Update 1.0 Notes

by EA_dance210
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Update 1.0 Notes

Community Manager (retired)

New Units

GDI: Juggernaut

“Juggernaut is a cool, iconic unit that decimates all enemies in a large area. We wanted to introduce something that could clear points and make large sections of the map difficult for the enemy to hold. The Juggernaut also adds area-of-effect damage not tied to Commander powers. This is the first unit introduced with a minimum firing range and cannot defend itself from direct attack.” —MrBlack


Juggernaut.png

Unlocks at Player Level: 14

Rarity: Epic Vehicle

Starting Unit Level: 5

Strong Against: Ground Vehicles, Infantry, Structures

Weak Against: Air Vehicles

Building: Tech Lab

Tiberium Cost: 140

 

Nod: Giga-Cannon

“Internally, everyone calls this unit the ‘Scoot-n-Shoot.’ You can blame Niivalue for that, but it makes too much sense when you see the unit in action. More importantly, this is our take on the Nod Beam Cannon from C&C 3. As our first New Unit Showcase, we wanted to present both a Nod and a GDI unit that could help clear heavily fortified Missile Platforms, decimating multiple enemies simultaneously.” —MrBlack


Giga Cannon.png

Unlocks at Player Level: 6

Rarity: Epic Vehicle

Starting Unit Level: 5

Strong Against: Ground Vehicles, Structures

Weak Against: Infantry, Air Vehicles

Building: War Factory

Tiberium Cost: 100

 

Learn more about these new units, including tips and counters, in our New Unit Showcase!

 

New Features

Deck Slots

Having only one set deck per faction can be limiting. You need to rework your deck whenever you want to test a new unit or complete a bounty.

In this update, we are changing the number of saved decks from one per faction to three saved decks per faction. This will give you flexibility in trying new decks without needing to changing your core deck.

 

Friends List

We understand that players enjoy the social aspects of games. To make it easier to  We are introducing a Friends List, which lets you add people you know from Facebook, Origin or in-game. You’ll be able to see friends’ progress and share match replays via C&C Network. While you can’t directly battle friends yet, this is just the beginning of what we hope to do with your Friends List. Expect more to come in future updates.


C&C Network

We’re expanding our social features with the new C&C Network. Consisting of an Activity Feed and C&C TV, this new feature set will keep you connected to your friends, your alliance members and the Rivals Community as a whole.

Activity Feed

With your new Activity Feed, you can keep up to date on your friends and alliance members achievements while sharing your own milestones. Plus, you can show your appreciation for friends’ hard work by liking the posts that you enjoy most!

 

You Activity Feed includes:

- Reaching a new sector

- Unlocking a new unit

- Achieving a win streak

- Your weekly Medal gains

- Leveling up a unit to Level 6 or above

- Leveling up your Player Level

- Manually shared replays

- Leaving or joining an alliance

Your Activity Feed will track the Weekly Bests specifically for you, your friends and your alliance members — displaying Most Games Played, Longest Win Streak, Highest Win Rate (min. 5 games played) and Most Medals Earned. “Weekly Bests” updates in real-time, so you can see your progress as soon as a match ends, and everything resets to zero at the end of the week, giving everyone a fresh chance to have their name and accomplishment featured.

 

C&C TV

C&C TV is a new resource where you can watch full match replays from players at your skill level and replays from the very best players in all of Rivals. Watch replays from players atop the Medals leaderboard to find new decks to play, learn new strategies and incorporate new match tactics. All it takes is introducing one new idea, tactic or unit into your own play for everything to shift for the better.

And when things are going well, watch C&C TV just for fun for some of the most entertaining and competitive Rivals matches out there. Filter by sector to find exactly the kinds of games you’re looking for — whether that’s top-tier play with prime meta decks or ways to counter army buildouts more common at your sector level.

 

Full details of the C&C Network can be found here!

 

 

Game Feature Changes

Units & Rarity

Before deciding if a unit is Common, Rare, or Epic, we look at a number of different factors including, but not limited to, unique mechanics, utility and hyper-speciality. Most notably, we want to make sure that Epic units represent certain combinations of factors that make them feel like they can have special impact on the battlefield in the hands of a skilled player. When reviewing our current and upcoming units, we wanted to make some changes to make rarity feel more consistent.

 

GDI

MLRS and Sniper Team rarity changed to Epic (were Rare)

- The impact of long range units on the battlefield can be devastating when positioned and protected effectively and we wanted the rarity to reflect that. Making Sniper Team Epic also frees up space for a different Rare anti-infantry unit to join the Barracks.

 

Disrupter rarity changed to Rare (was Epic)

- Although the Disrupter is a long range unit and it is much more expensive than the units mentioned above, we want Epic units in the Tech Lab and Temple of Nod to be particularly special. Simply being a long range unit isn’t enough to be considered Epic.  Making it a Rare also increases the frequency with which this unit will appear, adding strong late-game anti-infantry capabilities to the Tech Lab.

 

Pitbull rarity changed to Rare (was Common)

- The Pitbull’s speed and harassment utility make it function similarly to the Nod Attack Bikes, and we want its rarity to reflect that.

 

Predator Tank rarity changed to Common (was Rare)

- Similar to the Pitbull change, the Predator Tank and Scorpion tank are very similar, and both should be Common.

 

Kodiak rarity changed to Rare (was Epic)

- The Kodiak is an awesome unit, but its single unique mechanic of firing upon multiple hexes does not warrant Epic status as we look forward to future Tech Lab Epic units.

 

Nod

Confessor rarity changed to Rare (was Common)

- The Confessor’s breadth and unique buff to allied infantry make it unique and impactful in a way that warrant its rarity increasing.

 

Basilisk rarity changed to Rare (was Epic)

- Similarly to the GDI Kodiak, the Basilisk is a unique unit, but it does not fit with our plans for future Temple of Nod Epic units.

 

Scarab rarity changed to Epic (was Common)

- This is the most dramatic change we are making.  Obviously, the Scarabs are a unique unit; they are the only self-destructive unit, and the way they are able to isolate and protect areas of the battlefield make them extremely unique. This warranted increasing their rarity to Epic.

 

With the changes to unit rarity, we want to make sure that we do not disrupt the current combat meta. For the units that are increasing in rarity value, we need to reduce the potential impact that training and leveling these units can have on the meta. Players with the MLRS, Sniper Team, Pitbull, Confessor, and Scarabs have had their card balances compressed.

 

Unit Unlock Sequence

When units are unlocked, we want them to feel like an exciting addition to the existing roster without altering the combat meta. When reviewing the current unlock sequence, we found some units and Commanders that had unintended effects on the meta for that level. Increasing or decreasing the Player Level required to unlock these units should put them in a better place, where they don’t force the meta to change but still are a great addition to your army.

 

The following units had their Player Level decreased.

 

GDI

- MLRS decreased to level 9 (was level 10)

- Disrupter decreased to level 6 (was level 10)

- Hammerhead decreased to level 10 (was level 12)

 

Nod

- Artillery decreased to level 9 (was level 10)

- Basilisk decreased to level 13 (was level 14)

 

The following units had their Player Level increased with this update. If you own one of the units mentioned below, and its new Player Level requirement is higher than your current Player Level, you will be able to use that unit. You will not accrue any new cards for that until until your Player level is at the new, required level.

 

GDI

- Jump Jet Troopers increased to level 9 (was level 2)

- General Solomon increased to level 8 (was level 6)

- Colonel Jackson increased to level 11 (was level 8)

- Kodiak increased to level 13 (was level 8)

- Mammoth Tank increased to 15 (was level 14)

 

Nod

- Confessors increased to level 7 (was level 6)

- Flame Troopers increased to level 8 (was level 6)

- Chemical Warriors increased to level 9 (was level 8)

- Scarabs increased to 10 (was level 8)

- Inferno increased to level 14 (was level 12)

- Oxanna increased to level 11 (was level 10)

 

Tiberium Economy Changes

As part of Early Access, we’re testing out some new Tiberium economy tuning. Before breaking down those changes, let’s talk about how the Tiberium economy has worked up until now.
Since Early Access began, your base has generated 2 Tiberium per second for the duration of the match. Harvesters also generated an additional 2 Tiberium per second (when harvesting), but their rate increased gradually as a function of game time. This means a Harvester at game start would generate 2 Tiberium per second … but at 150 seconds into a match a Harvester generated 4.2 Tiberium per second. (Still with me?) After 150 seconds of game time, the Harvester-Tiberium generation rate no longer increased. In other words, it looked like this:

Old Tiberium 2.png

The new economy tuning makes some important changes to this scheme. For starters, the base’s tick rate now gradually increases from 2 Tiberium per second to 4 Tiberium per second.
The reasoning behind this change is that we feel it’s overly risky to open with an aggressive, zero-Harvester strategy. It should be a risky opener, but right now, if a player fails to destroy an enemy Harvester, it takes a full 30 seconds to save up the 60 Tiberium required to build their first Harvester. Yikes. This is both extremely punishing and not very fun. Increasing the base tick over the course of the battle will make it a bit easier to save up for the first Harvester. This should also allow zero-Harvester players to stay aggressive a bit longer before transitioning into their first Harvester.

Harvester Income
We are also changing the way the Harvester income rate ramps. In the new economy tuning, Harvesters at game start generate only 1 tiberium per second (half of the base’s rate). The Harvester’s top rate is lower as well, reaching only 3.5 Tiberium per second by the 150-second mark. Our intention is to make two-Harvester openers a bit riskier.
Now, at the very top level of play these greedy openers have fallen out of favor. That said, at lower levels, it’s too easy to build directly (or very nearly so) into two Harvesters. The amount of income a two-Harvester player has in the early game was equal to the amount of income a single-Harvester player has in the extreme late game. There should be more of a ramp for the economy before double-Harvester players really start cranking.
Still, we do want two Harvesters to be an interesting and viable opening at all levels of play, so we are slightly increasing the total income a player has when running two Harvesters in the late game.

The sum total of these changes makes the new economy tuning look like this:

Old Tiberium.png

 

We hope this will strike a better balance between the risk and reward on various openers and economy strategies. We will continue to evaluate and tweak these changes based on your feedback, so definitely let us know what you think.


Commander Bar

We have adjusted how buildings and units are presented on the in-game commander bar. Previously, the icons for the available buildings were all the same size and centered on the commander bar. When a building was unlocked, the remaining buildings shifted to the left to make room for the units within that building. As more buildings were unlocked, the unit position on the commander bar would shift position.

 

We have decided to simplify the commander bar, so that the position of buildings and units remains stationary throughout the game. The width of each building is dependant on the number of units that unlock with that building. A building that unlocks three units will be wider than a building that unlocks one unit. When a building is unlocked, the unit icons are contained within the same location as the building icon. Unlocking new buildings will no longer cause units or buildings to shift locations.

 

Unit Power Increase with Levels

Starting with units at level 5 and above, we have adjusted the amount of power that a unit gains as they level up. The amount of power gained is now flat from level to level, making the power gains consistent as units are leveled up.This structure ensures that the expected relationship between units remains constant regardless of the level.

 

For example, with this change, a level 8 Talon vs. a level 7 Missile Squad will have the same result as a level 10 Talon vs. a level 9 Missile Squad.

 

Bug Fixes

- Fixed an issue that caused some players to become unable to command units when created

- Fixed a bug that disallowed players from re-entering the Final Sector after demotion

- Fixed a bug that sometimes prevents players from viewing the crate opening sequence when Nod is unlocked

- Fixed a bug that gave players (non-functional) options to promote, demote, or remove players in alliances they had newly joined

- Fixed issues that prevented the second tutorial mission from progressing as intended under certain circumstances

- Fixed some tooltips that were sometimes cut off by the top of the screen

- Fixed an issue that makes the Alliance emblem appear blank when Rivals is launched

- Fixed a bug that caused enemy units to count towards players’ Bounties when the units were damaged by friendly fire

- Fixed a bug that allowed several units to attack Rockworms while burrowed

- Fixed issues with some units not disappearing in fog of war consistently

- Long names and Alliance names should now shrink to fit properly when applicable

- Fixed an issue with Titan not dealing damage to units behind primary targets in some circumstances

- Fixed an issue with debug text showing at the end of match replays ending in a draw

- Fixed several instances of the convoy crate UI appearing over other UI elements

- Adjusted the range of Strongarm’s turret placement to be more symmetrical in “Slashed Fields”

- Fixed Commander tooltips to update correctly when upgraded

- Players can no longer join Alliances before choosing a player name

- Shared normal battle replays will no longer be titled “Friendly Battle” in Alliance chat

- Fixed several instances of crashes

- Fixed a bug where Mammoth Tanks would occasionally stop attacking

- Fixed a bug where games in the battle log would occasionally show as having 0 Medal gain or loss

 

Message 1 of 17 (5,324 Views)

Re: Update 1.0 Notes

★★★ Newbie

"For the units that are increasing in rarity value, Players ... have had their card balances compressed."

 

  • For fairness, shouldn't card balances be expanded for units that decreased in rarity value?
    For example, if a player had 10 "Rare" Predator Tank cards and 10 "Common" Confessor cards before the update, they now have 10 "Common" Predator Tank cards and a smaller number of "Rare" Confessor cards, so they lost out on total cards and also on the number of rare cards.
  • Could you please clarify if card compression only applied to card balances, or to spent cards as well? For example, if a player had acquired 200 "Common" Scarab cards, and spent immediately them on upgrades to obtain Level 7 scarabs, would they still have Level 7 now (whereas a player who banked the Scarab cards would have suffered the card balance compression, and would not be able to reach Level 7 with their new balance)?

Thanks!

Message 2 of 17 (5,171 Views)

Re: Update 1.0 Notes

★ Novice
I feel like the same amount of upgraded points between levels is going to feel very unrewarding late game. At least for some units, when hitting 400 plus cards per lvl just to get a smalll percent boost. But if it fixes the lvl 5 vs 8 troops unfairness then i guess
Message 3 of 17 (5,169 Views)

Re: Update 1.0 Notes

Community Manager (retired)

Additional Notes:

Medal Count Compression
People at the highest player levels often experience long queue times due to a limited pool for the matchmaker. To ease the matchmaking times, we have done a soft compression for the medal counts of the players at the highest level. This only affects those with high medal counts.
 
  • Medals were reset down to a maximum of 2,000 medals per faction.

 

Known Issues:

Friend Requests

If you linked your account to a Facebook or EA account before the update, there may be issues adding Facebook or EA friends. If the friends do no show up in the Friends List, reconnecting your Facebook or EA account should fix the issue.

 

Donation Requests and Rarity Changes

If you had a donation request from before the update and the unit's rarity changed, the rarity will reflect the old rarity level.

 
Message 4 of 17 (5,139 Views)

Re: Update 1.0 Notes

★★★★ Novice

Worse game play now than before. I want the pre-alpha back.

Message 5 of 17 (4,320 Views)

Re: Update 1.0 Notes

★★★★ Novice

Don't know what the hell happened to this game but when you go from winning every other game to two in a row to losing 15 straight. Something happened to the balance of the game. Plain * now.

 

Message 6 of 17 (4,146 Views)

Re: Update 1.0 Notes

★★★★★ Novice

Yeah I've lost the last 5 games so far to pretty much really dumb games that I should've really won and I'm getting matched with players with tons of new weaponary. I hate that nod spider. So OP and impossible to kill head on. 

Message 7 of 17 (4,110 Views)

Re: Update 1.0 Notes

[ Edited ]
★★★ Newbie

I love this game,but what the hell happened after the update? I get matchmaked with players that have waaaay to much overpowered units,like the rockworm..just WTF,impossible to kill,and i think the game is full with hackers.This game is pay to win,thats a thing for sure

Message 8 of 17 (3,736 Views)

Re: Update 1.0 Notes

★★ Novice

When I came back to see this, this update of 1.0 is one of the worst releases ever.

 

Performance lags in-game even in the main menu and it eventually crashes/freezes some of the time in the menus except playing in-game.

 

Fair play matches need to be improved as I struggled in getting in more wins. More players have (or are) attempted paying with microtransactions to level up their units/commanders.

Message 9 of 17 (3,538 Views)

Re: Update 1.0 Notes

★ Novice
I was really hoping with this update u would stop losing medals when you lose. I have been bouncing between 1100 and 1400 for a week and can not get to 1400 even after playing over 500 games. This is ridiculous. U guys said u were gonna change this
Message 10 of 17 (3,341 Views)