The latest update is hitting the streets of New Boston with a wave of improvements from community suggestions, your F10s and more. Thanks to everyone feeding us requests and suggestions, we're excited to roundtrip them and put them into the game fast and furious. We've improved how programs can be uninstalled and installed, we've improved the Matrix AP bar in the Matrix HUD, simplified the timeline buttons, fixed item carry nodes in the class tree, brought down some high-end cyberdeck repair costs and fixed one of the possible cases that could cause a freeze on map during a mission.
If you're enjoying our dedication to improving, taking community feedback and fixing your F10 bugs - please take a moment to drop a review for the game and help us continue to improve.
Flexible Program Uninstall
The change of rules to use maximum program limit on deck has brought a lot more importance of the decision to what programs to load on to your deck. But the previous limit that a cyberdeck must always have a Scan, Sleaze, Deception, Disarm and Attack program on it is was making upgrading a deck challenging. Once you hit 10/10 programs, you couldn't easily remove Scan I to install SCan II and had to do an annoying round-robin uninstall and reinstall.
So - you asked and we've improved rapidly! Now, if you uninstall a required program, you'll now just get a confirmation warning instead of a hardstop error -
And above your installed programs for each deck, you'll see 5 icons showing Scan, Sleaze, Deception, Disarm and Attack. If they are missing, the icon lights up red indicating you're not ready to deploy to a mission with that deck.
But that's fine, you probably uninstalled Scan I to install Scan II. If you didn't, you'll find a helpful error message at deploy time sending you back to sort out your programs.
Matrix AP Highlight
The Matrix AP bar has now joined the fun to keep up with IO buffer and Active Memory. If you're hovering over a Program or a Talent in your program bar, the Matrix AP that will be used by the action (either to load the program or to use the program, depending on its loaded) state is now highlighted in the bar. Now you can see how each action will affect all of your 3 action pools and the tutorial feels even nicer =D
Simplified Timeline Buttons
The buttons to control the timeline were using a Play, Play Fast and the Play button would switch to a Pause button once the timeline was started. This setup was not the best and was causing a lot of controller and keyboard input to stop or start the timeline accidentally. Plus, once you've decided a speed you want to play the timeline in the game, you probably aren't using both.
We've improved and simplified the button set to have a Pause and a Play button. Neither changes to another type of button when the timeline is running, so there is now no chance of input jamming. If you want the timeline to run fast, this is the default setting for the new Highspeed Timeline option in your Options > Gameplay menu. If you do want it to run slow, you can disable the Highspeed Timeline option.
Thanks for all the F10s and feedback about this and we'll keep polishing elements large and small to the game to feel as smooth as possible.
Item Carry Class Training
A bug snuck in at some point with the item carry upgrade nodes for your class tree. These expensive nodes - each costing a whopping 5 points - enable you to carry an additional item on every single mission. They may not feature in your early game builds but they are likely to be worth it in your mid to late game builds where that extra Ion Recharger or dose of Turqo Juice can make the difference.
Currently the nodes will allow you to carry a new item of any type while we evaluate the original design that some nodes would offer limited item carry by type (Tech only, etc). We are also working toward a point where each of these nodes will also come with Attribute and other stat bonuses to help round out their cost.
But when trained now, you'll see your equipment section upgrade immediately and be able to equip more items.
Cyberdeck Repair Costs
We've tempered the math that was used for repair costs for cyberdecks as the deck prices just keep getting more expensive. This will help decks around Power Level 4 and higher to have more reasonable repair prices and ensure that you're price tag isn't hitting $100K until you're looking at serious damage.
Overwatch / Movement Freeze
We've fixed a significant cause of freezes on the combat map where there was a one frame gap between a character starting an action (moving, shooting) where it was possible (if the timing was just right) that they could start an idle twitch animation ... which would leave them hung and the game frozen.
With this new case in mind, we're looking for other possible causes of freezes on the map which are rare but still reported in F10s. Please keep reporting them and we'll keep doing our diligent detective work to figure out what is causing them. At this point, none of them are simple code errors, its all somewhere deep down in the animation controllers, blending and timing, so we need your F10s!
Update Size Update ;)
It looks like the improvements we made to the asset packaging managed to crunch what could often be a 4.6 to 4.9 GB update down to a 2.9 GB update. We're not done, we can crunch more! We'll keep you posted as we keep working these down in size. Our aim is to consistently keep the updates under 1 GB.
Battle Striker Early
We fixed a bug where Battle Striker missions often ended early before the last wave of reinforcements arrived. Thanks for the F10s!
Treatment, SImstream and Injury
We're continuing to work on improving the code and validation routines around treatment, simstream and injury. There are still issues here that can cause events to hang on the timeline, the roster counts to be wrong and more. This release fixes a few more of the issues that were reported and a few more things we found on our own.
We've also fixed a bug where you might in Treatment for a Wound like Brainburnt 1 and while trying to treat it, your Wound upgrades to Brainburnt 2. Not good! Wounds will no longer mutate while in Treatment.
v1.8.59 - 8/22/2024
- Rebuilt the timeline buttons - just simple play and pause button, reduced issues jamming spacebar - Added new Option to play timeline in fast or slow mode - Improved Matrix AP bar above IO and Active Mem to highlight like the deck stats do when hovering programs/talents - Improved program uninstall - now warns but does not prevent uninstall of required programs (Scan/Sleaze/Deception/Disarm/Attack) - Required programs icon bar shown above deck programs to indicate which are installed - Cannot deploy to mission unless 5 required cyberdeck programs are installed - Added mission description to item carry rules at the top of each classes skill tree. Costs 5 points to carry +1 item, up to 4 max - Fixed bug where training in item carry would not always immediately enable the ability to carry more items - Improved cost curve for repairs on high-end Cyberdecks to keep cost from getting out of hand - Fixed bug where enemy could start moving and then suddenly stop one or two steps in - Fixed bug with contact selection by Casting Director that was reducing variety of contacts that could proc - Fixed bug where Battle Striker missions could end before the last set of spawns - Improved safehouse honoring and counting different status (detox, wound, injury) to prevent being sent to other detox, wound, etc - Fixed bug about injury or medical timeline events and roster counts sticking around after completion - Fixed bug where a Wound could mutate (from Level 1 to 2) out from under Wound Treatment
Update #128: Sparking Circuitry
Welcome to the late night scene in New Boston. The lights are low but there's still an update to be had. This update follows up on the major milestone HACK THE PLANET and all the new cyberdeck and matrix improvements along with the long-awaited Matrix Tutorial. With Update #128, we've improved (and raised) the max programs rating on most decks, fixed issues preventing you from repair cyberdecks sometimes, fixed a duplicate hotkey in the deck screen, and fixed all reported typos and clarifications requests in the matrix tutorial.
If you're enjoying the constant push in quality, content and features - please take a minute to leave a review and tell a friend!
Update Size Reduction
As the game has evolved and more and more levels and assets have been enabled, the asset packing organization has slipped a bit. We've had too many updates recently in the multiple GB when they shouldn't need to be that large.
Unfortunately, to do anything about this, we need to push an update where we improve the organization but that makes a ton of changes in the build ... and results in a big update. We know another 4.6 GB update is painful, so we're sorry and hopefully this is the one that will bring us back down to sub 1 GB updates more regularly.
Improved Max Program Counts
We've taken the first needed balance step after the big update - raising max program counts on decks and improving the progression of max program counts for decks so that you are always seeing some improvement as you pay big dollars for new decks.
Deck Repair Stuck
If you hit a situation where your cyberdeck was no longer offering the repair option even though you had damage, this is now fixed. Please proceed to repairing!
We've also fixed an issue where Start Repair and Delete Program were overlapping on hotkeys which could be a real pain in some situations.
Matrix Tutorial Feedback
First, we are super excited that the tutorial has gone over so well! We've heard a lot of positive feedback about learnig things and hacking things and hacking all the banks and things - so it seems to be going great :D
And thanks for the mountain of F10s! We've parsed them all and fixed every typo reported and addressed every clarification request. We will be adding an option to replay the tutorial in a saved game on demand, so that will be nice as a way to replay in the future.
File Set Minting and Rooms
We've removed the requirement when minting a File Set to have a specific room. Minting V-Chips required the Underworld Hub and minting Programs required the Hacking Station. This was cool but also tough sell because it puts specific requirements on how you build your base. Consider that you have to make choices and therefore chose not to have some room, which might be the Hacking Station for example, it no longer fits to prevent you from minting a Program in that case.
Slashslide and 0% Accuracy
Sometimes, when your Cybersword did a Slashslide, the second and third targets would be attacked with 0% Accuracy (which you could only see in the log), which would cause a very weak glancing hit. We've fixed the bug here - so Slide on!
v1.8.57 - 8/21/2024
- Improved progression of Max Programs for decks, rises faster - Fixed bug where Cyberdeck could get stuck with Damage that was irreparable - Fixed bug where Repair Cyberdeck and Delete Program shared same hotkey - Fixed many typos in Matrix Tutorial, adjusted lines - thanks for all the feedback!! - Removed requirement for Hacking Station to mint Programs and Underworld Hub to mint V-Chips - Fixed issue where attacks after the first in Slashslide might have 0% Accuracy and just get weak glancing blow - Fixed issue with mercs MP bonuses not showing correctly after Mad Dash Leverage applied - Fixed issue with all buffs/debuff icons shown in red in merc status, now buffs are shown with green icon - Adjusted asset packing organization to improve update size in the future
Milestone "HACK THE PLANET" - adds matrix tutorial and program swapping
Hackers unite! The planet awaits, let's hack it! We're excited to roll out the Matrix Hacking Tutorial today, checking off one more major milestone from the roadmap. The HACK THE PLANET major milestone also comes with some other major changes to how cyberdecks and hacking work - allowing you to transfer programs freely and now cyberdecks take lasting damage that is costly in time and money to repair. In order to make the best tutorial possible, we've made a lot of improvements to the matrix and its UI as well.
Jump in, getting hacking!
If you are enjoying the pace of progress and the commitment to completing our milestones, please take a moment to leaving a review to help our small team continue forward!
Matrix Tutorial At Long Last!
After along way - and many improvements to the Matrix systems - we're excited to finally roll out the full Matrix tutorial. The tutorial will be available in any game immediately - and might contain some valuable tips and info for veteran and new players alike.
The tutorial is offered the first time you try to deploy a hacker to a mission. It will only be offered once per game.
And you can disable the tutorial (and all future offers), from your Options > Gameplay menu. Once you've run the tutorial or if you just want to skip it - turn it off.
The tutorial will set you up on a solo hack, guide you through the basic process of hacking, help you deploy a CPU Spike, steal some paydata and disable some security devices. All of this is done with a special character "Tutorial Ahab" (a BIG shout out to Ahab for all the work on the wiki Hacking guides on hacking that were featured heavily in planning and writing this tutorial). Therefore, with your Tutorial-only character, there is no gain or loss for taking the tutorial - you can't suffer damage and the loot is deleted at the end of the mission.
So - hacker, go forth and learn! Let us know your feedback.
Final note, the tutorial is a procedure set of steps intended to be followed. It is not built to react to you going off script wildly. If you want to run the tutorial and learn to hack, plox follow the instructions and read the pop ups :D
Transfer Programs between Decks
With the HACK THE PLANET major milestone, we've also enabled easy transfer of programs between decks. Programs are valuable investments, critical pieces of software that you can buy or steal (via Files & File Sets). These chunks of quantum software can be moved between cyberdeck hardware now by using the Uninstall button. The program is dropped back to your available programs list and can be installed on a new deck.
Note (see below) you cannot uninstall programs if your deck is damaged or currently in repair.
Deck Damage & Repair
Cyberdeck Damage is no longer automatically and instantly repaired at the end of a mission at the cost of $0. If your deck takes damage during a hacking run due to destructive feedback signals from the IC or the Q-Sec Escalations, that damage comes home with you. It persists into the next mission and makes you more vulnerable to deck burn out.
However, when you're ready - because you have some hacker downtime or can swap in another deck - you can start a repair on your deck. This will take some time and money - and get more expensive as your deck is more expensive - but will restore your deck to 100% Health.
You cannot deploy to a mission with a Deck that is currently in repair, so be careful picking when to stop your hacking and take some repair downtime.
Max Program Count
To better facilitate easy program swapping and the new deck balance, we've opted to use a Max Program Count for cyberdecks instead of Storage Size metric that was being used before. This puts a hard cap on number of programs you can load on a deck and will require you to do a bit more planning. Still, the maxes are generous, ranging from 8-12. All the more reason to upgrade decks and transfer your new programs to them.
If you were hoarding programs from before this update (which makes a lot of sense since you can't transfer them ...) your deck will still have all the programs. You won't be able to add new ones and you can now uninstall programs, so hopefully you can spend some time rebalancing your deck for now and the future.
Cyberdeck Pricing
With the cost of repairs now a real thing for cyberdecks, we've rebalanced the price of all decks, bringing them down. You can also transfer programs which makes swapping between decks a much cheaper operation.
Finally, we've modified how deck resale value works to ensure that if you are selling a damaged deck, you'll get proportionally less for it.
Tons of Matrix Improvements
To make the best Matrix tutorial possible, we had to improve the matrix! We're excited that the tutorial comes with a ton of changes and benefits for everyone. So let's look at the list!
We've rewritten all of the IC descriptions to be clearer and exclude exact numbers about what each IC is doing.
We've re-organized the HUD to bring all of the action pool elements - Matrix AP, IO and Active Memory - together down in the corner near your programs. This lets your eye look only one place when trying to figure out the limits of what you can do and planning your next move.
We've rebuilt the display of Sec Tally per Action (for hacking) and Sec Tally per Turn (for meat-space) to be clear and to avoid you needing to count tiny yellow squares all the time. The new HUD element also just helps reinforce how the rules work.
If you disable an IC, the Q-Sec Tally penalty icon and text now go gray, reinforcing the rule that if the IC is disabled then you do not get Q-Sec Tally added if they are destroyed. The stealthy hacker disables before killing.
In the same vein, if an IC or other factor is preventing connection to neighboring nodes, the connection lines are grayed out.
We've redone the matrix host Ratings (now Blue, Green, Yellow Orange, Red, Ulta) to be ordered like the actual spectrum of colors. Also, we're trying out a rename for the host response system, the Q-Sec AI going from Bronze Boa, Silver Rattler, Gold Viper, Platinum Cobra to Diamond King.
We've rebalanced 2 starting Hacker Talents - Hardshell is less powerful starting only with +20 Temp Cyberdeck Health instead of +30 and Overclock is more damaging to your connection, starting at -3% Connection per turn instead of -2%.
Toggle Snap to Cover during Movement
We have added the much requested toggle for snap to cover during movement. Cyber Knights features a gridless movement system but we also include the snap-to-cover helper to make it easier to get your mercs into good positions around corners and near to important cover.
But, sometimes that is annoying. You don't want to snap, you know exactly where you want to be. In these cases, you can just toggle of Snap now while moving and put your movement position where you want it without any help or friendly interference.
Auto-Select Equipment
When changing equipment, we've improved the following equipment screen where you can browse for your replacements. This screen was not auto-selecting the item you are replacing, which was confusing. Now, if you click to replace your sniper rifle, that exact sniper rifle will be selected in the list of weapons that could replace it, making it much clear what you're up to and also make it just one click or keypress away to start comparing the current rifle to other weapons.
Better Tagging and Dismiss Rules
We've fixed a set of issues with the safehouse and roster tagging. Before this update, the tags for Simstream Trainer, Detox, Wound Treatment and Injury Treatment were all lumped into a single "Treatment" Tag. We've now broken out the "Simstream" tag separately to make this more clear when you're looking at the entire safehouse and then once you dive into the Roster you can see all 4 tags separately so it is clear from the list who is where and why without having to try to figure out exactly which of the 4 treatment types we're talking about.
We've also made some fixes to how Dismissing works in regards to benches and cyber surgery. If you kick someone off the team now, they are correctly removed form the Detox, their cyber surgery is canceled, etc so that they aren't hanging around consuming a valuable spot even though you've booted them.
Charged Strike Renamed Power Slice
With the last update we did a bit of renaming clean-up for what was Conduit Edge and Charged Strike. Unfortunately, "Charged" is not the best word to be using (are we running at an enemy? are we using Talent charges?) so we've renamed again. Also, the use of IO-Batt for the melee weapons charges was conflict with IO for Matrix, and that's not helpful - so we've renamed that too!
Here is the list of changes:
Charged Attack has become Power Slice
Improved Charged Attack (previously Conduit Edge) has become Improved Power Slice
IO-Batt charges have become Ion Batt Charges
IO-Charger item has become Ion Recharger
Wired Safehouse Rooms
We've made some visual improvements to safehouse rooms - adding more trash, junk and wires. They feel more alive and deeper now. We'll keep working on the look here but this is a nice polish pass.
Contact Hover in Selling Window
If you are considering who your things to - especially your high Rarity Accounts that will cause Influence changes - then you'll be happy to know you can now hover over a Contact's head in the seller/buyer pop up to see their full hover. This can make it easy to know when to stop selling your Epic Accounts to a Contact when they reach 80% Influence without having to hop between screens again.
v1.8.55 - 8/19/2024
- All new Matrix Hacking Tutorial will be offered next time you try to deploy to a mission with a hacker (once per game) - Disable Matrix Hacking Tutorial in options or during New Game - New feature: Uninstall and transfer programs between Cyberdecks - Cyberdeck damage persists between missions, if deck is damaged enough you can start a repair at the safehouse (time, money) - Programs cannot be uninstalled while a deck is damaged - Cyberdecks now have maximum program count instead of storage size - Rebalanced / reduced price of most cyberdecks - Rewrote all IC descriptions, effects and trigger clauses to be more clear and specific - Improved display of Sec Tally / Turn in meat-space and Q-Sec Tally / Action in matrix - Improved display of Q-Sec Tally penalty for destroying an active IC - Improved order of Matrix Ratings to match color spectrum: Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, Red Ultra - Connection lines between matrix nodes now gray out if connection is blocked - Re-organized and improved Matrix HUD - AP joins IO and Active Memory in bottom left - Hacker's Hardshell starts at +20 Temp Cyberdeck Health instead of +30 - Hacker's Overclock starts at -3% Connection per turn instead of -2% - Cyberdeck Resale value is impacted by damage - New toggle for movement snap to cover - turn off for exact placement, on for best cover placement - Auto-select the piece of equipment you are changing when you click it (click Sniper Rifle, see weapons but Sniper Rifle starts selected) - Added Contact Hover to sell window to give easiest access to Influence and Service details - Fixed issues with roster and character tagging - new tag Simstream splits from Treatment, even more accurate counting - Fixed bugs when dismissing characters who are in benches (cyber surgery, detox, etc) - Fixed bugs with Motion Detectors often seeing over low cover - Fixed bugs with dead bodies sometimes being seen through Vanguard's Refract - Completed trio of renames: IO Batt => Ion Batt, IO-Charger => Ion Recharger, Charged Attack => Power Slice
Update #126: Data Streams
Data is streaming down the pipe, but so is the lethal feedback. Will you get the bio-formula locked-in before your chips fry? Tonight's update adds 5 exciting new host templates for Matrix Hunt proc-gen mission objective, clarifies some matrix rules in hovers, reveals mission power levels during mission planning, improves the new contact hover, fixes reported issues with multi-buy and multi-sell, adds new lore and more.
If you're enjoying the pace of updates, attention to improvement based on community feedback or any way we are handling Early Access, we hope you'll share game with a friend and leave a review!
5 New Host Templates + better Rules Clarity
We've added 5 new matrix host templates that will be immediately picked up and used by the new Matrix Hunt proc-gen mission type. These new and exciting hosts will give you some new playgrounds to romp on, facing some new challenging setups. We're super excited to be working toward adding a few new node types which will also help shake up matrix map design meta significantly.
In addition to the new host templates, we've clarified rules in the game's hovers to try to help:
To Spike a CPU or APU, you must use your Scan program enough times to get to Scan 2/2 and you must destroy all IC using an Attack Program (or any kind of Damage). Note that Disabling the IC is not enough.
In the top right area, the Q-Sec Tally is shown in yellow pips. This is the amount of Q-Sec Tally added to the Tally every time you take any action, such as loading or using a program or connecting to a new node. This Q-Sec Tally per action cost can be increased by IC, by Q-Sec Escalations, by the node type or by other factors as well. This is a key stat to be watching because it determines how rapidly your actions will land you into another Q-Sec Escalation.
We also fixed a bug where hack-only missions had very few loot Files, Blueprints and Accounts. If you saw multiple nodes with only 1 or 0 digital downloads in them, then you hit this bug.
Sight Lines on Kill
With Update #126, we've fixed an old bug where sight lines to enemies could sometimes linger even after a kill was made. This helps clean up the UI faster and reduces the feeling of clutter -- all good things for the tactical map, which we're continue to work on making it snappier and more responsive with less wasted frames or pixels.
Mission Names and Power Levels
We've made some updates to the mission planning list in Update #126. The first change is to include a mission's rough power level in the list, so you can see what type of opposition you are facing. This will be most directly affected by your Team Power Level + difficulty and any boosts or reductions that the mission author called for the in the mission specifically. Hopefully this is helpful!
Second, we move fields around, shortened some tags and made space to give a full line to mission titles so the best names aren't getting truncated. If a mission title lacks space to display it all, it will auto-resize its font size a bit until it does fit as well.
Contact Services in Hover
We heard immediately that with the new Contact hover we got it half right! You can now see the Exposure and Influence in the hover but you were not able to see services and which ones might be maxed out. Now you can with services tags just being added directly to the hover and the hover being expanded into all screens in mission planning now.
Selling Clarity
In the original multi-buy and multi-sell update, the Buy/Sell option was disabled while you were modifying the slider and you needed to reselect a Contact before you could proceed with the transaction. This lead a lot of players to feeling like they were stuck or just generally confused.
With this update, we now have persistent "current Contact" shown in the list of Contacts, even if you go to mess with the quantity slider, this current Contact persists, allowing the Buy/Sell button to stay enabled at all times (unless you can't afford this, chumbo?)
Cybersword "Improved Charged Attack"
As a first step to help improve the clarity and usefulness of their unique Talent, Cybersword "Conduit Edge" Talent has been renamed "Improved Charged Attack".
Any merc who picks up a melee weapon gets a free Talent called "Charged Attack" that uses the melee weapon's IO-Battery charge to invoke special powers, extra damage and debuffs - all based on the weapon. This Charged Attack Talent doesn't give any extra bonuses and can't be used repeatedly (has one charge).
If you are a Cybersword, you have the option to train Improved Charged Attack which replaces Charged Attack completely. Improved Charged Attack has better max charge, allowing you to strike with 2 IO-Batteries in rapid succession and give special buffs to the effects defined by the weapon, such as increasing the debuff duration from the weapon's debuff or further increasing its Pure Dmg bonus.
This Talent has caused a lot of confusion and while this helps, this will not be the end of changes coming for Improved Charged Attack.
We've also fixed an issue with hovering hitboxes in the class tree that should make the tree more useable with a mouse.
Faction Entries
With Update #126, we added a lore entry of the Que Milieu Syndicate as well as fixing a duplicate paragraph for Blue Ox (the missing content was restored). We're continuing to add more lore to the journal, which is also exported to pages like the Factions page on the Cyber Knights wiki.
Appearance Import Oddities
We've fixed number of odd bugs around appearance import and exporting sometimes creating outfits and appearances that were non-functional, or did not update in other parts of the game. These bug stemmed from use the mouse in the UI and generally not clicking or key pressing the "Load" button. For controller and Steam Deck players, this wasn't really an issue as the general way to accept the outfit change was the load button.
v1.8.53 - 8/14/2024
- Added 5 new matrix hosts maps to templates for Matrix Hunt proc-gen missions - Correct rules displayed in Matrix Q-Sec UI in the top right, explaining Tally per Action rules - Fixed issue with hack-only matrix hosts having very limited loot (Files, etc) - Fixed duplicate paragraphs in Blue Ox journal entry, added entry for Que Milieu Syndicate - Renamed Cybersword's Conduit Edge to Improved Charged Attack for better clarity - Correctly clearing sight lines on tactical map after killing an enemy - Improved distance display in enemy hover under 10m to include 2 points of precision (2.06m) to help be clearer about range limits - Contact hover now includes services tag list and is available in both mission planning screens - Improved buy and sell quantity - last contact selected before modifying the slider is the one used if you hit buy/sell key - Added better filters for NanoFab Blueprint selection - if using weapon bench, then see weapon filters, etc - Fixed issue with K-Protocol and Leverage reducing Sec Level or Tally playing alarm SFX in a stack - Improved class tree, reduced size of certain hover areas that were too large - Fixed issues with loading an appearance from Library sometimes leaving appearance tab broken
Update #125: Matrix File Hunt is On!
Another night on the New Boston town, another heist, another big update! With Update #125, we've added a new proc-gen hacking mission objective, improved late game economy balance, fixed tagging issues and performance boost for Roster, fixed looping Exposure Limit Breaks, better updated the HUD after killing an enemy and Grenades cost 2 AP again! There is so much good stuff in this one, check the release notes.
If you're enjoying the pace of updates and improvements in Early Access, please take a moment to leave a review!
New Matrix Hunt Proc-Gen Mission
In proc-gen land, we're excited to roll out an all new hacker-only mission focused on finding and downloading files. The Matrix Hunt mission type sets you up - on the clock - to break into a host and find 3 valuable paydata files scattered across the host's nodes. Much like Kill 3 captains, your payment hinges on each file found where you can gain 33% per file. It only takes 1 file to be called a Victory but the real money is with all 3. It's awesome to see new objectives filtering into the hack-only missions as well as the meatspace maps and missions.
The current iteration of this mission is styled such that it is a great fit for your Street Docs, Nu-Vudu practitioners and drug runners, contacts who haven't been as present in the proc-gen circuit up to this point, giving a new way to get them Influence points.
High Power Level Missions
There are still big movers in the game's economy settling down. The ability to make upwards of $5m on a single phase mission in the high-end Power Levels is still running too high. While we're probably not done adjusting this (as more multi-stage missions will arrive), we've tuned this down into the $4m zone, which is still, frankly, a lot.
Better Roster Tags, Filters, Performance
Ohhh the barracks character roster got faster! We're excited to roll out a huge performance boost, if you had any delay in that screen popping up it should be absolutely crushed. This makes a huge difference if you were trying to filter by character level, which was laggy before but now is buttery smooth.
We've also fixed a number of places where mercs who shouldn't be counted for tags - Dead mercs were being counted as Wounded (even though Dead beats Wounded in Dead-Wound-Scissors) and recruits were being counted as Training Ready (even though you can't train them).
Endless Limit Break Loop
If you're stuck in an endless Limit Break loop with a Contact, we've probably fixed your issue tonight. We're not sure why some many players ended up with this bug being for Henninger, but here we are fixing the Exposure Limit Break loop so you can get back to your games.
Updating Attack/Hear Numbers on Kill
There was no system in place to keep the bottom left numbers - for how many will hear my attack or how many can I attack from here - current after an enemy was killed. This did lead to a lot of "off by one" feelings with the numbers shown on your weapon tiles. We've plugged this bug!
Contact Hover Details
We're working on rolling out a new Contact hover that will be useful everywhere it goes to get a peak a Contact's big stats without having to drop back to the Contact list. For now, it is solely available in mission planning but needs to be visible in more places and also include the services tag list.
Fixed and Slimmed Filters
We slimmed down the appearance of the Power Level filters so that they eat up less vertical screenspace. We also fixed how Contact filters were working so that they are filtering as you'd expect compared to the rest of the set.
Recruit Offers
Now that recruit offers in the Underworld Hub are getting more interest, we've improved the UI to make the sub-offers more clear when they aren't available to pick. The Soldier and Cybersword recruits now visually leap out of the group, ready to pick. Good thing more are coming!
Safehouse Uninstall Rules
We've fixed 2 nagging bugs about uninstalling a safehouse room. You could - in previous release- destroy a safehouse room even if its benches were active. This would leave a crafting item in eternal limbo or leave a character in the detox stuck for a while. Now, it is prohibited to remove a room if any bench is busy - so finish up first!
Second, uninstalling or canceling a room's construction was removing it from the build list "for a while." This was a caching issue we've resolved now.
Grenades AP
For anyone who was enjoying throwing grenades for 0 AP, we are sorry. The 2 AP cost has returned!
v1.8.51 - 8/13/2024
- Added new type of proc-gen hacking mission objective - Matrix Hunt - find 3 paydata files each pays 33% - Fixed bug sometimes prevent Agent EX Talent named Armor EX from being allowed to run - Added helpful Contact hover to mission planning - Reduced mission payments for missions at Power Level 7-10 - Big performance boost to Roster, fixed slow filters for Character Level - Fixed tag counts for Wounded Roster not to include dead or dismissed mercs - Fixed tag counts for Training in Roster not to include potential recruits (who you cannot train) - Fixed issue with Exposure Limit Break possibly looping infinitely and jamming timeline - Improved sight lines in mission map, fixed bugs with sight lines and melee weapons - Fixed issue where attack/hear counts were not updating in HUD after death of target - Fixed issue with Grenades suddenly not costing AP to throw - Improved Initiative timeline action in HUD if there are too many enemies to fit (does not cover Sec Level) - Fixed Contact list filters Friendly and Enemy not working well - Fixed bug in Safehouse where destroying / canceling an in progress room could make it disappear from the build list for a while - No longer allowed to destroy a room if any of its benches (Crafting, Detox) are occupied - Made disabled token offers in Safehouse rooms (like Recruits) more obvious - Reduced size dedicated to Power Level filters in all inventory/market screens
Update #124: Growing Recruit Pool
Today's update focuses on expanding the possible recruit roster, some exciting new Traits that come along with that, catching up on a security device missed in the gray outlines from last update and finalizing the fixes for a few bugs we caused in releasing Update #123.
If you're enjoying the pace of updates and how we are running Early Access, please consider leaving a review. you can always edit it later.
Underworld Hub: 1st Cybersword
The Underworld Hub recruiting option offers a number of advantages - you can recruit higher level characters here and also you can pick the class you're interested in instead of hoping that your connections come up with someone who fits you from the street.
However, the recruits available from the Underworld Hub are very limited - in fact, up until Update #124, only one Soldier recruit has been offered. We're excited to start the process of blowing that recruit pool up with options, and the first to join is a new Cybersword. Thanks to the Kickstarter backer who created this exciting new character.
As more recruits filter into the hub over the following months, you'll be able to swell your ranks, better arrange the classes on your squad, try out new Traits and Backstories and replace losses.
Finally, we fixed the icons shown with each recruit offer in the Underworld Hub so it is visually clear.
Embarking into new Trait Territory
With the new Cybersword recruit joining the hub, we've broken ground on two new types of Trait effects that we haven't seen in the game so far. The Traits available for the new Cybersword are good "foot in the door" Traits for these two new types, as more will follow.
The first is that character Traits can affect crafting rules, in this case reducing NanoFab pricing in certain situations. The second is that character Traits can react to actions within a mission
Disabled Proximity Mines
Prox MInes felt left out after yesterdays update to vision systems, allowing you to hover over disabled cameras, radar arrays and motion detectors.
Restored File Sets and Item Blueprint Names
With Update #123, we broke File Sets so they no longer appeared (thanks Power Level filter!) and broke Blueprint names for item Blueprints (thanks multi-sell!). We hotfixed the issue with File Sets but have included the fix for the Blueprint names with this update. Sorry for both of these!
v1.8.47 - 8/10/2024
- New Underworld Hub Recruit - Cybersword! - New type of Traits that takes effect after mission based on mission events - New type of Traits that can affect NanoFab pricing - Fixed incorrect icons in Underworld Hub recruiting offers - correct class icons - Added gray outline for disabled Proximity mines after they have been enabled by Sec AI but disabled by Talent, Leverage or Hack - Fixed issue with Blueprints for Items all having bad names like Blueprint.3.313 - Fixed issue with File Sets all disappearing
Update #123: Vision of Sleet Gray
The weekend is about to get rolling in New Boston, so naturally its time for an update We've hit a hit swathe of big F10s with this update - an exciting follow up to yesterday's story release. We've added display of ranges for disabled security devices, add a much needed quantity slider for buy and sell, adding a Remove Mods button for weapons, added new filters for Power Level and Weapon Weight to all inventory and market screens, fixed a critical bug with Contact Limit Breaks and high level Traits, and a ton of other issues as well.
We're working hard on improving the game based on your bug reports and feedback and suggestions. Thanks for your F10s and your posts to the forum to help us getting these improvements straight into the game with hesitation.
If you like how we are running Early Access, please take a moment to leave a review!
Preview Ranges of Disable Security Systems
If you disable a security device, it can become pretty difficult to know what it will do when it turns back on and exactly how much range you have to stay clear of its sight cone. For laser wires and pressure plates, this is easy but the information was simply hidden for vision systems like Cameras, Radar Arrays and Motion Detectors.
With Update #122, if you hover over a disabled security device - specifically Camera, Radar Array or Motion Detector - you will see the widget appear in gray, semi-transparent lines to give you the sense of what its capabilities are.
Quantity for Buy & Sell
With Update #122, we've added a much needed slider for quantity when buying or selling equipment.
For buying, this simply indicates how many you wish to purchase. There is no bulk discount, but this simplifies buying 20 HE Grenades for your team if you are using a lot of them. Note, this also means that Items which used to be sold in sets of 4 are now sold 1 at a time, except you can slide for quantity. Pricing is now a lot simpler!
For selling, this slider only appears for equipment types that stack cleanly like Items, Weapon Mods, Armor. You can easily slide up the quantity to sell up to the maximum number of the equipment you have to sell. You're pure money offer will just rise with the quantity sold. Favors are offered if an individual sale results in a Favor offer, not from the group sale price. Which leads to the last bullet -
Purposefully, there is no gameplay advantage to using either UI pathway.
This is a great and much needed improvement. We are not done yet, the next step is to add buil pricing which will allow faster and easier sell of mixed types and things that don't stack cleanly (files, blueprints, accounts).
Remove Mods
For faster removal of mods and reconfiguration of equipment, there is a new Remove Mods button that will strip mods from a weapon in a single click. Just select the main weapon, and you'll find Remove Mods in its button bar in the top right. Notably, if you have locked mods on a weapon due to crafting them in, they will not be removed by this feature.
This improvement also ensures that when a weapon is sold any of its unlocked mods are automatically removed and dropped back into your inventory.
Power Level & Weapon Weight Filters
Power Level filters have now been added across the board, enabling you to filter rapidly for specific Power Level bands, such as 2 to 4. This can help you while shopping to remove clutter of lower level items or help you sort a larger inventory for specific things.
In addition, we've added the Weight filter for weapons, which are either Heavy or Light.
this is how it looked when things went BUMP
Contact Limit Breaks for Traits
We've fixed a critical bug affecting Contact Limit Breaks for Traits. Sometimes instead of upgrading 1 Trait Level, the Trait would upgrade 2 levels. This could lead to the situation where a Trait upgrades from 3 to 5 in a single hop ... but 4 is the maximum level! The trait just hopped off the end.
Tonight's fix stops the bleeding - Trait upgrades are back to 1 level at a time and more carefully respect the maximum level of 4. The next step here will be to do some careful repair of Contacts who have these dead Traits, fixing them back to what they were before. We'll be coming bac to this but for now, the critical bug is fixed.
Power Utility Error Message
Power Utility flows in 4 chains through your Safehouse. The first link is the Command HQ. The second links in the 4 chains are the rooms adjacent to the elevator, and then third link in each of the 4 chains is the room not adjacent to the elevator. No part of the chain may have a higher Power Utility than the next link up the chain.
This was not clearly communicated in the error message in the outer room - that it might not be able to raise your Power Utility because the room closer to the elevator has a Power Utility that is lower.
Always Visible Cover Shield
Sometimes the cover shield display near your movement location was clipping into geometry in an ugly way and sometimes it would completely disappear into geometry making it impossible to tell what type of cover you were scoring here. With this update, we've improved the shader on the cover shield so that it will always be visible through any geometry, even if you are on the far side of some object.
Lingering Special Effects
We fixed a bug with Brainworm, White Noise, Disorient and a few other abilities where the special effect was lasting beyond the duration. This is now cleaned up and all working as expected.
v1.8.45 - 8/9/2024
- Disabled cameras, radar arrays, motion detectors all show grayed out range if hovered over - Added quantity slider to buy / sell; anything that stacks cleanly (items, weapon mods, armor, programs, decks) can be multi-sell - Removed old scheme of items selling in packs of 4, all items are bought and sold with easy quantity slider - Added Remove Mods button to weapons to quickly strip mods - Added new filter group Heavy/Light for weapons - Added min/max Power Level filter to Contacts, Inventory, Cold Storage and Equipping - Added min/max Character Level filter to Roster - Improved error message when trying to upgrade Power Utility on a room but the room closer to the elevator has lower Power - Improved cover shield to show through geometry and always be visible so it isn't half hiding (or completely hiding) in things - Fixed bug where Contact Limit Breaks for Trait upgrades could result in deleted Trait - Fixed issues with Brainworm, Disorient, White Noise and other special effects not ending at the right time - Fixed issue with calculation of price during crafting that could block craft even though you have enough money - Fixed bugs with controllers using filters, selection could jump into the grid incorrectly - Fixed bug with Clean Room description being nonsense directly after it started a build task
Update #122: Corruption Runs Deep
It is late summer in New Boston and the content is coming in waves, like the black sludge slapping up against the quays in the Boston Harbor. With Update #122, we've added a new storyline to the game, an echo of the Carnivore Job you may have already encountered, which also triggers a new source that can send a Head Hunter after you. In addition, we've fixed one of the last major bugs in the mission map - the dreaded Overwatch freeze or walking in slow motion bug - added Matrix LInk 1 to the cybernetics available at the start of the game, made Wounds more expensive and time consuming to Treat, fixed Vanguard's Refract and improved lighting conditions in a number of levels.
If you're enjoying the pace of updates, please take a moment to leave a review on the game. We're working hard to blow up the game's content this month, so let's blow up our review count too!
Carnivore Echos
If you've encountered the Carnivore Job already or not, you'll be on the hunt for a corrupt cop you can get on your payroll. This can be a big pay off in jobs, Leverage and storylines later, as well as getting access to some milsec specialist items. In addition, you might make some enemies.
The Carnivore Echos storyline follows up on the loose ends from the storyline and possibly other storylines - such as Snitch Snuff out - and opens new doors to future interesting encounters.
With this update, you'll have another story-driven chance for a Head Hunter team to start pursuing you, so keep your weapons loaded and your blades sharp.
Overwatch Freeze or Slow-Mo Walking Freeze
There were a number of ways this nasty bug could manifest. We've been hunting it for months without every successfully landing a reproduction case. So a big thanks for out to @Revan from Discord who posted up a game that reliably hung every single turn. After a few hours with the F10, we were able to uncover the sneaky root cause (an animation trigger that was not getting reset, so the game was waiting for someone to finish moving who was never moving in the first place...) and put in a fix. This is the last known freeze that could occur on the mission map ːsteamhappyː
As always, if you see something, hit F10 and we're going to get right to work fixing and improving!
Vanguard's Refract Fixed
We broke Vanguard's Refract in Update #121 with the camera patch. It is back better than ever. It now has movement assistance points along it that will help you movement snap into positions so that you don't accidentally cross it. Also, Refract now longer causes Grenades to bounce, as it blocks sight but not physical objects.
Select from Multi-Monitor
You can now select which monitor the game should play on from within the game's options screen. The list is a 1-indexed array (there is no 0), so pick your option and the game will remember that for you in future loads.
Ready to Go Matrix Link
Up to this point, you had to complete the investment in Dr. Ashe's Clinic or find another cybernetic splicer in order to get access to Matrix Link 1 or 2. This made multi-classing into Hacker unfairly more difficulty than Scourge or Agent EXj, as we added those cybernetic implants to the starting set when those classes were released. So, now Hacker multi-classing is available immediately, if you have the time, will and the money.
Wound Treatment and Res Debuffs
We've improved the balance for Wound Treatment - it is harder and more expensive to take care of Wounds, which makes it more likely that they will have time to worsen into higher level issues for you. Also, we've given all Wounds a small Stress Res debuff, and some wounds like Flashbacks, a larger Stress Res debuff. Being Wounded at will now have more of a snowball effect, leading to more Stress points and more chances for negative Limit Breaks.
Snitch Snuff - Frozen VIP
We fixed a bug caused by some adjustments to the navigation rules about how close you can get to hovertrucks that were causing the VIP in Snitch Snuff not to be able to go to their exit in one of the two exit options. Watch out - that VIP can book it!
Lighting Improvements
We're always working on improving lighting, props and environmental feeling in the levels. With this update we've made some nice adjustments to a few levels in the street theme that will help them feel more dark and gritty, including Haven Smokeout.
v1.8.43 - 8/8/2024
- Added new storyline echo after Carnivore Job - Storyline adds new source of Head Hunters coming after you - New monitor select dropdown in Options screen lets you pick which monitor the game should play on - Fixed bug that could freeze game during Overwatch fire or leave an enemy walking in place and game frozen - Matrix Link 1 now available from Dr. Ashe at start of new game - Increased price of Treating Wounds, increased debuff to Wound and Stress Res from all Wounds - Fixed issue with Vanguard's Refract suddenly not working - Fixed issue with Snitch not fleeing in all setups for Snitch Snuff mission - Improved lighting and materials in some levels and environments
Update #121: Major Bug, Lt. Squash
The artificial sun is setting in the New Boston dome and the team is gearing up, checking weapons, shining up the cyberdeck. It's time for another heist, it's time for another update. As we have hammered through roadmap milestone after milestone in June and into July, we've piled up an astronomical number of F10s. Small bugs, important bugs, little suggestions, big ideas. Currently, we are working on finalizing the Matrix Tutorial milestone and building out new content for the game -- but alongside that effort we're laying down some Major Bug Lt. Squash. Let's see how many we took out tonight!
If you're enjoying the constant improvements to the game, we hope you'll take a moment to review the game. There is no better way to thank our small team for their efforts, and you can always edit it later to say "I can't believe they just kept updating" =D
Lure and Stuck AI
We've fixed two big AI issues with this update. The first is with Vanguard's Lure. If you were using it close to an enemy, sometimes they might move to it and then just keep "Hunting!" through it and beyond, often leading to your Vanguard getting caught in the act. This isn't the promise of the Talent ... so we fixed this behavior to be sure that - even when thrown very close - the enemy will go to the Lure spot and end their turn their as they should.
The second important bug was related to enemies skipping their Turns after being attacked. In these cases, you'd shoot an enemy and they'd rotate toward you and ... then on their next Turn they would do absolutely nothing. There are a number of circumstances that have to happen for this to occur but it's been plaguing some enemies and making them look really daft.
Vision System Rebuild
Cameras, Radar Arrays and Motion Detectors were the first 3 security devices ever added to the game. They've built up a lot of historical bugs and with Update #121, we've taken the time to rebuild a lot of their guts to address these bugs en masse in a single go.
Cameras and Radar Arrays will now see multiple characters who pass through them on the same Turn. They had an old issue where they would only trigger one per Turn, period. Not great. Now, they will trigger once per character spotted per Turn - fair and challenging. So, if Ghostman and then Jellybean run through the camera back-to-back, you'll be properly dinged twice now.
We've fixed issues with Cameras and Radar Arrays not being very accurate at spotting your mercs while they are rotating between turns. Now, their sweep is much more successful at spotting anyone who is seen during the movement.
Cameras and Radar Arrays could also refuse to see a body for a while. They would usually eventually spot it, but it could lay in plain view for a bit - especially if they were just turning back on from being diabled - and not spot it.
All vision systems have been improved to better handle smoke - being inside the smoke especially, which they were not great at following the rules.
This fix has closed out a huge number of old F10s about Camera, Radar Arrays and Motion Detectors. A big thanks to everyone who submitted F10 tickets!
Proximity Mine Fix
Proximity Mines were taking damage from the explosion point into consideration when rolling their damage, like a grenade. But they trigger when you enter their zone, so you were always at the max distance ... so, the damage was always low. They have been corrected now to deal full damage which is still Ballistic Damage and so reduced by armor. Still, expect these to have a bit more bite, especially if they have switched into lethal mode.
Overhead Noise Warning during Attack
While we've had useful attack warnings in the hovers over enemies' heads for a while, they were only visible while idling or planning a move and disappeared if you planned an attack. This could make it difficult to remember if a specific enemy was going to hear your attack and even more opaque if you changed weapons during your targeting - "who is going to hear?" was not an easy question to answer.
We have now added the same warning icon over all enemy heads during the attack prep phase where you are checking out accuracy, considering your shot and might change weapons or Talents. This gives you clear guidance on who will hear the attack without having to hit ESC or (B) to back out and check the overhead warnings again.
Better Clicking in Class Tree
The class tree is now far more mouse-friendly, allowing you to click on another node at any time during your journey to upgrade a node. If you're looking at Red Dot's upgrades, you used to have to click the close button or hit ESC before you could click on Coordinated Charge. Now, the click goes through correctly and you can one-click to open another node and check it out.
Timestamp Corrections
The saved slots in the game were using an inconsistent timestamp compared to the main save and it was overall just confusing. We've resolved this now and the timestamps should all be correct, to your timezone and useful. Let us know if you have any issues.
Improved Hospital Rooftop "Plan B"
With Update #121, we've made some improvements to the looting and enemy spawning on the rooftop. We're working our way steadily through the game to improve enemy starting locations, patrol paths and loot groups to make sure everything is varied per play through and feels good. With this update, the loot is a bit more reliable on the very level so there are less changes of "spikes" in value and the surprise arrival of the T-REX may also arrive in some different points and positions which can make things moderately different every time you restart. It is still the first level, so we've not going to hard on this one.
v1.8.41 - 8/6/2024
- Fixed issue that could cause AI in combat to skip their turn stupidly - Fixed issue with Vanguard's Lure where, if thrown close to the enemy, the might keep hunting that same turn - Rebuilt vision systems (Camera, Radar Array, Motion Detector) and fixed tons of old bugs - Improved all vision systems reaction when inside smoke - Improved ability of vision systems to spot separate characters moving through them on same turn - Improved ability of vision systems to spot characters when they rotate between turns - Improved combat logs produced by vision systems when spotting characters - Improved ability for vision systems to spot dead bodies - Added new overhead hover on enemies when targeting, showing who will hear the shot/attack - Fixed issue where proximity mines always did low damage - watch out! - Fixed District HQ starting position that started inside camera view angle - Fixed building in District HQ that you could sink into the wall when taking cover - Fixed issue with last time played date being incorrect in saved game slots - Fixed saved game name would not correctly match if you renamed Knight in new game - Fixed issues with Crafting cost being incorrect and blocking the start of crafting - Fixed issues with Start Crafting button being enabled incorrectly on sub-Blueprints - Fixed issue trying to click Talents but click going through to Lootbox (etc) underneath - Fixed Grenades were bouncing off Refact wall from Vanguard's class tree - Fixed sometimes hotkey graphics were too small for the hotkey ("Shift") - Renamed market filter category from "Blade" to "Melee" - Improved click handling in class tree, when viewing upgrades can still click on other node to focus - Fixed issue with Connection % dropping to 0% at the start of a turn and not getting dumped from Matrix - Fixed issue with Health-over-Time healing not always updating the initiative track correctly - Improved description of difficulty options for saving games and death modes - Improved enemy position, patrol variability and loot in Hospital Rooftop level ("Plan B") - Fixed oddity with Send to Detox button sometimes saying Send to Destresser
Major Milestone REACTIVE - unlocks dynamic music to match your heist action
Part of our 10+ year journey as game developers has been constantly working to improve every aspect of our games with each new release. If you’ve been with us for a while, you’ve seen, and heard, this evolution in each game. For soundtracks, our studio has progressed from buying non-exclusive tracks from online markets to hiring our own team and lovingly composing original soundtracks from scratch.
Today, we’re taking an exciting new step forward for both our studio and Cyber Knights: Flashpoint with the release of Reactive Music: dynamic, engine-controlled music layering that reacts to your gameplay, building tension when you’re close to being discovered or amping up the excitement as your shoot-out intensifies.
^^^ Not trying to play well here at all, just trying to illicit big changes from the reactive music's tension system
A major tech upgrade made possible by our Kickstarter backers
Because of the success of our Kickstarter, we were able to upgrade Cyber Knight’s audio engine early on to use Wwise, a much more feature-rich interactive audio solution for games, made by Audiokinetic. It’s made it easy for us to integrate SFX across Cyber Knights’ tactical encounters with all of your squads’ abilities and interactions.
Now, working with our composers and sound designers at Studio Viking, we’ve rigged up the game’s soundtrack with dynamics unparalleled in any previous Trese Brothers release. We’re no longer just looping songs from a static soundtrack - by using Wwise with Unity, the game’s audio engine can process and mix individual instruments, movements and tempos rather than just starting and stopping static tracks.
A better heartbeat (and melody) for the game experience
This means the music will now match itself to game events as they’re happening real-time in your heist. As the gameplay tension rises, guards start to become suspicious, a body is found or the first shots are fired - the game feeds this into the music engine as a tension rating and musical mode that cues the reactive music component on how to mutate, change tempo, add and remove musical instruments and intensify the mix to match your gameplay moment.
As the tension increases and wanes within a level - as more reinforcements arrive, or as Head Hunters kick down the door, or you kill the last guard who knows you’re in the building - the music can dramatically shift to follow the rise or drop in threat.
Roadmap milestone + more audio polish
This is a huge step up for the game’s sound experience. This not only completes the Reactive Music major milestone on our roadmap, but adds all of the other tracks (and their component elements for Reactive Music to use) from the game’s soundtrack that weren’t yet included in the game, increasing the variety of in-game music by more than tenfold.
We have also received a lot of feedback about the sound effects and the music in Cyber Knights: Flashpoint. This patch addresses some of them and we are working to incorporate more of that feedback into upcoming patches. We’ve adjusted several audio effects, mixes and made platform improvements that should help resolve several of the higher priority issues.
Added 5 new Matrix Hosts
We've improved the catalog of matrix templates again for solo hacker missions as well as matrix hosts used in across the proc-gen missions with SCU and APU available. Every push to increase these helps us strive for a point where every proc-gen map, objective, matrix host combination is reaching a tipping point of uniqueness as these catalogs continue to grow.
With this update, we've completed some needed rebalance for Soldier's Coordinated Charge and Cybersword's Deflection Field. First, we've reduced power on Coordinated Charge, removing the ability to get a second max charge. With the recharge rate, ability to extend duration, this Talent can already be almost omnipresent so this helps bring it back into a fairer spot within the meta. In addition, the final upgrade that gives +1 MP no longer adds +5% Move Speed, leaving the total achievable Move Speed at +25%.
Cybersword's Deflection Shield has received a 6th upgrade node which can enable you to drop the shield for 0 AP and only an IO-Batt charge from your blade. This can be really helpful in those clutch situations where the AP are just too tight, so consider this new upgrade!
Decoy Upgrades
The Decoy II and III programs' have both received an improvement, a minor buff to their armor and a reduction in program rating so they are viable on more decks. Decoy II is up to +4 Armor (which matters all the more now that Hacker's brains are bleeding more!) and has had a Program Rating reduction and Decoy III is at +6 Armor with an even bigger Program Rating reduction.
Enjoy making those IC and the Q-Sec Escalation miss!
Better Power Level 2 Prices
Thanks to all the players sharing feedback and chatting with us in Discord. With your help, we've improved the pricing matrix for low level armor and weapons you can get at the beginning of the game. All of the prices have come down a bit, so remember to go shopping when you've got some U-Dahs after your latest heist.
Story Repercussions
We've improved the story events if you ignore the starting Vanguard's Cube Run mission. Don't do it - it is not exciting, and the Vanguard just gets mad. But before we had missed the consequence here and nothing was said and no one cared. That said - go on the mission! z
v1.8.39 - 8/2/2024
- Added reactive music system - game music now responds to rising stealth and combat tension, varies music intensity - Major increase in variety of music in missions - Added 5 new matrix hosts maps to hack-only and proc-gen missions - Down-balanced Soldier's Coordinated Charge - removed option to get +1 max charge, total move speed bonus is +25% - Improved Decoy II and III with more Deck Armor, reduced Program Ratings - Added 6th upgrade option for Cybersword's Deflection Field to reduce cost to -1 AP - Fixed issue with Chameleon Sheathe implant blocking Stealth Armor from being equipped - Minor price reduction for Power Level 2 weapons and Power Level 2 an 3 Armors - Improved starting Vanguard's reaction to ignoring Cube Run mission - Tightened up timeline on all proc-gen missions, reduced by 1-2 days
