Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 has achieved a significant milestone with its recent franchise-best launch. Players and critics alike have praised the game for its immersive design, thrilling gameplay, and a deep sense of nostalgia for fans of the series. However, despite this strong start, developer Saber Interactive is hard at work addressing community feedback and fine-tuning the game to meet the evolving demands of its fanbase.
With a slew of upcoming patches and updates, including fixes for connectivity issues and tweaks to gameplay mechanics, the future of Space Marine 2 looks bright. They announced all the incoming major updates with lengthy post on Steam here.
Connectivity Issues: Saber’s Top Priority
One of the most pressing issues facing Space Marine 2 since its launch has been connectivity problems. These issues have made it difficult for players to connect to servers and play with friends, leading to frustration across the player base. Saber Interactive has openly acknowledged the problem, stating that they are working “day and night” to increase server capacity and reduce server load.
In their recent community post on Steam, the development team emphasized that resolving these connectivity issues is their “top priority”. The team is focused on addressing server crashes, improving matchmaking, and ensuring smoother online play. They have committed to releasing a major patch in the coming weeks, aimed at resolving these problems and enhancing the overall online experience for players.
Another concern tied to these connectivity issues is the problem of lost game progress. Some players have reported losing saved game data due to server interruptions, which has led to significant frustration. Saber Interactive is working to implement fail-safes and backup mechanisms that will protect player progress even in the event of server issues.
While server problems can be common in the early stages of a game’s release, Saber is taking swift action to ensure these issues are resolved as quickly as possible. Players can expect to see noticeable improvements in server stability and connectivity with upcoming patches.
Improving AI Bot Teammates
Solo players in Space Marine 2 have expressed concerns about the effectiveness of their AI bot teammates, particularly in challenging missions. Players have noted that the bots’ passive behavior makes solo gameplay significantly more difficult, especially during boss fights and critical moments.
In response, Saber Interactive has clarified that bot behavior was initially designed to keep the spotlight on the player, rather than the AI. However, they acknowledged that the bots can sometimes be “a bit too passive” and have pledged to improve their performance in future updates.
To address player feedback, Saber will be rolling out improvements to AI behavior, particularly during campaign boss fights. These adjustments will make bots more responsive and useful without taking away from the player’s experience. The studio is also considering making bots more effective during specific objectives, such as defending key points or engaging in high-priority targets.
While the developers want to maintain the balance between player agency and AI assistance, they are committed to tweaking bot behaviors to ensure that solo players have a more balanced experience.
Veteran Difficulty
For players seeking a greater challenge, Space Marine 2 offers the Veteran difficulty, which pushes both the player’s skill and the game’s mechanics to their limits. However, some solo players have found this mode to be excessively difficult, particularly due to the AI bot limitations mentioned earlier.
Saber Interactive has taken this feedback to heart and is planning to adjust Veteran difficulty to make it more approachable for solo players. The game will still maintain its challenging nature, but the studio plans to tweak AI aggressiveness and enemy behaviors to make the experience more fair.
While Saber intends to maintain the integrity of the challenge that Veteran mode offers, they are working on fine-tuning the difficulty curve. The goal is to make the game challenging but fair, ensuring that players can enjoy a rewarding experience without feeling overwhelmed.
These changes will be reflected in upcoming patches, alongside other balancing updates that aim to improve the overall game flow for both new and veteran players.
New Features and Customization Options
Beyond fixes and tweaks, Space Marine 2’s future patches will introduce a variety of new content based on community suggestions. Saber Interactive has confirmed that they are exploring the addition of new classes, melee weapons, and various customization options for players.
One of the most requested features from the community has been the ability to further customize the appearance of their Space Marines. Saber has confirmed that marine face customization will be coming in a future update, along with new armor color options. These updates will give players more freedom to express their individuality and creativity in the game.
Among the most hotly debated requests is the introduction of a Field of View (FoV) slider. While many players have expressed their desire for this feature, Saber Interactive has explained that it is hesitant to implement it, citing concerns about how an FoV slider could affect the game’s cinematic camera system.
According to Saber, Space Marine 2’s camera is designed to change position and field of view dynamically based on the player’s actions. Implementing an FoV slider could disrupt the game’s visual style and potentially degrade the overall experience. However, despite these reservations, Saber is still considering adding an FoV slider in a future patch, given the popularity of the request.
While some features are under consideration, others have been outright denied. For example, players hoping for a left/right shoulder swap option for melee combat will be disappointed. Saber has stated that implementing this feature would require reworking melee animations and transitions, which is not feasible at this time.
With all of these lengthy patches on the incoming update, the game should played and run better, right?