Hitman 2‘s 2.50 update was released today and IO Interactive has provided fans with the release notes detailing exactly what has changed with the update. Aside from the previously announced content like the new Sniper Assassin mission set in Siberia, and the Anniversary Suits from IO Interactive’s past titles, the game’s latest update brings with it a ton of quality of life changes and bug fixes which should make the game more enjoyable to play.
One of the more notable quality of life changes coming with the 2.50 update is an adjustment to the detection meter which will give players a better idea of just how much time they have left before being detected in-game. There’s a new UI element which will make it easier for players to tell when an item is stashed in one of the game’s trash cans. IO Interactive has also made changes to the game’s UI when picking up an illegal item in order for players to be able to better distinguish between legal items and illegal ones, thanks to the new larger red exclamation mark beside the item’s name, and the fact that the interaction circle will become red when picking the item up. Also, due to requests from the community, IO Interactive has added the toggle aim option into the game.
When it comes to bug fixes with this update, there are plenty. For starters, this update fixes an issue that would cause Agent 47’s Handler, Diana, not to introduce targets or key objectives properly. IO Interactive has also stated that once she introduces a target or key objective, she will not say those lines again for another 48 hours of real time in order to reduce needless repetition. A glitch where the Silent Assassin rating would be lost if a player knocked out a target, killed them using an accident, and then the body was found was also fixed. A bug which would cause Agent 47 to be unable to leave a closet in the Crows Hideout in Mumbai was fixed, and another glitch that would cause thrown items to stick to ceilings in Mumbai was removed.
The list of patch notes is as follows:
Hitman 2 Update Patch Notes
Game Update 2.50: What’s Changing?
Camera Grids
A few months back, we made a change where security camera grids were always visible. We’ve now added this as a setting in the Options>Gameplay>Camera Grid menu. This will be set to ‘On’ by default but can also be changed to ‘Off’. When the setting is ‘On’, camera grids will always be shown whether in Instinct or not. When set to ‘Off’, camera grids will only be shown when in Instinct.
Illegal HUD Prompts
We’ve made a visual change to alert players when they are about to pick up an illegal item or perform an illegal action. Previously, there would be a small red exclamation point attached to the interaction button. Now, we have added a slightly larger exclamation point next to the interaction button and we’ve made the interaction circle turn red (rather than white) when performing the action. The ambition with these two small tweaks is to make it more apparent to players that they are about to perform an action that is illegal.
In the image below, you can see that the exclamation mark is easier to identify and that the interaction circle fills with red when the interaction button is pressed down.
Stash Icon
We’ve added a small visual change to the Stash Points in-game (e.g trash cans) that will show a subtle icon to indicate to players that an item has been stashed there. Currently, each Stash Point has the interaction marker (small white square) that indicates that you can interact with an item. Now, that interaction marker will be ‘filled in’ to indicate that an item is stashed there.
In the example below, it is now easier to see that an item is stashed in the trash can (the icon is filled in), but there is nothing in the briefcase (icon is empty).
Attention Spike
We’ve made three subtle changes to the Attention Meter to make it easier to know when you are gaining attention and how close you are to becoming compromised or spotted.
Firstly, we’ve made a change to the colour. Yellow is the new white and makes it easier to see.
Secondly, the meter will now ‘fill’ allowing you to see how close you are to being spotted.
Thirdly, we’ve made a technical change to the attention meter to prevent it from not being visible on-screen. It was previously a 3D object in the world and in some cases, depending on where the camera was positioned, it wasn’t visible to the player.
In the (zoomed) image below, you can see the new colour showing how much attention has been gained. The slightly faded yellow shows how much room there is for more attention before the guard will react.
Who is THAT?
We’ve fixed an issue where Diana, Agent 47’s handler, would not introduce targets (and key objectives) in some missions. She will now do so again in her trademark style. However, we’ve made a small tweak to give her a few days off every so often. Now, after hearing Diana introduce a target (or key objective) once, she won’t introduce that particular target again for a period of 48 hours real-time. We expect that this change will make Diana’s dialogue less intrusive for repeated playthroughs over a short period of time and make her less of a meme, whilst maintaining her impact and assistance to 47. Note: Key Objectives include things such as the virus in Sapienza, Soders’ heart in Hokkaido, etc.
SA KO OH NO
We’ve fixed an issue where the Silent Assassin rating would be lost if a target was knocked unconscious, killed in an accident and THEN the body was found.
SA RULES #2
We’ve addressed an issue where the Silent Assassin rating could be earned with 4 stars because the ‘Never Spotted’ bonus was sometimes not being granted after a SA playthrough. Now, the SA rating and all bonuses should be properly awarded after completing a SA playthrough. This was sometimes caused by 47 being almost/partially noticed by a target before killing them.
Tweaked Assignments
We’ve fixed an issue that was preventing Blair Reddington from completing the entirety of his loop in Embrace of the Serpent. He was skipping two specific steps that also meant that dialogue was not being triggered. Part of this fix included Blair triggering the correct dialogue, depending on the status of the chef.
Bank Chatter
We’ve fixed an issue in New York (The Bank) where two conversations could overlap in the Conference Room.
Time’s Up
We’ve fixed an issue where the ‘Time’s Up’ Challenge in New York (The Bank) would not always unlock correctly.
Lights Out
We’ve fixed an issue where the chandelier in the main hall of the Bank would ‘flicker’ and temporarily disappear after being destroyed.
Bank Cover
We’ve fixed some issues with 47 taking cover near the staircase to the CEO’s floor in The Bank.
Shot Gun
We’ve addressed an issue where the Sawed Off Bartoli 12G Shotgun (New York Mastery Unlock) could not be equipped as a starting weapon or placed in an Agency Pickup. The shotgun can now be used in those ways. However, it can no longer be holstered during gameplay and will instead function like all other shotguns in terms of being placed on 47’s back. To support these changes, we’ve altered the description of the weapon and renamed it to the “Customised Bartoli 12G”.
Update: This change is temporary and was inadvertently included as part of our investigations into how to we could make the weapon work properly with weapon stashes. With our next update (August), we will revert the weapon’s name and holster-ability (yes, that’s a word) as well as enabling it to be placed in large stash points.
Half-Baked Hippo
We’ve fixed an issue where Jorge Franco would sometimes suspend his routine during the ‘Half Baked’ Mission Story.
Locked Closet
We’ve fixed a community-reported issue where 47 could not exit a specific closet in the Crows Hideout in Mumbai. If you’re not happy with this fix, you can still enter the cupboard and refuse to leave.
Taxi Exit
We’ve fixed a community-reported issue where player-made Contracts created in Mumbai can be insta-failed if the “Required Exit” is set to a taxi driver who is then distracted or affected by combat.
Muffin Melee
We’ve fixed a community-reported issue where muffins and snowballs were categorised as Gear. They are now correctly placed in the ‘Weapons – Melee’ category.
A Quick Fix
We’ve fixed an issue where the “No Evidence” challenges would not be completed when players exited a mission, despite fulfilling the requirements. Once cause for this was immediately exiting the mission after eliminating a target. We’ve made it so that a fast-exit will still grant the challenge when the requirements are met.
Note: See the Known Issues below for an outstanding ‘No Evidence’ issue.
Lost Items
We’ve fixed an issue where thrown items could get stuck out of reach in certain ceilings in Mumbai. Thrown items would cause NPC’s to investigate the noise in the room above.
Roadmap? Jeppe!
We’ve added an option to the Featured Hub to allow players to view the newest monthly Roadmap. This will function as a one-time pop-up message when a new Roadmap is released each month and will give the option to visit our website (this one right here!) to get more details. It will then be a permanent fixture in the Featured Hub so that it can be reviewed and admired at any time.
Press P for Patch Notes
We’ve added a ‘hard button’ at the very bottom of the Options menu that will take you to our latest Release Notes / Patch Notes. If you’re reading this after pressing that button, you probably just found out about that.
Busted (Legacy)
We’ve fixed a community-reported issue where 47 was unable to pick up the bust in the storage room in Paris.
Step Up (Legacy)
We’ve fixed a community-reported issue in Bangkok where Agent 47 would not be trespassing on a specific step in the staircase between the lounge and the kitchen.
PC-Specific Fixes
SSAO
The ‘SSAO’ setting now has more options to select. Previously, this setting had two options; on or off. Now it has six options; Off, Minimum, Low, Medium, High and Ultra. These can be set in-game or via the Launcher.
Known Issues
We’ve listed some of the game’s known issues below, so that you know we’re aware. We’ve always got eyes on the Technical Support and Bug Report threads on the Forums and Reddit too, so if you’ve reported something there, we almost definitely know about it.
To save us from writing it repeatedly, “We are aware of an issue where…”
- PC players are experiencing “0x8000000_” (and related) crashes. We’re continuing to work on a permanent solution to this with our friends and partners at Nvidia. We recommend that players who have been experiencing this issue use DX12, as this has been reported to fix the issue.
- Players can encounter problems when dropping items needed for specific exits in Contracts Mode.
- Players cannot unlock the ‘Janbiya’ from the House Built on Sand mission (Legacy Pack)
- The ‘No Evidence’ challenge will not be earned if a sedated body is found.
- The Summer Suave Suit (Hot Summer) does not count as a ‘suit’ with regards to challenges and Contracts Mode.
- The ‘Sniper Assassin’ challenge in sandbox missions do not unlock if the target spots 47 before he kills them, conflicting with current SA rules.
- Athena Savalas can get distracted *just* before falling to her death.
- A gate to the Upside Down can be found when opening the door to the break room in the Bank. We’re consulting with Hawkins PD on a possible fix.
- Area Discovery challenges, in some particular edge cases, do not unlock properly.
- Players are unable to unlock the achievement / trophy for reaching Bangkok mastery level 20 in certain circumstances.
- The SA rating can still be earned when the body of a target who has been tranquilised and then killed immediately afterwards has been found.
What do you think of all of these changes to Hitman 2? Are you glad to see the detection meter was reworked? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
[Source: IO Interactive]
