We are excited to announce that an early iteration of the 1.3 update has come to our Community Test Branch. Servers will be up all weekend, starting from Thursday, March 7th at 9 PM EST (-5 GMT). We hope to see you all there!
Here’s an overview of what you can expect from the CTB this week.
Additions since previous 1.3 CTB:
Available to PAVN machine gunners, this newly-added Light Machine Gun, (7.62x54mm), the Russian RP-46 Degtyaryov Machine Gun is the final evolution of the series that began life as the DP-26.
This version was adopted in 1946 and is essentially a WW2 era DP-28 with the addition of a belt feed and heavier barrel for longer sustained firing time.
- MAS-49 Grenade Launcher and Model Changes
You spoke and we listened! Following feedback from the previous round of Community Testing, we have made the following changes to the MAS-49:
- The pitch limitations, when deployed, have been reworked to make the MAS-49 GL more user friendly to aim
- The rifle grenade blast radius has been increased by approx 2 metres
- The grenade loading animation has been slightly sped up
- The iron sights on all variants of the MAS-49 have been modified to make the outer ring thinner and increase the aperture, improving visibility when aiming down sights
Overall these changes should make the MAS-49 Grenade Launcher easier to use and more effective when used well. Thank you to everyone who provided the feedback to enable us to make these changes.
To better represent the final design for Molotov Cocktails as they will be in 1.3 we have removed the weapon from the NLF Guerilla. Molotov Cocktails will be available from Ammo Resupply Points, and have been put in Apache Snow for testing. Please provide feedback on the survey as to your experiences with this weapon.
In addition to the above loadout changes, the Molotov Cocktail no longer has a fuse, and will not explode in players’ hands. We have also widened the radius of the fire effect, as well as the initial explosion when the bottle breaks.
There has been a heavy optimization pass which should improve players’ performance on Saigon significantly. If you had problems with this map previously, we would appreciate it if you could let us know how these changes have affected your performance.
This optimization process is still ongoing and these changes should be considered work-in-progress, with more changes to come in future versions of the map.
Various items now have more finalized art, and the three new levels (Apache Snow, Demilitarized Zone and Saigon) also have had their Loading Screens implemented. Some items (such as the Molotov Pickup overhead map icon) are not implemented yet, while we get feedback on various features from the CTB to see how we would like to approach these items.
New Features to 1.3:
New MapsÂ
Apache SnowÂ
Players of RO2 may recognise VNTE-Apache Snow as a remix of the classic map Winterwald. We return to the Asau region for a PAVN vs ARVN Â battle over this strategic valley.
Demilitarized ZoneÂ
VNTE-DemilitarizedZone is a reimagining of RO2 map Mamayev. Expect intense action on this artillery-blasted landscape on the boundary between North and South Vietnam.
SaigonÂ
Community Map VNTE-Saigon joins the official rotation for the first time. Set during the Fall of Saigon, players can expect intense street combat and instantly recognisable objectives, such as the above US Embassy.
New Weapons
MAS-49
The MAS-49 becomes the first rifle to feature rifle grenades in RS2. This French weapon saw significant service during the First Indochina War replacing older, bolt action rifles. Please note, this weapon should be considered a ‘work in progress’ and has known animation issues when the animations are viewed in third person.
With a ten round box magazine, the MAS-49 had the built in capability of firing rifle grenades and comes equipped with an APX Scope for early-war NLF marksmen. The MAS-49 and variants will be a NLF weapon.
Molotov Cocktail
Known as the poor-man’s grenade, the Molotov Cocktail is an improvised incendiary device made from a bottle containing petrol or alcohol. During the CTB this projectile will be available to NLF Guerrillas, but this is not going to be the final role to receive this weapon. The current fire PFX are a work in progress, so your feedback, as always, is essential!
Vietnam official forums
Role Changes and Balance Tweaks
In response to analytics and new content coming online, we have made a number of tweaks to the roles available to players on both teams! In regular, non-campaign play, the roles are now as follows (items added are in bold, items removed are in strikethrough):
In campaign matches, the roles are now: (This CTB will not feature campaign testing):
EARLY WAR
MID WAR
LATE WAR
Other New Gameplay Features In 1.3 Â
- The leaning system has been overhauled and improved. Players are now able to do a variety of actions while leaning, including the ability to lean while walking
- Aiming helicopter weapons is now significantly easier as we have decoupled their movement from helicopters – this can be toggled through a checkbox in the Aircraft/ Vehicle subsection of the Gameplay menu
- Players can now customize their characters’ individual classes! This includes a button to apply a class’ customization across all classes, if you want to quickly customize all roles at once
Notable Bugfixes (Full list coming in finalized patch notes)
- Fixed an issue where attempting to place the DSHK whilst moving when crouched could cause the game to crash
- Fixed an issue where the campaign ‘Play Online Quickmatch’ would lead to empty servers
- Fixed an issue where some players were experiencing missing localization text on the main menu causing the UI to be unusable
- Fixed an issue where in the Campaign players could team stack during the map switch by selecting one team in the lobby and then change team once the map had loaded
- Fixed an issue where players would experience stuttering after sprinting from a prone reload
- Fixed an issue where helicopters which crashed due to taking damage gave team kill penalties to the pilot rather than kill credits to the shooter
- Fixed an issue where the M1919 RPM fire rate was out of sink with the audio
- Fixed an issue where the Australian and ARVN ‘US Pattern M1’ helmets were a different texture to the US version
- Fixed an issue where players who had selected an ammo type would not see this selection persisting after death
- Fixed an issue where the profanity sensor was not applied to Squad names
- Fixed an issue where player locations were incorrect on the overhead map when playing at 4k resolution
KNOWN ISSUES
There are a number of known issues with this build which are being worked on for update 1.3. For now, please bear with us as we develop this content, and remember that any content shown should be considered a work in progress.
As always this CTB contains a variety of bugfixes and updates, all of which will be detailed in the future changelog for the full release of 1.3. We are very grateful for any and all feedback from this test that you may provide at the RS2: Vietnam Forum. We hope to see you tonight on the CTB!
Antimatter Games & Tripwire Interactive
.
