Over on Reddit, Global Community Engagement Manager Dan Mitre shared some of the details DICE will be tweaking based on beta feedback, and it’s a good list!
Squad play and Matchmaking – Several changes are already in place and additional improvements will be made to secure the best possible launch experience.
Attrition – Scarcity of ammo and health is something we want to get just right, and the Open Beta gave us a lot of info on how to balance it.
Visibility – Distance haze, lighting, general contrast and other visibility aspects are being tinkered with, letting you see your enemies better in the world.
Death Experience – We’re adjusting bleed out and spawn times to make your virtual deaths as good as virtual deaths can be.
Vehicles – Damage states, movement, and weaponry oftanks and other vehicles are being tweaked.
TTK and TTD – We’re adjusting automatic weapons to make the Time to Kill and Time to Death as fair and fun as possible.
Progression and Customization – We’re working on making the user journey one that’s smooth and personal.
Chat Profanity Filter on PC – We are evaluating the Open Beta feedback and are making many adjustments for launch.
Granted, the list isn’t super specific to the changes, but so far, so good, it has touched upon some of the concerns players have voiced out on — which we’ve also aired out in our Battlefield V beta impressions piece.
Additionally, DICE has mentioned that a new Dev Talk episode will be airing next week, which will touch upon these upcoming changes. Once we know more details regarding that, we’ll be sure to let our readers know.
Regardless of which battle royale game you prefer, it’s hard to deny that it takes skill and a lot of luck to win a match. Well, someone seems to have a mix of both in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Blackout, and has captured footage of it as proof!
A person by the name of TheRealBackpackBro on YouTube has posted a video of him winning a Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Blackout match using a basketball! Yes, an actual basketball!
Impressive? Maybe. Lucky? Hell yeah! It sure beats winning using a gun, right? If you have any amazing clips or just funny stuff in Call of Duty, Battlefield or other multiplayer games, hit us up (tips (at) mp1st.com) and we’ll be sure to credit you if we run ’em.
In other Black Ops 4 Blackout news, the PC and Xbox One beta has started! Here’s how to play the PC beta without pre-purchasing the game. You should also check out Activision’s official “Field Manual” for Blackout which you can read right here.
Digital Extremes’ hugely popular free-to-play live services shooter Warframe is headed to the Nintendo Switch! This was announced by the developer via a short announcement video, which you can watch below. The Warframe Nintendo Switch release date is set for November 20!
Ninjas Play Free! Coming to Nintendo Switch on November 20. They were called Tenno. Warriors of blade and gun – Masters of the Warframe armor. Those that survived the Old War were left drifting among the ruins. Now they are needed once more. The Grineer, with their vast armies, are spreading throughout the solar system. A call echoes across the stars summoning the Tenno to an ancient place. They summon you. Come Tenno, you must join the war.
Given that Nintendo just announced its premiere online service this week, it’s unknown at this time whether you’ll need to be a member of that or not in order to participate. We’ve reached out to Digital Extremes and will let our readers know what the skinny is.
If you’re a PC or console (PS4, Xbox One) player, we’ve also reached out to see whether your account can sync to Nintendo’s version and how it’ll work.
While PlayStation 4 gamers might already be knee-deep in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Blackout goodness, PC players will be getting their first taste of the mode starting today. Note that in order to participate today, players need to pre-purchase Black Ops 4 on Battle.net. If you do, you’ll be able to join the action beginning 10 a.m. PT.
Now, for those who don’t like pre-purchasing stuff, you’ll be able to play the Black Ops 4 Blackout PC beta tomorrow, September 15, at 10 a.m. PT. Pre-load has already begun, so you should be ready to go once the gates are open. The Blackout beta on PC ends on September 17, 10 a.m. PT, so make sure you get a lot of time in before servers are switched off.
In case you want to play early, Battle.net players who tune in to select Call of Duty Twitch streamers ( Ninja, Shroud, Summit1G or TimTheTatman’s) for an hour between 10 a.m. PT ad 2 p.m. PT will get early access to the PC beta directly to their account! You need to watch for an hour to be eligible though. Also, make sure your Battle.net and Twitch accounts are linked before participating.
Activision has also released the Blackout PC beta recommended specs (via Blizzard’s official site)! Note that these are just for the beta only, so don’t get annoyed if things change when the game hits retail later next month.
Blackout PC Beta Specs
Here are the minimum and recommended specs to play the Blackout PC Beta— keep in mind these specs are for the beta only:
Minimum:
OS: Windows 7 64-Bit or later
CPU: Intel Core i5 2500k or AMD equivalent
RAM: 8GB RAM
HDD: 40GB HD space
Video: Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 2 GB / GTX 1050 2GB or AMD Radeon HD 7950
DirectX: Version 11.0 compatible video card or equivalent
DirectX: Version 11.0 compatible video card or equivalent
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
Finally, Treyarch has a message for the PC players participating today and the rest of the week.
We’re ready to kick-off in the morning, so we wanted to make sure everyone has the latest Blackout PC beta updates, as we have a couple of details to share about our development and stat-gathering plans for the weekend.
During the Blackout PC Beta, among other things, we’ll be running constant server capacity and performance tests. During this important testing phase, to help ensure as smooth an experience as possible for everyone, we are capping the framerate at 90 FPS. The team will be closely monitoring all the data throughout the course of the weekend. We’ll also be testing different player counts so that we can optimize to be ready for launch on October 12th.
Remember, as always, that the beta serves as a testing ground for us to gather information on performance, controls, and so many other details. All your feedback during the beta contributes important information that will help us deliver the best experience possible on PC. We are looking forward to this Blackout Beta weekend, and can’t wait to see you online.
Don’t forget to check out some of the changes Treyarch has rolled out for the PS4 version of Blackout, which will undoubtedly be applied to the PC version too.
Crytek has released a new video detailing what’s in the Hunt: Showdown update 2.4! The dev team themselves talk about the graphic settings, and more.
Check out the eight-minute video below to see what technical tweaks are being made to the game.
Update 2.4 is all about performance, and so we’ve got Level Design Director Chris Auty, Technical Director Sebastien Laurent, Senior Game Designer Andreas Liebeskind, and Junior Technical Designer Bence Kovacs in a new video interview to explain all the details.
Hunt: Showdown is a different kind of multiplayer experience. Check out this info post to know everything important about Hunt: Showdown. We also posted a tutorial video as well, just in case you want to try it and want to know what you’re doing.
One of the new things introduced in Battlefield V is a squad rewards mechanic that allowed the squad leader the option to call in a supply drop, Tiger tanks, or even a V1 rocket attack on a specific target. Think of these squad rewards like Call of Duty’s scorestreaks, though these take longer to get, can only be called in by the squad leader, and don’t require you go on any streak to obtain.
If you’re curious what these V1 rockets look like, then wonder no more! Check out the video below where it’s showcased how devastating these things are. Count how many it takes down by counting the names that show up in the killfeed.
Impressive, right? Not sure how to activate it? Simple. All you have to do is hold L1 and R1 (on PS4, or LB and RB on Xbox One), and an item wheel will pop up, and just choose the V1 Rockets. That said, it’s easier said than done since you’ll need 40,000 points amassed in order to call one in. Once you do, you just use the scope to paint the target you want to get hit, and that’s it.
In other Battlefield V news, Lead Multiplayer Designer Valerian Noghin shared what a fully fortified point B looks like in the Rotterdam map. Windows can be boarded up, there’s barbed wire on the floor, even!
Open Beta feedback goodness: this is what point B on Rotterdam looks like now in the @FrostbiteEngine editor, fully fortified after it’s been destroyed. In addition, all windows can be boarded up and there’s barbwire on the ground floor. pic.twitter.com/Yuw6hyVRZU
It’s no big deal these days when people say they play video games, but whatever number you’re thinking of, it’s higher than that. Don’t believe me? Well, according to research from EEDAR, over 67 percent of Americans play video games! This number means a total of 211.2 million people in the US are considered gamers.
In the “Gamer Segmentation Report” post, over half of these 67 percent play across multiple platforms, and the most popular platform so far is mobile, which should surprise no one. Check out the condensed, easy-to-read version of the report courtesy of Reset Era user Nirolak.
67% of Americans age 2 and up play games. This is a total of 211.2 million game playing Americans.
90% play on mobile, 52% on PC, and 43% on console. These are percentages of the 67% of Americans playing games, not of the total US population.
To be clear, PC includes stuff like Facebook or browser gaming.
Handhelds are down to 9%, but I think NPD counts the Switch as a console, so I’m not sure how much longer that stat will be relevant.
59% of gamers play on both mobile and (PC and/or console).
41% of gamers play on only one device type (mobile, console, or PC).
For people who play games, it tends to take up 16% of their leisure time, which turns out to 12 hours a week on average.
For comparison, internet browsing is 18%, listening to music is 15%, and social media is 13%.
Active gamers (the group studied) were counted as anyone who played games within the month of June 2018, were age 2 or higher, and had access to one of the devices mentioned (mobile, PC, or console).
NPD Group (which owns EEDAR) analyst Mat Piscatella also shared a few more details regarding the report such as: “mobile” also includes tablets, the Nintendo Switch is considered a console (as it should be), the 67 percent mentioned is derived from the 211 million gamers listed. Lastly, “PC gaming” in the report includes anything played on PC.
Surprised by the results? Or not really? Personally, given how easy it is to find something to play games on, it’s no surprise that the amount of people playing games are higher than in years past, and I don’t see it dropping anytime soon.
Here’s the official patch notes, and what Treyarch has been keeping an eye out on the backend (via Reddit).
We’ve continued to listen and respond to community feedback since the start of the Beta, and have identified a new round of topics that we’re currently tracking:
Item Pickup Proximity: We’re working on making Items easier to pick up without having to look directly down at them. This is not likely to be something we can patch in the Beta, but will be available on launch day.
Footsteps: We are working behind the scenes to adjust footstep volume so that your own steps and the steps of your teammates won’t sound louder than the footsteps of your enemies. We are still investigating any issues associated with adding that to the Beta.
Perk Consumable – Awareness: Speaking of footsteps, in addition to the above, we have made and are testing changes to Awareness so that your own team’s footsteps are muted even further. We are optimistic that this one might make it in before the Beta period ends.
Bullet Penetration: We’ve seen reports of windows blocking the first shot before they’re broken, and issues with how bullet penetration might work shooting through a ceiling, but not through the floor and vice-versa. We’re on top of it, and we’ll make sure bullet penetration works as you might expect before the game releases.
Obituary (AKA: Killfeed): We’re seeing requests for better intel when your teammates are downed and killed. We didn’t quite get everything we wanted to do with the Obituary in before the Beta deadline, so expect to see a more robust set of notifications for important game activity in the final version of the game.
Merits and Leveling: Merits and level progression aren’t intended to be a meaningful part of the Beta, as none of your game stats will carry with you to the final game. Nonetheless, we are working out the bugs and improving the accuracy of stat reporting. Additionally, we’ve heard the feedback loud and clear and are actively discussing the best next steps to improve this experience.
Wingsuit/Base Jumping: We generally like that you can get to almost anywhere across the map if you dive and gather momentum during Infiltration. However, in some cases the distance that you can travel and the speed at which you can dive allows you to outpace the helicopter itself, which is not intended. We are currently evaluating revised tuning that would still let you reach nearly any Destination of your choice, but you would have to wait a bit longer until the helicopter is further along its flight path. We’ll have a better idea tomorrow night if this change can make it in before the weekend.
Collapse: We are currently testing tuning changes to the damage tick rate of the Collapse, especially in early stages. With enough basic medical supplies in your Inventory, you can currently stay out in the collapsed area of the map longer than we intended.
We’ve also made the following updates today:
Playlist Update:
Changed Featured playlist to Close Quarters (Solos only)
Character Updates
Mason, Menendez, Reznov, and Woods unlocked in Character menu
Miscellaneous:
Enabled Killcam
General stability fixes
UI Error fix
Tuning Updates:
Armor:
Level 3 Armor will now break sooner and pass more damage to the player wearing it. It still offers headshot and other damage mitigation. Level 2 Armor was minorly adjusted as well. In a game where time between the first and second shots can be measured in milliseconds, it’s key to our design philosophy to be sure you can feel the difference between similar gameplay Items. More tuning to come here as we gather data from the Beta.
Perk Consumables:
We’ve changed the time it takes to activate all Perks to 2 seconds. We are currently evaluating if that will be a permanent change, but we are eager to learn how much the use time of a Perk impacts how and when Perks are used.
Original Story:
Treyarch wasn’t lying when the studio said it would be rolling out daily updates to the Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Blackout beta. Today, the studio released a new one just now, and it brings a new mode!
The Black Ops 4 Blackout beta update clocks in at over 1.7GB, So far, the major new addition is a new playlist called “Close Quarters LTM,” which replaces yesterday’s Fast Collapse mode. This new Close Quarters mode features close-range weapons like shotguns, pistols and submachine guns exclusively, and is only active for solo play only.
There’s a very big possibility that this patch also includes gameplay tweaks and more, and we’ll update the post once Treyarch releases the official patch notes.
Are you having fun with Black Ops 4’s battle royale mode so far?
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 shoots out this October 12 on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
Battlefield developer DICE went back in time with Battlefield 1 in order to make the multiplayer first-person shooter franchise feel fresh again, and it’s doing it once more with Battlefield V. While it’s bringing back old school weapons, vehicles and equipment to the battlefield, it’s also bringing in a fresh new take on the Battlefield gameplay formula that fans know and love.
Now, the big question is: does it work or should DICE go back to how the franchise is? We’ve spent some time with the Battlefield V beta, and came away with appreciating some of the new things introduced by DICE, but at the same time, missing some of the franchise’s staples.
War Never Changes…Or Does It?
Battlefield V possibly presents some of the biggest gameplay changes the franchise has seen in a long time with DICE’s new attrition system for ammo and health. Gone are the days when taking a ton of damage can be mitigated by hiding someplace, or having a ton of ammo when you spawn in.
Now? Your health regenerates, but not at 100 percent, and ammo is scarce — scarce enough that you’ll want to be close to ammo stations, or a support player at all times. Is this a good or bad change? It depends on who you ask, though DICE themselves has confirmed that it is changing, even for a little bit.
Regarding my time with the beta, I couldn’t help but wish for more ammo every single time I spawned in. I could deal with the health not fully regenerating, but the skimpy ammo allocation made me a little annoyed at times — especially since ammo pouches dropped by your enemies can be picked up by teammates, which means less ammo for you. This ammo issue is compounded by the fact that ammo and med crates don’t have an area of effect like in previous entries. Now, players need to manually pick ammo and health bags up from crates, which means more button presses, more time looking for ammo and so on. I’ve lost count how many times I’ve been killed by looking for ammo, which is annoying since that wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for these new gameplay changes.
Health is the same way, though is a bit more forgiving. Health regens only up to a certain point (35-40 health), and not fully. This means players must be more tactical and conscious in engaging with enemies, since you’ll need a medic or be near a med station in case you take significant damage.
It’s definitely a mixed bag at this point, and I’m curious to see how the game plays out once DICE figures out how to balance the attrition stuff out.
All Tanked Out
If there’s one vehicle I always loved in Battlefield games, it’s the tanks. I can’t fly for shit, but boy can I wreck stuff up with tanks. Well, I was in for a rude awakening in Battlefield V! In the beta, tanks ran out of ammo, which you needed to replenish (easier said than done). Not only that, but they seem to move a whole lot slower, too. This meant that not a lot of people used tanks (or vehicles for that matter) in the beta since it was harder than usual to kill enemies given the ammo restrictions, and so on.
Another thing to note is that there are animations for entering and exiting vehicles now! It takes some getting used to, and I’m sure some people love the realistic feel of it, but it adds a second or two to overall entering and exiting, which means it’s more trouble than it’s worth.
We’ll reserve judgement on the overall vehicle gameplay until we’ve had a chance to see and play it properly on a proper map with jets, tanks, and more.
Guns Are Roses
If there’s one thing that I can be certain on, it’s that the gunplay in the Battlefield V beta felt fantastic! While the time to kill (TTK — more on this in a bit), was a big departure from past Battlefield games, the actual gun-on-gun action was a definite step above compared to Battlefield 1.
Helping to aid the fantastic feel of the gunplay is the addition of new moves like being able to shoot on your back, new mantling animations and more. In the BFV beta, each bullet hit feels visceral and has a nice thud that lets you know that you’re doing damage. Gone are the guesswork recoil of Battlefield 1, and is replaced by the BFV beta’s predictive, more skill-based recoil and gun handling.
Of course, there’s a little (subjective) dark cloud to this bright sky, and I’m referring to the time to kill (TTK). In the BFV beta, enemies will drop a lot faster compared to past Battlefield games. Now, this is either a good or bad thing depending on your point of view. Personally, I felt it was a bit too fast, since it didn’t give the player a chance to react usually. Couple the new health regen system, and well, you’ll find that this makes some gunfights very frustrating.
One class that benefits from the gimped health regen, and high TTK are snipers. It’s now easier more than ever to snipe people, which is a fact driven home in the BFV beta since almost everyone wanted to be a sniper to rack up kills. Oh, did I mention that you can’t 3D spot now? Yep, it’s gone. It helps make the game more tense and skill-based since you’re not always shooting at Doritos, but these give snipers another edge — something they don’t need.
Shake It Off
Battlefield V is in an interesting spot: on one hand, it’s bringing a lot of new gameplay ideas into the franchise, but on the other, it’s deviating too much that some fans might be turned off by it. It’s a hard act to balance, but with DICE seemingly willing to compromise and listen to player feedback like never before. there’s a very big possibility that they’ll be able to pull it off.
A little nip and tuck on the whole attrition system, and maybe revise the gun upgrade system a bit (which is something DICE isn’t opposed to), and DICE could have something special in their hands. Let’s hope the studio can find the perfect balance on giving Battlefield V an identity all its own, and placating the rabid player base the game has.
Battlefield V beta early access beta code supplied by EA for hands-on purposes. Played on PS4 Pro. Battlefield V is set for a November 20 release on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
If you’re a fan of DICE’s Battlefield franchise, chances are, you’re a fan of the Conquest game mode. Now, if you felt that Battlefield 1’s Conquest maps were a bit too limiting in scope given most of ’em only had three flags to cap, rejoice! Battlefield V won’t be in the same boat.
Over on Twitter, DICE Lead Multiplayer Designer Valerian Noghin confirmed that ALL Conquest maps in Battlefield V will have 5-7 flags to cap!
This is still work in progress but I can confirm that all maps have 5 to 7 flags in Conquest!
In addition to that, Noghin also showed a rather a (developer) bird’s eye view of the amount of data the DICE team has to combed through based on the beta! In the short clip below, you’ll see what 50 rounds of Conquest on the Rotterdam map looks like in terms of player movement.
With the #BattlefieldV Open Beta out of the way, we start looking at the huge amount of data we’ve gathered. I’ll start by showing you what 50 rounds of Conquest on Rotterdam look like, in terms of player movement. [thread] pic.twitter.com/XlVwJkTdhY
Definitely good news regarding Conquest, right? Of course, there’s bound to be a “meat grinder” map like Operation Locker or Operation Metro in the launch map list, but we’ll reserve judgement on how it fares in Conquest once we’ve had time on it.
In other Battlefield V news, DICE has confirmed that the respawn timer will be tweaked in the final game based on beta feedback. Not only that, but even the gun upgrade system might be changed at some point too.
Sony has rolled out the PS4 update 6.00 firmware today, and while it’s a milestone patch, it sadly, doesn’t do much in terms of adding new features.
Clocking in at just 447MB, the PS4 update 6.00 firmware can be downloaded here.
:: Release Notes
Main features in version 6.00 update
This system software update improves system performance.
In case you’re curious, Sony sent out the PS4 firmware 6.00 beta invites with the following description (via Reddit);
As a member of the PlayStation®4 System Software Beta Trial programme, we are pleased to give you first access to the 6.00 Beta, which is now live.
At this Beta stage, the 6.00 update does not include any new major consumer-facing features. However we would still value the community’s help in fine-tuning the performance and stability improvements the update brings.
Use the button below to download your unique Beta voucher code, which can be redeemed on PlayStation®Store.
Make sure you share your experience with us on the Beta private forum, and report bugs or performance issues here.
Thank you for your participation. We look forward to seeing you online during the Beta!
The PlayStation Beta Trial Team Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
Yep, there’s nothing new for consumers this time around it seems. We’ll keep an eye out and if we spot anything, or if Sony releases official patch notes that state something different, we’ll let people know.
Check out the latest PSN sale for the week right here.
It’s been a long time coming, but the paid online service of the Nintendo Switch, simply titled “Nintendo Switch Online,” now has a firm release date, and it’s set for next week!
Players will be able to sign up from the Nintendo eShop and try the service for seven days, free!
Check out the full features, plans and pricing below (via Nintendo).
Features:
Online Play – Battle it out or cooperate with players around the world in compatible games like Splatoon™ 2, ARMS™, Mario Kart™ 8 Deluxe, Mario Tennis™ Aces, and Sushi Striker™: The Way of Sushido.
Nintendo Entertainment System – Nintendo Switch Online – Enjoy 20 NES games with added online play for the first time ever, and more games added regularly.
Saved Data Cloud Backup – Save your data online for easy access. Details about this feature will be available before the paid service launches in September.
Nintendo Switch Online app – Enhance your online experience for compatible games with this smartphone app.
Pricing:
Individual Membership:
1 Month – $3.99 USD
3 Months – $7.99 USD
12 Months – $19.99 USD
Family Membership:
12 months – $34.99
Will Nintendo be able to build a challenger to the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live? I gather, they don’t need to as long as it’s serviceable enough.
If you played the Battlefield V beta, then chances are, you’ve fiddled around with the game’s gun upgrade/configuration system, which is a big departure from past Battlefield games.
This time, attachments are purely cosmetic, and the gun itself had an upgrade tree that branched out, with the player choosing which side to upgrade, and spend the necessary Armory credits to unlock it.
If you weren’t a fan of that, then there’s hope for it yet! Over on Twitter, Core Gameplay Design developer Florian (or also known as DRUNKKZ3), posted a long message explaining that the Battlefield V gun upgrade system could still change as the game evolves, and states that he understands why players are missing what Battlefield 3 and 4’s upgrade system.
Here’s the entire message in one easy to read format.
We are still at a stage where tweaking is needed and i expect that to still be the case once BFV launches, the upgrades in the Open Beta were very much our first real test with actual players and based on feedback as well as the data we will iterate more on those i’m sure.
I’ve been reading a lot of feedback on how players feel about the upgrade system in its current form and i totally see what players miss against what we had in BF3/BF4, i would even say that i personally agree.
Now on the functionality of what the upgrades bring currently, this isn’t _really_ different than what some of the combinations could bring in BF3 or BF4 for best combinations.
A lot of players have expressed their wish to see a system that is more of a sidegrade system instead of straight upgrades, this isn’t really something i can answer at this point since there are quite a lot of « parts » involved to change that direction…
…. i’m even wondering if a 2 paths tree is enough to have an interesting sidegrade system. With that being said, we are discussing it internally for sure and it’s not impossible to see changes in that direction moving forward.
Extra comments on hip-fire and recoil: We’re not really far from what you could get on BF3/ BF4, in certain cases we actually have much more recoil than popular weapons (ACE-23) in sustained fire. Some weapons however start lower to fit the generally lower ROF of WW2 weapons.
As we grow the amount of available weapons in the game, there will be room for more diversity in terms of handling and we will have more difficult weapons that will be more challenging for the more experienced players that outclass weapons more tailored towards the new players.
We also need to keep in mind that the current weapon handling and balance needs to work on both console and PC – at this point. With that in mind, we can’t really make the handling too difficult else that would be a bad experience on console generally speaking.
Seperating that down the line is something we still have in mind though as this would allow us to ensure the experience can be as deep as possible on both platforms equally and without limitations.
As someone who prefers the gun customization and upgrades in Battlefield 3 and 4, I hope DICE can somehow change Battlefield V’s gun upgrade system wherein it’s part of the overall parts (muzzle brake, stock, etc.), and have a proper give and take when it comes to upgrading them. If not, we’ll see high rank players dump on low level newbies just because the veteran players’ weapons are outright better, which isn’t something you want.
This won’t be the only change coming to Battlefield V based on the beta. Respawn time will be tweaked, starting and max ammo capacity will be changed as well. Let’s hope a proper second beta test with all the fixes will really be made available by DICE before the game’s November 20 release date.
True to their word, Treyarch has rolled out another Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Blackout beta update, and it brings the mode’s first-ever event-based playlist called “Fast Collapse.” Fast Collapse makes the play area is constrained at twice the speed, and is just one of the three special events planned during the beta.
Treyarch is also listening to the feedback by the players, and has listed down the responses to some of the more pressing concerns (via Reddit).
Many of our other updates are based on direct community feedback. After listening across our social channels overnight and throughout the day, here are some responses to the most critical pieces of feedback we’ve been seeing:
Level 2 & 3 Armor: As with the MP Beta, we’re taking a cautious approach to changes to Armor during the Blackout Beta as we keep an eye on overall gameplay balance. As part of a secondary update that recently went live yesterday, we fixed a bug where all explosive damage was not impacting Level 3 Armor. We are currently evaluating and testing where and how often Level 3 Armor makes its appearance, as well as reducing its absorption properties (will transfer more damage and break easier). In doing so, we are also evaluating Level 2 armor to adjust appropriately.
Weapons: We slowed down the rate at which you can aim down the sights of the Koshka sniper rifle, and continue to carefully measure the performance and popularity of other weapons. We’ve got our eyes on the Vapr right now. It’s an incredibly popular weapon (no doubt given how powerful its suppressor is), but it hasn’t precisely proven to be overpowered.
Zombies: Zombies can attack you from a range we didn’t intend. We are testing the fix for this right now.
Item Distribution: This important game system governs how many of which type of Item (be it a Weapon, Perk Consumable, Backpack, Attachment, or anything else) appears at any Destination, in a Supply Drop, or in a Stash. We continue to slowly refine the quantity, frequency, and quality of those Items.
Item/Inventory Management: We’ve gotten a ton of great feedback about the Inventory and Item management systems in Blackout. As a start, we’ve decreased how long it takes to pick up Items in the world. Additionally, we automatically close the Quick Equip menu if you haven’t interacted with it within 5 seconds. We are currently evaluating additional “quality of life” features to improve this experience, including how you interact with a Stash and manage Attachments on weapons more efficiently. Some of these are complex systems and may not be ready before the Beta period ends.
Kill Credit: We’ve seen that there are certain situations where players are not being properly credited for kills. We’re looking to track down all the different scenarios where this happens and will fix them for launch.
Ladders: We’re aware that a number of players have had issues backing down ladders. The team is considering ways to address this. Adjustments to climbing down ladders may not make it into the Beta, but we’re looking at it in time for launch. As a reminder, it’s always faster to base jump if you’re high enough. Sprint towards the edge and press and hold the Jump button.
Reporting Bad Behavior: As we mentioned in our first update, we’re continuing to track bad player behavior with our security team and have been banning users for intentional team killing. If you encounter this or other bad behavior in-game, you can be part of the solution by using the “Report Player” system in the Social menu to report:
Offensive Language
Cheating
Griefing
In addition to the items above, we’ve also made the following updates today:
Playlist Updates:
Added new “Fast Collapse” playlist (notes above).
Miscellaneous Fixes:
General stability and matchmaking fixes.
Downed players can no longer interact with their Inventory.
Fixed an issue where a raft was spawning upside down near Hydro Dam.
Fixed an exploit that could lead to unlimited ammo.
Tuning Updates:
Armor: Players wearing Level 3 armor will now take explosive damage.
Titan: Fixed the reticle on the gold Titan.
Koshka: Headshots will no longer 1-shot players with 200HP.
Paladin: Headshots will no longer 1-shot players with 200HP.
Stay tuned to MP1st for the latest Black Ops 4 news!
In a press release, Bandai Namco has announced that the immortal pirate, Cervantes, will be joining the SoulCalibur VI roster! To mark this announcement, a new trailer showcasing the pirate has been revealed as well.
A pirate’s life can only be described as one long sailing adventure, filled with enough twists and turns to last multiple lifetimes. So, imagine the stories of adventure and swashbuckling Cervantes must have since he’s been sailing the seven seas as an immortal pirate since forever!
Cervantes is a bad man in every sense of the term. Wielding dual swords – Acheron which he plundered from its former owner, and Nirvana, a dagger whose hilt houses a pistol – Cervantes is simply deadly with these blades, especially when he rushes opponents, knocks them down, or launches them in the air in order to deal hard-hitting combos for maximum destruction and pain.
All this power is not without its drawbacks as Cervantes is cursed to pursue Soul Edge for eternity, drawn to the sword’s power, his life intertwined with the fate of the cursed blade.
SoulCalibur VI is set to hit the PS4, Xbox One, and PC this October 19, 2018.
Destiny 2 fans who picked up Destiny 2: Forsaken, the moment you’ve been waiting for is here! The Destiny 2: Forsaken raid, called “The Last Wish,” will be available for expansion owners this September 14, 10 a.m. PT!
There’s a new trailer out now, but it’s only 24-seconds long. You know you’ll watch it either way, so hit play in the video below.
“Assemble a team… Send them into the heart of the City. Kill that creature and extract its heart.” The Last Wish Raid goes live on Friday, September 14 at 10AM PT. The riches of the Dreaming City await those who are victorious.
If you haven’t tried Destiny 2’s latest expansion, or Destiny 2 itself, don’t forget that the game is free for PlayStation Plus members this month! Bungie has detailed the roadmap for Destiny 2’s second year, which you really ought to read. Finally, there’s a secret Destiny 2 emblem that you can get which is themed after the Gambit game mode! Read up on how you can get it here.
Just last year, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) was the undeniable king of the hill when it came to not only the battle royale genre, but even when it came to games with the largest concurrent active daily players.
While the PUBG concurrent player numbers are still nothing to sneeze at, it’s now dipped below one million for the first time in a year! Checking SteamDB, it lists the 24-hour peak as only 976,253! Could this dip be due to PUBG’s closest rival, Fortnite? Or maybe it’s because the Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 battle royale mode called Blackout, was available for beta participants yesterday?
It’s weird seeing this sudden dip, as just eight months ago, PUBG saw its all-time high of over 3.2 million concurrent players shock everyone. Who would have thought that’d be the game’s all-time high, right? Of course, hitting 970,ooo concurrent players is no easy feat, and it’s definitely far from the game dying or fading into oblivion, but it’s worth noting nonetheless.
Should PUBG Corporation or Bluehole be worried? Most likely not, but given how the game’s player base has consistently dropped due to Fortnite’s success, don’t be surprised if PUBG dips below one million players again.
In other PUBG news, check out this grease-proof Xbox One controller made by Microsoft to commemorate the game’s launch in Australia.
While we already reported that DICE has said that the max ammo capacity and starting ammo count in Battlefield V will be tweaked based on feedback from the recently concluded beta, it seems another controversial issue will be changed as well,
Over on Twitter, DICE Technical Design Director Gustav Halling confirmed that the respawn and revive time in Battlefield V will be changed to make it quicker to get back into the game.
Hello, we agree 🙂
We are updating the design for this so that if you chose to HOLD ON longer than the game mode respawn time it will reduce the respawn time.
So in your case of holding on for 30 seconds would result in 0 respawn time if no one revives you.
Good news, right? This isn’t the only thing changing from the beta, either. It’s been confirmed that enemy visibility will be looked at, and spawn protection is going away, too. Would you want the respawn time to change, or should DICE keep it as is to prevent people from just rushing out head first into the battlefield?
If there’s one thing live services games like Destiny, The Division has going for it, it’s that they have an ever-changing and steady flow of content that’s aimed to keep players constantly engaged. If BioWare’s latest statements regarding Anthem is to be believed, content won’t be an issue with it at all.
Speaking to USGamer at PAX, BioWare Producer Mark Darrah, and Lead Producer Mike Gamble were asked if BioWare has multiple teams working within the studio working on new content like other live services games.
Is there a lot of flexibility with the dev team? I spoke with another live service developer earlier this year and they have four teams working on new content to pump them out at a regular clip. Is this the same for BioWare?
Mike Darrah: That’s exactly right. I can’t remember the number, but it’s in that sort of four, five, or six-
Mike Gamble: Streams.
MD: Streams of content. You know you’re going to do this kind of content and you want to do it every three months, but it takes five months to work so you need to have two of those going at the same time. But also, it’s just things like, ‘Okay, well we’re going to have one stream of people working on quality of life improvements and one group of people working on this kind of drip feed narrative stuff, or this kind of person is going to work on all the holiday events.’ So, it’s really about keeping the machinery running and not doing this very serialized developments that you see
MG: I don’t want to sound like we have hubris in this. We will make our own share of mistakes we absolutely will. Everyone who launches these kinds of games makes their share of mistakes. It’s, as you said, having the flexibility in the team to build, to respond to those quickly. Because we can test, test, test, test, we can focus on something and then it’s the thing that we don’t test which is like, ‘Gotcha!’ And you have to be able to respond right?
This is definitely good news, right? Let’s hope BioWare can make the missions and new content feel fresh and different enough from each other so players won’t get bored.
In other Anthem news, BioWare has confirmed that the game’s Lead Combat developer was also the Combat Lead dev for Halo. Regarding content, don’t forget that all story-driven DLC will be free!
As we’ve previously reported a week ago, EA is making Battlefield 1 Premium and Battlefield 4 Premium free for everyone! Of course, you need to have a copy of the game (digital or physical) to take advantage of it.
If you want to download them right now or at least activate the download so it’s ready by the time you’re ready to log in and frag, we’ve listed the download links for each platform below.
The Battlefield 1 Premium Pass giveaway is set to run from September 11 to 18, as our way to capstone all the giveaways and rewards from the Road to Battlefield V.This offer will let Battlefield 1 owners play everything Battlefield 1 Premium Pass has to offer for free*.
You’ll be granted access to all the maps, weapons, vehicles, and more from the four Battlefield 1 expansions — They Shall Not Pass, In the Name of the Tsar, Turning Tides, and Apocalypse. This means access to 16 multiplayer maps, new Operations and game modes, powerful Elite classes, and more.
What to Expect in Battlefield 4 Premium:
Key Features:
All five expansion packs. Get 20 new maps, 48 exclusive assignments, new modes and more.
Exclusive personalization options. Outfit yourself with the latest camos, paints, emblems and dog tags. With gear for all four combat roles, the combinations are endless.
Priority position in server queues. Jump into the fight as quickly as possible. Priority position means you can start breaking the enemy faster.
12 bonus Battlepacks. Lock n’ load with rare weapons, gun attachments, XP boosts and customizations only available to Premium members.
Remember that the two Premium passes are only free from today until September 18! So make sure to grab ’em while you still can. And before anyone asks, both games have healthy player populations, so you can be sure you’ll have a lot of people to play with.
If you’re interested in other free stuff and bargains, don’t forget to check out our deals page.
