Release Notes, December 6th 2013

[Brou]

This patch is now on the live server.

Heroes, if you've been anxiously awaiting the release of our Auras system, tomorrow's the big day: We'll be having a Friday morning maintenance, and at the end, you'll be able to get your grubby gloves on them. Auras are visual effects that you can equip, color, and slot into either always-on or combat-only slots; get more details in this preview blog.


Auras:

Auras are here! Auras are slottable items that create a new visual effect surrounding your character. Depending on how you slot them, an aura can be active all or the time or just when you are in in combat. Multiple Auras can be active at the same time, leading to millions of potential combinations.

• Access your Aura Slots via the Auras tab Character Status window (press C).
• We have added an Aura Storage bag to your character so that you have somewhere to keep your new Aura items.
• All slotted passives have had their effects removed. You can now buy these effects as Legacy Auras from the new Legacy Aura Vendor in Renaissance Center. All characters get one Legacy Aura for free.
• You can buy additional Aura packs, as well as extra Aura Slots and Aura Storage slots, from the C-Store.

Winter Event:

• The Winter event has begun! Black Harlequin is terrorizing Millennium City once again with his army of misfit toys, including Clarence the Giant Mecha Teddy.
• Join the Black Harlequin Alert to confront him in his demented toy factory: The Finkle Foundry. This Alert was previously known as the March of the Mecha Soldiers mission.
• The Winter Wonderland Lockbox is now live. Possible prizes include the Dasher Winter Sleigh vehicle, a Become Workshop Elf device, and the Santa Suit costume.

Items:

• Heirloom items from the Nemesis system are no longer Unique.
• Dark Aura has been converted from a toggle device to an Aura item.

Powerhouse:

• Added Regenerating Test Dummies to the rest of the Powerhouses.
• Those dummies have been set to level 40 (not skull) to avoid some problems players were encountering.

Powers:

• Aura of Radiant Protection - The Runic Glow cosmetic advantage has been removed, and the visual effect is now part of Legacy Aura: Radiant Protection. Players with this 0-point advantage will need to visit the Powerhouse before training new powers.

Costumes:

• The female Kabuki Mask was missing some textures in its Leather and Metal materials. Fixed.
• The Kabuki mask texture "Cinqo de Mayo" has been renamed to "Dia de Los Muertos".

UI:

• Item listings in tabbed stores have been revised to accommodate prices with long names.

Misc:

• Fixed a civilian callout message that had lost the name of the villain you'd defeated.

*************
Original PTS build notes:

This build is scheduled to hit PTS at 4:00pm, 11/21/2013
 
 
Release Notes:
 
Preview:
 

• Winter Event: The mission "March of the Mecha Soldiers" has been converted to a Custom Alert. Try it out! Loot is not yet final.
• Auras: We have a new Aura System available through the "Auras" tab on your Character UI. Auras allow you to customize the visual effects surrounding your character by equipping Aura items into "Always On" and "In Combat" aura slots. More information will be posted in a preview blog later today.
• The Debugger store has a selection of upcoming Auras, as well as unlocks for extra slots and Legacy Auras for testing.
• The Debugger also has the updated Dark Aura item available for testing.

Powers:
 

• Slotted Passives no longer have continuous aura-style visual effects. Those effects have been moved to Legacy Auras with the same names as the Slotted Passives they were originally from. A few Slotted Passives that have only brief startup visual effects are unchanged. This will allow you to choose an Aura combination that matches your theme instead of it being dictated by your passive power.
• All new and existing characters are granted one Free Aura Token which may be used to purchase a Legacy Aura through the Aura Vendor in the Auras tab on the Character UI. Additional Legacy Auras may be purchased for Questionite.
• Aura of Radiant Protection - The Runic Glow cosmetic advantage has been removed, and the visual effect is now part of Legacy Aura: Radiant Protection. Players with this 0-point advantage will need to visit the Powerhouse before training new powers.

Items:
 

• Dark Aura has been converted from a toggle device to an Aura item.
• Heirloom items from the Nemesis system are no longer Unique.

Alerts:
 

• The Red Winter Custom Alert no longer applies an XP buff, and no longer counts as a Smash alert for Daily mission credit.
• Cleaned up the tooltips for Alert boost rewards.

Powerhouse:
 

• Added Regenerating Test Dummies to the rest of the Powerhouses.
• Those dummies have been set to level 40 (not skull) to avoid some problems players were encountering.

Misc:
 

• Fixed a civilian callout message that had lost the name of the villain you'd defeated.

 
 
Please format any bugs you find in the following format:
Bug
Where it happens
What happens
 
 
 
Please stay on topic in this PTS thread. We use bug reports from this thread to decide whether a PTS build is ready to go live, and so we need to make sure we're seeing everything in it. Please do discuss the changes, but if you find yourself writing about something that isn't specific to what's on PTS, then that should probably go elsewhere.
 
In particular, do not report bugs from the live game in this thread, unless they are impacted by changes in the PTS build.

[Kaos Arcanna]

Customizable auras.


Nice to see that CO is getting some love and attention.

[DJMoose]

Nerdgasm

This is one of many things CO has been lacking.

[JaguarX]

Customizable auras.


Nice to see that CO is getting some love and attention.

Indeed. I guess the new studio thing is paying off.

[General Idiot]

Auras are cool and I can't wait for them to go life, but I can't help but wish they'd stop all this cosmetic stuff and seriously work on giving us more actual content.

[JaguarX]

Auras are cool and I can't wait for them to go life, but I can't help but wish they'd stop all this cosmetic stuff and seriously work on giving us more actual content.

They may be working on it but in the mean time adding little things so people cant stop saying the new studio is doing nothing. These little changes are probably merely a thing more about "visibility" rather than something large.

CO needed a lot of work. Me, personally I'm simply glad that they have and are tackling alot of the bugs. I rather play a smooth running game with a few maps than a game with 300 maps but filled with a bunch of little and some major bugs that no one is bothering to look at. Like the nemesis system and the bugs within there. Awesome system and idea that could have been the money maker, but buggy as hell which dulled it's impact greatly.

[Thunder Glove]

I just wish they'd release a low-overhead Mac client.  Trying to play it through a homemade STO wrapper has become frustratingly slow.

[Brou]

I just wish they'd release a low-overhead Mac client.  Trying to play it through a homemade STO wrapper has become frustratingly slow.

That might not be too far away. 

http://sto.perfectworld.com/news/?p=1030041

[Brou]

Source

This update is now live.

Heroes, if you've been anxiously awaiting the release of our Auras system, tomorrow's the big day: We'll be having a Friday morning maintenance, and at the end, you'll be able to get your grubby gloves on them. Auras are visual effects that you can equip, color, and slot into either always-on or combat-only slots; get more details in this preview blog.


Auras:

Auras are here! Auras are slottable items that create a new visual effect surrounding your character. Depending on how you slot them, an aura can be active all or the time or just when you are in in combat. Multiple Auras can be active at the same time, leading to millions of potential combinations.

• Access your Aura Slots via the Auras tab Character Status window (press C).
• We have added an Aura Storage bag to your character so that you have somewhere to keep your new Aura items.
• All slotted passives have had their effects removed. You can now buy these effects as Legacy Auras from the new Legacy Aura Vendor in Renaissance Center. All characters get one Legacy Aura for free.
• You can buy additional Aura packs, as well as extra Aura Slots and Aura Storage slots, from the C-Store.

Winter Event:

• The Winter event has begun! Black Harlequin is terrorizing Millennium City once again with his army of misfit toys, including Clarence the Giant Mecha Teddy.
• Join the Black Harlequin Alert to confront him in his demented toy factory: The Finkle Foundry. This Alert was previously known as the March of the Mecha Soldiers mission.
• The Winter Wonderland Lockbox is now live. Possible prizes include the Dasher Winter Sleigh vehicle, a Become Workshop Elf device, and the Santa Suit costume.

Items:

• Heirloom items from the Nemesis system are no longer Unique.
• Dark Aura has been converted from a toggle device to an Aura item.

Powerhouse:

• Added Regenerating Test Dummies to the rest of the Powerhouses.
• Those dummies have been set to level 40 (not skull) to avoid some problems players were encountering.

Powers:

• Aura of Radiant Protection - The Runic Glow cosmetic advantage has been removed, and the visual effect is now part of Legacy Aura: Radiant Protection. Players with this 0-point advantage will need to visit the Powerhouse before training new powers.

Costumes:

• The female Kabuki Mask was missing some textures in its Leather and Metal materials. Fixed.
• The Kabuki mask texture "Cinqo de Mayo" has been renamed to "Dia de Los Muertos".

UI:

• Item listings in tabbed stores have been revised to accommodate prices with long names.

Misc:

• Fixed a civilian callout message that had lost the name of the villain you'd defeated.

[0nehanklap]

Good concept, and just having the option is an overall positive for the game, but seems like a clunky execution to me.
Would have been simpler & more intuitive to use if the auras had been integrated into the tailor.  Could have avoided the redundant  inventory bag & tacked on buttons as well as the c-store multi-pack with a half-dozen pieces for each aura with useless parts that now have to be stored indefinitely.   Would be the same price for the c-store aura unlock, same account-wide use as a costume unlock, less annoyance for the end-user, plus I could preview them through the costume creator rather than guessing how it will look on my toon.

[LaughingAlex]

My only hope is they learn to add new content, a foundary, and stop sledge-hammer nerfing things so newer, more open minded players arrive who aren't a bunch of nerf-tools that are unwilling to let the game be enjoyable for others.  This is a very good step, and certainly not something the nerf tools wanted.

[JaguarX]

My only hope is they learn to add new content, a foundary, and stop sledge-hammer nerfing things so newer, more open minded players arrive who aren't a bunch of nerf-tools that are unwilling to let the game be enjoyable for others.  This is a very good step, and certainly not something the nerf tools wanted.

Indeed.