A look at patch 1.41.

As many of you are aware we recently posted a list of features that are scheduled to be included in the 1.4.1 patch on the EU forums.

This patch is currently destined for the EU PTW server and I wanted to take a moment to explain why this is the case.

Put simply it comes down to time. A this time our NA PTW isn''t ready for players to test out of latest patches and we didn''t want to have to push back the release of 1.4.1 while we waited for the NA PTW to get up and running.

While it is unfortunate that you, our NA community will not have early access to these quite frankly fantastic changes, it does mean that 1.4.1 will be hitting the live service sooner than it might otherwise had.

If you have yet to see the feature list in question then please find it below:


Combat and Gameplay has been updated!
Gameplay has been improved to produce a smooth, immersive, and skill-based combat.

* Vehicle handling has been improved.
* All weapons have been rebalanced and now include recoil.
* All weapons fire out to 100 meters.
* All weapon audio has been updated.
* Audio in marksmanship has been altered subtly.
* Crouch is now client-side predicted.
* Accuracy modifier on sprinting.
* Accuracy now regains over time rather than instantly.
* Weapons can be switched during the re-fire timer.
* Default mouse sensitivity is lower.
* Time for open world vehicle break-ins has been lowered from 10 to 3 seconds.
* Arrest and Rescue times have been lowered.
* Vehicle husks now block weapons fire.
* Field of view is now weapon specific.
* Hit VFX should now align with the direction of the weapons fire correctly.
* Upon purchasing a new weapon players are offered the option to auto-equip that item.



Matchmaking
Accepting missions and backup has now been replaced with a Ready/Not Ready setting which anyone who plays online games will be fairly familiar with. Each individual group member can toggle their status to ''Ready'' and when all players in the group are ''Ready'', the group as a whole is considered eligible for a match. The matchmaking system will then select a suitable mission/dispatch and automatically put the group on that mission. At the end of the mission, all players return automatically to ''Not Ready'' to allow time to re-supply, re-spawn cars etc. The group can then set themselves back to ''Ready'' for their next mission, allowing the group to set its own pace.

* Players can no longer deliver open -world items during missions.
* Players who are low threat and playing solo will receive no dispatches against them and will instead join the group who are being dispatched against opposition. The exception being that solo players can still be dispatched against when a bounty is placed on them.
* Bounty Missions are only generated as a result of witnessing by Enforcers
* Criminal vs. Criminal Matches have been disabled



Information

* The /Help command has been added. This will now display the full list of slash commands available to players.
* A new set of dynamic tooltips have been added to the loading screens in order to remind new and old players alike of some of APB''s more subtle features.



Mirroring Garage Decals
Players are now able to mirror decals on both sides of a vehicle.


Advanced Graphics Options
An advanced graphics menu has been added to the video settings page of the options menu. This sub-menu features the following graphical options:

* Dynamic Shadows
* Environment Shadows
* Ambient Occlusion
* High-Quality Bloom
* Distortion Value
* Anisotropy
* Anti Aliasing



VOIP Improvements
We have made further improvements to the in-game VOIP system in order to address some of the issues players have been experiencing during play. These include:

* An issue where players lost VoIP when district switching has now been resolved.
* PTT functionality has been improved.
* Various VOIP related crashes have been resolved.
* The accuracy of the VoIP status indicators has been improved.
* Player- controlled microphone sensitivity options have been added.



Improved HUD Messaging
We are reworking the way in which PvP kills are conveyed to the player. This will supply players with valuable information as to what weapons both opposing and friendly players are using, without the need to manually enter the scoreboard.


New Content
We have introduced some fun new content for players to use in the form of clothing items, clothing presets, vehicle kits, vehicle presets, symbols, instrument packs and new songs. These additions comprise of the following:

* Trilby hat
* Cowboy hat
* Beret hat
* 8 New preset outfits (one outfit per gender, per organization)
* Pet Vet Shop symbol set
* Zen Pack symbol set
* Funky Beasts symbol set
* 4 New vehicle body modding kits
* 4 New vehicle presets (one preset per organization)
* 4 New original songs created with the new instrument packs
* New original song composed and produced by the UK music producer ‘Nocturnal’
* Nocturnal Instrument Pack: Bees Synth, DrumKit, Drum/Lead, Orchestra, OrchestraHit (OrchHit), Rise Synth, Bass, Sub Bass, Synth Arp(Arpergiator), StacString (Staccato String)
* Wilson LeBoyce Instrument Pack: Guitar, Drum Kit, Organ, Bass, Clavinet
* Simon Tran Instrument Pack: Bass, DrumKit, Harp, Lead synth, Strings, Synth
* Double B InstrumentPack: DrumKit, Guitar, SFX, Synth_Bass, Synth_Lead
* Britney BloodRose InstrumentPack: DrumKit, Bass, Guitar, Strings

... awesome.

We are getting berets. I must now make Dice look like the Russian Medic class from bad company 2 and give him an accent.

Pic for reference:

I am hoping beyond hope that the body kit updates are for the junker cars (like the Han Veo) cause I would so own one if they are. Those things would make the ultimate in Ricer cars!

I wouldn't mind a body kit for the T-25, it'd be like the espacio.

i have to say this looks pritty good.. atleast i hope it is.. a little unsure about all weapons having the same firing distance but hey.. if they are balanced thats all that counts..

Firnyn wrote:i have to say this looks pritty good.. atleast i hope it is.. a little unsure about all weapons having the same firing distance but hey.. if they are balanced thats all that counts..

Agreed there. Not sure where the mind set of giving every weapon a 100m range... I mean, I am not sure there are many shotguns that can fire that range and it just undoes the fixes they just did to the NL9.

Delinquent wrote:
Agreed there. Not sure where the mind set of giving every weapon a 100m range... I mean, I am not sure there are many shotguns that can fire that range and it just undoes the fixes they just did to the NL9.

It will be like Bad Company. Bullets travel that range, but the effect is significantly weaker or stronger, depending on the weapon.

Patch goes live today!

No worries, Dolly. If you count being at work, dinner, a wine and cheese event, and actual download time when I do get home I should be done downloading the patch in 12 - 18 hours....

Just hopped in and took a look around. Not entirely used to the driving changes yet, but very much contented by the changes.

DevilDolly wrote:

Delinquent wrote:No worries, Dolly. If you count being at work, dinner, a wine and cheese event, and actual download time when I do get home I should be done downloading the patch in 12 - 18 hours....

So what you're saying is, not only am I bored and lonesome, but unemployed, hungry and sober...

*pout*

Are you kidding? That wine and cheese thing for the school is because my parents pay for my daughter to go to a pretencious private school. The majority of the parents there are seven figure people and they are shocked and appaled that not only does my wife work, but she works two jobs and is still in school (most of the Mom's there are stay at homers).

So I'm, downloading the patch now and... well... how do I put this... This shit looks tight!

I'll be on after my shift and review tonight. See you on the streets, kids.

HHHMMMMMMM... i will be on for a bit today... man it took me 10 min to DL this patch... ( why it take you all so long? )

24 hours after the patch and there is a Dev thread open to suggestions on how to fix the CCG. Kinda says something about how wrong they consistently are when they "play" with the LTL weapons.

Haven't had a chance to play much yet... maybe tonight. Cursory playing with weapons, the NTEC seems like it tightened up a little... up to 3 round bursts now. And I see no reason to run the Cisco anymore... its handling seems to have gotten a bit worse (or not to my taste) while the G20? Mmmmm.

Firnyn wrote:HHHMMMMMMM... i will be on for a bit today... man it took me 10 min to DL this patch... ( why it take you all so long? )

Mostly it was work and RL reasons... The actual patch took about 7 minutes for me to download.

Things I observed playing last night and today:

1) I am still WAY better with the N-Tech than any other gun in the game. I played with the OBIR last night cause it was getting rave reviews. I do love that rifle, it is a solid weapon and makes a great support weapon, but overall I was just not as effective with the weapon. I had the same feel with the side arms. The Act 44 may hit hard, but the recoil is nasty and I feel slow aiming and firing on single shot weapons.

2) The recoil, sound, and rate of fire of the weapons feels right. I was able to use and abuse the N-Tech this morning, scoring five out of six missions as wins and even going 7 - 0 with no arrests against one enforcer (she was using a OBIR against me and the battles were mostly at decent ranges). I am very pleased with the changes to the lethal weapons.

3) The LTL are still OP. The stun timer, the arrest timer, and the respawn timer are all to long. I got stunned out and arrested twice last night in such a quick succession that I was out of the match for 40 seconds... that is just to long.

4) Holy crap! Not only do I get back up, but I feel like the matches have been more intense and interseting since the patch. Yeah, last night I did not win a single opposed match all night, but the fights were close, fun, and in many cases 6 v 6 or 8 v 8. I loved that! I hear that enforcers need to be in Ready mode to witness and then oppose you, which reduces witness griefing, but that also means Valentina can't just pull people over anymore and that sucks.

5) The cars all feel pretty good. The Dolton Fresno still flipped rather easy on me the one time I stole one, but I put it back on all fours and moved on. The Cars accelerate better, feel like they have weight, and don't roll over just because you turned on the turn indicator. I may have missed something, cause a lot of people don't like the Cisco changes but it did not feel all that different for me. I need to drive a Bishada to see if that feels any better and see if it changes my mind on it being the worst car in the game so far.

6) THE VEGAS ROCKS! Ok, the body kit is outstanding (except the new spoiler) and really makes the car feel like a late 60's early 70's stock car. But that thing can turn, it can power slide, it is faster and feels faster, and I actually caught up to a Cisco in it earlier this morning. Yeah, the old issue of hit something and it just stops is there, but overall I think the Vegas is my new favorite car in the game (which will make my Espacho very sad).

7) In typical fashion the LTL's got further OP'd and the Enforcers are crying that the Criminals are crying. I actually saw a post requesting a reduction in the number of arrests required because the LTL's keep getting nerfed. All I can say is play a criminal for a while and then tell me they are balanced as is. As I mentioned earlier, there is already a thread about the CCG and requesting feedback on the weapon. Hopefully a change is in the works.

In the end, I am very pleased with the Patch and the game feels like night and day from the 1.3.1 version. Just wow!

Maybe this is just because I was soloing, but matchmaking was actually worse for me, if that's possible. I was playing on my level 1 character (got him up to 4 that night), and I kept getting matched up against people who were 9+ for me. At least with the old system I would occasionally get put against people my own level.

I dunno, it musta been the district I was in.

IcePho3nix wrote:Maybe this is just because I was soloing, but matchmaking was actually worse for me, if that's possible. I was playing on my level 1 character (got him up to 4 that night), and I kept getting matched up against people who were 9+ for me. At least with the old system I would occasionally get put against people my own level.

I dunno, it musta been the district I was in.

District does play a factor, that is for sure. The system will search for a match and if an equal match is not found it will find a "suitable" match instead. I know while playing my enforcer last night most matches were even, until I was pitted against two Threat 1 criminals with no option for backup. Because my enforcer was threat 9 the game assumed this meant I was capable of going 2 v 1 no problem. Matchmaking is better, way better, but not fixed. There are still quirks to be worked out.

Delinquent wrote:
District does play a factor, that is for sure. The system will search for a match and if an equal match is not found it will find a "suitable" match instead. I know while playing my enforcer last night most matches were even, until I was pitted against two Threat 1 criminals with no option for backup. Because my enforcer was threat 9 the game assumed this meant I was capable of going 2 v 1 no problem. Matchmaking is better, way better, but not fixed. There are still quirks to be worked out.

Myra, Nickel, Sadrian, and I were getting some incredibly even matches yesterday. Then we started getting nothing but Threat 14s and 15s. We had to change districts, it became fucking ridiculous.