Shotgun Testing Patch Announcement

[Sakebee 2270]

Hello everyone,

 

A new patch is going up onto the Live servers for PC. This patch will be happening on Wednesday 1/29/2020. The Patch is scheduled to start at 9 AM UTC and will last up to 6 hours. Console will have its normal maintenance starting at 9 AM UTC as well.

 

OVERVIEW

• We’re ready to jump back in with a new round of Shotgun testing! This time the prototype test districts will be using the Asylum map to get the most from your playtesting. We are also moving the changes to the NTEC and its variants into the normal districts. Please take a look at our write-up of these tests so you can get the best background info for your own tests. 
• The jump modifier will be taking effect across all NTEC weapons and their variants. The Modifier Cap was 2.8 in the Prototype districts but will be going live at 2.4. We are currently not modifying the NTEC7-Compact or the NTEC-Scope at this time.

 

CHANGES/FIXES

• Fixed decals to be correctly granted when obtaining the Triceratops, Demoness, Tarot: Death, Tarot: Priestess, and Tarot: Tower preset clothing bundles.
• Removed the need for a specific rank for Prototype Districts.
• You can no longer get Heat 5 while in missions.
• Removed explosives from being able to be resupplied from large ammunition boxes.
• You can now access your inventory from large ammunition boxes.
• PSN -1 error is now fixed.

 

This post is cross-referenced under Game Updates for your convenience.

 

 Sakebee

[Iazer 204]

Epic  No more JG spam?  

[vsb 6174]

12 minutes ago, Sakebee said:

We’re ready to jump back in with a new round of Shotgun testing! This time the prototype test districts will be using the Asylum map to get the most from your playtesting.

are there any actual shotgun changes or is the test district itself swapping to asylum the only difference?

 

 

12 minutes ago, Sakebee said:

• Removed explosives from being able to be resupplied from large ammunition boxes.
• You can now access your inventory from large ammunition boxes.

the inventory access is good, but can we stop with the weapon specific balance changes?

 

just make it so that large ammo boxes only resupply 50% of max ammo (for primary, secondary, and grenades) per box - this allows everyone to still get some use out of ammo boxes without negating field supplier or allowing explosive spam

 

edit: oh and make consumables normal modifications 

Edited January 27, 2020 by Solamente

[MACKxBOLAN 434]

 I find this funny. 

 Nobody went to the test district, so Ya'all gonna try a flank move n put it in FC.

I would hope that Buffing some shotguns would be part of the testing results. 

  ps I shall watch my language and tone here on the forums.  My Bads

[Sakebee 2270]

3 minutes ago, Solamente said:

are there any actual shotgun changes or is the test district itself swapping to asylum the only difference?

We have a post in the works regarding details on the shotgun changes. When that is ready, it will be posted and cross-linked with this announcement.

[Lord Cashpoint 269]

1 hour ago, Sakebee said:

You can no longer get Heat 5 while in missions.

This is pretty interesting, as it was one of the last remaining elements of "open world" gameplay left from the original design of APB. I know obviously the issues with the Heat 5 system, but I do wonder if it makes the entire Prestige/Notoriety system a bit pointless now if you can't get bounty in missions (I know you can get it via other means, but very few people participate in those activities). Not to say that I was a fan of how it works now or that I'm not happy about this, but removing it altogether seems a bit drastic. Perhaps it is the best solution before the devs are able to take a more whole scale look at how that mechanic works.

Edited January 28, 2020 by Lord Cashpoint

[Salvick 248]

To me it was fun to turn on bounty in the middle of a mission. /shrug

 

So if you hit 5 stars during a mission the N5/P5 would be triggered once the mission is over?

 

4 minutes ago, Lord Cashpoint said:

This is pretty interesting, as it was one of the last remaining elements of "open world" gameplay left from the original design of APB. I know obviously the issues with the Heat 5 system, but I do wonder if it makes the entire Prestige/Notoriety system a bit pointless now if you can't get bounty in missions (I know you can get it via other means, but very few people participate in those activities). Not to say that I was a fan of how it works now or that I'm not happy about this, but removing it altogether seems a bit drastic. Perhaps it is the best solution before the devs are able to take a more whole scale look at how that mechanic works.

I think what should be removed is the ability to kill bounties from your same faction indeed.

[Selali 1003]

46 minutes ago, Lord Cashpoint said:

This is pretty interesting, as it was one of the last remaining elements of "open world" gameplay left from the original design of APB. I know obviously the issues with the Heat 5 system, but I do wonder if it makes the entire Prestige/Notoriety system a bit pointless now if you can't get bounty in missions (I know you can get it via other means, but very few people participate in those activities). Not to say that I was a fan of how it works now or that I'm not happy about this, but removing it altogether seems a bit drastic. Perhaps it is the best solution before the devs are able to take a more whole scale look at how that mechanic works.

 

42 minutes ago, Salvick said:

To me it was fun to turn on bounty in the middle of a mission. /shrug

So if you hit 5 stars during a mission the N5/P5 would be triggered once the mission is over?

I think what should be removed is the ability to kill bounties from your same faction indeed.

The current plan is to make modifications to this system but we did not want to take any development time away from 2.1 to make that change now. Instead we are doing this for the time being to get feedback on which way the community, as a whole, likes better.

[vsb 6174]

2 hours ago, Sakebee said:

The jump modifier will be taking effect across all NTEC weapons and their variants. The Modifier Cap was 2.8 in the Prototype districts but will be going live at 2.4. We are currently not modifying the NTEC7-Compact or the NTEC-Scope at this time.

so this will be affecting the ntec7 'ursus' ?

[TurboBRCrim 29]

Thanks! Finally, LO. Ntec changes and shotguns changes keep it coming!
 

Edited January 28, 2020 by Algoz

[Clowbber 66]

Don't touch the "bounty" system...
It looks bad
"We have no time to think about it, so we just turn it off" 
You take away everything that was beautiful in our favorite game. It was part of the gameplay.

[vsb 6174]

2 minutes ago, Clowbber said:

Don't touch the "bounty" system...
It looks bad
"We have no time to think about it, so we just turn it off" 
You take away everything that was beautiful in our favorite game. It was part of the gameplay.

lots of things were part of the gameplay and sucked balls, thats a shitty reason for leaving in frustrating rng mechanics

[dr0zone 15]

5 hours ago, Sakebee said:

 

• The jump modifier will be taking effect across all NTEC weapons and their variants. The Modifier Cap was 2.8 in the Prototype districts but will be going live at 2.4. We are currently not modifying the NTEC7-Compact or the NTEC-Scope at this time.

 

 

 

n-tec

Shot Modifier Cap 1.60 -> 2.40

 

source:

https://apbdb.com/items/Weapon_AssaultRifle_NTEC

 

Edited January 28, 2020 by dr0zone
added stats/typo/added link/spacing

[Hexerin 1142]

6 hours ago, Solamente said:

oh and make consumables normal modifications 

^^ THIS ^^

 

Just do it already, nobody actually likes the consumable design. With the addition of Joker Tickets to the end of mission rewards also reducing the consumable reward rates, they're even more frustrating and clunky than ever. Not to mention a lot of us are sitting at cap on them, which means our mailboxes are getting spammed to death with them.

[ExoticZ 131]

7 hours ago, Sakebee said:

 

• You can no longer get Heat 5 while in missions.

Just this one change makes this patch amazing.

[Ketog 1032]

Since there isn't a patch discussion , when can we expect a fix for the FBW kills not counting on roles ?

Edited January 28, 2020 by Ketog

[SmilyFace 300]

Many changes coming, ohh, excited to see these in Live finally.

Will see how population reacts to the Heat 5 change.

Nice one LO.

[PotatoeGirl 220]

What exactly are the changes to ntecs?

11 hours ago, Sakebee said:

You can no longer get Heat 5 while in missions.

How are you going to get it then if you can't interact with anything outside missions?

[LilyRain 678]

11 hours ago, Sakebee said:

• You can no longer get Heat 5 while in missions.

 

9 hours ago, Lord Cashpoint said:

This is pretty interesting, as it was one of the last remaining elements of "open world" gameplay left from the original design of APB. I know obviously the issues with the Heat 5 system, but I do wonder if it makes the entire Prestige/Notoriety system a bit pointless now if you can't get bounty in missions (I know you can get it via other means, but very few people participate in those activities). Not to say that I was a fan of how it works now or that I'm not happy about this, but removing it altogether seems a bit drastic.

 

9 hours ago, Salvick said:

To me it was fun to turn on bounty in the middle of a mission. /shrug

7 hours ago, Clowbber said:

Don't touch the "bounty" system...
It looks bad
"We have no time to think about it, so we just turn it off" 
You take away everything that was beautiful in our favorite game. It was part of the gameplay.

 

This is exactly why feedback that originates from frustration should not be unquestionably implemented. The bounty system is a once-in-a-blue-moon rewarding feature for continued sustained excellence (e.g arresting NFAS children).

 

Instead of completely disabling it (killing several identities of the game and players alike) to an unknown length of time that we all know is going to be eternal, all it needs are 2 already feasible minor tweaks to make it fair for everyone:

 

1 » Remove the indicator on the mini and large maps that tracks Heat-5 players in real time.

             You B@$t@rd$ are disabling heat-5 but not spotter-mod, okay...

2 » Disable inner-2-outsider interference: Players whom are not already engaged in the mission where the Heat-5 player is currently playing should not be able to engage and vice versa as Heat-5 is fairly easy to obtain.

 

They say you can't please everyone but that is all there is to it. Those who can maintain Heat-5 for some time will reap its benefits and self-satisfaction as it is now something personal. Those who want the system gone will not unfairly die once in a mission because of it. These two changes will fairly take as much time as disabling the system as a whole. There is no excuse to not doing as such.

 

------------------------------------------

-                        bonus                        -

------------------------------------------

9 hours ago, Selali said:

The current plan is to make modifications to this system but we did not want to take any development time away from 2.1 to make that change now. Instead we are doing this for the time being to get feedback on which way the community, as a whole, likes better.

The community already expressed what it wants. They don't hate the heat-5 system in itself, they hate the fact that its somewhat high-frequency interferes with ongoing missions.

 

The extra development time to make this system better was already done before. What needs to be done is putting some pieces together.

 

Of course, the real-time map tracker should be gone for good. It is one of the main reasons why those who dislike the bounty-system are voting for its removal. Even some of those who like the bonus features don't like this tracker.

 

What may be altered is inner-2-outsider interference. I propose that inner-2-outsider interference to be enabled once the Heat-bar is maxed at heat-5 as if the player obtained heat level 6 (which isn't functional at this point). This is already almost remotely impossible to achieve as players are bound to die and go all the way back to heat-4 during the mission itself. Those who object at this point are nothing but crybaby kids...

 

But in the once-in-a-week rare-occasion someone does reach heat-6, simply make their block in the map flash in yellow in a similar fashion to how activated RIOT-devices would. Just salvage that part of the code and hook it to heat-6 players instead of RIOT-devices and make heat-6 actually rewarding in cash and standing. This will ensure that:

 

1 » Development time in RIOT didn't go to total waste (according to MattScott, RIOT existed to train LO Devs. Let us appreciate what they have already learned and done in a prosperous way).

2 » It will actually make those waiting for a mission and interested hunt in the last known region of the bounty rather than it being given to them so easily on the map.

3 » It will preserve identities and a feature of the game that make it indeed open-world and alive.

 

Making heat-6 alive in this way might actually make top-players actively pursue getting heat-6 for its glory instead of hating on dying because of the current cheap-implementation of heat-5. Heat-5 will no longer mean anything on the big picture. It will simply be a harmless-barrier that only few will be able to rarely overcome to reach heat-6, which won't even destroy their missions nor last either.

[GhosT 1301]

Once again, still don't understand why you desperately want to change shotguns. They were perfectly fine before you touched them, there's a lot more problematic weapons.

Also don't get why you pushed N-TEC changes live when its testing hasn't really been finished.

 

Also, sad to see the Heat 5 system go. It's one of the few remaining things that make APB unique. Sure it may be annoying at some times but so is life. APB isn't a competitive game and Heat 5 is okay.

[Lord Cashpoint 269]

37 minutes ago, Lily Rain said:

The community already expressed what it wants. They don't hate the heat-5 system in itself, they hate the fact that its somewhat high-frequency interferes with ongoing missions.

 

I suppose that is one element of it yes - there's a couple of other aspects to the heat system which are problematic. One of most obvious ones is that it's unbalanced towards factions. Criminals achieve N5 far quicker than their Enforcer counterparts - but you are able to pay off at any unlocked contact.

 

Enforcers on the other hand take a lot longer to achieve P5, but apart from dropping off stolen civilian vehicles (Which are surprisingly difficult to locate sometimes), have no way of (reliably) dropping their prestige (This is excluding killing a P5 player, which is a serious flaw in the system itself). This overall gives Enforcers a notable disadvantage, because eventually they'll hit P5, and continue to do so the longer they play.

 

Perhaps the best way to remedy the system (if it is going to be kept) is to think about what the ideas behind the original concept was, and how they can be updated for a contemporary APB. When the game originally launched, the open world aspect was far more prevalent - the entire city was mean to be alive, and the Prestige/Notoriety System was part of that. Players who did very well would not only be a high threat level (Their entry into districts would be communicated to all players there) but also would achieve a high heat level.

 

The idea behind this was simple - you get more rewards from being Heat 5, but you also had to deal with the entire district hunting you down. The players on the opposing team also benefited, because it meant if there was a player that was doing extraordinarily well against them, they had a chance of gaining outside assistance in taking them down.

 

Two main issues really made themselves clear from how this was designed:

 

1) Heat 5 interacting with out of mission players was rarely a fun experience. Part of the fun of playing APB is the thought processes that go into each match, it's about predicting enemy movements and countering them. Being sniped at by a random player who just showed up never felt particularly rewarding, especially so if it meant you lost the mission.  On the flip side, being on your own mission and having a Heat 5 player start attacking you was also frustrating, especially if you were of the same faction.

2) Heat 5 is too easy to achieve really. Instead of sign-posting a player that was absolutely dominating a match, it instead is more of a measure of how long someone has been playing the game that day.

 

If I had to give a solution to these problems, I'd probably recommend Heat 5 players stay entirely confined within the specific mission. It does rob the game of a bit of open world gameplay, but it was hardly the highlight (In any case, we're long past the point where APB functions as a proto-GTA online. Factional differences and open world mechanics realistically need to be completely ripped up and re-made to have a positive impact on the game as a whole). This would mean that Heat 5 players only are visible to enemies in the mission, to give them a better chance of being able to kill them. Secondly, I would probably make it so that Heat resets at the start of every mission, and you can only achieve it by doing exceptionally well in that one specific mission.

 

As a side note there could be better rewards for staying at Heat 5, beyond money and standing.

 

Also the use of the Heat meter to determine if a grenade hit is fairly janky, and probably should be made into a hit marker instead.

 

 

[nikitos5 51]

I think a better idea is to ask the player whether he wants to become Heat 5 in the game. Like a windows that asks 'do you want to become bounty? (y/n)'

[LilyRain 678]

2 hours ago, Lord Cashpoint said:

I suppose that is one element of it yes - there's a couple of other aspects to the heat system which are problematic. One of most obvious ones is that it's unbalanced towards factions. Criminals achieve N5 far quicker than their Enforcer counterparts - but you are able to pay off at any unlocked contact.

 

Enforcers on the other hand take a lot longer to achieve P5, but apart from dropping off stolen civilian vehicles (Which are surprisingly difficult to locate sometimes), have no way of (reliably) dropping their prestige (This is excluding killing a P5 player, which is a serious flaw in the system itself). This overall gives Enforcers a notable disadvantage, because eventually they'll hit P5, and continue to do so the longer they play.

 

When taking what makes a criminal/enforcer into account, it makes sense.

 

Enforcers are provoking Criminals but at the same time should be doing good deeds to the city. Killing Criminals is something positive, but arresting them is the better deal. Arresting about 6 criminals at heat-4 is enough to reach heat-5. Additionally, joining the district fresh (heat-2.5) and arresting a heat-5 Criminal would instantly make the Enforcer heat-5 (something I personally like and gives decent cash). By doing what an Enforcer should be doing (arresting), Enforcers are in fact much faster than Criminals at reaching Heat-5.

 

An Enforcer shouldn't actively seek losing prestige. If LO removes the map-tracker and confines heat-5 players to their missions, there would be no need to further pursue prestige-loss by those who don't like being P5.

 

2 hours ago, Lord Cashpoint said:

Perhaps the best way to remedy the system (if it is going to be kept) is to think about what the ideas behind the original concept was, and how they can be updated for a contemporary APB. When the game originally launched, the open world aspect was far more prevalent - the entire city was mean to be alive, and the Prestige/Notoriety System was part of that. Players who did very well would not only be a high threat level (Their entry into districts would be communicated to all players there) but also would achieve a high heat level.

 

The idea behind this was simple - you get more rewards from being Heat 5, but you also had to deal with the entire district hunting you down. The players on the opposing team also benefited, because it meant if there was a player that was doing extraordinarily well against them, they had a chance of gaining outside assistance in taking them down.

 

Two main issues really made themselves clear from how this was designed:

 

1) Heat 5 interacting with out of mission players was rarely a fun experience. Part of the fun of playing APB is the thought processes that go into each match, it's about predicting enemy movements and countering them. Being sniped at by a random player who just showed up never felt particularly rewarding, especially so if it meant you lost the mission.  On the flip side, being on your own mission and having a Heat 5 player start attacking you was also frustrating, especially if you were of the same faction.

2) Heat 5 is too easy to achieve really. Instead of sign-posting a player that was absolutely dominating a match, it instead is more of a measure of how long someone has been playing the game that day.

 

If I had to give a solution to these problems, I'd probably recommend Heat 5 players stay entirely confined within the specific mission. It does rob the game of a bit of open world gameplay, but it was hardly the highlight (In any case, we're long past the point where APB functions as a proto-GTA online. Factional differences and open world mechanics realistically need to be completely ripped up and re-made to have a positive impact on the game as a whole). This would mean that Heat 5 players only are visible to enemies in the mission, to give them a better chance of being able to kill them. Secondly, I would probably make it so that Heat resets at the start of every mission, and you can only achieve it by doing exceptionally well in that one specific mission.

 

As a side note there could be better rewards for staying at Heat 5, beyond money and standing.

 

Also the use of the Heat meter to determine if a grenade hit is fairly janky, and probably should be made into a hit marker instead.

 

Indeed, confining heat-5 players to their missions would be a good place to start. It mitigates LO having to think about how much faster/slower prestige should be gained for both factions then pushing that to a test district. We know that the latter won't begin nor end any time soon.

 

Having heat reset at the end of every mission is an okay idea but I see it bringing in undesirable, biased-effects to those who like to be heat-5. Why would a player who played well and just got heat-5 at the end of the mission not be allowed to carry that over to the next mission? Why render bribing contacts by criminals a dead feature? etc. The point is to make APB feel more alive, not dull.

 

That is exactly what I wish to see, but only in the form of heat-6. Simply because heat-5 is easy to obtain and will be somewhat even easier to keep once players are confined to their own missions. There is barely anything remarkable that qualifies heat-5 at that point for more rewards. (And I will personally not support any NFAS-child to get easy cash for using a busted, no-skill oriented weapon. Let them earn cash with real-skill..... #LTLMasterRace).

[Tragia 12]

The 2017 shotguns are seriously perfect. Stop fucking with them and slowing down the CSG. Just put the ORIGINAL 2017 PRE-LO SHOTGUNS BACK.

 

Jesus Christ.

[PotatoeGirl 220]

The whole point of heat 5 was to put some pressure when the team is doing too well. it is form of pity similar to overtime where the other team gets a chance to turns the tables around. Heat 5 is the same thing. 

 

Now there will be even more stomping especially with the lack of proper threat districts. 

 

Having heat 5 after the mission is over is pointless. The person either suicides or runs around in a car with his buddy.