Pilots, this is a large update! We have introduced key new features such as in-game text chat and keyboard/controller remapping. We have also included a major balance update for range and damage drop-off. But believe me, this is just a taste of what this update holds. Be sure to check out all the new additions and fixes below! [h3]General Gameplay & Balancing:[/h3] [list] [*] Starfighter transform speeds have been greatly increased. [*] New reticles for each weapon type to help the pilot know which gun is equipped in a firefight. [*] Reticle bloom has been added to indicate spread change when firing rapidly. [*] ADS settings have been improved and have been rebalanced, making it faster to aim down. [*] Sniper zoom has been removed. [*] Aiming down sights while in starship form will now automatically transform to mecha form - please note that this means you can no longer ADS while in starship form. [*] Recoil has been added to weapons to give them more kick. [*] Better hitmarkers and damage numbers to give more reliable information around how much damage you are doing and when. [*] Range has been increased slightly and damage dropoff has been significantly reduced. [*] Boosting in mecha form no longer transforms the Starfighter into ship form, allowing mecha form to boost. [*] Mecha form can now use the Tech Ability in space. [/list] [h3]Player Experience:[/h3] [list] [*] In-game text chat system has been integrated! There is a global channel and location channels such as PvP and Patrols. Press enter to open up the chat to let your fellow Rangers know what you're up to. Holding enter will hide/unhide chat display and left and right arrow keys will navigate available channels. [*] Keyboard and controller remapping. [*] Gear rewards are now available in the Standard and Advantage Tracks. [*] Introducing Gear Collection: Rangers II - four (4) new weapons and two (2) pieces of Gear. [/list] [h3]Fixes & Improvements[/h3] [list] [*] Bounty progress is now saved correctly for PvE and PvP Bounties. [*] New shield VFX that helps locate where you are being shot from. [*] Kill attribution has been added, meaning that players that contributed damage to the target receive XP and Bounty progress. [*] Avatar Level cap has been increased to 15. [*] Mecha scale has been increased so you feel the might of your powerful machine. [*] Perk descriptions updated to include % values. [*] The black screen bug has been addressed, although this has caused a new issue where the game may respawn you where you entered the Warp Gate. Just go through the Warp Gate again. [*] Fixed issue where Trading Terminal UI would stretch because of items with multiple attributes. [/list] [h3]Patrols[/h3] [list] [*] We have added four (4) new Patrols into the game! Each day a new Patrol will become available to play, replacing the old one. [*] A scoring system has been added. You gain points for kills and completing objectives, while losing some for dying. For now it is for bragging rights… for now… [*] Respawn screen added after the player dies. [/list] [h3]Known Issues:[/h3] [list] [*] Mission progress - We have addressed some issues, but there are still some to address. [*] Diplomatic Deception - Players may become stuck when attempting to return to Spear-002 after leaving the area to return to Halberd-001. To work around this, players must quit to the main menu and then reconnect. The mission will resume once you leave Halberd-001. [*] Search and Destroy - After completing this mission, players may be stuck in a loop trying to complete the mission or return to Halberd-001. We currently recommend avoiding this mission. [*] Artifact Gambit - Sometimes the mission may not activate correctly and the ship won’t become shielded, which halts progress. We recommend avoiding this mission also. [*] Transforming with guns - Some guns don’t look quite right when transforming between mecha and starship mode. This is a visual issue that does not affect performance. [*] Player input - Some controls aren’t working as intended due to player input devices. For example, screen resolution can impact the speed with which a Starfighter turns. [/list] I told you this update was a big one! While we are aware we still have loads to add and fix, we are very excited to share the significant steps taken in this update. We hope you enjoy the new Patrols and all the features we have added alongside them. As always, we encourage you all to give us as much feedback as possible to ensure that we continue down the best possible path and address everything that we can improve. If you have any feedback join us on our [url=https://discord.com/invite/PhantomGalaxies]Discord[/url], or if you are having any technical issues please contact us on our [url=https://blowfishstudios.zendesk.com]Player Support Desk[/url].