MAG Patch 1.02 Just Around The Corner

I'm a big fan of proactive patching. A developer must fix what's obviously broken. They help their game even more by tweaking things that ain't broke but can be improved.

That's what Zipper's doing with the MAG patch 1.02 (which is automatically installing February 17, 2010 at 1am Pacific/ 4am Eastern/ 9am GMT). The team is taking a solid crack at improving the med support in MAG.

we’ve eliminated the onscreen medic icon from anyone who has a Medical Kit and have instead changed it so that only those who have the Resuscitation Kit sport the cross next to their name. Moreover, we’ve also hidden the “incapacitated” icons for downed players from everyone but those who can help them — cleaning up the screen quite considerably — and have added in some distance counters so that you know how far you have to travel before arriving at the injured.

I'll pause for some polite applause.

I'm intrigued by one other line item in the patch notes (which are included below). "Statistical changes to support eventual integration into MAG.com website." Does that mean we can expect online pages with our character stats? We'll see.

MAG Patch v1.02
Available February 17, 2010 | 40MB (TPPS), 55MB (DLS)

Gameplay

• Fixed issue where water-submerged players could not be resuscitated.

Interface

• Restricted Medic icon for downed players will only show up to those with the “Resuscitation” Support Skill Equipped.
• Incapacitated player icons are now hidden from teammates who can’t resuscitate them.
• Added distance indicator for incapacitated teammates (meters).
• Added distance display for “Anti-Personnel” and “Anti-Tank” Mines for both teammates and enemies equipped with the “Explosives Detector.”
• Localization changes for language in the Armory screen.

Technical

• Fixed XP requirements for Level 36 (moved from 23,686 to 21,999) and Level 37 (moved from 23,803 to 23,083).
• Statistical changes to support eventual integration into MAG.com website.

Server

• Improved server performance to reduce instances of lag in population-heavy games.
• Groups cannot enter match if one of its members is banned from the game.
• Regional server hosting IDs adjusted in North American locations.