Cepheus Protocol

Halcyon Winds Developer

Halcyon Winds Publisher

2020-05-15 Release

Indie Strategy Adventure Simulation Singleplayer EATags

Game News Posts: 160

🎹🖱️Keyboard + Mouse

Very Positive (2402 reviews)

https://cepheusprotocol.com/

Steam Store

Game is not tagged as available on Linux on Steam.

Development Update - Nearing Completion of Phase 1

On January 6th, we made one of the scariest decisions of our lives we deleted the entire game and committed to rebuilding it from scratch. Why? Because you deserved better. Over the past six months, weve worked tirelessly to rebuild Cepheus Protocol from the ground up. From day one, our mission was to support co-op as a core experience and to ensure we lived up to your expectations not just our own. Thats why we launched the weekly CERC HQ: not as a gimmick, but as a way for you to hold us accountable, to witness progress in real time, and help shape the direction of the game. Its something few if any developers have done, and were incredibly proud of it. Were now approaching the final stretch of Phase 1, and we couldnt be more excited about whats to come. Major strides have been made across core systems, building mechanics, and UI polish.

[dynamiclink href="https://youtu.be/9SsIX6t2iNA"][/dynamiclink]

[hr][/hr]

Remaining Work Before Phase 2

Night Vision Passive
Displaying passives in-world (AOE/Radius indicators)
Fixing Right-Click Face Rotation
Operator Jump
Recoil tweaks + Attachment audit
Gunsmith + Customization UI
Operator Melee System
Operator Leveling System
Operator Improved Crouch Transition
Operator Rewritten Parachute System (Battlefield 2042-style)
Shotgun Fixes
General Bug & Crash Fixes (about a dozen)
UI Pass (Reskinning the entire UI bringin up to standards of legacy and beyond)
Building System Enhancements
Were working hard to wrap this list up by next week stay tuned, and dont forget to drop into the next CERC HQ to see our progress in action. Once Phase 1 wraps, players will be able to host their own sessions at any time no restrictions. Phase 2 will roll out using the same beat weve used all year: private and public tests that evolve into full readiness.

Curious about what were working on and where we're headed? Read about our Development Phases & Current Goals

[hr][/hr]

Horde Mode Monterey Bay Map

Based on your feedback and extensive testing, Monterey Bay will become our "golden standard" for Horde Mode. [img src="https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images/33900595/526a122b7e8c61d05a151ec8ee76c8febe2faa72.png"][/img][img src="https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images/33900595/3516119d438e65a23c8738e0609673a19af62aa6.jpg"][/img][img src="https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images/33900595/3d63102ddc6c1f7eafd221838d59211120c06ee3.jpg"][/img][img src="https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images/33900595/a3d1e639d270aa218188b6f0513bdbf9d21dd276.jpg"][/img]After Derek and I finish the final stretch of Phase 1 tasks, we'll begin implementing a new stage-based Horde mode. Heres the breakdown:

As you lose parts of the city, infected spawns move up and gas towers lock down overrun zones.
These zones are permanently lost theres no going back.
You're gradually encircled and pushed back to the CERC HQ Regional Office, the final stronghold.
Think Rush Mode holding objectives rewards you with a money multiplier per infected kill.
If a structure in your grid falls, youll have 60 seconds to evacuate before it becomes uninhabitable.

Its a dynamic system designed for pressure, momentum, and tough strategic decisions as you fight to survive across an evolving battlefield.

[hr][/hr]

CERC HQ Time Change

Based on your feedback, the weekly CERC HQ livestream is moving to 3 PM EST. This updated time better aligns with both EU and US players and will allow more of you to attend, ask questions, and contribute to development directly.

[hr][/hr]

The Cepheus Protocol Team

[ 2025-06-17 20:10:52 CET ] [ Original post ]

Cepheus Protocol HQ - June 14th #54

Dev Recap Abilities, AI, and the Push to Phase Two

In this densely packed developer podcast, the team walks through a sweeping set of updates aimed at transforming co-op and horde gameplay into a dynamic, scalable experience. Efrain reveals his shift from polishing Alcatraz to leading development on a new horde map set in a reimagined Half Moon Baydesigned for verticality, multiple infiltration paths, and high replay value. He outlines design decisions behind the maps objective points, terrain flow, and defensive challenges that avoid static play. Meanwhile, Robert deep-dives into system-level changes: persistent leveling for operators and units, revamped class abilities, combat balance tuning, and significant AI and UX upgrades. Expect improved spawn logic, smarter pathfinding, and fixes for legacy pain points like targeting quirks and gate behavior. The episode also includes a real-time co-op demo showcasing snipers, heavies, flamethrowers, new UI improvements, and gate mechanicsrevealing how it all plays out under stress. The Q&A tackles questions on drone design, campaign plans, vehicle and helicopter timelines, multiplayer matchmaking, emblem customization, and long-term content like future DLCs or a potential dinosaur game. This episode marks a significant milestone in pushing towards the Phase One rebuild and sets the stage for the robust gameplay foundation of Phase Two and beyond.

[dynamiclink href="https://youtu.be/RaE5q9FzBU8"][/dynamiclink]

[hr][/hr]

Community Playtest Recap

[img src="https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images/33900595/fe3f8cd2571d9fef74c87512b347e8633b4f9f76.jpg"][/img]

2 Operator players guard an entry point while an RTS player moves a medic to heal them

[dynamiclink href="https://youtu.be/9SsIX6t2iNA"][/dynamiclink]We ran a 2-hour network stress test playtest last week! Curious about what were working on and where we're headed? Read about our Development Phases & Current Goals

[hr][/hr]

Next CERC HQ Livestream Details

When: June 14, 2025 7 PM EST (New Time!) Where to Watch:

[img src="https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images/33900595/8b5bff497752f772b722a4172e6c12109ec893a4.png"][/img]

Topics We'll Cover:

Co-op Progress
Total Revamp based on Community Feedback
Level Design Updates

Dont miss our Live Q&A! Well be answering questions from the community during the stream.

[hr][/hr]

Missed a Stream? No Worries!

YouTube VOD Playlist
Spotify Podcast Archive (VODs may take 24 hours to appear)

[hr][/hr]

Whats Coming Next?

This is just a shortlist of goals currently in motionbe sure to watch the last CERC HQ for a more detailed breakdown.

Finalize Operator Ability System
Expand Playable Classes
Visual UI Polish
Prepare for Phase 2: Airstrikes, Doctrines, Vehicles

[hr][/hr]

Stay Frosty, The Cepheus Protocol Dev Team

[ 2025-06-13 18:09:32 CET ] [ Original post ]

Cepheus Protocol HQ - June 7th #53

Dev Recap Theyre Climbing Now

[dynamiclink href="https://youtu.be/_8ghx32Vmn8"][/dynamiclink] This developer podcast dives into the latest playtest of the revamped horde mode map and systems. Efron kicks things off with an update on Alcatraz, highlighting UV mapping progress, set dressing, and a versatile new procedural stairway tool in Blender. As the map nears completion, attention shifts to a major breakthrough: a reimagined gate system designed to finally fix long-standing pathfinding and unit navigation issues. Michael shares animation polish work and new operator features, including terrain-aware leg IK and an overhauled Glock model. Gameplay balance gets a brutal makeover: enemies are deadlier, damage types are in full effect, and the days of cheesing spitters with sandbags and barbed wire are over. Blowup enemies now deal serious structural damage, forcing players to rethink defensive strategies. The core of the episode is a live co-op playtest stress-testing these changes. The infecteds new verticalityclimbing walls and ambushing from rooftopsintroduces chaos, as players scramble to defend choke points and adapt to smarter AI. Developers analyze player behavior and discuss AI roles: spitters as snipers, blowup guys as siege units, and the concept of fallback defenses. The session is packed with emergent moments, exploit discoveries, and bug fixes in real-time. New features like color-coded operator lights and upcoming systems like grenade throwing and an ability system are teased. The Q&A wraps with community questions on single-player balancing, dynamic difficulty, night vision, and player-requested features like automated flare towers and synchronized music via in-game speakers. This episode shows a project in fluxrefining, breaking, and rebuilding its systems in front of a live audience. It's messy, insightful, and a testament to iterative design under fire.

[hr][/hr]

Community Playtest Recap

https://youtu.be/ahmHYRXNI1E We ran a 3-hour public playtest last week, packed with chaos and feedback! Curious about what were working on and where we're headed? Read about our Development Phases & Current Goals

[hr][/hr]

Next CERC HQ Livestream Details

When: June 7, 2025 7 PM EST (New Time!) Where to Watch:

Topics We'll Cover:

Co-op Progress
Total Revamp based on Community Feedback
Level Design Updates

Dont miss our Live Q&A! Well be answering questions from the community during the stream.

[hr][/hr]

Missed a Stream? No Worries!

YouTube VOD Playlist
Spotify Podcast Archive (VODs may take 24 hours to appear)

[hr][/hr]

Whats Coming Next?

This is just a shortlist of goals currently in motionbe sure to watch the last CERC HQ for a more detailed breakdown.

Finalize Operator Ability System
Expand Playable Classes
Visual UI Polish
Prepare for Phase 2: Airstrikes, Doctrines, Vehicles

[hr][/hr]

Stay Frosty, The Cepheus Protocol Dev Team

[ 2025-06-07 08:56:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

Cepheus Protocol HQ - May 24th #52

Dev Recap From Chaos to Co-Op

https://youtu.be/wc0VUzM_7-Q In this milestone-packed update, we celebrate a huge breakthrough: fully player-driven co-op sessionsno dev hand-holding needed! With structured feedback flowing in from our new Discord channel and active testers, weve entered a new phase of real-time iteration.

Highlights from the Latest CERC HQ

Seamless level transitions
Player role color assignments
Strobe ID team awareness system
Full-screen tactical maps
Horde AI replication improvements
Reworked operator possession
New gate and turret mechanics

Despite bugs like jittery spawns and overpowered blow-up units, the most recent playtest was our most fun, stable, and intense yet. RTS players and operators coordinated live for a true taste of what's to come. [hr][/hr]

Community Playtest Recap

Next CERC HQ Livestream Details

When: May 24, 2025 7 PM EST (New Time!) Where to Watch:

Topics We'll Cover:

Co-op Progress
Total Revamp based on Community Feedback
Level Design Updates

Dont miss our Live Q&A! Well be answering questions from the community during the stream. [hr][/hr]

Missed a Stream? No Worries!

YouTube VOD Playlist
Spotify Podcast Archive (VODs may take 24 hours to appear)

[hr][/hr]

Whats Coming Next?

This is just a shortlist of goals currently in motionbe sure to watch the last CERC HQ for a more detailed breakdown.

Finalize Operator Ability System
Expand Playable Classes
Visual UI Polish
Prepare for Phase 2: Airstrikes, Doctrines, Vehicles

[hr][/hr] Stay Frosty, The Cepheus Protocol Dev Team

[ 2025-05-24 01:01:03 CET ] [ Original post ]

Cepheus Protocol HQ - May 17th #51

Recap from last CERC HQ's

This episode dives deep into the latest playtest for the upcoming co-op rebuild, focusing on mechanical overhauls, balance tuning, and the roadmap to Phase Two. The team discusses recent improvements in playtest stability, including crash reductions and operator weapon balancing, especially recoil refinements that radically improve gameplay feel. Michael explains the legacy baggage around attachment systems and how those issues are being resolved. They also unpack how AI behavior is evolvingfrom better flanking logic to adaptive pathingand how small tweaks have made the Horde mode more brutal and immersive. Theres a detailed walkthrough of Trello bug tracking, ongoing development priorities, and the strategy for phasing in legacy systems while keeping gameplay fresh. Additionally, the crew discusses future map scaling, design choices for objective revamps, modular asset creation, and vertical slice strategies that preview Phase Two content like vehicles and helicopters. Players are encouraged to provide feedback during playtests, with the team emphasizing responsiveness and transparency through Discord and Patreon. https://youtu.be/xqHVhSajXEo

Topics for the CERC HQ (Podcast)

Coop Progress
Total Revamp Progress based on community feedback
Level Design Progress

When: May 17, 2025 7 PM EST (New Time) Where to Watch:

If you Miss it :

What to Expect

During the livestream, well:

Recap this week of progress
Answer your questions during a live Q&A session with the development team.

Your participation and feedback are key to shaping the future of Cepheus Protocol, and were eager to share our progress with you.

Next Steps

With these initial refinements underway, were continuing to build on your feedback and enhance every aspect of the game. Stay tuned for further updates as we move forward together. Stay Frosty, The Cepheus Protocol Team

[ 2025-05-17 06:57:27 CET ] [ Original post ]

Cepheus Protocol HQ - May 10th #49

Coop Play test on DIscord Tonight

We will be having a Public Coop Playtest for a few hours tonight at 7 PM EST. https://discord.gg/FwPqx339?event=1370380656663728149 Here's a playthrough of our last Playtest from Monday. We will be discussing progress since then briefly tonight for the next playtest and more in depth Saturday.

Recap from last 2 CERC HQ's

In this unscripted, bug-squashing marathon, the dev team pulls back the curtain on the gritty process of real-time game development. With the games building system under scrutiny and multiplayer scaling pushed to its limits, they dive deep into player feedback, crash logs, and moment-to-moment patchwork during chaotic co-op sessions. From latency challenges for international players to implementing client-side prediction and UI refinements, the team dissects whats working and whats breaking in their live builds. Discussions include future plans for dynamic operator customization, a squad-based UI system, RTS-operator synergy, and possible logistics mechanics. Expect raw insights, honest tech hurdles, and lots of improv fixes as development meets realitylive on mic. https://youtu.be/Dm0fXev0c8M In this special episode, the team dives deep into the first hands-on multiplayer test of the upcoming co-op mode. After a long wait, the crew finally explores dynamic gameplay systems that fuse RTS and operator-based action. They walk through the Alcatraz test map, reliving a moment that brought an Australian dev to tears and explaining how synchronized command and combat are taking shape. Real-time debugging, crash recoveries, and hilarious friendly-fire incidents are all part of the chaos. Listeners get an inside look at the new formation AI, operator customization via console commands, the dynamic build system, and the long-term vision for pandemic scenarios and tactical squad play. Amid laughter, crashes, and teamwork, the episode showcases how much has evolvedand how much still needs to be fixedbefore full co-op hits the public. https://youtu.be/mAFwqfXiPAE

Topics for the CERC HQ (Podcast)

Coop Progress
Total Revamp Progress based on community feedback
Level Design Progress

When: May 10, 2025 7 PM EST (New Time) Where to Watch:

If you Miss it :

What to Expect

During the livestream, well:

Recap this week of progress
Answer your questions during a live Q&A session with the development team.

Your participation and feedback are key to shaping the future of Cepheus Protocol, and were eager to share our progress with you.

Next Steps

[ 2025-05-09 13:46:49 CET ] [ Original post ]

Cepheus Protocol HQ - April 26th #48

Recap from Previous Podcasts

In this episode, the team dives deep into the development of the Alcatraz map, now nearly complete with detailed structures and custom collisions tailored for future RTS gameplay. Efrain walks through the meticulous process of refining textures, adding guard towers, and implementing high-precision UCX collisions to prevent navigation glitches and enable features like shooting through windows. The team also explores recent advancements in the games tactical systemsshowcasing improvements to patrol and attack-move behaviors that now emphasize group cohesion and responsiveness. Dimitry finalized turret textures and improvements to target acquisition are highlighted, along with the dynamic zone detection system for power management and AI engagement. Later, the podcast shifts to the evolving minimapnow supporting client-side drawing, filters, and real-time tactical overlays inspired by Arma. The developers stress-test the system with over 4,000 icons running at 120fps and share upcoming plans to introduce customizable tactical layers, pinging, and patrol logic based on player feedback. The conversation wraps up with future roadmap insights, including the implementation of rally points on moving units, modding support, pandemic mode refinements, and the strategic role of Chelsea and her lieutenants in the infection system. As always, the crew shares honest, in-editor progress and unfiltered discussions, showcasing a transparent and community-driven approach to development. https://youtu.be/AqxjNUUOGEQ In this content-rich developer podcast, Chris announces the completion of his latest novelan intense, survivalist follow-up to Pierces narrative that shifts focus to Natalie, an ex-military character navigating the outbreak in a crumbling world. The team dives into how these novels lay the narrative foundation for the campaign mode, providing nuanced perspectives that deepen player immersion. Robert walks through massive strides in the games development, including reworked turrets, dynamic zone-based power systems, real-time lighting feedback, and an evolving mini-map system inspired by Halo Wars. The devs also preview future functionality, such as destructible environments, adaptive clutter generation, and meaningful environmental storytelling that reflects player impact. They also tease deeper AI behavior for Lieutenants like Chelseadrawing inspiration from Prototypeand outline upcoming changes like patrol/attack-move systems, co-op enhancements, and a visual weather overhaul. Meanwhile, long-term fans will appreciate discussion on player feedback integration, a detailed Q&A on design philosophy, and the candid, chaotic banter that keeps it all human. Whether you're here for the tech deep dives, storytelling reveals, or pure zombie chaos, this episode is packed with progress and personality. https://youtu.be/Y3qBXqOlu4Y

Livestream Details

We'll be covering progress since the last podcast!

Coop Progress
Total Revamp Progress based on community feedback
Level Design Progress

When: April 26, 2025 7 PM EST (New Time) Where to Watch:

If you Miss it :

What to Expect

During the livestream, well:

Recap this week of progress
Answer your questions during a live Q&A session with the development team.

Your participation and feedback are key to shaping the future of Cepheus Protocol, and were eager to share our progress with you.

Next Steps

[ 2025-04-24 04:34:17 CET ] [ Original post ]

Cepheus Protocol HQ - April 19th #47

Recap from Previous Podcasts

https://youtu.be/Y3qBXqOlu4Y In this content-rich developer podcast, Chris announces the completion of his latest novelan intense, survivalist follow-up to Pierces narrative that shifts focus to Natalie, an ex-military character navigating the outbreak in a crumbling world. The team dives into how these novels lay the narrative foundation for the campaign mode, providing nuanced perspectives that deepen player immersion. Robert walks through massive strides in the games development, including reworked turrets, dynamic zone-based power systems, real-time lighting feedback, and an evolving mini-map system inspired by Halo Wars. The devs also preview future functionality, such as destructible environments, adaptive clutter generation, and meaningful environmental storytelling that reflects player impact. They also tease deeper AI behavior for Lieutenants like Chelseadrawing inspiration from Prototypeand outline upcoming changes like patrol/attack-move systems, co-op enhancements, and a visual weather overhaul. Meanwhile, long-term fans will appreciate discussion on player feedback integration, a detailed Q&A on design philosophy, and the candid, chaotic banter that keeps it all human. https://youtu.be/_ixe7Qyol4U This week's update dives deep into the evolving tech and art driving the Alcatraz map and RTS systems. Efron continues refining the 3D environment with intricate details like stairways, storm drains, and the iconic water towerpainstakingly modeled and remade multiple times to match its real-world counterpart. He also tackled modular assets like doors, figurines, and even the island bookstore, working toward a highly immersive and navigable space. Meanwhile, on the programming front, massive progress was made on the turret foundation and AI squad management systems. A new turret base platform has been implemented to support modular SAMs, MGs, and anti-armor cannons, with real-time tests on tracking, firing, and multiplayer compatibility. The AI systems now incorporate smarter zone recognition, dynamic base targeting, and sector-based power trackinglaying the groundwork for larger maps and more tactical infected behavior. Debug lines, visual markers, and gameplay loops were showcased in depth, illustrating the complexity and modularity being built into the framework. The episode also teases major future gameplay elements: rooftops as buildable zones, dynamic procedural infection growth, and more immersive campaign interactions. Rounding out the episode, Chris shares progress on his novels latest chaptersexpanding Nies character with nuanced moral conflict and survival themeswhile the team discusses playtest timing, weapon customization via Patreon, and the tech roadmap ahead.

Livestream Details

We'll be covering progress since the last podcast!

Coop Progress
Total Revamp Progress based on community feedback
Level Design Progress

When: April 19, 2025 5 PM EST Where to Watch:

If you Miss it :

What to Expect

During the livestream, well:

Recap this week of progress
Answer your questions during a live Q&A session with the development team.

Your participation and feedback are key to shaping the future of Cepheus Protocol, and were eager to share our progress with you.

Next Steps

[ 2025-04-19 06:14:20 CET ] [ Original post ]

Cepheus Protocol HQ - April 12th #46

Recap from Previous Podcasts

https://youtu.be/_ixe7Qyol4U This week's update dives deep into the evolving tech and art driving the Alcatraz map and RTS systems. Efron continues refining the 3D environment with intricate details like stairways, storm drains, and the iconic water towerpainstakingly modeled and remade multiple times to match its real-world counterpart. He also tackled modular assets like doors, figurines, and even the island bookstore, working toward a highly immersive and navigable space. Meanwhile, on the programming front, massive progress was made on the turret foundation and AI squad management systems. A new turret base platform has been implemented to support modular SAMs, MGs, and anti-armor cannons, with real-time tests on tracking, firing, and multiplayer compatibility. The AI systems now incorporate smarter zone recognition, dynamic base targeting, and sector-based power trackinglaying the groundwork for larger maps and more tactical infected behavior. Debug lines, visual markers, and gameplay loops were showcased in depth, illustrating the complexity and modularity being built into the framework. The episode also teases major future gameplay elements: rooftops as buildable zones, dynamic procedural infection growth, and more immersive campaign interactions. Rounding out the episode, Chris shares progress on his novels latest chaptersexpanding Nies character with nuanced moral conflict and survival themeswhile the team discusses playtest timing, weapon customization via Patreon, and the tech roadmap ahead. https://youtu.be/qeIRkf1UwCM This episode is packed with major progress updates across the board. The team unveils overhauled turret designs with distinct combat roles, a fully reworked active denial system, and upgrades to the RTS-TPS hybrid gameplayletting players seamlessly jump between top-down command and boots-on-the-ground action. They also showcase improvements to weapon customization, operator switching, day-night syncing, and guard tower functionality, all built with co-op in mind. Plus, theres a look at the upcoming doctrine tree, modular abilities, and smarter unit behavior as everything moves toward a more polished playtest build. From tactical gadgets to AI fixes, its a rapid-fire deep dive into systems coming online fast.

Livestream Details

We'll be covering progress since the last podcast!

Coop Progress
Total Revamp Progress based on community feedback
Level Design Progress

When: April 12, 2025 5 PM EST Where to Watch:

If you Miss it :

What to Expect

During the livestream, well:

Recap this week of progress
Answer your questions during a live Q&A session with the development team.

Your participation and feedback are key to shaping the future of Cepheus Protocol, and were eager to share our progress with you.

Next Steps

[ 2025-04-09 02:38:43 CET ] [ Original post ]

Cepheus Protocol HQ - March 29, 2025

Recap from Previous Podcasts

https://youtu.be/qYwsP0cvMaU This week, the team digs into the nitty-gritty of getting co-op and horde mode running smoothly. They tackle multiplayer bugs, AI quirks, and synchronization issues while stress-testing early playtest maps. The Alcatraz environment gets a major facelift with new structures, textures, and foliage, bringing it closer to completion. Turret redesigns move forward, focusing on making them deployable engineer tools rather than overpowered base defenses. Plus, a deep dive into upcoming civilian weapons, RTS improvements, and how lighting systems might evolve. With internal playtests ramping up, the goal is clearfine-tune the foundation before handing it off for player testing. https://youtu.be/ZF2FsYLU7TY This episode dives into major development updates, covering UI improvements, base building mechanics, and co-op multiplayer progress. The team showcases a revamped build system with snapping structures, buildable gates, and AI-assisted construction, allowing for creative and strategic base setups. UI refinements bring streamlined controls and customizable options for players. Multiplayer replication, automated unit pathfinding, and future plans for faction abilities and balance tweaks are also discussed. Plus, insights into Alcatraz map development and the roadmap toward co-op playtesting

Livestream Details

We'll be covering progress since the last podcast!

Coop Progress
Total Revamp Progress based on community feedback
Level Design Progress

When: March 15, 2025 5 PM EST Where to Watch:

If you Miss it :

What to Expect

During the livestream, well:

Recap this week of progress
Answer your questions during a live Q&A session with the development team.

Your participation and feedback are key to shaping the future of Cepheus Protocol, and were eager to share our progress with you.

Next Steps

[ 2025-03-29 20:19:15 CET ] [ Original post ]

Cepheus Protocol HQ - March 15, 2025

Recap from Previous Podcasts

Livestream Details

We'll be covering progress since the last podcast!

Coop Progress
Total Revamp Progress based on community feedback
Level Design Progress

When: March 15, 2025 5 PM EST Where to Watch:

If you Miss it :

What to Expect

During the livestream, well:

Recap this week of progress
Answer your questions during a live Q&A session with the development team.

Your participation and feedback are key to shaping the future of Cepheus Protocol, and were eager to share our progress with you.

Next Steps

[ 2025-03-12 18:10:44 CET ] [ Original post ]

Cepheus Protocol HQ - February 22, 2025

Livestream Details

We'll be covering progress since the last podcast!

Coop Progress
Total Revamp Progress based on community feedback
Level Design Progress

When: February 22, 2025 5 PM EST Where to Watch:

If you Miss it :

What to Expect

During the livestream, well:

Recap this week of progress
Answer your questions during a live Q&A session with the development team.

Your participation and feedback are key to shaping the future of Cepheus Protocol, and were eager to share our progress with you.

Next Steps

[ 2025-02-22 00:23:22 CET ] [ Original post ]

Cepheus Protocol HQ - February 15, 2025

Livestream Details

We'll be covering progress since the last podcast!

Coop Progress
Total Revamp Progress based on community feedback
Level Design Progress

When: February 15, 2025 5 PM EST Where to Watch:

If you Miss it :

What to Expect

During the livestream, well:

Recap this week of progress
Answer your questions during a live Q&A session with the development team.

Your participation and feedback are key to shaping the future of Cepheus Protocol, and were eager to share our progress with you.

Next Steps

[ 2025-02-15 01:48:25 CET ] [ Original post ]

Development Update January Progress & Playtesting Plans!

Hey everyone, Following our recent podcast, we wanted to share a quick development update! While were slightly behind schedule, progress is still moving forward. The next major milestone is internal playtesting on the RTS Coop Test map. Also consider checking out the last Podcast to catch up on the context of this post on Youtube or Spotify https://youtu.be/5fM7Y9U809k

Formation System Near Completion!

Were 3-5 workdays from finalizing the Formation System! Once completed, only minor tweaks will be needed when helicopters and ground vehicles return.

Playtest Timeline 1-2 Weeks Away!

Our current estimate places the playtest within the next 1-2 weeks. This initial phase will focus on infantry mechanics and co-op gameplay, while vehicles, helicopters, DNA, and Doctrines will be excluded for now. The biggest hurdle remaining is replicating our custom ability system and performing stress testing to ensure a stable multiplayer experience. Once this is completed, well be ready to move forward.

Stage 1 Core Systems & Playtest Preparation

Core Systems & Mechanics

Formation System (Infantry & Combined Assaults)
RTS Ragdoll Optimization
Silencer Toggle Replication
Basic Combat System for CERC & Infected
Implementing Our New Ability System with Replication Support
- The current grenade system in this older prototype is being converted into an ability
- Fire in the Air, Cone of Fire, Headshot Mechanics . These are the first ability to be reimplemented to "test" the system before we scale up in stage 2 of the Doctrines implementation.

Tactical & UI Improvements

Minimap & Tactical Map Ping System
Fire Mode Replication
Weather System
Patrol & Attack Move
Rules of Engagement (ROE) & Visual Options

Structures & Engineer Finalization (Tuesday-Wednesday)

Operators gain a blueprint-based building system
Engineer Building Finalization
Base Infected Structures (Logic Pending)

Stage 2 Expanding Gameplay (Begins after Stage 1 Playtest)

Doctrines (Non-Vehicle) Airstrikes, passive upgrades, structure changes
DNA System Research Tree
Turrets
Formation System for Vehicles (Air & Ground)
Vehicles (Final Step in Stage 2)

Stage 3 Pandemic & Custom Game Options

Pandemic Start & Late-Game Progression (Completed)
Civilian Evacuation
Crow Movement biological weapon attack (Alternative Mode) Virus spreads naturally (No LT/Chelsey)
Expanded Custom Game Options Walk-Only, Health Scaling, Moddable Settings

Catch Us Live Weekly Saturdays at 5 PM EST!

Stay up to date with our weekly live podcasts every Saturday at 5 PM EST, where we discuss development progress, upcoming features, and answer community questions. Missed the live stream? You can watch or listen anytime on YouTube or Spotify! Spotify now supports video, so you can tune in however you prefer. YouTube Playlist: Watch Here Spotify: Listen Here Thanks for sticking with us! The playtest is a big step forward, and were excited for your feedback. See you in the next update!

[ 2025-02-09 14:42:46 CET ] [ Original post ]

Cepheus Protocol HQ - February 8, 2025

Livestream Details

We'll be covering progress since the last podcast! [strike]Sneak peak at one of the male Operators[/strike]

Alcatraz island (Hub/Main Menu) Early preview for Saturday

We also have general programming/coop updates to share as always. Hope to see you guys there!

When: February 8, 2025 5 PM EST Where to Watch:

What to Expect

During the livestream, well:

Recap this week of progress
Answer your questions during a live Q&A session with the development team.

Your participation and feedback are key to shaping the future of Cepheus Protocol, and were eager to share our progress with you.

Next Steps

[ 2025-02-07 16:00:07 CET ] [ Original post ]

Cepheus Protocol HQ - January 25, 2025

A Reboot in Progress...

Unit ownership is a key focus for our team, ensuring that hosts can maintain control of a session when needed. This allows for better delegation of duties during gameplay or to prevent abuse. To support this, were implementing two control modes:

Open Mode: Free unit control for all players.
Ownership Mode: A gifting system inspired by the Total War series.

Watch an early look at the gifting system in action: https://youtu.be/Ba0MDc4TU2k In addition, the Abort Move feature has been integrated with replication support! It served as a testing ground for scaling systems like Attack Move and Patrol, helping us establish a robust framework for future mechanics: https://youtu.be/9tjB1u5wHRk

Shared Gameplay Elements Update

Progress continues on core mechanics for both TPS and RTS modes. Here's a sneak peek: https://youtu.be/l020RBv4oOQ Weve also made strides in implementing live dismemberment, reloading, and basic combat functionalities. Check it out here: https://youtu.be/1BvcEMpdcA0

Operator Progress & Customization

Work is underway to finalize Operators and Chelsey. These Operators will act as "heroes" on the ground, complete with weapon customization, skins, and unique outfits. You'll play as them in both TPS and RTS modes, similar to the "Create a Hero" system from Battle for Middle-earth 2. [quote] Operators will bring depth to your squad with unique abilities and a personal touch! [/quote] Heres a look at our progress:

Veronica
Unnamed Male Operator
Allen
Chelsey
Kira

Doctrines Backlog Progress

Our efforts on doctrines are nearing completion. Dimitry has finalized all required models aside from the MOABs remaining VFX. Here's a look at whats been added: GBU-12 Paveway II: A bunker-buster designed to target underground threats(Levi and his tunnels).

GBU-43/B MOAB - Features:

Extremely large radius: 10,000 UU.
Mass destruction: Destroys all in range, including people inside buildings.
Civilian consequences: Significant reputation loss per civilian casualty and hostile responses from groups nearby.
Cooldown: 12-14 minutes (subject to change).
Cost: $150,000 per strike (subject to change).

Alcatraz Island Blockout

Our base blockout of Alcatraz Island is almost complete, though progress has been delayed due to wildfires in Los Angeles. Here are some early screenshots of the map: Alcatraz will serve as your "hub" world for mounting deployments into new/old Pandemic sessions, viewing how your last ones have left the surrounding city, Customizing Operators & for launching the campaign when we get to that point.

Coop Test Arena & Roadmap

To stress-test gameplay mechanics, weve created a Coop Test Arena. This environment allows us to evaluate key features in layers before implementing them in larger-scale maps. Stage 1 Focus:

Structure building.
Death mechanics and damage systems.
Engineer reliability and formations.
Gifting systems (units, money, DNA).
Combat logic for infected and CERC infantry.
Airstrikes and non vehicle related doctrine upgrades
Core Combat Logic for Infected and CERC ground Infantry
DNA Gathering

Stage 2 Focus:

Abilities
Helicopters and ground vehicles.
Abilities and vehicle-related upgrades.
Vehicle related Doctrine upgrades/unit unlocks

Stay Tuned for More Updates

Well be sharing more details about these updates during our Podcast on January 11, 2025. Make sure to tune in via:

Stay Frosty, The Cepheus Protocol Team

[ 2025-01-24 22:39:55 CET ] [ Original post ]

Cepheus Protocol HQ - January 11, 2024

Second Week Cleanup Progress - A Fresh Start

After deep introspection and careful consideration, weve decided that the best course of action is to follow in the footsteps of what Rust did back in 2013recode the game from scratch. Instead of attempting to salvage the current codebase, this bold move will allow us to build a more streamlined and robust experience from the ground up. The results so far? Remarkable progress! We already have progress in terms of "Coop" code for both RTS and TPS modes, laying the foundation for a seamless multiplayer experience.

Coop Progress & Upcoming Features

Heres where we stand: https://youtu.be/NcZ3CB7mkbk

Formations: Formations are now entry level replicated in multiplayer, though still in the early stages. We aim to complete this feature next week ideally.
Death Logic for Coop: Death isnt fully replicated yet, but work will resume Saturday to finalize this critical system.
Dismemberment Sync Fix: Live dismemberment between clients isnt syncing yet. This will also be addressed Saturday alongside the Coop death logic.

https://youtu.be/AQfJHqAyIhc Both RTS and TPS modes share the same codebase, so progress in one directly impacts the other. Currently, testing and optimizations are focused on TPS for easier visual and gameplay tuning. Well be showcasing all of this progress, including our new approach and whats on the horizon, during our Podcast on Saturday. Make sure to tune in! Heres the plan moving forward:

January: CERC systems reimplementation. Doctrines/DNA Research /Structures/ Airstrikes/Abilities utilizing Replication/Coop from the start
February: Focus shifts to reworking the Infected systems and their replication
March: Civilian systems will be tackled as with their Replication , wrapping up our Q1 cleanup.

Doctrines/General Team Updates

Progress on Chelsey
Legacy Operator Progress
EFrain spent the week learning Photogrammetry so we can use it on San Francisco North & Alcatraz island. Unfortunately he is affected by the recent Wildfires in Los Angeles greatly so we didnt get that much progress this week.
Dimitry had some personal family health issues so we dont have anything to show for that. Please check back for the new airstrikes VFX next week here!

Livestream Details

Dont miss this in-depth look at our first week of progress and the road ahead. Heres where and when to tune in: When: January 11, 2025 5 PM EST Where to Watch:

What to Expect

During the livestream, well:

Recap our first week of cleanup, focusing on core systems and optimizations.
Showcase the new Chelsey AI improvements and discuss the design philosophy behind the changes.
Highlight the development of the alternative start mode and how it will affect gameplay.
Answer your questions during a live Q&A session with the development team.

Your participation and feedback are key to shaping the future of Cepheus Protocol, and were eager to share our progress with you.

Next Steps

With these initial refinements underway, were continuing to build on your feedback and enhance every aspect of the game. Stay tuned for further updates as we move forward together.

Review the Final Poll Results

Were actively reviewing the final results from the Year in Review Poll 2024. Check out the results yourself to see what the community prioritized as we plan the next stages of development! Stay Frosty, The Cepheus Protocol Team ```

[ 2025-01-11 00:19:26 CET ] [ Original post ]

Cepheus Protocol HQ - January 4, 2024

Hello Operators,

Were excited to update you as we conclude the first week of our post-holiday cleanup! This week, we focused on core systems that set the foundation for a smoother and more customizable experience in Cepheus Protocol. Join us in a special livestream to discuss what weve achieved and where were headed next!

First Week Cleanup Progress - Core System Refinements

This week, we tackled several key areas based on your feedback and our development goals. Heres a breakdown of what we accomplished:

Programming Related Tasks

RTS Fog of War Optimization: Streamlined the Fog of War system for better performance and simplified its setup for future content.
Custom Game Settings Expansion: Began mapping out the total amount of adjustments we will be expanding next week for Custom game settings after more of the new core is established on the C++ side of things.
Chelsey AI Redesign: Overhauled Chelseys AI to make her less frustrating and more balanced, addressing long-standing community concerns. A few examples would be her Pod state and being able to sometimes attack people in that state , how she handles falling from helicopters and removed all teleporting logic for bug fixes and implemented a newer system.
Alternative Start Mode: Introduced the groundwork for a new modevoted in by the communitythat allows players to start without Chelsey and her Lieutenants, offering a fresh gameplay experience. This alternative start mode initiates the virus via the "CROW" movement detonating 6-10 explosives to release a weaponized form of the Pangu Virus.

Doctrines/General Team Updates

Chelseys final model is still W.I.P . He needs to focus a bit more on the Cheeks & Nose to make it fall more in line with the Concept. He should be done sometime this weekend
The Radiomans "Relay" ability mesh was done and imported into the engine
Efrain is still working on details on new grenade types
We are starting the process of finishing the Airstrikes going into next week

These updates reflect our ongoing efforts to refine the gameplay experience and incorporate your suggestions.

Livestream Details

Dont miss this in-depth look at our first week of progress and the road ahead. Heres where and when to tune in: When: January 4, 2025 5 PM EST Where to Watch:

What to Expect

During the livestream, well:

Recap our first week of cleanup, focusing on core systems and optimizations.
Showcase the new Chelsey AI improvements and discuss the design philosophy behind the changes.
Highlight the development of the alternative start mode and how it will affect gameplay.
Answer your questions during a live Q&A session with the development team.

Your participation and feedback are key to shaping the future of Cepheus Protocol, and were eager to share our progress with you.

Next Steps

With these initial refinements underway, were continuing to build on your feedback and enhance every aspect of the game. Stay tuned for further updates as we move forward together.

Review the Final Poll Results

[ 2025-01-03 16:32:24 CET ] [ Original post ]

Cepheus Protocol HQ - December 28, 2024

Hello Operators, Were excited to invite you to a special livestream where the Project Director will outline our vision for Q1 2025! This stream will focus on how we plan to address community feedback, refine key gameplay systems, and provide a behind-the-scenes look at our development progress. Heres whats in store!

Q1 2025 Plans - A Sneak Peek

Your feedback is invaluable, and this livestream will showcase our plans to improve Cepheus Protocol in meaningful ways. Key topics include:

Performance Optimization: Updates to enhance stability, reduce frame rate drops, and improve late-game performance.
UI/UX Improvements: Streamlining menus, improving tooltips, and refining controls for an intuitive player experience.
Bug Fixes: Addressing known issues like pathfinding glitches, crashes, and other gameplay blockers.
Quality of Life Features: Adding hotkeys, better squad control options, and enhancing the save/load system based on your feedback.
Roadmap Overview: A detailed breakdown of planned updates for January through March.

This livestream will also include a Q&A session where you can share your thoughts, ask questions, and get insights directly from the development team.

Livestream Details

Dont miss out on the chance to hear directly from the team and join the conversation about the future of Cepheus Protocol. Heres where and when to tune in: When: December 28, 2024 5 PM EST Where to Watch:

What to Expect

During the livestream, well:

Present our Q1 2025 roadmap, outlining upcoming updates and features.
Highlight recent development milestones and challenges weve overcome.
Provide a behind-the-scenes look at asset creation, AI tweaks, and ability enhancements.
Open the floor for a live Q&A, where well answer your questions directly.

This is your chance to be part of the discussion and see how your feedback is shaping the future of the game.

Looking Ahead

2025 is set to be an exciting year for Cepheus Protocol. Join us in this livestream as we discuss the path forward and how were working to deliver an even better RTS experience.

Year in Review Poll 2024

Don't forget to vote the poll ends at Midnight on New Years! Vote here

Stay Frosty, The Cepheus Protocol Team

[ 2024-12-24 00:06:19 CET ] [ Original post ]

2024 Postmortem: Cepheus Protocol A Year in Review

1. Introduction

2024 has been a pivotal year for Cepheus Protocol. While we introduced critical improvements and exciting new features, the year was also marked by challenges that highlighted deeper issues within the games systems. Early cleanup efforts in Q2 struggled to gain traction, and it wasnt until Q4 that we started to see real progress. However, we know there are still significant structural and systemic issues that need to be addressed. As we move into 2025, were committed to taking Q1 to conduct a focused audit and cleanup of the games core systems. This work will resolve longstanding problems, streamline development workflows, and lay the groundwork for the ambitious features we have planned, including Doctrines, DNA Research, and Co-op. We are tired of seeing recurring bug reports and systemic complaints, and were making it our top priority to address them once and for all. This focused effort will allow us to leave these issues behind and move forward into a brighter chapter with more content, features, and stability. Today, well take an honest look back at what we accomplished, the challenges we faced, and the road ahead as we work toward the campaign. ---

2. What We Accomplished

a. Major Features Delivered https://youtu.be/Z3k1BgXV-FY

Ability System Overhaul Rewrote the ability system to a lightweight, modular design inspired by Fortnites GAS, enabling rapid prototyping of multi-stage abilities such as XP boosts, Fire Rate buffs, and unique unit upgrades.
Aquatic Units and Mobile Bases
- LCAC Hovercraft: Added as a versatile transport for moving units and vehicles across water.
- LHA6 Mobile Base: Introduced as a mobile command center and loss condition for CERC, now de-tethered from Winters for greater strategic flexibility.
Civilian Evacuation System Improvements Over months of collaboration with the community, we delivered long-requested enhancements and massive improvements to the evacuation system:
- Bus Evacuations: Added support for faster evacuations via buses.
- Active Intake Increase: Up to 6 zones can now evacuate simultaneously, improving flow and management.
- New Zone Text System: Clearer zone statuses with clickable UI for easier control.
- Zone Evacuation Options: Select how zones evacuateby Bus, Walking, or both.
- Double Chinook Evacuations: Simultaneous evacuations using two Chinook helicopters.
- Holding Area Updates:
  - Holding Area XL: Houses up to 250 civilians.
  - Standard Holding Area: Houses up to 40 civilians.
- 5x5 Cages: Added for better organization within the Civilian Admin Center.
- Massive Efficiency Gains: Reworked movement logic for smoother, faster evacuations.
Tactical Pause and Game Control Improvements After years of community requests, we implemented a Pause Game feature to give players greater control:
- Tactical Pause: Pause the game to issue commands or assess the battlefield.
- Control Updates:
  - F1: Normal Game Speed.
  - F2: Slomo (slowed-down time).
  - F3/Spacebar: Tactical Pause.
Vehicle and Gameplay Balancing
- Vehicle Gas Rebalance: Adjusted gas usage to better balance logistics and unit mobility.
- New Class Weapons/Balancing: Added new weapon classes and rebalanced existing units for deeper gameplay.
Vehicle Weapon Packages
- Weapon Loadouts: Added customizable loadouts for the Little Bird and Blackhawk.
- New Units: Introduced the VTOL, Bradley, Abrams, and MLRS, expanding the tactical options available to players.
Global Lighting Overhaul Completely revamped lighting, shadows, and reflections for improved visuals and a more immersive environment.
Goldencrest Island Introduced a new playable map with varied terrain, improved visuals, and fresh challenges for players to explore.
New CERC Models Live on Experimental
- Engineer
- Spec Ops
- Assault
- Sniper
- Winters
- Medic
- Heavy
  Full Team
Unreal Engine 5.5 Integration Integrated powerful new features to improve visual fidelity, performance, and efficiency:
- Nanite Skeletal Meshes
- Chaos Physics Improvements (vehicles and general interactions)
- Megalights for scalable lighting.
- Niagara Improvements for enhanced VFX (birds, smoke, etc.).
- Day/Night System at the engine level for smoother transitions.
- RHI/Render Improvements for optimized frame rates.
- Mutable Customizable Characters and Meshes for dynamic visual variety.
- Stability/Performance Enhancements across the board.

https://youtu.be/cfoh5FHS5RA ---

3. What We Faced Challenges In

a. Legacy System Cleanup Rewriting and optimizing older systems took longer than expected. While the work gained momentum in Q4, significant cleanup remains necessary to modernize the game. b. Vehicle AI and Interface Conversion The overhaul of Vehicle AI and interfaces took far longer than we anticipated. Unreal Engines Chaos Vehicles system presented a steep learning curve, with few existing examples to guide implementation for AI-driven vehicles. While progress has been made, Vehicle AI is still not where we want it to be, and further polishing will continue into early 2025. c. Pandemic System Fragmentation Back in 2020, the game was highly fluid as we explored different gameplay directions based on community feedback. Systems like the Pandemic Subsystem were implemented quickly for prototyping, resulting in a scattered, inefficient setup:

ChelseySystem
AI Controllers for Chelsey
Level Scripting Logic

While this approach served its purpose, the system became unwieldy as the game matured into its current state in 2022. A complete reorganization is now necessary to consolidate these elements into a streamlined Unreal Engine World Subsystem, making it more efficient and easier to manage. An example of how the game used to play in 2020 https://youtu.be/tfeeTD0jDtY d. Unreal Engine 5.5 Technical Hurdles Bugs affecting CPU usage and HLOD systems in Unreal Engine 5.5 forced us to pause work on the Open World Update, which includes expanding to San Francisco North. Weve reported the issue to Epic and await a fix in an upcoming 5.5.X update.

---

3.5 Doctrines: Work Held for Future Integration

Everyone but the programmers will continue working on Doctrines and future content, establishing a large backlog. New features and assets completed by other divisions will be showcased but will not be implemented until the Project Audit cleanup is finished in Q1 New/Revised Airstrikes(Some will be done going into Q1 from the Doctrines Chart) A10 bombing Run

White Phosphorus

A10 Main Gun Run

Larger Tier Ammo Crate & Medical Crate

Smoke Launcher Paid upgrade for structures (New Ability)

Medic HUMVEE

New Generator Tiers

New Scientist Ability: Delphi Module -Steal DNA from Infection zones passively

Male 01 Operator Variant 01

Male 01 Operator Variant 02

Male 01 Operator Variant 03

Female 01 Operator Variant 01

Female 01 Operator Variant 02

---

4. What Needs to Be Done (Q1 2025)

To address lingering systemic issues and prepare for new features, Q1 2025 will focus on:

Audit Structures/Building System

Modernize the Sandbag Builder/System The system has remained inefficient and poorly organized since its 2020 implementation. This rework will focus on:
- Improving performance and maintainability.
- Making the system designer-friendly for easier modifications.
Engineer Building System Finalization Ensuring the system is bug-free and fully optimized for both player and AI use.
Improved AI Logic for Buildings AI will now:
- Better understand defensive positions.
- Prioritize structures based on threat levels.
- Dynamically adapt strategies during sieges.

Formations System Rework

Finalize the Formation System Improvements will align the system with player expectations and increase responsiveness.
Dynamic Adaptation Formations will adapt dynamically to:
- Terrain and obstacles.
- Nearby enemy presence.
Integration with Vehicle Pathfinding Formation behaviors will work seamlessly with vehicle pathfinding improvements, ensuring:
- Consistent and efficient movement.
- Avoidance of collisions.

Pathfinding Improvements for Vehicles

Vehicle Pathfinding Pass Another development pass will focus on addressing lingering navigation issues, especially in:
- Complex terrains.
- Urban environments.
Formation System Integration Vehicles will move cohesively in formations, avoiding collisions and maintaining integrity.
AI Performance Optimization AI calculations for large-scale vehicle movement will be optimized to minimize overhead.

Audit Civilian Spawning & Dynamic Groups

Refactor Civilian AI Integrating civilians into the Pandemic System will improve:
- Spawning behaviors.
- Pathing and crowd interactions.
Dynamic Group Behaviors Civilians will now:
- React contextually to threats and enemies.
- Dynamically group, disperse, or flee as needed.
Enhanced AI Logic Improved survival behaviors for better immersion in pandemic scenarios.

Reprogram Pandemic Systems

Consolidate Pandemic Components Disjointed systems like ChelseySystem, AI controllers, and level-specific logic will be unified into a cohesive Unreal Engine World Subsystem.
Improved Maintainability & Modularity Centralizing Pandemic-related systems will ensure:
- Better performance.
- Easier long-term maintainability.
Robust AI Interactions Pandemic systems and AI behavior will interact seamlessly to provide predictable and dynamic responses during events.

---

5. Order of Operations for 2025

Once the Q1 audit and cleanup are complete, development will proceed in the following order: [olist]

Finishing Doctrines - Revamping the current Doctrine tree UI/Layout and implementing another dozen or so upgrades (See picture above)

Implementing DNA Research - Making DNA actually have a progression. I.E Kill each LT collect their DNA, use that to unlock Shreader rounds but also using the DNA to research small passives/new structures that make CERC more adaptable to the growing infection. Longer Time in gas zones or say less chance of getting infected

Infected LT/ General AI Updates (Leadership and AI improvements) - A total rework of all Infected Attacking/Defense logic. Infected Climbing & Swimming(Considering this one) are on the table for implementation and test. Each LT/Chelsey wil gain a unique personality/AI to make it differ how you counter and fight them.

The Operators - Customizable to a degree Hero units that you can pick their weapons/attachments/abilities and use them as TPS/RTS hybrid Hero. They will have a skill tree for assignment points as you level them up and are persistent Heros you can bring into any game session in pairs or individuals. At that time we will also merge over our prototype into the base game for playing TPS in a exclusive mode.

Co-op - 4 Player shared CERC experience, Host is game master

1.4 on Roadmap - See roadmap website [/olist] "The Operators TPS prototype" https://youtu.be/p0ULGHmjP1Q ---

6. Conclusion

2024 was a challenging year for Cepheus Protocol. While we made progress in rebuilding core systems and laying the foundation for future content, it wasnt always meaningful in the ways we hoped. Im personally unhappy with the current state of the game. Despite hard work and dedication, we fell short of achieving the level of polish and functionality we demand of ourselves. That said, this year wasnt wasted. The work weve done has revealed systemic issues that must be addressed, and 2025 will be defined by a renewed focus on fixing these problems. A quarter of the year will be dedicated to a full-scale cleanupensuring systems are stable, efficient, and ready to support the features you deserve. Once this foundation is solid, well shift our focus to delivering impactful new content like Doctrines, Operators, and Co-op Mode. These additions will expand the game in meaningful ways and reflect the standards we aim to meet. Your feedback, patience, and support drive us forward. Thank you for staying with us as we take Cepheus Protocol to where it needs to be. Heres to a focused, transformative 2025one built on accountability, progress, and delivering a game worthy of your expectations. We will also be having a Podcast this weekend for those that have questions/concerns https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/537714770822823938

Year in Review Poll 2024

Vote here

--- For ongoing updates, visit our Steam Community page and official website.

[ 2024-12-18 02:34:31 CET ] [ Original post ]

Cepheus Protocol HQ - December 21, 2024

Live on YouTube/Discord/Store Page Podcast Channel at 5 PM EST!

Join us for an exclusive weekly livestream where we dive into the latest updates and progress on Cepheus Protocol! From AI improvements and ability system enhancements to sneak peeks of new assets and features, we're excited to share our team's journey in creating an immersive RTS experience. During this livestream, you'll:

Hear about recent development milestones and challenges.
See behind-the-scenes insights into upcoming features and designs.
Engage with the developers and get your questions answered live!
Learn how your feedback is directly shaping the future of Cepheus Protocol.

Don't miss this opportunity to connect with the team and stay in the loop on the game's development! [hr][/hr] Watch live here: YouTube Livestream We look forward to seeing you there and discussing all things Cepheus Protocol! [hr][/hr] Stay tuned for more updates and events. Thank you for your continued support! - The Cepheus Protocol Development Team

[ 2024-12-18 01:06:28 CET ] [ Original post ]

Project Update : News on Experimental Builds resuming

Hey everyone, We wanted to share an update on the Legacy System Cleanup. Your support and feedback mean the world to us, and were so grateful to have such a passionate community. Our small but dedicated team has been working tirelessly: - Robert: Programmer and Studio Director - Derek: Programmer - Efrain: Level Designer/Modeler - Dimitry: Level Designer/Modeler - Michael : Character Modeler/Animator - Christopher : Game Designer/Writer With just the six of us, we wear many hats, but were pushing forward with a ton of passion and commitment.

Ability System Finalization

Part of the Legacy System Cleanup involved rewriting the ability system from the ground up. Our previous system worked, but it was difficult to work with and limited how much control we had over individual abilities. The new system is inspired by Fortnites Gameplay Ability System, but weve simplified it to better fit our RTS gameplay.

The new system is now entirely dynamic and delegate based allowing us to quickly add new abilities to units and prototype within minutes. With the older system abilities could take hours-days per one to implement and was all manual. It was very crappy...

This rewrite has allowed us to refine directed abilities/Passives & Self Cast abilities like, ensuring they not only work more intuitively but also add depth and strategy to gameplay. With this improved system, abilities now look smoother, feel more responsive, and are more satisfying to use than ever before.

Fixing Longstanding Issues

One of the biggest challenges weve been tackling is fixing FPS drops and performance issues tied to how we handled assets in the past. While resolving hard references will fix an aspect it wont resolve all instances of performance issues. Back in 2020, we relied heavily on hard references and dependencies, which caused problems like long load times, performance spikes, and a lot of development headaches. We werent alone in facing thisteams like the one working on the new Tomb Raider in Unreal Engine encountered similar challenges. Their SDK became so bloated with dependencies that they couldnt even open it to work on the game we never got to that point. So its kind of a "growing" pain for when your project gets large enough since its not commonly discussed enough sadly and simpler games can get away with it. Since learning about async asset loading in 2021-2022, weve gradually been overhauling our systems to remove blocking loads. This has been an ongoing process as we worked through legacy systems built during earlier stages of development. These blocking loads were a major contributor to FPS spikes on lower-spec machines, especially during events like creating new civilian factions, loading into the game for the first time or even interacting with certain Shops/markets ingame. With this current cleanup, were addressing the last of these legacy issues. These spikes should finally become a thing of the past, leading to smoother and more consistent gameplay for everyone.

Building a Stronger Foundation

After finishing our cleanup, we'll also be strengthening the core of the game: [olist]

Vehicle AI System: Were finalizing the Vehicle AI system, which will also let us convert evac buses to this system. This will make vehicles more dynamic and reliable.

Pathfinding Improvements: Infantry movement is getting a major overhaul with adjustments to how units navigate complex environments. These improvements aim to make movement smoother and more predictable.

Laying the Groundwork for Doctrines and More: The cleanup is paving the way for upcoming features like Doctrines, DNA Research, AI/LT Cards, Operators, and eventually co-op mode.

We are about to start the most extensive bug hunt in our history after experimental builds resume going into XMAS (Live bug Tracker)

We are still submitting the game to be localized and are looking into expanding the language support for even more going into December. More details on this in a few weeks! [/olist]

Whats Cooking Behind the Scenes

While Robert and Derek focus on refining systems, Efrain, Dimitry, and Justin are creating a backlog of assets. This includes the final Doctrine units, buildings, and Airstrikes. Well be showcasing these assets in the coming weeks, and once the systems are polished, well be ready to quickly implement them into the game. The male Operator was finalized

Outfit 1

Outfit 2

Justin now will work on the Infected Standard variants we are planning to expand the current selection by an extreme amount I.E different body types similar to how L4D handles their standard infected. New Ammo Crate. We are adding a much larger one in the upcoming Doctrines update.

Medical Crate next to the standard ammo create

More variants of smoke launchers were added for the coming upgrade in the Doctrines update

In Retrospect

Looking back, theres so much we wish wed known when we started. Unreal Engines documentation has come a long way since we launched in 2020, and weve learned a lotsometimes the hard way. Despite the bumps in the road, Cepheus Protocol is our baby, and were committed to delivering the experience you deserve. We hope this passion shines through in the detailsfrom the MLRS system in the current experimental build to small touches like shells ejecting from vehicles when they fire. These arent just features; theyre reflections of the love weve poured into this game.

Whats On Pause

Not everything is moving at full speed right now. For example:

World Partition: Due to a bug in Unreal Engine 5.5 affecting CPU usage for building AI paths and HLOD, this work is temporarily on hold. Were monitoring updates from Epic and will revisit this as soon as its fixed.

Looking Ahead

Were aiming to release what was discussed in "Building a Stronger Foundation" and Doctrines to the public(non experimental) by early Q1 of 2025. In the meantime, well be resuming experimental builds within the next week so you can see the progress as it happens. Thank you for sticking with us and being part of this journey. Your feedback drives us forward, and were excited to make 2025 a big year for Cepheus Protocol. What's on the Docket coming up https://youtu.be/6zz49hElQa8 Here's last weeks blog post as well! https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/4474984836247847682 Cheers, The Cepheus Protocol Team

[ 2024-12-06 20:22:14 CET ] [ Original post ]

Legacy System Cleanup Progress Update

So Lets get right into it. In the interest of transparency: On November 2nd we stated that we needed some time to do a vast project cleanup. https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/4483989494757851395

Development Workflow Update

Based on feedback and internal assessments, we've prioritized auditing our development tools and refining our workflow to maximize efficiency. Today, we'll provide an update on our progress, share what remains to be done, and highlight the efforts of other artists on the team.

Progress Update

While we've made significant strides, we estimate that this initiative will extend into next week. Our goal is to tackle as much as possible before returning to work on Doctrines and polishing the Driving AI. Several tasks remain, some of which will be completed by the end of this week, while others will follow after Doctrines are finalized and we transition into DNA Research.

New Ability System

One major achievement is the development of a brand-new ability system, inspired by Fortnite's Gameplay Ability System. We've created a streamlined, lightweight version designed specifically for an RTS game. This new system will enable rapid implementation of current and future abilities within the Doctrine tree, significantly improving development efficiency.

Current Focus

We are now polishing this ability system while addressing issues from the Unreal Engine 5.5 update and tackling ongoing code cleanup tasks. Our team is committed to ensuring everything is in excellent shape before moving forward.

Looking Ahead

We appreciate your patience during this time of refinement. While delays can be frustrating, were confident these changes will result in a more robust, efficient workflow and pave the way for exciting new features.

Unreal Engine 5.5 Integration

Unreal Engine 5.5 came out a few weeks ago and we've been implementing Nanite Skeletal meshes amongst a few other features. Basically would make rendering high detail characters very cheap so we can easily push triple A quality levels of characters in terms of mesh quality.

Nanite Skeletal meshes
Chaos Physics improvements (Driving/ General Physics)
Megalights
Niagara Improvements(Better Birds/VFX overall)
RHI/Render improvements
A brand new Day/Night system implemented at the Engine Level
Mutable Customizable Characters and Meshes
Overall Stability/Performance improvements

https://youtu.be/cfoh5FHS5RA

Pandemic Map Expansion

Over the past month, we've been prototyping and revamping data loading from a level design perspective while working on a new map, 'Bay Area,' to replace the current one. Progress has been slow as we await fixes from Epic Games for a few issues related to HLOD generation in Unreal Engine 5.5. https://youtu.be/wma6nrORqzo https://youtu.be/2sE9MW26mDU https://youtu.be/T0QUqORdgic https://youtu.be/9a2imirPssU

CERC Doctrines progress

As part of our proposed rework to the Doctrines and addressing community feedback we're going to be finishing up the CERC Doctrines tree over the next week or so. Then move into Vehicle AI driving polish/general bug fixes going into the XMAS sale. CERC Doctrines Flow chart:

New AJAX variant - it buffs Medics within its radius and provides passive healing in a small area while stationary.

Smoke launchers on vehicles as a defensive item

New Generators: [olist]

Small: Generates 75 power

Medium: Generates 150 power

Large: Generates 300 power [/olist]

Character Modeling

Radioman Mesh Update

Operator Mesh updated

As the final character to revamp we updated the "base" Operator pending a total audit of the Operator system around the AI/LT cards with a finalized mesh. Michael is currently out for Thanksgiving visiting his family this week and when hes back he'll get started on doing the final Infected Standard meshes. Operators will have 2-3 outfits per variant. Outfit 1

Outfit 2

Live Bug Tracker

I've added a new tab to our Roadmap page on Notion, making it the best place to track known bugs and any additional information needed to address them. I'll be logging bug reports from the Steam forums and Discord as they come in, assigning report numbers to each for easy tracking

Preview it here. You'll start seeing it populated in the next few days!

Global Suggestion Feed

I'm considering adding a community suggestion tab where players can view suggestions made by others, see their status (approved, rejected, or pending), and track an ETA for implementation if approved. It would have a layout similar to the bug reporting section. What do you think of this idea?

Better Localization

We are working on redoing localization for the entire game as well for the next big update going into Experimental heres a first look at simplified Chinese. https://youtu.be/enBD4phe0mY We determine which languages to implement by referencing the Steam Hardware & Software Survey. All of the supported languages will be revised by the XMAS sale. [olist]

Simplified Chinese

Korean

German

Japanese

Russian

Spanish - Spain

Portuguese - Portugal

French [/olist]

[ 2024-11-28 18:57:59 CET ] [ Original post ]

Project Update: Legacy System Cleanup & Optimization

So Lets get right into it. In the interest of transparency: We need to take the time to polish some legacy systems to properly take the next steps for Coop and roadmap items. This means the foundation has been neglected in some areas, and some older backend code needs to be updated/refactored. To see whats currently on Experimental check out https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/4513262258492539032

What's Changing (Affects Programmers Only):

New Abilities: Implementing new abilities is a chore and very likely to cause bugs due to its complexity.
Minimap System: Needs optimization and conversion to a more efficient solution.
Legacy References: We still have references in our code to Capture Zones, medical tents, and Ammo tents from the 2020 release. (Check out old footage from that year!)
Command Bar: The bottom-right command bar needs a retooling to improve ability integration.
Systemic Merges: Were consolidating some disjointed systems that were built separately over time, making bug tracking and fixes quicker and easier in the future.
Civilian/Enemy Group Spawning: Retooling how civilian groups and infected spawn, spacing them out over time instead of spawning in the same frame. This will prevent frame hitches and improve FPS significantly.
World Partition Simulation: Adjusting simulations to work more like Kenshi, with areas managed more efficiently outside of CERC influence. This will provide a major performance boost, especially when working with World Partition.

Aspects Not Affected by this Refactor (Level Design/Modeling/Animation):

[olist]

Map Merges: The merge to San Fran North and replacement map development will continue as planned behind the scenes so we can introduce a new open world map that replaces the current with the new areas.

Character Models: New character models for our exit from EA will be shared on Discord and Steam, including the final CERC and Infected models. They will continue to be worked on and brought into the engine while we do cleanup.

What's in came in in the last few updates:

Visuals for LCAC Garrisoning

New Spec Ops

New Assault

New Winters

New Sniper

New Engineer

[/olist] [hr][/hr]

Temporary Changes to Experimental Builds

Note: Builds on Experimental will slow down for 1-2 weeks while we clean up and modernize these systems. We've been developing fast, creating prototypes based on user feedback and our roadmap, and were realizing its created systemic issues in our pipeline. I want to personally apologize for this oversight in design; as our first live RTS, were learning as we go and addressing scalability/performance issues that have emerged with the games growth and recent engine updates. Things that worked years ago just arent holding up with the games current scale. [hr][/hr]

In Conclusion

In conclusion, this 1-2 week focus on legacy system cleanup will provide a stronger, more scalable foundation essential for Coop and future roadmap features. Although Experimental builds will slow temporarily, this will ultimately enable faster, more reliable updates, improve FPS, and allow for better overall performance. This is also done in the goal of allowing easier UGS(Modding) for new maps to streamline the process. [quote=Robert Smith] Project Director [/quote]

[ 2024-11-03 00:51:52 CET ] [ Original post ]

Covering the latest Experimental on Twitch

Live on Twitch at 5 PM EST!

Come join me as I stream the game, showcasing all the new units. I'll be answering questions throughout the stream. :tv: https://www.twitch.tv/dark583

New Stuff Gallery:

Summary: We will be discussing the new units and progress we've had on the new CERC redesigns.

Assault Final

Sniper Final

Winters Final

[ 2024-10-26 07:57:16 CET ] [ Original post ]

Early Access Dev Report October

Join Us Live for Our Vehicle Update AMA!

Were excited to announce a live AMA where well dive deep into the latest progress on vehicles and other exciting changes coming to Cepheus Protocol. Whether you're interested in the new mechanics or want to hear about all the updates, this is your chance to get involved and ask questions.

Date/Time: Fri, October 18, 2024, 5:00 PM

Join us on your preferred platform:

Discord AMA Channel Ask your questions and listen in on voice.
YouTube Livestream Watch the live stream and get insights on the latest updates.

What Well Cover:

New vehicle mechanics and updates
Additional gameplay changes
A sneak peek at development of the next few months going into the New Year

[ 2024-10-18 03:12:23 CET ] [ Original post ]

Cepheus Protocol Escalation feature list & Community AmA this Friday

Development Rollup resume on Discord

Mark your calendars! In 4 days, well be holding a Development Rollup to catch everyone up on progress. Well be answering questions from the community and reviewing overall development since last time we met. The session will be live-streamed on YouTube and will also be available as a VOD for those who cant make it live. https://discord.gg/Uztq6kK9?event=1289951409411854387

CBRN rework of CERC

After years of feedback we've caved and decided to pivot our design of CERC ground units. We are designing a new base "look" and getting rid of the "GI Joe" look. Our goal is for Michael to have the first pass out by Halloween there might be some bleed over. But its his primary goal and he'll be sharing progress on the Discord every few days starting after today in our announcements chat.

We currently are pursuing a more polished "final" look for our EA release next year based on the following ideas.

Mood board images for all classes redesigns

After this is done if there is still a demand we will consider "camo" reskins for different nations as support packs. Let us know if this is still desired in the comments below

Abrams/Bradley and basic physics on Experimental

More physics and destruction is coming! https://youtu.be/pCcOG3nEFlg

Cepheus Protocol Escalation feature list

Only the Bradley/Abrams and basic destruction is live now The current update we are polishing on Experimental is code named "Escalation". We will not push it to public till the following line items are implemented and ready for general play. But you can jump in and test our progress and leave your feedback at any time by installing experimental. We prefer Discord for feedback so we can jump in voice calls easily but Steam is monitored as well. We will be discussing the Abrams and Bradley and the MRLS which will be released within the next few days and the remaining challenges and goals going into the Halloween sale and beyond to wrap up the year.

What's coming in "Escalation"

Localization for all Languages updated
Doctrines shifted/reorganized for longevity (Armored Core, Infantry Core, Airborne Core and Utility)
Sparrow Weapons added
Blackhawk Weapons added
VTOL + Weapons added
New Doctrines implementation that is geared towards longer play taking reference from games like Total War and Sins of a Solar empire.
Mortar weapon Infantry
Passive upgrades and ability tweaks across the board
Abilities polish pass for Infantry to finalize them I.E the Sniper gains a claymore or heavy gains an actually "deployment" system that he setups up a basic defensive fortification.
New Vehicle AI/ Driving still needs some polish
Helicopter AI is reworked
Some performance tweaks
Vehicle Formations /Infantry spots next to vehicles
Infantry/Units moving at the pace of the slowest unit in move order
MLRS implementation with abilities
Bus evacuation(Delayed) Will be coming at the end waiting for a more finalized driving AI
Destruction (Delayed) Working out some technical issues with save/loading. We might have to forgo full saving as it works right now fully in terms of the destruction aspect. More details on this during the discussion this Friday
Mine Deploying Atlas (Delayed) Low priority but coming
Armor kits for the Abrams, Bradley & Striker with defensive items (Active denial for civilian RPG hunter teams)
New and revamped Airstrikes
More to be announced

[ 2024-10-14 20:07:32 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.3.2.7.1

Development Update

Hey everyone, We wanted to update you on some unexpected issues that hit us over the last 72 hours, pulling us away from finalizing the vehicle interface:

Unreal Engine 5.4 Crash

We encountered a critical crash that would occur after a heavy civilian evac playthrough and saving the game. It also happened during longer in-game sessions. After an intensive 24-hour work session, where each programmer picked up where the last one left off, we believe we've resolved the issue.

SteamCMD Tool Issue

We also faced a problem with the SteamCMD tool incorrectly updating the game on upload. We've spent significant time troubleshooting this and are still in contact with Valve to ensure it doesnt happen again. To mitigate this, weve reorganized the game into multiple .pak files. This change aligns with newer engine standards and should improve load times and reduce patch sizes, though we initially planned to implement it closer to the 1.0 release. In the future, we intend to adopt a newer packaging format to better conform with Unreal Engine 5 loading standards, but that will come later as a result of our research into this issue. This might also be a growing pain with Steams interaction with Unreal Engine 5.4.2, which, as many of you know, comes with bugs/issues when using the latest versions of software. Rest assured, we will continue to sort these out and work tirelessly until any remaining issues are eradicated. As of now, the first issue should be resolved, and we've mitigated the Steam download bug by adjusting how we package the game. We're still awaiting a definitive answer from Valve, but weve made the necessary changes to keep things moving forward. Unfortunately, these setbacks caused us to lose 1-2 days, so our estimate for the vehicle interface release has been pushed to early next weekassuming no further stability issues arise.

Bonus Update

One of our technical artists added a new "line" highlight system to make it easier to tweak settings. Take a look here! Live now

Thank you for your patience and understanding! The Halcyon Winds Dev Team

Patch Notes

[expand type=details]

Bug Fixes & Improvements:

Late Load Crash:

Implemented a speculative fix for a crash related to a Discord forums post reported by a user during late load.
Added additional safeties for loading crashes, including `LateLoadUnit` midway checks in case a unit is destroyed during load.

Goldencrest

Placed move proxies around the area. While this doesn't fully resolve backtracking issues, it helps mitigate some ignored move orders. Fully fixing this will require further work after we finish the interface work in a few days.
Edited cranes in the construction site for better alignment.

Helipads:

Updated Helipads with a larger vertical 'clear landscape object' presence. This change should prevent evac choppers from getting stuck under cranes in the construction zone.

Character Handling:

Added `IsActorBeingDestroyed` checks to `LoadCharactersDelayFinish`, `GetTargetGarrisonTag` in `Base_Character`, and `HasTagWithSubstring` in `CPFunctionLibrary`.

Memory Management:

Cleaned up `memcopy` issues.

Shaders:

Speculative fix for a water shader recompile issue that would occur on first load of the game where the water would be invisible for up to 10-20 seconds while it "compiled" live

Save-Load System:

Committed a fix for `UPROPERTY()` that addresses save-load issues.

User Interface:

Added a mouse-over highlight to settings in the options menu.
Introduced a speculative fix for the next patch to resolve the 'jittering on load menu when paused' problem.

[hr][/hr] Please note the following going forward: Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

General Development Updates

[expand type=details] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zz49hElQa8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZA_1INK--I

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557390407190

New Roadmap system

Ways to Support Our Development

[expand type=details] Your support helps us grow the team and create a better game for everyone!

Support Us on Patreon

Join our Patreon community to gain exclusive access to behind-the-scenes content, early builds, and other perks.

Check Out Our Merch Store

Show your love for Cepheus Protocol with our official merchandise! Every purchase directly supports the development of the game.

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Immerse yourself in the gripping narrative of the Pangu Virus outbreak through multiple perspectives. Follow the dedicated heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control as they battle to contain a devastating alien virus that transforms innocents into terrifying creatures of unimaginable power. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

Watch the First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

Get a sneak peek at the intense and dramatic opening of Season 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand] If you're experiencing crashes/instability, please try a Steam Verify/Display Drivers update before contacting us.

[ 2024-08-22 21:32:11 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.3.2.6.8.16.15.12 Goldencrest Island is now live!

New Map Goldencrest Island

Historical Roots in the California Gold Rush

Goldencrest Island, located off the coast of San Francisco, has a rich history that dates back to the mid-19th century. Discovered during the height of the California Gold Rush, the island quickly became a bustling hub for prospectors. Early settlers named it Goldencrest due to the islands hilly terrain, which was believed to contain rich veins of gold, due to the fact the hills seemed to sparkle when the sun fell. While large deposits were never found, the name stuck, symbolizing hope and prosperity. The island was taken over by the US Navy and served as a checkpoint for ships coming and leaving San Francisco during the California Gold Rush and the American Civil War, as the state's population boomed.

World War II Military Outpost

Fast forward to the early 1940s, Goldencrest Island took on a new, strategic significance. During World War II, the United States military established a significant outpost on the island to defend the West Coast against potential Japanese attacks. The island was fortified with bunkers, anti-aircraft guns, and a small naval base. Soldiers and their families lived on the island, creating a tight-knit community amidst the ongoing war.

Post-War Abandonment

Following the end of World War II, Goldencrest Island's military significance dwindled, and it was eventually abandoned. For over fifty years, the island remained largely untouched, a forgotten relic of a bygone era. Nature began to reclaim the land, with the once-bustling outpost transforming into a ghostly, overgrown reminder of its past.

Modern Renovation and Revival

In the early 2000s, interest in Goldencrest Island was rekindled by investors and developers who saw potential in its prime location and historical charm. A massive renovation project was launched, aimed at modernizing the island while preserving its historical elements. Over the next two decades, Goldencrest underwent a dramatic transformation. Today, the island boasts high-rises and luxury apartments that offer stunning views of the Pacific Ocean and the San Francisco skyline. It has become a hotspot for beachgoers and tourists, with pristine beaches, upscale resorts, and vibrant nightlife. Offshore gambling facilities have turned Goldencrest into a mini Las Vegas on the sea, attracting visitors from around the world. Despite its modern amenities, Goldencrest Island has not forgotten its roots. Historical tours and museums dedicated to the Gold Rush and World War II periods offer visitors a glimpse into the island's storied past. The blend of historical preservation and contemporary luxury makes Goldencrest Island a unique destination, celebrating its rich heritage while embracing a vibrant, modern future.

Upcoming Content and Performance Enhancements

Preloading New Content: This patch includes significant changes that lay the groundwork for exciting upcoming features. We've preloaded assets and systems to support new vehicles and Operator content, which will be rolled out in future updates. This ensures that when the new content is released, it will integrate seamlessly with the existing game environment. It is 4.9 GB in size.
Performance Improvements: We've begun leveraging the latest performance enhancements offered by Unreal Engine 5.4. By optimizing various systems, converting more assets to Nanite, and tweaking materials for better LODs and HLOD utilization, we're already seeing improvements in the game's performance, making it smoother and more efficient. While we're still exploring the full potential of these tools, the progress we've made so far is already enhancing the current content and laying the groundwork for the new features we have planned. You should expect a solid 40-60% performance boast depending on hardware!

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

New Features

Minigun added to the Heavy. General Fixes & Improvements
Fixed translucent glass materials not interacting with fog properly.
Fixed various LODs and enabled Nanite on several meshes.
Enabled Nanite on OpenWorld landscapes.
Slightly optimized post-process effects.
Updated HLOD setup.
Fixed various invisible objects.
Added translucent glass LOD materials to world vehicles.
Adjusted scalability.ini settings.
Various optimizations throughout the game.
Added performance cost graphs to the options menu. Building & World Adjustments
Lerp adjustments to re-imported building BPs.
Fixed traffic light orientation.
Fixed buildings that were offset by re-import.
Fixed dual Lerp positions that were offset on re-import.
More adjustments to world-building BPs.
Adjusted Lerp positions for the Police Station in Grid 7.
Fixed overturned fences on the TI Power Plant, renamed them, and adjusted collision/nav blocking.
Rebuilt navmesh after these changes.
Rebuilt collisions for road bridges in Grids 1, 7, and 8.
Rebuilt navmesh for the large mansion in Grid 7 (Chelsea's House).
Fixed more spline mesh alignment issues caused by the UE 5.4 update.
Progress on landscape detail pass, adding cliff meshes to elevations and nav modifiers for better navigation around verticality.
Expanded water to reach further into the backdrop.
Adjusted size of nav mesh bounds to envelope the entire island, including the path spline for the Carrier.
Further refined the beach landscape for smoother transition points (LCAC still erratic during transitions and random instances over open water).
Lowered the continental shelf to create more room for the Carrier to 'float'.
Rebuilt open-world landscape Nanite data.
Added Calypso landscape to be Nanite-enabled. Calypso/Goldencrest Island Updates
Nav fix for Calypso.
Fixed up the Carrier to have a proxy movement volume and base, then rebuilt navmesh.
Fixed errors in the level graph.
Fixed several duplicate world-building names.
Fixed FOW volume size.
Fixed collision complexity settings on some build location meshes (with one mesh still having errors).
Fixed issue with a Location Volume's collisions not registering in Unreal.
Fixed ambient splines not having world buildings assigned to them.
Made adjustments to all ACS in Calypso.
Tested location volumes for errors.
Set up city lighting for the metro area of Calypso.
Fixed Calypso G7+G8 not being part of the Calypso Landmass (impacting evac and infection spreading systems).
Updated Calypso's user-visible name to Goldencrest Island.
Updated the description in the Main Menu for Goldencrest Island.
Old saves will still show 'Calypso' in the Load Game menu but will function correctly.
Speculative fix for shared vision dependent crash.
Fixed autosaves not working in Goldencrest Island.
Added a large water plane underneath the water tiles.
Fixed collision issues with removable fence assets.
Updated the minimap for Calypso ~Derek.
Updated Calypso City lighting and tree placement progress.
Commit of build machine stuff ~Derek.
Fixed navigation being missing for proxy movement for LHA6 (allowing movement and landing on the Carrier again).

Please note the following going forward: Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

General Development Updates

[expand type=details] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zz49hElQa8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZA_1INK--I

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557390407190

New Roadmap system

Ways to Support Our Development

[expand type=details] Your support helps us grow the team and create a better game for everyone!

Support Us on Patreon

Join our Patreon community to gain exclusive access to behind-the-scenes content, early builds, and other perks.

Check Out Our Merch Store

Show your love for Cepheus Protocol with our official merchandise! Every purchase directly supports the development of the game.

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Watch the First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

[ 2024-08-18 22:07:34 CET ] [ Original post ]

This week on Cepheus Protocol August 2nd

What is Cepheus Protocol?

Where other zombie games in the genre have asked "How will you die" (Project Zomboid), Cepheus Protocol dares to ask "How will you survive". Giving you the tools of a recently created new branch called CERC its now your job to tackle how to handle the spreading Pangu Virus. We are dedicated to continuing to work with our community to keep refining Cepheus Protocol till its a true gem. It should be noted that while we embrace critical feedback it should be given in a manner that is respectful and conductive of actually having a conversation. I.E Don't say X is Bad fix it. Say X is bad because of X,Y,Z . Then we can start to have a meaningful conversation. It should be noted naturally all suggestions cannot be implemented but we will keep them in mind for a possible addition in the future depending on scope budget etc.

Roadmap

The Development update video linked above will have further details. After all of this is implemented we will convert all current vehicles to this system and implement the Abrams, MLRS and Bradley to officially start the CERC/Doctrines card outlined here. Development Update from Jun 13, 2024 https://youtu.be/6zz49hElQa8?t=1032 Note: we will not be allowing full destruction but like mentioned in the last update on Youtube partial destruction in the terms of street lights, fences, walls etc. Preplaced assets in the world to make areas like the center park in Treasure Island far more dynamic so vehicles and explosions can affect the world.

What is Chaos Vehicles?

https://youtu.be/-lkEOEEKYD0?t=63

What is Chaos Destruction?

https://youtu.be/u3ktiewcLpo?t=32 If your getting crashes/out out of memory issues check out this post https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/4365760665713106999

Airborne Doctrine Backlog assets

We will be allowing users to customize what weapons appear in what "slots" for each helicopter allowing for in-depth customization on the vast amount of gameplay situations that can occur. A few examples would be mix/matching different weapon combinations based on need. I.E Missile pods for saturation of an area without a need for accuracy vs say Hellfire missiles which would lock on and track their targets and be fired much slower 1-2 every few seconds. Then you toss in gatling guns/MGS for constant suppression/saturation and you have a party

VTOL

it wil feature an unarmed version and armed version. It will allow you to cycle between hover/flight mode and will not feature any transport capacity for lifting vehicles.

https://youtu.be/E5M-VsOi9o8

Little Bird

Blackhawk

Calypso Valley V2 (Pending Rename)

Originally intended to be a "demo" map only it was repurposed as additional content and for lower spec machines. When we feel the game is more feature complete we will revisit the demo. I have earmarked some issues/corrections that need to occur on Calypso including renaming the map, some level design changes and bug fixing. I estimate at least till Wednesday to the point we are completely done.

Pass 2 8.2.24

Vehicle AI

Vehicle AI is an extremely slow process of updating references to a new "Shared" Interface/Actor Components. Which meant thousands of lines of code that had to be refactored and reconfigured. We finished the C++ aspect of it earlier this week but now we are working through the Blueprint components and improving/updating logic as we go to better practices. In some cases we are down converting BP logic to C++ for refinement purposes/streamlining the workflow.

Currently the list in the picture shown below is what remains till we can even play in our editor and do the vehicle porting aspect. It's a big step and has taken us weeks to accomplish based on on its sheer size. The Abrams and co will come shorter after all current vehicles are ported over.

So Order of Operations.

Vehicle AI Interface stuff -> Port all Current Vehicles -> Experimental -> Abrams, Bradley, MLRS & C5 Galaxy -> Resume CERC/Doctrines roadmap. I don't have an estimate yet for this. But we believe it to be quite soon for the porting aspect. We will know more once we fix the remaining compile errors and start testing in our SDK Last Vehicle AI Video update https://youtu.be/YMNZ6juA3e0

Coop

Part of the work is also making it easier for me to switch over to road-to-coop which will be a channel that after we "push" all the current vehicles over to Chaos Vehicles i will be shifting over to. I will effectively be working on systems that are mundanely simple that wouldn't change like Shooting, Health etc. I.E the "Core" components and learning GAS. (Gameplay Ability System) It would effectively make a lot of "abilities" replicated natively and streamline the creation of new ones. if you want to consider supporting us check out our patreon or Discord pledge system everything helps!

[ 2024-08-02 21:23:41 CET ] [ Original post ]

Public Notice on Newer Intel CPU's Crashing/Out of Memory issues

There seems to be a widespread issue with newer Intel CPU's and Unreal Engine games.

We've had several users noticing that they were able to fix the issue by manually adjusting some settings that by default motherboards do that are dangerous to the stability of the engine. As far as we can tell this is a screw-up on Intel's side which is why a lot of gamers are RMA/Returning their Gear for AMD CPU's. I personally had to follow a guide (Post #5) for Unreal Engine developers just to stabilizes our development SDK from crashing for myself.

Excerpt from various sources:

The issues have been reported by users with a variety of processors, including the Core i9-13900K, Core i9-14900K, Core i7-14700K, and Core i7-13700K. The severity of the crashes can also vary by game, with some titles simply exiting to the desktop while others can completely lock up the machine.

Some possible causes of the issues include:

Aggressive settings used by default by motherboard vendors
High default power and current limits
Default loadline calibration for voltages
Motherboard's default "Auto" power and current limits

Some possible solutions include:

Updating your BIOS to include an "Intel Baseline Profile" option, which reverts to Intel's factory default settings for basic functionality, lowers power limits, and improves stability
Manually downclocking or undervolting the Intel processors
Power/current limiting the CPU
Manually setting the power limit to 275300 watts and the amperage limit to 350A
Tweaking the Load Line Calibration (LLC) to increase voltages

Epic Games, the developer of Fortnite and the Unreal Engine, has also published a support notice advising affected users to adjust their BIOS settings.

Citations on the Internet about it:

Intel's CPUs Are Failing, ft. Wendell of Level1 Techs (Gamers Nexus covering it) https://youtu.be/oAE4NWoyMZk Official Epic Games Response blaming Intel https://www.radgametools.com/oodleintel.htm Article on new ASUS Motherboard settings to help: https://www.techradar.com/computing/cpu/been-tearing-out-your-hair-due-to-pc-games-crashing-with-your-intel-cpu-asus-has-a-fix-for-that Is your Intel Core i9 CPU crashing when playing games? Youre not alone and Intels investigating worrying reports of instability https://www.techradar.com/computing/cpu/is-your-intel-core-i9-cpu-crashing-when-playing-games-youre-not-alone-and-intels-investigating-worrying-reports-of-instability Ashes of Creation Issues(Another game dev having the issue) https://forums.ashesofcreation.com/discussion/59699/ysk-intel-13th-and-14th-gen-cpus-have-a-lot-of-crashing-problems-especially-with-unreal-engine Your Intel CPU could be unstable in Unreal Engine games https://www.pcgamesn.com/intel/cpu-instability-games-unreal-engine There are increased reports of crashing in Unreal Engine games, etc. and Epic is blaming Intel chips https://www.pcgamer.com/there-are-increased-reports-of-crashing-in-unreal-engine-games-etc-and-epic-is-blaming-intel-chips/ Copied from a recent post: https://steamcommunity.com/app/979640/discussions/1/4523386479582238022/

[ 2024-07-18 21:49:16 CET ] [ Original post ]

Letter from the Producer #10 Vehicle AI & Map Update Progress Week 3

What is Cepheus Protocol?

Roadmap

What is Chaos Vehicles?

https://youtu.be/-lkEOEEKYD0?t=63

What is Chaos Destruction?

https://youtu.be/u3ktiewcLpo?t=32 Note: we will not be allowing full destruction but like mentioned in the last update on Youtube partial destruction in the terms of street lights, fences, walls etc. Preplaced assets in the world to make areas like the center park in Treasure Island far more dynamic so vehicles and explosions can affect the world.

Map Changes coming soon...

Calypso Update (W.I.P)

Is being updated to support the Carrier and newer gameplay mechanics. We expect the new map on experimental sometime next week. Around July 17th

Open World Update

It should be noted that within the next 2 weeks after we release the newly revamped Calypso i will be tasking my level designers/modelers with the complicated task of expanding the map and adjusting/removing some of the fictional islands we invented earlier in development because we had a "design" limit of how large the maps could be. More details here! The plan will be that while the programmers are working on the CERC/Doctrines/DNA Research card(New vehicles etc) they are getting the map ready for our 1.0 release and coop at the end of 2024 - going into early 2025. Treasure Island, Angel and CO will be "play" islands while the main meal is San Fran North. A new landmass that is 5x the size of all current content in the game that we've been slowly building in secret. At this time we will explore and R&D underground "subway tunnels" but i cannot give any further news on this. We need to see how doable it is. The first picture is a crude example of the new layout -> The second is the total planned map size for when we deem the map "done". More details to follow around Halloween on that aspect for unmentioned areas.

Vehicle AI Progress

This week we converted the system over to the Cerberus to see where the system would fail understanding larger vehicles of mass. We identified several points where our logic needed to be even more dynamic to take into consideration values that change between wheels like Friction & overall Vehicle Mass.

Day 15

Been porting variables in prep for getting other vehicles onto Chaos Physics - the goal, to reveal weaknesses in the current pathfinding AI so that it can be improved to handle other vehicle setups. The Cerberus here has extra mass that the system's not used to handling, so it tends to overshoot turns due to assuming the brakes would function like with the Ajax. Still, progress! Take a look! https://youtu.be/v336INWMThM

Day 18

Vehicle AI Update: Basically it allows quicker/easier roll out of new vehicles so we don't have to hand test each vehicle as much! Bit of progress - some of it behind the scenes. Figured out some math for dynamic brake calculation, and started (though not done yet) on 'earlier turning' logic. Differences are minor at first, but good enough so far that the 'getting frazzled by the bench' from the last round didn't occur here. Step by step! https://youtu.be/4jEp6iepIgg

Conclusion

We will continue to convert the most complicated /varied vehicles over to the system and further refine the math/calculations as we go to ensure each vehicle handles optimally. We believe that the Ajax, Cerberus, Evacuation Busses and the Abrams will provide us enough varied data to then focus on porting over the RTS elements to this new class/system and get an experimental out with all current vehicles then get the new ones in. We thank everyone for their continued support and patience. if you want to consider supporting us check out our patreon or Discord pledge system everything helps!

[ 2024-07-13 01:43:26 CET ] [ Original post ]

Letter from the Producer #9 Vehicle AI Progress Week 2

What is Cepheus Protocol?

Vehicle AI Progress

Development Update from Jun 13, 2024 https://youtu.be/6zz49hElQa8?t=1032 In the past we have gotten feedback about how our vehicles were lackluster or for a better word "Crappy". Last Thursday we transitioned the engine to 5.4.2 to take advantage of the latest Chaos Destruction(Production Ready now) and Chaos Vehicle changes. Today i will be presenting the progress we've had in the last week R&Ding the new vehicle physics and adjusting as needed. A lot of time went into learning how Chaos vehicles operate and how to write an AI that understands things like steering, throttle and a break to accurately navigate our growingly complex world.

What is Chaos Vehicles?

https://youtu.be/-lkEOEEKYD0?t=63

What is Chaos Destruction?

Day 10

Been testing the vehicle in the more tighter-turning environments of the Calypso map! This really exposes some issues with how Unreal's default navigation points sometimes end up in the 'wrong' locations for a vehicle - something we need to investigate and see about improving so vehicles not only can accurately move where we want them to, but also pick good places to move to begin with! On the bright side, it also demonstrates our 'reverse and get back on course' logic. Not perfect, but enough to stop a lot of weird situations from becoming permanent losses! Got some more obstacle improvements in from these tests, and some improvements to 'recovery' in some situations should collision occur. Take a look! https://youtu.be/VtyLsPxkf1Q

Day 11

Gather round CERC recruits a massive improvement to Path Generation in relation to A* was pushed in today that will effectively better take into consideration of said vehicles handling to not create "human" like paths where the next points would require the vehicle to do unreasonable things just to hit all of them upon a move order. Check out the results and extra details below! :LelouchMug: -Updated with a new 'path smoothing' check that cleans out a lot of excess or redundant move waypoints, so the vehicle has less turning and 'fidgeting' to do to hit every point (by having fewer points!) -Not really demonstrated in the vid, but also added improved 'roll safety' so the vehicle will be very likely to remain upright even if you tell the driver to do some wacky stuff Sorry about the low quality (Low Framerate) of the GIF, but wanted to show the full move so had to trim some frames out to make it a reasonable size. That said, take a look! https://youtu.be/O5AgUtCCQ0g

Day 12

Some turns are still suffering but we are still working the problem to wrap them up. We will be entering the next phase soon after we iron out the remaining impact/crash issues. Since we wrote a brand new class next phase is taking this new class and properly integrating with the RTS elements we have already. I.E health bars, selection logic etc. Then we will scale up testing with multiple vehicles and then finally infantry then all of them together. TLDR: Some 'predictive turning' logic has been added, to help smooth out movement between points and make turning a little bit more natural! However, small obstacles and 'small corridors' are currently issues still for the vehicle, as seen in the GIF. They're gonna be next on the list, most likely! https://youtu.be/LVYhn82HWyE

Day 13

Testing in more environments revealed some flaws with the pathfinding, including sometimes where the vehicle would 'see a clear line' to a target and start moving there, without recognizing the ground. Short GIF, but the 'orange line' you see near the beginning indicates the vehicle recognizing that there's no straight line across, so he goes a longer way. A lot of this comes down to a bunch of little things that add up, but it's working! Also been working on improved reverse logic so it's more responsive when recovering from an impact (though not demonstrated in this GIF). https://youtu.be/UCwNgfzVgac

Day 14

The Story so Far

So we brainstormed some solutions and did some R&D last night since as many of you saw in the last GIF's our vehicles have HUGE issues going through narrow/tighter corridors. Apologies about the time its taking to build this but we want to do it right the first time and ensure these vehicles are ready for just about anything. That means hundreds of hours testing and adjusting when they fail the vast amount of "courses" we have identified that will push the Vehicle AI to its limits. This is a huge improvement but i still feel it need a bit more refinement to make it look a bit more natural. Possibly add some Post Processing to the Navigation calculation to add more "dynamic curving" based on the "degree" of the next calculated turn to "soften" it up.

Why are we concerned about this?

Vehicles need to understand their limits dynamically based on a VAST criteria of variables so they understand how to make turns accurately and minimize slow "periods". I've personally studied a lot of player bases and you guys like to build "Realistic" checkpoints and gates like the attached pictures so making it so the vehicles understand ramping down speeds and generating "curved" paths instead of crazy 90* degrees is all but required.

New pathfinding 'turn smooth' logic: the pink sphere here indicates a spot where the pathfinding detected a sharp turn with short space to do it, so it 'scooted' the point out to widen the turn so the vehicle can fit. Take a look! https://youtu.be/we__KsK0V6Q

Conclusion:

This concludes the last week of progress we've had on the vehicle. We will continue to tweak and R&D the vehicles as they stand till they are perfect. As seen in the last video(Day 13) turning needs some adjustment and some corrections are still needed before we scale up the tests with multiple vehicles and start implementing a custom "avoidance" system to stop vehicles of differing move orders from crashing into each other when possible. The Development update video linked above will have further details. After all of this is implemented we will convert all current vehicles to this system and implement the Abrams, MLRS and Bradley to officially start the CERC/Doctrines card outlined here. https://cepheusprotocol.notion.site/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08?p=633fd2afddcd45df9fcf351b62e73647&pm=c

[ 2024-07-05 19:33:20 CET ] [ Original post ]

Letter from the Producer #8 Vehicle AI Progress

What is Cepheus Protocol?

Vehicle AI Progress

What is Chaos Vehicles?

https://youtu.be/-lkEOEEKYD0?t=63

What is Chaos Destruction?

Day 1 of Chaos vehicles:

https://youtu.be/iAr8f14BjLQ

Day 2 of Chaos vehicles:

Still very much a work in progress. We are still writing a brand new vehicle AI using Chaos Vehicles from the ground up. Its certainly not plug in play in any capacity. We are effectively starting over from scratch for Vehicles They still struggle deciding when to turn so we are boasting their turn ratio more when the system detects they need some "arcade" level of control to allow them to make tighter turns. Arcade level dynamic turning will not be allowed in Operators that are controlling a vehicle directly btw We hope to wrap up the basics of turning accuracy/general movement with a single unit in the next 24-48 hours(Mondayish) https://youtu.be/ZNpZcWiNCg8

Day 3 of Chaos vehicles:

-Improved (though not yet fully fixed) angling 'too far ahead' of next move waypoint -Turn assist improvements at higher speeds for more reliability -Improved (though not flawless, sometimes it can bump into things in this move) obstacle avoidance -Better brake logic Still needs improved reversal logic, proper handling when starting up a move order in a difficult spot, better 'prediction' of upcoming sharp turns, and more improvements to obstacle avoidance. https://youtu.be/l0gqf7HD9f8

Day 4 of Chaos vehicles:

Predictive braking improved and considerably more functional Obstacle avoidance improved (though far from perfect) 'Forward adjust' for determining 'face location' reduced to better account for more accurate braking/turning The improvements here result in cleaner movement, though: "Braking Speed" is too low. Need to investigate how to dynamically determine what speed would be good for turning (you can see on the long straightaway that we go too slow for awhile) The more accurate adherence to the 'move waypoints' results in some other issues where obstacle avoidance has to assist Obstacle avoidance has some shenanigans still, though Some of the movements are cleaner, resulting in other issues being 'surfaced' that need fixing. Going to be doing more studying to fix this up further, but an example of what's going on: https://youtu.be/hggSi5WZyEA

Day 5 of Chaos vehicles:

Improvements to minimum speed for turning sharp turns and very sharp turns Improvements to obstacle avoidance to be considerably more reliable while also not fighting existing turn logic Today had a lot of time spent working on some other resources in prep for making the system more modular and so forth, though still got in some time to improve obstacle avoidance and minimum speed. Results speak for themselves! https://youtu.be/QlLoQ8b7uYs

Day 6 of Chaos vehicles:

-Obstacle avoidance tweaked: =Tries to better account for direction we need to go, rather than just obstacle relative to front of vehicle =Slight 'angle adjust' for obstacle detection trace in direction we want to go (instead of purely forward) Not drastically improved, but better able to handle more obstacles. Far from perfect, but a step in the right direction! A lot of dev time is still going into some of the 'framework' or R&D rather than the actual behavior, which is why the behaviors don't improving as quickly as in the first three days: we're still working on this, rest assured! https://youtu.be/6QI7DcCj3MQ

Day 7 of Chaos vehicles:

Been awhile since the last visual update, but we have been working on it! The 'less visible' side of the work has been integrating the AI into Unreal's own pathfinding systems - which comes with benefits such as allowing the vehicle to dynamically re-path for example. For something more visible: been working on improving obstacle avoidance, and (subject of the GIF here) with Dimitry's help both 'bumps in the road' and incline-handling have been greatly improved! https://youtu.be/o30E12V81JE https://youtu.be/mpwK0Er_OYw

Day 8 of Chaos vehicles:

Another update! (also timelapse, sorry, file's too big if I don't) -'Predictive' braking logic: the 'cyan sphere' in the GIF represents about where we'll reach a good 'turning speed' if we start holding down the brakes. You can see that when the sphere reaches a turn, the vehicle starts to slow down to ensure we'll be at a good turning speed when we reach it! -More obstacle avoidance improvements Doesn't handle everything perfectly, but is also better equipped to deal with situations where it ends up stuck. Plus (though not in the above GIF) is equipped with some basic 'reverse when stuck' logic, too. https://youtu.be/W75KPCA_fKI

Day 9 of Chaos vehicles:

A non-timelapse one (though had to drop the quality to make it fit)! -Some basic reverse logic works when starting up move orders, for 3-point-turns and the like -Obstacle avoidance uses a bit more logic and tracing to try to figure out the best way to turn (instead of just going off of 'which side is the obstacle on') -Obstacle avoidance 'steering' is reduced at high speeds (to avoid spinning out) =And obstacle avoidance checks go 'further out' at high speeds -Some other obstacle avoidance bugs/issues were ironed out, too https://youtu.be/5p2-W6F1VY0

Conclusion:

This concludes the last week of progress we've had on the vehicle. We will continue to tweak and R&D the vehicles as they stand till they are perfect. As seen in the last video(Day 9) turning needs some adjustment and some corrections are still needed before we scale up the tests with multiple vehicles and start implementing a custom "avoidance" system to stop vehicles of differing move orders from crashing into each other when possible. The Development update video linked above will have further details. After all of this is implemented we will convert all current vehicles to this system and implement the Abrams, MLRS and Bradley to officially start the CERC/Doctrines card outlined here. https://cepheusprotocol.notion.site/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08?p=633fd2afddcd45df9fcf351b62e73647&pm=c

[ 2024-06-27 20:17:11 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.3.2.6.8.16.15.9

Cepheus Protocol Project Update & what's Coming!

https://youtu.be/6zz49hElQa8

New Global Lighting

If your experiencing crashes/instability please try a Steam Verify/Display Drivers update before contacting us.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details] https://steamcommunity.com/games/2116560/announcements/detail/4170971564134282187 https://steamcommunity.com/games/2116560/announcements/detail/4151834437161559310

TLDR

New Smaller (Urban Themed) Evac building that is effectively flares thrown in a circle marking a civie evac point. This smaller evac point will allow you to either go with the large helipad when you have more space/you want the ability it has to repair/rearm/refuel if you cycle its mode when you need those features.
Holding Area XL - Houses 250 civies now
Holding Area normal - houses 40 civies now
Active Intake is increased to 6 from the Civilian Admin Center
Zone Card replacement
Double Chinook Evac
New Class Weapons/Balancing
Vehicle Gas Rebalance
Unit icons are now shift/ctrl clickable (Added from a community suggestion from a previous community sit-down)
New World Lighting System
All Spotlight restrictions removed + new 360 CERC light added
Performance boasts across the board

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

General Development Updates

[expand type=details] https://youtu.be/zZA_1INK--I?si=Dx1YWTyRQzPhzgq2 https://youtu.be/dJogCEPsYHU?si=6eJNQoJyj3uQJahl

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557390407190

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08 [/expand]

Ways to Support Development

[expand type=details] Everything goes towards expanding the team and building a better game!

Consider Supporting us on Patreon

Merch Store

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2024-06-13 06:44:43 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.3.2.5.16.2

If your experiencing crashes/instability please try a Steam Verify/Display Drivers update before contacting us.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Set up several mouse widgets to properly respond to HideUI. Set up HideUI and toggling-to-Operator to cancel out any lazes (ammo call in, engineer, etc.) or builders too
Updated Atlas to also be recruitable from the Motor Pool. And updated its hovertip to reflect that it now has a Guard Tower configuration, too
Implemented some speculative fixes to stop the rare 'power widgets appear even when powered' bug
Fixed some World Buildings that had duplicate devnames (errors like this mess with civilian counts when loading saves).Also boosted the strength of the warning that you get if you save while there are duplicate World Building devnames, so they will be harder to miss
Fixed Chelsey System 'GetPlayerZonesForAssault' erroneously not returning any Score values, which broke Assault orders for Civilian factions in some cases
Added a check to remove some avoidance logic for civilians who are moving to Evac Choppers, to try to relax some civilian traffic jams
Fix added for the target zone in 'evac to other zone' logic sometimes getting 'reset' on load
Small cleanup to the Game Over widget
Engine updated to 5.3.2
Updated the Game Options category to lock out the Sliders from running ValueChanged if Initialized is false (5.3 change caused the ValueChanged to fire off as soon as they initialize, even before the widget as a whole is ready, so new check was needed for 5.3 so settings don't get reset upon opening this category)
Fixed the SecondaryScreenPercentage setting in the Advanced Options (previously wasn't working)
Fixed the custom game settings display erroneously displaying a custom Leviathan Start Day as one more than it is
Fixed up the Leviathan Incubation Rate to be called 'Leviathan Incubation Time' in UI, to be more clear to users
Adjusted the Alcatraz dock to try to reduce clipping issues.Also adjusted Carrier docking rotation speed to be faster when aligned with the docking spline (not perfect but seems to function)
Some fixes to camera 'inside of something' check firing off incorrectly (this seems to have been the primary cause of quick 'camera blips' occurring when zoomed out a decent amount)
Improvements to Helicopter loading to prevent them from 'breaking away' from a Carrier they've landed on, when loading a game
Speculative fix for this crash https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/1227531523604090974/1227531523604090974
Removed C++ offsets for spawning DNA meshes, so DNA won't 'float slightly off the ground' anymore
Improved DNA spawn trace logic to reduce cases of 'DNA floating high in the air'
Fixed multi-gate upgrade (from selecting multiple walls) not functioning
Weapon rebalance, fixed improper range and damage fall offs for 80% of infantry weapons need to test the others more. but this is a more reasonable change. snipers will feel more useful for long range
Updated some mortar rotation target logic to account for attach parent rotation, if the mortar has an attach parent (ex: Cerberus Mortar). This fixes Cerberus Mortar barrels seemingly 'facing the wrong way'
Improved some focus logic to skip setting of focus actor if it's the same as the current for the requested priority, or setting the focal point if it's within .5uu of the current focal point for the requested priority (should save performance)
Fixed single-unit non-run move orders causing a 'temporary run state', which also caused them to stop shooting for a second if they were in combat!
Fixed Scientists not having radial vision
Used the updated WeaponSightRange to allow Scientists to see at least 6000uu even when equipped with the Flamethrower (which doesn't have that range)
Updated Flamethrower to have 1800uu range (instead of the miserable 800uu it had)
-Fixed up some Fire Damage logic to be more reliable
Lowered Flamethrower damage (now that it's reliable, it's very powerful)
Also lowered fire effectiveness against regular characterss
Boosted 'max fire stacks' on structures to 20 (from 5). This also means that infected pods can show their full burning effect now
Updated the LCAC's description to not say that it transports vehicles (since that functionality isn't done yet)
Improved LCAC 'make it onto land' logic to smooth out the transition somewhat and reduce 'failure states'
LHA6 'rear door' open/close logic.
LHA6 Visual improvements, to show up to two of the garrisoned LCACs inside the LHA6, instead of hiding them
Speculative crashfix for civilian gate getting landscaped as soon as it gets marked as landscapable due to civilian base main building destruction
Non-hostile civilians no longer block construction
Speculative fix for helicopters 'rotating oddly' when told to land on certain things
More speculative fixes for helicopter 'dump garrison' crash
Fixed an error in Chelsey's stuckwarp logic that would cause her to always return to her spawn pos instead of the nearest stuckpoint, if any stuckpoints exist
LCAC amphibious movement improved: should be less likely to just 'stop' on shore instead of properly continuing to their land move target, after landing
Added Build menu icon for Winters.
Fixed m110 fire animation
Spine thrower defensive structure fire rate lowered
Fixed a police station in TI G7 (Blue Crest Estates) not properly being tied into the civilian pop
Added some improved number-checking for number of civvies to send to evac chopper
Added an additional set of checks for civvies in a holding area that need to 'transit' over to Evac mode, to prevent potential 'holding area hogging' Result: Numerous 'traffic' issues with evacuation have been resolved!
Some speculative fixes to make the Mesh/Move tickrate updating be a bit more accurate based on LOD so animations should look a lot more appealing overall
Fixed an issue with evacuating/managed civilians sometimes loading into a zone without properly registering with the civilian admin
Fixed nav size for Avenger Turret so units are much less likely to get caught on it
Added some fixes for civilian 'transfer between zones' to prevent civvies getting stuck in an 'evac limbo' and refusing to do anything
Presidio Grid 4 landscape and road clean-up + Asset Z axis readjustment
Updated the 'Building was destroyed' notification to also include the name of the zone it belonged to
Fixed the 'evac icon' remaining over a building if you shut down Civvie Intake in a zone (or the Admin building gets destroyed in said zone)
Updated the LHA6 to have an 'overhead icon' like regular units
Fixed an attachment issue with the 'mast' building for the Carrier
Updated interaction widget to support 'longer distance mode distance' for the Carrier's sake (so that the widget won't be constantly showing when you're relatively close to it and don't have it selected)
Updated interaction widget to support a 'simple mode' for the Carrier's sake
Updated interaction widget to have a 'height offset' for the Carrier's sake (so the widget doesn't appear 'in the water' but near the top of the mast)
Infected Walls now give no money on kill. They now only give doc exp.
Fixed an error from the LHA6 interaction widget improvements that broke Garrison widgets for other actors
Fixes for civvies sometimes 'moving between multiple helicopters indecisively' when evacuating
Fixed a major math error with a for loop in 'distance calculations' for multi-evac pad setups (likely cause of a hitch or two)
Removed some extraneous crowd following adjustment when degarrisoning units from holding areas for evac
Updated civvies to prefer closest helipad w/ helicopter when exiting a holding area to evacuate
Updated 'helicopter selection' for civilians to better account for 'already taken seats' (using some of the newer Garrison tech), so civilians will start to spread out to other evac helicopters more quickly and efficiently as the number of seats on landed helicopters get 'claimed' (even if not sat in yet)
Fixed a building in TIG8 (Point Hill) that could release civilians into a completely fenced-in area
HideUI support for construction holograms
Some fixes for LCAC 'moving from land onto water' to properly get the boat spline when exiting land
Renamed the 'Civilian Evac Income' custom difficulty setting to better indicate to the player what it means and does (it's the monetary reward value for every evacuated uninfected civilian!)
Landscape cleanup and asset readjustment for Presidio Grid 6

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

General Development Updates

[expand type=details] https://youtu.be/zZA_1INK--I?si=Dx1YWTyRQzPhzgq2 https://youtu.be/dJogCEPsYHU?si=6eJNQoJyj3uQJahl

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557390407190

New Roadmap system

Ways to Support Development

[expand type=details] Everything goes towards expanding the team and building a better game!

Consider Supporting us on Patreon

Merch Store

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2024-04-18 02:49:21 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.3.2.5.16.1

If your experiencing crashes/instability please try a Steam Verify/Display Drivers update before contacting us.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Speculative fix for civvie transfer crash
Fix added for grenade throws 'failing' at some angles due to the grenade trace hitting the grenade in the thrower's hand as they aim
Started improving 'right click move to attack target' logic to block sending units to attack something they cannot damage, unless you have at least one unit selected who can damage it. Including a text popup if you right click to attack something with a selection of units who cannot damage it
Move to right clicked attack target' logic improvements. Formations now will move to the target while being reliant upon at least one of the formation member's ability to damage the target: the move will cancel if that person leaves the formation, dies, or otherwise becomes unable to damage the target (i.e. out of ammo, switched to weapon that cannot damage it, etc.) Additionally, in a situation where not all members can damage the target, the members which cannot damage the target don't get threat boosts towards it
Implemented several improvements to certain 'right click attack target' checks to start adding support for vehicles-with-garrisoned-units-that-can-attack (such as the Ajax or Sparrow)
Added some basic support so if you have a group of units selected including vehicles and right-click-to-target that the vehicles will actually move to attack the target (though not in formation yet)
Some more fixes for 'move to right click target'
Improvements to 'formation pathing' towards 'right click attack target', to better handle moving towards structures more accurately
Adjusted collision on a type of house used in G4 to be more accurate (to not block some projectiles due to its simple collision being too large)
Fixed up some visibility issues on the HUD that blocked parts of the message log. Clicking on notifications to jump to them are much easier now!
Improvement added to civilian unit movers to prevent situations where civilian faction units (guards, scavengers, etc.) all 'stack on exact same spot'
Fixed 'City Saviors' faction name typo
Fixed buildings erroneously getting the *wrong* Zone if near a border, which should fix an issue with Civilian Admin Buildings being 'assigned' to the wrong zone
Fixed units who just spawned failing to hide their unit icon if HideUI was active at spawn time
Implemented a fix for 'selection circles' not correctly responding to HideUI
Keyboard rotation no longer resets camera pitch
Added game option Camera Follow Clipping Allowed. When true, the camera will be allowed to clip into surfaces if you are following a unit (via keybind INSERT)
Speculative fix for crash report from Steam user reported crash. Was crashing when a vehicle was destroyed and units were ungarrsioned(forums)
Speculative fix for rain causing bright flashes in some cases.

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

General Development Updates

[expand type=details] https://youtu.be/7hdBPmUtFb8 https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557390407190

New Roadmap system

Ways to Support Development

[expand type=details] Everything goes towards expanding the team and building a better game!

Consider Supporting us on Patreon

Merch Store

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2024-04-08 16:50:07 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.3.2.5.15

If your experiencing crashes/instability please try a Steam Verify/Display Drivers update before contacting us.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Attack Move order logic improved to keep formations and make smarter movements
Direct Attack order added that allows unit to move into range of a target you right click + follow said target
Additionally, units in formation should run when moving to a right-clicked target if they are far away. If already in range everyone will just shoot and not attempt to form up unless a move order is required
Units no longer manage attack move 'individually' if part of a grouped move command: instead, the Formation Move Handler will do it. On being given an attack move, the Formation Move Handler will let units (who are already in combat) not worry about moving yet, but those who have started moving will try to stay in formation even upon seeing an enemy, only stopping once every member of the team has started fighting
Implemented some fixes to stop some situations where units would 'move too far towards your attack move target' even when enemies are in the way
Fixes added for various garrisoned poses
Made some adjustments to the North Treasure Island Carrier docking area,
Attack Move: slight 'stuttering' when issuing order while at least one member is already in combat should now be gone
Grenade traces now have a proper radius, preventing them from potentially hitting something thin (like a streetlight)
Fixed the 'formation' getting too far ahead should anyone in the formation enter combat
Fixed some units moving in formation potentially entering 'alone attack move' instead of relying on their formation to handle that logic
Fixed SRP construction obeying a turned off 'landscaping' mode, resulting you not being able to build at some SOCS if you've turned off landscaping mode for construction (which may be confusing if you didn't keep track of that)
Implemented some speculative fixes for 'moving to attack right click target' 'failing' for targeting structures: may not work in every scenario, but it works much better than the previous version did for attacking pods
Fixed a loading issue that could cause infected pods to override their health with a really small value
Removed the old Evacuation Shutdown logic, due to evacuated infected units being dumped onto Carrier deck (with ability to attack the mast) now. This should resolve some people getting 'evacuation shutdown' issues with being unable to set helipads to Evacuate mode
Units will now switch back to their primary weapon when reloaded and down to their secondary weapon
Fixed situations where units would have a reload time of 1 second no matter the weapon
Fixed an 'overlapping reload' issue where animation+timer for reload could 'double-reload', which was especially noticeable on the Engineer's SMAW
Set up speculative fixes for reported crash from here https://steamcommunity.com/app/979640/discussions/1/4032473436325246013/
-Set up the ability to shut down Dynamic Civilian Factions from spawning, in Custom Game Settings
Set up the Carrier to properly supply ammo
Fixed up the Selective Call-Ins button using the wrong image when not open
-Fix for Operator 'mouse showing' breaking if you hide then show UI while in Operator mode
Fixed the Missile Turret wrongly using the MG Turret's weapon type
Fixed up snappoints for wall corners being a bit unreliable
Fixed up gates not blocking construction (though open gates still allow you to 'build through' them)
Armed units sprint - Fixed
Tilt added to in combat strafing.
Fix to Heavy Vehicle damage resist type (Cerberus, etc.) having 85% resist to heavy melee (making them almost immune to juggernauts)
Fixed up issue with Rubble'd walls not properly updating navigation
Added speculative safety for Chelsey to try to make sure she is invulnerable if she loaded from a game while in death regen state
Fixed broken Angel island dock navigation.
Fixed Ravens failing to deal damage
Implemented a small fix to make civilians using evac to not use RVO if they fire off one stuck check to improve evacuations.
Adjusted landscaping size for walls+non-walls in the Sandbagbuilder so that 'floating crates' shouldn't occur when setting down buildings around TIG4
Adjustments to UI to prevent 'clicking on' something behind the widget when closing it
Recruitment menu's remember last options now
Clearing tool improved to better account for higher vertical objects
Added some improved collision updating for the rubble mode/landscape-able mode for walls. Used the above to make sure that civilian gates that are 'rubble-ified' can still be cleared by the landscaping tool
Fixed up 'ammoless weapons' (Scanner, Bunker Buster, etc.) displaying 'low/no ammo warnings' on the Unit Group UI
Additionally, fixed up the Weapon UI in the Recruit Popup and Weapon Market to no longer show a damage graph for 'non combat' weapons, via new bNonCombatWeapon setting in Weapon.h
Fixed units sometimes spawning without their secondary weapon if you customize their initial loadout via the Recruit popup (won't fix units who already spawned without secondary weapon, though)
Fixed not being able to swap back and forth between a non-combat weapon and a combat weapon (i.e. Scientist w/ Scanner+Pistol couldn't swap back to Scanner if you switched to the pistol)
Added some 'non-combat weapon auto swapping' logic: If a unit has a non-combat weapon equipped (such as a scientist with an Infection Scanner), they'll automatically swap weapons to their secondary weapon upon entering combat, then swap back upon exiting combat (if not reloading). This gets overridden if you manually swap weapons, however!
Added a small delay between helicopter spawns if you purchase multiple helicopters at the same time (in order to fix a 'helicopter flying too high' issue when ordering a bunch of helicopters at once)
Improved some AI related to 'move to right clicked attack target' to fix some flaws (mimicking some fixes Attack Move already had, primarily!)
Fixed an issue in Vehicle AI which'd stop them from chasing their right-click attack target once they've entered combat
Improvements to vehicle AI for 'move to attack target' logic, to smooth it out further
Set up some buttons (such as weapon selection in the recruit popup) to activate 'on release' instead of 'on mouse down', to prevent 'clicking through' them onto stuff in the world
Added speculative fix to try to stop evac helicopters from getting 'stuck' on the Carrier's mast
Updated Main menu graphics

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

General Development Updates

[expand type=details] https://youtu.be/7hdBPmUtFb8 https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557390407190

New Roadmap system

Ways to Support Development

[expand type=details] Everything goes towards expanding the team and building a better game!

Consider Supporting us on Patreon

Merch Store

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2024-04-04 14:57:13 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.3.2.5.14

If your experiencing crashes/instability please try a Steam Verify/Display Drivers update before contacting us.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Removed winters lost tip
Move orders to 'unreachable' spots (such as clicking on the side of a building or things like that) should now be more forgiving instead of sending characters off on move proxy journeys
Made it easier to highlight the Mast of the LHA6 to check health status
CERC holograms now block other structure placements . To resolve being able to build CERC structures on top of each other
Fixed an bug that resulted in the GameTimeDay never ticking over (resulting in the infected not escalating their forces, building Leviathans, or building Juggernauts)
Also added a fix for saves that didn't have this timer going (Though it won't be completely accurate when repairing saves that 'missed' it)
Cleaned up some old 'transfer units between zones' logic that bypassed the Civilian Intake management logic and directly sent civilians into the Evacuate logic upon their arrival to the target zone
Set up a fix for Engineers going to the 'first set down construction object' if you tell them to build multiple things, give them a move order away, then resume the construction order and set down another object to build afterwards

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

General Development Updates

[expand type=details] https://youtu.be/7hdBPmUtFb8 https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557390407190

New Roadmap system

Ways to Support Development

[expand type=details] Everything goes towards expanding the team and building a better game!

Consider Supporting us on Patreon

Merch Store

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2024-03-27 04:33:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.3.2.5.13

If your experiencing crashes/instability please try a Steam Verify/Display Drivers update before contacting us.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Added some 'path checking' logic for the follow actor for units on the LHA6 deck, so that they will be less delayed in starting to move
Civilians evacuating from a zone will now have a higher chance of being infected based on the level of infection in the zone they are coming from.
Set up logic so infected civilians will 'swarm onto the Carrier' if evacuated onto it
Updated units who die on the carrier to 'attach' to it, so their bodies won't 'float behind' it if performing death anims
Set up AI 'LOS' and shooting traces to no longer ignore allied boats (so Carrier Turrets can no longer shoot through the deck, and units on-deck on the Carrier cannot 'shoot through' it to targets on-shore)
Set up the Carrier to be destroyable, if infected destroy its mast. Mast can be targeted by infected: it has a good amount of health, though
Winter is no longer a game-over condition
Fixed up the Engineers so they can properly repair the Carrier's mast if it takes damage
Fixed an issue where, when a unit unfreezes movement on the carrier, their movement would become confused (due to their proxy character also unfreezing movement and thus making their *own* proxy character, resulting in proxy-ception confusion!)
Updated Mine 'overlap detection' logic to be more up-to-date:
Overlapped enemies who die (due to being shot, other explosives, etc.) will no longer be considered, which can save some mines from prematurely firing off. Similarly, overlapped units who convert will be re-checked for validity (so if somehow they become an ally, for example, we'll enable the 'nearby ally' safety! Futureproofing)
Fixed Mines sometimes having units run the wrong way in order to construct them
Updated Mines to have a slightly shorter fuse (and a safety to try to prevent them 'disabling' their fuse after already having jumped, though it ain't perfect)
Set up Winter 're-purchase' logic to properly work if you repurchase before her corpse has faded
Added more safeties for Carrier 'dump units from elevator onto dock' logic to try to stop units from remaining 'attached' to the Carrier
Added 'save blocking' logic to when Carrier is destroyed, so you cannot save after the Carrier has already 'died' (but before the game over popup.. pops up)
Speed changes to standard infected
Added new Animation Combat state system for ground units
Spread decreased for 50 cal turrets (Mutt)
Fixed some initialization issues with the Recruit Popup to resolve weapon changes not affecting unit price
Added a warning (w/ 5 minute cooldown) to Zones to tell the player that there's no Civilian Holding Areas if they're trying to evacuate and have built none yet
Lowered the warning timer from previous commit to 2 minute cooldown (From 5 minute), and updated its pinged location to be the Admin Building in the zone
Updated civilian faction walls to have a 'taller navblock underneath them', so navigation won't sometimes build under raised sections of wall (which in some cases can cause unit pathing to become confuse)
Updated automatic Door 'unit detection' logic to better account for civilians (this helps with faction civilian bases which might block the path)
Adjusted civilian faction base walls to prefer 'being partially submerged in the ground' rather than potentially being too high, when constructed (won't fix walls that spawned too high already, in loaded saves, though)
Adjusted the Move Civilian Faction Base Around tool to be more robust and reliable
Added additional check to Boat 'reverse logic' to prevent them from 'reversing ad infinitum' should they reverse far enough while between two objects that they end up over land
Fixed up the recruitment building (on the Carrier) being directly clickable (clicking on it now redirects to just selecting the Carrier instead)
Fixed the Carrier recruitment building potentially displaying a 'brown circle' when you have the Carrier shop open
Updated 'freeze movement' on Characters to attach to/detach from their Proxy Movement Base (based on whether movement is freezing or not), so units doing any type of 'freezing' while on the Carrier (such as while repairing the Carrier's mast, throwing a grenade, etc.) will no longer get 'left behind in the air' if the Carrier is moving.
Removed the unique implementation of attachment that Engineers were doing for mast-repair, since the above fix is more powerful and covers more cases

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

General Development Updates

[expand type=details] https://youtu.be/7hdBPmUtFb8 https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557390407190

New Roadmap system

Ways to Support Development

[expand type=details] Everything goes towards expanding the team and building a better game!

Consider Supporting us on Patreon

Merch Store

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2024-03-24 05:08:35 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.3.2.5.11

If your experiencing crashes/instability please try a Steam Verify/Display Drivers update before contacting us.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Fixed an issue where the player camera would always start inside the carrier when starting a new game
Added some save/load improvements to 'catch' some cases where infection carriers aren't properly loaded as such breaking DNA generation only after save/loading
Fixed Holding Cell bug where Infected Civilians wouldn't generate DNA when caged regardless
Tracked down a delegate issue with the LHA6 that blocked units who were docked from LHA6-into-LCAC from being able to move
Added 'boat reversal' logic
Fixed a broken link in the 'navigate around islands' spline logic that was failing movement in certain directions
Added a water transition point onto the beach at Treasure Island's airstrip (Point Hill)
Fixed an issue with the 'boat navigate around island' spline around Treasure Island having a point erroneously under the water
Added a firemode to target only Structures
Various Animation visual bugs fixed namely for Winters

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

General Development Updates

[expand type=details] https://youtu.be/7hdBPmUtFb8 https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557390407190

New Roadmap system

Ways to Support Development

[expand type=details] Everything goes towards expanding the team and building a better game!

Consider Supporting us on Patreon

Merch Store

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2024-03-19 23:24:53 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.3.2.5.10

If your experiencing crashes/instability please try a Steam Verify/Display Drivers update before contacting us.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details] Because of the Steam Character limit for posts we have to post the combination of changes in this manner. Old saves will not work please use the older branch we have put up for those wishing to finish their current games before they try the newer content! 1.3.2.5.6

https://youtu.be/TlVvlSvgDaM https://youtu.be/afxgSrRyCAc https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2116560/view/6128908422933494404 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2116560/view/6128908422925588901 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2116560/view/4116925200740888918 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2116560/view/4170966494033341363 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2116560/view/4170966494024344243 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2116560/view/4170966494020617300 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2116560/view/4020094639157948102 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2116560/view/3984063939435935987 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2116560/view/6003927834111949610 Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

General Development Updates

[expand type=details] https://youtu.be/7hdBPmUtFb8 https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557390407190

New Roadmap system

Ways to Support Development

[expand type=details] Everything goes towards expanding the team and building a better game!

Consider Supporting us on Patreon

Merch Store

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2024-03-17 02:12:32 CET ] [ Original post ]

Early Access Dev Report (Bi-Weekly)

We will be live on Youtube and in our Discord AmA channel for those wanting to listen in on voice.

This Saturday, we will take the stage and communicate with you directly. We'll discuss what we've been up to since the last time we've met, address any issues, changes, etc., and potentially talk about necessary changes for the next time we meet. These will take place on Discord & Youtube.

[ 2024-03-11 16:00:08 CET ] [ Original post ]

Early Access Dev Report (Bi-Weekly)

We will be live on Youtube and in our Discord AmA channel for those wanting to listen in on voice.

This Saturday, we will take the stage and communicate with you directly. We'll discuss what we've been up to since the last AmA, address any issues, changes, etc., and potentially talk about necessary changes for the next time we meet. These will take place on Discord & Youtube.

[ 2024-03-01 16:37:10 CET ] [ Original post ]

Cepheus Protocol In Review 2023 Community Poll

What's on experimental

Do try out the new Hovercrafts/LHA6 & Docking on Experimental! https://youtu.be/afxgSrRyCAc https://youtu.be/TlVvlSvgDaM

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update #18

https://youtu.be/dJogCEPsYHU

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update #17

https://youtu.be/rSnhp_xKN5I In preparation for next year and getting things moving again in early January I'm looking to gather some data on how CP is shaping up from our communities standpoint, what you would like us to do better, what your excited for etc. Please consider submitting your feedback as it helps me prioritize resources accordingly going into next year. Please do not use generic terms like "Its undercooked/bad etc" Take the time to explain what exactly makes the game feel off to you so we can resolve it. What mechanics systems aren't fleshed out enough etc. https://forms.office.com/r/PP1Rb2xNKc

[ 2024-02-22 18:44:52 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.3.2.5.6

If your experiencing crashes/instability please try a Steam Verify/Display Drivers update before contacting us. This is a maintenance patch while we work on the bigger line items mentioned in the last Letter to the Producer read more here. https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3896239307767991985

Carrier Updates:

Functional Carrier movement on Treasure Island. Within the next few days we will work to get some "drag" added and improve the turning. We are aiming for an experimental by this weekend. What's on our to do list:

Keep testing and refining since this is a completely "custom" path finding solution
Give the Carrier LOS
Make it supply ammo/gas for anything on it
Beaching/Docking Logic
Winters change
Controllable Doors/Elevators

A lot of this will come online at the eleventh hour as the hardest tasks are relating to path finding/movement and just supporting unit movement on a moving object.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Fixed a Mortar autofire crash, from trying to access a null autofire target
Fixed a Mortar damage crash, from passing invalid information to repair actor
Crash fix for https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/1177498515241443422/1177498515241443422
Added a 'Specials-Only' targeting mode for the Hold Fire Button
Avenger Turret - Adjusted 'weapon attach point' offset so the turret won't clip with its base as much
Avenger Turret - fixed the sphere outlines around the turret
Avenger Turret - Adjusted some matters for the construction holograms to look a little better (not perfect, may need some mesh adjustments to get these holograms to be correct without too-hacky solutions)
Adjusted a Strategic Resource Point in Angel Island that was too close to a fire tower
Fixed Mouse Hover and minimap POI for Strategic Resource Points (places where you build SOCs for money)
Fixed some distance checks for vehicles not properly differentiating between distance for one weapon and distance for another
Fixed selective firing being applied to vehicles
Shawnee 30mm: Increased firing angle by 15 degrees (5->20) / Increased rotation speed by 50% (Horizontal 40->75, Vertical 25->37.5) Result: Shawnee 30mm should be considerably more reliable
Tracked down an issue where custom field constructs might feed outdated construction data to the Construct Builder. This resolves an issue with Dual Barbed Wire Walls getting offset when construction is complete (though this may not fixed dual-barbed wire construction points that were saved before this patch)
Speculative fix for 'accept guardianship' civvies suddenly running off to a world building
Minor adjustments to civilian management/evacuation to try to smooth it out
Some adjustments to the SUPPLY (scavenging) civilian faction squad order, to make them 'jitter' less when in FOW. Also made them slightly more active in moving around zones, while being less jittery: should be better for performance and appearance.
Added Zoom Speed and Minimum Camera Speed sliders to the Game Options
Updated the Civilian Holding Area 'list' widget to support mobs/groups of civilians. A mob of civvies will be listed as a 'Group of X' now
A mob of civilians won't have a male/female icon listed next to it. The 'capacity' indicator at the top will properly reflect groups of civilians now
Updated Tower Guards (both HEMTT and regular towers) to no longer have regular movement enabled (they can still rotate, but no longer do regular movement checks). In a busy save, this ended up saving ~.5ms in-editor
Fixed collision on the Guard Tower Atlas that was interacting oddly with the Camera
Fixed scaling issues with DNA widgets (and capped size a bit smaller than it was before, for larger DNA piles)
Added most infected types, and regular civilians, to perception monitor thread (to save performance cost on perception system)
Fixed Ravens blocking camera
Our Sight sense now suspends for 2 seconds (instead of FLT_MAX) if it determines there are no queries to examine =If queries are added during this suspension, the system properly boots back up after those 2 seconds, and doesn't shut down anymore (previously this period of time would result in 'invisible enemies' until something else kickstarted the Sight sense examination again, such as the spawning of a new unit within sight range of a CERC units (should resolve this report: https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/1179623841560019036/1179623841560019036 )
Safety added to prevent 'multi-hitting' the same Actor due to hitting multiple components/child actors/etc. that belong to it
Check added so that gate doors won't 'intercept' damage for their owning gates, so that absolute radius explosions can reliably damage player gates Result: TUGS should no longer be destroyed if you carpet bomb within its detection radius. Might also be a bit more performant when hitting a group of characters, too.
Added save/load of Mortar Auto-Reload and Autofire Active settings
Added an extra check for clearing the Auto-Reload button for Mortars, since it sometimes 'stuck around' incorrectly when selection swapped
Fixed a crash that could occur when units try to deactivate their perception stimulus component when they no longer have one
Fixed an issue with some infected being invisible when civilians look at them
-Enhanced 'Are you Sure' setup. Supports a 'second option' (other than No) now. Used this to create an 'Are you Sure' popup when right-clicking regular civilians
This popup has a second option "Don't Ask Again" which stops the popup from occurring again (and functions as 'yes'). This "Don't Ask Again" value is saved/loaded (per save file, not in the options)
Updated some recruitable civvie units to have the same 'Register for Senses' setup that normal CERC units do
Improved safety checks for perception monitor thread to account for new crash https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/1180276949709508779/1180276949709508779
Speculative fix for mortar crash https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/708293877538488410/1180335237511794798
Updated Leviathan to no longer block camera
Updated several Game Options to have hovertips properly (fixing them, or adding as needed)
Hid the Operator Crouch Toggle option for now, since it's not yet used
Fixed bridges not properly referencing their mesh (which caused issues with airstrikes not being able to damage them)
Fixed a remnant of Zone Capturing sometimes modifying player population capacity
Fixed tower guards taking up regular unit population capacity
Fixed a potential crash should a unit be destroyed (completely - due to something like falling out of the world, not just death) while selected, due to wrongly trying to update their move preview
Fixed the 'status icons' for Unit Group Windows being too large for the newer setup (so if a unit was low on ammo, it should no longer stretch the UI vertically
Fixed the Ammo Tent's description (no longer references old system)
Line trace added to unit-DNA-drops, to prevent aerial DNA (such as if you kill an LT while they're on a chopper)
Updated a Crane mesh to use a non-camera blocking collision profile
Fixed not being able to turn off 'evac to other zone' from the Civvie Admin widget
Boosted Leviathan start day to 3 for Director's Cut difficulty, and 4 on Recruit.
Disabled explosive damage falloff on infected tunnels, so they won't ignore damage from SMAWs (and potentially other explosives) from certain angles
Added 'BlockAllButCameraDynamic' collision profile. Used this to make infected tunnels NOT block camera
Fixed vision not being properly shared to 'gun-enabled passengers' for certain vehicles (such as the Sparrow helicopter)
Smoothed out some of the 'activation' of 'holding area to evac helipad' logic, so civilian evacuations should run more smoothly now

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

General Development Updates

[expand type=details] https://youtu.be/7hdBPmUtFb8 https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557390407190

New Roadmap system

Ways to Support Development

[expand type=details] Everything goes towards expanding the team and building a better game!

Consider Supporting us on Patreon

Merch Store

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2023-12-19 21:47:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

Letter from the Producer #7

So its been a while huh? Im sure a lot of our eager fans are curious what we've been doing over the last year or so since the last letter so I'll run you through everything we have to date and explain a few things we are working on and beyond.

What is Cepheus Protocol?

A Year coming to a close

Over the course of this year we've had a lot of successes and failures. We successfully were able to implement Weapon Damage graphs removing player confusion on how some guns were better then others when it came to ranged damage, Revamped the entire gameplay UI/Minimap and Main Menu's making them more appealing to look at. We do plan on doing some color tint adjustments to the icons based on feedback to make them a bit more colorful but that wont be coming for at least 2-3 more months. We pushed the new Stationary Avenger Turret and tons of other features in 1.2-1.3.

Features that were left on the wayside

Sadly we had to make the decision to remove "factions" (Piece & Natalie) for the time being as they were not where we needed them to be and we want to regroup on them potentially in the future when we have access to more resources. As the project Director i have to make extremely hard calls on a daily/weekly basis that hurts me to do so but in the effort of keeping us on schedule/budget of what we promised for having coop and our campaign out by 2024. Sadly this was also extending to removing the feature of allowing players to set "genders" on solders and instead we went the typical route of every other RTS where X unit is always X gender and Factions being disabled. To run through the basic math the initial characters were created from asset packs from our EA launch great for "starting" but they provide no identity to the game. Currently the Assault is the only mesh "final" besides all the vehicles. Each new Character roughly cost 2k + the fee for swapping the male base to a female. When weighting the cost of this vs having more units like the Abrams and shifting that money over to programming for more bug fixing it just made sense on paper. Really does suck but we are a self funded indie studio with Developers backing the project so we had to make the decision.

Dynamic Civilian Groups

As a compromise we pushed Dynamic Civilian groups as they could be implemented and give the player more difficulty as we flesh them out. They didnt have the upfront cost of being distinctly different Meshes/having unique vehicles so we figured this would help in the aspect of simulation. First off by treating Civilians badly Militias will form that hate you and will hunt you down, secondly when we added the diplomacy system/trading and lasty when we add the ability for them to upgrade their arms receiving RPG's to battle the upcoming Abrams/CERC medium armor as well. Civilians will continue to receive updates in the future as we work to better simulate them from a Pandemic standpoint. Currently on our backlog for them is: [olist]

Civilian's can be given orders when allied with

Civilians can give you zone missions to farm rep with them

Civilians have improved abilities to barter with other groups and form alliances with AI groups [/olist]

So what's left on the Roadmap?

As it stands we are currently in 1.3 as noted in recent patch notes on Steam/Epic we are almost halfway through 1.3 with the Aircraft Carrier being one of the hardest technical feats we'll be tackling in the weeks to come. After that is wrapped up we will make the decision to either revamp the Operator or put him off for a few more weeks and instead focus on the Doctrine/CERC polish with the DNA Research tree work. From a community standpoint im quite sure im reading the room correctly when i say they would much prefer this route. So i'll detail both so i can bring you folks up to speed.

Doctrine/ CERC Polish

[olist]

Modular Abrams added that you can customize (Different armor loadouts like ADS, Cage Armor)

Helicopters gain weapon packages, Machine guns and Rocket launcher packages (Blackhawk & Littlebird)

Helicopters get a brand new flight AI

VTOL added as a late game extremely fast Jet that can transport units very fast across the battlefield

Mines will be removed from being built as one offs and instead you'll build a vehicle that you "zone" an area and he'll keep that field saturated automatically

Individual mines will be moved to the Sniper

Engineers will gain 2-3 pet turrets they can build(Think Aliens disposable turrets)

Current Turrets will be removed as buildable emplacements and new ones will be created that are far superior (Think Prototype Turrets)

Helicopter Physics

We are still debating more airstrikes/call in's [/olist] Yes your CAMO DLC"s will apply to all future CERC Vehicles

DNA Research Tree

[olist]

We will be adding a Mobile Research Atlas that can deploy in Contagion zones and farm DNA it must be protected at all costs and you'll have to escort it back to your base if u wish to keep the spoils

DNA research tree will be added making the approach of researching the Pangu Virus a more "involved" process requiring you to make tactical decisions in terms of do i increase my filter levels so i can stay in Contagion zones longer or do i research say a treatment that makes your units less likely to be infected when Meleed? The choice will be yours [/olist]

Operator Changes

[olist]

We will be taking what we learned through prototyping CPO to fully implement a modern shooter approach to the Operators third person mode. Please note this game mode was made for fun to just benchmark and see what we could do to make a better Operator. (See video linked below) We likely will make a spin off in the future with the "Operators' on steam at a latter time themed around 3 deferent unique gamemodes but thats a topic for another day.

We will be adding the ability to pick and choose Operator abilities and call in as many as your population will allow to create persistent Heroes that "lead" the way [/olist] https://youtu.be/p0ULGHmjP1Q

Infected AI & LT AI

[olist]

The big whammy! We will be focusing a few weeks on each AI on their own hunting down bugs naturally

Each LT will gain the ability to be repurchased like Winters allowing Chelsey to bring back her fallen Hero's they will each own territory outlined on the map (Think Warlords of New York Division 2)

Each LT will be based on different archetypes of gameplay. I.E Stealth/Support/Attacking directly and be given new abilities to reflect that

Chelsey will be getting boss states as with the LT's to make them a lot more knowledgeable of what to do in certain situations. I.E Retreat/Call in help /Disguise herself

We will be tackling the Infected can climb buildings prototyping we did years ago and roll it out on the larger map. At the time the tech was quite buggy on our larger map so we've had to delay it. If it doesn't work out of the box we'll have to engineer something custom.

Infected swimming is still on the fence with the implementation of the carrier i haven't made a final decision yet but its being discussed internally. [/olist]

San Francisco North

[olist]

Is on hold till modelers are freed up so they can move back to figuring out that island and getting it textured and fully playable. We only have 2 level designers/Modelers we moved them over to working on vehicles and such for the time being since these beasts can take up to a month per one because of the sheer amount of detail that goes into them. [/olist]

Coop

[olist]

Well at this point we will be spending a few weeks to months ironing out bugs in secret for coop tests we'll be doing internally.

In a way we'll be also secretly streamlining some code for modding/readability since once we add coop we dont want to be stuck with outdated approaches . An example would be how we do the command bar system at the bottom right we've leaned a lot between our release and now and this is an example of a very dirty system we will rip out and redo so its easier for us and future modders to work with.

We will standardize some approaches to how we created vehicles to make them easier to work with

We will implement GAS for all unit abilities so that aspect of replication is just done for us. Its basically a gameplay abilities framework we didnt know exsisted till very recently so we want to port vast aspects of the game to it so it makes our job of replication/coop much easier. Give you an example Remnant 2 uses the system and Fortnite since its so modular and easy to create new stuff from the tutorials we've sourced. [/olist]

End Year Developer Progress Report

As we do every year i will be putting up a "Developer Report Poll" towards the mid part of December for our fans to vote on anything they would like to see in 2024 or even for us to consider beyond our EA release date. We thank you guys for your continued support and patience! You will be able to rate our development over 2023 and give an honest opinion of what you liked/disliked either anonymously or leave your contact details so if we have questions we can contact you. Also feel free to drop into our Monthly AmA's this Saturday! https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3896239307766160089

Next Letter to the Producer

Currently we are working speedily towards the completion of Pandemic Mode that will end roughly around 1.4 for our Early Access phases of development. Then we will start work on the campaign and start preparing to leave EA hopefully at the end of 2024 I will be following up again right before we go radio silent to revamp and we get the game ready for coop. So next time i post one of these keep a lookout!

[ 2023-12-01 00:17:29 CET ] [ Original post ]

Early Access Dev Report (End Month AmA)

We will be live on Youtube and in our Discord AmA channel for those wanting to listen in on voice.

This Saturday, we will take the stage and communicate with you directly. We'll discuss what we've been up to this month, address any issues, changes, etc., and potentially talk about necessary changes for the next time we meet. These will take place on Discord & Youtube.

[ 2023-11-30 10:36:18 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.3.2.5.2

If your experiencing crashes/instability please try a Steam Verify/Display Drivers update before contacting us.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Updated camera zoom: Zoom is faster, so it takes less scrolling to zoom fully in or out
Zoom again operates on deltatime, so it should no longer slow down if your framerate is lower
Civilian intake Updated civilians to move to intake in mobs, rather than only one-by-one-by-one. Fixed evac 'breaking' if units were already mobbed up
Large boost to minimum camera movement speed
Large boost to minimum camera movement speed, and made it configurable (MinimumCameraSpeed in Pawn_PlayerCamera)
Added multiplier to zoom out speed 'ZoomOutMultiplier', set it to 4.5 so player can zoom most/all the way out with one mouse wheel spin
Fixed div/0 issues in PurchaseReload for Mortars and Turrets
Resolved camera speed issue that occurs if you adjust camera speed from the Keyboard widget
Moved the camera move speed slider to GameOptions instead of the disabled Keyboard options widget
Updated the camera move speed slider to a newer widget format that supports more features. And used this to set the camera move speed range to 0.5-1.5 (instead of 0-1)
Updated Game User Settings now, instead of the 'ControlOptions' .sav type. Camera Speed no longer Public in the camera: uses setter, getter, and 'percent setter' for sliders
Various Tick group adjustments for AmbientCivvieSplineWalkers & NightDay system
Shut off tick for Grenade meshes (they likely should be static meshes anyway)
Quick spelling error fix (Black Angles to Black Angels)
Fixed Infected Turrets registering to the same turret registry as regular turrets, which caused the game to erroneously block turret construction due to infected turrets 'taking up the slots'
Added a fix for parachutes not detaching from vehicles
Fixed the 'doctrine skill point amount text' blocking mouse clicks on the doctrines button -CERC 'warning helicopters'
CERC 'warning helicopters' Fixed them not spawning
CERC 'warning helicopters' Fixed them failing to load mesh/sounds
CERC 'warning helicopters' Adjusted some of the air patrol splines to no longer clip into buildings
Added GrenadeVFX spawn check. If explosion location is NOT in camera view frustum and NOT within 4 times the explosion radius of the explosive itself, then VFX will not spawn.Saves a good amount of performance in explosive-heavy saves (such as with mortars, etc.)
Fixed Unarmed Ajax not applying Camo correctly.

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

General Development Updates

[expand type=details] https://youtu.be/7hdBPmUtFb8 https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557390407190

New Roadmap system

Ways to Support Development

[expand type=details] Everything goes towards expanding the team and building a better game!

Consider Supporting us on Patreon

Merch Store

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2023-11-23 23:55:31 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.3.2.5

If your experiencing crashes/instability please try a Steam Verify/Display Drivers update before contacting us.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Reputation:Removed 'passive reputation loss from comparison between zones' for now, due to civilian factions storing their rep in their home zone (once this is decoupled, can re-enable this, but without this reputation will typically plummet if you declare war on any civilian faction)
Added early version of 'reputation viewer tooltip': highlighting your reputation meter on the Diplomacy or Trade window will show you active events that are affecting that faction. This typically won't show 'one-off' reputation effects
Added a 'civilian intake zone limit' (default 2) to the Zone Manager
The Civilian Admin popup now lists which zones have Civilian Intake active, and disables if you have too many active
Includes a message informing you of this if you try to turn on another zone's Civilian Intake while at limit
Additional fixes to Mortar erroneous self damage (should still be able to damage self normally, just not abnormally. :P )
Fixed Garrison Vehicles to redirect right clicks onto their owning building, to stop repair orders from 'failing' because the garrison vehicle intercepted it
Extended borders for certain zones adjacent to bridges, to include those bridges.
nitial commit of Mortar building reload+ammo cost setup
$250 cost-per-shell
Updated Mortar groundfire indicator to switch to a red material if the Mortar firing it is out of ammo
Addendum to previous commit: also updated the 'scaling sprite' color to match 'ammoless state' for mortar groundfire indicator
Added a Mortar version of the Auto Reload button
First pass on Mortars requiring an 'ammo source' (ammo airdrop, barracks, etc.) to reload
Some basic messages added on activating Auto Reload or trying to manually reload when there's missing ammo and no supply nearby
Fixed the 'move characters out of the way' library function to no longer scoot turrets or mortars
Ammoboxes now display their supply meter if near a Mortar
Mortars require supply to reload
Mortar Updated building hovertip
Mortar Updated hovertips for Auto Reload and Reload
Mortar Updated Reload to not be enabled unless missing ammo
Mortar Updated auto reload to properly run if ammo source reaches the Mortar while it's empty
Updated Ammo Runners to not deliver ammo to Mortars (they were doing it for free, like it was a regular character)
Updated hovertip for Mortars to not reference the Supply Atlas yet (since that doesn't support Mortars yet)
Added Ammo Truck (Supply/Ammo Atlas) basic support to building-type Mortars
For now, Mortars will be able to reload/auto reload if an Ammo/Supply Atlas is deployed within range
This still costs cash, but since Ammo/Supply Atlases do not have a supply limit so far, this doesn't cost anything extra
Updated price display for Turret/Mortar reload hovertip(s) to be more accurate if the player has the 40% doctrine
Updated price calculation for reload call to no longer fail if you do not have enough money for an undiscounted bullet (discounts, like the 40% discount, are now taken into consideration for those initial checks)
Click-to-target logic for Mortars improved, to stop some 'regular unit safeties' from blocking it
Structures deprioritized in autofire logic, including clearing current autofire target if it's a structure and a non-structure is detected
Click-to-target logic improved to clear autofire (previously, autofire would block right click)
Fixed a crash with saving, in some cases, where something might have an invalid faction manager
Started improving move proxy synergy with queued move orders
Improvements to attack move to detect 'obstructed-but-visible' targets, to allow units to continue to attack move destination instead of 'staying still to try to shoot at something that we do not have an angle against'
Fixed a check for vehicle aiming that was using Muzzle instead of Aim Source (likely was causing some 'turret overcorrection', especially on longer barrel weapons like the Cerberus cannon)
Started on Unit Mover merge logic (not activated yet, since other criterion needed for limiting unit movers, otherwise this'll just cause more unit movers to spawn)
Updated the main AnimBP to update 'Garrisoned' via delegate, and updated the 'AnimGarrisoned' tracker bool's name, and to only run updates for it if the C++ says we're garrisoned. (looks like it'll save some ~.002ms per ungarrisoned unit in their animBP)
Updated 'DetermineGib' to not run for units that are not visible in the Fog of War (so civvie/factions vs infected won't spawn niagara effects for no reason, unless you have vision of it)
Camera Fixed unit camera following (via INSERT) to work with the new system
Camera Implemented a CepheusSpringArmComponent, and used that to make an improved version of its 'camera probe collision check' to reduce the amount of clipping. vUnlike regular check, the updated version supports a 'max trace distance', so when you're very zoomed out it'll skip over things near to the ground (so passing a skyscraper won't suddenly pull the camera back in)
Fixed a bool issue in the the Anim BP that I introduced with a previous optimization (caused units who exited garrison to still animate as if they were within one)
Camera Adjusted Threshold to avoid camera getting 'stuck too high in the air' sometimes
Camera Adjusted follow camera height offset to not use height offset for vehicles (looks awkward for helicopters)
Camera Added camera height offset of 48 to stop some situations where camera would get a bit 'stuck' in the ground at close zooms (requiring you to zoom out a lot before the camera visibly zoomed)
Camera Disabled some camera lag to make slow motion work a bit more smoothly
Camera Also fixed zooming in/out with slomo
Camera Fixed 'camera follow unit' to function better on the newer system (avoids attachment, since the TargetVector system handles that well enough)
Camera Adjusted height adjustment traces to ignore the camera Follow Target
Camera Updated 'height threshold' to 80K (from 3K) so camera doesn't get 'stuck' high in the air Edit for grid 1 landscape, corner near the grocery store
Camera Added an extra trace for 'ground only blocking traces', to stop the camera from being able to 'go through the ground' when really zoomed out
Camera 'avoid clip into stuff' traces updated to better recognize landscapes/water: Z-check done to make it *massively* more consistent for long-distance checks
Updated landscapes for Calypso and the Horde Maps to be marked a 'Ground' collision for this purpose, too -Camera
Camera Keyboard movement should be more uniform with mouse movement
Camera Keyboard movement no longer should stutter when toggling slo-mo on
Camera Updated camera rotation to no longer be delta-time dependent, to resolve 'slomo jitter'
Camera Fixed up some Operator/new pawn camera interactions
Fixed incorrect shading on Carrier and water surface.
Minor optimizations.
Added some impact particle effect spawn checks to reduce number of particles spawning for performance's sake (gun/impact effects won't spawn if they hit a non-rendered actor, now)
Updated the GameState to track visible enemy structures
Updated Mortars to use the GameState's visible enemy/structure registries instead of each mortar having a huge collision sphere, Performance gain seems to be roughly .1ms per Mortar
Adjusted gib and impact effects spawn check to no longer have a 'not hidden in fog' condition (they still have the 'recently rendered' condition, however)
Wheels will now accurately match velocity and will no longer break upon reaching max speed nor reset when stopping.
Halloween mode turned off
Added logic to reduce the amount of times gibs spawn: If a unit is not rendered and they die, they will not spawn gibs. If a unit is in the fog of war and they die, they will spawn gibs if they are in the camera's view frustum
Set up Faction civilian clutter to no longer be independently visible: should now just appear when you see the main tent of a stronghold
Set up Faction civilian walls to use the PerceptionMonitor thread, instead of not doing that - additionally should no longer remain as a stimulus once the main tent of the stronghold has been seen
Set up an additional Impact Effect check for weapons hitting surfaces to not try to spawn the impact if the location is not within view frustum
Set up a basic optimization to try to deactivate RotorWash particles when helicopters are offscreen (or if in air, if the location under them is offscreen) Result: In a lategame save, number of sight queries dropped from ~150K to ~61K (~90K drop, in-engine drops perception system cost from ~20ms to ~8.2ms)
Updated camera zoom:
Zoom is faster, so it takes less scrolling to zoom fully in or out
Zoom again operates on deltatime, so it should no longer slow down if your framerate is lower
Updated civilians to move to intake in mobs, rather than only one-by-one-by-one
Fixed evac 'breaking' if units were already mobbed up

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

General Development Updates

[expand type=details] https://youtu.be/7hdBPmUtFb8 https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557390407190

New Roadmap system

Ways to Support Development

[expand type=details] Everything goes towards expanding the team and building a better game!

Consider Supporting us on Patreon

Merch Store

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2023-11-21 22:02:48 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.3.2.4

If your experiencing crashes/instability please try a Steam Verify/Display Drivers update before contacting us.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Adjustments to math for snappoint spawning, to make sandbags/barbedwire/related not have such large 'gaps' between scaled segments and their snappoints. This results in some minor offset if you destroy a corner piece on a regular wall, then look at the snappoint that should be in that spot, but it's less egregious than the snappoint differences for sandbags
Added Autofire as an option for Mortars
Effectively, does distance checks against allied units when determining targets, to avoid hitting allies =Seems to be fairly performant
Added 'autofire inaccuracy' to make autofiring mortars become more inaccurate over larger distances (up to 150% of explosive radius, at max mortar range)
fixed anim bp issue that was causing run animations to only work when toggle run was on , build prep
Fixed an issue which was likely the cause of units not preferring their currently construct, causing 'back 'n forth' movement in some cases when trying to build multiple things
Removed the 'prefer order in which player set objects down' weighting for engineers selecting which thing to build next
Increased priority towards the specific clicked construction when you order units to build a set of construction points that are already set down
Fixed an issue where selecting a Mortar sometimes wouldn't increase the number of selected actors, resulting in incorrect results when calculating the Autofire toggle button appearance
Added 'right-click-to-target actor' support to Mortars. When this is done, Mortars will continuously fire upon the selected actor until it is dead, or (if it's a character) until we no longer can see it
Improved 'absolute radius' explosions to do a 'multiline trace' towards the root of each Base_Character-derived class hit, and if it doesn't strike a capsule or mesh, to not count it as having struck the target. This stops mortars (or other absolute radius explosives) from damaging themselves by hitting their own detection radii

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

General Development Updates

[expand type=details] https://youtu.be/7hdBPmUtFb8 https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557390407190

New Roadmap system

Ways to Support Development

[expand type=details] Everything goes towards expanding the team and building a better game!

Consider Supporting us on Patreon

Merch Store

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2023-10-30 06:19:18 CET ] [ Original post ]

Guard Tower/ Turret Limits now Per Zone - 1.3.2.3

If your experiencing crashes/instability please try a Steam Verify/Display Drivers update before contacting us.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Removed the first Diamond (on top of the unit) in the Movement queue visualization.
Removed the old Wallbuilder class
12 Turrets are now allowed per zone
6 Guard Towers are now allowed per zone
Updated turret construction hovertips to match new limits
Updated sandbagbuilder, hovertips, etc. to support 'per-zone' limit on Guard Towers (of 6, for now)
Set up a basic 'hover healthbar' for Enemy units

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

General Development Updates

[expand type=details] https://youtu.be/7hdBPmUtFb8 https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557390407190

New Roadmap system

Ways to Support Development

[expand type=details] Everything goes towards expanding the team and building a better game!

Consider Supporting us on Patreon

Merch Store

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2023-10-28 00:43:23 CET ] [ Original post ]

Steam Scream "The Revenge" Patch - 1.3.2.2

If your experiencing crashes/instability please try a Steam Verify/Display Drivers update before contacting us.

Patch Notes

Fixes for engineers moving to construction orders that were too far away
Improvements to move queue 'acceptance radius' logic to reduce delay on solo-units carrying out queued move commands
Updated move order queue to support multiple construction managers
Also improved unit construction priority to better prioritize queued construction within the same construction manager
Minor BP error fix on the FormationMoveHandler in grouped queued construction orders
Set Halloween Season to be active in the Game Instance
Also fixed Juggernauts erroneously failing to put on pumpkinheads at night

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

General Development Updates

[expand type=details] https://youtu.be/7hdBPmUtFb8 https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557390407190

New Roadmap system

Ways to Support Development

[expand type=details] Everything goes towards expanding the team and building a better game!

Consider Supporting us on Patreon

Merch Store

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2023-10-26 17:46:10 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.3.1.7

Gameplay HUD Progress:

Range Finder System: When having a unit selected and hovering over an enemy the game will show you if the current unit can see the target and how much closer you would need to get to shoot/attack. This expands to vehicle weapons as well!

Main Menu Progress

If your experiencing crashes/instability please try a Steam Verify/Display Drivers update before contacting us.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details] Bundled in this update: https://steamcommunity.com/games/2116560/announcements/detail/3654159407915528195 https://steamcommunity.com/games/2116560/announcements/detail/3654160041521747137 https://steamcommunity.com/games/2116560/announcements/detail/3654160041524360867 https://steamcommunity.com/games/2116560/announcements/detail/3654160041535428998 https://steamcommunity.com/games/2116560/announcements/detail/3641776412140897761 https://steamcommunity.com/games/2116560/announcements/detail/3676680576861314855 https://steamcommunity.com/games/2116560/announcements/detail/3676680576885849873 https://steamcommunity.com/games/2116560/announcements/detail/6611902998214521621

New menu clock SFX added
Custom Game settings added for Starting DNA
Custom Game Settings added for setting the cost of Shreader rounds
Fixed Shredder Rounds purchase just consuming money instead of DNA
Added a 'Playtime' indicator on save slot widgets
Updated the Weapon Range Indicator's visuals to indicate being blocked by 'shortening' the lit up part of the bar to match the block location
Added 'in-garrison' weapon range displays, for units that can shoot out of garrisons.If their 'angle lock' stops them from shooting (i.e. their seat won't let them turn that far), they will not show the range indicator
Weapon Range Indicators now have different colors if representing multiple weapons on a single unit
Weapon range indicators for multi-weapon unit setups now have slight offsets (to indicate the separate weapons and their ranges)
Crashfix added for multi-weapon unit setups for weapon range indicators
Updated the main water tile in the Calypso landscape to use the WaterBodyCollision and not be set to be 'step up on' enabled (hopefully stops units sometimes thinking that's valid land to 'land on' during safety checks?)
Removed laser sights and vision visualization 'cones' for characters
Tracked down a broken reference in the ShopsCanvas that was preventing Civilian Admin sub-buildings from being buildable
Made spacing more consistent on the recruit popup
Updated splash

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

General Development Updates

[expand type=details] https://youtu.be/7hdBPmUtFb8 https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557390407190

New Roadmap system

Ways to Support Development

[expand type=details] Everything goes towards expanding the team and building a better game!

Consider Supporting us on Patreon

Merch Store

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2023-09-22 21:45:47 CET ] [ Original post ]

Early Access Dev Report (End Month AmA)

We will be live on Youtube and in our Discord AmA channel for those wanting to listen in on voice.

Every Saturday, we will take the stage and communicate with you directly. We'll discuss what happened that week, address any issues, changes, etc., and potentially talk about necessary changes for the next week. These will take place on Discord & Youtube.

[ 2023-07-26 01:16:01 CET ] [ Original post ]

Early Access Dev Report (July 16 - July 22)

We will be live on Youtube and in our Discord AmA channel for those wanting to listen in on voice.

Every Saturday, we will take the stage and communicate with you directly. We'll discuss what happened that week, address any issues, changes, etc., and potentially talk about necessary changes for the next week. These will take place on Discord & Youtube.

[ 2023-07-22 20:29:27 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2.7.17.9.3

If your experiencing crashes/instability please try a Steam Verify/Display Drivers update before contacting us.

Week Goals:

This week our goal is to wrap up 1.2 on experimental expect a few days of bleed over possibly if any fatal bugs/issues are encountered. The next 2 days will be Rioting/Non-Lethal Weapons in the form of the Bean bag Shotgun. Then Dynamic Civilian Groups will form that hate you if you ignore their rioting when a zone enters yellow status for too long or you declare martial law for to long. (Up to Wednesday-Thursday) The following 2-3 days will conclude 1.2 with Civilian Automation & Evacuation. If a zone is set for intake based on ROE the zone will follow a preset template you can customize. You will be required to station a scientist at the zones Civilian Admin structure with the detection weapon or build detection towers at these points to determine infection status if research allows. Base templates: Unknown -Cage -Wait (Wait 8-16 minutes to determine if infected) Infected -Euthanization -Shoot on sight -Turn away Not infected -Holding area (Till Helicopter arrives) -Helipad

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Further Optimizations to the Anim Blueprint based on profiling data
Removed all bodies and blood decals from Treasure Island Levels. (To Prepare for Dynamic placement in the future)
Converted 12,873 assets to removable clutter; on Angel Island and Treasure Island, so far. More conversions to follow.
We now turn off Infection Structures ability to hear and see via a new thread to save performance if no CERC unit is within 20k UU. This should improve the reliability of vision and framerate improvements in mid to late game.
Fixed up some AnimInstance_Base C++ logic in relation to mob units, as well, so Mob Units properly recognize which unit is their owner, instead of being 'unowned' and thus always standing still or walking
Evac load fix to try to stop some civvies from going to the wrong evac pad when loading saves and getting 'stuck'
Melee Expliot for Infected fixed that could cause them to double melee
Rioting system improvements
- Suppressing a riot via stamina damage (right now, only way to do this is with sandbag shotgun) will now lead to Riot Suppressed for that Civvie Spline: it will not resume rioting until 10 real life minutes pass (accounting for slo-mo, etc.)
- Rioting civvies will harm your reputation in a zone. This stops when riot is suppressed.
- 'Last riot suppression time' (for the 10 min cooldown) saved/loaded
Fixed CERC solider aimnode being to "responsive" at times

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

General Development Updates

[expand type=details] https://youtu.be/7hdBPmUtFb8 https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557390407190

New Roadmap system

Ways to Support Development

[expand type=details] Everything goes towards expanding the team and building a better game!

Consider Supporting us on Patreon

Merch Store

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2023-07-20 05:26:55 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2.7.17.9.2

If your experiencing crashes/instability please try a Steam Verify/Display Drivers update before contacting us.

Week Goals:

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Made LERP adjustments for all Calypso world buildings. Also made modifications to the landscape LOD and collision settings to match those of other levels. (eg treasure island)
Updated Animation Systems to be more performant with a C++ base
More Adjustments to Angel Island world building LERPS + Asset conversions to landscape objects
Fixed an issue that broke civilian evacuations and sometimes move orders
Set proper default values in the MasterCharacter_AnimBlueprint so regular civilians aren't always rioting, and so mob meshes don't look like they're 'armed with invisible guns'
Civilian now have stamina stat that non-lethal weapons target
Set up an Ambient Civilian Spline response to stamina hitting zero (from nonlethal weapons), to make rioters disperse
Set up Civilians to no longer flee from hearing nonlethal weapons being fired by making nonlethal weapons say 'RiotGearFired' instead of 'WeaponFired' in their SoundTag
Added ability to target any civilian with a right click
Fixed up several Civilian classes that weren't properly set as 'preset gender' (since now each class is predefined to be male or female, with Preset being false, they were sometimes getting first names of the opposite gender: this should now be fixed)
Special infected changes:
Spitter acid damage decreased from 40 to 20
Spitter acid attack range decreased from 1500 to 850
Unit targeting priority changes:
- Spitter threat level increased by 15%
- Blow up guy threat level increased by 25%
- Sparrow damage intake buffed by 20% overall from bullets
Guard towers:
- Towers damage resistance from bullets increased by 35%
Fixed a user reported crash that occurred when loading their save file
Additionally, in the Raven subsystem, fixed an issue that caused massive 'multiplication' of Raven nests
Fixed a Raven saving issue Result: Loading of saves with 'runaway raven nests' should no longer crash or cause major amounts of 'nest buildup' in a single area (which could also poorly affect perception performance)
Fix for being able to recruit faction civilians before they are allied with you

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

General Development Updates

[expand type=details] https://youtu.be/7hdBPmUtFb8 https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557390407190

New Roadmap system

Ways to Support Development

[expand type=details] Everything goes towards expanding the team and building a better game!

Consider Supporting us on Patreon

Merch Store

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2023-07-18 23:23:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

Early Access Dev Report (July 16 - July 22)

We will be live on Youtube and in our Discord AmA channel for those wanting to listen in on voice.

Every Saturday, we will take the stage and communicate with you directly. We'll discuss what happened that week, address any issues, changes, etc., and potentially talk about necessary changes for the next week. These will take place on Discord & Youtube.

[ 2023-07-18 20:00:09 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2.7.17.9

If your experiencing crashes/instability please try a Steam Verify/Display Drivers update before contacting us.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Various behind the scenes Timer checks were spread out over MS's to stop the game thread from being choking out.
UpdateSeenList update: turns off when not needed, instead of always running
Optimized Ambient Civvie Spline visibility by adding threading support
Safety check for World Building LERPs, adjustment of vehicle nav volumes, and conversion of assets into landscapable objects for Angel Island Grids 1-3
Added 'SharedStimulus' logic (akin to SharedVision) - currently only used by Ambient Civilians - to replace the fact that VisibilityTriggers are no longer handled via Perception Result: Ambient Civilians seem to function mostly as before, but perception system has a lot less pressure on it now
Crashfix for potential 'infinite loop' for UnitMovers getting stuck going between devirtualized units spawning+monitoring
Reduced number of sight queries-per-update to 4K (from 8K), to try to reduce CPU strain
Fixed Speakers for vehicles registering as vision stimulus
Set up untargetable Civilian clutter+walls to 'deregister' from Sight once revealed, so they stop taking up queries
Fixed Camo not applying to Merlin.
Fixed Camo not applying to MUTT/MULE.

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

General Development Updates

[expand type=details] https://youtu.be/7hdBPmUtFb8 https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557390407190

New Roadmap system

Ways to Support Development

[expand type=details] Everything goes towards expanding the team and building a better game!

Consider Supporting us on Patreon

Merch Store

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2023-07-16 04:40:44 CET ] [ Original post ]

Early Access Dev Report (July 1 - July 15)

We will be live on Youtube and in our Discord AmA channel for those wanting to listen in on voice.

Every Saturday, we will take the stage and communicate with you directly. We'll discuss what happened that week, address any issues, changes, etc., and potentially talk about necessary changes for the next week. These will take place on Discord & Youtube.

[ 2023-07-15 04:25:25 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2.7.17.6

Support Packs:

From the DLC Poll we have decided to add 3 basic paid Vehicle camo support packs and one free pack based on the feedback we received from you guys.

Post Modern Free Pack

NATO Collection is now released

As an optional way to support development and get a few cool camo's for all ingame CERC vehicles https://store.steampowered.com/app/2496520/Cepheus_Protocol__Support_Pack_Vehicle_Camo_NATO_Collection/ We plan on 2 more camo packs coming out in the next week or so as optional ways to support development and get cool skins in return! Classic Wars Collection WWII Olive Drab Vietnam GS Tiger Stripe The Gulf War Desert Storm Camo Modern Collection Elite Black Camo Blue Urban Night Digital Camo UCP Modern Camo If your experiencing crashes/instability please try a Steam Verify/Display Drivers update before contacting us.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Updated NewBaseVehicle On Death functions to fix mesh swap and material assignment. Added a BP event for post-death effect setup.
Updated On-Death effects of Helicopters to fix Rotors turning into a solid black disc.
New Helicopter Destroyed meshes added for Merlin, Scout Drone, Shawnee & Sparrow
Physics added for the destruction of Helicopters
3rd person camera placement polish
Minor Improvements to Helicopter Death effects, materials and physics.
Fixed helicopter end and start points that were causing some airborne callins to get stuck out of map on calypso
Set up the Max Ambient Civilians setting to default to 90 (from 180)
And make outdated saves (game options saves made before July 12, 2023) get forced-set to 90 Max Ambient Civvies, with two checks in GameOptionsV2 and one in the GameInstance BP
Set up a 'delay' for perception re-enablement when a unit's shared vision leader is lost
And set up a similar (shorter) delay for UnitMovers to 'reselect' a vision leader, to reduce the amount of pressure from perception sharing shifting
Engine Garbage collection rate increased
Devirtualized units will now queue for movement orders on spawn instead of spamming the CPU all at the same ms. Will increase performance across the board Added more Base meshes for Procedural Building generation. Built-in walkways with stairway access.
Spine Turrets now hide under the map and reappear when you enter near a zone they are guarding
Optimizations to Spine Turrets causing massive FPS drops in mid-late games
The amount of vision traces ingame have been increased to 150 across all units.
Fixed Incorrect Camo Tiling in some cases for Merlin, CROWS Turret, and MUTT/MULE.

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

General Development Updates

[expand type=details] https://youtu.be/7hdBPmUtFb8 https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557390407190

New Roadmap system

Ways to Support Development

[expand type=details] Everything goes towards expanding the team and building a better game!

Consider Supporting us on Patreon

Merch Store

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2023-07-14 02:27:29 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2.7.17.5

If your experiencing crashes/instability please try a Steam Verify/Display Drivers update before contacting us.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Early fixes for faction logic for Calypso helping command post capture points (for factions beta) to properly shift color for initial capture
Early pass on vehicle camo update to make sure it applies to their weapons
Implemented speculative safety (cooldown on 'FinishTunneling' calls for Leviathan) for this crash: https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/1126625896078528522/1126625896078528522
Added some additional PicketSign support (for the future)
Fix to turret updating calls from NewBaseVehicle to prevent overrides of a camo update handler function from 'skipping' turrets (fixes Humvee not updating its turret's camo, for example)
Speculative fix for https://discord.com/channels/448343799140319232/453239225526255626/1127004520006832258
Fixes to localization references for base game camo
And fixed CERC Blue missing a thumbnail (which could cause duplicate entry)
Set up Atlas modules to have camo support
Set up HEMTT to destroy ammo runners instead of kill them, when killed (since death for some reason wasn't working)
Updated some grammar on several tips, redid some old tips, and removed or redesigned some that seemed redundant
Calypso map used to fail to initialize InfectionZone widget on a new file until you moved the camera to another zone. It now is able to initialize immediately (since player cam overlap check was occurring before InfectionZone beginplay 'initialize build location mesh' loop ran)
Quick update to NSF Spawn Nodes to also apply the fix I did to the other maps
Fixed the Weapon.cpp using 'BrassEject' in one place and 'EjectionPort' in another place for shell casing spawning (unified to 'EjectionPort', which is the socket name on the AK)
This seems to have also fixed the 'floating shell ejections' bug
Fix for 'infection zone distance check' failing after earlier build location mesh fix
Fix for spine turret/infected wall construction limits being bypassed
Updated Unit Movers to devirtualize most of their units with perception off, to try to save performance (they'll enter Shared Vision anyway, so shouldn't make a gameplay difference, but hopefully will make a performance improvement)

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

General Development Updates

[expand type=details] https://youtu.be/7hdBPmUtFb8 https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557390407190

New Roadmap system

Ways to Support Development

[expand type=details] Everything goes towards expanding the team and building a better game!

Consider Supporting us on Patreon

Merch Store

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2023-07-10 00:04:21 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2.7.17.4 Hotfix #1

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Fixed Evacuations not working on Calypso

This patch merges our experimental to normal

Operator Camera improvements:

A brief video of some of the changes we did over this week to improve the base Camera controls and layout. We will probbaly at this rate have a lot of the Operators controls done before we enter 1.3 officially. https://youtu.be/mKyfZkEXMjY Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

General Development Updates

[expand type=details] https://youtu.be/7hdBPmUtFb8 https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557390407190

New Roadmap system

Ways to Support Development

[expand type=details] Everything goes towards expanding the team and building a better game!

Consider Supporting us on Patreon

Merch Store

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2023-07-07 04:21:01 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2.7.17.4

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Friendly fire turned off for Apache
Speculative fix for Operator crash
Operator got a Camera revamp in prep for 1.3
Fixed a texture streaming issue for characters
Speculative fix for CrowdManager crashing on the new map on init
Fixed floating SOC on init
Speculative fix for Operator crash
Fixed Presidio canal railing blocking a bridge...

This patch merges our experimental to normal

Operator Camera improvements:

General Development Updates

[expand type=details] https://youtu.be/7hdBPmUtFb8 https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557390407190

New Roadmap system

Ways to Support Development

[expand type=details] Everything goes towards expanding the team and building a better game!

Consider Supporting us on Patreon

Merch Store

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2023-07-07 00:44:49 CET ] [ Original post ]

AmA / Community Event Tonight

During major events we will be bringing in special guests to discuss their experiences they have had in Cepheus Protocol for future podcasts. If interested contact a Moderator We will be live on Youtube and in our Discord AmA channel for those wanting to listen in on voice. You can partake in the live AmA either on Discord AmA channel/Youtube Chat. Youtube Discord Segment 1: Dev roundtable 15 mins - a discussion between the developers on the current state of the game and current content released Segment 2: Live QNA 40 mins - opportunity for the community to ask questions directly to the developers Segment 3: Closing discussion 5mins - discussion between the developers on the upcoming content for

[ 2023-07-01 19:15:05 CET ] [ Original post ]

DLC Poll Community Opinion Poll

Community Opinion/Vote

After discussing it with the community in our recent Discord thread they have asked me to create a poll on DLC's and the community's opinion on them.

Asking for Poll:

https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/1123331989282492589/1123644996432703628

Excerpt From the Poll:

CP is a live service game we have no plans for a sequel nor do i ever want to make one. The goal is to keep developing and expanding on the core game for the next 3-5 years at least. That mean's monetization has to be a serious thing we look into as we get closer to the end of EA in 2024. So we can fund development for the free and paid content that we have planned during that period of time. I put some examples of ideas I've been personally wrestling with about implementing in the short term and in the future below and in the poll. What does the community think? What would they be willing to buy to help support development but also get some cool aspects added to their games? I value your honesty so please do take the time to address this so i can have all the information i need to make informed decisions! Pricing Guidelines: I estimate weapon packs to be around 4.99 at most unless there are a ton included. So say around .99c per new weapon. These prices are estimates and could be lower or higher depending on the amount that goes into each pack. Vehicle Skins for a pack I.E All Desert Camo/All Black we would not sell individual skins for one off vehicles. Similar to COH 1 you would have an option to set an override skin at the time of recruitment of that unit so you can mix and match 1.99-2.99 Operator Skins would be likely be around 4.99-9.99 depending on complexity Horde maps would be 9.99 and add 3 maps per collection Building packs would vary in range from 3.99- 9.99 depending on amount included Smaller Pandemic Maps would be in a collection and be around 9.99 as well similar to horde maps

Vote here

Live Poll results

[ 2023-06-29 17:23:18 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2.7.16

Basic Steam Deck Support is now added [Playable] Status

We will slowly work to add more support over time to make it fully supported. Stay tuned!

Our old patch is archived on 1.2.7.15.1 for those wishing to continue their old games. Check the beta tab. Start a new game with this update! SOC-Test is closed and experimental is closed for the next 1 week while we work to polish this on the public realm. Saves will not carry over so be careful about using old saves!

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Civilian Hold and Command Tent substructures can now be built anywhere in the zone where their 'parent building' is, instead of being restricted to being built within a radius of their 'parent building'.
Updated Civilian Group names to final
Stripped out female/male swapping code in an effort to streamline development and help us wrap up development for Pandemic mode
Assigned landscaping SoundCues to Player SoundClass and lowerd their volume
Zone ownership no longer required to build things
Civilian holds given a '1-per-zone' limit
Capture Trucks removed
Added safety to DetermineGib, since it can crash now if there wasn't a value set for the gib type selected
Fix for Infected so they can still look for where the player's set up and assault them.
Added crash fix for when a sandbag id destroyed sometimes it causes a crash while being built
Strategic Operations Center and Strategic Resource Points Added
Updated the Population/Garrison tent to be buildable by the engineer
Updated loading screen images
Dev update #16 added to main menu
Removed sector income
Total animation Revamp for all units featuring a "Combat" state
Radio Operator restored to Barracks
Improved construction check for SOCs to ignore certain overlap checks (they'll still be blocked by characters+buildings though!)
Updated Landscaping tool to no longer care about zone ownership
Updated regular construction to ignore character meshes (due to the 5.2 'kinematic mesh ghost' issue when loading saves)
Updated wall construction to do the same
Fixed up several save/load issues with building+construction actors not remembering which infection zone they belonged to
Fixed up some save/load issues with the Strategic Resource Point/SOC interaction
Updated SOCs to have a minimap presence (that updates when they are have a construction point for a SOC, and when they have a completed SOC)
Fixes added to keybind widget to always try to filter out gamepad keybinds
Quick fix to 'already built in this zone!' warning occurring incorrectly for some construction types Fixed incorrect lighting of the Shawnee in dark/shadowed areas.
Set up Civilian Hold to be the building required to issue evac/world building orders in a zone
Fixes for auto-evac (and some related hovertip text) to support the new Civilian-Hold-reliant setup
Radio Truck implementation
Implemented Call In radius on it, which is doubled when Radio Truck is deployed. Added as purchaseable to Motorpool
Radio Truck XP boost logic added
Set up SOC upgrades
Income now only is given to the player when the actual drop lands, and it remembers its value from when it started (i.e. if you upgrade or destroy the SOC, you'll still get the money at the value it was when the drop was spawned)
SOCs now have a hover-widget detailing time 'till next supply drop
Strategic Resource Points now shut off collision when they are occupied by a construction point or a SOC
Income tracker (when you highlight your income total at the top right) now will show you the countdown 'till next income drop, if relevant
Improved visuals for Strategic Resource Points (w/ circle, better hiding, and better collision management)
Fixed a HideUI issue w/ Strategic Resource Points
Got rid of explosion effect when SOC Income Drop disappears
Optimized Humvee mesh setup.
Adding new Parking garage asset.
Replaced TI G06 parking garage.
Added the p220 to all units,
Removed the acr, vector & a-16a4 from the spec ops in an effort to refine the amount of weapons we have to manage and help balancing
Removed the xbren from the assault, new starting weapons is the m4.
Updated Vehicle UI Icons.
Scarh underbarrel removed
Shell ejection ports fixed
Updated Vehicle Weapon Icons.
Updated HEMTT Module Icons.
Set up SOCIncome to be 'centralized' to the 'main SOC building': first one you build, or the closest one after that if main's destroyed, etc. It'll be one drop on the main building, rather than one drop occurring at each
Minimap updates to represent which spot is main (green for main, blue for other, yellow for under construction, white for unclaimed)
Set up 'swap main SOC' option when you select a SOC building that's not the main one
Fixed up the SOC lv2 Income Upgrade listing the wrong price (but still charging full if clicked)
Stripped out the evacuation controls (evac to zone, and helipad auto evac) from the Infection Zone Widget. Then tied these controls to a new CivilianHoldManagementWidget which pops up when you select a Civilian Hold
Fixed crash for nav agent not being valid at time of checks
Renamed the CivilianHold building to Civilian Zone Administration
Fixed up power components not displaying radius when their building is selected
Updated automatic evacuation to occur as long as both an Evac Helipad and a Civilian Zone
Administration building are in the zone: no longer requires the player to enable it
Updated mouse-over hovertip for SOCs to indicate the current upgrade tier (Level 1, 2, or 3)
Fixed up a bug with 'location selection' safeties for spawning pods/towers
Fixed up an old logic check for gas tower spawning that was incorrect for modern systems Result: Gas Tower construction can work again
Various collision improvements to the core world
Fixed crash that could occur rarely with capsule component query when devirtualizing units
Shadows fixed for spec ops and heavy
Character LOD shadows improved
Added a mask that only appears on CERC units dynamically when they enter gas zones
Female medic mesh added
Fixed missing shirt bug for chelsey
Fixed up redirectors and deleted old medic mesh
Made the scientist adjustment so they are more resistant towards gas towers
Spec Crash fix for https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/1116908551332446350/1116931601931190324
Fixed recruitable civilians, ammo runners, and a lot of CERC units not registering for hearing
Fixed several civvies registering for an experimental and incomplete 'performant sight' rather than regular sight
implemented a fix that hopefully will resolve infection gas towers not properly removing a civvie faction member from being considered a squad member
Updated Med/Ammo tents to no longer be limited to '1-per-zone'
Fixed up Gas Mask components being spawned on units who do not have a Gas Mask mesh reference set
Fixed up the Gas Mask not appearing if you didn't have the unit selected when they put it on
Fixed up the Gas Mask being attached at the capsule component instead of the mesh
Fixed up the Gas Mask not being attached to the Gas Mask bone
Fixed up units who did not have 'bUseFilterLevel' active still utilizing the Filter Level logic (caused civilians to 'resist' gas effects way more than they should)
Removed the Gas Mask mesh ref from the Scientist, since they do not need an additional gas mask
Fix for the 'overhead widget' for squads will properly move/disappear when a unit is converted to infected
HLOD Visuals improved

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

General Development Updates

[expand type=details] https://youtu.be/7hdBPmUtFb8 https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557390407190

New Roadmap system

Ways to Support Development

[expand type=details] Everything goes towards expanding the team and building a better game!

Consider Supporting us on Patreon

Merch Store

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2023-06-14 18:47:43 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2.7.15.1

Basic Steam Deck Support is now added [Playable] Status

We will slowly work to add more support over time to make it fully supported. Stay tuned!

Our old patch is archived on 1.2.5.1 for those wishing to continue their old games. Check the beta tab. Start a new game with this update! Experimental is closed for the next 2 weeks while we work to polish this on the public realm. Saves will carry over but be careful about using old saves!

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Added some additional nav checks when civilian unit movers register devirtualized units (and when civvie factions spawn their initial squad controllers) to try to prevent civvies from 'stacking up' on each other, or inside of their tent (may not be perfect, but hopefully an improvement)
Dynamic Civilian group names finalized
Fixed up 'DeselectAll' in Base_PlayerController to be more reliable: this resolves Mortars 'failing to deselect'
Updated civilian faction 'shop' (for recruiting units from civvies) to properly update the button if civilian faction relationship with you changes
Updated Doctrines to update any shop the player has open upon unlocking a new doctrine (no need to close/reopen a shop menu, though construction menu still doesn't benefit from this yet)
Updated logic to not 'miss' updating faction relationships when reputation events tick over time in a zone
Improved 'IsAlive' check to return false if something is in RubbleMode
Additionally, infected tunnels now disappear completely when destroyed (instead of remaining but 'rubble-ified')
Improved 'civvie squad widget' handling. Crash related to it should be resolved
Units who are 'carrying' the widget should now properly hand the widget off on death
Updated Boss Healthbar Widget (for Juggernaut, for example) to properly disappear when owner dies
Tracked down the setting (MyGarrisonSeat) that had a wrong setting in the Charon, which was causing it to be unable to rotate-in-place
Fixed field turrets not rotating properly
Implemented another fix to our version of AISense_Sight that was 'missed' in the update from 5.1 to 5.2 (allows units to 'see through' their allies, or the vehicles they're garrisoned in): this fixes (among other things) units in the Sparrow not being able to acquire targets on their own
Updated Grenade Throw Blocked widget to be smaller (was huge!)
Updated Landscaping widget text to be larger (was too small before)
Fixed up some default settings for NightDay, and turned off an override on the instance of it in the MasterLightingSystem so it won't block Custom Game Settings related to time from working
Slight adjustments to Vehicle (Shawnee) AI to make the Shawnee stop focusing on its enemy if it cannot shoot it anymore
More trees in presidio converted to be clearable
P220 animations fixed,
Vehicle turrets should function more reliably
Fixed up the Cerberus Mortar's 'muzzle flash' effect (more of an explosion) to actually spawn at the mortar's muzzle
Fixed the duplicate 'close build menu' button in the Engineer's defense menu
Fixed a typo in a loading tip
Updated another loading tip (that made reference to Defense/Alpha squads from way back when) to instead give a similar idea without referencing those old mechanics
Fixed up Capture Truck to no longer be purchaseable at other Capture Trucks or Command Tents: only at CERC and Motor Pool now
Civilian Hold and Command Tent substructures can now be built anywhere in the zone where their 'parent building' is, instead of being restricted to being built within a radius of their 'parent building'.

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

General Development Updates

[expand type=details] https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs https://youtu.be/LOdVk1yiuak

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557390407190

New Roadmap system

Ways to Support Development

[expand type=details] Everything goes towards expanding the team and building a better game!

Consider Supporting us on Patreon

Merch Store

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2023-05-28 11:05:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2.7.15

Basic Steam Deck Support is now added [Playable] Status

We will slowly work to add more support over time to make it fully supported. Stay tuned!

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Added filter level that protects CERC before their infection level is damaged , widget support added
Added countdown clock for filter remaining time
Adding weapon icons for Flamethrower and Light Shield
Engineer should now only be buildable from CERC and Barracks (no longer from capture truck)
Fixed duplicate weapon in recruited militant civvie weapon market
LODS readjusted for Characters
crashfix for virtual combat
Fixed Spitters not having increased mesh+movement tickrate when hidden in FOW
Set up Evac chopper to no longer leave invisible civilians 'attached' to itself, so its movement when evacuating back to the carrier is cheaper (by about half, saving some .2ms per filled evac chopper that's in motion)
Set up garrisoned units to not react to TUGS ping (so the above thing won't show a bunch of floating civvies near an evac pad. :P )
Made civilian walls spawn much more quickly (usually should be all at once)
Fixed an error with Civilian Clutter complaining about ownership being incorrect
Logic fix to prevent characters from being able to save if they're not alive
Spitters now do DOT Acid damage
a-16a4 nerf to base damage to be closer to the m4
All crow mounts spread values change to be more realistic to a 50 cal
Crows buff!
Tpose Pilot - fixed
Updated to Unreal Engine 5.2
Ammo and med tent no longer 'autobuild'
Medical facilities now support rally points (since they are now used for the recruitment of medics)
Fixed the new hint text anchor blocking clicks on recruit popup (and potentially other things)
Vehicles now clear their weapons OnDestroyed
Removed a SetSkinnedAssetAndUpdate from VehicleTurretBP, which was causing turrets to 'balloon' in size
Updated loading logic to try to make sure field turrets that weren't finished constructing don't just 'disappear' on load
Fixed up 'vanishing HESCO construction orders' (not the same as HESCOs disappearing from load)
Fix for HESCO walls 'disappearing' when loading certain saves (their z scale was being set to 0 on load due to uninitialized var which normally shouldn't be accessed, but some saves apparently did so anyway)
Disabled the Operator menu on the Main Menu for now (since Operator system's changed so much and this menu hasn't updated to match) We will revise this soon
Improved logic for when repair actors can spawn (including bypassing some health checks for Rubble Mode, so destroyed walls should be more reliable in allowing repair)
Fixed up several character classes who were missing the 'DRIVER' tag. CERC training now includes driver's ed (this may not fix characters who are already missing the tag in a loaded save made before this patch, but new recruits after should be fine)
Rebuilt proxy collision+nav in the master (fixes up some new landscaping objects being 'unbuildable' due to having had leftover proxy collision at that time)
Minigunner updated to current systems
Juggernut now takes more damage from high cal and ap rnds
Friendly Fire for Strikers, Javelins, SMAW's , are now removed including minimum fire safeties
Added juggernaut health bar

This patch merges our experimental to normal

These patches are bundled in as well. We apologize about the sheer size but steam does have a character limit for news post else we would just combine it all into one thread. https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3678911452798913244 https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3678913989599495906 https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3678914623049233146 https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3660900859067869029 https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3716073126078463344 https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3716073126082292117 https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3716073126085248034 https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557379795668 https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557383296295 https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557387132242 https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557388584225 https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718326191609896942 https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/6438500527885090273 https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/6438500527893699367 https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3704816660868640008 https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3704816660871750505 https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3704817293684237585 https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3704817293691978806 https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3704817927642569118 https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/6248225912162637560 https://steamcommunity.com/games/2116560/announcements/detail/3702566762278190220 https://steamcommunity.com/games/2116560/announcements/detail/3702566762280892419 Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

General Development Updates

[expand type=details] https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs https://youtu.be/LOdVk1yiuak

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557390407190

New Roadmap system

Ways to Support Development

[expand type=details] Everything goes towards expanding the team and building a better game!

Consider Supporting us on Patreon

Merch Store

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2023-05-25 05:49:02 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2.7.12 Dynamic Civilian Groups (Experimental Only)

We are currently 24-48 hours away from merging experimental into the public normal game. We are still conducting various bug hunts and making slight adjustments for QOL.

How to opt into Experimental

To opt into experimental install "Cepheus Protocol Experimental" in your steam library. It is no longer a beta opt in but an entirely new game granted when you purchase the base game.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Max evacuating civvies mobs increased to 30 (300 civilians)
Sprint bug fixed
Scope fix for the m16
Aiming fixed for the m16
P90 added back to radio op
Some performance optimizations for Unit Movers
Some logic added to try to reduce the amount of 'unnecessary move reorders'
Fixed the P90 mesh not having an AimSource socket
Defense teams will move a lot less now for Dynamic Civilian groups
Status icons added for the 'squad overhead widgets' (sans Scavenging)
Updated UI Icons for new Infantry models.
Made UnitMovers properly set civvies to ignore Civvie AI Roaming behavior, so civvie squads become significantly less 'antsy'
Removed icon text from Infantry model build menu's from the Barracks
Hooked up a new Scavenging Status icon to the Squad Status widgets for civilian squads
Removed Drivers from being purchasable units and replaced them with Assaults in vehicles
Made all CERC units capable of driving ground based vehicles , pilots are still required for airborne units
Tripled Civilian Faction Tent health
Clutter for Civilian camps are temporarily disabled till Monday-Tuesday for final adjustments
Quick addition of a 'ground height trace' for clutter for civvie camps
Fixes to landscape actor interaction for clutter spawning and main building spawning for faction base construction
Physic bodies updated to solve some ragdoll issues
Rapple animation t pose solved
Hand pos test for sitting on vehicles improved
Civilian groups spawning logic adjusted (40% Chance of Normal, 40% of Militants & 20% for Raiders)

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

General Development Updates

[expand type=details] https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs https://youtu.be/LOdVk1yiuak

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557390407190

New Roadmap system

Ways to Support Development

[expand type=details] Everything goes towards expanding the team and building a better game!

Consider Supporting us on Patreon

Merch Store

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2023-05-13 03:45:46 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2.7.11 Dynamic Civilian Groups (Experimental Only)

We are currently 24-48 hours away from merging experimental into the public normal game. We are still conducting various bug hunts and making slight adjustments for QOL.

How to opt into Experimental

To opt into experimental install "Cepheus Protocol Experimental" in your steam library. It is no longer a beta opt in but an entirely new game granted when you purchase the base game.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Set up a 'Squad Objective' widget for civilian squads. Shows you what they're currently doing, and which faction they belong to
Fixed a potential crash with 'moving components around via rename' with a cleaner 'clear name, then set null name so engine decides on non-crash name' setup
Set up the ability to toggle the visuals for Civilian Squad Status widgets, in the Visual Toggles dropdown
Fixed the Visual Toggles dropdown not having a hovertip
Added 'RIOT' as a type of string read by the Civilian Squad Status widget to be translated to 'Rioting'
Fixed several civvie classes that had the C++ version of the VictorAK equipped (replaced w/ BP version)
Updated civilian squads to have a 'relaxed mode'
When gathering supplies or defending a base, if not in combat, they'll use Walk instead of Run, and sometimes just idle around
Civ animation updates. new parachute animation
M4 changes in scale and size
Civilian wallbuilder fixes
Unit Mover devirtualization updated to 'rewind' movers via warp instead of fastforward backwards, and to better 'force' units to not devirtualize at wrong times (for units 'popping out of nowhere')
Improved faction construction queries to better avoid deep water
Updated TUGS to not ping units that are already visible (saves a bit of processing)
Rioting animations added
Radio op mesh added
Experimental UnitMover optimization (seems to be very beneficial and few-to-no downsides so far): doesn't repeat move order, and lowers move component tickrate, if near target when reissuing a move order
Unit Movers (particularly defense squads for civvie camps) should be more performant
Assault female optimized
Crashfix added for virtual combat
Add a limit to how many evacuating civilian groups can be spawned at any given time. Has 'backwards save compatibility' to make units over double the evac limit get 'booted back' to a nearby world building, for population's sake
Limited the amount of Dynamic Civilian groups that can spawn into the world to 13 for performance reasons.
Added Militant civilian archetype. With its own Elite unit and Recruitable unit (just duplicates of Regular civilian classes for now)
Fixed up Evacuation civvie 'limits' to not respect civvies who are garrisoned, so civvies who enter an evac chopper no longer 'block' other civvies from spawning
Added some backup logic so civvies who are waiting on a chopper can move to a different one in the same zone, if one is available and the one they were waiting on is not on the helipad
Fixed up some related logic to make civvies less likely to 'stop moving towards evac pads' when helicopters aren't directly on the pad
Updated civvies who are evacuating to a helipad to have a faster move tickrate when hidden in FOW, to make them less likely to get 'stuck' on geometry (and thus taking up evac slots)
Updated some building 'civvie spawn lerps' (door entrances/exits) on specific building instances in Angel Island G1 and G3. Fixes civies getting stuck when exiting a building
M4 clip size changed back to 30rnds
Updated the 'highlighted evac building' for evac helipads to re-update for UI's sake, even when we have to wait for more civvie slots (so that the 'evac building icon' won't be over an empty building before the next update loop). This doesn't really affect functionality all that much, but it does make UI make more sense
Added the faction emblems for each faction archetype, and set up displays for them in the Diplomacy tab and Squad Status widget
Applied fire damage crash fix for characters

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

General Development Updates

[expand type=details] https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs https://youtu.be/LOdVk1yiuak

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557390407190

New Roadmap system

Ways to Support Development

[expand type=details] Everything goes towards expanding the team and building a better game!

Consider Supporting us on Patreon

Merch Store

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2023-05-10 06:15:01 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2.7.10 Dynamic Civilian Groups (Experimental Only)

How to opt into Experimental

To opt into experimental install "Cepheus Protocol Experimental" in your steam library. It is no longer a beta opt in but an entirely new game granted when you purchase the base game.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Status box text added for Civilian group squads (Attacking, Defending, scavenging & Resupplying)
Lowered hovertip text for reputation cost when moving civilian bases
Loosened the Civilian moving camp logic for corner assets
Fixed a major issue w/ height adjustment not working in some cases
Updated civvie base movement to 'ignore' allied units as obstacles when adjusting base position
Updated the civvie base mover to use 'individual' traces for each piece of the base instead of a full box trace, so smaller obstacles (like trash cans, street lights, etc.) can be 'built around'
Tracked down a civvie base issue that was allowing their construction or movement 'too close' to other civvie bases (bounds check was 'inverted', which FBox intersection checks didn't like)
Tracked down another civvie base issue which was causing them to always (or almost always?) spawn with zero rotation
Hooked up the civilian base mover to respect HideUI
Hooked up the civilian base mover to have the areas claimed by other civvie bases (in the same infection zone) be colored-in with red
M16 model improvements

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Nothing yet

[/expand]

General Development Updates

[expand type=details] https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs https://youtu.be/LOdVk1yiuak

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557390407190

New Roadmap system

Ways to Support Development

[expand type=details] Everything goes towards expanding the team and building a better game!

Consider Supporting us on Patreon

Merch Store

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2023-05-05 04:28:00 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2.7.9 Dynamic Civilian Groups (Experimental Only)

How to opt into Experimental

To opt into experimental install "Cepheus Protocol Experimental" in your steam library. It is no longer a beta opt in but an entirely new game granted when you purchase the base game.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Several fixes to Civilian UnitMover (and actual) spawning to make them come from their own buildings (instead of appearing at the infection zone's old capture point)
Added a 'distance check' to Civilian dynamic base construction to prevent them from building too close to the player: they must now build 4000uu away from any player structure (if neutral/allied), or 8000uu away (if antsy or aggressive)
Updated dynamic prefab construction to properly do a 'Other Faction Structures Inside Radius' check, so they shouldn't build their bases on top of the player
boosted the 'range from other prefabs' check by another 3000, to an arbitrary 8000uu distance between prefabs
Updated the 'trade' button on the Diplomacy widgets to disappear if the faction in question is Destroyed
Turned off some debug spheres to reduce lag in-engine when civvies spawn
Improved 'height check' for preventing civilian bases from spawning inside of civilian Stronghold build locations
Fixed some logical flaws in the 'PrefabLocationValid' check in InfectionZone that ran 'continue' instead of 'return false', resulting in functioning checks not properly rejecting the call
Civvies should now be able to build a stronghold in a zone, as long as they have another base in that zone and the funds - they no longer need all the bases in the zone to do this, nor should the action fail potentially due to checking the wrong prefab
Fixed some issues with civilian factions not properly displaying in the InfectionZoneWidget
Fixed (I think) civilian factions using the incorrect InfectionZone when querying to build a new base (if they've conquered territory)
Fixed some serious issues with Defense Squads for civilian groups going to the wrong location and potentially spawning beyond the limits
A dozen new camp Variations added
Fixed a weird include issue with InfectionZone.cpp
Started on 'MovePrefab' logic for allowing players to 'scoot' civilian bases around
Improvements to the 'MovePrefab' logic (and related) to better support wall/gate landscaping and reduce chances of them 'moving up' erroneously due to traces hitting parts of their own walls
Fixed bad Nav in presidio North.
Slightly improved Nav in some areas.
Re-optimized new civ and cerc meshes
Shop logic added to the Main Building for civvie bases to allow for calling up the Base Mover by selecting the main building of one of their bases. Not usable if civvies too agitated
Shows reputation cost (and 'floors' at the Agitated state, so you can't send them directly into hostility)

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Nothing yet

[/expand]

General Development Updates

[expand type=details] https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs https://youtu.be/LOdVk1yiuak

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557390407190

New Roadmap system

Ways to Support Development

[expand type=details] Everything goes towards expanding the team and building a better game!

Consider Supporting us on Patreon

Merch Store

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2023-05-03 01:55:21 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2.7.8 Dynamic Civilian Groups (Experimental Only)

How to opt into Experimental

To opt into experimental install "Cepheus Protocol Experimental" in your steam library. It is no longer a beta opt in but an entirely new game granted when you purchase the base game.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Effectively, the amount of faction units you can see at one time has increased greatly, and no longer gets 'muscled out' by regular civvies)
Added logic to make Faction units be able to 'spawn to virtual' directly, so units purchased by a Faction don't cause nearly as much a performance hitch, and instead just devirtualize when needed
Added a few more name variants to some Civvie faction archetypes (to reduce 'duplicate' name situations)
Quick change for non-riot behavior to not go to DEFEND (since defense squads are around), but IDLE
Adjusted build areas so players can build in more zones in Western Treasure Island
Lowered cost to of Civvie expansion: 20 for a new base (from 100) and 125 for stronghold (from 350), so they will build more stuff more quickly
Fixed a save/load issue with civilian's 'captured bases', causing warfare and the like to start breaking if civvies captured a base from another civvie faction in a different zone
Started adding 'civvie faction tracking' in a zone, for use to display which civvie factions are present, in the InfectionZone widget
Updated the InfectionZoneWidget to display civilian faction 'prefixes' (just first letter of both words, for now, of their faction's display name) of each Civilian Faction that has a base in the currently-displayed zone
Fixed an issue with civilian units not removing themselves from the default 'civilian faction' sometimes, causing the player to be unable to hit them with guns even if that civilian faction is hostile to the player
Added another safety to Leviathan tunnel spawning to not spawn them 200z or higher above of build location meshes: ideally, this means they no longer can spawn tunnel entrances on top of buildings
Fixed a mesh issue with the Leviathan Tunnel entrances (which was causing the weird black splotches)
Updated hlods/ build data
Damage resistance increased from small arms fire against low cal, medium, heavy & ap tier weapons added to civs
Added a world valid check to resolve a crash speculative https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/1101073558689562636/1101073558689562636
AP Rounds added as an upgrade for Civilian groups so they can better fight Juggernauts/Levi's in mid-late game

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Nothing yet

[/expand]

General Development Updates

[expand type=details] https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs https://youtu.be/LOdVk1yiuak

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557390407190

New Roadmap system

Ways to Support Development

[expand type=details] Everything goes towards expanding the team and building a better game!

Consider Supporting us on Patreon

Merch Store

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2023-04-28 01:53:02 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2.7.7 Dynamic Civilian Groups (Experimental Only)

How to opt into Experimental

To opt into experimental install "Cepheus Protocol Experimental" in your steam library. It is no longer a beta opt in but an entirely new game granted when you purchase the base game.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Added an L-shaped prefab to the list of dynamic prefabs for civvies to use
Fixed civilian walls not running some BeginPlay logic they needed
Civvie walls now properly landscape-away trees/etc. when their base spawns
Added basic nav check, other structure check, and 'corner traces' to civ prefab placement to improve placement
And added a 'Tiny' prefab, so some zones that other prefabs won't fit in can still hopefully get them, but didn't hook it in (seemed too comical for the time being)
Lowered devirtualization range by 2000uu (from 20K to 18K). Not seeing many folks complain about units 'popping out of nowhere', so wanted to drop the range a bit to boost performance
increased the rate of 'distance checks' that the UnitMovers do to determine if they should virtualize or devirtualize (since this check seems very cheap). Performance tweaks
Added an early 'bounding box' check when spawning civvie prefabs, to reduce the number of situations where a civvie camp spawns too close to another
Implemented logic so civvies will use their resources (currently, 350 supplies) to purchase a stronghold position in their zone, if there is one and if they already have three regular bases claimed
Civilian groups will now roll aggression at their creation and have wars/infighting across groups. Some groups will naturally be more aggressive now
Civilian groups can assimilate other groups into theirs and expand their influence across zones
Adjusted Civvies to utilize their Aggression stat (range 0.0-1.0) when calculating whether or not they should fight the player (when rep's low, it acts as a 'multiplier' to the 'attack player' roll: i.e. (1.0 + Aggression) * Roll == ModifiedRoll)
resolved a save/load issue so that, when a dynamic civvie faction loads warfare against another dynamic civvie faction, if the other faction doesn't have their central spawner loaded yet, it can hook into a delegate for when that CentralSpawner gets set
Quick update to some of the prefabs in Treasure Island to resolve some small discrepancies with the pre-calculated bounding boxes (likely wasn't needed, difference was past the decimal)
Quick bounds fixes to the Presidio strongholds 5-8 in line with the new things I added from my previous commit (Efrain if you see this, don't worry, I added new stuff so I had to re-do the calculations. You're fine. :P )
Updated the 'Offset Non-Spline Transforms' functionality for setting up Civilian prefabs to also adjust the actor's world location in the opposite direction, so you don't have to worry about 're-scooting' the actor back into position when setting up pre-placed prefabs (such as strongholds)
Added sfx for avenger and hooked it in avenger bp

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Nothing yet

[/expand]

General Development Updates

[expand type=details] https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs https://youtu.be/LOdVk1yiuak

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557390407190

New Roadmap system

Ways to Support Development

[expand type=details] Everything goes towards expanding the team and building a better game!

Consider Supporting us on Patreon

Merch Store

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2023-04-27 05:10:56 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2.7.6 Dynamic Civilian Groups (Experimental Only)

How to opt into Experimental

To opt into experimental install "Cepheus Protocol Experimental" in your steam library. It is no longer a beta opt in but an entirely new game granted when you purchase the base game.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Civilian T posing fixed
Added 2 more achievements for EGS requirements/Steam
Speculative crash fixes for Animation related crashes
Speculative crash for CentralSpawner deregistration of a prefab (it changed factions on the prefab back to Nullptr, but BEFORE deregistering delegates, and faction change also causes deregistration - this caused it to 'deregister twice' and access invalid memory)
Fixed five reported buildings that were not interacting with civilian evac systems (they were missing infection zone ptrs)
Replaced Starter island Bridge.
You can now clear Civilian camp assets with the Landscape/Clearing tool once the central tent is destroyed
Hopefully fixed the fire crash.. Its more rare now but still occurs

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Nothing yet

[/expand]

General Development Updates

[expand type=details] https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs https://youtu.be/LOdVk1yiuak

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557390407190

New Roadmap system

Ways to Support Development

[expand type=details] Everything goes towards expanding the team and building a better game!

Consider Supporting us on Patreon

Merch Store

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2023-04-19 07:51:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2.7.5 Dynamic Civilian Groups (Experimental Only)

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 15

https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 14

https://youtu.be/LOdVk1yiuak

Latest Letter to the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3718325557390407190

How to opt into Experimental

To opt into experimental install "Cepheus Protocol Experimental" in your steam library. It is no longer a beta opt in but an entirely new game granted when you purchase the base game.

As we work to wrap up 1.2 in the coming weeks our goals will be working out bug and balance issues introduced with this patch. The next goal for 1.2 will be to add more "Ambient" civilians in the form of cars/people that litter/populate the cities regardless of their faction and then we will conclude with modernizing the "look" of the ROE tab. Then its the Police Faction and Anarchist time in 1.3 We we will spend 1-2 months (developing 1.3 on experimental) on completely redoing the Factions and deprecating the "Zone" capture circles they use in the experimental "Factions" opt in. The current capture truck method wil be standardized and their AI will know how to properly interact and seek them out

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Set the starting supply for the faction archetypes to 0
New Faction based resource added Supply which is created by a conversion rate of Cash to Supply for factions in the Diplomacy options.
Trade Widget added for transferring supply to Dynamic Civilian groups. These groups can now be "fed" to cause them to expand quicker.
At the moment they are limited to 2 Dynamic Civilian camps per zone but we will be expanding this to three and adding Strongholds this coming week.
Added a fix to scaling issues when civvies prefabs spawn walls that do not have a scale of 1.0
Reputation can be bought with factions by trading cash to convert into this universal resource supply
Quick fix to an instance of a building in PI_G01 which had an exit door that led inside of another building (causing civvies to 'bunch up' in an area where they couldn't escape)
Dynamic Civilian camps now have 1 defense team at all times
Dynamic Civilian camps now can recruit up to 3 squads and use them to gather supply passively in the world or task them to Attack/Defense missions.

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

[/expand]

New Versioning Number system

[expand type=showmore ] We are changing the way we do version numbers to simplify them going into the future. The one will represent a "release" version and the octet following it will the title update or major patch version we are on. 1.2.1 1 = Release version 2 = Title Update (Major Update) 1 = Minior Fix/bug fixes etc [/expand]

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

Merch Store

The Halcyon Winds Store is now live to support development and profits go towards expanding the team. This is in response to several requests I've gotten quite a few times about those that don't want to do patreon but want to support via merch.(Posters, Jackets etc) Check it out we'll add more over the next few weeks-months! :WinterSmile: Link here

[expand type=details]

[/expand]

[ 2023-04-16 22:41:54 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2.7.4 Dynamic Civilian Groups (Experimental Only)

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 15

https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 14

https://youtu.be/LOdVk1yiuak

How to opt into Experimental

To opt into experimental install "Cepheus Protocol Experimental" in your steam library. It is no longer a beta opt in but an entirely new game granted when you purchase the base game.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

New Civilian camp wall assets
New Civilian camp assets in general
Fixed Police+Anarchist central spawners always being visible in Diplo tab
Fixed 'destroyed' section being listed before regular faction display in Diplo tab
Fixed timer for structure fire damage continuously running even if damage is not being applied (should finally bury the crash, I hope)
Updated the 'destroyed factions' display to no longer have the 'relationship' meter or 'declare war' button
Updated the 'destroyed factions' category in the Diplomacy widget to be toggleable via button, and to default to be hidden
Updated the 'Declare War' button hovertip to no longer say it cannot be reversed
Updated Civvie gates to automatically open if their main tent gets destroyed (to prevent player from self-trapping units that don't have explosives to destroy said gates)
Updated dynamic civvie factions to be able to go back to friendly with the player if reputation in their zone raises enough (even if you manually declared war on a faction then fled, they'll go back to normal if your rep in that zone raises high enough - if, of course, that faction is capable of peace)
Fixed up some RIOT behavior for agitated civilians
raised the rep limit for Rioting to be possible for regular civvie factions (300 to 400), to make it more likely that riots occur if your rep's dropping
slightly raised the threshold for hostility to be possible to 250 (from 200)
Reduced health for civilian faction gate
fixed up some weirdness with civilian walls, so hopefully infected and other units will behave better around them
TUGS Preview added so you can view the range of other TUGS and where you have built them
Repeater Preview added so you can view the range of other TUGS and where you have built them
Fixed a building at Frontier Pier being incorrectly assigned to Saber Harbor.
Fixed navigation allowing units to walk too deep into water in some cases.
Improved the logic for Auto resolving battles outside of the players influence for Civilian groups that fight each other or the Infected. WIll see more improvements over the next 24 hours
Set up a value 'bHatesCivilians' in Faction Container DAs, to mark certian factions as anti-civvie regardless of current relations
Infected base health lowered from 310 to 200
a16a4 damage increased
Fixed the Operator not having frag grenades anymore
Fixed not being able to use grenades even if your selection consists of only one class of unit (ex: only assaults)
Spas 12 damage increased
Aa12 damage increased
m60 rpm increased from 550 to 600
Neverwinter was buffed all around
Fixed several collision issues w/ Flamethrower damage checks (lined up collision box + FX better,
Improved collision check to MUCH more closely match the collision box, etc.)

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

[/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

Merch Store

[expand type=details]

[/expand]

[ 2023-04-13 01:18:30 CET ] [ Original post ]

Letter from the Producer #7 (Update on our Roadmap)

Kept you waiting huh?

So its been a while huh? Im sure a lot of our eager fans are curious on what we've been doing over the last few months so I'll run you through some new details now... Last 2 Development Videos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GV3YOssGEfs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOdVk1yiuak

What we are doing right now to wrap up 1.2!

At the moment we are working to complete 1.2 in its entirety over the next few weeks.

Better Camp assets/designs in general
Implement Ambient Civilians that you can assume ownership over to fix the drought of units you can shelter in civilian holds. Our goal is to get to the level of PROTOTYPE 2/PROTOTYPE 1 level of immersion in the city.
Introduce Dynamic Civilian camps that can multiply and increase the amount that can generate per zone . We are going to limit this on a per zone basis.
Introduce Civilian Strongholds where if a Civilian group gets to a certain level of expansion they will erect larger prebuilt bases. There can only be 1 stronghold per zone. We expect 40% of Civilian groups to reach this point of technology and expect the other 60% to die before they get to this point.
Introduce simulated trading/diplomacy between civilian groups.
We will be adding a currency for civilian groups called "Supply" Which they will use as a currency for you to convert CERC cash to "buy" goodwill with a civilian group
This supply will determine how quickly they build more camps and strongholds only at the moment. It could also lead into how well armed/armored they are. But we are still on the fence about this.
Cleanup/Bug fix any remaining issues with civilian evacuations
Introduce Boat Evacuations in preparation for San Fran North's eventual addition. Basically you can build a boat house that will ferry units to your carrier. Only will be placeable where prebuilt docks in the level already exists.
You will be able to trade "Supply" to attempt to bring factions back to good faith like the Civilian groups. Likely we will add a cap that if you keep betraying them they will accept your supply but refuse to ally with you regardless.
Introduce Waystations for evacuations zones where civilians that are waiting for a helicopter can "wait" to reduce the clutter that can occur with them overlapping sometimes these will be entirely optional but allow you to setup "waiting zones" for security reasons.
Implement Green, Yellow and Red zone logic where infected and civilians can battle and "simulate" daily life. Kinda like this video linked below
Modernize the Top left UI elements so they are more appealing to look at like ROE

Green, Yellow, Red zone reference video https://youtu.be/s1eDEhRR_W0?t=266

Factions and what's coming in 1.3

Our goal is to have started 1.3 by the beginning of May and disable and work on 1 faction at a time till they are all functional. I.E The Police Faction (Pierce) & and Anarchist(Natalie)

Changes to The Police Faction in 1.3

[olist]

Pierce will start with Officers and Swat across the map and Operate from a few central Police Stations.

As they fail to contain the infection he will eventually lose a huge portion of his officers and fall back to 1 central Police station to run his operations from.

They will have 4 Unit types (Patrol Officer, Swat, Swat Sniper and Firemen/Medic.

Firemen/Medics will operate ambulances early game to help heal help/everyone in the field

Firemen/Medics will eventually transition around the mid game mark to discontinue usage of their ambulances and be militarized to work directly with the police faction in their attack units/defense teams. They will essentially become their combat medic.

At mid game Pierce will start to vassalize civilian groups and start forming alliances with everyone but Raiders. His attitude towards you will mirror how your treating civilians and his men in the field.

You will be able to trade "Supply" to attempt to bring factions back to good faith like the Civilian groups. Likely we will add a cap that if you keep betraying them they will accept your supply but refuse to ally with you regardless.

They will ambush your vehicles kill your drivers and turn them into supply at their bases if your an enemy of them

They will have 4 vehicle types. (Police Copter, Patrol Vehicle, APC and JLTV police variant) [/olist]

Changes to The Anarchist Faction in 1.3

[olist]

Anarchist will have a staggered start and only form sometime after day 2-3 of the virus.

Anarchist will be "undercover" and you will not be able to easily determine who is a member of this faction unless you track back ambushes/catch them in the act attacking another party or you.

They will ambush your vehicles kill your drivers and turn them into supply at their bases if your an enemy of them

Anarchist will be the lowest population group and show their strength through ambushes and stealth

They will have 3 vehicle types. (Hijacked News Chopper, Technical and Battle bus) [/olist]

General Changes in 1.3

[olist]

Winters will gain the ability to buff units around her in terms of increasing the amount of XP they recieve from actions

Pierce will get a defensive boast to units around him

Natalie will get a stealth boast to units around her [/olist]

QOL General Changes in 1.4

Our Water Shader will be reworked entirely see video at bottom
Vehicles and their AI will be rewritten completely (We are waiting for this feature to leave beta)
Buoyancy will be introduced for objects on water
Aircraft carrier will be turned into a mobile unit you can produce units from, repair and refuel
Aircraft carrier will turn into a unit you can move and can be attacked/docked at various locations to help stage larger attacks
Bounty System will be redone entirely to make it mirror closer to Red Dead 2's approach. They will be a system where special infected with abilities are hidden across the map dynamically being selected that you can send in elite teams to kill them to gain money to recover from a huge lost recently.
World Events will be introduced like mini missions CERC or other people can give you so you can gain money/supply or favor. More details will be revealed in the future for this.
Chaos Destruction will be implemented to a reasonable amount to bring the game at least to the level of Company of Heroes.
Improvements to Night/Day system to make it use the newer Night Day system built into Unreal Engine now.
Infection System revamp. Gas towers will become deadly again and Gas masks will be a thing.
DNA research tree will be added

Updated Water engine shaders https://youtu.be/7y-ITjcttW8?t=386 Updating Vehicle physics & AI https://youtu.be/Dj60HHy-Kqk?t=70 Chaos Destruction https://youtu.be/u3ktiewcLpo?t=102

1.5

Infected AI will be revamped to make them more intelligent and better at planning and flanking maneuvers .
Last minute QOL changes...
Modding
Coop

The Campaign will be tackled in 2024 for the entire year.

[ 2023-04-08 00:43:09 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2.7.3.1 Dynamic Civilian Groups Hotfix (Experimental Only)

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 15

https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 14

https://youtu.be/LOdVk1yiuak

How to opt into Experimental

To opt into experimental install "Cepheus Protocol Experimental" in your steam library. It is no longer a beta opt in but an entirely new game granted when you purchase the base game.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Fixed Police and Anarchist Faction showing up improperly in the diplomacy tab when they are disabled
Destroyed Factions section now properly appears at the bottom
ApplyFireDamage Crash should be fixed for real now

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

[/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

Merch Store

[expand type=details]

[/expand]

[ 2023-04-07 09:24:11 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2.7.3 Dynamic Civilian Groups (Experimental Only)

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 15

https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 14

https://youtu.be/LOdVk1yiuak

How to opt into Experimental

To opt into experimental install "Cepheus Protocol Experimental" in your steam library. It is no longer a beta opt in but an entirely new game granted when you purchase the base game.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

New materials for Civilan wall placeholders.
Quick fix to Diplomacy widget sometimes having 'text wrap' issues
Updated wall 'box collision' component to no longer block WorldDynamic (which caused it to block grenades)
Started on a Faction 'Relationship Meter' for the Diplomacy widget. Changes color depending on status. Changes 'fill amount' based on reputation in the zone of the faction in question
Added an Are you Sure popup for declaring war on a faction
Fixed an issue w/ 'Declare War' on dynamic civvie factions not properly marking the text as 'hostile'
Another crash fix to stop the "Fire" Crash
Quick fix to landscape tree 'tilt' logic from Juggernauts causing tree 'offset' or disappearance
Fixed non-tree landscaping objects having 'AllowTilt' on (this allowed Juggernauts to 'push away' these things as if they were trees)
Fixed the 'Arena' building in Grid 6 not being clickable (set it to use Simple as Complex collision, and it's clickable now)
Slight scaling/appearance adjustments to Diplo widgets
Increased the brightness of the moon during nighttime to make it easier to see
Set the new starting time for the game to 6 AM for new play session removed options that aren't ready yet

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

[/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

Merch Store

[expand type=details]

[/expand]

[ 2023-04-06 23:49:29 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2.7.2 Dynamic Civilian Groups (Experimental Only)

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 15

https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 14

https://youtu.be/LOdVk1yiuak

How to opt into Experimental

To opt into experimental install "Cepheus Protocol Experimental" in your steam library. It is no longer a beta opt in but an entirely new game granted when you purchase the base game.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Crash fixes for Move Previews causing instability in Unreal Engine 5.1
Crash fixes for Skeletal Mesh streaming being unstable in 5.1 (Was disabled temporarily) Odds are you will notice slightly increased VRAM/RAM usage
Crash Fixes to units catching on Fire and causing a crash after they are deleted/garbage collected
Added faction check for creating 'base under attack notification' when a Structure takes damage. Should stop civvie gates from spamming 'base under attack' to the player when hit by infected
Civvies will now start spawning sooner near civvie buildings
Added negative reputation event for cleansing civvies
Added positive reputation event for evacuating civvies
Fixed an issue with civilian walls (that aren't gates) being invisible to the player
Started dividing the ROE widget's diplomacy logic into a separate Diplomacy widget
Added some fixes to widget sizes at the top left to stop 'scaling/jittering' buttons
Updated the Diplomacy widget button to use some of our newer art assets
Set up the Diplomacy widget to have a 'DestroyedFactions' section so they dont clutter the section with "Active" Factions
Updated some logic (including save/load) to mark Civvie factions as 'destroyed' if their main building gets destroyed
Updated civvie faction wall construction to cease if their main building gets destroyed
Updated Display Name generation for civvie faction archetypes to try to minimize the number of duplicate faction names

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

[/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

Merch Store

[expand type=details]

[/expand]

[ 2023-04-05 22:20:19 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2.7.1 Dynamic Civilian Groups (Experimental Only)

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 15

https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 14

https://youtu.be/LOdVk1yiuak

How to opt into Experimental

To opt into experimental install "Cepheus Protocol Experimental" in your steam library. It is no longer a beta opt in but an entirely new game granted when you purchase the base game.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Enabled FOW-hiding for civilian faction main tents
Adjusted civilian faction main tents to spawn 2uu higher than normal to make it easier for perception components to see them
Updated logic to not penalize the player's bank account if the player kills civilians that are members of an evil civilian faction (cannibals, etc.)
Additionally, no rep loss will occur if killing evil civilians
Boosted squad size for civvies to 10 (from 8)
Civilians will erect their compound walls quicker
Fixed a loading issue with walls to resolve civvie gates 'breaking' and not letting civvies through (may not fix saves from previous patch)
Fixed some registration issues with Civilian gates to prevent targeting issues when loading saves (may not fix saves from previous patch)
-Fixed a few other issues with Civilian gates not being considerd 'powered,' causing them to break navigation when loaded
Fixed some targeting issues that allowed player units who cannot damage Civilian gates from being able to target said gates
Fixed a landscaping issue with civilian walls - landscaping box wasn't being 'saved' if it was pertinent, now it does get saved. This may not fix old saves
Fixed some issues with 'repair previews' not appearing correctly for player walls and civilian gates
Updated Civilian squad size to max out at 8 on Day 1, up to 16 at Day 3
Added 'MoveAwayFromTargetBehaviorChance' and 'MoveTowardsUnseenTargetInCombatBehaviorChance' to AIController_Civilian for adjusting how likely civvies are to advance (when they can no longer see their target) or retreat (when they can), checked roughly every 1.5 seconds. These values were previously hardcoded.
Adjusted the 'MoveAwayTargetBehaviorChance' to be 5% (from 60%) so civilian gunners don't fidget around quite as much in combat
Set up logic to make sure Camp Walls for civvie camps aren't targetable by the player (which caused a weird 'This unit belongs to Environment' popup if right-clicked)
Fixed an issue with civvie gates sometimes not opening for their own civvies
Quick fix to disable 'no rep loss for killing ASSAULT order civvies regardless of faction', so you will still lose rep if killing regular civvies who have banded against you
Crash fixes for https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/1092175849664544808/1092178481422553108
Crash fixes for https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/1091976144355606530/1091976144355606530
Crash fixes for https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/1091838194879844452/1091838194879844452
Crash fixes for https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/1091621463913680978/1091621463913680978
Crash fixes for https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/1091555545296679033/1091555545296679033
Crash fixes for https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/1091390481117749348/1091390481117749348
increased chances of civilian factions coming out sooner

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

[/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

Merch Store

[expand type=details]

[/expand]

[ 2023-04-04 23:07:01 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2.7 Dynamic Civilian Groups (Experimental Only)

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 15

https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 14

https://youtu.be/LOdVk1yiuak

How to opt into Experimental

To opt into experimental install "Cepheus Protocol Experimental" in your steam library. It is no longer a beta opt in but an entirely new game granted when you purchase the base game.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Dynamic Civilian groups added so they will help populate the world. These dynamic groups will roll one of 3 personalities and live daily lives in the world. (Basic, Raider, Militant)
Dynamic Civilian groups will start appearing randomly midway through the first day. (They will not affect zone income)
Basic groups will stay more neutral and just attempt to "survive", Raider groups will attack all groups openly and have the lowest chance to appear. They will eat people as well and last but not least Militant groups will have the best gear and be quicker to attack you if your becoming a problem to them.
They will share information about your deeds and you can gain reputation with them by evacuating them or sheltering them inside your camps.
If you are in positive Rep with a group you can recruit civilians to help foster your army early game or in emergency situations from their "Central tent".
Killing civilians will slowly turn them against you in greater volumes depending on how far away the incident was that occurred from a civilian group.
Dynamic Civilian groups that begin to hate CERC on their reptation(Can be viewed in the ROE tab) will start gathering outside CERC buildings and riot. If relations continue to degrade they will start to firebomb CERC buildings and openly declare war on CERC. They will form alliances to kill you
ROE tab revamped to allow you to maintain your diplomacy with groups that you meet dynamically.

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

[/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

Merch Store

[expand type=details]

[/expand]

[ 2023-04-01 00:31:35 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2.6.4 (Experimental Only)

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 15

https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 14

https://youtu.be/LOdVk1yiuak

How to opt into Experimental

To opt into experimental install "Cepheus Protocol Experimental" in your steam library. It is no longer a beta opt in but an entirely new game granted when you purchase the base game.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Changes to Loading weapon code to resolve physical weapons not appearing. New standards on soft loading in Unreal Engine 5.1 basically caused this issue
Updated Chelsey infection rates (in the difficulty settings) to stop the overly slow initial hive creation reported by Shaggy
Further updates to Chelsey infection rate so her early game start won't be delayed too much (seems like first hive is now ~13:30-15:30, instead of as late as 21:00)
Fixed Civilian buildings pinging the HUD with their 'construction complete' notification
MCX is now a burst rifle, spread decreased rpm is now 800
m4 was added to Winters, Engineer, Medic, Scientist and Spec ops
Behind the scenes we are still tweaking and adjusting logic for Dynamic civilian groups so the last 2 patches do include other "hidden" logic but we wont talk about them till those features go live in a few days.

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

AMD FSR requires an engine restart sometimes to start

[/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

Merch Store

[expand type=details]

[/expand]

[ 2023-03-31 01:18:20 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2.6.3 (Experimental Only)

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 15

https://youtu.be/GV3YOssGEfs

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 14

https://youtu.be/LOdVk1yiuak

How to opt into Experimental

To opt into experimental install "Cepheus Protocol Experimental" in your steam library. It is no longer a beta opt in but an entirely new game granted when you purchase the base game.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

More Leviathan logic being made DRY (centralization, etc., to reduce the amount of logic that's repeated, for easier control)
Used this to try to reduce situations where Leviathan makes tunnels in Restrictor radius
Improved safety for Restrictor avoidance so levi's avoid them
Improved Leviathan 'restrictor avoidance' to try to better account for other restrictors that might be nearby
Utilized Leviathan 'restrictor avoidance' in their combat movement, to prevent them from emerging during combat in radius of a restrictor
Fixed a flaw with Leviathan 'invalid actor base' detection, and improved the height check it uses (so Leviathans will hopefully not 'spawn inside' of sufficiently tall skyscrapers, then jump up on the roof)
Improved Leviathan spawning logic to try to prevent spawning inside of a Restrictor radius
Added another move safety to part of Leviathan's emerge-searching, to try to prevent Leviathans getting stuck in a move-loop
Downported some minimap/visibility loading logic from the Infected Pods BP to C++ structure loading (so Tunnel Entrances can benefit from it)
Moved some Structure 'FOW-startup' logic to Base_Structure (from Base_PlayerStructure) so Tunnel Entrances can hide in FOW
Result: Tunnel Entrances, like infected pods, now will only be hidden in FOW until seen by the player once, then will remain visible
Fix added for 'broken' Unit Icon reference being left behind if you drag-drop the last Unit Icon out of a Group Window to 'de-group' that unit, then move another Unit into that group that was removed
Implemented crashfix for div/0 crash when something checks infected saturation in a zone that has been completely evacuated and has no infected left
Fix for being unable to 'see' rubble-ified tunnel entrances that you have yet to have seen
Fix for structures loading with less than zero health but not being in Rubble mode (causing 'untargetable' tunnel entrances, for example)
Fixed the TUGS not showing its detection radius when player is placing it down, or when it's been selected
Fixed Tower Guards referencing old male/female meshes in their setup, causing them to A-pose reverted back to resolve 4000 series crashes
Disabled InfectedRaven Niagara>BP data transfer
Enhanced Leviathan move safeties:
Location targeting uses a box trace instead of a line trace, to try to reduce emerging 'close enough to a building' to end up on top of it
Location targeting safeties were actually being 'overrun' and returning bad locations: backups added to re-try later if safeties fail
Additionally, as number of checks in one call increase, search radius will increase (without this, a lot of situations would always hit the safety limit)
Doubled minimum distance (800->1600) between tunnel entrances
Another safety for Leviathans popping up on buildings (if Levi would drop a tunnel entrance on an invalid position, Levi forced to re-burrow now)
Fix to Leviathan Vomit dealing friendly fire damage to infected
Fix for unlocks not displaying their price properly if you get the Discount doctrine upgrade
Converted Leviathan 'trace for invalid base actor' logic use multi-overlap instead of single trace
Set up a test for seeing how infected 'get by' the player:
Had some success. If I set up a bunch of guards so no infected get by, but leave the gate open, the unit movers get by and - somehow or another - a certian Unit Mover type or order can 'complete' and transfer some infected over invisibly. Committing slot 45 for testing this more later
Fixed an issue with a SpawnNode 'construction point' failing to register if a tower construction point was created alongside it, in the ZoneManager's AdjustInfectedConversions
Turned off the ability for 'passive infection conversion' to occur in a zone if there are no qualifying infected structures in the area
Units who convert to infected units inside of the FOW should no longer fail to be able to move
Fixed annoying Destroyed messages related to PCRef from damage characters on Command Post Trucks (by making the message not print if there's no current World)
Small change to AI_spawn_nodes map due to world partition complaint
Changed SpawningVolumes to not be included in HLOD
Fixed up spatial loading settings for MercerSystem+Subsystem, InfectionZones, InfectionZoneManager, SpawnNode, UnitMover, CentralSpawner, and MissionBlueprintPoint (to stop some errors that occur when opening the OpenWorldMaster_WP)
Cleared out unknown weird 'Brush' actors from several levels that break saving in World Partition (w/ Dimitry's help)
Removed unnecessary logic from MasterLightingSystem's level BP for starting up FOW (since it starts up automatically, and that level BP logic breaks world partition conversion) NOTE: IF there suddenly start to be Fog of War (FOW) issues in builds, we may need to undo this commit, in case that was for fixing issues in builds that don't occur in-editor.
Landscape spline ref map committed for landscape spline repair (Committed by Derek from Build Machine)
Update to landscape spline refs (Derek from Build Machine)
Commit of some of my work from last week
Safety to prevent formations from 'breaking' on load if units were moving in formation when you saved
Crash fix for rare issue with Unit Movers and their devirtualized units
Improvements to debug logs for Unit Movers
Repaired PI_Spawn_Nodes (from the changes made to its BP graph so World Partition would build)
Repaired AI's Spawn Nodes map so factions can function again
Repaired Landscapes to pre World Partition state (with the previous commits, the Open World Master non-WP version should now function as before)
Change to Carpet Bomb template to be a soft-reference in the PlayerController
Unreal 5.1 Update
Foliage Backup map from BuildMachine (pre WorldPartition) - Dimitry
Deleted the old HorderLeaderboardtest.umap and widget (widget was causing failure in data validate)
One for the Open World itself, PERSISTENTMASTER, for things like TI<->Presidio move proxies
New ConstructionScript logic to resolve an issue with nav modifiers working differently in 5.1 on landscape actors (to update their failsafe nav to match the mesh, which it was automatically able to read by itself in 5.0)
Landscaping cars+misc updated w/ failsafe extents changed to function better for nav building (trees need manual work)
Fix to landscape-able tree nav
racked down a severe issue w/ proxy collision not being 'fully cleared' in the WP
Due to how World Partition works, actors who were modified by the Proxy Collision Manager didn't get 'dirtied' by the change, and thus their collision settings didn't reset
Created a utility widget that handled the cleanup by mimicking the proxy collision manager's Clean command while properly 'transacting' the actors so that the changes would be save-able
Collision+nav issues in the Open World Master seem mostly resolved. Player units can complete a move from Presidio to Alcatraz unassisted!
Cleanup of more actor types that needed SpatiallyLoaded to be false
re-saving actors in the WP to fix Map Check complaining about them
Clean up of null static mesh actors (and empty LevelInstance actors) in the WP to prevent Map Check warnings
Made landscape-able actors not participate in HLOD (cars, trees, etc.)
Updated player buildings to not be spatially loaded
Updated bridge containers to not be spatially loaded (and fixed the bridge destructibles themselves)
Updated world buildings to not be spatially loaded
Fixed a Merged_Warehouse_A in AIG7 that was still a static mesh (instead of a world building)
Fixed a major issue with Civilian 'condemned building movement' not triggering (due to a helipad check and some other things that weren't needed)
Started working on pivot-adjusting logic to try to help Dimitry with moving landscape splines (no soap yet though)
Made MercerRadius not be spatially loaded (not sure if it was needed, though)
New BP Library functions for accessing the World and the Streaming Levels through it
Slight tweak to PC BP "AsyncLoadClass" event to skip the load if the class already is loaded
Updated ZoneManager and GameState access relations in PlayerController, GameState, and ZoneManager to support a setter/getter setup
Used this to bypass an issue where Dynamic Civilian Factions fail to initialize due to the ZoneManager initializing before the GameState does
And updated C++/BP that referenced the PC's ZoneManager to use the new Getter (including OpenWorldMaster)
Cleared out the old MinimapComponentBP (no longer used)
Fixed a Warehouse in AIG07 that hadn't been converted to a World Building
Updated OpenWorldMaster proxy collision+nav after the above
Partial commit of World Partition deletion per Robert's request (Derek from Build Machine)
Started updating SquadControllers (part of Central Spawners, part of Dynamic Civvie Factions) to be children of VirtualUnitMovers
Formation logic ported to VirtualUnitMover (w/ added save/load: set FormationNum to 0 in a UnitMover's BP to 'turn on' random formations, or leave it as -1 to use the existing regular move logic)
Started cleaning out CentralSpawner and SquadController logic to support being virtual unit movers now
Started updating orders to use VirtualUnitMover-related calls instead of the old Squad-ones
Started updating save/load logic to support their new VirtualUnitMover setup
Cleared out more of old SquadController behaviors in favor of their VirtualUnitMover inheritance
Police/Anarchists have minimal functionality now on the new unit mover setup, though they have a rougher time capturing territory (due to capture points not respecting virtual units): not sure if time should be spent updating this further on this front due to that being a deprecated system
Still, the SquadControllers being in this state makes them more usable for dynamic civvie factions
Further cleanup of SquadController to better favor its VirtualUnitMover inheritance:
Cleaned out the 'SquadObjective' style enum to make sure it uses MoveOrder strings like regular UnitMovers do
Fixed an initialization issue to make sure they always are able to activate and run
Set up a 'GameMinuteTimer' in the GameState for other actors to reference if they desire to update every 'in game hour' (relative to regular timescale) without needing separate timers each
Updated CentralSpawners to use this instead of relying on the old Hour delegate
Updated Factions to have logic to enable their appearance in the Diplomacy tab of the PoliciesDropdownWidget
Either automatically, or via player seeing one of their units
Added an 'OnSeenByPlayer' response to units for this purpose
Updated save/load of CentralSpawners and some registration logic in the GameState and PoliciesDropdownWidget to support this
Enhanced SquadControllers to always be counted as 'civilian' unit movers
And improved their spawning logic so doing so won't 'break' them when they try to switch their nav modifier over to Civvie mode when they switch modes
Quick fix to stop all civvies in a Zone from spawning as the civvie subfaction that's assigned to said zone
Started updating handling of Factions for UnitMovers
And used this to make a quick fix for Factions Beta units to still be able to capture territory (by devirtualizing when on a Recon(capture) order and near the target)
Fixed FOW support for Base_Structure to support structures whose root component is a static mesh
Started adding support for a 'MainBuilding' for Dynamic Civvie factions to use
Which accesses MercerSystem 'pod trace' logic so these buildings can be dynamically placed around a spot as desired
used this to make civilian faction building construction start point not be right on top of the capture point
Made civilian factions track if their main building gets destroyed (including via save/load)
Made a basic check for Civilian Factions to spawn their main building (currently just after first ingame minute)
With changes to initialization for the CentralSpawners to support recognizing the correct faction, and removing the delegate for the check if the building gets set or destroyed
Updated 'VectorInBounds' from CepheusBlueprintLibrary to support an optional bool AlsoMustNotBeZero (default true), which also makes the Vector return false if it's a zero vector
Updated the Structure Healthbar widget to not show itself if the structure isn't visible in-world
Ported over some values from CentralSpawner to the Faction Container, for modularity's sake
And copied relevant values from the Police+Anarchist Spawners to their FC
Further modularized squad spawning for CentralSpawners
Set up logic for dynamic civvie factions start checking for unit spawns after setting up a main building
No spawn lists/pricing/costs set up yet for this so it doesn't work yet, but it's most of the way done
Ported more settings from the CentralSpawner to the Faction Container DA
Set up logic so civilians can be spawned by the dynamic civilian spawners
Should automatically be armed when they spawn, if they have CivvieWeapons and no default
SpawnWeapons defined (so 'unarmed' civvies won't be a thing, unless the spawned class has no SpawnWeapons OR CivvieWeapons)
Waits until MainBuilding has spawned first and prevents their spawn unless said MainBuilding is created
Added logic to make Civilian-based spawners pull from World Buildings in the area for populating their ranks (so the civilian count doesn't magically gain numbers when civvie faction units are spawned, and so they cannot spawn if there are no civvies left)
Removed the extremely old first version of the Reputation system (the flat number in the PC)
Started updating dynamic civvie faction aggression response
Started on slight overhaul of Faction-relationship handling, saving, and loading, to better support dynamically-generated factions
Improved Unit Mover faction-setting on its units to better ensure dynamic civvie faction units spawn and load as the correct faction
Set up Dynamic Civvie Faction 'roll for go hostile' logic
Raven health lowered to 1800 from 2700
Fixed some animation issues with pistols and the f2000
Updated Structure team-registration to reflect the updates that Characters got, allowing them to properly get the correct faction when spawning as part of dynamic civilian factions
Started revamping save/load of Walls to be more modular and use StructureSaveData rather than their own unique FWallSaveData
P90: damage lowered from 18.5 to 16 & rpm decreased from 700 to 650.
Vector: clip size increased from 25 to 40, rpm increased from 900 to 1000.
mp5: rpm decreased from 800 to 700, clip size increased from 25 to 30 & damaged Decreased to 26
from 34 and 23 from 34 suppressed.
m249 - clip size decrerased from 200 to 150 & rpm increased from 750 to 850.
x-bren 5.56: is now a 6.8m, rpm decreased to 600 from 700 & clip size decreased from 45 to 30.
mcx (m16a3): rpm increased from 800 to 850.
Scar 5.56: clip size decreased from 35 to 25 & rpm decreased from 730 to 650
mp5sd 10mm: damaged decreased from 34 to 30 & rpm decreased from 800 to 750.
Spitters acid attack damage increased from 35 to 40 and projectile speed increased from 2,000.0 to 2,850.0. have fun
m16a3 added to the following units. Winters, Assault, Engineer, Heavy, Scientist, Sniper & spec ops.
Fixed Doctrine registry
speculative fix for crash https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/1074600733267206194/1086926583299846196
speculative crash fix https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/1063512299794612314/1063512299794612314
speculative crash fix https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/1063512299794612314/1063512299794612314
Updated to latest 5.1 standards on coding
rewrote audio importing system to hopefully solve audio playback crashes
Fixed weather DA references in PlayerController
Updated rep range in regular+cannibal civ archetypes
Fixed Target Civilians ROE option
Added a 'RiotRange' reputation setting to FactionContainers for Dynamic Civvie Factions
Added a 'RiotMode' to CentralSpawner (also accessible from FactionManager) and started on logic for turning it on/off
Added a 'RiotMode' to Base_Character and set up a delegate for when it shifts and hooked it up in the Anim Blueprint
Enhanced setup for FactionManagers to better enable delegate binding for registered units and used this to set up RiotMode on units in a Faction which has entered Riot against player
Set up logic to make CentralSpawners declare Riot if rep is low enough (seems to require player buildings before it'll run though, may need to tweak it some more)
Speculative crash fix for unit mover devirtualization
Adjusted civilian unit movers to have their own UnitMover array in the GameState (so they won't encroach on unit mover cap for infected)
Centralized setting of CharacterMovement 'update while rendered' logic to a single function, to try to better manage it and deal with situations where gameplay-relevant civvies remain motionless
Updated Avenger Art assets.
Updated TOW missile material.
Avenger Stinger Missile setup.
Fixed preview mesh crashes
Added Target Homing to TOW Missile.
Added Avenger preview mesh.
Fixed Avenger lights.

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

AMD FSR requires an engine restart sometimes to start

[/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

Merch Store

[expand type=details]

[/expand]

[ 2023-03-30 01:12:41 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2.6.2 (Experimental Only)

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 14

https://youtu.be/LOdVk1yiuak

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 13

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hdefIw4O7g

How to opt into Experimental

To opt into experimental install "Cepheus Protocol Experimental" in your steam library. It is no longer a beta opt in but an entirely new game granted when you purchase the base game.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Added a placeholder 'BunkerBuster' variant of the Charon class icon
Added a HUD notification upon the Bunker Buster successfully collapsing a tunnel
Updated more Leviathan logic to use 'GetValidLeviathanEmergeSpot' so Leviathans will hopefully just pop up inside build volumes (instead of inside of or on top of buildings) Leviathans should be much less likely to appear on rooftops
Added a check to prevent Leviathans from spawning an additional Tunnel Entrance on top of another they've spawned
Fixed two crashes with UnitMover-Tunnel interaction
mproved Leviathan movement logic to try to further restrict movement from potentially ending up on rooftops
Updated the HUD Recruit weapon selection dropdown to support the updates that the Weapon Market item widget got
Quick update to stop Bounty Infected overhead images from showing through the fog of war
Set up Bunker Buster damage on a burrowed Leviathan to irritate it and give it a good chance to emerge (unless there's no ground to emerge from nearby, i.e. you hit it while it was under water)
Fixed a crash w/ Unit Mover+Tunnel interaction
Swapped out 'TUGS Ping' response from Juggernaut+Leviathan to say 'Sensors detected' instead of 'TUGS detected' (since Leviathan can be spotted by the Charon's Bunker Buster setup, now)
Speculative fix for Ravens leaving their 'icon' visible to the player even after re-entering FOW https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/1077240538002116648/1077240538002116648
Fixed tunnel entrance 'rubble mode' not saving/loading

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

AMD FSR requires an engine restart sometimes to start

[/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

Swag Store

[expand type=details]

[/expand]

[ 2023-02-23 00:17:05 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2.6.1 (Experimental Only)

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 14

https://youtu.be/LOdVk1yiuak

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 13

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hdefIw4O7g

How to opt into Experimental

To opt into experimental install "Cepheus Protocol Experimental" in your steam library. It is no longer a beta opt in but an entirely new game granted when you purchase the base game.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Nvidia 4000 series card crash resolved with Birds
Added the Ability for the TUGS to detect Levi and Tunnel networks passively
Fixed to Levi tunneling to make them not choose "stupid" locations to place them (We will be revising this into the next few days to improve it further into next week)
Increased health of birds by double
Increased Birds resistance to bullets
Small fix to targeting issue with tunnel entrances
Fixed 'unit clearing due to reasons other than death' not properly clearing their Population count (which seems related to at least one source of 'extra pop cost when loading saves')
Added more safeties to hopefully stop Leviathans from tunneling 'above ground' as much
Added a new tag-check to the Guard Tower to prevent non-Tower Guards from manning them (if the tower's current guard should die without the tower itself falling)
Updated Gates to have 'CanCharacterStepUpOn' to be no for the various subcomponents on it that had this set to 'yes' (hopefully stops Juggernaut gate climbing)
Updated Grenade throw trace to also ignore enemy units (the mouse will still 'hit' them but the grenade itself will go through)
Bunker Buster weapon added in early-state to the Charon
Removes unit carry capacity (aside from the pilot)
Adds a tunnel-scanner (with scanner widget toggle on the Charon in the world)
Bunker Buster can be fired via Command Window (bottom right of screen) for $2500 (30 sec cooldown)
Bunker Buster deals no damage unless target is below ground!
Destroys tunnels that 'connect' tunnel entrances that Leviathans build
If you hit a Leviathan that's underground with this, it'll take a good chunk out of his health
Fixed the SPAS-12 not having an AimSource socket
BunkerBusterMissile minimum damage adjusted
Progress commit on making Cooldown visible for command widget
Updated Charon bunker buster to 'aim' the ability when the button is pressed, akin to the Fast Rope aim circle
Improvements to Weapon Market display
Shows 'APS' (attacks/actions per second') instead of 'RPS' for melee weapons
Stats display is hidden if weapon is not conventional (i.e. Scientist Scanner, Charon Bunker Buster)
Added description to Scientist Scanner and Riot Shields
Improved overhead ammo display widget for units to not be shown for weapons that do not use ammo (such as Scanner, Bunker Buster, etc.)
Fixed the Charon 'ground scanner widget' not getting cleared if you unequip the Bunker Buster from it
Added Raven options to the difficulty adjuster. Active, Start Day, Health Multiplier
Improved save/load for World Buildings to report duplicate World Building BuildingDevNames (which mess with save/load)
Fixed a bug that causes civilians to be removed improperly from a zone (which was causing the population to increase over time if you evacuated civilians between zones)
Crit multiplier set to x2 max for all guns
Speed standards set on all classes to be the same
Added a placeholder 'BunkerBuster' variant of the Charon class icon

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

AMD FSR requires an engine restart sometimes to start

[/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

Swag Store

[expand type=details]

[/expand]

[ 2023-02-17 23:53:04 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2.6 (Experimental Only)

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 13

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hdefIw4O7g

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 12

https://youtu.be/Ro74RDr85cQ

How to opt into Experimental

To opt into experimental install "Cepheus Protocol Experimental" in your steam library. It is no longer a beta opt in but an entirely new game granted when you purchase the base game.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Infected Birds added, they will build nests and spread virus across the island past day 2. They will also build nests to create more birds over time. They can attack air units and units hiding on rooftops.
Updated 'latest save' string to point at the latest saved *or* latest loaded game. And updated the Load Game screen for Pandemic to use the same criterion for 'latest save' that the Game Over+Pause menus use (so it won't be so confusing)
Updated Garrison Position for the Merlin to be more 'under' the entry spot (instead of too far out, where it can get 'stuck' into things too easily, such as in a save Robert sent to me)
Added Infected Crow's Nest Mesh, texture and material
Updated Helicopters with a new var 'DistanceToStartLoweringForFastRope', set to 12000. Used this to make Helicopters much less likely to overshoot Rappel targets by starting to fly lower sooner
Improvements to Bird attack logic and how they pick a 'swoop target' and attacks
Improved logic to determine if a player is walled off/unreachable by destroying bridges so Flying units and Levi's will target them
Fixed an issue w/ loaded civvies (who are infected) using Civvie idles
Added a custom game setting InfectedBirdStartDay, and a function in the ChelseySystem for checking sending birds alongside any Assault checks
Added another fix for being able to mouse-click bridges certain spots to bring up a menu that lets you destroy them
Fix to autosave startup in the Open World Master to wait until both Chelsey and the Player have 'started up', to prevent the game from autosaving before Chelsey spawns, thus creating a world with no Patient Zero if you load that 'game start autosave'
Fixed up 'permanent targeting' issue if they start a swoop on someone but that person leaves vision
Improved ActorConstructionPoint to have a 'non-absorb' mode so units can 'construct' pods/etc. similar to how Engineers do
Added some additional logic so that Helicopters interacting with Construction will lower their flight height to 50, then return it to normal after their TargetConstructionActor is removed
Fixed a major save/load issue (introduced Friday) that caused Hive references for LTs to 'break' and reference random constructibles in the zone
Fixed Chelsey being included in the "LT Array" in the MercerSystem
Fixed another save/load issue with Mercer Hives (if a hive was under construction at the point of saving, due to auto construct, it was being 'ignored' and thus forgotten. No longer)
More fixes to prevent Hives or pods getting 'forgotten' by the game when saving/loading
Fixed the Sniper's default mesh being unassigned sometimes to cause them to A pose
Improved save/load logic to detect an 'empty mesh' on loaded units, and give them a random mesh from their available male/female variants if they are 'empty mesh' on load
Added another move proxy from Treasure Island Power Plant to the 'middle' of its bridge back to TI South, for fixing an issue Efrain encountered
Updated some Helicopter-related logic to be more modular, and updated Infected AI to better account for flight-height when scanning for movement spots Result: Birds more reliably roam around, move around, and can follow construction orders from really far away (instead of failing to spread from initial nest) in the Master
Fixed an issue where loaded Ravens would fail to be saved (i.e. save, load would work, but saving then loading again would delete them)
Raven Subsystem now tries to spawn a Raven to defend a nest if that nest has no Raven to guard it (higher priority than spawning to spread, so that'll happen first)
Raven Subsystem now tries to spread to player territory if it already has nests on all landmasses And, if there are no birds *and* no structures, construction points will clear so it can 'start afresh' rather than getting stuck
Minor fix to FreshlyLoaded, too, to hopefully stop the system from stalling if you save/load before the first hive starts construction
Several fixes to Chelsey AI
Stuck checks improved: if her 'on invalid nav' checks notice being on bad nav but fail to find a good spot, CriticalStuckWarp will run. Though this won't run if she has a jump attack target, is falling, has an attach parent (i.e. helicopter she's punching), etc.
Set up a response for when Hives take damage to summon the nearest Leviathan to assist in its defense
Fixed an issue with units getting 'jitters' if given a group order to move to a garrison, then given another move order away from it
Unit Mover and Chelsey System improvements to support (and encourage) usage of tunnel entrances =Results: If tunnels exist in-world, the Chelsey System and Unit Movers now know how to use them, and will prioritize spreading to tunnel exits that are far away (to make Angel island seem more 'tempting' to their AI, so to speak, and to improve likelihood of building up defenses in 'tunnel zones').
Added a safety to prevent Birds entering into an 'infinite melee attack loop crash'
Added a basic TOW weapon to the Humvee (kitbashed from the CROWS+SMAW, with mostly SMAW stats)
Used this to make the Avenger gun for the Humvee, with some basic stats and anti-air properties, as well as a description indicating to the player that it's anti-air only. The Avenger has friendly fire turned off, so it won't hurt allied
And improved initial Leviathan spawn to try to prevent him from popping up on top of buildings initially
Improved safety regarding tunnel movement for UnitMovers (to prevent a potential infinite loop crash)
Improved Leviathan 'emerge from burrow' logic to not 'miss' a case where a tunnel entrance should be dropped
Leviathans now have a lower 'wander time', especially if issued a ZoneBurrowTarget from the LeviathanSubsystem
Updated Leviathan start day on Director's Cut (and default setting for Custom Difficulties) to be ingame Gametime Day 2 (after 24 minutes ingame)
Infected also get an 'initial Leviathan token' on the Leviathan start day, allowing them to quickly get a Leviathan right as that day begins
Added a slight fix to the ZoneManager to not potentially 'add another Leviathan token' when loading saves, if someone sets custom difficulty Leviathan start day to ingame day 1
Fixed Infected bird animation speed.
Added glowing eyes to infected birds.
Speculative crashfix added for Unit+Tunnel interaction
Improved default explosive safety to stop 'false positives' in some weird circumstances with enemy tunnels
Improved enemy tunnel with 'attackpoints' to make it more easily targetable by player units
Added pipeline to support logic for Leviathans to respond to a Tunnel Entrance being damaged
made the Leviathan roar sound trigger from a tunnel in a zone when a Leviathan moves to defend a zone due to hive/tunnel being damaged there
Fixes for mouse targeting issues with world buildings/bridges after Tunnel targeting fixes
Fixed Structure Healthbars not working for things that didn't inherit from Base_PlayerStructure
Updated Tunnels to have 18K health (from 6K), so it's not an easy 'burn down': you'll want explosives.
Fixed hovering over structures that have no hovertext causing an 'empty hovertext' popup to display (small black rectangle)
Set up the Raven Subsystem to spawn additional ravens to support Assaults against locations that have already repelled enough units (up to 3 swarms)
Added Leviathan 'assault support'. If a zone has endured some Assault unit movers, the Leviathan subsystem may send up to two Leviathans to assist
A few Leviathan move/burrow functions tweaked (and a safety added to AI to try to stop rotation freeze bug)

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Charon will be gaining new abilities to hunt Chelsey/Levi/Tunnels next patch

[/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

Swag Store

[expand type=details]

[/expand]

[ 2023-02-11 02:08:33 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2.5.1 (Public Branch Only)

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 13

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hdefIw4O7g

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 12

https://youtu.be/Ro74RDr85cQ

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Fixed an error where LT's wouldnt spawn correctly
Fixed up the Weather system to attach to the Player Camera Manager instead of the player pawn (fixes rain staying in a 'small box' above the player cam root, instead of being attached around the 'lens' regardless of camera height or operator mode)
Fix to population mismatch occurring when evacuating civilians from one zone to another
Improved passive infection logic related to buildings: Passive tick can try up to three buildings if the targeted building doesn't have enough units for the passive tick
Infection amount now respects the successful infection amount from each building, rather than the initial queried amount (preventing infected from gaining population from excess 'infection pop tick' that a building couldn't handle)
Lowered Critical Chance for P90
Updated mob unit logic to reduce turn rate (up down to 10% turn rate when mob is of 4 units or more). Looks noticeably better for civvies evacuating.
Updated construction points to use 'PlayerWall' nav instead of global 'Obstacle' nav, preventing the player from redirecting infected by setting down (but not completing) sandbag construction points
Updated Sandbag Builder to support keyboard rotation without breaking Spotlight overlap logic
improved Sandbag Builder's update rate to update 15 times a second (instead of 8 times a second), to make it feel a bit smoother
Improved several performance tweaks for character meshes to also apply to mob meshes (so civilian mob meshes shouldn't be as expensive as they were before)
Fixed the 'auto evac loop' disabling itself for a zone that has no population left (in case it *gains* population due to another zone evacuating to it)
Improved Chelsey's BridgeDestroyed response to exit her 'death regen' shell and jump to safety (results in full heal early, though, but better than her exiting the game, for the moment)
Quick fix to Chelsey's new 'emergency escape from death regen due to bridge blowing up' to not full-heal her, unlike regular death regen
Naviation movement tweaked on all Islands
Updated some wallbuilder math to deal with the 'corner point' offsets for player wall construction
Updated units to save/load their velocity (should be more noticeable with vehicles not having to 'start up again' when loading saves)
Has some safeties to not load velocity when devirtualizing units (which is a form of loading), as well as not load velocity if a unit was saved in a garrison or while being airlifted
Made repairs to Location volumes in Grids 7 and 8.
Improved helipad 'extra collision' (and nav) handling to be more modular:
Extra collision/nav actor spawns at construction phase and is transferred up, rather than only spawning when the building lands (preventing the helipad's 'preview hologram' from blocking unit movement due to them not seeing it as an obstacle, and it also prevents multiple actor spawning/despawning during construction phases, so nav only has to update once for helipad construction)
Enhanced patrol logic to respect the new 'bUseFormationMovement' bool being false (for vehicles), so patrols can still be fully utilized by vehicles
Updated the light sphere for CERC buildings to alpha light of 1000 (from 400), to make them brighter
Updated MUTT+MULE to use Formation Movement again
Gas Attack updated its description to better reflect current gamestate (instead of mentioning the now-unavailable Gas Mask unlock)
Fixed up some logic related to the Infection Scanner 'weapon' for Scientists to make it more reliable
Crash fixes for Infection Scanner
Fixed Units not hiding their Minimap POI when garrisoned
Updated airlifted units (i.e. vehicles picked up by the Merlin) to hide their minimap POI
Updated Civvies to properly use ResetStimuli when faction relationships update (so the player can target them immediately after switching ROE to target civvies, instead of any civvies currently in view being 'ignored' until someone sees them 'afresh')
Minor Post process changes - From from 0.7 to 0.55 (default). Contrast from 1.0 to 1.25 to compensate.
Skylight Intensity increased from 2 to 3 to make the map brigher.
Long movement orders should be more reliable now
Move Proxy system now tries to sort out move proxies that cannot reach the final destination, if it finds one that can (and is on the same landmass), to minimize confusion in movement
Anti-backtracking logic added to prevent units from 'switching' move proxies due to getting within the 'minimum range exclusion' zone of the one they're currently targeting
New move proxy added to TI G1 to help with things like this: https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/1056945493877461062/1056945493877461062
Engineer construction should more reliably use the move proxy system, too
Fixed weather particle effects failing to clear when weather changes
Added a 'post-dodge anti-strafe impulse' logic to helicopter 'building dodge' to make helicopters not 'slide by' move targets, but re-straighten their velocity. Helps a lot with helicopters 'overshooting' targets
Updated helicopter building dodge-mitigation logic a bit to be 'layered out' so it doesn't look as robotic
Updated WallBuilder and SandbagBuilder to have more leniency with start and end sections of walled pieces (like regular walls, sandbags, barbed wire, etc.), so it's easier to set them down in narrow locations

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Vehicle slow down issue is a problem we are looking into

[/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

Swag Store

[expand type=details]

[/expand]

[ 2023-01-11 07:17:32 CET ] [ Original post ]

Cepheus Protocol In Review 2022 Community Poll

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 13

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hdefIw4O7g

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 12

https://youtu.be/Ro74RDr85cQ In preparation for next year and getting things moving again in early January I'm looking to gather some data on how CP is shaping up from our communities standpoint, what you would like us to do better, what your excited for etc. Please consider submitting your feedback as it helps me prioritize resources accordingly going into next year. Please do not use generic terms like "Its undercooked/bad etc" Take the time to explain what exactly makes the game feel off to you so we can resolve it. What mechanics systems aren't fleshed out enough etc.

https://forms.office.com/r/VJX4GKM1Lg

[ 2022-12-30 00:40:53 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2.5 (All branches)

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 13

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hdefIw4O7g

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 12

https://youtu.be/Ro74RDr85cQ Included in this patch from experimental branch https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3611355552408690876 https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3611355552404620569 https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/6390075983613044409 https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3640627752627204999 https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3640627752624471301 https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3640627684970448999

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Added a View mode at the top left to help determine building populations at a quick glance. Green high pop, yellow moderate , red empty
Vehicle move formation orders lossened to improve vehicle movement. They will no longer wait for infantry when given group move orders (Similar to COH)
Enhancements to vehicle formation movement
Vehicles which have been part of a group move order for 6 seconds will enhance their mobility, to prevent small jitters or obstacles from completely derailing their movement
Vehicle-only formation move orders, in addition to last commit's improvement, will now hopefully have less jittering when everyone is in position (due to formation move handler speeding up if anyone is too close to their target position while still in motion)
Fixed an issue with the Idle Engineer button (after earlier commits)
Added a 'tutorial glow' popup around the Auto Evac button on the Infection Zone Widget
Updated the 'frame anim' images used to the proper UI compression settings
Added a basic FixWorldBuildingDevnameDuplicates (it needs improvements, but was sufficient for now)
Lt's buffed
All weapons have had crit damage reduced by 20%
Humvees now take proper damage from blowup guy
All Humvee gas consumption numbers lowered
Fixed infected spawning in and getting stuck
Adjusted Pivots to 3 way road intersections, for better implementation into Road spline tool.
Honey Bager is back BABY!!! & GC32 (Operator)

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Vehicle slow down issue is a problem we are looking into

[/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2022-12-24 08:08:28 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2.4.1 Preview (Experimental branch)

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 13

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hdefIw4O7g

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 12

https://youtu.be/Ro74RDr85cQ

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Updated Humvee to be available from the Motor Pool
Added a quick weather-anim fix for the Humvee when it switches meshes due to weapon swap
Improved safeties for calling-in units to (hopefully greatly) reduce the chances of units landing on rooftops
Fixed a major bug that caused civilians evacuating from one zone to another to get 'cleared' by a new update loop check
Improved 'evacuate between zones' logic to properly use Mobs (instead of sending groups of 10 at a time, which takes forever). Greatly increases evacuation-between-zones rate
Added speculative fix that (should) resolve vehicles sometimes getting 'stuck' at incredibly low speeds
Fixed a population count issue with 'Transfer Between Zones' civvie evacuation 'missing out' on civvies that are currently virtual (resulting in potentially severe population 'mismatch' over time)

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Vehicle slow down issue is a problem we are looking into

[/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2022-12-22 04:03:02 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2.4 Preview (Experimental branch)

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 13

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hdefIw4O7g

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 12

https://youtu.be/Ro74RDr85cQ

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Updated Humvee to have a fifth seat 'in the back' when in open-hooded mode
Also now uses the fourth seat when hooded
Updated firing arcs for units in Open Humvee to be able to shoot 360 degrees (their animations don't turn +/-180 anymore, though, so it looks a bit odd)
Fixed up Hooded Humvee allowing units inside to get hit
Updated InfectionZone's Condemned Unit Moving to use Mob Units
Fixed SpawnNodes *also* saving civilians who are currently under a Virtual Unit Mover's move orders (resulting in civilians duplicating as you save/load)
Fixed InfectionZone calculation of Civilian Population to try to better avoid 'double-counting' units (since Unit Mover units register with a Node, they now no longer count as 'pop' from the node *and* the unit mover)
Fixed buildings failing to properly tally Mobs when they enter
Fixed some World Buildings in the master having duplicate Devnames (Building 'D09' was used on multiple islands, and due to being in different levels, it sometimes shared Outliner names, resulting in issues when saving/loading)
Quick fix to nav in the master (commit from Derek on Build Machine)
Committing a save that (unreliably) has a Humvee that starts the save with the 'slowdown' issue. Not sure how to reliably reproduce, but this is the closest I got so far. We are still looking into this issue
Fixed Vehicle wheel steering getting stuck, and switched to a cleaner and more optimized node setup for it.
Reduced Atlas Ammo radius visualization area to 0 opacity (now outline only).
Converted Infected so they don't have shadows beyond LOD 1
North San Francisco progress
Set up an extra seat in the Open Hooded variant of the Humvee (adjusted existing 'fifth' seat by scooting it over, then copied it and mirrored. Updated garrison capacity and updated the GarrisonSeatConfigs for Open/Default)
Updated Chelsey to enter 'flee mode' after completing a Death Regen, if she's not near her territory
And on entering Death Regen (unless from a loaded game) her health will default to 1 instead of whatever value it was when she was hit with enough force to put her into Death Regen
Switched Gas tower to Nanite to improve performance
Fixed civilian mobs spawning with guns (resulting in some visual weirdness)
Updated 'mob units' to have additional health (MaxHealth added on for every extra body)
Said mob units will 'lose' bodies when their health drops below certain thresholds
A bit of modularity added to killing units to support this, too, so if the player kills mobs (w/o finishing the 'source') some of the data is handled properly (likely needs more tweaks!)
Mob unit 'deaths' use new ragdoll registry in the GameState to make sure their corpses don't stay around forever
Additionally, mob units can 'split off as infected units' instead of dying, if the civvies were infected

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Vehicle slow down issue is a problem we are looking into

[/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2022-12-21 01:06:12 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2.3 Preview (Experimental branch)

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 12

https://youtu.be/Ro74RDr85cQ

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Fix for world building icon emissive strength.
Updated landscape materials, added scattered Trash objects to Asphalt layer.
Added new HLOD base material with a Weather function, to fix pop-in of 'always-dry' HLODs during Rain. Assigned as Override on HLOD BP's.
Turned off Shadows on various road splines on Angel Island.
Updated Road Master Material to use the Landscape Asphalt material function for roads, to match landscape (world tiling).
Started breaking up the Infection Zone's 'EvacuatingCivvies' array responsibility amongst Evac Points With some new 'evac point unassigned' assistance to make sure civvies properly decouple from arrays if a helipad is destroyed or turned off from Evac Mode, for example
Updated the World Building management widget to disable the 'order buttons' and display 'Evacuating' when it's currently the auto-evac target
AI coastline nav blocker Clean-up
Fixed Chelsey/LTs not using move proxy system for roam movement (should resolve somewhat-common issues w/ LTs or Chelsey getting confused if ordered to move to another landmass)
Added some logic to Infected AI to reduce the likelihood of melee-only infected getting confused and trying to target the 'tower occupant' instead of just swinging at the tower
added new logic to Spitters to make them swing at a Guard Tower they're attacking when spit is on cooldown, by modularizing some of the melee attack logic in Infected AI
Fixed DDM4 not having an AimSource socket
Fixed the 'moving parts' of player walls not having their own collision preset (now uses PlayerGateWallPiece)
Added new collision Object Channel 'VirtualUnit' for use by the VirtualUnitMovers. Used this to make Infected Unit Movers not be able to 'phase through' player walls, in addition to the above new collision profile for the moving parts
Updated Asphalt materials.
Added more Trash scatter to landscape.
Polished up rough cliffside in Presidio.
tactical speed changed from 150 - 200
AR crit chance is 10%
SMG crit chance is 21%
Sniper crit chance is 45%
Lmgs Crit chance is 5%
Animation polish for hand placement.
lmg crit chance adjusted to 5%
More nav clean-up on Presidio
TI Cliff nav and coastline nav clean-up
Optimzation to player walls
Adjusted attackpoints for Sandbags, Barbed Wire, Dual Barbed Wire, Hesco, and Jersey walls to help resolve an issue where infected 'fail to see a wall' because the point they're looking for is a bit too low to the ground and the 'sight trace' hits the floor
Fixed up corruption on the Barbed Wire Wall
Fixed up an event in SandbagWall
Fixed up Barbed Wire hovertip
Fixed up corruption in the Short Hesco Wall
Fixed a load issue in Short Hesco Wall
Fixed corruption in Tall Hesco Wall
Fixed the MasterCharacter_AnimBlueprint not properly responding to infection conversion
Fixed Flamethrower not having an AimSource socket
Added logic to prevent Chelsey from being able to attack while in a Death Regen shell
Added a safety to make sure that Chelsey will always try to 'detach' from whatever she's attached to when she enters a Death Regen shell
Early Mob system added got it to a point where it can randomly select male/female, select a mesh, and do a little bit of 'placement finding' logic to try to minimize overlaps when adding additional units to the mob. Animates decently.
-UMP45 skeleton was missing AimSource socket: fixed
Fixed some 'late load' logic (was somehow messing up GroupPos value when LateLoading a unit)
Made Civilians, in RegisterMercerCivvie, stop using CrowdManagement beyond the 100th currently-registered (to stop them from 'blocking up' the player's ability to move, if a lot of civvies are active at once)
Improved civilian clearing logic to have an 'emergency' mode, for when a node has *way* too many civvies active at once (who aren't in unit movers/evac orders)
Improved loading of Civvies to better assign them to an Evac Point if they are loaded without Evac Point assignment, but want to evacuate
Added save/load to Mob Unit struct setup (via 'data struct' inside the outer layer which contains the savable data)
-Updated MobUnit setup to support the same depth stenciling updates that affect the main mesh
Updated Civilian Evac counter to respect mob unit amount
Updated simple garrison counter to respect mob unit amount (won't work 100% for all garrisons, but sufficient for Evac Choppers)
Updated Civilian death tracking to respect mob unit amount (both in SpawnNode and in PlayerController's 'killed civvies' tally)
Improved some loading issues with civvies on the player team not registering their death correctly
And some fixes to Evac Choppers allowing 'too many' units to try to board, resulting in a 'false board' that moves units around without actually garrisoning them
Improvements to MobUnit 'split off' logic to support splitting off multiple MobUnits into a single extra character (who inherits the other MobUnits instead of creating characters for each one)
Improvements to garrisoning to allow Evac Choppers to 'split off' units from Mobs to top themselves off
Also doubled the 'spawn amount' for civvies, to help pump out Auto-evac civvies even faster Result: Auto-evac helipad logic works pretty well! Some secondary features need testing, and mobs aren't yet applied to 'evac between buildings/zones' yet, though, so it's likely rough around the edges.
Adding Open-Top Humvee variant assets.
Turning off heli auto-evac (or losing all evac points in an area) now orders auto-evacuating civvies back into a building
turning auto-evac off also will more quickly propagate orders than turning it on
Got weapon switching working so it goes from Open-hooded to closed when equipped w/ CROWS
Updated it to take the Scout Car's place for now (saves w/ scout cars will still have access to them I think, but going forward Humvees will be available instead)
Adjusted Humvee seat offsets. Turned off Weather response.
Fix to a math issue with new 'GarrisonSlots' setup that broke degarrisoning if a unit exited a player vehicle
Updated melee attacks to be able to hit units in Garrisons who are set to be 'targetable' while in garrison
Updated Humvee (when open-hooded) to angle-lock the units inside (instead of letting them shoot 'behind' themselves - was *incredibly* powerful)
Fixed JLTV and Humvee, when Unarmed, failing to 'see' things
Further fixes to 'allow melee to hit garrisoned units in the Humvee when open hood' logic
m4 idle animation polish
m4 sprint polish
m2 crows balance pass v1
crows - 500, base dmg is 65 fall of starts at 3000cm with a crit chance of 5%
hk-53 animation tweaks
holosight added to the m4
Humvee carring capacity increased for all varients

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Some navigations issues around Treasure Island West
Humvee drivers can be killed to easily at times we are improving them for early next week

[/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2022-12-17 02:11:51 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2.2 Preview (Experimental branch)

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 12

https://youtu.be/Ro74RDr85cQ

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Added 'status mesh location' to World Buildings
And set up some logic to automate updating of this for each World Building, so each should have a good position for their 'status token'
Progress on a 'StatusMesh' for World Buildings, for displaying state of the building (Evac, Cleanse, or Condemn)
Fixed a bug that was causing some world structures to "TakeDamage" and disappear sometimes
Fixed the SelectionBox on World Buildings having a shadow
Fixed the Status Mesh on World Buildings having a shadow
Fixed some focus issues in the World Building management popup
Fixed a News button having a focus issue
Updated World Buildings to have a 'Show World Building Status' setting in the PC
Bridge Resistance to Damage increased to 45%
Grenade Launcher prices reduced

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Some Evac helicopters can get stuck on tall buildings we are working on fixes to helicopter pathing for next patch within 24-48 hours

[/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2022-12-08 23:36:46 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2.1 Preview (Experimental branch)

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 12

https://youtu.be/Ro74RDr85cQ

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Fix to Custom Sign logic to try to stop civvies from being 'interrupted' from evac/building movement if they run into a sign on the way there
Fix to sr-25_Skeleton not having an AimSource socket
Update to special-infected spawn likelihood - Not very common on day 1, Very common at night, increasingly so as time goes on. As days progress, commonality during day increases, too
Fixed an issue that could cause civilian population numbers to ballon beyond our built in safety limits
Adjusted a building instance in PI_G03 which had a door which dropped civvies onto a planter
Updated nav in the master after updating a certain planter type to no longer affect nav
Updated hovertip logic for the Helipad 'toggle to evac mode' to list the number of Helipads you have that are in Evac, as well as the limit
Updated Evac Chopper garrison size to 128 (from 32)
Added a 'SimpleGarrisonDisplay' mode that just shows numeric display instead of images (due to the Evac Chopper supporting up to 128 units now)
Improved helicopter move safeties a bit to stop them from crashing into buildings
Made the Evac Merlin have a higher flight-height (to make it fly more safely)
Added some more 'update calls' to the InfectionZoneWidget's civilian population tracker to resolve instances where population numbers would fail to update
Fixed Cleanse not counting the cleansed civvies in the Dead Tracker Result: Population tracking should be a bit more accurate, though there's likely still a few issues left with the new system setup
Some buildings have their overall population reduced
Speculative crashfix for https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/1050116654891278477/1050116654891278477
Infected hp increased from 150 - 300 based on the new CERC responiveness levels

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Some Evac helicopters can get stuck on tall buildings we are working on fixes to helicopter pathing for next patch within 24-48 hours

[/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2022-12-08 05:25:58 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2 Preview (Experimental branch)

Cepheus Protocol Dev Update 12

https://youtu.be/Ro74RDr85cQ

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Helipads can now be toggled into a mass civilian evaucation mode (Civlians can take up to a minute to start arriving as long as the zone they are built in arent empty)
Buildings can be "Cleansed" to pacificy all civlians in a building lethally. There is no civilian rep lost yet. This will be coming a few patches down the road to tie into dynamic civlian groups.
The zone card will gain a drop down when you own more then one territory to issue zone edicts to order mass evaucations.
After a zone is marked as a evaucation zone or has any kind of population in it building a helipad and toggle them into "evaucation" mode will summon all civlians within a zone to that helipad.
Fixed the 'join player team' button over Civilian heads being able to pop up if you hover over a dead civvie
Landscape textures cleaned up and material adjustments.
Collision mesh adjustments to job site buildings
Civilian unit movers now properly update their navigation query to try to avoid player walls and use player gates
Updated hovertip for the Helipad and its 'ToggleEvacMode' ability to better reflect the new evacuation setup
Updated the Shops framework slightly to support clearing hovertip when buttons are cleared or changed (fixes an issue w/ Helipad's Toggle Evac Mode hovertip not disappearing)
Civilian texture fix - (weird shadows)
Presidio Nav clean-up work
Updated the ability to set an Evac Zone to only require zone ownership, rather than requiring an Evac Helicopter
Infection Zones now will no longer automatically evacuate civilians via Evac Helipads unless told to do so via the Infection Zone Widget
Fixed 'focusable' elements on the Infection Zone Widget
Updated the Garrison cursor to not appear when mousing over a vehicle which doesn't allow any of your selected units to board (such as Civvie evac choppers if you have no civvies selected)
Added a difficulty setting for Civilian Evacuation Income (default $5)
Fixed there being a bunch of test units left on the Aircraft Carrier in the Master
Updated Automatic gates to open for Civilians, too. The hovertip for the Automatic Gate toggle button has been updated to reflect this
Updated the Mercer System to have a list of 'inactive civvies' - civilians who are spawned, but shouldn't count against the spawn limit
Currently, the only way civvies get on this list is if they're actively garrisoned in an Evac helicopter (to make sure they don't 'stop up' the flow of evacuating civilians)
Progress commit on new 'World Buildings' system (for storing civilians in buildings instead of just as abstract numbers)
Collision fix for carrier deck.
Downported a lot of Building logic into Base_Structure for more modularity in prep for World Buildings system
Updated saving/loading of units to use a 'GetSaveTransform' function, which accounts for lerping (and if the lerp is gonna clear the unit) to determine the position to load the unit at
Fixed a MAJOR issue with unit movers having 'inverted' distance checks (thus spawning units when CERC are *NOT* nearby, rather than vice-versa!)
Updated the Civvie Transfer Unit Movers to make devirtualized civvies move towards the nearest world building in the zone (if one exists) and enter it, rather than merely milling around
Updated civvies to not have an 'Accept Guardianship' popup if they have an interaction actor (i.e. are moving to go inside of a building)
Hesco wall build time reduced
Animation fixes to the hk-53 and m249
Riot shield animation fixes
hip fire fix for operator
Operator crouch shooting fixed
p220 added to civ weapon list to replace m9.
sprint works for all cerc units
Updated Chelsey to not be able to enter death regen state if in the air, and to detach from 'jump attack target' if she would normally enter death-regen state (to prevent 'death regen cocoon' from occurring in the air)
Unit Movers also now should properly make sure all their units can move in fog (when devirtualized)
Added new Speaker tower mesh.
Civlian animation updated
Those damn civs can sprint now - heheheheheh
Added a DateTime to the GameOptions save. When GameInstance loads your GameOptions, if the DateTime is before 2020 (i.e. the date time was not initalized due to being an old save), the Season Setting will be set to Vanilla instead of Halloween.
Updated World Building Orders (Condemn/Cleanse) to get cleared if you lose control of the zone that owns those buildings
Updated Evac Chopper 'auto evac' to select an evac building and start dumping civvies out of that (instead of spawning civvies 'from the ether')
Added a warning to the really old civvie spawn stuff for Command Posts, if the Command Post tries to spawn a civvie while the Mercer System is active (this shouldn't happen, but is left in just in case horde mode or something else needs it)
Added some basic safeties to stop ammo/unit call-ins from working on ammo boxes (so you can't call in units on top of ammo boxes directly anymore) operator sliding fixed
Added weld logic for mesh and added started anim notifies to the base blend space
Crashfix improvements for Engineer weld C++ functions
Updated Engineer to use newest rig (since their meshes seem to be on that new skelly)

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Some Evac helicopters can get stuck on tall buildings we are working on fixes to helicopter pathing for next patch within 24-48 hours

[/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2022-12-07 05:43:23 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.1.18.4 Bug Fixes and QOL changes

Last two Podcasts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AfUgBfXTUg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DwKVi2vPUA

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Resolved an issue where loaded buildings that have an 'unfold animation' will continue taking up performance costs for roughly 30 seconds or more after the game load completes (math issue in disabling their animation cost after fold animation completion has been resolved) bFrom a user submited save file "Save12", this results in roughly .5ms being saved during each second of roughly the first minute of gameplay
Optimzations to Capture Trucks
Post Process tweaked to make the world look less "Dark"/ washed out
Cassnadra Yates starting operator added to replace the "default" one. We will be rolling out more variations over the next few weeks. Customization will still be a long term goal
Operator Movement and Camera Controls vastly improved
Operator Crouch system revised
Operator Melee revised to be more effective (Middle mouse button)
Adjusted pod trace logic to try to prevent pods from spawning 'on top of buildings' (with 'repeat check trace' that rejects the Pod Trace in the BP if it is outside the target zone)
Increased grace area for constructing the Chelsey/LT hives (since in one test a hive landed smack dab on a bridge in such a way that it blocked traffic successfully)
Minor safety fix to Juggernaut attack logics that would bug him out
Improved safety fix for buildings unfolding when loading saves, to make sure they don't 'stay folded' in some situations
Fixed a loading issue that made vehicles end up in the 'first group position' in the Unit Group Windows at the top left
Updated ZoneManager to also call its civilian destinations updated delegate if one of its registered
Rebuilt collisions for Parking Complex in Grid 6
Collision clean-up for crane in construction zone, readjustment of Zone 7 and 8 borders and Location Volumes.
Updated Mission Objectives widget to be slightly larger (due to new font size) to try to prevent some text-wrapping issues
Mission Objective widget adjusted its show/hide animations to be a bit more effective
Moved quicksave to F8 (from comma, which was also fighting with Select Next Mortar)
Moved quickload to F9
Added a 'JumpToMinimapPing' keybind (to Period key), instead of having it be combined with Slow Motion on the Spacebar. If pressed within a roughly 3.5 second timeframe of a minimap ping occurring, your camera will move to the ping
Fix to pain causing volume incorrectly killing units in horde map 01 in certain spots
Repairs to Golden Gate Bridge ramp collisions causing units to float sometimes
Made several improvements to Attack Move handling- Should no longer 'lock up' if you issue an attack move order to units already in an Attack Move order if said units are also in Run Mode
Similarly, ordering an Attack Move on currently-running units should now properly stop them (though it may take a moment for them to rotate to target if already in combat range: better response than before, however)
Improved some of the spawning logic for Unit Movers to try to stop situations where they spawn 'stuck'
Improved move order logic for non-Assault/Guard unit movers to hopefully stop Infected from getting 'confused' about where to go, resulting in them just clumping up and refusing to move
Fixed completed Turrets not properly displaying 'Are you sure you want to destroy this' text when you manually destroy them via command window
Updated Medic 'CurrentHealingTarget' Medics no longer use rotation animations while they have a valid CurrentHealingTarget (to prevent 'overly fidgeting' while trying to track someone to heal them)
Medics no longer uses a 'glowing yellow' animation to indicate status, but simply changes the icon to Yellow if a status is in effect (to save performance), too
Fixed the Ammo call-in disabling if you were at or above unit capacity
Fixed an issue with the Infection Zone widget show/hide button capturing 'keyboard focus' if you click it
Overhaul of Grid 8 on Presidio and landscape clean-up to increase buildable area on and around the mountain. Location volume revisions to follow.
Bounds fix for orange-tarp boxes that were flashing
The missiles from the Shawnee no longer will permanently gain spread and fire incorrectly
Fix for Road mesh quality when used with splines.
Animation mirroring is now working for when you shift the player camera from shoulder to shoulder
Fixed units not properly marking themselves as not being recently rendered if they're spawned or loaded as visible in-world, but not currently in front of the camera
Shadow Optimzations added so you can limit the amount of Dynamic shadows you can see at once. (Added to Video Options)
Updated the setting's name+description in the Advanced Video Options widget to more closely reflect what it does
Options menu hovertips 'fix pass'
Updated a lot of hovertips not functioning at all in the Pause Menu's options menu
Did a spelling/grammar pass on a lot of options/hovertips
Improved offsets to minimize situations where the hovertip would 'go off the left of the screen'
Matched the scaling of the hovertips on the Pause Menu and on the Main Menu (to 1.25, instead of having one at 1.0 and another at 1.5)
Fixed the Audio Options in the Pause Menu not properly having a background
Added new location volumes for Grid 8 improve CP truck deployment
Splash updated
Added operator only damage multipliers to make TPS more responsive
Fixed UI scaling for spread
Updated the Load Game slot buttons to use a switch to localized text, rather than trying to read the enum value directly, when displaying difficulty (should hopefully fix builds displaying the difficulty using the incorrect text - something which doesn't seem to occur in-engine)
Fixed AI_Vehicle not properly getting enemy vertical position when comparing turret rotation towards target
Updated vehicle AI to always update turret rotation to target instead of only when we're not already facing it
Updated Shawnee's 30mm's animation blueprint to no longer lock its yaw to forward-facing, and to have much greater Pitch freedom ([11, -180] pitch)
Shawnee should be able to fire its 30mm a lot more accurately now.
Shooting logic should be much the same for most units, but the Shawnee now will no longer be able to fire its Rocket Pods unless facing the target (its 30mm however is much more able to rotate and shoot as needed)
Move proxy adjustments to help smooth out movement from Treasure Island North to South
Added a navblock to a part near the docks in TI North G6 to fix a spot where units could get 'stuck'
Updated Player Formation Move Handler to not 're-issue' a move command to itself again periodically if the target location hasn't changed since the last check (and we weren't interrupted/blocked from reaching it), to prevent situations where the Move Handler might 'repeatedly backtrack' due to two similarly-long pathways that it cannot decide between (such as a particular ambulance in TI North G3)
All units have had their focus logic compleltly rewritten to resolve instances where they look in the wrong direction consistnetly.
Helicopters should no longer fly sideways or other nonsense
Improved Garrison/Degarrison logic and Construction logic to try to stop units from failing to see enemies when exiting a vehicle or exiting construction mode: seems to work pretty well
Base infected health lowered to 150
Critical damage stat added to all weapons. Based on weapon different weapons have different critical chances. We will implement UI to add this in the future in alignment with our want to add attachments
Fixed turrets not properly saving auto-reload setup
Fixed the co-pilot and backseat medic meshes in the Capture Truck (they were A-posing due to using updated anims but outdated meshes)
Fixed Juggernaut and Leviathan having references to the old Ragdoll functions
Slight update to hovertip for Restrictor to try to make it more clear that it's for the Leviathan
Updated ammo-refill for multi-weapon characters to try to 'reload' the non-primary weapon if the unit is not in combat, or the weapon was empty at the time of ammo refill
More updates to Formation handling to try to minimize backtracking. Needs more fixes for vehicle setups, but hopefully should be better for all-soldier move orders
Made changes to Helicopter 'building avoidance' logic. They should be a bit more reliable in how they navigate and get into posistion to rappel
Result: Helicopters able to more ably navigate tighter building lineups, such as the western side of Treasure Island north, or the cities of Presidio (test giving a fastrope order on the streetcorner near a tall building, for example!)
Helicopters will now turn towards current combat target if armed (not perfect yet, but fairly good)
Updated some reloading logic to allow the Shawnee to reload its rockets during combat when it would fail sometimes
Updated 'Fire into Air' to not be added to your abilities on the Command Menu if you do have soldiers selected (to stop Cerberus Mortar from being unable to mobilize)
Also improved 'mortar deselection' on mobilizing a Mortar Cerberus to properly remove the Mortar from the SelectedActors array, too, so the radio option will properly appear when mobilizing a Mortar Cerberus that's selected by itself
Updated several issues with Cerberus mortar animation setup to make it properly fold, unfold, and aim
Sockets adjusted for Grenade Launcher and Javelin so their VFX works with the new standards we have implemented.
Added a new collision channel to allow weapons to properly shoot through see-through block all including projectiles from spitters. Fences/Wooden fences things that make sense they could shoot through.
Weapon spread values revised for all weapons based on user feedback on making them not stormtroopers
Speculative fix towards Juggernaut Wallbuster AI crash (again)
Fixed skeleton mapping issues with the civilians male and female
Fixed missing fastrope animations on some classes (like civilians and medics) assigned

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

[/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2022-11-18 05:59:56 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.1.18.2

Last two Podcasts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AfUgBfXTUg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DwKVi2vPUA

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Replaced engine exhaust effects with new Niagara effects.
Barracks price increased from 250 - 550
Added crashfix for https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/1034733561619681371/1034733561619681371
ScoutDrones are ignored by Chelsey now
Updated HintTextPopup, Objectives Popup, and the ROE Popup to be larger
Scaled up the Tutorial Widget
Adjustments to the Zone marker UI wise to display a consistent marker so players dont have to look for it
Updated the Capture Truck Call-in cooldown to 3 minutes
Updated starting population size to 10 (and updated difficulty adjuster to make 10 the minimum), so the player cannot soft-lock the game by having too many units to even call in the capture truck
Made some repairs to collision meshes for the water tower and de young museum.
Fixed Radio Speakers not playing sounds at a distance/stopping randomly
Improvements for Units that are targeting units near the barrel of their weapon
Optimzations to the Unit Mover system to improve overall performance in combat encounters.
Additionally, ASSAULT unit movers will not send their devirtualized units who aren't in combat towards buildings in their ASSAULT target if the unit mover itself isn't close yet
Fixed the 'ZONE IS FULLY CORRUPT, CANNOT DEPLOY' popup being majorly offset
Fixed the Infection Zone Widget popup (at bottom of screen) not properly reporting infection corruption (and zone value degradation) if the corruption value hasn't changed since the widget started being displayed
Early version of a Chelsey 'bridge safety response' to prevent her from falling into the water if she's on a bridge when you blow it up
Fixed Winter 'falling out of world' not properly issuing a "Winter Died" game over
Updated Unit Mover logic to try to 'slow down' the mover if it is starting to get far away from devirtualized units and it's moving away from their average position (at least 2000 units away, and the Mover's direction of travel is in a direction at least 90 degrees away from its angle toward the average position of its devirtualized units)
Various VRAM/RAM usage optimization's

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

[/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2022-11-03 03:43:16 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.1.18.1

Last two Podcasts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AfUgBfXTUg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DwKVi2vPUA

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Wall health T2 increased from 1600 - 2300
T3 increased from 2300 - 3000
Lighting changes to look less washed out
Aimoffset optimizations
Fixed visual bug that was causing the PawnPlayerCamera to override the level post process and cause characters to look bad
Sparrow speed and acc - increased
Charon speed and acc - increased
Shawnee speed and acc - increased
Merlin speed and acc - decreased
Added seasonal options so some users can turn off the Halloween effects
Optimizations to Animation System
Updated Engineer construction order handling to better handle Engineers 'breaking off' of an order (instead of 'sticking them' to the order and re-ordering them back even if you moved them away)
Updated HESCO barriers, sandbags, barbed wire, and other decorations, to not 'clear' their construction points on overlap w/ another structure
Fixed an issue with loading a game with units that were in construction orders
Various Crash fixes added
Speculative fix to crash report https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/1034559642291941547/1034559642291941547
Added physics asset to the Medic so that he'll fall over on death
Added 'ShadowUpdateInterval' logic to the NightDay BP to offset the major FPS cost that occurs when updating the 'ShadowAmount' of either the Sunlight or the Moonlight every frame (during periods ingame of roughly 6:00 to 7:00 and 17:30 to 18:30)
Quick fix to Command Widget to fix Fire into Air disappearing if you use another ability w/ only one unit selected
Minor optimizations to gas Tower VFX
Fixes to Horde map 01 spawning issues
Fixes to Horde map 02 Navigation issues for AI
Fixed Game thread flush error that was causing spikes on some hardwware
Medic Cross Texture adjusted

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

[/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2022-10-27 04:09:26 CET ] [ Original post ]

Scream Fest Patch now out! - 1.1.18

This Haloween(Scream Fest) we have special treat for our fans as this is the first time we will be doing a "live event". Ingame you'll notice tons of Haloween themed changes that will run till October 31st.

Whats in this patch.

We have bundled serveral patches into this update that we have been testing for last 2 months on expermential. We thank our community as always for helping us improve the game through their feedback.

For those that haven't finished your play session on the older version of 1.1.17.7 you can opt into the older build to finsih your games from the beta tab by right clicking the game in your library.

Older saves will not work with this version. As we have revamped and cleaned up a lot of older systems https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3346757662575298735 https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3266821940198167472 https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3266821940201457769 https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3284836971978621668 https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3309607313833923590 https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3309607313837536941 https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3556180117868804162 https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3556180117879456516

[ 2022-10-24 03:17:57 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.1.17.6 [ New Early Game Experimental only]

Last two Podcasts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AfUgBfXTUg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DwKVi2vPUA We plan to conclude testing for the expemential branch next week on Monday and push all the recent changes to the normal branch then.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Night Vision binding display issue for SteamDeck resolved
New Winters mesh added
Fixed attenuation issues with Music Speakers
Updated Medic Healing animeations
Adjusted the Spread for various weapons to make them more efficent
Further reliability improvements to Grenade throwing
Fixed up the Guard Tower's 'weapon market' not disappearing if the tower dies while it was selected
Fixed some loading issues with 'repair points' spawning around undamaged loaded actors erroneously
fix to make sure damaged buildings properly spawn repair points when loaded, too
Bounty (Dossier Widget) popup improved slightly
Fixed an issue where Buildings would spawn more than one 'rally spline'
Adjusted parachuting logic to better differentiate between operator and not
Operators who parachute while not being directly controlled should now match the speed of other parachuting units
Fixed walls that are in 'rubble mode' not properly disabling their player navblock
Updated 'attack order' voice response to hopefully be more reliable
Added improvement to threat calculation logic to prevent redundant check if we're processing when no enemy has been acquired
Intensified the 'level of priority' units will give towards right-clicked attack targets
When SetTarget runs on an enemy, the character will put them to the 'top' of their current SeenList, to reduce LOS traces when comparing threat costs Result: Right Click targeting much improved. Still not perfect, but should be better.
Quick fix to the 'safety sphere' appearing around Cerberus 105mm targets
Added speculative fix for DIV_0 crash for ammo restoration
Adding Halloween on-death effects for infected.
Adding pumpkin heads for infected (at night).
Improved pumpkinhead spawning logic for Juggernauts+regular infected to be slightly more safe, and to respect FOW
Added safeties to (hopefully) prevent crash from null DamageTypeClass in a damage event
Added safety to hopefully prevent fire damage 'weirdness' from running on a no-longer-valid structure to the point of causing a crash (in response to https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/1031237639627624548/1031407868886405162 )
Fixed Juggernauts 'duplicating' when saving/loading
Briges when destroyed should properly kill Juggernauts that are caught in the destruction and fall into the water
Destroyed Bridges destory DNA drops if on the destroyed segement
seasonal art added
Updated ASSAULT virtual unit movers to spawn their units if no player units are nearby, and they get stuck (which is most likely to occur if a wall is blocking their passage)
updated the devirtualization from Unit Movers to respect the Human nav filter, so infected can no longer spawn 'off of' a unit mover that's near a player wall and end up on the other side of said wall
Fixed SMAW mesh not having a laser sight socket
Fixed Turrets spawning as 'Ammoless' (i.e. never running out of ammo) (this likely won't fix saves that already saved them with this feature on, however)
Added safety to prevent units from getting stuck in 'PlayingPositionAnim' mode if they fail to play a rotation animation (due to mismatching skeleton)
Copied over montages from XBren to SPAS12 (since SPAS12 was using old rig animations, thus is why units with SPAS12 often got 'stuck' being unable to turn)
Adding Pumpkin headshot effect
Updated the Winter-spawning logic to better deal with 'duplicate' cases by also clearing their weapon (should help deal with some situations, such as Horde Mode, where a Winter duplicate may end up leaving behind a floating gun)
Updated Grenades to have options to ignore Allies, Enemies, corpses, and/or Main Target while in motion
SMAW Drastically reduced spread
SMAW rocket will now hit its main target while in motion (still ignore allies and other enemies, and now ignores corpses too)
SMAW rocket now has a new collision type to make it more reliable in the world (such as being able to go through static fences already in the world that have the SeeThruBlockAll collision type)
Explosives in general will now also always ignore the actor throwing/launching them, while in motion
if said actor is in a Garrison, that GarrisonActor will also be ignored (this doesn't mean the explosion itself cannot dam
Updated a truck's simple collision to make it easier to 'shoot around it' (for more reliable SMAW shots, etc.)
Improved safety for crash: https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/1032155687725318207/1032155687725318207
Made 'Right click to set target' logic skip over units who fail the CanDamage check (i.e. if you have units who *can* damage something and units who cannot - example, some units with guns, others with flamethrowers, and your target is an Infected Wall - only the units who *can* damage target will accept the right-click to attack order)
Improved doctrine popup padding to make close button+borders look nicer
Quick commit of a door update for Efrain for customizing door auto-open box location and extents
Improvement to devirtualization to catch some 'devirtualization' cases that were not correctly adjusting the spawn height based on unit capsule size ('pure' virtuals didn't get the safeties that 'regular' virtuals did, which may be the reason why some reports of 'infected stuck in ground' have been popping up)
Updated Male Sniper to use Assault's 'right click on target' voiceline for now, instead of playing Assault 'out of ammo' line (there's currently no Male Sniper 'Right click on target' voiceline to use, so subbing in the Assault's for now)
Fixed up the old Command Post Truck ammo+med truck buttons (for the factions beta)
Fixed up Police Shotgunner to only reference SPAS-12 via soft-ref
Also made melee attacks always try to 'hit' our attach target, if we're attached to something, so Chelsey/LT should no longer be able to 'attach to a helicopter' then fail to hit it
Intensified accuracy penalties when in a moving vehicle:
Initial layer of accuracy penalty now starts when the vehicle is moving at least 150uu horizontally (down from 200uu), and applies a 50% penalty (instead of 30%)
Higher tier penalty (From above 800uu) still 60%, and aerial penalty same as before too
Added new 'construction interaction points' to the CERC Building and Barracks to make units less likely to 'ignore' them in favor of constructing everything else first. Ex: Units were getting construction points close enough to these buildings that the path thought it had to go through an 'obstacle,' making the pathfinding assume the path to the barracks/CERC building was really far, and thus less desirable to build first. Should be mostly resolved now for these buildings
Updated BuildingSkeletal to be able to debug construction interaction points properly
Added 'double-click selection' support: Double-clicking on a unit will now select all other units of the same class that are currently onscreen (i.e. double clicking an assault will select all onscreen assaults)
Fixed Horde map 1&2 nav bugs and added extra entry points for horde map 2 infected to increase difficulty.
Updated walls that are under construction to no longer block infected units (or Operators) They also no longer will be seen by infected until construction is complete. Made sure they still block other construction checks, though, with the above updates!
Walls that are under construction now should save/load, and no longer 'instant-complete' if you save/load before they're done building
Improved save/load logic of units to enable units who are building things to remember that they were constructing things (They don't yet remember the exact actor they were building, but they remember the order as a whole and will resume on the point nearest to them after the load)
Further improved save/load of construction orders. Should better prioritize the construction order that units were originally moving towards. More of the references are centralized to the Manager rather relying as much on copied values, making this more robust and safe
CERC Units will now target enemies based on distance Under 1000 UU will target the head and above 1000 UU will target Spine_03
Improved unit turning sync with aim node
Updated Chelsey start zones to allow her to start in Presidio (instead of only starting on Treasure Island)

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

[/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2022-10-22 23:17:48 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.1.17.5 [ New Early Game Experimental only]

Last two Podcasts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AfUgBfXTUg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DwKVi2vPUA We are trying to ship 1-2 more patches on expermential before we merge it into the normal build on steam.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Fixed ammo, population, and medical tents (subbuildings from the Capture Truck/Command Tent) not being repairable by Engineers
Fixed 'weapon switch' logic to not disable the weapon switch button if the other weapon has no ammo in its current mag (instead, the ammo check 'blocking switching' will fail if the other weapon has *no ammo whatsoever*, not just 'no ammo in current mag').
Fixed some logic issues with Weapon DecSpread() infinitely lowering spread in some cases (infinite timer loops)
Fixed the Restrictor having the CERC shop assigned to it
Added a new 'DefaultGarrisonOnly' setting for the UnitUIComponent that should hopefully fix the civilian subbuildings and civilian evac chopper sometimes having a default 'Adrian Winter' health display
Fixed up some UI button update calls from C++ to properly reference the correct slot on the Command Window after the Switch Weapons button was added
And added similar update for Switch Weapons, so it should 'turn on' if you have a unit who cannot switch weapons (due to other weapon being out of ammo) who then gains ammo for their other weapon while still selected
Added speculative fixes for Juggernaut wallbuster move crash
Improved hotkey display for Night Vision and Operators Menu buttons to have more room, a max width, and some 'wrap space' for really long hotkey names
Updated grenade and 'large' explosion effects.
Switched mortar muzzle FX.
Movement between Presidio and TI South should now be a bit more reliable, and Assaults should be more accurate in producing Unit Movers that are able to reach their goals
Fix for the 'Deploy' popup occurring (it no longer serves a purpose)
Adding MPAT explosion effect for Cerberus cannon and SMAW
Fixed SMAW time between shots (now 6s)
Enabled 'Affects translucent Lighting' on Directional lights to support particle shadows.
Infected hp 235 - 300
Blowup guy 100-235
hx53 - 750 - 650 rpm
Fixed up Vehicles to use more regular 'SetTarget' logic, now that they wield weapons directly (should resolve targeting issues when right-clicking to set target)
Fixed custom game difficulty command tent zone value upgrade pricing issue (was causing custom games to have really expensive zone value upgrades)
Fixed the Bridge Build Zones being in the Zone Manager in the Open World Master (again)
Improved 'right click to target' logic to better assess the distance to enemy buildings (so units with shorter ranges, like flamethrower units, won't think they're 'too far away' simply because of the building's width)
Updated weapon range updates to not 'reduce' or 'increase' weapon range based on unit's sight modifiers (such as from gas towers)
Fixed a major issue where units given run/walk orders could sometimes get 'stuck' being unable to move+shoot while walking until something else 'jolted' their rotation logic back to normal (this resolves some issues w/ the Position's "Run" status mismatching its Unit's status, causing units to 'get stuck' in a run state if you order them to run, then order them to walk before their move is complete)
Fixed the Operator having a halved walk speed (was breaking formation move orders at Walk speed that included the Operator, causing all units to move at halved speed too)
Fixed civilians in a Group remaining in said Group if they leave the player team (due to entering a holding area, cell, etc.)
Speaker UI updated - Next and Previous not working yet.
Loop, Sequence and Randomize are working again.
Units ignore 'crowd movement dodging' when in formation movement, in order to avoid getting 'stuck' in walls
Units, in formation movement, will now perform up to two extra queries to make sure their target position is valid (to avoid trying to get 'stuck' in walls)
final non infected civs added
Infected sprint speed upped to 620 from 550
blowup guy sprint speed upped from 750 to 800
better infected dmg res to all firearms
pop tent cost increased from $1000 to $3300
price adjustments to riot shields
assault price lowered from 700 to 620
Grenade Throwing improved for all units
Updated the Tower to not 'clear' any construction points that are overlapping other structures (since it can overlap 'more often' than other wall types, and we want any point that's close enough to be used in scenarios where wall angle is extremely acute)
Updated HaltMovement() for vehicles to also override focal point to face forward (so 'rotation' won't occur when they stop moving in combat)
Added crashfix for AnimInstance being missing when firing guns in rare cases (caused reproducible crash in a save, no longer seems to occur)
Fixed an error with a Fire particle not being properly referenced on vehicle destruction
Resolved a major issue with the new construction setup that could 'break' the ability to construct things that are near buildings (such as barracks) w/ overlap spheres
Fix added to prevent the 'units in training' popup from appearing when you have a building selected which has no units to purchase
Improved stuckfix for engineers in construction
Improved Engineer 'stuck fixes' considerably - Engineer seems much more reliable now even with weird construction orders
Further improvements to Engineer construction 'stuck fixes'
Improved Engineer construction safeties
Fixed up some 'popup widgets' being inside the top-right scalebox on the HUD, causing weird scaling issues
Also halved their fontsize in accordance with the DPI scaling update

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

[/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2022-10-15 04:00:33 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.1.17.4 [ New Early Game Experimental only]

Last two Podcasts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AfUgBfXTUg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DwKVi2vPUA AMD FSR 2.1 has been added https://youtu.be/JUQ8j-bpQ1Q We are trying to ship 2-3 more patches on expermential before we merge it into the normal build on steam.

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Secondary Pistol removed from Engineer while we fix his animations
Medic cost reduced
Infected Attacking Party aggressiveness **greatly enhanced** they will consistently try to kill you after the 5 minute mark. Good luck
Medic F2000 price reduced
Player Structure take damage crash fixed
VFX quality pass on all explosions to convert to Niargra
Fixed up an issue with Infected not being able to target the Command Tent
Fixed an issue with over-production of Reinforce units for Infected
Hover tip clipping hopefully fixed
Crawl animation hicup fix
Blood VFX was improved
Infected will now accurately seek out structures within a zone with their attack parties.
Updated Leviathan and Juggernaut incubation timers to function off of Game Time days (instead of visual days)
Added logic to make Juggernaut tokens be used by the new Assault system (after Game Time Day 1, which is ingame visual day 2 on regular timescale).
Adjusted it so Attacking Infected will ramp up their attacks by day

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Units sometimes seem to ignore units behind them unless you manually face in their direction.

[/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2022-10-08 01:34:01 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.1.17.3 [ New Early Game Experimental only]

Last two Podcasts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AfUgBfXTUg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DwKVi2vPUA AMD FSR 2.1 has been added https://youtu.be/JUQ8j-bpQ1Q

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Adding cannon Cerberus MovePreview mesh
Improved soldier preview mesh setup (for move previews) to be more bulletproof while properly respecting the preview materials that can be set inside a Unit's preview data
Improved Weapons to have a 'PreviewStaticMeshOverride' and a 'MovePreviewMaterialsOverride'
fixes up the issue with vehicles in the Weapon Market not displaying their class icon correctly
Fixed up some other 'default setting fallbacks' when switching weapons on vehicles
Fixed up the 'static' move preview meshes casting shadows
News Ticker section added plus message log system
Infected will now send out attack parties to attack CERC bases consistently after the 5 minute mark once they've established themselves(Wil build bigger parties depending on their resources)
Spine Thrower pod spawning chance has been increased by 50%
Adjustments to LT and Chelsey's Lairs to have floral growth and other objects to make it obvious its their home
Adjustments to Chelsey to make her stay close to her "Hive" and protect it. If attacked early game and "Killed" she will go into a cocoon and heal her health (giving you time to retreat/move a base). Every time you "kill" her she will gain more resistance towards damage in general and how quickly she fully heals will be increased. Making it harder to cause it again for those that want to camp her. Once Shreader rounds are unlocked this ability will disable.
Operator management window added, to posses a pawn now select him and possess him from this window
Secondary weapons added to Assault,Heavy.Medic and Spec Ops. More classes will get this in the future
Fixed a bug with notifications that do not have any Location assigned being invisible
Air patrols revised to say dialogue based on ROE settings towards civilians
Air patrol paths adjusted to stop clipping and make them fly for longer periods of time
Added standard infected crawlers
Updated Cerberus Cannon and SMAW Niagara FX
Fake news added to news ticker
Added a mute news notication feature
Adding Niagara grenade explosion.
P220 Secondary weapon added
jugg health changed from 12000 to 16000

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

[/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2022-10-07 01:40:27 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.1.17.2 [ New Early Game Experimental only]

Last two Podcasts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AfUgBfXTUg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DwKVi2vPUA

New Early Game Post Mortem

I will be having a community "post Mortem" open discussion Today (Thursday) at 4 PM PST. Do give this update a try so we can gather your feedback adjust as needed and move officially in 1.2 for civilian management/dynamic civilian groups. https://discord.gg/huYydJQh?event=1025162791432224809 AMD FSR 2.1 has been added https://youtu.be/JUQ8j-bpQ1Q

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Fixed a crash with weapon swapping, from Dimitry's intel
Replacing old BMG turret with finalized CROWS II turret.
Collision edits to various Billboards so you can properly walk under them
Tracked down an issue with saving/loading unlocked units from doctrines and other sources (saves before this likely will be broken)
Fixed an issue with save/load of call-in locations (i.e. if you call in an actor, and save while the 'drop location indicator' is still there, it should now work)
Fix several issues with the saving of pods and infected walls 'failing' to record regular structure data if under construction
Added error checks for spotting similar issues that broke the call in locations/doctrine save/load (doesn't seem like they tripped so far, so the errors were hopefully just limited to those guys)
Fixed up the Motor Pool not healing helicopters
Increased HUD's "Notifications" font size (and popup box) size by 50%
Boosted likelihood of spine turrets spawning by quite a bit (45% to 80% per 30 seconds per zone, still with that 5% extra chance per pod in said zone)
Increased Infected Wall spawn range by 250% (800 to 2000)
Boosted the odds for Spine Turret spawning by a lot (100% chance per 10-15 seconds in zone, +35% chance per pod, with new logic that percentages over 100 turn into additional 'rolls' that run - ex: 135% means 1 roll for a spine turret, and 35% chance for a second roll)
Juggernauts incubate 2x as quickly (min+maximum build times reduced by half, to 270-390 seconds from 540-780)
Juggernaut max tokens doubled (to 10)
Doubled the PodConstructionRequests that a SpawnNode can make (from 2 to 4), to help pods spread more quickly in the early game
Changed LTs to spawn more quickly and have less cooldown between being spawned (values set in difficulty setups in GameInstance)
Rebuilt proxy collision+nav in the master
Minor change to 'SetHealth' to probably make it the slightest bit more performant
Updated the InfectedWall DamageResist to ignore ArmorPiercing damage as well (this prevents Shotgun-equipped units from trying to shoot infected walls)
And hooked up the 'workaround minimap POI fix' in the Open World Master to also run after loading a save, to fix the minimap points all turning 'blue' when saves are loaded
Added more safeties to hopefully, and finally, stop the 'crash from helicopter dying in air' issue
Base infected hp - 175 to 235
Blow up guy hp 100 to 150
Infected Walls Time to kill adjusted for various weapons
Fixed some floating assets in the level.
better sound cues for explosions
better sound cues for the m249 and scar & m4.
Jav animations added
Horde map spawning tables adjusted /
AMD FSR 2.1 added https://youtu.be/JUQ8j-bpQ1Q
Better sound cues for the xbren
updated runtime audio plugin
Horde map kills no longer give money and only income comes from surviving a wave
Fixed up some visual issues w/ the ammo display on the Unit's overhead widget
No longer will display "0/600" if completely out of ammo
No longer will flash the ammo image orange temporarily if highlighting the widget freshly when out of ammo
Just messed around with sound settings a bit to make a BasicNewsReportNotify sound, and applied it to the news popup
Updated Juggernaut damage resist to no longer be immune to weaker weapons (units wouldn't even shoot at the Juggernaut due to this!)
Fixed up the Juggernaut's charge attack (and some of his melee attacks) to no longer overlap the 'wrong channels'
Fixed up the Juggernaut's "wallbuster charge" attack to properly process non-wall structures he hits (such as Guard Towers) This also seems to have fixed his 'bonked against something that survived' response, so that he stops in place while recovering instead of sliding around while recoiling
Updated the Guard Tower to 'attach' the TowerGuard it garrisons (said guard can still rotate, but he is attached so that attacks from the Juggernaut cannot 'knock him out of the tower' while he's still alive)
Updated Garrisons to have a new value 'bAllowTargetGarrisonedUnits', which lets things outside the garrison attack the garrisoned unit
Updated Garrisoned unit 'death' logic to degarrison without changing position (so Tower Guards, if they die separate from the tower, will not 'warp to the tower bottom' before falling over)
Added a new 'ShootThroughCharacterMesh' collision profile for Guard Towers, to stop LTs from failing to be able to shoot at the Tower Guards Result: LTs can attack Tower Guards now!
Juggernaut Damage Resist changes per Michael's feedback
Juggernaut damage resist changes per Michael's feedback
Updated Guard Tower setup to spawn a warning widget if its occupant is dead
And updated Structure 'mouse hover text' logic to support custom context-sensitive text, so the mouse hover text for the Tower will include (MISSING OCCUPANT) if hovered while no occupant is inside
Fixed an issue where the Hold Fire icon would 'disappear' even if the unit was still holding fire
Fixed a similar issue with the 'reserve ammo' display being 'grayed out' even if the rest of the ammo test is white
Fixed up the evac chopper having weird 'unit widgets that say Adrian Winter' appearing on them
Improved a few aspects of the Team Safety for the SMAW (not related to its actual game effects, but safety in case explosion type is null, and improvement to faction setting)
Disabled an optimization for the unit overhead widget that was messing up the health/gas/infection bar display too much to be reliable
Set up the Atlas (both Supply and Fuel variants) to be able to refuel helicopters
Fixed an issue with some navblocks on the Gates being visible in cooked builds
Chelsey No longer enters 'bored mode' from fighting non-CERC (since the purpose of Bored Mode is to give you a break from her, not give AI a break from her)
Stuckwarp check will start a wander behavior if not bored and not in combat, instead of warping (to reduce the amount of warps that occur)
Stuckwarp will check nav, instead of just placing Chelsey at an arbitrary point in front of her (which, on a hill, might result in clipping into the ground)
Most notification types now include a location (such as Juggernaut spotted, unit died, zone captured, news reports, etc.)
Improved safeties for Operator toggling to prevent reported crash (and maybe some other potential crashes)
Fixed the Ammo Tent not having a 'construction hologram' after being set down
Removed invalidation boxes on Operator 'group member' windows, was causing some issues
Fixed Operator 'group member' windows having their 'unit level' indicator offset from the circle
Fixed the Unit Cards not properly updating their ammo status (group windows at the top left weren't updating their low ammo indicators)
Improved camera lerp logic to have a failsafe, so it should be far more reliable (and not end up in circumstances where it 'breaks' and prevents camera movement)
Fixed loaded civilians on player team not having minimap icons
Updated civilian minimap POI to have a dark teal color when not on the player team
Added some safeties to better make sure civilians don't 'lose the ability to move' if on the player team, but not in camera view
Fixed Operator-mode 'unit cards' disappearing if the unit they belong to takes damage
Improved formation following logic: If one unit in the formation command is running, all units will be ordered to run
When following the Operator, units will run if he's running, and stop running if he stops running (i.e. they'll be able to shoot if you're not holding down the run button)
Fixed starting weapon. and shader issue with Assault
Scanner splash art added
Added some basic floral to infected hives so they are easier to tell apart

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Assaults do a weird anim when firing a flare

[/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2022-09-29 21:46:27 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.1.17.1 [ New Early Game Experimental only]

Last two Podcasts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AfUgBfXTUg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DwKVi2vPUA

New Early Game Post Mortem

I will be having a community "post Mortem" open discussion on Monday at 4 PM PST. Do give this update a try so we can gather your feedback adjust as needed and move officially in 1.2 for civilian management/dynamic civilian groups. https://discord.gg/huYydJQh?event=1023025565298589726

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Added speculative crash fixes to https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/1023146701256671282
Added speculative crash fixes to https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/1023136275458437171 (related to Juggernaut wallbuster attack as well as Structure TakeDamage)
Removed the ability for an infected's killing strike on a CERC unit to instantly turn the CERC (instead, merely will kill)
Updated ammo refill logic for 'adding extra reserve ammo if current mag is not full' to properly update the UI
Also updated one of the "CanRefillAmmo" checks to make it optional whether or not the check requires the unit(s) to be selected
Adjusted 'pod trace' logic in the Chelsey System =InfectionConstructionInfo now contains a 'grace area' for construction, so the 'grace area' for pod traces can be set by the actual actor we're building ==For Pods/Towers, 200x200 ==For Spine Turrets, 20x20 ==For Walls, 0x0
Updated 'halfsize' calculation in the PodTrace to account for the relative rotation of the mesh on the actor, so the extent trace should now accurately portray the constructed mesh's dimensions when trying to set it down (should help with 'floating wall' issues) Result: 'Floating walls' should happen much less often now, and walls and spine turrets can now appear in more cramped areas
Added a saved/load value to the PC 'bBroadcastedChelseyShredderResistance', and a setting to the GameInstance 'bChelseyCombatWarningEnabled'
The in-game warning about 'Chelsey healing faster' now only pops up once, saved/loaded by the PC bool above, and won't pop up at all if the Game Instance has it disabled
Added the 'ChelseyCombatWarningEnabled' bool in the GameInstance to a 'BasicOptionsInfo' struct
And updated the GameOptions Widget to support toggling this value
Fixed some incorrectly unhooked delegates in the UnitUIComponent that caused units to not properly show their UI when exiting a vehicle, or cause them to fail to hide it for performance when not rendered
Fixed the old anim rig referencing the removed function 'BPGetCurrentWeapon' (replaced it with GetCurrentWeapon) This fixes an error with civvies and Chelsey walking around as if they're carrying a gun
Updated SoundPOIs to support color tinting. Used this to add a SPOI to the News Reports in the early game (doesn't show you where Chelsey is, just the zone where it took place)
Updated the Anarchist and Police units to:
Have basic minimap icons w/ faction colors
No longer have interaction widgets
Updated the 'Factions' option on the Pandemic New Game screen to no longer say 'Open World Only' (since that's the only map it can be for, anyway)
Fixed hovertip issues with several Custom Game difficulty settings
And removed some of the options that were deprecated
Added speculative crash fixes to some Take Damage calls
And to several other non-related-to-the-crash calls, as well, just in case
Updated hovertips for Helipad and Motor Pool
Restored Motor Pool's ability to restore gas
Restored Motor Pool's ability to affect helicopters (so it can repair, rearm, and refuel helicopters again)
Added multi-weapon refill support to ammobox logic
Updated Ammo Runner logic to also support multiple-weapon refilling
Updated Operator death to 'scoot camera back out to RTS mode'
And added backup safety in case of Operator destruction to do similar
And updated some call-in related logic to try to update the Operator button, too, to try to reduce the number of situations where the Operator call-in button may not reappear correctly

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Assaults do a weird anim when firing a flare

[/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

Swag Store

[expand type=details]

[/expand]

[ 2022-09-24 21:41:58 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.1.17 [ New Early Game Experimental only]

Last two Podcasts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AfUgBfXTUg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DwKVi2vPUA

Start a new save if you wish to partake in this test

New Early Game Post Mortem

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

New Early Game is now in see https://steamcommunity.com/app/979640/discussions/0/3192494671075106022/
Further improvements to Dynamic UI Scaling
Infected can now dynamically build "walls" to better defend their zones
Infection walls can only be destoryed by explosion weapons/flamethrowers
Infected now dynamically build Gas towers/Infection Pods/Hives and Defense Pods(Spinethrowers)
Fixed moving in place for characters+ optimized AnimBPs
Minor Exhaust particle system optimization for Helicopters
Various UI Memory/CPU Optimizations
Fixed New Game bug where you would only start with Winters
Updated threat gain against enemies not in weapon range (either due to being beyond max range, or being too close due to explosive safety) to add threat at 10% regular rate (down from 20%), to hopefully make explosive weapons feel more responsive while avoiding invalid targets
Improved explosive safety slightly to also do a secondary 'safety check' if our LOS to our current target is blocked by another valid target
Fixed the Motor Pool erroneously showing weapon market on helicopters
Updated 'starting population' option in custom game settings to no longer show decimal
Updated most units to no longer continue adding 'threat' to enemy Structures (that aren't turrets) if the threat is beyond 500
You can still right-click to target a structure to add threat, though, if you really want to get that pod killed Result: Units should be less likely to 'lock on' to pods and stop defending themselves (unless you right click the pod)
Updated the unit overhead widget to stay 'hovered' for one second longer if you hover over the unit while they're near a weapon market (to make it easier to click the weapon market button)
Improved initialization order for driver/pilot spawning for vehicles, so the rare circumstances where vehicles spawn without pilots/drivers should no longer occur
GlobalIlluminationQuality off by default
loading screen adjustments
WIP new muzzle flash / tracer combo emitter.
ShouldFireGun adjustments to allow them to keep shooting even if a corpse is in the way
Some updates to weapon and threat handling (in relation to 'ShouldFireGun()') to try to prevent weirdness with units 'dropping threat' on targets and switching to other targets even though target acquisition was valid
Also upped the ACR's perfect (500->2500) and medium(1000->3500) accuracy ranges
Added a crash fix for https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/986144869590368256/1013003335613292544
Fixed nav errors on hordemap 2 and turned off a lot of dynamic shadows to help performance
Fix invulnerable units on Horde 01
Progress commit on getting minimap online (should stop most crashing/BP errors, though need to hook up more of the images)
fixed weapon not attaching on characters
Fixed boss healthbar logic
Fixed Civilian interaction widget color
Fixed Civilian minimap POI color based on whether or not they're under player control
weather effects added to heavy and spec ops, hordemap3 progress.
New Reports are sent to the player notication screen to give hints of where Chelsey is setting up her base early game.
Added 'signout' logic to the News Reports - once Chelsey builds her hive, the player will get a message that news stations are signing out
Raised the chance that hive-less Chelsey will wander between zones (if not already moving to new zone, 90% chance to go to another zone every 30 sec)
Added more 'news reports' formats for the early game news reports
Shawnee has Rockets now
Added 'corner trace' logic for infection gas tower construction, to prevent towers from being built 'on the edge of maps' or things like that
New Medic Mesh added
New Assault mesh added
Fixed player unit minimap icons not flashing when the unit takes damage
Added a fix to weapon ammo refilling to prevent crashes if the weapon has *more* ammo in its magazine than it normally should (for whatever reason, be it mod, update, or what have you)
Updated Ammobox handling logic to prevent setting it down on top of characters or buildings (it can still 'overlap' them, but it's a step in the right direction)
Added a new safety so ammo crates 'move units out of the way' upon landing
Fixed up some scaling for the Operator HUD
Fixed scaling issues with some mouse hovertip widgets (especially for options menu)
Fixed more 'mouse following text' widget scale issues
Checking some bug reports
Fixed a crash with Chelsey wander behavior if she starts in a zone with no spawn node (which shouldn't happen, but still)
Fixed the bridge "build zones" from being included in the Infection Zone Manager (they get treated like 'regular zones' if they're in the ZoneManager)
Removed references to the unused 'Shotguner[sic]' Assault variant
Fixed ammo runners having 'overhead widgets' like regular units do
Updated healthbar handling on 'overhead widget' to function better w/ damage taking
Also improved heal animations and gas-up animations to no longer cause misalignment
Fixed m249 hand positions
Fixed several display issues with the HUD Recruit Popup on the new system (so units with no weapon should now display properly in the recruit popup)
Fixed a crash with RefireWeapon
Tac21 added for patreon guy
Acr - polished (texture)
xbren added

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Assaults do a weird anim when firing a flare

[/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

Swag Store

[expand type=details]

[/expand]

[ 2022-09-24 00:13:51 CET ] [ Original post ]

Weekly Development Rollup

During major events we will be bringing in special guests to discuss their experiences they have had in Cepheus Protocol for future podcasts. If interested contact a Moderator We will be live on Twitch and in our Discord AmA channel for those wanting to listen in on voice. You can partake in the live AmA either on Discord AmA channel/Twitch Chat. https://www.twitch.tv/halcyonwinds Discord Segment 1: Dev roundtable 15 mins - a discussion between the developers on the current state of the game and current content released Segment 2: General discussions/questions 20 mins - Host will be picking out most prominent questions and discussions made in the discord for the week Segment 3: Live QNA 20 mins - opportunity for the community to ask questions directly to the developers Segment 4: Closing discussion 5mins - discussion between the developers on the upcoming content for

[ 2022-09-04 21:48:13 CET ] [ Original post ]

Weekly Development Rollup

During major events we will be bringing in special guests to discuss their experiences they have had in Cepheus Protocol for future podcasts. If interested contact a Moderator We will be live on Twitch and in our Discord AmA channel for those wanting to listen in on voice. You can partake in the live AmA either on Discord AmA channel/Twitch Chat. https://www.twitch.tv/halcyonwinds Discord Segment 1: Dev roundtable 15 mins - a discussion between the developers on the current state of the game and current content released Segment 2: General discussions/questions 20 mins - Host will be picking out most prominent questions and discussions made in the discord for the week Segment 3: Live QNA 20 mins - opportunity for the community to ask questions directly to the developers Segment 4: Closing discussion 5mins - discussion between the developers on the upcoming content for

[ 2022-08-28 21:46:42 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.1.16.1 [Experimental only]

Last two Podcasts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AfUgBfXTUg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DwKVi2vPUA

Start a new save if you wish to partake in this test

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

F2000 added to Heavy
New Loading Screen images added
Nav/Collision fix for Horde_02 catwalks.
Fixed A pose LT's bug
Updated Aircraft carrier
Quick fix for group setup to properly read load data (without shooting out errors if you're on a fresh game)
New game startup revamped to remove the bug where you only start with Winters
Dynamic Infected Pod + Gas Towers Building added for Infected
Fixed vector not having a fire effect
hk53 suppressor location fixed
Various other suppressor locations fixed
Dynamic HUD scaling added based on DPI ( Manual scaling removed ) - If you run into sizing issues contact us on Steam/Discord for your feedback.
Runtime Audio for Sounds/Music you play updated to latest version should fix some play related crashes
Juggernaut Resistance 90 - 95 takes 120% more damage from explosives was 130%
Fixed smoke effects for built in suppressed weapons.
Made blood gib splash red blood not orange
Lowered spitters HP from 260 to 175
AX-300 ammo from 800 - 650
M98b range 150000 - 9000
Adjusted DNA sample so it should fade out at higher camera heights
Fixed Skeletal Mesh buildings not properly hiding their healthbar if their health is full and you select+deselect
Updated unit 'overhead UI' spawning to be slightly higher for soldiers
Updated Chelsey (and LTs) to use a single overhead widget (with icon and healthbar) instead of two separate widgets (that could overlap poorly)
Adjusted explosive ammo effect for the LT2
Added 'gasoline status' support to the Unit Card Group Widgets- Like with low ammo warnings, low gas warnings will now appear as a status icon next to the Group's name, with the unit card of the endangered unit glowing to indicate this note
Updated the UI for the 'attached supplybox' (for things like the Fuel Atlas) to better match the new UI scale

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Gas Towers sometimes appear at odd heights we are working on a solution for this

[/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

Swag Store

[expand type=details]

[/expand]

[ 2022-08-23 01:27:53 CET ] [ Original post ]

Weekly Development Rollup

During major events we will be bringing in special guests to discuss their experiences they have had in Cepheus Protocol for future podcasts. If interested contact a Moderator We will be live on Twitch and in our Discord AmA channel for those wanting to listen in on voice. You can partake in the live AmA either on Discord AmA channel/Twitch Chat. https://www.twitch.tv/halcyonwinds Discord Segment 1: Dev roundtable 15 mins - a discussion between the developers on the current state of the game and current content released Segment 2: General discussions/questions 20 mins - Host will be picking out most prominent questions and discussions made in the discord for the week Segment 3: Live QNA 20 mins - opportunity for the community to ask questions directly to the developers Segment 4: Closing discussion 5mins - discussion between the developers on the upcoming content for

[ 2022-08-21 21:45:24 CET ] [ Original post ]

Weekly Development Rollup

During major events we will be bringing in special guests to discuss their experiences they have had in Cepheus Protocol for future podcasts. If interested contact a Moderator We will be live on Twitch and in our Discord AmA channel for those wanting to listen in on voice. You can partake in the live AmA either on Discord AmA channel/Twitch Chat. https://www.twitch.tv/halcyonwinds Discord Segment 1: Dev roundtable 15 mins - a discussion between the developers on the current state of the game and current content released Segment 2: General discussions/questions 20 mins - Host will be picking out most prominent questions and discussions made in the discord for the week Segment 3: Live QNA 20 mins - opportunity for the community to ask questions directly to the developers Segment 4: Closing discussion 5mins - discussion between the developers on the upcoming content for

[ 2022-08-18 21:43:50 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.1.15.1

Last two Podcasts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AfUgBfXTUg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DwKVi2vPUA

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Fixed an issue with the Idle Engineer button not properly allowing movement commands if you use it to select an idle engineer
Improved checks for showing the Idle Engineer button to prevent some situations where it may permanently become unavailable
Fixed up the SHIFT keybinds not working (return to mouse rotate/flip wall, for example)
Fixed slow motion not deactivating during the transition to Operator when toggling to the Operator (it would properly 'turn off' when the transition completed, but that's not nearly early enough)
Move/Follow commands from the Operator will now shut off 'Run Override' on units, allowing them to walk/run as needed (instead of potentially doing run/stop/run/stop if following while walking): this should also clean up some situations where ordered units would fail to shoot until they reached their target
Updated the 'move command' to utilize Trace_Bullet (instead of Visibility) on the crosshair target, so you can properly give attack orders as Operator, again
If a move order is a 'run command' but one unit isn't in Run Mode (for whatever reason), no longer will he slow down the entire group
Units following the Operator when the player is in Third Person mode will always try to run if the Operator is also running
Fixed the Capture Truck's 'unit icon' erroneously switching to 'deployed mode' if you try to deploy it in a fully-infected zone
Improved the unit's Overhead Widget to also respect 'unit icon' changes (the Unit Card already did this, but the overhead widget did not)
Improved 'Are you sure you want to destroy/refund' popup text querying to be more accurate
Fixed the 'building' Damage Resist type having immunity to melee attacks
Adjusted the Generator's interaction points on its corners to hopefully prevent infected swinging 'too wide' and just missing
Various Main Menu scene optimizations and fixes to improve performance
Improved weapon-hiding handling to use a 'Check' function in more areas (rather than just flatly trying to manually hide/unhide at certain times). This helped track down a toggle that didn't need to occur, which was causing civilians (and the new armed Chelsey LTs) to sometimes appear to be holding no weapon, even when they had one
Implemented a fix for the FormationMoveHandler breaking patrol orders that consist of only one unit
Improved Building 'radial spawn' logic to do a trace+height check on the spawn location, to try to prevent spawning units too high/low (such as on buildings, on the Power Plant island)
Fixed unit's 'overhead widgets' displaying empty reserve ammo as 600
Fixed Spotlights to no longer check for activating their light before unfold animation (and power registration) completes (fixes bug with spotlights built at night turning on immediately, even if there's no power)
Operator can now control vehicles and order them around.
Cannot A,D,S disabled when in operator vehicle
Boosted 'enemy nearby, threat boost' logic for units to have a range of 650 (instead of 250), to better mirror the old Overlap Radius setup
Infected invisible structures bug should be fully resolved
CERC target acquisition more reliable towards Infected structures
Fixed grenades not being able to damage the unit that threw them
Night Vision added
Overall Night Time Darkness values normalized amongst video options. Higher settings had a more visible nighttime.
Fixed MP5SD sounds
Turn adjustments improved for various characters
Updated HUDWidget so the lower-right visuals will render 'over' the center-popup visuals (for resolving things like this: https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/986144869590368256/1006974885794435114 )
Adjusted the save icon to appear 'above' the Idle Engineer button (instead of to the 'right' of it), to try to prevent minimap 'scale bump' issues
Updated nav modifiers around the Helipad to make traversing it easier for soldiers (should help situations where soldiers get 'stuck' trying to climb onto or exit the helipad by foot)
Ammo Runners should no longer ignore the Operator in some situations when Operator is in third-person mode
Juggernaut rock/car throw- Improved projectile to properly 'explode' on hitting the ground, instead of just rotating in place for a bit
Juggernaut rock/car throw- Removed the 'speed limit' on the projectile, so the Juggernaut's throws won't be woefully short
Juggernaut rock/car throw- Fixed his aerial aim (had too much 'up offset'), so he should be much better at hitting helicopters
Adjusted retainer setup on the unit overhead widget to no longer 'cut off' part of the healthbar/gasoline meter/etc. display in some cases (which could make things look full when they were not)
Various VRAM reductions to bring overall requirements down. We are still working to lower VRAM requirements.

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

We are aware of some structures being purple at certain heights we are investigating this

[/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

Swag Store

[expand type=details]

[/expand]

[ 2022-08-15 03:14:09 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.1.15 [ Community Opinion/Poll ]

How was Patch - 1.1.15? Did it fix performance for you, fix critical bugs? Tell us your thoughts so we can plan accordingly for next week! Its our goal to transition towards 1.2 sometime this coming week so we can finish civilians in August and move onto Faction in September. If not tell us more in pb-bugs(Discord) in the comments on the straw poll or just on Steam as comment to this article. Thanks! https://strawpoll.com/polls/40ZmdvEk4ga

[ 2022-08-06 21:49:26 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.1.15

Patches included in this public release

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3383911090958935367 https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3372651457294815461 https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/4966924542602570168 https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3369272491237192348 https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3346752589127785880 https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3346752589123707741

Last two Podcasts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AfUgBfXTUg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DwKVi2vPUA

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Horde counter not working fixed
Faction Horde crash fixed based on user feedback from Discord
Touch-up of former bridge locations on Treasure Island
Chelseys LT Ai were tweaked to have better controls for guns/melee
Fixed logic so anti-helicopter jump attacks no longer break shooting logic (or vice-versa)
Updated the Doctrine Button's text display to use a Retainer instead of Invalidation (invalidation was making it unstable)
Removed the invalidation box around the Objective button's text (was breaking things)
Fixed unit's interaction widgets disappearing if units enter a garrison, then leave
Updated the Doctrine Button's text display to use a Retainer instead of Invalidation (invalidation was making it unstable)
Removed the invalidation box around the Objective button's text (was breaking things)
Added more menu prompts for video options
View Distance models for the city vastly improved
Auto configure graphics added to advanced options
Fixed an old enum reference in Base_PlayerStructure that broke to reference 'none' instead of 'Juggernaut' for squish-related logic (so pilots, minigunners, etc. should no longer squish barbed wire now)
Fixed the 'tower garrison display' not properly setting the Weapon image on the tower occupant display when opening the widget afresh
Updated logic for weapons, so a weapon can manually define its suppressor-attach-transform without relying on sockets to fix suppressors sometimes floating
Improved some snappoint logic (for wall construction points) to respond better when loading saves (not use the wrong mesh, etc.)

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

We are aware of some structures being purple at certain heights we are investigating this

[/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

Swag Store

[expand type=details]

[/expand]

[ 2022-08-05 10:53:00 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.1.14.4 [Experimental only]

These are patch notes for the newly "opened" Experimental Steam Branch. Experimental will operate as followed: We have made new channels on Discord + Steam forums these channels are for users that like to live on the dangerous side of things and want to push feedback to us for upcoming patches. Whenever there is a patch it enters that experimental build for 1-2 days minimum if nothing fatal is found it will be pushed public. The testing and feedback for Experimental is open to anyone to help based on their preferred engagement system Steam or Discord. This is an effort to help squash more bugs and hopefully our bug fixes that cause other issues can be caught and fixed within this time period. We will be having 2 more batches of Experimental before we switch to civilians in 1.2! We hope to have done both "batches" by early next week but it just depends on how stable these two tests go. #1. Further Optimization / Operator Finalization #2. Medium Atlas Tower / Revised Weapon Buying information Window

How to use Experimental

[expand type=details] Discord Steam Forums

Experimental will stay open at all times going forward.

How to Opt-in

New Operator is now in

[/expand]

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

New graphics settings were added for Medium-Low end machines please tweak them ASAP to get the best performance. Global Illumination should be lowered for lower end machines as with Shadows Quality. You should see huge gains depending on your hardware
Fixed some nav issues with gates
Updated the construction actors to dynamically spawn their 'construction progress meter' instead of always having it even when there's no construction progress
Updated the progress widget and 'autofiling progress widget' to no longer use retainer roots (since retainers were 'breaking' them and making them almost always look 'full')
Further fixes to stop units from getting stuck on constructed objects
Invisible barrier issue for walls is fixed(Floating units)
Fixed Turrets in any capacity eating frames and making overall performance worse
Grenade Throw Crash should be resolved
New LT models added (Pending some new AI)
Death Gibbing added with an initial 20% chance to occur on death
Map has been vastly improved when zoomed out in terms of quality will be tweaking this further
Main Menu performance/Overall Performance should have been boasted another 10-20% depending on your hardware
Silencer Damage graph added for all weapons to give some kind of "Fall back" for being silent
Overall Recoil for TPS operator refined when shooting
Rotate in place added for when firing in a new direction for TPS Operator
Spitter health changed from 435 to 260
Fixed Freelook having 'pan enabled' while the mouse cursor is invisible (mouse should return to center of screen while freelooking, now)
Pod threat lowered so units don't always shoot them over normal infected
UI performance tweak across the board
Fixed the ActiveDenialSystem not properly showing its power status when selected
Fixed the Turrets not properly showing their need for power if constructed without being near to sufficient power
Fixed the ADS's 'power wire connection spot' being too high
Fixed the ADS not properly showing its power widget if it's constructed with no access to sufficient power
Adjusted power widget position for generator
Fixed the Operator 'intercepting' B-key presses: toggling to Operator should now only work if you select the Operator and hit the appropriate key (toggling out of Operator is still B)
Fixed up the Wall healthbar to use an invalidation box (instead of a retainer, which was breaking the percentage)
Fixed up the Wall healthbar to properly update when loading in
Death Animation system improved so units no longer "pop" upwards when they die anymore and perfectly transform to the ragdoll state.
Operator Updated ironsight code so it doesn't zoom camera out when reloading + added a new face rotation system for when shooing hipfire
Added it so when a single Helicopter is selected and you right click a Helipad built by you it will auto fly to the pad and land there correctly from user feedback from a AmA.
Added move-preview support logic to Helipad 'right click to move helipad to land' logic
BKP-50 given to the Swat Infected Operator
Silenced Pistol temp given to the Fenrir Infected Operator
Operator can no longer walk through allies
Shrunk the Distance Ammo Supplies from the Atlas will attempt to refill units based on Steam Community feedback threads
Fixed units having a 'mouse hover' effect around them if you were mouse-hovering the vehicle they were in when they exited said vehicle
Flare mapping issue resolved for Assaults
Charon HP increased from 500 - 1500
Merlin Increased from 600 - 1800
Shawnee increased from 160 - 1650
Updated the 'load game' menu to sort its entries by their save time (with latest played saves being first)
Added a 'delete all saves' button to the Load screen (it still has a 'are you sure' popup, don't worry)
Updated the Pandemic Load menu to asynchronously load upon opening up, to show the loading taking place (rather than freezing up your game entirely when you hit Load)
CERC enemy Sharing logic turned off since our "detection" system changed recently causing a lot of issues where CERC would get their targets overridden by units near them.

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

Known Bugs

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

We are aware of some structures being purple at certain heights we are investigating this

[/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

Swag Store

[expand type=details]

[/expand]

[ 2022-08-04 01:39:02 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.1.14.2 [Experimental only]

These are patch notes for the newly "opened" Experimental Steam Branch. Experimental will operate as followed: We have made new channels on Discord + Steam forums these channels are for users that like to live on the dangerous side of things and want to push feedback to us for upcoming patches. Whenever there is a patch it enters that experimental build for 1-2 days minimum if nothing fatal is found it will be pushed public. The testing and feedback for Experimental is open to anyone to help based on their preferred engagement system Steam or Discord. This is an effort to help squash more bugs and hopefully our bug fixes that cause other issues can be caught and fixed within this time period. Discord Steam Forums

Experimental will stay open at all times going forward.

How to Opt-in

We will be having 2 more batches of Experimental before we switch to civilians in 1.2! We hope to have done both "batches" by early next week but it just depends on how stable these two tests go. #1. Further Optimization / Operator Finalization #2. Medium Atlas Tower / Revised Weapon Buying information Window

New Operator is now in

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Tree Collision across Western Treasure Island improved to fit the physical object better to stop navigation related issues
Infection Resistances improved for CERC units
CERC units when "Converted"/ "Infected" will gain a higher damage resistance when they are turning and then revert to their CERC tables since they are armored
Pod resistance towards small firearms reduced so explosive weapons are typically always preferred like SMAWS/Flamethrowers etc.
M249 Added for the Heavy
Shotgun spread/damage rebalanced to make them actually effective in Close-Medium range
Fixed PlayerController 'sorting of units for move orders' to put helicopters 'last' when issuing move points (to be congruous with what the Formation Move Templates expect)
Fixed a problem with Spine Turrets never being constructed. And added a safety to 'kickstart' it on old saves (may not have been needed, but it should ensure spine turrets start getting built again on old saves)
Updated the 'structure name hovertips' (from hovering over structures) to disappear if that structure is destroyed, or if you pause the game
Fixed the MG Turret and Missile Turret being buildable even if you don't have enough money for them
Added speculative fix towards Ammo drops 'constantly playing ammo fill noise' even if the units near it are full on ammo
Added minor safety to RotorWash effect parameter to lower overall cost for helicopter caused winds
Blowup guys rebalanced so they are more effective in "blowing up" Destructive gibbing added
Adjusted the 'distance tolerance for breaking speed limit' on the Formation Position actor, to make move orders 'in walk mode' make units not want to break 'walking speed' (and thus potentially make too much noise?) unless they're really far from their assigned formation position Result: Formation move orders, when not running, prefer to 'slow down (as a whole)' rather than speed up individual units, keeping the move orders from breaking 'walk' speed
Updated some Spine Turret initialization settings and AI settings to make it a bit more reliable in its targeting
Updated the new Formation Movement to respect the Formation Distance buttons
And had to include a *weird* fix for CTRL move previews
Also adjusted some helicopter 'formation position width' so they dont clip inside each other when giving move orders
Improved Circle Up formation:- Now mathematically will add 'inner circles' as required, starting when you hit 16+ units. It will then add circles outward while making sure the outermost circle is always 'full'. The 'leader position' will be at the front of the outermost circle. (this took a decent amount of math to do)
Fixed the 'helicopter-only' move orders always moving at 'max speed' instead of trying to get into formation
Added a new set of logic to the Formation Movement Handler to try to 'lockstep' helicopters in helicopter-only-move-mode, then to 'take the foot off the brake' once they're lined up
It works in a lot of good situations, though over long move orders or around buildings they can desync. Still, it's far better than the start/stop they had before
New Infected meshes are added
Shredder Rounds DNA is now 650
Updated Runtime Audio Plugin with more fixes from my thread with them
Engine Rendering Method switched to TAA from Temporal Super Resolution (Was causing blurriness issues)
Fixed up GrenadeCapable accessing with an 'accessor' function to make it safe (fixes array-index crashes)
Refined Music Player UI slightly to allow local volume setting.
Fixed the Vee formation having a position 150 times farther away than it should
Fixed a few issues with FireMode that could cause infection pods/towers to remain invisible even when in vision range
Added logic to the Helicopter-only formation movement logic to 'slow down' if the formation needs to dodge buildings, allowing the unit to 'reform' -Removed the 'helicopter-only move orders slow down when dodging buildings' change to formation system
Performance improvements to Widgets/UI across the board to improve game overall performance. In our testing we saw FPS improvements up to 40-60% in most cases.
Fixed an issue w/ formation movement malfunctioning (there was an uninitialized vector)
Added tick optimizations based on LOD of weapons configurable on a per weapon basis to bring down overall CPU utilization
Improved 'double-click' responsiveness to be much more reliable
Adjusted the 'double-click' run response to not cause units in formation-moves to 'slow down for a moment' if they are in Run Override (from the command button)
Improvements to Animation system to stop units moving in place when they stop for a few seconds.
Further Optimized Animation system to get more performance
Turret UI optimizations
Fixed certain graphics settings forcing a LODBias that made the game visually worse
Fixed the skeletal mesh-type buildings keeping their 'old healthbar widget' despite it no longer being used
Fixed up the healthbar height on the Custom Sign
CERC units can be seen through walls when in TPS mode
Collision to cars/trees fixed in various spots
CERC units can now be commanded by switching groups via 1-9 and then issuing an order via the directional keys on your keyboard.
Fixed Ragdolls "hiccupping" when they die sometimes via death animations
Critical point system expanded to the Spitters/Blowup guy(headshots, legs, arms & chest
Added Spitter death effects.
Updated the Formation Move Handler setup to make units more 'snappy' in following their move positions when following the Operator (and to properly detect when the Operator is running

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

Swag Store

[expand type=details]

[/expand]

[ 2022-07-27 22:01:35 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.1.14 [Experimental only]

These are patch notes for the newly "opened" Experimental Steam Branch. Experimental will operate as followed: We have made new channels on Discord + Steam forums these channels are for users that like to live on the dangerous side of things and want to push feedback to us for upcoming patches. Whenever there is a patch it enters that experimental build for 1-2 days minimum if nothing fatal is found it will be pushed public. The testing and feedback for Experimental is open to anyone to help based on their preferred engagement system Steam or Discord. This is an effort to help squash more bugs and hopefully our bug fixes that cause other issues can be caught and fixed within this time period. Discord Steam Forums

Experimental will stay open at all times going forward.

How to Opt-in

Expect the first Step of the new Early game [Localized Infection Spawning] live on Experimental Wednesday-Thursday for feedback!

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Added a fix to the Formation Templates to not try to 'offset' units if there's only one unit to read (so they just move to 'mouse pos', so to speak)
Formation System improved to dynamically nest/create new ones that follow tightly along other formations
Grenade/Blowup guy explosion radius improved so they are more accurate and balanced overall.
Blowupguy effect added for when they die
Fixed up Circle Up 'breaking' a vehicle position in soldier+vehicle move commands Updated the Atlas 'vehicle box' size to better envelop the vehicle (so its length is better calculated to include the front of its cabin+bumper)
Updated formation position handling: Vehicle 'formation length' even further improved, with each 'pair' of vehicles being measured lengthwise to ensure proper positioning (without being majorly behind the soldiers, in a mixed-unit order)
Soldier 'formation length' improved to dynamically measure how far back the soldiers go, so vehicles can be properly set behind them (rather than set way behind them)
Fixed Medical facility and ServiceDepot disappearing when near the edge of the screen. Minor decal placement fixes in TIG04
Helicopters now are in their own 'formation group' when issuing combined unit move orders, and will now be 'above' your other units (instead of 'behind')
Fixed up 'vehicle only' move orders having a 'half-vehicle-length' offset behind the mouse click position
Added some logic to make the custom sign 'customization popup' disappear if its owning sign is destroyed
Fixed PlayerController 'sorting of units for move orders' to put helicopters 'last' when issuing move points (to be congruous with what the Formation Move Templates expect)
Updated width-calculation logic to function for Formation Move Templates
Shotguns buffed to have larger spread cones to be more effective overall
Juggernaut resistance towards bullets greatly increased
Added some extra logic to make helicopters not try to go too high/too low on move completion
Improved 'direction facing' on move completion
Fixed a problem with Spine Turrets never being constructed
Added a safety to 'kickstart' it on old saves (may not have been needed, but it should ensure spine turrets start getting built again on old saves)
Updated the 'structure name hovertips' (from hovering over structures) to disappear if that structure is destroyed, or if you pause the game
Fixed the MG Turret and Missile Turret being buildable even if you don't have enough money for them
Fixed up the Field Turret buttons not properly displaying their price if you cannot afford them
Added speculative fix towards Ammo drops 'constantly playing ammo fill noise' even if the units near it are full on ammo
Added minor safety to RotorWash effect parameter sets on BeginPlay.
Lowered how much gas all ground vehicles consume when driven,
Crash fix for blowupguy killing infected near him

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

[ 2022-07-16 05:19:46 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.1.13 [Experimental only]

These are patch notes for the newly "opened" Experimental Steam Branch. Experimental will operate as followed: We have made new channels on Discord + Steam forums these channels are for users that like to live on the dangerous side of things and want to push feedback to us for upcoming patches. Whenever there is a patch it enters that experimental build for 1-2 days minimum if nothing fatal is found it will be pushed public. The testing and feedback for Experimental is open to anyone to help based on their preferred engagement system Steam or Discord. This is an effort to help squash more bugs and hopefully our bug fixes that cause other issues can be caught and fixed within this time period. Discord Steam Forums

Experimental will stay open at all times going forward.

How to Opt-in

Expect the first Step of the new Early game [Localized Infection Spawning] live on Experimental Wednesday-Thursday for feedback!

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Early pass on the 'local virtual population moving if no pods remain' logic, to make sure local populations of virtual infected do not become 'stuck' if the player wipes out their pods before the virtual infected in that area can enter the world
unlock prices changed for phase upgrades, flashlight and gas mask and nvg unlocked by default
fixed blowup guy not exploding again
texture redux for better memory
Updated Virtual Unit Movers to have movement components that better match regular units (fixes an issue with them trying to 'climb' areas which they should be able to, but couldn't, so 'virtual' groups of infected can move better now)
Adjusted a Power Plant move proxy
Adjusted the 'per level' values in the SpawnNode to be floats, for easier customization
Added a small safety to the NewBaseVehicleBP
Adjusted Seenlist logic to mark units that have been right-clicked to be targeted as 'priority targets', which are treated as 10mil threat more important in target prioritization. Doing this also will remove 'priority target' from anything else in that unit's SeenList, so 'priority targets' are not remembered if you issue different orders. They still will have more threat than usual from being right clicked, however.
Fixed several Navigation errors around Angel Island cliffs.
Virtual texture conversion for all weapons
Presidio Zone Border and Location Volume overhaul
Angel Island Location Volume overhaul
Fixed water collision so you can drag boxes over them again and order helicopters to exact points over the water
Added saving/loading for unit's "MySpawnNode" pointer (should help fix some issues with civilian evacuation 'not counting')
Conversion health of cerc changed from 2000 - 110
Pod resistance changed to better survive scar meta
Lod changes for Weapons for better optimization
Reverted spawn node settings in the SpawnNodes maps for the Master, so they stop 'overriding' values from the SpawnNodeBP. In the Future we will be tweaking how often Spitters/blowup guys appear once their AI is finalized
Disabled the CommandPost's civilian spawning loop in Chelsey System enabled maps
Used a new implementation of 'hovering over' to make the mouse 'hovering over units/buildings' more accurate and responsive
Improved Structure-handling of 'mouse over hover display' to include 'highlighting' the building
Improved turret widget to zoom in slightly when you hover over said turret, and to 'highlight' its base when hovered, too
Added a speculative fix for turrets not 'unfolding' when loading saves (seems to work, hopefully doesn't add issues)
Updated the ADS and the Field Turrets to player more nicely with the hovering-highlighting system
Fixed the 'world infection' post process effects being 'active' even if the source area is not
Added a safety to make sure units which are dropped in via parachute will run to their building's rally point
Converted system to new collision system to stop "faulty" collision
Fixed a 'distance check' in the assignment of multiple units to construction points (to prevent units getting stuck in 'infinite construction loops' between two semi-distant construction points)
Adjusted Engineer Pathing so they hopefully cannot get stuck on walls/objects they construct anymore.
Also added a final check when a unit finishes building something to make them try to 'lerp away' from whatever they built, if their ground is invalid
Adjusted the 'in world name popups' when hovering over buildings to not 'black out the screen' for one frame when popping up (they 'scale' right after being constructed: if the framerate's low enough, you'll see this for one frame. It now is going to be invisible for that first frame, to prevent assaulting users' eyes if their framerate is dropped) Result: Construction seems a lot more reliable
Revamped the saving/loading of 'world infection goop': should now be more accurate. As a side-effect, old saves will not remember where their goop was, but shouldn't be a big deal
Moved the 'Idle Engineer' button to the bottom left of the HUD, to the right of the minimap (and scaled it down)
Set up the 'saving' popup to be in a horizontal box with the Idle Engineer button, so it won't conflict with the Idle Engineer button
Adjusted the Unit Groups to start higher up, now that the Idle Engineer button has been moved
Additionally, adjusted the Unit Card scaling to not be as intense (max size is now +25%, instead of +50%), to try to prevent the cards from overlaying the minimap
A 'death icon' will appear to the right of a group name when a unit is killed. A different icon will appear if a unit succumbs to infection and converts.
Added a 'collapsed mode' for the new Unit Card Group Window setup. In Collapsed Mode, only a unified healthbar is shown. It will shift to red in color if it gets low. This healthbar only shows the average for living members. If a unit dies or is converted, the healthbar will adjust its maximum (which may go 'up' due to missing a member), but this will also be indicated as still bad due to the death/conversion icon appearing. Additionally, the Groups will remember if they were Collapsed or not
The Group Name (and the unified healthbar, in collapsed mode) will now flash red if a unit in that group takes damage.
Updated the Group Window widget naming setup:
Scalebox added and text limit increased (from 10 to 20), so you can give groups a longer name (and the name text will scale down in size to fit) Text area is limited to still allow room for ~3 icons to appear to the right of the group name (and to not block 'clicks' to that area to select the group w/o editing group name)
Properly indicate when all their units have been killed by broadcasting 'DESTROYED'
Added a basic "InfectedMorale" value to InfectionZones, with saving/loading. This value drops if a REINFORCE Unit Mover's units were all killed by the player. Morale is for the 'REINFORCE' calls to stop coming if enough reinforcements are cut off: not yet used
Updated the Reinforcement logic from the Chelsey System to no longer target zones with sufficiently low infected morale. In effect: if the player cuts off groups of Reinforcements from reaching a zone, the morale will drop. If it gets low enough, reinforcements will stop being sent. The infected's morale will build back up if you spend enough time away from an infested zone. Practically: this means if you stay in a zone and cut off their avenues of reinforcement, you can 'isolate' that zone and drastically reduce the amount of infected that will be sent to fortify it, since the infected will view that zone as a 'lost cause' due to too many losses.
Updated the Virtual Unit Movers performing 'REINFORCE' calls to no longer 'disappear' upon reaching their destination, but to stay in play as long as they have any devirtualized units remaining (that way you can kill off that bunch of infected even if the invisible unit mover made it past you, and still drop the enemy morale, rather than the morale drop not occurring because you weren't quick enough to stop the invisible unit mover from getting by)
Speculative fix to mortar crash from here: https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/986144869590368256/995422084492693614
Converted Structure Health to 'Getter/Setter' setup, to lock down situations where infection pod healthbars weren't updating properly. This did resolve that issue, it seems, and infection pods no longer have their healthbars show as ~'5% health' whenever you load a save file, despite them NOT having that amount of health.
Added a fix to helicopters sometimes getting 'stuck moving slowly' if they are given a move order with a group

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

[ 2022-07-13 07:43:23 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.1.12 [Experimental only]

These are patch notes for the newly "opened" Experimental Steam Branch. Experimental will operate as followed: We have made new channels on Discord + Steam forums these channels are for users that like to live on the dangerous side of things and want to push feedback to us for upcoming patches. Whenever there is a patch it enters that experimental build for 1-2 days minimum if nothing fatal is found it will be pushed public. The testing and feedback for Experimental is open to anyone to help based on their preferred engagement system Steam or Discord. This is an effort to help squash more bugs and hopefully our bug fixes that cause other issues can be caught and fixed within this time period. Discord Steam Forums

Experimental will stay open at all times going forward.

How to Opt-in

Expect the first Step of the new Early game [Localized Infection Spawning] live on Experimental Wednesday-Thursday for feedback!

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Blowup guys now explode when killed or when they get close to a target like they rightfully should have always
Regionalized Infection spawning is now added (A few more tweaks will be added going into Friday)
Added a 'Infection Population' tracker to the Infection Zone Widgets that appear in world. This list will show 'Unknown', 'Small', 'Medium', 'Large', or 'Extreme', rather than listing the exact amount of infected in an area. The idea behind this new change is that they can only spawn/create what's available to them in that "zone" otherwise they must request for help from nearby regions. (They will gain a Morale system for how many units can respond till they retreat going into Friday-Monday. The threshold to determine if they are making any progress will be increased as they gain more infected since they would have a bit more "bodies" to throw at you. So in longer games where their overall population is higher in nearby zones to the zone your attacking they can afford to send larger groups to try and counter attack/defend their land. But it will be impossible to win anymore just defending and attacking one point for the entire game )
Updated the Infection Zone Widget to hopefully be more performant
Unlock prices changed for phase upgrades, flashlight and gas mask and nvg unlocked by default
Early pass on the 'local virtual population moving if no pods remain' logic, to make sure local populations of virtual infected do not become 'stuck' if the player wipes out their pods before the virtual infected in that area can enter the world
Shawnee received a damage buff/ spread decrease and target acquisition time was lowered
Removed advanced options that were setup incorrectly + fixed resetting options that weren't saving correctly
Added basic 'structure hovertip' when highlighting player structures
Added 'hover highlight' logic, to make player units get highlighted when moused over + display unit info
Further refinements to accuracy for building/capture in Angel Island
Weapon textures further optimized to lower VRAM usage
Fixed several Navigation errors around Angel Island cliffs.
Adjusting manual right click targeting to make sure units always target first enemies you right click for them to attack
Updated Virtual Unit Movers to have movement components that better match regular units (fixes an issue with them trying to 'climb' areas which they should be able to, but couldn't, so 'virtual' groups of infected can move better now)
Adjusted a Power Plant move proxy

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

[ 2022-07-07 10:50:04 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.1.11 [Experimental only]

These are patch notes for the newly "opened" Experimental Steam Branch. Experimental will operate as followed: We have made new channels on Discord + Steam forums these channels are for users that like to live on the dangerous side of things and want to push feedback to us for upcoming patches. Whenever there is a patch it enters that experimental build for 1-2 days minimum if nothing fatal is found it will be pushed public. The testing and feedback for Experimental is open to anyone to help based on their preferred engagement system Steam or Discord. This is an effort to help squash more bugs and hopefully our bug fixes that cause other issues can be caught and fixed within this time period. Discord Steam Forums

Experimental will stay open at all times going forward.

How to Opt-in

Expect the first Step of the new Early game [Localized Infection Spawning] live on Experimental Wednesday-Thursday for feedback!

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Weapon Textures adjusted to scale better with lower VRAM cards
New Weapon Mesh Dynamic loading system - we need users to test this and see if they encounter any issues relating to new crashes or oddities with the weapons. If this system works out we will push it further to reduce VRAM and overall RAM requirements across the board. Thus allowing a lot more computers of lower spec to play

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

[ 2022-07-06 08:27:11 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.1.10.1

Summer Sale Art

It would seem Winters cant even get a break when shes on vacation... The New Early Game + Local Infected Populations are coming in parts this week. https://steamcommunity.com/app/979640/discussions/0/3192494671075106022/

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Fixed an Issue that was causing FPS drops in Western Treasure Island
Further improvements to resolve the Winters duplication bug
Spawns adjusted for Infected that were spawning in the floor
Atlas now repairs structures correctly now
Fixed a Loading error relating to Winters causing a corruption

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2022-07-06 07:22:26 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.1.10

Summer Sale Art

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Build Locations for Angel Island further improved to reduce the No Deploy/No build locations that were reported by our community
Minor fix for Charon rotors.
SMAW Rocket muzzle velocity increased to its real-life value of 220m/s.
Fix for floating trees.
Various Performance tweaks relating to the Spawning Logic
Fixed some duplicated cars/bad collision
Unit Construction reorder rate adjusted to remove jitter
Made regular infected gain massively more threat towards structures that they are close to (to reduce situations where infected 'run into walls without hitting them' due to aiming for someone on the other side)
Unit Card | Infection Status is now shown via a "red graphic" that will appears more visible as your unit is infected. To check their exact level go to the unit and inspect them in the world.
Adding helicopter Rotor Wash effects.
Minor change to Cerberus Recoil setup.
Added new jump attack safeties to Chelsey (and LT) 'jump attack' AI, for dealing with helicopter attacks (I.E if Chelsey/LT is on a helicopter when its about to land in the water she will jump off to Safety)
Fixed the Unit Card Groups to no longer go wider than 6 unit cards
Fixed the Unit Card Groups to no longer 'spread out incorrectly' if you click+drag a card to swap its position within its own group
Fixed the Unit Cards not properly playing their 'white glow' animation (from being directly clicked, swapping positions, or getting added to the group)
Moved the 'keybind tips' from above the minimap of the HUD to the lower right of the pause screen
Cleaned out several old widget pieces on the HUD that were unused/deprecated
Updated the mission description text to be a bit more up-to-date and helpful
Got rid of some non-user visible text that didn't need to be localized
Improved safeties to prevent 'duplicate Winter spawns' from occurring
Fixed some Spawn Nodes issues in the Military Barracks

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

[ 2022-07-05 07:33:24 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.1.9

Summer Sale Art

It would seem Winters cant even get a break when shes on vacation...

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes) [expand type=details]

Adjusted starting camera height in Horde Map 01
Hid some assets that were incorrectly not removed
Treasure Island Build Locations revised. More adjustments will be coming tomorrow into next week to improve building/deploy accuracy.
Adjusted AI combat 'shoot check' logic to do the trace check last, after doing distance/angle checks as needed. It also will now try to 'drop threat' towards targets that we are currently unable to shoot for any reason (other than needing to reload), rather than only if they're beyond targeting range
Removed the Vehicle's "share vision with garrison" logic, since that 'breaks' on the perception system (units 'think' they have something visible even if it's behind them due to Vehicle sharing, etc.) Result: Units should no longer do really weird 'long range vision lasers' when on helicopters (though their range on helicopters is slightly reduced: we likely need to add a 'vision range modifier' for helicopter garrisoning now, I think). Additionally, combat performance may see a slight improvement.
Cut down on the 'startup delays' in the Master BP to reduce the time players have to wait for the startup popup. Expanded upon and used the 'Winter Ref Set' logic in the PC to ensure there's a 'safety' for the player startup in the Open World Master, so the faster startup should still be safe (without having the awkward four second wait until the Deploy screen pops up)
Improved the 'packup team into vehicle' logic in the C++ as well (doesn't fully stop the bug reported on the public discord, but that bug shouldn't be encountered in the master anymore, at least, due to the streamlined startup)
Made Buildings 'always tick' even when unrendered, to prevent 'unfold failing when offscreen' (this shouldn't cause performance concerns due to them shutting off tick after unfold completion)
Adjusted several move proxies to better align with the new build location mesh setup
Added a new 'move proxy doctor loop' to make units following the Move Proxy system re-check their move orders, to prevent navigation paths from going into odd places. This loop occurs every 10 seconds for CERC units, and 30 seconds otherwise Result: Solo CERC units can circumnavigate the main landmass now seemingly without getting stuck, though this fix needs to be ported to the formation move handler as well.
Tracked down and removed an invalid build location mesh reference in G1Military (was massively bugging out the move proxy system)
Also updated the build location mesh initialization to report when a mesh reference is invalid, and to 'reject' distance checks from invalid meshes, so it should no longer get freaked out by this happening
Added a 'move proxy doctor loop' to the Formation Move Handler. Also improved its move proxy acquisition to function even if its 'move proxy unit' is not currently within a build location mesh Result: Proxy system is seemingly recovered, and should function far better than it did in the Tuesday patch

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed [/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Letter from the Producer

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Roadmap system

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power [expand type=details] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU [/expand]

Swag Store

[expand type=details]

[/expand]

[ 2022-07-01 00:48:29 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.1.8

Last Letter to the producer can be read here on current priorities https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Versioning Number system

Some Summer Art to go with the Season!

It would seem Winters cant even get a break when shes on vacation...

We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Patch Notes

[expand type=details]

San Francisco North was moved out of the Open World Master to reduce user confusion that it some somehow finished (It was added so people interested could track along on how it was shaping up and get a nice Vista in the distance) It will be readded in the future
Logic Determining where you can and cannot build was tweaked to produce more reliable results this includes the Capture Truck ( There are still some problematic areas where extreme elevation changes is a problem we are still working this problem internally hope to have a final solution in the next few days)
New UI relating to simplified Card system
Cleaned up some bridge issues relating to navigation
CERC threat system has been improved to make them more spatially aware of their surroundings and which threats should be targeted first
(Hopefully) finally fixed buildings not 'unfolding' when loading saves
Updated 'face direction after moving' logic (for right click held move commands, and a bit more) to better enforce the direction to face if the unit hasn't recently fired their gun (if they're actively shooting, they will still ignore it)
Fixed the 'formation move handler' not having enough 'walkable floor angle' to navigation our world - it now has a proper 60 degrees value (along with some other fixes), preventing it from getting 'stuck' when trying to walk up certain sidewalks or other angle issues (pretty massive fix to several pathfinding issues)
Updated the Helipad to use 'null nav' rather than obstacle nav for its 'unwalkable' areas, to prevent units from thinking they can 'walk up the sides'
Resolved an issue with Engineers who are 'already in position to construct something' sometimes failing to do so (the 'overlap' was triggering before its signal was tied to 'start construction' - now, it's fixed)
Updated the Tutorial Slides to no longer spawn since we will be doing newer tutorials in the future and they are outdated
Fixed building construction points erroneously acting against the Guard Tower capacity
Load Game / General Performance tweaks

[/expand] Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU

Swag Store

New Posters up

[ 2022-06-30 01:56:06 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.1.7

Last Letter to the producer can be read here on current priorities https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Versioning Number system

Some Summer Art to go with the Season!

It would seem Winters cant even get a break when shes on vacation...

Guard Towers are coming soon!

We are modeling 2 guard towers initially. This Light single unit Scout tower and a mobile version that is a new Atlas configuration more details will be coming soon!

This Update includes the following updates as well https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/979640/view/3352381454215226008 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/979640/view/3352380820069188607 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/979640/view/3352380820064636932 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/979640/view/3191375389601024058 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/979640/view/3191375239917854120 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/979640/view/4764256862282910387 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/979640/view/4764256862263990643 We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future. https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

Patch Notes

[expand type=details]

Fixed Structures sometimes not "opening" when loading a save file from an optimization we applied last patch to help improve performance
Updated the 'dropdown' weapon preset on the Recruitment Popup to use the new damage display
Added a fix for the 'Capture Truck' button duplicating when loading saves
Further Camera refinements for Horde maps so they never can get "stuck" and properly start at the correct height
Light Scout Tower Guarding Unit switched to Assault Mesh
You can now customize the gear of the unit inside the Guard Tower by clicking on them and then buying a weapon for them. We made available 3 Weapons to them. A sniper, LMG and Assault Rifle.
Resized some of the elements of the main menu we will be tweaking this in the future more based on some community feedback we got
Pathing Adjustments so units are less likely to get "caught" on each other and improved their fluidity of movements around other units for formation orders
Adjusted nav preferences so vehicles should be less likely to favor roads stupidly
Sniper Rifle Model updated for the M107
Fixed speaker system Attenuation bug causing music to not play at the distance they should be
Added build version to main menu

[/expand] Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU

Swag Store

New Posters up

[ 2022-06-25 09:10:55 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.1.6

Last Letter to the producer can be read here on current priorities https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Versioning Number system

Some Summer Art to go with the Season!

It would seem Winters cant even get a break when shes on vacation...

Guard Towers are coming soon!

We are modeling 2 guard towers initially. This Light single unit Scout tower and a mobile version that is a new Atlas configuration more details will be coming soon!

Patch Notes

[expand type=details]

Guard Towers & Turrets now have a new population system dedicated to them (Performance reasons since in some save games we were witnessed sometimes 50-80+ turrets which the engine cannot handle + makes the game literally mute to which no attack from Infected work anymore)
Fixed a bug in Horde map 1 was resolved that was causing Infected to not user the other spawns on the map when you cleared a new section
Fixed Horde map 1 odd collision that was causing units to float
Camera tweaks to stop the "slowing down bug" with being unable to zoom in at times even though you clearly should be able to
Reduced the Turret Ammo Widget's display range to 25,000 (from 30,000)
Added night lighting to Guard tower.
Range and damage values rebalanced for all Weapons
Infection Structures have more resistance towards explosions

[/expand] Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU

Swag Store

New Posters up

[ 2022-06-24 03:34:58 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.1.5

Last Letter to the producer can be read here on current priorities https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

New Versioning Number system

Some Summer Art to go with the Season!

It would seem Winters cant even get a break when shes on vacation...

Guard Towers are coming soon!

We are modeling 2 guard towers initially. This Light single unit Scout tower and a mobile version that is a new Atlas configuration more details will be coming soon!

Patch Notes

[expand type=details]

Various memory improvements to music loading and unloading for Speakers/Music mods
Light Guard Tower added
Fix to stop Engineers from getting stuck inside each other when mass ordering repairs/construction
Improvements to CERC wall collision and nav
Horde Maps now have a timeout to kill stuck infected
Fixed a bug where units would, during construction, sometimes 'wander off' towards world zero
Fixed snappoints on constructs 'defaulting' to sandbags (rather than matching the mesh of the thing they're snappoints for)
Fixed the 'finished recruitment' text line in the C++ to no longer have an awkward 'dual comma' issue
Adjusted the command buttons for the new Decorations to properly disable if you do not have enough funds, and to display 'Insufficient Funds' (w/ price) if so
Anarchists & Police faction fixes so they properly hold weapons again
Fixed speed modifiers (other than weather) failing to apply to units
Horde Maps now allow restrictions like no helicopters or vehicles based on the "type" of map
Made buildings' healthbar widgets 'collapse themselves' when their components are hidden, too (instead of just hiding the component), on the hopes that this will cheapen slate cost
Speculative fix to an error with the Cerberus BP when loading them in Mortar configuration
Cleaned out some unused parts of the Minimap POI Widget
Updated Wires to no longer be visible unless you're in Wire Mode
Updated the 'wire radius' mesh on buildings to not show itself unless you've selected that building as your wire source
Updated the 'power radius visualization' for Power Components to not spawn until you use wire mode and click on the building in question (previously, every power component spawned and hid the mesh, which stacked up a lot of hidden meshes for no good reason)
These also despawn when you are done with wire mode on that building
Updated the Threat generation logic somewhat:
Drastically dropped threat gain for enemies who are beyond weapon range
Threat should now drop (rather than only raise) if the unit no longer can see the target in question and said target is at least a moderate distance away (this way we don't 'lose threat' towards things behind or beside us, if we're hit from behind or turning quickly)
Various CERC building optimizations
Civilian tweaks so they take up less performance
Fixed units being able to 'walk through' holding cells
Fixed civilians showing their join team widget even if infected or inside a holding cell
Updated the player start in the master to face the islands (instead of the sea)
Updated the player units in the master to auto-board the Sparrow when first starting up
Infection Spawning for Defense and Attack optimized for better performance

[/expand] Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU

Swag Store

New Posters up

[ 2022-06-23 08:14:30 CET ] [ Original post ]

Operator Convert to 3rd Person [Community Opinion]

Operator Convert to 3rd Person [Community Opinion] As many have noticed the Operator has been untouched since December. We believe that it would be in our best interest for the longevity of the project to convert the Operator to a third person system based on the resources that are available to our team. Long term wise we would mirror the 3rd person behind Division/WWZ and allow shoulder switching and all the normal requirements of the genre. Here is a shortlist of the pros that we have earmarked by switching. 1. We have one animator and making the switch will allow us to give the operator access to all weapons based on the fact that the Operator should now be using our third person rig. 2. New Weapons would be easier to push to the Operator in general 3. It would simplify the process involved in allowing you to customize the Operator in regards to spending ability points which allow you to pick and choose what abilities they use. Which because we share the same 3P rig we can utilize the CERC unit abilities seamlessly. 4. More resources can be put into the RTS aspects of development since the entire process would be greatly simplified by making this switch. 5. We would also use this new "Operator" in a limited coop mode strictly between Operators in a Horde/Merceries type mode. This would be the first logical step towards full coop implementation https://strawpoll.com/polls/mpnbajKVYy5

[ 2022-06-17 00:47:22 CET ] [ Original post ]

Halcyon winds Podcast #3

During major events we will be bringing in special guests to discuss their experiences they have had in Cepheus Protocol for future podcasts. If interested contact a Moderator We will be live on Twitch and in our Discord AmA channel for those wanting to listen in on voice. You can partake in the live AmA either on Discord AmA channel/Twitch Chat. https://www.twitch.tv/halcyonwinds Discord Segment 1: Dev roundtable 15 mins - a discussion between the developers on the current state of the game and current content released Segment 2: General discussions/questions 20 mins - Host will be picking out most prominent questions and discussions made in the discord for the week Segment 3: Live QNA 20 mins - opportunity for the community to ask questions directly to the developers Segment 4: Closing discussion 5mins - discussion between the developers on the upcoming content for

[ 2022-06-15 12:09:21 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.1.4 PB [Public Beta Only]

This is the Unreal Engine 5 Update "soft" release so we can address bugs/issues before this branch is folded into the default build. You will find bugs/issues but we recommend everyone to partake in this build if they can so we can collect feedback. Our goal is to close the PB and fold it into the normal build before the Steam Summer sale. Last Letter to the producer can be read here on current priorities https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739

How do i opt in?

[expand type=showmore ]

[/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Some Summer Art to go with the Season!

It would seem Winters cant even get a break when shes on vacation...

Podcast/Ama this week https://discord.gg/AhmvWvtH?event=985508297190805515

Patch Notes

[expand type=details]

Radio System vastly improved to only "Index" all the music mods on initialization of the engine. It will now only "load" the music when its needed. This will reduce memory requirements of music mods by 99%.
Radio System Main Menu memory leaked resolved
Radio System Attenuation improved to make the falloff more realistic
New Game option added to allow background sounds for when the game loses focus or you minimize on by default.
Splash Art updated for SMAW and both Riot Shield versions
Updated buildable signs to have color displays in the world of their current mode
HESCO Walls prices greatly reduced
Further Progress on SF North blockout in distance
Updated the 'Disengage' (bored mode) logic for Chelsey and her LTs. No longer 'fails' to enable combat again if they're not inside their assigned location when the timer ends and you're still attacking them. Now, they will stay in combat mode for longer if you continue bugging them shortly after they've already retreated ('angry' mode). Should reduce 'stuckwarping' through walls
Updated Chelsey and her LTs to properly be counted as 'infected' collision - they now no longer should be able to literally walk through player walls
Fixed an issue with the 'DoMeleeAnimation' call failing to calculate additional Melee Cooldown time for some circumstances
Infected no longer seem to 'get confused and stop attacking' if they target a structure or civilian, and melee cooldown times should be more accurate to their settings
Fixed Operator not being able to walk in RTS mode
Fixed Horde_02 nav issues reported on Discord

[/expand]

Guard Towers are coming soon!

We are modeling 2 guard towers initially. This Light single unit Scout tower and a mobile version that is a new Atlas configuration more details will be coming soon!

Some of the new buildable items in this patch

Some of the new Weapons in this patch

SMAW Engineer Weapon

New Maps in this patch

More Operators adjustments will be forth coming as we work to polish it amongst the RTS aspects to get back on civilian management. We expect to wrap up polish and be back on civilian management very soon Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU

Swag Store

New Posters up

[ 2022-06-15 12:01:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.1.3 PB [Public Beta Only]

How do i opt in?

[expand type=showmore ]

[/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Some Summer Art to go with the Season!

It would seem Winters cant even get a break when shes on vacation...

Guard Towers are coming soon!

We are modeling 2 guard towers initially. This Light single unit Scout tower and a mobile version that is a new Atlas configuration more details will be coming soon!

Some of the new buildable items in this patch

Some of the new Weapons in this patch

SMAW Engineer Weapon

New Maps in this patch

Patch Notes

[expand type=details]

Horde Map 1 & 2 Movement issues resolved
Horde Map Minimaps updated
Fixed incorrect foliage generation on Angel island.
Minor adjustment to water VT to reduce memory usage.
Fixed a rare loading issues where some constructed objects would turn into sandbags
Fixed some Fog of War visual issues that were reported on Discord
Updated Weapon Upgrade window to show how many pellets are fired from guns with pellets and their per pellet damage based on Discord feedback
Fix for Display for the Helipad 'Toggle Evac Mode' button so it can say 'Chopper Incoming' when disabled (rather than a bugged out display that implies you need an unlock)
Various performance & pathing issues
Minimap regenerated for Open World Master

[/expand] More Operators adjustments will be forth coming as we work to polish it amongst the RTS aspects to get back on civilian management. We expect to wrap up polish and be back on civilian management very soon Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU

Swag Store

New Posters up

[ 2022-06-12 07:00:28 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.1.2 PB [Public Beta Only]

How do i opt in?

[expand type=showmore ]

[/expand]

New Versioning Number system

Some Summer Art to go with the Season!

It would seem Winters cant even get a break when shes on vacation...

Guard Towers are coming soon!

We are modeling 2 guard towers initially. This Light single unit Scout tower and a mobile version that is a new Atlas configuration more details will be coming soon!

Some of the new buildable items in this patch

Some of the new Weapons in this patch

SMAW Engineer Weapon

New Maps in this patch

Patch Notes

[expand type=details]

Two new Horde maps are now added
Added SMAW Engineer Weapon
Faction Combat has been greatly rebalanced to make it playable and much more balanced.
Fixed the Speaker System building not being repairable
Fixed Lights not properly turning on after the Unreal Engine 5 update for buildings at night
Various new build items have been added to allow players to better design their base.
Sandbags, HESCO walls and Barbed wire can be "Snapped" to segment to make it easier to build now
Buildable CERC Infection Detection Towers added
Scientist can be equipped with mobile Detection equipment to locate infected individuals
Improved construction of wall-type objects to better handle interaction points (welding locations)
Improved construction to implement an 'overlap safety'. Not perfect, but makes construction considerably safer when issuing orders to a lot of units at the same time
Added new system for recruiting civilians + added scientist logic to auto look for civilians and scan them as they walk by
Improved Skycrane cables and added CableAttachPoints to buildings that did not have them.
Added the Customizable Sign
Damage Resistance setup for the rest of the unit's
Rate of fire tweaks
Added support for the scanner to dynamically only start its loop if a scanner is equipped + will dynamically shut down when the scientist is unpossessed as well. Added Animation support for the scientist so it will use the native animation of CharacterWeaponFireArray for its scanning animation and setup the code to wait for a scan to finish before its allowed to pickout another civilian to scan dynamically from a crowd
Helipads were added with two modes (Resupply Aircraft & Civilian Evacuation Mode) Resupply Aircraft - will repair/refuel and repair any helicopter landed on the Helipad Civilian Evacuation Mode - will trigger a Chinook to fly to the Helipad and wait for you to load them up to evacuate them to an aircraft carrier off the coast.
Immediate Evacuate was added as a last minute addition to allow you to tell an evac chopper to leave immediately without a full load or waiting for the countdown.
Game now tracks how many civilians were evacuated when highlighting the "Population" bar
Added fix to player units who succumbed to infection having their UI reappear if you load a game with one of them in it
Fixed Civilian overlap issue if they are previously infected you could get the overlap widget.
Added the whiteboards so they scare/welcome or do nothing based on what you want for each one.
Riot Shield Light added as a new weapon for Assaults
Riot Shield heavy added as a new weapon for Heavys
Riot Shields will break when damaged beyond their health requiring you to buy a placement at the barracks
Added carrier blockout for Civilian evacuations
New starting location for open worlds
Teleporting feature of the starting widget removed
Speculative fix for crash when taking damage
Removable Car/Trees were switched to a more efficient Navigation system
Fixed 'unupgradeable' wall segments (like Jerseys, Hescoes, etc.) 'reverting' to sandbags when loading them from a saved game
Evacuation Count on the Population Tracker now will always appear when hovered
Updated the World Infection 'mesh' type growths to no longer have collision or affect nav
Updated the Evac Helicopter Countdown widget to have a 'depart now' button (w/ minor animation, localization string, etc.)
Updated the handling (via delegates) in the Evac Chopper to support this and make it relatively smooth to use
Various performance & pathing issues

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU

Swag Store

New Posters up

[ 2022-06-11 04:39:32 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.1.1 PB [Public Beta Only]

Last Letter to the producer can be read here on current priorities https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739 This is the Unreal Engine 5 Update "soft" release so we can address bugs/issues before this branch is folded into the default build. You will find bugs/issues but we recommend everyone to partake in this build if they can so we can collect feedback. How do i opt in?
We are changing the way we do version numbers to simplify them going into the future. The one will represent a "release" version and the octet following it will the title update or major patch version we are on. 1.2.1 1 = Release version 2 = Title Update (Major Update) 1 = Minior Fix/bug fixes etc

Cepheus Protocol Gas Towers Niagara Test VFX W.I.P

https://youtu.be/LE4S5e0T8-s

Patch Notes

[expand type=details]

Added spawn limits to the Virtual Unit Movers (so they can't surpass Defense+Regular infected soft caps via devirtualization)
Fixed up fast rope sockets on the Sparrow
Fixed up fast rope sockets on the Merlin and Charon
Adding WIP large water splash for bridge destruction.
Implemented visibility triggers on pod construction locations to prevent the pods from being able to be virtually constructed if a player unit can 'see' them (even if no pod has appeared yet)
Updated the Virtual Unit Mover move order loop to not spam out move order requests if in 'rewind due to lack of spawn room' mode and near their rewind position
Updated the Visibility Triggers on SpawnPodPositions to disable themselves from being in the Perception System if there's a pod for units to see
Updated the last commit of visibility triggers to also hopefully function with dynamic spawn pods (not yet implemented, but will be for early game revamp down the road)
Fixed an error with some units 'lerping out of pods' over really long distances
Updated timeout for Virtual Unit Movers to favor 'failing' if they're too far from the target (to prevent more situations of incorrect construction)
Added a 'path check' on Unit Mover timeout, if it's close enough to its target, to reject more situations where it may 'construct' something incorrectly
Vehicles will now not try to avoid infected (so ramming should hopefully work again)
Fixed an issue with gates not properly blocking navigation when shut (and not set to automatic)
Improved pod construction+registration 'order' to try to prevent situations where incomplete pods can act as enemy spawn points
Improved 'reinforce checks' from the Chelsey System to no longer look inside zones that have no pods
Updated collision profiles to make units not get 'blocked' by ragdolls
Updated units who are ragdolled to not interface with the avoidance system (and to turn it back on if they get up)
Gas tower effects improvements.
Fixed firetruck windows being left behind when removed by landscaping.
Added new biomass actors and implement some World Infection around a few Gas Towers in North TI.
Changed some focus logic to resolve an issue with units 'looking behind them' if they start running while in combat
Added logic to make units clear their seenlist when they fastrope
Fixed flares not revealing enemy units +
Adjusted flare colors
Updated the Operator vision box to 'spot' infection pods
Instant Detection Box radius doubled to help reaction time of CERC for units sneaking behind them
Sound emitted by Reloads doubled for Infection hearing
Disabled rotation animations while units are in combat (to make soldiers feel 'snappier' in dealing with things behind them)
Added a timer on move completion to restore focal point (so units who haven't moved will, after finishing shooting, turn back to their position after 2 seconds)
Formationv2 no longer utilized if you are issuing a move order to only helicopter units (since the advanced logic is only a detriment to their flying style of movement). This should fix the 'multiple helicopters selected causes move order to fail' bug.

[/expand]

W.I.P Vehicle Physics

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU

Swag Store

New Posters up

[ 2022-05-20 10:49:43 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 1.2 PB [Public Beta Only]

Change list

[expand type=details]

Fixed Gates not opening/closing
Fixed Operator issue where possessing them while they're running will cause them to 'bob in place' as if sprinting (until the player manually presses the sprint button)
Added safety to make Operator Freelook no longer 'stick' if you were in FreeLook when you exit Operator FPS mode, then re-enter Operator mode
Operator now no longer gets stuck 'facing their old move target' if you enter FPS mode while the Operator was carrying out a move command
Operator now no longer will 'face the keyboard direction' if you enter FPS mode while the Operator was running while carrying out a move command
Fix for Vehicle stuttering physics

[/expand]

W.I.P Vehicle Physics

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU

Swag Store

New Posters up

[ 2022-05-18 05:11:13 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 0.7.130.16 [Public Beta Only]

W.I.P Vehicle Physics

Change list

[expand type=details]

New Vehicle Physic Systems implemented (See gifs)
Grenade not properly affecting targets fixed
Mortars not properly affecting targets fixed
Airstrikes not properly affecting targets fixed
Test version of Chaos bridge destruction implemented to replace the PhysX versions
Speculative crash fix for https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/705202412562022400/975882774907084890
Updated the Gas Emitter to the new AOE Marker setup to look more visually appealing
Added a box trace to clear DNA+structures on the bridge if on the destroyed segment
Units that are on a destroyed segment will now ragdoll and die instantly
Fixed a flaw in Vehicle Recoil physics.
Fixed Stryker shell ejection direction.
Performance tweaks for Virtualization
Added Move Proxy logic to Virtual Unit Movers (to allow them to better move between landmasses/across bridges, reducing chances of getting stuck even further)
Fixed the dropdown text color on the HUDRecruitPopup to white (since UE5 changed default font color to black, which didn't work with the dropdown background also being black)
Electric fences and gates should update more accurately, and their materials should no longer appear as if they're always powered

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU

Swag Store

New Posters up

[ 2022-05-17 08:57:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 0.7.130.15 [Public Beta Only]

Change list

[expand type=details]

Updated Music System to the latest FLAC,MP3 and Wave libraries
Updated saving/loading of Pod Locations/Tower Locations in the SpawnNode to be more modular and DRY (much easier to maintain and track down bugs) =When doing this, also fixed up the PodLocations saving Landscaping data (since they no longer handle that)
Updated Node defense responses to not be reliant upon static 'spawn pod locations', so dynamically spawn pods should be able to respond and cry for help like other pods do
Fixed an error with the Mercer System 'pod querying' that could result in it always referring to a backup rather than a primary form of pod spreading intelligence
Fixed up units who enter a garrison while Parachuting to EndParachute (rather than keeping it 'floating' above the vehicle)
Spotlight will now properly toggle its visuals on and off, as well as cast shadows again.
Improved Ambient Occlusion on Units and Base Structures.
Flare Ability provides line of sight again
Fixed the Cerberus BMG's ammunition capacity being 500 lower than its starting ammo (made it look like it wouldn't receive ammunition)
Fixed Ammo Runners not thinking they're close enough to deliver ammunition to vehicles (would result in the Runners just 'running up against' vehicles instead of delivering)
Fixed up the SCAR-H starting with less ammunition than its capacity (would result in it needing a refill immediately upon being acquired)
Improved the Medic's healing logic to no longer 'block' trying to heal units if there is an enemy nearby that is outside of the Medic's range to shoot
Additionally, Medics will now immediately query for another target to heal upon finishing healing someone else (should speed up healing multiple units a little bit)
Removed (for now) the 'Are you Sure?' popup for confirming settings changes when exiting the Pause menu: the popup wasn't kept up very well, and a lot of our settings ignored its implementation (so settings would be saved regardless of hitting Yes or No)
Fixed the Comms Trailer not properly showing its Bounty popup if it was selected when the Power kicks in for it
Fixed the Hovertips at the bottom right 'showing by default' before you've actually hovered anything (resulted in some weird text being visible)
Fixed the Comms Trailer immediately closing its Bounty popup (was an error in the new mouse-click handling implementation)
Split the bottom part of the HUD scaling into 'Lower Left' and 'Lower Right' scaling, so the minimap and the command widget can be scaled separately
HUD UI default hud rescaled
Spine turrets health is now 6000
Blow up guy health increased to 850
Spitter increased to 600
Gas tower starting health is 6000
Pod structures increased to 8000
Spine turrets increased to 4000
All special infected are now more resistant to small/mid caliber rounds
No longer 'clears' the SeenList, which was useful for the old 'sight' system. On our new PerceptionSystem, this can result in units completely ignoring things that are already within sight range.
Added a fix for the 'Halt' command not fully working for units who were moving in formation
French Added
Horde Map 1 adjustments
New weapons/balance tweaks to all classes
Virtualization Infection is now live
Thermal is removed
Unit icons dynamically scale and appear at higher camera heights
Grenades now push ragdolls/dead bodies
Grenade Accuracy improved
Ragdoll/Death Animations added
Various Optimizations to AI overhead
High profile assets converted to Nanite
HLOD building improved to make grids appear a bit less janky
Adjusted the infection popup widgets on the Select Location popup (at the start of a game) to no longer blink in UE5
Added safety to properly set the PawnCameraRef in the PlayerController on first time of possessing it, so we can properly switch back 'n forth from Operator (instead of it potentially breaking if you switch to Operator in a session before anything else sets the PawnCamRef)
Added a crash fix related to TakeDamage, from https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/948777616012357662/967198635353841694
Some fixes to prevent crashes if animation blueprint is not mapped
Added a basic default threat curve' for now that all weapon+characters should use (have to switch over to performance testing, hence why there's not multiple curves or more testing here
Cleaned up some Parking Barrier instances in the old Open World Master that were using old materials
Fixed up some logic related to playing death animations to prevent crash on falling out of the world
New Weapon VictorAK
New Weapon SPAS-12
New Weapon AA12
New Weapon ACR
New Weapon M101
New Weapon MP5SD
New Weapon Vector
Lumen enabled by default
New Video Options added for Lumen/UE5
Fixed A10 starting with extended gear.
Weapon Ragdoll adjusted
Added a fix for 'close by' move orders on the new 'Move Projection' update to Formation v2 to no longer mix up the final rotation
Formation Projection (aka "Stop backing up in combat") update to Formation v2
Formation V2
Hooked up logic to make units 'exit combat mode' on entering a Garrison (vehicle, etc.) if they cannot use the weapon while stationed in said garrison
Added safety to certain kinds of degarrisoning to prevent units from getting 'stuck in the ground' (like the Civilian Holding Area, Cerberus, etc.)
Updated the Civilians to show their Interaction Widget after joining the player team (so you know that they're part of your team after accepting guardianship)
Fixed the JLTV, Cerberus, and Shawnee having 'visible' drivers despite not having transparent canopies (should save a bit of performance)
Added a crash fix for a Spawn Node potentially reassigning delegates more than once
Updated Wedge formation to 'form new wedges behind existing wedge': each wedge is 7 units wide now, and the pattern repeats for every 7 units beyond the first
Updated 'sandbag nav' to be slightly thinner, to trap units less often (doesn't solve all cases)
Hooked up the 'height downward adjustment check' logic from the Wallbuilder to the Sandbag Builder
Adjusted the 'interaction points' for constructing Barbed Wire/Sandbags to be further out (to prevent units from getting 'stuck' inside them after construction)
Also adjusted 'construction' logic for Barbed Wire/Sandbag segments so that segments that are 'smaller' (to fit the point where the mouse is at) will not have a reduced 'construction radius' (so units can still build them)
Boosted height of Sandbag Nav to hopefully stop some issues where it doesn't affect the nav enough
Added a short-range 'ShareCombat' feature (currently only enabled for player soldiers): When a unit enters combat, it will grab other allies that are very close by (a few bodylengths away) - if any of them are not in combat, they will receive the same target that this unit just saw
Fixed the Flamethrower failing to hit Spine Turrets
Additionally, adjusted Fire Particle logic to hopefully be a bit more accurate
Adjusted Fire Damage to Spine Turrets (they will take longer to burn, but take more damage from each 'tick', kinda like how pods work)
Fixed the 'HOME Key' keybind not disabling the 'TAB camera follow' logic (your camera would keep moving after jumping to CERC, as if still attached to the unit it was following)
Updated Laser Sight logic a bit: Will not show itself if there is no target on the unit, currently Distance check is now capped to the weapon's current range
Soldiers react to getting hit, but the turrets and gun-enabled units on vehicles would not react to their vehicle getting hit: now they do, so armed vehicles should be a bit more cognizant in combat
Improved Helicopter degarrison logic on death, to prevent units from 'warping around' or warping to the ground
Improved formation preview from holding CTRL while Circle Up is selected to have accurate rotation
Formation v2: units will no longer be able to break their 'combat speed' limit when in a formation move (i.e. units who are currently shooting will no longer have their speed boosted to faster-than-walk speeds)
Fixed up a minor UI error with the 'ammo divider' line on the Unit Card remaining red if a unit gets close to/runs out of ammo, then gains more ammo
Added speculative fix to DNA being able to 'spawn in the air' if a helicopter was over an infection pod when said pod was destroyed:
Updated Helicopters to no longer be in 'walking' movement state for a bit while loading a save game, which seems to fix the bug of helicopters 'starting on the ground' when loading saves
Hooked up logic to ensure the Formation move order has a minimum move speed equivalent to the lowest 'maximum move speed for current speed state' from its units (i.e. the highest speed that the slowest unit in the current move state can move: i.e. if we're walking, then we move at the fastest walk speed of the slowest walker. If it's vehicles only, then we move at the top speed of the slowest vehicle, etc.) Result: Vehicle-only move orders will actually hit the gas instead of being Sunday drivers.
Boosted the 'formation follow behind distance' for most vehicles
Updated Formation movement to not have an arbitrary 'minor' gap between vehicles (since that can cause a tiny offset in the 'convoy gap closer' part of Formation v2)
Updated Helicopter movement preview logic to properly show the 'height offset' that Helicopters have over the 'ground spot' you ordered them to move to
Implemented logic to better improve units dodging vehicles while in formation (still more room to grow here though)
Fixed and issue where units would continue to run if they receive a new formation command (that ISN'T a run command) while already running (among other things, due to the var 'SavedRun' not being reset after use)
Updated logic for the Virtual Construction to try to avoid 'backup' spawn locations like the old CapturePointPos, to drastically lower the chances of infected 'spawning' in player bases
Fixed a bug relating to video playback on the main menu
Updated Infected 'helicopter jump attack' to enable collision against vehicles during the jump attack (so Chelsey and her LTs don't 'phase through' helicopters they're trying to take down)
Added logic to make player units properly be able to hide in the Fog of War if they succumb to infection
Updated the UnitUIComponent to be better at clearing the overhead widget for player units upon player unit death/infection conversion
Updated the Pawn collision preset to block the Construction trace (so player units will now properly block buildings being 'built' upon them)
Updated movement logic for construction to no longer be 'interrupted' by Formationv2 (i.e. you can issue a construction command to a unit moving in formation and they'll properly break off to build the thing now)
Updated the LaserSight to no longer 'fix Z', which made it look like Turrets were aiming at their targets' feet
Added speculative fix in response to https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/705202412562022400/973957205399306240
All wheeled vehicles set up with wheel physics and rolling. More work needed for normal release
Fixed UI Main Menu black backgrounds from Unreal Engine 5 update
Virtual construction occurs more often, with faster rates if there is a critical mass of infected in a particular zone
Virtual construction now has a fallback if the player is in the way of the construction, instead of merely restarting the timer
Virtual construction is now no longer 'cut', so construction should occur 'passively' more quickly
Passive 'infection' from pods will now contribute towards virtualized unit pools, resulting in more areas wanting to construct things
Added crashfix to https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/902035725858517043/973065401212731402
Speculative crash fix for report from https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/705202412562022400/973469986175721511
Updated several widgets to 'handle' mouse events, to prevent 'click-thru' problems that UE5 seemed to have introduced
Vehicle Turrets: Fixed the muzzle flash location acquirement
Vehicle Turrets: Fixed the vehicle turrets not 'restoring their rotation' back to the front when exiting combat mode
Vehicle Turrets: Fixed rotation not resetting when a vehicle turret no longer sees its target
Turret bugfixing: Fixed positioning of weapon point on FieldTurret1 to fix muzzle flashes
Turret bugfixing:Added a Muzzle Flash (MF) socket to the new SCAR H mesh to fix the field turrets not having particle effects in the proper location when firing (also to fix turret issue)
Turret bugfixing: Added new logic to DeployGun 'turret mode' (i.e. rotation enabled while in DeployGun) to restore initial rotation focus when exiting combat mode
Turret bugfixing: Fixed laser sight
Turret bugfixing: Fixed DeployGun state not enabling rotation properly on the turrets
Fixed Health, adjusted units spawn weapons for police faction just incase something was unmapped
Converted flamethrower FX to Niagara with minor improvements.
Fixed water flickering
Fixed Car windows being left behind when vehicles are removed by construction or the landscaping tool.
New Weapon SFX
Turned off player units from being able to walk off of ledges
Fixed a mouse-cursor issue related to repairing/constructing actors
Updated the Ammobox call-in to properly show its preview material again
And to properly overlap the 'no build zones' so you can't stack them on top of one another
Fixed a repair actor issue for the Motor Pool that prevented units from walking on it, if it was damaged
Improved handling of clicks for buildings
Updated Grenade Launcher's "distance fuse calculation" to properly calculate the relative altitude of the target (was previously 'matching altitude' in its calculations, causing targets who are too far above/below you to be 'missed' due to fuse going off early)
Grenade launcher can fire through fences/gates now
Bug fixed that was causing grenades to not explode correctly
Updated Grenades to properly hide themselves after exploding (so you can't see the grenade mesh itself just sitting there after it exploded)
Lowered regular infected health to 190
Lowered ragdoll physics timer to 3.0 (from 3.5 seconds)
Set infected to use the basic PHAT instead of the complex one when dying
Removed unneeded call to 'SimulateWeaponFire' in InstantFire() for weapons (this was causing multi-muzzle-flash for spread weapons like shotguns)

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU

Swag Store

New Posters up

[ 2022-05-12 10:29:33 CET ] [ Original post ]

Letter from the Producer #6

Kept you waiting huh?

So its been a while huh? Im sure a lot of our eager fans are curious what we've been doing over the last 2 months so I'll run you through everything we have to date and explain a few things we are working on beyond.

Virtualization and New Early Game

The next update will be pushing Unreal Engine 5 at the forefront. The engine upgrade means we can start to expand the "Open World" map to include San Francisco and possibly other neighboring zones. As we've had quite a lot of issues when we did the previous Presido/Northern San Francisco update that we had to revert and later convert them into 2 new supporting Islands called Western Treasure Island and Eastern Treasure Island. (More Information here) With LWC (Large World Coordinates) we can now truly expand the current map. With this conversion we have been forced to rethink our approach that we do right now which is running AI at all times no matter how far they are away from the player. It worked on the smaller map but its not scalable in the least for this larger open world. So what does this mean for you guys exactly? We have started to implement and will have a fully online virtualized general/army system going into next week. This means that even if you arent in that zone our virtualized system will simulate battles/infection spreading and other important gameplay progression to keep the world populated and varied when you aren't present. Each session will be different and present different problems for CERC(you) to solve. These systems will be in the next patch. Systems like these are absolutely required so we can maintain acceptable framerates as the world "grows". This leads into my next big change coming next patch Infected will no longer spawn from a "Global Pool" in regional zones. They can only spawn from the population available to them in the current zone. If they need help they will have to request it from nearby zones. Explanation of new early game Current Setup

Old Setup that was impossible without LWC . To be clear the new fictional supporting Islands for Treasure will stay as they are we will just be adding new surrounding landmasses and expanding the start game option locations as we build/add San Francisco.

As our programmers have been figuring out LWC and World Partition our level Designs have been working on Horde maps so we can get some new content out to you folks.

Horde Map Revamps W.I.P

We will have more updates on these maps next week. Map #1: Canals/Dock Level (Replaces current one) W.I.P Rough Layout Map #2: Coastal Mall (New Horde Map) W.I.P Rough Layout

Teaser Screenshots from a Special Operations Map (Challenge Mode)

Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1 is releasing on May 13, 2022

Unreal Engine 5 Came out

* Chaos Destruction * Chaos Vehicles * Nanite * And much much more for larger worlds. https://youtu.be/7ZLibi6s_ew

Unreal Engine 5 FAQ Section:

#1. World Partition: down the line, since it takes some time to set up, but their open world tool here will make HLODs a lot smoother once we can implement it. -- #2. Nanite: meshes converted to Nanite can have a lot of detail due to basically having 'unlimited LODs' (not what's actually happening but if you imagine that you're on the right track). We've had several issues implementing this - it's clearly still a beta (especially in interactions with HLODs) - but the improvements it gives seems to be worth the hassle, though, now that we're getting a handle on how to use it! -- #3. Lumen: new global lighting setup. Slightly more expensive to use, but pretty sure we can enable it as a game option so people can turn it off if needed. -- #4. Large World Coordinates: this is a big one for us, actually. Our Open World map was hitting limitations due to the Engine handling some calculations in regular 'float' math (basically using numbers with too limited memory), which started breaking down at the edges of the map (i.e. on the right and bottom islands). UE5 converted those calculations to Doubles, so the map can be a lot larger without introducing mouse accuracy problems. Due to this we've already removed a 'workaround' function we had which 'averaged' some of the mouse-results when the mouse coordinates are 'far from world origin': that safety's no longer needed to ensure clicks remain accurate when approaching the map edge. --- #5. Niagara: this system to actually be working now (instead of the 'battle-tested' setup UE4 had which was very crash-prone), so over time we'll be implementing fancier particles. --- #6. Chaos (destruction and vehicles) - we're planning to have vehicles 'bust through' certain fences a la Company of Heroes, for example, and hopefully get some more accurate vehicle physics at some point down the road. We started implementation and testing immediately on Nanite.

Old .vs New

We did run into some instability related to Nanite and HLOD's for certain assets so we are still working with Epic Games and Co to resolve these issues and finish converting a mass of our asset over.

Rewind Session

You can catch-up on changes here from the last letter 'From the Producer" https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3102422162152822125 2 months ago we put up a poll asking our community if they felt the same way as our developers that we needed to pause the year 2 roadmap to focus more on the "Core" aspects of our game. You guys agreed so i will now update you folks on the progress we've made towards this. Based on user feedback we are working on a more adaptive formation system/pathing 2.0 see gif for an example of the work in progress. Instead of scaling formations up in some cases we will have limits and automatically create new formations that follow behind or alongside other wedges/file/columns only when you have huge unit selections (Think Total War in terms of large group move orders line them up either horizontally or vertically in their formation positions). We will also be pushing rear guards and people assigned to alternate and look around/have more situational awareness in all formations Separate 'actor' that moves along the nav-mesh, ensuring that it doesn't get confused like regular units can be (since they can get 'jumbled up' when dodging other units or in combat) -Units that are not running can speed up to reach their position (running actors are already moving at speed, of course), rather than being stuck between run or walk speeds -Slightly slows down units that are in position to prevent 'walking jitters' -The formation command, being separate from actors, can 'slow down' if its members get too far away, to help everyone regroup

New feature for Formation v2: "Position Projection" - AKA "Stop backing up in combat!" -Places the formation down at the starting location (seen as the teal sphere in this GIF) -Examines which direction we need to go to fulfill our move order -Determines how 'far ahead' units are for their respective positions along that direction (units that are 'ahead' of their position in the formation would have to backtrack to line up, which can be fatal in combat) -After finding which unit is 'farthest ahead', the entire formation moves that distance (plus about two unit-widths) towards the destination, to ensure no unit has to 'backtrack' to reach their position in the formation. Everyone should move forward, not backward. (this rule isn't followed if the move destination is close enough that units just are changing positions, of course) -As a result, nobody has to backtrack to get to their move destination!

New feature for combat (currently only enabled for player soldiers): units who are not in combat who see something will reach out a few body lengths away and share what they saw with any ally who isn't in combat. If their ally is already shooting, they'll ignore this 'shared target'. Fairly useful for units in formation to cover each other from surprises!(Think of it as units sharing information over a radio)

Another Formation v2 update: wall-tracing! =An 'outward trace' will occur for each move position. Even if the move position itself is technically reachable (such as on the other side of a thin fence!), the wall trace will say 'no, it's blocked off' and adjust the move position inward instead. (This will stop units trying to continue the formation on the other side of a wall thus wasting time and running out of position quite often) So far, walk commands feel quite reliable, and the movements feel good: though there's still a good amount of visual 'jitteriness' to how units adjust themselves, but they're quite able to fight

Continuing to update the new Formation system: here's a new feature not in the old system: 'convoy gap closer'! -Vehicles in the move command, if they break off, will update the units 'behind' them to move up and close the gap, instead of leaving them there

While there is still path finding work to still implement for Formations V2 we feel this is a solid step forwards. As always if you run into any issues please report it on Steam/Discord with videos/gifs if your running into pathing issues you wish to report

Character Modeling

We have a new winters Model now created she will be put into the game at the same time as the other new character meshes in the future

Assault Female is almost done pair some adjustments to her Vest Strips/ Shoulder Patch/Armor/ Knife Textures and final grenade meshes on her vest

Digital Art Book/Collectors Edition

The art/lore book will be added as a Pandemic Mode Collectors edition in the future on Steam and made available for purchase separately as well. It will feature fun facts about development and the design/art process the game has gone through to make Pandemic Mode. Here are some screen grabs

Recent Gameplay Changes

We listen to our community and made it so Civilian holds can generate money based on the amount of civilians you have put inside a civilian hold. We also added custom game options so you can set it to provide money when you kill them for those Blackwatch RPer's out there.

Engineers will auto repair Buildings/Fences now

Death Animations/Ragdoll overhaul

List of some of the types of animations we will be implementing over time

Melee Left Leg Death Anim
Melee Right Leg Death Anim
Melee Chest Death Anim
Melee Head Death Anim
Shot Left Leg Death Anim
Shot Right Leg Death Anim
Shot Chest Death Anim
Shot Head Death Anim

https://youtu.be/KWwCcSadTyQ https://youtu.be/tcrX_9cDiek

We had our recent podcast

We will be scheduling another soon https://youtu.be/SG6NgRPks2U https://open.spotify.com/episode/4QqGgDFMdVFr0LXAy1Wxwb?si=e0fab2cea373458a

New Class Weapons

Are coming with the Unreal Engine 5 update. More Details soon!

Discord Polls

We decided to add Faction Vehicles that are recruitable items if your in good graces with Pierce/Natalie after we put up this poll. So we will be taking this into consideration for the future. Recruitable Faction Vehicles Horde Map Objective Question: Please vote here! What kind of objectives do you guys like in a horde map? https://strawpoll.com/polls/PbZqoX940nN

[ 2022-04-30 23:41:33 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 0.7.130.8

Last Letter to the producer can be read here on current priorities https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3102422162152822125 Winters got a model update from the last letter to the producer check it out! Not live yet
We have a podcast coming up check out the date details below! You can hop in and talk to the developers we will be taking questions live towards the end! https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3095664226117850397 The old build has been archived for those looking to finish their games on the old smaller Treasure Island map but we dont recommend carrying over saves into this build.

Looking for more feedback from our userbase on what we plan on doing with civilians

https://steamcommunity.com/app/979640/discussions/0/3192494154712223081/

Looking for more feedback from our userbase on what we plan on doing with the early game here

https://steamcommunity.com/app/979640/discussions/0/3192494671075106022/

Change list

[expand type=details]

Improved UI scaling to fix issues where Translations would tread off the UI buttons
Added Portuguese - Brazil & Spanish - Spain
Updated collision presets for the SpawnNode and Landscaping Collision Meshes, so they no longer will intercept long-range mouse clicks (Was messing w/ double clicks)
Updated SeenList logic to properly 'eject' targets that share the same Faction Manager Initial test indicates that this works very well even when trying to 'place' a pod right next to a building.
Added a fix for the 'Halt' command not fully working for units who were moving in formation
Overhauled clicking+double clicking:No longer relies on UE4's double-click implementation
Avoids the 'CurrentclickablePrimitive' logic which seems unreliable at long range (sometimes 'missing' the ground, for example)
Uses a new 'just double-clicked' timer to prevent 'over-clicking' resulting in a canceled double-click Result: Double clicks feel massively more reliable in-engine.
Updated 'SetTarget' logic: No longer 'clears' the SeenList, which was useful for the old 'sight' system. On our new PerceptionSystem, this can result in units completely ignoring things that are already within sight range. Rather, it simply increases the threat level of the target if it is already in the SeenList: if it's not, then it's added with a high threat.
Additionally, SetTarget now properly will leave 'NoStructures' fire mode alone if you're not telling something to shoot at a Structure, instead of forcing the FireMode to 'OpenFire' no matter what.
Finally, if the unit's Current Target has more threat than SetTarget would normally give, then the New Target receives the Current Target's threat on top of the boost
Improved the 'dynamic pod trace' logic from yesterday:
Now can filter out actor classes and maintain an 'ignore list', as well, to reduce number of 're-traces' on hitting invalid classes
Created a new C++ class parent for the Car landscape actors, just for filtering's sake
Dynamic pod traces (for the upcoming Chelsey early game revamp) now allow for pod construction where they'd clear out trees/cars like the pre-placed pods can
Blow up guy health increased to 850
Spitter increased to 600
Gas tower starting health is 6000
Spine turrets increased to 4000
All special infected are now more resistant to small/mid caliber rounds
Spine turrets health is now 6000
Pod structures increased to 8000

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

We will be launching a new weekly series that will see several chapters added every Friday after release and will cover the chapters of the Novelization with 5 chapters added to expand upon the story and give more value to those itching for more lore/story information. It will delve into and show more about a secret new faction that will become the Anti-CERC in the Cepheus Protocol universe.

Don't forget to wishlist! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

Cepheus Protocol Podcast #2 URL is now live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU

Swag Store

[ 2022-03-11 23:37:24 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 0.7.130.7

Looking for more feedback from our userbase on what we plan on doing with civilians

https://steamcommunity.com/app/979640/discussions/0/3192494154712223081/

Looking for more feedback from our userbase on what we plan on doing with the early game here

https://steamcommunity.com/app/979640/discussions/0/3192494671075106022/

Change list

Added Russian language (Some layout changes will be coming in the next 24-48 hours to better support this language)
Updated Helicopter movement traces: Helicopters should path better around buildings
Fixed a spawn position being on top of a building in Alcatraz
Loosened up 'refill supplies' logic for the Atlas, so it can have its supplies refilled at a Motor Pool without having to deploy to do so
Added Civilian Income: each civilian sheltered in a Civilian Holding Area will now increase your Income Tick by 5.
Update to Civilian Sheltering with some UI:
New Income Tally tracker will appear if you highlight your Income next to your cash total, highlighting how much you're getting as a bonus from sheltering civilians
Updated the hovertip or the Zone Income
Updated the hovertip for the Civilian Holding Area
Made the Civilian Holding Area 'list' widget also contain an Income Bonus display
Added a difficulty adjuster setting for the Civilian Sheltering value

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Don't forget to wishlist! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

Cepheus Protocol Podcast #2 URL is now live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU

Swag Store

[ 2022-03-09 00:04:25 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 0.7.130.6

Looking for more feedback from our userbase on what we plan on doing with civilians

https://steamcommunity.com/app/979640/discussions/0/3192494154712223081/

Change list

Added German language
Added Japanese language
Adjusted Materials for TV station, which was turning pink in HLODs
Altered CrowdManager settings, resetting the 'max agents/walls' settings to 6/8 (from 12/16) and increasing max agents up to 1000 (to prevent possible situation where units get 'crowded out' and stop moving)
Also, updated ClearDefenseSpawns checks for Nodes to properly run at all times, instead of only if the node is still in a Defense state
Adjusted soft cap for infected and civilian maximums to be 20% less. Regular infected have 20% more health to compensate.
Added logic to save a unit's 'CreationTime', so Defense Units that are allowed to despawn only after being around long enough won't 'reset' their lifespan on load
Fixed Spine Turrets being targeted by Chelsey and her Lieutenants
Fixed Lieutanant's capsule radius making them ignore the navigation mesh (resulted in them 'standing still' at all times) Result: Chelsey and her LTs should be much more reliable. Performance should be better. Defense spawns should clear out more reliably when loading a save, and more reliably in general.
Civilians triggering mass hordes have been tweaked this to make Infection pods not try to send defense waves after civilians, since we can now filter out those targets as not being that big a deal so they can focus mostly on CERC and active armed threats
Improved the Build Location Meshes to act as a way for an Infection Zone to tell how many player units are in a zone (rather than just relying on the overlap sphere that the Spawn Nodes have) Used this to greatly improve Spawn Node defense responses that previously would trickle away due to the player not technically being near an arbitrary sphere
Fixed a loading issue that resulted in Pods or Towers loading back into the game with potentially less health than they were saved with
Adjusted interaction point logic for construction of walls/barbed wire to be safer, so units shouldn't get stuck in them anymore
Fixed a float-conversion issue that caused some Circle Up formation movement commands to 'converge' onto a single point
Restored custom collisions for the large jobsite structure

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Don't forget to wishlist! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

Cepheus Protocol Podcast #2 URL is now live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU

Swag Store

[ 2022-03-06 23:27:32 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 0.7.130.5

Last Letter to the producer can be read here on current priorities https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3102422162152822125 Winters got a model update from the last letter to the producer check it out! Not live yet
We have a podcast on Friday at noon drop in and talk to the developers we will be taking questions live towards the end! https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3095664226117850397 The old build has been archived for those looking to finish their games on the old smaller Treasure Island map but we dont recommend carrying over saves into this build. This patch includes 3 patch fixes over the last 48 hours of updates. Expect a patch every few days this week as we work to get everything ship worthy so we can move onto civilian management ASAP!

Change list

Circle formation issue resolved
Added DirectX 12 launch option again should be functional and improve performance on newer GPU's
Added Korean language
Resolved an issue with some 'utility' characters still registering for the Crowd Manager to improve performance
Added some 'BeginDestroy' safety to the CPCrowdAgentComponent to ensure that it properly is cleared from the CrowdManager (to avoid a crash)
Removed the old 'FreshlyLoaded'-fix for the CrowdManager, replaced it with a more reliable AIController OnPossess check (that will fix infected, too) Result: Crowd manager crash should be fixed, and units should no longer become unable to move regardless of team affiliation
Rebuilt proxy collision+nav in the master to respect Efrain's update on the Stadium in Presidio (should prevent units from trying to 'walk through' the stadium walls)
Cleaned up a HideUI bug that caused unselected units to show their overhead UI even if not selected
Further cleanup for HideUI response to not show unit interaction widgets for units that are garrisoned in any way (regardless of GameInstance setting for hiding unselected unit widgets)

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Don't forget to wishlist! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

Cepheus Protocol Podcast #2 URL is now live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU

Swag Store

[ 2022-03-04 19:40:09 CET ] [ Original post ]

Patch - 0.7.130.4

Last Letter to the producer can be read here on current priorities https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3102422162152822125 We have a podcast on Friday at noon drop in and talk to the developers we will be taking questions live towards the end! https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3095664226117850397 The old build has been archived for those looking to finish their games on the old smaller Treasure Island map but we dont recommend carrying over saves into this build. This patch includes 3 patch fixes over the last 48 hours of updates. Expect a patch every few days this week as we work to get everything ship worthy so we can move onto civilian management ASAP!

Change list

Added new Police Cruiser into the map
Improved View Distance Models for when your moving around the island. Won't look like Google Maps anymore!
Further Performance improvements to stabilize framerates
Further collision fixes for stadium in presidio
Rebuilt collisions for Stadium Wing and unchecked "Generate lightmap UVs" for 3 buildings in downtown TI. Hotel, Arboricole, and Hospital Terminal to remove purple textures.
Updated vehicle nav agent so vehicles can get past each other more efficiently instead of giving up
Fixed an issue with Infected becoming 'immortal' if they were Civilians who succumbed to infection after entering a Civilian Hold
Added a crash fix to the new CPCrowdAgentComponent (via IsValidLowLevel check)
Updated the Chelsey Radius to 'move to' its Hive's location upon hive being built (so Chelsey/Lt in question will stick around their hive)
Improved Chelsey AI logic to: No longer 'fail' to find roam locations when inside radius
To properly try to move back to territory when too much time has been spent outside of it (instead of getting stuck)
To try to 'move around' if starting to think they're stuck, but not moving
various weapon balance changes and Infection Pods were buffed for weapon resistance and overall health.

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Don't forget to wishlist! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

Cepheus Protocol Podcast #2 URL is now live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU

Swag Store

[ 2022-03-03 19:53:20 CET ] [ Original post ]

Letter from the Producer #5

Halt the Year 2 Roadmap to focus on polish

This letter is a bit lite while we work to polish and clean up systems. I believe we need to halt the year 2 roadmap to focus on polish. Being an indie team with limited resources i feel our best efforts should be placed towards optimization, Path Finding, Tutorials and bug fixing. After an extensive period of time is spent on these systems we should then resume on Factions/Civilian Management and rework the year 2 roadmap for our new schedule going into Year 3. Vote below if you believe the same and share your thoughts in the comments section/Discord!

Vote here

https://strawpoll.com/polls/7MZ0zjKw1no So what does this mean? In most cases most divisions will not be affected outside of programmers generally character modeling and other divisions will press on to create a backlog of assets so when the programmers are taken off this polish period we'll have plenty to work on across the board.

Next Patch

We expect to have further bug fixes live in the next 24-48 hours to further improve collision issues and other oddities players have been reporting. Please remember to leave your bugs/issues preferably documented on our discord bug-report channel.

CERC handbook Revamp

Myself and some volunteers from the community have also been working on replacing the CERC Handbook size. Early W.I.P taking inspiration from the Zomboid Wiki, A place to put in lore/guides and general information about the game. If your interested in joining the scribes contact a mod on our Discord.

Playtesters needed!

Discord is required If your looking to help steer development and bugtest in a volunteer position apply here. Cepheus Protocol Playtest Application Form: https://forms.gle/xpeRPu8F7ZCTidwA6

Moderator applications are open for all Platforms

Discord is required Cepheus Protocol Discord Moderator Application Form: https://forms.gle/8jkZphtoK1sTrYYU7

Localization Update

The game is now localized in Simplified Chinese and will gain Korean, Japanese & Russian in the next few weeks.

Character Modeling

Standard Infected are now done in the modeling stages. Awaiting Rigging/Skinning

Mask progress for Assaults

We toyed around with Winters mesh not final. Still debating on the hair style

We also took some time to do early LOD/Mesh testing of the new Assault meshes no ETA yet on their implementation.

General Modeling

We tweaked and toyed with the Police Cruiser for the police faction.

C5 Galaxy We are modeling a C5 Galaxy for future callins related to bringing in heavier equipment like the Abrams.

We also been working on Infected Walls and fortifications for Mid-Late game

[ 2022-03-02 04:30:49 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hotfix Patch - 0.7.130.3

Last Letter to the producer can be read here on current priorities https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3095664226109912423 We have a podcast on Friday at noon drop in and talk to the developers we will be taking questions live towards the end! https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3095664226117841231 The old build has been archived for those looking to finish their games on the old smaller Treasure Island map but we dont recommend carrying over saves into this build. This patch includes 3 patch fixes over the last 48 hours of updates. Expect a patch every few days this week as we work to get everything ship worthy so we can move onto civilian management ASAP!

Change list

Made a 'GarrisonableRadius' customizable value for vehicles, so vehicles that have a hard time garrisoning things can 'relax' their acceptance radius for units trying to board Used this to make units have an easier time boarding the Charon
Speculative fix towards 'ShouldDealDamage' to hopefully combat the Immortal Infected issue (still gathering data on it)
Fixed 'other faction' units not being visible to the player except in Thermal

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Don't forget to wishlist! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

Cepheus Protocol Podcast #2 URL is now live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU

Swag Store

[ 2022-02-28 06:11:03 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hotfix Patch - 0.7.130.2

Change list

Factions Weapon spawning has been resolved
Performance tweaks to level loading to improve overall system performance
Faction Init Crash has been fixed
Got rid of extraneous nav blocker in G3
Moved landscaping cars to appropriate new Landscaping levels (rather than leaving them in levels where they stream in/out)Also moved some other landscaping trees to the Landscapes to stop ghosting
Checked each spawn pod position in the master, fixed some that were 'sunken' into the ground (was causing targeting issues)
Speculative fix for bridges not 'clearing themselves out' visually when destroyed
Updated collision settings for Player walls/gates to allow auto-wiring to function better for them (via new collision profiles)
Updated team-switching logic to also toggle a unit's Perception Stimuli, so anything looking at them will have to 're-evaluate' them and their team association (so units that were looking at something that was allied but then succumbs to infection, for example, they will not keep treating them like an ally)
Fixed the Command Tent's upgrades not costing anything to purchase
Updated Unit Population Capacity text display at the top right to not 'jar' so much when displaying population capacity change animations
And made the 'population lost' animation not show double 'minus' icons resized tree textures
Fixed an issue with certain building types incorrectly spawning recruited units at world zero (such as the Capture Truck)
Speculative fix towards a crash with Medic AI
Added a crash fix towards factions interaction poorly with perception system on startup
Updated circle up at beyond 6+ units to use radial math logic for positioning units on larger-and-larger circles as more units are added
Fixed up landscaping not working
Reset the crowd following component on Freshly Loaded in characters to combat the 'units unable to move after load' bug
Fixed Leviathan not being shootable
Fixed up Leviathan bile not damaging units
Fixed Helicopter AI having 'double vision radius' for units it had already seen (resulting in units almost halfway across the Open World remaining visible if a helicopter had seen them)
Added some 'Saving, please wait' text to the Pause Menu when the game is saving - it disappears when the save completes (or if it fails somehow)

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Don't forget to wishlist! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

Cepheus Protocol Podcast #2 URL is now live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU

Swag Store

[ 2022-02-27 13:45:08 CET ] [ Original post ]

Maintenance Update towards Civilian Management/Factions - 0.7.130

Change list

The smaller Treasure Island map has been deprecated so we can focus on Open World fully with our teams limited resources. We have pushed for a lot of optimization fixes in this patch to allow open world to fully shine on all configurations. We expect in the future to allow smaller map versions that are playable smaller versions of Treasure Island potentially in the future if there is a demand.
Various optimizations.
Instanced parking barriers throughout all grids.
Deleted some left over infected buildings.
Speculative crash fix for an issue camera following
new firearms sfx
Simplified Chinese is now supported change this in the game options (More languages will be coming soon)
Speculative fix for crash with 'ClearSpawns' in the SpawnNode
Repainted Sparrow to CERC colors.
Fixed up some invalid references for the new Infection Zone setup for the Angel Island zones
Replaced Taxi with new model.
Updated some of the behind-the-scenes pod-spawning logic to better integrate with the building pod system (and custom pods for custom pod locations)
Updated 'initialize unlocks' logic for the Player Controller to hopefully not overwrite data
-Started updated the Faction system to allow classing any faction as a 'CivilianFaction' (so multiple different individual civilian factions can be created)
Started on 'InitialFaction' logic (w/ saving+loading), for better ability to have units 'revert' to their original faction if needed (such as when civvies join the player, then leave)
Added speculative crash fix in response to https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/708293877538488410/927865236873171006
Created 'initial faction' tracking logic (primarily for reverting civilians to their initial faction after they join the player, but then leave due to garrisoning or some such)
Started updating the Civilian Faction Archetype to prep for being used, after some brainstorming Revised collision more work is needed but basic first pass on base systems
Fixed a loading crash when loading a game where some spawn pod locations may not match the version where the save was made Improved Infected + Vehicle movement and fixed navigation that was improperly building on top of some vehicles cursors fixed/ further refinements to visibility + weapon attacking and unit collision + All AI converted to
Updated safety for the Spawn Node 'clearing' logic in response to a crash report
Updated the shooter pawn melee to only knock over things that bullets could (instead of possibly being able to ragdoll things like Chelsey)
Updated civilian spawning to not occur while loading is going on (resolves an issue of 'un-factioned' Civilians spawning before the factions are loaded)
Grenade logic slightly simplified to make them more reliable: prevents the new collision settings from causing a 'dud grenade throw' if you aim the grenade directly onto a unit
Fixed garrisoning of units causing the right click arrow to pop up no matter what
Fixed a crash w/ Right Click
Ported over Double Clicking to the native engine Double Click detection
Also added special case for a double-click on a 'rotate arrow' release
Fixed up the Power Component 'radius visualization' mesh logic for Building_Base: it shows up now for wire mode, instead of not appearing at all
Fixed the 'builder' preview radius for sprites (such as Barracks' ammo radius sprite) Added in New thunderbolt asset for airstrikes
Cleaned up vehicular spawning logic for Building_Base
Improved button 'diagnose disabled' logic to properly show *why* you cannot build a specific building, under the new system (i.e. price, unlock required, etc.)
Also fixed up a 'horde mode' check controllers now dynamically attach to their pawn revised ini file and collision settings
New experimental Tiled Water setup.
Adjusted 'SwapOwnCard' in the Unit Group widget as a speculative fix for a crash
Added a new 'ConstructionRadiusMultiplier' to building stats, to resolve an issue with some buildings being 'too large' for the regular construction/repair radius
Fixed up 'build radius visuals' for buildings
Fixed up the new Building System to properly add buildings into each Infection Zone's tracker (this also restores the 'civilian gather around base' functionality)
Hooked up logic to have the Power Pylons show their 'power radius' when constructing them via the builder
Fixed up the shops button display of Building Data, so subbuilding construction (for civ hold, for example) will have proper hovertips again
Updated music player to properly rewind and virtualization was changed so zooming in and out wont permanently break music anymore.
Fixed power power auto connecting & added debug strings to perception. fixed grenades not interacting with pawns, fixed the JLTV turret not spawning correctly
Presidio Grids 1 and 2 updated and optimized.
Corrected and improved collision for buildings. Selection for buildings should be a lot more accurate
Implemented 'keyboard rotation' for building construction
Added a keybind-popup widget for the Sandbag Builder (when constructing non-walls)
Added 'wall flipping' to the Wallbuilder by pressing SHIFT
Improved localization a bit for the Sandbag Builder Keybind Popup
Added a Wallbuilder Keybind Popup
Fixed up a collision issue on walls that made 'tower snapping' more difficult
Added 'wall flipping' to the sandbag builder when actually building sandbags/barbed wire
Fixed a minor localization issue w/ Sandbag Builder keybind tips
Added a 'click safety' to prevent box selection from getting 'replaced' if you release the box when over something else that's clickable (like a building)
Started on implementing the actual logic for the Spotlight under the new building system
New system should break a circular dependency on NightDay/GameStateBP
Needs new vision logic under the Perception Component update, and proper settings for its Spotlight Component: making this commit before reverting to check those stats
Dug up the old Spotlight Component settings (performance et al) via SVN and re-applied them to the new form of the Spotlight building further localization vetting , Widgets adjusted that shouldnt have been flagged and resolved cook errors relating to how the constructors were setup for the controllers
Started cleaning out some circular dependencies
NPC's can now hear music/SFX played from radio sources + Standard infected warping through the map have been resolved
Started updating perception system 'team index' logic
FactionManagers now contain an 'attitudes array' describing their attitudes towards each member of the FactionRegistry in the GameState
Used the Attitudes Array to properly have relatively cheap 'team checks' for the perception system
Set up 'reregistration' of the StimuliSource for characters when they switch teams (i.e. CERC to infected) so units can switch affiliation then properly be targeted for being on a different team if needed
Updated CPSight sense logic to not only filter out teammates when LOS checking for enemies, they also now will not even try to trace to teammates (saving a lot of performance, likely)
Added logic to deregister units from the Perception System (centralized to the GameState) Units will deregister themselves on death
new shotgun and sniper rifles sfx
swapped car alarm sfx for new one
Added a 'bRadialVision' value to the PerceptionData struct for AI Controllers
Hooked this up to the CPSight sense so the sight perception can be radial if desired (and used this to make vehicles have radial perception vision)
Cleaned up the Spotlight construction 'no build zone overlap' warning widget popup logic to function (so if the player's spotlight overlap zone on current spotlight construction is overlapping a zone from another spotlight, the widget will now appear)
GameAnalytics updated to latest build
Hid the body mesh underneath and fixed the position of the walkie talkie for dead bodies
New Jobsite Buildings and material
Updated infected so that when they turn anyone they get the proper collision preset
Added a fix so whenever an actor says 'RightClickHandled' to the PC for clicking on it, it'll 'clear' the rotation arrow logic from starting up if you have a unit selected (note: it still functions if you HOLD right click down, however, as it probably should)
Fixed some invalid 'PCRef' references in the Base_PlayerStructureBP (may have been breaking some power logic)
Fixed the Communications Trailer 'fold animation' not functioning properly (had incorrect blend settings)
Fixed several issues with the TUGS: it had the CERC shop, it was blocking construction in its detection radius, and [TBD] it had a 'field turret base' in its construction preview
Fixed up Rally Flags improperly spawning on most building types (it should only spawn on 'shop' buildings
Added crash safeties for DoMeleeAnimation and 'OnClick' bindings for Base_Character and Base_Structure
Minor visual issue with Player Structures in Wire Mode now (red rather than white lines), but this resolves several issues they had before this merge
Fixed the 'SpotlightOverlapZone' blocking construction of other building types
Fixed Spawn Location values for Motor Pool and Command Tent
Fixed auto-wiring not working for buildings
Fixed the 'base mesh' of the Field Turret 'construction hologram' not responding to mouse
Fixed the 'construction radius' for Field Turrets (and likely sandbags/barbed wire) not functioning correctly
Fixed buildings improperly 're-adding' themselves to the Building-tracking array in Infection Zones (this temporarily 'broke' construction of 'one-per-zone' buildings, and likely caused other bugs I didn't spot before resolving)
Boosted character movement depenetration stats to try to stop units from getting stuck - it doesn't stop that, but it does seem to help a bit with units getting 'unstuck' if they get stuck inside one another
Merged together some of the Healthbar show/hide logic for Base_Structure, to resolve an issue with player walls not showing healthbars correctly, and buildings not showing healthbars when selected
Fixed up player wall double-click logic to function once more
Updated units to not be blocked by the 'Construction' collision channel
Updated construction 'holograms' for repair points (for rubble walls) to not block unit movement
Updated Pods' "GetInteractionPoint" logic to return Attack Points (so player units can shoot at them properly)
Updated Chelsey to no longer 'swap AI refs' based on Chelseys System's presence (the 'swap' logic stopped working for some reason, and without this fix she'd be braindead)
Updated radial vision logic to no longer erroneously 'see everything'
Also updated vision initialization and 'ToggleRadialVision' call to be more consistent
Updated Helicopters to have a separate AI class from ground vehicles
Used this to give them a vision range similar to what they used to have
Fixed Infected minimap points not disappearing when the Infected themselves were re-hidden in the Fog of War (from player losing sight of them)
Fixed a collision issue with bridges that was preventing units from crossing
Added additional exit sockets to the Sparrow to make degarrisoning-while-landed safer for it
Improved some degarrisoning logic to make it safer and reduce chances of units getting 'stuck' in one another
Also improved degarrison position for Springbok
Adjusted 'rubble mode' logic for Bridges to properly clear out some of the secondary actors that help it function in 'destroyed' mode
Improved 'repair building' logic to not force units onto the Building's root position (resulting in units 'going inside' when repairing)
Made Engineer welding no longer ignore 'collision sweep', so engineers should no longer meld together when working on the same project
Fixed a bug which caused a unit selection consisting of grouped and ungrouped units to 'ignore' moving the ungrouped units
Fixed up some infection tower targeting points
fixed TI park bridge nav.
Further localization cleanup & improved the culture loading. Increased the side of the YT video player + added an FPS limit when a Youtube video is being played
Fixed several 'minimap offset issue' when zoomed in on the large minimap
Updated Chelsey Radius to no longer 'spawn initial infected group' when loading a save game (which was resulting in a bunch of ~70-90 infected appearing every time you load a save)
fixed infected becoming unkillable when they are knocked down
locked the ability to toggle to RTS mode while customizing a weapon
Fixed some targeting issues that likely were culling buildings (like pods) from being targeted in some situations
Fixed up Mortar autofire logic (used for the AC130 autofire) to be able to target structures again
Improved level LOD quality
IgnoreActorWhenMoving Was added to grenade base to make them properly ignore the pawn throwing a grenade
Improved some AI targeting logic to utilize proper 'get target location' calls, now that the target being a pawn is no longer required
Removed a 'NoiseResponse' check when seeing about adding a unit as the first unit into our SeenList
Fixed Pink LOD issue with Road Bridges
Replaced the blood effect from 'fired spines' from a Spine Turret with a (hopefully) less graphically-intensive particle effect
Fixed up cursor logic for Field Construction/Building Construction (so the construct or repair cursor will appear when selection is correct and you're highlighting something to build or repair)
Fixed up an issue with GarrisonVehicle logic not functioning on the Civilian Hold subbuildings (removed a duplicate pointer to the GarrisonVehicleTemplate and fixed references after)
Fixed up the collision settings for 'explosive friendly fire safety' logic (so units with grenade launchers/etc. should no longer blow up their allies, unless you have that option turned off in the ROE)
Sped up the 'end rappel' montage for fast-roping, so units won't get 'caught' in one another when multiple units fast rope off of the same rope
Fixed an incorrect 'shop string' in the Command Tent's shop data asset
Updated 'bRotateToShoot' "false" logic to properly allow units that have that as false to be able to shoot without rotating or being forced to rotate
Further improved 'dump garrison' logic for vehicles to make it safer when dumping a large number of units at the same time
Updated civilian 'backup spawn location' to 'fuzzy' the spawn location a bit to try to counteract the 'civilian tower' spawning issue
Fixed horde map issues of it not starting up
Added a 'TemporaryHelicopterNoFlyZone' to try to clear airspace beneath spawned vehicles that are parachuting in
Fixed up the vehicle 'parachute in' logic:
Has timeout safety
Has fixed numbers (due to the PC's new logic for spawning units 12000 units in the air), to prevent spawning them *super* high and making them forget where the ground is so their parachute fails to unpack)
Fixed the Localization to properly gather text from C++
Improved fast rope logic to use a separate 'sockets' array so adding additional exit sockets won't break fast roping
Used this to fix the Sparrow's fast roping, and set it up for the Merlin+Charon as well
Fixed the Capture Truck not being buildable
Improved degarrisoning 'dump' logic further to better use the nav system queries (fixes 'dump' command for Charon)
Fixed the Command Tent not having a notification for when it comes under attack
Fixed the MG Turret not being able to have a full magazine
Reduced safety timer for vehicles 'landing' after being called in, in case they somehow get stuck
Fixed the Medical Facility healing nearby units even when unpowered
Fixed the building 'check for nearby units' logic to properly initialize in order to not 'exclude' units who were already in range when the building was constructed (this resolves issue with Medical Tent not working)
Fixed the Barracks allowing weapon market usage even when unpowered Updated sight components for logic errors + fixed civilians the wrong vision cosine when infected
Worked w/ Robert to make a smoother version of Vehicle 'parachute-in' logic
Moved a Spawn Pod in Grid 8 that had targeting issues
Improved Shawnee turret targeting:
360 degree targeting now
Improved Shawnee flashlight range
Adjusted Shawnee turret flashlight to not get 'occluded' sometimes by the body of the Shawnee
Fixed electric walls not being able to be upgraded into electric gates
Fixed up wall snappoints erroneously 'blocking' themselves from appearing by 'overlapping' their owner
Added a fix for civilians being 'inconsistent' for your units to see (they weren't using SeerList logic)
Enhanced the Motor Pool's radius to properly start repairing nearby vehicles, and not to display the vehicular weapon market if the Motor Pool is unpowered.
Fixed up Medic/Engineer AI to use 'OverlapMultiByChannel' rather than ByObjectType, to utilize the Pawn channel (and resolve Engineers failing to repair nearby vehicles)
Fixed up collision settings on repair sphere on the Repair Atlas, so it can detect nearby vehicles again
Improved 'right click on minimap' logic so the trace is less likely to fail (it may have been failing simply due to too great a difference in height when tracing, so the trace starts higher and goes much lower now)
Added a crash fix for a delegate bind that wasn't safely done
Continued experimenting with making units 'not be able to see teammates': found a solution that seems to assist performance instead of harm it
Ported some logic around to make sure that civilians get 'in-world overhead infection widgets' when they're infected (player units do not have this yet, though)
Started on the UnitBunch class for making perception system cheaper
Fixed the White Phosphorus collision so it can damage things again
Lowered the travel time of AC130 (Dragon Gunship) call-in rounds to 2.5 seconds (from 3 seconds), so it's more accurate. Slowed its rate of fire by half a second, to compensate.
Improved SeenList debugging and added new bool to Base_Character bSeenListDebug for showing logs related to SeenList entry removals.
Used this to track down a 'SeenList double clear' issue that was causing units who successfully killed an enemy to erroneously 'double clear' and remove another entry from their seen list (resulting in units just 'standing around' despite seeing clear targets in front of them)
Additionally functionalized some more of the SeenList logic in the AIController, which hopefully will reduce the number of traces used to verify targets
Continued updating the UnitBunch logic to track units that have Perception enabled, and to 'enable perception' on more as needed
Fixed a crash when launching into the master w/ Factions enabled
Fixed the Faction Construct points not having 'character spawn locations'
Fixed Spitter's projectiles 'hitting themselves' rather than moving towards targets
Fixed beta Factions having 'black color' as their faction color
Presidio Island lights audio volume fix
Converted the Infected Normal, Spitter, and BlowUpGuy Classes to use CrowdFollowingComponents instead of PathFollowingComponents
Added logic to make the DoubleClick call cancel out the 'start up rotation arrow' timer if we're not already in Right Click Rotate mode (stops double clicks from sometimes erroneously starting a rotation command)
Fixed up dynamic civilian factions not properly registering as enemies of the Infected
Continued updating UnitBunch logic
Added Spawning logic to make UnitBunches get dynamically created and managed by SpawnNodes, based on when Infected register/unregister from said Node
Further reduced the amount of 'perception units' in the UnitBunch system, to make infected cheaper
Adjusted SpawnNode radii in the Master, to make defense responses more likely (player units *must* be overlapped for defense responses to work)
Made some Defense Response logic fire off even if cooldown timer(s) are running, if there are no defense infected deployed
Boosted Defense Infected 'minimum lifespan to clear' to 90 (from 50): saw multiple situations when testing where defense infected were cleared before they reached their target, due to the larger zones used relative to when this system was first made
Added a safety in RightMouseKeyHandler to 'clear' the 'block right click release' when 'right click pressed' to stop somewhat laggy situations from erroneously blocking a move command when double-clicking after having double-clicked
Fixed the Double Click Effect actor (the red 'dot' that pops up on double clicking) interacting with collision
Fixed the 'version indicator' at the top of the HUD blocking mouse clicks
Moved a truck in the Master that was overlapping a tree (in G3Marina)
Adjusted InvisibleWall collision preset to block vision, bullets, and Fog of War sight
Adjusted some settings on Tree actors (no change to stuck issue yet, though)
Fixed the Ragdoll collision preset making ragdolled units not count as 'visible' (and thus not being possible to shoot)
All CERC unit health values were lowered
Fixed a building 'sight logic' issue that was preventing units from seeing buildings (including gas towers) if their root was too far away from them (when the sight logic existed to say they don't need to be close enough to see the building root if they can see one of the points of the building)
Fixed the "HOME Button to jump to CERC Tent" keybind not working in some circumstances

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Don't forget to wishlist! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

Cepheus Protocol Podcast #2 URL is now live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU

Swag Store

[ 2022-02-25 10:29:11 CET ] [ Original post ]

Halcyon winds Podcast

If you missed the last AmA read about it here https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3095664226109912423 During major events we will be bringing in special guests to discuss their experiences they have had in Cepheus Protocol for future podcasts. If interested contact a Moderator We will be live on Twitch and in our Discord AmA channel for those wanting to listen in on voice. You can partake in the live AmA either on Discord AmA channel/Twitch Chat. https://www.twitch.tv/halcyonwinds Discord Segment 1: Dev roundtable 15 mins - a discussion between the developers on the current state of the game and current content released Segment 2: General discussions/questions 20 mins - Host will be picking out most prominent questions and discussions made in the discord for the week Segment 3: Live QNA 20 mins - opportunity for the community to ask questions directly to the developers Segment 4: Closing discussion 5mins - discussion between the developers on the upcoming content for

[ 2022-02-19 06:01:08 CET ] [ Original post ]

Halcyon winds Podcast #2

If you missed the last AmA read about it here https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3102422162152822125 During major events we will be bringing in special guests to discuss their experiences they have had in Cepheus Protocol for future podcasts. If interested contact a Moderator We will be live on Twitch and in our Discord AmA channel for those wanting to listen in on voice. You can partake in the live AmA either on Discord AmA channel/Twitch Chat. https://www.twitch.tv/halcyonwinds Discord Segment 1: Dev roundtable 15 mins - a discussion between the developers on the current state of the game and current content released Segment 2: General discussions/questions 20 mins - Host will be picking out most prominent questions and discussions made in the discord for the week Segment 3: Live QNA 20 mins - opportunity for the community to ask questions directly to the developers Segment 4: Closing discussion 5mins - discussion between the developers on the upcoming content for

[ 2022-02-12 06:00:30 CET ] [ Original post ]

Letter from the Producer #4

Happy New Year from our Team!

Discord

Factions & Civilian Management Delayed till February

So we started on Civilian Management during the first week of January and realized the more and more we implemented code for the Cannibals and the other 2 sub civilians factions we realized that a lot of core systems needed improvement from Hearing/Seeing to how the fog of war system is utilized to properly handle their implementation. While it is not preferable to have to do a bit more cleanup work from the community/gamer side of things in terms of content this is completely required regardless, as we expect Epic Games to release Unreal Engine 5 in the next 1-2 months and the changes we are doing now will overall make our job of shipping new content more efficient in the future. https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/unreal-engine-5

Breakdown of Civilian Management & Factions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nj6CCaagp20 We expect Civilian Management to be implemented now sometime mid February with Pierces faction following shortly after and Natalie last. Now lets go onto all the fun stuff we've been doing for the last 2 months since the last letter to the Producer https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3111421207515883471

Factions Concept Art

Anarchist Light Technical Vehicle

Anarchist Medium Armor Transport Unit

Anarchist Heavy Armor Battle Garbage Disposal Truck

Anarchist Transport Helicopter

Police Light vehicle

Police Medium Transport vehicle

Updated Factions Notes

Factions will work off a different currency system then CERC As it stands right now for the factions we plan to make Pierce like the British from COH 1 highly mobile decent pop count. He'll never be able to outmass you but its all about positioning and determining the best time to attack he'll rely on vassalization of civilian groups and recruit out of them to maintain his losses. Natalie has finally been decided after weeks of debate (Lowest pop count)and she will operate in disguise at random interior zones of the map we will be adding next . She will steal vehicles from the world and convert them to scrap to build vehicles from the four classes of vehicles she gets. Her units will only reveal themselves when they are in a position of power or they are forced to. So you'll have to investigate in every game where she is occupying by locating where stolen cars from the map are being taken. There will be 3 possible locations per island she could be operating out of that will be hallowed out and given interiors Civilian groups will also occupy these spaces at times as well Oh and Natalie can also steal vehicles from other factions to scrap them for her vehicles We will be working to add in all about 2 dozen new weapons for the factions/civilians including melee weapons. There will be unique signature weapons coming to all Faction Leaders including Winters in the future. Officer: MP5a4/m4 var R870 Glock 18 Swat: M249 M4 Var Vector Riot Shield w/anygun. Glock 18 AT4 Scout Sniper: l96a2 Sig 716 ------ Conscript: pp-19 ak74u Sapper: Mp9 px4 rp7 Survivalist: Ak-12 var SKS Mocap Operations have begun to replace all animations in the game with more realistic fleshed out movements. Airsoft Gun Ref (NOT REAL GUNS)

Engine Cleanup for UE5 & Upgrading Core Systems

We currently utilize an older system called "Pawn Sensor" in UE4 which is a much older method of handling senses like hearing and seeing and the system isnt very robust so we opted to make the switch to the Peripheral Sensor Component so it can better support unique structures/objects that aren't base characters derived from a pawn natively without any overriding of Epic's game engine code + be on the optimal track for what they are now focusing as their preferred AI sense approach. In upgrading this system it will make revealing gas towers and taller structures and how they are revealed far more efficient. This adjustment required us to rewrite a lot of systems and brought along optimizations that make our hearing/seeing code a lot more efficient since the underlying function calls were reorganized and are far more efficient. We also made the switch to convert all CERC units to a CrowdManagerComponent which is a more intelligent manner of making units path find around each other but is a bit more expensive. See Gyazo differences below. We turned on CERC collision towards each other after this adjustment and now units can no longer walk through each other and should path find a lot more efficiently around each other. More work will likely be needed to overhaul this where its needed in the future but its a solid step in the right direction. V2 (Unit Collision Enabled - Crowd Manager Active) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suKNX01_5co V1 (Unit Collision Disabled - Crowd Manager Deactivated) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moNQopzBFpE We also took the time to revise the wall placement/building placement tool

We revised the wall rotating tool for facing fences how you wish

Music Player has been improved and the Music Looping Bug is now resolved https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0qqdT9va8A

Who are the LT's?

They are effectively Chelseys right hand in running her forces in Pandemic mode and each one is given control of a part of her army to expand as they see fit but ultimately answer to her. For their loyalty she has given each one a different mutation that will make each one play differently. Each one has a different backstory, from a Shadowy Organization called Fenrir (perhaps she's part of a recon force investigating Chelsey...), being the unfortunate Chief Surgeon at the Hospital Chelsey reported to duty before she lost her mind to an LT of Pierce they all now answer to their new master Chelsey through the Pangu Virus. LT 1 for Chelsey is now done and awaiting implementing/ Animation Pass

LT 2 for Chelsey is now done and awaiting implementing/ Animation Pass

Male Infected W.I.P 01 (Will replace current infected versions after the UE5 engine upgrade)

Male Infected W.I.P 02 (Will replace current infected versions after the UE5 engine upgrade)

Male W.I.P 01 (Will replace current versions after the UE5 engine upgrade)

Gas masks will no longer be an upgrade in the future but be unlocked by default

Respirators are coming with upgradable filters. The filters when upgraded will increase how long you can stay inside highly contaminated zones. The CERC Scientist will naturally have a Oxygen limit that is 3-5 times longer then the other units and will not require any upgrades.

Female and Male Assault are done and are getting some last minute adjustments to their shoulder pads for extra protection

Other notable changes coming down the pipe.

Scout Car

The Scout Car that can be spawned from the CERC Tent/Motor pool will be replaced with a Scout Hummer and the Scout Car will be removed and added to an airborne call in tree when we revise doctrines and add more abilities for players. We want to implement a modular Hummer similar to the Atlas that is oriented towards Squad/Infantry Combat/Support since there are so many configurations we are also going to implement a Medical Humvee that buffs medics in their radius and stops them from running out of energy when they are in the Humvees radius.

Greg/leviathan

We will be revising the leviathans so they are more defensive in nature and a bit less frustrating hopefully. When players are turtling/hiding in a corner and have sealed off an Island/space they will seek to build tunnel networks and create sinkholes similar to the Locust from Gears of War to make tunnels for infected to utilize for sneak attacks behind enemy lines or emerge in populated zones and launch attacks. Luckily this update will not come till we have implemented a DNA research tree oriented towards tracking leviathans and killing them via special weaponry. To sum up the changes we will be adding a loadout to the Blackhawk that will allow you to "pulse" the ground nearby in a large radius and scan for underground movement/tunneling when the leviathan or a tunnel is discovered you'll be able to launch a new secondary attack from the Blackhawk that will fire a "bunker buster" type missile from its loadout on one of its wings underground to target his tunnels and him. It should be noted that this Greg hunter weapon can be utilized to finally put the Worms on notice and even hurt/kill them when they are sleeping under the ground to heal in-between battles.

M16 is getting a slight retweak to the grenadier barrel + M203 loadouts will be added

We are also discussing Melee Weapons & Secondary Weapons relating to pistols more details will follow in the future.

[ 2022-02-05 04:03:27 CET ] [ Original post ]

Christmas Update Hotfix + QOL Adjustments - 0.7.129.19

Well its that time again the Winter Sale!

Windows 7 Support

Windows 7 Support will be ending soon when we update to 4.27 of the Engine Build. We will archive the last stable build for windows 7 for a year after the official update. The windows 7 build will not receive updates/and we will give very basic support https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-7-support-ended-on-january-14-2020-b75d4580-2cc7-895a-2c9c-1466d9a53962 So if your on Windows 7 we highly recommend updating your OS in the future as our engine provider Epic Games has also started to remove dependencies and other runtimes that are needed for the game to run properly.

https://docs.unrealengine.com/4.27/en-US/WhatsNew/Builds/ReleaseNotes/4_27/ Old save files will work with this new build

Change list

Added a Scope Socket for the 3P version of the MK14CQB (mimicking the 1P version) to ensure default attachments can spawn on it properly.
Prevented the 'away team is under attack' notification from playing when you take damage as an Operator
Fixed the Operator 'leaving behind' invisible attachments when you equip new attachments or switch weapons
Updated the Operator's weapon range to not get 'reduced back to RTS mode' when you switch attachments (by making it a dynamic modifier that updates any time you switch weapons)
In FPS mode, Operator's weapon range is no longer affected by night time or infection gas
Fixed a bug where switching weapons on the Operator after loading a game would cause the new weapon to not have default attachments
Greatly improved the accuracy of the 'onscreen damage taken indicator' when in Operator mode
Fixed up a potential crash when switching weapon attachments
Fixed up the attachment swapping logic related to magazines to prevent some situations which would cause the Operator to continue 'holding up' the weapon after closing the menu
Added another GC crash fix attempt (hopefully this one works, seems promising)
Various Material Adjustments
Fixed up the Operator's weapon customization menu to not display categories that have only one option (i.e. 'None')This only has any effect on the MK14CQB at the moment
Added some safeties to Game Over (to make it re-show mouse, end freelook, and try to stop key panning)
Assigned sound class settings for grenade launcher sound cue
Updated the Holding Cell to properly prevent the occupant from being able to attack units who get too close to the cell's walls if the unit is NOT fully succumbed to the infection when put into the cell, but the succumb while within
Added a crash fix for loading weapon attachments
Adjustments to asset settings in level, mainly focused around assets producing pink LODs.
New LODs for AI grid 7, TI grids 1,2,5, 7 and 8
Added speculative fix for crash from fire damage on pod
Adjusted a move proxy from TI North to TI south to fix a vehicle 'backtracking' issue on the manmade bridge
Added a game option to disable autosave, per request from Discord
Added some logic to stop the fastrope command from erroneously spawning ropes/units at the driver seat location (instead of where the ropes should be)
Fixed Operator being able to walk on Destroyed bridge segments
Fixed a camera bug that preventing zooming out in certain circumstances
Added a custom game option for starting doctrine points

More Operators adjustments will be forth coming as we work to polish it amongst the RTS aspects to get back on civilian management. We expect to wrap up polish and be back on civilian management in the next 2 weeks Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Don't forget to wishlist! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

Cepheus Protocol Podcast #2 URL is now live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU

Swag Store

[ 2021-12-27 02:25:35 CET ] [ Original post ]

Further Bug Fixes & Custom Game Options - 0.7.129.18

Well its that time again the Winter Sale!

Windows 7 Support

https://docs.unrealengine.com/4.27/en-US/WhatsNew/Builds/ReleaseNotes/4_27/ Old save files will not work with this new build and the old build has been archived under the beta tab

Check out the latest letter from the Producer here!

https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3111421207515883471 We are investigating reports of some assets appearing as purple and should have a fix in the next few days for it.

Change list

Infection Growth removed due to performance concerns we are working out a new solution tech wise internally at the moment
Added a safety to prevent helicopters from being able to start ascending, if landed with no pilot
Fixed up units leaving a vehicle due to that vehicle's death sometimes improperly disabling their stenciling (resulting in their 'outlines through walls' logic malfunctioning)
Also fixed a potential crash from units being dumped from a vehicle due to that vehicle's death
Added a new mouse cursor for when you're hovering over a vehicle which needs a pilot/driver, and you have a sufficient unit in your current selection
Fixed material error on HEMTT modules
Made vehicular units no longer have unit levels and get their vetancry from their pilot/driver
Improved the Unit Recruitment Popup
Dynamically shows/hides the training duration slider based on if the target unit uses the leveling system
Dynamically adjusts the training duration slider's maximum based on the target unit's possible max level
Fixed the Seats display for the Recruit popup to properly not display Pilot seats in the listed amount
Fixed the Seats display on the Unit Card widget (on the HUD) for vehicles to synergize properly with the Pilot system (and the Ammo Runners on the Atlas)
Fixed a nav issue in the new horde map
Added new Juggernaut spawning logic for the old horde controllers to prevent juggernauts from spawning outside of bounds
Added an extra nav modifier to the Barracks to prevent units from landing on its roof (tested with over 1000 unit spawns, no issues)
Saves that already have barracks will load those barracks without the fix (though building a new barracks, even on an old save, will resolve the issue).
Adjusted a move proxy on the bridge between Angel Island (Northeast Island) and Treasure Island North inside the old Open World Master and tested repeatedly
This adjustment resolves a 'backtrack' issue with that bridge
Fixed a bridge issue on the eastern island (units trying to cross a spot at the end of ab ridge, but it technically blocks them: fixed via small 'step up' volumes)
Cleaned out an unused movement proxy
Tweaked another movement proxy to resolve a 'backtracking' issue when moving from Treasure Island north to Treasure Island south
Fixed a spawn pod in the old Treasure Island/Open World map
Early version of smoothed formation movement Units will more proactively adjust their speed (when not running) when moving in formation, in order to try to prevent 'jittering' or falling too far behind
Updated speed logic for vehicular formation movement following to be more consistent and less jittery: not perfect, but it should be a lot smoother
Doubled vehicular 'de-penetration distance' values, to try to make vehicles more likely to escape on their own should they get stuck
Added a speculative fix to a crash that sometimes occurs when a vehicle dies with units in it
Added it in so units fire at center mass when units have a spine_03 bone otherwise they fall back on older code to make units more accurate and better at targeting crawling infected
Added ax53 icon
Updated Wallbuilder to use the new landscaping logic, and display landscaping cost
Updated the wallbuilder to properly be able to clear cars
Imported new Driver+Pilot+Scout Car class icons
And new Driver+Pilot purchase button images
Set up Helicopters to no longer 'wait for a flight' before spawning, once their recruit countdown is complete
Added ik system for left hand placement on weapons to automate some aspects of animation
new idles for ars, added tac sprint for smgs
Converted the setup to a more sophished level streaming system to improve performance
Trees updated to newer meshes that have better imposters
Adjusted prices and targeting speed of all CERC Units
Adjusted rate of fire and damage fall of to help make the m240 out class the u100
Spread added for lmgs
Adjusted turret rate of fire to make them more useful.
Added safeties to GameInstance BP to clean up a crash related to garbage collection referencing invalid sound track refs (there's a very similar crash yet unresolved, but this particular one seems fixed)
Cleaned up a tree that was intersecting a bridge
Speculative fix to Auto Gates (should make them more reliable, but not 100% sure if the auto gate bug is fully fixed yet)
Fixed up the 'money/DNA added' animations to properly play from 'below' rather than 'above' their tallies at the top right (due to the new design, them 'animating from the top' often could result in simply not seeing them)
fixed weird body movement when cerc units would walk and fire.
Added mp5 ui icon.
Fixed rate of fire for ump, mp7, m4 & ax53
Fixed a 'jitter' that occurred when highlighting the Pandemic button
Updated the Pandemic button text to be better centered (to not look 'off' compared to other buttons)
Adjusted move proxy to stop a backtracking issue when traveling from the Treasure Island Power Plant to Angel Island (seems to have resolved the issue)
Speculative fix for Command Tent/Capture Truck/Civilian Hold 'build radius visualization' sometimes sticking around when the building is not selected
Parachute safety added to prevent parachute from 'blinking in' when units make small height adjustments while moving along uneven terrain
This also prevents Engineers from accidentally deploying their parachute while constructing something, resulting in them getting stuck
Adjusted Zheights of bridges in the Open World v2 to make construction of walls much smoother
And adjusted the ZHeight of Blue Crest Estates to prevent 'deadzones' on the area where the bridges touch the land (in TI South)
Added functionality to stop the game window from 'grabbing the mouse' if you ALT-TAB out and the window still thinks ALT (free look) is being held
Cleaned out some old door logic that was conflicting with auto gates: auto gates should work 100% of the time now
Auto gates' 'overlap volume' also made a bit taller vertically, just in case
Added speculative fix to garbage collection crash from SpeakerTracks for custom music radio
Optimized body bags and added a small merged cluster.
Replaced planters in TI Grid3 with a new merged model.
Minor material updates.
Updated Main Menu scene and Operator preview.
Asset merges and optimizations.
Minor Landscape road/painting adjustments.
Occlusion settings tweaked for engine
Updated build to 4.27.2
Added a fix for civilian hold subbuildings (holding area, cells, etc.) not properly 'landscaping' away trees and the like (may not retroactively affect saves)
Updated the Weapon Customization Widget: It is now 'tall' enough to not require scrolling when the default categories are all that are shown
Selecting a mod to apply to the weapon will auto-jump back to the category menu, for snappier customization
Added UI hiding support to Radio call-ins (and fixed an issue where the AC130 call-in would have the plane itself hide)
Added UI hiding support to the Infection Gas Tower's 'gas radius'
Added UI hiding support to the Chelsey System 'red circle' radius
Updated it to support hovertips in the pause menu and to have a 'pause menu' mode w/ background
Added a new 'Auto Control Operator' Game Option (defaults to false) =If true, you automatically control the Operator upon their arrival (and will have to pull the parachute manually) =Otherwise, they'll act like a regular unit. The Operator will send a message to the message queue at the top left, when landing, telling you how to assume FPS-mode control of them
Updated some of the Operator parachute logic to function with this new setup
Added logic to make the Operator tutorial pop up by default when switching to the Operator for the first time
It will also disappear after 10 seconds, if not interacted with
Saves/loads whether or not it has been shown once, so if you load a save after seeing it, it won't pop up again automatically
Animated its showing/hiding
Added a Game Option to allow disabling of the Operator tutorial popping up the first time you enter FPS mode
Improved the Shooter tutorial popup to not accidentally cancel itself out too early
Added logic to prevent the Civilian faction from 'marking itself' as an enemy of CERC (fixing this may have resolved the the 'target civilians' error for turrets and the like)
Open World V2 and Treasure Island V2 now replace the current older maps
Cleaned up the new version of Treasure Island a bit more, fixing up the bridge(s), an issue w/ some proxies, nav, and some BP errors
Added some safeties in response to reported crash: https://cp-bug-reporting.nolt.io/244
Removed the 'landscaping' SFX from wallbuilder+building builder
Fixed Cerberus 105mm cannon starting with more ammunition than its magazine could hold (resulted in 'refill ammo' bugs)
Adjusted its max ammo, as well: it now has a magazine of 8 and a reserve of 10.
Added safeties when loading to ensure Camera returns to regular height
Boosted minimum zoom-out speed for camera scrolling
Added compression to build from 4.27.2 update to improve game loading time
Culled Angel Island Grids down to 8.
Moved all assets into their new grids.
Renamed all Angel Island Levels
Added safety for a crash reported by Robert for the AI Spawn Nodes
Updated the Pandemic New Game screen to not refer to the new maps as 'v2' Same w/ the Load Game screen
Fixed up some 'step up volumes' on the Angel Island-side of the bridge between Treasure Island Power Plant and Angel Island
Crash fix for Chelsey system 'transferring' of infected sometimes pointing at the wrong targets (fatally)
Updated the Command Tent's second upgrade to have a more accurate and safer 'move out of the way' check for units that might get otherwise stuck by the addon to the tent+
Fixed up a bug where canceling a right click by left-clicking BEFORE releasing right click would leave an arrow floating around at the click spot
Cleaned up some settings on the Active Denial System and Mortar (they were able to be infected, for example: fixed now)
Fixed a BP error in the Vehicle (where it may rarely try to access some engine sound logic when that's no longer valid)
Replaced all trees with new high quality Megascans assets.
Trees will no longer fade out in first person.
Disabled Discord plugin and removed files for the plugin
PostProcess fix to improve all textures in the game and make characters seem more photorealstic
Cleaned up several spawn pod locations: Moved SpawnPodLocation_PRSG5_05a a bit further away from some buildings Rotated SpawnPodLocation_PRSG6_06a to prevent spawning into a building Rotated SpawnPodLocation_PRSG6_06b to prevent spawning into a bus Moved SpawnPodLocation_PRSG6_06c slightly to prevent spawning into a fence (hopefully) Moved SpawnPodLocation_Alcatraz_01b to prevent spawning into a crate (hopefully) Moved SpawnPodLocation_Alcatraz_01d to prevent spawning into a house Rotated SpawnPodLocation_Alcatraz_01e to prevent spawning into a silo (hopefully) Rotated CPSpawnPodLocationG1Military to prevent spawning into some clutter Rotated SpawnPodLocation_G01_01a to prevent spawning into the corner of a building Rotated SpawnPodLocation_G01_01d to prevent spawning into clutter Moved SpawnPodLocation_G02_01f to prevent spawning into tents, hopefully Rotated SpawnPodLocation_G03Marinae to hopefully prevent spawning into tents
Updated the Switch to Operator button to not appear unless the only selected unit is an Operator
Removed the old 'X' button from the ROE widget (the button used to open ROE should be used to close it, or the hotkey 'P' anyway): it was erroneously permanently hiding the ROE tab
Updated several call-ins to properly appear 'red' if your mouse is outside their call-in zone (rather than defaulting to 'green' even though they're not yet overlapping the valid call-in zone)
Weapons renamed to Fictional Versions
Further CERC unit price adjustments
Loading screens revised for Christmas event
New splash added for our partnerships with other companies added to further develop and provide resources to the company
Added a Scope Socket for the 3P version of the MK14CQB (mimicking the 1P version) to ensure default attachments can spawn on it properly.
Prevented the 'away team is under attack' notification from playing when you take damage as an Operator
Fixed the Operator 'leaving behind' invisible attachments when you equip new attachments or switch weapons
Updated the Operator's weapon range to not get 'reduced back to RTS mode' when you switch attachments (by making it a dynamic modifier that updates any time you switch weapons)
In FPS mode, Operator's weapon range is no longer affected by night time or infection gas
Fixed a bug where switching weapons on the Operator after loading a game would cause the new weapon to not have default attachments
Greatly improved the accuracy of the 'onscreen damage taken indicator' when in Operator mode
Fixed up a potential crash when switching weapon attachments
Fixed up the attachment swapping logic related to magazines to prevent some situations which would cause the Operator to continue 'holding up' the weapon after closing the menu
Added another GC crash fix attempt (hopefully this one works, seems promising)
Fixed up the Operator's weapon customization menu to not display categories that have only one option (i.e. 'None')
Updated proxy collision+nav for Zone 0 Master z
Added some safeties to Game Over (to make it re-show mouse, end freelook, and try to stop key panning)
Assigned soundclass settings for grenade launcher sound cue
Updated the Holding Cell to properly prevent the occupant from being able to attack units who get too close to the cell's walls if the unit is NOT fully succumbed to the infection when put into the cell, but the succumb while within
Added a crash fix for loading weapon attachments

More Operators adjustments will be forth coming as we work to polish it amongst the RTS aspects to get back on civilian management. We expect to wrap up polish and be back on civilian management in the next 2 weeks Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Don't forget to wishlist! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

Cepheus Protocol Podcast #2 URL is now live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU

Swag Store

[ 2021-12-22 18:03:02 CET ] [ Original post ]

Letter from the Producer #3

Happy Holidays!

Hey guys! Been a little while since my last update. Needless to say, production of Cepheus Protocol has been going strong over the Holidays. So, here is a bit of what weve been up to.

Squad System and Doctrine Changes

We posted another Straw Poll to ask our community opinion about changes we wanted to make to the Squad System. Watching videos and gauging feedback has weighed on me that forcing users to use the squad system was a mistake. I believe the proper direction for Cepheus Protocol is a system more kindred to Age of Empires, Company of Heroes, or StarCraft, where units are recruited into the general population by default. Our community overwhelmingly supported this change. https://strawpoll.com/2pj8d82wb/r Furthermore, in another poll, our community gave their thumbs up to overhaul the doctrine system. Instead of three separate doctrines, we are combining them into one tech tree. We feel this will give players more flexibility to play the game as they want without sacrificing some of the cooler tech featured in certain doctrines. https://strawpoll.com/jfd8r4fgz/r Sarah had an accident that put her out of commission but now she's back and we'll have a new video next week catching up on all of this in video format, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v62T5r4HEHc We put a poll on our discord regarding gas masks see more here. We will add this in as an option flag in the future . https://strawpoll.com/q22sr3p8p

Pathfinding

Pathfinding is something well be working on continuously throughout Cepheus Protocols production. We frequently look back on it and make improvements when and where we can. Recently, we spent a decent amount of time improving it. My hope is everyone will notice that units and vehicles get around a little better now. There is still a lot to do, but as I said, this is an ongoing process. Keep sending us your feedback or comments if you are having issues.

Civilian Management System

Weve included our long-talked-about civilian management system. Right now, you can construct several buildings that are designed to house, contain, or eliminate troublesome civilians. However, as you build your base, you'll notice that civilians will start propagating around your territory, requesting your protection where you can choose to take them in or things we dont talk about. For reliability, we are grouping the civilians into various archetypes that represent the personalities of certain groups of survivors. For example, one group of civilians might be more peace-loving and supportive of your efforts, while another group might be hardened by what has happened to their city and resentful of CERC abandoning them to their fate. This means that civilians will react to your actions based on their personalities i.e., a more friendly group of survivors will take more time to turn hostile, while a more aggressive group with turn quicker. In response, these groups will gradually become better armed, starting with pistols and Molotov cocktails before gradually being armed with military-grade weaponry. Each group will spawn randomly on the map when you start a new game. As a result, youll want to scout the map beforehand and determine what type of civilian group occupies a zone you want to set up your base. Furthermore, you wont have to force these civilian from a zone to take control. What determines the civilians' attitude towards you is your actions against them. Nevertheless, civilians will act as their own faction, fighting the infected and occupying random ground and buildings within a zone. For players that want to take care of the civilian population, soon, youll be able to scan them for infection after youve defeated the first elite lieutenant and researched the necessary technology. Those who arent infected can then be moved off-sight to a waiting warship, requiring players to escort survivors to an extraction point before safely being airlifted out of San Francisco. We plan to continue to improve this system over the next few months, but for now, I feel we have a solid foundation to build from. https://trello.com/c/k7xDVuXC/1100-civilian-management-system

New Unit Concepts and New Animations

We continue to work on getting new concepts for all CERC units. So far, weve shared the Assault and Heavy units. More recently, weve gotten the Scientist, and Engineer added to the roster. Modeling on the first unit, the Assault is underweight and expected to be done by December. Animations Revisements

Class Concepts

Current Modeling Progress Assault Female

We have also included some new animations to the standard infected, bringing them a bit closer to our final vision. This includes strafing and a crawl, which adds more fluidity to their movements as the AI considers their surroundings and reacts accordingly. Expect more changes down the road as it is our goal to make the infected as scary as possible.

Operator/1P

Ive touched on previously about our Operator update, which brings a special unit to the game, played from a first-person view. Weve made many changes to this addition, which can currently be played, and are now refining the 1P mode, its animations, and incorporating several new weapons. Furthermore, weapons for the operator come with several attachments and other goodies. Previously, I stated youd be able to create your own operator. However, we decided to design six unique hero characters instead, each of whom will have their own backstories and be featured properly in Cepheus Protocol lore. Currently, we are toying away designing their facial features, with the development of their bodies starting in December. Operator : Cassandra Yates

We shifted away from custom characters based on concerns from our community that the 1P would take away from the RTS elements of the games as it would require some significant changes made to the animations and other technical requirements. However, down the road, if our community requests it, we are open to bringing character customization back into the game once we can ensure the necessary changes wont hamper our abilities to include it properly or negatively impact development. Operator : Henry Corrigan:

Nevertheless, this mode has a lot of our community excited, and so far, the feedback has been very supportive from our community. So expect a lot more from the operator in the future!

Doctor Wu and Title Screens

In addition to the Operators, our art director has been working on getting the final in-game models of Doctor Wu, Doctor Kira, and General Spiers ready for the game. So, expect to see their faces popping up from time to time in our overhaul of the title screens, briefings, and end game screens, etc., in the future. Dr. Wu

Dr. Kira (Early Concept)

A Changing Landscape

Weve begun making physical changes to the environment based on the growth and spread of the Pangu Virus. Pretty soon, as you play and each new day that passes, if the virus is not contained, it will begin to spread not just across the landscape but up and around buildings and other objects. This blight not only shows just how frightening the virus can be but aids the infected as they begin to take greater control over San Francisco.

New Vehicles and Structures

One of the most asked features is when we will be adding new vehicles and structures. This includes the two most requested vehicles, the M1Abrams, and the V22 Osprey, which we will add to the game soon. But that isnt all, vehicle-wise, as we also will be adding an AAV and other tactical vehicles in the near future. As for the towers, expect a group of defensive towers broken into defensive tiers of light, medium, and heavy. And lastly, along with the new vehicles and towers, expect a handful of new buildings, including a structure that will automatically lay down a minefield based on your choosing.

Field Trip

Since Cepheus Protocol takes place in the beautiful city of San Francisco, I recently took another trip to the Bay. I spent most of the day touring Alcatraz Island and the federal prison that occupies the island, which will feature prominently in the campaign. But before that, we plan to use Alcatraz as the player's starting area as we begin the development of a proper tutorial system.

We plan to design a kill house, similar to what was in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, where youll learn some basic 1P controls and tactics to better prepare players for the actual game. This addition to the game will also include an exterior starting zone on the island that will teach new players how to manage the RTS system before entering San Francisco properly.

We plan to expand on Alcatraz in greater detail down the road, making the whole island explorable in 1P, where youll be able to interact with CERC personnel and learn more about the game lore.

Censorship

And lastly, I wanted to talk about something very personal for many of us on the team, and that was a recent demand that we censor our game as some players within and outside our community have taken offense with Cepheus Protocols usage of Chinese names, mythology, and current geopolitical tensions between the CCP and the United States. These concerns are regarding the origins of the Pangu Virus name, its development and first use within the lore, and the virus storage by the Chinese government. As a result, we have been asked to remove any reference to China entirely or refocus our narrative to favor the CCP's current guidelines for video games within their country. This, however, is something that Halcyon Winds cannot abide by or support. Halcyon Winds does not support any form of censorship or compromise the narrative we want to tell. It has never been or will be our desire to offend our community in any way. Cepheus Protocol takes place within an alternate history/timeline and does not reflect our current world or political standing among nations. Furthermore, Cepheus Protocol does not make one group or nation the antagonist or protagonist or favor one ideology, government, or movement over another. We feel strongly that villains and heroes come from all corners of the world, with no one group or nation being solely good or bad. To do otherwise would not be realistic or fit the kind of story we are trying to tell. We also feel it is important to reinforce that Cepheus Protocol was not developed and released on Steam Early Access to take advantage of Covid-19 or exploit, narratively speaking, Covid-19s alleged connections to the Chinese government. Cepheus Protocol began development in July 2018. Therefore, any references or similarities to real-world events surrounding China and Covid-19 are coincidental. Lastly, at the current stage of development regarding Cepheus Protocol, which is still in Early Access, the game's entire narrative has not been realized or shared with our community. Therefore, any thoughts by outside parties that we want to slander or offend a specific nation or group do not have the complete picture of what we have planned for the story or the game and are basing their assumptions solely on what is presented in Early Access. We know this is a complex topic for many game developers as specific markets are resistant to Western games and demand/force those developers to make changes to be officially released in their regions. While we respect other cultures, customs, and religions outside of our own, even if we dont personally agree with all of them, we ask that they respect our right not to have our game censored. Freedom of Speech is a core belief that our developers share and feel and not something we are willing to compromisenot now or ever.

[ 2021-12-02 06:42:21 CET ] [ Original post ]

Autumn Sale Drivers/Pilots Now live & New Weapons - 0.7.129.15

Well its that time again the Autumn Sale!

Windows 7 Support

https://docs.unrealengine.com/4.27/en-US/WhatsNew/Builds/ReleaseNotes/4_27/ Old save files will work with this new build

Change list

More building collision adjustments and pathing adjustments around West Treasure Island.
New Walk Animations added for CERC Units
M16 switched to be used for Drivers
M9 given to pilot unit
Garrisoning of units into vehicles improved: Saving/loading should be more accurate now, with units properly remembering which seat they were in (for visible seats). The seats themselves will track who is in them (rather than relying on a linear array to keep track)
Updated degarrisoning logic to default to not ejecting the pilot
Updated degarrisoning selection widget to not select the pilot by default (and to prevent selecting him if fast-roping)
Added logic to make Pilots/Drivers go to their respective seat when garrisoning, if that seat is open
Added logic to make a vehicle spawn its Pilot/Driver by default, if defined
Added logic to make vehicles turn off their engine and stop accepting movement commands if they have no pilot/driver
Updated the Charon's garrison capacity to reflect the additional 'seat' taken up by the Pilot
Added Pilot logic to the Merlin, and updated its capacity to reflect the Pilot
Added Drivers to Peregrine and Springbok (w/ appropriate sockets, etc.)
Cerc sprints reorganized. added 4 blendspaces for cerc movement.
Gave the cerc medic and engineer the m16 as base starting weapon.
AX53 added for the assault. adjust damage for m16 (nerf) the scar(buff) & m4(buff). ax53 is weaker than the scar but better range dmg compared to the m4, better than the m16 in damage.
Added Drivers to the Atlas variants
Updated some logic to ensure cursor would properly track Ammo Runner only seats and not say you can garrison someone into the Atlas if the only missing units are Runners (not yet restricted to say 'driver only' yet, though)
Fixed some issues with some Atlases to resolve Driver conflicts
Fixed the Transport Atlas not properly running some regular logic related to Garrison UI
For vehicles that had a Population cost of greater than 1, lowered their population cost by 1 to account for the fact that they come with a Driver/Pilot (who also counts as pop)
Updated the Capture Truck to cost 1 pop (thus 2, counting its driver) to avoid being able to spam Capture Trucks (then killing their pilots) to fill the map up
Updated the Recruit Popup to account for the number of Pilots/Drivers a vehicle requires when listing its population cost (to prevent over-recruiting on the bulk recruit slider, etc.)
Fixed units not properly clearing special animations when exiting a pilot seat (which caused issues if they then sat in a gun-enabled passenger seat on another vehicle)
Fixed Driver/Pilot units in passenger seats 'pretending' they're the Driver/Pilot of the current vehicle when attempting to degarrison them from another vehicle via the degarrison selection widget
1P operator audio volume fixes
Fixed up the Garrison display widget (over vehicles when they're selected) to no longer display their driver or any 'special-unit' seats (such as those used by ammo runners)
Added 'NEEDS DRIVER/PILOT' text over a Vehicle, when it's selected, if it needs one
Fixed the Sparrow's carrying capacity NOTE: Strange bug with the Driver/Pilot of a vehicle sometimes having some 'visibility lines' showing on them erroneously if they leave their vehicle. Not tracked down yet, though spent some time trying to fix.
Fixed pilots improperly acting as 'walls' for the 'see my own units through walls' functionality, when degarrisoned due to vehicle destruction
And added a safety to make their guns also not do this
Added the Driver and Pilot to the list of units recruitable at the Barracks and adjusted their prices a bit
Autumn splash
Infection growth system has expanded on Open world V2 to use more of the world
Fixed operator weapon going invisible when you switch weapons sometimes

More Operators adjustments will be forth coming as we work to polish it amongst the RTS aspects to get back on civilian management. We expect to wrap up polish and be back on civilian management in the next 2 weeks Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Don't forget to wishlist! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/

Cepheus Protocol Podcast #2 URL is now live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU

Swag Store

[ 2021-11-24 07:14:34 CET ] [ Original post ]

Crash Fixes + Individual unit Degarrisoning/Rappelling - 0.7.129.14

AmA Nov 20th, 12 PM PST

So CERC recruits we expect to have polish in a better place and will be meeting with our community on the date linked below. We want to take a day and talk about our next steps since by now I feel everyone has had a good amount of time to guage the current implementation of factions and civilian management so I really look forward to sitting down with you folks and having an open discussion List expected to be done by this date: * UI so its in a more polished state * Take another look at formation movements/general pathing issues * Apache targeting issues * Minor QOL changes like the air drop system * Operator abilities + more weapons general polish Event details in AmA channel https://discord.gg/8VAa272n3p?event=909246932998823946

Windows 7 Support

https://docs.unrealengine.com/4.27/en-US/WhatsNew/Builds/ReleaseNotes/4_27/ Old save files will work with this new build

Change list

Fixed up Grenade damage-dealing logic after Operator revamp: No longer zeroes out damage against most targets
No longer overrides non-Operator grenades to be limited to a low max speed (prevented grenade launcher from working correctly)
No longer crashes when Grenade Launcher is being used
No longer crashes from White Phosphorus use
If the grenade has friendly fire disabled, it now will respect that instead of still hitting allies
Prevented all grenades from having a hard-coded explosion radius - now the inner, outer, and falloff is customizable per-grenade
Removed the old civilian registry widget (from way long ago)
Hooked up the new 'Degarrison Selection Widget':
When you have only a single garrisonable vehicle selected and issue a 'degarrison' command, a list will pop up to the left of the Command Window to let you select who to keep and who to remove. Pressing 'degarrison' again with the menu open will confirm the settings. By default, it will have all units selected, so if you double-tap degarrison it'll just dump them like before.
The first click will deselect all units except the one you clicked on - further clicks will just toggle.
The list won't appear if you have more than one garrisonable vehicle selected.
If you do this to a helicopter, you have to click into the world like before OR tap the button again while your mouse is in a good position to fast-rope, though you can click on the list widget to toggle entries too
Quick fix to previous commit to fix bug where an empty degarrison list (if you made it empty for some reason) would just cancel the command [/olist] More Operators adjustments will be forth coming as we work to polish it amongst the RTS aspects to get back on civilian management. We expect to wrap up polish and be back on civilian management in the next 2 weeks Open World V2 is now being beta tested try it out by starting a new game

UI Changes W.I.P's (Being worked on for the 2 week polish period amongst path finding and other Misc bugs) Read the post below for more details https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/4893716326539063684 Launcher will be slimed down in the future to only help launching the game in other graphics mode TBA Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed
Cepheus Protocol Anthology

We will be launching a new weekly series that will see several chapters added every Friday after release and will cover the chapters of the Novelization with 5 chapters added to expand upon the story and give more value to those itching for more lore/story information. It will delve into and show more about a secret new faction that will become the Anti-CERC in the Cepheus Protocol universe.
Don't forget to wishlist! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology/
Cepheus Protocol Podcast #2 URL is now live

https://youtu.be/i-00D66OxN8
Swag Store

The Halcyon Winds Store is now live to support development and profits go towards expanding the team. This is in response to several requests I've gotten quite a few times about those that don't want to do patreon but want to support via merch.(Posters, Jackets etc) Check it out we'll add more over the next few weeks-months! WinterSmile https://halcyon-winds-store.creator-spring.com/

[ 2021-11-19 01:22:38 CET ] [ Original post ]

Squad Mass Upgrading and Deployment System improvements - 0.7.129.13

AmA Nov 20th, 12 PM PST

Windows 7 Support

https://docs.unrealengine.com/4.27/en-US/WhatsNew/Builds/ReleaseNotes/4_27/ Old save files will work with this new build

Change list

Various collision improvements based on user feedback
Fixed LMG and Minigun performance drop when firing.
Committed a fix for potential material swapping on the building pods
Updated MUTT model
Partial fix (needs more, along w/ dynamic nav and 'unit scooting' for upgrades) for Command Tent Main collision
Scorpion Evo added for the Operator
Updated Parachute and Backpack Textures
Updated units of different teams to be able to land on one another, and not get stuck or bounce off instead
Extra nav now spawns and 'scoots units out of the way' when applying the second Command Tent upgrade
Fixed up the 'construction version' of building actors to properly offset their navigation (if such offset exists) - useful for Command Tent, especially
Fixed a spawn node in the old Treasure Island/Open World (at the museum) which spawned infected into walls sometimes
Fixed up a potential infinite spawn loop for infected (where infected just keep pouring out of a pod nonstop)
Made infected simply seeing a unit not trigger a full-bore defense response (it will, however, still inform the pod of where to send reinforcements if they're already being produced) Result: Infected spawns should be a bit smarter.
Names added to attachments for Operator Customization screen
Fixed a trailer that - when overturned - didn't block nav properly in the Open World v2
Adjusted Infected defense responses to not go 'all out' against a civilian who manages to kill an infected
Fixed a spawn node in the Open World v2 that was untargetable
Fixed factions not having proper references in the Open World V2 (resulted in erroneous spawning)
Fixed missing spawn volume references in Presidio on the Open World V2 (resulted in civilians spawning from infection pods, which is odd)
Various Weapon balance passes
Price changes to research points for Shredder rounds
Adjustments to Treasure Island Population and Civilian spawn numbers.
Grenade Damage now does a "Radial" more accurate check to check for massed units/cover to lower the damage depending on how close you are to the epicenter of where the grenade exploded
Units called in will now land in a radial circle around the structure in question after a C130 passes by to airdrop them in
Speed changes for acceleration for all vehicles to make them a bit slower initially
main menu v2 updated for new dev update
C130 added for immersion effect when units are parachuting in(All special call ins that drop off units use this system now
These planes will handle spawning for close together buildings, if multiple buildings in a nearby area are all awaiting drop, though additional planes will spawn if there are areas too far out for a single plane to handle drops for
Replaced ammo drop parachute landing animation with a new experimental Vertex Animation setup.
Real world rate of fire put all on handheld weapons
Real word rate of fire applied to vehicle weapons
Timers for the Unit Recruits should no longer 'stop running' if they're on the flight but their original building loses power
Queue status widget at the bottom right will show the time until they arrive from their flight
Fixed up some more ammobox-related actors getting confused about parachutes
Fixed up AC130 recruit-dropping logic erroneously 'missing' units who had a training duration beyond the current flight's timer
Fixed Operator weapons not saving
M1A Socom weapon added for Operator
Crash resolved when loading Operator when secondary weapon is equipped
Loading of weapons across the board smoothed out slightly
Laser sight appearing gray when loading an operator whose not in combat resolved
If the secondary weapon was equipped and the Operator was saved while in RTS mode, it properly will attach to the 3P mesh now
Fixed Minigun stats to allow for refilling ammo properly and stop the UI from reporting that the Minigun's always low on reserve ammo
Fixed the Minigunner call-in being usable even if you already have a minigunner (may not retroactively affect saves, so old saves may still be able to call in more than one)
Weapon Market V2 added
Optimization tweaks to make the game cheaper on lower end machines/older hardware
Fixed up vehicle parachuting so the Capture Truck call-in won't summon without a parachute (or with a glitchy one)
Also slightly changed Chelsey's logic to hopefully prevent another scenario where she's somehow killable w/o Shredder
Made large/boss infected immune to ram damage
Flashbangs don't affect allies anymore
Added test pain killing volume to open world master Z to kill the operator if they jump into the water
Idle Engineer button added at the top left
Adjustments increase zone income values for open world V2

Things not live yet for Operator [olist]

Operator Customization for his/her look will come in a latter patch (Pending when all CERC units are revised)

Select Abilities builder (During the 2 week period)

Weapon Leveling System (During the 2 week period, right now all weapons are power leveled to max level so that the operator can use to access all attachments)

Hybrid Scope and M203 are disabled while we work to fully implement them (During the 2 week period)

Firing from Helicopters/Controlling the Operator while being a passenger on a vehicle in general (During the 2 week period)

Swimming ( No ETA Yet)

More Weapon Support (At least 4-6 weapons are planned with more coming over development.) [/olist] More Operators adjustments will be forth coming as we work to polish it amongst the RTS aspects to get back on civilian management. We expect to wrap up polish and be back on civilian management in the next 2 weeks Open World V2 is now being beta tested try it out by starting a new game

UI Changes W.I.P's (Being worked on for the 2 week polish period amongst path finding and other Misc bugs) Read the post below for more details https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/4893716326539063684 Launcher will be slimed down in the future to only help launching the game in other graphics mode TBA Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Don't forget to wishlist! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology/

Cepheus Protocol Podcast #2 URL is now live

https://youtu.be/i-00D66OxN8

Swag Store

[ 2021-11-18 04:56:26 CET ] [ Original post ]

Deployment System and Presets are now live - 0.7.129.9

Old save files will work with this new build,

https://docs.unrealengine.com/4.27/en-US/WhatsNew/Builds/ReleaseNotes/4_27/

Change list

Deployment System : This is one of the final systems we've been planning to wrap up unit recruitment. Over the next week or so units will get better more fitting parachutes + and they will be more evenly spaced out for drops. (A new system was added so units purchased have to airdrop in to your location making it harder to just spam out of poorly planned defenses/situations. A plane makes a pass by every 30 seconds the mesh will be added for the actual unit doing the airdrop next week)
You can now save and load presets for unit customizations for any unit type
Open World V2 improvements relating to building locations and more objects you can remove
Added seizure warning to the game
Loading Screens revised to reduce flashes
Fix for sandbags/misc structures launching units
Fixed blending oddities for all 3P weapons
Drawbridge and hospital mesh fix

Things not live yet for Operator [olist]

Operator Customization for his/her look will come in a latter patch (Pending when all CERC units are revised)

Select Abilities builder (During the 2 week period)

Weapon Leveling System (During the 2 week period, right now all weapons are power leveled to max level so that the operator can use to access all attachments)

Hybrid Scope and M203 are disabled while we work to fully implement them (During the 2 week period)

Firing from Helicopters/Controlling the Operator while being a passenger on a vehicle in general (During the 2 week period)

Swimming ( No ETA Yet)

Cepheus Protocol Anthology

Don't forget to wishlist! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology/

Cepheus Protocol Podcast #2 URL is now live

https://youtu.be/i-00D66OxN8

Swag Store

[ 2021-11-06 08:54:23 CET ] [ Original post ]

The Pangu Virus has been unleashed in San Francisco, turning thousands of innocent lives into mindless beasts that feel no pain and have no fear of death. With each passing hour, the Pangu Virus evolves, creating new and ever more horrific mutations with one goal in mind… Spread.

You are Captain Winter, a military officer fighting alongside the Center for Epidemic Research and Control(CERC). With a massive arsenal and the resources of the US Government behind it, you and CERC will stop at nothing to ensure the terror of the Pangu Virus does not escalate beyond containment, even if a whole city and millions of lives must be sacrificed.

Cepheus Protocol is inspired by classic RTS games such as Company of Heroes and World in Conflict, alongside the book World War Z.
Survive if you can against a relentless enemy that evolves and grows more powerful with each day.
Build specialized units from a variety of bases that can be placed anywhere in the open-world map.
Battle those infected by the Pangu Virus across four open-world islands, featuring unique and challenging environments.
Choose from three combat tiers that play to your style. Each tier has specialized units, equipment, and weaponry.
Engage a relentless horde of infected which numbers grow larger and stronger with each territory captured as you battle for control of San Francisco.
Hunt Patient Zero, who races across the city seizing territory. Each capture zone increases her population as the virus spreads and possesses all organic matter.
Form an alliance or side against the Anarchist and Police factions, which struggle to survive among the madness that has enveloped San Francisco.

Note: Steam Remote Play is for allowing your friends to try out the game if you already have purchased it. It's not for online co-op: that is is planned in the current roadmap, but is not complete yet

💰 Games on Sale 💰

GAMEBILLET

[ 6111 ]