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[Russ Bullock]

With December almost here we’re finally approaching the December 10^th Steam release date. A lot has been built up around this release, but beyond the anticipated influx of new players the Steam release doesn't change anything for you, the current MWO player. We are absolutely not finished with development on MechWarrior; we have every intention of maintaining the improved pace of development seen in 2014/2015 on into the year 2016 and beyond. The next phase of Community Warfare, now termed Faction Play, is going to be a major improvement in early 2016, and we look forward to filling everyone in on other plans for MechWarrior in the future.

Once we release on Steam please do what you can to help out these new players. Please assist them as best you can toward understanding nuances of MechWarrior, as no matter how many improvements we make and however many tutorials we make available, MechWarrior will always be a complex experience. We think brand new players will thrive in the resourceful and helpful community that you have all created.

The following is a description of the items you can expect for our two December patches, a very exciting month for ‘Mech content. The December 1st patch in particular has a quite a number of smaller but very important items.

December 1^st patch

Release of the Marauder
A great moment for MechWarrior, this marks the much-anticipated return of these classic designs. The Marauder is the first ‘Mech in our Classic IS Collection series. Players familiar with the BattleTech Universe and its history love this ‘Mech for a multitude of reasons, and based on its capabilities and awesome appearance alone we expect the Marauder to be a popular ‘Mech with all players.

Balance pass
The changes seen in PTS 4 will be making their way over to the live environment. For basic details please see the PTS 4 post, but a full and comprehensive change log will be included in the December 1^st Patch Notes being posted on Monday.
Although a few items had mixed results from players we feel this content tested very well and constitutes an overall improvement over the current live balance. It should help to better balance Clans vs. IS, and allow new players to not face as large of a power gap between themselves and Mastered enemy BattleMechs. We are also hoping these changes will have a positive impact on time-to-kill and provide more of that drawn out battle feeling that is unique to MechWarrior.

Change to PSR Tier for new players
With the expected influx of new players through Steam we have adjusted the starting PSR value for new players down from Tier 4 to Tier 5 status. This should help new players with the initial learning curve, and allow them to settle into their initial skill level.

Additional Hitbox revisions for the Jenner, Catapult, and Nova
Most of the recent tweaks in the November 17^th patch worked out very well, but these three went a little too far on the relationship of CT to ST. As a result we have made additional adjustments to hit a better middle-ground for these ‘Mechs, between their original hitboxes and the November 17^th hitboxes.

New Cockpit Monitors
Long-awaited cockpit screen functionality that will provide us with a good starting point for taking these screens further with more dynamic content options in the future. For now we have 3 animated monitor types, and 1 dynamic kill-count monitor type. Players can toggle them on or off in the Settings screen.

New Cockpit Item menu
Similar in design to the new Camo Spec Screen, the new Cockpit Item screen is an excellent improvement to this aspect of the UI. Special item effects such as War Horn audio and dynamic item animations can now be previewed before purchase. Items on sale will also be marked as such.

Showing Boosts for Champion, Hero, and Special ‘Mechs in frontend
Hovering over one of these ‘Mech types in the Select ‘Mech screen and the Store will now flip the portrait card and display that ‘Mechs associated boost. This should better teach new players what it is that a Hero, Champion, or Special ‘Mech has to offer.

Resistance 1 Skull Badges
Resistance 1 package owners will receive the original skull-style Badges for their respective package tier, as shown on the Resistance 1 page.

New Flag items:
• Argentina
• Belarus
• Chile
• Croatia
• Cuba
• Hungary
• Indonesia
• Lithuania
• Malaysia
• Northern Ireland
• Philippines
• Singapore
• Slovenia
• Thailand
• Uruguay
• Wales

New ‘serious’ Cockpit Items:
• Gas Mask Standing Item
• Bonsai Tree Standing Item
• Locket Hanging Item

Other Changes for December 1st
• Cockpit items from the Marauder release will be available for purchase in-game.
• Master Volume slider being added to the Settings screen.
• Audio cues added to Voting Screen for the 3-2-1-0 marks.
• Updates to the Loading Screen tips.
• Addition of a one-time introductory pop-up message when clicking the Faction Play button, designed to let new players know that Faction Play is a hardcore mode with no skill-matching in place, and recommending that they should consider starting in Quick Play until they are ready.
• A handful of other smaller fixes and changes, including a fix for the issue where the Quick Play doesn't change to 'Rejoin', and a fix for the issue where groups of 11 aren't able to launch info a Faction Play match.

December 10^th

MWO launches on Steam
• Steam Achievements
• Performance Packs available for purchase again, only on Steam.

December 15^th patch

Release of the Origins IIC Clan ‘Mechs:
• Highlander IIC
• Orion IIC
• Hunchback IIC
• Jenner IIC

Crosshair/Reticule Change Option in Settings Screen for Color-Blind Players.


That's it so far for the December Road Map. As always, thank you for reading, and thank you for your support.