APB getting updated, improved

Scottish developer Realtime Worlds is planning significant revisions to its newly released and tepidly received large-scale crime simulator APB. The game will see a number of gameplay alterations led by notable changes to the game's vehicle and weapon handling, as well as efforts to curb camping and eradicate cheaters.

APB's official Web site was recently updated with a blog post explaining why the game has been plagued with issues and what specific measures the developer will take to clean up concerns in the game.

"Over the last number of months, through closed beta and then KttC, we've collected a huge number of issues, complaints, suggestions and requests covering all aspects of the game. Because of the focus on getting the game stable and going through the process of launch, many of these (especially the ones requiring significant changes) may appear to have fallen through the cracks," Realtime Worlds community officer Neil Castle wrote.

"But they didn't--they've [sic] been sitting in our rather copious 'to do' list, waiting for us to have the time to begin to address them properly. We also wanted to get a chance to contrast the feedback from new live players with the feedback from the beta community to help us draw up our hit list for the first few months," the report continues.

Realtime Worlds' "top priority" is catching and removing cheaters, followed by making vehicles "more responsive and less slippery." Additionally, it sounds as if the developer is planning to drastically overhaul the game's combat system. The studio said it's looking into "every aspect of combat" and planning sweeping changes in that department. To see a full list of issues being addressed, check out the blog post. Further, Realtime Worlds didn't provide a specific timetable for when these changes will be patched into the title.

Last week Realtime Worlds announced a reorganization that increased the number of support staff for APB. A small number of employees at the Scottish developer were also laid off.

For more on the open-world shooter, check out GameSpot's written review and video review (embedded below).