News | 5/13/2011 at 1:53 PM

Shogun 2 Receives Massive Update

Earlier this week an enormous patch was applied to the lately installment of the Total War series, Shogun 2. The bulk of the update seems to be fixes, but there's some unit tweaking, DirectX 11 support, and even four new multiplayer maps included as well. We found the game to be a great co-op strategy/RTS game, giving it an impressive 4.5 out of 5. For the full list of patch notes, read on:

 

ADDITIONS
---------

DirectX 11 support, including

Advanced Shadows  Support for MSAA 2x,4x,8x. Enhanced Depth of Field  Tessellation Support Anti-aliasing support


Note: Enabling Anisotropic Texture Filtering on DirectX9 is not working in this update. This will be fixed in the next patch.


General Fixes (includes single player and multiplayer fixes)

Fixed firing-arc overlay for blinding grenades to show minimum range  Slight changes to the intercept for igniting buildings Fix for battlefield dominance being awarded to both players  Fixed triggers for the Elusive Strikeforce and Inspiring Counterattack achievements Legendary force achievable in single player  Fix for stacking effects Ninja hiding tweaks Change to how victory types are assigned so that Heroic victories are a bit rarer (they're the most common now) and decisive / close are more common. Pyrrhic can be more common than before Fixed entities floating outside castle wall when they get knocked down or knocked flying while climbing off the top of walls  Fixed bug with looping transition animation due to move orders with invalid path locations being spammed by the squad repeatedly  Capture buildings cache if the building was captured from held before telling the Aide de camp Improved torch caching Fix for crash in battlefield zone cursor intersection  Adjustment to AI to make it more difficult for the AI to use cavalry against spearmen  Fix for drop-in ambushes not starting if the player under ambush presses 'Start Battle' first  Ship banners are now appearing correctly in replays  Fix for men staying at the bottom of the walls when they are attacked whilst climbing  In naval replays, some ships’ flags were appearing in the wrong colours, now fixed  Order to burn down a building now finishes if the building is destroyed by other means  Fix to rare crash when placing mines in naval battles  Experience system revision: experience-level thresholds rebalanced to allow for faster overall level-progression. Per-unit-type threshold multiplier introduced that scales the thresholds to compensate for differences in the damage output of different unit types. AI experience levels now fully derived from combat (the AI experience boosting mechanism has been removed).  Updated pre-battle speeches to take greater advantage of available situational information Grass and scrub no longer gets in the way of the camera during pre-battle speeches  Armies sharing the same deployment zone are no longer deployed on top of each other by default  Fixed bug in tracking-camera caused by restricted camera behaviour activated by Legendary difficulty mode  Improved first-person camera and projectile camera: time dilation effect is now relative to projectile speed. Artillery engine crew now trigger the projectile camera when their engine fires. Projectile camera remains stationary at the projectile's terminus to allow the player to see the results  Pre-battle speeches now distinguish between multiple causes of the gates being forced open at the start of the battle Adjustments to morale calculations, dependent on who is in control of an army and in what context. Allows for fine-tuning of morale calculations separately for single-player humans, multiplayer humans and AI armies  Improved the calculation of unit combat status. This corrects errors in the reporting of a unit's tooltip win/loss state, and also fixes some issues in the unit morale calculations that use this status information  New weather gameplay effects added: Fog now causes a range penalty to all missile units, and causes non-commanding units to be hidden at a distance of 600m or more, even if they are out of cover  Fixed issue where the Total War camera sometimes snaps downwards when switching the camera type and/or starting a transition. (This was particularly evident at the end of the pre-battle cinematic)  Fixed issue in reinforcements system that allows multiple armies to feed more units into one army than is allowed on the battlefield  Fixed crash-bug caused by placing Yari Ashigaru into pike wall formation, then incrementing/decrementing their formation width and moving the unit before ending the deployment phase  Fixed issue that allowed siege defenders in ‘fight to the death’ mode to continue fighting in the end phase of battle after their fort was successfully captured by the attacking force  Pre-battle speeches are now disabled in custom battles if the player does not field a General Fixed crash bug where the Stand and Fight special ability was used in a custom battle on a general unit that had been removed and re-added to the battle setup  Fixed crash bug resulting from construction of an RTS camera with specified position  Fixed crash bug that could sometimes occur when the FPS camera's context-entity died  Cinematic camera movement speed is no longer height-relative. This allows for greater control and adjustment of camera positions in the cinematic editor  Fixed flaw in unit logic that could cause a crash in the multiplayer lobby when interacting with a veteran unit that has zero men.  Pre-battle speeches now allow for minor clans to be playable. 


Naval combat

Fixed intercepting with surrendered ships  Fixed ships getting stuck on the edge of the battlefield  Fixed sail-configuration not fully working when using speed-up  Fixed enemy naval mines being visible in deployment  Hull-damage indicators now consistent across campaign and naval battles 


Audio

Audio rebalancing  Added projectile injury sounds  Added special ability UI sounds  Added new unit melee sounds (male/female units, swords/spears, mixed)  UI sound when unit ordered to climb wall  Naval mines trigger launch sound  Front-end seasonal sounds to match scene  Fixed problem with music not playing on custom battle screen  Music volume now defaults to 75%  Fixed rare issue with sounds not triggering after extended gameplay  Separate sounds for female units  Added reverb for distance sounds  Fix for host being able to hear UI sounds for units that have been gifted to another player  Fixed move-UI sound being played instead of attack-UI sound when choosing artillery bombardment location  Added new sound when buildings selected in campaign map  Aide de camp now supported during pre-battle speech 


User interface

Fix for some effect-bundle tooltips being cut off  Fixed finance summary profit totals  Fixed radar map image not updating when new clan discovered, and fixed rebel-owned region tooltip  Fixed front-end camera transition  Fixed mpc win movies showing same faction for both allies Fixed radar flee- icon crash bug  Changed public-order display on finance panel to show current factors (rather than predicted)  Re-enabled slider for mission-event text  Fix to block co-op tax exemption exploit  Fixed assassination-movie location bug with garrisoned generals  Fixed bribe/move options panel text Fixed mpc multi-turn move diplomacy panel exploit Added extra update for diplomacy 3D model view  Fixed avatar snapshot uploading so that it only occurs when avatar changes  Made regions with imminent rebellion flash red on public order maps  Changed ‘become shogun’ event message into a movie popup  Mousing-over factions in diplomatic relations now previews faction details  Fixed avatars with bow-skill not loading customised model into battles  Added display of convalescing characters into radar list  Fixed agent options crash bug  Customised avatar of opposing player in MP battles now loading correctly  Fix for saving replays in results screen Battle-regroup flag now has tooltip and is shown on radar  Fix for cards getting stuck to cursor  Enabled right-click on multiplayer units to show encyclopedia  Made selected cards more recognisable  Minor chat fixes and polish Fixed toggling of group-behaviour  Text input improvements  Added timer to special-ability buttons to display cooldown in minutes/seconds when mousing over Morale and charge bonus icons now show correct images on unit-information panel, and now show in campaign  Weather/Waiting panel in battle now gives details on effects current weather will have on battle Added extra guarding for accessing model to prevent potential crashes  Modified drag-out behaviour so if user holds CTRL while dragging out units, they will walk to destination 


Battle camera

Fixed bug in historic battles where the camera would be left in cinematic mode after the end of the intro cutscene (particularly in Okehazama where it never returned to normal)  Sekigahara and Okehazama historic battle in-game cutscenes are now skippable  Heat haze in Nagashino historic battle reduced 


Campaign map

Katana cavalry is no longer immune to attrition  Wako trade ships upkeep cost reduced (to match other trade ships)  Various fixes in general's retainers  Increased chance of critical success for successful actions  Slightly increased the value of resources not traded away  Changed general skill ‘strategist’ to award the movement extension instantly (not just in the beginning of a new turn)  Fixed issue where rebellion in regions could happen without prior warning of unrest  Fixed issue where rebellion could happen in region on the turn after it was captured  Finances map now shows regions that will rebel next turn as flashing. Tax-exempt regions with negative public-order value also flash  Movement-distance display now updated when skills applied  Random first-level art picked for research in first turn if researching nothing  Accuracy mod bonus applied correctly  Fix for issue where double-click on character skills could make skill points get lost Added preferences variable to control campaign-camera edge-scroll delay  Re-added ‘trade route raided’ messages  Fixed navies being deregistered from trade nodes when the commander dies  Trade-route raiding now updates when war declared  Fixed predicted number of turns for replenishment  Fixed issue that wouldn't always allow navy-merging very close to trade nodes.  Fixed rare lockup with agent acting against garrisoned settlement  Fixed Namban trade port not updating number of available trade routes correctly  Fixed path-finding state bug which could leave armies unable to move for a turn.  Fixed inability to disembark army from navy in port which is under blockade.  Fixed negative bonus-value modifiers for looting  Fixed instance of trade route removal not cancelling existing raids Fixed rare disembark-at-port problem  Reordered code on becoming Shogun to prevent inappropriate messages being issued In Diplomacy, probability of acceptance is now reported as high for gifts  Fixed crash in family-system after adopting uncle back into family  Workaround for bad path-finding data in starting position  Fixed rare lockup where army disembarks from navy into zone-of-control in player settlement, the navy is too close to a third party neutral navy, and the player declines to attack the disembarking army  Fixed rare load-crash when loading a pre-battle save game during an AI turn when that AI had previously issued a multi-turn order that involved an army disembarking from the navy in a future turn  Agents will no longer play multi-turn action animations if the player cannot afford the action  Autoresolve battle visual fix: army cannot drop to zero soldiers before the last round  Night battle support for pending battle power-bar. Will update if night battle is selected (and if the UI queries the value again) Autoresolver will destroy or capture ships that are too weak to be used in battle  Repairing a ship in a port no longer invalidates its hull panel information.  Fixed a glow under the shroud when a castle is under siege  Kyoto has an additional defence bonus in the autoresolver  Improved defensive behaviour of single-region clans when building up forces to attack  Improved force conglomeration when pulling in defensive forces from distant regions  Fixed Bribe and Demoralise action-usage  Fixed naval-repair behaviour Fixed minor clan alliance-breaking behaviour  Fixed a number of issues that may lead to corrupted save games  Fixed a number of AI-recoverable lockup issues  Fixed number of AI/model positional inconsistencies  Some efficiency improvements  Fixed case where ninjas could end up standing on top of each other Fixed issue with not being able to back out of a sally-out attack Fixed issue with not being able to withdraw from an attack against an army that is standing very close to a castle (but not besieging) when the attacking army is inside that castle Fixed various issues with agents remaining in castles or armies they shouldn't be in after creating a vassal or bribing an army or castle Fixed AI lockup involving agents attempting to join a force that already contains three characters Fixed not being able to issue an order to blockade a port when the cursor was over a navy inside that port Fixed rare crash in recruitment system where armies could end up with the wrong unit leading the force Fixed issue with being unable to issue orders to agents inside a castle Improved recruit-to-general performance, especially when clan has a very large number of regions Sabotage Building action now applies a varying amount of damage linked to the ninja’s skill Fixed rare bug of a new Daimyo spawning a castle where a battle had just occurred, forcing the battle to be fought again Fixed spawned Ashikaga clan armies appearing on top of Ninjas Agents can no longer be recruited within besieged settlements Reinstated missing realm-divide event-log entry Fixed generals defecting to Wako or European Traders Fixed issue with AI not correctly issuing Demoralise and Bribe orders Fixed rare crash bug where merge-cursor would appear when the cursor was over a farm or special building, when the user had a navy with an agent onboard selected  Fixed night battles being able to exclude a human player from participating in a battle Fixed lockup when carrying out a bribe action when another character is moving Building Sabotage events now show region name Fixed rare crash involving ambushers standing on top of each other Fixed Generals enlisted statistic so it takes into account generals acquired via dilemmas All newly recruited Geishas will be between 18 and 25 years of age Agent options dialogue no longer appears if the target army is in the same clan but already contains the maximum number of agents Removed gap in Agent Indicator flag on enemy army which signified Ninja presence Fixed bribed armies not ending their siege  Fixed armies created via Incite Revolt appearing on top of the monk that incited the revolt Fixed rare crash in matched animations on campaign map 


Units

Removed passive ‘encourage friendly morale’ bonus from General’s units  Increased flanking morale-penalties  Changed casualty morale-penalties to be smaller at low casualty levels, and higher at large casualty levels  Reduced siege-unit accuracy  Increased detonation-radius on fire rockets  Inspire ability bonus to morale reduced to 10 from 12  Inspire ability bonus to accuracy reduced to 15 from 40  Inspire ability bonus to reload reduced from 50 to 20  Inspire ability bonus to melee attack reduced from 7 to 3  Rapid Volley reload-rate bonus reduced from 70 to 30  Whistling Arrow penalties to units reduced  Fixed Hattori Daimyo's portrait in campaign  Tweaked AI recruitment-priorities so more clan-specific units are recruited  Added in missing bridge map from Iwami province  Fixed errors with some Yari Ashigaru unit morale values, so clan specific versions now always have higher morale than generic versions 


MULTIPLAYER-SPECIFIC FIXES
--------------------------

Unit costs

Increased multiplayer costs of Cannon bune and Nihon Maru to 4000 and 5000  Morale for Warrior Monks reduced by 2  Naginata Warrior Monks melee attack reduced by 3  Bow Cavalry cost reduced to 650  Katana Cavalry cost reduced to 800  Yari Cavalry cost increased to 850  Fire Projecting Mangonels cost increased to 1500  Fire Rockets cost increased to 1800  European Cannons cost increased to 1500 


Gameplay

14k is now the maximum fund bracket for matchmade battles Reduced siege unit accuracy  Inspire ability bonus to morale reduced to 10 from 12  Inspire ability bonus to accuracy reduced to 15 from 40  Inspire ability bonus to reload reduced from 50 to 20  Inspire ability bonus to melee attack reduced from 7 to 3  Whistling Arrow penalties to units reduced  All siege maps: Defender has 60% of funds instead of 50%


General

Removed passive encourage friendly morale bonus from generals units  Increased flanking morale penalties  Changed casualty morale penalties to be smaller at low casualty levels and higher at large casualty levels  Increased detonation radius on fire rockets  Rapid volley reload rate bonus reduced from 70 to 30


Bugs

Alt-F4 problem fixed. When any player disconnects from a matchmade battle, they will accrue a loss regardless of whether they are the host, or not. The player disconnecting will also suffer a 5% penalty on their ELO rating. The player not disconnecting will receive a win. It is, however, possible that wins accrued in this way will not update correctly on the leaderboard and avatar stats. All other gains from the win do work (eg unlocking of units, clan points, ELO skill rating etc) Enemy avatar customisations are now viewable in battle Bug where team matchmade battles always use small funds has been fixed Veteran unit speed upgrades are now working The ‘Hold firm’ clan speciality has been fixed The ‘Scares enemies’ clan speciality has been fixed Bug where matchmade battles sometimes result in incorrect battle type has been fixed Occasional soft lock in ‘opponent found, arranging battle’ has been fixed Various fixes to the matchmaking system and networking code Ability to delete hero units has been removed. Ability to clone veteran units has been fixed Bug where players randomly drop ELO points has been fixed


4 new multiplayer maps:

Aki Hida Mountain Flood Plains Sanriku Ria