Modern Warfare 2 features disabled in fight against crashes, wallhacking

Infinity Ward has disabled two gameplay features in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 as it battles bugs during the blockbuster shooter’s launch period.

Attachment tuning, which allows players to tweak the stats on weapon attachments, has been turned off, as it was causing crashes. And the ping feature that allows enemies’ positions to be tagged for squadmates appears to have been disabled, after reports the ping marker would persist for an entire game if triggered during the player’s death.

“We are disabling attachment tuning until further notice to investigate crashes for users with five attachments tuned,” Infinity Ward said in a tweet. “If you currently have a tuned attachment equipped, you will need to unequip and reequip it to use your loadout.”

That’s straightforward enough, but the ping bug is causing more consternation among Modern Warfare 2 players — and Infinity Ward has yet to publicly acknowledge it.

Players reported on Reddit that, if they pinged an enemy during their character’s death animation, that ping would remain visible for an entire game. Many players said that they had at first assumed wallhacks — cheats that turn walls transparent — were being employed when they found their opponents seemed to be able to predict their locations.

Now players say the ping feature has been completely disabled outside of private matches. Infinity Ward hasn’t confirmed this yet, or commented on the bug, which has obvious and serious consequences for gameplay balance.

A more positive surprise of Modern Warfare 2’s multiplayer launch has been the appearance of a Formula One-inspired map that had been announced in August, before disappearing from all official mentions and videos in September, and being excluded from the game’s beta test.

The map was originally called Marina Bay Grand Prix and appeared to be based closely on the Marina Bay Street Cricuit, home of the Singapore Grand Prix. Eurogamer reports the map is back in the game under the new name of Crown Raceway, with its location listed as “Southeast Asia,” but with the Singapore skyline still clearly visible. A rights dispute with Formula One or the operators of the Singapore race seems a likely culprit.

Sometimes a name change isn’t enough, though. A luxury Amsterdam hotel featured under another name in Modern Warfare 2’s campaign has made its displeasure known and is considering further steps.

It seems as though solo indie developers aren’t the only ones facing legal action from brands over the locations of their games.