Versión 2.6 (Link-Up)

Desde hace unos días podemos disfrutar de la versión 2.6 de America’s Army (nombre en código: Link-up).

Como novedades(pocas) podemos disfrutar de 2 mapas nuevos. Estos dos
mapas no son SF, así que los veteranos del juego lo agradecerán. Además de los dos mapas han añadido un propio browser interno que
complementa al uso del motor gamespy. Entre las novedades de este
browser están buscar servidores por regiones, por media de honor, por
nombre e incluso buscar los servidores donde están jugando tus
compañeros.

El parche ocupa unos 43MB y la versión completa(la recomendada) 897MB. Podéis descargarlos desde aquí.

A continuación una pequeña descripción de los cambios y (en inglés) las notas de lanzamiento de esta versión.

Como dije, hay dos mapas nuevos:

El primero de ellos es Dusk es un mapa totalmente urbano muy en la línea de CS. Es un mapa rápido y de gran belleza.
Hay mil y un recobecos donde poder tender una emboscada. Los objetivos
del mapa son los mismos que en SF Hospital, es decir, escoltar al VIP o
emboscarlo.

El segundo es Border
que es un mapa bastante grande y donde el trabajo en equipo se hace más
que necesario. El objetivo para asalto es extraer un maletín de 4
puntos aleatorios a 3 puntos de extracción fijos. Defensa, por su
parte, debe impedirlo. Los aficionados al rifle francotirador estarán
muy contentos con este mapa.

En cuanto al modo Tournament se ha añadido la opción de servidor de
desactivar las sombras para un juego más justo. Cómo ya sabeis los
usuarios de ATI tiene una ligera ventaja en el uso de las sombras.

America’s Army: Special Forces (Link-Up)
Release Notes (Version 2.6.0)

=======================================================
What’s new
=======================================================

New Multiplayer Missions
————————————————————

Included in this version of America’s Army are two new
multiplayer missions. One of these missions is an Infantry
mission, the other is a Ranger mission. These two missions
represent the first Infantry and Ranger missions since
‘Urban Assault’ & ‘Woodland Outpost’ in v2.3.0. The new
‘Dusk’ mission is also the first VIP mission since
SF Hospital in v2.0.0.

    - Dusk:
      (75th Ranger Regiment)

    Enemy forces have ambushed a small convoy. The convoy
    was transporting a friendly Resistance leader who was
    carrying highly sensitive information regarding enemy
    troop movement and location. Radio contact confirms that
    the Resistance leader is still alive and located in an
    abandoned building. A squad from the 75th Ranger
    Regiment must locate the surviving Resistance leader,
    then escort this VIP safely to the extraction point.

    - Border:
      (172nd Sep. Infantry BDE)

    A known terrorist cell has set up a base of operations
    in a small border village. Intelligence reports confirm
    they are planning a synchronized bombing strike at
    several different civilian landmarks. Intelligence also
    reports that high level sensitive information (Precious
    Cargo) pertaining to this bombing strike is being kept
    at this location. A squad from the 172nd Sep. Infantry
    BDE must secure the precious cargo located in this
    village and then proceed safely to the extraction point.

New AA Browser (Match-Making System)
————————————————————

This version of America’s Army debuts the new
AA Browser (Match-Making System) powered by
Pragmatic Solutions, Inc. The AA Browser enhances
the game experience by providing advanced server
filtering options and stats displays, including:

          - Filter by Average Honor (players on server)
          - Filter by Geographical Location
          - Filter by AA Tour (Ranger, SF, etc.)
          - Search by Server Name
          - Search by Player Name

Version 2.6 unveils the first phase of functions now
possible with Pragmatic’s technology. Additional
AA Browser features will be integrated in future releases.

While the community becomes familiar with the AA Browser,
GameSpy service is still available in-game. This dual
browser option allows for a smooth transition to the new
AA Browser System. Players can switch between
the 2 server browsers by using the pull-down box on
the Deployment>Internet user interface tab.

Any match-making system provides a “close to” real-world
representation of game servers and their players. Due
to the nature of the internet and available technology
there may be differences in server lists and attributes
between AA Browser and Gamespy.

*IMPORTANT NOTE FOR SERVER HOSTS/ADMINS:

    UPDATED GAME PORTS:

    With the addition of the new AA Master Browser
    System (MBS) - there is an additional internet port
    that is required to be open for the new MBS to
    function properly on AA game servers:

    TCP Port 20025 (default value)

    This port can be manually configured to any port
    you would like to use by changing the following
    line in your server ini file:

    [Andromeda.AndromedaMBS]
    QueryPort=20025

    Thus, the internet ports currently required to
    be open for America’s Army v2.6 are listed below:

    UDP - 1716, 1717, 1718, 8777, 27900
    TCP - 20045, 20046, 20025

    UDP ports 1716 for the game, 1717 for the gamequery,
    1718 for the master server query, 8777 for the
    standard UT query, 27900 for GameSpy, TCP ports
    20045, 20046 for the Auth server, and 20025 for
    the new AA Browser (MBS).

=======================================================
What’s Changed
=======================================================

America’s Army no longer officially supports the
Windows 98 or Windows ME operating systems.
Added new PB Updating utility called pbsetup.exe. 
This replaces the old pbweb.exe and is a faster way
to manually update your PB version. This new utility
is named pbsetup.exe and will be located in its own
‘pbsetup’ folder located in the America’s Army
‘System’ directory.
Added support for forcing disabling of shadows 
on all clients (CAL/CPL admins want this since
shadows are exploitable as currently implemented).
New Command Post field added to enable/disable this
field.
Addition of status of player shadow flag to 
tournament results file. Added in a new field to the
tournament results file
(“PlayerShadowsAllowed=True/False”) to indicate
whether or not the tournament allowed player’s to
enable shadows during match play. Also added in
display in TM Server Info page to show whether or
not shadows are allowed. Leagues who mandate the
use of this option now have a method to verify it
was used.
Added in two admin centered messages to warn users 
when they earn ROE by hitting friendlies or
non-combatants.
Enabled VSync by default.
Fix for weapon disappearing after treating a 
teammate. The fix makes resuming and interrupting
of heal to not cause the gun to go down or up.
MP Player startup change to better synchronize 
player’s starting out at beginning of round.
Disabled ‘Pause’ function (exploit)
Fix for “Shake nnnn” bound with “Fire” disabled 
recoil bug. (exploit) Adjusted so the only combinations
for the Fire command in a bind are “Fire” and
“Button bFire | Fire”. Any other commands bound to
that are stripped out.
Adjusted the Command Post player list and spectator
list positions to show all 26 players at the same time
on a full server.
Removed Shotgun from the game.
Added Playtip when picking up a rifle the player 
is unqualified for (i.e. Sniper rifle).
Discontinued support for reverse stereo.
Removed outdated icons in server browser.
Added additional protection for Admin Change 
Server Password functionality.
Updated PunkBuster security code integration.

=======================================================
What’s Fixed
=======================================================
Fix for not being able to stand near the “use” 
triggers when crouched.
Fix for TM not handling tie breaking by score 
correctly.
Fix for TM Crash when invalid file system characters
used in server name.
Fix for player list in Command Post reseting every
two seconds.
Fix for ability to disable ambient sounds with 
AmbientVolume = 0 in INI. (exploit)
Fix for jumping while Fixing jam.
Fix for round limit > 20 CP resets rounds to zero.
Fix for no time units shown for MOTD duration in CP.
Removed many “Accessed None” warnings and excess 
log statements.
Fix for CEM meter being too high when player uses 
OpFor weapons.
Fix for player being able to obtain 255 Med Packs 
when healing two players at the same time.
Fixed ‘Nearclip’ exploit.
Fixed ‘StopSounds’ exploit.
Fixed the AMD incompatibilities experienced 
by some (Authentication).
Fix for Door Breacher locking bug. Now, door 
should not open if there is a breacher attached to it.
Fixed exploit where player is able to gain CEM 
bonus for deployed bipod while standing.
Fix for spacing between player names in menus being
incorrect in spectators box.
Fix for being able to secure objective without 
using the USE key.
Fix for pawn being able to fire while taking any 
timed objective.
Fix for being able to bleed to death after the 
round has ended and before new round begins.
Fix for Non-PB Official Servers and false name 
change.
Fix for multiple rapid secondary weapon switches 
locking the secondary weapon selection.
Fix for crash when loading a demo, or returning 
to the main menu after a demo has played.
Fix for votekick reason list appearing twice with 
bad votekick instruction.
Fixed rare bug in CEM/Stamina recovery time.
Fix for slow volume updates and performance issues 
relating to faster speed updates.
Passwords can no longer be accessed using the “get” 
console command.
Fix for Score Objectives screen being available 
before authorization completes.
Fixed VIP HUD indicator issues.
Fix for “Cheater” messages when kicked for 
zero-length user name.
Fix for exploit where the player is able to drop
the carryable objective at spawn points.
Fix for Admin swap request on last round causing 
the loss of TM results.
Fix for admin command post 3 day ban only issuing 
a one day ban.
Fix for Resume command not working for Super Admin.
Fix for case of filter strings not being preserved.
Fix for Banlist tab refreshing.
Fix for PB “Say” commands no longer working.
Fixed several rare client crashes.
Fixed many map bugs (too many to list).

=======================================================
America’s Army Server Manager (AASM):
Installation and Uninstallation Notes
=======================================================

To install the new AASM version included in the patch
from v2.5.0 - you must manually install the AASM
after you have successfully patched the game.
This can be done by double clicking the
‘AASM 1-3 Setup.exe’ located in the
‘America’s Army\System’ directory.

To remove previous installations (or if the install
fails and is unable to automatically remove the
previous version) do the following:
1. Download and install from Microsoft the Windows 
 Installer Cleanup Utility. You can retrieve it
 from Microsoft on this webpage: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;290301
2. Delete the contents of the AASM folder (unless you are 
 planning on installing the new AASM 1.3 version provided
 with 2.6.0, in which case simply skip this step).
3. Run the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility and select 
 the “America’s Army Server Manager 1.0” (or 1.1
 depending on which version you have installed) from the
 list. The utility will remove it from your Add/Remove
 programs list.
 
 For help using AASM please see the provided manual
 or press F1 to get help for specific portions of
 the program.