How to use the new Overwatch Workshop feature – PTR Patch Notes
The April 24 update to the Overwatch PTR introduced a major new feature, the Workshop.
Blizzard caught the Overwatch community off guard by announcing a massive new feature that nobody had seen coming.
The Workshop is a custom scripting mode that gives players the power to develop their own game modes and even prototype their own heroes, and is now available for testing on the Public Test Realm (PTR).
- Read more: Jeff Kaplan showcases huge new Overwatch ‘Workshop’ mode – how it works, details, and more
The Workshop isn’t a PC-specific feature and will eventually be available to all platforms, but console players will have to wait for it to hit the live game as the PTR is PC-only.
The Workshop will give players a lot of power to create their own game modes.Accessing the Workshop
On the PTR, the Workshop can be found within the Game Browser. In order to reach the Workshop, players must create a new Custom Game as they previously would have, then open the settings and select the Workshop.
Adding Rules, Events, Conditions, and Actions
Custom modes are made in the workshop by creating rules that affect how the mode works. Each rule is made up of an event that will trigger the rule, conditions that determine whether or not the rule takes effect, and actions that occur when the rule is active.
Other patch features
While the Workshop is by far the most significant feature of the new patch, the update also comes with the usual array of bug fixes, with a particular target being those causing Baptiste’s abilities to not function as intended.
In addition, if Wrecking Ball’s Minefield mines and Baptiste’s Immortality Field land on a moving object, they will now move along with it, meaning either can be placed on a payload and be carried forward as the team progresses.
April 24 Overwatch PTR full patch notes:
Workshop
We’re excited to share a new in-game feature called the Workshop! The Workshop greatly expands the game customization features available in the Game Browser by adding a simplified game scripting system. Enhance the Overwatch game modes you know and love with new game rules, victory conditions, adjustments to the heroes’ movements and abilities, and much more. Once you’ve created an awesome new game, create a code to share it with your friends or the whole community! For information on how to get started using the Workshop, see our Workshop blog post 900. We’re excited to see what you come up with!
Note that this is a test of an in-development feature, so we may need to adjust or turn it off as we work to improve it. Please post any questions or stability issues in the PTR Feedback forum 65.
HERO UPDATES
Baptiste
- Immortality Field
- If it lands on a moving platform, it will move along with the platform
Wrecking Ball
- Minefield
- If a mine lands on a moving platform, it will move along with the platform
BUG FIXES
Heroes
Baptiste
- Fixed a bug where Immortality Field would become stuck under some objects
- Fixed a bug where Immortality Field would behave oddly when placed on a moving platform
- Fixed a bug where a healing grenade would appear in his Biotic Launcher when it is out of ammo
- Fixed a bug where the healing grenades from the Biotic Launcher wouldn’t hit teammates when deflected by Genji’s Deflect
D.Va
- Fixed a bug where D.Va’s speed when using Boosters decreased dramatically when flying over some platforms
Genji
- Fixed a bug where Genji couldn’t climb up certain pillars on the Havana map
Hanzo
- Fixed a bug where Hanzo couldn’t climb up certain pillars on the Havana map
Moira
- Fixed a bug with Moira’s Scientist skin where her lab coat would clip into itself while using the Erlenmeyer victory pose
Orisa
- Fixed a bug where damage boosting from a teammate’s ability (such as Baptiste’s Amplification Matrix) would count towards Orisa’s damage amplified statistic when using Supercharger
Update: May 1
Blizzard have released another update adding to this patch with some more bug fixes.
Notes:
GENERAL UPDATES
- Improved the kill cameras during the Play of the Game replay to better match what happened in-game
BUG FIXES
General
- Fixed a bug that could cause Play of the Game replays to be jittery when played at framerates higher than 60
- Made stability improvements
Heroes
Doomfist
- Fixed an issue where Seismic Slam would sometimes not damage people when it should have
Junkrat
- Fixed a bug where Junkrat would slide off a moving platform when using his ultimate
Wrecking Ball
- Fixed a bug where Wrecking Ball could use Piledriver without regard to its ability cooldown in some circumstances
Update: May 6
An additional update to the PTR patch has given players even more options in the Workshop, with new Actions, a reduced Wait time, and an increased number of entities.
Notes:
Workshop
- Added Actions:
- Set Primary Fire Enabled
- Set Secondary Fire Enabled
- Lowered minimum Wait time from 0.25 seconds to 0.016 seconds.
- Lowered minimum projectile speed and gravity to 0%.
- Increased number of entities (icons and effects) from 32 to 64.
- Increased significant digits of number entries from 2 to 3.
- Because “Team” and “Teams” were accidentally included twice in the list of available strings, one pair has been renamed to “Teammate” and “Teammates”.
- If you used the “Team” or “Teams” strings in your scripts, you may need to check them and update them in case they were renamed.
- Spectators will now only see what all players can see. This change affects icons, effects, messages, objective descriptions, HUD text, and in-world text.
- If only one player has joined the game, then the spectator will see what that player sees (since that one player is “all players” in that circumstance).
- The “Play Effect” action will now correctly attach effects to players if a player is provided as a position.
- Fixed an issue where presets would not save properly if you had an error in your script.
Last updated: May 6, 2:30 AM EST