Highguard's inaugural patch has arrived, bringing a host of highly anticipated improvements, yet the quest for optimal performance on PC is still underway. Players who have immersed themselves in Highguard, the latest raid hero shooter, were understandably frustrated by the absence of a Field of View (FoV) slider for console users at launch. Fortunately, this issue has now been rectified, along with several other minor adjustments aimed at enhancing the experience during its debut week.
"We have just released a patch that includes various enhancements, such as FoV sliders for consoles, options to toggle Aim Down Sights (ADS) and Crouch, numerous video settings, and additional features," stated Wildlight Entertainment in their 1.0.4 update. "The team is also diligently working on optimization improvements; however, they will require a few more days to finalize these changes."
Players using PS5 and Xbox Series X/S can now modify their field of view up to 110 degrees. Additionally, new visual settings have been introduced for PC users, enabling them to adjust rendering loads to enhance frame rates. While options to disable motion blur and depth of field are not yet available, they are expected to be implemented in future updates. Moreover, a significant bug affecting PS5 that caused the game to crash after exiting matches has been resolved.
This initial round of updates comes at a crucial time as Highguard strives to maintain its presence in the competitive multiplayer landscape following its recent release on both PC and console. Unfortunately, it has faced a wave of negative reviews on Steam, with reports indicating a sharp decline in concurrent player counts on PC. However, some console players have shared positive experiences, noting that as they continue to engage with the game, they begin to appreciate its unique blend of genres.
Here’s a detailed overview of the Highguard 1.0.4 Patch Notes:
Improvements to Settings
Note: In an effort to expedite these changes for our players, several menu options are currently only available in English. Fully localized settings will be included in a subsequent patch.
Game Input Settings
- Players can now choose between Hold or Toggle for the Crouch option across all platforms.
- The ability to set Aim Down Sights to Hold or Toggle is currently available only for PC users. This feature allows players to toggle into ADS and then quickly tap Sprint (using shift on PC or the left stick on a controller) to swap their scope. This may be somewhat disorienting for controller users, and it is recommended that PC players rebind the scope swap if they use Toggle ADS. We are actively exploring the possibility of adding this functionality for console players who currently cannot rebind buttons, but more time is needed for development.
Video Settings
- Console users now have the capability to adjust their FoV to 110 degrees.
- Low scalability settings for shadows and reflections have been optimized to enhance performance, albeit with some trade-offs in image quality.
- Activating the low shadow setting also disables volumetric fog.
- A new "View Distance Quality" setting has been introduced, allowing players to manage skeletal mesh Level of Detail (LOD), which can further help fine-tune GPU and CPU usage.
Players can now toggle the following features on or off, regardless of other quality settings:
- Anisotropic Materials
- Chromatic Aberration
- Bloom
Options for disabling Motion Blur and Depth of Field are undergoing additional testing to ensure they can be safely disabled, so stay tuned for these updates in the near future.
- DLSS users can select a DLSS preset, with more presets and clearer descriptions expected in the next patch.
- Players now have the option to turn off Global Illumination entirely.
- An engine bug that could inadvertently limit laptop users to 60 FPS, irrespective of their frame rate settings, has been fixed.
Crash and Bug Fixes
This patch addresses crashes that could occur under specific circumstances, including:
- Exiting a match on PS5 while in an unexpected input state.
- Loading into matches on devices with slower storage solutions.
Several other bugs related to online user presence and matchmaking have also been corrected:
- Friends now appear online correctly after accepting requests, and Xbox presence updates function properly. Major crash fixes have led to a remarkable 90% reduction in crashes, significantly boosting stability.
- Friend status issues have been resolved, ensuring players show up online accurately and Xbox presence updates reliably. The most critical crash issues have been eliminated, resulting in a substantial decrease in crashes.
