Hear that? That’s the sound of people not holding their breath over details of a SOCOM patch. And really, with the constant delays and empty promises loyal fans of the series have received throughout the months, can you blame them? Hopefully new intel will help put all of you frustrated soldiers at ease.
SCEA Senior Producer, Mark Rogers, came by the PS Blog today bearing a gift. The long overdue 1.50 patch is complete and will be available for download come Tuesday morning. For many gamers, this message serves as the light at the end of a long, dark, and very laggy tunnel that may revive interest in a game many have given up on – yet still play because, well…it’s SOCOM.
We’re just going to go ahead and say it; this patch is HUGE. We’re talking GINORMOUS. Just look at the list below. Sure, many will argue that a lot of these features and fixes should have been included when the game launched, but if 1.50 is any indication of how apologetic Slant Six is feeling, we forgive them. For now.
Here is the list of improvements included in the 1.50 patch:
Crashes, Freezes and Hangs Fixed
- Players being booted out of the game to the XMB while loading into gameplay.
- Players freezing on the loading screen going into and returning from gameplay.
- Loss of input issues that occurred when using the pause menu or scoreboard.
- Low frequency freezes when creating a clan.
- Players occasionally getting stuck on the Quick Match screen after selecting an invitation.
- Rare cases where players would become stuck in Spectator mode.
General Gameplay Updates
- Numerous improvements to lag and latency, as well as bandwidth optimizations.
- To eliminate exploits where players were escaping to outside of the playable space, many of the previously found routes are now blocked off. As a further measure, the playable areas are now surrounded by trigger volumes that will kill players attempting to find new exploits.
- Players are no longer able to plant claymores through pillars, walls and other objects.
- Target spotting will now default to OFF in all ranked games.
- Fixed characters occasionally getting stuck when planting flares in Control mode.
- Made the range players could plant the satchel more consistent between levels, in both Breach and Demolition modes.
- Commando reticles now turn green when targeting a VIP in Escort mode.
- Increased the priority of picking up the satchel so it can be picked up more easily when weapons and other objects are piled around it.
- Louder and improved footstep audio for characters that are out of view.
- Limited the angle that climb prompts appear at, character will no longer turn 90 degrees before climbing.
- VIPs no longer appear on the HUD Radar after being killed.
- Added the ability to plant Control flares and Demolition/Breach satchels while prone.
- Improved grenade throws, they now more closely follow the throw arc, added better wall detection to keep players from throwing grenades through walls and other objects.
- Fixed issues where different weapons would appear in characters hands to different players.
- Players can no longer take control of VIPs/Hostages through walls or other objects.
- Improved performance for the late joiner, host and all other players when joining a match in progress.
- The satchel will no longer appear in the incorrect location for players that late join Demolition and Breach matches.
- Fixed cases where the number of rounds won by each team could become out of sync.
- The death camera will stop following the character that killed your player after 5 seconds.
- In spectator mode, the button commands will fade out after 5 seconds.
- When selecting a weapon in-game the player’s custom loadout will not be overwritten, that can only be done in the Front End Armoury.
- Fixed cases where Detonators for Key Moments could become desynced, allowing them to be used twice.
- Multiple fixes for situations where characters could become invisible.
- Drastically cut down the Fade-In time at the start of the round.
- Fixed the jittering reticle when planting C4 and Claymores.
- Improved ability to plant the C4 on Breach walls.
- Resolved issues across all maps where players could become stuck when crouching or going prone in tight spaces.
- Closed an exploit where players could shoot through walls close to windows when using a scope.
User Interface
- Improvements across multiple Front End screens to improve the look and feel for Standard Definition users.
- Fixed cases where scrolling rapidly or backing out quickly from Front End screens could lead to multiple items overlapping.
- Sort the Channels list in a more user friendly way.
- Updated several places in the Records and Statistics where the same gun would appear more than once.
- Increased functionality for customizing controls including adding Hold functions to the Analog sticks.
- Added an option to disable D-pad Lean.
- Created a new Nordisk channel.
- Fixed an issue where the Clan Mottos would sometimes be cut off.
- Added more information to the Game Details screen in the briefing room.
Weapons
- Reduced the accuracy of the FAMAS.
- Improved damage of the Desert Eagle.
- Improved damage done by all Sniper Rifles.
Crossroads
- Improved collision on railings to allow bullets to pass through them easier.
- Removed a dynamic spawn from several modes that had a player respawn in a locked room in several modes.
- Several fixes to curbs around the level so the player can traverse smoothly over them without reload interruptions.
- Updated one of the breach walls on the Overlook so player cannot get past without destroying it.
- Closed several exploit holes that allowed players to gain access to out of bounds areas including: numerous rooftops around the level and the area above the warehouse.
Quarantine
- Players can no longer swim under the platform of the main floor of the dome.
- Players no longer get stuck in the water of the main floor of the dome.
- Improved AI pathfinding with extra focus on the transitions in and out of water, including lowering the water in the dome at the start of the round in Escort and Extraction modes.
- Updated several locations inside the dome where the camera could pass through the ceiling and walls.
- Tweaked the collision on several pipes and beams so players cannot pass through or get trapped.
- Closed several exploit holes that allowed players to gain access to out of bounds areas including: the dome roof, areas past the outer fences and the submarine.
Fallen
- Improved AI pathfinding with special attention given to transitions in and out of the water.
- Aligned a dynamic spawn point with the world to prevent players from spawning halfway into the ground in Escort mode.
- Added more detailed collision to several cliffs to prevent players from clipping through the terrain.
- Closed several exploit holes that allowed players to gain access to out of bounds areas including: the cliffs above each spawn, the roof of the temple and behind fences.
Kasbah
- Aligned Demolition markers to be more visible.
- Resized one case where a Control flare could be thrown over the edge of a balcony.
- Added collision to a fence above Commando spawn that would allow players access to the 32 player area in the 16 player map.
- Closed several exploit holes that allowed players to gain access to out of bounds areas including: across destroyed bridges, outside the walls and on rooftops.
Urban Wasteland
- Aligned markers in Demolition and Breach mode to be exactly at the centre of the target zones.
- Resized two cases where Control flares could be planted behind walls.
- Several fixes to curbs around the level so the player can traverse smoothly over them without reload interruptions.
- Closed several exploits that would allow the player access to out of bounds areas including: hotel rooftops, the sky bridge roof and several buildings around the level.
FrostFire
- Fixed camera issue where players below the Watch Deck could see enemies above when standing on the pipe.
- Closed several exploits that would allow the player access to out of bounds areas including: rooftops, the helicopter and the water.
Desert Glory
- Smoothed the collision on several pieces of rubble on the ground to allow easier traversal of the level.
- Closed several exploits that would allow the player access to out of bounds areas including: the cliffs above and the winding road below.
[Source]
