Modern Warfare’s latest patch takes another crack at getting footsteps to sound right

Balancing games isn’t easy, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare has already had a slew of issues to work out. While the 725 shotgun, which was basically a sniper rifle when the game first released, has been the game’s most high-profile balance issue, the sound of footsteps have had almost as many changes over the last few weeks.

Players have been complaining about the fact that footsteps were too loud since the game’s release. While this may not sound like a big deal, it’s actually pretty damned important.

Footsteps are an important part of spatial awareness in Call of Duty games. If someone’s sneaking up on you, their footsteps might be the only thing that warns you. But if they’re too loud, they could drown out other important noises and completely ruin the chance for any stealth in the game.

Infinity Ward has been trying to get the footstep noises just right over the last several patches, but fans still aren’t quite happy. The latest patch, which Infinity Ward released on Friday morning, adjusts the volume and sound type for crouch walking and walking while aiming down sights.

But it doesn’t seem like the patch will completely fix the problem. According to Call of Duty site, Charlie Intel the Battle.Net version of the patch notes briefly had a section with an internal note.

The note reads, “This is a hot topic in the community, and this is not the change that they were hoping to see. Our core players want to see footstep volume dramatically reduced.”

Infinity Ward has since removed the note, but it leaves a lot of questions for players. It’s clear that Infinity Ward has heard the complaints, and is intending to fix footsteps in one way or another. But whether or not the developer ever plans to fix footstep volume in the way that some players want remains to be seen.

For a look at all the changes coming to Modern Warfare in the game’s latest patch you can see the full notes below.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare update 1.09 11/22 patch notes

General

• Fix for a bug where a player could spawn without a character model when spawning in on a friendly vehicle
• Fixes for various exploits across all maps and modes
• Fix for an issue where copying an opposing players loadout was also copying their killstreaks
• Fix for the After-Action report not displaying newly acquired awards
• Fix for player rank icons not appearing on the scoreboard
• Shortened the amount of time an execution animation plays
• Accessibility: Added the option to Always Sprint
• Footsteps: Adjusted volume and sound type played for crouch walk and walking while Aiming Down Sights
• Dead Silence: Fix for the Dead Silence Field Upgrade not lasting the correct amount of time when CDL rules are enabled
• Fix for nameplates being visible in a certain location on Piccadilly
• Updates to the obituary (killfeed); removed “Avenged” and “Save Player”, play of the game owner, and player rank increases
• Fix for players being able to join a match even though they’ve been blocked

Private Match:

• Added the option to disable the spawn camera
• Fix for a bug where the ‘Starting Flags Captured’ private match option was not functioning as intended
• Fix for the bomb screen appearing blank when defusing or planting the bomb in Search and Destroy with Realism enabled. Added bomb carrier indicator.

Killstreaks:

• Fixed an issue where selected killstreaks would revert to the previous selection mid-match
• Fix where players using the Shield Turret killstreak could see through smoke at certain angles with the side panels of the turret

Call of Duty League

• Dead Silence: Fix for the Dead Silence Field Upgrade not lasting the correct amount of time when CDL rules are enabled
• Thermal scopes are now able to see through smoke grenades
• Added the option to disable the spawn camera
• Fixed an issue where the mount interaction prompt was disappearing when planting or diffusing the bomb in Search and Destroy

1 Life Mode Fixes:

• Fix for camera getting stuck on the death location when transitioning to spectate
• Fix for the weapon not animating when sprinting at the beginning of the round

Infantry Assault Vehicle:

• Reduced damage radius and lethality of the turret

Progression/Challenges/Missions Fixes:

• Cleaned up and updated descriptions for various challenges
• Officer Challenge: “Heads Up”
• “Destroy Vehicles with Launchers”
• “Doing Work”
• “Aggression”
• “Expert Gunsmith”
• “One Trick Pony”

Lethals/Tacticals:

• Fix for Decoy Grenade showing a red blinking light for both allies and enemies
• Slightly brightened the player outline when using the Snapshot Grenade

Single Player:

• Fix for a bug that could cause an error when selecting a mission

Perks:

• Spotter: perk was not marking equipment, Field Upgrades, or Killstreaks through walls in FFA. Fix for Spotter perk not marking UAVs and slightly brightened outlines
• E.O.D: Fix for players losing HUD elements after hacking an enemy claymore in certain scenarios
• Fix for the “Quick Fix” perk not giving faster regeneration when earning kills with the throwing knife.
• Fix for the “Amped” perk not stowing the Riot Shield as quickly as it should

Weapons

• Fix for rocket launcher camos not unlocking or tracking properly
• Fix for the Model 860 camos not unlocking or tracking properly
• FN SCAR 17: slight increase in ADS time, reduction to barrel and bipod grip penalties
• Fix for a white placeholder box appearing when leveling up a weapon and unlocking new attachments
• Added descriptions to all optics that have scope glint
• Fixed an issue where the P90 + FFS Ring Sight would create a scope glint
• Thermal scopes are now able to see through smoke grenades
• Fix for charms not appearing where they should on various weapons

Leaderboards/Combat Records:

• Fixed a bug where selecting “All” would sometimes kick the player back to the main menu
• Added CTF and Hardpoint into Combat Records

Audio: Voice chat options:

• No Effect – default voice chat. No additional effects or EQ adjustments
• Stealth Comms – Bring the immersion of the Campaign into Multiplayer with added SAS radio effects to voice chat
• Classic Chatter – Feeling nostalgic? Coordinate with your team using classic Modern Warfare radio effects

Special Operations:

• Added munitions drops! After various objectives, a care package will drop to provide you with much needed munitions!
• Various exploit fixes
• Fix for an issue where players could lose functionality after using the EMP Drone in Operation Crosswind
• Fix for crashes that occur when viewing the scoreboard from the match summary

Survival:

• Fix for enemies spawning out of bounds on Piccadilly

PC Changes

New Features:

• Added an option to hide Friend requests and Party Invitations
• Added support for additional keyboard layouts on PS4

Stability:

• Several fixes to prevent crashes and improve stability

General Fixes:

• Fixed an issue where the boot up sequence volume would be too loud
• Various keybinding adjustments
• Players are now able to back out of the Gesture and Spray Wheel by clicking anywhere
• More fixes to prevent hitching/stuttering during cutscenes
• Fixed an issue where the Main Menu music would not play when users activated the Skip Introduction Movie option
• Fix for an error that could occur when attempting to manage a party
• Multiple fixes for different Aspect Ratios on various menus/screens in the game
• Fix for a bug where the XP Token shortcut key would also open Nvidia Highlights feature simultaneously (Now on “F” key)
• Fix for a bug where some achievements would appear as completed even though they were