126 commentsWe will be rolling out a hot-fix, currently scheduled for Thursday, December 15th at 5:00 PM PST (Dec 16th 1 AM UTC), with the following changes:
• Leaderboards: Faction Play and Quick Play Leaderboard placements now require a minimum of 10 matches played in the associated mode.
• Steiner Coliseum (1v1 Map): Fixing an issue where changing your Lance would drop you into the ethereal plane.
• Faction Play: Invasion and Scouting pre-drop screens will now convey which side you are fighting on.
• Faction Play: Fixing an issue where Groups could be set to un-readied when a Conflict ends.
• Faction Play: Fixing collision issues with certain O-Gens on certain maps.
• Faction Play: Fixing an issue where Groups would be unable to launch due to an issue with tonnage checks.
• Faction Play: Fixing an issue where Groups could be set to un-readied when a Conflict ends.
• Faction Play: Fixing collision issues with certain O-Gens on certain maps.
• Faction Play: Fixing an issue where Groups would be unable to launch due to an issue with tonnage checks.
• Faction Play: The Planet History table will now use standard timestamps (ie. the year 2016, not 3051).
• Faction Play: Resetting Faction Play Leaderboards to coincide with Phase 4.1 release.
• Faction Play: Fixing an issue where Call to Arms could pull you out of certain Faction Play windows.
• Faction Play: Fixing an issue where debug text was used for the 'Contract Time Remaining' values in the Merc Units Leaderboard.
• Faction Play: Fixing an issue where Clan/IS emblems were not being used for Ownership history in Planet Details.
• Faction Play: Resetting Faction Play Leaderboards to coincide with Phase 4.1 release.
• Faction Play: Fixing an issue where Call to Arms could pull you out of certain Faction Play windows.
• Faction Play: Fixing an issue where debug text was used for the 'Contract Time Remaining' values in the Merc Units Leaderboard.
• Faction Play: Fixing an issue where Clan/IS emblems were not being used for Ownership history in Planet Details.
• Faction Play: Increasing the Skirmish, Assault, Conquest, and Domination Faction Play Game Mode timers to 25 minutes (from 15).
Design Note: Initially the match timer for the above Faction Play Game Modes was going to be increased to 20 minutes in this hot-fix, but after continuing to monitor the results of matches since then we have opted to increase the timer by an additional five minutes.
Under the original 15 minute timer a significant number of the matches in those Faction Play Game Modes were ending as a result of match timeout, and were not taking full advantage of the benefits offered by the Drop Deck system. We expect this timer increase will result in more engaging matches, less-prone to outcomes dictated by the timer.
• Decals: Fixing an issue where the AC5 Ammo Decal had been replaced with the Aluminum Symbol Decal.
• HPG Manifold (Quick Play): Removing walls that were brought into the map from its Faction Play counterpart.
• MechLab: Fixing an issue where the Performance Diamond values weren't displayed when hovering over a 'Mech portrait.
• HUD: Fixing an issue where the Artillery Consumable HUD icon would appear as a Radar icon.
Additional changes to HUD Behavior
The December 13th patch brought with it a number of changes to HUD behavior not outlined in the Patch Notes.
As a result of those changes, friendly HUD elements would appear on your HUD at all times; friendly 'Mechs, UAVs, Turrets, and any other friendly elements would all have a persistent HUD presence regardless of whether they were in your direct line of sight.
While the intent behind these changes was to improve the level of information and situational awareness for friendly elements in the match, those benefits were outweighed by the resulting clutter in the HUD, particularly in game modes containing a range of distinct elements. Clutter would be further compounded when enemy HUD elements were also present.
As a result of those issues we will be making the following changes to HUD behavior with this hot-fix:
- Team Turret, UAV, and Game Mode HUD elements will no longer be persistently displayed on the HUD.
- Team 'Mech weight class and status icons (such as ECM) will be persistently displayed on the HUD.
- A new Keybind has been added, mapped by default to semicolon, that will allow you to toggle the display of the persistent friendly 'Mech HUD icons.
While pressing 'Q' (by default), all friendly elements in the match will be made visible, as usual. This includes items such as Team 'Mechs, Team UAVs, and Team Turrets, along with the usual information provided with 'Q' engaged, such as health.
We will keep this post updated with any additional fixes or time changes.
Patch Files (Direct Download)
To make the patching process easier for players with limited download caps, we'll be providing direct download links for the patch file(s) that comprise this patch. This will allow you to download the patch file(s) elsewhere, for manual injection into the MWO patcher through a Patch Cache folder.
Aside from allowing you to download the patch file(s) elsewhere, on another connection, there are no additional benefits to performing the patch this way; the patching process itself will be the same.
This direct patch download process will only work for players running the standalone client. It does not apply to players running MWO through Steam.
How to use these patch files
• Download the above file(s)
• For sake of ease we recommend creating a dedicated folder for the patch file(s), such as 'MWO Patch Cache'
• You do not need to unzip or unpack the patch file(s)
• Launch the standard MWO launcher
• Click the gear icon in the top right of the launcher window
• Choose the 'Specify Patch File Cache' option
• In the field that appears, paste or enter the location in which you saved the patch file(s) and hit OK
• For example, C:\Users\<username>\Documents\MWO Patch Cache
• Click the blue Patch button
• The launcher will now check the Patch Cache folder you defined. If it locates the required patch files, it will unpack and use those files to apply the patch.
• Once the patch is complete, launch the game!
