Epic details next Gears 2 update, Snowblind to cost 800 MS Points
If Epic is looking to win back lost Gears of War 2 players, then it's going about it the right way. The company has released the laundry list of changes coming in Title Update 3, and we have to say a majority of them look nice on paper, but we'll have to wait and see if they can be properly executed before we pass judgment. Find the full list after the break.
Epic isn't stopping there, as the development studio also dropped information on something else Gears fans have been waiting for: a price for the new Snowblind map pack. As expected, it will cost you a cool 800
($10) when it releases on March 31, just as the Combustible maps did.
[Via Major Nelson]
Epic isn't stopping there, as the development studio also dropped information on something else Gears fans have been waiting for: a price for the new Snowblind map pack. As expected, it will cost you a cool 800
($10) when it releases on March 31, just as the Combustible maps did. [Via Major Nelson]
Title Update 3 makes these new improvements:
- Adds 100 levels of player experience that you can gain based on your score in Public matches. The game still uses Trueskill for matchmaking to find the most competitive matches, but the skill rank is now hidden. The new level of experience appears next to your gamertag, with levels 1 through 99 displayed as numbers and level 100 displayed as an icon. The game normalizes experience based on match type so that players earn an equivalent amount of experience across all modes.
- Adds an experience penalty for players quitting before a match is complete. (!)(!)
- Adds bots automatically to a Public Match if players quit and cause unbalanced teams. This ability has always existed in Private Matches if the bot count is set higher than zero. (!)
- Optimizes playlists to only have two modes per playlist. Ties are decided by random selection.
- Adds map cycling to Private Matches. The first match map is chosen by vote or by host, and when that match is completed, the game transitions automatically to the next match, with the next map selected in alphabetical order.
- Adds the ability for teams to talk to each other between rounds in a Private Match.
- Adds the ability to save Public and Private Horde high scores after each complete wave, in case the host loses connection.
- Makes minor changes to general bandwidth usage. (!)
- Adds region preference to matchmaking. (!)(!)(!)
- Improves standby detection. (!)(!)(!)(!)
- Adds nine new achievements worth 250 points. Progress toward them starts after Title Update 3 is applied. Six of the new achievements require the Snowblind Map Pack, a set of four new maps to be released soon at the end of this month.
Exploit Fixes
Title Update 3 fixes these possible exploits, where under certain circumstances:
- A player could swap from a pistol to a two-handed weapon during a cover slide and then mantle greater distances.
- Players could kill themselves in Wingman to avoid giving their opponents more points. Now, suicides and team killing will reduce team score. (!)(!)(!)
- A player holding a meatshield could melee through some walls.
- A player could equip a two-handed weapon with a shield using either the Boltok or the Gorgon pistol.
- A player could equip a two-handed weapon with a meatshield using either the Boltok or the Gorgon pistol.
- A player could prevent planted shields from being picked up by other players.
- Players could launch themselves into the air with a smoke grenade while mantling.
General Fixes
Title Update 3 fixes these other issues as well:
- An issue that caused chainsaw interruption when a player is shot to be less reliable in some body positions than in others.
- An issue where a third player could join a Public Wingman party lobby and remove another player from the game. (!)
- An issue in Submission games where occasionally the meatflag would immediately run back to the spawn point after being dropped.
- An issue where players that were knocked down but not out (DBNO) while planting the Boomshield would appear to be standing.
- An elevation-based issue where the detection for a headshot might not align properly with certain character model heads. (!)
- An issue that could cause Wingman teammates to have different character models. (!)(!)
- Additional miscellaneous bug fixes.
Balancing
Title Update 3 makes these balancing changes:
- Reduces stun duration of smoke grenades. Currently, characters always start to get up after 2 seconds. (!) x a billion
- Gives melee the same delay after roadie running that shooting received in Title Update 2. (!)(!)(!)(!)
- Removes spawn protection from the Horde in Horde mode.
- Increased the forward angle that triggers chainsaw duels so that players with Lancers equipped won't be sawn from the side without a duel. (!)(!)
- Reduces the delay before a player can climb up after entering low cover. (Will this affect Tyro Station, Canals, and other classic maps where it's hard to mantle up? We hope so!)
- Makes minor changes to weapon spawns on the Subway map to provide greater balance. (So Cog won't automatically win thanks to better weapons any more?)













Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Johnathan @ Mar 23rd 2009 10:53AM
Looks worth it. Excellent. I can't wait for morons to bellow "800 points?! WE WANT IT FOR FREE."
offday @ Mar 23rd 2009 11:08AM
Spending 60 bucks on a game, finding out it's broken/full of glitches, and then waiting months for a fix deserves something. If you bought this day one and have been playing ever since then, forget free maps, you deserve a freaking medal.
I think the real morons here are the people who keep shelling out money to a developer that doesn't give a crap about it's customers.
Vcize @ Mar 23rd 2009 11:58AM
Even full of glitches (most of which were fixed in the last update and the rest of which are only found in high level matchmaking games, which no one that complains about it here has a high enough rank to get into anyway), it's still the most fun MP game out on consoles (besides maybe Gears 1 :P).
ImSooFlye @ Mar 23rd 2009 11:00AM
Gears is getting popped back in my 360!
modified @ Mar 23rd 2009 11:51AM
Amen to that. These are the changes me and my friends have been waiting for.
mgsrocks1 @ Mar 23rd 2009 11:01AM
Nice update. I don't know if I will get the maps soon. Spent a lot of money on new game releases so hopefully they reduce the price. Anyone know if the combustible maps are going to be discounted?
shane86 @ Mar 23rd 2009 11:04AM
i'll just wait until they're free.
umm....hello??? @ Mar 23rd 2009 12:42PM
heh, I tried waiting for the Halo3 maps to be free and it didn't work. but for some reason, I have no intention of buying either map pack for GoW2--I'm waiting 'til their free too (and I bought the game as a day one purchase).
offday @ Mar 23rd 2009 11:04AM
This is stuff that should have been fixed ages ago. This is way too late for many people. Most have moved on to games that work.
Premature ejaculation man @ Mar 23rd 2009 5:22PM
That may be the case, but what stops people from going back?
Meteor @ Mar 23rd 2009 11:11AM
a map pack called "Dark Corner" will be released in April
im from hong kong and i received a news letter from xbox hk which says "snowblind" on march and "dark corner" in april
lets see, cheers folks
Chris D.(PSN: Aggie_CEO | XBL:The Aggie CEO | Steam: Aggie_CEO @ Mar 23rd 2009 11:11AM
good update. although most of those fixes should have been in the last update...
kepper_mika_b @ Mar 23rd 2009 11:12AM
Fergusson with 2 "s" :D.
The Dom @ Mar 23rd 2009 11:14AM
Cool, I'll pop it back in. Hated waited so long for matches.
Burritoclock @ Mar 23rd 2009 11:18AM
"Adds the ability for teams to talk to each other between rounds in a Private Match."
What the hell, I mean I have never really gotten into anything other than GoW single player, and this list make me glad...
But it is an awesome single player/co-op game.
Dirty @ Mar 23rd 2009 11:26AM
Removes spawn protection from the Horde in Horde mode? What does that mean?
Viridium @ Mar 23rd 2009 11:28AM
I'm assuming that when it spawns a Locust, they won't have a brief period of invulnerability after they spawn in.
Dirty @ Mar 23rd 2009 11:35AM
ah ha, chainsaw to the face for those poor fools!
JLP @ Mar 23rd 2009 12:10PM
When playing Horde with my buddies, we noticed that if you simply stayed in the area the team spawns from at the beginning of the match, the Locust will not spawn there. Instead, they spawn at other places on the maps and then come at YOUR spawn point that you are defending.
Unless we are reading into this way too much, it's either gonna be like Viridium said (removing invuln from Locust when they spawn), OR we think it could mean that the Locust could spawn closer to the area you are defending or in your spawn point itself rather than the other side of the map. Either way would make it even more fun for me. Guess we'll see soon.
Viridium @ Mar 23rd 2009 11:27AM
The map cycling for private matches is nice. Better if we could pick the rotation like in Gears 1, but I'll take this for now.
My crew's been playing it since Release Day. offday you can mail my medal anytime. As long as we kept to private matches and stayed away from the kiddies and glitchers online, it's been a LOAD of fun!
Firelark @ Mar 23rd 2009 11:44AM
I agree, if you can avoid kiddies and glitchers this game is great fun. I just wish it were easier to find a network of friendly players.
Louis @ Mar 23rd 2009 11:32AM
Epic still owes me $30. They promised a great single player/co-op, but they also promised a spectacular multiplayer. They completely failed on the multiplayer. It lasted maybe 20 minutes in my 360 before I went back to CoD4.
So, if Epic wants to give me a whole bunch of free maps, I won't argue. Otherwise, good luck getting 800 points from me.
EtOH @ Mar 23rd 2009 11:36AM
I may get back into it now. It seems as though they are adding/fixing most of my complaints. Sure has been a while. I would like new maps. I will most likely wait until joystiq posts a review of the maps and how they are. I was a bit dissapointed with the combustibles. The gas station map had too few ammo crates, the immulsion level did not do it for me, and the third was good, I liked it. I hope for more likes in this pack. Fuel depot is a good start.
drdre74 @ Mar 23rd 2009 11:36AM
I gave up on the game awhile ago. I hate the level up system. Its not friendly to people that aren't super die hard fans. I've played the game since launch and have yet to rank up once and I'm a ok player. None of my co workers have ranked up either. I like call of duty ranking systems. Its simple and it works.
Vcize @ Mar 23rd 2009 12:00PM
They're changing the level up system with this patch to have 100 levels instead of 5 so that you'll see your progress more often.
DarkD75 @ Mar 23rd 2009 11:39AM
Too little...too late. Too busy playing multiplayer games that work. Better luck next time. By the way, the maps should be free. Microsoft couldn't make Epic charge for this if it was multiplatform like the Unreal Tournament III (Titan Pack).
The Dark Wayne @ Mar 23rd 2009 11:58AM
I was expecting that firefly quote you always use with GTA
Vcize @ Mar 23rd 2009 12:02PM
Really glad to see they're fixing the social stuff like open chat between rounds in private matches and a map cycle.
Also gameplay-wise finally dropping the chainsaw when getting shot reliably will be nice, hopefully they fixed the HoD too so it doesn't drop the beam on top of walls that you lock onto instead of next to them.
Everything looks sweet in this update, except the damn melee-delay out of a roadie-run. The fix here was to REMOVE the shooting delay out of a roadie run, not add ANOTHER delay out of it. I still can't believe they did this. No one asked for them to remove the shooting delay (stopping power is plenty sufficient for stopping superman'ing), and everyone hated it when it was added, but still rather than remove it they just make it even worse. Argh.
xFenixKnightx @ Mar 23rd 2009 12:24PM
In the words of Marcus after he gets some ammo, "NICE!!!!"
Adds 100 levels of player experience that you can gain based on your score in Public matches. The game still uses Trueskill for matchmaking to find the most competitive matches, but the skill rank is now hidden. The new level of experience appears next to your gamertag, with levels 1 through 99 displayed as numbers and level 100 displayed as an icon. The game normalizes experience based on match type so that players earn an equivalent amount of experience across all modes.
Adds an experience penalty for players quitting before a match is complete. (!)(!)
Adds bots automatically to a Public Match if players quit and cause unbalanced teams. This ability has always existed in Private Matches if the bot count is set higher than zero. (!)
Optimizes playlists to only have two modes per playlist. Ties are decided by random selection.
Adds map cycling to Private Matches. The first match map is chosen by vote or by host, and when that match is completed, the game transitions automatically to the next match, with the next map selected in alphabetical order.
Adds the ability for teams to talk to each other between rounds in a Private Match.
Adds the ability to save Public and Private Horde high scores after each complete wave, in case the host loses connection.
Makes minor changes to general bandwidth usage.
Adds region preference to matchmaking.
Improves standby detection.
An issue that caused chainsaw interruption when a player is shot to be less reliable in some body positions than in others.
An issue that could cause Wingman teammates to have different character models.
Reduces stun duration of smoke grenades. Currently, characters always start to get up after 2 seconds. (!) x a billion
Removes spawn protection from the Horde in Horde mode.
Increased the forward angle that triggers chainsaw duels so that players with Lancers equipped won't be sawn from the side without a duel.
I love all these new changes.
Vcize @ Mar 23rd 2009 12:56PM
I'm not a big fan of the experience thing going up only. I would've preferred that it still went up and down like trueskill, but just had more levels than 5 (a la Halo). Or even, if they only wanted it to go up, make it such that once you hit a certain level you don't gain experience unless you reach a certain point cutoff. Like for instance if you're already level 50 and you're playing execution, you don't gain experience unless you get over 1000 points in the match or something like that.
As it will be now, it's just a measure of how often you've played (like CoD4).
xFenixKnightx @ Mar 23rd 2009 1:20PM
I'm just gonna be happy with not hearing my buddies crying about how they never seem to be able to go up to level 3. lol! If everything is *really fixed, level 100 here I come baby!
The one thing I was hoping for though is that they would realize nobody wants to take that much time away from their life to get the Seriously 2.0 ch33vo. At least set it to 20,000 in Public matches. Thats more realistic.
Vcize @ Mar 23rd 2009 1:45PM
Heh, the first time I got rank 3 the host stand-by'ed and lagged us out the next game and I lost it right away. So when I got it back I just stopped playing public games for a little while to make sure I could have it to taunt all my buddies with in private matches :P
UberDucky @ Mar 23rd 2009 12:40PM
Yeah Ive been waiting for this since GoW2 came out. This game is my crack. This update better take the stomp outta my crack or I might have to switch back to something less addictive... like halo.
Miles @ Mar 23rd 2009 12:53PM
Well all those things won't matter unless they can do something about people who standby. They say they did, but from reading this update list, people were still using two handed weapons with boomshields. Though I hadn't seen it since TU2, evident ally it still existed.
And if you think you'll get some money from me for this broken game, blow me. Oh wait, don't bother I sold it for RE5, a game that works.
Ghostbuddy @ Mar 23rd 2009 1:08PM
Doesn't matter what Epic does now, as long as Microsoft keeps crapping on epics tradition of releasing free content. Gears 2 cannot not have its resurrection, and by extention future installments of the series will suffer, with their straightforward buisness model. Heres the reality, patches for a game most people have more or less give up on does nothing. No one is going to start telling all their friends, with glee that Gears 2 has been patched. Beyond that, no one is going to get up in arms for a new map pack for a game they have had no motivation to play in months.
They need something to draw peoples attention back to Gears 2, long enough for the refined mechanics, MM search times and ranking system to coinvince them gears 2 is a comparable experience in quality, to the other games they are playing. If that draw doesn't exist, its like setting up a mouse trap, without placing some cheese on it first,and expecting to solve your pest problem. Theres a chance a couple venturing mice will get caught in the traps, by pure dumb luck. But your not going to solve the problem. Your efforts will have some benefits, but they will be minimal. Free content on the other hand, is a sure fire way to attract a lot of attention. Even the most professed Gears hater will hop back on the game to try the maps, so long as he has the game. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't make much sense to make Snowblind free, when its the second map pack. But really without any free- new content, I can't see any effort Epic makes at regaining the XBL crown being anything other than futile. Their efforts alone only improves the satisfaction of the minority, who have been satisfied with Gears 2 since the begining, and have stuck with it. Theres definetly value in that, but it won't win them the XBL crown, and its certainly not going to do much for the gears franchise's longevity.
Anticrawl @ Mar 23rd 2009 1:36PM
Were are my non-matchmade public matches with the oldschool lobby system!?!?!?! Damn it man, dammit. I want to be able to actually use all those match options without hosting a private room that no one but friends (who don't play the game anymore cause there is no public lobby system) can join. And you can't make new GOW2 friends in Ranked Matches because it's 5 rounds of 10 seconds of profanity between matches before you never see them again. I regret my Collector's Edition purchase. I wanted to love you GOW2 so bad, but you stabbed me in the heart.
Horde and singleplayer was fun enough though.
jcar302 @ Mar 23rd 2009 2:22PM
Let's just hope the two-piecing is addressed properly.
I miss playing gears, but i had just about enough of the quiters, and being 2 pieced to death. Not to mention the shotguns excessive range.
Lag switching and standbying wasn't fun either.
At least the update comes out before the mappack, so i'll know if they fixed enough things to justify buying the maps.
Timerider @ Mar 23rd 2009 2:45PM
I hope the previous map pack gets a discount when the new one is released. Or thats $20 on just multiplayer maps.
Timerider @ Mar 23rd 2009 2:55PM
I hope that "experience loss" for disconnecting players can detect if it was the user's fault. If my connection drops, or my connection to the host fails, I shouldn't be held responsible.
Anticrawl @ Mar 23rd 2009 3:12PM
Impossible. If that was the case people would just pull their router plug to disconnect and avoid penalty.
Anticrawl @ Mar 23rd 2009 3:12PM
Or just unplug the cable from the 360, or power off. It's all or nothing man.
xtremeholymuffin @ Mar 23rd 2009 3:03PM
YES
YESYESYESYESYES
No more assholes roadie running into your face with a chainsaw (I assume melee delay includes chainsaw-ing). I HATED that. I can't wait for all the noob chainsaw-whores to try and pull that shit after the update only to helplessly explode at the tip of my shotgun. Oh, the sweet, sweet irony. I much prefer the tactical aspects of GoW to the bullshit glitchy in-yo-face roadie running chainsaw/shotgun whoring nonsense that favors twitch-shooting and glitch-exploitation over planning, accuracy and skill.
To all the people that say that all the close-quarters glitchy bullshit is part of high-level play: I guess you should re-learn how to play the game now. Now you can whine your ass off with my metal boot coming down on your face.
SaNcTuS @ Mar 23rd 2009 4:33PM
too late for epic. I sold that POS game. And this is coming from a gears enthusiast. They really let me down with gears 2 and their "support".
Lastembrace @ Mar 23rd 2009 5:12PM
bleh, epic have ruined this game.
I think gears 1 MP was just unintentionally fun, as everything that's changed since then has been a step in the wrong direction. The only reason this game was ever a laugh in the first place was because of the fast paced close-quarters action. It seems the folks at Epic just want everyone to sit back behind cover popping up to lancer people doing the same thing on the other side of the map, which means rounds go on for ever and get nowhere.
i'm all for fixing glitches and the like, but surely that's what QA is for...
Evidently the dev's are just catering to the casuals that can't handle the fact that someone a whole lot better than them just owned them, and so they give them smoke grenades, wall-tags, ridiculous lancer stopping power and a chainsaw that sucks people in from 20ft away and nerf the shotgun damage and firing rate.
All you people that got owned by someone running up to you and 2-piecing/chainsaw-ing you should probably try learning to shoot before crying to some forum about it.
I guess there's no real doubt that this patch caters for the casual scrubs when you look at the change to the ranking system... all the noobs crying "omg I've been playing for months and I'm still rank 2" .. maybe you should just.. get better? I guess people can't handle a ranking system that actually represents your skill as opposed to how much time you have to spare to invest in stuff like this.
oh well..
Nick @ Mar 23rd 2009 6:29PM
Sigh. I don't know what's more frustrating, that they've needed to do SO MANY patches, or the fact that I'm probably still going to pay the blasted money...
Vargus @ Mar 23rd 2009 6:46PM
Is that a Hellsing reference? Awesome!
Jeff @ Mar 23rd 2009 9:54PM
They still haven't fixed the chainsaw tractor beam, which is definitely the worst part about the game now, besides the quitting...maybe the first general fix has something to do with this.
Zeus.:God @ Mar 24th 2009 7:45AM
Is anyone having trouble downloading this update?
URM0MLIK3SME @ Mar 25th 2009 11:43PM
Is the update available already? I'm sacred to throw my gears back in =\