Test Server Update: Audio Improvements, Grenade Revamp, and More!

Hey everyone,

We've just published a new build to the NA/EU/Asia Test servers. Below is list of details about the changes that have been included. Please post any feedback about the changes, or bugs encountered, to this thread. The team will keeping a close eye.

Only Solo mode and Combat Zone will be available. We plan to unlock team modes Monday (January 29th).

Thanks again for your help!

Movement Changes

We have done several changes and adjustments to both movement values and how the movement system works to improve gameplay and nerf ENAS. The details are provided below.

• Added functionality that slows player movement on rapid mouse input to combat ENAS. *We are keeping a close eye on player feedback and will be making adjustments while on Test.
• Reconfigured how player heading updates were being sent to remote clients, remote players will now be much more accurate in the direction they are facing.
• Slightly reduced base movement speed.
• Slightly reduced the bonus from all shoe types, the rarities are still in effect with conveys being the fastest shoes.
• Passive stance has been removed and users will no longer see the infamous “chicken wing”
• The entire animation set has been adjusted and animations are less exaggerated. There is also less head bob throughout the animation set making sure the head hit box is moving as little as possible.
• Idle animations on remote players are now more subtle in an effort to reduce headshot/bodyshot on idle targets.

Grenade and Weapons Tuning

The grenade system has been reworked to fight spam and add utility. In addition to this, some small changes have also been made to weapon damage.

• Added a grenade slot, players will now only be able to equip one grenade at a time. The third weapon slot will remain a weapon slot.
• The grenade arc has been adjusted to draw over time. Players can still use the grenade arc, but they can no longer throw with instant precision.
• Grenade roll and bounce have been added again, the roll and bounce amount will depend on the angle/slope of the terrain.
• Gas grenades now ramp damage up over time, they do slightly less damage up front but are extremely lethal over time.
  • Supporting cough audio has been added to reinforce that damage is ramping for the gas grenade.
  • The full screen blur effect has been removed from the gas grenade.
• Smoke grenades now extinguish the fire from a Molotov.
  • This also applies to players who are on fire.
  • If a Molotov is thrown into a smoke grenade it will not ignite.
• Smoke grenades have had their VFX reworked to. make them slightly more performant, visibility/effectiveness was not impacted
• Frag grenades have had their kill area reduced significantly.
• Grenade sizes have all been increased slightly to make them easier to see when thrown.
• Grenade trails have been brightened slightly to make them easier to see when thrown.
• Grenades have had their cool downs significantly increased to reduce spam.
• The M9 damage has been slightly reduced, it now takes 2 shots to the head to kill, or 3 with a helmet.

Gameplay Updates

A series of changes have happened on the game play side of things as well. Airdrops, armor, and gas mechanics have all been updated. Outplay mechanics have been enabled, but please note, these are on Test for feedback purposes only and there is more work that needs to be done before they go Live.

• Airdrops will now consist of up to 3 drops instead of 1.
  • The smaller the safe zone, the fewer drops.
  • Sniper rifle drop rate has been adjusted in order to maintain approximately the same number of sniper rifles in play per match.
• Airdrops now spawn flares when opened so other players know someone has interacted with the crate.
• Bombs will now center on the drop and will no longer seem to drop in random places.
• Bomb damage has been reduced and moved over to the same model as the explosive barrel
• Bombs will no longer one shot a vehicle.
• Laminated armors no longer spawn in the world and can only be looted from airdrops.
• Item condition has been removed with the exception of armor and helmets.
• Drop-shotting has been enabled, as mentioned above this is one of the outplay mechanics that is not currently intended to go live but feedback is desired.
• A player can now swap seats while a vehicle is in motion. As mentioned above this is one of the outplay mechanics not currently intended to go live but feedback is desired.
• Increased the drag leniency to make it easier to left-click on a helmet to equip it.
• The safe zones have been adjusted and will now center on themselves slightly more from phase 3 and on.
• The city ending safe zones have been removed.
• Safe zones in general have been reworked so they should no longer end on buildings but between them if there is ample space (in a park in a residential area for example). Combat Zone Updates
• A feature has been added give a player a new loadout at spawn 5 minutes before the Combat Zone server restarts. This new loadout includes a sniper that will appear in slot 3.
• All loot with the exception of helmets and makeshift armor has been removed to increase performance
• Additional spawn zones are now available in an effort to spread out population slightly.
• Increased the base characters carrying capacity by 200 in order to make room for the additional ammunition built into the loadouts.

Audio Updates

We’ve overhauled our in-game audio system to provide much more realistic and accurate directional sound effects. When you’re inside a building and hear gunshots, you’ll have a much easier time telling the difference between shots fired from inside that building versus shots fired from outside. Additionally, we recorded new gunshot sounds that are completely authentic to the guns in-game. Finally, the new system is also more efficient and is one of several small performance improvements in this update.

User Interface Updates

• The LaunchPad is no longer part of the login flow for the game. Now, when you launch H1Z1 from Steam, you’ll be taken straight into the game client instead of having to go through the Daybreak LaunchPad. Upon first login, you will be asked to accept the EULA. Submitting a valid e-mail will grant you two crates that can be accessed in My Crates (note: only available on Live).
• In-game Settings, Map, and Inventory have all been updated to match the style on the front-end. The rest of the in-game UI will be updated along this style in a future update.
• Top 10 scores per mode once again show on mouse-over in the Play menu.
• Added a Render Scale option that allows a user to render at a higher resolution for better visuals. Please note that going over 100% will have a dramatic impact on performance. Lighting Updates
• Adjusted the lighting and muzzle flashes for all weapons to make them more performant.
• Tuned point lights to muzzle flashes, Molotov’s, and frag grenades.
• Adjusted the lighting model for dynamic lights to reduce the fall off range and decrease their performance impact. Bug Fixes
• Cleaned up player animations for pulling out a new weapon to address the issue where they would appear to be shooting before their weapon was equipped.
• Vehicles are now far less likely to immediately explode when wedged in between two objects. They will begin to take damage and eventually catch fire and blow up, however.
• Helmets no longer disappear when looted by a player with a full inventory while reloading.
• Explosive arrow damage now properly goes through chain link fences.
• AK-47 shot sound effects no longer sound muffled when fired from prone and aiming down sights. Also fixed shot sound effects not coming through one speaker side when fired while backed up against a wall.
• The emission sound effects for gas and smoke grenades no longer cuts out early.
• Other players nocked arrows no longer become invisible if the same arrow is nocked twice.
• The camera no longer clips through terrain when prone in first person.
• Pressing autorun while prone no longer causes the player to start standing then go back to prone.
• Sprint is no longer canceled when swapping cameras while sprint toggle is on.
• “-1 Teams” no longer displays in Solo Hosted Games.
• Other players now properly show shells ejecting when firing a shotgun.
• Fourth consecutive melee attack with a machete is no longer faster than other attacks.
• Fixed numerous minor bugs in The Arena such as clipping or floating objects.
• Fixed numerous loot distribution bugs in The Arena where certain areas or buildings did not contain the appropriate amount of loot.
• Changing a setting in the Main Menu no longer causes the in-game settings menu to appear blank.
• Team UI now displays the correct kill count while spectating a player that dies.
• Spectated players name no longer occasionally goes missing in Duos games.
• Starting a match while editing Settings no longer causes the Settings menu to appear distorted.
• Team Killer icon is no longer partially obscured in the Team HUD.
• Voice indicator now appears for users who are spectating.
• Exit Match button is back to its proper place at the bottom of the Team HUD while spectating.
• “Hide Compass” no longer also hides the map coordinates.
• Pressing “Left,” (default: A), wen backing up in first person with the SMG no longer causes the camera to turn instead of strafing.
• Items no longer appear stuck on screen when a dragged item is held while inventory is closed.
• End Screens no longer incorrectly appear after closing the Player Report window before entering Team Spectate.
• Cleaned up the character hand animations for moving and shooting while aiming down sights with a rifle.
• Players no longer appear to hold shotguns awkwardly after standing up from prone while reloading.
• Fixed numerous minor text issues in the UI, including cut-off text in several non-English languages.