Update #8 is live!

Servus Scavengers!

Update 8 has dropped, and it's probably our biggest one yet! Introducing the first iteration of Gear Based Matchmaking, new trampler armor sets, new shell types, a trampler reactor rework and more...

Check out everything that's new below 👇

Changelog

• Gear-based matchmaking BETA
• Matchmaking will now consider the gear score that is combined from the trampler compartments installed and the items placed into the outfitting
• If matchmaking fails to find enough players at the matching player level, it will widen the search range.
• This system is in BETA, and changes to the matchmaking might be made based on your feedback and information that we’ll see on our backend
• These changes to matchmaking might also slightly increase the time required to find a match
• BUT even during the least player-saturated hours, you will get matched eventually because the Matchmaker will throw everyone into the general queue no matter the Gear Score at a certain point, so you won't be stuck because of it
• 3 new armor sets for the trampler
• Can be unlocked in the Tech Tree
• 3 new types of shells
• 70mm Armor-Piercing / Shrapnel Shell - Shot as a singular projectile. Penetrates the Armor and creates a burst of shrapnel on the other side
• 80mm Subcaliber Shell - Has 100% Penetration Chance - Can penetrate multiple compartments in a row
• 40mm Low Heat-Optimized Shells - Reduces the Overheat Buildup while shooting Autocannons by 50%
• There are 4 types of shell hits:
• Hit - the projectile hit, dealt damage, and was destroyed
• Ricochet - Shell deals 20% of its damage and gets deflected into the other direction from the compartment that it hit. The deflected shell can still deal its full damage if it hits something else on its way
• Penetrate - Shell deals 50% of its damage to a compartment and keeps flying until it hits another obstacle (Basically you can deal 150% of shell's damage in one shot)
• Clean Through - can be seen when the shell passes through a destroyed compartment. It Doesn't deal damage to it and doesn't get destroyed. It just goes cleanly through it. (This mechanic was always there; we just added a notification to make it less confusing when the shell flies through the trampler.
• Trampler Reactor changes
• Reactor now visually show their health status and boost effects
• It reddens when it loses HP
• All reactors now have 50% more HP
• Shooting at the back of the reactor will deal critical damage
• Reactor smoke VFX reacts to gear, boost, and reactor state
• Anti-cheat false positive fixes:
• Fixed when driving towards the island and grabbing the ladder during the jump
• Fixed when driving towards the island and starting parkour during the jump
• Fixed issue with turret shooting giving “Suspicious Activity” message
• Item changes
• “The Great Silence” is now a large item and can’t be stored in the character's inventory
• Repair Kit can now be reloaded, so it no longer is destroyed after being fully used
• Fuel for the Repair Kit is dropped from the ironclads
• Empty Repair Kit can be purchased in the Storage
• Repair kit taken to the expedition now starts with 0 fuel
• Repair kit extracted from the expedition gets automatically unloaded, and its unloaded fuel gets extracted separately
• Refactored Trampler Editor to support new armor types
• Additional VFX improvements
• Updated model of the energy rods
• Possibly fixed an exploit when a cheater could steal items from the box in your hands remotely
• Fixed a number of duplication exploits
• Fixed an exploit where default ammo could be changed into special ammo type
• Possibly fixed situations when a trampler can move through another trampler on collision
• Fixed the issue where trampler legs would be in incorrect position after reentering the game
• Fixed the issue that the weapon didn't have animation and recoil while shooting and activating the flashlight simultaneously
• Fixed the issue when Upiors positions could be different between client and server

Known Issues

• Trampler reactor might not be turned on while having a weapon in hip mode
• The character cannot enter the Expedition if the Invite has been accepted at the Tutorial pop-up background
• Items may be displayed inside the character’s body in some cases
• Large items may float around the character
• Character may become invulnerable to melee damage while interacting with turrets or the steering wheel
• Bullets can pass through the character on speed-boosted trampler
• Shotgun might not deal damage at close range distance
• Ironclads can be triggered multiple times by reentering the trigger area
• Item prompt in Storage has too many hotkey options
• Blueprint can’t be deleted
• Character can become occluded in some cases
• Character might get broken animations on turrets and steering wheel after using Orbital Strike on Smuggler control scheme
• Walkaround: get any tool or weapon in hands or respawn
• 3440×1440 resolution is not available
• Character hands are “broken” when they carry energy rods

A note on pre-teamers/queue snipers/cheats

We wanted to take a moment here to give you all a quick update on the subject of pre-teaming and our in game moderation plans. We are aware of the reports going around of players manipulating the matchmaking systems to be placed with their friends on servers meant for smaller crews.

To be clear, this behaviour is prohibited in SAND, and will result in your account being banned from the game.

We are working hard to address this and ensure that SAND remains a fun and evenly leveled playing ground for everyone. Here's a quick summary of what we're doing on this front:

1. We have recently instated new admins for managing bans and reviewing reports more quickly, efficiently and regularly.
2. We'll be implementing a code of conduct soon that requires acceptance before playing the game to make it clear which conduct is prohibited in SAND with an emphasis on discouraging third party cheats and pre-teaming.
3. We are actively working on mitigating the ability queue snipe within the game itself, with the full implementation of GBMM being a starting point. We are looking into queue delays and active checks for players regularly placed together in the same server to limit peoples ability to manipulate the system, and identify anyone who continues to engage in such activity.
4. We're also working on getting an advanced in-game admin system set up so that we can look into reports in real time and spectate reportees for immediate confirmation, but this is in the early stages.
5. We have begun processing reports and issuing bans to pre-teamers daily. (Previously, bans were issued in large waves)

We encourage you to report either via the in-game reporting system or on our Discord anyone you suspect to be pre-teaming, exploiting or cheating. Let's keep the deserts clean folks.

Please don't hesitate to report any issues you encounter or share any feedback you might have following this update on our Steam Forums and Discord!

Catch you on the dunes, Scavengers!

• Hologryph / tinyBuild Games