Modern Warfare 2 Released: Diamond Icons Offer Better Enemy Visibility, Shorter Footstep Audio Range, and More

The big moment that Call of Duty fans are excitedly looking forward to is just a few hours away Modern Warfare 2 The beta ended last month. In celebration of the upcoming product, Infinity Ward has outlined all the high-level changes made based on beta feedback.

Those of us in the beta should already be aware that there were a few tweaks between the beta’s two weekends, so today’s list is as well — and does touch on similar topics.

In a blog post, the developers revealed some changes that should make many people happy. Most are responses to various sticking points in the beta.

Enemy visibility was undoubtedly the biggest issue in the beta. Instead of bringing back name tags, Infinity Ward added a diamond-shaped icon that appears above enemies’ heads to make them easier to distinguish from allies. The release version also brings updated lighting that should further improve enemy visibility.

Footsteps are another major item, and the developers have lowered the range at which enemy footsteps can be heard, meaning enemies have to be closer to hear them. The footsteps of teammates should also be quieter now.

Towards the end of the test, players realized that the Death Silence Field upgrade had an unusually loud activation sound that negated its effect if it triggered close to an enemy. This sound effect now has a “substantially” shorter range.

The beta saw the return of Call of Duty’s third-person mode, but players immediately questioned one particular change. When aiming at the sights, the camera switches to standard first-person aiming, making the whole thing a little redundant.

The release version of Modern Warfare 2 will remove this so that its aiming will simply zoom in on the screen without changing the 3rd person POV. This applies to all low zoom optics – but ACOG and higher, as well as hybrid and thermal optics, will go into first person when aiming.

While the blog post doesn’t mention specifics, it says that motion mechanics such as sliding, ledge suspension, and diving have been “further refined” and that the developers have removed certain motion bugs.

During testing, bugs and poor flow left everyone with a bad impression of the Modern Warfare 2 UI. This is something the devs have been working on since then, and the menu should now be navigated more directly, and access/custom loading more seamless.

Finally, as promised, Infinity Ward confirmed that the game’s release build will include tweaks to reduce lobby breakups between matches.

Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer and the rest of the game will be live in a few hours. If you wish to change the console’s region to New Zealand for early play, you may want to hold off.

You can expect more multiplayer coverage from us in the future. Why not check out our event review before the full game goes live?