Patch 15. all you need to know

[RavenSiX]

Patch 1.5 - new info

The changelist you should know

Hey everyone,

You've won me over, instead of revealing this to newsletter subscribers first, i'm posting it here, and seeing all the lashing out for the same reasons has admittedly been very aggravating and frustrating, but I won't be denied in my quest to win you guys over.

So, before you read the extensive list below, here is a reiteration of our plans surrounding patch 1.05 which we feel is going to set the landscape for Command & Conquer 3 for the coming months, WCG, the ladder, etc, etc, etc... and of course, I expect there will be many who agree and disagree, but such is life in RTS la la community land :-)

-We are targeting the patch release for later this month and we are currently on track. Since this is such a huge patch, our QA team has mandated a much more extensive amount of testing time on it. That is the primary reason we have not put the patch live yet. As i've said before our patches go through extensive QA testing efforts, and especially one of this magnitude.

-The balance changes that are addressed in this patch are absolutely reflective of thousands of hours of testing and play, thousands of matches and generated opinions from you...the community...we listened and we made conscious choices that we feel are going to diversify the factions greatly. I ask that you please save your final judgement until you PLAY THE PATCH extensively. We had balance testers here to help us finalize and fine tune and they all really felt it brings a new dynamic to the game. I consider our balance testers indicative of the general community player, you. Can't have everyone come in and test, but it certainly helps to get that added layer!

-The notes below do not encompass all of the technical bug fixes in this patch but they do include the primary fixes that would be most visually apparent to you.

- We just fixed the auto-map transfer issue for custom maps, that is not noted in the patch notes, but it will be included in patch 1.05. So for anyone having issues automatically transferring custom maps, this patch should fix your problem.

-We are working on a strict disconnection and cheat policy that we plan to coincide with the release of patch 1.05. We will not rest on our laurels and let these people ruin the competitive aspect of the game. Please also understand that this battle is end- less and there cannot be an expectation to 100% rid of cheaters and disconnects. We will have to adapt to survive, its true. If you look at any other RTS, MMO, or FPS game, its an on-going war, its not just here on C&C 3, its everywhere. We will crackdown and do whatever it takes to combat this in order to make our ladder and your experience as great as possible.

-We intend to start a ladder season shortly after the release of patch 1.05. Per this ladder season we are working on prizes, tournaments, etc.

-The Battlecast feature is currently undergoing A LOT of tuning. Its a new revolutionary feature and we are working to make it everything its meant to live up to. Changes and enhancements to Battlecast will also coincide with patch 1.05 and further in to June.


Alright, without further ado, here are your patch 1.05 full notes. Please do not tarnish this thread with anything less than constructive talk related to C&C 3. That would be hugely appreciated.

We will be having some interviews and so forth with the designers to coincide with the patch and our producer of patch 1.05, Greg Kasavin will be talking in this thread and other patch related threads to help answer any questions. Expect to see him on and off.

Thanks again to all those supporting our efforts,
APOC

<Fixed Exploits>

· Fixed an exploit in which players could use GDI Engineers,
Nod Saboteurs, or Scrin Assimilators to capture enemy structures
without moving the units over to those structures.

· Observers of multiplayer matches can no longer use hotkeys to
affect spectated players' production queues.

· Units affected by the Scrin Mothership's Catalyst Cannon now
lose their explosive properties if teleported via the Teleport
Units ability or the Wormhole support power.

· Scrin Mothership can no longer fire its Catalyst Cannon
through a Wormhole.


<Balance Changes>

The following balance changes are intended to enable a more-
diverse set of viable strategies for both casual and competitive
play, and to further ensure that the forces of the GDI, the
Brotherhood of Nod, and the Scrin are evenly matched as Tiberium
Wars rage on.

/General Balance Changes/

· Some structures on each side no longer provide Ground Control
for base expansion. These include: Power Plants, Reactors,
Tiberium Silos, Barracks, Hands of Nod, and Portals.

· Heavy infantry units' resistance to CANNON damage increased by
45%. This affects GDI's Zone Troopers and Commando, Nod's Black
Hand and Commando, and Scrin's Shock Troopers and Mastermind.
All other infantry resistance to CANNON damage increased by 25%.
This change means infantry are less vulnerable to tank shells and
similar weapons.

· Infantry armor penalty to SNIPER damage removed. This change
makes infantry slightly less vulnerable to Nod Shadow Teams in
particular; GDI Commandos and Sniper Teams, Nod Commandos, and
Scrin Buzzers are still highly lethal against enemy infantry.

· Infantry attack range bonus while garrisoned reduced by 25%.

· GDI Commando, Nod Commando, and Scrin Mastermind units can no
longer be crushed by enemy vehicles.

· CANNON weapons, such as those found on the GDI Predator Tank and
Nod Scorpion Tank, now cannot miss against moving enemy vehicles.

· GDI, Nod, and Scrin Harvesters' cost/build time increased by 40%
to 1400/14. All Harversters' speed and turn rates equalized, which
makes Scrin's Harvester slightly more maneuverable than before.

· GDI Refinery, Nod Refinery, and Scrin Extractor sale price
reduced by 70% to 300 credits.

· GDI Surveyor, Nod Emissary, and Scrin Explorer base expansion
units now all move at the same speed. Specifically, the Nod
Emissary and and Scrin Explorer move 50% more slowly to match
the GDI Surveyor.

· Repair Drones for all sides now repair vehicles that are under
attack. Limit one Drone per vehicle. Rate of repair is now
constant, rather than a percentage based on the vehicle's total
health. This means vehicles with lower maximum health will be
repaired faster.

· Standardized repair radius on all structures. As a result, the
radius on all aircraft production structures has increased.

· Re-stealth time doubled for units that do not have innate
stealth effects, such as units affected by Nod's Cloaking Field.
This means such units will take longer to regain stealth after
attacking or being detected.

· Ground Control provided by building a GDI Crane, Nod Crane, or
Scrin Foundry has been equalized. Specifically, the amount of
Ground Control gained by building a Nod Crane or Scrin Foundry
has increased by 50%.

· Tiberium Spike tech structure's income increased by 66% to 25
credits per unit of time.

· Defensive Tower tech structure's attack power increased by 60%.

· Visceroids are now punishable by crushing.


/GDI Balance Changes/

· Rifleman Squad: Speed increased by 20%. Attack power increased
by 50%. Dig In ability cost reduced to 100, build time reduced
to 5, Foxhole capacity increased to two units. Foxholes no longer
eject infantry units until the Foxholes are destroyed. Dig In
ability now causes the unit to begin building a Foxhole
immediately at its location.

· Missile Squad: Speed increased by 20%. Health increased by 100%.
Range increased by 75%. Attack power vs. aircraft reduced by 25%.

· Engineer: Speed increased by 20%.

· Grenadier Squad: Speed increased by 20%.

· Sniper Team: Speed increased by 20%. Health reduced by 50%. Rate
of fire reduced by 50%. Re-stealth time increased by 25%.

· Commando: Speed increased by 20%.

· Pitbull: Health increased by 33%. Rate of fire increased by 25%.
Turret turn rate and pitch rate increased, improving the Pitbull's
ability to fire on fast-moving aircraft.

· APC: Speed increased by 20%. Attack power vs. infantry reduced
by 25%. Turret turn rate and pitch rate increased, improving the
APC's ability to fire on fast- moving aircraft.

· Harvester: Attack power increased by 300%.

· Rig: Acceleration and deceleration times reduced, making the
unit more maneuverable. Battle Base Repair Drones changed to work
like all other Repair Drones.

· Mammoth Tank: Speed reduced by 7%. Attack power of rockets
reduced by 25%. Rate of fire with Railguns upgrade reduced by 35%.
Attack power with Railguns upgrade increased by 35%.

· Orca: Health increased by 50%.

· Firehawk: Now fires its missile loadout in volleys, improving
its ability to quickly damage groups of enemy aircraft.

· Ox Transport: Health increased by 70%.

· Sonic Emitter: No longer hits larger units multiple times in one
attack. Attack power per hit increased to compensate.

· Railguns: Upgrade cost increased by 66% to 5000.

· Composite Armor: Upgrade cost increased by 50% to 2000.

· Radar Scan: Support Power cost increased by 20% to 300.

· Shockwave Artillery: Support Power cost increased by 33% to
2000. Attack power reduced by 38%.

· GDI Airborne: Support Power cost increased by 50% to 1500.

· Bloodhounds: Support Power cost increased by 50% to 3000.

· Sharpshooter Team: Support Power cost increased by 40% to 3500.

· Zone Trooper Drop Pods: Support Power cost increased by 50% to
4500.


/Brotherhood of Nod Balance Changes/

· Militant Squad: Speed increased by 20%. Attack power increased
by 50%.

· Militant Rocket Squad: Speed increased by 20%. Health increased
by 100%. Range increased by 75%. Attack power vs. aircraft reduced
by 25%.

· Saboteur: Speed increased by 20%.

· Shadow Team: Health reduced by 50%.

· Black Hand: Speed increased by 22%. Health increased by 66%.
Attack power increased by 150%.

· Attack Bike: 200% attack power bonus vs. aircraft has been
removed. Turret arc and turn rate increased, which allows the unit
to more-effectively attack any nearby targets while moving.
Directional armor removed, which makes the unit more resistant
to attacks from the flank and rear. Fixed an error that caused
the unit to not always fire both rockets at once, effectively
raising its attack power.

· Raider Buggy: Attack power vs. infantry reduced by 25%.

· Scorpion Tank: Attack power reduced by 20% before Laser
Capacitors upgrade.

· Flame Tank: Cost/buildtime increased by 20% to 1200/12. Turret
turn rate doubled, improving the unit's ability to quickly acquire
targets. Attack power increased by 150%.

· Stealth Tank: Cost/buildtime increased by 50% to 1500/15. Attack
power increased by 50%. Attack power bonus vs. aircraft reduced
by 25%.

· Avatar: Cost/buildtime reduced by 27% to 2200/22. Flamethrower
upgrade attack power increased by 150%.

· Venom Patrol Craft: Attack priorities changed so that the unit
will always prioritize enemy infantry over vehicles and base
defenses.

· Carryall: Health increased by 70%.

· Armageddon Bomber: Health increased by 33%. (Note: This aircraft
only appears when summoned by certain Support Powers.)

· Laser Capacitors: Upgrade cost increased by 50% to 3000.

· Tiberium Infusion: Upgrade cost increased by 50% to 2000.

· Cloaking Field: Support Power cost increased by 100% to 3000.
Attack power vs. light infantry increased by 600%. Attack power
vs. heavy infantry increased by 200%.


/Scrin Balance Changes/

· Buzzers: Health increased by 50%. Movement rate improved; now
more effective at cutting through massed infantry but no longer
kill entire infantry squads all at once.

· Disintegrators: Speed increased by 17%.

· Assimilator: Speed increased by 20%.

· Mastermind: Cost/buildtime increased by 66% to 2500/25. Recharge
time on Manipulator Device increased to 30 seconds. Teleport Units
ability now begins its cooldown period after units are teleported,
rather then when units are first selected for teleporting.

· Gun Walker: Acceleration and deceleration times reduced, making
the unit more maneuverable.

· Harvester: No longer spawns an Ion Storm when destroyed.

· Corruptor: Acceleration and deceleration times reduced, making
the unit more maneuverable.

· Planetary Assault Carrier: Ion Storm ability now generates an
Ion Storm more quickly. Scrin aircraft now receive a 25% bonus to
attack power in addition to the 25% bonus to armor while in an Ion
Storm.

· Mothership: Attack power increased by 100%. Catalyst Cannon now
causes a faster, wider chain reaction. Damage sustained by the
Mothership has less impact on the power of its attack.

· Buzzer Hive: Buzzers immediately respawn when killed. Buzzers no
longer die if their Buzzer Hive is destroyed.

· Gravity Stabilizer: Now spawns Buzzers instead of Shock Troopers
when sold or destroyed.

· Force Fields: Upgrade cost increased by 66% to 5000.

· Stasis Shield: Support Power cost increased by 100% to 2000.

· The Swarm: Support Power cost increased by 50% to 1500.


<Multiplayer Maps>

Added four new multiplayer maps, which may also be used in
Skirmish mode. Two out of four of these maps are enabled for
ranked competition online, and so will appear in the Automatch
map rotation.

/Map 1: Tournament Rift/
Red Zones such as this have long since become uninhabitable to any
of Earth's life forms, and yet serve as a focal point for the
conflict between the GDI, the Brotherhood of Nod, and the Scrin,
in their continued efforts to gain control over the alien mineral.
This is a two-player map available for ranked matches.

/Map 2: Tournament Coastline/
As the spread of Tiberium inexorably continued across the world,
GDI and Nod forces found themselves frequently skirmishing for
control over strategic coastal regions such as this one. This is
a two-player desert map available for ranked matches.

/Map 3: Schlactfeld Stuttgart/
The Scrin, desperate for Tiberium, savagely laid waste to this
once-proud German city in short order. Now fighting over the green
crystal continues in the city's ruined remains. This is a two-
player urban map available for unranked matches.

/Map 4: Coastline Chaos/
An extension of Tournament Coastline, this map is based on the very
first map used to publicly showcase Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium
Wars at the 2006 Electronic Entertainment Expo. This is a four-
player desert map available for unranked matches.


<User Interface Enhancements>

· Added a "Classic Command & Conquer (Left-Click Orders) mouse
interface option, which may be selected in the General tab of
the Settings menu.

· Added the ability to cycle through multiple production
facilities of the same type either by clicking on the main
tab for that production category or using the respective hotkey.

· When placing unit-producing structures, players will now see
these structures' default rally point, which should help guide
base-building decisions near impassable terrain.

· The Reverse Move command for vehicles can now be given by
pressing and holding the hotkey (default 'D') as well as by
tapping the hotkey before each move order.

· The 'Show Healthbars' hotkey (default '`') now toggles on all
healthbars with one tap. Tapping the hotkey again reverts the
effect.

· Loading screens prior to online multiplayer battles now show a
snapshot of the selected map as well as statistics for each
player.

· It is now possible to rebind the default hotkeys for camera
controls.

· Hotkeys for Telestrator features are now available for match
Commentator. Visit the Hotkeys tab of Settings menu to view
the default hotkeys or change them.

· Various "slash commands" added to online multiplayer lobbies.
Type "/help" in an online lobby for a list of commands.


<Bug Fixes>

· Fixed an error that prevented players from being able to place
certain structures as closely together other as expected, which
makes it easier to find suitable building locations.

· Flying units can now be ordered to move onto terrain that is
impassable to ground units.

· The Attack Move order now works correctly if a target unit
is selected.

· Fixed an error that sometimes caused units to not target
structures automatically when given an Assault Move order.

· Fixed a graphical error that caused production timers in the
Sidebar interface to "snap" to position when switching between
production queues.

· Added an EVA announcement for when an enemy Scrin Mastermind
enters the player's line of sight.

· Fixed an error that prevented players from using hotkeys to
change unit stances while units were moving.

· Tiberium Spikes now continue to provide a flow of resources
if damaged and then repaired.

· Several campaign cinematics now show up as expected in the
Transmission Log.

· Fixed an error that sometimes caused GDI Ox Transports and
Nod Carryalls to become stuck and unselectable when ordered to
land next to edges of cliffs.

· Mouse cursor no longer suggests that air units can be used to
open crates.

· Jumping to a unit group now moves the camera to the center
of the group, rather than the last unit added to the group.

· Nod defensive turret hubs now appear unstealthed when their
turrets fire while under the effects of the Disruption Tower.

· Computer-controlled players will no longer attempt to sell
the same structure multiple times when low on resources, which
caused a stream of zeros to appear onscreen.

· GDI APCs now will always move close enough to their targets
to ensure infantry units inside are within attack range.

· Fixed an error that sometimes caused walker unit death
animations to not play correctly.

· Stormriders are now affected by the player's handicap setting
in multiplayer matches.

· Maps with six starting positions now properly randomize
players' starting positions.

· The Nod nuclear missile can no longer be stopped after launch
if the player powers down the Temple of Nod.

· Nod Avatars will no longer retain their veterancy level when
they are destroyed and their husks are recovered.

· Nod Beam Cannons now gain their expected bonuses to attack
power from veterancy.

· Fixed an error that sometimes caused Nod laser defenses to
appear as if they still were firing when powered down or
destroyed.

· Units created using Nod's Decoy Army support power will no
longer last indefinitely if the Nod Operations Center is
powered down. Decoyed Scrin Corrupter units no longer spawn
Visceroids.

· Fixed an error that sometimes caused units to display
veterancy ranks from the wrong faction.

· Added effects for when Tiberium crystals are attacked and
destroyed.

· Added effects for Nod Vertigo Bomber's rear anti-air turret.

· Added ambient sound effects for Scrin Gun Walker and
Scrin Annihilator Tripod.

· GDI and Nod Commandos will now respect the rules of their
selected combat stance with regard to their C4 charges. They
will not automatically rush to demolish structures unless
set to Aggressive stance.

· GDI Firehawks equipped with Stratofighter Boosters will no
longer fly in stacked on top of each other when groups of them
are order to use the ability at the same time.

· Nod Scorpion Tanks don't catch fire as quickly.

· The user interface now properly stretches to the top and
bottom of the screen in 1280x1024 resolution.

· Added recoil effects to unupgraded Nod Scorpion Tank and GDI
Guardian Cannon.

· Scrin Worm Hole support power no longer allows the user to
create the entry and exit points on top of each other.

· Scrin Buzzer Hives now show an attack radius when selected.

· If a player is defeated, the end-of-mission music no longer
plays twice.

· Computer-controlled players will now attempt to build
superweapons only in their most-fortified bases.

· Added an EVA announcement for when teammates place a beacon.

· The Resources chart in the post-match screen now graphs total
credits gathered over time.

· When spectating multiplayer matches, players will now hear the
game music change dynamically as the battle's participants do.

· Fixed an error that caused text to misalign in online chat
lobbies if players remained in those lobbies for a relatively
long period of time.

· When loading replay files directly from the Windows desktop,
Main menu music no longer plays during the match.

· Various other minor bug fixes.


<Other Changes>

· Some campaign missions have been tuned and rebalanced.

· In team-based matches, allied players now share Ground
Control, allowing them to build structures in each others'
bases.

· When attempting to restart a campaign from the beginning,
players will now receive a warning prompt notifying them
that their autosave for that campaign will be overwritten
if they proceed.

· Added wider variety of scorch marks to the battlefield.

· Added garrison-clearing effects for Nod Flame Tank, Nod
Black Hand, and Scrin Corrupter units.

· Added explosion effects for when Scrin Disintegrators are
crushed.

· Added Heroic-level firing effects for the GDI Juggernaut.

· Added music when viewing Intelligence Database during
campaign missions.

· Scrin Devourer Tanks now have an additional gauge that
shows remaining supercharged ammunition after using the
Conversion Beam ability.

· Added new visual effects for the Scrin Annihilator Tripod's
close-range EMP attack.

· Added an audio cue for when Repair command is used on a
structure.

· Added ammunition counters to the unit portraits of aircraft
with limited ammo, including the GDI Orca and Firehawk and the
Nod Vertigo Bomber. Also added reload sound effects to
these units.

· Updated the loading screen when loading saved games.

· Fixed various typographical errors in the game.

# AirCraft changes

afterstar asked a good question about GDI Firehawks and whether the patch would address the issue of their missiles inflicting friendly-fire damage.

After patch 1.05, Firehawks will fire their missiles in volleys. They pretty much go full-auto, launching missiles in about two bursts before having to fly back to base to reload. As a result, they're much less likely to suffer friend-fire damage from their own missiles, though in some cases this can still occur. Nevertheless, please rest assured that Firehawks should be considerably more effective in an air superiority role after patch 1.05. They will make an excellent counter to massed Nod Venom Patrol Craft, as well as Scrin's powerful air units such as Devastator Warships and Planetary Assault Carriers. You'll no longer need to use "extreme micro", as afterstar noted, to manage your Firehawks, though you'll still need to pay attention to when they've restocked their ammo and so on.

Along those lines, we've added ammo counters to unit portraits of individual aircraft, which makes it easier to manage Firehawks as well as Vertigo Bombers if you assign them to control groups. When back at base, you'll also hear new ambient sound effects for when aircraft such as these are reloading their ammo. These changes, together with improvements to Repair Drones for aircraft production facilities and the new ability to move air units onto terrain that's impassable to ground units, should make ammo-equipped aircraft somewhat more intuitive, fun, and effective to use after the patch. We'll be looking forward to seeing players' reactions to the changes.

# Shadow Team changes

I've read some concerns about how, if at all, the Shadow Team rush tactic would be changed in patch 1.05 and wanted to speak to that issue. The Shadow Team rush is a relatively controversial tactic since it allows Nod players to cripple an opponent early on, and without much chance of retaliation if the opponent is unprepared for the tactic. Please rest assured that we gave this tactic a careful look as part of our balance changes in the upcoming patch 1.05.

The changes to Shadow Teams in patch 1.05 are fairly subtle on paper, but should be noticeable during gameplay. While they do not hinder the versatility of these units, Shadow Teams will be more vulnerable overall after the patch. For starters, standard anti-infantry base defenses including Watchtowers, Shredder Turrets, and the improved Buzzer Hives will be considerably more effective at taking these guys down. Furthermore, Shadow Teams won't be quite as lethal against enemy infantry units (though they'll still be very dangerous to most infantry). Furthermore, many vehicles and infantry units will move more quickly after patch 1.05, though Shadow Teams' movement speed will be unaffected. This means it'll be easier in many cases to chase Shadow Teams down and finish them off. It also means you'll have an easier time of scouting out the enemy base to see if a Shadow Team rush is coming in the first place. So any Nod player who depends too much on Shadow Team rushes likely won't rack up much of a win streak by leaning heavily on that tactic after the patch.

In short, our intent in patch 1.05 was to make the Shadow Team rush somewhat riskier to the Nod player, but we didn't want to remove it as an option.

EDIT: One other thing: Gavin, one of our AI programmers and the best player on the team, points out that the slight reduction to Scorpion Tanks' attack power also helps take some of the edge off of the Shadow Team rush after patch 1.05. At the moment, if a GDI player anticipates a Shadow Team rush and builds Pitbulls for stealth detection and APCs to deal with them, the Nod player could roll up with Scorpion Tanks and easily crush that force. After patch 1.05, the encounter wouldn't necessarily be as one-sided since Pitbulls are better and Scorpions don't hit quite as hard. As for Scrin, their improved Buzzer Hives should prove to be an effective deterrent against early-game infantry rushes.

# interview with greg black - Lead Balance Dev

http://gamereplays.org/cnc3/task.php?nameid=greg_b_interview



# Black Hand

acufex, while we didn't go the route you suggested with the Black Hand, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by how much better these guys are as a result of the balance changes in patch 1.05. They're very hard to kill now, and come across like the superhuman soldiers they're supposed to be. They're also very, very good at killing infantry quickly, and can do good damage to structures as well. And since infantry are likely to be used much more often after patch 1.05, in turn, the Black Hand will have a much more meaningful role on the battlefield. As a Nod player, you could try tricking the opponent early on to go heavy on Missile Squads / Rocket Militants / Disintegrators by sending a few Scorpion Tanks his way... and if he does decide to crank out a bunch of anti-vehicle infantry, the Black Hand will tear those guys apart very quickly. They're also very good at countering the other two factions' heavy infantry, the Zone Troopers and the Shock Troopers.

# new strats are needed with not used units

The comment was meant to suggest that the balance changes in patch 1.05 will require players to reconsider their favorite strategies and discover new ways to successfully defeat their opponents. As a result of the balance changes, some of the units that currently are not used very often during multiplayer online competition should become a lot more useful and popular.

# Superweapons

We don't have plans to introduce an option to disable superweapons in patch 1.05 or in a future update to Command & Conquer 3. Although such an option has existed in some previous games in the series, in C&C3, superweapons can be seen as integral to gameplay, as a method to help conclude matches that have potentially played out for long enough. (I like to think that superweapons in C&C3 are basically the game's equivalent of the Wrap It Up Box from Chappelle's Show.) Without superweapons, some matches would wind up in a sluggish stalemate--resources on the map would dwindle down without any of the players gaining a decisive upper hand. These situations would be frustrating, which is why superweapons are in the game, as a means of forcing matches to come to an end...eventually. However, due to the fast pace of the game, superweapons usually don't come into play at all.

Superweapons are expensive, take a long time to build, and then take a long time on top of that before they can be used. Furthermore, all players are made aware of any superweapons that are constructed, giving everyone an opportunity to prevent the superweapons from firing off. And even if the superweapons do fire off, they don't necessarily destroy the opponent's entire base or force, though they do hurt a lot.

We're all for giving you new and different options to play, and along these lines, we think you'll appreciate a lot of the new user interface enhancements that have gone into the upcoming patch 1.05. In this update, we only wanted to add features and options that we believed would improve the quality of most matches. Conversely, we didn't think an option to remove superweapons would make the game more fun or more interesting for most players; and likewise, that there would be a pretty big downside to matches that didn't have superweapons available. I'm sorry if this comes as disappointing news to you. I assure you that we'll continue monitoring your feedback and requests for new features and improvements.

# about patch release

No, it's not true that the patch will be released on the 21st of this month; there's no specific, official date for the release. As stated in the first post in this thread, "We are targeting the patch release for later this month and we are currently on track."

If the patch slips into June, I'll change my forum avatar to something really embarrassing in penance. At any rate, thanks for your continued patience in anticipation of this patch.

#mothership

As for the Mothership, I'll look into the issue with it firing on uneven terrain, but as for the chain reaction, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised if not a little shocked to see how much more effective it is after patch 1.05.

#Random stuff

seanseanston, between the slight reduction to the Scorpion Tank's attack power and the slight increase in speed to the Scrin Disintegrators and the Scrin Harvester, we think the Scrin should be able to do just fine against Nod in the early stages of a match. Bear in mind, also, that Disintegrators will be more resistant to damage from Scorpion Tanks after this patch. We also think that infantry will be used much more in all battles in patch 1.05, and the Scrin will be very well prepared for that thanks to the changes made to units like the Buzzers and Gun Walkers. Admittedly the changes to the Scrin don't seem as significant on paper in this patch as compared with the changes to the GDI and Nod. However, we wouldn't have settled on this particular round of changes unless we were satisfied that all three sides were on equal footing. We'll be interested to see what everyone thinks once the patch is out and people have had a good amount of time to play with all of the changes. We're committed to making all three sides fun and interesting to use, as well as competitively viable in all situations.

some players should experience improvements to connectivity issues as a result of patch 1.05. However, I'm reluctant to make this statement any more strongly. I can only assure you that we'll continue to monitor players' reports of connectivity issues and attempt to address them in this and future updates.

I also can't speak to us having arrived at any conclusions about a stats or ladder reset. It's safe to say that any decisions on these fronts will be announced publicly soon after we've committed to them. Thanks for your continued patience in anticipation of this next update; it should be a big one though it won't be the last.

 

[Dante.Sparta]

nais, changes for ze best

 

[Aurelius]

WTF?

 

[Dante.Sparta]

I wish they would hurry up.

 

[Aurelius]

Mabye it comes tomorrow but only mabye^^