Hello everyone,
We’re excited to be releasing Update 186: Contention for War of Rights today!
The update features a new, work in progress, game mode named Contention as well as a host of performance improvements and quality of life additions to the alpha.
Let’s dive into the details below.
New Game Mode: Contention
A new game mode, "Contention" is now available for testing. The mode is centered around a randomly selected capture point in the areas featured in the Conquest game mode:
Each faction must rush to capture and hold the point for 7.5 minutes in order to inflict a morale level penalty on the enemy team. Once the point has been captured and held successfully, a new capture point will be randomly selected. Neutralizing a point captured by the enemy will reset the hold timer, starting at 7.5 minutes each time the point is retaken.
If the point remains uncaptured, it will turn inactive after 15 minutes, and a new point will become active.
Contention will be available exclusively on the Official War of Rights Test Server as we seek feedback from the community on specifics such as area sizes, the number of possible capture points, the time required to hold a point, and so on before fully committing to a wide release in a later update. Our target is a dynamic game mode such as that offered when playing Conquest while maintaining the exciting gameplay of large groups of players converging on and fighting over a single point at a time, which is key to Skirmishes.
Contention is thus planned to be a mode that bridges the gap between Conquest and Skirmishes.
Update 186 Patch Notes
- Added Contention, a new WIP game mode to the game.
- Removed a ton of unused features from both the client and server, simplifying the code and improving performance.
- Changed the AVX binary to target AVX2 instead. The compatibility build will continue functioning, but will not get all the benefit from latest optimizations. Dedicated AVX2 code paths introduced for particle system updates and global illumination voxel data generation.
- Small performance improvement to animations.
- Stopped players from being able to use their weapon while they are knocked down.
- Players holding onto the artillery or getting hit by the recoil of the artillery or any heavy moving object in general, will now get knocked down when such an impact occurs.
- Players that are out of line can no longer capture the skirmish capture points.
- Added a visual indicator (red and blue background bars) to the compass menu detailing how much morale is left of each morale level.
- Changed the Deployment page to make it a little more visually clear if the spawn point you are queued on is paused or not, in case the flag is dropped or out of line.
- Added a visual volume bar to the microphone test.
- The microphone test now also works when connected to a server.
- Added social media links to the main menu.
- Added a new experimental spawn system for particle effects which offers great performance with no particle spawn delay. The old system worked with a queue, which could make the particles spawn a bit delayed if too many particles got queued in quick succession.
- Added a context menu which can be activated by walking up to a player, looking at them and pressing E. It offers a quick way of demoting and muting a player, rather than having to look the player up in the tabview. For admins it also allows for kicking and banning players.
- Added several UI slider controls to the spectator camera to alter various image settings to capture the perfect cinematic shots. The controls can be toggled on and off by pressing Q.
- Added a Spectate button on the left of the Faction Selection page for players only interested in spectating.
- Added a checkbox to the tabview to make it only show teammates that are closer to you than 25 meters.
- Spectating and enlisted players are now also getting sorted by name on the tabview.
- Added descriptions to the settings on the Server Settings page for admins.
- Fixed the change map and gamemode feature of the server settings being unreliable.
- Fixed the Counter Attack indicator getting stuck on permanently in the battle report.
- Fixed a potential small stutter when opening the tabview.
- Players with rifles will no longer holster their weapon when vaulting.
- Greatly improved the performance of exploded bodies.
- Updated the materials of the gore assets.
- Visual overhaul of the Piper Barn model.
- Visual overhaul of the R-Miller Stables model.
- Various tweaks to the vaulting animations.
- Fixed the instances of entering the binoculars causing you to get stuck in a zoomed-in state.
- Restructured the layout of the graphics settings.
- Added graphics settings for Global Illumination and Destruction, the default settings of Medium and 100 is recommended for most systems.
- Destroyed fences now leave a little bit of their fence post behind so players can still see there used to be a fence there.
- Added more cloth rattling sounds to vaulting.
- Added new customizable items to 4th Pennsylvania.
- Improved the performance of the big smoke column on Antietam.
- Fixed the Conquest area Framing Fencelines on Antietam causing a mass crash when loaded.
- Added the 12th NYM regimental flag.
- Replaced the old and outdated 33rd VA regimental flag.
- Added the 4th and 6th PA cavalry battle flags.
That's all for now. We look forward to be testing Contention with you all!