MechWarrior Online Patch Notes - December 15th By Rebecca Smith, 16 Dec 2015 CommentsPatch Tuesday, December 15th @ 10AM – 1PM PST Patch Number: 1.4.47 Patch Size: 460 MB Greetings MechWarriors As we approach the end of 2015 and look toward the start of a new era in MechWarrior Online, we would like to thank all the pilots who have been with us since 2011 and beyond, along with all the new pilots who have now taken to the battlefields of the Inner Sphere in the wake of our recent Steam release. A lot has changed since we left beta in 2013, and we look ahead to the new year with the planned release of Faction Play Phase 3, the release of the Decal customization system, and our first official Tournament. Along with our work on 'Mech AI currently underway, so much more is yet to come. Our final patch of 2015 features four dangerous additions to the Clan arsenal of 'Mechs: the Clan Origins IIC 'Mechs are now available to eligible Origins IIC owners. These Origins IIC 'Mechs combine the customization functionality of Inner Sphere 'Mechs with the sheer power of Clan technology. Mastery Bundles for the Wolverine and Thunderbolt 'Mechs have been added to the in-game Store and the Gift Store, featuring everything you'll need to start you on the path toward mastering these two excellent Inner Sphere chassis.Our expansion of the MechWarrior Academy and Tutorial system continues, with the addition of a new BattleZone in the western region of the Academy map. Straying into this BattleZone will expose you to potentially lethal engagements with up to eight randomly spawned enemy 'Mechs, and will allow you to test the array of skills necessary for navigating and conquering a live engagement. Rounding out the patch we have an array of additional fixes and changes to the MechWarrior Academy, the addition of a settings toggle for color blind friendly reticle behavior, the addition of an audio cue when transitioning from the voting screen to the loading screen, along with many more fixes and changes. The MechWarrior Team Patch notes:*** Spoiler - click to reveal ***New 'Mechs Until their release for in-game purchase, these 'Mechs are only available to eligible Origins IIC owners. • Jenner IIC Release date for MC: January 19th 2016 Release date for C-Bills: February 16th 2016 • Hunchback IIC Release date for MC: February 2nd 2016 Release date for C-Bills: March 1st 2016 • Orion IIC Release date for MC: February 16th 2016 Release date for C-Bills: March 15th 2016 • Highlander IIC Release date for MC: March 1st 2016 Release date for C-Bills: April 5th 2016 Loadout details for the Origins IIC 'Mechs can be in a dedicated post here. 'Mechs Now Available for MC Purchase • Black Knight BL-6-KNT: 2780 MC BL-6b-KNT: 2995 MC BL-7-KNT: 2615 MC BL-7-KNT-L: 2540 MC 'Mechs Now Available for C-Bill Purchase • Crab CRB-27: 3,792,733 C-Bills CRB-20: 3,703,201 C-Bills CRB-27B: 4,240,733 C-Bills CRB-27SL: 7,144,233 C-Bills • UrbanMech UM-R63: 2,006,108 C-Bills UM-R60: 1,560,113 C-Bills UM-R60L: 1,744,084 C-Bills • Wolfhound WLF-2: 2,886,748 C-Bills WLF-1: 2,670,748 C-Bills WLF-1A: 2,594,748 C-Bills WLF-1B: 2,670,748 C-Bills New Cockpit Items • Hanging Items Double Helix Wolf DNA Jade Falcon DNA Ghost Bear DNA Smoke Jaguar DNA • Standing Items Clan Holo Globe Wolf Holo Globe Jade Falcon Holo Globe Ghost Bear Holo Globe Smoke Jaguar Holo Globe • War Horns Clan Hex WarHorn Wolf Hex WarHorn Jade Falcon Hex WarHorn Ghost Bear Hex WarHorn Smoke Jaguar Hex WarHorn New Mastery Bundles • Wolverine Mastery Bundle Price: 5,747 MC WVR-Q WVR-6K WVR-6R Three associated Mech Bays 30 Days of Active Premium Time • Thunderbolt Mastery Bundle Price: 6,610 MC TDR-5S-T TDR-9SE TDR-5SS Three associated Mech Bays 30 Days of Active Premium Time New MechWarrior Academy Engagement Area -- BattleZone • Eight enemy 'Mechs now spawn randomly in the west end of the city, across the bay from the citadel. • These 'Mechs will fire at the player when the range closes to below 600m. • 'Mechs will continue to fire at the player until one or the other is destroyed. • Destroyed 'Mechs re-spawn after about 30 seconds if the player isn't looking at them. Gameplay • A 'Color Blind Options' section has been added to Game Settings. • This section currently features a new color blind friendly reticle option (crosshair changes shape when a hit is detected). • Increased the cooldown and duration bonuses on all DropShip weapons. Map Fixes and Changes • Viridian Bog: Fix for a sound issue with waterfalls. 'Mech Fixes and Changes • Marauder: Fixed an issue with Mounted Cockpit Item lights. • Dragon and Catapult: Fixed an issue where the Fractal/Virus Patterns would revert to default colors on log-in. Tutorial Fixes and Changes • Added a new blue info beacon that triggers a pop-up at the Firing Range.• Fixed an issue where Cockpit Monitors would flicker on when passing through waypoint markers despite being turned off in the settings.• Fixed an issue where Cockpit Monitors would appear off when entering the Tutorial despite being turned on in the settings.• Fixed an issue where Cockpit Monitors would power-cycle when destroying one of the swappable 'Mechs.• Onslaught: New 'Armageddon ++' difficulty level has been added.• Gauntlet and Running Cored: Updated the route to avoid the tunnels.• Gauntlet and Running Cored: Canceling these challenges will spawn you back in the middle of the Academy.• Gauntlet and Running Cored: Fixed an issue where disabled 'Mechs could wake up and fire at the player during the round summary screen.• Rapid Fire: Turrets now target the center torso.• Targeting Practice: Fixed an issue where 'Mechs could spawn on top of each other.• Targeting Practice: Number of active enemies now limited to 12.• Firing Range: Re-arranged the passive turrets to improve visibility from the environmental zones. Also moved one closer to be within range of the smaller weapons.• Fixed an issue that could cause 32-bit clients to sometimes run out of memory when loading the Academy.• Target designation letters reset when starting a new challenge or round.Other Fixes and Changes• Fixed an issue where inviting a Public Group leader to join a Private Lobby would not bring along their entire Group.• Fixed a rendering issue with the Gas Mask and Phoenix icons in the Cockpit Item screen.• Fixed a rendering issue with the the Phoenix and Phoenix Speaker Cockpit Items on certain maps.• Fixed an issue where players would still get contract rewards when leaving a Faction Play Invasion match early.• Fixed an issue where audio from weapon explosions wouldn't play.• Fixed an issue where audio from ammo explosions wouldn't play.• Disabled the ability to modify the r_glow cvar in the user.cfg file.• Added an audio cue indicating that a match has been found and the player is being sent to the voting screen.• Fixed an issue where Weapon Cooldown would begin immediately after firing in Tutorial and Testing Grounds.• Fixed an issue where the vertical weapon group highlight was partially cut off on 'Mechs equipped with ECM and Arm and Torso weapons.• Fixed an issue where energy weapon sound effects would not play while spectating.• Clicking the Standing, Hanging, and Mounted headers in the Cockpit screen will now bring the player to the corresponding tab in the Cockpit Item Warehouse.Known Issues• Minimap will appear zoomed in after swapping a 'Mech in MechWarrior Academy.We will be rolling out a hot-fix today, Tuesday December 15th, scheduled for 2:00 PM PST [10:00 PM UTC], with the following fixes:• Fixing an issue where in-game chat was not functioning.• Fixing an issue where players could experience a saving error when changing armor from STD>Ferro>STD on IIC 'Mechs.The maximum estimated downtime required for this hot-fix will be approximately 30 minutes.When services are restored you will be required to apply a small patch.More MechWarrior Online Solaris 7 stories: MechWarrior Online OPERATION: FRONTLINE FACTION Play Event MechWarrior Online Summer Solstice Event MechWarrior Online Pot of Gold 2 Event Now Available on Steam - December 10th WindowsGame Patch Written by Rebecca SmithRebecca is the Newshound Manager at TrueSteamAchievements, TrueAchievements and TrueTrophies. She has been contributing articles since 2010, especially those that involve intimidatingly long lists. When not writing news, she can usually be found sharpening her very, VERY, pointy grammar stick in anticipation of its imminent use. Outside of TSA, TA and TT, she works in an independent game shop so that she can spend all day talking about games too. At home, with a variety of PCs and consoles on hand from which to choose, starting with a ZX Spectrum, games are never far away there either. However, as you're not supposed to have an unhealthy obsession with just a single subject, she also likes to read and dream about owning her own tribe of minions. She'll occasionally go outside.