Marathon Update 1.9.9.9

NEW: Linux Support

• With this update we've partnered with and key teams of highly enthusiastic Linux developers and maintainers to bring our game to select Arch and Debian-based Linux systems with some OS configuration restrictions to ensure unfair play does not proliferate on these platforms.
• Marathon will also be available for play on the Steam Deck with this update.
  • Developer Note: We're sure many of you have also been witnessing Microsoft making Windows increasingly dogshit over the years and heard they will soon force all users onto Windows 11. This is something we feel is environmentally disasterous and loathe with all our hearts. We hope many of you will love being able to enjoy Marathon without needing to be in Microsoft's ecosystem.

NEW: Calibration Range

• Runners can now access a small hub where they can practice with neuro-sim variants of equipment found in their vault to prepare for on-site deployment.
• Developer Note: Many of you have been requesting this feature and we're so excited to deliver it, we look forward to hearing your feedback on further opportunities we can provide to hone your skills in controlled environments.

NEW: Asset Registry

• Previously acquired gear will now permanently be added to a browsable index containing analysis of its utility and allow tracking for future runs.

NEW: Runner Stats

• Basic statistics on Runner performance now available in this menu.
• Combat data such as eliminations, downs, damage dealt, and accuracy.
• Review survival metrics for different locations including Runs completed, successful exfiltrations, average Run duration, exfiltration rate, and value recovered.
• Monitor information-gathering progress such as caches found, lockboxes opened, and secured profit opportunities.

NEW: Solo Cryo Archive

• The UESC Marathon's Cryogenic Stasis Deck will now be available for Runners to brave without the help of a crew, good luck.
• Developer Note: We've heard the feedback that many of you have been wanting to challenge Cryo Archive on your own, and although the experience was designed for crew play, we recognize many players are passionate about solo play and will be keeping an eye on adjustments needed to deliver the best experience possible.

NEW: Duo Crew Mode

• One zone will be available at a time for Duo Crew mode with zones rotating at five-hour intervals.
• ROOKs will be eligible to spawn in Duo Crew matches, at a reduced rate.
• Developer Note: During Season 1 our Duo mode received overwhelming positive feedback and we're excited to be able to offer it as a full-time matchmaking option available to players

NEW: Item Details

• Non-weapon items will now provide additional detail on their parameters in their Inspection screen as well as while pressing an assigned button for Additional Details outside of Inspection.
• Developer Note: Many of you have been telling us that you're unsure exactly what your non-weapon items do exactly due to the lack on information communicated through our tooltips. We're putting an end to that problem today.

Item Economy

Mailbox

• Lent items are now returned directly to one's vault or overflow upon run completion.

CyberAcme Barters

• Compiler Ganglion barters are now limited to three redemptions.

Vault Management

• Salvage is now stored in a "Salvage Vault" with exactly half as much room available as currently unlocked for one's Primary Vault.

Bubble Shields

• They're gone. End of story. We'll go from here with further balance updates.

Signal Jammer

• Category updated to "Deluxe" to match this item's power and rarity.
  • Developer Note: This will have no effect on drop probability.

Implant Stat Bonuses

• Stat bonuses now communicate clearly that they are limited to 100.
• Agility now increases Sprint and Sneak Speed up to 15% from 0-100.
  • Base Sprint and Sneak Speed has also been decreased by 7.5%.

Combat

UESC

• UESC now have -25% health across the board in Solo matches.
• UESC will no longer at times shoot you while you're downed.
• UESC will no longer at times shoot you through smoke or while you're inside of smoke.
• UESC can no longer knock you out of exfiltration sites mid-animation.
• UESC will no longer at times turn and shoot you instantaneously when shot, will now universally take an amount of time within a certain range before firing back.
• Turrets no longer make an alert noise if killed without ever being alerted to your presence (i.e from behind, with a knife)

SMART HEAL

• Smart Heal's intelligence has been improved, will no longer use healing consumables while health and shields are full, will prioritize stronger healing consumables during combat and weaker consumables when outside combat.

COMBAT BALANCE

• Claymores and no longer be used on Pickpocket Drones at all, period.
• Controllers no longer rumble for players when hit by Recon pings.
• Enormously reduced controller aim assistance in matches with non-console players.
  • Developer Note: It seems an enormous segment of our playerbase is playing with controllers, including many players who otherwise do not play FPS games with controller, due to the aimbot we provide all controller players giving them an unfair advantage. We think this is an extremely lame compromise and want to see our players given more of a chance to engage in skill expression. For players reluctant to give up the feeling of using controllers, the aimbot will still be available in crossplay-off console lobbies.

User Interface & Experience

In-Game

• Priority Contracts are now disabled during Ranked play, due to exploitable edge cases existing in many contracts that are unintended to influence Ranked play.
• Massive performance improvements have been made, this should allow Marathon to operate at higher framerates especially on computers with a strong GPU and less strong CPU.
• Massive improvements have been made to our netcode, which internal testing with distant servers have proven to greatly reduce the incessant rubber-banding and unregistered hits experienced by many.
• Interacting with objects in the world no longer frequently fails partway through the first attempt.
• Our directional audio has been updated to handle verticality appropriately.
• Ladders have been updated to no longer feel like complete shit to interact with.
• One billion instances of Z-fighting have been fixed.
• Reduced the use of "Plastic" texture shaders on surfaces where it is inappropriate, such as wet mossy rocks, shiny metal, dirt, and so on, to improve visual immersion.
• Mantling now works drastically more smoothly and is less sensitive to timing and user input, will no longer often kick players away from walls.
• Out of bound timer has been increased from 5 seconds to 10 seconds.
• Keybindings for interactions in the Inventory screen such as closing one's inventory, or using an item can now be changed.
• Giving up is now faster, however, upon give up completion your downed body remains for a few seconds for enemy players to eliminate.
• Game timer now continues to be visible to players who are eliminated while spectating their crewmates.
• Level-based matchmaking has been relaxed to enable more varied experiences, including the addition of a soft cap to ensure greater experience is not penalized with longer wait times.
• Items can now be tracked in-run.
• Tracked items no longer reveal themselves slower while looting.
• Phantom sound effects will no longer play when arriving in audibility range of previous noises in Outpost.
• Removed a plethora of inappropriate invisible walls surrounding the Pinwheel structure on Outpost.
• Zones will now have a minimum of one guaranteed major map event per instance; major map events include Warden, Intercept, Lockdown, Anomaly, and Convoy.
• Season XP gain notifications will now linger slightly longer when in-game menus are open.
• UESC drones and tick now update position smoothly as oppossed to teleporting choppily a few times per second.

Out-of-game

• Ranked+ has been removed as a matchmaking option.
• Attachments can now be dragged from one weapon to another, or dragged directly from a weapon to your vault, or dragged onto weapons that aren't equipped, and so on.
• Bullets and other stackable items can now be bought in quantities larger than their base quantities in the shop, via scrolling up/down prior to purchase.
• Placeholders icons for weapon attachments can no longer be dragged or interacted with.
• Map and queue selection no longer resets if one chooses to "Leave Run".
• Menu grain filter can now be reduced via a slider.
• A button can now be found in the bottom-left corner of the matchmaking screen that will allow browsing of the Codex during wait times, with memory of where it was last opened during a given session.
• Sources of Season XP gained clarified in post-game screen.
• Non-party hosts can now also cancel their crew's matchmaking.
• Party hosts no longer need to wait a second between "Ready" and "Run" in order to begin matchmaking.
• Solo players no longer need to ready for their own parties in order to "Run".
• Clicking other players' profiles in your Recent Players and Recent Proximity Communications no longer sends them a friend request.
• Recent Proximity Communications no longer occasionally lists all other players in the match.
• Pending Friend Requests can now be viewed and cancelled within Marathon.
• Friends list max size is now communicated within the friends list user interface.
• Increased the maximum friend requests one can currently have from 9 to the the maximum room in one's friends list.
• Codex section preview videos have been made more coherent, i.e, hovering over "Runner" shows all Runner codex section videos in sequence, but hovering over "Vandal" will now only show the Vandal codex preview video.
• Runner and Contractor voice lines are now able to have their volume levels tweaked separately in the Sound options.
• In-menu animations and cinematics are now available at higher framerates to avoid standing out in a bad way.
• Fixed occasionally hearing other players (teammate or otherwise) looting in Cryo Archive.
• Many many more improvements to our User Interface are coming along with a future update. We messed up bad, sorry.

Design

• We recognize that Marathon's style guide is not fully coherently followed and will be making changes to various item, effect, and object names to better reflect the game's dark sci-fi and technological aesthetic.
• Created new distinct item icons for all weapon chip mods.
• Created new distinct item icons for different Runner cores.
• Crew Exfils are now named Exfil Sites as the name was inappropriate in Solo runs.

Competitive Integrity

• Gear and ranked points will now be returned upon loss to a player found to be cheating.
• Improved the in-game player reporting experience to allow for easier in-depth reporting of rulebreaking.
• Developer Note: We recognize how negatively experiencing even a single instance of cheating can influence player experience and will be creating a team to investigate and make judgments on instances of cheating faster than ever previously using new tools to analyze previously runs. Cheaters beware.