City of Heroes released a beta patch containing bug fixes, 64-bit Mac client updates, Powers, and more.
See below for a selection of the patch notes.
64-Bit Client
Mac OS X 10.15, codename Catalina, removes support for 32-bit applications. We have been hard at work for the last couple of months upgrading the client and all server components to 64-bit, while Manga has been working on a new version of Island Rum that uses the 64-bit version of Wine to run the game in Mac and Linux. This patch?, fingers crossed, is the culmination of those efforts.
When launching the game you will have the option for 32-bit of 64-bit clients in Tequila.
32-bit is (and will remain) compatible all the way back to Windows XP.
64-bit is highly recommended, and will be required for Mac users once OS X 10.15 is released.
DirectInput, the library used to handle mouse, keyboard and joystick input, did not work correctly under 64-bit Catalina; it has been replaced with standard Windows messages. In general you should not notice any difference, but make sure all your binds work, and if you have a strange gaming mouse with too many buttons, make sure they all work.
If you have a Mac, even if you're not currently running Catalina, please contact Manga if you want to help test the Island Rum Beta. We have been conducting tests with a small pool of Mac users, and all the obvious issues have been fixed, but we do not want to push the Island Rum update for everybody until we know it won't break anything.
Linux users can still run the 32-bit client under Wine so they're less of a concern, but if you want to test the 64-bit client, be aware that it is dynamically linked and you will need to install the Visual Studio 64-bit runtime. The 32-bit version is statically linked to maximize compatibility.
Because the new client requires some libraries that are no longer compatible with the existing client, they are housed in two new folders: hc-bin32 and hc-bin64, while the data files are in hc-beta. I get that the folder spam is getting a bit annoying, but we honestly don't have a better solution right now. We're working on it.?
Bug Fixes
Characters that crash on the first login after creation and become corrupted will now be cleared out by the dbserver instead of staying in the character list.
Fixed crash when clicking Accept on the SG Settings interface when no fields where editable.
Make it somewhat less likely for defeated enemies to be twisted into pretzels:
Overhaul ragdoll parameters. The spring and dampen settings must have been different in older versions of PhysX, because the ones in NwRagdoll did almost nothing; which is why everything was so limp.
Fixed joints (for all bones that don't have a spherical or hinge joint with special parameters) are apparently not working correctly, so replace them with a hinge joint that has a very small range of motion.??
Powers - Misc Changes & Bug Fixes
Gravity Control > Propel: Adjusted physics parameters on objects to make them feel solid and not bounce around like rubber toys.
Night Widow & Fortunata Vengeance: Now triggers on league members. The buff will still only apply to teammates.
Burn: should no longer ignore accuracy enhancements.
Beta Decay: FX now anchors on the player and not the world.
Pool > Leaping > Spring Attack: now does Containment damage when used by Controllers.
Pool > Sorcery > Enflame: Should now do damage for Sentinels
Kheldians > Inherent: Should now see Sentinels the same way they see Blasters? and Scrappers, for the purpose of their inherent powers.
Controller > Ice Control > Flash Freeze: should be properly flagged as a Targeted AoE, not a Point Blank AoE.
Stalker > Savage Melee > Shred: This power erroneously said it consumed Blood Frenzy stacks. The text has been corrected. This power generates one Blood Frenzy stacks instead. All other AT versions of the power had the correct text for Shred.
Dominator > Feral Charge: Fixed a bug where sometimes it would do no damage if executed from maximum distance.
Dominator > Savage Assault > Unkindness: This power erroneously said it consumed Blood Frenzy stacks. The text has been corrected. This power generates one Blood Frenzy stack, and it's DoT becomes stronger the more Blood Frenzy the caster has. This bonus to Unkindness makes up for the set's lack of Savage Leap and Hemorrage.
Sentinel > Ice Blast > Chilling_Ray: Should now accept Slow enhancements.
Sentinel > Regeneration > Dismiss Pain: Increased amount of MaxHP granted to 24% from 6%, should had not been that low to begin with.
Beam Rifle > Disintegration: Should [hopefully] never linger after the target dies.
Earth Control > Animate Stone: should no longer stop to reconsider it's life choices for about 6 seconds after using Hurl.
Mu Mastery Epic Pool: Zap now uses Melee Damage Modifiers
All versions of Beam Rifle's Pene?trating Ray now has ?a 55% chance of spreading disintegration.
All versions of Beam Rifle's Lancer Shot now has a 100% chance of spreading disintegration.
Fixed a bug in the no-redraw version of fast-Archery's? Snipe.
Psionic Lance's quick FX was completely broken and out of sync. FX has been resync but this required a slightly slower animation (1.33 secon?ds.)?????
For full patch notes, check out the post here.
