Yeah, so we might be a little late with this. James Stevenson from Insomniac pretty much slapped me and told me to post them now or I was off his Christmas card list, so without further ado, I post them here!

Hey everyone, we've been hard at work here at Insomniac on improving the game, we've decided to let you in on some of the upcoming improvements! They're coming in two forms: a server-side update for ranked games, and a downloadable client-side update. Here's some of the things we'll be changing:

Server-side (ranked game) update:

* Map size determined by the number of players in the game
* All maps available for ranked games
* Score limits for team deathmatch adjusted based on the number of players in a match
* Time limits added for all game types that were missing them

The more meaty downloadable update info after this commercial message from Continue Reading.

Client-side (downloadable) update:

* Added a game option to allow "map voting", which will allow players in a custom game to vote on a new map from the results screen
* Expanded tactical element of squads. In objective based team games (CTF, Meltdown, Breach), players will be able to select to spawn near their squad as well as all the previously available spawn points. Additionally, squad members will be displayed different on the map/radar so that you will be able to find them easier
* We've been busy refining the balance between the Chimera and the Humans in order to make both races more fun to play, and to give players improved tactical options (you'll have to wait on the specifics)
* We've improved the spawning algorithm to prioritize spawn points that are away from enemies and near teammates and squadmates
* Wins/Losses are now displayed on the character sheet
* We have replaced the Skeleton skin with a new skin, the Mechanic. We've determined that the Skeleton is much smaller and more difficult to see on many levels than any of the other skins. The skins were never meant to give a gameplay advantage, but to offer you the chance to customize your character as you see fit, and we don't want people to be at a disadvantage because they didn't pick any one particular skin. Never fear, the skeleton may make a return at some later date, in some form or other.

Man, I can't tell you how many times I've spawned right next to an enemy, or had them spawn behind me. As fun as it is to pop up unexpectedly and shoot some poor sap in the head, the change is probably for the best. And hallelujah to getting rid of that damn skeleton. The tactical changes are looking to fix my biggest gripe, which was feeling like I was completely alone in team-based games. I suppose getting myself a headset would help that too. *hides*

No concrete date has been made for the patch yet, but we'll have more details and the release date as soon as I get James all boozed up and vulnerable. Michael Fahey