Welcome to the dusk of the weekend in New Boston! We're continuing the tour of second-round balance and improvements and tonight are hitting on pricing in the weapons, mods and armor categories. We've also added a sick new map - the burnt out floor of a flophouse in a street habstack - for proc-gen rotation, improved coherence for Cyberdeck sales, upgraded some Decoy programs to Decoy (HOT) and improved the Hype, Stress (etc!) affects of boosting and burning merc and contact relationships.
We always love rolling out something new and this is a key balance patch for the game's early economy. More will be following! if you are enjoy the game and our dedication to continued adds and improvements during Early Access, please take a minute to leave us a review. Remember, you can always edit it later!
Major Power Level 1-4 Price Drops
With this update, we're catching up on some much needed price rebalancing for Power Level 1 to 4 weapons, weapon mods and armor. The old pricing baselines came from a time in the game when there were few other things to spend money on and so the prices fit better. But now with the competition for safehouse upgrades, cyberdecks, programs, more cybernetic implants and more - these prices were due a big drop.
Weapons dropped the most, ranging from 25% to 50% drop for some early game upgrades. Weapon Mods were already modestly price and dropped a bit, mostly around Power Level 2 and 3. Armors also had some modest reductions in the earlier Power Levels to help make those first upgrades easier to afford.
Items on the other hand got modest gains, where the baseline prices for a Power Level 2 and 3 Item jumped by 10-20%. Item prices of course are small potatoes ($8K became $10K) and these price adjustments also boost the sale value for Item Blueprints on the far side, so this has its benefits as well.
We are still working on a package of upgrades for weapons to help reinforce and boost the stat differences between the levels to further justify the expense to upgrade, but this price drop should help.
New Proc-Gen Map: Blown Out Flat
We've added a new map to the proc-gen rotation for the Battle Strike objective and anticipate adding it to other objective types throughout next week. This Blown Out Flat is a destroyed floor of a cheap habstack, utterly abandoned and dilapidated. The best kind of place for criminal dealings, gang warfare and hiding valuable illegal loot. The Blown Out Flat is on the smaller, more compact side of missions, so it is lovely to roll out additional variety in map types.
Cyberdeck Service to Power Levels
We've made some adjustments Contact services for selling Cyberdecks. We've extended the service ladder to having 4 levels and adjusted the placement of the Cyberdecks sold within those levels so that their is a clear and consistent match of Service Level to Power Level. This has moved one deck between levels and also another deck that was previously rated as Power Level 5 has been downgraded to Power Level 4.
Get those limit breaks with your deck sellers and get back up to the latest!
Decoy Utilities go HOT
HOT is one of the designations for program variations. All HOT programs include IO buffer bonuses. With Update #158, we've upgraded the Decoy programs available from any Contact who offers the special Utility Program service to be Decoy I to III with the HOT designation. So, in addition to volunteering to be the first unloaded, these programs can now buff your IO. Some of you will find - depending on where you bought your Decoy programs before - that you now have these upgraded programs in your Inventory or already installed on your decks.
Improved Hype / Stress or Influence / Exposure Changes
We are prepare for the relationship flows of Hype, Stress, Loyalty, Discontent and for Contacts Influence and Exposure. This coming upgrade will cause relationships from merc to merc or Contact to merc to be more powerful, as big changes maybe ripple outward. If a merc likes a Contact and you treat that Contact badly, the merc may Stress over it.
But that's all coming soon, in the next few updates. For now, the change in Update #158 is to further reinforce the changes to all of these values for your story actions. If you Burn or Boost a merc or contact by a story choice, the hit is going to be stronger. You'll get over all more Hype or Stress, or suffer more Discontent, Exposure etc, where some of these story choices were not feeling so impactful (+10% Exposure or +10% Stress was just not ... enough).
Going along with this, we fixed a bug where helping the UNA hacker could result in a Burn with your Face's relationship instead of a Boost (as queued by the dialog).
And, on that subject as well, we fixed Hype and Stress sorts for Roster, as they were backwards. If you sort by Stress, you probably want the high Stress characters at the top, right?
v1.8.129 - #158: Markdown Flat - 10/13/2024
- Major price reduction for Weapons, Mods, Armor for Power Level 1-4, from 10% to 50% reduction - Added new proc-gen map "Blown Out Flat": destroyed floor of street habstack with starting Objective Battle Striker - Aligned Cyberdeck Power Levels with Sells Cyberdeck service levels, new Service Level 4 now added to sell most powerful decks - Upgraded Decoy programs sold by Utility Program service to Decoy (HOT) with bonus IO - Improved Stress/Hype/Loyalty/Discontent and Influence/Exposure changes for Burning / Boosting relationships with story actions - Fixed bug where refusing to hire the UNA Hacker could cause Loyalty loss with your Face instead of (correct) gain - Fixed issue where Haven Smokeout Wireghost could be invisible, not spawn or refuse to flee - Fixed ERA story bug where Scourge recruit oddly started at level 1 - Fixed sort in Roster for Hype and Stress so that highest Hype or Stress is at the top
Update #157: Lights Out
Knights of New Boston - we've got another update here for you with further improvements to the matrix, fixing up a few small bugs in the recent glut of new matrix maps, a new scheme for how ignored / dismissed Recruits are handled, a fix for anyone with a stuck Scourge recruit, improved consistency of Hacking tags on missions and more.
A big thanks to everyone playing, posting and hitting F10 this week! We've seen a huge wave of new players come onboard so it is so helpful to get fresh eyes on Early Access. Keep an eye on this page, more updates and more good things are coming.
If you enjoy the game and our special way of doing Early Access, please take a moment to leave a review! Remember you can always edit it later.
Spiked Nodes React!
This has been a visual goal for a while but with the addition of the new Access Gate it is more important than ever to be able to see the status of the node while you're planning your path. There are a few other places we need to have the UI and visual react to spiking - like the pop out node description to the left of the node - but we're excited to take this first enhancement and run with it.
CPUs that have been spiked become more unstable, reddish and stretch and distort as the quantum structure struggles to maintain coherence after the spike. Access Gates and APU - now defeated and lifeless - become gray and lit only by flickering light, their security functions now extinguished.
Ignored and Rejected Recruits
In the original setup for recruits, if you ignored or rejected them they would be purged from the game, completed removed. There were exceptions to this in the plan, like the sibling from the KEMCO Salvage storyline who would transition back to a character known to be living on the streets of New Boston, a relation to one of your mercs and a potential story character for future arcs.
We've now upgraded all non-Underground Hub recruits to work this way. Any recruit that you encounter and decide not to accept is moved into the Dismissed state, which leaves them (hidden unless you filter) on your Roster, and marks them as great story pickup for future story arcs.
This helps build up your history of characters in the city who you've been in contact with and who might someday be a better fit for your team. While you can't go back to them today and re-request the option to recruit them, that is way we are heading. This set of dismissed mercs will become your backup pool (assuming they aren't picked up by some story first).
Notably, Underworld Hub has a slightly different setup where an ignored recruit simply goes on a long cooldown and then will recur in the Hub. So, we did not change that process with this update.
This is a rare type of update that only affects games from this point forward. We can't do anything to fix the issue that in older games these recruits were purged. It isn't damaging to games, and all new added recruits will fill into this pool in old and new games, so it has some impact but will be long-term minor and is currently no impact (as you can't re-recruit these folks).
Stuck Scourge
If you happened to ignore the Scourge recruit during the recently added ERA storylines and let the timeline expire without interacting with it, a bug occurred where instead of getting the final recruit prompt and being forced into making a Yes/No decision, the Scourge just quietly stuck around as a Recruit but with no further way to interact.
The next time you load your game the issue will be resolved and the recruit option will be back.
Missions Missing Hacking Tag
There were a number of missions missing the Hacking tags, which would let you know it could be valuable to bring a Hacker along. We've done a sweep of these and believe they are fixed across the board.
Reload issues
We're grinding down any F10s right now that are reported as reload issues- where something isn't quite right if you go back to the main menu and reload your game. This update fixes an issue where VIPs using the Vita-Shield buff (invulnerability) would get the buff back even if you had shot it down.
The River inDusted Hover-Evac
We fixed a map issue that was preventing anyone - player or enemy - from seeing across the bridge or river in the back of the Dusted Hover-Evac level.
v1.8.127 - #157: Lights Out - 10/11/2024
- Matrix CPU, APU and Gates now visually respond to being spiked, changing their node appearance - Fixed issues with 2 of the new hosts having disconnected data nodes (thanks for the F10s!) - Improved some of the routing and pathing options in the new hosts after review - Fixed bug where ignoring the recruit of the ERA storyline Scourge could result in a hung state - option to recruit will reappear now - Improved scheme for ignoring / dismissing story or timeline recruits - new Dismissed Recruit status allows them to appear in future stories or repeat recruit offerings - Fixed some invisible walls blocking sight over river / bridge in Dusted Hover-Evac - Fixed multiple missions missing the Hacking flag that have matrix terminals - Fixed duplicated victory/defeat text at the end of HEARTBREAK RUSH job - Fixed issue reloading level with VIP shield returning unfairly - Fixed issues with expensive / cheapest sort in cold storage, inventory and market when categories were mixed
Update #156: Quantum Access Gate
Welcome all new Knights from Steam Turn-based RPG fest! We're here working hard on Early Access with a constant stream of updates. There is a lot left to do to wrap up our Early Access roadmap but it is more content and smaller feature sets than huge milestones now. We've been excited in these last few updates to be doing "rounds" in the game, hitting a wide spectrum of areas for balance, improvement and expansion. With Update #156, we've come around to matrix hacking to add a new node type and a big blast of new matrix host templates to explore. We've also removed the clickability of characters from the safehouse, fixed a bug with the ERA Hacker recruit if you chose to Delay the recruit and more.
Thanks to everyone playing, posting and leaving a review! We're running hot with an update every 2.3 days, so send us feedback and any bugs you hit and we are working hard to improve constantly. If you like the style, please leave a review!
Matrix Access Gate
The newest node type to join matrix hosts is the Access Gate - a quantum lock structure designed to allow unauthorized users to enter it but then never to leave. Gates appear as glowing rings, knotholes that you have to pass through if you plan to further infiltrate the host. They present mini-challenges along your path, requiring you to stop and Spike the gate in order to unlock it and enable node connection again.
Once you've entered the Access Gate, you cannot leave until all IC are destroyed, the node is Scan 2/2 and you execute a Gate Spike. While Access Gates have far less IC than the CPU, this can still present a challenge, and often requires a Hacker to stop short of the Gate to reload some programs set or end their Turn to refresh the IO. Since you cannot exit a Gate without spiking it, there is a heightened risk of ending your hacking run in a Hard Disconnect here - if some IC is blocking loading programs but you didn't get enough Attack loaded to take it out, for example. There is no option to decamp from the Gate and return when you're ready, you'll have to pull the plug.
Finally, we've started work on some upgrades to the matrix visuals that will allow nodes to show differently based on their internal state (Spiked, has Files, etc). So - this is coming, Gates that are unlocked with display different, Spiked CPUs will show that visually, etc.
Added 10 new Matrix Hosts
The new matrix hosts are spread across the spectrum of different missions and sources - from those generated in your Safehouse, to CPU Spike missions to those showing up on the ground in missions holding SCU or RCU. All 10 of the new hosts feature one or more Access Gate, so you'll start to see this new node type filtering into your missions immediately now.
Treaty '31 Era Hacker: Delay Hung Recruit
We had a bug with the Treaty '31 Hacker recruit - if you chose to delay their recruit from the Safehouse, then they would end up on your Roster as a permanent possible recruit without any way to move forward. After reloading your game in Update #156, this will be resolved the Hacker will be interested in talking again about recruitment - to accept, delay or reject.
We also fixed an issue where recruits who were previously dismissed could be selected for Legwork. Through this, it is possible that you might have recruited them if you picked this option ... that's one way to get on the team?
Safehouse Character Buttons
Having chatted with enough players, we understand (and feel the same way) that the character buttons over the safehouse 3D is not helping. More clicks to these buttons are misclicks that intentional far. There will be a point where the characters animate, traverse the safehouse, take the elevator, so we've left the name labels in but we've removed character's function as a button. In the (currently rare) case that the character has a speech bubble overhead, you can click directly on the speech bubble (not the larger character) in order to pop up their messages.
Alerted Reinforcements, Hidden Team
If you run into a situation where you team is fully hidden but the reinforcements who have just arrived are all Alerted and come after you, please hit F10. We found and fixed 2 of these misconfigurations thanks to some recent F10s about it. We appreciate all your hard work helping us improve the game daily!
And, as always we fixed some other smaller issues - see below -
v1.8.123 - #156: Quantum Access Gate - 10/7/2024
- New matrix node type: Access Gate, a quantum lock structure that prevents unauthorized exit until spiked (go in, must spike before you leave) - Added 10 new matrix hosts maps to templates across entire set (Spike CPU, File Hunt, SCU and RCU hosts) featuring Gates - Fixed bug where delaying the recruit of the ERA storyline UNA Hacker could result in a hung state - option to recruit will reappear now - Removed clickable character button from safehouse - Fixed bug where recruits you dismissed or skipped could appear in Legwork offers - Fixed bug where all enemy reinforcements could be coming out as aggressive in Wreckspire - Fixed bug where one set of enemy reinforcements could be coming out as aggressive in Sewers level - Fixed possible legwork mismatch for "Going Offworld" proc-gen Legwork story - Fixed issue where Recoil could go negative on some weapons with the right weapon mods attached - Fixed typos and name switches
Update #155: Smoke in the NanoFab
There is smoke pouring out of the NanoFab, someone is in there crafting like crazy! If you aren't in there crafting like crazy, maybe this update will help you get that forge roaring. With Update #155, we're completing a series of balance improvements around Blueprints, max uses, sale prices, and crafting times that should increase the fun and progression of the NanoFab and possibly entice more mercs to give Item crafting a second look - or, if not yet, soon. We've also fixed a ton of other F10s submitted, so thank you for all your help, posts and encourgement!
If you are enjoying Cyber Knights and our special way of doing Early Access - the game is never idle! - please take a moment to leave a review and help us continue.
Tox-Cloud, White Noise Stick to the Floor
All of the moving buff and debuff zones were not playing very well with elevation changes. If a zone was created on a rooftop, it could then float out into the air instead of sliding down to the ground. Or if you created a buff zone near a building or platform it might just go into the platform instead of rising up to ride along the top of the area.
With Update #155, we've resolved both cases. In short, moving buff zones will now stick to the floor, rising and falling as needed. Thanks to everyone who put in F10s about this, it has been a hot topic for a while!
Melee Weapon Blueprints show Power Slice Rules
Melee weapon blueprints have always had an issue where they kept their Power Slice special rule hidden until the crafting was complete. This bug has now been resolved and the special rules for any and all weapons are now visible up front with your Blueprint.
Crafting Time Adjustments
Update #155 sees the completion of a number of crafting time changes, some shorter and some longer. Weapons were taking too long, armors were too quick and Rarity and Power Level were not having enough of an effect on the crafting time in many cases.
All weapon crafting times have been reduced, anywhere from 2 to 4 days with Blueprint Rarity having a larger impact on crafting time
Some weapon mod crafting times have been reduced by up to -1 day and some have been increased by +1 day, depending on the type and Rarity of the blueprint. In total, this is near neutral or overall shorter.
Some armor crafting times have been extended in the case of high Rarity Blueprints
Item Blueprint Improvements
Item Blueprints have been hit with a wave of improvements to make them more compelling - both to dump onto the open market or consider using.
The cost of crafting Item Blueprints has been reduced, depending on a number of factors anywhere from 10-40%
The price you can get selling Item Blueprints to your Contacts has increased by up to 5X
All Item Blueprints now come with 5/5 uses in your NanoFab. This allows you to build up a small stash if you find something valuable - perhaps a rare designer hacking drug you can't buy yet or ever - you can at least craft 5 doses of it. The limit before of 1 crafting run per Item Blueprint made this very impractical to imagine that we could provide very many exciting unique Items via Blueprints because you'd end up with a single (just 1!!) consumable and ... probably horde it for the last boss ;)
Head Hunters and VIP Stun Break
Head Hunters and special VIP targets all have the ability to Stun Break. Every turn they are Stunned, they gain a 75% chance to skip the Stun and take their Turn. This does not remove the Stun effect, so mulit-Turn Stun debuffs can still have effect on these targets, but it is lesser and more random when it might strike.
In the case of Stun Break, we have now added a clarifying log to the combat log so it is clear what happened and what the chance is (75%).
ERA Scourge Recruit Level
For future games where you encounter the Treaty '31 Scourge recruit, we've fixed the issue where this character always landed at level 1. Now, the Scourge will follow all the regular recruit level rules, just like the Treaty '31 Hacker you could recruit.
Fixed Switched Save Slots UI
As of Update #154, the save slot options you were presented in the pause menu were flipped. If you were supposed to have Auto Saves Only then you got Free Saves Only. This is now all cleaned up in both the mission and safehouse pause menus.
v1.8.121 - #155: Smoke in the NanoFab - 10/6/2024
- Tox-Cloud, White Noise and any moving buff/debuff zone now changes elevation correctly to track "floor" - All Blueprints for weapons and especially melee weapons show all special rules like Plas-Edge - Reduced crafting times for Weapon, Blueprint Rarity has larger effect on craft time - Rebalanced crafting times for Weapon Mods and Armors, ranging from -1 to +1 days based on Blueprint Rarity - All Item Blueprints new expanded to 5/5 uses - if you find something good, you can craft a small stock - All Item Blueprints sell for about 5X the cost (based on Blueprint uses remaining) - Reduced cost to craft Item Blueprints by 10-40% depending on Power Level - Fixed issue with Auto Save Slots and manual Save Slots appearing in wrong difficulties - Added helpful log when Head Hunter or VIP breaks Stun (75%) and takes their Turn anyway - Fixed ERA story bug where Scourge recruit oddly started at level 1 - Fixed issue with some raid proc-gen missions that played the ending dialog 3 times in a row - Fixed possible scenario where recruiting Scourge in ERA stories could freeze
Update #154: Power Play and Compromised
Welcome to the weekend of Turn-based RPG Fest on Steam! Welcome to all the new Knights rolling into the New Boston zone. We are here all the time if you have questions for us and we are working hard to improve the game off your feedback. With Update #154, we've rolling out the first big step toward finish the Contact Limit Break system with Compromised and Power Play tags - which will basically allow Contacts to step up into a higher tier of power for their future Limit Breaks. We've also added a new proc-gen Legwork story with new Contact types involved and new merc skills and backstories that will be called on to pull it off. Finally, a heap of nice F10 bug fixes, so thank you!
To everyone playing, we thank you! Please, consider taking a moment to leave a review, especially if you enjoy how we are conducting our Early Access phase - always busy, always improving!
Power Play and Compromised
Not all Contact Limit Breaks are committed equal! When your Contacts Limit Break for good or bad, new options are appearing that allow them to take on a Power Play position or to become Compromised. These two tags can be added by story as well (see story Tag results from Snitch Snuff Obligation storyline, Octane's Kingmaker's Hand tag, or the Illicit Nexus tag) but can also be added by Limit Breaks directly.
Once a Contact has a Power Play (or another variation of the tag) or Compromised tag, then their matching Limit Breaks are about to be more exciting or risky. In Update #154, we are rolling out simply the system for Power Play and Compromised tags, but we will follow directly with a couple of big new options that are key to the entire underworld simulation working.
While these are not in the game yet, the Power Play / Compromised system is first required for some of the following effects to come online:
Compromised Contacts will able to die. If they are friendly, you'll usually get some opportunity to try to save them, but if you can't or won't, then that will be there end.
Power Play Contacts will be able add entirely new services. Maybe a Power Play Gunrunner can start offering a new series of weapons or a Doper might gain access to the Blue Juice supply through the Ricksham. This will both help Contacts you prefer to work with gain access to services to round out their offering but also allow your allies to gain completely new services that no one else has.
Compromised and Power Play Contacts will be able to gain new permanent Traits.
If they don't like you, Power Play Contacts will be able to send Head Hunters after you.
Be careful though, as these tags - whether or not added by story or the Limit Breaks - can be removed by the other Limit Break type. An Exposure Limit Break might remove the Power Play tag or might remove Octane's Kingmaker's Hand Tag (!?!). In the same way, if you have know a Contact who becomes Compromised, an Influence Limit Break can give them the chance to get out of that before something dramatically bad happens.
New Proc-Gen Legwork
In Update #151, we added a system for proc-gen Legwork, allowing contacts who are less likely to offer regular missions a new way to offer you work that benefits them their underworld affairs and therefore you can gain in return, Favors and Influence, as well as learn more about the New Boston and 2231 story.
With Update #154, we've added a third proc-gen legwork option with some new angles, new types of contacts who are interested in it and it will call up on different mercs to attempt it. The new premise is about bribery at a spaceport, so keep an eye out for Contacts involved in smuggling hi-tech space or who are obsessed with getting offworld to proc this storyline.
Contact Limit Breaks Order
We've fixed a key bug that was causing the options you were offered to change whenever you spent a Favor. The intention is that spending a Favor will add a new option but not change anything that was already selected. In Update #153, this rule broke but it is back now again and paired with even better insurance that if you spent a Favor - even on an Exposure Limit Break - you will get an additional option.
Tri-Anks Fix
We fixed the Tri-Anks cybernetic implant that had an unexplained special code effect.
Equipment and Roster Fixes
If you sent a merc to treatment for a wound the Treatment tag wasn't showing up immediately - now fixed! If you looked at Blueprints in the NanoFab list, they didn't remove their "new" yellow dot - now fixed! If you compared two weapon mods and one had better optimal range, it was displayed with the flipped color and annotation (as if shorter was better) - now fixed! If you were carrying an E-Rifle there was some ugly text and image overlap in the HUD - now fixed!
v1.8.119 - 19/5/2024
- Added third proc-gen Legwork offered by Contacts in smuggling, hi-tech or who are obsessed with space/gleamers - Added new Contact Limit Break options for Add/Remove Power Play and At Risk status for Contacts - Added new Contact Limit Break options for Exposure breaks to lose up to 5% Trust (might be lesser of X evils) - Fixed issue with Contact Limit Breaks where spending a Favor for a new option would change existing options - Fixed issues with throwing grenades and item not being removed from Talent list - Fixed issue with Treatment tag not appearing immediately on roster after sending to Wound Treatment - Fixed issue in NanoFab Blueprint listing not properly managing new yellow dot upon viewing - Fixed incorrect comparison Optimal Range bonuses for weapon mods (higher is better for max optimal) - Fixed issue with overlapping elements in weapons with limited reloads (E-Rifles) - Fixed unexplained ability in Tri-Ank 1 cybernetic implant (Special Code -5)
Update #153: Legwork Fix and QOL
This one has come out rapidly on the heels of Update #152 because of a critical bug with legwork created in #152 getting stuck on the timeline. You could see a lot of events pile up at 0h and never complete. With this patch in place, everything will complete back-to-back without the need to really advance the turn.
In way of apologizing for the bug, we've also completed a nice big set of QoL improvements and bug fixes for other parts of the game as well.
it's late after a long day of polishing the game - so we're kicking this patch and QOL fix without too much fanfare or screenshots.
Legwork Fix
If you're seeing events pile up at 0h hours, Update #153 is for you!
Favor for Nothing?
There were some cases in Contact Limit Break where you could spend a Favor to try to "steer" there decision to something else and you would not receive an additional option. This has now been fixed with new options becoming more prevalent and also ensuring that the Favor spend is not offered if you won't gain from it.
The Contact Limit Break options to increase Power Level and Trust % are going to show up more regularly now.
Also, Contacts who are in Hiding due to an Exposure Limit break will not offer missions.
New Proc-Gen Map Combo
In the grind to expand the proc-gen content, we've enabled another map and objective cross - this time allowing the Interchange H level to play out the Siege objective. This helps the Interchange H map appear in 3 objective types and to expand the possible maps Siege can happen on to 5. The map can make for a very dynamic siege on the move, depending on which direction reinforcements are coming from, you may need to shift with the wind to find a new defensible position.
Improved Mods Display
We've expanded the capability to display extra weapon mods to just encompass all mod counts. In the rare and lucky case that you have 4 Intrinsic mods added due to crafting, we've ensured that the UI can show them all.
Auto Save Slots
There was a bug where Auto-save slots were not being displayed if the difficulty save mode was Automatic Only. This is now fixed.
v1.8.117 - 10/3/2024
- Fixed critical bug where all new Legwork hangs at 0h and won't finish (:facepalm:) - Fixed Contact Limit Break bug that would steal your Favors and not give more options - Contact Limit Break options to increase Trust % and Power Level now offered more readily - Added new proc-gen map and objective combo: Interchange H and Siege Objective - Improved support of displaying weapon mods, always show all crafted/intrinsic mods, don't stop at 3 - Fixed bug preventing auto-save slots (Restore before Mission, etc) from showing when difficult setting was "Automatic Only" - Fixed issue with Trait Adrenaline Junkie unfairly causing Stress when the mission was Hack-only (1 Hacker) - Fixed bug where Contacts in Hiding would continue to offer missions / storylines - Fixed bug in Dusted Hover-Evac X Kill 3 Captains objective where you could auto-extract at start - Fixed a heaping pile of typos and minor text mistakes
Update #152: Patch Power + Legwork
As Steam's Turn-Based RPG Fest rolls on this week, we're back with another update to fix some of the issues that snuck out the door with Monday's ERA storyline update, add a new proc-gen legwork option, improve legwork results and fix other minor bugs. Hopefully this will clear the deck from story bugs and we'll be back to adding new new new.
As always - thank you for playing our game or wishlisting if you're waiting. If you have given the game a try and like the way we are conducting Early Access (152 updates!?!?) and are enjoying the game, please leave a review. The small team here thanks you!
ERA Story Fixes
We've turned around two important fixes for the ERA content with Update #152. The first was that during one of the stories, two mercs could end up becoming friends but ... each is friend only with themself. How funny yet lonely :D This is now resolved in all games old and new, they are friends with each other!
The second major issues was - depending on a few factors - the recruitable characters could have some key implants switched. The Hacker had the Scourges special implant ... thievery! Give that back! And ... fixed in all games, old and new.
Third, there were some points in the story where a character's Loyalty was boosted but a code bug prevented it from happening. This will have positive affect with a few other storylines in the game as well as this Loyalty bump was globally being skipped in certain storyline paths.
Fourth, we fixed a heaping pile of small dialog mistakes, flubs and name switches. Thanks for the F10s to help us clean up and improve here.
Proc-Legwork
In Update #151, we added a system for proc-gen Legwork, allowing contacts who are less likely to offer r regular missions another way to offer you work that benefits them, offers Favor and Influence and tells more of a story about how the New Boston Underworld works.
With Update #152, we've added a second proc-gen legwork option with some different twists in it, new options and a new premise around a megacorporate employee who is illegally supplying your Contact who is involved in medical, drugs, crafting or hovertruck transport with stolen goods and data.
In addition, we've pushed proc-gen Legwork (which we see as something that has a very healthy road for expansion) to be on its own "story schedule." In Update #150, it shared the schedule with regular story Vignettes, so drawing a proc-gen legwork would bump a story vignette back a bit and proc-gen legworks (few in number) were competing with the larger pool of vignettes and not appearing enough. So, we've pushed them to their own throttled story schedule and you should see them more regularly.
Legwork Results / Favors
In addition, we've done more work to improve event logs around Legwork to capture all the changes in world / contact / character state in the log event. And, finally we've bumped the standard Legwork result of gaining +1 Favor up to +2 Favors which feels a lot more valuable and makes it worth the time for your merc and your risk.
In addition, we've reinforced the negative result of taking Injury Time as a result of Legwork. If you end up with Injury, you always make a Stress roll as well (resisted by Stress Res) to suffer an extra +10% Stress.
v1.8.115 - 10/2/2024
- Fixed issue with mercs becoming friends with themselves in latest Era storyline - Fixed issue with Scourge and Hacker recruit sometimes having swapped implants (!?!?) - Fixed issue with some moments in the story failing to grant Loyalty bonus as described - Adjusted proc-gen Legwork schedule so that it doesn't compete with story vignettes - Added second proc-gen Legwork offered by Doctors/Splicers/Dopers/Crafters/Hovertruck Operators - Standard legwork bonus for Favors has been raised from +1 Favor to +2 Favors - When failing legwork and taking Injury time, make +10% Stress roll - Improved logging of Legwork success / failure and results - Fixed rare bug that could cause a reinforcement squad not to appear at all for megacorporate enemy - Fixed a heaping pile of typos and minor text mistakes
Update #151: ERA Storylines for Treaty '31
Welcome to Steam's Turn-Based RPG Fest! We're going to have a crusher of a week with a ton of new content coming online and we are kicking it off with a blast of new stories for the Treaty '31 ERA in New Boston. These new storylines include new recruits, new challenges, new types of map interactions and of course, chances to make new enemies, allies and form bonds within your team and beyond that will last into the rest of your career. We've also added an exciting proc-gen Legwork system that has been cooking for a while and more.
Thanks to everyone playing, wishlisting and reviewing Cyber Knights. We're in Early Access right now and we're BUSY. So, if EA isn't your think, wishlist us. If you're in playing, please take a minute to leave a review when you get far enough to help share your experiences with others. If you have an issue, hit F10 in the game to send in a bug report or feedback.
ERA Storylines
As in our previous RPG, Star Traders: Frontiers, the major story events of the world and New Boston are organized into "Eras". These major story happenings stem from a compelling event and then having lasting ripples and tremors that can have major story effects on your team and contacts.
The first ERA, the Treaty '31 Era starts with the major political and economic shift that allows the major German conglomerate Warner-Braun to establish sovereign territory in New Boston and operate within its economic zone. For a treaty city that has had a mostly static megacorporate landscape for the last 30 years, this is a major shake up and the power players on both sides of the line are scrambling to find their new footing.
This ERA sets the context of a lot of the proc-gen missions that you can play in the game and a number of the existing storylines. But with Update #151, we've added another big batch of storylines that can stem from it.
Of course, as is always our goal, this content will immediately be added to all saved games - old and new. For older saved games, the storylines might feel a little disconnected from where your team is at, as they are designed to be filtered into the game during the beginning of the Treaty '31 ERA, but they should play very nicely.
New Recruits, New Traits
The ERA '31 content includes the possibilities to pick up 2 new recruits to help round out your squad. This is a continual growth point for the game, which does not yet feature proc-gen recruits. These new recruits are both accessible via larger storylines and come with their own hefty backstories and baggage.
We'll leave you to the fun of finding them!
Proc-Gen Legworks
With this update we've released the first set of proc-gen Legworks. These non-mission tasks that your team takes let you investigate, intimidate, steal, bribe and manipulate the underworld and its denizens in ways that aren't exactly tactical.
Up until now, Legworks have all been part of larger storylines or associated with missions. With Update #151, we've rolled out the first repeatable Legwork, which is a new pathway to gain Favors and Influence with Contacts who are less likely to ask for missions from you. This Legwork can attached to be and be offered by Contacts like Street Docs, Splicers, Dopers, Drug Runners and Moneylenders. After a generous cool-down, it may reappear in the game again with slightly changed parameters and probably offered by a different contact.
More of these will be coming which will give you more chances to keep your team busy, actually be too busy for your own good, and to earn those key Favors for later.
Enemies Dropping Keys
We're excited to add a new possible wrinkle to levels that involve Red, Blue or Gold key doors. The new mission content for the ERA '31 storylines includes a map in which enemy captains can drop a Red Key on death. While there are other ways to get the Red Key door open, surprising and quietly killing or just guns-blazing steamrolling either of the enemy captains may be your your way of getting the key and progressing farther into the mission.
We will not be using this feature for regular or valuable loot, it will be reserved for keys and other story relevant items. Especially in a turn-based game, we don't to require you to be spending turns running around picking up stuff off the ground.
New Cyberware Services / Implants
Some of the storylines in the new ERA Treaty '31 content may introduce you to splicers who offer new services for implanted cybernetics. These services will branch off their own way, providing different set of options, improvements and increase in service level via Contact Limit Breaks like all services.
The service levels currently offer 6 new implants, among which you'll find 2 entirely new classes of implants added - HeadMem and Recoil Tri-Anks). Both fit into slots that are already in use (fast brain and legs) which ups the competition in these areas for what you'll build out. HeadMem allows Hackers to consider other balance angles on how to run their deck and Recoil Tri-Anks offer the foundation of a Recoil solution for non-Soldiers or ... offer to make your Full Auto Soldier even more ridiculous than they already are!
On-going Map & Balance Tweaks
We're continuing to review the maps, patrol paths and reinforcement points for all levels in the set. We've made some tweaks to Wreckspire and Dusted Hover-Evac starting setups as well as fixed issues with reinforcement points that were oddly placed or only producing 2 enemies in a number of levels.
For the recent add to the Free Streets Compact (FSC) faction, we've adjusted the Po-Bot's HP totals, which were too high for their "refurbished drone" status.
v1.8.113 - 9/30/2024
- Added 3 new storylines that fill in the Treaty '31 Story Era - new missions, new allies, new enemies - Two new recruits stemming from Treaty '31 stories - Additional Treaty '31 stories and a capstone story will follow soon - Added proc-gen Legwork system, some legworks can occasionally repeat, new paths to gain Favors/Influence with Contacts - First proc-gen Legwork offered by Doctors/Splicers/Dopers/Moneylenders - Added new cybernetic service for Imported Implants and 6 new implants, 2 new types (HeadMem, Recoil Tri-Anks) - Adjusted / reduced the recovery time for some classes of cybernetics by 10-20% - Added 2 new Hacker-focused character Traits - Synth Weaver and Fortified Receptors - Added new ability for specific enemies to drop Red/Blue/Gold Key on maps when they die - Improved description of Sniper's Deathwatch reaction shots - Improved balance and HP pools for FSC Po-Bot enemies who were too tough - Fixed some reinforcement points that were spawning odd 2 enemy groups
Update #150: Second Pass Objectives
Sunday is a nice lazy day for an update! We're excited to be hitting a point in the balancing cycle to be coming back to some systems and giving them a second pass of improvements. Probably all of these major areas will get a few more passes before they've really settled, but this is great time to be really tweaking and tuning. In the last few updates, we've been hammering on loot and Blueprint distribution and Account selling for Influence and today it is time for Secondary Objective rewards. We've rebalanced the requirements (Sec Level or Turn count atm) and increased the rewards (more Favors, more Influence, more XP, etc) and tweaked the weighting for all the reward types (better Blueprint distribution, Influence more likely). It should be a nice upgrade to help make these stick out and be very attractive to work harder to get.
Thanks to everyone stepping up to post an F10, post a thread on the Steam forums, join our Discord and especially for posting a review. We are a tiny indie studio, so your energy, your shares, and just talking to you goes a long way to keep us moving forward at this pace!
We've hit a number of big points within the secondary objectives system. These are to help balance out the options, rewards and limits that are in place today but also to prep the system for new types of secondary objectives and rewards that will be coming online in the following month.
First, we've increased the top range of all of the rewards. Where you could only get 10% extra payment or XP before, it can swing as high as 20% now. You can get +2 Favors instead of just +1, and the Influence Bonus can go as high as +30%. The variation in rewards is nice to see but when they hit high, it is great to put extra spotlight on the value of that objective.
We've also adjusted the weighting when picking what reward should be paired with which objective. For Blueprint rewards, we've cut Item Blueprints completely out of the rollers (they were rare, but did exist) and put the priority on Weapons and Weapon Mods with Armor being a bit rarer now.
Also, we've pushed the chances that Favor and Influence are picked as secondary objective rewards over Contact Trust. This dovetails nicely with other work to provide more paths to additional Influence - when you see a +30% extra Influence bonus on a secondary objective to stay under Sec Level 2 ... and the mission comes with a standard +10% Influence ... if you can pull this mission off in a stealthy style, you'll net basically half a Limit Break in one swing! Get the Vanguards! We've also addressed a number of places where the map wasn't providing enough detail to the secondary objective system to help it adjust limits - like how many Turns you need to CPU Spike a matrix host in the Trucker HQ ... you need more Turns! Hopefully the adjustment will make these challenging but always within the envelope of possible.
As mentioned above, the next time we return to secondary objectives will be to add more variation in the objective types which will be exciting to see other types of demands that can be side-loaded into mission for that extra spice and challenge.
Fixing Account Issues
There were a number of different issues with selling Accounts that could cause the Influence gains of +20% not to work. In Update #149, the full +20% only applied if you traded the Account for Favors and also if you sold repeatedly to the same Contact, the Influence boost could be erased.
We've resolved all of these issues with #150 for a much smoother Account handling experience and also improved the UI so that the type of account you're selling is front and center on the sale window.
Better Job Expiration Logs
The event log for an expiring job now includes the Contact who offered it along with the name, making the log significantly more useful in tracking the action.
Looting Hack Missions
Some looting hack missions continued to reference CPU Spiking in their dialog even though there was no need to spike any CPUs. This is now resolved in Update #150.
v1.8.111 - 9/28/2024
- Improved secondary objective mission rewards - larger rewards, better variation, improved max Turn limits - Rewards for secondary objectives have more variation and can go higher (+10-20% XP/Profit, +10-30% Influence, or +1-2 Favors) - Chances of rolling bonus Favors or Influence for secondary objective reward higher than bonus Trust - Adjusted weighting for secondary objective mission reward Blueprints - Weapons and Weapon Mods most likely, Armors more rare, never Items - Improved/fixed some cases where Secondary Objective for Turn Limit was basically impossible on some maps - Sale offer for Epic/Legendary Account states which one it is, fixed bug where Influence boost might not be granted - Expired mission log event now includes name of the job and the contact, if there was one - Fixed dialog at end of Hacking for Loot mission that said you Spiked the CPU
Update #149: TitanHeart
Update #149 comes as another step forward in working on balancing out the game's overall progression. We've switched momentarily from loot to contact Limit Break rules to boost how you can get Influence from Accounts to do, to open up more pathways on existing Contact types and to prep for some new pathways coming. We've also added easy access to Armor Blueprint sales from the start of the game so you can cash in on these and 2 lower Power Level Cyber Heart implants that are easy to access without needing to grind a splicer to Level 4 service.
A huge thanks to everyone taking the time to share feedback with us during these critical months of Early Access. We're continuing to improve, grinding and polish the game every day. If you're enjoying the game, please take a minute to leave a review to help us continue our work. Remember, you can always edit it later.
Legendary Accounts Boost 20%
With Update #149, we've kicked in a differentiator between Epic and Legendary Accounts. While the recipient Contact will gain Influence, we've now stepped Legendary Accounts up to a +20% Influence boost while Epic is staying at +10%.
We are hard at work preparing the other paths that are needed to ensure that all Contacts have multiple way to assist and back them up to gain Limit Breaks, so some new and exciting pathways are coming, but we wanted to get Accounts straightened out first.
Service Upgrades for Many Contacts
With this update, we've gone back through the contact catalog and looked for those types that were just missing something - Blueprints, File or Accounts or whatever type of service was needed. We've upgraded 7 contact types, which will become immediately available in all existing and new games.
Street Doc and Splicer both now have more interest in Files and Accounts. Splicer's like the corporate versions and Doctors are interested in Files as well, a great way to generate Favors if you can find the right files
Gang Bosses are now interested in buying Armor Blueprints, giving everyone an easy channel to sell these immediately in the game
Overboss, Underworld Fixer, Night Club Owner all have gained interest in different Accounts and Files
Dockmaster contact now is a veritable hub of different types of trade - selling items, buying Blueprints, Files and Accounts.
Again, as always these changes will snap into effect as soon as you load your game, so check out what new options you have to pile up Favors and increase influence where it is needed most.
New Lower Level Cyber Hearts
In Update #146, we added a 4th service level to the Street Doc and Splicer cybernetic catalog including implants in the cybernetic heart slot for the first time. We're working to improve ways to help your splicers Limit Break to climb this cybernetic services ladder but we also don't want to miss the opportunity to fill in and expand the earlier service levels.
With Update #149, we've added a Sys 1.0 version of both the TitanHeart and the RegenCore that provide their unique effects (HP and Wound Res boost for the TitanHeart and Injury reduction for the RegenCore) at more moderate Power Level 2 stats. These become available one each at the service levels 2 and 3, so most players should be able to get access to them readily and expand your overall cybernetic bristle.
Fixed Dusted Hover-Evac Kill 3 Bug
We fixed an issue with the matrix terminal that could appear on the rooftop in some of the variations of the Kill 3 objective for Dusted Hover-Evac level. Previously this terminal would freeze up the game and require a force quit. Now it pops a nice message stating that it is broken (BUG) and lets you get back to playing immediately.
The terminal is fixed for future iterations of the mission, but if you have a mission where it is bugged it cannot be fixed but it is optional, so just skip it and move on.
v1.8.109 - #149: TitanHeart - 9/26/2024
- Added 2 new cybernetics to lower service tiers: TitanHeart Sys 1.0, RegenCore Sys 1.0 - Selling high Rarity accounts to Contacts has more impact, +10% for Epic Account, +20% for Legendary - Improved existing routes to help Contacts achieve limit breaks in all new and existing games - Improved Contact purchase services for Street Doc, Splicer - easier to sell Accounts and Files - Improved Contact purchase services for Gang Boss, now interested in Armor Blueprints - Improved Contact purchase services for Overboss, Underworld Fixer, Dockmaster, Night Club Owner - Fixed issue in Dusted Hover-Evac where terminal could lock-up on Kill 3 Captains - if you hit it, skip terminal
