Murderous Family players and Sneaky Victims may be getting a much needed lobby update for playability in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre launched back in August to mostly positive reviews, but players were quick to notice a few crucial and much-needed updates to ensure long-term playability.
Earlier this month, the developers announced a plan to curb lobby dodging that led to longer queue times. Lobby dodging is when players intentionally leave an online match due to a variety of factors. These factors can range from not being able to play as their favored character to not wanting to play against certain opponents. Although the developers did not wish to penalize players for leaving matches, player satisfaction with lobby experiences has become a vital talking point in the TCSM community.
With the Texas Chain Saw Massacre lobby patch, players will receive a three-minute timeout when leaving a match. This applies to players in three scenarios:
- Choosing to leave a public lobby after a confirmation prompt
- Disconnecting from the server while in a public lobby
- Closing out of the game while in a public lobby (Alt-F4)
Players who try to join a lobby while in cooldown will receive a message with their cooldown time. The developers also noted that these cooldown stacks do not stack. This means that if you exit from a lobby and receive the cooldown penalty, the next time you exit the lobby, you will only receive a three-minute cooldown again. The cooldown will not apply to players who involuntarily leave. Those who involuntarily leave by getting kicked from a lobby or losing connection will not be penalized. Similarly, penalties will not apply for lobbies whose host leaves or disconnects due to not fulfilling player requirements.
In addition, Gun Interactive CEO Wes Keltner also announced a new dynamic weather system for maps. The weather mechanic will bring unique weather systems like thunder, rain, and more to each map. Although, the weather system will not be active for all maps at launch. Players can get a taste of Texas’ horrifying weather with Nancy’s House – Night.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre lobby patch launches 8 AM EDT on May 14th
