SANDSTORM News September 20 Hotfix

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We are releasing a hotfix today that improves the playlist system, improves movement animations, fixes improper AI loadouts in Co-op, potentially fixes the Hillside Firefight West crash issue, and makes other changes.

We are aware of the current player population issues with Versus playlists Firefight and Skirmish. We are currently working to address this and we welcome your feedback and suggestions on the Steam forums, official forums[forums.focus-home.com], and Reddit.

See the full changelist below:

Critical Fixes

• Fixed a rare case where a player could potentially spawn under the map if they initially idled after joining a Frontline or Push match and spawns were disabled between them joining and accepting their loadout.
  
• Added potential fix for an edge case where players and AI enemies could fall through the map after dying and respawning.
  
• Fixed an issue where suicide bomber AI enemies were not spawning during counter attacks.
  
• Fixed issue where AI enemies were being equipped with RPGs more than intended.

User Experience

• In response to community feedback and to address player population issues, we are making the following changes to the playlist system. Please be aware we are still strategizing and considering other changes. We welcome your feedback.
  • Normal and Hardcore playlists under Co-op will always start on a Checkpoint Security scenario. Checkpoint Insurgent scenarios are still available in both of these playlists, but they will only be played if the players within an ongoing match choose to vote to switch to one. This change was made because our community demonstrated a preference for the Security Co-op experience over the Insurgent one.
    
  • The Firefight playlist is now set to 8 vs 8 players instead of 14 vs 14. This lower player count target is intended to make it easier to start new matches, improve the mode’s gameplay, and bring a better parity with the 5 vs 5 Competitive Firefight experience.
    
  • Firefight, Skirmish and Competitive Firefight playlists will receive a triple XP bonus for the next 7 days. This is a temporary measure intended to entice players to try out these less populated modes and kickstart their populations. As said above, other changes are being considered, but this is our first step. We will be watching the numbers and listening to your feedback going forward.
    
  • Added new descriptions and images for Firefight, Push, and Skirmish in the playlist menu for better clarity on their experiences.
• Reworked the “Steam Authentication Failed” message to properly communicate the reason why the kick occurred.
  
• Players who join a match but never select a class will now be kicked for being idle.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where the first person animation would not play when planting a bomb on a weapon cache.
  
• Fixed an issue where if you didn’t move after switching your weapon, the weapon audio component would not update its position correctly, which resulted in hearing the distant version of the weapon in first person and missing weapon foley audio.
  
• Fixed an issue where the dry fire animation and audio would not play on bolt-action or pump-action weapon.
  
• Fixed a bug that would cause the explosive "pull pin" event to re-play when changing stances with all grenades.
  
• Fixed an issue where the equipment physics would abruptly begin simulating upon first being shown in the Loadout menu, Customize menu, in-game, or after moving the character between spawn points.
  
• Fixed a bug where selecting an empty preset in the Loadout menu would not immediately hide the weapon preview at the center.
  
• Fixed an issue where the Shell Camo in first person would not match the third person version.
  
• Fixed an issue where the player’s weapon could show up attached to their feet when using the DShK.
  
• Fixed an issue where the M99 could be fired before it had fully completed its shouldering animation.
  
• Fixed an issue where chest gear would occasionally clip into other clothing cosmetics and/or the player model on first spawn.
  
• Fixed an issue where the M99 was misaligned on the weapon table in the Range level, which made it difficult to pick up.
  
• Fixed a Level of Detail issue where the Covered cosmetic would look incorrect at various distances
  
• Fixed an issue with the camo materials on the Uniform Camo Torso variations

Gameplay

• Weapon Upgrade Fixes:
  
  • Added the 2x Kobra sight to the Insurgent Competitive Flanker and Assaulter classes.
    
  • Added the 2x Kobra sight to Uzi for the Insurgent Competitive Flanker.
    
  • Added the 3x QBZ-03 scope to the Insurgent Competitive Assaulter class.
    
  • Added the 1.5x PKAS sight to the TOZ and AK74U for the Insurgent Competitive Flanker class.
  • Added the 7x scopes to the Competitive Sharpshooter class.

Visual Improvements

• Added new first person run, walk, sprint, Hardcore sprint, and Slow Movement mutator sprint animations for all primary, secondary, and launcher weapons, which will now sync visually with their relevant footstep audio events
  
• Improved the visual appearance of pistols, melee weapons, and grenades in the Loadout menu.
  
• Improved the visual appearance of the Molotov rag physics.
  
• Added new slide animations
  
• Added new mine planting and mine priming third person animation sequences.
  
• Fixed a clipping issue involving the combination of the Covered and softshell jacket cosmetics.

Maps

• All
  • Updated soundscape overrides for all player spawns so when spawning in any location other than outdoors, you will automatically receive the correct environment sounds and weapon switch.
• Hillside
  • Potential fix for Firefight West not loading correctly and causing server crashes.
    
  • Fixed an issue where you could capture Checkpoint Security objective F from outside of the building.
    
  • Fixed an issue where the Checkpoint Security objective F capture area was not fully including all parts of the room as it should.
    
  • Tweaked exposure to make it less dark when looking straight into a bright light source.
• Summit

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• Fixed an issue where you could capture Frontline objective F by laying prone behind a certain set of sandbags that blocked the window.
  
• Fixed an issue where crouch jumping and landing on a specific set of walls may have caused the character to land incorrectly.
  
• Fixed an issue where the player could get to an exploitable position in the rubble on the market side
  
• Fixed an issue where the player could get stuck between an awning and cliff near objective B on Firefight East.
  
• Fixed an issue where the player could reach an exploitable spot near objective A push Insurgents.
  
• Fixed an overlapping mesh at objective C on Push Insurgents.
  
• Fixed an issue where the player could reach an exploitable spot by pixel-walking near objective E on Summit Skirmish.

Precinct

• Fixed an issue where the player could become stuck on a ledge of a wall after vaulting.

Hideout

• Fixed an issue where the restricted area for Security was not fully covering objective A

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