New generation of consoles, same old Activision...
Much like we saw with the last game in the series, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, the first Call of Duty: Ghosts DLC, Onslaught, is out today as a timed exclusive for Xbox One and Xbox 360. We've been covering what the DLC brings to the table, but here's a quick recap in case you missed anything.
As expected, Onslaught brings in four new maps for the game's multiplayer mode, each with its own unique "bonus" for completing field objectives:
* Fog - players assume the role of the iconic babysitter bloodletter, Michael Myers of "Halloween," complete with trademark music and axe
* Bayview - call in a naval artillery strike
* Containment - call in an airstrike to detonate a radioactive missile, destroying anyone in the immediate area
* Ignition (a remake of Scrapyard from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2) - activate a test engine that ignites and burns enemies in the area
The DLC also brings in additions for the game's alien hunting Extinction mode, picking up where the last mission, "Point of Contact," left off. Check out a recent trailer for the new episode here. It also adds in two new alien types:
- the "Phantom," capable of turning invisible mid-leap.
- the "Breeder," an enormous boss creature
You can get a closer look at the DLC's maps and alien newcomers here.
Lastly, and perhaps what a lot of gamers will enjoy most, the DLC adds in a new weapon, the two-in-one Maverick rifle, which can function as either an assault or sniper rifle. Have a closer look at it here.
Barring any unforseen problems, PS3, PS4, and PC players can expect to try the DLC in late February. You can check out the original DLC announcement trailer here, and a recent live action trailer here.
Now, with DLC ready to go for at least two systems, Activision has also released a new Title Update so that all its ducks are in a row. You can see the complete list of changes the Title Update brings below, courtesy of the official Call of Duty: Ghosts forums.
Hotfixes
- Killstreak count maintained across rounds in Search and Destroy, Search and Rescue and Blitz.
- Shorten countdown timer for Clan v Clan playlist.
- Extinction alien balance adjustments.
New Features
- PLAYLIST UPDATE: Gun Game replacing Heavy Duty.
- PLAYLIST UPDATE: Adding Hunted FFA.
- PLAYLIST UPDATE: Add eSports Rules to Clan v Clan (except friendly fire), and 1-4 persons can join.
- Added Heavy Duty health options to Private Match.
- IED damage adjustment based on player stance and IED location (for damage reduction: jump over IEDs below you, go prone for overhead IEDs).
- Added Operation progress bar to the After Action Report that pops up after MP matches.
- New MP lobby menu music.
- Social feed addition.
- New stick layout options for Southpaw.
- Disable party chat in Search and Rescue, Search and Destroy and Infected.
- Added 5 new Prestige Ranks to Extinction.
- Customization for player appearances (Create a Soldier) added to Extinction.
Stability
- Fixed Sniper animation issue that could break the viewmodel.
- Load time improvements for Flooded, Strikezone, Warhawk.
- Fixed a couple bots related performance issues.
- Fixed loss of functionality issue that would occur when two crates were stacked if player attempted to capture bottom crate.
- In Private match, disable "Start Match" if party members are missing selected map.
- Fixed rare case of incorrect bot display amount in Private match.
- Various spawn improvements.
Anti-Cheat
- Prevent players from using more loadouts than normal.
- Block users from sharing camos and reticles that aren't previously unlocked.
- Anti-cheat prevention improvements.
Weapon / Perk Balance
- Dead Silence/Amplify Adjustment - Dead Silence completely silent including equipment, sliding, and footsteps. Amplify users can still hear a scaled down version of the footsteps and sliding sounds.
- Slight AK12 Increase on view kick.
- Adjusted reload times on L115 and USR.
- Reduce burst fire cool down of MSBS.
eSports
- Removed stalls caused by the host changing loadout in eSports games.
- Silent plant, silent defuse in Search and Destroy.
- Added killstreak count to eSports scoreboard.
- Improvements to MLG Broadcast mode for highlighted players.
- Added Domination flag capture bar to Broadcast mode.
- Added R3 to toggle enemy player outlines in Broadcast mode.
- Prevent eSports players (except COD Caster) from switching to 3rd Person Spectate cam.
- Added ability to select players when mini-map is enlarged in eSports.
- Fixed FOV issue that occurred in Broadcast mode.
- Fixed functionality issue that occurred if both thumbsticks were pressed while spectating a mantling player.
- Fixed issue which kept eSports rules enabled after losing internet connection.
- Add notification when spectated player gets a kill in Broadcast mode.
- Fixed text overlap bug that occurred when mini-map was enlarged.
- Better team identification in the MLG hud.
- Fixed killfeed color bug that occurred for spectators.
- Prevent crashes when COD Caster changed teams quickly.
- Restrict Ghillie Suits when eSports rules enabled (replaces with different game models).
- Fixed a Broadcaster Mode bug where the preset camera indicator wasn't getting reset between rounds.
- Add a kill feed to Broadcaster mode.
- Added team names to in-game scoreboard for Broadcast mode.
- Restrict Tracker Sights in eSports rules.
- Restrict Danger Close in eSports rules.
- Additional Broadcast mode fixes (better team identification in the HUD, simplified Scoreboard toggle, etc).
- Additional eSports fixes.
Additional Fixes
- Adjusted difficulty of slide based operations.
- Reduced lean, point blank & rescue reticle challenge requirements.
- Search and Destroy bomb plant and defuse timers no longer wait for the weapon swap before starting.
- Fixed matchmaking issue in Squads.
- Display new icon in Operations when re-rolling Operations.
- Fixed rare cases of losing Sentry Gun killstreak when killed while placing.
- Menu fix for Operations.
- Fixed bug that would show improper time value in match countdown timer.
- Maniac, Juggernaut Recon and the Michael Myers are invisible to tracker and thermal sights.
- Fixing bug where the playercards in Squad Reports were only updated if you went into the friends list or squad mode first.
- Defaults loadouts correctly reflect the actual loadout in Private match.
- Free For All scoreboard adjustment.
- Fixed Trinity Rocket cancellation issue.
- MP Lobby improvement for Character Display.
- Combat Knife stats accuracy improvement.
- Fixed friends list shuffle that would occur for clans that had members across platforms.
- Killcam no longer goes underground on Warhawk.
- Improved audio ambient system in Multiplayer.
- Fixed Squads issue that would change mode icon when playing with a split screen guest.
- Fixed core playlist selection reset issue.
- Private match loadout bug fix.
- Additional customization options added for Infected in Private match.
- Improvements to Infected game mode.
- Optimization to generic UI elements.
- Fixed issue that could occur when squad member had specialist set as streak reward.
- Fixed minor VFX issue.
- Fixed under water killstreak exploit.
- Increased XP earned from completed Operations.
- Fixed issue that occurred when leader would leave clan.
- Fixed Bromance Clan Op issue.
- Fixed viewmodel loss issue in Safeguard.
- Fixed rare challenges issue in Safeguard.
Extinction
- Fixed issue where some achievements could not be earned when moving from current generation to next generation platforms.
- Optimized some FX to improve game stability and performance.
- Fixed Trinity rocket issue where black/white overlay would remain on screen.
- Fixed Trinity rocket issue where laptop could not be put away.
- Improvements to the "Leper" challenge so that it appears closer to players.
- Added "COD Account" selection to the Extinction menu to improve account linking for Extinction players.
- Fixed bug where the "Death Machine" could obtain specialty ammunition.
- Fixed issue where players defaulted to pistol after revival.
- Fixed issue with accepting invites from custom Extinction matches where players would lose menu focus.
- Fixed issue where double XP was not resetting when going into solo, custom or split screen lobbies.
- Added a double XP icon to the Extinction lobby for when double XP is active.
- Fixed trophy issues where players could not plant any more trophies even though it had not been depleted after throwing a hypno-knife.
- Fixed issue where Feral Instincts would not default back to normal view after it depleted.
- Added the rank and icon to the Extinction end game scoreboard.
- Fixed issue where challenge timer would not appear when joining a game while a challenge is active.
- Fixed issue where Relic bonus was not appearing in the end game scoreboard.
- Balancing tweaks to the Sentry Gun and Death Machine abilities.
- Added ranks to the in game splash notification message when a player ranks up.
- Added player Patches to splash notifications for deployment items.
- The Riotshield icon now tracks ammo while the shield is stowed.
- Fixed issue where players would have no weapon on ladders.
- Fixed issue where players would lose their weapon after getting off a ladder.
Xbox One Specific Update (In addition to the Title Update)
- Kinect voice handling improvements.
- Fixed an issue where long names could get cut-off in certain UI elements.
- Fix for potential functionality loss when split screen guest signed out.
Xbox 360 Specific Update (In addition to the Title Update)
- Fixed in-game store price to show money instead of Microsoft Points.
- Fix for potential functionality loss when split screen guest signed out.
PlayStation 4 Specific Updateb (Scheduled for Jan. 29th, In addition to the Title Update)
- Vita remote play optimizations.
PC Specific Update (In addition to the Title Update)
- Fixed a couple resizing issues that would occur when switching to windowed mode.
- Fixed sound issue in the mixing code.
- Fix for shadow flicker on ATI crossfire setups.
- Fixed Single Player crash when switching SSAO on in-game.
- Fixed friends list sorting issue.
- PC fix for submitting a blank password when trying to join a protected private match.
- Fixed issue where friends button was unclickable while viewing operations.
- Fixed video options to properly save settings that don't require video restart.
- Fixed issue that occurred when selecting "Play as Squad member" with mouse click.
- Updated text in option menus to better reflect "mute all" option.
- Fixed prone accuracy exploit.
