4/23/2013 Patch 2.1

[MS Ryz0n]

We’re moving Patch 2.1 to go live on the main game build here momentarily. As the content propagates around the globe, the game should automatically update if you were on the main build, however you may need to restart Steam. If you were in the performance beta, that build should be disappearing shortly and you’ll get moved back to the main build with the patch on it, however it is recommended to manually opt out of the beta.

You can discuss this announcement here

Over the last week we've also been continuing to work on some additional updates and those will be available for users in another ‘beta’ branch here shortly. Additional notes on that will be posted later.

So, let’s talk about 2.1. If you've been playing on the performance beta you've seen most of these changes already, but to reiterate the list:

Path Notes: 2.1

• Performance Improvements
  
  • Frame rate & performance improvements that increase frame rates up to 50% on low end machines and up to 500% on the high end systems previously experiencing frame rate issues.
• Visual fixes:
  
  • Windows DPI scaling no longer zooms the in-game perspective
    
  • Default scroll speed increased
• Multiplayer fixes including:
  
  • Quitting a multiplayer game triggers a resignation instead appearing as a ‘drop’
    
  • Private lobbies stay private
    
  • Quick match no longer crashes
    
  • Long Steam usernames no longer cause crash
    
  • Hotkeys for multiplayer are correctly saved
    
  • Lobby now enforces that you only play multiplayer with the same build version
    
  • Visual indications of players in your lobby and in game who have low frame rate
    
  • Better networking verification prior to entering game (prevents getting stuck on the voting screen)
    
  • Performance warning if you have high ping to one other player who isn't host or if your data is being relayed
    
  • Multiplayer quick match speed defaults to normal
    
  • Multiplayer Lobby doesn't lock to a region for displaying games and allows for “far” region list inclusion. (Likely will not show games where players have exceedingly high pings to hosts that would result in multi-second delays)
• Achievements fix: Single player unlocks achievements properly

A couple of quick additional notes / known issues on this build:

• Quickmatch map size selection does not function (but will properly do so in upcoming builds)
  
• VSync is unlocked and can show very high framerates (especially on high performance systems). Locked vsync options will be coming in upcoming builds.

Lobby Joining & Handshakes

The lobby browser now shows a handshaking process to establish a more stable connection when you join a game. If you’re having issues with the handshakes:

• Make sure your game is set up in Steam correctly
  
  • Ensure you have fully updated the game through Steam.
    
  • Ensure you don’t have any mods or program changes that may be preventing you from connecting to players.
    
  • Verify you are using a legitimate version of the game and are not blacklisted

• When you host a game can other people connect? If no:
  
  • Your network must be configured to allow Steam access to the following ports:
    https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=8571-GLVN-8711
    
    
  • For help setting up port forwarding on your router:
    http://portforward.com/english/routers/port_forwarding/
  
  
• Can you connect to other games? Are you able to chat with other players in the lobby? If no:
  
  • Follow the troubleshooting guidelines above for question 1.
    
  • Open a command prompt and type the following:
    
    ping -f -l 1492 www.valve.com
    
    If you see “Packet needs to be fragmented but DF set”, ensure that your computer and router are configured to allow an MTU of at least 1492 bytes. http://www.dslreports.com/faq/tweaks/4._MTU

• Are you able to handshake with some players, but not all? If yes:
  
  • If handshaking does not complete within 45 seconds, cancel out of the lobby and attempt to reconnect.
    
  • If you are still unable to handshake with all players, they might be experiencing a problem and need to follow step 1 and 2.
  
  
• Are you able to join a lobby, but are unable to handshake with any players?
  
  • Follow the above steps
    
  • Ensure you don’t have any mods that might affect multiplayer
    
  • Verify the cache of your game
    
  • If the issue is still unresolved, please let us know in the discussion thread attached to this announcement.

What can you expecting in the upcoming beta build? We’ll post notes on that here in the next day or two, or you can explore when we put up the beta publicly. Happy gaming!