**The auto-generated mission areas have received a major upgrade in looks and layout, and should now be both more varied, challenging and visually pleasing.**
New dangers in missions include proximity mines, cameras and gun turrets. The “Map Reader Upgrade – Machines” will help somewhat against some of these hazards, and you might be able to locate a central control unit for them. In addition, more variation has been added to creatures found in missions. In fact, some completely new creature variants will only be found in missions. Watch out!
Some other changes with missions are
- Supplies can now be found outside of chests too. Look around, and with some luck you'll come across some special goodies.
- When selecting a mission in the mission booth interface, the coordinates for the mission will be automatically uploaded to your map and compass.
- All missions now have a time limit of 48 hours.
- The “brown cave” mission style is no longer available.
- You will not always be offered an item reward for a mission. Remember to check the mission info.
Other game system changes and additions
Teams
- Damage dealt to an enemy is now tracked on the individual damage dealer instead of the team. A team still adds all members’ damage together when competing with others for the kill. This is done to avoid situations where a corpse would become impossible to loot when a team broke up during the fight.
- We corrected a bug that allowed you to get XP for the actions of your team when not on the same playfield as them. You'll need to be on the same playfield, and close to the action, to get your share of the XP.
Player versus Player
- PvP level restrictions have been simplified: When determining whether you can attack, your own level and the level of the target is the only thing that matters now. Teams have no impact on this anymore.
- Healing pets now use their master’s level – not their own – for checking whether they can heal a target in a land control PvP battle. Simply, if the master can attack somebody of that level, the pet can heal.
- Barehanded attacks will no longer have the chance of scoring critical hits halved in PvP, but receive the full chance. When using both a weapon and martial arts, this applies to the martial arts attack, but not the weapon.
Land control
- New rules for terminating own controllers:
- Terminating of a controller can now only be carried out during the first hour after a 5% suppression gas period has ended.
- An organization terminating their own controller can’t construct a new controller in the same area for the next 2 hours, and no organization of the same side can construct a controller in the area for the next hour.
- Terminating your own controller will now be broadcast on the All Towers channel.
- Messages about the termination of a controller now contain the correct coordinates.
Crowd limiting
- Crowd limiting on login and zoning has been added. If you’re trying to log into a crowded area, and this fails, you will be moved to the first non-crowded location on this list:
1. The last outdoor playfield you were on
2. The insurance terminal where you last scanned
3. Your apartment
Pets
- Temporary pets (the ones summoned by Meta-Physicists and Bureaucrats) will no longer de-spawn mid-attack if their timer runs out, but continue until they’re done with their current target.
Miscellaneous
- We have added a “/stuck” command for players to move themselves from locations where they get stuck in the geometry. The command has a delay of 30 seconds, and you should remain seated for the entire 30 seconds. It is not possible to use this command in water or while in a Yalmaha as you are not able to sit. Please attempt to use this command before petitioning about stuck in geometry issues; in many cases it will solve the issue.
- Due to the “/stuck” command not always being efficient, we will leave the “/terminate” command in the game for now. It has been given a 1-minute timer though, to prevent abuse.
- Moving across suppression gas borders will now abort any nano execution in progress.
- Sitting down while executing a nano program will now abort the execution.
- You can no longer place containers containing items with the Unique tag in the trade window.
Performance
- The client will now store visibility data for outdoor playfields on your hard-drive. This will cause some extra client lag the first time you enter a given playfield, but a lot less lag after that, as the visibility data doesn’t need to be reconstructed.
- We’ve implemented a new system for loading items on characters.
- A memory issue with item generation has been ironed out.
- The rules for spawning static dungeons and shops have been changed to prevent the creation of new instances (copies) of a specific dungeon or shop unless the current ones are actually filled to the limit.
Trade skills
- It’s now possible to build several basic health and nano recharge kits; Treatment Laboratory, First Aid Kit, Nano Recharger and Nano kit.
- You can now remove the custom motifs from your Adaga Elegantes and Brutals. You can also apply the Brutal motif on top of an Elegante motif, and vice versa. Reversing a paint job can be costly, so make sure you know what you’re doing.
- We would like to warn people that the Precious Metal Reclaimer is not recommended for use with junk containing minimal amounts of precious metals. Though it might work, it is very likely to ruin the Reclaimer.
- Some additional trade skill processes have been added. You’ll need to figure these out for yourself though.
- Yalmaha has improved the instructions in the Yalmaha 29500 - Stiletto Building Kit.
- Fixed a problem with the "Jobe-Made Bladestaff Construction Manual".
Nano programs
- A nano program for summoning your pet(s) is now available. It’s a very low level program, with no profession restrictions, and can be found in the general nano program store.
- Divest Skills (Lesser) was incorrectly lowering the skills of the target by 183 points when it should have been 173 points. It has now been changed to lower the skills of the target by 173 points. (Divest Skills is more powerful that Divest Skills (Lesser) and lowers the target's skill by 182 points).
World
- New planet map by Dovve! To select this map, or other custom maps you might have stored in the map directory, open the planet map, press the “?” button, and select from the list. Map-makers' alert: The txt file for a map now includes a name line. Be sure to update your files, using the new map's txt file as a reference.
- Ambient sounds are now playing properly in static dungeons, and should make for better atmosphere.
- Shuttles bringing new arrivals from the spaceport have had their routes changed. Omni-Tek employees will now be transported to Rome Blue, free clanners will be taken to West Athen, and neutrals are brought to either Borealis or Newland.
- Mission terminals in Tir, Omni-1 Entertainment and Newland no longer serve characters of levels above 25.
- Some new signs have been added to the training grounds.
Monsters and NPCs
General AI
- Omni-Tek and clan creatures are no longer trigger-happy towards each other. They still love taking shots at player characters though.
- The guide found in the training grounds will now have a few tasks for the newcomers to carry out while learning the ropes of life on Rubi-Ka.
- Loren Warr has become a bit more talkative.
- Thanks to the miracle of neuron re-structuring Jack "Legchopper" Menendez will now speak (well... babble) in a more orderly manner.
- Ljotur, in his infinite and rather special wisdom, has moved over to stand with his guards, so they can actually guard him.
- Some characters have decided to take a trip to Miir Fashion and update their wardrobe. Some have even bought a collection and developed a taste for changing clothes regularly.
Combat
- The Parry skill of level 195+ creatures has been reduced considerably. Note that the change will be more noticeable the higher level the creature is.
- Creatures now stay on your tail a bit longer if you try escape by running.
- Creatures who are unable to get close enough to attack for an extended period of time will give up and wander off. The length of this period might be tweaked later, after seeing how it works over time.
- Omni-Tek has upgraded its trusty old Omni-Pol Juggernauts since they are now used to store and transport some very precious cargo.
- A number of NPCs that were never meant as Bureaucrat and Trader weapons are no longer susceptible to charming.
- Some NPCs in the Condemned Subway are now harder to charm.
- Creatures now react more calmly to being swarmed by attackers, and will fight more efficiently in such situations. Raiders, watch out.
- Creatures will no longer warp / teleport when in panic-mode (running from the enemy).
- NPCs that normally de-spawn after a set time (e.g. Peter Lee), will no longer do so while they are attacking somebody.
Other changes
- Many creatures have received some special loot. We’ll leave it to you to discover which creatures, and what they carry.
- The Trash King’s spawn chance has been increased. The time between spawn checks is the same.
Items
Availability
- Eddie in Last Ditch has started importing a new backpack model. It’s NoDrop, which means it can’t be traded or dropped, and will not move to the reclaim terminal – but stay in your inventory – during resurrection.
- More sunglasses and other headwear have been added to the game.
- Several items adding to Vehicle Airborne skill have been added.
- Due to a complaint from Colonel Kaehler, Omni-Tek employees are now unable to gain the benefits from his specially designed sleeves. Rumours say Kelly Frederickson has acquired a similar pair though.
- The instruction discs for the Nano Technicians’ Nano Programming buffs are now available. Previously, only the complete crystals could be found.
- The Manex Catastrophe will no longer be found in missions. We plan on adding them to other locations in the next patch, but for now they’re not available on Rubi-Ka.
Tweaks and corrections
- Name change on Implants and NanoClusters! After discussing this in great details with you, our players, you decided in a poll to change the names of the Implants and the NanoClusters into something that held the actual stat name instead of the "analogical" but slightly obscure stat names. It should now read something that is more easily understandable. The name of the stat is listed first, so it is easy to find in the alphabetic shop view. E.g.: Strength Head Implant.
- An unintended side effect of the O.E.T. CO. Jess gun has been removed.
- Parts of the Tarasque are no longer stackable. This to prevent people from accidentally using a stack in the trade skill process, thus losing items.
- Pills and blister packs now have a 3-minute skill lock on Pharmaceuticals, for balance reasons.
- The Truspace XL 900 Visor now displays properly on your character.
- The Boosted Hellfury Assault Cannon incorrectly had a profession check on its dispel proc effect. This check was not meant to be there, and has been removed, so the weapon can now affect Soldiers.
- Albrecht Heavy Tank Armor has been fitted properly visually to the solitus breed.
- The level requirement on the Light Notum Tank Armor has been lowered.
- Some errors in the production of The Mid have been corrected. All models should now have the same attributes, though still dependant on the quality of the vehicle.
- The Eradicator XCI-52 assault rifle has been remodelled a bit, giving it different looks and better performance.
- Burst of Speed stims now correctly add to your run speed for 1 minute, and leave you winded for 3 minutes afterwards.
- The Boots of Infinite Speed now correctly locks your Run Speed skill for 10 minutes when you use their innate nano program.
- Omni-Tek Armor (the cheap version of Omni-Tek Police Armor) is now considered social clothing, as it was originally intended to be. You will not be able to wear it with other protective gear.
- Sunglasses of Syncopated Heartbeats no longer look like three pairs of sunglasses.
- The Implant Disassembly Clinic can now only be worn by Fixers, as it was supposed to be.
- The Semi Sentient Service Tower has received the proper (lower) skill requirements, and will now respond properly to commands.
- Barter Armor has received a small boost.
- The Augmented Cyborg Arm Armor incorrectly had the Psychic and Stamina wear requirements switched. This has been fixed, and the wear requirements for the arm piece are now the same as the rest of the suit.
Technical
- Item equipping rules have been changed a bit, to prevent certain items – normally vehicles – from automatically de-equipping when zoning.
- Some individuals of several four-legged species had a gene error causing them to walk in strange angles, e.g. nose in the ground and hind legs in the air. This has now been corrected by natural selection, as they were unable to run from Omni-Tek biogenetic regulation units.
- The frequency of individuals surfing the ground instead of running has diminished. It’s not considered fashionable this year.
- When using an insurance terminal, you will now be informed of the amount of XP registered in the insurance database.
- Most creatures on Rubi-Ka will now stop 1 to 2 meters further away when closing in on you to fight. This will result in a more visually pleasing experience.
- Land control map buttons will no longer pop up on top of other panels when the map panel is closed.
- When trying to multi-wield a weapon and failing, you will receive a message explaining why.
- Swimming in place will now use a proper animation instead of the forward swim animation.
- The Anarchy Online launcher now opens the device selection menu upon start-up if you have installed a new graphics card.
- The nano program Iron Circle now uses a more suitable icon in the NCU effects display.
- Water ripples are now properly aligned with the water, no matter the angle of the water surface.
- Your XP value is now properly synchronized between the server and client. This should remove all messages of losing XP, and get rid of false messages of extremely high XP gain. Note that this was always just a visual bug.
- Players with Kyro graphic cards no longer require a workaround to get the game to run without glitches.
- A problem that would cause the nano program timer bars to lock up has been fixed. This could still happen, but should be more rare.
- The pop-up box to confirm deletion of an item will now list the name of the item you’re about to delete.
- We put a new skin on the launcher.
- Several issues with team health and nano pool bars in the Team Window have been corrected.
- Turning off the displaying of names above people’s heads should now work properly in all situations.
Server side update Friday April 25th 2003
Some tweaks and corrections have been made after the content upgrade.
Mission tweaks
- Creatures will now be of levels more suitable for the level of the mission.
- Supplies in missions have been tweaked, adding more diversity. Some items simply showed up a little too often.
- Turrets have been tuned down a bit, and should no longer be almost certain death to many people. It's still advisable to be careful around them though.
- Cameras, and the sentries they activate, are slightly less perceptive now.
- Mission areas should on average be smaller now.
- Two rooms containing unaccessible locations for chests and elevators have been removed from mission generation.
Other changes
- The XP reward boost from 14.7.10 for high level mobs has been turned on again. The new numbers were overwritten by the old ones by mistake.
In addition, we forgot one major change in the build notes for the upgrade:
- The quality level limit on implants has been raised from 220 to 250. Note that the skill requirements on these top quality level implants are often higher than you can currently reach.
Client side update Tuesday April 29th 2003
Some more tweaks and corrections.
Monsters and NPCs
- Creatures will now focus more on one target instead of switching back and forth all the time.
- Creatures on a timed despawn (e.g. Peter Lee) will not despawn even though their time is up, for as long as they have anybody on their hate list.
- Sentries activated by cameras spotting you now give XP.
Equipment
- Withered Flesh now has its bonuses correctly applied when worn.
- Augmented OT Rings of all quality levels can now be worn on either finger again.
Other changes
- When exiting indoor areas while morphed and having a vehicle equipped you will now stay in your morphed shape and not enter the vehicle. When the morph runs out, you'll need to reequip the vehicle, or change playfield (to an outdoor one), to enter it.
Client side update Wednesday May 28th 2003
Some tweaks and corrections that we figure should be rather well received.
Missions
- Turrets and cameras will no longer be placed in the same rooms as elevators.
- A bug causing some mission areas to not be generated properly, denying you access to them, has been fixed.
- A mission room that, when containing an elevator going up, caused people to be stuck between floors has been removed from the mission generator.
Monsters and NPCs
- Creatures will now focus their anger, no longer switching targets at every heartbeat.
Land control and PvP (Player versus Player)
- Land control areas now have a period of 75% Suppression Gas (player vs. monster fights allowed) instead of 100% (no fighting possible).
- The disgrace period leaving you open to attack for one minute after leaving a PvP area now applies to all PvP areas, not just land control.
- Attacking a PvP enabled character in a a 75% or 100% Suppression Gas area will enable you for PvP for one minute.
Experience Points (XP)
- An XP bug, which would lead to characters not gaining any XP from team kills in certain situations, has been sorted out.
Server side update Wednesday June 4th 2003
Two bugs have been corrected.
- If a shield disabler had been used in a land control area, building new towers was impossible. Building towers should now work correctly when the suppression gas cycles back to 75%.
- Creatures meant to patrol an area will now follow their patrol routes instead of wandering like any other creature.