Final Alpha Test is coming up. After this there will be a break from testing while they tweak the game and I would imagine there will be a beta before it's launched Early Access on Steam. Alpha 6 Test Times - PT: Saturday, August 6th @ 1 PM PDT to Sunday August 7th @ 6 PM PDT - ET: Saturday, August 6th @ 4 PM EDT to Sunday August 7th @ 9 PM EDT - UTC: Saturday, August 6th @ 8 PM UTC to Monday August 8th @ 1 AM UTC - BST: Saturday, August 6th @ 9 PM BST to Monday August 9th @ 2 AM BST - AEST: Sunday August 7th @ 6 AM AEST to Monday August 8th @ 11 AM AEST If you still haven't got in, but would like to try it I have a handful of keys
It's been a while with no news! The game is due out in 2017, and there will be a beta. If you got into the alpha, you are automatically in the betas, no need to sign up again. The most recent Dev Diary on Netcode & Replication is worth a watch too. Dedicated servers They've once again reiterated that the game will not be free-to-play, but also won't be triple A priced ($60) as it will be multiplayer only. All maps, modes & characters will be included in that one-off price. There probably will be micro-transactions but only for cosmetic items for those who wish to purchase them. There will not be any advantage gained with these items. (How it always should be imho). I have really missed this game since the alphas. It kind of did feel like the anti-Overwatch to me, but not for the reasons they may have been going for. It wasn't the swearing, the grittier colour scheme (the new video looks quite vibrant though), or anything like that. It was because if I got even just a triple kill or a killstreak it made me feel like I did something awesome. In Overwatch, I could have PotG, get a kill streak/multi-kill and have everyone vote for me at the end and I'd still be like "eh... was it good? It didn't feel like I played very well". The new guy and map look nice too. Can't wait to try them out!
UPDATE TIME! Important details from the video: Game playable at PAX East (Boston, US Mar 10th-12th) Closed beta starting the weekend after PAX East (Thurs Mar 16th 16:00 GMT - Sun Mar 19th 04:00 GMT) THREE new roles (including support!) One new map (Mammoth) Sign up for the closed beta here. (If you had a key for the alpha phase you are automatically in the closed beta.)
PC Gamer did an interview with Cliff Bleszinski about LawBreakers, it's worth a read: http://www.pcgamer.com/lawbreakers-isnt-trying-to-be-an-overwatch-killer/ I'm really pleased to see how much they learned from the alphas. I was already pleased that each alpha really did improve based on our feedback. Always a good sign. I definitely agree they went into alphas with too few roles. It was fine for that first weekend, but after a few hours of playing you'd picked a favourite and never changed. I was Vanguard almost exclusively apart from a few games that first weekend where I tried out the others and found I am a really bad Assassin I'm glad Cliff's been bullied into having support/healer roles, cos we need them. The first alpha was less enjoyable thanks to health stations taking soooo long and no other ways to heal up. The Gunslinger looks cool too, I definitely want to try him out. I liked Tracer's blink ability, but I never choose to play her because that mockney... Why. Hopefully, Gunslinger won't have ridiculously over the top voice acting so I can enjoy it! I hope they're backing away from swearing a lot to force it into being a game for "mature" gamers too. That was my one real problem with the original marketing. It was forced and cringeworthy. Which was a shame because the game itself was great fun IMO and has real potential. I'm really looking forward to the closed beta next weekend!
Beta emails just went out! If you were in the alpha, you're in the beta. Anyone playing this weekend? Typically I'm back at work from Friday so will only be playing in the evenings I really like how easy they've made it to share videos of the game, but some of the ones they shared on Twitter from PAX East were really bad quality.
Beta starts at 16:00 GMT today, here are the Patch Notes and Known Issues: New Content, Changes, and Improvements New: party and team voice chat powered by Discord New Roles: Battle Medic, Juggernaut & Gunslinger New Maps: Mammoth & Station Balance updates on original Roles and Modes Updated HUD and UI/Menus Tutorial videos added to menus New: Stash Boxes and light cosmetic customization for testing purposes only - will not transfer to future BETAs or full release (just a small sample) In-Game Achievements More robust Settings menu Enhanced scoring events system Improved in-game text chat Healthbars and optional damage numbers Optional alternative hit impact sounds Skill based matchmaking first pass - Work in Progress Auto-balance between matches Reduced warm up time to 15s Health pickups Auto import Steam friends Improved profile, player stats, match history Improved netcode Performance and loading times optimizations First pass gamepad support Known Issues & Bugs There’s a low chance you can get stuck in the Achievements screen when clicking around on Achievements, you’ll have to force quit out of the game if this happens Menus are still a work in progress, so expect more consistent and enhanced functionality as the closed Beta progresses No way to remap Enter for chat You should not be able to drop the Overcharge game object and that key binding option will be removed in the future Profile statistics are still a work in progress - many aren’t tracking stats perfectly, or are displaying incorrect information. This will improve in future Betas Your progression bar is displaying your progress incorrectly. It’s unlocking things just fine, but the increasing bar logic needs to be visually cleaned up The menu can become slower over time. Restart the game if the issue is too severe Party Members might get stuck in queue when party is disbanded. Restart game to fix Discord: Pressing Alt F4 during a match does not remove you from Discord channel Some achievements do not work Front End Menus do not scale properly with non-16/9 monitors After launching, the game may constantly minimizes when clicking in the window - Workaround 1: Alt-tab to desktop and double click the LawBreakers Icon in the windows taskbar - Workaround 2: After launching the game in Steam, click in the first window that pops up that displays the Boss Key logo before the game fully launches Missing "NEW" tag on Stash Box Menu Button when new Stash Boxes are available Juggernaut has a Secondary Weapon option accessible Feng is missing Character Skins While previewing an item, the Camera does not reset when hitting Back or ESC key Missing some feedback when items are equipped Settings that do not work: - Audio Tab: Mute Own Voice & Auto Join Voice Rooms Incorrect Profile Icons are displaying on the in-game Scoreboard Rarely, the Battery Icon will not be displayed on the Player holding the Battery Healing sound loops if spectating a player that is healed Cannot press ESC to display Pause Menu while dead The XP/Level up meter will display incorrectly at the end of a match. The XP is counting correctly but the display will be incorrect When joining a Turf War game in progress you may temporarily see icon issues with the captured zones. In the settings menu, if you set any slider to zero, it will visually re-position to 50% Unable to rebind most mouse buttons.
I have to say, even if this game doesn't blow your frock up, please be aware that this stuff is a direct response to the alpha feedback. I love it when game devs listen! (I also love an in-depth 'known issues' section, because it means they've really tested it out and want you to know they're going to do something!) These are my favourites I think. They're really trying to push integration with social media platforms. They've worked with Shadowplay to allow sharing of video clips really easily. Game devs should never underestimate the power of videos and gifs on Twitter/Instagram/Discord/Imgur/reddit, etc. to market their game. Most people I know use Discord when gaming now anyway, so the integration is great I could totally understand why CliffyB didn't want health pickups or support characters in the game, but having played it for many hours I'm pleased he gave in. Yeah, so it's not as old school, but games evolve. I don't know how big of a deal it will be with support characters available, but I have faith that if it doesn't work out they will listen to the community and find ways to tweak it. Super happy to see controller support is coming. There was a forum thread asking about it and it was really nice to see the devs ignore the "lol git gud" and "eeew controller" posts and say "sure, we'll look into adding it, but there won't be any aim assist". A lot of PC gamers are really quick to judge anyone using a controller, but the simple fact is that some people do not have the dexterity for keyboard and mouse. They don't mind not having aim assist (in all honesty I turn it off on every game that lets me because it screws me over more often than it ever helps), they would just like to be able to play. It also really helps out charities like Special Effect, if a game is already set up for controller it makes their job of modifications so much easier. Not everyone has full control over two working hands and those people should not miss out on fun just because a few fools kick up a fuss about 'consolification'. I also just remembered they've added dialogue between the characters now. I've seen/heard it in some of the clips they tweeted over PAX East, but it's not on the list for some reason. It's one thing I really liked in Overwatch. I know a lot of people won't understand why having a character tell you "nice shot!" is a big deal, but it's another marketing thing. Streaming on Twitch/Beam/Hitbox/YouTube is huge. It sells games. If you're streaming a multiplayer game on your own, sometimes it's nice to have something to interact with. Silent streamers don't generally do very well and a lot of people struggle to think of things to talk about when they have hardly any viewers or at least very quiet chat. Little things like this can really help.
Are we Steam friends? I might see you in game! *Pssst it's a closed beta, the alphas finished in the Summer
CLOSED BETA #2 STARTS THURSDAY! CLOSED BETA #2 BEGINS THURSDAY MAY 18TH - 9AM PT/ NOON ET / 4PM UTC / 5PM BST CLOSED BETA #2 ENDS SUNDAY MAY 21ST - 9PM PT / MIDNIGHT ET / 4AM UTC / 5AM BST (I just realised timezones mean this will be Monday for us - woo!) As before, if you were already in the alphas or Closed Beta #1 you are in this one and can just redownload/update on Steam. WHAT'S NEW IN CB2? A new playable role, Wraith A new map, Reactor. A new mode, Blitzball Spectator Mode - Watch the Developer Diary video here Custom Match Exclusive Beta Kick Decal for Beta participants New customizations Bugs fixes and gameplay updates *** CLOSED BETA #2 PATCH NOTES New Additions: New Role! - "Wraith" New Map! - "Reactor" New Mode! - "Blitzball" New Feature! - "Custom Game Mode" New Feature! - "Spectator Mode for Custom Games" New Customization! - "Kick Decals" Role Changes: Assassin - "Assassin has turned out to be one of the trickiest roles to balance. Right now she's too strong against new players and too weak against experienced ones. Consider these tweaks a nudge in the right direction while we work on some deeper changes. We've slightly reduced the damage on her first combo attack to make her a bit less frustrating while also bumping up the viability of grapple by rewarding longer range skill shots" Gameplay Adjustments: Removed Arc Blades healing per hit. healing now only occurs while Frenzy is active. Reduced damage on Arc Blades first combo attack from 75->50 Increased grapple projectile speed 8000->9000 Increased grapple range 3000->3600 *NEW* grapple attack now charges up bonus damage while reeling in, from 150→250 Battle Medic - "Battle Medic is performing in line with our expectations right now, so we're just polishing some rough edges" Gameplay Adjustments: Reduced Lobber knockback impulse 50% Reduced Defense Grid cooldown 120->90 *NEW* Defense Grid cooldown is further reduced by healing your team Enforcer - "Enforcer was too strong at long range, so we're pulling back a bit on his damage falloff. We're also cleaning up some excess power in his kit by removing the Bloodhound Rocket ammo drops and the EMP zone from Electromag" Gameplay Adjustments: Reduced Aerator damage falloff range 5000->3000 Increased fuel regen delay 0.2->0.75 Removed Electromag Charge persistent zone Removed Bloodhound Launcher ammo drops Gunslinger - "Gunslinger is most powerful in the hands of high skill players who can maximize his combination of ranged burst damage and combat mobility. While we're happy with how he's performing overall, we want to nudge down some of his ability to lock down long sight lines." Gameplay Adjustments: Reduced Omega full charge damage 160->140 Reduced Omega damage falloff range 3000->1750 Reduced Omega clip size 8->6 Reduced TAC Knife damage on hit 200->100 Reduced TAC Knife headshot multiplier 2.0→1.5 Juggernaut - "Juggernaut needed more access to his Armor in order to do his job as a close range tank, so we've reworked his Ultimate into a toggle ability that consumes fuel. Toggling on Armor will give you damage reduction at the expense of move speed,so it should be great for contesting objectives and soaking damage for your team. We've also cleaned up some animation issues with the Instigator shotgun that end up giving him a faster rate of fire." Gameplay Adjustments: *NEW* Armor Protocol rework Removed 75s cooldown Armor now consumes fuel over time Armor now provides increased damage reduction from the front Armor has 5s cooldown when fuel hits zero Reduced Super Jump fuel cost 50% Instigator rate of fire slightly increased Instigator can now be held to fire instead of press to fire for every shot. Titan - "Titan needed a way to poke at ranged hitscan users, so we've bumped up the range on his rockets. We also slightly reduced the explosion self damage, so hopefully we'll see even more gutsy low health rocket jumps! Berzerk mode continues to be in the 'ridiculously strong' category, so we're hitting the duration to make it's use a bit more tactical while we keep an eye on how Titan is performing overall." Gameplay Adjustments: Increased Hammerhead Rocket range 2800->3500 Reduced Hammerhead Rocket self damage 50%->40% Reduced duration on Berzerk 15s->10s Removed Berzerk area damage Vanguard - "Vanguard's performance was well below our target, mostly due to the unreliability of her primary weapon and punishing cooldowns. We've buffed up her gatling gun and gave her the ability to shoot while flying to cement her as the go-to role for chasing" Gameplay Adjustments: *NEW* Hydra can now be fired while using Afterburners *NEW* Hydra now fires 3 shots at a time Reduced Hydra damage per shot 38->13 Reduced Hydra spin-up time 2s->1s Reduced Pulsar fuel cost 60%->40% Increased Afterburners top speed 2100->2500 Removed Afterburners 10s cooldown Increased fuel regen delay 0->0.75 Reduced Meteor Shells cooldown 15s→9s Map Changes: All Maps - Enemy spawn barriers are now fully opaque, masking enemy team’s movements to help combat spawn camping. Implemented a spawn exit heal buff (400 + bonus HP for 2 seconds after leaving the spawn barrier). Various quality of life improvements (collision, exploit fixes, etc.) throughout all maps. Station - The central area above the aquarium has been remodeled - it should be more defensible with the added cover and interior location Mode Changes: Overcharge - Battery charge timer lowered, it now takes only 60s to reach full charge. The score limit to win was increased from 2 to 3 points. The entire team now earn additional points for holding the battery at 25, 50, and 75% charge intervals. When depleted, the battery shield begins to recharge after 10s if it has not been touched. The battery shield recharges at a rate of 10% per second. Turf War - Score limit required to win increased to 16. Bug Fixes: Fixed a bug where Flux grenade could sometimes cause knockback without damage Fixed a bug where fully charged Omega Kills were registering as headshots Fixed a bug where Titan couldn't fire or swap weapons after Pulverize Fixed a bug where reloading could sometimes fail to give ammo Fixed mouse sensitivity setting with too many digits Fixed auto-join voice rooms option not working when set disabled General Additions/Improvements: Improved pause menu Improved matchmaking Improved discord voice chat integration Improved game pad support Improved GPU and CPU performance Improved menu fluidity and performance Improved movement and firing netcode Improved in-game chat Improved end of match winning team visuals Improved end of match progression screen Improved clarity and prioritization of in-game scoring event announcements Improved HUD for all game modes to increase clarity Added more weapon skins, character skins and account portraits to Stash Drops *NEW* Teammate icons to top of HUD *NEW* Settings option to show/hide teammate icons *NEW* Hit-crosshair settings to choose between new and "classic fill" styles *NEW* Role icons to in-game scoreboard *NEW* Option to "Stay on server" between matches. If less than 7 players vote, player will re-queue to find a new match Known Issues and Bugs: Spectator Mode - Spectator mode is still a work in progress feature, so there may be several bugs with information not updating or displaying incorrectly. Menus - Level icons may appear misaligned during the end of match menus. Players may experience hitching during the end of match menus. Next match information may display Game Mode or Map as UNKNOWN. Certain settings menu options may not reset to default. A crash may occur when mapping keys to Num Pad inputs. Certain characters assets may appear as low resolution in the Customize menu. Profile screen may hitch when switching between information tabs. A crash may occur when adjusting Anti-Aliasing settings during a match. Gameplay - Certain achievements may not be tracking for some classes. All Modes: Joining a match in progress may display the current objective status incorrectly. Battle Medic: Healing brackets may display incorrectly over enemies heads during a match. All Roles: Animation popping may occur during reload or ability use.
Really pleased to see they've buffed Vanguard as I stopped playing her during Closed Beta #1 to concentrate on Battle Medic as I just wasn't feeling Vanguard and she was my favourite throughout the alphas (Amusingly I still got an email telling me I was among the top Vanguard players though haha ) I feel like the Battle Medic stats may not have tracked as they didn't in the achievement stats. It said I'd never healed anyone despite playing a medic almost the entire time! The new mode looks super fun too. For me, it's a bit like Rift in Destiny but the ball talks!
Sent in PM *** I love BlitzBall soooo much! But the ball is too adorable and voiced by Justin Roiland (Rick & Morty) so I find it really distracting and laugh my way through most of those matches! Played for a few hours last night with some friends and almost every single match was Overcharge, which is a shame as it is my least favourite of the modes. The new map is quite fun and I think I like the re-working of Station (Zone B above the Aquarium now has a couple of rooms behind it, which makes fighting over B more fun as you actually have to be in the zone and not just flying around it to engage). I played Wraith almost exclusively last night (switching to Vanguard if we were against a good team). It's a really fun role to play. Kills are immensely satisfying, especially slide kills. I had quite a few 1v1s with other Wraiths and it gets crazy very fast with all the triple jumps and slides! I loved using the short stab to traverse the map, that felt really nice. I may even end up making Wraith my main
