Hello everyone!

We’ve been working hard on the Game Engine this season. Here’s what’s happening.

The Problem

• Incorrect pathfinding (players choosing inefficient routes)
• Enemy detection issues (targets not seen when they should be)
• Nades thrown from invalid positions, or not thrown at all
• Players positioning too close to walls
• Players not positioned in the 3x3 grid

The Initial Fix

Update the affected maps and deploy the improved Game Engine.

The Complication

We’ve tried pushing similar fixes in past seasons. While they worked technically, they changed how tactics behaved, which caught many active managers off guard who were used and planned on the "incorrect" behaviour. Because of that, we rolled the changes back.

The Final Plan

We’re introducing fixed maps as separate v2 versions.

These will run on the latest Game Engine without affecting your current tactics. Here’s how it will work: 

• You'll go and select the tactics you want to migrate, and choose "Migrate to v2"
• Invalid tactics (likely all of them) will be clearly flagged
• An Autosnap button will adjust tactic points automatically. Once saved, the tactic will no longer be marked as invalid
• Even if valid, tactics will still need to be simulated and tested by the manager to confirm working as expected

This allows everyone to adapt gradually without breaking existing setups.

Autosnap in action:

Note that we are also introducing small tweaks to the map layouts, including: 

• Map-specific improvements, like nades not working over the truck in mill
• Removing some diagonal walls or tiny columns
• Having flashes not work on both levels like we are doing in dustline, this would also work as an indirect nerf to flashes
• Geometrically adjusting the map grid for more consistency in positioning

Before: After:

Rollout Timeline

• Today: Mill v2 is added
• Season 10: Mill v2 replaces Mill and becomes the 3rd map in the BO3 rotation
• Season 10 start: Train v2 is added for testing and adjustments
• Season 10 mid-season: Castle v2 is added for testing and adjustments
• Season 11: Train v2 and Castle v2 enter the official rotation, migration complete

We’ve consulted community leaders on the pace of this transition. The majority preferred a faster rollout. That said, Mill v2 is more than 40 days away from being played officially, and we’ll closely monitor feedback and adjust if needed.

Let us know if you have any questions!