Hey PS3 gamers,
We are listening to you and we’ve been busy working on updates based on feedback from the community. We have already deployed a number of updates, and there will be many more to come. Stay tuned right here for all the latest info.
IN PROGRESS
Patch 1.04 is nearing the end of Phase 2 testing. Going into Phase 3 submissions on 12/6.
Patching process:
http://www.callofduty.com/board/view...?f=70&t=346952Issues Addressed:
* • Resolved several issues with parties getting disbanded unexpectedly.
* • Additional measures to prevent the “Transmission error” and other disconnects. This was most likely to occur with large parties where party members had mixed NAT types.
* • Updated handling for UPnP-enabled routers to improve matchmaking conditions where users had strict or moderate NAT types. Also added in-game communications so that all players are aware of their NAT type in the Player Match party lobby.
* • Addressed an issue with VOIP icons not appearing when USB headsets were plugged in prior to game launch.
* • Prevention of exploit that allowed players to keep custom classes and killstreaks after prestige.
* • Addressed an issue where Flak Jacket Pro would not always protect against ground fires left by Napalm Strikes.
* • Prevention of users losing their killstreak reward when switching classes at the start of a new round in round-based game modes.
* • Addressed an issue where the incorrect perks would appear when spectating another player under certain circumstances.
* • Added round start explosive delay to China Lake grenade launcher to give it the same round start limitations as other explosives.
* • Contracts will now reset when the player Prestiges.
* • Prevention of Valkyrie rocket exploding upon release under rare conditions.
* • Prevention of Gunship failing to give player full control under rare conditions.
* • Prevention of an issue where a player will get teleported outside the map boundaries under very specific circumstances.
* • Additional security measures to enhance detection and banning capabilities.
Gameplay Tuning:
* • Limit the ability to re-roll supply drops using Hardline Pro to Care Packages only, no other killstreak drops.
* • Added a negative influencer to all spawn points to decrease the chances of spawning near an enemy. This will further improve spawning protection on top of previous updates.
* • Additional sound mix tuning for Ninja Pro users – increased ranges and volume of enemy footsteps, and removed player footstep sounds on concrete material types.
* • Increased headshot multipliers for sniper rifles. Sniper rifles with suppressors equipped will now always be ensured one-shot kill headshots.
* • Subtle increase in sniper rifle accuracy when scoping in.
* • Added a render delay to the red diamond player indicators that appear when controlling the Gunship, Valkyrie Rocket and Chopper Gunner. When a player first spawns, this will not appear for a period of time.
* • Additional minor reductions in knife lunge.
LIVE FIXES
11/23
* · Addition of Hardcore HQ & Hardcore CTF game modes to the playlists
* · Prevention of the ability to earn XP in Private Matches
11/18
* · Improvements to the spawn system to resolve an issue where negative spawn influencers from specific game events were not always being deleted after the danger had cleared – in some matches, this was causing good spawns to be erroneously flagged by the game as bad spawns, which in turn forced actual bad spawns to get selected later in the match
* · Experimental slight reduction in knife lunge range – this is a trial change
* · Prevention of Prestige glitching – trying to prestige from Combat Training will reset your stats but not give you prestige
11/17 (full patch)
* · Improved matchmaking to find matches significantly faster
* · Improved matchmaking to ensure that players are more effectively matched to games with the best networking conditions
* · Improved host selection to ensure that the best host is always selected in the pre-game lobby
* · Improved party system to ensure that parties don’t get broken apart
* · Disable ability to join Private Match, Combat Training and Theater lobbies when searching for Player Match games
* · Server-side and game-side changes to decrease the amount of failed Film uploads
* · Weekly and Monthly leaderboards will now track all kills, deaths and assists properly (All Time leaderboards were not affected by this)
* · Prevention of Combat Training stats getting crossed with Player Match stats under rare conditions
* · Prevention of temporary loss of functionality when a button was being held down at the point of a disconnect
* · Additional fine-tuning of audio levels and ranges for footsteps and gunfire
* · Additional fine-tuning of audio levels for bomb plants/defuses
* · Additional online security enhancements
* · Optimization to prevent friends list from spamming user while in game – will improve game performance for users with large numbers of friends
11/16
* · Prevention of killstreak selection getting disabled in Combat Training under rare conditions
* · Array: Added collision to prevent players from partially clipping into a tree
* · Launch: Added collision to prevent players from strafe jumping onto an invisible ledge at the base of the rocket near B3
* · Summit: Added collision to prevent players from jumping to a location outside of the map boundary when in Custom Games where player speed is maxed out
* · Havana: Added collision to prevent players from jumping onto an invisible ledge above a doorway at C2
* · Nuketown: Adjusted a spawn point that would spawn players on top of a mannequin’s head when that mannequin was randomly spawned in that location
11/12
* - Launch: User could access a small platform outside of the intended play space below the rocket gantry by jumping to a very specific location; now blocked from access
* - Launch: User could access a small area inside geometry at vents near Dom flag A by going prone and moving around in a very specific location; now blocked from access
* - Some users reported that weapon attachment challenges were not resetting after prestige; now all are guaranteed to clear as soon as selecting the prestige option
11/11
* - Online number counts were not updating properly; these are now reporting exact online numbers
* - Parties getting disbanded when host did not find a match quickly
11/10
* - Users’ rank and stats can get wiped under very specific conditions
11/9
* - Radar sweep when there are only 2 players left in One in the Chamber will stop functioning if the 2 players have multiple lives when the sweep starts
* - Crash when viewing content (films, clips, etc) in the Community & Recent Games menu
11/5
* - Villa: User can clip into rock at west edge of grid zone B2 and see through to the other side
* - Crisis: User can clip into LVT between grid zone A3 and B3 and see through to the other side
* - User can get an infinite number of 'Sam Turret', 'Care Package' and 'Sentry Gun' killstreaks (commonly referred to as the “care package glitch”)
- JD 2020
ALSO
Hey Black Ops community –
To answer many questions about the game update / patching process, I’ve provided a short walkthrough below to explain how it works and provide some basic timelines for each phase in the cycle.
Phase 1: Gather feedback, reproduce reports and implement solutions.
* • As soon as the game is released, we scour the forums and play online with fans to gather feedback.
* • The QA team reproduces all feedback reports in a test environment, enters them into our database, and assigns them to dev team members.
o o Like any scientific process, reports must be reproduced in the test lab before they can be addressed. With millions of users playing the game, something reported by only a small number of users may not be easily reproducible. For this, it’s important that all reports in the forums provide as much helpful information as they can.
* • Estimated time: Generally 2 weeks to build a comprehensive list, reproduce in the test environment, research cause, and implement solutions. This phase is typically the longest part of the process and can easily take more than 2 weeks, depending on the number and complexity of reports. Once a game is released, every change made is high risk, and adequate time is needed to implement the best possible solution.
Phase 2: Test internally.
* • Once the highest priority reports have been resolved, the updated game goes through a rigorous internal testing procedure.
* • If new issues are discovered or the original issue is not fixed appropriately, more time is needed to research and implement new solutions. Video games are highly complex pieces of software. Every change made has a potential impact somewhere else in the game, so the entire game has to be tested with each update.
* • Estimated time: Minimum of 1 week to thoroughly test the entire game and internally approve the update for release.
Phase 3: Console manufacturers test and approve the update for release.
* • As soon as our QA team has approved the update internally, it is then submitted to the console manufacturers for their own testing and approval. At this point, it is out of our hands.
* • If the game update is approved by the console manufacturers, the cycle is done and the update is prepped for release. If the game update is rejected, an accelerated version of the entire process starts again.
* • Estimated time: Minimum of 1 week to get an approval.
*
o o Note: PC patches do not require manufacturer approvals, but because of the high number of variables in computer hardware and OS configurations, both Phase 1 and Phase 2 require additional time that does not exist on consoles which have standardized hardware. The PC patch development cycle takes about the same amount of time start-to-finish as that of consoles.
Phase 4: Release
* • Once the game update is approved by both internal QA and the console manufacturers, it gets prepped for release. This is a very short phase, but it can add time to the process depending on a number of variables.
* • Estimated time: Generally 2-3 days.
That is a high level overview of the patching / update process. Time estimates listed above are averages – it usually takes at least a full month to complete a game update cycle. Often, there are multiple full game updates in the works simultaneously, which is why you see less than a month between full game updates. In some emergency cases, this time can be accelerated, but this is very rare.
The description above outlines the process for publishing permanent game updates and does not apply in the same way to hot fixes. Hot fixes are temporary, server-side fixes that are used to patch in simple adjustments to the game. These are not permanent fixes, and they only apply to online portions of the game. Most significant changes to the game cannot be made with a hot fix.
There you have it – hopefully this removes some of the mystery of the game update and patching process. Enjoy the game and continue to communicate your feedback to us!
Regards,
-JD
so it will be anyway from 9 days+ till the patch is released, they are going into Phase 3 submissions on 6/12.
