Onward News

Happy December Community,

As 2023 is wrapping up, we are going to be doing this month’s Sitrep a little differently. We want to take time to reflect on everything that has happened this year, showing a summarized view of all the major updates we have made to the game. In the Community Center we will look at some of the improvements to player interactions we have made and different community events people have participated in. Additionally, we will be showcasing some of our devs’ highlights from the year in the Devs’ Desk section.

The Downpour Interactive Team will be taking time off for the holidays to spend time with family and friends. The office will be closed from 12/20 through 01/02. This includes community & support. If you are looking for support during this time, please check our FAQ or our official Discord.

2023 - Code Name: W.O.L.F

W. hat will have the most impact

• What parts of the game can we work on for a large number of our players?

O. ffer assistance

• How can we develop features to solve the problem(s) the players are having?

L. ook for opportunities to expand

• Can the feature be expanded to give more to the players?

F. ortify with testing

• Does this feel like a good solution?
  

Some of the major features that you saw come into the game in 2023 were the result of us taking the opportunity to be a bit more flexible and stretch our creativity. We wanted to develop new things while also taking on difficult challenges. The team started to look closer at major requests the community was asking us to address. Working closely together to review these topics, having amazing discussions, and forming solid plans for how to move forward; This was the year’s result:

[h3]New Features[/h3]

• FOUR New Weapons (MP7A2, SR-2MP Veresk, M240L, & Ultimax 100 Mk3)
  
• THREE New Maps (Egress, FOB Bassett, Cargo: Night)
  
• Regional Servers Implementation
  
• New Animations & Movement system (for Player & Bot Models)
  
• New Tent Hub and Tent Interactions
  
• New Watch Design and Watch Functions
  
• Scores & Global Leaderboards (Shooting Range & FOB Bassett)
  
• New Glove Models
  
• New Game Mode (Fire Fight)
  
• New Main Menu Environment
  
• Loadout Expansions & Cloud Saving (Quest & SteamVR)
  
• NEW NVG Goggles & Filter Colors (Amber Phosphor, White Phosphor, Green Phosphor, and Digital)
  
• New Night Mode Equipment (IR Strobes, IR Lasers, Chem Lights)
  
• Added Basketball - Freeroam Mini Game
  
• Added Quest 3 Graphics & Performance Support
  
• Weekly quick play rotations for PvP and PvE modes
  

[h3]Major System Improvements[/h3]

• Added Ability to Simultaneously Hold Weapons in Both Hands
  
• Improvements and Re-design to Social Game Modes (Gun Game, One in the Chamber)
  
• Update to Game Engine
  
• Redesigned Gunstock Calibration
  
• Updated Tutorial & Training
  
• AI Refactor & Co-Op Adjustments
  
• Improvements to Night Mode Equipment (Flare Gun, Laser Sights)
  
• Updates to Environment Graphics & Parity
  

That’s a lot of big features that got added! Not to mention there was a ton for quality of life improvements and bug fixes not included in this list.

[h2]From the Devs’ Desks:[/h2]
Our developers are the unseen and unspoken heroes behind all the features, updates, and fixes you experience in the game. A passionate team filled with people who have been at DPI and working on this project for several years. We all have different playstyles and skill levels in Onward. This gives us a unique opportunity when we design, develop, and test features. It allows us to look at the wider player base and not focus on any one style or skill set. We also take time to play with the community to make sure we are in touch with what players are looking for.

With the studio now being a smaller team, we have looked critically at our development process and doubled down on prioritizing things that we believe will be the most impactful to the players and continue to push the game forward. This has truly shown how talented and dedicated this team is to making Onward one of the greatest VR tactical shooters.

“The AI refactor has been on my to-do list since the Quest port. Co-op is a large player group, but most of our past updates focused on PvP so it’s nice to do something for them. New navigation and waypoint systems, new cover systems, and moving to a simpler and easier to expand behavior system allowed us to get more bots on Quest than we used to on PC, bring back weapon dropping, and create a better balance to difficulty. We now have a solid foundation to improve future PvE content.”
Dan - Engineering & Environments

“My favorite feature I worked on this year was probably Procedural Gun Game, but that's because I'm a sucker for procedurally generated content. But I think overall, the IR Strobes in night mode are more impactful. They aren't as large as, for example, the leaderboards, but they stand out to me because of how relatively quick they were to implement versus how big of a difference they make in how night maps are played.”
Brian - Engineering

“I have two favorite features that I worked on this year; one was the scanline effect for night vision. Adding them felt like I completed the night vision effect after all this time. My other favorite feature was updating the player gloves. Replacing the old gloves while not affecting any of our animations was a challenge, but the impact of having distinct faction specific gloves in the game was well worth it!”
Guzzy - Art

“A lot stands out to me this year, and going through the list has made me take a step back to see the bigger picture. Despite the challenges that 2023 served up, we’ve managed to hit every single internal release deadline for Onward. Some times more comfortably than others, but we did hit them. And we delivered a lot of fresh content and gameplay while doing so.”
Kasper - Production

“One of the things that I really enjoyed was designing and planning all the unique UI elements for the new …. Oh, we can’t mention that yet? Sorry.”
Whoops - Canary

We are looking forward to sharing more about what is being developed in the January Sitrep.


[h2]Community Center:[/h2]

Hey Everyone! SyrinS0ng here, your friendly fire Community Manager.

“My favorite thing in 2023 was seeing the team work hard on features that would really benefit the whole community. Things like Server IDs and the FOB Basset map, gave players easier ways to connect and meet others. I strongly believe that forming bonds and friendships is always an important part of gaming.”
SyrinS0ng - Community

Seeing players connect while in and out of the game always brings me immense joy. 2023 was a great year in the community. Not only did the team include some very important in-game community driven features, there were also lots of events and custom maps for players as well. I wanted to highlight some of these major events and features.

• Developers making improvements to reporting tool to cut down on toxicity
  
• Developers adding Server IDs so players could quickly find and connect to friends, regardless of platform
  
• Custom Map Makers added 82 New Custom Maps to the game, providing fun new environments to play on, or hang out and practice with your squad
  
• The VRML competitive league had a successful Season 15 with 1227 players in 70 teams, which amounted to 561 matches to compete for the winning title and prizes
  
• VR Charity ran 2 amazing charity events raising just shy of $10,000 to help charity programs for causes like Make a Wish & Suicide Prevention, with hopes to do even more next year
  

There are lots of ways to connect with other players for a variety of different playstyles. Whether it’s for high scores, creating content, or a good cause; having those moments where you play some amazing matches and you want to keep going until your headset dies is a rush we hope everyone gets to experience while playing. It’s what we will continue to strive for.


Happy Holidays!
~ Downpour Interactive Team

Hello Onward Community,

Overall update 1.13 has received great reactions and feedback. From how good the updated PVE feels to fun rounds of Basketball played on FOB Bassett. However, shortly after update 1.13 was launched we started to get a small number of reports related to performance, map bugs, and PCVR load times. We quickly jumped on reviewing the information coming in and resolving these issues.

This hotfix addresses a variety of things that were ultimately adding up thus resulting in performance drops and FPS stuttering. It also fixes a range of bugs for maps, including aggressive kill spots, culling/popping, and lighting issues. Additionally, while we were packaging this hotfix we opted to include some fixes that were ready to release such as some additional adjustments to Co-Op, A Caster Mode fix, and others. The details of adjustments in this hotfix are listed in the change log below.

Under the Hood
During our QA testing cycles version 1.13 was operating and testing normally and went through the typical process of testing, bug reports, and bug fixes. Testers did not run into any major moments of performance drops or moments that felt like it affected the intended gameplay. Our QA team can’t cover the plethora of devices, connections, and setups that the playerbase could have, so making sure we listen and follow-up with our community is a top priority. When we started to get reports from the community about performance and map bugs, we wanted to address it right away, however, it was difficult to narrow down what the cause might be, so we worked directly with community members affected and also started going through the code to try and identify possible causes.

Maps
We were able to find some map issues like skyboxes for all maps being loaded, instead of just the ones that were needed. That has been fixed. We also went through and reviewed maps to find locations that needed improvements to the occlusion culling (“popping”) and lighting. Those adjustments have all been made in addition to some other fixes.

Performance
We also identified that memory usage in 1.13 had become significantly higher than it had been previously, we found and addressed several causes for that. An example of this is making optimizations to the code that handles the weapons that bots use, addressing performance dips some players might have been feeling in Co-Op.

PCVR has much higher resolution and graphics quality throughout the game. Things such as multiple skyboxes being referenced, amount of shaders loading, and bot weapon handling will have a higher impact on the performance and memory usage for PCVR vs Quest. This caused some PCVR players' load times to increase or be unable to launch the game. As a result, we have made some improvements to launching parameters and cut down on some of the memory being used throughout the game. These adjustments should also additionally help Quest users who might be experiencing some performance issues or longer launching times. We will be continuing to look into this and improve this further in future updates.

For Meta Quest players
Meta Quest recently had an update to the Quest OS that was changing some players' default settings to run applications at 120hz. Onward is designed to run at 90hz. If you disable this setting in your OS, this should get you some additional improved performance while playing.

For PCVR Players
Some PCVR assets may still be using more memory than intended. We are going to continue to look into further reducing the memory used. If you continue to experience issues launching the game, please contact our support team.


Quest - Throwing Utilities
We originally made some adjustments to the Quest throwing dynamics based on information we had received about hardware updates for Quest devices. When testing the adjustments in dev sessions and in our QA process, there didn’t feel to be a difference from the intended functionality. After the update, we again listened to the community and based on the feedback we received, made sure to go back and evaluate if it was the intended experience we wanted the players to have. After review it was determined that it was not the way we wanted the feature to work and we reverted the change. Throwing will now work the same way it did in 1.12.2.

[h2]Change Log: [/h2]
[h3]System[/h3]

• Enabled dynamic shader memory management for PC to resolve extremely long load times or crashes some players were experiencing
  
• Removed some code that was slowing down update logic for most objects in the game
  
• Optimized logic for pickups run to help with performance
  
• Removed many shaders from our pre-warmed collections that are no longer in the game and may have been slowing down loading for PC users
  
• Lowered overall memory usage

[h3]UI/UX [/h3]

• Fixed player outlines not appearing when in caster / desktop launch mode

[h3]Co-Op[/h3]

• Improved performance of cover and pathing behaviors of bots to resolve stuttering and lagging on the host player
  
• AI now turn flashlights and lasers off on weapons when they drop the weapon
  
• In Hunt, the tablet will now only beep once when the initial scan begins, not repeatedly
  
• Fixed high difficulty bots not being affected by flashbangs as much as they should have been

[h3]Maps[/h3]

• Fixed bugs and memory issues related to skyboxes on all maps
  
• Improved occlusion on Downfall (D/N), Snowpeak (D/N), Subway, and the Main Menu improve performance and reduce "popping"
  
• Improved the quality of lightmaps on FOB (D/N) Subway, Cargo (D/N) Downfall (D/N) Bazaar (D/N) Quarantine (D/N) Snowpeak (D/N) Shooting Range (D/N)
  
• Fixed many locations that were spontaneously killing players that walked into them on Suburbia (D/N), Bazaar (D/N), and Downfall (D/N)
  
• Improved terrain quality on Downfall (D/N)

[h3]Workshop & Custom Maps[/h3]

• Fixed several issues reported by custom content creators with the custom content SDK

[h3]Weapons and Utilities[/h3]

• Reverted a change that was reducing throwing distance for Quest users by approximately 25%

[h3]Known Issues:[/h3]

• A small number of buildings on Quarantine Day appear overly bright when the player is at a particular distance from them
  
• On PCVR, Lighting inside the tent may appear brighter than intended
  

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Hello Onward Community,

Update 1.13 is here and we are thrilled to give you all the details of the work that is in this update. New maps, new bots, new equipment, & much more. Many of these features were able to be completed because of the work put into the previous updates with upgrading our game engine and backend refactors.

Some of the changes we made, such as the AI refactor and environment parity, this current release is not its final form. We will continue to build upon the AI behaviors and overall Co-Op experience. Additionally, for the environments, we were not able to apply upgrades to every map in this update. The maps will continue to be worked on and updated to improve the visuals and performance for both Quest and PCVR.

This update is very feature focused. However, we also did take some time and address some major bugs that players have reported. Let’s start going over those major features and updates that are now available. For the list of details on everything in the update, check the Change Log located below.



[h2]New Map(s)[/h2]
[h3]FOB[/h3]
FOB Bassett is now available for Free Roam and Social Modes (One In The Chamber, Gun Game, & Spec Ops). This environment is a medium size map designed to be an iconic overseas military station. It includes several locations within it such as a Gym, Rec Room, Infirmary, and a Training Facility.

Social Game Modes will have an opportunity to play on a large scale map with lots of twists and turns and spots to take cover. This will make Social Games more difficult and require more advanced tactics to find your opponents.

This map is also an ideal location for Free Roamers to meet up with their squads and go over tactics, practice maneuvers, or just hang out and play a game of basketball. Two Basketball courts with working scoreboards and weekly leaderboards have been included on the map. One is a single hoop and the other is a full court. Both locations will keep score for 2 point and 3 point shots.


[h3]Cargo (Night)[/h3]
Cargo has been a signature favorite CQC map for many years. With the new method we developed for updating and creating maps, the team decided it was a great time to introduce a night variant. Cargo Day and Cargo Night are the first maps to get an extensive graphics update for Quest and PC players. Updated textures throughout, New roof with directional lighting, and updated collision. Just to name a few.

With the graphical updates, Cargo Night is now one of the darker night maps we have. It offers a more realistic feel for being in a warehouse surrounded by high stacked objects and limited lighting sources. Night vision will be a requirement.


[h2]Updated Tutorial & Training [/h2]
New players will benefit from the updated tutorial. We made several changes to how training is done. We have included improved text and visual representations to help new players understand more complex functions.

The new tutorial teaches you how to maneuver and use interactions based on your settings. Different settings such as Snap Turning, Weapon Grip, and Others will automatically be reflected in the tutorial run through so you can test how the different settings affect/improve your gameplay.

In addition to the improvements made in Training mode, we have added objective details and instructions (previously only visible in Fire Fight) to the whiteboard in all game modes.



[h3]AI Overhaul[/h3]
The AI for Co-Op and Training has been completely reworked from the ground up.
AI can now take the "direct path" or the "safe path", which allows them to flank you much more often and intelligently. Some other highlights for the new behavior include the following:

• Improved patrolling behavior throughout maps
  
• Adjustments made to AI behavior for difficulty scaling
  
• AI will react to activity based on proximity instead of hearing gunshot sounds made anywhere on the map
  
• AI no longer attacks you all at once. It is now based on a new visual and audio cue system, meaning it is possible to play more stealthily.
  
• AI bodies are now persistent, and do not disappear.
  
• AI will now drop their inventory and you have the ability to pick up items from it. Consequently, ammo boxes are no longer available in Hunt or Evac.
  
• The decision making process has been improved whether throwing grenades, deciding when to flank vs bound forward, or dynamically finding cover for the current situation
  
• AI now has the same health as the player and deals the same damage as a player. This used to vary based on difficulty but now difficulty is handled by a combination of good vs bad decision making chances and reaction times.

[h3]Hunt Updates[/h3]

• The max bots have been reduced from 128 (6-10 at a time) with the old wave spawning, to 32 (all spawning at once). This means bots will no longer spawn behind you in the middle of the match.
  
• After a few minutes in Hunt, your tablet will periodically scan a few (not all) Volk AI and show them on the map to keep the match going if you can't find that last bot.
  
• Passive difficulty has been added (Bots will not react or engage with players)
  

[h3]New PVE Equipment [/h3]
Some additional equipment is now available in PVE modes. The ballistic shield and the defibrillators are able to be included in your loadouts. Please note - in previous developer communications it was said the defibrillators will cost 12 pts. However, after multiple tests and design reviews, the cost has been adjusted. The cost is now 14 pts.


[h2]Quality of Life Improvements [/h2]
[h3]Night Mode Improvements[/h3]
Over time, we have been gathering feedback and reviewing what can be done to improve the experience on night maps. A lot of the feedback we received was related to difficulty seeing teammates and being able to clearly maneuver across the environments. We have included several new and updated accessories to help address this.

• NEW NVG Filters Amber Phosphor, White Phosphor, Green Phosphor, and Digital (Multi-Color) - View
  
• NEW Ground Panoramic NVG - No vignette when viewing, greatly increasing your field of vision
  
• NEW IR Strobes - Lights that can be seen on the helmet indicating they are a teammate
  
• NEW IR Attachments - Infrared lasers and infrared flashlights for primary and secondary weapons
  
• NEW Chem Lights - Added to help with signaling and marking locations
  
• UPDATED Flare Gun - Now with Parachute Flares. This means when it is shot into the air it will now parachute in place for an extended amount of time, and illuminates the surrounding area
  
• UPDATED Current laser sights - Distinguishing colors red or green (by faction), additionally they have high and low powered modes

[h2]Updates to Environment Graphics & Parity[/h2]
PCVR and Quest maps have been consolidated to use the same map version. Bringing much needed parity and consistency to the environments. It is an important feature to offer a more fair competitive gameplay experience. This also ensures that any future adjustments and bug fixing will be equally applied to all platforms. All the maps have received small updates and improvements to them. Cargo, Suburbia, & Downfall are the first 3 three maps to undergo a more extensive update process.

Quest 2 players will now have improved textures, added assets to better fill in the scenes, and a lot more noticeable details.

Quest 3 players will have increased LOD bias. so you will see less LOD popping. They also have increased resolution, and increased scope resolution.

PCVR Players may notice a few details have been removed like blades of grass, small plants, and some decals. PCVR still retains visual benefits like higher resolution textures, mesh quality, and LOD bias.

REMINDER: All platforms have now been set to using the same maps, however, not all maps have received their full upgrades. We are continuing to work on the maps and will be updating them over time.

[h2]Updates to Fire Fight[/h2]
Based on feedback received and additional playtesting after Fire Fight was released, we have made impactful changes to improve the game mode and overall experience when playing.

• Increased points awarded for a hard drive capture to 2 from 1
  
• Increased the Victory limit from 3 to 4
  
• Increased the max round count from 6 to 8
  
• Reduced the time the helicopter takes to arrive from 4 minutes to 3:30
  
• Adjusted and added more spawn locations to be more randomized
  

[h2]Major Bug Fixes [/h2]
[h3]Virtual Gun Stock [/h3]

• Fixed virtual gun stock drifting between eyes as the player turns in real life on PC
  
• Fixed weapons snapping to a slight downward angle when aiming with Virtual Gun Stock on PC

[h2]System[/h2]

• Improved visual quality of the game on Quest 3
  
• Quest 3 - Adjusted LOD bias to reduce LOD-popping and make renders higher quality from longer distances
  
• Quest 3 - Scopes and drone cameras render at 4x the resolution compared to Quest 2
  
• Quest 3 - Super-sampling at a 10% higher than native resolution was enabled to improve graphics quality
  
• Fixed an issue where, rarely, a player could get stuck in a loop of opening panel links
  

[h2]UI/UX [/h2]

• Added an icon to show if a player is in the tent
  
• Fixed the green “Friend” icon not appearing on Fire Fight lobbies in the server browser
  
• Fixed some typos in the tent
  
• Added photographs and text explaining every game mode on the whiteboard
  
• The “quick join” buttons now have separate weekly rotations for Core modes, Competitive modes, and Cooperative modes, just like Social modes did before
  
• Hunt and Evac are now separate game modes and can be selected directly from the main menu

[h2]Gameplay[/h2]

• Improved the tutorial and new player experience
  
• The tutorial now takes place in FOB Bassett
  
• Overhauled the way information is presented to the player
  
• Added a small tutorial to the tent the first time you use it

[h2]Co-Op[/h2]

• Made significant improvements and rebuilt AI behavior
  
• Bots now spawn all at once in Hunt, improving the maximum concurrently active bot count from 10 to 32 in the process, and reducing the number of total maximum bots from 128 to 32.
  
• Improved bot patrolling behavior and tactical behaviors, including flanking and taking cover
  
• Improved the variety of weapon loadouts carried by bots
  
• Bots now drop their weapons upon dying, allowing players to pick them up
  
• Bots will occasionally drop syringes
  
• Added a “passive” difficulty level to Hunt in which Bots do not react to players, and tweaked all other difficulty levels
  
• Bots health and damage is now the same as a players
  
• Ammo boxes have been removed from Hunt and Evac
  
• In Hunt, your tablet will scan a few enemies at a time enemies after a small initial delay, a beep will indicate when a scan has completed. Three enemies will be identified by showing an icon of the enemies location.
  
• The ballistic shield is available in Operations
  
• The defibrillator is now available in Operations
  
• Fixed bots losing track of players when assuming a kneeling position
  
• Fixed instances of bots clipping through thin walls and assets, and shooting players through these walls and assets
  

[h2]Core Modes[/h2]
Fire Fight

• Increased points for a hard drive capture points from 1 to 2
  
• Increased round victory limit from 3 to 4
  
• Increased the maximum round count from 6 to 8
  
• Reduced the time it takes for the helicopter to arrive from 4 minutes to 3.5 minutes
  
• Made spawn locations more dynamic and unpredictable

[h2]Maps[/h2]

• Significantly improved parity between PC and Quest maps by consolidating maps to one version
  
• FOB Bassett (Day & Night) have been added for Free Roam, Gun Game, Spec Ops and One in the Chamber
  
• FOB Bassett Basketball Courts with weekly global scoreboards have been added
  
• FOB Bassett Basketball Courts include ability to score 2 or 3 points
  
• Cargo (Night) has been added
  
• Cargo (Day) has new art assets to improve the visual quality of the map
  
• Fixed performance issues on Abandoned Night, Suburbia D/N, and Quarantine D/N for PCVR
  
• Fixed culling issues on Downfall D/N on PCVR

[h2]Workshop & Custom Maps[/h2]

• Updated SDK for Custom Map makers to have the ability to add new bots to custom maps
  
• Custom Maps that originally supported Co-Op that do not have the updated SDK will no longer appear as an option in Co-Op

[h2]Weapons and Utilities[/h2]

• Added two variations of night vision goggles. PVS-7 behaves like old night vision, with a tight vignette around your vision and GPNVG-18 goggles have a much greater field of view
  
• PVS-7 is now free and auto-equipped on night maps.
  
• GPNVG-18 goggles have been added but cost 3 loadout points.
  
• Added Three phosphor filters for NVGs (green, white, and amber). These are 0 points, but need to be set in your loadout options
  
• Added a multicolor digital filter for NVGs that costs 3 points
  
• Added infrared strobes to identify friend or foe when using night vision equipment
  
• Added infrared laser and flashlight options for use with night vision equipment
  
• Added chem lights as a one-point equipment item (colored by faction: green for MARSOC, orange for Volk)
  
• The flare gun has been updated to light up the surrounding environment using “pseudo lighting”. The giant pink tint area from it has been removed.
  
• Added parachute flares and made it so that they can set players on fire on a hit
  
• All laser sights now have a low power mode that does not show a beam, and a high power mode that does show the beam
  
• Laser sights are now colored by weapon faction: red for MARSOC, green for Volk
  
• Fixed an issue where the drone battery would not drain in Fire Fight
  
• Fixed a bug where RPG rockets would sometimes not explode on impact
  
• Fixed virtual gun stock drifting between eyes as the player turns in real life on PC
  
• Fixed weapons snapping to a slight downward angle when aiming with Virtual Gun Stock on PC

[h2]Known Issues:[/h2]

• Players may become stuck in the Tent when Defibrillated after being downed by one user and then killed by another during Fire Fight matches
  
• Rarely, private servers with an unknown server region appear and behave like public servers to non-host users

Hello Onward Players!

Absolute deLIGHT doesn’t even cover the excitement you showed for the news we shared last month, especially related to the Night Vision features. We are going to be keeping up on that trend this month. You may not think it possible to be more hyped for this update, however, we have some big updates on features you have asked about for a long time.

The Devs’ Desk will be going over the remaining features that will be included in Update 1.13. Make sure to read all the details because there are some things you probably are not expecting. We will also be providing some additional details for some of the features we talked about last month.

Update 1.13 is shaping up to be very impactful no matter which way you play Onward. From the Hard Core Competition players to the Role players, Social Warriors to PVE hunters. This update has features for everyone. The other thrilling part is that all of this will be available before the long Thanksgiving Holiday weekend in the USA!



The Unity update in our last patch set the stage for a lot of the work we have done in this update. Making the changes to major tools and systems beforehand allowed us to make much more meaningful updates to features you have been asking for. Overall, Update 1.13 isn’t everything we are working on, we still have work to do for some bigger features for the game. We have a lot of exciting stuff in development. Being able to release such impactful features to the players and seeing your joyful reactions the past couple months has brought us immense happiness.

[h2]Quest 3[/h2]
As the Quest 3 ships out to people the first thing we are getting asked is “What is the difference in Onward for the Quest 3 vs the Quest 2?”

Some improvements can already be seen when using the Quest 3 based on the improvements in the hardware. In Update 1.13 We've increased the LOD bias for Quest 3 so you will see less LOD popping, and we increased the resolution of both the game but more importantly for scopes, so scopes will be sharper and higher resolution.

More improvements are coming down the road as well, so that is just the first batch.

[h2]Updated Tutorial & Player Instructions[/h2]
With the launch of the Quest 3 there are going to be a lot of new VR users and new Onward players. In order to help these new users and also current users become better familiar with Onward’s gameplay and mechanics we have updated our in-game tutorial. The first big change is now the tutorial is located in the FOB Bassett training room. We made several changes to how training is done. We have included improved text and visual representations to help new players understand more complex functions. The new tutorial instructions and updates to AI in training mode should help players feel better prepared for battles when they join PVE and PVP games.

In addition to the tutorial improvements, we have added objective details and instructions to the whiteboard in most game modes.


[h2]Additional Night Changes[/h2]
One more piece of equipment we have included to help with night mode missions is an update to the Flare Gun. The Flare Gun has been updated to have Parachute Flares. This means when it is shot into the air it will now parachute in place for an extended amount of time, and actually illuminates the surrounding area. This is extremely helpful in situations like getting pinned down by enemy fire and needing to signal to your teammates where exactly you are located. Make sure to take caution when aiming the Flare Gun, if shot directly at someone, it will cause them to be engulfed in fire.

[h2]Additional Details on FOB Bassett[/h2]
FOB Bassett is a US military station located overseas. MARSOC has been stationed there to help provide medical aid while helping fight off Volk forces from trying to take over the areas that contain this country's two most valuable industrial crops: tobacco and sugar extract.

This environment is a medium size map designed to be an iconic overseas military station. It includes several locations within it such as a Gym, Rec Room, Infirmary, and Advanced Training Facility. Social Game Modes will have an opportunity to play on a large scale map with lots of twists and turns and spots to take cover. This will make Social Games more difficult and require more advanced tactics to find your opponents. This map is also an ideal location for Free Roamers to meet up with their squads and go over tactics, practice maneuvers, or just hang out and play a game of basketball.

When we say play a game of basketball, we mean it. FOB Bassett has two ways to play. One is a single hoop and the other is a full court. Both locations will keep score for 2 point and 3 point shots. It also has its own weekly global leaderboard. Basketball can also be good training for improving your grenade throwing skills.


[h2]Updates to Environment Graphics & Parity[/h2]
Currently there are 4 different versions of every Onward map. There are PCVR versions (Night & Day) and Quest Versions (Night & Day). This means when we fix bugs, we need to fix them 4 times. This also means that some assets are on some maps and not others causing some visual and cover compatibility issues. With a lot of the updates that have happened over the past several months, we have been able to address this by consolidating our environments to one version. This means PCVR and Quest players will now be on the same version of the maps. This will bring a lot of much needed gameplay parity to PCVR and Quest players. It also ensures that when bug fixes or updates are made to maps, it will be easier for us to keep those fixes consistent across platforms. This is a big improvement for the competitive players. Overall, it means less time spent redoing map fixes and more time for other improvements to the game like making new content and features and fixing bugs.

Before you worry or any assumptions are made, this will not be a graphics downgrade to put all maps on the current Quest 2 versions. As part of this process we have updated the graphics throughout the maps. For Quest players this means improved textures, added assets to better fill in the scenes, and a lot more. For PC Players this will affect details like removal of blades of grass, small plants, and some decals. We've made the decision to remove some smaller details that could provide concealment on PC that Quest players could just see right through.The list of all the work that was done is really long and we think it will be more impactful for us to show you. Images below are examples of Quest and PCVR Graphics in 1.12.2 and what it looks like in Version 1.13. The Version 1.13 view is how all players will see the environments after the update is released.* PCVR retains visual benefits like higher resolution and LOD bias.

It’s important that we also note that all platforms have now been set to using the same maps, however, not all maps have received their proper upgrades. We are continuing to work on the maps and will be updating them over time. Some maps may feel like a complete remaster.

*Note - PC resolution and textures for 1.13 will be a bit better than what is able to be seen in these posted photos vs when in headset. In addition, some work is still being done on maps and environments may change slightly from images shown in the 1.13 versions.

[h2]Fire Fight Updates[/h2]
We have been closely listening to your feedback and reports about the new game mode. Based on your feedback and additional playtesting, we have made the following changes in the game mode:

• Increased points awarded for a hard drive capture to 2 from 1
  
• Increased the Victory limit from 3 to 4
  
• Increased the max round count from 6 to 8
  
• Reduced the time the helicopter takes to arrive from 4 minutes to 3:30
  
• Adjusted and added more spawn locations to be more randomized
  

[h2]An Advanced Enemy Approaches[/h2]
This is the news a lot of players have been waiting years for. We have made drastic improvements to our AI for our PVE modes. We have made several smaller changes to AI over the years, such as animations and response adjustments. However, what we really wanted to do is completely re-do their behaviors. In Update 1.13 we have been able to do just that. The AI has had a complete refactor done.

• AI can now take the "direct path" or the "safe path", which allows them to flank you much more often and intelligently. Some other highlights for the new behavior include the following:
  
• AI spawn all at once in Hunt. If you clear an area you don’t have to worry about them spawning behind you.
  
• Active bot count has increased from 10 to 32 (8 higher than the previous PCVR bots!)
  
• Improved patrolling behavior throughout maps
  
• Adjustments made to AI behavior for difficulty scaling
  
• AI will react to tactics made around them and not just gunshot sounds made anywhere on the map
  
• AI no longer has a “swarm” behavior and will not all attack you at once. It is now based off a new visual and audio cue system, meaning it is possible to play more stealthily.
  
• AI will now have more intelligent tactics like using how and when they use grenades and taking cover dynamically behind any object.
  
• AI bodies are now persistent, and do not disappear.
  
• After a few minutes in Hunt, your tablet will periodically scan a few (not all) Volk AI and show them on the map to keep the match going if you can’t find that last bot.
  
• AI will now drop their inventory and you have the ability to pick up items from it. Consequently, ammo boxes are no longer available in Hunt or Evac.
  
• Most of the previous SteamVR AI inventory loadouts are back! With some additions like syringes and flashbangs. They will carry a variety of weapons, attachments, and equipment.
  

That’s right, picking up AI inventory is back! This is something you have been asking for and we have been working hard to bring it back into the game. We would also like to note that this refactor launching with 1.13 is the foundation for work that we plan to build upon to make additional improvements to the AI in the future. For example, in 1.13 the Rifleman AI has returned and we are currently working on other AI types like Snipers, Automatic Rifleman, and more in future updates.

We are excited to see the dynamic improvement this refactor will bring to your PVE experiences. More details on the AI changes will be shared in the patch notes when the update releases.

The AI is not the only major update to Co-Op. Some other highly requested updates will also be added. You can now use the ballistic shield again in Hunt and Evac. In addition, the defibrillator is also available for 12 loadout points.


All this news is HUGE. If you haven’t tried Co-Op or it wasn’t your thing before, you should try it again with all the adjustments that have been made. Make sure you have enough time over the holiday weekend to experience all the new updates.



Our Custom Map Maker Showcase entries are wrapping up and there are some exciting maps to play on. We will be reviewing the maps and announcing the winner on our social media channels soon. Be on the lookout for that announcement and make sure you try out the map for yourself.



Keep your head on a swivel

Hello Onward community,

We have just released another hotfix to address additional issues when Update 1.12 was released. This will fix a variety of bugs happening throughout different game modes and fix some errors that were happening in the settings. Speculative fixes are due to the limited amount of testing we can do on various devices and setups in our QA cycle. If any of the below issues continue to happen, please use our Discord to report the bug(s) you are experiencing.

Changelog

• Fix for hard drive spawn locations that allowed it to spawn outside of accessible map locations
  
• Fix for multiple Uplinks showing up during Uplink matches
  
• Fix for attempting to join Competitive Fire Fight through quick join freezing the game
  
• Speculative fix for players floating in the sky
  
• Potential fix for game settings not saving
  
• Speculative fix for Pimax and Windows Mixed Reality users game not launching
  
• Fix for heartbeat audio staying on when healing yourself
  
• Fixed and bug that would show “Arsonide” and not the default corpsman
  
• Speculative fix for defibrillators not spawning
  
• Adjustment made to prevent more than 3 people joining a fireteam in Fire Fight
  
• Speculative fix for player states not behaving correctly. (Players having the wrong uniform, being invisible, ect.)