[2021] Creative v16.50 Update - XL Islands, Large Team Support, and More!

The v16.50 Fortnite Creative update brings the Spatial Thermometer and Extra Large Islands to allow you to build bigger, better experiences for your players. Along with these, this patch sees all devices updated to support up to 50 teams and the device Channel limit being increased to 200!

XL Islands and Spatial Thermometer

This update brings the official launch of XL Island templates, which give you around 16x the space to build that the original Islands did. To help you make the best use of all that space, these Islands use the new Spatial Thermometer system. Check out the introduction to the Spatial Thermometer and XL Islands below, or read about them in more detail on the documentation website.

An XL Archipelago Island, one of the four XL Island templates.

Large Team Support

All devices which have Team settings can now support up to 50 teams, allowing for properly constructed large-scale Trios, Duos, and free-for-all matches.

Increased Channels

With more space to work in, we know you’re going to need more Channels to operate your amazing campaigns, conflicts, and contraptions — so the Channel limit has been raised from 150 to 200 with v16.50.

Conditional Button Updates

We’ve made a significant update to the Conditional Button to allow it to handle multiple items and custom stack sizes. We’ve also made a bunch of updates for its usability for players. 

Gameplay Fixes

• Using a Rift-To-Go on a Choppa in Creative Mode no longer freezes the server.
• Fixed an issue where the Surfboard had difficulty performing tricks due to shallow Island barriers.
• Fixed an issue where the Baller and Surfboard took no damage from the environment.
• Fixed an issue where vehicles could disappear and lock players in-place when they tried to exit.
• Fixed an issue where a game did not start if the player was inside the Phone Booth during the pregame countdown.
• Fixed an issue where a game started regardless of how much time remained on the auto-start countdown. 
• Fixed an issue where the Clinger did not cling to vehicles and remained stuck in the air after the vehicles moved.
• Fixed an issue where the Baller’s grappler remained attached to the air after the vehicle had moved from its location.
• Fixed an issue where the Choppa did not take damage from snipers except at close range.
• Fixed an issue where the Baller tilted too far backwards and moved slowly.
• Fixed an issue where the Boat would explode inconsistently when landing on water.
• Fixed an issue where the Biplane remained in motion after the player exited. 
• Fixed an issue where the camera was zoomed in when driving the Boat if the vehicle weapon option was set to “Disabled.”
• Fixed an issue where setting up the Crash Pad to teleport the player caused it to re-trigger the channel mid-launch. 
• Fixed an issue where the Baller’s directional movements were reversed under the Chiller and ice block effects.
• Fixed an issue where the Surfboard clipped into the ground.

Islands

There are four new XL Island templates being added in this release:

• XL Flat Grid Island - An XL flat Island of grid squares.
• XL Archipelago Island - An XL environment focused around water and opposing Islands.
• Mountain Ridge Island - An XL Island with mountains, lakes, and beaches.
• Mountain Ridge Island Empty - An XL mountain ridge Island with no vegetation.

When working with these Islands, you will automatically be using the new Spatial Thermometer.

Spatial Thermometer

XL Islands handle memory budgets differently from normal-sized Islands. Much more can be placed in an XL Island, as long as any one area has about the same amount of memory use as a normal Island.

Existing Islands work by loading everything into memory and keeping it there at all times.  The size of these new XL islands allows us to manage memory by unloading unused/unseen props and geometry. As players move around the Island, the system only loads in the things that the players can see.

• The Spatial Thermometer breaks an Island down into a grid of “cells.”
• When you place a prop, its memory cost is added to all the cells around it from which it can be seen.  
• When you add a device to the map, its memory cost is added to ALL cells in the map, since devices always need to be loaded in memory to operate and can’t be swapped in and out like props. (Otherwise, they would stop working when you get too far away from them.)
• As you add props, the memory cost of an individual cell will actually be calculated by adding the memory cost of all props that are visible from that cell, plus the cost of all devices on the Island.

Memory use is shown in two ways: the Memory Bar and a Heat Map that overlays the map.

Memory Bar

• If you have a prop in your Phone Tool ready to place, the Memory Bar will display the memory use for the highest memory cell within range of where the prop is being placed, showing the “worst case scenario” that placing the prop will have on memory use nearby.
• If you do not have a prop in hand, the Memory Bar will show the memory use for the cell with the highest memory cost on your Island.

Heat Map

The Heat Map shows you a color-coded representation of the cells on your Island.  You can see this information in the minimap for cells nearby, or for the whole Island by opening the map screen. The colors on the cells give you an idea of the amount of memory that each cell is currently using. 

• 0% = Blue
• 25% = Green
• 50% = Yellow
• 75% = Orange
• 90% = Red with “!” in the cell - The cell is close to being over budget.
• 100% = Red with a padlock in the cell - The cell is over budget and needs to have its memory reduced.

If you have hit the limit in any cell on your Island (you’ll see a padlock), you will be restricted from placing more objects in that cell’s area. You will have to bring those locked cells back under the memory budget before you can place any more objects in their range, or place devices anywhere on the Island.

Tips for reducing memory in cells:

• You can remove props from the cell itself to try and reduce its memory use.
• Look for densely-packed cells nearby and try deleting props from those to try and reduce the memory cost of the over-budget cell.
• Delete some devices, since those contribute memory to every cell on the Island.

The Spatial Thermometer is still a work in progress and we hope to improve it in various ways in future releases.  We would love to get your feedback on improvements you would like to see, so please share your ideas with us through the usual channels.

Known Issues: 

• Occasionally, the Heat Map can become inaccurate when you have been working on an Island for a while.  
• Sometimes, the memory cost of props may not be cleared correctly when removing them.
• The “over budget” warning can sometimes get stuck on, even in areas where you should be able to add props.
• In any of these cases, leaving Creative (or returning to the Welcome Hub) then loading back in should clear the issue and allow you to continue.

Island Fixes

• Lowered the building volume for Islands so Surfboards and boats will not self-destruct as easily when going underwater.
• Fixed an issue where creatures wouldn’t spawn or move if they were further than 60 tiles from the center of Islands.
• Fixed an issue where players traveling to an over-memory personal Island was disconnected from the session.
• Fixed an issue where players with publish permissions were not able to publish private or matchmaking-enabled Islands.
• Fixed an issue regarding FPS drops and multiple graphical glitches in the Welcome Hub on mobile.
• Fixed an issue where the player’s camera stayed zoomed out when they entered the Sneaky Snowman and then selected “Restore from Backup” from the My Island Tools menu.
• Fixed an issue where placing specific combinations of vehicle spawner devices did not use any Island memory.
• Fixed an issue where some vehicles had incorrect memory costs. 
• Fixed an issue where players were able to enter previously deleted games from the “Favorites” tab.
• Fixed an issue where players spawned inside Featured Islands when joining a full party.

UI Fixes

• Fixed an issue involving the “Recent Islands” list not updating after players entered an Island.
• Fixed an issue causing the ocean to appear invisible in the minimap.
• Fixed an issue where the player HUD was lost when ending a match inside an X-4 Stormwing.
• Fixed an issue where the Race Manager setting “Display in HUD” did not hide the HUD when set to “No.”

Prefab & Gallery Fixes

• Fixed the render distance for props in the Primitive Shapes Gallery to render at further distances.

Tools Fixes

• Fixed an issue where props displayed incorrect axis guides when rotated.
• Fixed an issue where the axis sphere was not centered when the “Grid Snap” option was turned on.

Devices

• Added new functionality and options to the Conditional Button device.
  • The device can now support up to three different items simultaneously.
  • You can now drop a stack of items and have the device require the specific number of items you put into it as its key requirement.
  • The following options have been changed/added:
    • Activating Class: No Class, Any, 1-16 (Default: Any)
    • Interact Time: Do Not Interact, Instant, 1-10 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds (Default: Instant)
    • Use Color For Hologram: No, Yes (Default: No)
      • When set to Yes, the hologram will display the same color as the device when it can be interacted with. Invalid interaction still shows in Red.
    • Missing Items Text: Text field (150 characters max)
      • This supports a new UI element, which can show the player the items they are currently missing to activate the device. The {missingitems} keyword is required if you want to display this information, but you can customize the text around it.
    • Remain Unlocked After Activation: Off, On (Default: Off)
      • When this is On, once the device has been successfully activated, all players can then interact with it without requiring the Key Items. This remains in effect until the device has been reset.
    • Show Key Item: Key and Icon, Unknown Key, Only Key, Only Icon (Default: Only Key)
      • Determines whether the button will show only the required Key Item(s), only the selected Icon, a "?" to hide the required Key Item(s), or whether it will flick back and forth between the Key Item(s) and Icon (which was the previous behavior).
    • Number of Key Item Slots: 1, 2, 3 (Default: 1)
      • Sets the number of different Key Items which can be added to the device.
      • When 2 or 3 item slots are enabled, the currently active one will have a white outline around the hologram.
      • You can cycle the currently active slot by hitting the device with your Pickaxe.
      • When items are dropped into the device, they will be added to the currently active slot, overriding any previously registered item on that slot.
    • Key Items Required/Second Key Items Required/Third Key Items Required: Use Stack Size, Selected Number
      • If Use Stack Size is selected, the device will require the exact number of items which were dropped into it. Otherwise, it will require the Selected Number.
    • Show Keycard Direction: Yes, No (Default: Yes)
      • If the device has a Keycard registered as a required item, setting this to Yes will cause the Keycard to show the direction of the device when held.
    • Triggered By Sequencers: On, Off (Default: On)
      • Determines whether the device will be activated when touched by a pulse from a Sequencer or Random Number Generator device.

Consumables

Added 6 different Keycards that will work with the Conditional Button and Capture Area devices and can be given to players with devices such as the Item Spawner and Item Granter. Equipping a Keycard will also visually guide you to the appropriate Conditional Button if it is registered as a Key Item. Keycards added:

• Authority Keycard
• Grotto Keycard
• Catty Corner Keycard
• Fortilla Keycard
• Rig Keycard
• Shark Keycard
• Known Issues: 
  • Keycards do not currently show up in hologram previews when placed in devices such as the Item Spawner while in Creative Mode.
    • They will show up correctly when spawned during gameplay from Item Spawners.
    • They do not display correctly on the Capture Area during gameplay.
  • Keycards are dropped from player inventories at game end instead of being destroyed.
• Added 7 new resource items for use with devices.  These items can be found in the Consumables tab:
  • Active Powercell
  • Blast Powder
  • Duct Tape
  • Coal
  • Adhesive Resin
  • Bacon
  • Batteries

Devices and Consumables Fixes

• Fixed an issue where the inner mesh of the Race Checkpoint device did not scale accurately.
• Fixed an issue where the tooltip for Save Player When Receiving From on the Save Point device was inaccurate.
• Fixed an issue where players were unable to disable the Save Resources option on the Save Point device.
• Fixed an issue where players had missing heads on their Outfits if they were inside the Phone Booth when the game ended.
• Fixed an issue where the Conditional Button could be activated when set to be deactivated.
• Fixed an issue where Trick Tiles became invisible if the player reset them immediately after destruction. 
• Fixed an issue where the Team Setting Pad did not show the correct team name. 
• Fixed an issue where the Fishing Zone device “Uses Allowed” persisted through the game until maximum uses were reached.
• Fixed an issue where the Boat Spawner had default Vehicle Spawner textures.
• Fixed an issue where the Mudflap Spawner did not spawn Black color vehicles. 

LlamaTron and Mannequins

The Llamatron and Mannequin devices are only available for Epic driven projects. They will not be released for public or beta use in 16.50 or future updates. We will let everyone know if there is further information on availability.