Battlezone Gold Edition news & patch notes

Small update to fix some quality-of-life improvements for PC controllers. PATCH

• Improved direct input controller detection. This should mean issues where controllers were being picked up erroneously are reduced.
• Added a configuration tool option to disable direct input controllers. If you’re still having issues, use this to disable legacy controller support.
• Added an inifile option to disable the “critical control” warnings. This should aid setup in cases with unusual “joysticks”, such as headtrackers using Vjoy.
• Added an inifile option for scaling the FOV from its default size. Not compatible with VR mode. Intended for advanced users only.
• Added “force freelook” inifile option which causes the freelook control to stay on continuously. This should be useful for headtracking setups.

https://i.imgur.com/24hxw5X.jpg

BATTLEZONE® is now playable both with or without a VR headset!

Independent UK developer and publisher Rebellion is thrilled to announce that BATTLEZONE® GOLD EDITION launches today BATTLEZONE® GOLD EDITION includes the game and ALL additional content released since launch. AND anyone who already owns BATTLEZONE on PC will automatically upgrade to BATTLEZONE® GOLD EDITION, FREE! To celebrate the highly acclaimed VR title being available to even more would-be pilots, BATTLEZONE® GOLD EDITION will have a special 10% discount across its first week of release until Monday, May 7th. A stunning reboot of the 1980s arcade classic, BATTLEZONE® GOLD EDITION is all about breathless combat intensity. From an immersive first-person cockpit perspective, pilots can take on a challenging, procedurally generated campaign for 1-4 players, complete with online drop-in, drop-out co-op. For more information, please visit Battlezone.com

https://i.imgur.com/nvqVoEG.jpg

Patch 1.08

Main

• ALL Battlezone owners will be upgraded to the GOLD edition.
• Battlezone Gold will include the game, Classic Mode and all released tank skins, and bobbleheads.
• This will mean that owners of the game will get all the DLC and play without VR FREE!
• VR and non-VR players can play co-op together!

Updates

• “Play Again” button added to the end of a campaign.
• Healing shards are now present in a Nemesis Duel.
• Updated Radar
• Improved messaging when using team lives. (Respawn progress now slows down if being healed by an ally)
• Updated weapon behaviours.
• Balanced end of level rewards.
• Improved AI pathfinding.
• Increased chance of different environments throughout a campaign.

Bug Fixes

• Radial Weapons no longer occluded by geometry.
• Combo kills now retrigger in the same level.
• Jets now count for combo kills.
• Health shards will now return more health.
• Hacker tank rebalanced.
• Various smaller balance tweaks, bug fixes and performance improvements.

PC Specific

• Mouse and Keyboard support added.
• Text chat added.

https://i.imgur.com/HoFGzF0.jpg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z58gThlzacA&feature=youtu.be

We’re excited to announce that from May 1st Battlezone will be fully playable with OR without a VR headset!

Battlezone Gold Edition includes the game, Classic Mode and all released tank skins, bobbleheads, and horns! ANYONE who already owns Battlezone on Steam can automatically update to the Gold Edition. This means owners get all DLC and play without VR for FREE! Even better, VR and non-VR players can play co-op together!

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DQ1dbXhX4AA_ttg.jpg Just browsing all the amazing prizes we're giving away on tonight's #Rebellion25 Christmas Bonanza Twitch Stream! https://i.imgur.com/0T1DSHN.jpg https://twitter.com/Rebellion/status/940899942180229121 Join us tonight 6PM UK / 1PM ET / 10AM PT! https://www.twitch.tv/rebellion_official

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DQ1dbXhX4AA_ttg.jpg Just browsing all the amazing prizes we're giving away on tonight's #Rebellion25 Christmas Bonanza Twitch Stream! https://i.imgur.com/0T1DSHN.jpg https://twitter.com/Rebellion/status/940899942180229121 Join us tonight 6PM UK / 1PM ET / 10AM PT! https://www.twitch.tv/rebellion_official

Hey all, Later today (/u/JudgeMoist - dont ask) will be hosting a Reddit AMA to chat about Battlezone, Virtual Reality and being a games programmer!

Got questions you always wanted to ask?

Click Here for Reddit AMA https://i.imgur.com/khdEmwO.jpg AMA is now over. If you want to check it out here you go! https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/79oym2/i_am_rich_may_a_programmer_in_the_games_industry/

Hey all, Later today (/u/JudgeMoist - dont ask) will be hosting a Reddit AMA to chat about Battlezone, Virtual Reality and being a games programmer!

Got questions you always wanted to ask?

Click Here for Reddit AMA https://i.imgur.com/khdEmwO.jpg AMA is now over. If you want to check it out here you go! https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/79oym2/i_am_rich_may_a_programmer_in_the_games_industry/

UPDATE

We're holding onto this patch for a bit longer while we chase some gremlins. We hope to release it in the next couple of hours, but if not... check back tomorrow!

Patch 1.07

• Added support for direct input controllers which should include the vast majority of flight stick, HOTAS controllers and older gamepads. Due to the sheer variability of these controllers, customising your controls is required before attempting to play. Note that direct input controllers aren’t currently supported in classic mode - apologies for the inconvenience but we wanted to get controller support for the main game to you as soon as possible.
• Further improvements to voice chat quality on Steam.
• Further improvements to jet pathfinding.
• Improved UI messaging when the player is dead/being revived to discourage unnecessary use of lives. We’re aware that new players aren’t always aware that campaign lives are shared and we’re hoping that this will help to discourage premature respawning.
• Fixed a bug where artillery shells would sometimes split prematurely, causing them to spread more than intended.
• Tweaked artillery shell splitting. This change should make artillery hit the intended target more reliably. This, coupled with the above fix, should make the higher-level artillery weapons more viable.
• Fixed a bug where Steam achievement progress was not being updated.

A minor tweak sneaked into v1.06 hotfix 1 but didn’t make patch notes:

• Increased time the respawn button must be held for while a player is being revived. This is intended to discourage players from respawning while they’re being revived.

UPDATE

We're holding onto this patch for a bit longer while we chase some gremlins. We hope to release it in the next couple of hours, but if not... check back tomorrow!

Patch 1.07

• Added support for direct input controllers which should include the vast majority of flight stick, HOTAS controllers and older gamepads. Due to the sheer variability of these controllers, customising your controls is required before attempting to play. Note that direct input controllers aren’t currently supported in classic mode - apologies for the inconvenience but we wanted to get controller support for the main game to you as soon as possible.
• Further improvements to voice chat quality on Steam.
• Further improvements to jet pathfinding.
• Improved UI messaging when the player is dead/being revived to discourage unnecessary use of lives. We’re aware that new players aren’t always aware that campaign lives are shared and we’re hoping that this will help to discourage premature respawning.
• Fixed a bug where artillery shells would sometimes split prematurely, causing them to spread more than intended.
• Tweaked artillery shell splitting. This change should make artillery hit the intended target more reliably. This, coupled with the above fix, should make the higher-level artillery weapons more viable.
• Fixed a bug where Steam achievement progress was not being updated.

A minor tweak sneaked into v1.06 hotfix 1 but didn’t make patch notes:

• Increased time the respawn button must be held for while a player is being revived. This is intended to discourage players from respawning while they’re being revived.

http://i.imgur.com/ceLQr7g.jpg We’ve added a couple of requested options and fixed a couple of issues that have come up since launch.

• Added ‘Comfort’ menu with a single option, Peripheral Vision Reduction, which reduces the viewing area whilst turning in order to mitigate motion sickness. This option has three levels, Low, Medium and High. Feedback on this feature is very welcome.
• Fixed an issue that would cause a friendly convoy to not move on a convoy escort mission on Industrial levels.
• Added an option, DisableHMDMask, to GraphicsOptions.ini (found in AppData/Local/Battlezone) to disable the HMD masking when using Vive headsets to make it easier to capturing gameplay footage. This will negatively affect performance so should only be used if you’re confident your system can maintain framerate.
• Attempted fix for OpenVR headsets. Should enable users with HDK2.0, etc. to play.
• Various localisation fixes.

http://i.imgur.com/ceLQr7g.jpg We’ve added a couple of requested options and fixed a couple of issues that have come up since launch.

• Added ‘Comfort’ menu with a single option, Peripheral Vision Reduction, which reduces the viewing area whilst turning in order to mitigate motion sickness. This option has three levels, Low, Medium and High. Feedback on this feature is very welcome.
• Fixed an issue that would cause a friendly convoy to not move on a convoy escort mission on Industrial levels.
• Added an option, DisableHMDMask, to GraphicsOptions.ini (found in AppData/Local/Battlezone) to disable the HMD masking when using Vive headsets to make it easier to capturing gameplay footage. This will negatively affect performance so should only be used if you’re confident your system can maintain framerate.
• Attempted fix for OpenVR headsets. Should enable users with HDK2.0, etc. to play.
• Various localisation fixes.

Our devs are hosting Battlezone games - watch out for usernames with in them! http://i.imgur.com/E0z8aFJ.jpg

Our devs are hosting Battlezone games - watch out for usernames with in them! http://i.imgur.com/E0z8aFJ.jpg

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C_i1GOrV0AAuFBB.jpg Hey all, we will be hosting a Battlezone Co-op Twitch stream in 1 hour from this post. 6PM UK / 1PM ET / 10AM PT https://www.twitch.tv/rebellion_official

Chat with the dev team and prizes to be won!

• Copys of the game
• Battlezone Controller
• Battlezone Poster

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C_jlKIPUQAAi32Y.jpg https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C_jsDDfUQAEt6Gq.jpg

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C_i1GOrV0AAuFBB.jpg Hey all, we will be hosting a Battlezone Co-op Twitch stream in 1 hour from this post. 6PM UK / 1PM ET / 10AM PT https://www.twitch.tv/rebellion_official

Chat with the dev team and prizes to be won!

• Copys of the game
• Battlezone Controller
• Battlezone Poster

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C_jlKIPUQAAi32Y.jpg https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C_jsDDfUQAEt6Gq.jpg

We're delighted to be bringing the experience to the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, fully up-to-date with all the content we've been adding since launch - including Classic Mode, new weapons and new enemies. Also a big thank you to all those who play-tested the beta, your input was incredibly valuable. We're looking forward to seeing you all in-game, and if you have any issues please don't hesitate to contact us at rebellion.co.uk/support. http://i.imgur.com/ZYqsWb3.jpg

What's new since PSVR launch

• New Difficulties, New Challenges
  • Battlezone now features a more lenient Beginner level and, for the experts, a gruelling Extreme level. Extreme is such a massive challenge that we reward those mighty enough to beat it with three new tank loadouts — though you’ll have to beat it three times total to earn each loadout! They are 100% worth it for advanced players who want a complete four-player team of tanks…
• More Missions, New Environments
  • We’ve added new missions, maps, and events to the Battlezone campaign, filling out the campaign experience with more to see, more ways to challenge you and more difficult decisions!
• New Threat, A New Weapon
  • Look up to the skies you’ll see a new foe to take on — the Jet. This fighter plane may look a little light as it curves gracefully over the arena, but don’t end up on the wrong side of its machine gun!
  • To balance things we’ve also added a new weapon to your arsenal, and it’s a monster! You’ll now be able to equip the Railgun, a beast of a firearm that you have to charge up before letting rip with a big, single shot blast that can do some serious, serious damage.
• Go Retro with Classic Mode
  • Separate to the main campaign, this mode answers a simple question: what would the original 1980 arcade Battlezone look like in VR? The answer is stunning green wireframe visuals, optional retro controls, online leaderboards, and generally a whole lot of awesome!
• Exclusive to PC – better graphics!
  • The new PC version of Battlezone is optimized for Oculus and HTC Vive, offering new features such as ultra-high resolution textures, customisable super-sampling and higher resolution shadow maps.

We're delighted to be bringing the experience to the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, fully up-to-date with all the content we've been adding since launch - including Classic Mode, new weapons and new enemies. Also a big thank you to all those who play-tested the beta, your input was incredibly valuable. We're looking forward to seeing you all in-game, and if you have any issues please don't hesitate to contact us at rebellion.co.uk/support. http://i.imgur.com/ZYqsWb3.jpg

What's new since PSVR launch

• New Difficulties, New Challenges
  • Battlezone now features a more lenient Beginner level and, for the experts, a gruelling Extreme level. Extreme is such a massive challenge that we reward those mighty enough to beat it with three new tank loadouts — though you’ll have to beat it three times total to earn each loadout! They are 100% worth it for advanced players who want a complete four-player team of tanks…
• More Missions, New Environments
  • We’ve added new missions, maps, and events to the Battlezone campaign, filling out the campaign experience with more to see, more ways to challenge you and more difficult decisions!
• New Threat, A New Weapon
  • Look up to the skies you’ll see a new foe to take on — the Jet. This fighter plane may look a little light as it curves gracefully over the arena, but don’t end up on the wrong side of its machine gun!
  • To balance things we’ve also added a new weapon to your arsenal, and it’s a monster! You’ll now be able to equip the Railgun, a beast of a firearm that you have to charge up before letting rip with a big, single shot blast that can do some serious, serious damage.
• Go Retro with Classic Mode
  • Separate to the main campaign, this mode answers a simple question: what would the original 1980 arcade Battlezone look like in VR? The answer is stunning green wireframe visuals, optional retro controls, online leaderboards, and generally a whole lot of awesome!
• Exclusive to PC – better graphics!
  • The new PC version of Battlezone is optimized for Oculus and HTC Vive, offering new features such as ultra-high resolution textures, customisable super-sampling and higher resolution shadow maps.