Hello Warriors!
It's finally time for us to exit the insect kingdom and make our way to the ultimate bug hunter the BullFrog!
Here's our patch history since January this year.
- Alpha Black Ant -> Physics Jumping, ProTube Support, Dynamic Lighting
- Alpha Fire Ant -> Underwater VFX / Swimming, Landscape rendering, Basketball Mini Game
- Alpha Lightning Bug - > Tutorial, Voice Overs, Bots, Steam Friends Invite
- Alpha Tarantula -> Squads Mode, Ballistics, Credits Screen, Youtube Player in Game
- EA Mantis -> Gun Range, Melee Weapons, Killroom, Helicopters rework
- EA Bull Frog -> Improved Loading times, Performance Optimizations, and better inventory management.
The big focus for this patch has been performance improvements, loading times and better inventory management. We've heard everyone's complaints and we've worked rigorously the past two weeks to make Virtual Battlegrounds more accessible.
Improved Loading Times
We know this isn't the most exciting "feature" for most of you but it was a huge technical accomplishment for our team and it was our biggest focus this patch.
Now the entire game loads into ram at game start. Once the initial load is finished hopping in and out of a match is easy. Expect between 5-10 seconds of load time between matches whether or not you're on an SSD or HDD! We even added a replay button that pops up after matches so you can quickly hop back into another game.
Floating Backpack Option
One of the big complaints we've heard people say during the course of Early Access is the difficulty of using their backpack and equipment. We've done a few things including adding the option of a floating backpack to make their gameplay more fluid. Additionally we've prioritized grabbing items off of the players body over items on the ground and walls. We've had several users complain they are having trouble putting things on and off their body. Lastly we've also increased the range at which items can grab and snap back to your body. We're curious to see what you all think.
Season One
With BullFrog starting now that means it's getting closer for us to start season one. Once we've polished the game some more this month we're going to drop a big update next month to start season one. Get ready!
The votes are in and here are our plans we've got for season one!
- More guns
- Grenades
- New Map location
- Air Drops
- Downed Squad Mates
- Unlockable Skins
- Tournaments / Events
We'll update the voting board once season one drops.
Reminder to that at the end of each season the top 10 squads / ranked players will all receive a special skin. The top 20-30% of players will also receive a special skin.
The Future
Lastly a few people seemed to doubt us when we showed that screenshot of our long term goal for the map. So here's some actual first person footage from atop of Mount Ostenbirk of what that terrain might end up looking like.
Complete Patch Notes
New Features
- Rebuilt loading system. Game all gets loaded into ram on launch and stays in ram. Can hop in and out of matches in about 5-10 seconds whether or not you're on an SSD or HDD.
- Added a replay game button as well to make hopping back into matches quick and easy.
- New option to allow backpack to float in front of you when you release it. Ideally this should make backpacks easier to use with attachments.
Design Changes
- Jukebox shuffles playlist on load. RIP YUKI.
- Suppressors now add 5% increased meters per second velocity and 5% increased damage.
- Reduced audio range of zip-lines from 150M -> 100M.
- Pistols can now use holo + red dot sights.
Quality of Life Changes
- Performance improvements across the board. 30% gains.
- STEAMVR throwing physics improved.
- Backpack should be easier to grab in crouch, prone and standing states.
- Weapon spawns should be more consistent. Need more verification on this from users.
- Can see total number of players in lobby.
- Can grab backpack items by pointing at them or putting your hand over them.
- Made it easier to grab and remove stuff from your body / belt.
- Made the belt / body items a higher priority for grabbing then walls and things on the floor.
- More consistent leader-board results.
- More consistent weapon spawning.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed not being able to see 4 digit rankings on leader-boards in lobby.
- Fixed 3rd squad-mate icon being off.
- Fixed helicopters sometimes freezing in the sky.
- Fixed the guns UI, BELTUI, and left / right eye render not saving between scenes.
- Less black screening between matches.
- Should see ELO changes taking place more consistently now. You can also lose elo now. Buckle up everyone above 2K.
New known issues that will be resolved soon.
- Weapons floating above their spawn points occasionally
- Temporarily disabled tutorial
Lastly, we have a stream planned for tonight 5/8/2/2020 at 7PM EST! We'll upload the video here afterwords in case you miss it.
CyberDream Dev Stream 7PM EST
See you on the battlefield soon warriors!