FINE TUNING UPDATE - NOVEMBER 2015

# Dome Changes

With our brand new double-domed Objective map now in the wild, we've been monitoring the firefights and have made some adjustments. The biggest of these is to reduce defender bias on the first Objective by improving Jackal's tactical options.

## Red Courtyard Generator

To make it easier for Jackal to destroy the generator, the building above it has been removed to give Mercs with air support abilities a better chance to destroy it. The railings in front of the generator have also been collapsed, to allow for cleaner combat between Jackal's Mercs near the generator and CDA's on the lower ground.

## Brewery Side MG

The MG nest in front of the brewery area has been raised onto a platform, giving Jackal a greater coverage of the CDA's entrances to the Solar Station. When Jackal have pushed into the solar station, they now have a stronger tactical option for locking down the area and allowing their teammates to deliver the objective.

Other changes include -

* Made trick jump on 'Red Corner' easier to perform, adding an entrance to the adjacent building immediately after the jump, and widening the exit
* Moved crates on 'Red Corner' to provide more room in the corridor leading to the generator
* Replaced the walljump above the 'Red Courtyard' generator with double wall jump and removed excess panels
* Flipped the staircase leading up to the high platform overlooking the solar station
* Altered the trick jump across the brewery allowing for less complex jumps from the generator's side, and raised the generator slightly
* Added broken wall to offer better spawn protection leading out of the forward route from Jackal's initial spawn
* Made pipe and van trick jumps up to the rooftop between the Pylons more forgiving, making it easier to move between them

# Balance Changes

## General Gameplay

* Added forgiveness window to Burst-Fire rifles, allowing players to press fire up to 133ms early and still fire the next burst at the correct time
	+ This will make the Burst-Fire rifles feel a lot more consistent, and make attaining maximum fire rate considerably easier
* Increased existing forgiveness window with semi-automatic weapons, allowing players to press fire up to 133ms early and still fire the next round (from 100ms)
* Reduced explosive push amounts by up to 20%
	+ This brings explosive push amounts back to pre-Containment War update levels
* Increased XP for giving Ammo to 15xp per magazine supplied (from 10xp)

## Nader

* Increased Grenade Launcher grenade explosive radius by ~7%

## Phoenix

* Switching weapon with a charged Healing Pulse will now trigger the Healing Pulse

## Redeye

* Increased Smoke Grenade radius by ~13%
* Increased Smoke Grenade duration to 12s (from 10s)
* Increased amount of explosive damage it takes to disperse a Smoke Grenade to 225 (from 200)
* Reduced Smoke Grenade cooldown to 25s (from 30s)
* Increased maximum IR Goggle active duration to 13s (from 9s)
* Increased IR Goggle Spotted duration to 4s from 3s
* Increased XP for Spotting players to 20xp (from 10xp)
* Increased XP for a Spotted Assist to 70xp (from 50xp)
* Increased XP for throwing a Smoke Grenade to 30xp (from 15xp)
* Fixed bug where Enemy Health could sometimes be seen through Smoke
* Fixed bug where Smoke would sometimes not cover the screen when standing inside it

## Stoker

* Cancelling a Molotov throw now only drains 10% cooldown (from 25%)

## Vassili

* Increased XP for Spotting players to 20xp (from 10xp)
* Increased XP for a Spotted Assist to 70xp (from 50xp)
* Increased XP for throwing a Heartbeat Sensor to 20xp (from 15xp)

## Blishlok SMG

* Reduced the amount of kick in the sighted firing animation

## Hochfir SMG

* Reduced maximum spread by ~2.5%
* Reduced reload time to 1.7s (from 1.8s)
* Increased effective range to 18m (from 17m)

## Hollunds 880

* Increased rate of fire to 95RPM (from 90)

## Timik-47

* Reduced maximum spread by ~4%
* Reduced horizontal recoil by ~7%

# Other Changes

## General

* First time players with computers that have less than 512MB Video Ram will now have their default resolution set to 800x600

## User Interface

* Added sorting options to Merc and Weapon Stats pages
* The Quick Join menu now includes Server Name, Game Mode and Map Name in 'Friends Playing Now'
* Dirty Bomb now populates the Steam 'recently played with' user list
* Updated the Lobby when joining a match in progress to include the same countdowns as match start
* Added the Server Name to the Lobby
* Map Vote now selects a map randomly when votes are tied, rather than the first map in the list
* The 8:5 aspect ratio option has been renamed to 16:10
* Moved the VOIP audio slider and toggle to the Audio Menu
* Updated the Merc Selection visibility rules on the Scoreboard to show previously selected enemy Mercs in all game modes

## Audio

* Updated weapon reload audio to correctly sync with the Drilled (faster reload) Augment
* Replaced some of the more nonchalant Commander VO lines during match review for extra seriousness
* Polish pass on burst rifles

## Maps

* Further collision, bug fix and optimization passes on Dome, Overground & Market

# Notable Bug Fixes

* Fixed bug that created inconsistencies with the forgiveness window for rapidly firing semi-automatic weapons
* Fixed bug where bomb planting audio was missing for nearby players
* Fixed bug where the progress bar on Voting UI would be wrong if someone on your team was dead
* Fixed bug where clicking audio could rapidly loop at the end of the game
* Fixed bug where the wrong 'Next Map' would be shown when joining a match in progress
* Fixed bug with player collision and the Ammo Station
* Fixed bug where pressing 'F' could sometimes drop the Bomb in Execution
* Fixed bug where players running a different game version could join the same Party
* Fixed bug on Bridge where glass could appear unbroken when it should be broken
* Fixed bug where Molotov Grenades could hurt incapacitated friendly players
* Fixed bug where Ammo Stations sometimes didn't emit ammo-giving sounds
* Fixed bug where Health Pack audio didn't play on direct hits
* Fixed bug where Sound Effects volume would be set to zero when resetting to default
* Fixed bug where Sticky Bomb throw time was 66ms longer than intended
* Fixed bug where Kira's targeting laser appeared red to friendlies
* Fixed bug where players under level 7 could enter Competitive Matchmaking via a Party
* Fixed bug where Molotov Grenades would instantly destroy any nearby Healing Stations if they touched the healing radius rather than the station itself
* Fixed bug where the very center of a Molotov Grenade would not deal any damage
* Fixed bug where Ammo Caches could provide greater than maximum ammo
* Fixed bug where IR Goggles could Spot players through dynamic objects such as destructible doors
* Disabled numerous exploitable commands in the console