Happy 2024 Everyone! We are back from our holiday break and hit the ground not just running, but sprinting. We saw a big rise in players during the month of December and we want to officially welcome all the new soldiers onto the battlefields. In our December sitrep our canary let some info slip about some things we are working on and, as promised, we will be going into more details about what’s coming. The Devs’ Desk will be going over the latest features being worked on by the development team in addition to what you can expect in the next updates. In the Community Center we will go over some updates about custom maps and the VRML season. You already waited through December, so let’s not wait any longer. [h1]From the Devs’ Desks:[/h1] Before we jump into what's going to be coming out next, we wanted to give you an update about our voice chat system. Many have inquired and made reports about the voice chat system not working, voice being unable to connect, or being unable to hear teammates. Onward was designed so that communication was an important part of the gameplay experience and this is a big priority for us. We are working with our service providers and will be making improvements so the amount of disruptions are addressed. Our next update will be Update 1.14. This update will have a much tighter focus for what is included because of the amount of work it takes to get these types of features included and running in the game. [h2]Map Upgrade[/h2] In 1.13 you saw some of our maps get a big visual upgrade, not just in resolution, but in the overall feel of the environments. The next map to be upgraded is..… Bazaar! The markets and hotels appear to be back in business. Make sure to check out the birds in the sky if you visit during the day or the exotic moths that will come out at night. The textures have been improved throughout the whole map. Additionally, the lighting has been improved for Day, Night, and in buildings. [h2]New Game Mode[/h2] Another one?! You bet! This time it’s for PVE. Co-Op and Single Player will now have a completely new style of game mode to play that will include scoring and a global leaderboard. Get ready to see how far you can make it. [i]You wake up and you know today is going to be different. You're not going to start your day going to the base like you normally do. No, today you got called in for a special operation, a contract. After you psych yourself up and get ready, you make your way over to “The Hideout”. Once you're there you meet up with your squad that will be joining you on this set of missions. You like these folks, for the most part. You just hope VolkH8ter16 isn’t going to try and push everyone to get RPGs like the last mission. I mean, we were able to reload but once our stash was out, PizzaGrunt ended up having to use their knife to get us access to our radios again. What a disaster that was. Everyone takes a look at the board for the available missions. You discuss all the details with them. You mark which of the missions you think your squad will be able to show off your highest performance, while also being able to get your gear to ensure you are prepared for the next missions. Because you know they will be more difficult. Once the mission has been decided, you all head to the outpost to talk strategy for how you want to handle this mission and gear up accordingly. Before you know it, the first mission has started. After this, 6 more to go. [/i] Mercenary mode is a multi-mission operation where you (solo or with friends) are trying to complete the contract & get the highest score. Choose from a variety of missions with different types of objectives, some of which are totally new to Onward. One of the bigger hurdles will be how you handle your rewards and craft a loadout to be able to scale with the missions as they increase in difficulty. The majority of our focus for Update 1.14 went into this new game mode. A few features for this mode have been in the works for quite awhile. Some of the elements in this new mode will be familiar to you, yet it will be a completely new way to experience them. It takes everything you know, or don’t, about running ops and challenges you to be able to complete missions and get through the whole contract. This mode required a lot of design and play testing to make sure elements of the mode were balanced and provided a challenge. Communication will be critical. There are lots of decisions to make throughout the game and sometimes one choice your team makes can cause you to have some major setbacks. We are thrilled to be bringing something so new and unique to PVE in Onward. Even if you are not a routine PVE player, we think you will want to invest some time being a Mercenary. We will release more details about the mode on our social media channels and in next month's Sitrep. [h1]Community Center:[/h1] [h2]VRML Season 15[/h2] The VRML just wrapped up a very successful season 15. This season had 73 teams competing. After several months of practice, scrims, and intense battles the finals were down to two incredibly talented teams, The Raptors (Season 11 champions) and Imperial. After 4 Maps, The Raptors had to hand over their title to Imperial. You can check out all the highlights and matches from Season 15 on their YouTube. Congratulations Imperial! [h2]Custom Maps[/h2] We wanted to also follow-up on several inquiries we have been getting regarding the removal of custom maps from the Co-Op game mode. When we updated the behavior for the bots in Update 1.13 this caused any custom maps that supported Co-Op to not function properly. To ensure the quality of the maps, we temporarily took these maps down. The custom map makers are working hard on updating their maps to have the new bots. In fact, some maps have already been updated and are available again. Custom map makers continue to update various maps to be available for Co-Op. Before creating a new lobby, check the workshop to see if the custom map you are looking for has been updated. As we continue to work on Update 1.14, keep up to date with information that will get shared on our socials and join the official discord to chat with other players. [url=https://twitter.com/OnwardTheGame]Twitter[/url] [url=https://www.facebook.com/OnwardTheGame/]Facebook[/url] [url=https://www.instagram.com/onwardthegame/]Instagram[/url] [url=http://discord.gg/onward]Discord [/url] Stay Frosty!