangers after they upload an important quest element.
• Shooting a cryo rocket at the barrels next to the Scorpitron in the Tellurium Mine will no longer cause the explosion to explode infinitely. We respect physics, and infinite explosions require infinite energy, which doesn’t make a whole lot of sense within the scope of this very realistic and very cool video game story.
• As rad as this was in theory, if not in practice, the Kodiak is now no longer able to Monster Truck through Scorpitrons—no matter how much dew from the mountains may have been consumed beforehand.
• Pay no attention to the mysterious DevCube behind the curtain! The DevCube that was not meant to be seen with mortal eyes has been removed from the Paint Mines. May it live forever in our hearts.
• The deer in Santa’s Workshop can now be tamed without a bunch of backtalk.
• Several weapons that previously did not produce scrap or mods when field stripped now do. Cha-ching!
• Fixed the text describing headshots’ bonus effect. It’s always done +75% damage, but it previously displayed ‘+175% damage’ in error.
• Added the “Cog Pendant” into the game. This is a backer item we intended to have in the game when it released, but it wasn’t there. So we fixed that.
• Fixed an issue that would softlock the initial Jodie Bell hostage cutscene if the player swapped to the second character right before the cutscene.
• Fixed an exploit that allowed the player to redo the Reagan questline after talking to the Machine Intelligence after completing a certain quest objective.
• Fixed an issue where flame jets were invisible while they were active. (Fun fact: ‘The Invisible Flame Jets’ was the name of our prog-rock band back in the 80’s).
• Removed the random Godfisher in the Yuma Speedway after the Godfishers leave camp. Go home, random Godfisher, you’re drunk.
• Fixed an issue where Drilldogs didn’t attack until all other enemies had died.
• Fixed an issue where Doctor NPCs wouldn’t heal the players to full health.
• Fixed an issue where Mortar Strike would not consume rocket ammo.
• Killing Dee Sharp in the Scar Collector Mines while Cordite is in the party will no longer softlock the cutscene.
• Fixed an issue where the Spirit Animal perk provided buffs for the whole party, and not just that particular character.
• Fixed an issue that prevented players from lockpicking the doors in the Sans Lux Apartments, even if they had the requirements.
• Lucia now speaks up when a player first walks into the Marshals’ station in Downtown.
• Fixed an issue where the Survival skill was giving some of the custom Rangers the “Charm Animal” skill for free.
• Failing when trying to fix Morningstar now displays explosions before a fade to white to really hit home the fact that you are a failure.
• Fixed an issue where the player couldn’t get “The Stink” off when using an Antidote. Be thankful this game isn’t scratch n’ sniff.
• Fixed an issue where grenade trajectories would get blocked while inside the Clown Museum’s bigtop.
• Fixed an exploit where vehicle upgrade items could appear in the player's inventory if the utility upgrade was unequipped.
• The Clown Museum ballerinas are no longer active before the player arrives.
• Fixed an issue that prevented the player from saving Austin Pease if they didn’t initially have the money to free him, and also fixed an issue where players were able to pay half the required amount for that task.
• The quest “War of the Worlds” should now complete properly when the player wipes out all the robots in the mines.
• Players can now reach max reputation with the Monster Army.
• Fixed an issue where players, while in high cover, couldn’t activate self-use items while using a two-handed blade.
• Fixed an issue that could cause the Dorsey rocketeer on the dam fight to be invisible during that battle.
• Crit damage values should no longer dip into negative values and heal enemies… Total head scratcher, that one.
• Fixed an animation issue that would cause the player to slide if they shot and moved from a crouched position.
• Firing on an NPC who can use deployable turrets will now result in their turrets correctly turning hostile as well.
• Fixed an issue that prevented the player from talking to the Weaponsmith in the Bizarre Interior without visiting The Warrens.
• Resolved an issue where an enemy would infinitely rotate after tripping the alarm in the Scar Collector Mines’ Security Habitat
• Fixed an issue where loading an autosave during the Fishlips fight would prevent the player from being able to fight Fishlips.
• The Patriarch and his Guards will now always be hostile if the player decides to go on a murder-spree outside of the palace or in Downtown.
• Fixed an exploit that let the player get infinite cash from Paris in the Bizarre Exterior.
• Fixed an issue that prevented the player from completing the Counterintelligence Mission.
• Fixed an issue where swapping weapon slots and modding the primary weapon would put the mod on the secondary weapon.
• Fixed an issue where the player couldn’t complete the Santa’s Workshop questline unless they tricked Santa to check for cookies.
• Fixed an issue where players couldn’t complete the Santa’s Workshop questline if during the fight Sugar Plum Mary was killed.
• SAL is now prevented from occasionally chiming in on the radio and playing music during combat in Denver.
• Players who pick the “Mopey Poet” background will now get the +5 Evasion bonus as intended.
• Melee characters who start combat in cover will now face the correct direction on start.
• Updated Turret enemies to fix highlighting issues.
• Fixed an issue that would cause Masato to disappear if you gave him the ramen but didn’t recruit him to Ranger HQ.
• The Smuggler Devastator enemy type will now attack instead of cower behind cover and do nothing.
• Fixed a conversation choice with Vivisecto where the player’s choice was nonsensical. (Isn’t it possible that all choice is in fact nonsense? Something to think about.)
• Fixed the logic for blackjack games in Cartel Nightclub after the first few hands.
• The Ranger General’s Hat now correctly provides the stat boosts stated.
• Fixed multiple issues when reviving a downed player character.
• Fixed a rare issue where the targeting line during combat wouldn’t disappear.
• Fixed an exploit where the benefits of crouching persisted after saving and loading.
• Fixed an issue where the Kodiak’s health wasn’t being saved properly.
• Terminals in the Monster Army Bunker should now reward experience for “Nerd Stuff” skill checks.
• Removed one of the two “Goodbye” options in Hallie’s conversation.
• Fixed an issue where an enemy’s arms would stay highlighted red after being targeted with a Precision Strike.
• Pvt. Pellegrin no longer plays pretend soldier, and will now hold his gun like a good guard back at Ranger HQ.
• Increased the talk radius of Major Tomcat when you see him on the bridge.
• Fixed an exploit that would generate healing when swapping weapons while certain status effect buffs were active.
• Fixed an issue where the player would get ejected from the conversation with Hardee Knox for seemingly no reason.
• Fixed an issue where the Area of Effect circle disappeared on certain terrain.
• Fixed multiple issues with Precision Strike not highlighting enemies/enemy parts properly.
• Fixed a rare issue that made the Cannibals up front in the Cannibal Jamboree not hostile even after killing their friends. (Fun fact: ‘Pacifist Cannibals’ was the name of our punk band back in the 80’s).
• Fixed an issue in the endgame where ’s Scouts weren’t getting revealed by the Fog of War during the conversation with them.
• Fixed an issue where Jarrett’s knife could appear to not be properly attached to his hand during his first line of dialog.
• Area of Effect abilities that are self-centered (ex. Rally) now work if the player is crouched.
• Vehicle wreckage should now no longer obscure characters during the final fight.
• Fixed an issue where status effects were ending too soon after combat ended.
• Fixed some issues with the Night Rider Horn, Michael.
• Fixed an issue where during the Tinker combat, the enemy’s first turn wouldn’t end if the player attacked first.
• Fixed a minor combat grid issue in Ranger HQ Razorback encounter area.
• Fixed an issue where the save spinner UI element would stay on the screen permanently after the game was saved.
• Fixed a missing combat grid issue in one of the random encounter areas.
• Fixed a weird issue where shotguns and flamethrowers with damage type mods installed could act like pistols and fired single bullets rather than the correct ammo.
• Scotchmo’s animations have sobered up now and work as intended.
• Fixed an issue where getting ambushed by Tinker pulls a bear into combat.
• Fixed an issue with Irv’s dialog with the bookseller.
• Fixed an issue where MacTavish was unreachable in his Ranger HQ cell, and could not be talked to.
• Destroying the Reagan statue early will now properly update the mission, “A House Divided.”
• Fixed an issue that occasionally caused the start point for the Scar Collector Mines to be in a different location.
• Bill will finish his “Gotta go find my gun” bark before running off to his dea… err.. Destiny!

Balance

• The XP needed to level up has been adjusted. XP requirements for levels 8 through 20 have been only slightly increased, while XP requirements from 20-30 have been greatly increased. This brings the functional max level down to around 27, from around 29.
  • “We were finding that players were finishing the game at a higher level than we expected, and beyond level 8 players did seem to chronically over-level their content. This resulted in skill checks feeling less demanding than we desired. We really want players to deliberate over every point spent. The goal of this adjustment in the XP curve is to ensure players who are 100%'ing our content are still experiencing some friction in the late game, while being sure that players who don’t want to do everything and who still complete the main story are able to reach the necessary level to complete the final quest.”

• For existing players, you won’t lose any levels, but your next level up will have the correct experience requirement. This will result in your next level up being just a little further away than it was before.
• Reduced the effectiveness of Aramid Pads and Trauma Plate Inserts to 2 and 4, down from 4 and 6.
• Reduced the effectiveness of the Lights Out perk down to +100% from +200%.
• Changes to critical hit chance:
  • “Critical hit chance was getting much higher than we wanted, and was having an outsized impact on combat. Enemies were critically hitting players too often, which didn’t feel good, and player critical hit chance was getting up too high, particularly for characters who weren’t necessarily even trying to build for crit chance. These new changes target bringing overall crit chances down, mostly for characters who aren’t consciously building for crit chance. We did this rather than bringing down the maximum crit damage. We like big damage numbers, they feel good, but we want them to be the exception, not the norm.”
    • Critical hit chance for NPC’s has been reduced to about 62.5% of its previous value.
    • Critical hit chance granted from the Intelligence stat has been reduced to +20%, from +25%.
    • Critical hit chances granted by gear, mods, and the cat companion have been reduced.
    • The Focus drug grants less critical hit bonus than it did before (but still a lot). +15 down from +20.
    • High level light armor helmets no longer grant bonus crit chance. Instead we’ve given them status effect resistance or Evasion bonuses.

• Assault rifles have been given +3m range.
• Congrats! You’ve made it halfway through the patch notes. Get yourself a snack.
• The Gopher Hunter perk has been buffed to decrease enemy cover effectiveness by 40%, up from 25%.
  • “The goal with these two changes is to buff the assault rifle, but also to give it a different use-case vs. the SMG. While the SMG is about heavy damage and high risk flanking maneuvers, the assault rifle should be a reliable work-horse that can deliver consistent damage when it's needed while staying safe behind cover.”

• Characters who have been stunned will gain a “Stun Protection” status effect after it wears off, stopping any character from being stunned two turns in a row.
• Tier 4 and 5 loot crates have a reduced chance to drop above-tier gear, making tier 5 and 6 weapons rarer earlier in the game.
• Shotguns and flamethrowers have had their Torrent Strike damage reduced to 200% of weapon damage, down from 300%.
• Pistol Pete will no longer use the Trick Shot ability.
• Weapons and armor now display their level, making it easier to compare items and understand if your gear is at the appropriate level for your characters.
• Sniper rifles have had their bonus strike rate reduced. Low level sniper rifles have no bonus strike rate, but will start to gain the stat at higher levels.
• High level sniper rifles now cost 7 AP to fire, up from 6.
  • “This is largely to ensure sniper rifles maintain the tradeoff of being incredibly hard to fire twice in a turn, while still being powerful.”

• Animal Companions, Followers, and Deployables will now distract enemy NPCs less, or more, based on your difficulty setting. Players playing on Supreme Jerk will find that enemies are much more focused on attacking Rangers vs. deployables and followers, while players on Rookie difficulty should still be seeing their animals tanking significantly for their team.
  • “We saw a dominant strategy form in which lots of low-level animal companions were being taken, along with many of the followers, which resulted in them having too large an impact on combat (namely in how much damage they soaked up). We know people love their animals and generally will reload their save game until they survive the fight, so rather than killing your furry friends off, we’re limiting how much the enemies are shooting them vs. your own Rangers. This, combined with reduced follower tanking will hopefully put a larger emphasis on debuffs at higher difficulties.”

• Deployables now have a maximum level they’ll scale to, stopping them from being overly impactful in the late game. The most notable change is that Machine turrets will stop getting better after level 14, while laser turrets will scale up to lvl 20.
• The skill needed to install a Razor Box weapon mod has been reduced to 6, from 10.
• Satoshi’s case is now more valuable to vendors.
• Rocket launchers now cost 4 AP to reload, up from 2.
• Cheebus now sells Tier 5 gear, down from Tier 6.
• Jackhammer shotgun’s AP to fire is increased to 5, up from 3.
• Food items are now more expensive (AP) to eat in combat.
• Pre-order bonus weapons have had their vendor value lowered, so if they’re sold they do not dramatically impact the intended economy.

UI & Controls

• Added a keybind option on PC for “Loot All.”
• The minimap should now always default to on.
• Utility items will now sort as Armor when filtering items.
• Double-clicking a character portrait on the HUD now centers the camera to that character. What a time to be alive.
• Fixed an issue where premade Rangers weren’t showing up in the “Manage Squad” Screen.
• Player health can no longer show below 0 when downed.
• Fixed an issue that would cause enemy UI stats to disappear if the player opened and closed the inventory menu up a lot.
• An issue that prevented some quirks from being selectable during character creation has been resolved.
• Fixed an issue where the first slot of the inventory could be unresponsive. You’re the first slot! Come on… Be better, first slot.
• Fixed an issue where the “Sell Junk” keyboard shortcut wouldn’t work.
• Minimap image no longer does a jitter dance when you move the camera separately from your rangers.
• The ‘A’ prompt now appears when highlighting an NPC to talk to.
• Resolved the issue that made it impossible for a companion to join if their dialog was cancelled.
• Fixed an issue that made laser tripwires unable to be disarmed with a gamepad.
• Removed the second close button option in the controls option menu.

Console

• Additional stability improvements made to assist with older console crash rates. Work will be continuing in future updates to further reduce crash potential.
• New Feature – While out of combat, press Y (Xbox) or Triangle (PS4) to go into targeting mode.
• Unplugging a controller while the game was “thinking” caused some issues, specifically during saving/loading, and during character creation. We didn’t think that was good, so we fixed that.
• Fixed multiple issues where console saves and load screens would hang or cause the game to crash.
• Fixed an issue where the player could get stuck in a merchant screen immediately after adding a new party member.
• Fixed an issue where the initial dialog was not heard nor seen at the Arapaho Caravan.
• Fixed an issue that caused colored lights to appear on the combat UI grid.
• Button prompts seen in the main menu now use the correct UI font.
• The Dorsey prisoner no longer clips into the wall in Ranger HQ.
• The game should no longer crash if the user leaves the game open on the world map for an extended duration.

Co-op

• Players are now forced to be on the same patch version to play together.
• We’re even more confident that we’ve fixed the issues causing infinite loads in co-op. We’re looking at you, persistent 33% load hang (as well as some other nasty outliers)!
• Fixed an issue that prevented players from accessing the Multiplayer menu with just the keyboard.
• Fixed an issue during the world map where both players were hearing different radio calls.
• Fixed an issue where speech bubbles would persist after an enemy died.
• The chat window background now appears with a cool misty cloudy background instead of a translucent blue.
• Fixed an issue that caused the radio voiceover to cut out for the guest.
• Fixed an issue where the initial dam combat sequence was zoomed in too much.
• Fixed an issue where GOG players could not host a Direct Connect multiplayer session.
• Fixed an issue where the guest would get stuck in any conversation with a skill check involved if the host wasn’t there in the conversation.
• Fixed an exploit that allowed players without the pre-order bonus content access to it by joining a host with that content.
• Fixed an issue where Serial Killer Quirk didn’t work on guest players—now you can kill to your heart’s content.
• Fixed an issue where calling for a tow (P.S. did you know you can fast travel back to Ranger HQ from the world map by clicking on the radio?) would sometimes not move the Kodiak back to Colorado Springs.
• Fixed an issue where the landscape bars from the intro movie would persist during the initial Ambush attack.
• Fixed a desync issue on the world map that would cause the guest to be stuck on a loading screen while the host could drive around normally.
• Fixed a desync issue on the world map that would cause the guest to witness a world event while the host did not, and would still be able to drive around.
• Fixed an issue where guests could not heal with quickslot items.
• Fixed an issue where the button prompts were not being localized during multiplayer sessions while in the Manage Squad menu.
• Resolved issues that could occur while one player attacked while the other was in the Hire Companion screen.
• Fixed a UI issue on the client side that would prevent status effects from appearing after loading a different level.
• Fixed an issue that would break the player’s camera if the other player left mid-character creation.
• Fixed an issue that caused the guest to see incorrect skill information on the host’s characters.
• Fixed an issue that would create autosaves for the guest as well as the host.
• Fixed an issue where the garage doors in Ranger HQ would appear closed for the guest.
• Fixed a very specific issue where the font did not fit within the UI buttons while in borderless windowed mode in Polish or French while using the very large text size option. Phew.
• Fixed an issue that would prevent the host from reviving the guest’s custom rangers.
• Fixed an issue where a misleading error message displayed when a player attempted to join another player whose lobby was set to “Block.”
• Fixed an issue where a player would be unable to do anything after the other player left or was kicked from the session.
• Players should now be able to connect to hosts via Direct Connection.
• Fixed an issue that could prevent the guest from being able to load a save after exiting a multiplayer session.

Art & Audio

• New makeup options in character creation. Get fabulous, treat yourself!
• Payaso Bastard, Ditso Gogo, and Tricksters have had their models and textures adjusted.
• We’ve made general visual effect cleanups and enhancements throughout the game.
• The Frozen Lake in the Godfisher Windfarm now has ice.
• The minimap in The Warrens is now aligned properly..
• Fixed a logic issue that caused non-hostile NPCs to only cower during combat.
• Fixed an issue that caused weather to show up inside the dentist building outside of the Bizarre.
• The patrolling nightclub goon near Delgato’s cell in the back will stop doing a half-jig mid patrol.
• The turret inside MacTavish’s Machine Shop now shoots louder bullets.
• Fixed a Kodiak weapons animation issue.
• Destroying crates with objects on them will have all objects on top be destroyed instead of just the crate.
• Animatronics no longer play a human death cry when they die. They’re creepy enough as it is.
• The flying flags freakily flapping ‘n flailing ‘round near the mechanics garage in Yuma have calmed down now and will not clip through their poles.
• Star-that-Dreams will no longer lurch around when the player talks to them.
• Scar collectors were a little too quiet in their compound in Yuma.
• Fixed an issue that caused Prasad’s fixing sound effects to persist even after she left.
• Cleaned up the Radio lighting on the world map.
• Fixed various weather issues in Downtown Colorado Springs.
• Cleaned up the Fog of War in the Airport Commune to prevent players from seeing behind the curtains...
• When using Precision Strike weapons to kill an enemy, the proper “blown off limb” animation will now play. Hooray!
• Raised up the lights in front of Manifest Destiny so characters won’t clip into the vehicle.
• Fixed the lighting inside the Playground area of the Warrens.
• Fixed the lighting inside the Old Survivalist Bunker.
• Fixed the positioning of one of the Suncatchers in Garden of the Gods.
• Fixed a broken texture in the Bizarre.
• Fixed an issue with Flab’s Radio call not being heard when the player leaves the Bizarre.
• Scotchmo’s oral thrush is under control, and his tongue is no longer white.
• Melee fist combat impacts on human NPCs now have sounds, just like in the movies. PHOOSH!
• We can hear your fear. The Fear status effect now has a sound.
• Fixed an issue where Morningstar would be the only speaking companion on the world map.
• Fixed one of the Scar Collector explosion animations to now display correctly.
• Reagan AI has learned more animations. It’s a neural net processor, a learning computer.
• Fixed an issue where the audio was missing when the player clicked on the ground to move the squad.
• Fixed the lighting in the final combat encounter.
• Fixed some overlapping VO between General Woodson and Corporal Gonzales in Ranger HQ.
• Fixed an issue where Vic’s beard and eyebrows could appear duplicated and not set on his face right.
• Fixed an issue where a second explosion sound could be heard every time the player entered the Airport Commune and Santa’s Workshop.
• Healing using a Medic Pack should no longer play the heal sound effect multiple times.
• The robot arms in the Department of Energy’s Scorpitron room now have sound.
• Fixed the lighting in the Department of Energy near the Scorpitron.
• Luck bonuses now play a sound effect when they trigger.
• Shooting a Synth now has a satisfying impact sound.
• Healing from an Antidote will now play a more appropriate sound effect.
• Fixed the Kodiak character portrait so it no longer shows up as a black rectangle.
• Animation improvements and polish for Drools. (Fun fact: ‘The Polish Drools’ was the name of our first synthpop band back in the 80’s.)
• Bomb Hoppers have their SFX working now.
• Adjusted the alignment and animations on the Main Menu selections.
• Removed ‘Land of Confusion’ from playing in the shuttle in Airport Commune.
• ‘America the Beautiful’ no longer plays outside of combat.
• Wind effects should now properly be seen during the Ambush Site level.
• Fixed the UI Contrast levels of non-highlighted Main Menu options.
• Fixed various weapon models during character previews in the inventory screen.
• Fixed a bug where character animations would freeze up if the player clicked too rapidly.
• Fixed an issue where tattoos were not properly showing up on tattooed faces.

Misc.

• Auto detecting graphics settings now takes resolution into account when determining the recommended display settings.
• Improvements have been made for 21:9 display resolutions.
• Fixed an issue with save games in Yuma County Speedway taking an abnormally long time to load.
• Found and squashed instances of infinite load times that could occur when transitioning from Ranger HQ as well as from other specific maps.
• The Marshals’ Law pistol no longer says revolver under it.
• The idle frequency for the Golden Toaster companion has been reduced. Also, the game now ensures that idling stops for endgame and conversation states.
• Improvements have been made in regards to the pacing of the epilogue.
• The game now displays an item’s level inside the tooltip (weapons and armor).
• The toaster altar display name has been localized.
• Fixed localization of the word “Any” in Polish.
• Improvements have been made to player companions’ animation rotation speeds.
• Changed out a certain Ranger’s coffee from decaf to fully caffeinated. This individual should no longer repeat the very things they just said.
• Right clicking on the radio allows players to interact with movement on the world map.
• Fixed an issue that caused background text to stretch across the screen.
• Removed the Debug Crates from the Gas Mask Kids scene.
• Fixed an issue that would cause the game to stay in windowed mode if it was swapped to fullscreen mode on a non-supported resolution.
• The game should now properly launch in fullscreen mode, as selected.
• Changed the save game naming clickable area to make it easier to click on.
• Starting a new game and immediately returning to the main menu no longer displays letterboxing permanently.
• Fixed an issue that caused the chat log to remain permanently stuck on the screen.
• Found some placeholder text in the Main Menu. Removed it.