Nov. 04, 2022 - PTS Update (10th Anniversary Record Break)

Happy almost-versary!
This PTS update includes much of the content that we'll be releasing with for the 10th Anniversary Update. We've got some special events and more surprises in store for you as we get closer to the day. Until then, join us for the playtest this Saturday (more information below,) and let us know what you think of the update!
-Wrel, Lead Designer

--
Download the Test Server client from this thread after reading the Test Server Policies: https://forums.daybreakgames.com/ps...st-test-server-policies-download-link.114038/
Test Server will be available for download at 4pm PT, but remain locked until 12pm PT Saturday, Nov. 05.
--

Playtest THIS SATURDAY - Nov. 05, 2pm PT (10pm CET)
We're aiming to make history and (unofficially) break our Guinness World Record for the most players online in an FPS battle. In 2015, we capped out at 1158. This year, we'll go beyond that.

Stop by this Saturday, playtest aaaaaaaaaaaaaall the content you see below, and we'll dole out a special title to the participants. This update will be a large download, so it'll be good to grab it early so you don't miss out!


Anniversary Double Experience
In celebration of our anniversary event, we're running a round of double experience each weekend in November!

• Double Experience for All - Nov. 4, 5, 6
• Double Experience for All - Nov. 11, 12, 13
• Double Experience for All - Nov. 18, 19, 20
• Double Experience for Members - Nov. 25, 26, 27

Advanced Specialization Program 03 is now Unlocked

• For the hardcore battle rank enthusiasts, we've unlocked A.S.P. 03 for you to pursue.
• A.S.P. is unlocked by achieving Battle Rank 100, and visiting the My Character screen, and provides access to hybrid class unlocks and other advanced loadout customization options.
• Certing into A.S.P. costs 10,000 Certs, or is free if you're a Member.

Capture the Conduit
A new CTF-style facility capture mechanic has been added to the mix for various bases throughout Auraxis. Attackers must first capture a Conduit Repository (or "Repo") before grabbing the "Conduit" from the base's podium. Grabbing a Conduit gives you a brief burst of speed and restores your shields to full, helping you dash toward your controlled Repo to capture the Conduit.

Capturing a Conduit will count a "strike" toward capturing the base. The faction to make the last strike against a base will claim ownership. If defenders retake all hacked Repos, they will immediately resecure the base. Bases have different numbers of strikes, conduits, and repos, based on their design.

Work in Progress: Animations for flag runners, and certain HUD/audio polish remains to be completed. For the time being Repos will be 5 second hacks to convert them to your faction, but we'll be implementing them live with 30 second generator-style overloads so that resecuring bases aren't as quick to pull off.

Below is a list of bases currently converted to Conduit facility captures. Share your feedback on where these captures work well, where they don't, and which bases you'd like to see converted in the future.
Amerish

• The Bastion
• Shrouded Skyway
• Splitpeak Pass
• Onatha Southwest Gate
• Wokuk Watchtower
• Crux Headquarters
• West Pass Watchtower

Indar

• J908
• Indar Excavation Site

Esamir

• Mattherson's Triumph
• Elli Tower
• Andvari South Bank
• The Traverse
• Baldur Amp Station
• Jord Amp Station
• Spral Oasis
• Andvari Barracks

Hossin

• Fort Drexler
• Hunter's Blind
• Hurakan Secure Storage
• Naum Marsh Compound
• Ixtab Water Purification

Oshur

• Astira Hydroelectric

Map and Environment
We've also made the following updates to existing continents and bases.
Amerish
Ikanam Biolab

• Three capture points are now located within the facility, and an additional fourth capture point has been added in the construction area atop the base.
• Greenery has been added atop the construction area to provide cover... and color.
• Vehicle terminal area now has more room for vehicle deployments.

Indar
Lattice Links

• Removed lattice link from Indar Waste Treatment to Crater Firing Range.
• Added lattice link from J908 Impact Site to Ceres Hydroponics.
• Added lattice link from Dahaka Southern Post to Dahaka Pump Station.
• Added lattice link from Snake Ravine Lookout to Xenotech Labs.

Scarred Mesa Skydock

• Added shields to both Sunderer Garages.

Hvar Databank

• Added shields to both Sunderer Garages.

Sunken Relay Station

• Moved the capture point indoors.

Oshur

• Bastions are now available on Oshur.
• Has received a new mid-tier stabilized state, like other continents.

Bastion Fleet Carrier
The Bastion Fleet Carrier has received a role adjustment that moves it more toward map control, and makes it a strategic target for opposing empires.

New Commands
Three new commands have been added to the Bastion's repertoire - Lockdown, Assault, and Anchor.

• Issuing the Lockdown command over an allied facility area that is being captured will cause the Fleet Carrier to fly over and pause the capture timer.
• Issuing the Assault command over an enemy facility area will accelerate the capture timer of a facility that's currently being captured, as if it had one additional capture point already controlled in your favor.
• Issuing the Anchor command will turn the Bastion into a spawn point for the entire faction.

Each of these commands last until the Fleet Carrier issues a new command or is destroyed.
Work in Progress: Animated map indicator icons and relevant codex entries will be added in a later update.

Mauler Cannons

• Mauler Cannons and the Attack command have been removed.

Bastion's Ship to Ship Cannons

• CoF Recovery Rate from 0.67 to 8
• Ironsights in/out time from 3sec. to 0.5sec.

Dev Note: The above adjustments make these weapons a bit less of a headache to use.


Graphics Improvements
Texture Improvements
We've polished many of the texture sheets in our game by bringing them more in line with current physically based rendering (PBR) standards, and upping the resolution on our specular textures (they were extremely small,) and increase the shine on certain metallic and glossy surfaces. Adjustments have also been made to pull back the grunge overlays on structures and vehicles where they're overused, and we've made faction colors a bit more vibrant on vehicles as well. These changes intend to push the art style forward while remaining true to the baseline aesthetic.

Water Reflections
Oshur's ocean now looks more... ocean-y, with the addition to water-based reflections. Prior to this, it was difficult to determine exactly where the surface of the water began. You can adjust the quality settings of these water reflections in the Graphics menu.

Screen Space Reflections
Many of the glossy surfaces in the game will now reflect what you see on your screen when the new "Screen Space Reflections" are activated. We refer to this in the Graphics menu as "Object Reflections", the higher the quality, the more detail they'll reflect.

Sky Improvements
Skies across Auraxis have been updated to add more color to the environment, and immerse you in this alien atmosphere. We've also added new "Interior Skies" that allow us to light interior spaces independent of the skies outside, ensuring that we can make the indoor spaces feel like an interior at all times of day.

New Explosions
Many of the on-impact explosions have been received visual revamps. We're targeting not only better visuals, but better performance with these changes overall, and this weekend's PTS update will give us some useful benchmarks.

Anti-Aliasing Options
You now have the option to choose new anti-aliasing options, allowing you to smooth out those jagged edges. We've added options for FXAA, TAA, and FXAA+TAA.


Infantry Balance
Many of the balance adjustments below have been made based on community feedback.
Shotguns
Pandora VX25, AF-57 Piston, AS16 NightHawk, SG-A25 (Empire Automatic Shotguns )

• Maximum damage from 125 to 112.
• Magazine size from 8 to 6.
• Ammo capacity from 56 to 54.
• Fixed a typo on the Piston's Extended Magazine purchase data that incorrectly mentions 4 rounds.

NC05 Jackhammer (NC Heavy Weapon)

• Burst fire pellet spread from 2.5 to 3.5
• Burst fire pellet count from 5 to 4.

Phobos VX86, GD-66 Claw, TRS-12 Uppercut (Empire Pump Shotguns)

• Maximum damage from 125 to 100.
• Minimum damage from 50 to 63.

Dev Note: This is a heavy swing. These weapons will very likely need to get tuned back into a more usable position once more data comes in.

Deimos VA29, LA39 Bruiser, TAS-16 Blackjack, HSG-400 (Empire Heavy Pump Shotguns)

• Maximum damage from 125 to 100.
• Minimum damage from 50 to 63.
• Maximum damage range from 8m to 5m.

Dev Note: Similar to the above, this is a heavy nerf. These weapons will likely need to get tuned upward after this update to make them more competitive with the semi-autos.

Non-shotgun Weapon Adjustments
Vanu Sovereignty
Prominence VE4 (Carbine)

• Min damage from 112 to 125.

VX29 Polaris (LMG)

• Min damage from 112 to 125.
• Reload speed from 4.925 long / 3.925 short to 4.225 long / 3.225 short.

New Conglomerate
EM1 (LMG)

• Min damage from 112 to 125.

NC6 Gauss SAW (LMG)

• Min damage from 167 to 143.

NC6S Gauss SAW S (LMG)

• Min damage from 167 to 143.

NC6A GODSAW (LMG)

• Min damage from 167 to 143.

Terran Republic
T5 AMC (Carbine)

• Min damage from 112 to 125.

T16 Rhino (LMG)

• Min damage from 112 to 125.

Nanite Systems Operatives
CB-ARX Newton (Carbine)

• Reduced projectile size to be in line with most other weapons.

CB-200 (Carbine)

• Rate of fire from 550 rounds per minute to 577 rounds per minute.

AR-100 (Assault Rifle)

• Magazine size from 28 to 30.
• Ammunition capacity from 196 to 210.

AR-101 (Assault Rifle)

• Magazine size from 28 to 30.
• Ammunition capacity from 196 to 210.

XMG-200 (LMG)

• Min damage from 125 to 143.

Misc. Infantry Adjustments
Aegis Shield (NC MAX ability)

• Health at maximum rank from 3000 to 2250.
• Energy regeneration rate no longer increases per rank.

Infantry Rocket Launchers
Lock-on infantry launchers, and a few others have received a noteworthy revision.

• Added new "Infantry Lock-on" resist type (68)
• Abilities that modify damage from "Infantry Launchers" also modify this damage resistance (eg. Flak Armor, Flanker Armor)

Dev Note: The addition of this resist type lets us get away from using the "flak" functionality for lock-on launchers in order to deliver their AoE damage separately from the direct damage the weapons deal to ground vehicles. Now, a direct hit delivers the damage, and the AoE triggers explosive splash as you'd expect from a rocket launcher. The resist type has been configured to deal the same damage to ground vehicles as infantry launchers currently do, and more damage to aircraft than it was doing on the previous flak resistance.

Nemesis VSH9, Hawk GD-68, ASP-30 Grounder, LAV-LA (Empire Anti-Air Lockons)

• Direct damage resist type from 34 (Infantry Rocket Launcher) to 68 (Infantry Lock-on)
• Blast damage resist type from 12 (Flak) to 6 (Common Explosive)
• Blast damage from 400@5m-50@8m to 300@0.5m-50@3m
• This weapon no longer requires a flak detonation to trigger its AoE damage.

NS Annihilator (Common Pool Lock-on)

• Direct damage resist type from 34 (Infantry Rocket Launcher) to 68 (Infantry Lock-on)
• Blast damage resist type from 12 (Flak) to 6 (Common Explosive)
• Direct damage from 650 to 675.
• Blast damage from 325@5m-1@8m to 350@1m-50@3m
• This weapon no longer requires a flak detonation to trigger its AoE damage.

NS-R3 Swarm (Common Pool Lock-on)

• Direct damage resist type from 34 (Infantry Rocket Launcher) to 68 (Infantry Lock-on)
• Blast damage resist type from 12 (Flak) to 6 (Common Explosive)
• Blast damage from 160@5m-1@8m to 275@0.5m-50@2.5m
• This weapon no longer requires a flak detonation to trigger its AoE damage.

T2 Striker (TR Rocket Launcher)

• Direct damage resist type from 34 (Infantry Rocket Launcher) to 68 (Infantry Lock-on)
• Direct damage from 150 to 140.
• Blast damage resist type from 12 (Flak) to 6 (Common Explosive)
• Blast damage from 100@5m-1@8m to 200@0.5m-50@2m
• This weapon no longer requires a flak detonation to trigger its AoE damage.

Lancer VS22 (VS Rocket Launcher)

• Direct damage resist type from 34 (Infantry Rocket Launcher) to 68 (Infantry Lock-on)
• Max direct damage at each charge level from 150/350/700 to 200/400/800.
• Min direct damage at each charge level from 50/175/350 to 100/200/400.

Vehicle Balance
Various Main Battle Tank and Lightning cannons have received adjustments based on community feedback.
Vanu Sovereignty
Supernova PC (Magrider)

• Projectile velocity from 200 to 225.
• Projectile gravity from 5 to 4.

Supernova FPC (Magrider)

• Projectile gravity from 5 to 4.

New Conglomerate
Titan-150 HEAT (Vanguard)

• Projectile velocity from 225 to 250.
• Projectile gravity from 5 to 4.

Titan-150 AP (Vanguard)

• Projectile gravity from 5 to 4.

Titan-150 AP (Vanguard)

• Projectile gravity from 5 to 4.

JGX-12 (Vanguard)

• Projectile drag removed.

JGX11 (NC Lightning)

• Projectile drag removed.

Terran Republic
P2-120 HEAT (Prowler)

• Projectile velocity from 200 to 225.
• Projectile gravity from 5 to 4.

P2-120 AP (Prowler)

• Projectile gravity from 5 to 4.

P4-120 Kingsnake (Prowler)

• Projectile gravity from 5 to 4.
• No longer plays firing noises when out of ammo.

L2-100 Kingsnake (TR Lightning)

• Projectile gravity from 5 to 4.
• No longer plays firing noises when out of ammo.

Nanite Systems Operatives
CT-135 (Chimera)

• Projectile gravity from 5 to 4.

CT-102 Satyr (Chimera)

• Projectile gravity from 5 to 4.

CT-150 Cyclops (Chimera)

• Projectile gravity from 5 to 4.

Common Pool
L100 Python HEAT (Lightning)

• Projectile velocity from 200 to 225.
• Projectile gravity from 5 to 4.

L100 Python AP (Lightning)

• Projectile gravity from 5 to 4.

Spear Anti-Vehicle Turret (Base Turret)

• Max damage from 600 to 800.
• Min damage from 350 to 400.
• Min damage range from 300 to 400.

Dev Note: It's technically a vehicle, right? These weapons get some of their teeth back to make them a bit more worthwhile to use.


Spawn System

• The "Spawn Priority System" has been re-activated, and now distributes large numbers of spawn requests over multiple server frames to reduce tax on the server. Dev Note: Tests over this weekend will allow us to tune as necessary, and help prove out the usefulness of these changes.
• Deploying vehicles directly from the map has been disabled. Dev Note: The goals here is to bring us back to a more boots-on-the-ground experience where vehicles could more easily find gunners and passengers, terminals had more value as sub-objectives, and rapid deployment around the map took just a bit more effort.
• Fixed an exploit allowing players to bypass the squad deploy cooldown.

Misc. Changes, Fixes, and Additions

• Removed Halloween decorations from Sanctuary.
• Fixed icon size issues on various profile banners.
• NS-44 "Jackpot" Commissioner now displays the correct default zoom depth in the loadout screen.
• Seeker HLX and variants now display the correct default zoom depth in the loadout screen.
• Seeker HLX' Aerolite Bolts now properly reduce the firing delay.
• Surveying the Land mission has been reworked, and now requires you to be near the objective area for a time, instead of interacting with an (often buggy) object.
• Added missing barrel attachment visuals to the PSA-02 Diamondback.
• Fixed a string issue with the NSO Anti-Infantry MANA Turret skill line.
• Perihelion VXC now falls into the correct Depot category.
• Fixed an issue causing the Orbital Strike UI tint color to reset.
• Reduced the speed of the water on Amerish... but it still defies gravity sometimes, because physics on Auraxis is weird.