Archive for the ‘patch’ Category
Monday, August 18th, 2008
As you know, We’ve been playing around with a lot of different playlist variations for the last several weeks and we’ve got quite a few cool mash-ups and gametype tweaks in the wings. It’s no secret that adding new playlists (or anything to multiplayer) takes a long time. There is a lot of careful planning and consideration that goes into anything new we add to the overall gameplay experience of the game, and nothing is added unless we’re completely convinced it will add to the overall experience. So as you can imagine, we play the hell out of any new addition we even consider before we consider it “good to go”.
That said.
The good news is, we have a few playlists that can be implemented via a playlist update (no patch required) and a few that we’re determining now if they can be added; the bad news is a few of them that can only be implemented via a patch. We’re still in talks to see if a small patch is feasible within our current production schedule, so I’ll let you know as that’s determined.
Remember though, nothing is final until it’s actually released. I don’t want you guys to be disappointed if something doesn’t pass QA, but to give you an idea of what we’re currently testing and where we stand with each playlist:
Hardcore Headquarters - No Patch Required
Testing is completed for Hardcore HQ. This playlist has standard HQ rules w/ Hardcore Settings. Limited HUD, Increased Bullet Damage, and Friendly Fire Enabled.
Hardcore Ricochet Playlist - Currently Testing
We’re currently testing this playlist now to see if a patch will be required for it or not. We should know soon. This is the No Teamkilling playlist. Any damage a teamkiller attempts to do to their team mates is reflected onto themselves only. Therefore, if they attempt to shoot an RPG into the ground at the beginning of the match; the only person who will die, is the Teamkiller. This eliminates the fear of being shot in the back by some asshole, but still encourages players to play tactically and not throw random nades, because if you accidentally hit a teammate, you’re only going to end up killing yourself and they’ll go unharmed. No Teamkilling, No Random Nades. This playlist will include the variant for Hardcore Teamdeathmatch, Hardcore Search and Destroy, and Hardcore HQ.
Sudden Death Sabotage - Currently Testing
Sabotage with no respawns. Fast-paced and intense Sabotage. No more hiding with the bomb until time runs out for sudden death. Increased XP per kills to encourage Team Deathmatch mentality. Defend your objective, while attempting to secure the bomb and plant on theirs. Once you’re dead, you’re dead. No second chances. We’re currently testing to see if this can be implemented without a patch.
Second Chance Search and Destroy - Currently Testing
Search and Destroy with 1 respawn each. This completely revamps your Search and Destroy tactics. No longer will lucky frag or well-placed claymore end your chance of victory. Each player has 1 respawn, creating longer more thoughout attack / defend strategies. Eliminate enemy players, and cut off their reinforcements while you defuse.
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If all these get past Quality Assurance (Test) with zero bugs, then we’ll be able to implement these four new playlists rather quickly (once QA and Localization is finished). In addition, we plan on adding Killhouse to more playlists and adjusting the amount of XP you get in certain playlists. (i.e. double XP in hardcore and new playlists).
Hit the jump for the playlists we’d like to do, but would require some code work to implement.
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Tags: call of duty 4, cod4, infinity ward, modern warfare, playlists, update
Posted in Playstation 3, call of duty 4 modern warfare, infinity ward, patch, xbox 360 | Comments
Friday, June 13th, 2008
We’re making great progress on the new Infinityward.com. A mock-up of what the front page will look like above, all the pictures and text are just temporary filler at the moment while we work on design and backend functionality. The new site will take the place of Charlieoscardelta.com and the current Infinityward.com when we’re done, but don’t expect to see it live for a while. Next week I’m going to be working on the actual content on the site and moving it all over, populating the pages with actual info / media. Meanwhile we’ll be working on building out the forum and online store. Then we’ll go live with it.
That said, we’re finalizing the T-shirt designs and getting hi-res versions of all of them to the printers for production. I won’t spoil the surprise of which ones we’re printing just yet, I’ll save that for when the store goes live, but still continue to give us feedback on which ones you like as we’ll also be looking to make more.
PC Cheat Exploit Fix In The Works
I also wanted to note for our PC players, we’re currently working on a fix for the PC cheat exploit that many of you reported to us after the 1.6 patch. Thanks to everyone for their quick response in getting us information on it. The programmers are currently addressing it and I’ll update you when you can expect the fix to hit servers as soon as I know.
Holding onto #1 Most Played Game on Xbox Live Spot
Xbox 360 Top Live Titles (based on UU’s)
1 Call of Duty 4
2 Halo 3
3 GTA IV
4 Battlefield: Bad Company Demo
5 Guitar Hero III
6 Gears of War
7 Rock Band
8 Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2
9 NINJA GAIDEN 2
10 FIFA 08
I didn’t get a chance to post this when it went live this past week, but it looks like we’re holding our #1 grasp on the Most Played Game on Xbox Live according to MajorNelson.com. I’m sure the Double XP weekend had a lot to do with that as I saw a huge number of people playing this past weekend.
Meanwhile, we’ve been working with the Microsoft team to track down the issue some of you are having when receiving the “Must have active connection to play on Xbox Live” despite being signed into Xbox Live already. The word is, it’s apparently an interruption in connection with the Xbox Live server. It’s not your internet connection, just your session connection with the Xbox Live server. I’ve been working with users and Xbox to try to track the problem so they can eliminate it as quickly as possible, I’ll keep you posted on any progress there.
What Are You Playing This Weekend?
So where are your gaming hours being spent this weekend? I’ll be playing some Call of Duty 4, also I got my copy of MGS4 today. I’ll probably play that this weekend and see how it is. It looks amazing, while the gameplay is more slower than I normally like, I still think it’s going to be an amazing game. I’ve also been playing the new Incredible Hulk Game while I know the stereotype that all movie-license games suck, it’s actually pretty cool. Everything I’d want from a Hulk game is there. Also, if you have a Iron Man gamesave on your HDD when you play, you’ll unlock Iron Man in Hulkbuster armor as a playable character and unlock an achievement. I also created a new WoW character this past week…. now I’m not a heavy WoW player (infact, this is my first character) so I’m still unsure how much time I’ll spend on the game but I figured since everyone I know plays the damn thing I’d see what all the talk was about. I’ve owned for a while and just never installed it. So far, I see the appeal and starting to get into it, but I’d still rather pick up a fast-paced FPS over it, but maybe it’ll suck me in.
Video Blog
YES, there will be another. YES, I’ve been slacking on it, YES, I suck. I know, I’ve been meaning to do one weeks ago and just keep getting sidetracked (by playing games, mostly) and I’m sorry. The shitty thing is there’s lots of cool shit I’ve been wanting to show you guys on it too. I will get one out, soon, I promise. I’ve been hoping for this really cool game site to launch before I posted a new one, but it likes like I’ll have time to do a new one now and then another when it launches. So hopefully I don’t procrastinate on that too much longer.
That’s it for now, leave a comment and let me know what you’re playing or if you still have suggestions for the next video blog hopefully it’ll get me inspired to drop the controller and do another one! so let me know! Thanks guys, see you online.
Tags: call of duty 4, cod4, exploit, infinity ward, Metal gear solid 4, MGS4, modern warfare, pc, website
Posted in Playstation 3, call of duty 4 modern warfare, community, infinity ward, life, patch, pc, xbox 360, xbox live | Comments
Friday, May 30th, 2008
Great news! Heads up that the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Variety Map Pack sponsored by NVIDIA will be available worldwide for our PC players next week on June 5th!
NVIDIA is making it possible for PC players to download the map pack for Free on the PC thanks to their sponsorship. In addition, expect to see quite a few promotions popping up leading up to the launch of the map packs on the 5th and beyond. I know NVIDIA has a lot of great things planned for PC users in addition to maps becoming available.
There’s going to be some PC specific previews going up online this weekend I believe that will cover how well the maps play on the PC version as well as some contests and promotions happening all next week. I’ll be posting up details on them as they get started all this week!
The Variety Map Pack includes four new maps for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare multiplayer including Broadcast, Chinatown, Killhouse, and Creek.
In addition to the map pack hitting, PC Players will be receiving the 1.6 Patch for the PC version of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare that will add support for the new maps, fix a server crash exploit recently reported by the community, and a few additional features / bug fixes. I will post a full patch notes list next week.
Tags: call of duty 4, cod4, dlc, modern warfare, nvidia, pc, variety map pack
Posted in Downloadable Content, call of duty 4 modern warfare, patch, pc | Comments
Thursday, May 29th, 2008
The Dtoid army is descending on the Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky tri-state area for their largest ‘No Apparent Reason Party’ (NARP) ever this weekend and I’ll be flying in from Los Angeles to join them.
With, whats growing to be nearly 1000, gamers locally and from all over the country making their way by land, sea (wait… it’s ohio..), and air to the event for no apparent reason other than to hang out with fellow like minded gamers (and COD4 fans of course); I’ve decided to come fully prepared and will be packing heat… in the form of limited edition Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare t-shirts fresh off the press. We’ll be throwing them out to the crowd during the party so be prepare yo’ snatchin hands.
Live locally or want to make a last minute spur of the moment trip across country to the hot bed of gaming activities Cincinnati Ohio? You can find all the details over at Destructoid.com, but be forewarned… those bitches crazy.
More importantly, I want to know who’s down for a trip to White Castles, Steak N Shake, and Skyline Chili this weekend? Drop me a message if you’re down.
Oh yeah… did I mention I got some awesome news coming down the pipeline at the end of the week for our PC players? I can’t say what it is now, but I’m sure most of you can see it coming a mile away. I’ll have that info for you around Friday hopefully.
Meanwhile, those of you subscribed to the video blog and those (nearly 9 thousand) of you who sent in messages and questions you’d like to see answered in the next video blog, I have a new one currently in the works that answers a lot of your questions as well as will be giving you a sneak peek at a line of new shirts we’re getting printed for Call of Duty 4 fans (and giving some away to subscribers), and one of the prototypes we already printed. I’m going to try to get that out to you guys as soon as I can (I want to capture some footage at the NARP event hopefully) to add to it, in addition to the fact that there is an awesome new Gaming site that’s preparing to launch in the not too distant future that will be playing a crucial role in the future episodes of the video blog series… details on that coming wayyy later.
Conclusion - See you all in Cincinnati, drop me a line if you’re in the area and we can hang out. Come to the Dtoid party, and be sure to check back at the end of the week for some great PC news!! Thanks everyone!!
Tags: call of duty 4 modern warfare, cincinnati, cod4, destructoid, dtoid, event, IAMfourzerotwo, NARP, party, pc, Video Blog
Posted in Downloadable Content, call of duty 4 modern warfare, event, infinity ward, patch, pc, video games | Comments
Monday, April 21st, 2008
I wanted to keep you guys in the loop on how the Map Contest is rounding out for all the PC mappers waiting to submit their maps. We had hoped to start accepting submissions by now but regretfully (as typically happens) the legal required participants to be US only which was unacceptable for us. So we’ve been working on making it open to worldwide participants which requires quite a bit more legal / contest rule work due to the different laws and regulations in each country.
We could have launched it and made it US only but I know we have a fantastic worldwide community of mappers that would have got severely screwed if it was that way and I won’t let that happen. So that’s what’s holding things up right now. The good news is submissions should be starting THIS WEEK as we’re in the final stages of chasing down our international legal department. Once we have it all confirmed, I hope to have the submission page linked here for you so you can start sending in your custom maps for the contest.
Let me know if you have any questions or concerns and I’ll answer what I can.
As for the 1.6 patch which was going through test, we found a critical bug during QA which broke kill cams when playing with mods among other things which put a hold on it and put it back in development. We’re continuing to evaluate it and looking into releasing it when the map pack potentially hits PC. I’ll keep you updated as it progresses, but right now it won’t be coming out anytime soon while we track down this bug.
Tags: contest, map, pc
Posted in call of duty 4 modern warfare, patch, pc | Comments
Monday, April 7th, 2008
The Variety Map Pack DLC and patch required to add the maps to the game have went to Certification at Sony last night. We’re shooting for a worldwide simultaneous release, so all users can expect to have it at the same general time frame when it finishes certification. We’re working to see if we can secure a firm release date to pass along to you guys now, and I’ll post that as soon as I have it.
In addition the map pack should be hitting the PSN store around the same time the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Game of the Year Edition for PS3 hits store shelves. I will have exact details on the GOTY edition, release dates, and more hopefully this week as they’re being finalized.
Tags: call of duty 4, certification, cod4, dlc, Downloadable Content, modern warfare, ps3, sony, variety map pack
Posted in Downloadable Content, Playstation 3, call of duty 4 modern warfare, patch | Comments
Tuesday, March 25th, 2008
The new Variety Map Pack for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, which is scheduled to be released on Xbox Live in the first week of April (3rd or 4th), was sent off to certification at Microsoft today. The map pack is going to be bringing four new maps to the game with the addition of Creek (seen above), Broadcast, Killhouse, and Chinatown (seen below) which is a modern-revision of the classic Carentan from past Call of Duty games.
Along with the new maps next week, we took this opportunity to slip in a change to the Clan Tags in the game along with a few other minor fixes. We heard your cries and will be tweaking the Clan Tags with this DLC patch (which adds support for the new maps). The new Clan Tag update will re-allow you to use special characters in your clan tags, but still prevents the exploit which allowed images (like Left Thumbstick and button images). Thanks to everyone who sent us feedback related to Clan Tags since the feature patch!
While the maps will be hitting Xbox Live the first week of April, PS3 users will STILL be getting the map packs, however it’ll be a little later (21 days later approximately) before they’ll be available on PSN for the same price. Right now plans for the PC version are unannounced but we are working to bring PC users the same content in the future, however logistics are being worked out on how to make that happen.
We also have a cool DLC Hands-on event going on in California, New York, and London I’ll be posting more about today. Sorry for the slow blog posting week, I’ve been slammed preparing for the release of the DLC, press, and upcoming events for it so I apologize if it’s taken longer than normal to post, or get back to your comments / emails!
Tags: call of duty 4, dlc, Downloadable Content, maps, modern warfare, multiplayer, patch, ps3, xbox 360
Posted in Downloadable Content, call of duty 4 modern warfare, community, patch, xbox 360 | Comments
Tuesday, March 18th, 2008
Hey Everyone –
The PS3 Feature Patch for European / Oceania players has hit today. Thank you to SCEE for all their work getting that out as fast as they can. I saw a lot of unjustified flaming on the boards of this last night since the US patch hit. I want to make it clear that SCEE did everything by the book and was able to get the patch out to the EU players as quickly as was feasibly possible so let’s cut them some slack. Regretfully we’re all on different timezones, so when the patch came up for release the US was still in the working hours and was able to get it out immediately while in UK time it was much later in day and not feasible for them to release immediately in line with the US timezone. Hopefully everyone understands that as I hate to see someone take slack for something that was out of their control, credit is due for them working so hard to get this out to you guys as quickly, I think an overnight turnaround from the US patch is comendable with the time zones.
That said, the patch is out for US / EU / Oceania users so you can enjoy the new kill cams, recently met players, mute options and more.
Tags: call of duty 4, cod4, feature, modern warfare, patch, ps3, sony
Posted in Playstation 3, call of duty 4 modern warfare, patch | Comments
Wednesday, March 5th, 2008
I know that all the PS3 and PC players have been waiting for information during this onslaught of Xbox 360 patch release and I want to let you know that you haven’t been forgotten, there are still things happening on your fronts as well.
The PS3 feature patch is currently at certification at Sony and has been for about a week now. It’s going through it’s necessary channels worldwide for each respective region. We haven’t heard any problems back so that’s a great sign. We haven’t received any eta from Sony (which is typical for these types of things) but if I hear any indication of when you might be able to expect it I’ll pass it along.
As for the PC version, Patch 1.6 will be the one that introduces the new Kill Cams and other features the console feature patches received for you guys. The work is done on that patch and it’s essentially awaiting and going through internal QA here at Infinity Ward and then Activision. The good thing about the PC version is it doesn’t require any certification so as soon as it’s finished internal QA it heads out the door to the players. I will try to get a full list of what PC Patch 1.6 includes as I believe there are a few more PC specific things in there besides just the added Kill Cams and such. Don’t forget we still have the Custom Map contest going until March 31st, if you have the PC version and want to check out all the cool custom maps everyone is making we have a running list going with all the current releases and beta maps in the works. Check out the full list after the jump:
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Tags: call of duty 4, cod4, mod tools, modern warfare, patch, pc, ps3
Posted in Playstation 3, call of duty 4 modern warfare, community, mod tools, patch, pc | Comments
Tuesday, March 4th, 2008
Alright, the patch went live last Friday and all weekend long I’ve been tracking the feedback and response to it and I wanted to give you all a quick update on what’s happening on this end and what the team will be focused on today and I’m sure a few days to come. Overall the response to the new patch has been positive with the game pulling in record numbers on Xbox Live over the weekend. The new kill cams are working great, as well as the sniper rifle and ACOG scope tweaks have went over well.
However there are a few things that we’re currently looking at that some of you have wrote in to us about, whether by commenting on this blog, emailing us, or the forums that I wanted to let you know we are listening and addressing as needed. For example I’ve got some reports of players spawning in with their character faced towards a wall or looking in the sky instead of facing forward. We’re currently looking into that right now.
Regional specific Players
To our Australian players (or others effected) Don’t worry, I’ve heard your cries and thanks to all of our players who took the time to write me (comment, email, forums) and let me know about your concerns with matchmaking to other Aussies. Right now the host migration and optimized server selection is designed to choose the host with the best connection determined by a robust QOS (Quality of Service) check (regardless of region). That doesn’t mean it will always choose a US player, but I understand that the odds are typically stacked against some of our more remote players to be selected as host. We’re currently looking at options available that might help out with those odds and I’ll keep you updated on it.
CLAN TAG TWEAKS
Clan tags are having some issues that we’re looking into. There was a fix put in to prevent users from using the “Button Clan Tag Glitch” where they would put Left Stick symbols or other button images in their clan tags. That’s been fixed which also made it so you can’t use accented characters or symbols. That aspect of it is by design (no symbols) but it seems there are a few other wonky things happening with the clan tags that we’re looking at now.
QUICK MUTE INFO
Quick Mute. Note that quick mute is currently only available while in-game, regretfully we couldn’t link our quick mute solution and the built in Xbox Live mute functionality making it so quick mute is more of a fast temporary solution to an annoying player, so once the game ends and you have more time to actually fully mute the player you can via Xbox Live. I had spoke of a in-lobby quick mute in my previous blog post, I apologize for that as that was a fuck up by me, I was playing on a DLC build here at the office which has the new in-lobby quick mute that didn’t make it in for the feature patch. I’m hoping that will stay in for the DLC build.
PATCH PLACEBO
Other than that I see a lot of players talking about the weapons or damage weapons do in-game being changed which is completely not true. There was one bug with the P90 that allowed you to sprint for longer when using it that was removed, but no damage stats or any other stats were changed to any of the weapons so we can put all the Patch Placebo stories to rest, NO WEAPON STATS WERE CHANGED!! It’s always interesting to read the forums or be in-game after a patch hits because there’s lots of gamer lore going around or more elegantly put, Patch Placebos. A Patch Placebo is essentially a ‘fake’ change players think or is rumored to be made that was never made. I’m seeing all kinds of crazy things people think we changed that was never touched.
HOST MIGRATION FEEDBACK
As for Host Migration, what’s the overall reaction? I know it’s not in-game host migration where you never have to return the lobby, it was never intended to be that kind of feature implementation. Essentially the host migration keeps everyone together so you don’t have to go back to your private party lobby, re-search or re-invite friends, etc. etc. Besides the fact that you might prefer in-game host migration how’s it working for you guys? Having any troubles finding new hosts? Like it? Don’t Like it? Always feel free to leave feedback in the comments or write in to us. We’re receiving a lot, but keep it coming as it all helps us when planning future updates or tweaks.
COMMENTING ON THE BLOG
What else…. what else… ahh yeah speaking of comment sections on the blog. Let me start out by saying I really appreciate everyone who takes the time to comment or write into the blog and let me know what you think (about the game, me, life, etc.) However, for the 1% minority that likes to douche it up… Come on guys… let’s keep it civil. I’m 100% pro commenting and letting us know if something sucks or if somethings awesome, or if you’re pissed about something but don’t turn it into kindergarten with personal attacks or profanity or general bullshit like that. If you’re having a problem LET ME KNOW, post in the comments and say, “Hey fourzerotwo - I was playing and got this error…” or “Hey - I was on last night and this was fucked up, can you guys look into it?” or something similar.
Trust me, I read everything. I read all your emails (thousands of them), I read all your comments, I read all the forum posts (xbox.com, infinityward.com, charlieoscardelta.com, etc.) so don’t think you’re talking to some faceless suit that doesn’t actually care, because I care. I totally fucking care. This past weekend was a crazy one, as it was ‘moving weekend’. I just got a new place and had all of Saturday to move from my old place to my new place in Encino (where our studio is). So it was pretty stressful, to top it all off moving weekend was patch weekend so I was keeping close tabs on my blackberry and the emails coming in to see how you guys (the community) was doing, when I saw how many hits the blog was getting and there were lots of comments I stopped moving and came into the studio on Sunday to take care of it and make sure I was getting all the feedback you guys were leaving and ensuring those who needed to know were aware so we could tackle it first thing today.
So something that will really help me out, is if you’re going to post a comment, don’t be a douchebag. I know that out of 190 comments, there’s typically only 2-3 douchebags so I really appreciate everyone who takes the time to let us know what you think. So don’t take that as I don’t appreciate the non-douchebags, because I do. You guys totally make my day when I get on here and read the comments, but to the few douchebags that like to dick it up, cut it out. It doesn’t get anything done faster as you have a douchebag here (me) that actually cares and if somethings fucked up, I want to fix it, and if there’s a concern you need heard, I want to listen. So don’t feel you need to be rude or douche up my blog’s comment sections to get your issue heard, because you don’t. I listen to it all, good and bad.
DLC STUFF
Other than patch related stuff going down today, I took some screenshots of the DLC today (finally) that is being sent over to Marketing at Activision to do their thing as needed. It’s looking like there might be an extra map in the map pack than originally planned, making it a total of four maps, not 100% on that yet though as it’s early on but it’s looking like it might get finished in time to join the other three originally planned. I’ll keep you posted on that.
That’s it for now, I’ll keep you guys updated as things progress.
Tags: call of duty 4, cod4, dlc, Downloadable Content, infinity ward, patch, update, xbox 360, xbox live
Posted in Downloadable Content, call of duty 4 modern warfare, community, infinity ward, patch, xbox 360 | Comments
