A new patch for Hitman is out this week, featuring a number of new features and bug fixes for the popular stealth title, just in time for the debut of the game’s fifteenth Elusive Target. And just when some fans might have expected Hitman support to begin winding down, following last month’s debut of the first season finale, it turns out the folks at Io Interactive are still adding new features to the game ahead of Hitman: The Complete First Season’s retail debut in early 2017.
The changes in this month’s Hitman update are wide-ranging, addressing everything from stability issues to UI modifications and changes to how Hitman displays certain information, such as which of the game’s six missions you’ve already completed with a Silent Assassin rating. The November update also introduces offline profiles, disconnected duplicates of players’ existing game data, that make mastery items (and other unlockables) available when you’re playing Hitman offline. There’s even a new Elusive Target this week, in Marrakesh, along with 10 new Featured Contracts.
In a strange twist, the new Hitman patch also includes content Io Interactive is already promising to remove from the game again next month. According to the dev team, the game’s new pull enemy command, which lets Agent 47 drag enemies out of empty windows or off ledges, is broken and will need to be removed in the December update. But fans can expect the feature to return in January, presumably before Hitman: The Complete First Season hits stores, and we can get a sneak peek at the new interaction for the next few weeks.
Here are the patch notes for Hitman ’s November update:
General Improvements
Offline Profile
All unlockable items that are earned when connected to the game's servers, are now also saved to an 'offline profile', meaning that they can be used when in Offline Mode.
Items include all mastery items; including weapons, gear, starting/pickup locations as well as Elusive Target suit rewards and Challenge Pack unlocks.
Note: You must be connected to the game servers in order to acquire new unlocks.
Stability Sweep
Fixed different issues across all locations that previously resulted in the game crashing or becoming unstable.
Opportunity Completion Checkmark
We've added functionality to mark an opportunity with a checkmark when it has been successfully completed, similar to how we show that a challenge has been completed.
This will show you the completed opportunities at-a-glance and make it easier to track completion when trying to achieve the achievements/trophies linked to opportunities.
Silent Assassin Rating Display
The scoring screen now displays "Silent Assassin" when a player completes a mission with that rating.
Major Update to Statistics Page
The 'Statistics' page has been overhauled with a new visual design that displays the challenge completion, mastery level completion and overall location completion.
Pause Menu
We've changed the background of the pause menu to be the current in-game moment, rather than the world map.
Mission Accomplished Screen Update
When successfully completing a mission, the mission accomplished screen will now show the last frame of the exit sequence, rather than fading to black.
Contracts Mode 'Success State'
After playing a Contract, the menu will now show either a checkmark (complete) or a cross (fail) to show your status for the Contract.
Improved consistency for Elusive Targets Challenge Images
The Elusive Targets Challenges now have a more consistent style.
New IOI logo
We have a new studio logo, and now that's in the game.
Challenge Completed SFX
We added a subtle sound effect that plays when unlocking a challenge.
Sarajevo Six Briefings [PS4 Only]
Briefings videos for The Mercenary and The Controller have been added to the game.
Pull an Enemy
In this update, we've added the ability for 47 to pull people over balconies or out of windows, when he is hanging on a ledge or below the balcony/window.
Unfortunately, there is a known issue for this move: NPC's that see this move will not blame 47, even if they are looking directly at the NPC or at 47.
For that reason, we will remove this ability with our December Update and fix this. It will then be re-introduced with a game update in January, around the same time as the disc release.
Fixed Issues
Paris
Fixed an issue with trespassing whilst dressed as a Chef in Paris
Fixed issues that could cause multiple opportunities in Paris to fail, depending on 47's actions
Fixed an issue where water splashes could be heard in certain areas of the attic in Paris
Fixed an issue where 47 could vault into an inaccessible location in Paris. The vault prompt has been removed
Fixed an issue that could cause the light rig in Paris to also cause damage in the basement
Sapienza
Fixed inconsistent trespassing boundaries in Sapienza
Fixed an issue where the 'Mission Accomplished' music could be heard during the cinematic following The World of Tomorrow
Marrakesh
Fixed an issue that would cause the 'Open Sesame' opportunity in Marrakesh to fail, instead of being completed
Fixed inconsistent trespassing boundaries in Marrakesh
Fixed an issue that would cause the documents to be lost when using the 'push' prompt on Matthieu Mendola in 'A House Built on Sand'.
Fixed an issue where the crowd and helicopter sounds could be heard in some parts of the tunnel in Marrakesh
Fixed an issue where starting combat in the school will alert all guards on the map in Marrakesh
Bangkok
Fixed an issue where Agent 47 could 'blend-in' without the correct disguise in Bangkok
Fixed an issue with the physics of a guitar stand in Bangkok.
Fixed an issue with clipping when wearing the Exterminator disguise in Bangkok.
Fixed an issue with an invisible wall in the atrium in Bangkok.
Fixed an issue where Jackie Carrington's routine could get stuck in Bangkok.
Fixed an issue where guards that have spotted 47 trespassing in one disguise, would immediately attempt to arrest him when finding him in a non-trespassing area in a different disguise.
Colorado
Fixed an issue where the hay bale in Colorado would not drop when shot in certain places
Fixed an issue where a door in Sean Rose's room could not be opened by Rose's Room Key
Fixed an issue that could cause the Target Lockdown alert to trigger in Colorado without player action
Fixed an issue that could make it impossible to complete the Freedom Fighters mission in Colorado
Hokkaido
Fixed an issue where a kill involving the hot springs in Hokkaido would be classed as 'Accident Fall', it is now classified as a drowning kill
General
Fixed an issue where a gun rattling sound could be heard when crouching after dropping a weapon
Fixed an issue where a challenge notification would be displayed after the first kill in a mission
Fixed an issue where the weapon HUD would sometimes display incorrectly when using 'minimal' HUD settings
Fixed an issue where subtitles could still be seen in the Pause Menu
Fixed an issue with Cyrillic characters not rendering properly on the Contracts Briefing tile
PC-Specific Issues
Fixed an issue where the cinematics between missions could drop to as low as 19 fps
Fixed an issue where the selected GPU in the Game Launcher is not the one used by the game
Fixed an issue where some tabs in the 'Replanning' screen could not be selected with a mouse
Fixed an issue with unequipping an item during the 'Planning' phase
Fixed an issue in Marrakesh where heavy flickering in areas with artificial lighting would occur on specifics setups
Fixed an issue where the framerate could stutter during combat, primarily on DX12 setups
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Hitman is currently available for download on PS4, Xbox One and PC. Hitman: The Complete First Season heads to brick and mortar retailers on Jan 31, 2017.
Be sure to check back with iDigitalTimes.com and follow Scott on Twitter for more Hitman news throughout 2016 and however long IO Interactive supports Hitman in the years to come.
