Proxy everything!
The old 1.5 login and server-list server were still heavily based on the ancient GameSpy protocol. We did modify it in the past, but were always limited at how much we could do by having game servers talking directly to the server. That will change with v1.6. We now have local proxies for the PR:BF2 client and server. These listen to the old GameSpy protocol and translate it into more up-to-date API calls.
Thanks to that we can now utilize common API frameworks for our login and serverlist server. That will greatly improve the stability, security and maintainability of the servers and connections.

Account system
With 1.6 we added an additional layer to bundle your ingame profile names into PR Accounts. Each PR Account will have a unique ID that will be used as a replacement for the cd-hash. A PR Account can contain any number of unique profiles that each have a unique in-game name. That means with v1.6 we will have a complete reset of hashes as well as profiles. You will still be able to retrieve your old legacy profile by supplying the profile name and password. Any other information about the old profiles will be removed once v1.6 goes live.

Full Steam ahead!
Not only did we add individual PR Accounts for more control over your profiles, we also got rid of saving passwords and instead require you to login through Steam. However Steam is not only used for logging in, we are also using Steam in an attempt to uniquely identify players. As such the old hardware based keys will no longer be used.
PR will not be available in the Steam store, we only use the OpenID feature to increase comfort and security.

Account levels
With accounts levels we introduce a new way for game servers to restrict who is able to join their server. This is entirely optional and servers can use what fits best for their community: Account levels, whitelists, passwords, a mix of everything or nothing at all.
The PR Account Levels roughly show how unlikely we think that the PR Account is a throwaway account (the higher the level the better). And it can be increased by gathering XP for a few indicators. These are for example having no current Steam VAC bans, having games bought on the Steam store in your library and having playtime on said games. Additionally anyone that will retrieve a legacy profile used in the recent past based on data available to us, will receive a high PR Account Level from the get go.
Donations to the Project Reality team DO NOT influence your PR Account Level.
More information and instructions about Accounts, Steam and Account levels can be found in the manual.

The end for Windows XP
We already hinted at the end of Windows XP support before, but with v1.6 we are going to make it official. This update did not get tested on Windows XP and might not work. For now we did try to keep everything compatible with Windows XP (e.g. stick to .net Framework 4.0), so there might be a chance that it still works. However if it does not work, we will not fix it. In addition to that we might break Windows XP support in any future release without prior warning (e.g. by requiring a newer .net Framework).