Phantom Dust, the original Xbox title recently revived via an HD remaster, is getting its second major update since the game's debut last month. The update, scheduled to release on June 28, will introduce new features and tweaks to both Xbox One and Windows 10 versions of the game.
The upcoming changes mostly address the game's multiplayer portion, with new content previously absent from its Xbox and Windows versions. Abilities first introduced in Phantom Dust's expansions are now making their way into the remaster, covering 74 skills across all five in-game schools.
The way these are earned is being tweaked, via a "daily skill reward system" that gifts to regular players. Assuming players log-in daily, all new skills will be unlockable for free in less than eleven weeks. Those unable to wait can also purchase an expansion pack on June 28, which unlocks all 74 skills for $4.99.
In-game voice chat is also being introduced with the update, after first shipping with the original Xbox version back in 2004. While it's uncommon that modern titles allow opponents to communicate, Microsoft hopes this will continue to grow the Phantom Dust community going forward.
Finally, a new option is being added to the pause menu to open an "NPC mission guide" web page. This will make it earlier to find NPCs within the campaign, to obtain new missions.
As always, several changes are also being deployed across Xbox One and Windows 10 copies. Here's a closer look at the full changelog:
- Optimized performance options.
- Updated Quick Match behavior to handle full lobbies more gracefully.
- Resolved screen orientation issue that was present on some devices.
- Fixed a bug on PC where title performance would dip on some systems when the VSync toggle option is set to off.
- Fixed a bug where the active user can be changed without returning to the Phantom Dust title screen after a prompted sign in following a sign out from the main menu.
- Fixed a bug where the cursor navigation inputs remain permanently active when a gamepad is disconnected while a cursor navigation input is held.
Microsoft has also addressed a single issue currently present affecting controller disconnects and voice chat.
We have one lingering known issue regarding controller disconnection and chat. We're working on a fix for this, but it's easily worked around in the meantime.
- Disconnection of an active Xbox One chat device or powering down a controller with an Xbox chat device plugged into it while voice chat is active causes to the system to stop taking controller input. Avoid this by not disconnecting a chat device from the controller or Xbox during voice chat sessions or turning off or allowing the controller to lose power during voice chat sessions.
What do you think of the upcoming changes? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
