What We Are Up To - Community Requests and Patch Timing

[Yoshiro]

Once again welcome back to another edition of "What We Are Up To". As mentioned last time, we are drawing closer to the release of the RO 2 update. The timing of the release along with what should be last set of changes to be introduced to the beta are the topics of today's post. Starting off will be the changes coming to the beta this week: Client-side hit detection and changes to Tank AI.

One of the largest community requested items has been client-side hit detection. And that is exactly what you will be getting! Admins will now have the ability to chose what network model they want for their servers. Client-side hit detection takes the network out of the equation and gives the end users a more "what you see is what you get" experience. Leading your target will be more consistent across servers that have it enabled. It will now up to Players and Admins to decide which mode is right for them.

Next up, tanks. While we are planning more updates for down the road we do have several changes that will be hitting the beta (and this update), we have been working hard to address many of the issues. Bugs have been squashed, tank "warping" has stabilized, ai changes have been made, and ease of use functionality has been implemented. We hope you will enjoy the upcoming changes listed below.

One of the first things players will notice with tanks, after the next beta update, is that they won't fire at will. The new default mode for tank AI (in human controlled tanks) is "Player Ordered AI Gunnery" mode. With this new system, Tank AI will do nothing if the human player is in a tank, unless the human player orders the AI to do something. For example, if the human player orders the AI to attack an enemy, the AI will use the hull MG and the main cannon to attack the enemy for a short time. Then after a short time the AI will stop firing.

In addition to this new default functionality the server admin can also run in several different configurations including turning off all vehicle AI gunnery, selecting full autonomous AI gunner, selecting player ordered gunnery only (the default), or individually turn off/on AI gunner for the hull mg and tank cannon. We highly recommend all admins try out the new player ordered AI gunnery system as it is a vast improvement over the original system. Players will also find that AI gunners are no longer the crack sharpshooters they previously were, and will be even worse if the tank is in motion. Opening your tank to others is now a more viable option, [TT]'s unite!

We at Tripwire would like to highlight two community members who have inspired change through their work for the community. Mekhazzio (with his anti-lag mut) and Ducky (with his TankAI mut and many others). Some of the changes listed above are a direct response to the work they have done and the community's appreciation of it.

These will be the last major additions to the beta as we lock down functionality and move into the final QA and bug fixing process. Eagle-eyed readers will have noticed that I did not mention Multiplayer Campaign (MC), and there is a reason for that. It will not be making its debut in the next patch. As things have come together since the beta began, MC has always been just out of reach for inclusion with the "next beta patch". We feel that it needs more time in testing and balancing, and more importantly, more time with community feedback! So with that in mind, we will be adding MC to the beta so that players can get in there and let us know what they feel is working, and better still, what needs more work. We look forward to playing it with the beta community shortly.

Now for the question everybody wants answered. When will the patch be released? With content locked and the final QA process underway , I am happy to announce we are now looking at a date before the end of May for the update to roll out. This should be followed by a pre-load (Valve permitting) and free weekend approximately a week later. This is to make sure there will be ample time to prepare and your friends won't have the excuse of not being ready when it is time for the free weekend. We look forward to seeing you in a bigger, better RO 2!

[mowskwoz]

This is exciting news!! Thanks for the hard work and I am absolutely stoked to see what's coming. AWESOME!!!

[Proud_God]

Much respect for you TWI, keeping in touch with the community!

[ufo_has_landed_!]

apcs, tanks, maps..thats all we need

[Boeing]

Wonderful!

[Elton]

Originally Posted by ufo_has_landed_!

apcs, tanks, maps..thats all we need

especially maps =)

[Devil_Inside]

Oh, now I understand the silence in all the client-side-hit-detection mutator threads, lol!
Great news! Can't wait!

[Nezzer]

Wow, client-side hit detection and customized tank AI. Man, RO2 is really becoming a whole new game. Can't wait for this update. Great job, TWI!

[Giuliano]

This is gonna be great, I can tell.

[Massimo92]

Well done TW!!!
What about the antilag mutator crashes though? Are they gonna be fixed before release? That's just cause lag can get really annoying at times, and makes the whole gaming experience worse.

[Unterscharfuhrer]

Good news!

[Darrosquall]

when the beta coming out?

[Nightingale]

УPA!

The client-side hit detection was an unexpected surprise. RO2 is the first game I've seen in which the developers devoted so much time to improving a not-so-great launch while also responding to user feedback. I think this may actually turn the whole game around and give it the playercount and community it deserves. Keep at it TWI!

[Comrade Kaizer]

Excellent. Looking forward to its release, as many of my friends/relatives I introduced to Red Orchestra are as well. The free weekend has potential for myself to get even more friends interested.

Kudos to the team.

[Mormegil]

Great news! Glad you guys are trying out client side hit detection. That should make people living out in the sticks very happy. Great news on the tank AI too.

Thanks for listening to the community, and good luck with the release!

Would it be possible to push a custom tank map, like Arad 2 in the beta, so we can get a little more tank map variety? It's a beta, after all, so it doesn't have to be an "official" map, does it?

[Kleist]

Great news about the tank AI. Maybe it will be much better to control them in this way, and if not the admins can switch them simply off.

[Jeopardy]

Can't wait!!

[Kleist]

Originally Posted by Darrosquall

when the beta coming out?

The Beta is allready running. You mean the patch for the Beta, right?

[Nikita]

Bravo to Mekh and Ducky, and here's hoping for more good news!

Any word on armor changes to the tanks yet?

[Coopsta]

Sweet! Bungee tank is fixed?!

I also think that there should be some inclusion of custom maps, unless the redirect and other problems have been fixed. There's been no mention of progress on that matter.