Version 23 of Vigilantes is now available. The focus of this update was an enemy traits system, new perks, ai and balance improvements, and a number of bug fixes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLrVoek7TQY
Here's the development video, and the full update notes are below. If you have any comments, questions or observation, please do let us know!
Features
+ Added an enemy trait system. Some traits will be randomly assigned to enemies, whereas some enemies will automatically be assigned specific traits. Traits provide a variety of bonuses to their owners.
Content
+ Added 6 enemy traits: fearsome, terrifying, melee resistant, firearms resistant, martial artist, marksman
+ Boss fights are now available, but dialogue is not yet added
+ Added a new map: Old Industrial 3
+ New craftable item: MK3 Trauma Kit
+ New Perk: Combat Rigging - allows 3 items to be equipped
+ Added a new background city
+ Worked on a number of dialogue encounters
+ Added new perk: Regeneration - regenerate 6% hp per turn, up to 50% of the character's current max hp
+ Added new perk: Know Thine Enemy - reveal an enemy trait once per turn, at no AP cost
+ Added 3 new character portraits
AI Enhancements
+ Enemies can now target environment objects with melee, and run away to avoid the blast
+ Made a number of optimisations to the tactical AI to improve the speed at which enemies with this AI will choose an order
+ Enemies will continue to try to avoid fire, but will now pass through it if it's the best option
+ AI is now less likely to make very long range shots with firearms
Balance
+ Firearms can now be unloaded.
+ If all gang lieutenants have been fought, intel on the boss can be gained from specialists.
+ Rackets now have a small chance to provide intel on bosses
+ There is now a greater chance to gain lieutenant/racket intel from basic troops. The chance is based on presence for live interrogations and surveillance for searches
+ Armoured enemies now have a chance to drop armour components
+ Slightly reduced the amount of cash and ammo enemies drop
+ Survivalists drop less cash now, in light of the better equipment they drop
+ Enemies who flee now gain 2 levels and become a specialist, if they aren't already one.
+ Increased the cost of player facilities
+ Heavy Hitter perk now provides +10% damage with blunt weapons
+ Reduced the number of enemies who carry explosives, and delayed the point at which they get them
Tweaks
+ Added a panel to display information on the various attack modes an item is capable of.
+ If a character has unspent stat, skill, or perk points, a notification will flash at the beginning of their turn
+ Added a button to reset keys to their defaults. This allows a quick solution for rebinding all keys, if the bindings become confused by the additional of new keys
+ Improved the floating damage font
Fixes
+ Fixed a crash caused by raising Arcadi's relationship to +/-10. (Relendis, MNM)
+ Fixed a number of inventory operations not costing AP (ushas)
+ Fixed an issue preventing the introductory cutscene from being skipped if escape was pressed before cutscene starts.
+ Fixed an issue with armour upgrades not showing if unavailable receipes were selected. (Nomad)
+ Disabled menu at a number of times when it should not be allowed to activate. (Ushas)
+ Ronin Effect no longer carries between missions. (Nomad)
+ Fixed a number of cases where AOO indicator was showing when it should not be. (Ushas)
+ Fixed an issue in which a fleeing enemy could cause the game to hang (MNM)
+ Fixed characters with the tactical AI hanging when all paths blocked by fire. (Doktor_Who)
+ Fixed an issue where using the last sodium thiopental would result in the item not being removed from inventory (AWG)
+ Fixed an AI issues whereby enemies with a high AP weapon, and suffering an AP reduction from wounding would cause game to hand (SevenAteNein)
+ Fixed an incorrectly imported texture for Arcadi. (AWG)
+ Fixed an issue which could cause an enemy with lowered AP not to select an order and complete their turn
+ Fixed a typo (AWG)
Version 23: Interim Report - Enemy Traits, New Map, AI Enhancements
Hi everyone,
Happy new year! Hope 2018 will be a good one for you.
Below you will find development video 45, which covers the work to date on V23, expected to release in around 2 weeks. The biggest change in this update is the addition of an enemy traits system. This is an addition I've wanted to make for quite some time. Traits could be thought of as enemy perks, some are assigned by default to certain character types, whereas others are randomly assigned.
Traits start as unrevealed, but when they are used your highest party surveillance skill is passively used to try to reveal them.
Some traits will make enemies more skilled with certain weapons, whereas others reduce the damage taken from firearms or close combat, while others allow enemies to inflict status effects, like terror or fear on your team. Overall, enemies with traits will present a more varied challenge, thereby increasing the tactical depth of battles.
Development Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOArYA4lEl0
Summary of work to date
Features + Added an enemy trait system. Some traits will be randomly assigned to enemies, whereas some enemies will automatically be assigned specific traits. Traits provide a variety of bonuses to their owners.
Content + Added 6 enemy traits: fearsome, terrifying, melee resistant, firearms resistant, martial artist, marksman
+ Boss fights now occur on correct map, but dialogue is not yet added
+ Added a new map: Old Industrial 3
+ New craftable item: MK3 Trauma Kit
+ New Perk: Combat Rigging - allows 3 items to be equipped
+ Added a new background city
+ Worked on a number of dialogue encounters
AI Enhancements + Enemies can now target environment objects with melee, and run away to avoid the blast
Tweaks + Added a panel to display information on the various attack modes an item is capable of.
+ Firearms can now be unloaded.
+ If a character has unspent stat, skill, or perk points, a notification will flash at the beginning of their turn
+ Added a button to reset keys to their defaults. This allows a quick solution for rebinding all keys, if the bindings become confused by the additional of new keys
Fixes + Fixed a crash caused by raising Arcadi's relationship to +/-10. (Relendis, MNM)
+ Fixed a number of inventory operations not costing AP (ushas)
+ Fixed an issue preventing the introductory cutscene from being skipped if escape was pressed before cutscene starts.
+ Fixed an issue with armour upgrades not showing if unavailable receipes were selected. (Nomad)
+ Disabled menu at a number of times when it should not be allowed to activate. (Ushas)
+ Ronin Effect no longer carries between missions. (Nomad)
+ Fixed a number of cases where AOO indicator was showing when it should not be. (Ushas)
Known Issue: Arcadi on team and game locking up when an enemy is killed
Hi all,
Just a quick announcement to let you know about an issue in the current version and how to avoid it.
The error occurs if you raise your relationship with Arcadi to 10 or drop it to -10, so it will usually happen when you KO an enemy, or heal Arcadi. Among other problems, this could cause enemies to remain standing post KO and prevent the level from completing.
It is fixed now, and the fix will be made available in the next version, which should happen in roughly two weeks. You can avoid the problem for now, by replacing Arcadi with another ally, once your relationship with him approaches one of these thresholds.
Thanks to Relendis for reporting and for a save file which helped us locate the bug, and to MNM for confirming and providing additional detail.
Happy Christmas and a brief update on V23!
Hi everyone,
We'd like to wish you all a happy Christmas - we hope you have an enjoyable and peaceful time, and that next year will be a great year for you!
We're making good progress on version 23, having added an enemy trait system (think simplified perks, which are randomly allocated to enemies to allow them to provide a more varied challenge), and today I just finished adding AI code which allows enemies to target gas canisters, and run away so they don't get damaged. If you'd like to see notes on the work so far on V23, you can find them here.
We're going to wind down development for a few days, but since it's a nice time of year to do some writing, a few new encounters will likely be written and old ones edited between time with family and friends, movies, games, and dinners which are too big :)
Thanks for your support, and enjoy the holiday!
Daithi (on behalf of Timeslip Softworks)
Vigilantes Version 22: Update Summary
Hi everybody!
Vigilantes Version 22 is now available. Version 22 enhances features, improves balance, and brings a lot of new content into play, including Arcadi, a new ally, 2 new enemies, 6 new perks, 2 new maps, and an improved armour variant.
Enhanced Leadership Mechanics
Now, both the player and criminal team can have bonus providing squad leaders, but there's a catch: losing a leader inflicts the "Ronin" negative status effect on the entire team, which creates new risks and opportunities in combat
New Ally & Enemy Leaders
Arcadi, a fugitive Russian officer joins the vigilante team, offering a strong candidate for the squad leader role. The newly introduced mafia made man, and survivalist NCO do the same for their respective organisations, when no gang lieutenant or boss is present.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3O_Opd_R68
New Perks
Vigilantes version 22 introduces 6 new perks, with an emphasis on perks to enhance squad leaders. The new perks are:
Stand Fast: Twice per battle, when an attack should incapacitate an ally, the ally will survive with 1HP
Tactical Delay: Allows the entire team to delay turns at no AP cost
All Out Offensive: Increases team damage by 40% for 1 turn, for a substantial AP cost
Terrifying Presence: Inflicts terror on enemies who enter this characters area of influence
Mind Cracker: Increases this character's interrogation score
Medical Emergency: Can only be activated if an ally has < 40% health. +3 AP, reduces AP cost of trauma kits by 1, does not trigger AOO, but attack damage reduced to 20%
New Maps
Two new maps have been added in this update, one subway map and one china town map. This brings the total maps in Vigilantes to 40, just 5 short of the minimum number we agreed to provide on Kickstarter. While it's likely that we'll over deliver in this area, it's good to be almost there!
Other Improvements & Dev Videos
Many other additions have been made, including the ability to view detailed descriptions of status effects on any character, an AI which will intelligently use environment objects (such as gas canisters) against the player, and stronger retinues for gang leaders and rackets. If you'd like a more complete run-down of the update, you can check out the development videos and the complete update notes below. As always your feedback is welcome and hope you enjoy the update!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVO9pkZgDDA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pvn8-e37nAI
[Features]
+ Enhanced the importance of leaders in combat
+ Added leadership bonuses to the criminal factions in combat
+ AI characters will now target fuel barrels and gas canisters
[Content]
+ New ally: Arcadi, an on-the-run Russian soldier skilled in battlefield command and firearms
+ New map: subway map
+ New Enemies: Mafia Made Man & Survivalist NCO - support their gangs and provide leadership in the absence of a lieutenant/boss
+ New perk: Stand Fast - Once per battle, when an attack should incapacitate an ally, the ally will survive with 1HP.
+ New perk: Tactical Delay - allows the player team to delay their turns at no ap cost
+ New perk: All out Offensive - Increases team damage by 40% for 1 turn at a substantial AP cost
+ New perk: Terrifying Presence - a scaled up version of initimidating presence, which is has been renamed to "fearsome presence"
+ New status effect: Ronin - applied to characters whose leader has been incapacitated
+ Added voiced cutscene for Arcadi
+ New perk: Mind Cracker - increases interrogation score
+ New perk: Medical Emergency. Can only be activated if an ally has < 40% health. Grants +4 AP, reduces cost of trauma kits by 1, does not trigger AOO, but attack damage reduced to 20%
+ Added Personal Armour Mk 3
+ Added new map: Chinatown 3
[Balance]
+ Added code to allow more control over enemy loadouts and made a number of changes to loadouts
+ Demoralised now inflicts -1 Initiative, -1 AP
+ Slightly reduced cost of gang member recruitment.
+ Diagonal Melee attacks can now be made through tiles with adjacent half, but not full cover
+ Fuel barrels and gas canisters now trigger at the end of the turn they were activated in, allowing them to be used by melee characters
+ Gang leaders and rackets now start with a couple of specialists
+ Added code to allow for gang characters to be weakened in certain circumstances, such as the enforcer in the Ray Case encounter mission
[Tweaks]
+ Main UI buttons now available on Cityscape
+ Added better information on difficulty levels
+ Enemy status effects now have information provided on them on mouseover enemy + keypress
+ Environmental factors affecting combat are now displayed
+ Improved layout of the combat UI
[Fixes]
+ Fixed a non existent ammo object appearing in inventory when auto reloading. (Nomad)
+ Fixed the last enemy dying from fire/bleeding causing not to be auto looted to player inventory. (Nomad)
+ Fixed an issue causing the mafia lieutenant Rico Lucchesi not to end his turn. (Nomad, PhotoFinish)
+ Fixed enemies attacking through cover (Sheepify, Murkki017).
+ Fixed crash when trying to launch attack against gang bosses.
+ Fixed a number of typos (Nomad, Sheepify, Alatar, Shawdawg)
+ Fixed audio volume not being set on startup (Ushas, Nomad)
+ Fixed Peacemaker second fire mode not added correctly (Murkki017)
+ Fixed missing tooltip in options. (Ushas)
+ Fixed subsequent shots from an SMG going in unnatural angles, after hitting an environment object (Murkki017)
+ Fixed voices in cutscenes still playing after cutscene has ended
+ Prevented racket locations being accidentally revealed through surveillance
+ Fixed an issue which could allow the main gang HQ being overwritten by a built racket.
Quick Announcement: Version 22 is live
Hi all,
Just a quick notice to let you know that Vigilantes version 22 has just gone live. Will post a development video and update notes soon (after getting some rest, it's been a looong, 13 hour day!)
As a courtesy notice to those considering picking up the game, Vigilantes will be 10% off from 18:00 GMT tomorrow!
Courtesy notice on upcoming update
Hi everyone,
The V22 update is currently being tested and if all goes well, should be available in the next 2-4 days.
There were no changes to the save data in V22, so the save folder will remain the same. The only issue we anticipate with not starting a new game is that you will not be able to find Arcadi.
As a cautionary note, if you want to be absolutely certain you can continue playing your existing game, we'd recommend not updating Vigilantes until you are ready to move on to a new game. You can find out how to do that here.
Vigilantes Version 22 - Interim Update!
Hi everyone,
Work is progressing well on the new update. So far, a second subway map has been added, along with Arcadi, a new ally. Arcadi is a former army officer, and will serve as the combat leader if Sam doesn't want the job. Arcadi is geared towards leadership and ranged combat, and his unique perk (Stand Fast) allows him to prevent an ally from being incapacitated once per battle.
The leadership mechanics have also been enhanced. Now, both player and criminal squads can have leaders, and losing a leader in battle imposes the "Ronin" negative status effect on the entire team. Additionally, 4 new perks have been added, 3 of which are specific to the leadership stat, including All Out Offensive, which increases party damage by 40% for one turn at a substantial AP cost to the leader, and Tactical Delay, which allows characters to delay their turns at no AP cost.
Here's the most recent development video, in case you'd like more detail on the changes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pvn8-e37nAI
Version 22 will be available in around 2 weeks, and we'll post another development video to cover the changes. If you'd like to maintain your save data when the game is updated, please have a look at this thread for more information.
If you have any comments, please do let us know!
Vigilantes Version 21 Released!
Important: please note that previous save games will not work with the new version, as both the save game data, and the data which is initialised at the start of a game has been changed. If you want to continue playing on your existing save for now, please delay the update.
Hi everyone,
The V21 update for Vigilantes is now available, introducing new features, content, balancing improvements and fixes. In the latest update, the hunter becomes the hunted with gang lieutenants setting up ambushes for the player. The environment can be used against the enemy with the addition of gas canisters and fuel barrels, and you can take the fight underground with the introduction of the first subway map!
A survivalist captain ambushes the player team!
The release notes for this update can be found below, and a more in-depth explanation of the additions and improvements can be found in these two development videos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqTA6Sn4F1E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1M-5Aw_aCk
Features
+ Gang lieutenants can set up ambushes for the player
+ Fuel barrels and gas canisters as objects can be activated to set an area on fire or explode
+ Characters with 2 or more adjacent enemies gain the surrounded status effect. Being surrounded causes them to pay less attention to active threats, and are easier to score hits against
+ Night missions now impose a 5% penalty to ranged CTH and cover is more effective at night... could be a good time to hit the survivalists
+ When fighting indoors, assault and precision rifles suffer a 5% CTH penalty due to being used in an enclosed space
Use the environment against your enemies
Content
+ Added first subway map
+ Added 15 illustrations for gang leaders
+ Added MK II incendiary grenades and MKII improvised explosives
+ Added crafting recipes for MK II Incendiary and IE
+ Added new non combat encounter: From The Precipice
+ Added new encounter: Intimidation
Take the fight underground!
Balance
+ Gang lieutenants now require 2, rather than 3 pieces of intel to locate.
+ Rackets require 2, rather than the planned 3 pieces of intel to locate
+ Racket and boss encounters are now more difficult
+ The per tile tactical re-positioning cost is now lower
+ Failing tactical repositioning imposes a -1 initiative penalty on your team
+ City tiles with high wealth have a chance to provide gangs members with improved equipment
+ General Arms Peacemaker SMG can now fire a single, more accurate, 3AP shot in addition to a burst
+ Gang members gain a level bonus at Hard Boiled or greater difficultly
+ Gangs get a scaling bonus to income at higher difficulties
+ Penalty for having an adjacent enemy and trying to use an assault or sniper rifle is now more severe
+ The Friendly Fire perk now prevents allies being hit by the shotgun's cone of fire
+ The Battle Frenzy perk now has a 30%, rather than 10% to activate
+ The shop now generates more component items
Tweaks
+ Added an option to toggle between fullscreen and windowed
+ Added an option to disable film grain
+ Added an option to set camera move speed
+ Increased camera rotation speed
+ Camera scrolling can now be disabled when the level starts, and re-enabled with a key press. Workaround for the Linux wandering camera bug
+ Camera movement speed increases as camera gains elevation
+ Individual tutorials can now be disabled
+ Changed how current / max health is displayed, to make it more clear when a character is wounded
Fixes
+ Fixed a bug where swapping between regular and hot loaded ammo could cause errors with the ammo unloaded from the gun (Supervoid)
+ Fixed a bug where input was being disabled in error, forcing players to click a UI element to re-enable it (Ushas & murrki017)
+ Fixed a bug whereby input was enabled when enemies changed weapons, which caused an issue in AOO and potentially other areas (Ushas)
+ Fixed a number of typos (Gloomseeker)
+ Fixed reachable tile display showing for enemies is escaped to menu during enemy turn (Ushas)
+ Fixed armour replaced during combat not updating protection until first hit (Ushas)
+ Sodium Thiopental no longer used if you opt not to use it (MotherAce[No])
+ Fixed issue with loading some gang leader fights (degzee64)
+ Rackets can no longer be found by surveillance only
+ Fixed issue with enemy fleeing in survivalist training facility (Ushas)
+ Made changes to code for switching between scenes, in the hope this resolves the issues with level loading.
+ Fixed crouching bonus was not being applied to characters in cover
+ Fixed issue with character not strafing after one strafe per turn
+ Fixed characters being able to shoot through one of the buildings in alleys 2 (Sheepify)
+ Fixed a bug where failing and retrying the first mission could cause crashes and unpredictable behaviour (Ushas, Tortousit, Tchey, Alatar)
+ Fixed an issue whereby dragging a stack of items onto a stack of the same type could cause unpredictable behaviour with inventory
+ Fixed rackets not being removed
+ Fixed rackets not providing a piece of intel on a lieutenant or another racket
I hope you enjoy the update. Should you have any feedback, please let us know!
Important Notice Concerning Loading Issues In First Few Missions!
Hi everyone,
We've had a couple of reports of issues around loading the home scene after combat during the first few missions. We couldn't re-create this until today. The problem has been fixed, and the version with the fix will be deployed in roughly one week, when we add one more feature and carry out testing on the new version.
This bug occurs when you fail the first mission, retry it, and succeed. It will then cause a crash if you fail mission 2 or 3, may cause issues like duplication of inventory items, and potentially other issues. This one slipped under the radar because all of the pre EA testers are highly familiar with Vigilantes, and none of us would have subsequently failed the early missions in a long (long) time.
Until the new version arrives, you can avoid this bug by exiting and restarting the game if you fail the first mission. Failing subsequent missions won't result in any issues, so once you progress beyond mission 1, you'll be in the clear.
Sorry for the oversight, but thanks for helping us locate this bug!
