Uncharted 3 Multiplayer Patch 1.17 [Initial Details]

It's a big week for all you Uncharted 3 multiplayer fans, this latest patch has been teased for a very long time and was even delayed because it took longer to complete then anticipated. Before you start complaining, yes I'm aware that these patch notes are not the complete list, it appears that Naughty Dog have released this basic list along with the preliminary patch. I'll update this article, as and when/if new details are released but for now some of the things already listed in the patch notes are worth discussing, you can find my thoughts and analyses after the notes.

We're starting off the week with a taste of what's in store. This patch will set up everything so we can deploy our biggest update to Uncharted 3 Multiplayer yet tomorrow.

Patch 1.17 Notes Available: Globally - February 25, 2013 before 6:30pm PST.

GAMEPLAY

• Inactive players leaderboard reset 
• Naughty Dog Paw icon will appear near your rank icon - we love you. We'll explain more tomorrow. 
• Lab Maps can now be added to the custom game list by Naughty Dog 
• More than one Lab Map may now appear in the Lab Playlist
• The following Medals have been removed from Team Objective and Plunder:

    Gunslinger
    Commando
    Fisticuffs
    Strike Three
    Spray and Pray
    Long Ranger
    Unlucky
    Oh Snap
    Dangerous

• Changes to existing Team Objective and Plunder medals:

    Expansionist from 5 territories to 2 and $1,000 to $500
    None Shall Pass from 5 kills to 2 and $1,000 to $500
    Captured from $500 to $2,000
    Protectorate from $250 to $1,000
    No Cigar from $750 to $2,000
    Executioner from $250 to $1,000
    Guard Duty $350 to $1,500

CHARACTERS

• Additional colors added to every item and skin. - MOAR COLORS! Hooray!
• New head items item for various characters - available later on  
• New shirts for custom characters - available later on

TOURNAMENT

• Platinum tournament tier - reached at 23,500 points
• 11 new items just for the Tournament rewards
• Starting immediate Platinum Tournament rewards are Drake Shade Raptor Mask and Talbot Shade Dive Helmet, these will be unlocked once you acheive Platinum for the first time.
• There are four new Platinum tier permanent unlocks for the Djinn Skin.
• You will earn the Djinn Stunner Shades after 2 Platinum tiers.
• You will earn the Djinn Head Wrap after 4 Platinum tiers.
• You will earn the Djinn Helmet after 6 Platinum tiers.
• You will earn the Djinn Horns after 8 Platinum tiers. The Djinn horns have a stat that no other item has: +Aimed Movement Speed!

TECHNICAL FIXES

• Addressed several recurrent bugs

The first thing that jumps out at me is the leaderboard re-setting, I think this is the Tournament leaderboards and not the other ongoing career data tracking, at least I hope so (doesn't make sense otherwise). Probably so that players who are just starting to compete in said tournaments, aren't losing out on leader board placings, simply because certain players (who are not playing regularly anymore) amassed huge and unbeatable scores in the past. 

The Naughty Dog paw icon will now appear next to players names, this is to distinguish those who already played Uncharted 3 online before it was made free to play. It's a nice touch and is something that shows the developers do care about those fans that have supported the title from the beginning. As well as this icon, OG UC3 players also get the Naughty Dog paw t-shirt for their in game custom characters.

The lab playlist will now contain more than one map, again this is something that fans have been after for a while and it'll be nice to be able to play certain maps again, without it being restricted to custom games only. At the same time, custom games could potentially have access to all the past and future lab maps, this patch allows Naughty Dog the capability to add them at will.

I understand why ND have decided to remove certain medals from being achieved in certain game modes but I'm not a fan of this move. It's already annoying that you can't earn all the medals in other game modes but reducing the number even further and in more modes, this just bugs me. If I legitimately complete the requirements for a medal, I expect to receive it and the cash that comes with it, I don't really need the cash anymore but I definitely want the medals to count towards my career tally. Increasing the cash value of the other medals and making them easier to achieve is something I do approve of but doesn't make me less annoyed.

Finally there are new colours coming for the character items, something I know people have been going crazy over, it's not a big deal for me but more variety is always a good thing. The incoming new character items is something I'm interested to see, I wonder if they'll be real money items or things that can be unlocked via new treasure sets? If previous additions are anything to go by both options will be available.

I mainly play Co-Op, so new additions to the Competitive Tournaments isn't the most intriguing news to me but again, it's nice that there are new things are still being added, should I ever be inclined to try and earn those items. 

Finally, it's hard to discuss the technical fixes seeing as none are listed (lol) but fixes are generally always a good thing, so I'll go out on a limb and say 'great' :P


You can read the official post on the Naughty Dog blog here but I quoted the notes exactly and haven't altered their image in anyway.

Update: Big Uncharted 3 Update Has Gone Live