Jesse Anderson @darokaz #AnthemGame maintenance has concluded and players should now be able to log in. You'll be prompted to download update 1.2.1 if you haven't already, which is roughly 2GB.
Servers are all still spinning up, so if you aren't able to get in give it a couple of minutes and try again.
Our conversation shifted from EA’s values to one of its two most recent marquee releases. Anthem made big promises on its way to launch: a BioWare story with cooperative action that many critics likened to Bungie’s Destiny. The game tripped at release, though. BioWare fans were looking for something along the lines of Dragon Age or Mass Effect. Third-person shooter fans loved the flying, but ran out of things to do with their friends. Long load times and bugs left players hungry for content and polish.
Publishers of EA’s size rely on people and technology to gather heaps of research data, including metrics from gameplay and feedback on marketing efforts. No beta test can tell you how a player is going to feel over the long-term in a market that has grown from 10 to 12 hour single-player games to 40-, 80-, or 100-plus-hour experiences. They can only point out the most glaring issues. And even with two weekends of player testing, Anthem’s biggest flaws simply couldn’t be detected.
While players reportedly loved the world, the premise, and flying around in the game’s Javelin suits, they fell out of sync with the experience in the late-game. One of BioWare’s biggest challenges was also one of its key selling points: there is something in Anthem for different kinds of players. After about 40 hours of playtime, these different groups began to experience friction with each other and the content. The result was diminishing enjoyment over longer play times.
“We brought together these two groups of players who were making this emotional value calculation on two different vectors,” Wilson explained. “One was traditional BioWare story driven content, and the other was this action-adventure type content. About the 30 or 40 hour mark they really had to come together and start working in on the elder game. At that point everyone kind of went, ‘Oh, hang a minute.’ Now the calculation is off. It's off because I've got a friend who sits in this other category of player. They want to play the game a certain way. I want to play the game a certain way. The promise was we can play together, and that's not working very well. Oh, by the way I'm used to 100 hours of BioWare story, and that’s not what I got.’ Or, ‘I expected that this game would have meaningfully advanced the action component that we'd seen in games like Destiny before, and I don't feel like it has.’”
Wilson says that Anthem’s core premise—the nuts and bolts of what the game is built around—make it an easier decision to keep investing. EA is far from ready to pull the plug on BioWare’s foray into cooperative action. Instead, Wilson suggested Anthem’s path forward is similar to Star Wars Battlefront II’s road to redemption, voicing confidence in the world BioWare created as the seed for a long-running franchise.
He likened BioWare’s pedigree to Steven Spielberg’s. Spielberg might not have hit a home run with Ready Player One, but you’d be a fool not to bet on the Indiana Jones director’s next movie. Likewise, Wilson said that he’d bet on BioWare “every day and twice on Sunday,” despite Edmonton’s stumbles with Anthem and (now closed) BioWare Montreal’s challenges with Mass Effect Andromeda.
“If we believed that at the very core the world wasn't compelling people, if we believed at the very core that the characters weren’t compelling for people, or the Javelin suits weren't compelling, or traversing the world and participating in the world wasn't compelling then provided we hadn't made promises to our players... we might not invest further," Wilson said. “IP lives for generations, and runs in these seven to ten year cycles. So, if I think about Anthem on a seven to ten year cycle, it may not have had the start that many of us wanted, including our players. I feel like that team is really going to get there with something special and something great, because they've demonstrated that they can.”
And in the case of Anthem’s misalignment with player expectations, the only way forward in Wilson’s eyes is to remain committed to the game and its audience. That includes those players who came in looking for a more traditional BioWare experience. And at the same time, he’s cognizant that all of EA’s brands need to grow and adapt as the market and players mature. BioWare is just the latest to push the boundaries, and Wilson sees them being around for years to come.
“What the BioWare teams are thinking about is that we're going to build a lot of different types of games,” Wilson explained. “We're going to have our core BioWare audience that's been with us for a really long time. There are kids today who are 12 years old who weren't around when BioWare started making games… and they have different expectations of what a BioWare game should be in the context of the world they've grown up in. As a result of that, BioWare has to evolve and has to expand and has to test the elasticity of that brand. The teams at BioWare will continue to come to work every day and listen to their players old and new and seek to deliver on the promises they've made to those players. That's what you're seeing with Anthem today.”
Here’s a quick update on the PTS. Right now, the team is implementing changes based on your feedback, as well as making some other fixes and improvements. We’re aiming to have another update to the PTS next week, but until then here is a preview of some of the changes we’re making:
• Shaper Storm Events - Based on player feedback, creatures now spawn while waiting for the timer to finish counting down. • Updates to Vara gameplay, VFX and cinematics. • Cataclysm scoring is now affected by the difficulty selected. • Based on player feedback, notifications were added to inform the player of when each tier in the Shaper Storm Event starts. • Vara now drops loot after she is defeated. • Lowered the difficulty of the Valkyries in the story missions based on player feedback. • We’ll have the full update notes available for you to read next week once we have finalized all of the features and bug fixes locked in. Thanks again for your feedback everyone!
PTS Update and Patch notes - 6/25/2019 Hey Freelancers,
It’s time for an update to the PTS, which should be available for download on PC at 2pm Central Time. This update will contain a number of fixes and changes based on player feedback. We’ve also added in a version of the Seasonal store which contains a war chest for you to check out. If you have feedback on them you can share HERE on Answers HQ. We also have a new survey link if you’d like to share feedback on the latest version of the PTS here:
We want to thank all of you for the feedback you’ve provided as it helps us make improvements with each update. And now for some PTS notes 😊
New Features
A limited version of the Seasonal store is now available. Spend the Crystals you earn from playing through the Cataclysm and other events on seasonal rewards. Shaper Storm Events - Based on player feedback, creatures now spawn while waiting for the timer to finish counting down. Updates to Vara gameplay, VFX and cinematics. Boss Phases fully set up Transitions now working properly Attacks Updated Fire wall speed increased from 8 seconds to 4 seconds Ice projectile now seeks properly Beam now triggers properly after player frozen Dominion summon now works more than once Close range melee now has an air version for hovering players Pillar AOEs now have better timings and clearer VFXs Ground fire timing has been made easier to avoid Most attacks VFX and Animations have been improved Updates to cinematic scenes, including new animations. Cataclysm scoring is now affected by the difficulty selected. Based on player feedback, notifications were added to inform the player of when each tier in the Shaper Storm Event starts. Added/updated Inversion journal entries in the cortex. All current Inversions should now have names and descriptions. Added audio cue for when a player is ready in the start of expedition screen. The audio will fire if they are anywhere within the Star of Expedition screen (game mode, consumables, map, social, inversions), if they close the screen or navigate to the Forge they currently won't hear it.
Bug Fixes
Various lighting and environment art issues addressed within the Cataclysm area. Leaderboards: You are now able to see playcards other than just your own. Vara now drops loot after she is defeated. Fixed issues with VO not firing properly. Reduced the volume of chat wheel VO to prevent it from talking over mission VO. Fixed an issue where a party wipe in the Cataclysm caused completed arenas (other than the last one completed) to be reset and replayable. Fixed issues with gunfire visual effects showing incorrectly depending on whether the Cataclysm storm was on or off. Fixed an issue where the Cataclysm instructions were only being displayed for the first player to load in. Fixed an issue where the Inversions pop-up was being displayed again after respawning. Fixed an issue where your score for completing the Cataclysm was not reset for your next run if you didn’t defeat Vara in the previous run. Fixed some issues with the interactions between the pressure plates and shield domes containing echoes. Fixed several crashes. Lowered the difficulty of the Valkyries in the story missions based on player feedback. Cataclysm unlocked notification no longer appears each time you enter the Cataclysm. Added electric hazards to prevent players from avoiding the Anomaly. Fixed a chest that could spawn partially under the terrain after completing an arena in the Cataclysm. Fixed an issue where completing an arena in the Cataclysm showed “World Event Complete” instead of “Cataclysm Event Complete”. Fixed an issue where Valkyries would sometimes stop tracking and attacking players occasionally. Fixed an issue in the Cataclysm where a party wipe while fighting the Riftmaster caused the rift to remain shielded after respawning, making it impossible to complete the arena.
For a list of known issues please see the post HERE
We’ve made some changes on the PTS to the way that melee damage is calculated. I chatted with some of the team and they were able to give me a very detailed breakdown on these changes so that you all can better understand the intent as you provide feedback. Below is that breakdown.
The Melee damage changes
Previously, melee damage started at a base value and then automatically increased in power based on the average gear score of the player. This had the effect of emulating an item of the average rarity and level for that player, plus some average assumed inscription bonuses (and MSW effects if they are the appropriate level). Now that melee is its own actual item, it no longer uses this automatic scaling, but uses actual real scaling for the item and the bonuses that occur on that item. This means that if players want to get their melee damage back to what it was, they need to get a melee weapon of the appropriate rarity with similar inscription rolls. However, because it’s an actual item now, there is a much higher ceiling potential than there previously was, as our “assumed” inscription bonuses are in the middle of the possible bonus range. To the math for examples!
Examples (All examples here are assuming the player has 100% of bonus melee damage coming from other sources, like a component. If you have less than that, the system is more favorable to the new system and if you have higher values than that it’s more of a benefit to the old system):
Old System (Pretending as if there were MSW/LEG Support pieces) Level 30 MSW Ranger (671 GearScore) : Melee deals 12,800 damage Level 30 LEG Ranger (825 GearScore) : Melee deals 33,781 damage
New System, converting the MSW effects over to their equivalent in pure damage (MSW effects are set to a powerlevel that is intended to double the effective item’s DPS) Level 30 MSW Ranger (671 GearScore), Assuming the melee weapon itself has inscriptions worth a total of 50% (plus the 100% elsewhere): 11,197 Level 30 MSW Ranger (671 GearScore), Assuming you have gotten a local weapon damage (or melee damage) inscription worth a total of 100%: 13,436 Level 30 MSW Ranger (671 GearScore), Assuming you have gotten a local weapon damage (or melee damage) inscription worth a total of 200%: 17,915 Level 30 LEG Ranger (825 GearScore), Assuming you have gotten a local weapon damage (or melee damage) inscription worth a total of 100%: 19,001 Level 30 LEG Ranger (825 GearScore), Assuming you have gotten a local weapon damage (or melee damage) inscription worth a total of 300%: 31,669 Level 30 LEG Ranger (825 GearScore), Assuming you have gotten a local weapon damage (or melee damage) inscription worth a total of 425%: 39,586
There are a couple of important notes here:
We now include both melee damage bonus and weapon damage bonus as modifying melee weapon damage (not melee gear piece damage for Interceptors), so there are more total damage sources that boost your melee than previously existed. This should result in higher additive bonuses than previously were applied which will help offset some of the lowered base damage. (NOTE: This isn’t live on the PTS yet and will be coming in the next update) We have an upcoming change that will increase the base value of melee damage, as we agree that currently on PTS melee is under tuned. Increasing the base value is a multiplicative change on the entire system, right now we are looking at something like a 50% increase to base melee damage but that is still being iterated on internally. This buff might only apply to MSW/LEG melee weapons.
Let me know if you find this write up helpful, as I think it’s something we’d like to do more of in the future 😊
Jesse Anderson @darokaz It looks like there is an issue in #AnthemGame today where legendary missions are not counting for the challenge today. It looks to be tied to the new legendary missions being the issue.
So if you’re trying to get credit today for the challenge you won’t be able to. I’ll work with the team to see when we can get a fix in place.
Andrew Johnson @untdrew Players have said time and time again that they want to hear more real conversations about how we make games. That is the purpose of EA Unplugged.
We’ve just rolled out an update to the PTS that fixes several bugs as well as introduces a schedule of inversions you can encounter in the Cataclysm. We have also added a schedule for the seasonal store so that you can acquire new items, such as weapons and gear. Please note that this schedule is just for the PTS so that we can test out the different inversions and store rotation.
In addition to the schedule below, we are leaving all arenas open in the Cataclysm.
Chad Robertson @crobertson_atx We remain 100% committed to Anthem and look forward to showing players the new content we are working on. We want to make sure we aren’t overpromising, so our updates on what’s coming in the game will be focused when we have things near completion.
Along with @benirvo and I, we've got a big team between Austin and Edmonton focused and motivated for improving the game. We appreciate your support and for being on this journey with us.
Javelin Specific Challenges – Currently these show no rewards under the challenge, but you will be awarded with a warchest upon completion. Challenge Rewards – Upon completing a challenge, you won’t always immediately see the item you’re rewarded. At the end of expedition screen, the way to tell if you've gotten a challenge reward is by looking at the item level. A reward from a challenge will be either 66 for Masterwork, or 80 for Legendary. Seasonal Store Icons - The seasonal store currently has placeholder icons for many of the items you can purchase with crystals. Players will need to hover over each one to see what the contents are before acquiring.
Bug Fixes and Changes
Echoes of Reality Tutorials now appear in the tutorial section of the Cortex Fixed an issue where challenge scores were not matching the score in their description Fixed the beams that were turning the fields on and off in the Crucible of Astrid arena in the Cataclysm Fixed an issue where the strategic objective was not displaying while in the Cataclysm New Exotic Weapons can now be salvaged in the Forge Elemental damage now displays correctly in the forge for new exotic weapons (All Volt Casters + Gravedigger + Shard Storm) Exotic weapons now show up in vault Fixed an issue with crystal rewards not being correctly awarding by the final score Daily Challenges are now functional with rewards
Cheers, Darokaz
Jesse Anderson @darokaz I know many of you are wanting to know when the cataclysm is going to fully release (on both console and PC). No date to share just yet, but we're not making as many big changes on the PTS so we're getting closer to the final build.
Moon's Haunted 2: Electric Boogaloo @3dhero17 In terms of lore, are there other civilisations on the planet coda that’s not based in bastion? Like other human made forts or giant empires etc? @camerondayton #anthem #AnthemGame
Jos Hendriks @sjosz It's one of those rare moments in time where my bug inbox is at zero. I'm sure there will be some again tomorrow, but getting close to finishing a thing I've been working on, and bouncing off zero bugs is one of the markers.
And by merely mentioning it on social media, I have cursed myself and everyone who knows me, for surely I will never see zero bugs again.
Dusty5hadows @andyb117 @untdrew @darokaz @benirvo @anthemgame is this the start of the pre cataclysm event? This challenge is showing on the live servers! Does this mean I can now enter full hype mode? Can you give us any info pls? 🤞🤯😉
Andrew Johnson @untdrew A change went live today that was intended for a slightly later date. That change has now been corrected. Sorry for the confusion, Freelancers.
We just put out an update for the PTS. The primary reason for this update was to get in some adjustments we made to the crystal economy. Previously, it would take 1000 small crystals to convert them to one large crystal. Based on player feedback we have cut this amount in half to 500. You'll still earn crystals at the same rate as you did before, but with this change you should be able to acquire items from the seasonal store faster. Below is the link to a survey if you'd like to share your thoughts on these changes (it's the same questions as the previous survey): SURVEY LINK
Here is a list of some additional changes that were introduced with this PTS update:
- Economy modification to crystals: large crystal purchase changed to 500 crystals from 1000. - Large crystal conversion to small crystals changed from 1000 to 500. - Icon and UI updates for Seasonal Store and some cataclysm HUD elements. - Arenas and Inversions have been changed to reflect how they will be during the first week of the Cataclysm.
Emily (aka Domino) Taylor pentapod Going through my work computer looking for something completely different and came across this 🤣 #AnthemGame #AnthemColossus
