Fixed an issue where a Steam user could be kicked with an Anti-Cheat error when joining a Private Match hosted by another Steam user
Fixed an issue where a PS4 user could be kicked with an Anti-Cheat error when joining a Private Match hosted by an EGS user
Fixed an issue for PS4 & PS5 users without an active PS+ subscription would be stuck in an infinite loading screen after accepting a party invite then canceling the PS+ purchase
Update messaging for PS4 & PS5 users when attempting to join a match while game was still downloading after being in 'Ready To Play'
Fixed an issue where an incorrect platform icon could appear when receiving a party invite via crossplay
Fixed an issue where a Private Match in Hunt Mode could be started with more than 5 players
Addressed an issue causing an additional player slot to sometimes appear in the Mission Planning screen after a Player had left and rejoined the lobby
Fixed an issue where a player could not be selected on the Mission Planning screen in Clash Mode
Fixed an issue where KBM users could intermittently not ADS or Fire weapons after rapid inputs
Fixed an issue where modifier options would not appear after leaving a hosted Private Match then starting a new Private Match
Fixed an issue where decreasing Left Stick Sensitivity settings would slow movement speed
Fixed an issue where the Video Options settings menu could not be scrolled down completely with a controller
Fixed an issue where players and certain map elements could appear black under certain lighting conditions on Overgrowth
Fixed an issue where the light from a lamp on Headquarters (Night) could appear as a big ball of light
Fixed an issue where various SFX could play during Tutorial after volume settings were set to 0
Fixed an issue where menu selection SFX would not play in the Private Match Modifiers menu when using a controller
Fixed an issue where menu selection SFX would not play in the Edit Custom Controls menu
Fireteam
Fixed an issue where NPC Soldiers could float into the air when in a close group
Fixed an issue where NPC Soldiers could appear to move erratically when in a close group
Fixed an issue where NPC Soldiers would rotate and follow the Fireteam member after being stunned by a Flashbang
Fixed an issue where the reload SFX would not play for the XDB-12
Fixed an issue where the Fireteam Class Attributes window would not display in the Customization menu before selecting a class
Fixed an issue where incorrect Fireteam Class Attributes could display in the Customization menu after selecting a class
Fixed an issue where the Reckless specialization was incorrectly causing Fireteam members to deal additional damage on top of the base damage increase
Predator
Fixed an issue where Predator Loadouts with an empty gear slot could be cleared and reset to default after leaving a lobby
Fixed an issue where the Predator's click SFX would not play during Quick Play matches
Fixed an issue where the Predator's roar SFX would not play during the opening cinematic in a Private Match
Fixed an issue where the Predator’s landing SFX would not play after jumping or leaping when a primary or secondary weapon is equipped
Fixed an issue where the Feral Predator's roar SFX would not play and mandibles would not move after performing the Roar emote multiple times
Fixed an issue where the Predator could not walk under a certain location on the Derailed map
Fixed an issue where the Predator could not walk under certain doorways across various maps
Fixed an issue for Xbox Series S|X users where the Early Bird achievement could not unlock
Fixed an issue where the Predator Class Attributes window would not display in the Customization menu
Fixed an issue where the Predator model could briefly stutter after switching shaders in the Customization menu
Fixed an issue where the Alpha Predator's head color would not change after selecting a Shader or Skin pattern and then selecting another option
Fixed an issue where the Elder and Feral Predator classes had access to platform specific Armor Style shaders
Fixed an issue where the Viking Mask would not correctly display the “Scar 5” cosmetic
Predator: Hunting Grounds Dev Stream
Join us Tuesday, October 22nd at 1PM PT on Twitch -OR- YouTube, where we will be having a Predator: Hunting Grounds dev stream!
We want to give a shoutout to our long-standing players. This stream is for you, as we will be bringing in some familiar faces from the early days of Predator: Hunting Grounds streams!
In addition, we'll be bringing you the latest news and updates, and running some giveaways! Hope to see you there!
Patch Notes 3.0.2 (Hotfix)
Patch 3.0.2
Bug Fixes
General
Various Crash Fixes
Fireteam
Fixed an issue where Spectator Mode audio could sound muffled
Predator
Fixed an issue where the Predator could become stuck ADSing after firing the Crossbolt Gun and then ADSing with the Plasma Caster
Fixed an issue that was preventing the Mr. Black Mask from unlocking for players that own the Mr. Black Predator
Fixed an issue that was preventing the Feral Spear from unlocking for players that own the Feral Predator
Fixed an issue where certain head cosmetics for the Predator may behave incorrectly on the Main Menu and Customization Menu
Patch Notes 3.0.0
Notice
PS4 Players The latest patch is coming, but it is still in the approval process. Please keep an eye on our socials to be informed of when the patch will be ready for your system. Apologies for the delay; everyone is working hard to push it live.
Patch 3.0.0
Predator: Hunting Grounds is now available for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S with a new patch featuring a ton of bug fixes and improvements across several areas including UI, movement, AI bots, and more!
HD Engine & Graphics Upgrade
The Predator: Hunting Grounds Ninth Generation Update is available for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC! These players will be seeing improvements to graphics, textures, and lighting, with a new ray tracing feature!
Experience the jungle like never before with enhanced VFX across foliage, caves, and watery environments. Make way through your missions with refined lighting across all maps– both night and day variations. Immerse yourself in the hunt with upgraded movement and physics.
Cross-Platform
Players getting the Ninth Generation Update will be able to play with their friends across Nextgen platforms, without being limited to a single ecosystem. So party up and let the hunt begin!
Feral Predator
Also featured in the Ninth Generation Update, the Feral Predator is here! The Feral Predator is a titan of hunting down the most challenging and brutal prey on any planet it discovers. This Predator has fashioned a unique set of armor and weaponry to become a truly elite hunter.
The Crossbolt Gun fires fast moving, guided Crossbolt Arrows that pierce through targets, causing massive damage.
An expandable Shield that is worn on the left arm. Upon expanding, soaks up any incoming damage to avoid heavy barrages of gunfire or other attacks. If the Shield absorbs too much damage, it can overload your energy.
The Feral Spear is a specially designed Combistick wielded by the Feral Predator. The asymmetrical design has a blunt backside and barbed frontside, built for aggressive two-handed combat.
Patch Notes
Changes and Improvements
General
Added haptic feedback and adaptive triggers for PS5 controllers
Player level will now be displayed in parties
Made improvements and adjustments across player cards in the pre-match lobby
Adjusted and Improved HUD during Clash mode for better readability
Added stick sensitivity and dead zone settings in the Controller Options Menu
Added and improved keybinding icons in the Controller Mapping settings
Added a 'Push To Talk' keybinding to the Controller Mapping settings
Improved Controller Mapping settings by removing inputs that could not be rebound
Added messaging in the Customization Menu when there is not enough Veritanium to purchase an item
Added additional Dioramas to the Main Menu
Adjusted and polished the Field Locker opening animation
Gameplay
Increased health of Ammo Crates and Medical Stations
Made improvements to the collision on various destructible mission objects
Adjusted and improved the timing and interactions for NPC Soldiers activating camp alarms
Fireteam
Adjusted and polished animations that occur while the player is simultaneously walking, ADSing, and toggling crouch
The “Primary Objectives” window will now display the current mission name
Added and improved SFX across various weapon impacts and destroyed objects
Adjusted UI elements to improve clarity for Secondary Objective alerts
Adjusted objective highlights for mission objectives to improve visual clarity
Weapons
General
Decreased maximum ammo capacity across all Pistols and Shotguns
Increased range of camera shake from Frag Grenade explosions
7EN
Increased recoil
SAWZ-50
Increased recoil
2XL
Decreased hip-fire accuracy
Predator
Added and improved roar SFX across various Predator Classes
Added SFX that occurs during energy regeneration
Adjusted and improved the SFX that occur while ADSing with the Plasma Caster
Adjusted and improved the SFX that occur while recharging the Hand Held Plasma Caster
Adjusted and polished animations that occur while switching between running and sprinting
Weapons
General
Made improvements to Predator weapon/ammo pickup colliders to prevent them from being unretrievable
Norse Hammer
Decreased damage
Plasma Caster
Decreased accuracy penalty after losing the biomask
Bug Fixes
General
Fixed an issue where PS4 users were crashing if their console’s memory storage was near full
Fixed an issue where various option menus would not scroll down when navigating with a controller
Fixed an issue where bots could spawn without heads and textures when starting a Private Match
Fixed an issue where Veritanium amounts would not update across various menus after spending currency
Fixed an issue where Veritanium amount could display as “-1”
Fixed an issue where certain Lore Tapes would not play in the Extras Menu
Fixed an issue where party members could not be kicked from the lobby in Private Matches
Fixed an issue where the ESC key could not be used to exit Menu options
Fixed an issue where players would sometimes not join the party after accepting the invite
Fixed an issue where the Party Leader could crash when leaving a match and selecting “Leave With Party”
Fixed an issue where interaction widgets would not display the correct button if the interact button had been remapped
Fixed an issue where restoring defaults in Controller Mapping would not properly restore the default icons
Fixed an issue where invalid keyboard multimedia buttons could be assigned to Custom Controls
Fixed an issue where profile pictures could not display on the Friends List
Fixed an issue where Control Points could not be captured in Clash
Fixed an issue where interaction widgets could remain on-screen after respawning in Clash
Fixed an issue where in a Clash game, the Pause Menu could not be navigated when the ”Become Predator” widget was being displayed
Fixed an issue where when remapping buttons, the default button would stay bound along with the newly mapped button
Fixed an issue where in-game audio could not play after starting a second Private Match
Fixed an issue where icons on the Objective Window would not match the icons in-world
Fixed an issue where Display and Resolution settings could not be changed via keyboard
Fixed an issue where loadout names would not display when changing loadouts in the pre-match lobby
Fixed an issue where applying Controller Mapping Presets would not save
Fixed an issue where the ”Edit Custom Controls” button could disappear after changing Controller Mapping Presets
Fixed an issue where the “Control Point Capture Score” and “Control Point Claim Score” Modifier settings were reversed
Fixed an issue where keybinding icons would not appear when assigned to mouse side buttons in the Custom Controls Menu
Fixed an issue where a player slot could disappear after a player leaves a Quickplay lobby
Fixed an issue where the Veritanium cost would not display in the Customization Menu
Fireteam
Fixed an issue where the Reckless specialization was incorrectly causing Fireteam members to deal additional damage on top of the base damage increase
Fixed an issue where Fireteam's automatic weapons could get stuck firing
Fixed an issue where Fireteam animations during Spectator Mode could appear jittery for the host player
Fixed an issue where the Cameras would not spawn during the “Destroy Spy Cameras” objective on Backwater
Fixed an issue where the flashing lights on Jammers could persist after destroying them during the “Destroy Jammers” objective on Headquarters
Fixed an issue where the Spectator Mode camera could appear off-center
Fixed an issue where Fireteam Bots would not appear on the scoreboard in Hunt
Fixed an issue where Fireteam members' weapons would not appear in a private match
Fixed an issue where Fireteam skulls c ould remain in the air after being claimed by a Predator
Fixed an issue if the player had been revived while on fire, the fire would persist
Adjusted and improved in-game chatter from Fireteam members
Fixed an issue where SFX would not play while interacting with mission objectives
Fixed an issue where Fireteam player icons would not appear on the minimap
Fixed an issue where “Facepaint” customizations would not apply across various Fireteam heads
Fixed an issue where team preference could not be set while in a solo party
Addressed an issue where Fireteam Bots could clip inside of objects
Fixed an issue where hitmarkers would not display when an enemy is damaged by an exploding barrel
Fixed an issue where Fireteam members could not interact with Bear Traps while trapped in a location where they could mud up
Fixed an issue where Fireteam members could continue to sprint after exhausting all stamina
Fixed an exploit where Ammo Bags and Medical Kits could be duplicated
Fixed an issue where matches would not end after the Fireteam escaped the blast radius of the Predator's Self-Destruct Device
Predator
Fixed an issue where the Cloak icon would not be grayed out during a Private Match after disabling “Cloak Mode” in Modifiers
Fixed an issue where the Predator's Leap would not land at the targeted location
Fixed an issue where the Predator’s movement speed was increased while simultaneously Predkouring on a tree andA DSing with the Plasma Caster
Fixed an issue where the “Vision Mode” and “Leap” prompts would display even while their respective Private Match modifiers are disabled
Fixed an issue where the Predators “Claim” and “Eat Boar” prompts would not appear
Fixed an issue where the collision SFX would not play after the Smart Disc hits a surface
Fixed an issue where the Predator’s aiming animation would persist while using the Yautja Bow
Fixed an issue where Predkour branches would sometimes not be highlighted while in Vision Mode
Fixed an issue where the player’s empty weapon slots would display the weapon name of a previously equipped weapon while in Hunt Preparation
Fixed an issue where “Warpaint” and “Scar” customizations would not apply across various Predator masks
Fixed an issue where the Scar Mask would not display certain “Scar” cosmetics
Fixed an issue where the Jungle Hunter ('87) Mask would not correctly display the “Scar 1” cosmetic
Fixed several coloration issues on various Predator skin and armor tints
Weapons/Gear
Fixed an issue where the Combistick icon in the Loadout Screen would not display the correct variant icon
Fixed an issue where the Wrist Launcher's reticle ammo bar would display the current energy bar level instead
Predator: Hunting Grounds Dev Stream
Join us Tuesday, October 1st at 1PM PT on Twitch -OR- Steam, where we will be having a Predator: Hunting Grounds dev stream!
The design team will be joining us to showcase updates, as well as talk about what's in the stars for Predator: Hunting Grounds.
Coming Soon! Predator: Hunting Grounds Nextgen with Bonus Content
Predator: Hunting Grounds with bonus Feral Predator and custom equipment is coming to PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC on Tuesday, October 1st!
But wait, there's more! Two additional Special Edition bundles will also be available, giving you all of the above PLUS bonus content!
Predator: Hunting Grounds - Jungle Edition comes with the following fan-favorite Predators: City Hunter ('97), Samurai, Valkyrie, and Viking, all equipped with custom weaponry.
Predator: Hunting Grounds - Yautja Edition is the ultimate fan pack, featuring Bionic Predator, City Hunter ('97), Cleopatra, Emissary, Exiled, Samurai, Valkyrie, Viking, Wolf, Hunting Party (Captured, Falconer and Mr. Black Predators,) Hunting Party 2 (Amazon and Pirate Predators,) and Hunting Party 3 (Celtic, Chopper, and Scar Predators), all equipped with custom weaponry.
We are also excited to announce we will soon be opening pre-orders for the Predator: Hunting Grounds Physical PS5 Edition including Feral Predator, which launches November 12th! Now fans can look forward to adding Predator: Hunting Grounds to their physical collection.
Are you prepared for the hunt?
Patch Notes 2.50
To Our Predator: Hunting Grounds Community:
Thank you. Thank you for loving this game as much as we do. This community is enthusiastic, vocal, and full of passion. You’ve mastered this game so much that even some of the Devs are wary of matchmaking against you all. This is what every dev team hopes for. We love seeing your tournaments, fashion shows, cosplay, and gameplay! Because of this, IllFonic knew we needed to get our Predator community more. When we make a game, we want it to live and evolve. We want to continue to challenge players.
Now that IllFonic is publishing games, we had to get Predator: Hunting Grounds back. We knew we had more game left to make. We needed to get back to the Chopper! With advancing tech and what we have learned in recent years, there was so much more to be done for Predator: Hunting Grounds. So, I’m thrilled to announce the team has been working hard to bring you new content this year. Here is just a quick preview of what you will start to see from the team:
We are releasing a considerably sized patch this April. The focus is on player movement, Fireteam weapon rework and balance, Predator weapon balance, and UX/playability improvements.
In the fall of 2024, not only are we coming to Nextgen - PS5, but we plan to release Predator to Xbox! This release is focused on all things next-gen running on Unreal 4.27, Vivox, and Wwise, with a Standard Edition and a Digital Deluxe Edition offered.
In the Winter of 2024, Fans will get not one but two new Predators.
In the Spring of 2025, we are rolling out more Predators.
We really are excited to rejoin our community in the jungle. Get ready… we can already hear the bongos.
Cheers, and happy Gaming.
Charles Brungardt, CEO, IllFonic Inc.
Patch Notes 2.50
General
Fixed an issue where PS4 users were crashing if their console’s memory storage was near full
Fixed an issue where Dutch’s Tapes would appear out of order when viewed in the Collectibles Menu
Fixed an issue where in Spectator mode, moving the camera could cause the camera to get stuck
Fixed an issue where the Smart Disc flight path could sometimes appear erratic to Fireteam members
Fixed an issue where NPC soldiers idle animations could appear jittery
Fixed an issue where NPC soldiers could appear on the ground in the standing pose after being killed
Fixed an issue where the ‘CAMP ALARM TRIGGERED’ and ‘INSIDE SEARCH AREA’ text would overlap on the HUD
Fixed an issue where the Field Locker would be misaligned on the table
Fixed an issue where in Field Lockers, the ‘Sunburst’ skins on the Combat, Tactical, and Scimitar knives would appear misaligned and smaller than intended
Fixed an issue where re-assigning the “Toggle Night Vision Goggles” keybinding would not work on controllers
Fixed an issue where the Team Preference logo would sometimes disappear when navigating through menus
Predator
Fixed an issue where kills done with the Smart Disc would not count on the AAR
Fixed an issue where parrying with the Brute Specialization equipped would not apply the bonus damage buff
Fixed an issue where the Battle Axe would sometimes deal additional damage when using the heavy attack
Fixed an issue where the ‘Savage Specialization’ was not restoring health when claiming dead Fireteam members or certain NPCs
Fixed an issue in Private Matches where the Predator Gear Amount modifier was not working properly
Fixed an issue in Private Matches where the Predator Starting Ammo modifier was not working properly
Fixed an issue where equipping the Pirate mask would continue to allow players to access the Warpaint and Scar menus
Fixed an issue where having certain masks equipped could cause the Predator’s mask to respawn even after being destroyed
Fixed an issue where sometimes the Predator’s aiming reticle would disappear after throwing and catching the Smart Disc
Fixed an issue where the Predator’s Smart Disc camera mode would be canceled if an existing smart disc is destroyed at the same time
Fixed an issue where Predators could get stuck in ADS mode if the player is holding down the ADS button right before climbing a tree
Fixed an issue where a Predator’s Vision Mode would stay active while piloting a Smart Disc
Fixed an issue where if a Cloaked Predator used a Smart Disc, the Predator’s Cloaking VFX would not display properly
Fixed an issue where opening the chat while the weapon wheel is open could cause the weapon wheel to become stuck on the screen
Fireteam
Fixed an issue where the Fanatic specialization was incorrectly causing Fireteam members to deal additional damage on top of the base damage increase
Fixed an issue where med-kits would appear as invisible or unusable in certain locations
Fixed an issue where Fireteam members could pick up ammo even when maxed out on ammo and gear
Fixed an issue where the gear count would not appear correctly in the Customization menu when either the ‘Large Pouch’ or ‘Gear Head’ perk are equipped
Fixed an issue where Reinforcements would not work properly on any Fireteam member that was in the process of being Long Claimed when reinforced
Fixed an issue where users were able to equip gear in the Secondary Weapon slot
Added a cooldown to “Alert Team” ping for when reinforcement missions are available
Fixed an issue where after parrying an attack, the followup melee attacks would apply damage twice
Fixed an issue where Fireteam camera would not shake after healing
Fixed an issue where semi-automatic weapons/fire mode could cause the weapons to misfire when performing certain actions
Fixed an issue where spinning up the S-R3D would not activate the PS4 controller rumble
Adjustments and Balance Changes For a more comprehensive and detailed list of adjustments and balance changes, please refer to the section below
General
Increased interaction time and health on Camp Alarms
Player profiles may now be viewed on Steam
Users may now use Right Mouse Button to back out of menus
Made adjustments to the damage and blast radius of explosives barrels depending on source
Added access to the Options Menu to pre-game lobbies and private match lobbies
Added a confirmation check before entering the tutorial
HUD Modifiers and removing Bots from matches no longer reduce XP in custom matches
Increased camp alarm health
Increased time to disarm camp alarm
NPC soldiers will now activate camp alarms more consistently
Fireteam’s Infiltration location now stays on screen after the voting ends
Added background blur to the control rebinding menu
‘Disabled alarm’ XP is now also awarded when destroying an alarm
Made improvements and adjustments to the Fireteam and Predator camera systems
Player Movement
Various movement adjustments
Predator Movement tuning and polish pass
Adjusted weight, acceleration, and jump velocity to give the Predator more weight
Fireteam Movement tuning and polish pass
Increased Fireteam camera shake when landing from a jump, and for nearby Predator footsteps
Slightly decreased Fireteam movement speed when wounded
Slightly decreased Fireteam movement speed while using Syrette
Reduced Fireteam jump stamina usage
Reduced Fireteam exhaustion duration
Adjusted Fireteam sliding to allow for longer and cooler slides
Predator
Sped up Second Wind healing process for Predator
Added a low health alert to Predator’s HUD
Increased direct hit damage for Plasma Caster projectile
Slightly increased minimum amount of damage dealt by a charged Plasma Caster projectile
Decreased direct and AOE damage of Handheld Plasma Caster projectiles
Decreased Predator interaction delay on trophy claim and boar kills
Added highlights and decreased interaction time for Predkour entries
Increased intensity of flashing on health bar when at low health
Decreased AOE on Plasma Caster to better match VFX
Gear is now throwable without aiming
Adjusted the combo timings on several Predator Melee weapons to tighten feel and pacing
Made improvements to Predkour tree UI feedback
Made adjustments to increase visibility of the low health indicators and damage taken indicators for Predator players
Made adjustments to the attack timings for all Predator Melee Weapons
Fireteam
Added distance highlights for ammo, health, and weapon lockers
Several improvements and fixes made to the Fireteam mission objective window
Several changes made to individual Fireteam weapons listed further below
Added camera shake and vignetting after healing as Fireteam
Lowered ammo reserves and ammo pickups for several Fireteam weapons
Various adjustments made to recoil on all Fireteam weapons
Adjusted the Fireteam interact widget to better highlight inputs
UAV Scanner no longer shows Veritanium or items you’ve already picked up
Updated and clarified UI for when Reinforcement Missions are available
Can now cancel the weapon equip/unequip animation for a quicker weapon swap
Collectibles will now be instant pickups, except for the large stores of Veritanium
Dante's Field Medic Specialization has been replaced with the Comms Specialization
Adjustments and Balance Changes Notes Welcome back to the Hunting Grounds! My name is Jordan Mathewson, I'm the Design Director here at IllFonic. Today, I’m extremely excited to be writing these patch notes, as it’s one of my favorite projects and the first game I was a part of from the very beginning. Recently, part of our community and development teams here at IllFonic have been out gathering issues and tackling them in preparation for this return. When I got wind we were able to finally work on a patch for Predator: Hunting Grounds, I spent some time evaluating things we could additionally improve on to make this a really substantial update.
Returning to previous work is always interesting, especially when it's a project earlier in your career. Now that I've worked on several other titles here at IllFonic, I've gained more perspective from more years of development experience. As I dove back in and reviewed the mechanics, features, and balance of Predator: Hunting Grounds, I found areas where we could improve gameplay in ways we didn’t expect.
Growing up as a gamer, I was always interested in becoming a developer, though I really wished I was exposed to someone explaining the game development process more, so I want to take this time to walk through our approach to this patch. There are always so many decisions to be made when approaching situations like this, so we want to give you a glimpse into what we're thinking when it comes to the development process.
Player Movement Player movement is something that stood out to me instantly as needing some attention. For these changes, we wanted there to be more finesse in the player movement on both sides of the playing field. There are so many things that contribute to this feature, including the fact that we have two completely different movement styles between Fireteam and Predator.
Predator Movement - I noticed right away that something the Predator movement needed was more “weight”. These creatures are supposed to be massive and powerful, yet they felt floaty when leaping through the air. That floatiness led to the Predator being much more vulnerable while in the air than they should be. We tuned the Predator’s gravity, movement acceleration, and jump velocity to achieve the Predator’s updated movement feel. There were no direct changes made to the Leap, however all the changes mentioned above have both directly and indirectly affected the Leap. Predator players should now feel they can reliably get where they want to go faster and more consistently, which should also give them a more viable escape tool during heavy combat and Second Wind.
Fireteam Movement Updates - While Fireteam control and style of movement differs from Predators, they still lacked weight to fully ground them throughout gameplay. There was also a plethora of other things I felt would benefit from a stamina rebalance pass.
Fireteam stamina rebalance pass - To help push Fireteam members to be more careful of their stamina usage, I evaluated and re-tuned several stamina variables. Keep in mind, the “stamina” stat will not look different in the customization menu. All values were kept within the range of the existing class structure.
Reduced Stamina regeneration speed
Increased stamina totals, focused benefit to scout and recon classes
Reduced Fireteam jump stamina cost
Reduced Fireteam exhaustion duration
Added very slight movement debuff to Fireteam when wounded - There was originally a slight movement speed reduction below a certain health threshold, but I felt it was barely noticeable for being “wounded”. This value has been tuned, so Fireteam members will be a bit slower when wounded.
Adjustments and tweaks to Fireteam sliding - We wanted to make slides feel better, so we increased the amount of distance and time Fireteam members can slide for.
Updated intensity of Fireteam landing and Predator footstep camera shakes for Fireteam - We wanted you, the player, to feel the weight of a fully geared up soldier. To that point, we also wanted you to feel the weight of nearby Predators stomping around. To give you that feel, we increased the intensity of these camera shakes to help better immerse the player.
Updating fall time to on First Person arms animation logic to tighten falling feel for Fireteam - We think visual feedback is really important to connecting you, the player, to your character. In my movement investigations, I noticed a sluggish feeling in first-person when Fireteam members walked off of ledges. The game will now react faster to the feedback of jumping, falling, and landing across different heights.
Slowed Fireteam member a smidge when using heal syrette - We slightly increased the movement penalty while injecting yourself with a health syringe. The syringe gives a massive health increase in such a short amount of time. Such a benefit should have more of a cost. Fireteam players should have to take the movement penalty into consideration while being chased.
Fireteam Weapon Rework and Balance This is something I've been eyeing for a while! The engineering team and I teamed up to revisit some of the FPS features that felt like they needed the most attention. Then, based on playtesting, community feedback, and personal observations, I updated some balance to some of these Fireteam weapons.
Fireteam Weapon Recoil Rework - Recoil should now feel like it more realistically matches a weapon's power. The way recoil was being calculated between shots caused recoil to look more jarring on heavy weapons. We reworked this calculation to help create a much more realistic feeling kick to all guns.
Full Weapon recoil pass - With the recoil system rework in place, this allowed me to do a full rebalance of recoil across all the standard fireteam weapons. We mostly increased recoil on powerful weapons and made some more unique recoil patterns to better portray the “kick” differences between weapons you are wielding. I am loving the way these weapons are feeling now and hope you all agree!
Minigun Buff - The minigun seemed like it didn't quite have the oomph it needed. I made some adjustments to make this a much more viable option for Fireteam members that want to whip out Ole Painless and dish out the hurt. Tightened the Minigun’s accuracy, but also increased recoil. I also increased the magazine and ammo counts so Fireteam members can fire the minigun for a sustained period of time to provide threatening suppressing fire.
Added more ammo to minigun mag, increased starting ammo reserve
Increased speed of walking with minigun
Lowered close range damage on ARs and LMGs - ARs and LMGs were doing a bit too much damage at close range. This was taking away from where SMGs and Shotguns were supposed to shine.
Increased close range damage on SMGs - To go in tandem with the AR/LMG change, we are buffing the close range damage of SMGs to give them more power and viability in specifically close quarters combat. We felt shotguns were fine in the state they were in.
Ammo reserve and ammo pickup amount pass across all guns - I want the Fireteam to be more conscious of how they manage their resources, and encourage teamwork between Fireteam members. I felt there was a bit too much firepower on the field with how many resupply opportunities there are between ammo crates, Fireteam ammo bags, enemy ammo drops. To tone down this firepower, we reduced the starting ammo for the standard Fireteam weapons. Also, some weapons were receiving more ammo from pickups than others. We adjusted those ammo pickup numbers to balance overall firepower and resource management.
Other Updates
Toned down muzzle flash for Hammerhead - There was an intense light blowing out the iron sight of the Hammerhead. I reduced the light intensity which helps improve this visual.
Slowed use of RP103, 7EN, and SAWZ - Heavy weapons are powerful and should feel powerful, but they should also feel like they have weight as a trade-off for that power. To help balance and reinforce the feel of these heavy weapons, I slowed down several stats and animation speeds to offset their powerful nature.
Lowered movement speed on all scoped weapons
slowed scoping in and out speed of the 10x scope
slowed reload on 7en and RP103
Reduced overall damage of ZR55 slightly - While the ZR55 still received a close range damage buff, I did slightly decrease the ZR55’s overall Damage, as this SMG was outperforming most other weapons with its combination of high damage and high rate of fire.
Predator Weapon Balance Based on personal observations, as well as feedback from the community and the IllFonic team, I made some updates to some Predator Weaponry balance. The Predator remains powerful, but there were some features that needed some specific adjustments to improve the experience.
Plasma Caster Radius Nerf - The radius on the plasma caster was much too wide, so the radius has been reduced. This will make it much more difficult to spam around corners and will require Predator players to be more precise with their aim.
Tuned plasma caster AOE to better fit the represented VFX (tightened)
Slightly increased lower end damage of a charged plasma caster projectile
Slightly increased direct hit damage for plasma caster projectile
Handheld Plasma Caster Nerf - After looking at feedback and stats, we saw that the HHPC was a bit too powerful. We’re lowering the damage and reducing the magazine size of the HHPC, but to keep it feeling viable, we’re increasing the rate of fire.
Lowered direct and AOE damage of handheld plasma caster projectiles
Reduced mag of HHPC to 6, slightly increased rate of fire
Cleaned up and adjusted Predator melee weapon attack timings - After auditing through many melee attack animations, I noticed a few spots where there were some incorrect "combo threshold timings". This is a variable that tells the game when it can allow you to perform the next attack in the melee combo. These are small tweaks, but will improve the timing and feeling of melee attacks and combos across the board.
Fine tuning and re-adjusting placement of parry end notification to make more sense across all pred melee attacks - I found there were some misplacements in parry timing that were making parries far easier than they should be. I adjusted the timings to make sure parries are only possible right before the Predator’s melee weapon is about to strike a Fireteam member. Fireteam will have to better anticipate attacks instead of mashing to get a successful parry. I also found a spot where some parry notifiers were happening incorrectly on multistrike melee animations. This is a delicate balance, so we are going to keep a close eye on parries overall!
UX/Playability Improvements We always want to focus on the user experience and overall playability while we play our games. As I've been playing P:HG, certain small things started to jump out to me that needed some attention. While not all of these changes are huge, we understand these small things can add up to a frustrating game experience. The changes listed here should help make the overall gameplay experience clearer. Enjoy!
Fireteam
Adjusted interact widget for Fireteam to better highlight input - UI widgets that players see on in-world interactions had a very small button image that was rather tough to see when on screen, especially in chaos. Increasing the size and visual of this button image has helped make it much more clear that a button needs to be held down for an interaction to occur.
Made non-selected gear items grayed out - In your in-match gear inventory, I felt it was very difficult to quickly see which gear item you currently have selected for use. To address this, we grayed out the gear that you do not have selected so that your selected item stands out more clearly.
Added distance highlights for ammo, health, and weapon lockers - I saw that players couldn't tell if something was interactable or not when it was far away. We've updated interactable objects so Fireteam members can clearly identify what is interactable from farther away.
Cleaned up and fixed some issues with the Fireteam mission widget - There were several issues with the Fireteam objective window in the top right of the screen. After digging into it, I fixed up some random bugs and increased the visibility of the current objectives icon. This should help inform what objective icon you are looking for while in a match.
Predator
Added some urgency to the second wind widget - We felt beginner Predators had a hard time noticing when their health was dropping. We wanted this visual feedback to be more clear.
Increased visual flashing and intensity of visual flashing of iconography and text on the HUD to help players better understand they are in second wind.
Tightening delay on Predator Interactions to make holds like trophy claim and boars snappier. To improve on some sluggish interactions on pivotal gameplay, we decreased the amount of time Predator players have to hold the interaction key for long claiming and consuming boar interactions to begin progressing. Every second counts. These decisions and interactions can change the course of a hunt, and this tune should give a more responsive feel.
Improvements to Predkour entry - We've observed that entering into Predkour trees from the ground can sometimes happen in situations you are not trying to do so. To help alleviate this, I made some adjustments to improve the overall experience of Predkour by adding a highlight to the entry interaction, which allowed me to tighten the interaction distance itself. Players now need to be closer to enter, and will have better UI feedback to explain this.
Increased size of visual flare for health on Predator - To better help Predator players keep track of their health with peripheral vision rather than needing to take your eyes off the action in a firefight, I increased the size of the visual flare element that extends vertically when taking damage. This is a vertical UI image that aligns with the current health amount, and will now extend high enough to catch players attention when damage is being taken, especially in quick succession.
Increased intensity of health bar flashing on low health for Predator - To help players better understand they are at a low health, we added a more noticeable flashing animation to the Predator’s health bar. This increased flashing intensity combined with the other low health visual indicators should clearly communicate to the Predator player the danger that they're in.
Sped up the Second Wind healing process for Predator - This is a buff to the second wind heal, making it happen faster so the Predator can get back into the hunt.
General
Full Fireteam and Predator Camera update and polish pass - I caught and managed to track down several dynamic FOV adjustments that were happening with movement states which weren't feeling quite right. I found where these were triggered and removed them, which got the cameras feeling much more responsive to input. As you play with either side, the camera experience should feel much more connected to your controls and movement of your player.
Updated damage and radius of explosive barrels to be less/varied depending on source - I noticed that explosive barrels were a rather punishing aspect of the game that should be toned back. In order to get this in a good spot, I lowered the overall damage and radius, and then tuned some lower numbers for the gas can, since that explosion should be much less impactful than a propane tank.
Tweaked explosive damage type to add a bit more impulse at high damage - I observed that some explosions weren't quite giving that full 80’s movie oomph when killing bad guys. So, I increased the impulse velocity done to NPCs killed by explosive damage sources. This should work with any explosion in the game, which gets more intense the closer to the epicenter
We are beyond excited to be back in the Hunting Grounds! I hope that everyone is excited as us that this is happening, and we here at IllFonic appreciate the passion and dedication this community has shown throughout the life of this game. We understand that this patch will have a large, refreshing impact on gameplay and balance, so we'll be closely observing. As we gather more feedback and witness the results of the update, we will continue making the changes necessary to make everything really sing. Good luck out there Fireteam :)
Patch Notes 2.49
Patch Notes 2.49
Fixes
Fixed an issue with the Scar Predator not having the correct head.
Fixed an issue with the specializations for Scar/Celtic/Chopper not being set correctly
Fixed an issue with Scar skin tints not appearing correctly.
Patch Notes 2.47
Patch Notes 2.47
Hunting Party Pack 3
Celtic One of three Young Blood Yautja brothers sent to hunt Xenomorphs on Earth as part of an initiation ritual. The largest and oldest of the brothers, Celtic was looked upon as the leader, but he unfortunately met an untimely end when his overconfidence got the better of him, and he never became Blooded.
Chopper One of three Young Blood Yautja brothers sent to hunt Xenomorphs on Earth as part of an initiation ritual. The middle of the three, Chopper was eager for the hunt yet easily distracted by human prey, which ultimately led to him being ambushed and killed by a Xenomorph.
Scar One of three Young Blood Yautja brothers sent to hunt Xenomorphs on Earth as part of an initiation ritual. Scar was the youngest, but showed the most restraint when it came to strategy and patience. He was able to kill a Xenomorph, thus being the only one to become Blooded, and with human assistance he even went on to destroy a Xenomorph Queen. During the battle he was mortally wounded, but before expiring he was impregnated by a Facehugger, making way for a new hybrid breed dubbed "Predalien."
Paid DLC
New Playable Predator - Celtic
New Playable Predator - Chopper
New Playable Predator - Scar
Predator: Hunting Grounds - Hunting Party DLC Bundle 3
Strike fear in your prey with a lineup of premium Predator classes, giving you more ways to customize your appearance and playstyle to become the most elite hunter in the jungle.
This DLC bundle includes the new Scar Predator, Chopper Predator, and Celtic Predator premium classes.*
*Cosmetic masks shown on Scar Predator, Chopper Predator, and Celtic Predator may also be purchased in-game with earned currency.