Winter Update - Out Now!
RELEASE NOTES
Dive into the new Winter Update! Check out the breakdown of features and content, including bottom fishing, new Legendary Fish, and the latest additions to Spain’s Souvenir Shop. You’ll also find information about the accompanying improvements and bug fixes.
Read on below for all the details!
HIGHLIGHTS
Time to plunge deep - bottom fishing is here!
Use a ledgering technique, along with a quiver-tipped feeder rod to target those larger fish that lurk deep down, and filter out the smaller ones that tend to stay closer to the surface. Head directly to the mission board in Golden Ridge Reserve and run through the tutorial to become acquainted with bottom fishing. You'll even get some free gear to get you started!
Dev Team’s Notes: Catching those bottom lurkers will be much easier with the addition of bottom fishing as a new tool in your fishing skill set.
Test your skills and catch the new Legendary Fish in Spain
Spain welcomes 3 legendary fish to the game! Best of luck with finding and catching El Monstrenco, a mutated female Comizo Barbel with bulging eyes; El Matador, a comically big but menacing male Mirror Carp; and Alejandro Magno, a big and hungry-looking male Brown Trout.
Dress to impress with the new items available in the Aguas Claras Souvenir Shop
The local Souvenir Shop is now open in Spain! Work towards unlocking the Cetro del Rey rod and a range of new unique cosmetic items to stand out in the crowd.
Dev Team’s Notes: With the popularity of the Souvenir Shops in Golden Ridge Reserve and Trollsporet Nature Reserve, we've added a range of locally themed items, including sneakers, 4x4 liveries, a new rod, t-shirts, and more. Use your hard-earned credits and tokens to unlock them.
FEATURES & QOL IMPROVEMENTS
Both the Lionheart 500 Sport Boat and Voyage Bluerat 4x4 have received upgrades. The boat is noticeably faster, both off the line and at the top end, making travel across the expansive waterbodies much faster. The 4x4 update is more of a refinement, with tweaks to the suspension and steering to improve the handling further.
Dev Team's Notes: Getting around the selection of reserves in The Angler has never been as easy with faster locomotion on the water and a better ride on land!
The bail arm on spinning reels will now open and close correctly at the right times before and after casting. Additionally, you can open and close the bail arm freely after casting while bottom fishing to let the line out or stop the sinker from sinking.
Dev Team’s Notes: Having been on the desirables list for a while now, the animations added to the bail arm add an extra layer of authenticity to the fishing experience. Expect a similar update to the baitcasting reels in the future.
The on-screen display (OSD) during fishing has been updated for all fishing techniques to provide clearer iconography, states, and text.
Dev Team’s Notes: As we added the new OSD for bottom fishing we realized it looked better than both float and spin overlays, so we updated them all to be consistent.
We’ve doubled the amount of map markers that you can place.
Dev Team’s Notes: Originally, we limited each map to 40 player-defined markers, but for many, this wasn't enough. We've increased that to 80 per map so you can mark even more fish locations and reminders.
We've revamped the reserve selection screen for a full-screen display and improved layout. Now, it's more visually appealing and efficiently provides crucial information when you need it.
Dev Team’s Notes: With more reserves planned for the future, we've overhauled the presentation of the page to support more locations and re-arranged key information in a much more readable way.
You've now got full control in the customization screen to choose when you want to zoom in or out on your character to get the best view of your avatar.
Dev Team’s Notes: The camera would previously zoom in or out depending on the chosen category which made it hard to get the best view, so now you have full control.
There is a new seasonal event on the horizon with even more unique cosmetics and gear. There’s even special décor in Golden Ridge Reserve to put you in a merry mood.
Dev Team’s Notes: There is still some time left before the festivities begin. Watch our social media channels to be first notified when the event starts!
Our artists have turned their eyes to the beards and upped their quality for a more realistic look.
Dev Team’s Notes: We've been listening to your feedback, making updates and alterations to the beards (all colors) to improve their look and presentation. We want to make JaxyBeard proud!
The movement range of a fishing rod has been enhanced, including the pumping action when a fish is hooked and close to the water’s surface.
Dev Team’s Notes: This addition allows for greater freedom of movement whenever there is slack on the line.
PATCH NOTES
GAMEPLAY
We’ve fixed an issue when the water depth incorrectly appeared as 0.0m when fishing in the Cueva de la Aparicion point of interest location.
The player camera no longer falls through the ground if you are on a boat in the reward screen when another player starts to drive the boat.
The torch now works correctly and it will turn itself off when a player gets on a boat. Moreover, if it is switched on before getting aboard, it will automatically turn itself back on when the player exits the boat.
The option to 'Dock' never appeared at docks and jetties across Spain. This has now been resolved, making it easier to disembark the boat at specific locations.
The large rock in Spain that was partially blocking the pier next to the Pumpkinseed Location Challenge has been removed.
We’ve removed a tree stump that was growing through a road in the Norway Reserve.
The boat spawner at the Sendero del Lagarto Trailhead now spawns the boat much closer to the jetty.
We’ve addressed an issue with the boat spawner at the Sendero del Amanecer Trailhead spawning the boat on the ground.
The Atajo del Rey Hugo point of interest now correctly spawns you by the dam instead of near the power station.
We’ve fixed an issue with the Sun Lover and Night Owl traits not working correctly in Spain.
It is now possible to survey an area again in Spain at the lookout towers if you desire.
PROGRESSION
The 'Enter Souvenir Shop' objective during Taylor's Tackle Academy tutorial now works correctly and can be completed.
UI
It is now possible to sell rods and reels directly from your Backpack and not just from your Storage.
Players can no longer place the photo challenge icons on the map.
Dev Team’s Notes: This was an unintentional addition that we now removed.
The description for the Zander in the Handbook is no longer missing.
The Apex Connect 'Account Management' option on consoles now has a QR code present to allow you to easily access the Apex Connect Website via your mobile device.
The icons for rods and baits/lures in the Quick Menu will no longer disappear if the player has no rod set up.
When a seasonal event is active, the seasonal tab within 'Local Souvenirs' now only appears in the reserve where the event is taking place.
We’ve addressed the Backpack/Tacklebox Expansion icon selection and overlap issues, that could prevent the player from being able to highlight the icons in the menus.
The problem where players couldn't sell items if they had less currency than the item's selling value has been fixed.
Previously, when catching a fish weighing less than 0.5kg while using Quick Chat, Map, or Text chat, the catch screen would either not appear or become unresponsive. This issue has been fixed.
Messaging for how to enable or disable Multiplayer has been updated to guide players to the correct menu.
The hot springs point of interest icon on the map in Golden Ridge Reserve has had its name added.
The fish counter for Taylor's Tackle Academy missions no longer keeps counting fish after completing the missions.
We’ve fixed an issue where remapped controller bindings on consoles could disappear if you chose to cancel and not save the changes.
Subtitles in the Aguas Claras Reserve video now show the correct name prefix.
Some redundant text has been removed from the ‘Spain Food Collectibles’ descriptions in the Handbook.
AUDIO
Incorrect voiceovers for multiple collectibles in Spain have been updated.
VISUALS
We’ve fixed an occasional issue where the flashlight would turn off while taking a Trophy Shot, making it difficult to see the players’ catch at night.
The fade to black when exiting to the main menu has returned so players should no longer see the water vanishing.
Spain and Golden Ridge Reserve have both seen a range of world and asset-related issues addressed, which include: fixes to missing collisions, corrections to levels of detail, adjustments to specific textures, gaps in terrain being resolved, and more.
A broad selection of minor water-related issues has been addressed across all 3 reserves, which includes fixes to flow problems, water being cut off unnaturally, incorrect blending of water bodies, the ability to see underwater in some areas, and one location where the boat may have become stuck.
We’ve fixed an issue with flickering water reflections when viewing from a high altitude.
Some waterbodies in the Norway Reserve have had rendering issues resolved.
We hope you’ll enjoy bottom fishing and all these new additions and improvements we’ve brought to the game with this update.
Don’t forget to check out our latest DLCs to enhance your fishing experience even more!
Happy fishing!
