Dev Blog Dissection: Uprising 1.2 and Patch Notes

First off, as many of you will have guessed it was my intent to have a post about fixing Fac War go up this week to keep with the theme of retaining Dust's core playerbase. It's written, I swear! The dev blogs and patch notes this week are just too hot off the press to miss the opportunity to talk about them, so I've pushed the FW back to next week.

For those of you who haven't checked out CCP's recent releases, here's the material we'll use today:

Dev blog - Uprising 1.2 and Beyond - http://dust514.com/news/blog/2013/06/uprising-1.2-and-beyond/

Uprising 1.2 Patch Notes - https://forums.dust514.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=71944&find=unread




These two pieces pretty much demand to be served together. A quick glance at the dev blog shows that there's only one piece of info that the patch notes don't cover, and that's "rapid fire updates".

Funny enough, it might be more important than the entirety of the patch notes. Here's a snip:

We listen to your feedback, as well as to feedback from the media. As a result, we have decided to move into a faster, more iterative update cycle. We will be pushing out point releases (Update 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, etc.) on a near-monthly basis.

As per the usual in these sorts of dire situations, if CCP do it right this change is just what the doctor ordered. The 6-month update cycle is suitable for content development, but what Dust sorely needs right now is core fixes, not content. In most cases, those fixes can be deployed month-by-month and can actually be tested relatively quickly. Of course, the question begged is whether or not CCP will properly prioritize in this new monthly environment. If they don't, we could easily end up with a lot of fodder for events like Amarr week and little else. Focus focus focus- this has to be CCP's mantra.



Now let's look at the patch notes.

• Implemented logging out character from NeoCom - First the Star Map and now this? Eve players will be green with envy before all's said and done
• Added Commando dropsuit role - This was preempted by the trailer released at E3 this year (make sure you bring ham to go with the cheese when watching). All I can say is that I can only hope that this is the last of the new dropsuit additions for awhile. It's great and all, but there are a thousand bigger fish to fry. 
• Armor modules added - The cynic in me is very insistent that these aren't going to end up helping armor tanking all that much. Maybe we'll see Amarr suits get a boost, but the going rumor is that Reactive plates still have a movement penalty, albeit a reduced one. Unless CCP have properly balanced the things CPU/PG wise, either they'll necessarily have too little of a kick in terms of stats to shift the overwhelming disadvantages armor tanking faces, or they'll end up replacing armor reppers in shield tankers' fits. You'd be surprised the crazy things you can do with advanced to proto PG and CPU extenders. Still, it's a step in the right direction.
• Manus Peak - fixed the issue where MCC shield would let bullets through - Thank fucking goodness. Maybe I can queue for Domination again. 
• Audio improvements - Team Earwig are heroes. Dust's soundscape is one of my favorite elements of the entire game. 
• Visual improvements - Seeing is believing here, since I'm nowhere near an expert in graphics and don't really know how much of a change SSAO will make. 
• Improved content streaming stability, Improved server to client performance of projectile based weaponry - These two are very important but seeing is believing with these types of things. 
• Everything from Team True Grit - Also heroic. If every month we can expect 5-10 small quality of life changes in the metagaming arena like these, that's precisely the amount of resources that should be invested in that direction and it's perfect for keeping the wheels turning. 

Overall most of the changes listed are practical and most seem to suggest that CCP has gotten the message that the core experience of Dust is the single most important thing that they can work on right now. The one thing we're still lacking are official dev forum topics on gear balancing so that the community can get more involved with that process before changes become set in stone. 

Also conspicuously absent is any mention of "murder taxis" as light-attack-vehicles are so fondly known by the community these days. I've got my fingers crossed that a server side fix has a place in the pipe even closer than July 2nd, but that's daydreaming at best. 

That's it for this week. Return in 7 days for the more traditional wall-o-text!