Greetings fellow Pilots!
We're calling Update 1.5 Part I (of II) of the 'New Foundations' patches coming up that will now define our new core in-game experience. First, we focused squarely on specific speeds relative to Pilot and Projectile velocities (and generally Maximum Velocity values or 'VMAX'). Secondly, we upgraded everything about VFX and Audio FX to pair with better Pilot and Team clarity in the arena (and these changes are critically important for the new game modes incoming...). Finally, with more on-screen feedback available plus a broken out boost mechanic, the in-game HUD and mobile controls have been remapped to be futureproof (more below).
To our community:
This WILL be an entirely different ARMAJET experience going forward and the only way to understand 'why' is to jump in and fight. Keep in mind that we'll always strive to give you, our users, the best and most fair in-game experience round after round (and we've even studied and taken into account many of the amazing cross-regional tournament events you've all produced). For instance, many of the core flight mechanics have been retained (like chain bunnyhopping) but now just achieved a bit differently. Through more and more testing sessions leading to 1.5, two statements should now be true: 1) if you've learned how to FLY and position yourself well, you'll be a more dangerous Pilot. 2) If you're joining us for the first time, making you a dangerous Pilot and an asset to your team will take LESS time. Shall we go through some beefy release notes?
Update 1.5.X Official Release Notes
Please read these thoroughly, including the KNOWN-ISSUES which will be updated ASAP.
MAJOR HUD & CONTROLS UPGRADES
Mobile:
- Refreshed minimal HUD to focus you on the action! New Kill Log, Kill Streak, Medal Animations, Primary/Secondary/Ultimate Fire Buttons (all platforms) and the introduction of...
- Much anticipated Boost button is now available on all mobile devices for increased button parity cross-platform–the "OG" Tap-Swipe mechanic is retained for veteran pilots making the transition.
- Movement directional indicator has been added to Pilot models
- Targeting an enemy brings up a targeting reticle (tied to Auto-Aim... but don't rely on it to finish the job!)
PC:
- Remapped buttons and joystick 'dead zone' tweaks for increased responsiveness for XBOX and PS4 controllers–see in-game Settings > Controls!
- Pressing the 'Escape' key brings up in-game Settings menu and Holding 'Tab' brings up quick scoreboards.
SBM Commentary: The Mobile Boost Button has arrived! We're excited to bring button parity even closer to all platforms with the main goal to eventually bring customizable HUD to mobile. The breakout placement of the mobile boost button on the right of HUD won't be perfect for everyone and we know you'll want to have more options, but in general was the most ideal placement for the average user. Also, mobile users have the ability to fire-cancel secondaries by dragging the secondary button back to its origin--we have a solution in mind for PC users that we're working on as well. And PC users with an XBOX or PS4 controller, give us a whirl and let us know what you think!
CROSS-PLATFORM AUDIO & VISUAL FX UPGRADES:
- Team Visual FX have been completely revamped for clarity–Easily recognize friends and foes with new team color Weapon Trails, Shields, and Health Bars!
- Primary, Secondary, Boost, and Ultimate now have an audio effect upon recharge to remind Pilots they're available to use again.
- All Primaries and Secondaries now display an aim 'cone' or 'line' of accuracy (replacing the laser sight) that also double as status indicators of fire (grey means you've got ammo and red means you're on cooldown).
- Medals, Boost, Weapon Cooldowns, Ultimates have all-new spicy audio FX!
- Frags, explosions and smoke trails have been upgraded along with projectile surface impact marks.
- Grenades now blink when they're 'live'... BOOM!
- Match start/end 5s countdown timer sequence 'tick' implemented–more match suspense!
- "Screen Shake" FX scale with explosive force
- Shields/Super Shield have been visually updated to be spherical and reflect the direction of incoming damage!
- Shields are now 'shattered' upon breaking or taking over-damage... serving as a visual warning to you and your enemies
- The infamous Jetpack Death scream makes a comeback to all Pilots!
SBM Commentary:
We went clean and as minimal as possible for all the static on-screen HUD elements (especially for mobile) presented to a Pilot in-game. With so much new visual information coming at you, your focus should always be on the battle and thus Buttons, Medals, Streaks, and even the Kill Log have been updated and or displaced to much better HUD areas. Gentle audio reminders now exist for Primary, Secondary, Boost, and Ultimate 'ready' sounds and having these be 'second nature' going forward can only help if you choose to turn off the HUD for a more immersive experience. Lastly, all weapon trails, shields, and health bars are indicative of friendly or enemy team origin--heed these visual cues which will only help you determine where and what is coming at you.
MAJOR GAMEPLAY & WEAPON BALANCE CHANGES:
- Pilot movement mechanics have been finer-tuned; the VMAX cap has been slightly reduced but the new boost mechanic gets you to VMAX faster (important for advanced movement)
- On the ground Pilot run speed has been slightly increased
- Secondaries can now be cooked indefinitely! Scare your enemies as you plan your grenade throws with ease!
- In-air horizontal movement speed has been slightly increased
- The "Red = Dead" HUD damage has been removed and replaced with a blinking Pilot Health bar in near-death
- Boosting is now available every 3s in an independent tank and Pilots can reach VMAX quicker by utilizing Boost efficiently--Boosting is also now available downward!
- Projectile velocities in general have been reduced to improve Pilot reactivity, readability, and weapon balancing across the board–this MAJOR gameplay update has helped us improve hit registration, player registration, lag compensation overall and off-screen kills (especially across regions)
- Jetpacks in general have received a buff (more fuel since Boost isn't shared in a single tank)
- Ultimates charge ~3x faster and are normalized to every Ultimate–we're OPEN to more feedback ranking each Ultimate's charge time by their importance!
- Self-damage has been removed for certain weapon types (Wildfyre, Venom, Airstrike Napalm flames)
- Jetpack death is triggered only outside a 2m pilot-to-pilot radius and if in open skies (over a 5m+ ceiling) and inflicts 90 damage on impact
- Shield + Super Shield Ultimate now stacks for a maximum of 250HP–normal Shield is depleted first during damage.
- Weapon Mechanics Changes (Ripper, Lycan, Dominion, Havoc, Nightfall)
SBM Commentary:
Two easy words describe the above: META CHANGE. But know that each game you'll play you'll begin to notice some of the most important improvements in the game: Shots will register better (especially across regions), Pilot glitches will occur less (or not at all), flying and dodging (and juking) will result in new flight styles, and more weapons in the Armory will see use in the skies. Skilled Pilots will take advantage of these new flight mechanics which will result in more advanced fights. Remember: the better Pilot in a dogfight will extract every ounce of fuel/boost and movement to claim victories.
All weapons have taken a velocity hit (~10-45%) and we know this will take some adjustment time--we believe this indirectly raises the skill cap with the game being now played differently and with projectile predictions in mind (especially when fighting across surfaces). Plus, even though VMAX has been slightly lowered for Pilots, we've increased the possibility of staying in this "VMAX Zone" much more so take advantage of gravity and momentum!
RIPPER, LYCAN, DOMINION, HAVOC, NIGHTFALL, DRONES... OH MY!
- Ripper now shoots 3 saw blades at 35dmg each and also has been adjusted for a more horizontal shot (similar to the Widowblade arc).
- Lycan and Dominion shotguns are now MUCH more dangerous with a tighter bullet spread and slightly more range.
- Have fun with the Lycan as a true automatic breaching shotgun (great for defense and laying down quick covering AOE fire). Each pump now deals 48dmg up close (or 4x12dmg).
- Dominion is the superman-dive shotgun you've always wanted, with the same 100dmg out (or 4x25dmg) in a tighter spread–another possible one-shot weapon to counter range.
- Havoc rocket launcher now has an acceleration modifier and gradually increases in velocity as it travels to maximum range–this makes the weapon slightly more advanced to use this build (especially as it retains a massive 90dmg direct hit)
- Thunderstorm "nerfed" (but not really) to 7dmg per tick but retained shot interval speed (try it out, naysayers!)
- The dreaded Nightfall has been reverted to its original, incredibly dangerous, form. We'd like to observe what happens with its usage, especially with the weapon VMAX changes.
- Flame drones were pretty spicy... damage down to 8 per tick (along with Wildfyre, retaining additional burn damage).
- Lightning drones were too tickly... damage down to 7 per tick (matching Thunderstorm shot interval speed)
- Quantum "buffed" to 14dmg per shot and 16 clip size (pew pew pew is back and balanced!)
- Typhoon "buffed" to 11dmg per shot and a 20 clip size (take advantage of its light weight and get up close and personal... or else)
- Locust "buffed" to 14dmg per shot and 20 clip size (take advantage of its light weight and knockback potential)
- Wildfyre, Venom & Flames (Airstrike Napalm) self-damage have been removed to ease team readability... let's keep an eye out on these weapons/characteristics together.
- Sniper weapon VMAXes in general are now tuned to their correct effective range: Medium to Long Range–really. Seriously.
OVERALL FIXES & IMPROVEMENTS
- Reminders to register for Super Bit ID have been implemented–keep your account synchronized across ALL devices. Please!
- Canada/AUS Players - Please rate us on the App Store!
- Quickly "Add Friends" during intermission lobbies by tapping Pilots!
- 'Cancel' button is now available when pressing PLAY--no more infinite queues!
- Increased server stability (eliminated more room/memory leaking issues)
- Real-time notifications added and improved in-game (Game invites, Friend invites)
- Scoreboards are back after end of round in public games!
- Weapon stats displayed in the Armory are now dynamic!
- Drone and Sentry IQs raised
- Various bug fixes including chat fixes, UI fixes, Pilot/Weapon mismatched mod fixes, map-centering and more!
- Maps and Power-up optimizations
WHAT'S IN THE FUTURE
- More Maps, Game Modes, Squads, Clan "things", Chat and even more Pilot Skins coming up!
- Global economy and Store revamps!
- gear.armajet.com—get your own personalized Armajet gear now + female tees are in!
- Join our official Discord community for even more info, official dev stream times, and upcoming features!
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Annnnnnd lastly, just another note on VMAX changes in general–these changes help bring more fair gameplay to the arena to ALL users especially across regions. 'Ghost' Pilots, off-screen kills, and projectiles around corners will be dramatically less and hit-reg much more improved overall AND in environments where latency matters. We know you all want more fair custom games tournaments and many of these improvements will bring much needed quality of life to you, our incredible community! Consider this patch to be ~90% of the way there towards the gameplay standard we all want. All weapon balance adjustments here on out will be easier to communicate going forward as we observe global weapon use, too!
Have fun with Update 1.5 and we'll see in the skies!