There is “more content” due out this month, but there’s also a patch that’s supposed to do boring fixes for certain CPUs or some such thing that made me fall asleep as I was reading about it. Presumably we’ll get patch notes later?
-Tom
Yep
Agents of Mayhem patch notes: v1.05 released
Patch v1.05 - Nov 9, 2017
NEW FEATURES
• All Agent vehicles are now equipped with a weapon that fires a circular shockwave, affecting nearby vehicles and people. It can be activated with: PS4 – Circle button, Xbox/PC gamepad – B button, PC keyboard – Q key.
HARDWARE SUPPORT
• PC: Agents of Mayhem now supports CPUs without SSE 4.1/4.2 such as the AMD Phenom and Phenom II. While the game should now run on these CPUs, they are below minimum requirements and we do not offer technical support.
IMPROVEMENTS AND TWEAKS
• There is now clearer audio/visual warning when the current agent is at low health. Squadmate icons also show low-health, so you can better decide which agent to swap to.
• LEGION takebacks of Outposts no longer loses previously completed Relic Trading Companies or Gremlin Meetups.
• A countdown timer on the map now shows when LEGION’s Outpost takeback offensive will start.
• LEGION can now only retake a maximum of 3 outposts, always leaving at least one in player control.
• The SQUAD menus now indicate unspent skill points via a green “+”, and new core upgrades via a core symbol. The DEPLOY menus indicate new skins via a shirt icon.
• The contracts list now uses icons to show the different goal types. They are also now sorted by Agent name, so all contracts for an agent are grouped together.
• Joule’s damage has gotten a buff
• Agent-specific contracts now only require that agent to be in your current squad. You no longer have to be directly controlling that agent.
• LEGION lieutenants that appear in the open world (Ariadne, Hammersmith, etc.) now drop fleurs when defeated so you can revive downed specialists after the fight.
• The shard-finding upgrade now solely uses 2D map distance instead of taking altitude into account.
• The maximum number of simultaneous Hate Machines in the open world has been reduced to 3
• One of the random load-outs for the Pride Bot was borderline impossible to beat. Its stats have been reduced.
• Moving platform elevators on MAYHEM controlled Outposts no longer need to be hacked again.
• After loading into the Ark, the agent can move immediately, instead of having to wait for the current animation to finish.
MISSION FIXES
• Fixed long delays in mission conversations that could occur during driving objectives. This was most noticeable on the PlayStation 4.
• Braddock’s agent vehicle is no longer set to the default after finishing her personal mission.
• Fixed dialogue in Braddock’s personal mission that could repeat depending on how Hauser took damage.
• Rama’s unlock mission now displays the “call vehicle” tutorial even if the Agent vehicle is already spawned.
• Fixed possible infinite load screen when entering the VR section of Red Queen.
• Objective icons for the Heaven Sent “Go to Planetarium” objective now work correctly if the marked mission vehicle is ignored.
• Objective icon on Red Card’s vehicle is now correctly removed if his personal mission is aborted.
• Opening the SQUAD menu during an Agent mission no longer has a chance to crash the game
OPEN WORLD FIXES
• Fixed pedestrian spawning issues that could cause them to suddenly appear out of nowhere
• The hack icon for the Master Programmer Outpost can now be completed even if the boss fails to appear
• Fixed the long delay between hacking the antenna at the first LEGION Outpost and getting the completion screen.
• Hate Machine, Drop Pod Launcher, and Ice Barrage no longer silently clear LEGION alert level when destroyed.
• The Gravity Dominator will no longer pick up vehicles that are important to other gameplay, such as the target of “destroy vehicle” or in Hollywood’s Personal mission.
• Floating chests are now correctly aligned with the ground.
ARK FIXES
• Failing a Wreck Room challenge while the mission briefing objective is displayed no longer hangs the game.
• Fixed hangs caused by returning to the ARK in unusual circumstances, such as right before the entire squad dies.
MISC FIXES
• Pausing right as a cutscene ends no longer hangs the game
• Gremlin Tech status effects are now correctly applied to Joule’s turret when the “Haute Couture” elite tech is used.
• Rama’s bow now behaves correctly if the menu is opened while the bow is in a drawn state.
• Agent “arrival in Seoul” voice lines now correctly play after teleporting in to the city.
• Poison Gas in LEGION lairs now renders correctly if you leave the room and then return (instead of being invisible and still causing damage.)
ACHIEVEMENT FIXES
• The “Hardcore Gamer” achievement can now be completed by replaying missions at difficulty 7+. You no longer need to be at that difficulty the first time through, and Agent missions are no longer counted towards the achievement.
• The “Hello Ladies” achievement for unlocking all vehicles now works correctly on PC (previously fixed for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in patch v1.04.)
• Team skin achievements (e.g. “Three’s Company”) are awarded the first time the skins are equipped (instead of having to remove them, then put them on again).
MAP AND UI FIXES
• The Relic Trading Company completion screen now reflects the additional income from the “Madigan Bank Investment Portfolio” agency upgrade.
• Fixed various issues with “NEW” icons displaying incorrectly or not displaying at all.
• The agent roster grid no longer overlaps other UI elements when more than 12 agents are unlocked.
• When joining new connected contracts, the progress meter shows the correct completion percentage instead of always showing 0%.
• Agent missions no longer have duplicate text in their descriptions on the map and mission log.
• Added messaging if the target in “Acquire Vehicle” is destroyed or the captive in “Hostage Rescue” dies.
• The messages after destroying LEGION Tracking Equipment no longer overlap.
• Red “required kill” triangles now show on the city map
• Gremlin Meetups after the initial tutorial visit now remind you to return later for more Gremlin Tech.
• Fixed the Global Conflict timer being displayed incorrectly in certain circumstances
• Onscreen text now reads “COMPLETE” instead of “TASK COMPLETE” when finishing an open world activity.
• Usage of the new Agent vehicle shockwave weapon is now part of the tutorial for Heaven Sent: Down to Earth.
• The Vehicle Bay and Squad Load-out screens now give info about where to find vehicle and Agent skins
• Corrected the description of Intel on the Inventory screen in regards to how it is earned
They also removed the Denuvo copy protection.
“Joule’s damage has gotten a buff”
I’m onboard :)
Sounds like the patch addresses some of the issues mentioned up-thread, namely poor awareness of damage and low-health. Plus all agent vehicles now have a circle-radius blasty weapon.
I’ve been meaning to drop in to thank Tom for his rave review. I held off initially, felt bad that it wasn’t doing well, then jumped on it when the sale price hit $20. It’s a terrific game that’s been keeping me coming back even while I’m busy with Destiny 2 and Assassin’s Creed Origins.
The game feels a bit janky and I can see why it isn’t working for everyone, but there’s something nostalgic about it that reminds me of earlier-era PC gaming. Its imperfections make me like it even more. Freedom Force is a great comparison.
A nice to have they added: a timer shows up on your controlled outposts, to let you know when legion is gonna recapture them. Is there away to stop them? That I do not know.
Well, this dropped in a highly unceremonious fashion for being the thing that will get me to finish this game.
I’m not sure what I expected in terms of how Kinzie would play, but it wasn’t this. So she just fires a bunch of green cyber beams? Hmm. We’ll see how she progresses as she unlocks gadgets and weapons.
But still, it’s Kinzie!
-Tom
Here is the problem with Agents of Mayhem. People, including me, bought FOUR! Saint’s Row games and in each game they racheted it up. In Saint’s Row 4 they gave us a seriously good superhero game, given the limitations they had with the IP. So freed of that IP, and starting a brand new one, I thought we were getting a super hero game. But that’s not what they gave us. They gave us a Diablo shooter. Which is fine. It’s a fine game. It’s just not what I wanted next out of them. I want a superhero game! Destruction is paramount in that. Also picking up and flinging things. This was a shooter, with lot of creativity and charm. The Ninja is the only one that came close to the superhero feel, which is why she is easily the most fun character.
TLDR:. I want my superhero game Volition! Let me fly in AoM 2!
Agreed 100%. Except the floating base I guess. I could see that being in a new FF.
I have no idea what game you’re thinking of. By that criteria, the only superhero game I can think of is Red Faction: Guerrilla. Am I missing something?
It depends on your takeaway from Freedom Force. To me, Freedom Force was an joyous and wildly imaginative comic book universe, with vividly drawn characters, humor, affection, color, and style. That’s exactly what Agents of Mayhem is.
But if you were looking for a tactical strategy game, then, yeah, it’s nothing like FF. :)
-Tom
Gonna pick this up now that it’s $20 for the digital download on Xbox. A Diablo shooter sounds great to me right now. Sure, it’s not Saints Row, but at least it’s purple.
Yeah, it’s totally worth $20. It’s probably worth more than that if you go in with certain expectations, but for $20 there is fun to be had.
It’s $5 at some Redbox locations, if you’re ok with the physical edition and no box.
This is unexpected. There’s an Agents of Mayhem board game, created by Apollo Games and Academy Games, on Kickstarter that’s cleared it’s funding goal with 25 days remaining.
Agents of Mayhem - Pride of Babylon is a 2-4 player 3D tactical boardgame. Play head to head or as teams in an immersive campaign with a radiant storyline. Decisions you make have ripple effects that impact your future missions, assets, and abilities. Every group’s experience is unique in an open world that can branch into dozens of different story-lines full of humor and awesomeness with hundreds of ways to win.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/617871702/agents-of-mayhem-pride-of-babylon/
Steam sale this weekend
At $10 I’m tempted. I love Volition’s humor. The thing is I have games right now I want to play more than this, and for once, just once I’d like there to be a Humble Monthly that leads with a game that I want and don’t have. Since the start of 2017 there were 10 reveals that I would have been interested but already had, and only 4 that I didn’t want at all.
I snagged it at 9,99€ over the weekend and it’s decidedly…whelming so far.
The combat and economy is kind of overhelming – it’s constantly throwing new characters and gadgets and doodads and resources at you before having given you much time to get to grips with anything.
The writing’s decidedly underwhelming. It’s just a bunch of character introductions without much sense of stakes or goal. Yes, yes, They’re channeling G.I Joe and other Saturday morning cartoons. But so far, it’s just a bad Saturday morning cartoon. Some of the interactions between agents and the personnel is funny, but I don’t see why I should give a shit about Persephone wanting to beat up Dr Babylon. Maybe it gets better.
The missions are pretty dull too. And I get that it’s going for a different thing than Saint’s Row – it’s supposed to be about the ARPG-like interplay of the powers in combat, but when you send Maybe-Pierce Washington to bust up a legion dance party in his introductory mission, all I can think is how much what I’m playing is not this:
And the music is an absolute nothing. How do go from the sublime use of songs in the Saints Row games to this dribble?
Finished the story, had an alright time in the end, depite the initial observations mostly still holding.
The story’s episodic and barely there, the writing’s frequently not very good, the open world is anemic, the mission design is bland, and the music is kind of criminally terrible. Especially given that there’s a prominent plot thread that involves an artificial k-pop star.
I wound up clicking with the combat though, so that carried the day, even when it fumbled most everything else.
It kind of seems stuck between a Saint’s Row style open world game, and an arpg with an XCOM structure where you pop around the globe in the ark to procedurally generated instances, kill Legion and loot stuff.
They needed to be ruthless and either axe the open world, or axe half the agents and focus on the mission design and story.
I read that they have removed Denuvo on this title but I guess it was only restricting an average game at best so maybe it was for the best that I skipped it anyway.
At 9.95$ (https://steamspy.com/app/304530) I guess thats ok for an average game (even if it had crippling drm at one point). Clever to put it up for that price at a sale, as you kinda feel inclined to buy it for what it is worth rather than what they usually charge for it. On the other hand, it will probably drop down lower next time, so might as well wait for that.
10 bucks is more than a fair price - at least for me. At that price point, time’s the bigger investment.