Hello again, everyone!
After about a week on the test server, Early Access Patch 1.2.1 is finally stable enough for testing on the default branch. As with the last patch, the Entities have grown stronger in an attempt to fight back against the dogs, and this time a new foe joins their ranks!
The Phantom
The Phantom is a material Entity, like the Spider and Wraith, but has evolved to harness the innate immaterial properties they share with the Banshee. This allows the Phantom to fly through the air, and shoot electricity at any dog who gets too close. By nature of being a combination of material and immaterial, Phantoms require a unique fighting style. Dogs will need to bark within range of the Phantom until it falls to the ground, at which point it can be bitten.
It won't always be that easy, though. Another new evolution has come to the Entities: the Alpha system. Some Phantoms have the change to spawn as an Alpha Phantom. They are visibly larger, do more damage, have more health, and will explode in a burst of electricity when barked at. You'll need to be extra careful around these Entities. Alpha variants of other Entity types are coming soon!
Scent Mode Changes
Additionally, by popular demand, Scent Mode has been improved significantly. Some Fetch objectives, like broken Radio Towers and Fallen Dog evidence locations, will appear in Scent Mode as a cloud of colored smoke. These clouds will always match the Objective's color on the collection platform's television screen back home—which, by the way, I've made larger for easier viewing!
As always, the scent cloud for Fallen Dog evidence still only leads you to the general location of the evidence. You'll still need to find the evidence itself in the general area, but now, evidence will appear with a blue smoke trail above it in Scent Mode!
The objective clouds become fuller the closer you get. This will hopefully help mitigate issues with being unable to find objectives while playing Fetch! Be sure to report any bugs you find with this new system.
Other Changes
Beyond these major changes, Patch 1.2.1 introduces a few other things.
Have you ever gotten stuck in a Point of Interest with almost no health while surrounded by Entities? Now, you might be able to find open food cans to refill your health out in your territory! These open food cans have a chance to spawn in open supply locations, and will never replace an item you'll need to meet your quota.
Have you ever wanted to retrieve a specific item from ROV-R's bag, only to realize you've placed seven other items on top of it? Now, interacting with ROV-R's bag opens up a radial wheel, much like the scent type wheel and emote wheel. You can freely pick whichever item you want from the bag!
Thank you everyone for your patience, as always. Be on the lookout in the next week or two for the big Halloween update! The next patch will include a lot of fun changes to the game, including a Halloween makeover and a new Progression Pass!
Full Patch Notes
Features
New Entity: Phantom
Flying Entity that fires electric orbs
Dogs must bark at the Phantom until it falls to the ground before they can bite it to death
New Entity mechanic: Alphas
Alpha Phantoms are much larger, and will explode in an electric burst when barked at
Alpha variants of other Entities will come soon
Added swirling scent clouds to Scent Mode for some Fetch objectives
Broken Radio Towers and the general location of Fallen Dog evidence will appear visually in Scent Mode when within range
Interactable Fallen Dog evidence will also have a faint smoke trail above them in Scent Mode
Added open food cans to the loot pool that dogs can use to heal while away from Home Base
Balancing
Adjusted Entity spawn rates to accommodate new Phantom type
Slightly increased Fallen Dog evidence spawning range around source location
Fixes & Other Changes
Added a radial selection menu to ROV-R's bag instead of automatically retrieving the latest item put inside
Fixed portable speaker audio breaking/overlapping for client players
Darkened the desaturation filter in Scent Mode to better represent the dog focusing on senses other than sight
Improved ROV-R decision making when current follow target dies or is changed
Improved consistency of proper Fetch objectives spawning when a player takes too long to load
Improved loading screens
Upgraded the television on the Collection Platform to the newest, most expensive model
