Chain Games: Chain Reaction v0.41.0 ties movement speed to weapon class

In Brief:

• Chain Games released Chain Reaction Beta v0.41.0 on Oct. 17. Movement speed now depends on the weapon a player is holding.
• The patch fixes client-server hit registration, reworks how positional audio is muffled and restores frame generation on AMD Radeon RX 6000 and 7000 desktop cards.
• It’s the fifth weekly beta build in a row for the free-to-play shooter, which pays out CHAIN tokens for kills.

Chain Games pushed Chain Reaction Beta v0.41.0 live on Oct. 17. The headline change ties player movement speed to the equipped weapon, so a loadout choice now carries a mobility cost.

The GitHub release notes, posted by bravoadam, describe the build this way: “Chain Reaction v0.41.0 is live with weapon-based movement speeds, new ladder climbing audio, improved positional sound, more consistent hit registration, smarter bots, graphics improvements, and another round of gameplay and map fixes.”

Speed by loadout

Pistols and the Rift Blade are the fastest options. SMGs move slightly quicker than baseline and snipers are slower.

The heaviest penalty goes to the XM77 Helios and the Rocket Launcher, which leave players noticeably slower.

Hit registration and bots

The patch lines up hit registration between client and server. It also tightens hit detection on the Rift Blade’s lunge.

Bots got several fixes. They now resume their behavior after an interrupted burst, and navigation problems on the Slums map are fixed. Solo bot matches should also play out more consistently.

Audio changes

Chain Games reworked how sound is muffled. “Muffling now depends only on the walls between you and the sound, not on which way you’re facing,” the release notes said.

Grenades that detonate near cover no longer sound muffled. Ladders get their own audio too: “You and other players now make a sound on every rung, starting from the first one,” the notes said. A separate fix keeps that audio playing for the whole climb.

AMD frame generation returns

The update restores frame generation on Radeon RX 6000 and 7000 desktop cards. Screen effects now hold a consistent size while zooming or scoping, and they cover the full screen at high FOV settings.

Map work covers collision and visibility issues on Dune and Slums. The spectator elimination card’s timing is fixed too.

The Team Deathmatch lobby gets one small change. “In the Team Deathmatch lobby, a scrollbar now shows when the list holds more players than fit,” the notes said.

Weekly cadence

The studio has shipped a beta build roughly every week. v0.37.0 landed Sept. 18, v0.38.0 on Sept. 26, v0.39.0 on Oct. 3 and v0.40.0 on Oct. 10.

The v0.40.0 build added operator skin selection from loadouts, a Gun Progression kill counter, redesigned spawn shields and smarter rocket-launching bots. It also fixed memory growth during long sessions that came from lingering lunge afterimages and dropped-token effects.

The game

Chain Reaction is a free-to-play first-person shooter for Windows, macOS and Linux. The beta is distributed through GitHub in two-part archives, and the game’s site lists an Epic Games Store release as “coming soon.”

Players earn CHAIN tokens through a “Kill to Earn” system, with bonuses for ranked matches and payouts for wins. A lootbox marketplace sells cosmetics such as weapon skins and emotes.

The game has three modes: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and Gun Progression. Its three arenas are the Slums, Dunes and Moon, a low-gravity map.

Chain Games summed up the patch on X: “Weapon-based movement speeds, better hit registration, smarter bots, improved positional audio, AMD frame generation support + another round of gameplay polish!”