Just Cause 3 patch promises to address long loading times

Friday will see the release of a Just Cause 3 patch that promises to "significantly" reduce loading times, improve overall stability, and fix bugs related to resizing the screen and closing the game window before it's fully launched.

The 1.02 patch notes aren't super-explicit, but this is what you have to look forward to:

Significantly improved loading times Optimizations to online stats General stability fixes Fixed an issue related to challenges, wherein vehicles sometimes disappeared when starting a challenge Fixed issues related to screen resizing and closing the game window before the game has fully started up

"Since launch, we’ve been pouring through your reviews and comments to help us prioritize our fixes accordingly," Avalanche wrote. "We know many of you have been patiently awaiting today’s patch, and this update is part of a much larger plan to optimize and improve the game."

The studio also listed a few other areas of concern that aren't actually bugs, but that that some players are having issues with. Cutscenes can be skipped by holding the B button or hitting "skip" from the pause menu, and the absence of a "sprint" button is an intentional design choice to encourage the use of the grapple to get around quickly. Rico also doesn't crouch, because Rico doesn't hide from mortal peril. He's just that kind of guy. Other hints and tips can be found in this Steam forum thread.

Thanks, Gameranx.

Update: This is only Wednesday, but the 1.02 patch is live now.