TLOU 2 MP Mod

One of the main frustrations that we've noticed during testing of the Multiplayer mod is the problem with peeking around corners, specifically left peeking. Oftentimes, players peeking around corners are barely or even not all visible to their opponents, which makes for unfair engagements. The reason for this is the way TLOU2 natively handles shooting. In the normal game, shooting is handled entirely through the center of the camera & reticle. If you can aim at something from behind cover, it means you can also shoot it. This is problematic because the camera sits behind and either left or right of the actual player model, depending on the shoulder swap mode. This causes the player to be able to shoot opponents from behind cover, because their camera has a clear line of sight to the enemy. The disconnect between the player model and the camera is an inherent challenge in 3rd-person games, and games tackle this issue in different ways. The way we've chosen to address the issue is with a special shot-denial system.

When a player starts to aim down their sights, the game will now continously perform a check: It sends out a ray from the camera through the reticle, imitating exactly what the player would normally be able to shoot at. It then saves the impact location of that ray, whether it be the ground, an object or another player. Next, it shoots another ray: This time, from the right hand of the player model. It shoots this ray towards the hit-point of the first camera ray. It then checks if these two rays hit the same point (with some minor deviation allowed). If the two points agree, the shot is allowed. If the two points disagree, the shot is denied, and there will not be any damage applied to a hostile that was shot at. Because the second ray originates from the right hand of the player model, this system now denies shots in which the other player cannot see the gun of the opponent.

This is the first iteration and there may very well be issues with shots connecting that shouldn't and vice versa. We rely on your constructive feedback to make this feel as smooth as possible for all engagements. We hope that this system improves one of the biggest frustrations you've had with the mod so far and encourages a more dynamic style of gameplay.

Along with this system we also ship a custom menu option inside the new Multiplayer sub-menu. The Reticle option lets you decide how you would like to visualize this new shot-denial system.

This option makes your reticle move to the "denied" position whenever a shot would not connect. This gives the most obvious indication that your shot will be denied.

This option greys out your reticle when the shot would be denied

This option keeps your reticle centered and instead draws a red "X" at the denied shot location.

Shows no visual indication of a shot being denied.

Weapons, perks and purchasables now cost Loadout Points (LP). We've chosen to go with the Pick 13 system that the original Factions used. As part of this change, we've also moved several guns to the Purchasables category (Hunting Pisol, Crossbow, Double Barrel, Pump Shotgun, Galil). We'll need to rebalance them really soon to fit the new economy and make them feel worth your LPs and parts in game, so keep the gun balancing feedback coming!

There's a new perk system implemented that modify gameplay slightly in interesing ways for a bigger variety of play styles! We're shipping 8! perks today, with plans of implementing more in future patches as we get closer to release:

We're bringing back the in-game store! For now, it replaces the backpack menu until we introduce crafting and ingredients pickups. You can now spend all of those hard-earned parts during a match into more Powerful Weapons and extra Ammo to help you get the upper hand on opponents.

This is currently limited to Ammo and Purchasable Weapons, but we're exploring adding Weapon Upgrades too!

We're bringing back the much needed time-constrained listen mode. This should hopefully help fix stalemates when spawn tickets are low and both teams are behind walls looking at each other's silhouettes. Its duration is limited and it regenerates over time. Once it empties, you can't use it until it recharges at least 50% of the charge.

Fun fact: we ended up hijacking the oxygen meter the same way they did for the original Factions for the listen mode meter, and it works so well!