User blog:Luperza/Creative Directors Letter: GU11 June 19, 2013

Hey guys -



GU11 is right around the corner and I wanted to drop in and call out some of the major features coming with the update. When we started working on this update we decided it would be a pure "Quality of Life" patch, with a minimum of additions in terms of new items or systems and a lot of refinement, tuning and enhancements to the things you've already got.



A few weeks ago we asked you guys for what you wanted to see updated and got an absolutely massive list of requests ranging from minor nitpicks all the way up to fundamental game changing suggestions, and those requests have guided how we've approached and prioritized the changes for this update. We didn't get anywhere near touching everything that was requested, but did get through a pretty decent chunk and the rest that we've either run out of time for or are larger challenges than can fit into one update we're continuing to work on and prioritize for the next several updates. Of course, whenever taking suggestions from a community as large and diverse as the Planetside 2 community it's impossible to find changes that are universally agreed on or prioritize everyone's top issues as the top development issue, but we have done our very best to make this an update that brings as many benefits to as many of you as possible.



As usual, full patch notes will be available before the update goes out, but here are a couple highlights:

 This is just a few of the notable changes with the update, along with dozens of bug fixes large and small. GU11 is scheduled to go live tomorrow morning (June 20th) barring any last minute issues found.
 * Light Assault Drifter Jumpjets have been enhanced to provide a speed boosts while using them on flat ground, these should now provide a new alternative gameplay role for Light Assault.
 * Continent domination thresholds have been adjusted to make achieving OR breaking continent domination a viable goal during primetime. Continents will change ownership when an empire owns 75% of the territory, and their ownership will break when they're reduced to below 15%.
 * Resource cost for some vehicles and MAXes has been increased
 * We hope this change makes strategic control of resources more important for empires, and we're also looking at the results of this tuning to help us define the boundaries for the upcoming resource system revamp.
 * We will be monitoring resource usage and earn rates carefully in the days following the update and rebalancing as necessary if we find any significant issues with resource starvation due to this rebalancing.
 * Instant Action has had it's values retuned to bring players to fights that need more players from their empire.
 * New movement code has been introduced which will make remote player movement much smoother, reducing player warping and removing a lot of the ability to quickly change direction and glitch out the movement interpolation and avoid damage.
 * ZOE Module has been buffed to have less distortion particles in 1st person =)
 * ZOE Module has been nerfed to further reduce armor (-25% -> -30%) when the ability is active =(
 * Weapon tuning:
 * Retuned the Empire Specific Heavy weapons: Jackhammer, MCG and Lasher. These should all be significantly more competitive with other HA weapon options, while still situational.
 * Retuned the Empire Specific vehicle mounted AV weapons (ML85 Enforcer, G30 Vulcan & Saron HRB) to reduce infantry damage and somewhat equalize effective ranges.
 * MAX Burster weapons have been retuned to be less effective at extreme ranges, they maintain the same effectiveness within ~250-300m.
 * Skyguard turrets have been buffed to provide enhanced effectiveness at all ranges, especially beyond 300m.
 * These two changes should make life better for ESF pilots/Liberator crews which previously were getting picked off at extreme ranges when not actively engaging infantry while still allowing MAXes to provide cover for squads against strafing ESFs and low flying libs threatening ground troops.
 * Changed shotgun damage model to reward more skillful usage and bring these in line with other close range options such as SMGs and Carbines - these should remain potent in close quarters, but not be the only viable option.
 * Tank and Fighter Superiority bonuses have been added, these give an additional 100xp bonus to MBTs destroyed by other MBTs, or ESFs destroyed by ESFs.
 * Vehicle appearance slots have been increased, allowing you to equip more vehicle cosmetics simultaneously.
 * UI Enhancements:
 * Loadout screen has been updated to allow for unlocking of certifications in all slots straight from the loadout screen.
 * Loadout screen has been updated to allow quick switching between weapons from the landing page
 * Loadout screen now saves attachments per-weapon, so quick swapping between weapons maintains that weapons attachments per loadout.
 * Squad browser displays a lot more information about outfit, squad leader, active continent and more.
 * Squad manager now displays player battle ranks, locations, outfit, vehicle information and allows for dragging and dropping of players from the squad to create platoons.
 * The commo rose menu (hold Q on target) has been updated to respect inverted mouse and track better on fast moving targets.



We hope you all enjoy the update, see ya on Auraxis!



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mh