Everything Treyarch are working on after Day Four of the Blackout beta – Armor damage indicator, team-kill looting, and more

Albert Petrosyan

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 developers have released a recap for Day Four of the Blackout beta, including an updated list on everything they are currently working on.

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The list features a variety of in-game mechanics that Treyarch are looking to improve, including team-kill looting, audio occlusion, distinguishing vehicle vs player hits, armor damage indicator, camera controls while downed, scoreboard/teammate kill counters, draws, and kill-cams.

Developers have decided to look closely at fine-tuning and adjusting these aspects of Blackout since they were among the most commonly mentioned in feedback received from players. 

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  • Teamkill Looting: One of the most upvoted requests concerns preventing teamkillers from looting the bodies of teammates they’ve killed. In addition to reporting bad behavior through the “Report Player” function in the Social menu (and continuing to ban players for intentional teamkilling), we agree with this approach and are adding this, or something similar, to our “To Do” list. We have a zero-tolerance policy for intentional teamkillers. Be sure to report them so we can bring the banhammer down.
  • Audio Occlusion (AKA: Spatial Audio): We discovered and are fixing a critical bug where a player’s environment does not properly impact in-game sounds. This is why, for example, someone directly above or below the player can sound so much louder than expected. When the game is released, footsteps will be properly impacted by walls, floors, ceilings, and other objects in the world.
  • Distinguishing Vehicle vs. Player Hits: We’ve seen requests to make it easier to determine if a player’s shots are hitting a vehicle or an enemy in or near that vehicle. This is already being fixed in time for launch. Players will know the difference based on the color of their hitmarkers.
  • Armor Damage Indicator: Several players have asked for a clearer method of showing how much damage their Armor has taken. In the launch version of the game, players will see an Armor Health Bar that appears above their own Health Bar in the HUD when wearing Armor. The Armor icon will continue to break apart as it does now.
  • Camera Controls While Downed: We’ve seen requests to allow free-looking camera controls when downed. We intentionally don’t allow this, as players should not have better situational awareness when downed than when they’re on their feet. Nonetheless, we will continue to evaluate the camera position and other tweaks.
  • Scoreboard/Teammate Kill Counters: In the long term, we are working on some improvements to the After Action Report that will give players additional information about their team’s performance. We also have planned improvements for seeing performance stats in the game that will measure player Kills, Downs, Kills Confirmed, and Clean Ups, which will be separate from the “Players Left Alive” and “Players Spectating You” HUD details.
  • Draws/#1 Place, but Game Over Instead of Victory Screen: Some of you have been surprised to see your match end in a draw. Same here! It’s very possible, but unlikely, that two players could trade kills, and we need to do a better job covering this edge case and others like it. Stay tuned.
  • Killcam Details: In Blackout, players cannot access the Killcam until everyone on their team has been eliminated from the game. This is to prevent players from using the replay to give advanced situational knowledge to teammates still alive. After all members in a team have been eliminated, the Killcam button will appear on the Game Over screen.

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In addition to the release of this list, Treyarch have also pushed through a hotfix patch update adjusting some of the game settings in Blackout, including a change to how much damage the Collapse inflicts on players, as well as a nerf to Wingsuits.

The full details of all of the changes and tuning implement via this hotfix can be found in the patch notes linked below: 

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Since the release of the Blackout private beta on September 10, Treyarch have maintained direct communication with its player-base as to what changes have been implemented and what improvements are being considered.

However, with the beta having gone live now for both Xbox One and PC on September 14, the developers’ workload will likely increase considerably, with now three platforms to manage until the beta goes offline on September 17.

It’s likely that many of the adjustments discussed in the post above will not be able to be implemented in time before the beta period ends, so players will probably have to wait until the full game releases on October 12 to see the changes. 

However, players are encouraged to continue providing feedback, and can do so via the following channels:

  • Twitter: @Treyarch and @ATVIAssist
  • Console: Depending on the technical issue, you may be given the opportunity to “report a problem” directly on your console. If that happens, please do so, as it helps us track down the source of issue.
  • Survey: After you’ve played the Beta, you will be given the opportunity to provide us with direct feedback through a survey. Stay tuned for a link at the end of the Blackout Beta period.

Source – Reddit

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About The Author

Albert is a former esports and gaming writer, focused particularly on Call of Duty and content creators. Spending over three years at Dexerto, Albert eventually now works with streamer NICKMERCS and the MFAM group. You can find Albert @AlbertoRavioli on Twitter.