Madness: Project Nexus
Update [1.30.n] Patch Notes!
-Tweak: Striking an opponent targetting a gas pump will draw their attention away from it.
-Tweak: Contract 2 ("The Goods") is tougher than before. Characters able to pass the final checkpoints of Foundry and Pit Stop had too easy a time. We might ramp this back after doing a major balance overhaul [SOON].
-Tweak: Hireling XP not affected by your bonuses/penalties.
-Tweak: Certain skills are a priority for your Hirelings to purchase, such as Tactical Novice. They stiil need to buy the required Prerequesites and Core skills on their own, but once available, will buy priority skills immediately.
-Fixed: Handlebar mustache mesh was missing.
-Fixed: Updates to the Options system were screwing up some people's HUD.
-Fixed: Swamp zeds could "Perfect Block" you...?
-Fixed: Critical Hit indicator was backwards.-Fixed: Cars weren't properly randomizing in Contract stages.
Update [1.30.m] Patch Notes
-Added: Version checker for game options, so we don't have to reset your options with every new addition.
-Tweak: MERC Gunner bosses spawn with the proper weapon, and dual wielded.
-Fixed: All tiers of weapons/gear can now be purchased from the Quartermaster once you've finished the highest tier stage available. Note that as we release new stages, you'll be locked out again until you beat those stages.
-Fixed: Unarmed core skills weren't updating your corpus correctly for the Noob and the Patient origins.
Update [1.30.l] Patch Notes
Update [1.30.k] Patch Notes
-Tweak: More mags for guns with low ammo count (but not the M79, you sadist)
-Fixed: Footprints should now stick to raising/lowering platforms.
-Fixed? It SEEMS like explosive ammo is remembered on modded guns now. I didn't fix anything but I can't reproduce?
Update [1.30.j] Patch Notes
-Fixed: Blackguard fight should work again.
-Fixed: Entering a door after a room with Turrets would freeze you in the doorway of the next room (Mostly Commercial Sector)
-Fixed: Skip Stage option should no longer lock you out of playing.
Update [1.30.i] Patch Notes
-Tweak: The way enemies approach you and choose to attack you in close quarters has been tweaked to feel more balanced. They will attack in waves and then hang out and defend in waves, giving combat a push-and-pull feel. Not all enemies will do this (Zeds, Brutes, etc.), but enough that you should notice the difference. This is a work in progress and will require more input from beta testers.
-Fixed: Charge-up attacks should no longer randomly fire off.
-Fixed: Won't get stuck in place trying to leap over cover anymore.
Update 1.30.h Patch Notes
-Added: Difficulty bar for Arena Combat (just like Story Campaign). You can disable Stun-lock and play in Baby Mode if that is the kind of "gamer" you think you are.
-Tweak: Madness Difficulty makes weapons do obscene damage to you -and- your opponents. It's basically a "Golden Gun" mode. Don't get shot!
-Tweak: Block Breaker and Big Weapons skills improved. They also swapped places on the skill tree.
-Fixed: Characters losing corpus properly again.
-Fixed: Origin starter gear begins registered, same as anything bought from Quartermaster.
Update [1.30.g] Patch Notes
-Tweak: Made the gym look like a gym.
-Tweak: Standardized all stun animations, so there's no more randomness to how long you're stunlocked.
-Tweak: Staggered characters don't glitch out when attacked, and their Dizzy icon doesn't flash persistently.
-Fixed: More interactive levers fixed in Story Mode (mostly in Mining Sector)
-Fixed: Blocking damage reduction calculation was bonkers.
-Fixed: Conduits were breaking the game when they blew people up.
-Fixed: Soldats could survive falling down the pit in The Murder Room
Update 1.30.a-1.30.f Patch Notes roundup
2/4/21 [1.30.a]
Arena: Train Infiltration stage had trouble bringing in teammates. Fixed!
2/4/21 [1.30.b]
Large Power Lever interactives lost functionality across all stages (Power Play, Climb, etc.). These should be working again in most places, but we need bug reports to help us find the missing ones!
2/4/21 [1.30.c]
-Feature: Laborer helmets can be knocked off...but can you figure out how?
-Fixed: Character images in narrations/cutscenes displays the proper dude.
-Added: Limiter broken for characters dying - they can no longer all cry out at once.
-Added: Murder Room is now playable from Pilot's missions
-Fixed: Weapon shader using secondary lights
2/5/21 [1.30.d]
-Fixed: Large enemies hurt their allies again when appropriate (Mag Bandit throwing junk, Brute tantrums, etc.)
-Tweak: Mag Bandit Sewer Miniboss now spawns weapons on ground pound.
-Fixed: Mag Agents spawn correctly into Fast Track Arena stage.
-Fixed: Equipped weapons weren't returning to Warchest after resetting your gear when returning to Arena HQ.
-Fixed: Civilians are invincible now, FOR SURE.
-Fixed: Minor pathing issues when being assigned a new path.
-Fixed: Pathing to objects on desks would take you on a weird path.
Silent Update Additions
-Fixed: Later waves in the Foundry Arena stage caused your aim to pass through conveyors down to the lower floor.
-Fixed: Empty/Broken weapons could be re-equipped from Warchest between Arena waves.
2/7/21 [1.30.e]
-Added: Explosive rounds now have their own, new explosion effect.
-Added: You can now block melee attacks with unarmed without the appropriate skill. You'll still take full damage, but you won't go into Stun-lock. Same goes for breaking out of it.
-Tweak: Breaking out of Stun-lock by spending Tac-Bar (Press Space) has a much more forgiving timing window. That's what spending Tac-Bar gets you.
-Tweak: VR Training Buddies can no longer Stun-lock you.
-Tweak: You may light attack by default again. Your Light Swing/Punch skills replaced with altenates that let your first light attack in a combo connect VERY FAST.
-Tweak: Broken hilts, screwdrivers, and scalpels can break now.
-Fixed: Sold weapons vanish from the warchest and the floor.
-Fixed: Weapons, armor, and gun mods need to be unlocked by progressing through stages. The entire MASSIVE stockpile of gear will no longer be available out of the gate.
-Fixed: Sleepwalkers whose bodies are split in half will stay down.
-Fixed: Negative armor piercing now factors in. It acts as a small multiplier to the target's armor.
-Fixed: Doc is tired of you killing him in the HQ.
-Fixed: Slime doesn't drop on Swamp Zed dismemberment.
-Fixed: Special Strike uses correct animations. Everyone was using Deimos's new quick kick.
Hotfix Update
-Fixed: Scrolling through the Quartermaster/Blackmarket was obscenely laggy
2/8/21 [1.30.f]
-Added: After you beat the Story Campaign, you have a new shortcut to skip the final stage and go right to the bossfight.
-Added: Post-game, you can return to the top of the Science Tower for some sweet gear.
-Tweak: The final checkpoint of Arena stages no longer uses "Madness Difficulty" rules, such as opponents not flashing red before attacking.
-Tweak: Better interpretation of the Player's intended dodge direction.
-Tweak: Tusk throwable weapon now swings like a very heavy weapon.
-Fixed: Doors between sectors no longer begin unlocked.
-Fixed: Beating the Story Campaign no longer traps you on the balcony before the final mission.
-Fixed: Larger enemies weren't holding weapons correctly.
-Fixed: A hireling's armor no longer counts against their Medbay revival cost.
-Fixed: Can no longer bypass locked-out skills using crafty menu manipulation.
-Fixed: Spamming Snap Dodge and Kick properly cancels into a full dodge.
MPN BETA 1.13.a RELEASE!
The new update includes a ton of balancing fixes and cleanup for Story Campaign, but primarily focuses on the new Arena Combat game mode. Arena was completely gutted and rebuilt from the ground up, and as it stands is mostly complete and only lacks the inclusion of four more stages, which are already nearly done. Barring setbacks, expect that update to reach closed beta in two weeks. After that, we move onto final cleanup before releasing the game to the public.
In addition to cleaning up endless bugs, tightening up CPU/GPU performance, and balancing gameplay, the final cleanup portion of development is also going to include a number of features we've put off until the very end:
* A tutorial stage that teaches basic to advance combat moves.
* Short, playable cutscenes between Story Campaign sectors that explore the history of Project Nexus.
* Multiplayer for Arena mode.
* Introductory video for Story Campaign
* Arena Hireling personalities and base interactions
* Face Picker for Arena Combat
* Story Campaign squadmate swapper
* Make The Playground (aka Interactive Mode) playable
I'm positive there are more, but these are the big ones. We hope to have all of this content in before March, leaving us a solid month of focused testing before we reassess and determine where we are on a final release date. There are other things to be done outside of game development (such as advertising and promotional content) that won't be discussed in this post, which will further occupy us. We're hopeful for this timeline though, and hope to hit you guys with a new set of release notes in two weeks!
-Swain