[2020] Release notes: July 2, 2020

: You can find the details for this event on the announcement page [url=https://steamcommunity.com/ogg/1057240/announcements/detail/2513520701531718485]here[/url].

Spotlight Voice Chat (v1)
• Added support for Team voice chat.
o Voice chat is enabled by default. To opt out, players can disable the Auto-join Team Voice option in Settings → Audio → Voice Chat
o Team voice chat is only available while connected to the match server. (i.e., from the time the pre-match versus screen is displayed through the post-match scoreboard). There is currently no voice chat in the main menus.
o Added a UI notification that briefly displays at the beginning of each match to notify players whether they have or have not joined the Team voice chat channel.
o There is a new Social Menu (bound to [P] by default) that lists the current players on each team and provides support for joining/leaving the Team channel, muting, and reporting players.
 Players have the additional option to Join/Leave Team Voice Chat on a per-match basis through the Social Menu [P]. Simply click on the None (to leave) or Team (to join) buttons found under My Voice.
 The Social Menu allows players to mute individual players, mute all players, and mute self.
 Added new Reason in the Report A Player menu for Voice Chat (Offensive Language).
o New settings options have been added for Voice Chat:
 Audio Settings
 Auto-join Team Voice (Enabled/Disabled)
 Voice Input Mode: Open Mic or Push-to-Talk. Push-to-Talk is selected by default.
 Push-To-Talk Audio Cue
 In-Game Voice Output Volume (the volume at which you hear other players speaking)
 In-Game Voice Input Device (defaults to Windows device)
 In-Game Voice Output Device (defaults to Windows device)
 Microphone Input Volume
 Auto Adjust Mic Threshold (automatically sets mic activation threshold)
 Microphone Activation Threshold (use to manually adjust mic input sensitivity/activation threshold)
 Test: visualization meter that displays microphone activation threshold results
 Input Settings (keybind support)
 Mute All
 Mute Self
 Push-To-Talk
 Social Menu

AFK Prevention
Developer's note: These steps are intended to remove the incentive for intentionally AFK'ing during a match. In the future we’ll be rolling out active punishments for those that repeatedly AFK to the detriment of their team.
• If we detect that a player is AFK for an extended period of time during a match, they lose all XP for that match. Additionally, the AFK player will lose all battle pass, daily challenge, and achievement progression from that match.
• The Surrender vote option will become available immediately at any stage in the game if an AFK player is detected.

Hunters & Gameplay
General
Changes:
• Spike plants: When spike plants are triggered, they now immediately deal 100 damage to nearby players and creatures and inflict Vulnerability for 3 seconds. Spike plants will continue to deal damage to anyone that stands in them while they are activated. Developer's note: We wanted to make spike plants more rewarding for players who make use of them and time them well.
• Improved the clarity of incoming and outgoing damage in a number of ways, including alignment of projectiles, audio feedback, and damage indicators on the reticle.
o Increased the audio volume of repeating hit feedback.
o Improved the hit location of melee attack VFX to be more prominent.
o Increased duration of incoming reticle hit indicators to help players notice the direction they are being attacked from more easily.
o Updated outgoing hit indicators with a few improvements.
 They now use a new art style which has a new drop shadow and some transparency to make indicators easier to see.
 They now distinctly indicate each attack being dealt by layering attacks on top of each other.
 Added reticle indirect damage indicators, for when pets (Bugg plant and Mendoza turret) or damage fields (Magma Spiral, Crop Dust, Flashfire Grenades, etc.) cause damage to an enemy. These will appear just outside your normal indicators as smaller markers.
o Improved and added camera shake on all Quick Melee attacks.
Bug fixes:
• Fixed a bug that caused the Slow status effect to seemingly last longer than intended.
• Fixed edge cases that allowed players to move at a higher than intended movement speed while using med kits.
• Fixed a bug that caused the visual effects for arcing projectiles, such as Summer's Fireball [Right Mouse Button], Sazan's Electroknife, and all grenades, to not align with their path.
• Fixed a bug that caused outgoing damage indicators to not display for grenades.

Ajonah
Developer's note: We wanted to give all players more feedback when Ajonah executes critical actions like reloading, firing, and using mines. We also felt her escape ability was slightly too strong, and changed the cooldown on her Grappling Hook to address this.
Changes:
• Grappling Hook [Shift]: Cooldown increased from 10s to 12s.
• Tidal Reach [tier 1 upgrade to Grappling Hook]: Cooldown Increased from 12s to 14s.
• Implemented audio feedback when successfully engaging Grappling Hook [Shift].
• Removed mechanical elements of mine arming audio to address confusion between mine arming and reload sound effects.
• Increased the volume of Ajonah's reload to better telegraph to other players when reload is occurring.
• Added lighting to Ajonah's [Left Mouse Button] attacks.

Bugg
Developer's note: We fixed a few issues that should help players when dealing with Bugg’s plants and Spray [Left Mouse Button].
Changes:
• Implemented hit react animations for Bugg plants.
Bug fixes:
• Fixed a bug that caused some hover sound effects to not play at an appropriate volume.
• Fixed a bug that caused Bugg's plants to not be affected by damage areas such as hive spikes and spike plants.
• Fixed an issue that caused Bugg to get double the normal damage multiplier gain on Spray [Left Mouse Button].

Captain Mendoza
Developer's note: Like other characters, we wanted to add clarity to what’s happening when players fight against Captain Mendoza.
Changes:
• Implemented more prominent sound effects for in-flight grenades [E].
• Implemented hit react animations for Captain Mendoza's bunker [Q].

Drakahl
Developer's note: Drakahl, like many other hunters, is seeing improvements related to battlefield clarity. We also moved around some of Drakahl's upgrades, which should open up some more build paths for him.
Changes:
• Updated the hit visual effects for Drakahl's axe.
• Sonic Shock [upgrade]: Moved from tier 5 to tier 1, Slow duration lowered from 3s to 1.5s.
• Get 'em Gutted [upgrade]: Moved to tier 1 to tier 5, Vulnerability duration increased from 3s to 5s.
Bug fixes:
• Fixed a bug that caused Rush [Shift] audio to persist in some circumstances.
• Fixed a bug that caused the camera to behave incorrectly if Drakahl was stunned or killed in the middle of his own stun attack.

Earl
Developer's note: We've found that Red Line That Sucker was conferring too many upgrades to Earl's primary weapon. We're continuing to keep an eye on Earl and his place in the meta.
Changes:
• Red Line That Sucker [tier 5 upgrade]: Removed projectile speed increase.

Rahi & Brother
Developer's note: Rahi has seen changes which should make his combat mobility and map traversal stronger.
Changes:
• Heroic Bound [Spacebar]: Increased forward velocity speed from 10.5 m/s to 11 m/s.
Bug fixes:
• Fixed a bug that caused Heroic Bound [Spacebar] to fire early on uneven terrain.
• Fixed a bug that caused the Heroic Bound UI element to flicker at the end of a jump.

Sazan
Developer's note: We made multiple visual improvements which should make it easier to understand what is happening as Sazan executes abilities.
Changes:
• All of the visuals for Sazan's hit impacts are larger and last longer.
• Updated the Shotgun [E] projectile trail to better identify firing direction.
• Improved Inertia Gun [Q] muzzle flash.
• Fully Engaged [tier 2 upgrade]: Adjusted the visual effects of Sazan's speed boost to improve visibility while reducing the prominence of trails.
• Capacitor Overflow [tier 3 upgrade]: Updated the visual effect associated with this upgrade.
• Added lighting to Sazan's [Left Mouse Button] attacks.
Bug fixes:
• Full Blast Shot [tier 3 upgrade]: Fixed a bug that prevented enemies downhill from Sazan from being knocked back.

Shakirri
Developer's note: Like other characters, we’ve updated visuals to help improve the feel of Shakirri’s firing. We also made her speed in sword stance slightly stronger, to help her retreat in combat situations.
Changes:
• Added lighting to Shakirri's primary attack [Left Mouse Button] in Sword stance.
• Increased backwards movement speed while in Sword stance from 4 m/s to 5 m/s.
Bug fixes:
• Fixed a bug that caused the camera to behave incorrectly if Shakirri was stunned or killed in the middle of Disrupting Swipe [Right Mouse Click].

Summer
Developer's note: Summer is filling her role when it comes to map control and flanking, but we felt that we needed to dial back her speed.
Changes:
• Thruster Pounce [tier 1 upgrade]: Reduced forward velocity from 5.5 m/s to 3.5 m/s.

Tosca
Developer's note: Tosca (and her enemies) are also benefiting from some effects improvements. We also added changes which will make her Blink [Shift] more forgiving.
Changes:
• Removed the "double tap" cadence from primary weapon fire [Left Mouse Click] audio.
• Improved Blink [Shift] usability:
o Updated functionality so that Tosca won't spending energy if her Blink would move her less than 3 meters.
o If the location a player is attempting to Blink to is invalid, the closest valid location will be used instead (with a maximum 45-degree angular offset from where the player was aiming). This should help the usefulness of Blink when trying to turn corners.
o Added support for camera pitch (up/down aim) when blinking. This should help Tosca use Blink to move up and down stairs and slopes.
Bug fixes:
• Fixed a bug that prevented Blink [Shift] from allowing Tosca to teleport through certain objects like spike plants.

Game Modes & Maps Spotlight
New Tutorial Visuals
• Extensively revised the visuals of the Tutorial level. Developer's note: We are focusing a lot of development effort on our new player experience, including extensive improvements to the tutorial and supporting features. While many of those changes will take a while to build and test internally, we felt that the space station aesthetic of the original tutorial didn't match with the look of the overall game and wasn't as inviting as our sunny planet surface, so we've done a visual rework that keeps the structure and narrative intact.
Changes:
• The drop pod sequence and drop pod exit have been improved.
• Updated the terrain near the Crater (B) Harvester to allow smooth traversal, especially for Tosca's Blink [Shift] while maintaining ground cover and high ground.

Technology • FATAL_ERROR: Fixed an instance of this error related to the difference between a player's system clock and the server's clock.
• Fixed a rare client crash on minimum specification machines.
• Added an option to cap framerate while in menus. This option is turned on by default. This is calculated based on your monitor's refresh rate to prevent artifacts such as tearing.
• Fixed a rare client crash.

User Interface & Usability Changes:
• Added a Quick Comms section to the Preferences menu.
• Updated the Heart of the Hives game mode tutorial video to better explain the game mode to new players.
• Added support for showing more weekly challenges on the battle pass page.
• Quick Comms markers within 200m of the player will now show their distance.
Bug fixes:
• Character biographies are no longer cut off on 21:9 monitors.
• Fixed voice notification positioning on 21:9 monitors.
• Added missing hover and click audio effects to main menu & modal dialogs.
• Allowed for long names to wrap to two lines on the social menu.
• Fix some inconsistencies with the Surrender timer.
• Fixed the formatting in ability descriptions on the [F1] screen.
• Added an audio cue sound when the Tutorial completion banner appears.
• The player who initiated a surrender vote will now show as a "Yes" vote in their own interface.
• Fixed multiple HUD sections appearing in a neutral color, now properly using team-specific colors.
• Fixed damage-over-time effects being very difficult to see on the health bars for Bugg's plants and Captain Mendoza's bunker.
• Fixed an issue that prevented players with a clock time significantly different from that of the servers from logging in.
• Fixed an issue where hive health bars would sometimes revert to normal non-playable character health bars.

Known Issues • Players are currently unable to ping the map while waiting to respawn. This is a result of work on upcoming improvements to the ping system, and the functionality will return in a future build.

Update notes: July 6, 2020 Bug fixes:

• Fixed a visual bug that caused an AFK penalty to display to everyone partied with an AFK player (although rewards were still granted appropriately to non-AFK players).
  
• Fixed a bug that caused bullet trails to display multiple times for a single shot.