Updates/2008-09-18

Deployment 12.5: 9/18/2008
Deployment 12 is on Live! It features a new version of the tier selection process, our Series 2 Physical Chaingun and Laser Pistol, our level 50 "Omega Labs" instance located in the Abyss, and much much more. But see for yourselves below!
==Maps and Missions==
*Instance: Omega Labs (Torden Abyss): This new instance map is available for players level 50+ . Omega Labs can only be accessed from Section 5 of Penumbra HQ, which has the highest security clearance in the facility. Players must play through the Penumbra story arc on Abyss in order to be granted Level 5 Security Clearance to gain access to this section. The final prerequisites for Level 5 Clearance are the Section 4 missions "Giants of the Abyss," "Hyper Links" and "Pathogen." The instance contains 5 new missions: "Bad Medicine," "The Omega Files," "Ways and Means," "The Doctor Is In" and "The Final Countdown." 
*Concordia Palisades - Following a recent, devastating attack on the Cumbria Research Facility by Bane Forces, the AFS has begun construction on a fortified installation known as "New Cumbria." There is now a "New Cumbria" waypoint inside the fortification. 
*Concordia Palisades - The mission "Welcome Tour" has been removed, and two new missions, "The Reformists" and "Crash Course" have been added at New Cumbria. 
*Concordia Palisades - The mission givers, NPCs, vendors, and other support infrastructure from the Cumbria Research Facility have been relocated inside the New Cumbria fortification. NPC greetings have been changed to reflect recent events in the area. 
*Concordia Palisades - The "Palisades Targets of Opportunity" mission has been changed, adding the waypoint at New Cumbria and an additional boss kill, and removing an objective to kill Stalkers. 
*Concordia Palisades - Spawns have been thinned and rebalanced in the following areas: Clearcut Field, Skive Base Entrance, Lake Elinor environs, Fithik Trench and Hightower Outpost. 
*Concordia Palisades - New "Region Objective Indicators" showing large search areas upon mouse over have been added to the missions 'Missing Specimens,' 'Intercept The Bane Hunting Parties' and 'Pincer Power.' 
*Concordia Wilderness, Concordia Divide: The skies and sky lighting values in these maps have been updated
*Concordia Divide: Removed an unused subterranean room from Foreas Base which was appearing on the in-game overhead map.
*Concordia Divide: AFS engineers have recovered General British's Soyuz spacecraft and are at work restoring it for display inside Foreas Base. Personnel may observe the work in progress outside Foreas Base HQ. As all Soyuz pieces have been recovered, the missions to retrieve those pieces have been removed.
*New Creature: Atta Grubs: The new Atta Grub creature and corresponding art assets have been added to the following maps:
**Instance Map: Kardash Atta Colony
**Instance Map: Ojasa Atta Hive
**Instance Map: Rivasa Atta Colony
*Instance Map: Refuge: Relocated one of the Eloh rooms to correct appearance of overhead map
*Instance Map: Maligo Base: Repositioned subterranean areas of Maligo Base to correspond more accurately with surface structures and terrain (as established by the Plateau shared map). 
*Instance Map: Temporal Chamber: Oriented Temporal Chamber and Messenger Room to correspond correctly with Plateau map, and removed one area that was completely unused, but which appeared on the in-game overhead map.
*The appearance of the Brann corridor door has been updated in order to make them read more clearly as doors
==Game Mechanics==
===General===
*Creature: Bane Linker: This creature now uses different models to differentiate high level and low level versions. 
*Series 2 Physical Chaingun: This newly developed fully automatic weapon has the ability to punch through enemy combatants, cutting down anything in its direct line of fire. This comes at a cost however, of reduced accuracy and the inability to lock a specific target. Players should be able to find this weapon on various Bane bosses above 27 level.
*Series 2 Laser Pistol: With the ability to fire 3 shots per rapid fire burst, this weapon is ideal for eliminating individual targets at close range without drawing too much attention. Players should be able to find this weapon on various Bane bosses above 21 level. 
*Dialogue audio added to 200 missions gamewide.
===Issues===
*Using polymorphing to turn into a Thrax Soldier or Technician with a weapon unholstered will now correctly display the Thrax weapon in the player's hand. 
*The Polymorph version of Repair on the Thrax Technician will now display VFX when repairing another player or NPC. 
*Reflective Armor helmets will now display correctly when wearing a upper face item; like sun glasses. 
*When a creature or player is rooted from the Netgun they will be immune to knockback.
*The debuff icon for Disease now uses the correct icon. 
*Nitroglazers will once again do cryogenic damage instead of physical. 
*The Laser, Fire, EMP, and Virulent Crit debuffs can now be removed with Cure. 
*Sacrifice will no longer leave or place you in combat. 
*The Engineer's Repair Bot and Shield Bot's attack will now display properly. 
*Scourge is no longer improperly set as a debuff.
*The follow creatures have had their VFX altered so they more closely resemble the appropriate damage type:
**Thrax Pistol Soldiers
**Thrax Rifle Soldiers
**Thrax Technicians
**Thrax Grenadiers, which will now do incendiary damage
**Bane Linkers
**Bane Hunters
**Bane Lightbenders
**Hominis Machina 
**Forean Machina
**Thraxus Machina, which will now do electric damage
**Warnet Soldiers
**Warnet Queens
**The Strider's Ground Pulse attack.
===Ability Changes===
*Grenadiers can now be healed when using the skill Sacrifice. 
*The first installment of Pet Improvements is now Live and all Bots/Clones/Spotters will now act more consistently and reliably. Each Bot/Clone/Spotter is automatically set to follow and guard the player and each will always assist the player above all else. Each rank is now a toggle as well so you may cast the same rank of Bot Construction, Spotter, or Create Clone to dismiss your pet. A few pets have also been changed slightly so that they are more useful to their master:
**The Repair Bot now has a radial repair instead of a direct repair and the VFX have been changed to reflect that. 
**Spotter Rank 3 now uses a radial repair tool instead of a healing disk. 
===Interactions===
*To add clarity to the type of squad invite received, there are now different icons in the pending tray for a regular squad invite vs. a squad merge.
*Added in confirmation window for deletion of an item from backpack or lockbox. This consists of a dialogue box confirmation and defaults to ON. This can be changed in options menu.
*Added in confirmation window for purchasing an item from a vendor for credits. This consists of a dialogue box confirmation and defaults to OFF. This can be changed in options menu.
*Added in confirmation window for purchasing an item from a vendor for prestige. This consists of a dialogue box confirmation and defaults to ON. This can be changed in options menu.
*Due to a formula error, the location on the large player map and the location given using the /loc command did not match by a variable amount based on the map. These values should now match. For reference, the /loc has always been correct, and the map will now reflect that data.
*The tier selection process has changed in several ways. Individual trainers for each class have been replaced by one single trainer on maps that had trainers previously. UI has been redone such that players can more easily view the entire class tree. You can get more info on a class by clicking on that class's icon on this screen. This will pull up all the skills available to that class along with a summary of that class's role. You may also compare two classes side by side to make more informed tier selection choices. *This screen also includes a cloning button to remind you to clone before choosing a new class.
*Updated the artwork for the Character Selection screen. Characters on this screen will also display in combat stance rather than idle.
==Framework and Tools==
*Added Fake (Fuzzy Glob) Shadow Support. This feature puts a dark circle under the feet of players/creatures to mimic a shadow. This is available for both non-deferred and deferred lighting modes. If you have dynamic shadows and fake shadows enabled, the dynamic shadow will override. But if no dynamic shadow is active, the fake shadow will appear. This included associated UI in graphics options. This feature is disabled in Low Quality mode.
*Team armor hueing tech added to support PvP Wargame and CoCP maps.
*Lowered animation degradation on irrelevant objects when RQS is inactive.
==D12.3==
*Howling Revenge (Treeback Camp: Palisades): More Alpha Beast Howlers were added to allow for mission completion.
*The night time Sky box in Wilderness and Divide no longer has a Default Texture.
*Amoeboid spawning above level 30 no longer have a default texture when spawned.
*Radar for Thunderhead is now up to date.
*Radar for Ashen Desert is now accurate.
*Soyuz Spacecraft now has camera collision.
*Recover Equipment (Palisades): Mission Reward Mech Armor Gloves now has skill requirements.
==D12.4==
*Corrected text errors in Cuthah Plains zone information.
*Corrected icon location in Lamna Armory map.
*Fixed a crash for users running an AMD Quadcore, and ATI 3,000 series cards on ATI 8.8 and 8.7 drivers.
*Fixed an issue that caused the mission "Orders From High Command" to break.
*New trainer UI tooltips are no longer cut off when comparing 2 classes.
*Corrected tooltip errors in Lightning Storm and Physical Crit Hit debuff information.
*Added text to Fake Shadow Toggle in the Options menu.
*Added new names to the Random Last Name Generator at character creation.
==D12.5==
*Corrected an issue that caused water to turn black when using certain video cards.
*Series 2 and 3 Fire Shotguns: Corrected a timing issue which was causing a much faster rate of fire than originally intended. At this time, each shot from a progressive shotgun will still do the same damage as it previously did, however the pace at which these weapons fire has been slowed.
==PTS ONLY:==
===Epic Gauntlet Map===
*Players can now access the first version of the Epic Gauntlet Test Map[1]. Speak with Outpost Commander Rogers in Alia Das in order to receive the mission "The Epic Gauntlet 1". You must be level 50 to receive this mission, and it is highly recommended that you take a full squad of 6.
===Clans & Control Points===
*PTS only: Players now have access to the Clan Owned Control Point Prototype map and new game-show themed missions inside.
*To access, enter the dropship in Alia Das (where the previous WarGame map existed).
*Team Chat - A new chat filter has been added which allows players to turn on Team Chat. After joining a team on the CoCP Rumble Show map (with the Team Chat filter enabled) you can now talk to your team mates by using /team .
*Note that this is only the first iteration of this map, and more features are planned to come.
-Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa, [Patch Notes]
===Footnotes===
*[1][Feedback Friday - 22nd August 2008]
Yes, it’s time for another Feedback Friday. The time where the Tabula Rasa Developers get to speak directly about upcoming content and address topics submitted though our Feedback Form and forum posts. Now enough with the babble, let’s get to it! 
What are you working on anyway?
We’ve finished the planning for the Deployment 13 build and while we don’t want to spoil the surprise, we can say that for D13 we would like to finish a new map, complete some new v2 and v3 weapons, and make some very important and highly requested UI tweaks. There are plenty more changes planned for D13, but that’s all we can say for now. ..Sorry we know that’s a lame answer, but we promise to share more as we get closer to putting these things in the game. Stay tuned! 
COCP Prototype Map
With Deployment 12 you will see the first iteration of the Clan Owned Control Point Prototype Map on the Public Test Server. We thought we’d clarify the information given a previous Feedback Friday about COCP’s and answer some of the questions about how the COCP prototype differs from the intended COCP design. 
So how exactly is the COCP Prototype going to function and what is its purpose? The COCP Prototype is just that, a prototype. It’s a way to test the team factions, clan buffs, and other COCP specific features. Most importantly, we’d like your feedback on whether or not it is fun to play! Designer Chris “Ssendam” Strasz gives some more details on the COCP Prototype design in this PlanetTR Thread. 
The main question we’ve seen is, “Are the COCP’s going to be instanced or on persistent maps?” The answer to that question is still being investigated. While we originally intended the clan battles to be on persistent maps, we are still reviewing other alternatives. We have considered many options including instanced battles on a copy of the persistent map . Currently we are focusing on the main COCP functions and preparing the back end development such as team colors, factions, and leader boards. If you have any feedback, one way or the other, we’d love to hear it! 
The Epic Gauntlet Test Map v1
This prototype is the first step towards creating epic group content for level 50 players. We took existing creatures and changed their health, armor and damage significantly to increase the challenge. Our basic goal was to create simple trash encounters using existing mechanics that require group coordination while remaining fast paced and fun. 
Once Deployment 12 is on PTS, level 50 players should speak with Outpost Commander Rogers in Alia Das to obtain the mission “The Epic Gauntlet”, which gives you access to the Gauntlet. The Gauntlet itself consists of 10 rooms, each with a different assortment of Bane creatures. Things ramp up in difficulty for 3 rooms, then reset with a different group of creatures. The last room is insane, with 19 of these epic creatures to deal with. 
Internally, we’ve completed the Gauntlet many times with a ‘traditional’ squad make-up: Guardian Tank, Medic Healer, Spy Main Assist, with a Demo/Eng and 3 other classes. We went in using blues and purples, and most of us focused on modules that enhanced our role. Enemy damage types also played a role in our tactics and gear choices. 
Now we want your feedback. Did you complete the Gauntlet? What was your squad composition? How many players did you need to get through it? Was it hard? Was it fun? Can you complete this with non-traditional squad compositions? Can you complete this without purples? Can you complete this with only greens? What were your most exciting experiences on this map? What were your worst experiences on this map? How do you feel the existing mechanics in Tabula Rasa work with this type of game play? 
Please submit this feedback using the Feedback Form or by posting on the forums. Your feedback is important. The more information you can give us, the better we can make this new content. We want to create a difficult, fun, and polished experience for a 6-player team. And remember, this test is only the beginning: we hope to update this map again as we finish developing new mechanics and encounters.