Echo VR — New Player Experience Patch

Highlights

Patch 25.0 brings new features and bug fixes to Echo VR.

Summary

• VS AI
• New Player Experience (NPE)
• Optimizations in preparation for Echo Arena on Quest
• Bug fixes

**Update 10/10/2019: As of this afternoon the NPE Patch is now live. Thanks for your patience and understanding Echo Units!

VS AI

Echo Arena’s new VS AI modes can be accessed from the Matchmaking Podium. Queue up to play with others in a scaling difficulty Co-Op mode, or test your skills solo and with friends against either Easy, Medium, or Hard AI.

Here’s a breakdown of the difficulties (with more special difficulties included in Co-op):

• Easy — Great for new players and practicing your basic skills
• Medium — AI become more of a challenge and test your movement capabilities
• Hard — No holding back. These AI are out to win and you’ll be surprised at their accuracy

All VS AI matches function just like a normal match where players can earn XP and level up, although rewards have been slightly reduced.

New Player Experience (NPE)

Our New Player Experience (NPE) introduces a series of tutorials to help newer players learn about the Echo VR Lobby, such as where to queue up for a match or how to use the Comfort & Safety Tools, along with tutorials designed to teach the basics of Echo Arena. NPE also includes a new test Echo Arena match players must complete before entering a public PvP match.

Players who aren’t required to play the NPE tutorial can access it at any time, by selecting the Simulations button from the Matchmaking Terminals, to show your friends during demos at home or if you run into someone in the Lobby looking for a refresher after being away for a while!

Optimizations for Echo Arena on Quest

Our team has been hard at work bringing Echo Arena to Quest, and we were excited to share our Alpha demo with our community and attendees at OC6! During our efforts to optimize Echo VR for Quest, we have included many optimizations which improve Rift performance as well in this patch.

Aside from honing your skills in the Arena, Echo Units will be able to enjoy the Echo VR Lobby, and the new VS AI and NPE features, at launch on Quest. We know how much fun it is chatting near the Matchmaking Terminals or shooting darts in zero-g with your friends, which is also why we’re committed to cross-play so that you can team up or socialize with your friends on Rift or Quest. Like Echo VR on Rift, Echo Arena on Quest will be free.

Known Issues

• Some players may be unable to enter the Skirmish Zone/blocked by an invisible barrier.

Bug Fixes

Echo VR (General)

• Fixed an issue where the rewards screen on the Arm Computer at the end of a match would fail to appear after accepting a party invite during a match
• Fixed an issue where the message “Party Changed” Arm Computer message would become stuck after accepting a party invite under certain circumstances
• Fixed an issue where the mute icon was missing from player’s nameplates in the Arm Computer when muted

Tutorials

• Fixed an issue where the fade-out and fade-in for Core Movement Tutorials was missing
• Fixed an issue where the holo controllers in the Maneuvering Thrusters tutorial would sometimes not appear
• Fixed an issue where players were able to escape the Primary Boosters tutorial level
• Fixed an issue where the player’s maneuvering speed was slower in the Core Movement Tutorials than in the main game

Echo VR Lobby

• Fixed an issue where the message “Party too big” would persist across multiple screens of the matchmaking terminals with a party of 6 or larger
• Fixed an issue where the option to cancel a matchmaking search was briefly available while actively joining a match

Echo Arena

• Fixed an issue where the wrong color FX would play when the disc went through the 3-Point Bubble
• Fixed a rare issue where the Catapult Launchers would be functional before the match countdown concluded

Echo Combat

• Fixed an issue where HUD weapon icons would remain visible after disabling the Heads-Up Display setting
• Fixed an issue with the Repair Matrix SFX was off-set from the duration of the ability