Hired Ops Gets A New Map, Ranking System, And Competitive Matches
AbsolutSoft announced recently that its military FPS Hired Ops has received a new map called "Evacuation," a new ranking system, and competitive matches. The new ranking system uses the Glicko-2 algorithm, which is "essentially a further evolution of the Elo Rating," to calculate players' Matchmaking Ratings. Players are assigned a rank—Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, or Diamond—based on their Matchmaking Rating. Additionally, as a result of the introduction of ranked matches, matches are now split into ranked and training, or unranked, matches.
A more recent update also reworked sprinting algorithms, introduced a customizable minimap, and fixed some issues with the hold-to-aim feature.
The team is now working on preparing a 32-bit client for release. The client is currently undergoing internal testing and may or may not be available soon. It is noted that this is not a simple task in the following quote: "To make the 32-bit version of the Hired Ops we need to significantly alter optimize the game architecture which should improve the performance for all of our players."
Other upcoming updates include balance updates for the first five maps, "to improve their competitive aspect and diversify the tactical means of achieving the victory," and new content. The team plans to release two new maps, one of which is "a well-known Contract Wars arena," and a new mode sometime in December.
You can find the full sets of patch notes here and here.
It was previously noted in the podcast that some of us lacked the motivation to play Overwatch after the first competitive season ended. Are you more likely to play Hired Ops now that it has a ranking system and competitive matches?
