Update 1.8 Operation: Breakaway Now Live!

Operation: Breakaway

Check out the full changelist below and see what’s new in Operation: Breakaway.

New Map: Tell

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Breakaway’s new map is called Tell, and is a reimagining of an Insurgency 2014 classic. Tell ramps up the intensity of Sandstorm's signature hardcore combat by squeezing everyone together while still allowing for diverse navigation routes down everything from narrow corridors to lengthy streets. It features tight urban CQB unlike any other level in Sandstorm.

Tell has support for the following game modes:

  • Push
  • Domination
  • Firefight
  • Checkpoint
  • Hardcore Checkpoint
  • Outpost

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New Weapons: AUG A3, FAMAS F1, Underbarrel Shotguns

We’ve added 2 new small profile bullpup style assault rifle weapons for Rifleman, Demolitions, Commander, and Observer classes: the AUG A3 for Security and FAMAS F1 for Insurgents. We’ve also added 3 new underbarrel shotguns as underbarrel weapon upgrades: the M26 MASS for Security, Buckshot Launcher for Insurgents, and Masterkey shared by both factions.

AUG A3 - Low fire rate, controllable recoil

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FAMAS F1 - Very high fire rate, small magazine capacity

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M26 MASS - Mag-fed, available for M16A4, M4A1, and AUG A3

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Buckshot Launcher - Single shot 40mm buckshot shell, available for AKM, AK-74

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Masterkey - Tube-fed, available for M16A4, M4A1, AKM, AK-74, M16A2, and FAMAS F1

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The Masterkey and M26 MASS have no optics or iron sights. When using Aim Down Sights with them, they’ll point roughly at the center of the screen similar to the NVG Point Shooting upgrade seen on night maps. The Buckshot Launcher can use its iron sights to be aimed more precisely, but only has one shot until it needs to be reloaded. It’s basically a tactical blunderbuss.

Foregrips

We know we’ve been a bit lacking in the foregrip department. We added 3 new grips available in the underbarrel weapon upgrade category for all Primary weapons except for machine guns and anti-materiel rifles. Yes, that means you can finally put a grip on weapons like the Mosin, MP7, and even the Grease Gun. Each grip gives a different gameplay benefit at various supply point costs. The existing “Foregrip” upgrade remains unchanged, but we’ve renamed it to “Recoil Grip” to clarify its function among the others.

Aiming Grip - Aim down the sights of your weapon faster

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Loading Grip - Reload your weapon faster

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Quick Draw Grip - Draw and put away your Primary weapon faster

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Free Unlockable Cosmetics

In Breakaway, a coup d'état is underway. Some security forces have defected to the insurgents. Internal affairs officers have embedded with the Security to gather evidence, build a case, and track down these rogue elements, which include both local and federal police teams fighting alongside the Insurgents.

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Rogue Cop - A federal or local law enforcement officer who has joined the Insurgents.

Rogue Cop Top Camo (Torso slot)

  • Blue DPM
  • Digital Blue
  • Digital Dark Blue

Rogue Cop Bottom Camo (Legs slot)

  • Blue DPM
  • Digital Blue
  • Digital Dark Blue

Combat Glasses (Eyewear slot)

  • Black
  • Blue
  • Cyan
  • Dark Red
  • Orange
  • Peach
  • Purple
  • Yellow

Digital Dark Blue (Equipment slot)
Blue DPM (Equipment slot)

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Internal Affairs - An investigator working with the Security to hunt down rogue actors who joined the Insurgents.

Internal Affairs (Torso slot)

  • Dark Brown
  • Sand
  • Tan

Business Casual (Legs slot)

  • Dark Brown
  • Sand
  • Tan

Aviator (Eyewear slot)

  • Black
  • Dark Red
  • Orange
  • Peach
  • Yellow

DLC Cosmetics

We are adding new DLC cosmetics with this update that will give your characters and weapons a unique look. The cosmetic items they contain can be combined with other cosmetic items already in-game. Purchasing these is a great way to support Sandstorm’s continued post-release development. See the different sets below, along with what items they contain and apply to:

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Insurgent “Rogue Spec Ops” Gear Set

  • Skull Mask and Shemagh
  • Spec Ops Tactical Shirt
  • Spec Ops Tactical Pants
  • Spec Ops Boots

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Insurgent “Urban Digital” Weapon Skin Set

  • AK-74
  • FAMAS F1
  • Uzi
  • ACE 52
  • Alpha AK
  • 1911 Pistol

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Security “Urban Warden” Gear Set

  • Net with Helmet
  • Chainmail Top with Padding
  • Chainmail Bottom with Padding
  • Chainmail Gloves

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Security “Desert Hex” Weapon Skin Set

  • M16A4
  • AUG A3
  • MP7
  • Tavor 7
  • Mk 18 CQBR
  • M45 Pistol

Outpost Mode

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We’re adding a new co-op mode called Outpost, a reimagining of Insurgency 2014’s mode of the same name. In it you’ll be put on the defensive with limited supply points, holding off against waves of enemies. Outpost takes inspiration from our WWII shooter Day of Infamy’s Entrenchment Co-op mode, fixes a lot of the common complaints seen in both it and the original mode, and greatly expands on Sandstorm's Co-op experience.

Overview

  • Players need to defend their objectives against 7 waves of enemies to win.
    Only 1 or 2 objectives are active at a time, with a total of 4 to 8 objectives on each map.
  • If all players die, or their active objectives are captured, they respawn at the next objective area to defend it.
  • If players are pushed all the way back to their final objective area, and it is captured or they all die, they lose the round.

Gameplay

  • Players start with 2 supply points on the first wave, and gain 2 supply points after every wave.
  • Players can resupply in between waves during a “Preparing” phase.
  • Enemies get better equipment as waves go on.
  • A randomly selected “special wave” with unique enemies mixed in among normal enemies will attack at waves 2, 4, and 6. Special enemies include:
    • Bangers - Rush you with Grease Guns, flashbangs, increased movement speed, and a physically shorter height so they’re harder to hit.
    • Grenadiers - Force you out of cover with a copious amount of explosive frag grenades.
    • Blasters - Suppress you with MG3 machine guns, increased health, and a physically taller height so they can shoot over more cover.
    • Rocketmen - Target you from afar with RPG-7 rocket launchers. Or up close.
    • Suicide Bombers - Yep. A wave of suicide bombers.
  • The final wave will combine all special enemies and normal enemies together for one massive attack.

Outpost mode is available on the maps below. We hope to expand the mode to more maps in a future update.

  • Tell
  • Crossing
  • Ministry
  • Hillside
  • Outskirts
  • Power Plant

Official Co-op Playlists Update

A playlist for our new Outpost mode will be added to official Co-op matchmaking, and will replace the Frenzy playlist. The other playlists, Normal and Hardcore, will be renamed to Checkpoint and Hardcore Checkpoint since we now have more than one Co-op mode and need to be specific. As we add new game mode content we need to be careful to not split our player-base as we don't want to increase queue times too dramatically. We also want to ensure every official playlist experience in Sandstorm is strong for both new and existing players. Please expect us to have similar considerations with future game modes. We'll keep up the Frenzy playlist for another 2 weeks so you have a bit more time to play, after which it will go away as a permanent playlist. Frenzy (and its beloved cousin Task Force 666) will still be coming back on occasion as limited time playlist modes. Don't forget you can still play Frenzy on community servers that run the "Frenzy" mutator.

AI Update

The first stage of the AI overhaul is here in update 1.8 Operation: Breakaway. It has focused primarily on the bot's knowledge of the player's location, basically answering the question, "when should the Bot know where the player is?". The ultimate effect of these changes is that the bots will be more fair. You shouldn't have situations where, for example, you get shot through walls or smoke unless you're really obvious about your location. You also shouldn’t feel that bots are unusually accurate at range, or snapshot you up close.

Specific Changes

  • AI now know what sounds they hear (gunfire, dialogue, opening doors, footsteps), instead of just knowing that a specific player made noise and guessing at the cause.
  • Adjusted which sounds provide AI awareness of a player's location, and at what range.
  • When shooting a player, the AI will use the last known position of the player instead of their current position. If you duck behind cover, or into a cloud of smoke, they may still suppress your last position for a few seconds, so don't stick your head out.
  • When suppressing, since the AI don't know the target's specific location, they will no longer gain increased accuracy over time. Instead they'll just spray the area. If you're behind thin cover, you can move away silently to avoid getting wall banged.
  • The AI have laxened their social-distancing policy, and will no longer automatically aim for the player's face if they approach within 2m. They'll still shoot you though.
  • The distance that AI acquire targets at long range has been reduced, and their time to fire increased.
  • When AI retreat they will no longer get confused and change directions at random.

Gameplay Improvements

Over the past few updates, we’ve received feedback that certain high caliber weapons are overpowered and serve as Sandstorm’s meta. We’re going to be making a few adjustments to try to make these weapons feel more balanced among the others.

  • Reduced FAL’s muzzle velocity from 840 to 810, reducing damage, penetration damage, bullet travel speed, and other ballistic factors slightly
  • Removed Extended Magazine upgrade from FAL and G3A3 in Versus and Competitive
  • Increased horizontal recoil of Mk 14 EBR

New Configurations for Modders

  • Hear Aware Distances have been added for Footsteps, Breaching, Doors and Rigging Explosives, to configure the range that bots are aware of players taking the indicated actions
  • Sight Range Idle is now the distance that a bot can first spot a new target at.
  • Sight Range Alert is now the distance that a bot will know longer be able to see a known target.
  • Can grenade with LOS if you want bots to throw grenades straight at people, rather than lobbing over things
  • Grenade Minimum Distance when you want bots to be a bit riskier with their tosses
  • Rocket Minimum Distance is the same but for RPGs
  • Rocket Squad Cooldown is the time that bots will wait between using rockets (within the same squad)
  • Rocket Minimum Cluster Size how many people are close together before the bots break out the RPG

Mod Tools Improvements

  • Fixed an issue where upload of mods would fail when using the default /Mods/ folder (you will may to delete your Insurgency/Intermediate/ folder for these changes to apply)
    Old versions of mods will now be uninstalled when a new version is installed
  • Added in Canyon Modular Props
  • Added in Tell Modular Props
  • Added in Town Sublevels containing merged buildings
  • Added "Developer Iteration Mode" which skips spawning/class selection timer to help test maps a little faster
  • Fixed issue with creating a new Mod when templates aren't available that causes mod creation to fail
  • Applied General Editor Fixes for Engine version 4.25.2
  • Removed "LaunchSandstorm.bat"

User Experience

  • Updated the font used for compass heading numbers
  • Polished the visual indicator for DLC items in the cosmetic menu
  • Updated the icon displayed when using Proximity chat to differentiate from Radio
  • Adjusted the position of character models on the loadout screen so they no longer hit their head (oof) on the top navigation buttons

Visual Improvements

  • Updated the Easy Anti-Cheat loading image
  • Updated the main menu map to represent the Breakaway release

Performance Improvements

Level Changes

Outskirts

  • Fixed an issue where players were able to reach an unintended location by walking on small ledges

Crossing

  • Fixed an issue where a tank had no collision set on it

Summit

  • Fixed an issue in Checkpoint Security where a wall had no collisions set on it

Tideway

  • Fixed an issue where players could become stuck after vaulting over a fence
  • Fixed a potential spawn camping issue on Firefight West
  • Fixed a number of spawn camping issues on both Push scenarios
  • Reduced how far Security can push when Charlie is neutral in Frontline
  • Fixed a number of spawn camping issues in Frontline

Bug Fixes

  • The Commander and Observer will now correctly hear the “BRRRT” after calling in a strafing run
  • Fixed the Autocannon strafe audio timing so the sounds play in the correct order
  • Fixed an issue where players could see their own disembodied legs when prone, crouching, or driving
  • Fixed an issue where the smoke overlay would activate on players on the roof of buildings even if the smoke particles didn’t penetrate the roof
  • Fixed an issue where smoke mortars and chemical mortars on a roof were incorrectly triggering the smoke overlay for players in the buildings even if smoke wasn’t penetrating the roof
  • Fixed an issue where when standing near objects with auto-lean enabled animations may skip frames
  • Fixed an issue where the key hint on the underhand grenade throw lesson would show as unbound
  • Fixed an issue with the G3A3 reload animation causing the magazine to go through the palm
  • Fixed an issue that was preventing some weapon attachments from being selected when using a default preset under certain circumstances
  • Fixed an issue where the Connect to IP field would not function properly if there was leading or trailing white space
  • Fixed a typo in the tutorial lessons
  • Fixed an issue that would cause bullets to float next to the M16A2 in the loadout menu
  • Fixed an issue where a server’s favorite state was not being reflected in the Internet browser tab
  • Fixed an issue where keybinds in the tutorial could display as unbound
  • Fixed an issue where chat text would still be visible after hiding HUD elements
  • Fixed an issue where it was possible for the reload state of the rifle could get stuck forcing you to start the reload over or swap between weapons to make it functional again
  • Fixed an issue where users would have to click Cancel twice to leave a matchmaking queue
  • Fixed an issue with the inventory screen where the right-most image would appear stretched vertically
  • Fixed an issue with some hairstyles clipping through the Ghillie Hat
  • Fixed an issue where you couldn’t correctly scroll through Loadout presets when using a controller
  • Fixed an issue where toggling the Mute All option for players in an online match would not update the player list until the scoreboard was closed and opened again
  • Fixed an issue where players might see visual artifacting around the edge of the screen when using SMAA T2x Anti-Aliasing option

Known Issues

  • The crosshair is not visible on the 2x Kobra when using the Picture-in-picture in Scope Setting
    Equipment color option selected under Appearance section is only applying to vest area and not the rest of the Light or Heavy Carrier
  • The bolt of your Primary weapon won’t move if you have an underbarrel shotgun or grenade launcher equipped
  • Community hosted servers will show a player as level 0
  • Mosin and M24 have a floating rear sight in third person
  • Mosin Stripper Clip weapon upgrade does not push in properly when reloading
  • MP5 has a slight clipping of mag during dry reload
  • VHS-2 and AK-74 magazines disappear for a moment during a dry reload
  • Pressing G to toggle a Bipod weapon upgrade while standing does not show the deployment of the bipod in third person
  • In Frontline mode, if you capture an objective then team swap, you will see not a floating objective until respawn
  • Shotguns and machine guns will have a left elbow clipping into itself and the body during the third person Hardcore sprinting animation
  • Remote explosive or mines will have a left elbow clipping into itself and the body during the third person Hardcore sprinting animation
  • When playing as a Commander and having a friendly Observer nearby, the Observer’s class icon will gray out even though you are in range of them
  • AUG A3’s loading animations will have broken fingers in first person
  • AI vehicle can get stuck in the Tutorial Range
  • When you first load the game, there’s a chance your character may be shown without a vest; going to customize and selecting the faction will load all the correct cosmetics

"Corrupt Data: Please verify installation"

This is the message I am getting when I attempt to play Tell. I have verified the installation twice. Not sure what to do...

EDIT: I have since deleted all files related to mods and unsubscribed from all mods as per Father Hank's advice on the stream. The problem seems to be fixed.

last edited by DRUGS1

I got the same problem and i uninstall the game! it happen everytime the map Tell launch. I dont know what to do, i've already verify installation twice and its happening again 😕

Pls help

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Рюкзак окрашивает разгрузку, а сам остаётся чёрным.

I'm not new gun AUG and FAMAS in Insurgency: Sandstorm when update new vision.I don't know why .No matter shooting gallery or Mutiplayer .that was a new bug? I can't useGun attachment such as handle .Why? Game BUG?

You guys couldn’t just bring the one game mode that may have brought me back to Insurgency... Instead you just keep adding stuff like skins, co-op modes and weapon attachments not that they won’t make some people happy but they won’t everyone. Really not trying to hate on this game anymore as I have hard in the past but all I wanted was something you guys said would return from the beginning “Ambush” but instead now it’s coming to call of duty... seriously..? not that it will be better there but I mean it’ll be the only place to play it really (VIP Escort) and the rest of sandstorm has been dead to me for a while now. Cant even remember the last time I actually played anyways may keep my eyes open for Ambush but at this point I just don’t know you guys have moved so damn far from Insurgency’s true roots which I might add you guys promised from the beginning that you would stay true to... irrelevant now I hope that you guys can at the very least turn something out for your very small fan base that have stuck it out to this point. Best of luck I suppose!

Please pay more attention to the main branch technical feedback sub.