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The Monster Masquerade is here! Update 1071 Changelog

Yoshiro

Senior Community Manager
Staff member
  • Oct 10, 2005
    14,495
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    halloweenbanner.jpg

    [video=youtube;UM-cRB3-DDA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM-cRB3-DDA[/video]​







    Event
    • Halloween Horrors : Monster Masquerade
    • Event Start 10 / 2 / 2018, Event End 11 / 6 / 2018


    Highlights
    • 1 New Map
      • Monster Ball ( Weekly, Survival, Versus Survival, and Endless compatible )
    • 4 New Weapons
      • HMTech-501 Grenade Rifle for the Field Medic and Commando
      • FN FAL ACOG for the Sharpshooter and Commando
      • MKb.42(H) Carbine Rifle for the Commando
        • Unlocked by completing all Halloween seasonal objectives
        • Shareable weapon content ( weapon is available to all players on a dedicated server if one player owns it )
      • Road Redeemer for the Berserker
        • requires purchase of Road Redemption
        • Shareable weapon content ( weapon is available to all players on a dedicated server if one player owns it )
    • Prestige System
      • Prestige Rank 2 is now available
    • New Halloween-Themed Zed Models
    • Time-Limited Halloween Objectives, Tickets, and Cosmetics
      • Monster Ball Halloween seasonal objectives to earn the MKb.42(H) Carbine Rifle and a unique Hans weapon skin for it
      • Halloween Event Tickets
      • Halloween Cosmetics
    • Zedconomy
      • Neon MKIII Encrypted USB
      • Horzine Supply Crate | Series Loco
      • Headshot FX Bundle 1
    • Dosh Vault
      • Added Tier 3 Weapon Skins
    • New Steam Achievements for Monster Ball and its Collectibles
    • Online Matchmaking Rework
      • Removed Online Matchmaking button and added two new ones, Create A Match and Find A Match
      • Create A Match will take over an empty, dedicated server and convert it to a server with specified settings from the player
      • Find A Match will connect a player to a dedicated server that matches their exact settings ( the option to set maps has been removed to substantially increase the likelihood of finding a specified server )


    Balance
    Survival Game Mode
    • Hell On Earth Difficulty
      • Medium Game Length
        • Replaced the wave 1 spawn group of 3 Clot Alphas and 1 Slasher with 2 Slashers. This should reduce the likelihood of Rioters and increase the number of Slashers.
        • Replaced the wave 2 spawn group of 2 Clot Alphas and 2 Gorefasts with 2 Slashers and 2 Gorefasts. This should reduce the likelihood of Rioters and increase the number of Slashers.
      • Long Game Length
        • Replaced the wave 1 spawn group of 3 Clot Alphas and 1 Slasher with 2 Slashers. This should reduce the likelihood of Rioters and increase the number of Slashers.
        • Replaced the wave 2 spawn group of 2 Clot Alphas and 2 Gorefasts with 2 Slashers and 2 Gorefasts. This should reduce the likelihood of Rioters and increase the number of Slashers.


    Designer Note - There was a potential for a lot of Rioters to appear in the early waves of Hell On Earth Medium and Long game sessions. This was a community concern, so we reduced the amount of Clot Alphas to reduce the potential number of Rioters.

    Endless Game Mode
    • Special Zed Waves
      • Scrake Waves
        • Set the trigger chance from 50% to 100% for special Zed waves past wave 20. The Scrake wave will be the only special Zed wave occurring after wave 20 on all base difficulties
      • Fleshpound Waves
        • Removed the chance of triggering on all base difficulties


    Designer Note - The Scrake special Zed wave will take the place of the Fleshpound special Zed wave for waves 21 and above. Currently, the Fleshpound special Zed wave has a spawn rate issue that is disrupting the difficulty of the gameplay, and we are looking at options to fix this.

    Weapons
    • Field Medic
      • HMTech-501 Grenade Rifle ( cross perk with Commando )
        • Available to purchase from the Trader
      • HMTech-301 Shotgun
        • Reverted fire rate back to original amount from 0.297 to 0.2
    • Berserker
      • Road Redeemer
        • Available to purchase from the Trader ( Requires ownership of the Road Redemption video game )
        • Shareable weapon content ( weapon is available to all players on a dedicated server if one player owns it )
    • Gunslinger
      • AF2011-A1 and Dual AF2011-A1
        • Reduced the weapon bob while sprinting
      • Desert Eagle and Dual Desert Eagles
        • Upgrade to Tier 4 damage reduced from 118 to 113
        • Upgrade to Tier 5 damage reduced from 136 to 127
      • 1858 Revolver and Dual 1858 Revolvers
        • Upgrade to Tier 2 damage reduced from 60 to 57
        • Upgrade to Tier 4 damage reduced from 100 to 97
        • Upgrade to Tier 5 damage reduced from 125 to 110


    Designer Note - The Desert Eagles and 1858 Revolvers had strong damage upgrade paths alongside their other gameplay benefits, so we toned down some of the upgrade damage modifiers.
    • Sharpshooter
      • FNFAL ACOG ( cross perk with Commando )
        • Available to purchase from the Trader
      • M99 AMR
        • Increased Stun value of bullets from 15 to 50
        • Increased Stumble value of bullets from 0 to 600
        • Increased Gunhit value of bullets from 80 to 300
        • Increased Meleehit value of bullets from 0 to 100


    Designer Note - The M99 AMR's affliction values were set incorrectly. It was using the M14EBR's affliction numbers, so we adjusted the numbers to their appropriate values for the weapon.
    • Commando
      • MKb.42(H) Carbine Rifle
        • Available to purchase from the Trader ( unlocked after completing all Halloween seasonal objectives )
        • Shareable weapon content ( weapon is available to all players on a dedicated server if one player owns it )
      • Stoner 63A LMG
        • Increased the Gunhit Value from 0 to 50. This will effectively give it the feeling of "suppression" when unloading onto targets
      • Kalashnikov AK-12
        • Upgrade to Tier 4 damage reduced from 50 to 46
        • Upgrade to Tier 5 damage reduced from 60 to 52


    Designer Note - We're trying something new with the Stoner 63A LMG. We received feedback from the community about this one, so we wanted to see if it helps improve its standing alongside the SCAR-H. It should now have a high enough Gunhit value to give the feeling that it's suppressing targets that it hits as long as the player continues shooting a target. Lastly, we reduced some of the damage upgrade modifiers for the Kalashnikov AK-12 to better align it with the other assault weapons.
    • Support
      • Doomstick
        • Increased base damage per pellet from 36 to 40
        • Reduced base weight from 11 to 10
        • Increased Stumble value from 35 to 55 per pellet
        • Increased GunHit value from 45 to 75 per pellet
        • Increased max ammo from 44 to 52
        • Upgrade to Tier 5 damage increased per pellet from 44 to 46
        • Reduced the ammo cost per magazine from 40 to 25


    Designer Note - We reassessed the Doomstick, and the Double-barrel Boomstick was outperforming the Doomstick substantially. We adjusted multiple variables to improve its gameplay experience, and these improvements should let it be a stronger alternative.
    • Demolitionist
      • M16M203
        • Reduced the explosion damage falloff from 3 to 1. This will mean that Zeds farther from the center of the explosion will not have as much damage mitigated


    Designer Note - We received feedback from the community that the M16M203's grenade round felt underwhelming. We are trying out an improvement to hopefully have the grenade feel more impactful.

    Perks
    • Field Medic
      • Reduced toxic damage multiplier of ZED TIME - Zedative from 100x to 10x, effectively reducing the damage by 90%


    Designer Note - The damage multiplier for the Perk skill was set substantially higher than intended. This resulted in exceptional amounts of damage whenever the skill triggered. Now, the damage should be more reasonable.

    Enemies
    • Abomination
      • Reduced the time interval between each fart at full health, effectively increasing the spawn rate of the Abomination Spawns right at the start
        • Full health fart time of 5 to 17 seconds reduced to 5 to 13 seconds on Normal Difficulty
        • Full health fart time of 5 to 16 seconds reduced to 5 to 12 seconds on Hard Difficulty
        • Full health fart time of 5 to 15 seconds reduced to 5 to 11 seconds on Suicidal Difficulty
        • Full health fart time of 5 to 15 seconds reduced to 4 to 10 seconds on Hell On Earth Difficulty
      • Increased walk speed from 231 to 345
      • Increased sprint speed from 330 to 380
      • Gorge range increased from 500uu to 600uu
      • Does not take damage from his own toxic clouds anymore


    Designer Note - We increased the rate of his farts at full health to increase the spawn rate of the Abomination Spawns now that their health has been reduced. We also increased his overall movement speed to help him reach players much easier. We felt that the Gorge range was shorter than we wanted it to be, so we boosted the range. It should now fit better with the special effects and hopefully be more intimidating. We removed the damage caused by his own toxic clouds because it did not make sense for him to hurt himself from his own gas. We're hoping these changes will provide a more challenging, engaging fight. We're looking into further tweaking and giving him more rewarding gameplay aspects.
    • Abomination Spawn
      • Base health reduced from 650 to 450
      • Base damage of self-destruct increased from 12 to 15
      • Does not evade on damage anymore


    Designer Note - We reduced the health of the Abomination Spawns down so that they are easier to kill. Originally, their high health made them feel unnecessarily tanky. Now that they are easier to kill, we boosted the damage of their explosion and gas to make them more threatening if you let them explode near you. Lastly, we fixed an issue with them where the Abomination toxic clouds triggered their evasions. This looked weird and forced them to spend more time evading than approaching players.

    General
    • Added audio cues to the last 10 seconds of Trader Time to help warn players of its impending closure
    • Added new default main menu music track by Lyndsay Schoolcraft and Rocky Gray
      • "A Samhain Celebration"
    • Added new music tracks for Monster Ball by Rocky Gray
      • "Castle Freaks"
      • "Fright Knight"
      • "Funhouse Bloodbath"
      • "Jack O Lantern"
      • "Shapeshifter Serenade"
      • "The Evil Zed"
    • Added Hans voice audio as the Trader voice for Monster Ball
    • Added new Halloween Horror video slides to the Main Menu
    • Trader audio commenting about the first wave is now hooked up and playing


    Bugs
    Gameplay
    • Fixed an issue where the HMTech-501 Grenade Rifle used the incorrect damage type for its bullets. It should now properly use the Assault Rifle damage type instead of the Bullet Shell.
    • Fixed an issue where the HMTech-501 Grenade Rifle and ammo boxes could allow for infinite grenades.
    • Fixed an issue where the HX25 daily challenge did not count explosive damage.
    • Fixed an issue where explosive dud rounds caused repeated damage.
    • Fixed an issue where the Doomstick would fire on its own after reloading from alt-firing while the gun was empty.
    • Fixed an issue where the Freezethrower granted Firebug XP.
    • Fixed an issue where the Weight limit did not update after changing Perks.
    • Fixed an issue where the Napalm Firebug Perk skill increased the burn period longer than intended.
    • Fixed an issue where the Demolitionist Perk skill, ZED TIME - Destroyer of Worlds, did not function properly with the Husk Cannon.
    • Fixed an issue where players could use -skiplobby on the launch parameters.
    • Fixed an issue where Film Grain did not work.
    • Fixed an issue where the Seeker Six could lock onto cloaked enemies.


    User Interface
    • Fixed an issue where Commando players lost the ability to see Zed health bars after respawning from death.
    • Fixed an issue where the health syringe charge bar became stuck at its current charge state after the player died.
    • Fixed an issue where the SG 500 | Prestige | Precious preview icon was not loading on the Steam item inventory window.
    • Fixed an issue where "Play Online Now" text showed up incorrectly under the Solo game options.
    • Fixed an issue where players could set the Weekly Outbreak to different difficulties.
    • Fixed an issue where the Versus Survival Zed players had the incorrect HUD.
    • Fixed an issue where the Perk skills reset after gaining another Perk skill.
    • Fixed an issue where teammate HUD icons did not appear at times.


    Zeds
    • Fixed an issue with the Halloween Husk's critical chest zone where it was hard to hit and not registering damage properly.
    • Fixed an issue where the bottom half of the Halloween Husk's chest core could not be targeted.
    • Fixed an issue where the Siren's scream was not functioning properly.
    • Fixed an issue where multiple Abominations could spawn during the boss wave.
    • Fixed an issue where the King Fleshpound's shield did not reflect the correct affliction for the weapon used.


    Map
    • Fixed an issue in Monster Ball where there were too many ammo boxes set up. It has been reduced from 26 to 20.
    • Fixed an issue in Monster Ball where Zeds could become stuck in a spot nearby a Stand Your Ground objective event.
    • Fixed an issue in Monster Ball where shooting the heads off of the knight statues caused their body armor to disappear.
    • Fixed an issue in Monster Ball where players could use the Double-barreled Boomstick to hop over the death pit.
    • Fixed an issue in Monster Ball where players could crouch inside a particular bush and avoid attacks from Zeds.
    • Fixed several exploit spots in Biotics Lab.
    • Fixed an issue in Biotics Lab where the King Fleshpound could not navigate the stairs near the production area.
    • Fixed some issues with broken path nodes in Biotics Lab.
    • Fixed an issue in Catacombs where crawlers could become stuck on stairway rails.
    • Fixed an issue in Airship where objectives were not active for normal play.
    • Fixed an issue in Airship where players were able to gain Vault Dosh by dying immediately.
    • Fixed an issue where ammo boxes did not continue to spawn after all pickup factories are enabled.


    Sound
    • Fixed an issue where the HMTech-501 Grenade Rifle's audio came mostly out of the right side of an audio output device.
    • Fixed an issue where single shots from the HMTech-501 Grenade Rifle sounded like multiple shots were being fired.
    • Fixed an issue where the FNFAL ACOG had no echoes set up.
    • Fixed an issue where the FNFAL ACOG single shot sound was louder than the automatic shot sounds.
    • Fixed an issue where the Microwave Gun idle audio persisted after holstering or dropping the weapon.
    • Fixed an issue where the Seeker Six sounds stacked and did not flush out from the game.
    • Fixed an issue where the Doomstick Alt-Fire would stop working after shooting, reloading, and melee bashing in that order.
    • Fixed an issue where the Hans VO audio volume was not modified by the Dialog volume setting.
    • Fixed an issue where the dance floor audio could block the normal game audio. The two should now be blended better together.
    • Fixed an issue where the Monster Ball waterfall audio could become stuck looping after dying near it.
    • Fixed an issue where the Doomstick had no sound falloff.


    Art
    • Fixed an issue where the HMTech-501 Grenade Rifle grenade model lacked an emissive texture.
    • Fixed an issue where the skins of the HMTech-401 Assault Rifle were applying to the HMTech-501 Grenade Rifle.
    • Fixed an issue where Strasser's lapel was clipping into the camera while holding the FNFAL ACOG.
    • Fixed an issue where D.A.R.'s right shoulder was clipping into the camera while iron sighting with the FNFAL ACOG.
    • Fixed an issue where the MKb.42(H) Carbine Rifle had a bullet in the barrel that was visible during idle animations and weapon checks.
    • Fixed an issue where the battlescarred and mint Freezethrower Bluefire weapon skin textures were incorrectly swapped.
    • Fixed an issue where Mrs. Foster's gas mask filter was too small.
    • Fixed an issue where the Vault Dosh Logos were not the same.
    • Fixed an issue where Ana could not equip the Tentacle Skull.
    • Fixed an issue where Mrs. Foster could not wear the Mark 7 Headgear.
    • Fixed an issue where the Christmas Bulbs cosmetic was under the wrong rarity.
    • Fixed an issue where the Skull Mask did not display the correct border and background color.
    • Fixed an issue where the Shiny Blue nose cosmetic was not polished.
    • Fixed an issue where the Centerfire Bluefire weapon skins could not be equipped.
    • Fixed an issue where characters could wear the Gas Mask and the Chefs Hat at the same time.
    • Fixed an issue where the Weapon SFX effects were visible while emoting.


    Localization
    • Fixed an issue where the MKb.42(H) Carbine Rifle was not listed as part of the rewards for the Halloween seasonal objectives.
    • Fixed an issue where the HMTech-501 Grenade Rifle name was clipping in the trader menu on some supported languages.
    • Fixed an issue where the dosh vault description text was clipping in the Russian language.
    • Fixed an issue where the "Skip Trader" button text was clipping in some supported languages.


    SDK
    • Fixed an issue where the SDK Frontend tool failed on uploads.
     
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    MrFailology;n2324919 said:
    There was an issue with Faked Players(in solo) in Beta versions 1069 and 1070 where Fakes wouldn't contribute to overall Zed HP. Has this been fixed in this update, or was the issue unknown? If it was unknown, when can a fix be expected?

    You should go to any mod authors for any issues with their mods.
     
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    Yoshiro;n2324921 said:
    You should go to any mod authors for any issues with their mods.

    Let me rephrase. When I said "Faked players" I mean the fake human players(will just call them Pawns for clarity) you can spawn through the console command "spawnhumanpawn" without the use of mods, which to my knowledge are supposed to affect Zed HP in addition to the players already in the game(so in solo you spawn 1 Pawn through console, Zeds now have 2-Player HP values). As of v1069(and still currently in v1071), Pawns are no longer affecting Zed HP like they were previously. Pawns are important because they let people test out different weapon combinations and takedowns to get a better idea of how that weapon/loadout would perform at specific HP values, which can also help people recommend loadouts or specific weapons to newer, inexperienced players.
     
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    Cool update!

    I would like to say though, that the HMTech-501 probably shouldn't be called that, since it doesn't share the same base as the other HMTech weapons.

    Also, calling it the "grenade rifle" got my hopes up for it firing explosive rounds. That would be a really fun and unique weapon; crossperked with Medic and Demo instead.
     
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    What i have noticed so far:
    Good intentions behind thr Abomination buff, but holy crap, he's too OP now. He deals massive amounts of dmg in constant combos, in addition to his ungodly gas and spawns, which all make melee with him an absolute nightmare. Aside from this aspect, main issue is, err... armor is broken? Ill be shooting at him and either hitting NOTHING or hitting his back armor (???) while in front...

    Ingame music is bugged, probably due to the monster ball dual track jig

    The commando weapons added are a nice touch, i think the fnfal is slightly OP but thats just me. Next how about some SURVIVALIST ACTION up in here? Zed guns??? Would be sweet if we could get the original zed guns, and maybe even a mark III as a new addition... hell, maybe a whole ladder of different zed gun types (exclusive to survivalist)

    had a weird and annoying vault bug when i started... it had to respawn all my crates one by one

    VS spawns in Monster Ball are limited, and placed in inconvenient locations... spent a lot of the round scaling towards players

    Cant recall much else, so a couple ideas:
    ZEDS VS. ZEDS - would be fun to have Hans and Patty pit their zeds against each other
    PRESTIGE ELITE - what if the ultimate reward for a prestiged perk was an unlockable weapon???
     
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    MartinMasheen;n2325222 said:
    Next how about some SURVIVALIST ACTION up in here? Zed guns??? Would be sweet if we could get the original zed guns, and maybe even a mark III as a new addition... hell, maybe a whole ladder of different zed gun types (exclusive to survivalist)

    No need for designers even be reluctant about adding those. Zed Eradication Device, yaas!

    MartinMasheen;n2325222 said:
    PRESTIGE ELITE - what if the ultimate reward for a prestiged perk was an unlockable weapon???

    Pretty what should have been done first and foremost. Casuals, will cry their eyeballs for locking a weapon behind grind wall. :D
     
    Upvote 0
    Oh yeah, and thinking back on EDARs again

    The Halloween EDARs actually feel more satisfying/natural than the normal ones just because they feel more like actual enemies than... machines

    I feel like if they were "zedified" this would just satisfy everyone around
    After all, I've heard the same complaint about them not fitting in many times, and I can sympathize pretty well: This game is all about gore and genetic mutations and such, so the robots are simply out of place here. They *feel* better in terms of mechanics for the most part now, BUT:

    They can be extremely difficult to work with, and I'm not sure if me playing on Endless has anything to do with it, but they tend to dodge like crazy while I'm trying to aim for the chest core. That's what gets me ticked about these enemies, they're so DEMANDING, they're like the most difficult enemy to work with in the whole game. In comparison to the Husk, they come out on top unchallenged, because the Husk like presents his weak spots to you and barely even makes an effort to dodge anything. These guys are speedy and they can FLY towards you in pursuit, they're ranged AND melee-based enemies when they have those abilities.

    Imo (again I'm actually not sure if this is present in all difficulties because I've been defaulting to endless, which builds on the zed mechanics gradually, BUT I have played normal mode and encountered them on wave 2 to find that they're simply too OP for their place in the game... imagine newcomers coming across an EDAR their first time) EDARS should be made more common on higher difficulties like the elite zeds, and while they can be left to exist on lower difficulties, I think they should lose their dodging capabilities to a large degree. Basically their whole propeller jet thing should be removed on there so they're less annoying to work with, it can be agonizing when you're trying to take care of an EDAR while you have the time to stall but they just hop around anyways. They can even take multiple blasts in their weak spot anyways, so it can take multiple attempts to kill them before they actually fall. Fortunately, their body health is way lower now so they can actually be killed normally, but it's still irritating.

    Their overall range damage is a little OP as well I think? I guess they're easier to dodge at times and they don't do buildup damage like the Husk, but if you get caught in a tight spot for just a moment you can get obliterated pretty easily. Not sure if that's balanced ok, I think part of me is still like adjusting: this game is often so fixed and formulaic based on what we already have prior to content patches that it's just strange when we're confronted with new modifications like this, but again, the ONE THING that took me down in my last Endless game was an EDAR, which I figured was the least of my concerns before I died almost instantly

    Anyways, I think ranged zeds in general are a good thing to be adding in, so they're not necessarily a mistake, I just think that they should be made into a zed. Maybe even a third big zed? Because we DO only have 2 (ok, well Quarter Pounders are literally just smaller Fleshpounds okay), and a big zed with a ranged attack is an interesting concept. If they can do considerably melee AND ranged damage, then I think it could work. I think I've suggested this before, but I'm sticking with it.

    Guess the idea of the robot itself is kinda hard to manipulate like that, but after all, that stuff must be expensive, right? I'd imagine if they just took a couple parts for each zed, it would be more realistic in terms of costs. And the visual of the robots hovering towards you is kind of absurd even for this game. If they were simply recycling DAR technology to implement it into a new zed enemy that would be cool, big zed or not. Again, these are just ideas, but the aforementioned stuff is what I stress the most.

    Wait, I forgot something else!

    DOOMSTICK! the weapon feels more comfortable now, but it doesn't have enough ammo!!! It's a Tier 4 weapon, no? It's 1500 in dosh, so it ought to have the ammunition to suffice for a whole wave. It NEVER lasts long enough, and with how much it weighs, it's not worth only being able to deal with a couple big zeds and then running short immediately, I mean IT TAKES LIKE TWO ROUNDS TO KILL A SCRAKE, we should have like double the double-barrel's ammo pool, which is about what you had in the beta to begin with. This is the kind of weapon we want to savor, and we can't do that if it only lasts like 10 seconds in a game. It takes up 2/3 inventory, for pete's sake! give us more ammo!!!! I WANT THE DOOM

    So things I'm most concerned about atm: EDARs (need to be sorted out in general), Abomination (a little too strong rn, armor is broken), and Doomstick (needs more bloody ammo), but that's just me(?)
     
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    Fleshy eDARs are still just as aggravating to deal with for me. Could be because of how new they are and I'm still getting used to the animations but I swear sometimes it takes a single shot to the core to burst 'em and other times half a magazine.

    The biggest beef I have with them though is the trapper variety. Nothing like high-tailing from a raging scrake or fleshpound and an unseen trapper eDAR stops you in your tracks that was previously just around the corner. It could once again be due to the newness but I also feel like the sound that's supposed to warn you about their trapping attack just doesn't play sometimes and you get trapped out of nowhere from an enemy you didn't even know was there. If trappers are supposed to be this deadly shouldn't they at least have a spawn roar or footstep sound to let me know there's one sharing the same zip code as me?
     
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