New XCOM: EU Patch For PC Inbound - Need Your Feedback

[LD2k]

Firaxis is working on a NEW patch for XCOM: Enemy Unknown on the PC! Additionally, we’re looking right here on the 2K Forums for community members to help us verify that the AI teleport issue has been fixed once and for all.

We’re heading straight to our PC community here on the 2K Forums for your input and feedback. We will do so by releasing the following password for our Steam Betas that hosts the patch before the official release.

To gain access to the beta, please use the following steps:

1. Right click on “XCOM: Enemy Unknown” in Steam.
2. Select “Properties”
3. Select the “Betas” tab
4. Select “2k_community” from the drop down
5. Enter “skyr@nger” in the password box and press “Check Password”
6. The build should begin downloading

We look forward to working with our community on this patch to help increase your experience in XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Please leave your feedback right here on this thread.

Thanks,
2K Community

UPDATE 3/15/13

XCOM Commanders,

Thank you for your patience and dedication in helping the Enemy Unknown development team identify and fix the reported AI Teleport bug. We have released the Community QA build live, so all PC users will now benefit from your communal effort.

Unfortunately, a non-game breaking alien reveal bug has been exposed, as reported by the community. In the interest of erasing the AI teleport issue as quickly as possible, we are moving forward with pushing this build live. We would like to focus on this new “soft reveal” issue in a future patch, to be communicated at a later date. Thank you so much for your help, and we hope you continue those Iron Man runs now!

[VacuumContinuum]

Nice! They are listening! That is wonderful news.

Now just wake me up when the patch is live on consoles.

xo

[Wosniac]

WoW, excellent.

Will head over to steam now and probally do a allnighter, playing and help test the patch.

Thanks for this oppurtunity to help out/do our part in squashing the bugs

[ellgieff]

Needs a sticky?

[2K David]

Needs a sticky?

You're right. Stuck!

[Avatar13]

Yes, nice going! Will be happy to help out and test. Thanks for the heads up!

[ellgieff]

You're right. Stuck!

I make enough statements, I have to be right sometime

And I'll switch to playing the PC version when I get home tonight. Joy!

[Hobbes__]

Downloading... is there anything else to look for other than the teleportation bug?

Notice to people who use mods: you'll need to have Steam Verify the Integrity of the Game Cache (under Properties) otherwise you won't be able to install the beta and play the game. This will also most likely remove any mods that you are currently running.

[Ghooostie]

Awesome news, might help testing tomorrow if I got the time, anything to crush that nasty bug.

But as Hobbes said, anything else we should pay attention to ?

[amanasleep]

Downloading... is there anything else to look for other than the teleportation bug?

Notice to people who use mods: you'll need to have Steam Verify the Integrity of the Game Cache (under Properties) otherwise you won't be able to install the beta and play the game. This will also most likely remove any mods that you are currently running.

Good point, are there any other components to the patch Beta besides the teleport bug fix? Can you play MP with the Beta installed? Are there any MP changes?

[MinoanGuy]

Excellent news! Thank you

Will gladly participate in the beta.

[adamsolo]

Oh, this is great news, and a clear sign that (while you're not communicating much) you're definitely listening to the community. I'll do my part. Hum ... how much time did I need to finish my I/I run? I hope not to find any teleport, EVEN in the big cemetery map

Downloading...

[samsmithnz]

AWESOME! Definitely have joined into this and have a classic ironman I can use to test with this.

Quick Question from me: will this disable Achievements? I'm trying to get my last Achievement "Beating Ironman on classic/impossible".

[shorn]

Would be nice to have some patch notes so we can test specific things.

[2K David]

Good point, are there any other components to the patch Beta besides the teleport bug fix? Can you play MP with the Beta installed? Are there any MP changes?

Would be nice to have some patch notes so we can test specific things.

Right now, we're looking for feedback specifically on the AI Teleporting issue.

AWESOME! Definitely have joined into this and have a classic ironman I can use to test with this.

Quick Question from me: will this disable Achievements? I'm trying to get my last Achievement "Beating Ironman on classic/impossible".

No, the beta will not disable achievements, and players should be able to use their old/existing save games. One thing to note with respect to Multiplayer; players will only be able to play with other players who are also behind this Beta tag.

[adamsolo]

Difficulty: Impossible
Ironman: No
SW options: None
Slingshot: Yes
Game session start from scratch: Yes

1st report
Mission 1
Map: Commercial Alley
TB (teleport bug) occurences: Zero

First mission went smoothly without any teleport bug encountered, even with extensive use of hunkering down. I report one patrol group though (previously undetected aliens coming from outside LoS), however I assume that's standard patrol behavior (in other words that's ok in my book).

So far so good, going for the second mission now.


2nd report:
Mission 2 (Abduction: Very Difficult)
Map: Convenience Store
TB (teleport bug) occurences: Zero

Second mission went smoothly without any teleport bug encountered with very heavy use of hunkering down. I report several patrol groups. I start to notice that spawn points may have been changed? What have you done guys (Firaxis)? If you confirm to have changed the spawn points that's wonderful news. Make that random if possible.

Onwards to third mission.


3rd report:
Mission 3 (UFO Crash)
Mission 4 (Abduction: Very Difficult)
Map: Liquor Store
TB (teleport bug) occurences: Zero (*)

Third mission was very quick. I discovered the first group of two sectoids normally, the second group (of the remaining two sectoids) was a patrol. Outsider killed, done.

Fourth mission was smooth. I start to get the impression that teleport bugs in the current official build were turned into patrol groups in this beta, as I start to note that patrols occur more often than they did before. And that's a good thing.

(*) I witnessed a slightly odd behavior though: a group of 3 sectoids appeared (like a patrol because they appeared in the edge of LoS) but then moved-teleported to two or three tiles away (further way from where they were, meaning, they teleported further away from my squad). So, it wasn't a teleport in my book. Real teleport bugs for me are the ones where the aliens appear in a location where there was clear LoS onto, and where they clearly could not have appeared there, which was clearly not the case here, but maybe others have a different opinion.


1st month conclusions

4 missions done in Impossible. Zero Teleport Bugs. Spawn points seem different now. I got that impression in every mission till now - and I (re-)played the game a lot. I log >250h.

I report an increase on alien patrols, which are groups appearing from outside LoS, activate and seek cover (standard behavior).

I report a soft-teleport, where a group of sectoids appeared outside LoS (a patrol group) but then move-teleported two to three tiles away, further away from my squad. So, definitely not a teleport-into/near-my-squad bug.

Remark: I played normally as I always do in my first month, which usually involves a lot of hunkering down, more in the first missions.

More reports tomorrow, but so far things are looking really good.


2nd month

One more UFO crash mission, Slingshot's first mission, another abduction and a terror mission. No teleports to report.

Well, will keep playing, and will report any TB if I find them. So far, I only report occasional "soft-teleports", which is when a group spawns/appears in one place and then we clearly see them move (teleport) some place else the second after. Till now, all my soft teleports send groups further away from the XCOM squad and never sends them nearer or clearly inside XCOM's LoS. So, so far so good, in my book, and in my experience so far.


\Edit: Did 3.5 months on Impossible with the beta and I report no major teleporting issues (no hard teleports at least, where aliens appear near/inside squad). I only report a few "soft teleport" occurrences, which is when alien groups spawn at the edge of LoS (we don't see them moving there), and then they teleport back to FoW or to other place at the edge of LoS. I don't consider these "soft teleports" to be major though, they don't bother me much personally. However, I would prefer to see the "teleportation" movement mechanic completely removed from the game if possible (as it hurts immersion). So, if possible, I would like to always see the aliens moving from place to place (real movement) and not so much seeing them teleporting around. So, these were my experiences with the beta concerning the AI teleport issue, and, in general, I'm happy with the results. Let's see what others have to say about their own experiences with the beta.

[Firestorm10]

Great stuff,will try to check soon

[jonathanmcleod]

Fantastic, downloading now. God I hope this horrible bug is fixed!

[jonathanmcleod]

I report one patrol group though (previously undetected aliens coming from outside LoS), however I assume that's standard patrol behavior (in other words that's ok in my book).

Of course that is normal behaviour!

[adamsolo]

Of course that is normal behaviour!

Yes I know but it's important to remark that patrolling is still there and working as intended, since it's a very important part of the game, especially in Impossible games where that happens more. So, I'm happy to see it.

[Wosniac]

Difficulty: Classic

Ironman: No

SW Options: None


Started a new game, done 5 missions so far.

No Teleporting issues to report(I have tried to use all known tactics to trigger the bug that i know of)

Had one "weird" alien behavior on first UFO Crash site: Alien group(3 Sectoids activated(became visible and did the "discovered" video Sequence far inside the fog of war(Almost on other side of map). No teleporting issues though, they approached me normally 2 rounds later(i could hear them roam around before that just like normal)

Edit: Played about 15 Missions now, No teleporting issues.


Edit: Played about 25 Missions now; No teleporting issues.

Edit: Played about 35 Missions now; No teleporting issues. Starting up a Classic ironman game now, will post updates on that run in a new post.

[samsmithnz]

Has anyone honestly seen the teleport bug early in the game? I've only seen it later with Mutons, Cyberdisks and Sectopods.

[jonathanmcleod]

Has anyone honestly seen the teleport bug early in the game? I've only seen it later with Mutons, Cyberdisks and Sectopods.

Yes absolutely. I found it as its most noticeable with Sectoids for some reason.

[spacegrumpalf]

Well, let us all know how the game is going. It takes awhile for me to play any game since I will not play straight through and it could take a couple of weeks to get through one.

[Aegeri]

Has anyone honestly seen the teleport bug early in the game? I've only seen it later with Mutons, Cyberdisks and Sectopods.

Since the third patch I have seen sectoids teleport right off the start on impossible. Especially if you are also using hunker down, which just dramatically increases the odds of it happening.

This is really great to see. Don't let the console certification problems hold back patching the PC game! I think this is the way to go: Patch the PC game as they go and then bundle all the major fixes/improvements together for console patches later down the line. I can certainly wait for a patch if it fixes a lot of things at once and it will save 2k a bit of coin (as console patching is also an expensive process compared with patching over steam).

[jonathanmcleod]

Since the third patch I have seen sectoids teleport right off the start on impossible. Especially if you are also using hunker down, which just dramatically increases the odds of it happening.

Can we start referring to them as things like "January patch" or "March patch" as its going to start becoming confusing when we get to 3,4 + patches.

[amanasleep]

OK, I am noticing a few things:

1. This game is running much, much faster and more smoothly. It used to chug on my system but now smooth as silk.
2. I have cutscenes disabled and I am no longer getting the scene of the soldiers exiting the skyranger! That one always played at like 2 fps on my machine so much appreciated!
3. No teleport bugs, but I am getting sectoids activating inside the fog of war clear across the map. They are no where even close to me.
4. Save Files are still out of order.

[soulreaver]

Thanks, downloading now! Really good to know you guys are working on this and great idea to get the community involved.

[adamsolo]

OK, I am noticing a few things:

1. This game is running much, much faster and more smoothly. It used to chug on my system but now smooth as silk.

I confirm this. Performance was good before but now it's silk, I agree. We can't be both imagining this, I guess.

3. No teleport bugs, but I am getting sectoids activating inside the fog of war clear across the map. They are no where even close to me.

In my 4 missions in Impossible so far I didn't get the impression that sectoids are activating inside the fog of war far away but probably more on the edge of LoS, which is ok. But, I'll play more and be more alert about that.

[Aegeri]

This sounds really promising. Hopefully this patch works and they get it to 360 so I can resume my I/I playthrough.

[amanasleep]

OK, I am seeing teleport at edge of vision on grand cemetery. After I end turn, 3 sectoids appear together at the edge of vision and immediately teleport into the fog of war. I can still view them in the FOW after teleport, during which they trigger the discovery cutscene and take their extra move. After that they disappear.

[adamsolo]

OK, I am seeing teleport at edge of vision on grand cemetery. After I end turn, 3 sectoids appear together at the edge of vision and immediately teleport into the fog of war. I can still view them in the FOW after teleport, during which they trigger the discovery cutscene and take their extra move. After that they disappear.

I also got one of these "soft-teleports" in the Liquor Store, where a group appeared and then teleported further way (two or three tiles apart only), but I'm not sure if they went into fog of war, and I can't remember if they remained visible or not. But it's definitely a similar behavior.

[amanasleep]

Hunker down shortcut still doesn't work.

[adamsolo]

Can we start referring to them as things like "January patch" or "March patch" as its going to start becoming confusing when we get to 3,4 + patches.

I don't think that's a good idea. Everybody knows what the 3rd patch is, since it's so memorable, for bad reasons. And, if you called them by release month you would also need to append the year, as we never know. I vote to keep the patch references as they are.

[bullethead]

Here's an odd bug: I can't get the game to respond at all to input from my Cideko Air Keyboard Conqueror after initially loading up the beta (which the game managed to detect out of the box without support from Pinnacle or other gamepad mapping software). Also, even after activating Pinnacle, I can't get the game to detect my gamepad's input. I can't get past the main menu.

[amanasleep]

I am seeing quite a lot of these soft teleports. They don't seem to go to the edge of hunker down range, but they frequently "patrol" from inside the FOW. Also, I have not seen a single patrol walk into vision from the FOW and then activate. I used to see this frequently before the Beta, and I considered this to be the proper patrol behavior.

[Edgecase]

I've got a different problem. I dashed a unit out on the first turn to check the dash-overwatch bug (fixed, btw, at least in the basic form), and revealed one pack... and a second one became visible but did not activate. After that, the group's health bars have been continually visible and warping backward in the darkness.

http://i.imgur.com/B08fj8p.jpg

They used to be inside the bar, now they're in the back.

[amanasleep]

Who's testing MP? To test you need another Beta player.

[Edgecase]

Who's testing MP? To test you need another Beta player.

I'm in a game with Shin right now. The dash-overwatch bug is fixed, but the floater bug is still there.

Other bugs that have been around for a long time don't seem to be fixed either. Unfortunately, I have a 6am flight, so somebody else will have to take it from here.

Edit:
Poison still goes through walls
Poison host-client bug is still present
Flyers still fly too low

Basically, nothing else is touched, for better or worse.

[TheFumbler]

I'm on, trying to do multiplayer but I can't see anyone...

Steam Name: TheFumbler