Saints Row – Sunshine Springs Combat Changes and New Features Revealed

Volition’s Saints Row is getting its first paid DLC on May 9th with The Heist and The Hazardous. However, the Sunshine Springs Update is also going live, overhauling combat and adding new features like an Emote Wheel.

Some combat changes include “drastically” reduced HP for all enemies and the frequency of enemy dodges in close-quarters combat to “near zero.” Enemies will also no longer avoid player kicks, and it now takes longer for them to call for reinforcements. Also, for those who found it hilarious when enemies would wait their turn in combat, that’s fixed.

The HUD and UI have also seen some changes and will now better display a weapon’s level. The requirements for completing a weapon challenge are also below the weapon wheel, and there’s a full-screen tutorial explaining why players should use the upgrade system.

The Emote Wheel allows up to eight emotes at a time, with a quick bind option to use two quickly. You can also mix some emotes and “steer” them while moving slowly. Check out some of the patch notes below for more details and full notes here.

Sunshine Springs Update

QUALITY OF LIFE AND NEW FEATURES:

NEW DISTRICT – SUNSHINE SPRINGS

In our first map expansion we have officially added the brand new district of Sunshine Springs. A sprawling resort area, an oasis in the dry landscape of the Rojas Desert along Route 22 in the south-east of Santo Ileso. This district comes with new activities and stores to explore, and it’s all yours to conquer.

General Combat Changes:

Significant changes have been made to combat. We heard a lot of feedback about the amount of damage needed to down enemies, and we agreed. Combatant health has been dramatically reduced. This change, combined with several aim and engagement improvements, increases the pace of combat and reduces the ammo starvation.

We also made several changes to enemy dodges, since those would sometimes feel unfair. The last major change is regarding the time players had to interrupt call-ins for reinforcements. It was too short, so we adjusted them to be longer on all difficulty levels. Numerous additional changes and bug fixes (detailed below) are included in this update. Overall, combat feels much more satisfying and we can’t wait for everyone to get their hands on it.

• Drastically reduced the hit point values of all enemies.
• Reduced the frequency of enemy dodges in melee combat to near 0.
• Reduced the frequency of enemies avoiding player kicks to 0.
• Increased the amount of time it takes for enemies to call for reinforcements.
• Enemies arriving to combat situations will now arrive in slightly different locations to more frequently avoid collisions.
• Enemies will no longer wait to engage the player 1 at a time in combat.
• Enemy hit chance is now temporarily reduced when the player crouches.
• Changed the crossbow weapon to use hit scan logic instead of behaving like a projectile weapon.
• Slightly improved the sounds indicating “low ammo.”
• Improved impact reactions associated with weapons typically viewed as “heavy.”
• Added a visual element to the reticle on the HUD to indicate when a player successfully hits an enemy.
• Removed “stand in place and panic” order from Panteros enemies who are on fire. – This better aligns them with the logic of using fire in their attacks.
• Buffed low-level explosive skills to be more useful and fun throughout the game.
• Removed damage immunity on enemy combatants when dodging.
• Added fire damage resistance to all Panteros.
• Added better logic to enemies attempting to make a call in for reinforcements to better keep them in the view of the player – and thus able to be interrupted. This should keep enemies from calling too often from cover.
• Added logic to better clean up vehicles abandoned by fleeing pedestrians.
• Weapon Signature Abilities will now automatically be applied when they are unlocked instead of requiring the player to go to Friendly Fire locations.
• Reduced spread on player weapons and replaced it with more realistic recoil. This should better reward skill in compensation with reducing recoil.
• Updated Thump Gun charge time and reload times to be more in line with other weapons of the same tier.

HUD/UI Combat Changes:

• Added visual elements to the HUD and the weapon wheel to indicate the current level of upgrade on a given weapon.
• Added text below the weapon wheel to indicate the requirements to complete the equipped weapon challenge.
• Added a full-screen tutorial to encourage players to utilize the upgrade system.
• Added “Friendly Fire” weapon store functionality to the weapon stashes in the HQ and apartment.
• Recaptured tutorial video for “Proximity Mines”
• Re-enabled Depth of Field blur in fine aim.

@tcha Combat Changes (note, these will improve areas outside of @tcha additionally):

• Added avoidance logic to enemy vehicles arriving at @tcha combat encounters.
• Added scaling deceleration to enemy vehicles arriving at @tcha combat encounters to keep vehicles from careening out of control.
• Resized @tcha locations combat areas to keep arriving enemies closer to the player’s location.

**NEW** Feature: Emote Wheel:

• Added customizable “wheel” to offer up to 8 emote choices on the fly.
• Added “quick bind” feature to left and right d-pad (“c” and “v” on the keyboard) to quickly access any two emotes from the wheel.
• Added emote interface to the player customization screens.
• Added new ability to “steer” certain emotes while slowly moving (some can even be mixed with others!).
• Added new “type” descriptions to each type of emote while customizing. This will help players better understand the abilities and limitations of each type.
• Added 6 new emotes to try out with the new emote wheel.