Duke It Out 0.2.1 Release! news

Hello, friends! The next update is here — it’s not as flashy as the previous one, but it contains a whole slew of important behind-the-scenes improvements.

First of all, we introduced various security fixes aimed at squashing potential exploits and hacks which could disrupt multiplayer sessions. Stray spectators will no longer be able to accidentally bring down a server!

Balance-wise, we tweaked the M16 and the sniper rifle. They now do proper limb damage, making them much more deadly to face against in Single Player and in Multiplayer!

We refined the Snatcher AI to make them more deadly in combat. They can now attack NPCs dynamically, without any prior scripting setup necessary. In addition, they have some new movement options, which makes them more interesting to fight.

Supply chain difficulties required us to scale back the EDF-209’s lethal potential. Its miniguns no longer have perfect accuracy — supposedly, they can even miss the player now. Difficulties in securing consistent armament deliveries might require us to deploy some units with different weapons in place of the minigun.

Our art team has been hard at work implementing new meshes and restoring old assets from the 1999 Asset CD that was released earlier this year. Below are some shots of some of the new things you can find in the game.

For some a more detailed look check out the Art Showcase we did for E7 which also highlights a lot of the assets that are available.

The UI got a major overhaul. Different aspect ratios and scaling are now handled properly, while menu videos no longer go out of sync with the audio. We have also touched up the subtitles; they utilize the new UI scaling to provide a much better experience.

HUD customization is now much improved; text, menu items and crosshairs now have different colors assigned to them, which can be freely adjusted (as can be the crosshair size). Additionally, the strafe/view roll can now be disabled, if the effect proves distracting to you.

Additionally, a Thief-like item glow has been added to interactables. This helps players understand at a glance which objects in a scene are interactive.

DukeEd saw a number of improvements from the initial DIO release as well. Playtesting maps from the Editor now properly places you in the map without issue, you are no longer frozen in place. There are new quick place actors added to the Right Click Context menu. And all new PNG support! Note: PNG works fully in-game and when importing however Previews within the Texture Browser may be broken.

There are also brand new Actor Classes available like Drinks, Suitcases that spawn Money and Snacks, and some re-activated 1999 Asset CD meshes that were marked under "Obsolete" previously.

Finally, the restoration finally uses raw mouse input. You can breathe easy — forced mouse acceleration and smoothing are a thing of the past.

That’s it for the major changes, but you can find the full list of fixes and changes in the changelog below.

If you're looking for something a little extra also check out our latest addition to the Screenshot Series!