This update has been long in the making: Melee Weapon Skins, simplified Crafting, Consecutive match bonus, the Community Underground update and a massive amount of map and bug fixes. Let’s dive in.

MercSERV Melee Mayhem

Twice a week for the next 6 weeks we’ll be rotating Melee Weapon Skins in the Store; every single Melee Weapon will be featured, so don’t worry if your favourite isn’t there at first. The Bronze skins will be free, so be sure to keep checking back to grab them. The other skins will be purchasable with Credits (and the newly implemented RAD currency):

Credits RADs Bronze 0 0 Silver 4500 220 Gold 14000 680 Cobalt 44000 2150

We want to reward our players who have accumulated Credits over the years, and we hope some of the beautiful new Melee skins will be a great addition to your Merc Decks.

RAD

As mentioned above (and in last week’s Dev Update Video), this update also brings with it a new Dirty Bomb currency: RAD. Its introduction allows us to do two key things for the community: Simplify some existing systems (like Crafting), and offer more value when you purchase things in Dirty Bomb. Nothing in the store will change price, and everything that was purchasable with Credits will remain the same. However, we’ll be offering bundles of RAD that come with bonuses for players who buy them.

Alongside this we’ll be removing both Crafting Kits and Weapon Kits from Dirty Bomb, refunding those of you who have them with RAD, and therefore making the Crafting process a whole lot simpler.

Consecutive Match Bonus

Another long requested community feature has been a reward for those players who play a handful of matches in one session, so we’ve introduced a consecutive match bonus in this update as well.

You’ll earn an extra 10% Credits per match after your first (up to 30%) in Objective matches, and 30% extra after your first Stopwatch match.

Initially this feature will just function in Server Browser and Quick Join matches while we test its implementation, so be sure to let us know what you think on any of our community channels.

Underground Changes

You may remember a few months back we approached you for your top issues and suggestions for Underground. You provided lots of ideas and we identified a bunch of common issues that we would fix, just as a little reminder they were:

There are not enough opportunities for Air Support

Invisible Walls

Too easy for defenders to spawn camp Objective 1 via balcony

Roof of Objective 1 offers too much cover for defenders

Spawn Transitions weren’t explained well

Secondary Gas Route gives little advantage

Over the last few months we have adjusted all these areas and after many playtests we are ready to update the map on live.

AIR SUPPORT

“Air support is not useful enough throughout the map. Air support can effectively knockout strong defensive positions giving attackers a better chance to push and complete objectives.”

Air support is a key mechanic of some of our Mercs, and they should feel like viable picks on all maps if possible. The goal of the change is to make each air support Merc feel more viable on Underground.

Approach

We have tried to create more opportunities for air support where the map logically allows us. This has been done by removing blockers high above player level, and cleaning up spaces of sporadic air support, to create more readable and consistent spaces which allow for air support abilities

Actions

Removed glass on the roof in objective 1, and made roof bars be ignored by air support, allowing for a consistent airspace throughout the majority of the objective

Edited the roof architecture in the transition between objectives to expose the main space and pipe route to air support.

Closed off the roof in the first part of the transition to clearly communicate the transfer between closed and open airspace

Separated the collision checks above the last objective site to ignore some more permeable assets

INVISIBLE WALLS

“There are many invisible walls that prevent free movement around the map.”

Rather than allow movement through these, as some comments have suggested, to maintain the gameplay and balance of the map, we should work to communicate any invisible walls with a sensible contextual visual representation.

Approach

We have identified the worst case invisible walls, and have looked to better communicate these by adding visual blockers, whilst maintaining any gameplay that we feel is beneficial to the fairness of the map.

Actions

Added more support ropes to the pipe on the objective 1 roof, to contextualise that players could not climb on or over this pipe

Added construction meshing to the tops of the walls in Objective 1.5, to show that these cannot be jumped over. (This also removes some nade spots over the wall)

OBJECTIVE 1 BALCONY

“Defenders are easily able to take balcony where they can effectively render the attackers left route out of spawn useless. This combined with a defensive hold from roof can stop attackers pushing the right route out of spawn. The only option left is for attackers to take the lift to balcony pushing through a tight choke at the top (which is also signalled by the lifts bell) straight into the sightlines of the defenders camping above.”

We aim to discourage defenders from pushing so high into the attacker’s territory that a spawn camp occurs. As well as designing in this way, we consider how attackers break out of a spawn camp if it occurs.

Approach

We have drastically reduced the defenders’ ability to gain access to the balcony in the first place by removing trick jumps from the roof. We have also made the rotation through attacker’s spawn longer for defenders who are intent on holding the balcony. Once defenders are on the balcony, their options are weaker than in the previous version as we have reduced sightlines Attackers can now push the balcony without having to wait in the lift, which means that have more control over when they push up to balcony.

Actions

Closed the lift and added a footpath to the side using the CDA pipes

Extended the box wall along the balcony to reduce visibility to the space below

Removed the lamp ramp, and thinned the wings on the roof to remove jumps across

Added a CDA structure to the roof and edited collision to stop the long jump across from the roof sign

The CDA structure also blocks visibility from the other main control point on the roof for defenders, to the balcony itself

OBJECTIVE 1 ROOF COVER

“It can be difficult for attackers to push out of spawn when defenders are set up on roof. Defenders have lots of cover that gives a big advantage.”

We don’t want highly defensible spots, generally by exposing defenders more, or weakening some positions we stop these hardpoints occurring.

Approach

We have slightly expose a defender holding the left side of the roof, and made the defensive positions more finite and clear for attackers

Actions

Lowered the pipe up to the roof to expose any defenders on the left side slightly more

Raised the main roof sign slightly to make it more awkward for defenders to jump up here to quickly scout or put down fire on the spawn exits

SPAWN TRANSITION

“There seems to be no clear indicator of why one team suddenly spawns only a few feet away from what is a good choke point to defend when the defenders are still around”

This is a unique situation to Underground, making major changes to Underground such as adding an objective could massively affect the balance of the map however so we have decided this can be best solved with clearer visual language.

Approach

We would like to communicate visually when the spawn transition is going to happen. This will be made visible from the main combat points when the defenders would be in a disadvantageous position if the spawns are about to change

Actions

Added a sequence of lights on the escalators directly behind the 2nd spawn point (These lights update every 10 seconds, showing the status of the forward spawn)

Added a sequence of lights around the bend, positioned to be visible for both teams in the main combat space

SECONDARY GAS ROUTE GIVES LITTLE ADVANTAGE

“The secondary gas route is a much weaker position than the generator room and thus gets used far less.” Without wanting to affect the balance of the map too much, we have tried to make the position feel more viable for attackers using it, by offering them more choice at the exit

Approach

We want to add more cover and options to attackers who exit the route, as currently it is a sniper window, with no advancing potential. Players who are not snipers who use the route, should be able to manoeuvre and contribute to defence disruption more than they can now

Actions

Added cover to the left side of the exit

Moved the right side of cover further back, to allow crossfire to the main pipes (allowing displacement of meta health station placement)

Flatten and widen the right side of cover to offer more protection

Bug Fixes

Objective 1 roof had its pipes lined up to create flat wall to remove an invisible wall and added crates to enable attackers up on the pipe

On Last defender spawn exit the floor tiles were rearranged to fix an issue where you could see through the floor

Fixed collision above lights in third objective, where players could perch

Blocked glass by the train tunnel on objective 1 to stop you being shot through a tiny gap

Blocked gaps in box cover in the gas tunnel on objective 3

Reduced the size of the tube signs above the escalators to 75% and set them to BlockWeapons

Other Changes & Fixes

Known Issues

Team colours are not correctly reflected in the post-match results screen for Casual matches.

Player names and Steam profile pictures are sometimes missing in the post-match results screen for Casual matches.

64 Bit Client

This patch updates Dirty Bomb to a 64-bit client. To learn more about that and how affects you, read the FAQ.

Armory

Fixed a bug where duplicate cards or items would not be correctly counted

Fixed Lead and Iron filtering options appearing in the Weapons Card tab of the Armory

Front End

Fixed a bug that caused the Locked Progressive Advancement Crate to be unlocked at the wrong level

Fixed a bug where Advancement Crate drop notification had a broken “View” button

Fixed a bug that caused no notification of Loadout Cases being dropped at the end of a match

Fixed a bug that caused the Badges “Objective 1,2 and 3” to be awarded incorrectly

Fixed a bug that caused the Badges “Triple Kill”, “Quad Kill”, “Ace”, “Revive Spree”, “Miracle Worker” and “The Doctor” to not be awarded

Fixed a bug that caused Objective Badges to not be awarded for delivery objectives

Fixed a bug where Badges would not always appear in the post game review

Fixed a bug where drop notifications could appear during the intro cinematic

Fixed a bug where the price button could move when inspecting different items

Fixed a bug where placeholder text was seen on Trinket purchase notificiation

Casual Matchmaking (CMM)

Fixed a bug where sound did not play when connecting or disconnecting from a party

Fixed a bug where the audio for countdown timer for changing Merc did not play

Fixed a bug that caused only some intro voicelines to play in the line-up while loading into a Casual match

Fixed a bug where players could not be reported on the results screen after a match had ended

Server Browser / Quick Join

Fixed a bug where Quick Join would prioritize empty servers

Fixed a bug where players could get kicked from the server if they joined during lock in

Guardian

Fixed a bug that caused Guardian to receive the medic heal penalty

Fixed a bug that caused Guardian’s Sky Shield drone to be invisible in third-person when equipped by a player

Fixed a bug that stopped Guardian’s Sky Shield from destroying projectiles around the repairable barricade on Bridge

Fixed a bug that caused the Extender Augment to not visibly change the size of Guardian’s Sky Shield

Fixed a bug that caused no impairment to movement when using Guardian’s Batons

Fixed a bug where the VFX of the Sky Shield being destroyed was too large

Fixed a bug that caused Guardian’s elbow to look incorrect in her CMM intro

Fixed a bug where the audio for Guardian’s Incoming Detection System was too quiet

Fixed a bug that caused Guardian’s Sky Shield to destroy projectiles when disabled

Hunter

Fixed a bug that caused the SFX for Hunter’s EMP to keep playing while switching weapons quickly

Fixed a bug that caused Hunter to say “Enemy tagged” and “Tagged Em” even when no one had been tagged

Fixed a bug that caused there to be no sound for Hunter’s crossbow bolts when spectating

Fixed a bug that caused Hunter’s crossbow bolt impacts to be too quiet

Fixed a bug that caused Hunter’s Crossbow to become invisible after interacting with a ladder

Fixed a bug that caused the milk jugs to disappear if switching between Hunter’s Crossbow and the milk jug quickly

Fixed a bug that caused the melee hitbox of the Ulu to not follow the full animation

Fixed a bug that caused Hunter’s bolts to not always be destroyed by the Sky Shield

Fixed a bug that caused Hunter’s VFX and SFX on the Crossbow to be permanent when spectating Hunter

Fixed a bug that caused Hunter’s Crossbow Charge to disappear when firing quickly

Phantom

Fixed a bug that caused Phantom’s Refractive suit audio to be to quiet when looking away from him

Fixed a bug that caused Phantom to have no audio cue for when his EMP is ready

Fixed a bug where the achievment “Charged Up” was not being awarded

Fixed a bug that caused no XP to be awarded when activating Phantom’s Refractive Suit

Other Mercs

Fixed a bug that caused Javelin’s Smart Ammunition Armor to interact with incapacitated players

Fixed a bug that caused Javelin’s Smart Ammunition Armor to show the incorrect cooldown on the HUD

Fixed a bug where Phoenix obsidian card was using the wrong image.

Fixed a bug that caused Proxy mines to not be destroyed by explosives

Fixed a bug where Red Eye’s character model would appear contorted on low settings.

Fixed a bug that caused Red Eye’s beret to clip through his head

Fixed a bug that caused Airstrike abilities to not apply radial damage

Fixed a bug that caused an out of place texture on Stoker’s Obsidian

Fixed a bug that caused Vassili’s Heartbeat Sensor to have collision with players

Fixed a bug that caused Vassili’s Heartbeat sensor to become invulnerable if damaged by explosives

In-Game

Moved the console toggle option to the ‘Language’ menu

Fixed a bug that caused skins to not show on view arms in 1st person

Fixed a bug where players could get stuck on the scoreboard after using the Steam Overlay

Fixed a bug where ambient occlusion did not apply correctly

Fixed a bug where motion blur did not apply correctly

Fixed a bug that caused LMB and RMB to refer to mouse thumb buttons when remapping quick abilities

Fogdensity command was disabled this update

Added various audio improvements

Reduced high/maximum damage view kick amount by ~36%

Reduced low/minimum damage view kick amount by ~66%

Weapons

Fixed a bug that caused the slide of the Hoigat to not move while in ADS

Text and Localization

Fixed a bug where the description text for Boosters stated that they could be activated in the Barracks, as opposed to the Armory

Fixed a bug where Loadout Case drops were using the wrong name

Fixed a bug where the drop notification for a KMA Weapon Case referred to it as Royal Force Weapon Case

Fixed a bug where “Guardian XP” was referred to as “Savior XP”

Renamed “Refractive XP” to “Stalking XP” for Phantom

Fixed a bug that caused the objective HUD to cut off words in different languages

Fixed a bug where the credit breakdown in the post game review could have cut off text

Lots of tweaks and updates for translations in French, German, Russian, Brazilian Portuguese and Simplified Chinese

Map Changes & Fixes

Fixed barrier generator not showing on the minimap for attackers when it needs repairing and for defenders when it needs defending

Fixed light maps on some assets

Fixed collision around sign in Barricade

Updated collision in Station

Stopped decal flickering by pie shop

Fixed spelling error on CDA sign

Fixed clipping issue in Back Alley

Fixed a location where you could see outside of the world By Backyard



Increased duration of damage from EV rockets to ensure deployable’s get destroyed

Update intros to make the commander VO fit correctly

Updated end of EV notification to be a unique message

Fixed gas moat not opening when EV reaches end of escort

Improved visibility of moat gas

Added collision to an arch to stop players throwing pickups where they can’t reach

Improved the collision so players get pushed away from the side of the wall at the Church Hall

Improved collision so players don’t get stuck in moat

Reduced snagging on Tower Entrance ramp

Reduced bouncy collision at Dungeon Entrance

Added blocking volumes to CDA construction in Church Hall

Reduced snagging at Dungeon Entrance

Reduced snagging next to lion fountain at Road Barriers

Added collision in Church Garden

Added collision in Arena door for post EV rocket attack

Added collision to decon tunnel in Decon Corner

Added collision to pipe in attacker’s spawn

Added collisions to ceiling tiles in Lift Corridor

Added collisions to ceiling tiles in Mall

Tweaked collision on CDA cart at Hilltop arch

Added collision to a chandelier in the castle

Tweaked collision on broken lion stand to reduce bouncing at Tower Corridor

Added collision to a pillar at Tower Corridor

Tweaked collision on broken lion stand to reduce bouncing at the Dungeon Entrance

Added bullet collision to cemetery floor to stop things falling through it

Added bullet collision to castle wall to stop things falling through it

Added collision to doorframe at Attacker Spawn

Added collision to prop at Gantry

Removed prop in Moat to create smoother movement

Added collision to sides of defender’s ramp into Arena

Added blocking volumes to wall mounted CDA prop in Church Garden

Add collisions to arch in Arena

Smoothed pillar in dungeon to stop players getting caught

Updated collisions on destroyed castle wall to be more accurate

Updated collisions behind destroyable gate

Fixed an issue where the EV door had bouncy collision before being destroyed on the defender side of OBJ1

Removed collision from wall pegs in Wooden Walkway

Fixed a location where you could see outside of the world In Reactor Control In the Passage At Inner Building In the lift shaft at Lift In Decontamination In the stairwell in Decontamination In the OOB at Church Courtyard

Stopped pipe in Church Surveillance from clipping into the floor

Removed asset that players could clip into in Church Surveillance

Fixed clipping of assets on gas tunnel gate animation

Fixed incorrect VFX/decals appearing on assets across level

Fixed culling issue on asset in Arena

Fixed missing assets on minimal in OOB near attacker spawn

Fixed spline being twisted near attacker’s spawn

Reduced size of Church Surveillance named area volume to not leak through wall

Fixed LOD issues

Fixed clipping assets on the first objective gate

Adjusted lighting on the broken wall chunks to stop them appear black on certain graphic specs

Stopped certain assets on pipes disappearing on min graphics

Removed weapon collision from light blockers at Church Courtyard

Fixed incorrect animation on EV camera when going over castle gates

Resolved an issue where lightmaps caused a mall display case to appear black in certain areas, in OBJ1 Mall

Fixed objects disappearing at the Tower Entrance

Resolved an issue where a single screen texture was stretched to cover two separate monitors

Fixed an issue where gaps in the mall door caused culling issues at OBJ1 arena

Fixed Z-fighting assets on wall at Station

Fixed Z-fighting in the Gantry on OBJ1

Fixed Z-fighting on assets in Ruins Courtyard

Updated terrain collision to prevent snagging in Warehouse

Made object visible on all specs to stop grenades hitting an invisible wall

Extended named area volumes to cover all spawn points

Deleted old floating cinematic actor near objective three

Covered sky so you can’t call in strikes inside bell foundry

Updated a cubemap to give appropriate reflections

Fixed z-fighting on railings in Courtyard Spawn

Fixed incorrect materials causing wrong sound effects on wooden box

Fixed lighting seam in Restaurant Back Alley

Fixed several locations where you could see outside of the world At Hairpin Archway At Restaurant Back Alley At Construction Site West



Disabled repair of second objective secondary generator after EV has been escorted

Disabled repair of first objective secondary doors after EV has been repaired

Reduced the amount pillars on the main road stuck out from the buildings

Tweaked collision on Bridge drop down to not bounce the player away

Updated collisions at CDA container on Gold & Soley Road to create better movement

Adjusted collision around pillar in Dock to improve movement

Resolved an issue where players would snag the broken wall at the EV escort secondary objective

Raised pipe in Gold & Soley Road to allow for smoother wall jumping

Added collision to brown pipe in Basement

Adjusted wall collision in Gold & Soley Road to allow med/ammo packs to be thrown over the wall

Updated collisions on a door in Corridor to prevent perching on top of them

Updated collisions in Canal to stop players getting stuck on garbage by stairs

Updated collisions in Holo West to help smooth transition on slope

Updated collisions on a wall in Nelson Changing Rooms to prevent perching on top of them

Updated collisions on pipe of construction materials in Nelson Tower to prevent perching on top of them

Adjusted floor collisions at the Holo Drive to prevent snagging

Adjusted floor collisions at the Holo Drive to stop mines clipping with the floor

Adjusted collision to make it possible to throw health/ammo packs through certain gaps and over certain walls between playable spaces throughout the map

Resolved an issue by the wrecked ship where players would bounce off the wall

Fixed several locations where you could see outside of the world In Basement At Gold & Soley Road At SEA Side

Fixed Z-fighting across level

Fixed issue with shadow on pipe in OOB on min spec

Resolved an issue where smoke from the destroyed SAM launchers wouldn’t be visible at a certain spot at the end of OBJ2

Fixed incorrect VFX/decals appearing on assets across level

Fire effect deleted from floor surface

Lined up helicopter blades correctly with helicopter

Resolved an issue where some of the electronic signs could not be destroyed when shot

Removed some props around defender’s spawn at end of objective two to allow for better movement

Resolved an issue where a background building would appear and disappear behind attacker spawn

New updated minimap bringing it in line with Castle and Vault’s

Gate between objective 2 and 3 had top collision changed to be dynamic and toggle with the gate

Objective 3 roof building had collision type change to stop throwables being thrown out of bounds

Objective 3 broken wall had collision type change to allow throwables to pass through

Collision added to Pylon flaps to stop SNITCH being thrown inside of Pylon

Added barbed wire to top of roof to help visual language of map bounds

Deleted duplicated part of the forklift truck

Disabled dynamic shadows on some of the Pylon flaps

Fixed incorrect commander VO on objective 3 when defusing

Fixed second objective secondary generator not showing on the minimap for attackers when it needs repairing and for defenders when it needs defending

Removed extra explosion damage volumes on second objective containers

Fixed objective text not showing when planting first C4

Fixed objective text not showing when planting first C4

Adjusted collision on ammo crates in Burger Shop to stop players from seeing out of world

Adjusted collision in Burger Shop to prevent players perching near the stairs

Adjusted collision on ammo crates to stop players getting stuck at Office Courtyard Entrance

Fixed several locations where you could see outside of the world Outside Tube Station Secondary Access At Tube Station South Tunnels entrance At the Burger Garden

Fixed incorrect VFX appearing on assets across level

Fixed decals flickering in Apartments

Adjusted cull distances on out of bounds assets to ensure they remain visible from all positions

Adjusted light blockers to prevent sunlight entering the tube station

Adjusted street light solar panels to be not be visible on min spec

Fixed lightmaps

Fixed culling issue inside the Command Centre

Fixed lighting issue on objective doors

Fixed materials on prop in Side Street Café

Updated trigger area for repairing generator on primary objective to be in line with other maps

Updated collisions on destroyed train carriages to prevent player clipping

Reduced the amount weapons stick through wooden walls

Updated collisions on brick wall at Blocker Carriage

Fixed several locations where you could see outside of the world At Boat Yard

