Updates/2008-02-21 (test)

Public Test Server Patch Notes and Known Issues 21st February 2008
Version: 1.5.4.0
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== Maps and Missions ==
* Added new named regions on Torden Abyss for: Tampeii Cavern, Tampeii Settlement, Dybukkar Underground, Dybukkar Cavern, Tantalus Cave, Tantalus Base Hospital.
* Added a Death Region for a fade to black when player leaps over the edge of the Abyssal Shelf.
* Made several corrections to region overlaps that were causing awkward lighting and music changes.
* Level 1 and Level 3 Access Key passes will now drop for every player in Maligo Base regardless of distance.
* "One Way Trip" should now be possible to complete on additional attempts if a player has failed the mission.
* Three new bosses added to Bane Supply Depot.
* "Operation Cauterize" will now only complete for a player's group when placing the beacon.
* Adjusted objective text for "Damn Dirty Bots".
* Fixed typos for dialog in "The Core of the Matter".
* Individual Bosses can no longer be repeatedly killed for credit for the Incline ToO.
* Corporal Wainwright's armor regeneration has been significantly reduced.
* The DISPERSE logos dispenser's timer is now fixed in P'reo Das.
* The Kill Boss objective for "Chaos Theory" will now autocomplete if the player has already killed the creature.
* Added additional creatures and treasure dispensers in cave between Abyssal Shelf and Tantalus Base on Abyss.
* Added additional creatures and treasure dispensers in cave between Abyssal Shelf and Charon's Crossing on Abyss.
* Added treasure dispensers in cave between Abyssal Shelf and Tampeii on Abyss.
* Removed Beam Mantas from the immediate vicinity of the entrance to Magma Caverns on Abyss.
* Sector 5 Thrax Machina spawns have been thinned significantly and placed on patrol paths on Abyss.
* Machina Tank's health has been reduced by 80% in Sector 5 on Abyss.
* Added additional creatures outside Charon's Crossing on Abyss.
* Added creatures and treasure dispensers in cave between Charon's Crossing and Tampeii on Abyss.
* The destroyable pipes for "Pipe Down" have had their health reduced significantly.
* Creatures in Dybukkar Cavern have been thinned significantly on Abyss.
* "Stingers" has had its mission prerequisites removed.
* Mission items requirement for "Giants of the Abyss" have been reduced.
* The Thrax Machina Super Soldier has had its health slightly reduced on Abyss.
* "Styx & Stones" now gives proper credit for grouped players.
* Removed "The General Will See You Now" from Abyss ToO.
* Removed Abyss instance missions from Abyss ToO.
* Fixed typo in Agent Pearce's greeting on Abyss.
* Control chips should now only drop from Thrax Machina for "Product Recall".
* Mission "Faulty Wiring" is now radio completable.
* Sergeant Carr will now allow completion of "Crossing Guard" while other players are actively on the mission.
* Mission log for "Eyes of Darkness" will now indicate mission giver/completer.
* Mission log for "The Twelve Chairs" will now indicate mission giver/completer.
* "Questioning Authority" will now be available as soon as a player blackmails Corporal Cottman.
* "Questioning Authority" will no longer be available to players if they turn down helping Corporal Cottman.
* Mission objects for "Open Says Me" should properly be distributed among party members.
* Fixed Dialog and Objective text for "Flare Gasher Genocide" to reflect actual mission objectives and mission items.
* Added additional Flaregashers inside of the Ruins of Tampeii.
* Added check for "Final Task" to see if target creature has already been killed inside of Devil's Den.
* Updated mission log text for "Survivors".
* Fixed Waypoint inside Bane Supply Depot
* Added Mission indicators for "Insertion Point" on the Bane Mortars
* Added additional Mission Indicators for "Mind Bender"
* Kardash Atta Colony: Improved player navigation through the map.
* Added 6 new camera cutscenes and updated mission information in Kardash Atta Colony.
* Updated creatures in Kardash for better balance.
* Runi Valley - 6 new missions.
* Howling Maw Death Burrow: layout rework of central cave area.
* Howling Maw Death Burrow: 4 new cave decorated cave rooms.
* Cuthah Base: layout rework of service tunnel area at start of map. made easier to navigate. 
* Live Target Pens: improve flow of map through mission tweaks and door use.
* Fluxite Mines: Added "Shipping and Handling" and "Deadly Vapors" missions with rewards.
* Fluxite Mines: "Capturing Supply Lines" created new boss mob; extended mission length; 3 new objectives added.
* Fluxite Mines: "Making a Run for It" extended length of mission; 2 new objectives added.
* Fluxite Mines: Creature spawn pass for better balance; nearly all spawns are on patrols now
* Fluxite Mines: Deactivated interactive props that were not being used.
* Fluxite Mines: Reward pass on cipher crates; 10 reward crates added.
* Live Target Pens: Security Cameras no longer respawn when destroyed.
* Live Target Pens: Chemical containers no longer respawn when destroyed.
* Live Target Pens: Bane machinery has been removed. Players now destroy Experimental Weapons Locker for the mission "Lockdown".
* Live Target Pens: Certain doors near the Dropship Hanger can now be opened.
* Live Target Pens: Certain switches that were inoperable should now function properly.
* Live Target Pens: Spawn pass. The instance should be more difficult more a greater variety of opponents to fight.
* Live Target Pens: Some doors should now open automatically while others no longer open at all.
* Cuthah Base: Sections of the service tunnels at the beginning of the instance have been removed to improve flow.
* Cuthah Base: Sentinels now have slower respawn times.
== Creatures ==
* All creatures will now correctly turn at varying speeds when they are running vs walking.
* Powerful Juggernauts now employ a directed gravity well to pull their targets into their ideal firing range and keep them there. This black hole can be disrupted by weapons fire, dissipating the gravity effect.
* Bane Lightbenders have developed a method to overload the optical sensors on AFS infantry targeting equipment at close range.
* Thrax Pistol Soldiers of rank Corporal or higher now have the ability to summon a necromite which will attempt to dive into a nearby corpse, triggering a chemical chain reaction and resulting in a massive explosion.
* You will now receive a debuff icon when rooted by Xanx webs.
* The Engineer ability Bot Construction will no longer create a robot pet on top of the head of your target.
* You should no longer be stunned for a significant duration after standing up from a knockback.
* AFS Mechs are now authorized to utilize their ballistic payload.
* Extremely talented NPC Mech Pilots have learned how to use their jets to launch into the air and slam down into nearby enemy targets.
* Bane shield drones will once again mitigate a large portion of incoming damage and reflect a smaller portion of that damage to the attacker. EMP damage is still unaffected.
* NPCs created by the Engineer Bot Construction ability will no longer give experience.
* NPCs created by the Exobiologist Clone ability will no longer giver experience.
== Classes & Combat ==
* The Blade’s alternate (“melee”) attack now operates like other weapons instead of identically to the normal attack:
** Its effects (damage bonus, Knockback / Stun) are based on the Hand to Hand Skill. 
** The regular attack is still based on the Blade skill and is not effected by the Hand to Hand Skill.
** The animation shows the user striking the target with the hilt of the weapon.
* Changes to the Traitor ability (Spy class)
** The effect of Traitor now ends when the victim takes damage (PVP only) 
** The Traitor ability now has a five second cooldown time
** Mind Control no longer has an effect on other players in PvP 
** This is a temporary change - a better solution will be offered in a future publish, once some other related technology improvements are made
* The shield around bots created with the Bot Construction ability is now easier to see through.
* Two-Way Personal Portable Waypoints now correctly persist with indefinite duration on Operations maps.
* Note that one-way Portable Waypoints are not intended to be persistent, even on Operations maps.
* When being Resuscitated on the battlefield, the player now receives a confirmation dialog box, allowing choice of whether and when to be revived.
* Fixed and issue that caused players to freeze in place after using the Self Destruct ability.
* It is no longer possible to move around while performing certain emotes by briefly tapping the movement keys. Moving will now end all emotes. 
* Hand grenade tooltips now list the correct damage values.
* Crouching will now terminate emotes; previously the combination of the two created odd blending of animations.
* A targeting bug caused AoE Healing Discs and Repair Tools to not activate when the player’s reticule was over certain kinds of targets. This has been fixed. 
* Special gift items (like Halloween Masks and special hats) may now be placed into the footlocker. 
* Updated the Graviton Armor skill tooltip to clarify that Graviton Armor Skill increases armor recharge rate per piece of Graviton worn per skill pump level.
* The text tooltip with the Game Effect Icon for Graviton Armor now correctly identifies its source.
* Green, Blue, and Purple Healing Discs and Repair Tools now offer +20%, +40%, and +60% effectiveness like other equipment. 
* Rushing Blow now costs less Power to use at higher pump levels .
* The Game Effect Icon for Viral Conversion now includes text indicating the damage type Virulent damage is being converted to.
* The Game Effect Icons for different pump levels of the Disease ability are now more concise and accurate.
* The effect from the Conversion ability can now be removed by right-clicking the Game Effect Icon.
* A Crit Hit from a Laser effect reduces the victim’s ranged damage by 10% for a few seconds, and will stack with other Laser Crit Hit effects.
* The Game Effect Icon from a Laser Crit Hit now accurately communicates the nature of the effect.
* The tooltip for the Tectonic Strike ability has been cleaned up and now accurately describes the ability’s area of effect.
* The Atta attack that debuffs the target’s resistance to Physical damage now has a Game Effect Icon.
* The Armor Shutdown mechanism’s Game Effect Icon now correctly communicates the effects.
* The Crit Wave tooltips now indicate the correct Crit Hit bonus.
* The Rushing Blow ability’s tooltips have been cleaned up and made more accurate.
* The tooltips for the Scourge ability now list the type of damage dealt.
* The tooltips for the Carpet Bombing ability now list the type of damage dealt.
* Consumable items now display their cooldown timers on their inventory icons as well as in the Ability Tray.
* The tooltips for Resuscitation Trauma Kits have been cleaned up and better describe how reduced Attribute Points are restored to the user.
* The Game Effect Icons for Reconstruction now use more appropriate icon images.
* The text on the Game Effect Icons for the Reconstruction ability have been cleaned up and made more accurate.
* Hazmat Armor now adds a Game Effect Icon / Tooltip on the wearer detailing its effects.
* Stealth Armor now adds a Game Effect Icon / Tooltip on the wearer detailing its effects.
* Reflective Armor was not reflecting the correct amount of damage. This has been fixed. The Game Effect Icon now communicates the correct damage reflection 
* Tooltips for the Shrapnel ability now list the type of damage dealt.
* The Blade skill tooltips now correctly describe the damage bonuses from Backstab Previously, the amount of damage was correct, but the tooltip information was not.
* Rocket Launchers no longer heat up from being fired. 
* The Keal Ground pound ability from Polymorph Rank 4 now has a shorter casting time.
* The Hominas Machina ability Revive from Polymorph Rank 5 is now under player control and will no longer be automatic. 
* The tooltip for the Thrax Kick ability (accessed via the Spy’s Polymorph ability) has been cleaned up and more accurately describes its effects.
* The tooltip for the Kael’s Ground Pound and Smash abilities (accessed via Polymorph) have been cleaned up and made more accurate.
* The tooltip for the Technician’s Repair ability (accessed via Polymorph) now lists the ability’s radius.
== UI ==
* Created and hooked up various icons for defaults and ammo icons signifying difference in grade.
* Armor Optimization: We are working to make player armor more efficiently use video card resources. In this publish, we have optimized all Motor Assist suits. This may cause slight changes to the visual appearance of some piece of Motor Assist armor.
== Fixed Known Issues ==
* After finishing all the objective requirements for the Torden Mires ToO you may need to restart the game before the mission shows 'complete' in your mission log. 
* Staff is not currently getting a bonus to melee damage with each pump level. This is a bug. Both melee and ranged damage should increase with each pump of this skill. 
* The tier 4 spy ability "magnesium flash" is not working correctly; enemies get flashed eyes, but they can still attack you up to, and including, 60 meters away while "blinded". 
* Mission: Take a Flying Leap (Descent): Does not complete or fail if you choose to continue to jump 3 times. 
* Ability: Self-Destruct: Demolitionist: Occasionally you will get stuck in place after being hit in PVP. Restart your game to correct the issue. 
* Cloned characters may have issues with completing ToO Missions. 
* After finishing all the objective requirements for the Torden Mires ToO you may need to restart the game before the mission shows 'complete' in your mission log. 
* Vilescorn is not spawning in Mires. 
== Known Issues ==
* ATI 9800 Radeon Pro AGP card users may have sky distortion when graphics settings are on low. 
* Some Exobiologist skills do not work correctly in PvP. 
* Ability: Engineer: Bot Construction: Repair bot is not repairing squad members. 
* Ranger Reinforcements are not doing melee damage. 
* Mission: Release the Hounds (Torden:Mires): You cannot complete this mission. 
* If you are running the client in fullscreen mode and alt tab during a loading screen, the game may crash. 
* Map: Chaukas Robotics Facility: No Waypoint at entrance of operation 
* Mission: Hostile Overtaking (Plains: Brann Water Refinery instance): Radio mission unobtainable if inventory is full at completion of previous mission. 
* Text: Item: One-Way Personal Waypoint: Item tooltip still displays that these items should persist in operations 
* Any mission that requires the player to loot an item from a corpse will not drop the mission loot needed when killed by a pet. 
* Mission: The Strongest Link (Energy Weapons Center:Mires): Pets do not attack Linker Commander Casso or other Linkers in room 
* If a player has the "Function" logos in their Tabula already then they cannot complete the objective "Retrieve the Eloh Artifact" (which is to obtain Function from the obelisk) and cannot complete the mission