New patch notes (i.e., expect much of this to go Live real soon now unless there are serious glitches):
Now Testing in the Training Room: Version 13.20070215.0 – Feb. 20th, 2007
Estimated time of arrival: 3 PM Pacific / 5 PM Central / 6 PM Eastern.
HIGHLIGHTS
The bulk of this update includes changes to the address stability and performance issues, including:
• Correcting a problem that could cause the game’s framerate to drop substantially when exiting a Mission.
• Special textures and objects in missions should no longer be invisible. This addresses a problem with special missions like Frostfire, PWNZ, etc. [Yay!]
• Altered some power’s graphical effects to reduce framerate impact and standardize click power rooting.
• Added fixes to address a problem that could cause the client to crash when viewing trenchcoats and custom capes in certain situations. While we believe that this issue should be corrected in this version of the game if you do experience a client crash that brings up a dialog to send the report in, please do so. These reports will be very helpful to determine if we have indeed squashed this bug.
Game
• Corrected a server issue that could lead to instability.
• Added text to distinguish different slow effects on power enhancement tooltips.
Animations and Power Effects
All click power activation rooting has been normalized to follow the below rules:
• All powers that damage or debuff enemies will root.
• All ally buffs (AOE and single target) will root.
• AOE Heals will not root.
• Self Buffs/Heals will not root.
• Tier 9 powers such as Unstoppable, Moment of Glory, and Force of Nature will root you for 1.5 seconds while activating.
• Self-Rez powers are a special case. They will not root you while activating but they have had a 4 second immobilize effect added to them. You will still be able to use powers/inspirations, turn on toggles, or attack. For powers like Rise of the Phoenix which have a secondary damage component and should be rooted, this prevents them from being less effective. Rez powers like Revive and inspiration rezes will now only be immobilized instead of a root. Consequently, the animation for Rise of the Phoenix, Shadow
Maw, and the Kheldian self-rez have been slightly sped up to account for this change.
• The following powers will now transition into a more appropriate standing animation cycle when they finish. This does not change how the power functions, but only the animations it switches to after it’s done playing the power’s graphical effect and animation.
Wedding Band, Instant Healing, Inertial Reduction, Hurricane, Murky Cloud, Obsidian Shield, Invincibility
• Soul Storm will once again transition to it’s unique animation cycle after casting.
• Toggle power that now roots: Inky Aspect
• The following powers now root the character in place while the animation and graphical effects play:
Shadow Fall, Adrenaline Boost, Steamy Mist, Group Invisibility
• Added run animation for females with left handed weapons (bow, katana, etc)
Changes to toggle activation rooting:
• Personal Force Field will no longer root during activation
• Force Bubble will now root during activation
• Quills will now root during activation
• Whirlwind will now root during activation. Whirlwind has also been changed so that the spinning animation will restart after using other powers.
• Empathy/Regeneration Aura – Changed animation so that it is not identical to Recovery Aura
• Aid Other/Stimulate/Aid Self – changed animations so they are more properly interrupted by movement and have less “skating”
• Elude’s activation animation will no longer play unless the power is actually recharged and activates.
• Peacebringer/Warshade transform animation will no longer root the player while flying.
• Darkest Night – Added secondary graphical effects to help identify the anchor.
• The graphical effects for all Warshade powers has gone through an optimization pass.
• Ice Armor/Energy Absorption will use its correct animation again.
Powers
• All Self Rez powers now immobilize the player for a set duration.
• All Self Rez powers debt protection period are now set to 60 seconds. Most were set to 20 seconds previously, though a few were at 90 seconds. This is being done to normalize the effect. [Interesting.]
CITY OF HEROES
Powers
• Tanker Invulnerability Invincibility: Fixed a visual error with the graphic tell for the increased To Hit chance. It was being applied to the Tankers enemies, rather than to the Tanker. The actual To Hit value was being applied correctly; this was simply correcting the visual effects.
CITY OF VILLAINS
Powers
• Thermal Radiation – Melt Armor: Graphics optimizations.
Zones
• Reports of the Arachnos Flier have been heard from Grandville.