New features, a friends list, two new conquest zones and some bug fixes coming for Global Agenda

Global Agenda's first big patch will be arriving tomorrow, and the team notes that the most important part of this update is the fact that it will be introducing several commonly requested new features from the community, as well as a plethora of bug fixes and some other little additions. Social players will be happy to see that a friends list has been added, and for those who aren't quite so social, there is also an ignore list in Patch 1.1 as well. Players will also have the ability to choose what map type they can queue for in the PvP map selection (between Control, Breach, Demolition, Payload and Scramble), and Upgrades can now be repaired using repair kits that can be crafted from blueprints purchased in the Prototyping Center in Dom City.

Finally, this new update also brings two new Conquest zones into play: Tradewind, which has times convenient for Oceanic Players, and Anvil, which has a start time convenient to many European players. While some may see this patch as being more of a "fixer upper" rather than a giant bundle of tasty content, the Hi-Rez Studios team notes that they are "working busily on additional improvements to the game, including lots of new content," and the GA patch notes say that "a larger Patch 1.2 is being worked on for later release that will introduce significant additional content to the game."

So keep your eyes peeled for lots of new things to come for Global Agenda, and you can check out the patch notes below!

Global Agenda Patch 1.1 introduces several commonly requested new features, including a friends list, two new Conquest Zones, the ability to repair upgrades, additional player choice when queueing, and more. The patch also fixes a variety of bugs and annoyances. A larger Patch 1.2 is being worked on for later release that will introduce significant additional content to the game.


Scheduled Deployment

    * Patch 1.1 is currently scheduled to be deployed on Tuesday, March 2, 2010. The Global Agenda servers are scheduled to be down for the patch deployment between 11 AM and 3 PM US Eastern. (16:00 and 20:00 GMT, 8AM and Noon US Pacific).
    * All Conquest/AvA Zones will be closed all day on Tuesday, March 2.  Conquest Zones will re-open on Wednesday, March 3.
    * Watch GAServerStatus on Twitter to follow latest status of servers and patch.
    * Once the patch is deployed on March 2, you must download the patch of the game client from Steam before you can play the game. This update should occur automatically, but if it doesn't and you are sure the patch has been deployed, we recommend closing out of Steam entirely, waiting several minutes, then relaunching Steam in order to ensure you get the latest patch.


General Notes Regarding the Public Test Server

    * Patch 1.1 went live on the Public Test Server on Tuesday, Feb. 23.
    * The Public Test Server should be on and available for login at most times during the day but may be subject to occassional downtime. Follow GATestSvrStatus on Twitter for latest status.
    * All players that own Global Agenda should have a "Global Agenda Public Test Client" available to download through the TOOLS menu on Steam. This requires a full download of the game client. (More...).
    * Players may login to the Public Test Server using their normal account credentials. If your "Live" password has changed in the last week, your old password may still be in effect on the PTS.
    * The test database has been seeded with a copy of the Live environment as of Friday, Feb 19.

New Features

New items and features in this patch include:

    * Friends List: A Friends and Ignore list has been added (More...)
    * Mission Screen: When joining the Mercenary PvP queue, players have checkboxes to select the Map Types to queue for (Control, Breach, Demolition, Payload, Scramble).
    * Mission Screen: When joining a PvE queue, players have the ability to "Only join a balanced team." If this option is chosen, it may take longer to get a match, but you will be ensured of having one player from each class on your team.
    * Upgrades: Upgrades can now be repaired using Repair Kits that can be crafted using blueprints purchased in the Prototyping Center in Dome City.  (More...)
    * Crafting: Additional rare and epic blueprint options have been added.
    * Crafting: There are now specific uncommon blueprints, so it is no longer necessary to craft random.  Existing random blueprints have been converted to match the new scheme. To accommodate this:
    *
          o All existing uncommon blueprints were removed from the game and your credits have been refunded.
          o There are now separate armor and weapon blueprint vendors in the crafting area. Each vendor sells 42 blueprints that craft a specific item (rather than the random chance at a stat as prior).
          o All upgrades and blueprints have been renamed to make them esier to identify. (Example: No longer do you have to wade through hundreds of Alpha Analysers to find one with a ranged damaged bonus. Now you can search on Ranged Analyser and see all of them with that particular stat).
    * Crafting: Item names are now more representative of the enhancements they provide.
    * Loot drops: Plates now drop at 2x the previous rate in PvE missions.
    * Loot drops: Alarm bots no longer drop loot.
    * Conquest: Two new Conquest Zones have been added -- Tradewind has times convenient for Oceanic players, and Anvil has a start time convenient to many European players.  (More...)
    * Conquest: New tabs have been added to the CONQUEST MAP screen for "Combat Log" and "Alliance". These allow you to get a fuller picture of the recent activity and current state of a given Zone.
    * Conquest: Improved support for the Zone Win Condition has been added.
    * Conquest: Equipment brought into an AvA match that is not destroyed by the opposing team is no longer destroyed by the system if your team loses (this would happen a % of the time previously, by design).
    * Conquest: If you lose an AvA match, your dropship is now always destroyed.
    * Conquest: When a strike-force leader withdraws from a hex, a chat message is now sent to notify the entire strike force.
    * Conquest: Multiple maps rotated for each type and level of facility (before there was one map for each facility level). Any given hex with a given facility type will always play the same map.
    * VOIP: Players with multiple speaker/microphone devices on their PC, may now choose which devices to use for in-game voice. Visit the SOUND tab on the SETTINGS menu.
    * VOIP: Options have been added to disable Instance Voice, Team Voice or all Voice. Visit the SOUND tab on the SETTINGS menu.
    * VOIP: A variety of changes intended to improve stability and performance have been implemented.
    * Settings: An option to enable mouse smoothing has been enabled. Visit the GENERAL tab on the SETTINGS menu.
    * Settings: An option has been added under Video Settings for a "borderless" window. This is most useful for fast alt-tabbing while running at your monitor's native resolution.
    * Abuse Reports: Use chat command /report to report players for suspected cheating, griefing or harrassment. Use form "/report <name> <reason>". (More...)
    * Auction House: Several improvements to searching, filtering and sorting.
    * Agency Management: Your Agency's Message of the Day is displayed in chat when you login to the game, or when an Agency member with permissions modifies it.
    * Agency Management: An option exists under SETTINGS | CHAT to be notified in chat each time an Agency member logs logs into or out of the game.
    * Agency Management: Level now shows on the Agency screen (for online characters only).
    * Agency Directory: The Agency Directory now offers the option to filter by Conquest HQ Zone.
    * PVP: No more than 4 players of the same class will be match-made into a mission on the same side.
    * PVP: Overtime is now limited to a maximum of 3 minutes. If the attackers do not capture the objective during this time, the Defenders win.
    * PVP: The game-type (Breach, Control, etc) is now visible on the loading screen for each PvP map.
    * Equip Screen: Improved tooltips for level/skill/seasonal requirements.
    * Human Resources: Dye Vendor #3 has gone off strike and is now back at work.
    * Website: The MYSTATS section of the website has gone through several upgrades and improvements.
    * Miscellaneous: Various map cleanups and improvements.
    * Miscellaneous: Various audio/sound effects improvements.
    * Miscellaneous: Various animation cleanups and improvements.
    * Miscellaneous: Visual elements on combo boxes modified.
    * Miscellaneous: Paging support has been improved/added on several screens throughout the game.
    * Miscellaneous: F3 now launches the Friends list instead of Network Stats. Use "/stat net" in chat or F8 to show network stats.
    * Miscellaneous: The radar is now disabled in Dome City.
    * Miscellaneous: You can now rotate your character in the equip screen and vendor preview screen by left-clicking and dragging the mouse (same as character select screen).
    * Miscellaneous: /dance will now randomly play one of the games' several dance-like emotes.

Bug Fixes

    * Some crash conditions have been fixed.
    * Agency Recruiting screen not updating under some conditions
    * Search and filtering on the Agency Directory improved.
    * Several fixes to Auction House search
    * Several fixes to Strikeforce Inventory management.
    * The Agency field now populates on the PvE Matchmaking box (previously blank).
    * Condition in which mouse was not properly locked during map load when in windowed mode has been fixed.
    * Various spelling failures corrected.
    * Death animations have been added to the Think Tank boss.
    * The proper key binding now shows on the ESC menu for AGENCY.
    * A condition that would cause some clients to lose text chat sporadically has been fixed.
    * Agency tax rate no longer displays in chat with lots of digits after the decimal point.
    * Fixed bug in which sniper projectile was not visible at long distances.
    * Damage messages now show correctly when damaged by an AvA deployable.
    * A fix to HQ relocation logic that allowed HQ's to be misplaced under some conditions when automatically moved by the system upon HQ loss.

Device Changes

    * The Drone Duration and Super Drones skills under the Robotics tree now function as intended.
    * Neutralize Wave: The base recharge time on all Neutralize Wave ranks is now 60 seconds (times had been inconsistent across ranks).
    * Damage on the AvA Mini-nuke has been increased to ensure it fully wipes out AvA Turrets within its range.
    * AvA Turret deploy time increased from 5 to 20.
    * AvA Turret collision improved
    * Armored Beacon I Class 1 Ore Requirement reduced from 25 to 20
    * Production Cost reduced to 350 on all Tech II Buildings, and Missile Complex, making them take less time to manufacture.
    * Research time on Tech II Mine and Tech II Factory Blueprints reduced to 330.
    * Resource requirement for Tech II Foundation blueprint reduced to 3000 Class 1 Ore, 300 Class 2 Ore.
    * Ununpentum requirement for Tech II Mine, Factory and Lab Blueprint reduced to 90.
    * Android Squad: Reduced Class 1 Ore requirement. Reduced production time. Reduced research cost.
    * Venom Bomb II no longer injures teammates (bug fix)