More details on when matchmaking will go live can be found by following the Alpha 2 event in the official discord here: https://discord.gg/deceiveinc?event=1053007045734969354
Deceive Inc.
Alpha 2 is now available for download
More details on when matchmaking will go live can be found by following the Alpha 2 event in the official discord here: https://discord.gg/deceiveinc?event=1053007045734969354
Closed Alpha 2 Change Log
Hey everyone! We've received massive amounts of feedback from our previous alpha testing and came back with some very clear take-aways on what we wanted to tackle first. Keep in mind: This build is a stepping stone. Not every change we want to make is made. We've branched this build about two weeks after the last playtest and as such we did not have enough time to put more sweeping changes in place just yet.
That being said, we still made some very important changes that will affect the experience substantially. Our focuses in this alpha are to lower TKK overall, make stealth more rewarding and punish careless play more acutely in combat situations. With that said and expectations set, let's dive in!
Cover Shield
This is the single biggest change we are trying this alpha: The cover shield now ONLY negates additional damage from headshots. No damage reduction.
With more playtime in the game being analyzed we realized that the cover shield damage reduction was counterproductive to our goals. We designed it to make sure a victim would not get melted instantly, but this adds the effect of protecting reckless players not using stealth from possible danger.
We believe that removing that damage reduction and only keeping headshots negation will make stealth play more desirable and ambushes more efficient. We'll be looking closely at the effects this has on the game and we already have an early damage rebalancing pass on most of the cast in this build to compensate.
Slowed Status Effect
The slowed status effect is a powerful thing in the DI meta. We found it to be overperforming quite a lot in the alpha to the point of being an oppressive presence in matches. As such, we changed the slowed effect across the board to be a 50% speed reduction instead of 65%.
This should keep the effect strong while making it feel less hopeless for victims.
Guards
In the spirit of making stealth stronger, we are buffing guards. This is not a huge buff. Guards will hit more often and keep more pressure on players overall. We want to see how this behaves and see how it affects the experience before taking further steps.
Resource Changes
The amount of ammo and snacks found in the map has been scaled down a bit. Snacks also heal less by default. Packs dropped by downed spies now heal for 15 instead of 30 HP.
All these changes are made in an effort to increase attrition from continued fighting and to make ressource seeking more important. This is a very early pass on those tweaks and we are continuing this balancing as we speak.
NPC balancing
We’ve made some changes to how npc prioritize what they should do. This will mostly affect restricted areas having NPCs in them more often to generate tension and make it harder to speedrun these rooms with the wrong cover.
Scolding
NPCs will now blow your cover from scolding in 3 seconds instead of 4. This is simply another step in nerfing careless gameplay.
Pre game Lobby
While making piles of golden toilets is fun, we heard you loud and clear: The pregame lobby is way too long. We are reducing lobby times drastically in this patch to really lower friction between matches. Pre Game will now last 1 minute and 30 seconds instead of 3 minutes 30 seconds.
Back-end Fixes
Issues around party synchronization when matchmaking and kicking players to the main menu on map load have been resolved.
Melee Attacks
Keeping the best for last. We’ve put more work into the melee to make it far more reliable. It’s time to live your jump kick dreams Cavalière mains!
Agents:
We've made wide ranging changes to weapon balancing in this update. While we won't detail every single change, we've tweaked underperforming weapon mods, buffed some characters that were lagging behind in the ttk department (Xiu, Larcin and Squire for example) and nerfed overperforming weapons to try and keep the balance more nuanced and interesting.
Expect lower TTKs and tighter engagements overall.
- Hans:
- The slow from Hans expertises has been reduced to 3 seconds from 6. We want to keep the slow as a timely closing mechanic and not a death sentence.
- Cavalière:
- With the arrival of a better working melee, Cavalière is dangerously close to overperforming. To adjust this, we removed the small damage bonus her melee charge gave her. We believe the sheer utility of her melee passives is already quite enough to make her competitive.
- Squire:
- Squire can now detect intel in drawers with his "eye on the prize" expertise.
- Yu-Mi:
- The split-pellet mod for Yu-Mi now has 5 projectiles and behaves more like a shotgun with more potency at low charge time.
- The split-pellet mod for Yu-Mi now has 5 projectiles and behaves more like a shotgun with more potency at low charge time.
Package Carrier
We've received a lot of feedback around the package carrier and his abilities. Here's what we are putting in place for this test:
- Looting the package no longer gives any intel in itself. You'll have to loot BEFORE grabbing it and be prepared.
- The package scan ability now drains intel 50% faster.
- While scanning, the ping build up of the carrier is paused. This means you can hold a ping by draining intel to try and bypass enemies in stealth. This also gives the exfiltration scanner upgrade a lot of value for stealth builds that want a sneaky extract.
- Package scanning now has a max range of 150M. Beyond that, rival spies won't be marked. You'll have to scan a bit more often and stay on your toes.
- Ping buildup is now faster than before when running.
This will hopefully make stealthy plays a bit more viable on both sides of the extraction phase and keep things more interesting and fair overall.
Objective Room Camping
One subject that was discussed quite a bit around the alpha was the prevalence of camping in the package room inside the vault. While camping itself is fair game in most scenarios, we feel this is one where its presence is quite destructive to the overall game. There is a single objective and everyone needs to get there.
As such we added new mechanics to make objective camping much less efficient and desirable.
- There is now a light at the objective's room entrance and past the door in all maps. When someone is inside the objective room, this light turns red.
- While inside the objective room, high tech security systems will start chipping away at your cover. Your cover will drain over 30 seconds unless you have the VIP rank. The VIP cover will still activate the red light visible from outside the room.
- If your cover gets blown inside the objective room, from the drain or otherwise, it will never regenerate while staying inside. In addition, your location will be broadcasted to the entire match every 5 seconds while staying inside the room.
- Picking up the Package disables all security systems, making it safe to stay in.
Gadgets:
- Umbrella shield
- Now has correct values on cooldown (30 Sec) and the deployed version HP has been changed to 150 from 200.
- Tripwire
- 25% bigger to make obvious placements less effective. Triggering a tripwire now makes the line visible for a few seconds.
- Auto-Turret
- Now deals damage a bit more often and has more HP(from 15 to 30) to make it more of a distraction in combat.
- Goo Pods
- The goo zone has been expanded to make a single pod more useful. We found that players really needed to throw all three in most situations to have good coverage.
- Hack-Trap
- Hacking objects is now twice as fast and can be done from farther away to reduce risk to the user.
- Hacking objects is now twice as fast and can be done from farther away to reduce risk to the user.
Field Upgrades:
- Nutritional Supplement
- This upgrade really took the game by storm and was over performing quite a bit. We've reduced the base amount of healing by snacks and adjusted subsequent levels of the upgrade in accordance. The maximum healing from a single snack is now 18 down from 25.
- Max Intel
- Adjusted the additional intel slightly to now top off a 20 instead of 22.
- Exfiltration Scanner
- While no changes to the upgrade itself has been made, the changes to the package carrier behavior act as a substantial buff for this upgrade. It is by far the most situational upgrade and as such we want to make sure it has a nice niche.
- Max Health
- Having more health is always useful and at the amounts it used to give, we found it to be a bit too much of a no-brainer in a build. We reduced values for all versions except the civilian one. The new values are now: 5-8-10-12-15.
- This should also help keep fights on a more even ground and open up more varied builds.
- Having more health is always useful and at the amounts it used to give, we found it to be a bit too much of a no-brainer in a build. We reduced values for all versions except the civilian one. The new values are now: 5-8-10-12-15.
- Social Battery
- By far the worst performing upgrade in the last playtest, social battery is getting a huge upgrade. Every single variant of the powerup now has the ability to heal a player back to full health. The difference now lies in how long it takes to regain health. We hope this will give it a nice spot for safer heals in between fights.
- By far the worst performing upgrade in the last playtest, social battery is getting a huge upgrade. Every single variant of the powerup now has the ability to heal a player back to full health. The difference now lies in how long it takes to regain health. We hope this will give it a nice spot for safer heals in between fights.
Streamer Features
We’ve received some great suggestions from streamers partaking in the last playtest. We’ve fast tracked a few features to make their experience in the game better and limit the tools for people to stream snipe them. We’ll be keeping an eye out for other features requests to make the streamer experience smoother in the future.
- Anonymize Player Name
- This will generate a random username for the streamer in every match to conceal their identity to the lobby.
- Hide Player Name Tags
- This will hide the name of every player in the game, preventing stream sniping by deduction of other player names inside the lobby.
- This will hide the name of every player in the game, preventing stream sniping by deduction of other player names inside the lobby.
Reminder this update will go live on the 16th for testing: Details HERE
And be sure to check out the content creator clips we captured from the first alpha: HERE
Deceive Inc. Closed Alpha 2 Is A Go For December 16th!
Agents,
It is time to get ready to enter the field yet again, so mark your calendars for the weekend of December 16th! This test will be run via the Steam beta system, which means you agents will be able to request and gain access by visiting the Steam Store page at any time during the test. More detailed instructions will be provided on the Support Portal.
The goal of this test is to gather feedback and data on changes that have been made since the previous closed alpha test as the team continues to work towards beta and launch with a goal of Quarter 1 next year.
Now Agents, what would another test be without a little data and competition?
We've compiled a list of the top 10 agents from the first alpha (based on a combination of several metrics such as successful extractions, k/d and more), but remember Deceive Inc. company policy is only to pay out to the best. Will these agents be able to reprise their standings? Aim for the top in next weeks test and find out!
Agent Brief: Yu-Mi
CODE NAME: Yu-Mi
LEGAL NAME: Kwon Yu-Mi
Age: 22
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: South Korea
LANGUAGES: Korean, English
AGENT ROLE: Disruptor
“We’re gonna have SO MUCH FUN!”
PERSONALITY EVALUATION
One of the newer agents in the field, Yu-Mi is ready to prove herself more than capable as a gadgeteer. Raucous and lively best describes this tech wizard looking to shake things up and find her own way.
BACKGROUND
Born in South Korea, but raised around the world, Yu-Mi has learned it all with the best teachers. From Cyber-Security to applied physics, her ingenuity knows no bounds. Daughter of the genius behind almost all the agents’ gadgets used on the field today, many expected Yu-Mi to quickly jump into the family trade. However, she saw things differently and gravitated towards fieldwork. With a supportive mother backing her moves, Yu-Mi is stepping things up and springing towards victory!
FILE UPDATE: Due to the fact that her mother has, and continues to be, the creator of many spy gadgets, she is looking to step out of her shadow. We do not recommend asking her any details on her mother’s work or life, unless you want to experience a mysterious, just short of life threatening, gadget malfunction.
“I’m TOTALLY bringing this slingshot to a gunfight”
WEAPON: Tactical Slingshot
Yu-Mi’s homemade slingshot goes “Psh, Pow and Bam” when needed with charged up pellets, or can be quickly fired to pepper her rivals when the situation calls for it. While this weapon is harder to master, in the skilled hands of agent Yu-Mi, her rivals will soon find themselves in need of a fix-up.
AGENT PASSIVE: Quick-Fix
Agent Yu-Mi is just as good at creating gadgets as she is at using them, and that helps her more quickly deploy them back into the field with a shorter cooldown if they have been recalled or destroyed.
AGENT EXPERTISE: EMP Field
Everyone knows that the best way to handle competition is to simply remove them from the equation, and with Yu-Mi’s EMP Field Pellets, they do just that. This Yu-Mi designed custom pellet has been crafted for the sole purpose of covering an area with an EMP blast that drains rival’s of their intel, destroying their gadgets, and breaking down their cover.
When it comes to going toe-to-toe with Agent Yu-Mi, rival agents should know this up and coming gadget whizz has something to prove and aims to do it well.,After all, she is the smartest one in the room… the other agents simply don’t know that yet.
Deceive Inc: State of The Build (Post Closed Alpha)
Good afternoon agents,
With the closed alpha coming to a close we wanted to share some of the immediate takeaways the team has and is already working on. Please note that this is NOT an exhaustive list, and does not include everything that is and will be worked on. With that said, let’s dive in! To help you navigate everything, this brief is split up into the following sections: Gameplay, Bugs, and Etcetera.
Gameplay
Thanks to our alpha agents and their many styles, the team has learned much about the current balance of the game and is making adjustments to help reign in outliers and bring them back more in line. Areas where the gameplay loop wasn’t as focused are also being touched up to encourage more healthy gameplay.
- Many agents are being looked at for balance. This includes adjusting their weapons performance as well as passive and expertise abilities.
- A few highlights:
- The high TTK of several of the scoundrel weapons has been noted and is being worked on
- The low TTK of Hans and the dominating nature of his current slow is also being addressed
- The high TTK of several of the scoundrel weapons has been noted and is being worked on
- A few highlights:
- Guards have made their way to the training room and their aim is improving, making them something agents will need to consider more
- The Briefcase will now drain intel faster when scanning for rival agents
- Work is also being done to make it more noticeable to rival agents that they have been picked up by this scan
- The guards and staff have done a sweep of the place, and excess ammo and food are now a bit harder to find
- This will have a greater impact on smaller missions such as Silver Reef
- Field upgrades that are underperforming are being adjusted
- A few highlights:
- Extraction Scanner is being looked at for additional benefits to make it a more viable option
- A few highlights:
- A new mechanic is being designed to make camping in the final objective room less desirable
- The Tripwire gadget is being made a bit larger so agents who look around more easily understand why their cover was blown
Bugs
This round of testing highlighted some key frustrations when systems did not work as intended to agents in the field. Where needed the QA team is digging in to reproduce and document as work continues to resolve these bugs and more.
- Fixes are happening to make melee hit registration more reliable
- Work is happening to determine the cause of newly noticed performance issues with servers believed to be behind some of the hit registration issues agents experienced
- Investigating Lobby Timers not shortening to 30 seconds once full
- Addressing Agent settings resetting between matches
- Investigating matchmaking and party invitation failures
- Addressing issues with the Bounce Mat gadget
Etcetera
Items outside the direct game loop are also being adjusted to help improve the experience for Agents.
- XP gain from defeats is being adjusted and should be more rewarding the longer you are in the game
- Shortening overall Lobby timer
- UI Improvements
- The party invite notifications are being improved to be more noticeable
- The end of match screens should be smoother for agents knocked out before the extraction
- The Settings/Options menu is being reworked
- Improvements to the item unlock, buying and and case opening scenes
- The party invite notifications are being improved to be more noticeable
- Engine/Performance
- The team is continuing to optimize the game for all supported hardware and platforms
- The team is continuing to optimize the game for all supported hardware and platforms
And the team is continuing to look into other feedback and reported issues from our alpha agents including:
- Mouse Sensitivity
- Additional requested settings
- And of course crash reports
To the agents that helped us with this alpha test, we can’t thank you enough. Please keep letting us know what you think and any bugs you encountered via Discord and the Forums. We hope to be able to share more details about your next mission: Beta Testing in the near future!
Please take a few moments to fill out the Alpha Gameplay Survey
The Alpha Test Has Been Extended!
There have been so many promising spies jumping in that we will continue assigning missions on Steam until MIDNIGHT (EST) TOMORROW!
The Closed Alpha Matchmaking Is Now Live!
If you are in need of an alpha key to join this test, see the previous announcement on where you can get one: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/820520/view/3412066846517510261
DECEIVE INC. Closed Alpha Announcement & Sweet Bandits Dev Diary
We are pleased to announce a closed alpha for the highly anticipated upcoming stealth-action multiplayer espionage title, DECEIVE INC. The closed alpha will run from Nov. 11 at 2 p.m. EST to Nov. 13 at 8 p.m. EST and will be available on PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store. The developers also released a brand-new developer diary today, which introduces the team at Sweet Bandits Studios and how they helped shape DECEIVE INC. into a vibrant multiplayer sneak ‘em up filled with unique characters and locales.
As discussed in the new developer diary, Sweet Bandits Studios started out small, with just the two studio heads working out of a home office, but soon expanded as more core members joined the team. Each member is given ownership over what they work on at the studio and the lively atmosphere has fostered a genuine sense of fun that’s been distilled into their work. The studio’s driving principles have culminated into its first title, DECEIVE INC., which brings together charismatic super spies and tense, exciting first-person stealth gameplay to make a truly unique multiplayer experience.
Watch the latest DECEIVE INC. Developer Diary above
Players interested in participating in the closed alpha playtest can receive a code through partnered giveaways from Alienware, SteelSeries, and MMOBomb via their websites and social pages. For more information and additional opportunities to join the closed alpha, fans are encouraged to follow the official DECEIVE INC. social channels on Twitter and Facebook.
Gadget Archetype Breakdown
To continue your training in preparation for future field work, we’ve put together a brief overview of the gadgets you can bring with you on missions. Remember agents, you only have enough room for two in your loadout, so choose wisely.
Defense: These tools are designed to help keep you safe out in the field by helping you (literally) bounce away from a situation or perhaps giving you the edge in a pinch. Seasoned spies will find even more ingenious ways to use these items to get the best of their rivals.
- Auto-Turret
- Bouncemat
- Shieldbrella
Deception: A good agent blends in, an outstanding one is like a piece of furniture: completely ignored and overlooked. Even in the middle of a firefight, it is surprising what agents will overlook, especially if they are panicked and their own gadgets stop working.
- Mimic
- Scrambler
[B]Traps: [/B]When leaving an area, or just ensuring problems for rivals attempting to follow, these gadgets will interrupt and disrupt the plans of your rivals. The choice of slowing them down directly, or perhaps breaking their cover in a room full of guards, is yours to make.
- Goo Pod
- Hack-Trap
- Tripwire
Recon: Never make a move without knowing it all with the recon gadgets. Scout out locations, and even potential rivals, or sit back and siphon up that intel from afar, without any moves that will give away your presence.
- Recon Drone
- Spyglass
