Down below the level, the Knights and their teams are planning their next heist. Maybe Update #138 has your new heist in it! We've added a new proc-gen combo of an existing map and objective (Dusted Hover-Evac X Q-Gap Spike), improved the Sec Escalation rules for HI-POWER devices, buffed Prox Mines again, improved the visibility and consistency of HI-POWER Radar Arrays and Camers generating Heat, fixed a ton of small appearance clipping and positioning issues, improved performance on Trucker HQ and fixed 2 cases causing possible freezes on map (now, extremely rare).
We are hard at work expanding the game with both front-line releases (as seen here, new stuff today!) and bigger projects in the background (new shader for sight cones, translation project, a big story/mission dump for Treaty '31 Era) - so if you like what we're working on, our pace of updates, or just how we are running Early Access, we hope you will help us today by leaving a review.
Dusted Hover-Evac X Q-Gap Spike
With Update #138, we're following up on the good work of the major MAGNITUDE v2 milestone, and adding another proc-gen map and objective combination. Some of the maps, like Dusted Hover-Evac, Wreckspire, Urban HQ and Interchange H are all used in woefully few objectives (Siege, Assassin VIP) and so some of our next improvements to the variety in the system are to pull these maps into more objective offerings.
With Update #138, we've crossed Dusted Hover-Evac's exciting rooftop design with the Q-Gap Spike mission objective where you need to reach a protected CPU, spike it and escape. Once this is released, it looks like we will add Dusted Hover-Evac to 3 or 4 more proc-gen objectives quickly and then do the same for Wreckspire next. At that point, we'll start looking again at adding new maps.
Sec Escalations and HI-POWER
We've made a big rules change to how the Sec Escalation that upgrades devices to HI-POWER works. Previously, when the Escalation ran, it would upgrade 3-5 devices to HI-POWER, but it was a random set of devices, often this Radar Array, that Prox Mine and this Laser Fence. It made it hard to track what had really happened, where and why you should care.
The new HI-POWER Escalation simply upgrades all devices of a single type to HI-POWER. So, every laser fence in the facility suddenly jumps up to HI-POWER mode and does 80 Pure Dmg instead of 20. This can especially dangerous with Prox Mine fields, which (as discussed below) are also upgraded in damage. But the entire field (any that are currently active, not jammed) will upgrade to HI-POWER and cause a lot more damage.
To be clear, as stated above, jammed devices do not get upgraded. So, if you've got a Laser Wire knocked out and the Escalations sweeps through on Laser Wires, that jammed one is not affected. It is possible another Escalation will target it later.
Prox Mines (Dmg!) and Cameras (Heat!)
With this change to HI-POWER mode we've also upgraded Prox Mines damage to be higher. They are still causing Ballistic Damage which is blocked by your armor, so your tanks can soak it up and keep moving. They are a bigger threat to lighter armored targets. The upgrade is from 80 Ballistic to 100 Ballistic and when in HI-POWER mode, from 160 Ballistic to 200 Ballistic.
Previously, Cameras Radar Arrays could be upgraded to HI-POWER mode and once HI-POWER, any time they spotted a merc they would grant +1 Heat. This was poorly communicated, not shown correct in hovers and cameras were only rarely picked for upgrade to HI-POWER. With this update, they can accrue an extra +10 Heat for the level, so keep an eye out for HI-POWER Radar Arrays and Cameras even after things have gone loud.
Coming Soon: HI-POWER Visualization
With the new and dangerous affects of HI-POWER mode and the increased option for the Sec AI to amp up devices, we know the very next thing we need is a visual indicator of what devices are extra dangerous (extra crackling, hissing and spitting on the Laser Fence, changing in color or VFX) to help you spot them so you can make quick decisions about when to route around them, spend a charge to disable or just take the hit and run through them.
Era '31 Legwork
We've adjusted the dialog choices and chain at the introduction to the Treaty '31 Era to ensure that you can no longer exit the conversation until you've at least been offered the options to run the legwork there.
Appearance Improvements
We've developed a new authoring tool to help speed up the process of tweaking and improving how appearance options fit together. This has let us make some sweeping fixes to reduce clipping or misplaced accessories - fixing a ton of things from glasses to hair styles to the cybernetic forehead jack. Thanks to everyone posting F10s and with this new tool in hand, we're in a better position to add more appearance options to the game as they are easier to setup with all the different characters now.
Part of the changes to the appearance was to standardize the side of the head the cybernetic forehead jack is on - now it is on the left. It was previously not always on the same side, based on the individual head. If this new side doesn't fit your character design as well, please be patient with us as we will be rolling out the option to have it on the right soon along with some other face cybernetics.
Trucker HQ Performance
If you ever had performance issues on the Trucker HQ level or felt like it was running a bit slower than others, you were right! We've found and fixed a big bug in that level where a second, unauthorized game camera was rendering all the time, causing a major reduction in FPS. It runs much better right now!
Counter-Intel Hacking Missions
If you're getting missions from the Counter-Intel Pods, you'll notice a nice change - we've got icons now :D
v1.8.87 - #138: Dusted CPU Spike - 9/7/2024
- Added new proc-gen map and objective combo: Dusted Hover-Evac and Q-Gap Spike - Sec Escalation HI-PWER Surge now upgrades all security devices of a specific type to HI-POWER (All laser meshes) - Proximity Mines upgraded to 100 Ballistic Dmg and 200 Ballistic Dmg when HI-POWER - Cameras and Radar Arrays correctly upgrade to HI-POWER and add +1 Heat when spotting from this state (max 8) - Improved start of Treaty '31 Era to be clear that a legwork is an option - Added missing icons to Counter-Intel pod token offer to start hacking mission - Significant performance boost to Trucker HQ level which had mistakes which caused it to be slowest level in game - Improved positioning of 40+ of appearance elements - hair, glasses, forehead plug cybernetic - Fixed rare-but-possible freeze during enemy movement or enemy grenade throws - Fixed strings that were broken in a push to prep for translation (Training, Wait for Recovery)
Update #137: Stylish Backpack
Day time, night time, the heisting must continue. And where do we put all of our loot? In our fancy new backpacks! With Update #137, we've taken a quick moment to add some cool new visual appearance options - the first 2 backpacks - fix an important map issue with hovertrucks pinning characters on rooftops, resolved issues with high level HTE/XTE grenades, fixed hotkey issues in the Talent bar, fixed E-Rifle bugs and more.
Thanks to everyone playing, posting and sharing feedback as we keep working on expanding Cyber Knights: Flashpoint. Hit us up with a review if you like the pace of our unique Early Access style!
We're excited to share another community challenge, cooked up by the heisters over on Discord on @Liviana. The rules are simple and have a huge impact on the strategies you might employ in the game. It feels very different and it's a fun way to force yourself to push other classes into your main combat roles (if you were relying a lot on Soldier)!
We hope you'll check it out and join in on the fun.
Tactical Backpacks Deployed!
You can now pick from one of two optional backpacks to help give your heister that tactical feeling when they deploy to a heist. More outlandish and interesting options will be coming, and this will be a useful way for us to further visually differentiate enemy types from each other - but for the first dip, we've got 2 military style backpacks ready for your use.
And as one would want to do, you can even customize their primary and secondary colors to match your outfit all your other cool accessories. I'm loving the look and the weight it adds to the character models.
District HQ x Assassinate VP: Rooftop Fix!
A few players were finding their rooftop sniper character getting pinned on the rooftop in the District HQ level when the hover truck dropped. We've made some fixes to expand the size of the rooftop to help ensure that characters can't get stuck up there, boxed in by the hover truck. Thanks to everyone sending in F10s!
HTE vs XTE Grenades
These grenades were mixed up, basically both sharing the same effect from the HTE Grenade. We've resolved the bug, now pushing the Power Level XTE Grenade in a new direction. Its massive damage is balanced out by the size of the payload and how much less of a distance you can hurl it.
E-Rifle Ammo Stats
E-Rifles limited reload capacity was only being shown when it was the active weapon, otherwise it would be shown as 0/0. We've resolved that with this update, the 4/4 reloads per mission is now shown regardless of which weapon is selected.
Fighting Freezes
We're hot on the trail of 2 cases that can mysteriously cause the game to lock up. One persists that when an enemy starts to move, they may stop, revert to idle animation and the game locks up as it is sure they are still moving. The second is an enemy starts to throw a grenade it and it lands but nothing happens and the game locks.
Each update, we are adding more debug details to your F10s to help track these issues down. They are pretty rare, but if you do see them please F10 them right away! We are excited to crush out these last 2 cases and put this behind us :D
v1.8.83 - #137: Stylish Backpack - 9/5/2024
- Added new appearance option: Backpacks! Pick from 2 military feeling styles with more coming - Fixed map issue on District HQ where your mercs could get pinned on the rooftop by VIP arrival - Fixed issue with Item XTE Grenade using the ability from HTE Grenade, now its own grenade! - Fixed issue with Talent hotkeys in the Talent bar sometimes going 0, 1, 3 and skipping a number - Fixed issue with E-Rifle sometimes showing 0/0 for its limited reload stats - Fixed issue with enemy grenade tosses sometimes locking up the game - Improved text for confirmation dialogs on load/save
No Soldier Community Challenge
Hello, Knights! It's time for another CKF Community Challenge. Our previous challenge was all about leaving your Vanguard back in the safehouse and giving your Agent EX a chance! For this challenge, we are asking you to leave your Soldier at home. Soldiers, or at least some soldier talents, have become a mainstay in almost every group out there, so it's time to mix it up!
There are two requirements for this challenge:
- You cannot take a Soldier on any mission - You cannot multiclass anyone into any Soldier talents
For a true challenge, apply these requirements to a fresh start, brand new game. This is not required however, you can just pick up from wherever you are and just no longer use a Soldier or any Soldier talents via respec.
As always, we want to see and hear about your adventures tackling the challenge so here are some ideas for what we’d love to see:
- Screenshots of your squad and their talent trees - After Action Reports of your missions, challenges you faced - Tell us about the challenge posed by not having a Soldier, were there any? Were you surprised in any way? - Any other creative ways you want to share to tell us about your heists with your multi-classed mercs: memes, interpretive dance, gifs, etc
No matter what you choose to share, please share screenshots of your Soldier-less squad on a mission!
We’ve opened up a discussion here on Steam in the General Discussion forum for aIl of your posts. If you post in our Discord, head to #nosoldier_challenge to join in on the conversation!
Update #136: Major Bug, Lt. Squash Redux
It's a holiday weekend and with such so many new players in the game, we've just got another nice bug fix and quality of life patching coming out tonight. This one hits on the latest F10s, improves grenade throwing animation and VFX for enemies, re-adds the warning confirm to deploy with less than max mercs, and tweaks and improves the balance of Siege (easier, higher Power Level requirements).
Without further chatter - let's dig in.
Confirmation for Deploy
In the transition to the new Matrix Tutorial, we had lost the confirmation required to deploy to a mission with less than maximum mercs. This can be a big mistake if you don't intend to do it, so the confirmation can help avoid that. It's back!
Siege Balance
We've started with Siege balance tonight. These can be pretty hard levels, especially depending on the faction. The balance we applied here is threefold - first, we have made Siege's have a higher Power Level minimum before they begin to appear (PL 3) and an even higher minimum to allow them to proc against milsec factions (PL 5, definitely the hardest form). Second, we have reduced the starting enemy head count from 11 to 10. Minor but its 10% reduction. Third, we have reduced the size of the subsequent wants that are sent from anywhere to 18% to 40% depending on some (per wave) RNG and placement of enemies.
Altogether, hopefully this can help prevent the siege proc-gen missions from being a deadly, early, surprise.
Team Power Level on Pause Menu
Your Team Power level is now available while in mission on the pause menu. This one just helps make key information more readily available, if you're asking for help at a certain point in the game, knowing your Team PL is often one of the early questions.
Enemies Throw Better
There were a few mistakes with the visual elements on enemy grenade throwing. First, the throwing timing was off for when the grenade left the hand, making for a low arc and just feeling ... bad. Now it feels way better as we've aligned it like your mercs.
Second, the VFX for the result were accidentally switched in the game's data set. Now targets who are buffed will get a very clear buffing VFX played on them, as the colorful cloud of hype-dust spreads out.
Third, we fixed a possible case where the throw could lock the game up. This was pretty rare but could happen if the timing was right (or ... not right!)
v1.8.77 - #136: - 9/2/2024
- Re-added missing warning when deploying with less than full merc team - Tweaked enemy and wave counts in Siege: reduced starting enemy count by 1, reduced wave size by up to 25% - Improved Team Power Level minimums for Siege proc-gen missions, especially for those vs. milsec - Added Team Power Level stat to pause menu in missions - Fixed issues with enemies throwing buff cloud grenades - VFX were flipped, animation timing was off - Fixed Sec Level hover sometimes showing rules for Q-Sec Level instead (matrix vs. physical) - Fixed button label in Contact Limit Breaks not changing by selection (Confirm Favor / Confirm Upgrade) - Contact Faces correctly shown in Counter-Intel Token-for-Favor offer - Fixed issue with mercs sometimes starting floating in Corner Holdout X Siege Objective
Update #135: Black Soup Bay
Welcome all new Knights to New Boston - glad to have you this week.
This is an old city but let's keep plastering it with updates! It is late, so I will be brief - we've had so many new players checking out the game, and so much awesome stuff added over the last week that we're taking a pause for a moment to focus on bug fix, quality of life and F10 fix tonight before we blast on with more content.
So, this update hits on many of the hottest F10s from this weekend so far!
Thanks for submitting your F10s, posting feedback and especially for posting up reviews! Every one helps us keep trucking forward.
E-Medics and Grenade Simulation
We've fixed a bug where some E-Medics could lock up the game by throwing a grenade. Not pretty, call a medic! This is now resolved.
In addition, we've tweaked the math models for how grenade targeting is done to help the thrower hone in on their primary target and do less really odd tosses.
Finally, throwing a grenade did not always cancel your Focused Fire. Focused Fire is maintained only if you keep shooting at the same target without taking another action that requires AP or moving. So, throwing a Grenade definitely should, but there were some cases where it did not (oddly, depending on remaining charges of the grenade?)
Venom Trap AP Cost
The Scourge's Venom Trap was costing 2 AP to use and showing an odd message above the Talent bar sometimes when used. We've fixed the whole bug which was basically a double-attempt to execute the Talent.
PXE Grenades
PXE Grenades finally have corrected damage listed in their Talent, causing 320 Ballistic Damage and outclassing the old standard Frag Grenade.
Stun Tally Modification
There was a bug in the previous version where Stunning a target didn't automatically update the Sec Tally tracker, so it could look like yellow Tally did not get removed. They were removed the next time anyone asked for the Sec Tally to be updated but ... we fixed it. Now it is instant.
Roster Tagging
We've fixed (again?) another set of issues with dead, dismissed and missing mercs getting counted into the Tags on the Roster.
Update Size ... update
Two weeks ago we completed a couple of near max size updates to the game in order to re-organize some of our assets. So far, we're seeing really good results with all but 1 update (which actually, tweaked asset organization, so we know it would be larger) being significantly under 1 GB. This is a great trend for a game that updates a lot! We're going to keep after this so that we're only asking you to downloading MB from our near-daily update madness.
v1.8.75 - #135: Black Soup Bay - 8/31/2024
- Fixed issue with some E-Medics freezing on trying to throw N-Stim Cloud - Improved math for grenade throw simulation to be more on target with tosses - Fixed bug with PXE Grenade not correctly listing high Ballistic Damage output - Fixed bug with Scourge's Venom Trap Talent causing it to consume 2 AP instead of 1 AP - Fixed issues with Atomic Stutter and other Stun abilities not always immediately updating Sec Tally - Fixing issue where sometimes throwing a Grenade did not cancel your Focused Fire buff - Fixing possible double-team spawn in Corner Holdout X Kill 3 Captains Objective - Fixed issue with Delaying Job from Field Ops Center sometimes not counting toward max 2 delays - No longer showing outside/inside optimal range in Accuracy breakdown if accuracy effect is 0% - Fixed more bugs where dead/dismissed/hidden mercs could still be counted in roster tags - Fixed typos in proc-gen mission briefs, missing text strings in UI
Update #134: Drifting Hype Clouds
Another day, another push of new content. Today in the New Boston zone we're further raising the bar for enemy variety with 4 new enemies paired with all new capabilities to throw buffing and healing (for now) grenades. This also starts to push the street factions into more distinct directions and improves enemy and enemy Talent scaling throughout the set. Maybe you're just settling in to how Wildfire and FireCOM mixed up the battlefield - well now welcome F-Duster, Patchmax, Bulwark and the E-Medic!
If you're enjoying the pace of updates and the way we are keeping Early Access interactive and exciting, please take a moment to leave a review. There is no better way that you could thank us for our work.
New Enemy Abilities
So enemies can now throw grenades! This is exciting upgrade for them and giving them a lot more future potential to do cool, dangerous and just awful things. We've opted to start with nice things! Enemies can now toss grenades that target and heal everyone (mercs or enemies) near the impact point, just like your own Medi-Cloud items. In addition, enemies might also throw a buffing grenade full of noxious combat stimulants that can power you up good for the fight at hand.
We'll let friendly grenades fly for a bit before we let them throw the boom-boom kind. Time to adjust your team to new realities of warfare in the depths of New Boston, 2231.
3 Enemies for 3 Street Gangs
The release of 3 new enemy types - the Fenian F-Duster ("Fairie Duster"), the Los Zagales Patchmax and the Blue Ox Bulwark - buffs the ranks of the street gangs with exciting new street chemists who mix and match their designer stims to push their soldiers to the limit.
The Los Zagales Patchmax delivers a powerful stimulant that raises Action Points, Move Speed and Initiative (while reducing Evasion) giving these street warriors the edge they need to get the jump on you or your crew.
The Fenian F-Duster delivers a bear-style stim which raises Accuracy and Critical Rate. This Redmist drives the Fenian fighters into a frenzy and makes the much more dangerous. If you see one of those F-Duster bombs go out, make sure you neutralize its targets before they start unloading on you.
The Blue Ox Bulwalk hurls defensive stims, keeping their paramilitary forces on their feet in the fight even if they are taking a massive beating. The Hardmist seeps into their brains and bodies, helping them soak up to 40% more Damage, increasing their Cover Bonus but reducing their Move Speed.
We're excited to see the factions stepping out in separate directions with this update and this came along with some adjustments to the underlying data model and code supporting enemy selection which is going to make it easier for us to make more faction variations in the future with less cost.
New Corp Enemy Type
Within the corporate tiers, we've added a new E-Medic enemy type who is tasked with trying to buff and healing their corporate soldiers. Their medium-ranged N-Stim can heal targets with 5m of its naon-cloud release point. From the backlines, firing a heavy Revolver, these E-Medics can be dangerous in their own right but
We've also upgraded the KEMCO corp's KEM Doc enemy who carries a shotgun and a medkit that could be used at 2m. This upgrade allows the KEM Doc to also throw a more limited set of N-Stim healing grenades.
KEMCO Scaling
Speaking of KEMCO, we've completed another pass of pushing different enemy sets to have better scaling properties. Now KEMCO's forces have joined the fun and are able to effectively scale like most of the other factions with new weapon and armor upgrades, upgraded Talents and more.
Overwatch Tuning
Exactly what mix of enemies have the Overwatch Talent is a pretty important balance factor within the game, so we will keep improving and tweaking this. The addition of these 4 new enemies who don't Overwatch will help as well and we've made some other minor tweaks to the exact charge counts and recharge rates for enemies' Overwatch Talents throughout the list.
Corporate Captains Heal
Some corporate captains have been granted a medkit carry and can now heal themselves if they aren't taken out fast enough.
v1.8.71 - #134: Drifting Hype Clouds - 8/29/2024
- Added new friendly grenade enemy abilities - healing clouds and buffing combat drug clouds - Added F-Duster (Fenian), Bulwark (Blue Ox) and Patchmax (Los Zagales) enemies who each buff in different way - Upgraded corporate combat medics in multiple factions to throw short range healing cloud grenades - Improved scaling for all KEMCO corporate personnel and guards, added healing abilities to KEM Doc enemy type - Further improved balance of Overwatch availability in enemy Talent mix - Some corporate captains gain ability to use a medkit during combat - Fixed bug where camera would stop following AI after using Skip Enemy Turn a few times - Fixed some causes of the freeze on during map missions
Update #133: Skim the Top
It's late in the New Boston zone and the game is on sale but that doesn't mean we can't drop a new update with new content, right? Update #133 comes with a new recruit option in your Underworld Hub, new unique Utility Program service for a Wireghost you might know, tuned the balance of the new enemy Talents, even better rules for Skip Enemy Turns and fixed a ton of UI related F10s. Let's see what we've got tonight!
If you're enjoying the pace of updates and new content - we've got more coming for you. And please take a moment to leave a review, our very small team appreciates every single one and it help us keep this train moving.
New Underworld Hub Recruit
A new Vanguard option has joined the Underworld Hub, which gives you the basic set of Soldier, Vanguard and Cybersword. Clearly, we'll be building out from here, and Sniper and Scourge are on the next list. This one includes a completely new and unique Trait, new backstory, new contact connections and more. Dial up a token and take a look at your new potential team mate.
As we continue to expand the game's content in Early Access, one critical area is the recruiting pool. With the addition of a new Vanguard recruit option to the Underworld Hub, the possible recruits have now reached 6 including:
2 street recruits that are brought forward by other mercs
3 recruits from the Underworld Hub
1 storyline recruit from Salvage Job
We are working to continue to expand this list to the point where (1) you'll be picking which recruits to take over just recruiting everyone and (2) you will not have concerns about being unable to refill your ranks in the case of merc death.
At this point in Early Access, our focus is on high quality and hand-crafted recruits, because everyone is helping us further push the game in very good ways. The last two recruits have multiple completely new Trait type and effects between them that open up a lot of interesting angles for the next round of Traits. They also have new backstory tagging, new Contact connections who offer up different services and story angles for future updates. We will get to a point where recruits can be created by proc-gen, but doing so without taking time to further expand the Traits, Tags, Backstory and Connection options will lead to some pretty dry results. So, for now we're using recruiting adds as a roadmap to expand certain parts of the game and will keep after that.
Watch this recruit count - it's going to go UP.
Carnivore Wireghost: New Utility Programs
We don't want to spoil anything, so we'll keep this brief. If your time with the Carnivore mission resulted in your scoring a new Wireghost Contact, that Contact now has a unique service selling some new Utility programs that are not available via regular Wireghost. Every Contact's slate of services is given a baseline by their Contact Type but then can gain or lose services based on story events or backstory and each one upgrades a differently compared to the next based on Hype and Exposure Limit Breaks. So, this gives this specific Wireghost a unique twist - and one that can be upgraded twice with Limit Breaks as well.
Update Size
The last couple updates have all been delightfully small, weighing in from 200-400 MB. In order to possibly further trim that, or just ensure that it stays that low, we made another round of changes to the asset organization to break up a few of the remaining large groups. This has resulted in a trickle down effect and another big update size - 3.3-ish GB. All for a better future!
Overwatch Tuning
After the latest update with the FireCOM and Wildfire, some enemy factions start using Overwatch a bit too much like a blanket on the field of battle. We've tuned their options to get this Talent a bit - hopefully achieving a better balance. We're looking forward to hearing your feedback.
Trait Balance
We've improved the merc Below the Level Trait to give better XP bonuses, it was starting to low and never getting high enough. We've also down-balanced the Contact Trait Eager Buyer by a small amount, slowing down its progression through levels 2 and 3.
Confirm Overwrite and Load Save Slots
With Update #133, we've ensured that the overwrite and load buttons for all save slots always pop up a confirmation. This is a big action, can results in loss of something you're trying to play and deserves a confirmation. Previously, only one of the two buttons had confirmation - odd but now fixed!
We've also adjusted the hotkeys used for overwrite and load so that they are consistent between the pause menu in the safehouse and the main mission map. To get the keys sync'd, you might have to adjust your defaults, so the results here will depend on how many customized keybindings you've done.
Timeline Pause Button
We've fixed a hotly reported F10 that sometimes the timeline pause button could end up disabled even as the timeline was playing, leaving you no way to pause the timeline! The state management there has been cleaned up.
We also had to put out a hotfix last night that had some really nice things in it - so we will include its details here -
Wreckspire Fix
There was a bug that could cause your team to appear multiple times at the start of a Wreckspire Siege level. This should not happen again. If you are unable to continue a level due to this bug, please just reload the saved game.
Better Skip Turns
We've improved skipping enemy turns. Siege and Battle Strikers were driving the playtest team insane so we bet you feel similar. Now you can skip enemy movement even when they are repositioning for combat.
Fixed Wildfire Talents
Sometimes the Wildfire were taking healing Talents instead of Full Auto. Fixed!
Hack Tutorial: No more Heat
The hack tutorial was accidentally generating Heat. No more!
v1.8.69 - #133: Recruit Pool - 8/28/2024
- New Underworld Hub Recruit - Vanguard! - New type of Traits that react to going on missions or not - Added 2 new Contact Types along with recruit offering - If you get a Wireghost Contact coming out of Carnivore mission, they now have special Utility Program offerings (with 2 limit breaks) - Added 3 new Utility Programs (Data Filter II and III, Trace Vector III, Decoy III) - Minor down-balance to Contact Trait "Eager Buyer" -3-4% resale boost to levels 2 and 3 - Improved Trait Below the Level XP bonus - Tweaked starting charges and recharge rate for Corp/Milsec enemy Overwatch Talent - less blanketing of the field - Fixed bug where timeline Pause button could become disabled even when playing - Fixed inventory issue where some equipment counts could be wrong - Added confirmations to all Overwrite/Load save slot buttons, hotkeys now consistent - Fixed issue displaying "Remove Mods" button even if all mods were locked by crafting
v1.8.67 - Hotfix - 8/27/2024
Fixed issue with Wreckspire where you could end up with multiple copies of your team Skip significantly more enemy turns Fixed issues with Wildfire's Talents Preventing Hacking tutorial from causing Heat Fixed odd reinforcement spawn point in Street Palisade
Update #132: Wildfire X FireComm - Full Auto Comes to Play
Following up with the MAGNITUDE v2 update yesterday, we've got a big burst of new and dangerous enemies, better enemy progression and better enemy variety across the game. We've also further boosted the Field Ops Delay Mission token, evened out the balance in the Siege missions and fixed bugs from reported F10s.
Welcome to the new Knights piling into the New Boston zone! Get ready for updates and improvements. Be sure to hit F10 if you see something that is broken or could be improved.
And, if you're enjoying how we approach Early Access, please drop a review!
Enemies using Full Auto: Wildfire and FireCOM
We've added a number of new enemy types across factions - FireCOM variations for the different corporate groups and WIldfire for the Street and Syndicate. These heavier troops carry a variety of Full Auto capable Assault Rifles and Urban Assaults and are equipped to take the Full Auto shot to hit multiple mercs on your team.
These new enemies are a good start - watch your firing angles, be more careful clumping your mercs and consider who the highest priority target is in the enemy squad.
More Abilities Coming
We are at the bottom of a big climb, preparing to add tons of new abilities and enemy types to the game. Full Auto is the first through the gate and grenades will be piling through next (flash bang, explosive, Molotov, and healing for more effective enemy combat medics). Then we'll be moving on to persistent on map effects like traps and more.
Then it will be the season of the drone.
Further Enemy Progression Balance
This update improves the sweep of progression available to many enemy types and factions within the game. A number of enemies were still stranded somewhere between Power Level 1 to 6 and unable to scale above that point. This update adds a ton of scaling range for Street, Syndicate, Warner-Braun and megacorporate enemies. Some enemies now also receive key armor upgrades at high (7+) Power Levels, such as Street Shotgunners picking up 1 Protection Point to help them survive closing.
Field Ops Delaying with Tokens
We've heard from players the need for even more flexibility to delay missions some times, and the limit of 1-delay-per-mission can sometimes feel very limiting, especially when it comes down to the Cyber Knight in recovery, treatment or needing to go under for cyber surgery.
With Update #132, we've extended the ruling to allow 2 tokens maximum to be used to delay a mission. We've also tuned the delay bonus for different room levels, flattening it out so that it's basically +1 day per level and ends at +8 days.
Siege Balance
To help the Siege objective play better and fit into the kind of timing that other missions require, we've cut back on the waves a bit. These are still some of the more difficulty missions in the game at the moment, especially if you draw the wrong faction like Brave Star. Maybe this time just let them have that chunk of Los Z turf?
v1.8.65 - Update #2: Wildfire X FireCOM
- Certain enemy types now use Full Auto attacks to hit multiple mercs - Added 3 new Full Auto enemy types (names, description, visuals): FireCOM enemies from corporate, Warner-Braun FireCOM and Street Wildfire - Syndicate Whistlers also can use Full Auto attacks now (and cause multiple bleeds in the act) - AR carrying Head Hunters will now use Full Auto - Syndicate Whistler's far more likely to appear when facing Syndicates - Improved scaling for enemies - high-end enemies from Street, Syndicate, Corporate, Warner-Braun all have more room to scale - Improved variety of enemy spawn combinations significantly for all factions - Field Ops Center tokens can now be used to delay a mission twice - Improved balance of Siege proc-gen objective and size of spawn waves - Fixed issue with roster sometimes getting locked only showing 3 mercs - Fixed issues with decks sometimes not repairing properly
Major Milestone MAGNITUDE x2 and 34%-off sale to celebrate!
Big day here Knights. In the previous MAGNITUDE update back in March, a burst of proc-gen content pushed us over the top to hit a milestone of 2X the amount of content since launch. We've blazed down the features list of our roadmap since then, delivering new systems left and right, but also adding in a steady trickle of new level content and new proc-gen objectives as we went.
Today we've got a much bigger burst for you, with 2 new maps, 2 new objective types, and a total of 10 new map/objective combinations. This means we have once again doubled the amount of content in the game - x2 since update #60, x4 since launch! 🎉
With proc-gen variety greatly increased, we'll be pushing to expand the pool of hand-crafted missions over the next couple of months. Our Casting Directory story engine and the proc-gen system work hand-in-hand to give you opportunities to mold your mercs, influence your underworld network, and build your rep as a Cyber Knight. By launch your playthroughs will cover the full arc of a Knight's career from origin to retirement. For now, enjoy growing your gains from all these heists; those credits will fund a lot of safehouse construction and/or crafting.
New Map: Dusted Hover-Evac
An old and abandoned ruin of a building leans over a road junction that might have once been bustling but now is just part of the network of under-the-level illegal commerce. Still a valuable spot and a commanding vantage point, the old Dusted Hover-Evac is a good place for a VIP to head for a hover extraction or a good place to defend if you want to own this stretch.
New Map: Wreckspire
The junction is a crossing point between two larger towers - D07 and D08 - and if it wasn't owned by gangs and Syndicates might have hosted shops, food stalls or even a rooftop club. Maybe it did so long ago that no one can remember. A long stretch with a commanding high point in the center and many possible ways in and out makes for a deadly rooftop heister's playground.
New Objective Type: Siege
The new Siege objective is in the inverse of the Battle Striker where you are attempting to storm a defended location, either by drawing the enemies out to you or taking the fight to them. In the Siege objective, you've holding a stretch of territory for your Contact, trying to crush an enemy assault team before they can get a foothold. You are the one in the defensive position or key stretch of territory, often surrounded or exposed from multiple angles. You've got to fight and hold the territory against enemy waves.
These are hard missions which pay well and have extra XP boosts - so be sure you take your combat A-team on the first one you try.
New Objective Type: Lootbox Hunt
The new Lootbox Hunt sends you into a facility on a mission to find specific Files that have been hidden among the lootboxes there. You're the "last-mile pickup" system for the bribed insider who couldn't get the secrets out of the building but was able to surreptitiously hide the 3 pieces of the formula outside the highest security areas. There will be lots of ways to go about this one, if you stay quiet throughout or go loud and fast to find the loot you need.
And once you have at least 1/3 pieces of the paydata you came to get, the option to extract opens up.
More proc-gen combos
Proc-gen missions grow in variety from a number of factors that affect them both in-level (objective, entrance & exit positions, Matrix connections) and at the strategy layer (e.g. faction origin and target).
Every new element - especially the biggest ones like maps and objectives -that we are able to add to the system continues to increase the multiplier effect.
We've got work to do to double this content set again but we're climbing a mountain and that takes time, but there are still some major new multipliers to add to the equation like mission structure, which will allow some proc-gen missions to be offered that have more than one single map and are built more like Sibling Job or Carnivore where you have to pass through an outer map to reach the true objective map.
v1.8.63 - #132: Magnitude x2 - 8/26/2024
- Added new proc-gen map "Dusted Hover-Evac": dilapidated clinic with rooftop hoverpad rules a junction - Added new proc-gen map "Wreckspire": ruined rooftop junction between Districts 08 and 07 - Added new proc-gen objective "Siege": hold defensive position against enemy waves - Added new proc-gen objective "Lootbox Hunt": search lootboxes for 3 paydata files - Added 10 new proc-gen Map X Objective combinations (4 Siege, 4 Lootbox Hunt, 2 Assassinate) - Improved payment and XP reward for proc-gen Battle Striker missions
Update #130: Loot Restored + Can't Dismiss This!
This morning we're rolling out a rapid set of fixes to catch up on bugs and F10s that have been hanging around this last week. It's a nice cleanup to get us ready for the next big content push! Here's what we've got for you -
Empty Lootboxes
Some of the work we are doing in prep for a major drop of new proc-gen missions caused a bug in existing missions with lootboxes. A lot of lootboxes were coming up empty. Any mission generated before this update is installed may have empty lootboxes.
Passive Leverages
Especially in the matrix, players were getting confused about Passive Leverages which go into effect automatically but are still displayed in the Leverage list and pretend that they can be activated. Very confusing! With this update, we've added a Passive tag so help identify them and removed the options to activate them which is not actually possible.
Dismissing Rules
To help reduce your clicks, if you dismiss a merc, you now take all their armor, weapons, items and cyberdeck. You could have done with anyway, but it just takes a lot of clicking, so we made it automatic and simple for you.
We've also fixed a number of other issues around dismissing - you could dismiss dead characters, who knew! You could dismiss mercs who were already dismissed!?! It wasn't good, it made bugs.
Matrix Dmg and Buffs
There was a mistake in the print of Attack program damage ranges once you got buffed with Rampage or other buffs. The damage wasn't accurately updated, which is now fixed and the values show the real range you might hit at. Yummy - digital destruction!
Matrix Buff Coloration
Speaking of Matrix buffs, for a while all effects in the matrix have been styled as a red debuff, regardless of if they were good or bad. We've now updated the buff list (just like the physical list) to get the colors correct and make them more clear to the eye.
v1.8.61 - 8/23/2024
- Fixed issue with empty lootboxes appearing across levels - Improved tagging on Leverages to display Passive Leverages with a tag and stop them from looking like they can be activated - Dismissing a merc will automatically remove all equipment, cyberdeck, etc (save you clicks) - Prevented Dismissing already dismissed mercs (?!?), dead mercs and recruits - Fixed incorrectly displayed damage range in Matrix attack Talents when +Dmg buff is active - Matrix effects are now correctly colored by buff/debuff - Fixed issue with Roster where character could be stuck after removing Cyberdeck
