Beta Update (2012/10/06)

Esamir… The word itself conjures visions of cold, an arctic expanse of snow, ice, and rock. If you are interested in a wintry vacation from the heat, taking in the sights of a beautiful frozen land, or relaxing under the stars as hot ordinance rains down, then Esamir is the continent for you! Or something like that. There’s also none of that Indari sand getting up into everywhere. Look, all we know is that there are valuable resources crucial to our survival on this frigid continent, and you’re going whether you like or not. Now, suit up for winter and pack your thermals, soldier! We’re bound for Esamir! Head to the terminals in the warpgate for briefing and transport.

Capture methods for various large bases have been adjusted. We've toughened up Shield Generators, so we’ll have no more disabling them with a brick of C4 or a simple can opener. You'll need to start an overload process and make sure no one interrupts it by holding that position. Sure, you are a sitting duck and you’re likely to get stepped on by a lumbering MAX unit, but it takes dedication to drop that shield.

New Certifications are also available! Among these, we’ve been asked to have you pay careful attention to the Flash's new afterburner. We're not certain how many of you haven’t learned to drive and are too afraid to ask, so we’ll be requiring advanced training before you can use it. For those of you who still manage to survive driving your four wheelers off cliffs at 70 kph, this will ensure you hit the ground even harder! And that you might be right side up when you do it.

Tired of being shot at by that same old carbine? Good news! All Empires have new weapons available for you to cause you bodily harm with. Check under the Weapons section to learn more.

Notable Bugs

• Players should once again be able to send messages to players on friends or outfits list by clicking on the Send Message button. The battlefield is no place for miming.
• Players with Nanoweave Armor can once again be revived. There wasn't really a problem, we just had to teach Combat Medics how to unbutton it.
• Instant Action options should no longer send you where you don't select. Seriously we mean it this time!
• A bug was fixed that prevented people from shooting if they died with the Ammunition Belt equipped. You were of course weighted down with ammo so if you don't want things realistic just say so.

Weapons

• New Conglomerate Light Machine Guns are now doing slightly more damage. We haven't adjusted the weapons so we're looking into the possibility it's fueled by rage.
• Vanu Sovereignty light machines guns are now better designed to fire on the fly. We tried to pin this on rage also but it's the Vanu Sovereignty. What expressions DO they make under those masks?
• General infrantry weapons are now a little more accurate. We'd like to say this will make you a better soldier but realistically this just means you are going to get shot more. Why did we change it? Surplus bandaids. These babies gotta move.

Certifcation

• Overall certification rate gain has been slowed significantly and costs have gone down. This is math and we don't expect you grunts to think much about it. Just focus on not getting blown up.

Vehicles

• The Flash and Sunderer now have certifications to increase Top Speed and Braking Force. Let's be honest. Brakes really aren't going to help you run people over and crashes are more spectacular at increased speed.
• The Flash now has a certification for the NFI-2000 Turbo which will temporarily increase its speed. We know you are going to try it because it has the word Turbo in it. Don't worry about the fact you effectively have a small afterburner beneath your crotch. We've tested this thing successfully at least twice, and sometimes the driver didn’t even die.
• Vehicle collision has been adjusted, meaning no more Jenga towers with the tanks. Seriously people, do you know what that does to a front end alignment?

Classes

• An Ammunition Belt certification is now available for the Infiltrator. Yes, we know everyone else already had one, but YOU guys were the ones who complained it didn't come in black.
• The MAX will now start with one of each weapon type. A previous shortage in flamethrower fuel has been rectified. Unrelated, tiki torches are no longer available for afterhours parties.
• A Recon Detect Device is now available for Infiltrators. This will allow you track vehicles by hitting them with a tracker. While tagging your fellow soldier may seem fun, these are PROJECTILES. Does someone really need to have an eye put out?

World

• The new continent of Esamir is now available for players. Ok, technically it's not new and it's always kind of been there on the other side of the world, but Maintenance now has the warpgate issue fixed. Really! We've only had one incident of body parts being rearranged incorrectly, and you'd be surprised how easy it is to learn to walk on your hands.
• Shield Generators in the various bases now have to be overloaded as mentioned above. While they've been improved enough to be immune to C4, unfortunately all you need to do to overload them is stand close enough to start breaking them. We've nicknamed the person who gets this responsibility "bait."
• Note: There were a few hiccups with shield generators. Overloading doesn't display the correct effects and alarms, The HUD indicators aren't blinking yet, and we don't have the voice over. We'll have this resolved as soon as possible.
• Population caps have been put in place for Empires and continents. We understand some of you may be concerned we are tampering with who can enter a certain area, but the alternative was tampering with your DNA. Trust me. This is much better.

UI

• New voiceover is available for spotting targets. We originally had a creepy kid whispering "I see dead people" but we think you'll prefer this.