Redfall is getting its first major patch, but does anyone care? (2024)

More than a month after launch – let's just say – a spectacular failure, Redfallsfirst major patchis live. The update brings a number of changes and bug fixes, and the developers say there are more to come, but one of the most anticipated fixes – the 60fps “performance mode” for console gamers – is still missing in action.

“We're grateful to see millions of you exploring the picturesque yet dangerous open world of Redfall,” said Arkane. “Building such a large playground was humbling, to say the least. We recognize that we still have work to do and we plan to tackle as much as we can, as quickly as we can.

“Today's release is just our first patch and introduces a number of incremental fixes that will improve Redfall. As they become available, we will share more information about future updates, including our 60 FPS performance mode, on our official social channels @PlayRedfall. " "

It's a meaty place for sure, but unfortunately for Arkane, very few people notice it, much less care. According toSteam Chartsonly 42 people are currently playing Redfall, compared to today's highest concurrent player count of just 79. Redfall is a multi-platform game, so that doesn't tell the whole story, but it's still extremely bad, especially for a game that was positioned as a major release from a major, respected game studio.

And withcommentsthe patch expresses hope that it represents progress toward a better future, but overall there isn't much optimism about a turnaround.

"I was really looking forward to this. But let's be realistic," wrote one Steam user. "If this patch, or at least some communication, had taken place during week 1 of release, it would have been received more positively. Currently there are barely 100 players per day. A bitter disappointment."

"As much as the PR language bothers me (talking to us as if it isn't common knowledge by now that Redfall was created solely as a live service lure for potential Zenimax buyers, ignoring the fact that the game's reception has been over the has been disastrous across the board), I think it's good to see that there is still someone at Arkane to turn this game into a minimum viable product," said another. "Let's see how long they're going to keep spending money to fix this."

They have to start somewhere, I guess. The full patch notes are below.

Gameplay

• Increased spawn rates of enemy encounters in the open world
• Improved ADS (down aim) visibility when looking through sniper rifle scopes
• Breakable glass will now shatter on first impact from all weapons
• When using additional ammo storage skills, ammo collected above the standard weapon capacity will now be retained between gameplay sessions
• Players can move without interruption when performing melee attacks on enemies
• Bribón no longer stands still after performing the Siren skill
• Devinder's Translocate ability is now more reliable when used in the Black Sun boss arena
• Updated several mission descriptions and mission summary texts in all languages
• Nests now unlock at the appropriate time when playing in New Game Plus (after completing *A Voice in the Dark* and starting *Giving You Tomorrow* | or vice versa)
• Added medical supplies to the path leading to the Bloody Tom boss arena
• General mission fixes and improvements

Fight

• Fixed several cases of enemies not responding in battle
• Improved vampire melee attacks to increase the chance of hitting moving players
• Cultist and Bellwether enemies received general improvements to their combat behavior, including faster reaction times
• The Rook is now more ruthless and now hunts down all living party members. Kill or be killed
• Smoke Storm lightning no longer hits players through rooftops and most other unexpected situations

AI/NPC

• General improvements to human enemy navigation, including animation timing and responsiveness
• Sleeping vampires are now more susceptible to being woken up by player-generated sounds
• Enemies are now drawn to the biggest threat during combat. This could be a player, Bribón, or an opponent of the enemy
• Improved enemy tracking capabilities in open world areas in both districts
• Added mouth blood for additional vampire face variations

Environment

• Players have greater chances of encountering more and more varied enemies as they explore the open world
• Enemies can no longer shoot through certain walls in the firehouse
• The Vampire's Nest exit now appears correctly in the Shipyard Heart instance
• Resolved many cases of visual issues remotely, including material and model adjustments
• Mission Briefing sequences are brighter
• Improved lighting and sound processing in many interior spaces in both neighborhoods
• Skybox updates to prevent extreme star flicker
• General improvements to collision detection and resource placement in both districts

Performance and stability

• Fixed an issue that prevented certain streaming sticker textures from fully loading, causing them to appear blurry
• Fixed several situations where players could experience an infinite loading screen
  Improved framerate performance in Bloody Tom and Miss Whisper's psychic chambers and boss arenas
• Players can now go beyond the Accessibility menu on a new, unlinked onebethesda.netaccount
• Improved lighting performance in paranormal rooms
• The blood pool reflections no longer flicker excessively
• Optimized VFX particle count, emitters and spawn rates for the following effects:
• Enemy trait effects with shield and inspiration
• Environmental fire and smoke impacts at the Bladewell campsites
• Hero skill effects, including Layla's umbrella and Jacob's cardiac arrest
• Bloody Tom's slam effect and Miss Whisper's death effects
• Effects of liquid dust particles
• Grave Lock Effects
• Psychological echoes
• Effects on the nesting area of ​​influence
• Effects when placing Underboss skulls on Vampire God pedestals
• Blood tree breakdown effects
• Optimized memory usage when using Jacob's Raven ability
• Black Sun's clothing no longer displays animated blue materials
• General stability improvements
  

Multiplayer

• Players are more likely to encounter enemies with special abilities in multiplayer sessions
• General stability and functionality improvements in multiplayer lobbies

Availability

• EmLeft and right movement keys can now be successfully converted into left and right arrow keys to improve the experience of left movement control
• Players with existing saved games should reset their mouse and keyboard bindings to the default settings in the settings menu before attempting to convert the movement keys to arrow keys
• Screen narration supports additional paths for critical player communication:
• Invitations and friend requests
• Join a multiplayer lobby
• Customers leaving a multiplayer lobby
• The error message 'Invalid username or password'.
• Additionallybethesda.netmenuschermen
• Updated statuses for disabled UI elements when players are done in a multiplayer lobby
• The 'Let games read to me' option at initial launch for Xbox Series consoles is now enabled
• Adjusted the timing of several subtitles to ensure they appear in the correct order
• Narration settings are now preserved between gaming sessions
• Added missing beeps to the Friends List section headings and the Play Game button
• Adjusted text size scaling for Bethesda icons
• Contrast improvements to Ping text, multiplayer progress text headings, and hero names
• The controls are no longer locked while the Text-to-Speech field is open
• Fixed cases where certain UI elements would lose cursor focus
• Added error messages and warning popups for the following situations:
• The controller disconnects while on the home screen
• Deselect clients Done after the host starts the game
• Players cancel friend requests
• Added missing subtitles to archive entries for the Giving You Tomorrow mission briefing
• "Optional details" is no longer a required field when reporting another player list

User environment

• Tutorial sheets now respond better when several are stacked on top of each other
• The settings are restored correctly during active playback when you cancel in the Confirm Changes message
• Enemies no longer lose nameplates and health bar information when canceling fast travel
• Weapon loadouts no longer switch to weapon inventory when new game sessions start in quick succession
• Safehouse keys have been added to the keychain
• The Rook Storm meter now appears more consistently in the game and on the map
• General improvements to menu navigation and feedback

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