Today 343i released the January update. • Living Dead updated. Zombies need games to go along with their brains, which is why 343 updated this playlist to include the following new spooky map variants: Bedlam, Uncongealed, Pandemic, Count d’Houen, Deadwalk, Powerless, Spooky Base, and Parasitic. Two of which are remakes of Uncaged and Asylum, but turned around like a tornado hit the area. 343 also don’t want you to be “All Alone,” so they've turned up the weighting on Condemned. • Team Arena, Big Team Battle and Double Team updated to TU settings. TU game types are our standard Reach Matchmaking settings with the Title Update changes. Those changes are: damage bleed enabled, modified reticle bloom, sword block removed, Armor Lock modified, and Active Camo modified. • Squad DLC added. All DLC included/required. Yes, 343 read our forums. No, they don’t always respond with words, because sometimes they respond with action instead. Like this time. When Premium Battle was removed, threads about its disappearance slowly began cropping up. 343 adjusted the Matchmaking algorithm to match players who have DLC with other players who have DLC more often, but 343 noticed many players saying they still weren’t getting enough DLC to satisfy their map-related cravings. So they are bringing a premium list back in the form of 6v6 DLC Slayer. This list is being introduced on a probationary status due to the low population previously experienced in Premium Battle. 343 will be keeping a very close eye on its numbers, so if you want it to stick around, you’d best play it. Consider this your first warning. • Abridged updated to latest version. The creators, theforceswithin and schmittler 5000, made numerous changes to this map. Here are a few they deemed significant enough to mention: 1. Multi-flag has been improved. The flags now spawn in the front of the base a few feet from the GL (previous PL spawn). 2. A teleporter has been added inside the base that leads up to the two-story (Concussion) towers. This significantly improves movement. 3. The gravity lift to the Falcon has been moved into the base to stop vehicles from getting stuck in a permanent floating state. 4. Kill zones have been overhauled. It is now possible to fly underneath the bridge, and there are no HLG spots that we have found to be a problem. They also removed the shotguns. • 2v2 variants of Solitary and Battle Canyon added to Double Team. 343 adjusted the Matchmaking algorithm to match players who…. never mind. Enjoy the varied terrain. • Grifball early win behavior fixed. Goosechecka requested that all games go to 343 rounds. 343 politely declined, and instead fixed the early win behavior on previously affected game types. • Zealot, Countdown, and Penance added to Team Snipers. The long barrel was in need of some attention, so 343 diversified the Team Snipers playlist with some smaller maps. 343 recommend forgoing the scope and going straight for the wild flailing. It’s a legitimate strategy. There is definitely one improvement I see. They really should have an Anniversary Living Dead. They should also fix the glitch that if you shoot a zombie while it kills you, it counts as a betrayal.
Wait, so I can edit Select and they'll update it? I thought it was completely out of my hands at this point. Whooopeeeee!
Countdown team snipers is fine. Snipers is more fun on smaller maps anyway. I don't want to play virtual hide-and-seek.
Oh wow, I took at the new Abridged and it's sexy. That's one of my favorite maps in BTB. I'm so glad to see it get an overhaul and I and excited to see what the new version plays like. Sniper in old GL spawn? Oh boy that's going to be interesting.
From what I've read they've only moved the grav-lifts in the bases. That doesn't change the fact that the bases them selves are just badly designed.
The bases are fine. The only problem I have with it now is that the bomb arm spot is still in the same place, when they should have put it at least where the GL spawns (Where the old PL spawned.)
Snipers on countdown is ****ing terrible. I played it today and it was a spawnkill fest. It is, however, better than Hemorrhage.
Yep, It happens. It even happens in team slayer games. I could sit at the top of the map over the balcony on lift side and rape the people who spawned at the big door at the bottom. I got SK'd 3 times that game.
I occasionally see spawners at big door when I'm at radio like you say, but tbh it's not that often since the basement spawn is weighted heavier than the big door one. I'd say you actually have a better chance at seeing a spawner looking from one basement to another, though the problem with both of those vantages is that, whilst you may see a spawner, the overall pros of those positions aren't enough to warrant sitting there over an actual power position like balcony or top health, even window. I barely ever spend any time at radio unless I'm taking cover, and getting the hell out of basement asap is a no brainer.
Hold up a minute. So, only a few specific playlists have been updated with the new bloom, damage, and combat tweaks they promised? That's just going to get too confusing.
That was actually the case before this update, moreso than it is now anyway. Last time they updated Squad, Team Objective and Multi Team with TU settings, now they're adding BTB, Arena and Dubs to that list. We're left with TS, Living Dead, Swat, Snipers and the new Squad DLC playlists having old mechanics (have I forgotten any?) I would guess that they'll eventually update those too, but for now I'm not too fussed since every playlist I play with any regularity has been updated.
I know that, I just didn't have a mental list of all the playlists that had been updated. Now, I suppose I do. Lol.