Knights, mercs, and hackers! Update #232 is working its way through the dome now, with an exciting new Hacker Talent Prank, big boosts to all the secondary objective rewards, reduction of cost of Extra Item Carry nodes, reduction in Team Power Level boost for hack-only missions, and more. It's a big raft of changes, get on and let's heist! If you're enjoying the relentless pace of updates as we slog our way toward release in mid-May, please take a moment to share the game with a friend and leave a review steamhappy

Hacker makes Prank Call

Update #232 finishes out the Hacker's tree and unlocks their final Talent - Prank! With Prank you can target an enemy who is eligible to be dispatched by security (not in combat, not a VIP, not a Head Hunter, etc) and debuff them with a high-priority dispatch marker. This means the next time the Sec AI dispatches someone to investigate an event of any kind, this enemy will be the one that is called in. This Talent has been so fun in playtesting and creates all sorts of cool new scenarios for your heisting Stealth teams to pull off. Need that pesky guard to go away? Prank him and trigger a security camera halfway across the map. Or Prank him just in time for a body timer to expire and bye bye! We hope you enjoy this new vector of stealth play as well!

Improved Secondary Rewards

Secondary Objective rewards have taken a big step up today with some new balancing going into effect. The rewards have jumped up to +2-4 Favors, +25-35% XP, +25-35% Payment or +20-50% Influence. Also, we have removed Blue Cubes as a reward type, these are not exciting - you can now only get Red or Gold Cubes. Finally, we've chances that additional rewards - like Blueprint or NBS cubes - will be offered for secondary objectives, so you should be seeing a more interesting mix of those. Coming next in this area, we've got 2 additional Secondary Objective goals that we will be adding around Escort / Exposed VIP missions, and we will also be doing some balancing for missions like Alpha Strike and Siege that can't get secondary objectives and are poorer for it.

Cheaper Extra Item Carry

With Update #232, we've reduced the level point cost for each Extra Item Carry node from 5 to 3. This makes these nodes more interesting to consider for your characters. We are also working on a visual upgrade to the Extra Item Carry node because it looks like a Talent and that has evidently caused confusion. The Extra Item Carry node costs 1 level point to Train into and does not take a Talent point. For now, we've fixed the pricing for its upgrade nodes but in the next update we will resolve the issue with it looking like a Talent and get its text to clearly share that it does not cost a Talent point.

Reduced Hack-Only Team Power Level

Every mission you run adds to your Team Power Level. In this way, the sum total of your missions pushes the game's progression and difficulty higher. To help balance this further, we've reduced the Team Power Level boost that you get from hack-only missions further, as these are small missions between the full team missions and should not have such a big impact. Hack-only missions now add 50% of a full proc-gen missions would add to your Team Power Level which is 50% of what a high-risk narrative mission would add.

Other F10s!

We are always hard at work on digging into the F10 pile, so we appreciate every player sending in feedback. With Update #232, we've improved some issues with mission naming (some missions were coming up with the name ERROR SOMETHING a lot!), fixed an issue where the Sec AI could dispatch an enemy who wasn't part of the faction (Fenian Sec AI dispatches Brave Star wut?). We also put out a few hotfixes between the last update that improved the tactical thinking for enemies who are trying to close the distance again in a hotfix.

v1.10.9 - #232: Prank Call - 4/2/2025

- Improved secondary mission objective rewards; now +2-4 Favors, +25-35% XP, +25-35% Payment, +20-50% Influence - Increased the chance of Blueprints and NBS Cubes being offered as rewards for secondary objectives - Removed Blue NBS Cubes as a possible secondary objective reward, only Gold and Red Cubes ever offered - Unlocked Hacker Talent Prank (was Stemlocker) - allowing you to pick which enemy agent is dispatched by security to investigate events - Swapped Downed Shields and Prank in the Hacker's Talent trees - Improved Hacker's Trunkpatch Talent upgrades: upgraded node to -10 AP, upgraded node to -1 recharge rate, upgraded final buff node to +10% Connection from +5% - Reduce cost of Extra Item Carry nodes to 3 from 5 each - Reduce Team Power Level boost from completing Hack Only Missions to 50% of regular proc-gen missions - Fixed issue with some missions having "ERROR" in their name 50% of the time - Fixed issue with Sec AI dispatches that could tap enemies of another faction - Improved long-range movement decision making by enemies to close gaps faster - Fixed issue that could cause Hacker to freeze up after starting the turn hacking and then disconnecting

[ 2025-04-03 20:46:44 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights and mercs, we've got a follow-up update here to the big AI tactical decision-making update that we released yesterday. It catches up on a few bugs (like Investigating! on bodies) and improves a few other areas that players have since helped us identify in feedback and F10s. We're exciting to hear the stories of more exciting tactical battles coming to light already, so this is a great move for the game, now we just have to clean up a bit and move into the stealth area to improve the AI there as well to finish out this final enemy improvement push.

Investigating! Loop / Stutter Step

There was a bug injected where an enemy might become repeatedly interested in the same dead body, over and over again Investigating! it. That is now resolved. This could cause a lock up where the AI never ended their Turn, but this was hotfixed out yesterday within an hour or two of the initial update.

Better Event Prioritization

Enemies receiving dispatches from security and encountering their own events in the field now have better prioritization cues as they can look at the turn of all of the events. This new data helps them make better decisions, as the newer events should garner more of their attention.

More Tactical Decisions

We've gone another level deep with the tactical decision making improvements with this update. Where the first High-Stakes update focused mostly on the short-range movements that an enemy would make in a gunfight, we've now certified some of the improvements to longer range movement thinking that can help the enemies make smarter decisions.

• They are less likely to head into dead-end areas that will require later backtracking.
• The flanking limitation rules which could cause an enemy to say "Beyond Flank Allowance!" before moving have been fixed and are now better applied only at combat range, instead of any range. They were causing some enemies to have a really hard time closing distance with players, especially in maps with non-direct routes (bridges, interiors, etc).
• Improved how much enemies like to stay in optimal range, avoiding getting in too close especially.

v1.10.3 - #231: High-Stakes Tagalong - 3/31/2025

- Fixed issue where enemy could get locked up in a stutter step loop - Fixed issue where enemy could repeat "Investigating!" over the same dead body - Improved enemy prioritization of security events based on the mission turn they occurred in (more recent, more priority) - Improved enemy decision making to stay in optimal range especially when very close to mercs - Improved enemy decision-making around approaching/flanking mercs, no more "Beyond Flank Allowance" alerts - Improved enemy decision-making to avoid going into dead-end areas that can't reach mercs - Improved combat log ability to report on attacks blocked by shield, or Shredding blocked by effects

[ 2025-03-31 16:10:01 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights and Mercs, today's Update #229 is the first delivery of a series of enemy agent and AI improvements that we are wrapping up as the game gets closer to full launch. With this update specifically, we have not added any new intelligence to the enemy agents, we have only tuned and improved things they were already thinking about (and fixed the bugs in these systems too!). The biggest change is discussed in the Tactical Repositioning header below. Just a warning - the enemies, especially higher Power Level, are probably more dangerous than yesterday. Do be careful and take some extra save checkpoints! We will continue to rebalance in either direction as needed - can't wait to get your feedback. We've also sped up the entire pace of play by tweaking how quickly the game can transition between turns, and added very helpful warning before you make an attack that will be targeted by Overwatch reaction shot. If you're enjoying the constant improvement and polishing of the game during Early Access, please take a moment to thank our dev team with a review! We need everyone! More updates are coming steamhappy

Overwatch Warning

While movement warnings for Overwatch have been available for a while, pre-attack warnings have been missing. We're excited to finally get them added, so now any time you are considering an attack and are at risk of triggering an enemy's Overwatch reaction shot first, you will get a nice warning in the attack circle - "You may be shot!"

Speed of Play

We've taken some time over the last few updates to really polish the speed of play. We got the camera movement snappy and sharp and now with Update #229, we've taken a look at turn transitions. We found a lot of little delays we could iron out and now cycling through your team and the enemy team is really fast and smooth! The game is playing really fast and smooth now, letting you get through more turns in less time.

Tactical Repositioning

The biggest upgrades in enemy intelligence came from fixing bugs and re-tuning their decision trees when deciding what to do with each Turn, when and how far to move, and how that impacts their ability to take later actions - like firing, throwing a grenade, or more. All around, the changes here make the enemy tactical combat more engaging and challenging. The early game is mostly unchanged, where enemies are lower Power Level but as they ramp up, they will gain more willingness to use smarter tactics against you, take cover and just let their weapons rip, and punish you for tactical mistakes that you make. We hope that these changes start to raise the bar and challenge for higher Power Level teams who were finding the enemy reaction to be too easy once they hit Power Level 6+.

• There were just small (but important) mistakes in how we calculated how far an enemy might want to move once they are engaged in a shoot-out. This often led to enemies moving too far to take any shots at all on their Turn, giving you basically a free return volley of fire. Enemies are much more judicious about making short tactical moves if they can get a shot off, and will be sure to take that shot.
• Due to the overly aggressive desire to move, enemies basically only ever made 1 attack per Turn, even on a good Turn. This is an important part of enemy balance in the early game, and it did not feel good when we started "fixing it". We have now tied this type of increased intelligence to the enemy Power Level - as the enemy Power Level ramps up, based on their weapon type and disposition, they are more and more likely to make decisions that will allow them to take and use advantageous positions against you and take multiple shots on a turn against your mercs, which can be devastating.

Patrolling Away from Danger

Sometimes, an enemy would see something - most often a dead body - and simply turn and run off in the other direction, sometimes saying "Patrolling!" We've resolved this bug, and now the enemy is going to get interested and start "Hunting!" around the area, looking for the killer and calling it in to the Sec AI.

Talent and Grenade Decisions

We've tuned up and improved the decision intelligence for enemies about when to use their Talents and when to throw grenades. Enemies will no longer use Medkits when they are unwounded! That should help make them more useful later if they can survive a round of fire from your team. Second, we've worked a lot on improving the grenade calculations and decision rules. Enemies who can throw grenades are now more willing and capable of determining a good shot and taking it. Hopefully this leads to a lot more special grenade attacks from the enemies who have them, so they have less chance to blend into the crowd as "just another" enemy. We've also worked on the grenade targeting routines to avoid throwing buffing grenades at enemy factions (Fenians should not be throwing Red-Mist buffs at Brave Star troopers!)

Enemy Overwatch Mistakes

Sometimes they used to do this ^^^ There were 2 classes of enemy Overwatch mistakes that were fixed in this bug. First, sometimes they would setup Overwatch but then move by about 1m to either side. This would leave the cone on the floor but not at their feet. and made it very confusing about where they were actually going to shoot from. Now fixed! Second, and much more important, sometimes the enemy would run up, spot your merc, and then turn and face the other direction and put up Overwatch - into a completely random direction! This was really whacky timing issue between finishing their movement and starting Overwatch, which is now cleanly resolved and will no longer occur. Now fixed!

Brainworm Fix

Under some circumstances, enemies who were under the Scourge's Brainworm debuff could still turn and attack your mercs. This is now resolved, and they are only able to target their own team, or they will not shoot.

Stealth Crit in Accuracy Breakdown

Your Stealth Crit % bonus could sometimes be double-counted in the shown total of Critical Chance, leading to some funny-looking math. This is now cleaned up and we're excited to say the Accuracy breakdown is looking really squeaky clean now!

Compressed Mission Planning Screen

The mission-planning screen can show multiple stages and even options for each of those stages. In the old design, these could be far enough spread apart that - depending on your screen and resolution - it could be hard to see or click on the connected options. We've compressed this UI to bring all the elements closer together so that what you're looking at and what you can click on should be much clearer.

v1.10.01 - #230: High-Stakes Gunfight - 3/30/2025

- Targeting an enemy now includes Overwatch warning "You will be shot" if reaction shot will interrupt - Increased game tempo by squeezing out delays, especially after each merc's turn - Improved enemy ability to take good tactical position and fire multiple times on their Turn, increasing with higher PL troops - Improved enemy ability to calculate and throw grenades / buffing grenades so that more are tossed - Improved enemy intelligence about when to use Talents, Medkits, Team Buffs and Overwatch - Fixed issue where enemy would make a short reposition move and then not attack - Fixed issue where enemy might see a dead body and then head off in the other direction - Fixed issue where enemy could put up Overwatch but it would be pointed in a random direction, not at character - Fixed issue where enemy could put up Overwatch but the cone would not be at their feet - Fixed issue where enemy could be unfairly charged 1 AP sometimes for rotating to look toward player - Fixed issue where enemy could throw buffing grenade at an enemy in another faction - Fixed issue where Brainwormed enemy could still fire at characters instead of only enemies - Fixed issue with Stealth Crit % being counted twice in Accuracy breakdown display (top right) - Compressed spacing in mission planning to ensure that different phases and options are easier to access - Improved movement and taking cover around all computer racks and servers - Fixed bugs with repeated dialogs after successful Assassination

[ 2025-03-30 14:39:00 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights! As you've seen on the public roadmap, we've been working on translations for Cyber Knights: Flashpoint. We're excited to have reached a milestone where we can offer preview builds for the translated game in French, German, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, and Spanish. These are early, beta versions of the translated text -- we need your help to evaluate their quality and see where we should be making changes to give as many speakers of these languages as possible the best experience. Early feedback from our small handful of initial volunteers has already been extremely valuable; now we just need more input so we can continue to improve.

Are you bilingual? Let us know!

If you're a native speaker of another language in our community who's also proficient in English, please fill out this Google Form to let us know. If you're fluent in one of the five languages we've currently translated the game to - French, German, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, and Spanish - you could get early access to the translated game. If you're fluent in a language we haven't yet translated to, it helps us see where there's demand to translate into other languages, and you'll be first in line for an early look if we do.

Work Closely with Our Team

Right now, the community translation team is helping us pin down key game terms for the glossary to ensure that the best balance of literal translations vs cyberpunk-themed slang and cross-lingual gaming terminology is achieved. We'd love you to collaborate with us to review UI and dialogue translations, offer feedback on how game-specific "special" terms should be translated, and ensure that the translations accurately capture the tone and setting of Cyber Knights.

Launch Translation Plans

We would love to launch the game with ready-to-play, 90%+ quality translations for French, German, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish. We're working with the community to make sure these translations are truly ready to shine! But depending on how long this takes - prioritizing quality over marketing deadlines - we may or may not have finished translations at launch. If not, we won't actively market the game in those languages at launch. But, we will still make the available translation branches of the game public and available to all players at that time, and we will do language-specific launches as we're able to reach that quality threshold for each. We are excited and open to translating the game into other languages as well! But we're a tiny team and we had to start somewhere. Please wishlist the game and spread the word to others in your region if you'd like us to translate it into your native language, and complete the Google Form to show your interest in helping review the game in your language. If you have any questions about joining the translation project, you can reach out to us here on Steam or DM Liviana (username is @liviana) in our Discord.

[ 2025-03-28 22:04:59 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knight and mercs, we're back with another focused dose of polishing, improvement, Talent fixes, map updates and more. Update #229 has a special focus on every F10 that was ever reported about movement Talents - they've been fixed. We've also improved storylines where Tags weren't always being applied, fixed impassible areas in maps, fixed bugs with Cybersword EMP Talent, the unexpected and early appearance of Turrets (woops, but coming very soon!) and more. Let's dig in to this polish and fix update! If you're liking the relentless push here as we rush toward the end of Early Access, please take a moment to leave a review! I know myself and our little team of 3 working on gamedev here would appreciate it steamhappy

Movement Talent Polish

Movement Talents had some issues. You sent us F10s - quite a lot of them! We fixed them steamhappy The Talents that are "movement Talents are Shielded Rush, Projection, Empty Lung, Pathfinder and Lightfoot.

• When a Movement Talent is active, a persistent info banner now appears at the bottom of the screen, explaining that if you activate your current movement, this Talent will activate with it.
• The generic "Move" action in the movement destination is now switched to the Talent name when the Movement Talent is active - instead of "Move" by the spacebar or (A) button, it will say "Projection" etc.
  
• The AP/MP dot estimation for Movement Talents is finally correct. There was a mistake where could show more AP than you were able to spend.
• The bug where you could use Movement Talents sometimes and not pay the charge for the Talent is fixed.
• We have improved the Talent hover for Movement Talents where they list AP no longer says "Use for 3 AP" but instead "Move up to 3 AP".

This set of fixes resolves all the known issues and vastly demystifies the process of using a Movement Talent, when it is active and ready to use and more. We hope you find these Talents more fun and easy to use now.

Cybersword EMP

One of the anti-drone Talents that a Cybersword boasts is the EMP Talent which was not working due to incorrectly configured SFX and VFX. We've resolved this in Update #229 and the Talent is working nicely again.

Text Codes / Mistakes Fixed

As you may have seen on Discord and elsewhere, we are now testing the translated version of the game with a small working group. To get to this point, in the last month we've made a lot of changes to some of the internal string processing and had to make a lot of updates and changes. These have resulted in a slow stream of bugs in the English version of the game that we had to backtrack and fix. With this update we've resolved the issue where BioScan was using just displaying string keys (like "Security.BioScan.Something.Or.Other"), an issue where some lines by the narrator in dialog were just "DialogQuip.273" and some cases with repeated dialog. Finally, some character tags were incorrectly including "BlockCondition.x.y.z" at their end.

Cybernetics Clinic Map

We've made a sweep of changes and minor updates to the most recently released map - the Cyber Clinic - and also pushed it to only appear starting at Power Level 4. Also, for a hot minute, the unfinished Turret enemies were appearing in this map and causing all hell. They have been hidden again but are coming very soon.

Big AI Updates Coming!

The next major wave of updates will focus on AI intelligence, fixing issues with their stupidity, running the wrong direction, bad tactical choices, not shooting enough, saying silly things and more steamhappy Can't wait to roll these out!

v1.9.177 - #229: The Move - 3/26/2025

- Improved all movement Talents (Shielded Rush, Projection, Empty Lung, Pathfinder, Lightfoot) with persistent activation banner - Fixed bugs with movement Talents not always activating (Shielded Rush) or costing a full Charge to use (Projection) - Improved hover text and clarified text for movement Talents to be clearer about how they work - Fixed issue with Son of Belly Legwork not granting a Soft Skill upon failure - Fixed final case that could cause "DialogQuip" to appear in dialog instead of Narrator lines - Fixed rooftop access point in Urban HQ where floorboards were impassible - Fixed repeated dialog that could happen at start of Daedalus Bloc hacking missions - Fixed VFX bugs preventing Cybersword EMP Talent from activating - BlockCondition.x.y.z string being shown in some Tags instead of empty string - Fixed Turrets accidentally appearing in Cyber Clinic map (too early!) - Fixed some duplicate dialog appearing at end of Hacking for Loot missions - Fixed BioScan Field text that was just codes

[ 2025-03-26 20:37:08 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights and mercs, we've got Update #228 (no joke!) landing here on the New Boston streets. We've improved the logging flow around BioScan Fields and fixed a number of edge case bugs for them, added 2 new eyewear lenses for the circular glasses, improved photo mode with even more options, fixed reported map F10s and fixed some issues with Matrix turn ending and dumpshock. This is a big quality bucket of features and F10 fixes - so thanks to everyone helping us polish and improve the game until it shines! If you are enjoying the relentless pace of updates that our small team of 3 game devs is producing, please take a minute to post a review!

BioScan Field Improvements

With Update #228, we've improved the logging flow for the BioScan Field and also fixed a few issues around how the Field reacts when it is disabled or if a Scourge uses Biomimic inside the field.

• BioScan Field now adds a more clear log when 2+ mercs enter it, noting that it has added exactly +6 Tally.
• If the BioScan Field is disabled before the end of the Turn (Line Crawler, Hacking, etc) the 6 Tally are removed from the Sec Tally correctly (this was bugged) and a new combat log is added that makes it clear that the Biosignatures have been lost and that Tally got -6.
• Finally, there was a bug around a Scourge using Biomimic inside a BioScan Field if there was already another merc in the field. This wasn't correctly reducing the Tally, it only worked once someone left the field (not immediately upon Talent use). This is now fixed!

Photo Mode Improvements

For photo mode, we've added a new speed slider which controls the final speed of all camera movement in photo mode. This can be helpful to tweak if you're trying to capture some movement or transition for a GIF or video. Or if you just want to rip around the place, crank it up! Also, sometimes you want hovers in photo mode and sometimes you don't! We now have added a checkbox for just that purpose.

New Eyewear Lenses

The new circular glasses were practically screaming (can you hear them?) for new cool lens options, so we've added 2 new lens types with Update #228 - a fully filled glowing lens and a stylish low-bar slatted lens option. We may add a few more lenses here but for the moment, the 3 we've got provide some cool options, fades and looks.

Map Fixes and Balance

With so many new maps coming online in a steady stream, we have a steady stream of follow-up F10s to fix. We fixed a few more floating props, some light poles that were not attached to the ground, some props that didn't have great colliders, and also pushed the new Cybernetics Research Site to only appear at Team Power Level 4+ as this harder level started making appearances for PL 1 teams - a bit much!

Matrix Bugs and Locks

We fixed an issue where after getting Dumpshocked there was a short window of time vulnerable to locking up the if you clicked rapidly on the Terminal again. This wasn't a long window but it isn't an uncommon immediately reaction to just try to "go again". Thanks to the players who put in F10s about this one! We also found an interesting bug while fixing the primary issue. Hackers who were connected to the Matrix were running Take Cover Talent automatically at the end of their hacking turns. This is now fixed - that was not intentional.

v1.9.173 - #227: Shattered Streets - 3/23/2025

- Important Mission icon from timeline event now also shown in the mission planning list - Add speed slider to Photo Mode to control speed of camera movement for better GIF/video control - Added checkbox to Photo Mode to block all hovers - disable it if you want a specific hover shown - Added 2 new eyewear variations of the round glasses - Improved BioScan Field - better logging about +6 Tally and new log when 6 Tally removed - Fixed BioScan Field issue when disabled by Line Crawler, Leverage or Hacking where it did not reduce 6 Tally - Fixed BioScan Filed issue when Scourge used Biomimic inside the field where it did not reduce 6 Tally - Restricted new Cyber Research Site map to Power Level 4+, added missing mission art board - Fixed bug where weapon noise and range icons over enemies heads might disappear after opening pause menu - Removed incorrect Level 0 and Common Rarity from the File Set grid display - Fixed bug where a Hacker ending turn in Matrix would also execute Take Cover Talent - Fixed bug where a Hacker knocked out of matrix on Dumpshock who tried to reconnect could lock game

[ 2025-03-23 20:12:14 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights and mercs, we've been holding to our weekly map release schedule now for 18 weeks now and counting - but we're coming up on the full release, so why not hop-skip and pick up the pace? Today we have a second new map for the week, joining the proc-gen lists: Cyber Research Clinic. We've also polished up the animation back-and-forth that can occur between Overwatcher and attacker when counter-fire is invoked (your under Overwatch, try to attack, the Overwatcher misses, you shoot back!) and fixed a host of reported map bugs, improved some props (red couches!?) and more. If you're enjoying the relentless pace that we are keeping to expand and improve the game, please take just a moment to leave a review. We need everyone and remember, you can always edit later.

Double Weekly Map: Cybernetic Research Site

Another week, two new maps!? Get it, choppa! Cybernetic Research Site is a large but highly compressed facility with maze-like hallways, offices and research areas. It will not be a place to take your Sniper but can be a playground for a fast and sneaky Vanguard or shotgun-toting Scourge. Cybernetic Research Site can also feature a Gold Key (loot) and Blue Key (shortcut), depending on the objective and map setup. The second map this week kicks the map total for proc-gen missions up to 31 and adds an additional +11 proc-gen combos. With this extra icing on top, we're now at 232 total combos, including a rapidly growing pool of maps that match with the newest objective types, including Exfiltrate, Infiltrate and Download, and Hardened Target. We've just recently completed 3 new objective types (Exfiltrate, Infiltrate and Download, and Hardened Target), so we've turned the burning laser beam of focus back to weekly map releases for the moment. The next thing in objective land will be building out new premises for Contacts who are Compromised. Then we'll be switching back for a few final objective types before release to round out the set and really blow up the numbers!

Map and Prop Fixes

We've fixed a ton of reported map issues - thank you for your F10s! You can no longer walk through the couch lux couch props and a number of other props have had their colliders adjusted. Also, we keep working on enemy spawn positions to ensure they all have a clear physical reason - a door, elevator, ladder, etc - that can explain and pre-warn of their arrival point. Thanks to everyone playing and posting F10s!

v1.9.171 - #227: Double Weekly Map - 3/22/2025

- Added new proc-gen map "Cyber Research Site": a labyrinthine, cramped mess of hallways and laboratory rooms and participant holding rooms, supports +11 new proc-gen combos (Heist a CPU, Steal 3 Files, Scavenger, Kill 3 Captains, Bodyguard, Assassinate VIP, Siege, Alpha Strike Infiltrate and Download, Hardened Target, Exfiltrate) - Improved timing and animations for Overwatch counter-fire (attempting to shoot someone in Overwatch) - Fixed map bugs and open field spawns - Fixed issues with props and colliders - Fixed reported dialog typos - thank you!

[ 2025-03-22 12:47:11 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights and mercs - we've got new street styled outfits coming online, the new and enhanced photo mode feature from the roadmap, big upgrades to high Power Level milsec and corporate enemy allocation, better Exfiltrate VIP locations, a Trait improvement and more F10 fixes. It's Update #226 - let's take a look. But first, if you are enjoying the relentless pace of updates, we hope you'll consider leaving a review to thank the small team of 3 working on game dev for Cyber Knights: Flashpoint!

Enhanced Photo Mode Complete!

Everybody loves a good roadmap kill - so let's start with the newly Enhanced Photo Mode! The new and improved photo mode offers some cool new options to get action screenshots and a lot more flexibilty to get exactly the shot you want. A big thanks to @jotwebe and others for always using Photo Mode to show off the game - we can't wait to see what you'll do next.

• - When switching to photo mode (P) you get a little control menu. Hit (P) again to toggle it off for the best screenshots.
• - You can switch to free fly camera which allows you to take the camera anywhere you like, including out of bounds, high in the sky or below the ground. Yes, you can find some odd looking things, but we preferred giving you full freedom here instead of trying to hide the realities of the 3D game world which doesn't always look good from every angle and position.
• - You can save and load up to 3 positions during a mission.
• - You can set a photo mode position to be used for the next action camera. This means the next time you make an attack, this position is used, letting you get cool action shots!

You can check out this quick demo of some of photo mode's features and using it to capture 2 actions shots. [previewyoutube=VIWSIzmYOhM;full][/previewyoutube] Using Free Fly mode you can get some pretty awesome atmospheric looks and show off levels and spaces from angles you've never been able to before.
We can't wait to see what you'll create and share!

New Outfits

With Update #226, we've rolled out two new outfits that might be of interest to your Scourge or any other merc on the team. Each has a full range of color customization as usual. We also fixed a mistake with Update #225 where the Cybernetics category was left marked as "developer only". It is now visible and available! This adds another 2 cosmetics to the game, stepping us up to 43/50 on our roadmap goal for cosmetic additions. We're looking forward to hitting and exceeding it.
Finally, we've updated the appearance UI so that more of the categories zoom in on your character's face while you are making a selection.

Improved Patrols for Milsec and Corp

A few release back, we improved the progression of enemies spawned at the start of any level -- the "patrollers" - for Gangs and Syndicate factions. With Update #226, we've certified that this new approach was good and expanded it to the more dangerous factions - Milsec and the Megacorps. You may now see harder enemies like shocktroops, suppressants, Divergents and even - in some cases - mecha infantry drones on patrol routes as your Power Level keeps climbing.

Exfiltrate Locations

We've improved how Exfiltrate VIP locations are picked to further reduce the chance that they are immediately near an exit. This should improve the overall setup of the missions to ensure that they are tense, fast-paced and really require you to rescue the VIP, not just watching them run out the door!

Mega Fab Trait

We've fixed an issue with the Mega Fab trait adding Strength and Kinetic Damage. It now correctly adds Tech along with its bonuses to crafting and XP.

v1.9.169 - #226: Toxic Styles - 3/19/2025

- Added 2 new outfit options for your mercs - where those Scourges at? - Completed Enhanced Photo Mode roadmap item! - Engage free-fly camera in photo mode to get perfect shot - Save up to 3 positions while exploring photo mode - Fixed photo mode behavior on first time toggling it on - Fixed missing Cybernetics cosmetic category - Adjusted enemy patrol spawning groups for all factions now to increase in power and variety as Power Level ramps up - Fixed issue with Mega Fab Trait - now adds Tech instead of Strength and does not add Kinetic Dmg - Improved VIP locations for Exfiltrate missions - less chances to be near the exit - Added missing mission art board for Rooftop Hoverport - More appearance options zoom in on character's face

[ 2025-03-19 19:52:05 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights and mercs, heists across the New Boston Zone are dropping onto a new, dangerous rooftop map with Update #225. We've added a new map, added new cosmetic options, added new facial cyberware options (limited but ready to grow), improved some weapon and mod balancing, map bugs, and fixed every F10 that had the word "typo" in it! We're hard at work expanding and improving the game from every angle - so please take a moment to leave a review and share the game with a friend.

Weekly Map Release: Rooftop Hoverport

Another week, another map! Rooftop Hoverport is the open-air top of a towering skyrise, and is positively dripping with hovertruck landing zones. It has dangerously wide open sight lines - making it both a playground for your Sniper, but difficult to prevent enemies from returning fire, as well as the risk that reinforcements might come from any of the hovertruck drops at any minute. Due to the challenging nature of this compressed-but-open map, Rooftop Hoverport only appears at Power Level 4 or higher. This week's new map brings the map total to 30 for proc-gen missions and adds an additional +8 proc-gen combos to raise the total now to 222! It is exciting to see the Rooftop Hoverport immediately crossing the latest objective types, including Exfiltrate, Infiltrate and Download, and Hardened Target. Having just completed a 3rd new objective type (Exfiltrate, Infiltrate and Download, and Hardened Target), we are turning our attention back to the weekly map releases as well as how these new objective types can be looped into the Power Play and Compromised system for Contacts. Then we'll be switching back for a few final objective types before release to round out the set and really blow up the numbers!

New Glasses + Cybernetics Cosmetics

With Update #225, we've added a few new options for your character's appearance and opened a very exciting new category - cybernetics - even if it is still a bit empty today! First up, there are two cool new eyewear options - some larger, glowing circular glasses as well as a new type of chrome eyeband that fits very tightly and has some cool tinting options.
Second, we've moved the forehead jack cybernetic out of the Hats category (why was it there?) and into its own Cybernetics category. We've fixed it so that you can adjust the color tinting of the light and also added a second option that allows you to pick your side (left or right) for the jack. And if you're really ambitious, just go left AND right. That is the way to do it, you elite hacker, you. With the cybernetics category now opened, we'll be pushing to add other plates, jacks, eye cybernetics, and other things to this group that will help you get your mercs properly dripping in chrome. Stay tuned!

Weapon / Mod Adjustments

We've completed a round of rebalancing for the noise reduction stats for rarer AR Suppressors including the Stormstrike, Proxium and Deathspitter, each one reduce a bit more noise than before. In addition we've fixed an issue with the UAR Torch XL not doing Pure Damage in Full Auto and adjusted the balance of the E-Blades Atomic W2 and Atomica M2.

The "DialogQuip.XYZ" issue

If you were running into any issue with dialog being replaced with a codename for a specific quip, this was fixed in a hotfix between releases. Sorry for the issue - it is one of the final small bugs caused by our preparation for pushing the translation process forward. We also did a major drive on typos, fixing every F10 that had the word "typo" in it. That took a few hours and triggered a number of large-scale grammar and spelling checks on the game dialog, so hopefully things are in better shape now. As always, thanks for your F10s!

v1.9.167 - #225: Rooftop Hoverport - 3/18/2025

- Added new proc-gen map "Rooftop Hoverport": the open-air top of a building dripping in hovertruck landing zones, the Hoverport offers dangerously open sight lines and the risk of reinforcements touching down from any direction at any time and supports +8 new proc-gen combos (Heist a CPU, Steal 3 Files, Scavenger, Kill 3 Captains, Bodyguard, Infiltrate and Download, Hardened Target, Exfiltrate) - Added 2 new eyewear options: new pair of sunglasses and chrome eye band - Split forehead jacks into start of the cybernetics category, allow color change, allow control of left and right or both - Improved noise reduction on rarer Level 1-3 AR suppressors: Stormstrike Suppressor, Proxium Suppressor, Deathspitter Suppressor - Improved UAR Torch XL, AR Ironsides and 3 Blades: Splicer, Atomic W2 and Atomica M2 - Fixed camera bound issues in River Street and A12 Sea Platform - Fixed issue with "DialogQuip" replacing dialogs in certain parts of the game - Fixed issues with areas you could Glitch into walls on some maps - Major typo and dialog cleanup - thanks for all the F10s!

[ 2025-03-18 20:48:18 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights and mercs, its Saturday and it's another big update day for Cyber Knight: Flashpoint! We've dropped another exciting type of proc-gen objective on you, rebalanced some of the Knight's signature Talents a bit, improved the animation for damage previews, made it easy to toggle on all enemy sight cones, increased the size of your merc's Edit Notes field, and completed a really nice pass of polish on the game camera behavior. This relentless pace of update is carried by the 3 of us doing gamedev, story writing and all the rest. If you're enjoying the game and how it has grown, please take a moment to leave a review for our team!

New Proc-Gen Objective: Exfiltrate

In our press to release new maps and new objectives into the proc-gen pool, we are very excited to drop a brand new proc-gen objective, Exfiltrate! In this challenging objective type, a valuable human asset has been trapped behind enemy lines and needs you to perform a rapid extraction. Unlike a regular Escort where the VIP starts with you, this VIP is isolated and far away. You're on the clock to reach them before they're found by enemy patrols and then need to get that VIP to the extraction point. This higher challenge type of mission is only available at Power Level 5+.
Don't let your VIP come to an end like this! The new Exfiltrate objective is supported on 16 proc-gen maps currently, which adds a total of +16 new proc-gen combos, bringing the game's total of combos (map X objective) to 213 - vastly exceeding the original goal of 80! And while we've hit the first 16, we're excited to double this in the coming weeks.

Knight Talent Rebalance: Tact Surge, Rewind, Atomic Stutter

With Update #224, we've completed another round of Talent rebalancing for the Knight. We're continuing to work through the entire Talent set making improvements - both nerfs and buffs - to smooth out the power curves, and make sure all Talents are interesting. With this update, we've dinged the power of Tactical Surge a bit and increased its cost to fully upgrade. The default cooldown time on Tactical Surge has stretched to 6 Turns from 5 Turns (meaning you can, at best, get it down to every 4 Turns fully upgraded) and also increased the cost of the +1 Move Point upgrade node to 2 skill points. It is still the rawest powerhouse Talent around, but it is more expensive to make it peak powerful now. We've moved the bonuses to Initiative and Move Speed off of Rewind's starting Talent, letting it focus on its unique and ultra ability to add charges back to Talents. These bonuses have been shifted into the upgrade node. Finally, for Atomic Stutter, we've increased the total amount of Crit Vulnerability possible to +25% and dropped the "hang on" +5% Armor debuffs that were in that upgrade node. This makes the upgrade nodes cleaner with better organization and easier for you to choose if you want each or not.

Improved Damage Preview Animation

Weapon damage in Cyber Knights is 75% guaranteed and 25% randomized - therefore if your gun does 100 Dmg, then you deal 75 + D25 Dmg before armor reduction. The animated damage preview used to just animate a preview of 87.5% Damage (the average Damage) but that was not giving you players the best information on the spot. We've upgraded the damage preview to now show 75% of the Damage (after Armor reduction) in white and 25% of the Damage in flashing animated red, which is the variable part of the damage. This can help you spot that the enemy is guaranteed to die (all white) or might die (the end of their HP bar is flashing red).

Toggle all Sight Cones

If you use the H (or left stick click) key to toggle outlines on, you can now hit the key again to toggle on all outlines AND all sight cones. This can help you plotting moves when working around enemy patrols and make your stealth turns faster. Hit H again to cycle back to no outline and regular sight cones. Thanks for the F10s!

Larger Merc Notes Area

We've expanded the notes text box for your mercs by 400%! The max character limit and size of box have all blown up, making it far easier to use for multi-line notes and the like. Thanks for the F10s!

Game Camera Polish

We're excited to be doing some big rounds of polishing on the little tiny specifics of gameplay as we get closer and closer to release. We've improved a number of things with how shot cam and regular camera works with Update #224. For action shot cams, we've made sure they don't repeat (which never feels great) and we've made sure that all the HUD UI elements stay hidden during the shot cam and only re-appear the right time (during a kill shot, they were showing up too early, ugly!). Also, after the action shot cam is done, we've adjusted the camera rules to ensure that the camera cuts back to exactly where it was before you started the attack. This prevents a lot of small panning or camera shifts that would slow you down during play. Also, we've increased the snappiness and feel of the automated panning on the map, saving you a critical second here and there. But it makes the whole game feel more responsive! Finally, we've fixed issues with Stun VFX and other VFX not disappearing immediately when an enemy dies.

Merc Status Paging

While you are checking out a merc's status pop up, you can now page through your entire team rapidly using hotkeys or buttons show at the bottom of the status (default to tab / shift). Thanks for the F10s!

v1.9.165 - 3/15/2025

- Added new proc-gen objective: Exfiltrate VIP from behind enemy lines - VIP starts separated from your mercs, often in danger - Exfiltrate appears at Power Level 5+ and has 16 new maps available for Exfiltrate, +16 total proc-gen combos - Knight's Tactical Surge cooldown bumped out 6 Turns (+1 Turn), increased +1 MP upgrade node to 2 level point cost - Knight's Rewind moves bonuses to Init and Move Speed out of main Talent, only available through upgrades - Improved Knight's Atomic Stutter to deal +25% Crit Vulnerability once upgraded, dropped the last -5% to armor - Enable Highlight (H or left stick click by default) now toggles on outlines, then toggles on all sight cones, then turns off both - Improved damage preview in target Health Bar - white for guaranteed damage, animated red slice for rolled Damage - Merc's Record tab no longer shows achievements that have not been accomplished (don't always show that my Soldier didn't achieve Melee Kills) - Hovering over an offered Blueprint reward in mission planning will show its details - Prevented Recruits from showing/counting tags like "Training Ready" in the roster or barracks summary - Fixed bug where you might be floating in the sky off a rooftop when starting Wreckspire map - Added hotkey/button to cycle through mercs while looking at character status mid mission - Improved rules for Cybersword's Preempt - melee Overwatch is more careful about your final destination, avoids putting you "out of bounds" or in walls - Increased the size and max length of the merc notes text field - Polishing: HUD hovers and other elements no longer reappear too early during an attack that kills target - Polishing: avoid repeated action shot cams during attacks in play - Polishing: increased automated panning speed of camera and better easy for a snappier feeling - Polishing: improved camera behavior after attack, returns to exact location it was at before action shot cam - Polishing: VFX of dying characters/enemies (such as floating stars of Stun) disappearing instantly on death

[ 2025-03-15 14:21:15 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights and mercs - we've got Street Sweeper, Update #233 tonight landing with a bunch of bug fixes, map improvements, resolving story issues and invisible contacts! It's a big update that sweeps up and tidies up, cleaning out the F10 bin from this week, especially around the Daedalus Bloc retirement storyline. Let's dig in! If you're enjoying the Early Access and relentless pace of updates (more coming!), please take a moment to leave a review. We are a tiny team and every review counts so much for us! Also - did you see the release date news? [previewyoutube=5cumHBWrUGE;full][/previewyoutube]

Daedalus Bloc Fixes

The 10 mission storyline for Daedalus Bloc is the largest one we've released yet, and it has had its fair share of content bugs to iron out. Nothing that has left any saved games permanently hung, mostly just interruptions in your ability to play on in the storyline. Tonight we've hit a few big patches for Daedalus:

• You might be stuck in an infinite conversation about CLUSTER DROP mission - this will not continue!
• You might be stuck on the first map of the CLOCKWORK RESCUE mission with a broken terminal. If you are, next time you load your game, you'll find yourself back in the safehouse with the story leading up to the mission about to start (again).
• If your Quant disappeared in the second mission of GOVERNANCE DUST-UP, you should be good to go. You can either play through the level as is, or restart the level and the quant will appear correctly at your starting location.

Invisible or Missing Contacts

Another bug resulted in some Hardened Target and Infiltrate and Download missions being offered by an invisible contact. This was confusing and not great - now it is fixed. If you already have a conversation or mission offered by such a contact, that will be the case until it is finished and the next one will be normal.

Black Site Lab Bridge

If you've been hitting any issues with the bridge in the new Black Site Lab level, this update will fix them up for you. The bridge terminal is working and once raised it can officially be crossed.

Nuke II (FAS) and Others

There have been some longstanding issues with some of the Nuke programs having wires crossed. This included Nuke II (FAS) and we've now unwound these. The program shows its special stripes and should load correctly during hacking now.

Endless Map Fixes

We're constantly working to keep up with little tweaks and fixes to maps. We fixed some oddly floating can props, some open field spawn issues, some places where cover shields didn't appear correctly, and more.

v1.9.157 - 3/13/2025

- Fixed issue with Black Site Lab bridge terminal causing level to lock, bridge impassible - Fixed infinite loop bug in Daedalus Bloc storyline to accept CLUSTER DROP mission - Fixed issues with Quant not appearing in GOVERNANCE DUST-UP second stage, restart stage or mission - Fixed issue with mission stuck for CLOCKWORK RESCUE in Daedalus Bloc - you will return to safehouse with mission coming again soon - Fixed issue with invisible or non-existent contact offering Hardened Target or Infiltrate and Download proc-gen missions - Fixed issue with Nuke II (FAS) not showing its special Hybrid-Utility rules - Fixed description of "The Loud One" Achievement - complete mission with 9 Sec Level or higher - Fixed open field spawns in some maps, odd cover locations, floating soda cans - Improved lighting in Urban District HQ map

[ 2025-03-14 02:29:58 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights, we are thrilled to now share with you a specific launch date; Cyber Knights: Flashpoint will be exiting Early Access on May 15th! [previewyoutube=5cumHBWrUGE;full][/previewyoutube] (If you have a sec, please click through to YouTube to give the video a and leave a quick comment; helps a lot more people see it!) I don't want to save this for last: thank you to each and everyone of you that has supported us during Early Access. Whether you've already bought the game or helped spread the word, we would not be able to make it to release on this one without your support. EA gets a bad rep, and sometimes deserves it, but it's the only way indies like us are able to make a game with this depth, keep the creative control that makes our games what they are, and iterate on it to make the most of your excellent suggestions and feedback. And no worries if you're one of the many folks who simply prefer to wait for a game to be more fully baked before investing your playtime; we appreciate you even just for wishlisting, or for picking it up on a good EA discount to support us as a win-win. An extra-special thanks to the now 700+ of you who have left a Steam review!!

Two Months to Go

Don't worry, the updates aren't stopping. While we do have some content earmarked for a big release update, we still have plenty more to work on for regular updates on the road to launch. And polish is a major focus as well. With your help we've long since squashed, fixed, and full-autoed any widespread major bugs, and are in the territory of edge cases, hotfixes for less-tested content, and jank-adjustment. We have a shortlist of animation, V/SFX, and small graphic improvements to push our production quality to our launch standard. One big feature left on the roadmap that we're still working on is translations / internationalization. If you're fluent in any languages beyond English (we are particularly seeking Spanish speakers) and would like to get an early look / give feedback on our first translations of the game, let us know your Discord or email in this form.

More Release Details and Post-Launch Plans to Come

We'll share more about the launch update content and the post-launch roadmap later, for now enjoy the recent end-game storyline added, mark your calendar for the launch date, and let people know it's coming! (Shareable announcement posts: Bluesky | Twitter | Reddit | Facebook | YouTube)

[ 2025-03-12 03:15:16 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights and mercs, heists across the New Boston Zone are heading to a new, dangerous location with Update #222. We've added a new map, fixed issues with the Daedalus story, fixed issues with VIPs following the new Death Save rules and therefore surviving missions (:facepalm:), and resolved reported issues on Achievements as well as a huge pile of F10s about minor map issues. We're hard at work expanding and improving the game from every angle - so please take a moment to leave a review and share the game with a friend.

New Map: Black Site Lab

Every new map expands the game even further - so we're excited to keep up the pace, now adding the 29th room to the proc-gen map list and bringing the total proc-gen combos (maps X objectives) up to 197. The Black Site Lab is the kind of place where bad things happen and high-value research reports and files are stashed. The Black Site Lab features distinct zones - multiple, crowded entry areas leading two a large, dangerously open research lab. The central hacking platform is exposed, upping the ante for hackers trying to make their heist and get out without taking a few bullets home as souvenirs. Some of the extraction options are locked behind a Blue Key bridge and some of the heists to the Black Site Lab feature an optional Gold Key room. We're hard at work pushing up the variety of mission map content as we march toward release, and the total proc gen combos (map x objective) now total 197 as this new map adds +8 new combos. The next big additional will be another new proc-gen objective with really exciting new challenges to continue to mix up the content!

Retirement Daedalus Storyline

We released the major new storyline and Retirement feature last week with the Daedalus Bloc storyline! Over the weekend we fired off a couple of hotfixes to address immediate issues and are now putting out the first big patch for Daedalus Bloc story. This will help any players who were stuck in the defensive battle to protect the quant (all the enemies are dead, no victory condition) as well as fixing a number of other stumbling points, like a random VIP joining you on a mission where you're trying to recover stolen files. This is a major chunk of content and we're going to expanding and refining it based on your feedback - so please share away :D https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1021210/view/501692943024783671

Starting Enemy Patrollers

With Update #222, we've started the process of scaling the enemies that can start on the map as patrollers with mission Power Level. Up until this point, the enemies that could be selected for starting patrols were all very basic, low armor, low health and low special abilities. With Update #222, for Syndicates and Street Gangs, some of the specialists now come on the table as your progress through the Power Levels. The standard patroller unit - Street Grunt or Whistler - will still be the most popular, but this set will be seeded with more interesting types, some with more dangerous special abilities like Benders or heavier armor, like Shocktops.

VIP Survivors

After the new Death Save rules when live, we've been running into a class of issues with VIPs from missions sticking around. If they get gunned down, they were playing by the same Death Save rules, which mean they might convert to a Survivor and then (unexpectedly) stick around and hang out in your safehouse. They should disappear the next time you reload the game, but Update #222 has fixed the root cause! Sorry VIPs, your Death Save is 0%.

Continued Achievement Fixing

With almost 100 Achievements releasing in a wave, we've had a few calculation issues to clean up. Sometimes Achievement 1 is incorrectly blocking you from getting Achievement 2 (once you got One Man Army, it was blocking Next Man Up) and sometimes the calculations or math was just wrong (The Quiet One was firing on Hack Only Missions where physical Sec Level is always 0). We've resolved all reported F10s in this area, so big thanks to everyone sending in feedback!

v1.9.153 - #222: Weekly Map Release "Black Site Lab" - 3/10/2025

- Added new proc-gen map "Black Site Lab": a clandestine corporate laboratory performing quasi-legal cybernetics research and weapons development, supports +8 new proc-gen combos (Heist a CPU, Steal 3 Files, Scavenger, Kill 3 Captains, Bodyguard, Assassinate VIP, Infiltrate and Download, Hardened Target) - Fixed issue with unexplained VIP joining on one of the first Daedalus Bloc missions - Improved starting spawn of patrol enemies for Street Gang and Syndicate to ramp up with Mission Power Level progression - Fixed issue where VIP characters were not staying dead if your difficulty Death Save was high - Fixed getting stuck in Daedalus Bloc defensive mission - end the Turn to continue or restart level - Fixed multiple issues with Achievements firing at the wrong time or not firing when they should - Fixed map bugs, sight line issues and bugs with open field spawns

[ 2025-03-10 15:53:22 CET ] [ Original post ]

Major update today Knights, with our very first retirement storyline: "Daedelus Bloc!" This 10-mission storyline becomes available at Power Level 6+, when a shareholder asks you to help them create havoc inside the Jupiter Group megacorporation. This intricate power play is paced to give you plenty of time to engage with other late-game content, running heists on the side to build your warchest and grow your skills so you'll be ready to pull off the biggest jobs of your career at the very end. It includes 2 brand new maps, new objectives, new additions to the proc-gen system, and is just the beginning of some very exciting new mission formats you'll see more of as Cyber Knights: Flashpoint continues to evolve. We intend to add multiple retirement storylines to the game over time, staggered across multiple power levels to allow for playthroughs of different lengths and a variety of roleplaying choices in what kind of opportunity your Knight will give up their criminal power climb for, and who (if anyone) from their squad they'll share this escape with if they can.

How Retirement Storylines (or Death) Work

Retirement Storylines are pinnacle opportunities in your Cyber Knight's career, accessible only when you've built a rep as the Knight that gets things done. Multiple offers will give you the opportunity to get started on a chain of escalating missions leading to one last big heist that could get you out of the game for good. Come out on top, and you'll have a window of time to decide (and complete any lingering unfinished business with your mercs or other contacts) if you want to take the retirement opportunity, or continue running the streets. Some Knights can't give up the thrill of the heist, and will continue to play hard and fast until they go out in a blaze of glory. Others are convinced better opportunities will come, for either a better life offworld or with more room in the opportunity to set up the squad members they've become closest to with a better life as well.
When you retire or die, you'll get a series of game-end screens sharing what becomes of you and your squad members, a key stats & achievements summary, and your save-game will be memorialized so you can come back and export appearance or talent tree builds.

Merc Stats Now Available

You'll now be able to access merc scores - such as career kills, number of missions run, number of missions completed unseen, maximum damage scored in a single hit - at any time. Check out the "Record" tab from your squad roster in the Barracks. In addition, for those Achievements that make sense, each merc can score individual achievements. Your grenade-happy Soldier might get the achievement for the 5X kill with Grenades while your Sniper will be hunting that 1000 pt Dmg in a single shot achievement.

Steam Achievements Now Active

Score up to 100 achievements as you play and prove your skill. Achievements run the gamut from first-time achievers (complete your First Heist or Install a second cybernetic in a character) to long run achievers (reach $25m credits, kill a Head Hunter, complete 100 heists) to limit pushers (kill 5 targets with Slashslide, complete a 4 merc mission with 1 merc, install the 7th cybernetic into your Knight). Achievements are a prestige reward only, no in-game content is gated behind any of these, the only thing they unlock are bragging rights (and please do; gameplay celebrations and stories are always welcome in our Discord).

On-sale to celebrate! Spread the word and leave a review?

Cyber Knights is 20%-off for the next two weeks (there will be a short 4-hour gap between next Thursday morning and the start of the Steam Spring Sale)! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1021210/Cyber_Knights_Flashpoint/ Please spread the word that we're wrapping up Early Access soon! And if you haven't already, taking a minute to leave a review, even just a couple of quick sentences, is one of the best ways to help us out. We're working hard to keep polishing (thank you all for the feedback through F10s and Steam forum posts!) and keep packing the game with more content as we approach the full release later this spring.

v1.9.147 - #221: Major Milestone: RETIREMENT - 3/6/2025

- Major new end-game storyline "Daedelus Bloc" starts at Power Level 6+ - Option to retire at the end of the storyline or go back to the streets for "one more heist" - Steam Achievements now active - score up to 100 achievements - Individual merc career scores and personal achievements available in Roster "Record" tab - New Retirement and Death screens tell the post-retirement stories for your team and display scores - Created safehouse experience for death/retirement, still access the Appearance and Training for library, otherwise locked down

v1.9.149 - Hotfix - 3/7/2025

- Fixing Daedelus Bloc issues - Fixed issue with Quant VIP where are not carrying items for their missions - Fixed extraction location in second stage of BOILING POINT mission - Fixed missing complications in OPENING BID mission - Fixed some storyline missions not having their custom names (PANDORA'S SUITCASE, etc) - Fixed Achievement issues with Pacifist, Next Man Up, One Man Army, The Quiet One and more - Fixed Achievement issue where achievements were not setting until the game was closed - Fixed missing achievement icons - Fixed reported typos and dialog issues

[ 2025-03-06 17:07:35 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights and mercs, a new update is trickling down from the gleaming corporate towards the neon-baked streets of New Boston. Update #220 updates the Death Save rules for lower difficulties (allowing mercs to be knocked out of the mission but not die and for missions to fail correctly), added new hotkeys for Timeline manipulation in the Safehouse, improved balance of Matrix Hosts by Faction type, fixed the 1-frame T-Pose at the start of mission deploy, made all higher level Wounds a bit worse and fixed a big pile of F10s. We are hard at work mixing bug fixes, polish, and final rule changes with more big content hits. Last update added a new proc-gen mission object and next update is going to blast a major story - so stay glued to this page. If you are enjoying the relentless pace of additions, please take a moment to leave a review. Remember, you can always edit it later.

Death and Death Save Redo

This change has been coming for a long time - the review thread about it on Discord is old. Tldr; the new Death Save % rules work like you would probably expect unlike the old rules that just made you kind of immortal. (Old Rules) As we like to explain our changes and reasoning in full, I will quickly explain the old system. Every Difficulty had a Death Save % from 100% to 0%. Whenever you take Damage that would reduce you to 0 HP (dead!) and you were already Bleeding Out, your character rolls their Death Save %. If this roll passes, in the old rules, you simply stayed Bleeding Out and gained back some HP, basically "bouncing" back to life. Notably, Difficulties like Brutal and Chrome had 30% or 20% Death Save, meaning you might take a fatal hit and just walk out the other side with more HP than you went in with ... ? (New Rules) Death Save % is rolled whenever you take Damage that would reduce you to 0 HP (dead!) and you were already Bleeding Out to see if you survive the hit. Regardless of the result of your Death Save, you flop on the ground and are knocked out of the mission. The Combat Log shows whether you died permanently or survived by Death Save %. Permanently Dead or Survived Dying, you are knocked out of the mission. This allows missions to fail, even on lower difficulties, without achieving game over or permanent loss of characters. And Death Saves values have been rebuilt for high Difficulties - Normal is now 50%, Hard is 25% and Brutal and Chrome are ... well, sorry to say it, 0%. Of course, you can customize your Difficulty to your heart's content and play any way you like, these are just the starting defaults. So, this does make the game harder. In the case that you are losing a mission or taking deadly hits, you will lose faster and harder than before. But this was always the design and the "everliving zombie" Death Save was a mistake that took too long to correct.

3 New Timeline Hotkeys

Three new bindable hotkeys have been added to make controlling the Safehouse timeline easier. There is Start (V), Stop (B) and Toggle (N) by default. You can rebind them as you please, depending on which ones you want to use. This helps reduce any complicated movement you might have been doing between pause and play, if you like having rapid-fire control over the timeline. In addition, we've improved how the ESC (or B on controller) works in the Safehouse. If the Timeline is running, hitting ESC will stop the timeline where it used to stop the Timeline and open the pause menu. If the Timeline is not running, now it will just open the pause menu. So, ESC functions as a nice Stop Timeline hotkey if it is running.

Better Matrix Balanced Based on Faction

In previous updates, we adjusted the Matrix Host color grading by faction so that Street and Syndicate Factions were prevented from rolling the top colors like Orange, Red or Ultra (this is cyberpunk, ultra is a color!!!!) With Update #220, we've improved this system as well to include the Matrix Q-Sec AI. In the same way that it makes sense that a street gang can't field a Red host, it makes sense that they can't get access to Pit Viper Q-Sec AI. Street Gangs will have access to lower Q-Sec like Boas and Sidewinders, while Syndicates can reach higher, even sometimes (if rarely) fielding a Pit Viper.

All High-Level Wounds - Worse!

In fixing a bug where Brainburnt 1 and Brainburnt 2 were found to be the same level, we completed an analysis of the Wounds that might have matching stats. With this analysis completed, we've ramped up the bad parts of higher level Wounds a bit more and fixed all the duplicates. You're going to have extra incentive to get your Wounds treated early now and "carrying" a Level 4 Wound is just going to hurt more.

Fixed T-Pose in Mission Deploy Screen

For oh-so-long there was a 1-frame T-Pose that you could spot your mercs holding when you first entered the mission deployment screen. It would only happen once per visit to the safehouse and it was fast enough you might think, "Did that really happen?" We are so glad it is fixed!

And More F10s!

Quality and polishing are a big part of what we are working on daily as we head toward launch. This update includes another big wave of F10 fixes, including resolving issues with controllers in Victory/Defeat screen, fixing the duplicated Rarity filter in Cold Storage, resolving the T-Pose in mission deploy and fixing a bug that could cause the game to lock up if your current character was gunned down by enemy Overwatch. Thanks for all your F10s! We are fixing daily.

v1.9.145 - 3/5/2025

- Fixed rules for Death Save - when reaching 0 HP and Bleeding, you go down and roll a Death Save % instead of staying immortal - Survived/Dead is revealed at end of mission for those mercs who went down - Allows Easy/Normal difficulty games to fail missions by mercs being eliminated (dead or survived) - 3 new hotkeys can be bound - Start, Stop and Toggle Safehouse Timeline - Pressing ESC or (B) in the Safehouse will first pause the Timeline if it is running before opening game pause menu - Improved balance of Street/Syndicate/Milsec hosts to ensure they have fair Response Levels as well, Street Gangs cannot field Diamond Cobra RL - Worsened the effect for all higher level Wounds, more reason to get them healed, harder to ignore - Fixed bug where the current character being killed by enemy Overwatch could lock up the game - Fixed issue where Brainburnt Wound Level 1 and 2 were the same - Fixed 1 frame T-Pose appearing first time you load mission deploy screen - Fixed issue with Rarity filter appearing twice in Cold Storage tabs - Fixed controller input issue in Victory/Defeat when a mission is multi-stage the selection could get stuck - Fixed issue with mission deploy and long character lists that could cause the character UI to become misaligned

[ 2025-03-05 22:40:26 CET ] [ Original post ]

Mercs and Knights - another big update is coming to New Boston! With Update #219, we have added an all new new proc-gen objective, +15 new proc-gen combos tied to it, 7 new boss-level enemies to support it, reduced Light Armor protection by ~5%, split Hacking Drugs out from Combat Drugs officially, further improved the new game experience for controllers, and fixed a heaping pile of your F10s! If you are enjoying the relentless pace of updates, content additions and bug smashing - please take a minute to leave a review. The 3 team members on gamedev are working hard to make all this happen, and we work for your reviews!

New Proc-Gen Objective: Hardened Target

Recently, we've switched from trying to release a new map every week to adding new proc-gen objectives instead. New maps will still be coming, but we're less worried about the weekly drop schedule versus dropping a rapid fire set of new proc-gen objectives to completely blow out the variety of proc-gen combat. With Update #219, we've released a new proc-gen objective - the Kill Hardened Target objective, in which you need infiltrate a location and hunt down a single powerful boss enemy. Unlike other Assassinate VIP missions, this Hardened Target is not going to run away - they are going to turn and fight along with their bodyguards. These missions bring a totally new type of challenge to the game whcih really shakes up the assassination formula in lots of ways. The new Hardened Target objective is supported by 7 new types of powerful boss enemies spread across the factions: the corporate Sentinel Exec, the UltraTek 2X Raptor, the Warner-Braun Rook, the Brave Star Phalanx, the FSC Havoc Jackal, the Syndicate Bloodright and the Gang Street Kings. These enemies are boss-level power, with high HP, wide variety of powerful armor, carrying deadly weapons (including E-Rifles for some of the corp options), and a bevy of deadly Talents, depending on the faction in question - grenades, healing grenades, Full Auto, Overwatch, punishing debuffs and even Vita Shields (which block attacks like Aegis) for some of the corporate options.
We're excited in the new few weeks to expand the Hardened Target options to make more specific bosses for every faction, which will continue to punch up and vary the challenge across the mission set. This new objective is now linked to 15 maps, which adds a total of +15 new proc-gen combos, bringing the game's total of combos (map X objective) to 189 - vastly exceeding the original goal of 80!

Light Armor Nerf

This is a straight nerf - no glossy words will hide it. All Light Armor took a -5% Ballistic Protection hit and in many cases a larger hit to Kinetic Protection %. For Kinetic Protection, the new Light Armor progression sees Kinetic Protection fall behind Ballistic as the armors climb in Power Level, where they used to be in lock step (65% and 65% always). This is a bit painful but is an important move to continue to push the correct balance between Light, Heavy and Stealth Armors and their different advantages and disadvantages. We'll be working on improving the Stealth Armor balance in the coming weeks as well to be sure they have a good place within the trio. Going along with this, we've adjusted some of the armor that enemies have been wearing. There were certain series of enemies who stopped upgrading their armor very early, especially Snipers and the guards who start as patrollers on your maps making them too weak in the mid to late game.

Combat vs. Hacking Drugs

For a long time, all the hacker-focused drugs were lumped under the Combat Drugs listing. As each category has grown, it has become more important to separate them both visually, in text and in the filter. With Update #219, we've split out a separate filter for Combat and Hacking Drugs in the market and all inventory screens.

Continued Controller Improvements

We're continuing to gather feedback from controller players and work down the list of items to improve the flow and speed of play on Steam Deck and standalone controllers. With the last update, we rebuilt the New Game Knight screen to be far easier to use with a controller (removing the messy big scroll to replace it with tabbed sections) and now we've enabled LB and RB to move through those sections smoothly without having to use the D-Pad to go back to the tab list.

Long Tables + Out of Date Icons

We've addressed a big issue with the really large tables - like Cold Storage - where sometimes when you scrolled a lot, the icons could start to get mixed up. You might think you're looking at a Scope Blueprint from the picture but when clicked you'd find an Armor Blueprint. This had to do with some of the grid caching we used to make these really long lists perform well but was pretty confusing for players. Now fixed! Thanks for all the F10s about this!

v1.9.141 - 3/1/2025

- Added new proc-gen objective: Assassinate Hardened Target - find and kill boss protected by bodyguards - 15 new maps available for Hardened Target, +15 total proc-gen combos - 7 new powerful enemy boss types: Sentinel Exec, Braun Rook, UltraTek 2X Raptor, Syndicate Bloodright, Gang Street King, FSC Havoc Jackal, Star Phalanx - Light Armor loses 5% Protection across the board, Kinetic Armor gain across Power Levels slows as well - Improved armor values for some patrol and melee enemies who stopped scaling too early, street sniper armors values - Fixed issue with Contacts not buying files that they should that started in #218 - Split Combat Drugs and Hacking Drugs filter in the inventory system so they are easier to see/shop - Can now use LB/RB to move through tabs in New Game Knight screen - easier for controller/keyboard play - Fixed issue where icons could get out of date (showing an armor but it was a scope) in large inventory tables - Fixed case where character's character Hacking Drugs could not see their full details mid-mission in the character status hover - Fixed missing text for killing enemy secondary objective

[ 2025-03-01 18:33:10 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights and mercs, another balance, fix and improve update is dropping today between the weekly big hits of maps and proc-gen objectives and the upcoming big drop of the first Retirement storyline. Today we've got Update #218, which improves Hacker's Null Op Talent (at the cost of more points), adds the Buyer's Filter to Cold Storage ALL tab and fixes bugs with the filtering, fixes Cybersword Preempt Talent always Glancing Hit, rebuilds the New Game Knight screen for better keyboard/controller support, improves higher Power Level Stun Clubs, fixes 2 major story recruit issues where the recruit might end up "hung" and more! It is a big one - a heavy hitter - let's dig in! If you are enjoying the relentless pace of improvements, please take a moment to leave a review. We are climbing on 700 now and excited for every milestone. Let's go!

Hacker's Null Op

We've made a number of changes to improve the Hacker's Null Op Talent. There are a number of changes but the general direction is to make Null Op more powerful but also to increase the cost of its totally upgraded form. With its extra charge and higher Damage output, Null Op is a stronger competitor with Nuke, and has enough charges to be useful outside being saved specifically for spiking the CPU. But now, all in costs a total of 9 leveling points.

• Null Op recharge rate was reduced from 5 to 4. This is still too long to recharge during a single Hack but allows it to be likely ready for a second hack if you have one.
• To increase Null Ops value during a single hack, a new +1 Max Charge node has been added to its second line, which costs 2 points.
• To increase the immediate usefulness of a single Null Op charge, the base damage has gone up from 40 to 60.
• To increase the value of a fully upgraded charge of Null Op, the previous node dedicated to speeding up recharges has been converted to a +25% Dmg node and the other Damage boosting nodes are now +25% and +50%, bringing the total of a fully upgraded Null Op to 90-120 Dmg.

We've also fixed two icons in the left side of the Hacker's class tree that were showing that the upgrade node was for Strength when they were actually for Reaction.

2 Recruit Fixes

We've fixed some lingering recruit issues that have been plaguing players games:

• You could refuse to help the UNA Hacker and find that they stick on your roster. This character will now correctly disappear.
• If you had a potential recruit who came from a story mission and end up Injured (looking at you, Rhino) there was a bug that let you put them into Treatment for their Injury which would later disqualify them from recruitment. This is now fixed! And if you had Rhino stuck in this state, she is now ready to recruit.

Buyer's Filter

We've fixed a number of bugs with the Buyer's Filter where it wasn't always correctly filtering the right results or it wasn't showing all the eligible Contacts. In addition, we've added it to the Cold Storage ALL tab in case that is a place where you wanted to use it and for the future of Bulk Sell that may be most rapidly useful the ALL tab.

Stun Clubs

All Stun Clubs at Power Level 3 and above have had their Power Slice special rules improved with better and better powers. This fixes an oddity where they got better at Power Level 2 but them dropped down again. Now there is a progression from 1 => 2 => 5 => 7, each break stepping up the Power Slice ability a bit.

Power Play Fixes

When we rebuild the Limit Break UI in a recent update, something went bump in the text processor for Power Play offers. The offer was saying "Unknown" instead of the Contact's name. Thanks for all the F10s! Now fixed.

v1.9.139 - 2/26/2025

- Better upgrade path for Hacker's Null Op Talent - better starting damage, higher peak, extra Charge for 2 pts, recharge rate starts at 4 - Added Buyers Filter to the ALL tab within Cold Storage for easier use - Fixed issues with Buyers Filter and Accounts/Blueprints/Files not always showing correct results - Fixed Cybersword Preempt Talent always scoring a Glancing Hit and therefore also never scoring Critical Hit - Split New Game Knight screen into separate sections instead of one long scroll for better keyboard/controller use - Reduce extraneous dialog repeated at extraction zone in hack only missions - Improved progression of special Power Slice abilities for all Stun Clubs - Fixed issue with Rhino Sniper Recruit possibly ending up on your Roster unable to recruit (now can recruit) - Fixed issue where UNA Hacker Recruit could possibly hang around after being rejected (now disappears) - Fixed old bug that allowed you to put Injured Recruits into Treatment which would break their recruiting cycle afterwards - Fixed a bug that was preventing Blueprints from being offered more regularly as mission secondary objective rewards - Fixed issue with Recoil display when previewing attack, game was showing the average result which is confusing - Fixed bug with inability to select scrollbar in Victory/Defeat screen with keyboard/controller - Fixed some Power Play offers showing Contact name as "Unknown" - Fixed issue with Rook Prototype Weapons services selling level 8 E-Rifle at Level 7 service - Fixed issue with 2 Hacker nodes showing as Strength on the tree when they were really Reaction - Fixed bug where movement alerts for getting shot by Overwatch might not show if you started crouched behind cover - Fixed white boxes appearing in timeline history for some items

[ 2025-02-26 18:42:52 CET ] [ Original post ]

Tonight we are issue a big patch to fix bugs, Snipers in T-Pose and the most recent batch of F10s! Thanks for your patience with game issues, we're working hard to resolve everything, polish and improve. If you find and F10 a bug, we will work hard to make sure it doesn't last long! And if it does take a while, no F10 is thrown away until it is fixed. We will get them all eventualy :D Thanks to everyone who left a review after the last 2 big updates with the new loadout system and the new proc-gen objectives. All right - here we go, patch land!

Sniper T-Pose

In all cases, friendly and enemy snipers were spending their idle time in a very rigid T-pose. This was due to some animation corruption during the last build and it is now resolved. We also fixed a bug where some missions like Dead Drop Hit that intend to add a sniper to a level at a certain point would just add a regular enemy soldier.

Timeline Stuck

We had an absolute flood of 10s about a bug that could cause your timeline to suddenly jump and then become non-responsive. This was a bug caused by when a Contact had a Limit Break that offered a Power Play storyline. We've now fixed this - apologies to everyone stuck waiting on this.

New Proc-Gen Objective

We've fixed a few issues with the new proc-gen Infiltrate and Download objective:

• If your mission was made before the overnight hotfix, you might not get paid for the files you download. Hopefully everyone is getting paid now, the fix is in this update as well.
• On the River Street Bridge mission map, no extraction points were appearing. Now they will.
• Pushed Infiltrate and Download up to Power Level 5+ for improved progression placement for the new objective.

Other Mission Fixes

We fixed a number of other issues across a wide set of maps. We fixed a pretty widespread issue where matrix terminals might end up with an SCU not linked to any security devices. This only fixes missions created after this patch, so you might still see it in the short term. We've also fixed a number of missions that had the Hacking tag but didn't have a matrix terminaly - mostly Assassinate VIP missions. And finally, we've fixed a number of places where incoming reinforcements didn't make sense (in the "open field") or where they spun in place after appearing or didn't move at all.

v1.9.133 - 2/23/2025

- Fixed bug with merc and enemy snipers being stuck in T-Pose - Fixed issue in timeline where a Contact Limit Break could cause all buttons to stop working - Bumped Infiltrate and Download proc-gen type up to Team Power Level 5+ - Fixed bugs in River Street Bridge not having extraction point for new Infiltrate and Download mission objective - Fixed issue with Sniper in Dead Drop Hit coming out as a standard soldiers - Fixed dialog at end of Ricksham Drips Power Play incorrectly referencing Rook Prototype weapons - Fixed optional hacking tag accidentally assigned to some Assassination proc-gen maps - Fixed reported issues with frozen reinforcements or reinforcements spinning in place on some spawn points - Fixed reported issues with some Matrix SCU nodes having no security devices connected

[ 2025-02-23 06:15:55 CET ] [ Original post ]

Mercs and Knights - we have a big one hitting the streets tonight in New Boston! A new proc-gen objective has been added along with +15 new proc-gen combos tied to it, we've rebalanced the enemy spawning sets across every faction and the entire game, tweaked the speed of storyline starting at the beginning of the game to give just a little more breathing room, now allow the results of minting a File Set to add +20% influence, improved the Limit Break UI and more! The relentless pace of updates will not stop during Early Access. If you are enjoying the game and/or the updates, please take a moment to leave a review!

New Infiltrate and Download Proc-Gen Objective

For a long time, we've been focusing on the weekly map release. We have now more than doubled the catalog of available proc-gen maps, much to the benefit of the game's depth of content. We are going to continue to add new maps, but we're going to shift some of our time and focus in a new direction - to proc-gen objectives. With Update #217, we've released a new proc-gen objective - the Infiltrate and Download File Set objective, in which you need infiltrate a location and work on finding from 3 to 4 Files that are resident in matrix hosts on the premises. These missions are definitely a new type of challenge and as they are just harder, they only show up at Power Level 4+. This new objective is now linked to 15 maps, which adds a total of +15 new proc-gen combos, bringing the game's total of combos (map X objective) to 174. While we will be doing map releases, they may start to slip from the weekly goal for a while, as we have 5 other new objective types to roll into the game and we'll be hammering through those over the next 5 weeks.

Enemy Variety Improvements

With Update #217, we've adjusted all of the reinforcement spawning groups in the game as well as some of the starting spawn groups. This has gone along with a consolidation and refinement of the underlying enemy catalog, which is going to help us add more enemy variety in more places more easily. In addition, the underlying improvement is going to allow us to add more fine-grained scaling to the enemy catalogs, where specific enemies can start appearing only after certain Power Levels, which will be important for balancing hard-hitting enemies, enemy Turrets and the upcoming drones as well. This set of changes will have the biggest impact on reinforcement groups, which have a much wider and more pleasing range of variety for all factions. There are also a few levels - like Haven Smokeout and Loophole Heist - that have also benefited from better starting enemy variety due to the changes. Along with this change, we've added a new Brave Star sniper known as a Star Longshot. More enemy types will now be easier to add, so we expect bringing a few more on in the next few weeks to keep increasing variety.

Story Speed Tweaked

With Update #217, we've completed a minor rebalance to the speed at which story gets started out of the gate in the game. This does not affect the pacing of Syndicate Debts, but affects the pacing of all the other follow-only story event types (proc-gen, proc-gen legwork, vignettes, recruit offers). The first change was to push the threshold for any story to start proc'ing back by 1 entire day, from 9.5 days to 10.5 days. It is small, but in the compressed timeline of the early game, it makes a difference. The second was to change how the other types of stories were calculating their starting chance to proc every Turn, which was based on Turn 0 instead of the story start point of 9.5 days, meaning all of the stories were very likely to immediately fire at 9.5 days. Finally, we've made minor 5% adjustments to the speed at which new vignettes and recruit offers will roll up a new story. All in all, these are minor changes, and we're going to be very careful with adjustments to story pacing to make sure we're always homing in closer and closer to the perfect pace.

File Set Mints Grant +20% Influence

While Blueprints and Accounts have both offered ways to grant Influence to your Contacts, there has not been a path through Files. With Update #217, we've updated the rules around the File Sets - any File that is minted from a File Set will now add +20% Influence to any Contact who purchases it. This gives extra motivation to collect and mint File Sets at any Rarity.

Limit Break UI Upgrade

We're excited to push an updated Limit Break UI for both Contacts and Characters. This helps the character pop so it's really clear who you are looking at. In addition, you can now hover over the Contact name and details at the top of the windows to get the full hover with all of their Trust, Services and more - which can be a big help in making your choice. We're working on getting a similar hover wired up for mercs too.

Security Tally Visible in HUD

The last update included a bug where the tallies in the HUD disappeared and were replaced with a blue and yellow bar. We have fixed the bug and the individual tally marks are back.

v1.9.127 - #217: New Proc-Gen Objective and Enemy/Story Rebalance - 2/21/2025

- Added new proc-gen objective: Infiltrate and Hack where you hit a facility, reach terminals and search for files - 15 new maps available for Infiltrate and Download, +15 total proc-gen combos - Any File minted by a File Set will add +20% Influence to the Contact who purchases it if sold - Improved and rebuilt enemy reinforcement groups to have more variety, arrive with more specialists - Improved difficulty of Haven Smokeout mission with better spawning variety - Added a Star Longshot sniper enemy to the Brave Star faction (lightly armored, fast-moving sniper) - Adjusted pacing of early game story, pumping the breaks a little (~10%) on speed of start and speed of events - Improved secondary objective goals for Turns and Sec Level on certain levels where they were still too low - Upgraded Hype/Stress/Influence/Exposure Limit Break pop-up - Fixed issue where the Security Tally bar became a big colored bar without tallies

[ 2025-02-21 23:16:32 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights and mercs, we've got Update #216 arriving on the New Boston streets this morning. This one is dedicated to the new Loadout system, which allows you to rapidly save your merc's equipment setup and then swap your equipment to another loadout (making big or small changes) or share that equipment set with another merc altogether. We dive into the details below and have included a demonstration video too! We wanted to send out a big thanks to everyone playing, posting and sharing ideas for how to improve Cyber Knights: Flashpoint during Early Access. Your input goes into updates! Also, a special thanks to everyone who left a review this week.

New Loadout System

[previewyoutube=S2C9iywGS9I;full][/previewyoutube] A loadout is a snapshot save of the current equipment that your merc is carrying - their weapon, the mods on those weapons, their armor, and their items. You can now save this Loadout so that you can swap back to it rapidly. When you save a loadout, you create an equipment record separate from your merc. This is important as it means that (1) changing your merc's equipment afterward does not modify the loadout unless you save your loadout again and overwrite it and (2) you can use this loadout to rapidly swap another merc to that equipment set.
Once you have a saved loadout, any other merc can swap their loadout to that new equipment set. This means they will take the equipment required for that loadout (weapons, mods, armor, and items) from any other merc who is holding them to complete the equipment set. For items and weapon mods, the preference is to pull these off the shelf whenever possible (avoiding taking things from other mercs) but in the case that something does have to be taken, you'll get a list of what will be taken from whom at the bottom of the swap loadout screen. Here are some common use cases we've seen being used in testing:

• Swapping weapons for a single merc - one merc who keeps the same armor and items but swaps guns between mission types (e.g. close-range vs long, quiet vs loud).
• Sharing same equipment between 2 mercs - with only one set of "best Vanguard gear" you are swapping that gear back and forth between your two Vanguards.
• Stealth / Combat Mods and Items - one merc keeps their weapons and armor between mission types but uses different items and weapon mods.
• Item Only Swapping - your merc's weapons, mods, and armor all stay the same but you are swapping between a Dazzler and a Liquefier versus two explosive grenades

As loadouts are tightly tied to the equipment in your current playthrough, they are not shared between saved games.

All Equipment Details in Mission Deploy

You can now see all of your equipment details for your team directly in mission deployment with helpful hovers. You can also quickly swap loadouts without leaving that screen, allowing you to make last-minute equipment adjustments without jumping to the roster. Still, you can jump out to the roster if you need to as usual, but we'd love for you to be able to do most of your tweaking right there.

Loadout Confirmation

There is a warning every time you're going to swap into a loadout - to remind you that you are going to make some changes to your EQ and there is no easy undo. If this warning is too much, you can disable it in options.

Fixed Stress Limit Break Negative Trait Text

We fixed a display only bug where the game text was stating that a Stress Limit Break reduced your negative Trait by 1 level when instead it increased it by one level.

End of Game Screen

In preparation for Retirement and Career Stats, we've now added an official end of game screen. You'll see this game if you try to load a game that has a dead Knight. It is completely empty at the moment, but you can click through to reach the safehouse and see your entire team in detail and use any library functions (saving appearance or training builds) that you'd like.

1.9.125 - #216: Loadout Supreme - 2/20/2025

- Added new loadout system - save and swap rapidly between loadouts on any merc - Loadouts are a definition of all your current Weapons, Weapon Mods, Armor and Items - loadouts only changed when Saving - Improved mission deployment screen to show full loadout, allow swapping of loadouts on mission deployment screen - Loadouts can be used to swap as much (all your EQ) or as little (add/remove Silencer) as you want - Fixed incorrect level in Stress Limit Break display when negative Traits get worse, improved display for Wounds specifically - Fixed incorrect icons in timeline for events sometimes - New empty Game Over screen if you load a game with a dead Knight, in preparation for retirement / career stats

[ 2025-02-20 15:27:06 CET ] [ Original post ]

Tonight, we did a run-down of the most popular current F10s that are jamming up the queues and tried to fix as many as we could. Some of these (like Nano-Stimkit being renamed to "rec") were generating silly numbers of F10s, so they just had to go, now steamfacepalm As there are no new features or content, it isn't going to get an update number. Thanks to everyone playing and especially to everyone taking a minute to send in F10s, we are fixing them every day!

Mouse/Keyboard Rotation Fully Restored

We've also fixed a bug that prevented rotation by mouse or keyboard if your mouse was over any UI element. Sorry that this snuck in, and glad to see it resolved.

Ricksham Drips Storyline

We've made some improvements to the Ricksham Drips missions - the first mission will no longer allow secondary objectives related to Security Level (I won't spoil the reasons those are unfair) and the second is now more clear that your team extraction is locked until Dakota is dropped off. And a host of other F10s, but check the list below for more details!

v1.9.123 - Patch: F10 Round Up - 2/17/2025

- Fixed issue with mouse and keyboard rotation not working if mouse is in HUD - Fixed bug preventing Proximity Mines from exploding in most cases (oops!) - Improved objectives in Ricksham Drip missions - team extract is now shown as locked until you extract Dakota - Prevented Ricksham Drip first mission "Coyote Hotdrop" from allowing secondary objectives for min Security Level - Fixed Nano Stimkit being named "rec" - Fixed inability to upgrade Street Weapon Mods service to Level 4 - Improved a number of matrix host templates including some with incorrect long diagonal connections - Fixed issue with good Contact Trait Calculating being considered negative - Fixed a few faces on which some of the piercings were invisible or badly placed - Fixed typos in Cybersword Preempt Talent

[ 2025-02-18 05:49:49 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome to Sunday evening, mercs and heisters! Let's do Update #215! With this update, we've pushed Stress Limit Breaks into the light so you can't miss them anymore, we've increased the variation of what you can get in a Stress LImit Break including some new temporary negative Traits, added a new negative Trait ability to cause ripples of Stress through your team, fixed a longstanding bug with how Passive Talents could double-activate and waste charges, and improved 2 Talents at the start of a larger Talent polishing project. If you're enjoying the game or the relentless pace of progress, please take a moment to share Cyber Knights: Flashpoint with a friend or leave a review!

Merc Stress Limit Breaks Visible

With Update #215, we've pushed the previously quiet and easy-to-miss Stress Limit Breaks for your mercs into a pop-up window just like Hype Limit Breaks. You don't have any options here other than to acknowledge the unfortunate change in your merc's status. As always the result is written to the timeline event log as well, but this helps promote these important moments in your merc's career with more visibility. We've got some nice changes coming to the Limit Break windows in a near-term release, but they are pending testing and merging, so the window is not the cleanest-looking thing right now, but that's where we are right now. Iterate, improve, go fast!

Updated Stress Limit Break Options

Along with making the Stress Limit Breaks visible, we've improved the list of options that could apply here. First, we've expanded the conditions under which results like increasing Pay Rate or Reducing Loyalty can occur. But we've also added temporary negative Traits to match those temporary positive Traits you can get in Hype Limit Breaks. The new Traits - Disgruntled and Checked Out are options at any point you get a Stress Limit Break while Malcontent and Run Empty are much nastier but will only appear at 6 or more Discontent. Both Disgruntled and Malcontent have a new possible effect on Traits which is to cause Stress ripples within your team. If a merc with these Traits suffers a +10% Stress, they have a % chance to cause another merc in the safehouse to suffer a similar Stress rise.

Fixed Passive Talent Double Up Bug

We've fixed an old bug with how Passive Talents worked. For those Passive Talents with common conditions to activate (Critical Hit, killing a target, etc) they might activate once in a Turn and then later activate again. This lead to the "re-buffing" ruleset which states that if you have a buff and the same buff is used on you again, the duration is extended as if you were just buffed the first time now. For Passive Talents, this is a bad rule set - so we've enforced a check with all Passive Talents. If you have the buff (if you have the Savagery buff up) and you activate the Passive Talent (you kill an enemy which would usually fire Savagery's charge) then the buff doesn't fire. That's nice.

Talent Rebalance - More Coming

As we sprint like a wild band of jackals toward our release date, we're polishing every aspect of that game. A huge shout and thanks to @Phreak who has provided some very useful analysis today about the 145 Talents that are in the game. It is a great prompt to do a full scrub down of the list, improve where we can, focus where we can, and make sure everything is delivering fully. So - more Talent changes, rebalance, buffs and nerfs are going to be coming in the next months. Hold onto your favorites! With Update #215, we've improved the level point costs for Agent EX's Talent, Armor EX. The ending nodes on this Talent were both 2 point cost which was not intentional. And second, we've helped focus the Cyber Knight's Lookahead Talent solely on predicting enemy movement and then slowing down their Move Speed, so the -Initiative debuff that was there has been removed and the Move Speed debuffs have been punched up to -15%.

v1.9.121 - #215: Stress Below the Street - 2/16/2025

- Merc Stress Limit Breaks now pop a confirmation window to show the timing and result of the LB - Stress Limit Breaks can now add 30 day negative Traits: Disgruntled and Checked out (or 6+ Discontent), Malcontent and Run Empty - New negative Traits can "ripple" Stress to other mercs - when a Malcontent Stresses, they make others Stress - Increased conditions in which a merc can Stress Limit Break for Less Loyalty or Pay Raise - Added Trait description to all temporary Traits (negative and positive) - Fixed issue with Passive Buff Talents firing when they are already active on your character (Recoup, Savagery) and wasting charges - Improved Cyber Knight's Lookahead Talent to focus on -Move Speed (max -30%) and not -Initiative (now removed) - Reduced level point cost of Agent EX's Armor EX upgrades 3 and 4 (-1 AP, +1 Charge) to 1 pt instead of 2 - Fixed reported map bugs

[ 2025-02-17 04:41:15 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights and mercs, we heard a rumor that you like updates with new stuff! So, here we go - Update #214 adds 5 new cosmetics to a new facial piercings category, adds a powerful new filter to all Cold Storage tabs, makes some key balance improvements to the Eleventh Hour mission and fixes some old Legwork bugs that have been plaguing the F10 streams and fixes other F10s as fast as we can go. Thanks to everyone sending in feedback, playing the game and especially to the players who left a review since the last update (yesterday)! If you're enjoying the game and the relentless update pace, please take a moment to leave a review to help our small team carry forward.

New Cosmetics: Facial Piercing

WIth Update #214, we've added 5 new cosmetic options and opened up a new style category with Facial Piercings. The first wave of piercings includes an underlip stud, underlip spikes, a center nose ring, and a nose ring on either side. We'll be adding more variations up the nose and to the eyebrows as well, and since you can mix and match within the category you can already start to do some cool things. A huge thanks to everyone sending in F10s with ideas and improvements we could make - we've got more cosmetics coming your way!

Buyer's Filter

We have added a new and helpful filter for your Cold Storage digital items (Accounts, Blueprints and Files). This filter can only be used from the individual lists (we are still working on the ALL support) but can help you see the list of all Contacts who will buy something and rapidly filter down to the Contact of interest. This can be really helpful if you're fishing for Favors (filter to Origami Joe, look for high-value things to sell) or Influence (filter to Potato on Accounts and sell off your high Rarities). The Buyer's Filter was one of our prerequisites for the Bulk Sell feature which will let you get a purchase offer for any item in the list. So now that we've got Buyer's Filter in the wild, we're moving toward the Bulk Sell next to help you rapidly empty your inventory.

Eleventh Hour Balance

In the Eleventh Hour storyline, we had written a branch where the enemy holding the prisoner could be either a Syndicate or Warner-Braun megacorp. For an early game storyline, the difficulty of running into the (RNG selected) Warner-Braun was too stiff and has continually made this mission a tough spot for some players. We've resolved this, ensuring that unless the storyline is added at Team Power Level 5+, the enemy will always be a Syndicate.

Mouse Wheel in Talent Scroll

If you're hitting a point in the Matrix where your Programs, Talents, and Items are rolling off the edge of the screen you'll be either using your mouse wheel or keyboard to scroll the list. The mouse wheel was setup to go in the reverse direction than expected (up should go left). We've fixed this one.

Fixed Legwork Bugs

There were two lingering Legwork bugs that #214 catches up on. There were still some older games suffering from a bug long fixed but the data was still corrupted - in these rare cases, there was a merc who was forever stuck on Legwork. The second bug was on older saved games as well where you might get into a situation where one merc was always stealing credit for another merc's Legwork. Both are now quietly resolved the next time you load your saved game.

v1.9.119 - #214: Underworld Fences - 2/15/2025

- Added new appearance option: Piercings! Pick from below lip stud, spikes or 3 of nose ring positions - Added new Cold Storage Filter for Buyers when looking at Accounts, Blueprints and Files tab - Fixed balancing mistake in Eleventh Hour where the enemy faction could be Warner-Braun far too early in the game (way too hard) - Improved text format for Pure Dmg in Full Auto column to be more clear - Updated icons and graphics for all combat and matrix drugs - Reversed mouse wheel scrolling in Talents on Matrix/main HUD - up goes to the top of the list (left) and down goes bottom (right) - Added more hovers to the Matrix HUD - Fixed bug where a merc's Legwork might feature success/fail dialog in which another merc pretends they did the work (the nerve!) - Fixed bug for some old saved games where merc might be stuck in endless Legwork - Fixed issues with Influence/Exposure display on widescreens

[ 2025-02-16 00:29:33 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights and mercs, the New Boston zone has been too quiet lately. And you know that means heisting. Bob hasn't checked in on the radio? Probably trouble. Joe didn't take his last smoke break? Probably an update. Yep - it is Update #213 with a new and exciting map set in the Boston Harbor, a very powerful new Talent unlocked for Cybersword (Preempt at last!), fixes to how Vanguard's Blend shows movement notifications and some player-requested improvements to overwriting existing entries in your appearance and class bulid libraries. We're hard at work improving the game from every angle - so please take a moment to leave a review and share the game with a friend.

New Weekly Map: A12 Sea Platform

The Boston Harbor is often referred to as the Black Soup, but there are still megacorporate installations on islands and deep sea platforms dotting the dangerous water's surface. Near the infamous Work Isle A12 that was once owned by now demolished Knight Horizon towers the A12 Sea Platform. This tower of metal and neon rises out of the thick, perpetual fog. It is out into these dangerous waters that your next heist might take you! The A12 Sea Platform is our 15th weekly map, pushing the total proc-gen maps up to a grand old 28. This multi-level deep sea platform is split by 2 bridges and features roughly an upper and lower deck. While the Sea Platform offers wide open sight lines for an enterprising sniper it has precious little good cover in open fire fights, meaning you may want to stick close to some of the topside buildings and enclosures. We're hard at work pushing up the variety of mission map content as we march toward release, and the the total proc gen combos (map x objective) now total 159 as this new map adds +8 new combos.

Unlocking Cybersword's Preempt

The Cybersword is getting a major power boost with Update #213 and the unlocking and unleashing of Preempt. This melee Overwatch Talent allows you to cover a solid chunk of territory near yourself an interrupt enemies who might try to move and shoot. This is the deadly one-two punch that a Cybersword can deliver, once they are close enough they can setup to Preempt and because melee attacks are guaranteed to at least land a Glancing Blow, they are sure to stop any enemy in their tracks. Unlike other variations of Overwatch, Preempt will move your Cybersword up to your target's position (like they Slashslid) and you can only get a single reaction attack regardless of the number of AP you have at the time of using Preempt. This balances out Preempts brute power of always hitting, limiting the number of times you can use this devastating ability to lock down an enemy. When completely upgraded, Preempt gives significant range! See below -
With the next series of updates, we're going to be wrapping up the remaining unfinished Talents (Vanguard Taunt and Hacker Stemlocker) and making a few final adjustments to the class trees.

Fixing Blend Movement Alerts

For a long time, the Vanguard's Blend Talent was failing to put up any movement alerts. That was pretty sneaky because Blend cancels the second you start moving, which means you're going to be seen, heard, and shot! We've stopped Blend's lying spree and now all of the movement alerts are correctly included when you're Blending and stationary. Hey, if you get spotted, just Blend again when you get where you're going steamhappy

Overwrite Library Entry

If you want to overwrite an existing Library entry for a class build or an appearance, you can now easily do so by simply typing the name again into the text field and clicking Save. Previously, if a duplicate name was detected, the UI prevented saving. Now it will pop up a confirmation to overwrite the existing entry. This can make updating appearance, and class builds a much smoother experience.

Minor Story, Map and Text Issues

With #213, we've also continued the constant fight against the incoming F10s. Over 40 F10s reporting little mistakes in our storywriting or dialog, typos, and minor map issues have been cleaned up with this update.

v1.9.117 - Weekly Map Release: A12 Sea Platform + Cybersword Preempt - 2/14/2025

- Added new proc-gen map "A12 Sea Platform": a neon-lit fortress in the perpetual fog of the Boston Harbor, supports +8 new proc-gen combos (Heist a CPU, Steal 3 Files, Scavenger, Kill 3 Captains, Bodyguard, Assassinate VIP, Battle Striker, Siege) - Unlocked Cybersword Preempt Talent - melee Overwatch is short range, only 1 strike, but clamp down your enemy's ability to move/shoot - Fixed issues with Vanguard's Blend Talent not showing correct movement alerts (you will be seen!) as it cancels immediately upon moving - Easy overwrite saved item for Appearance and Training Library by using the same name and clicking Save - Fixed typos, reported map issues and minor story bugs

[ 2025-02-14 21:18:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello, Knights! It's time for another CKF Community Challenge. We did something different in December with the Giving Gifts event, but we are back to our more "regular" challenges that change up gameplay. This time we want to challenge you to run with a limited roster. This will make injuries and wounds more impactful and lead to some tough decisions on what missions to take, when to take them, etc.
After talking with some of our community members about the best way to implement this challenge, we have one specific requirement to ensure that you run with a limited roster: - Your barracks must be no higher than level 2 Depending on where you are in your current game, having a limited roster may require starting up a new campaign if your barracks is already upgraded to level 3 or above. You are not required to start a fresh game though if your barracks meets the requirement above.
As always, most of the fun of community challenge is what you all share about how your tackle them! Here are some ideas for what you could share: - Who you prioritize (what jobs, etc) when your roster is limited - Your strategies for juggling injuries, etc when you have less mercs - How your playstyle changed from your 'normal' to accommodate this challenge - Any other creative ways you want to share to tell us about your team: memes, interpretive dance, gifs, etc No matter what you choose to share, please share screenshots of your barracks showing us that it is level 2 (or unupgraded)! Weve opened up a discussion here on Steam in the General Discussion forum for aIl of your posts. If you post in our Discord, head to #limited_roster_challenge to join in on the conversation! Look forward to seeing how you all tackle this challenge! As always at the end of the challenge, we'll be back with a wrap up and a few highlights!

[ 2025-02-11 18:30:44 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights and mercs! We've got an update that is dedicating to batching a bunch of hotkey and options requests from the player base! With Update #212, we've added middle mouse panning, a swap weapons hotkey, fixed the oddity in End Action hotkey behavior, added a Zoom Sensitivity option, fixed Ricksham Drips bugs with the end of the second mission, completed a wave of balance improvements and refocusing of Contact Traits and renamed the Loadout tag to the Under Equipped to be more clear about exactly what it means. This is a big package of changes all directly linked to community requests - so thanks for playing, posting feedback to help us improve during Early Access and especially a big thanks to everyone leaving a review!

Middle Mouse Button Click to Pan

We've added the often requested feature of click-and-hold for camera panning. We've bound it to middle mouse button as a default as that is most common request. If you've already customized your hotkeys, you'll need to set this manually it in the Options > Controls > Keybindings - Mission screen. You can bind this to any key or mouse button if you'd like to use it like "hold V to pan" etc. There is also an option that helps control the speed of panning when using this click-and-hold mode, as your mouse sensitivity can have a big impact on how fast you go flying across the screen ;) We've set the starting value pretty low, which works for the widest set of configurations but you can crank it up or down even more.

Zoom Sensitivity Slider

Under Options > Gameplay, you can now adjust the sensitivity on zoom in and out. Go fast, go slow - up to you!

Swap Weapons Hotkey

We've added a new hotkey for swapping weapons. By default it is bound to J. If you've already customized your hotkeys, you will need to set it manually if you want to use it in the Options > Controls > Keybindings - Mission screen. Thanks to everyone who F10'd this request!

End Action Hotkey Behavior Change!

We've made an important change to how the End Action hotkey works. To put it simply, if you used the hotkey for End Action (not the HUD button, only the hotkey) AND your merc could possibly Delay Action, then the merc would delay. The hotkey would only End Action if you had no AP left. This oddity leads to a steady stream of F10s and can lead to wasted time if you wanted the merc to End Action (and therefore pushed End Action hotkey, not Delay Action hotkey) ... but you delayed anyway and had to therefore finish their action again later. However, we know this is a pattern that some players really like. In order to support players who like the old pattern, we've added an option to the Options > Gameplay section that allows you to enable this "legacy" behavior for that one specific hotkey. By default, we've upgraded everyone to having End Action and Delay Action hotkeys work exactly like the buttons in the HUD instead of having separate functionality.

Rickshamp Drips Coyote Drop Off

There was a bug in Ricksham Drips Power Play's second mission that has been coming in hot on so many F10s. If the VIP extracted at the terminal and the next character in the Initiative Timeline is a merc instead of an enemy, this could cause a screen lock up. This is now fixed! Our apologies to everyone who was stuck with this last week.

Better Contact Traits

We've made a first big pass at improving Contact Traits with Update #212. We've hit 8 big Traits that needed it the most but we'll be working through the entire Contact Trait list. The goal here is to increase their focus - Contact Traits will have less overall bonuses and penalties but will have bigger values for the ones that they do have. This helps makes Traits cleaner and clearer and have more hefty impact. This also means that Traits that had a mix of positive and negative impacts are going to often be shifted more toward either fully positive or fully negative, and the ability for a Contact to get an interesting "mixed bag" of effects will be driven by multiple Traits and not single (overloaded, spaghetti) Traits. With this update, we've adjusted Greedy, Impatient, Generous, Calculating, Uninspiring, Easy to Please and Fast-Splice. All are now focused around their key concept. Impatient used to modify sale prices, mission prices, cause the Contact to prefer secondary objectives around speed and shorten mission deadlines ... now the Impatient Contact just prefers speed secondary objectives and shortens all their mission deadlines. In addition, we've also rebuilt Steady Hand Trait from the ground up as a new Fast-Patch Trait that matches Fast-Splice. Each one now focuses on a single aspect - the speed of medical recovery for Fast-Patch and the speed of cybernetic surgery recover for Fast-Splice. All other confusing counter effects (such as reducing cost while increasing time required) have been removed.

Under Equipped Tag

As the full loadout system is coming quite soon, we've renamed the tag "Loadout" to "Under Equipped" so it is more clear what is going on. This has nothing to do with a loadout (which is a set of equipment that can be easily traded between mercs) but instead is just a warning that you are missing mission critical equipment (like a weapon, armor or cyberdeck).

v1.9.115 - Update #212: Options and Hotkeys - 2/8/2025

- Added click-and-hold to pan camera, defaulting to middle mouse button and sensitivity slider in Options > Gameplay - Added new Swap Weapons hotkey, defaulting to J - Changed behavior of hotkey for End Action (ENTER) to simply End Action. If you want End Action hotkey to Delay if allowed, added new Option > Gameplay for this "legacy" behavior - Added new Camera Zoom Sensitivity Slider in Options > Gameplay - Fixed bug in Ricksham Drips that could cause the game to lock up if the VIP extracted and another merc was the next to act - Simplified and focused Contact Traits (less buff/debuffs by count but bigger buff/debuff): Greedy, Impatient, Generous, Calculating, Uninspiring, Easy to Please, Fast-Splice - Replaced Steady Hand Contact Trait with Fast-Patch which focuses solely on reducing medical recovery time - Improved "Loadout" tag to now read "Under Equipped" to be more clear and accurate - Fixed Salvage Job Leverage for CCAC Hover Drop to correctly require a High-Risk Transporter - Fixed description of "Big 6" megacorporations incorrectly including KEMCO - Fixed Sniper dialog line being attributed to the Face

[ 2025-02-09 03:08:52 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights and mercs, we are back with another weekly map release for Update #211. Here at Trese Brothers HQ, we are grinding up a number of the big boulders in our roadmap, so the updates are coming a little slower and more of the hours are on big stories, retirement, translation and other key roadmap goals. Still - we've got good stuff coming to ya! Update #211 adds a new map and another +8 proc-gen combos as well as fixing issues with the Ghoul storyline, improving a number of maps and fixing some bugs with Contact services. If you're enjoying the relentless pace of updates and improvements, please take a moment to leave a review. It is a full team effort form our small studio to keep an Early Access going this fast and to try to be constantly present to chat, listen and improve!

New Weekly Map: Restricted Fab

A devilish purple glow, pools in the shadows of the corporate fabrication sight, its lights casting the facility in an eternal and utterly unnatural twilight. Yep - it is another week, another map as we continue to the march to endless content from the proc-gen engine. Some really big moves are coming in this space to blow up the amount of available content again, so stay tuned. The Restricted Fab is our 14th weekly map, pushing the total proc-gen maps up to 27. This tightly wound but highly interconnected industrial zone allows for some very creative routing and pathing as you strike out for your objectives or to avoid security and patrols. The Restricted Fab was designed with an asymmetrical panopticon stronghold in the center, provides a foil for its sister map, Decommissioned Core. Both maps feature a central stronghold but work very differently. It is very cool to see the total proc gen combos (map x objective) now exceed 150 as this new map and the +8 brings us to 151. We were looking back on the original ENDLESS milestone update where we released proc-gen and found this nice piece that reminds us just how far we've come in a year (there were 7 proc-gen combos!): ... While the catalog of options is still small today (3 maps + hacking map) and objectives are limited (2 total today) ...

Ghoul Appears

We've fixed the story issues where Ghoul never appeared in the Contact list no matter how much you might have hated or worked for him. This is now resolved and he will appear pretty early on, once you're aware of him through the different Origin story branches.

Fixed Anti-Security Service Stuck

There was a bug preventing the Anit-Security Item service on Contacts from upgrading to its max at level 3. Every time you tried to upgrade, it would just stay at Level 2. Now fixed for next LImit Break near you!

Proc-Gen Fixes

With this update, we've fixed the recurring double dialog trigger for assassination missions again. We're continue to work on how to fix this permanently so that it won't pop up every time we make a certain type of mistake adding a new map. We're improving our process to double-check for that mistake, so notably, Restricted Fab doesn't include this bug again. We've also fixed a ton of "open field" spawns where enemies could appear farther away from a door or elevator than is expected. Reinforcements always arrive with a reason, so if you see an issue where they seem to drop in without one, please F10.

v1.9.111 - Update #211: - 2/5/2025

- Added new proc-gen map "Restricted Fab": a interconnected industrial area that supports +8 new proc-gen combos (Heist a CPU, Steal 3 Files, Scavenger, Kill 3 Captains, Bodyguard, Assassinate VIP, Battle Striker, Siege) - Fixed issue with Ghoul not appearing in Contact list after appearing in the story - Fixed issue with Anti-Security Item service refusing to upgrade to level 3 (max) - Fixed open field spawn issues in multiple maps - Fixed double trigger of assassination dialog

[ 2025-02-05 16:19:57 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights and mercs, we're here with Update #210, which is a really good one - fixing Power Play issues, optimizing the game and improving character Attributes plus fixing some F10s. Thanks to everyone playing and posting feedback, we're hard at work expanding the game (new Syndicate Debts storylines and map just this week) and are running headlong for the next story and map expansion already. If you're enjoying the game and the relentless pace of update, please take a moment to leave a review to help us keep rocking this Early Access.

Improved Attribute Bonuses

With Update #210, we've tuned up Will and Strength bonuses where their ratios were too weak to make enough of a meaningful difference in character build. Attributes are one of many sources that build up your character, and are provided by your class tree, Traits and by some cybernetics. For Update #210, we've improved Will by increasing its ratio to 2% Stress Res per 1 Will (from 1% per 1 Will). For Strength, we've improved the ratio to -2% Recoil gen per 1 Strength (from -1% per 1 Strength).

Fixed Power Play Hang Ups

Up to now, there have been a few well-hidden snags in the story system that were limiting the appearance of Power Play storylines in Limit Breaks more than they should be limited. We've now removed all of the ones that we could find and that were pointed out in F10s with Update #210, and now the Power Play storylines should flow. Part of this fix is to resolve an issue with how proc-gen storylines were "hanging on to" Contacts way longer than needed. This kept them assigned to the proc-gen story and prevent them from joining another storyline (such as Power Play). We've also fixed a few state checks that were just reducing the changes that Fadelight Blades and Ricksham Drips Power Plays could possibly attach to your Contacts via the Casting Directory. A big thanks to everyone who provided F10s to help us resolve this!

Shader Optimizations

We are excited to have completed a big batch of optimization within the game and are pushing it live with Update #210. Shader variant compilation is a big part of the time of building an update and are what the game need to load into the GPU to render all of the 3D assets. With some clever changes, isolating some expensive parts of shaders into new more limited shaders - we have been able to reduce the total number of compiled shader variants needed by the game by over 75%. On one such shader type, we went from over 25,000 shaders variants to 3,300. This will both speed up the build time for updates (we can go faster!??!) and has some positive impact on memory footprint and load time for the game.

Other F10s!

With Update #210, we hit a few more F10s. We've continued to clean up the new Syndicate Debts content, rewriting some confusing dialogs, fixing a few more misattributions and of course, typos. We also found an odd bug in the animation stack for feminine characters carrying shotguns. This made their faces squeeze extra skinny. Very odd but now fixed! And we fixed a confusing fail clause that had gotten accidentally attached to the Thumb on Snitch Legwork.

v1.9.107 - Update #210: Shader RIPs - 1/31/2025

- Increased Will bonus to give +2% Stress Res per 1 Will - Increased Strength bonus to give -2% Recoil gen per 1 Strength - Fixed bugs that could prevent Fadelight Blades or Ricksham Drip Power Plays from connecting to a Contact - Fixed issues with proc-gen cleanup holding on to Contacts too long and preventing them from Limit Break or Power Play - More Power Play and story missions give improved XP over other missions - Major shader optimization - reduced shader variant count by 75%, faster load times - Fixed confusing fail clause in Thumb on Snitch Legwork - Fixed animation bug that was squishing some characters heads by 10% when carrying a shotgun

[ 2025-01-31 21:15:30 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights and mercs, ok ok - so hear me out. We know we did new fun stuff just yesterday but we were thinking ... it's time for new fun stuff again! Update #209 drops another weekly mission map, adds a new type of navigation challenge to the Matrix with the Sluice node, continues the series of fixes for the new Syndicate Debts content, and fixes a set of F10s we targeted for this week. If you're enjoying the relentless pace of updates and improvements, please take a moment to leave a review. It is a full team effort form our small studio to keep this Early Access absolutely hopping with new new new, so please review review review steamhappy

New Weekly Map: Cyber Clinic

Another week, another map, and the game grows again. The Cyber Clinic is our 13th weekly map, pushing the total proc-gen maps up to 26 now. This smaller map is a raid on a night time corporate space and offers some cool new challenges and themes:

• Area denial is big within Cyber Clinic due to the presence of multiple Bio-Scan Fields. Even if you are going loud, you're still going to want to think about these security devices as they can add a lot of Tally (+6 per trip).
• Prevalent Level 2 Security devices (the Bio-Scanners) cannot be targeted by Talents but are all connected to the main matrix host.
• The smaller map has a honeycomb style, allowing for many ways to pass through the same area, giving good options to dodge devices and patrols.
• As a smaller map, it has high enemy and high loot density as well as featuring a Gold Key room.

The new Cyber Clinic map grand total of 26 proc-gen maps and adds an additional +8 proc-gen combos, we're now at 137 combinations of objective type and map ni the proc-gen system. Very exciting!

New Matrix Node: Sluice

The new Matrix Sluice node converts all connections in and out of ithe node nto one-way connections, indicated by the scrolling set of arrows. Sluice can appear in many configurations using up to all 4 connections with each one being individually set to only-in or only-out connections. This creates a new navigation type of challenge, where you may have to take a dive through a Sluice and be unable to return except by another path.
We've added the first 4 new matrix templates that include the Sluice and more will be coming.

Further Updates and Fixes for Syndicate Debts

We're excited at how many players could resume their pause nodes and jump into at least some of the Syndicate Debts storyline. We've also seen a big spike in new games started, so that is cool that the invitation to experience the story from another direction has many of you taking a second look at a new game. With Update #209, we've continued to make fixes for different aspects of the new story content - from misattributed dialog lines to typos and to small mission map and dialog improvements. Thanks to everyone hitting F10!

F10 Fixes!

For map fixes, we've fixed lingering terminals that were broken in Trucker HQ and Req Site. We've fixed your ability to easily scroll the File pick list when changing files you choose for a File Set. We've fixed issues with drone dead bodies disappearing or locking up the game and also an issue with hover outlines sometimes lingering for dead bodies.

v1.9.105 - Update #209 - 1/29/2025

- Added new proc-gen map "Cyber Clinic": a small area of denial map with high loot and enemy density and featuring Gold Key area that supports +6 new proc-gen combos (Heist a CPU, Steal 3 Files, Scavenger, Kill 3 Captains, Bodyguard, Assassinate VIP) - Added a new type of Matrix node Sluice from which all connections are one-way presenting new navigation challenges - Added 4 new large and medium matrix templates feature Sluice nodes - Fixed issue with inability to scroll while picking Files to replace in File Set - Fixed issue with drone bodies disappearing or locking game - Fixed issues with lingering outline on dead bodies - Fixed issues with broken matrix terminals in some cases in Req Site and Trucker HQ - Fixed typos, missing words and misattributed dialog lines

[ 2025-01-29 21:42:03 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights and mercs, we are here with a big story update for the Syndicate Debts origin story. To avoid spoilers, we are going to go light on descriptions for this update, so it will be short. Don't worryyou know our pace of updatesthere will be more soon! If you're excited to see us growing the story content for the game, please take a moment to leave a review and help us celebrate! You can always edit your review later if needed.

Syndicate Debts Story Branches Fleshed Out - Pause Nodes Removed!

Two branches of the Syndicate Debts storyline have long been on pause, hanging at the end of your timeline without the ability to complete them. Update #208 activates each of these timeline events and moves them forward immediately. Depending on where you are in the timeline of your career, this may feel a little jarring or "too late". Which makes total sense, but our commitment to you is to get you the content if we can. You may find that one of the branches has passed you by due to actions you've taken but the other should always be available. It will appear soon in your timeline for any current save. If you're new to the game and haven't seen these yet, then you'll encounter these story branches organically as you make choices and get deeper into the game. There's still a bit more capstone content for Syndicate Debts to come later this week, and we're looking forward to adding new storylines as we approach our full launch later this spring.

And Bug Fixes!

And we've fixed a few bugs to go along with Update #208.

• Fixed issue with Syndicate Debts legwork delay - if the timeline event isn't going away, try one more time!
• Fixed issue where a merc's Extraction button might not light up if they were the sole merc in the zone
• Fixed bug where reinforcements might get stuck and prevent the game from moving forward in some levels

v1.9.101 - Update #208: Syndicate Storylines - 1/28/2025

- Updated Syndicate Debts storyline to complete all Syndicate Debts pause nodes - Hunt down the previous Knight's Sniper across the NBZ to get your answers - Uncover Octane's secrets and consider siding with her rival - New missions, new options, new allies, new enemies! - Fixed issue with Syndicate Debts Legwork delay never going away (start it, reject it again) - Fixed issue where the Extraction button for individual mercs might not light up - Fixed bug that might cause enemy reinforcements to lock up or freeze the game on some maps

[ 2025-01-28 21:48:00 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights and mercs, it's another update your favorite fast moving Early Access cyberpunk heist game! Tonight we are rolling out a package of fixes, rebalances and tweaks before the next big thing. We've adjusted how Revolver crafting interacts with your mod limitations, allowed you to delay the Warner-Braun Era legwork (like others), added highest and lowest turn marks to the load game screen, fixed bugs preventing auto-extraction from always working, rebalanced from Grip weapons, and fixed some typos and map issues. It's a busy one, polishing up the game to be always better. If you enjoy the relentless pace of improvements around here, please take a moment to leave a review and help us continue this Early Access journey.

Revolver Crafting Mods

Revolvers are a special weapon class of pistol that do not allow any weapon mods that reduce sound (Suppressors) or increase ammo capacity. For a long time, this limitation has been shown in the last step of weapon crafting when you were attaching secondary mod blueprints, which made it frustrating. We have adjusted the select secondary blueprint window now to be very clear when something is incompatible and prevent you from selecting it at all.

Delay Warner-Braun Era Legwork

As the game's timeline and events have filled up and become so much more busy, it is clear that Legworks always need the option to be delayed, so you can check your team status, consider some things and get your mercs (ducks?) in a row before committing. With this in mind, you can now delay the Warner-Braun Era starting Legwork like many others.

Highest and Lowest Turn Marks

To help keep screens consistent, we have now added the same Lowest and Highest turn markers to the save slots shown in the main menu load game screen that you can see once you are in game looking at the load and save menus. This helps keep everything on the same page and lets you use the markers you are used to everywhere.

Auto Extraction Improvements

We fixed a number of issues with auto-extraction where the team would not auto-extract when expected. This was caused to a few mistakes in some math and timing about when we were checking if the entire team was in the box. This is now resolved so we check at the right times and can reliably ensure extraction occurs when all the mercs are inside the glowing square.

Red Mist Event Bug

The Power Play mission Red Mist Event had an issue that would prevent it from being reloaded once the VIP had arrived on the field. This is now resolved and if you were stuck trying to get back into this game and getting a never-ending black screen - your bug is fixed!

Weapon Mod Improvements

We've improved a few more weapon mods, specifically the V-Grip, D-Grip and Vindicator Grip that were too close or exactly the same as other mods in the set. We're continuing to work across this entire set to ensure all mods at all levels are competitive and fun, so thank you for sending in the F10s that help point out where we've missed the mark. And there is of course more - but take a look at the full changelog for everything!

v1.9.99 - Update #207: Springboard - 1/27/2025

- You can now delay of Warner-Braun Treaty '31 Legwork like other Legworks - Fixed bug that could prevent RED MIST EVENT mission from reloading once the VIP was deployed (black screen) - When crafting Revolver Blueprint, incompatible mods are now marked as such early and prevent selection - Added Highest and Lowest Turn notes to the main menu load game screen - Buffed several mods that were not in correct progression: V-Grip, Heavy D-Grip, Vindicator Grip - Fixed all MatrixLink and Matrix descriptions in Cybernetics recommendations - Fixed several props that were not showing up as granting cover - Fixed issues with auto-extraction when entire team is in extraction zone - Fixed issue with Motion Detector where movement alerts vs. real detection were different about enemies blocking sight line (they don't) - Improved display of class icons in Matrix for multi-class characters - Fixed bugs with Patch-X Kit armor repairing item

[ 2025-01-27 22:45:09 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights and mercs, it is Sunday in the New Boston zone, and you know a heist is happening somewhere. Actually, quite a few heists steamhappy Update #206 rolls out expanded save slots (now 10 instead of 4), three big changes to how Contact Limit breaks pace, order and roll their options, really fun up-balance for E-Rifles and Shotguns and some F10 fixes to boot. If you are enjoying the relentless pace of updates around here, and think perhaps this is how Early Access should be, please do take a minute to leave a review. We are working hard to keep this EA period a constant stream of improvements and hope you'll help us share that widely!

Expanded Manual Saves to 10

With the UI split out into dedicated save and load menus, it is a good time to follow up with some extra improvements. With Update #206, we've expanded the count of Save Slots you can save into from the starter 4 to a big set of 10. You can scroll in the UI to save wherever you like! Looking forward from here, remaining Early Access improvements in this area will allow for rapid quick-save and quick-load hotkeys, as well as deleting and renaming slots.

Contact Limit Breaks - Logjammer

With Update #206, we've followed up on the good work from Update #203 and a lot of player feedback we've been hearing recently. This boils down into 3 important changes for Contact Limit Breaks.

• We have improved the prioritization and weighting of the options rolled for the Limit Break. This vastly improves the chances of getting Service upgrades as soon as you spend any Favors to steer their decision.
• We have tuned up the underworld simulator that schedules Limit Breaks for Contacts so that it will increase its pace if a logjam is detected. If there are more than half a dozen Contacts all waiting to complete their Limit Break, they're going to hit faster until it clears the jam.
• In Update #203, we enforced a nearly-strict order of the queue to be first-in-first-out (FIFO). This put a priority on the timing of getting above 80% Influence or Exposure but did not differentiate between 80%, 90% and 100%. With Update #206, we've tightened up these rules so that it is FIFO within Influence or Exposure bands. Therefore, anyone at 100% queues in FIFO order, and if there is no one at 100%, then 90%, etc. So, pushing a Contact to 100% Influence is the sure way to help them get to their break fastest.

Looking forward from here, we'll continue to expand the options of choices that Contacts can tap for friendly and unfriendly Limit Breaks as well as built out more Power Play storylines and service upgrade opportunities. Check out the Contacts page on the wiki for more details about other Contact rules.

E-Rifle Ammo Switcheroo

E-Rifles starting ammo configuration has been 3 Ammo per Reload and 4 Reloads total. We are excited to swap these two numbers, with all E-Rifles now upgrading to 4 Ammo per Reload and 3 Reloads total. This is still 12 shots total for your E-Rifles but has major advantages to Full Auto fighters, to anyone using Ion Batteries (getting 4 instead of 3 out of each use), and for weapon mods as well that add to Reload total, getting more for each addition.

Shotgun Ranging

We've addressed some balance issues with Shotgun to help them be an overall more appealing class. They are very effective today at what they do well (Armor Shredding, some like to say melting!) and in-your-face damage. The rebalance is all to their advantage, compressing the progression of Max Range so it happens faster (adding +1m at Power Level 2 and 4) as well as tightening up the Optimal Range value for all levels of Shotguns so it simply is 3 less than Max Range.

v1.9.97 - Update #206: Pinnacle - 1/25/2025

- Expanded number of manual save slots from 4 to 10 - Fixed issue with keyboard or mouse sometimes not working when loading save slots - Improved priority weighting to highly prioritize Service upgrades for Limit Break offers granted by spending Favors - Contact Limit Breaks will occur more rapidly if a crowd is all waiting - Exact ordering for Contact Limit Break out of the queue now prioritizes 100% over 90% over 80%, then sorts by ready date - Improved E-Rifles to have 4 ammo and 3 reloads (vs. 3 ammo and 4 reloads) - still 12 shots but better for Ion Charger, Full Auto, Mods - Increased Max Range by +1m for Shotguns Power Level 2 and 4 to speed up their range progression - Increased Shotgun Optimal Range up by +1 at a number of levels so it stays consistently 3m below Max Range and keeps low Accuracy penalties at so called "long" shots - Fixed issue with Zombie Origins Legwork not applying injury if failed - Fixed report map issues

[ 2025-01-26 16:00:36 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights and mercs, we are back with another weekly map release for Update #205 and a heap of really nice improvements to the Cold Storage File and File Sets tab, as well as 12 adjusted high-Rarity weapon mods, Steam Trading Cards releases, reworked Syndicate Debts Legwork flow, adjusted mission payments offers and more. If you are enjoying the game and our relentless update schedule to keep this Early Access phase alive and happening, please take a moment to leave a review. We are a tiny studio and every review helps!

New Weekly Map: Hovertruck Repair Depot

At this point, we're feeling very much like clockwork. For 13 weeks with only one fail, we have delivered a new mission map! This week, the clock has completed Hovertruck Repair Depot which presents some new level design and challenges.

• This industrial center is split into a three-lane design with the center lane featuring multiple smaller chokepoints at strategic bridges.
• The Hovertruck repair platform gives a high point that grants a commanding view over the main lane, either for defense or in support of a push through that area.
• In the variations where a Gold Key room is available, a matrix host may appear in the Gold Key area, presenting a rich looting opportunity, but tied to the challenge of hacking.
• While it is a medium-sized map, the Hovertruck Repair Depot plays like a smaller map as your action is compressed into one of the lanes once you leave the open areas at either end.

The new Hovertruck Repair Depot brings us to a grand total of 25 proc-gen maps added during Early Access. This hits another major content goal on the dev Roadmap. let's see what can we do to celebrate? More objective types? With an additional +8 proc-gen combos, we're now at 137 combinations of objective type and map ni the proc-gen system. Very exciting!

Syndicate Debts Legwork Flow

We are edging closer to completing the Syndicate Debts storyline; another precursor is fixing its early Legwork flow. With Update #205, we've wrapped up that part of the work and are releasing it today.

• Improved conversation flow with Octane in the first discussion
• The Legwork options after the first discussion are no longer mutually exclusive (you can do both)
• You can choose to delay one or both of the Legwork options until a later date and pick them up when ready

You can read more about all the storylines currently in the game on the Storylines page of the Cyber Knights: Flashpoint wiki.

File Set and File List Improvements

Files that are included in a set are now highlighted with a green "In Set" tag. This helps these Files visually identifiable and perhaps even more helpful, makes those without the tags instantly visible.
In the same way, we've added a yellow tag that identifies those Files that have a Use Action. These are often the most valuable Files or Files that you are want to use for their result, so having them tagged can help you locate them or avoid accidental sales.
When considering what Files to feed into a File Set for minting, the price of each individual file is now shown in the pick lists to make it easier for you to gauge the range of values that the File Set is offering. If a File Set cannot be Minted due to your Cold Storage level, we're now making this much more obvious early in the process by graying out the File Set's progress bar and putting a text warning at the top of the File Set's description. This can help you avoid making all the decisions about what Files to slot into your Mint only to discover (far too late) that you cannot Mint the set. We have also fixed some crashes and Ui oddness that could occur if you Minted the same File Set twice in a row without reselecting anything in the UI. And we fixed some simple round-off errors where your % chance of getting a specific Rarity might have added up to 99% (33% x 3) instead of 100%.

Scav, Siege and Battle Striker Pay

We have fixed a bug that was causing Scav missions to be offered a hefty payment from the Contact. We have also rebalanced the mission payment for Battle Striker and Siege to be more generous, considering the danger of these missions.

Weapon Mod Fixes

We've completed a full sweep of Weapon Mods that are above Rarity Common to ensure that they are all properly differentiated. We found 10 more mods that had been missed, including the Blackout Magazine, Phaser Magazine, Excalibur Drum, Fang Heavy Magazine, Throngler Drum, Oppressor Magazine, Anvil Recap, Rapier Recap, Atlas Recap, Heavy Ion Booster, Nimbus Ion Booster, Pangolin Ion Booster. Now we can really appreciate their Rarity steamhappy

Steam Trading Cards

We're excited today to publish the Steam Trading Cards, Emojis, Badges and Profile Backgrounds. You'll get cards automatically for playing, so start collecting today! Steam Achievements will be next on the list.

v1.9.95 - Update #205: - 1/22/2025

- Added new proc-gen map "Hovertruck Repair Depot": a three-lane zone featuring a Gold Key area, special matrix host, and one shortcut lane locked behind a Blue Key that supports +8 new proc-gen combos (Heist a CPU, Steal 3 Files, Scavenger, Kill 3 Captains, Bodyguard, Assassinate, Siege and Battle Striker) - Improved flow of Syndicate Debts Legwork - no longer mutually exclusive, allows delay - Files in Cold Storage now include tags for "In Set" and "Use Action" to help make this more clear at a glance - File Set UI that allows you to pick the Files you want to mint now shows the estimated price of each file inline - File Set list indicates which File Sets cannot be Minted due to Cold Storage limits by graying out the Set - Fixed crashes that could occur when minting two of the same File Set back to back - Fixed roundoff errors in File Set calculation (where 3/3 Epic in a File Set could result in 99% instead of 100%) - Steam Trading Cards Released! - Improved mission payment offers for Siege and Battle Striker proc-gen mission objectives - Fixed bug where Scav proc-gen missions were being offered payment - Improved high Rarity AR mods: Blackout Magazine, Phaser Magazine, Excalibur Drum, Fang Heavy Magazine, Throngler Drum, Oppressor Magazine - Improved E-Rifle mods: Anvil Recap, Rapier Recap, Atlas Recap and Melee Mods: Heavy Ion Booster, Nimbus Ion Booster, Pangolin Ion Booster - Improved balance with Doorkickers and Tremors Traits - Fixed issues with reinforcements not always appearing when called on Hospital Rooftop (first level) - Minor reducing in XP granted for Power Level 3 and 10 missions to smooth curve - Fixed status box in Safehouse pause menu showing Mission Turn instead of Game Turn

[ 2025-01-23 21:40:06 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights and mercs, we've got another update hovertruck coming in hot! The pilot says he can bounce this one right across the deck and into your Steam library, so let's see what we've got! Update #204 breaks out the save and load menus into dedicated sub-menus, visually differentiates the higher level data nodes (Fortress and Vaults), adds Contact Trust % as a bonus to all mission pay, fixes issues where Contact Traits around mission pay and deadline were not always being applied, improves some long-range weapon Traits, fixed bugs with Prox-Mines and well ... we fixed a lot of F10s, so check the full changelog for all the details! If you're enjoying the relentless (and sometimes daily) updates for Early Access, please take a minute to leave a review! We're working hard on some big content additions for the game next, and while we're grinding on that, we've got steady pace of polish and improvement updates coming out!

Save and Load Separated

To help generally reduce the potential for costly misclicks and hotkey pushes, we have completed the work to separate out the Load Game and Save Game menus. These are now both buttons on the main pause menu and each one opens up a dedicated sub-menu that allows only loading or only saving. Nothing revolutionary, but it is a cleaner and more classic UI steamhappy

Matrix Data Fortress & Vault - New Looks

To continue to differentiate matrix nodes by sight further, we have followed up on Update #203's change to make Finance Nodes styled green (like U-Dahs!). Update #204 now adds small glowing and rotating satellites to all of the second level data nodes - the Data Fortress, Manufacturing Vault and Financial Fortress. These more dangerous data nodes will disconnect you if your end your Turn there but also have the best loot concentrations in the host, so it is nice to be able to spot them quickly. We have heard from a lot of players the desire to have data nodes give a visual cue if they have been fully looted. We'll be working on that soon!

Contact Mission Pay & Deadlines

With Update #204, we've fixed some bugs with Contact Traits that were not always ensuring that their bonuses or penalties to mission pay and mission deadlines were being applied correctly. This should help Greedy, Impatient and Generous Contacts stand out more. In addition, we have added a new effect of Contact Trust - that their Trust value is added as a % on top of any mission payment. This will help reinforce the value of working with Contacts repeatedly throughout a career and puts some more bite into that key Contact status, beyond denying services and preventing Favors from being spent in Limit Breaks.

Anti-Alias = None

If your screen or setup is such that you don't want the game to apply AA, you can now disable it in options.

Syndicate Debts Rumblings

We are working hard on Syndicate Debts! It is our first Origin story and one of the first stories we coded into the game's story system, so it has some rough spots that we are buffing right out before we expand and wrap the storyline. Here is the punch list for #204, and we expect to be making some other changes (like allowing delayed Legworks and not mutually exclusive Legworks) very shortly as well.

• We have shortened the timeline on the Legworks related to the Snitch after the events at the hospital to help ensure you're not committing too many mercs to long Legwork right out of the gate
• We have fixed the terminal hover in Loophole Heist so that it is clear that this is a Knight-only terminal. We've also fixed the terminal in Ricksham Drips so that it indicates it is VIP-only.
• We have improved all loot tables and matrix terminals for all missions in the Syndicate Debt's storyline.

Tag and Traits Improvements

With Update #204, we've improved the stat lines for Marksman and Longshot Traits, adding and increasing their Attribute bonuses. We have also tightened up the language used in Faction Tags for characters like "Faction Barred" (which only prevents Legwork) and "Hates Faction" (which prevents taking a job for that faction) and others as well to make the lines clearer. Some of these were criminally vague!

Sleeping Prox Mines

After Update #203, you could use your Knight's Talent to target sleeping Prox-Mines. Oops, that was not expected, but it is now fixed.

v1.9.93 - Update #204: Hovertruck Bounce - 1/21/2025

- Added dedicated Save Game and Load Game menus to avoid mistakes with hotkeys and save slots - Differentiated Data Fortress, Manufacturing Vault and Financial Fortress matrix nodes from their lesser counterparts - Contact Trust is added as a % bonus directly to the $$ reward offered for any job - Fixed issue preventing Contact Trait bonuses/penalties to Mission Pay and Deadline from correctly applying - Added graphic option to turn off Anti-Aliasing entirely (AA = None) - Shortened timelines for early game Legworks: Clinic Snitch and Thumb on Snitch - Improved hovers over terminals in Loophole Heist (Knight-only) and Ricksham Power Play (VIP-only) - Improved all loot tables and matrix host creation for Syndicate Debts mission chain - Improved Traits Marksman and Longshot with Attributes, better progression - Fixed bug where Faction for Hack 3 Files proc-gen missions was always Warner-Braun incorrectly - Clarified rules for Faction Insider and Faction Barred - these do not prevent missions, only Legwork - Clarified rules for Loves, Hates, Deserted Faction and what jobs they interfere with - Fixing bug allowing K-Protocol and other Security Talents to target hidden Prox-Mines

[ 2025-01-22 05:04:51 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello Monday, hello Knights, hello mercs! It is another big F10 smash update, grinding for that polish every day while the team keeps working hard on bigger chunks of content and features back at HQ. With Update #203, we've fixed an issue that was preventing Red Mist Event mission from working, forcing Contacts to Limit Break in a fair order instead of RNG order, fixing issues with K-Protocol not always applying correctly, fixing all the gun SFX sounding so silly (oops!), rebalancing a few Pistols, improving Leverage and ... well, a lot of things. Check the full release notes for all the details! If you enjoy our relentless pace of updates and our dedication to keeping this Early Access moving forward and getting better constantly, please share it in a review! Remember you can always edit your review later.

Red Mist Assassination Fix

With Update #202 we fixed a bug preventing proc-gen assassination missions from starting and deploying their VIP. Unfortunately, the same bug had wormed its way into some of the story assassination missions. We have now fixed that in Update #203 and you can just play forward, the mission will jump-start into action.

Contacts Learn to Queue Properly

For a long time, there has been a lot of unfair jostling and cutting the line in the Contact Limit Break rules. Contacts might get to 80%+ Influence and be ready to Limit Break but someone else keeps going first if they have bad RNG. With this update, we've corrected the rules to ensure that the queue stays relatively orderly. There can still be a little jostling at the front of the line, but Contacts are now going to reliably Limit Break in a fair order and not get frozen out for extended periods of time. However, there is a transition period that will now occur between the old rules and the new rules. All Contacts who were over 80% Influence/Exposure before Update #203 are just at the front of the line. They need to all clear their Limit Breaks before anyone who gains 80%+ Influence/Exposure after Update #203 will gain a Limit Break. It is as fair as we could make it.

K-Protocol

For those highly skilled stealth teams or teams trying to use K-Protocol on the first Turn, it was not working as expected. Due to an order of operations bug, K-Protocol was limited in reducing Tally by how many blue tallies you had ... so for the Turn 24 game with 1 blue tally that we checked during testing - we salute you. You're a ninja! And now, K-Protocol will work for you correctly, late or early in the mission. Finally, we've adjusted K-Protocol's rules to allow it to be used against sleeping devices that haven't been woken up by the Sec AI yet. This is a nice change, as those sleeping cameras and laser wires are still attack surfaces for your pro Vanguard and now you can take advantage of them. Check out the full rules for K-Protocol and other Vanguard Talents you can use to go full stealth on the wiki.

Laser Guns SFX!

For a bit there, all of the guns were making strange laser-blaster sounds. That was a mistake on our part and is now fixed - all guns SFX are restored.

Sprint for Siege and Battle Striker

Since sneaking is pointless in Siege and Battle Striker missions, we've ensured that all mercs start in the sprint stance for these missions to avoid the need for any extra keystrokes and to reduce mistake potential.

Pistol Rebalance

We've fixed a broken modifier in the pistol table that has adjusted the balance for Detective Special, Executive, and Heavy Raptor Pistols. The Executive and Heavy Pistols now cause a small amount of Pure Dmg (20 and 40 respectively) making them stand-outs in the Pistol class.

Leverage Improvements Round-up

With this update, we're prepping for a new wave of Leverages that can be obtained by converting certain special items like the Sigma 6 Sploitkit items. In prep for this, we've drastically raised the prices on the Sigma 6 Sploitkit items up to over $100K each. We have also fixed the descriptions and rules for Suppress Alarm and Alarm Malfunction to make them work clearly and consistently. These Leverages prevent the Sec AI from Escalating, which means that the Tally and Sec Level are increasing but the Sec AI simply does not get to take a special action when it passes the Escalation threshold. This ensure there are no reinforcements, devices re-enabled or any kind of powerful Sec AI reaction. In the next few updates, we're working on getting the Leverage results all added to the combat log, as these are too "quiet" today.

And More!

And we fixed a lot of other things too :D Check the release notes for the full list.

v1.9.91 - Update #203 - 1/20/2025

- Fixed "Red Mist Event" assassination Power Play mission that could be stuck - job will jump into motion again - Contact Limit Breaks are now ordered by when they are eligible, removing chance Contact will get stuck waiting and passed by others - Fixed issue with K-Protocol Talent not always applying fully when the Sec Tally was low / first Turn - K-Protocol now fixed to correctly target any security device, even sleeping ones not turned on by Sec AI - Fixed bug with all guns sounding like silly laser weapons - Adjusted balance for Pistols: Detective Special, Executive, Heavy Raptor - All Siege, Alpha Striker and other full combat missions start with team standing and in Sprint mode - Corrected/clarified the Suppress Alarm and Alarm Malfunction Leverage descriptions - Raised price for Sigma 6 Sploitkit item to over $100K each - Adjusted coloring of Matrix Finance nodes (now Accounts=Green, Files=Purple, Blueprints=Blue) - Fixed bug with Radar Array term appearing in Matrix SCU instead of Long-Range Camera - Fixed cover display on large rising floor lamp - Fixed missing names and fields in journal entries - Renamed a few more Files for clear name to set consistency

[ 2025-01-20 19:12:25 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights and mercs, it's another late update but some good things feel like they can't wait. Update #202 arrives just in time to fix all the issues with Assassinate VIP missions that popped up this morning (the VIP now arrives!), rebuild the outlining tool in the game to do a better job, especially with faces and complex geometry, improved how Leverage pop outs work, fixed map issues across the board and completed the rename sweep of Files so that Files that are not in sets drop the Roman numerals (I, II, etc). Thanks to everyone supporting us with a review this week - we appreciate it. We can repay you with a relentless update schedule :D

Assassinate VIP Fixed

A bug crept as we've been quietly adding new proc-gen objectives for the dev team to play, that broke Assassinate VIP. In this case, the VIP never arrives! This is now resolved and any game that is stuck in one of these missions can just reload the level and play forward - the VIP will come in hot! We've also fixed the issue where there were multiple dialogs played upon killing the VIP (again!) and are working on a long-term solution to this seemingly recurring issue.

New Outline Tool

We've upgraded the game's outline capability to do better with character heads (now the head is actually fully outlined steamhappy !!). The upgrade also has better more obvious line weight and does better with complicated geometry and the outline visibility as you zoom out and rotate. It is very nice to have some of these old, not fully ready for prime-time components upgrade to the shiny.

Leverage Reasons

We've improved the logic for the Leverage reason pop-outs. If they came from Tokens, we are no longer incorrectly showing a bogus pop-out. And in the case that you have no Contacts who can provide the Leverage, we've explicitly stated that in the pop-out.

Cameras + Rotation + Reload Bug

If a camera rotated at the end of a Turn and spotted a merc and then you later retried the new Turn, the spotting would be lost in the old system. With this upgrade, we've ensured that spotting is properly saved to the game database and the game log so it can't be lost or removed.

File Naming

We've adjusted all names for Files that are not in a set to stop using Roman numerals like I, II, and III. Also, we've adjusted the names of all sets to use sequential Roman numerals (I, II, III, etc.). This should help cut down some File Set confusion (as some of the files combined II, III and IV for the Set, ignoring I) as well as encoding obvious clues about each File name as to whether it is part of a set or not. Tags to clearly denote Files that are in sets or have use actions are coming next week, so this naming step helps but is not really the full solution to this issue.

Dialog Lines

We've fixed an issue where some dialog lines were just being displayed as empty box. These were caused by the game narrator trying to explain rules about Obligations or Favors. Now fixed!

Map Bugs Fixed!

We've fixed a lot of map bugs again - new maps drive lots of little fixes. Route 5 Bypass had some issues with certain lower areas blocking sight around the edge - now fixed. The second stage of Eleventh Hour never spawned reinforcements - now fixed.

v1.9.85 - #202: - 1/17/2025

- Fixed bug with Assassin VIP where VIP does not appear - job will jump into motion again - Fixed bug with repeated 4 segments of dialog upon killing a VIP in Assassinate VIP missions - Rebuilt outline component - better outlines around character faces, better outline on complex geometry - Fixing Leverage pop out incorrectly showing when the Leverage is purchased or gained by Field Ops / Hacking Station Token - Fixed missing mission art for the new Route 5 Bypass mission - Fixed intermittent issues with empty lootboxes - Fixed issue with camera rotation and reloading a Turn sometimes losing a character being spotted event - Fixed missing reinforcements in the second stage of Eleventh Hour - Fixed certain areas blocking sight into lower areas in Route 5 Bypass - Fixed the missing dialog lines that should have been spoken by the narrator in some stories - Fix File names within sets (to be I, II, III, etc) and File names for Files not used by set (removed II, etc) - Fixed backward Terminal in Decommissioned Core

[ 2025-01-18 06:35:28 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights and mercs, it is a bit late here in 2231, New Boston never sleeps. With Update #201, we have the new weekly map release and +8 new proc-gen combos, a big update to Leverage display to indicate its reasoning for being available (or not) and the Contacts that could qualify, adding a button to make removing mods from weapons easier anywhere, adding a hover to the Counter Intel token-for-Favors window, boosting proc-gen mission name variety by over +100 terms (combinations go boom!), improving enemy scaling for UltraTek and Warner-Braun and fixing some other key bugs. It's a big one so let's dig in. If you like the relentless pace of updates, improvements, new maps and more - please take a quick minute to leave a review. Our small team can thank you ... with more updates :D

New Weekly Map: Route 5 Bypass

We're back on our weekly schedule now after having missed just one week over the holidays. This is the 11th weekly map release, and it is the Route 5 Bypass mission map.

• This broken stretch of concrete is cut in half by a twisting and winding section of Route 5. Three small footbridges span the route, limiting access from one side to the other.
• With restricted movement due to Route 5, the bridges become natural chokepoints or challenge points in a crossing.
• A central lookout platform provides a possible sniper hideout, but it's exposed to fire from multiple directions.
• A small to medium sized map, the Route 5 Bypass forces compressed play and challenge

As with all the new maps including Route 5 Bypass, we are dedicated to supporting every proc-gen objective (all 8) with absolute maximum variation inside each option (there are more than 32 ways to play this level!!) The new 8 proc-gen combos offered with this map brings the total to a whopping 129 proc-gen combos and represents another 6% increase in map variety. This is the 23rd proc-gen mission map to be released, edging us ever closer to the goal of 25 proc-gen maps posted in the roadmap (we won't stop there, let's exceed these goals!) The next very exciting step we are starting to work on now is expanding the objective catalog which will further blow out the proc-gen combos and replay for the game's content.

Leverage Reasoning Display

The Leverage system has been too long a black box as to why you could or couldn't get specific Leverages. With this update, we've improved the display for Leverages offered in mission planning screen so that they have a little pop out that explains the reasoning for why they are offered. Some require High-Risk Transporters, Gang or Syndicate Contacts with command over soldiery, an Expert Wireghost or a Corrupt Corporate official. This pop out also lists any Contacts if you know them who would be up to offer the Leverage if you had the Favor or positive Trust. It's a big step forward and can help start steering interest to additional Contacts and will allow us to offer more intricate and cool Leverage conditions. Also, now that we've added the display, it is clear that some of the Leverages offered through proc-gen are failing to faction match correctly (you might see a lot for "Corrupt Arrowhead Insider") - so it is even helping us as we plan the next round of Leverage clean up and expansion.

Remove Mods Anywhere

We've improved the handling of weapon's Remove Mods button in your inventory. Previously, it could feel like a multi-step process to equip a weapon to remove its mods. Now the button is always available - both in your Inventory's ALL tab as well as the Weapons tab. This lets you more rapidly manage weapons before sale or when swapping up your team's gear.

Token for Favor gets Contact Hover

Thanks to all the player's requesting the hover in the Counter Intel Pod's window that lists contacts who you might trade Tokens for Favors. This simple hover provides all the needed context to help you make fast and accurate Favor decisions. Enjoy!

New Proc-Gen Mission Names

We've pulled another big tranche of mission names from the Discord thread and Steam forum thread for suggesting mission names. It's always fun to see the new names filtering into the game. Thanks to everyone posting!

Enemy Scaling

We've fixed two big scaling issues with enemies tonight:

• UltraTek enemies weren't scaling at all past Power Level 1. This was a bug related to the special setup in the first rooftop level and is now resolved - watch out if you wander into their territory they are at least as dangerous as any of the Big 6.
• Warner-Braun enemies were cheaping out on armor. They had oddly weak armor across the board and now we've resolved that getting them the upgrades they need.

Were excited to get back to adding new enemy variety to the game this month and seeing the megacorporations start to effectively step out from each other's shadows.

Loot Mismatch

We fixed a bug where the Power Level and Rarity of all Items looted were nonesense. At least it was just a display problem when looting, as everything got straightened out in the Victory screen and afterwards.

+10% Influence for Blueprint Sales

In some conditions the bonus to Contact Influence were not being saved correctly to the Contact. Depending on what screens you went to next and what screens you had gone to before, this Influence boost could have been lost. This is now fully resolved and the bonus is always granted, saved and maintained between reloads.

v1.9.83 - #201 - 1/16/2025

- Added new proc-gen map "Route 5 Bypass": a region split by the deep chasm of Route 5 highway with multiple smaller bridges that supports +8 new proc-gen combos (Heist a CPU, Steal 3 Files, Scavenger, Kill 3 Captains, Bodyguard, Assassinate, Siege and Battle Striker) - Mission Planning screen now shows Leverage details - what Contacts can offer Leverage and why - Counter-Intel Pod contact list to trade Tokens for Favors now includes hover over Contact - Added easy "Remove Mods" option to all places where weapons appear - main inventory and inventory weapon tab - Added over 100 new name parts to the proc-gen mission naming system - thanks posters! - Fixed missing scaling Power Levels for UltraTek enemies - now ramping from 1 to 10 correctly - Improved armor for all Warner-Braun megacorporate enemies to keep up with the other Big 6 - Fixed issue with all items in lootboxes showing odd Power Level and Rarity (and then at mission victory getting it right) - Fixed bug with Influence +10% from Blueprint sales not always sticking around after sale / reload - Fixed issue with timeline event log sometimes bugging and replacing all character names with one character's name

[ 2025-01-17 04:44:07 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights and mercs, welcome to Update #200! This update is dedicated to the smashing of F10 bug reports and feedback and closing over 40 groups of F10s in our system. We really appreciate every player who is posting up feedback, and bugs and helping us improve the game. Every F10 is a way for us to address issues faster and also allows us to store away feedback that we can pull on when we need something to work on. So thank you players - you are making this Early Access everything it can be :D If you like the style of relentless updates, please take a moment to leave a review. We need everyone!

Persistent Mission/Combat Log

The meatspace mission and combat log has now joined the matrix log in being able to persist its entries between loads of the game. Now you will be able to look back on previous turns and get your bearings on a reload on any recent that happened - spotting, kills, etc.

Scourge Talent vs. Drones

While there are no rule changes here, we've updated the descriptions of a number of Talents - Venom Trap, Brainworm, and Bio-Coat Bullet - to be clearer that these Talents cannot affect or target Drones. The Scourge is a bio-weapon and one of their weak spots is versus drones - check their full Talent list on the Cyber Knights: Flashpoint wiki Scourge page. Also, as a rule change, we have fixed Scourge's Bio-Mimic to correctly be canceled if the Scourge makes an attack, as described in its rules.

Rewind Duration

With Update #200 we've fixed the description of the Knight's Rewind Talent to correctly list its duration along with its bonuses.

Hacking Mission Dialogs

We have removed the repeated dialogs during extraction for hacking missions! Hopefully we got all the ones that are driving players crazy, please let us know if we missed something.

Map Fixes Galore

We've fixed a ton of small map issues. There was an area in Slagga Smash that should have been inaccessible that is now closed up. There was one variation (1/20) in Broken Highway where the Gold Door panel was missing. We've fixed open field spawns (not near a door or elevator) in the Decommissioned Core and Sector 01 Interchange (where some doors were added). We fixed an annoying Pressure Plate in the Dusted Hover-Evac map that was affecting a larger area than it visually covered. We fixed the timeline event descriptions for 4 proc-gen missions that didn't clearly identify their type. And a ton of other small issues - check the whole change log for details.

v1.9.81 - Update #200: F10 Smasher - 1/13/2024

- Regular mission and combat log persists between game loads - Improved Talent descriptions for Venom Trap, Brainworm and Bio-Coat Bullet around drone limitations - Scourge's Bio-Mimic Talent correctly clears after making an attack - Fixed Knight's Rewind Talent to include duration details for the buff to Move Speed and Initiative - Restoring fence to extra map area not supposed to be in play for Southie Strut / Slagga Smash missions - Fixed missing Gold Key panel in one variation of new Broken Highway map - Fixed issue where Power Slice was hidden on character detail pop up during mission, hiding its cooldown - Fixed 4 proc-gen mission timeline prompts that were not clear about the type of proc-gen mission they kick off - Fixed issue where Dead-Eye, Doorkicker and Longshot Traits were being mislabeled in Legwork - Fixed equip/unequip sequence that could result in 2 Heavy weapons being equipped - Prevent Face from appearing in the roster's Training Ready filter - Fixed open field spawns in Decommissioned Core and Sector 01 Interchange - Fixed pressure sensor in Dusted Hover-Evac incorrectly affecting stairs - Removed repetitive dialog from hack only missions extraction

[ 2025-01-14 05:03:28 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights and mercs, we're back with another update in 2025 with more content - this time a new Power Play storyline, the first critical round of changes to the rules around Smoke / Smoke Grenades, and a really big number of minor tweaks to appearances to reduce small clipping and cosmetic appearance issues. Thanks to everyone posting up feedback, we are getting our engines going this year with big updates - story, missions, and the final set of features before launch - so stay tuned for some big hits! If you are enjoying Early Access and our style of relentless updates and constant improvement, please take a moment to leave a review! You can always change it later :D

New Power Play Storyline

A new storyline has been added to the Power Play set - storylines that can attach to Contacts who have successfully executed a Limit Break to put themselves into the risky "Power Play" status. This new storyline sees you working closely with the dangerous Ricksham Syndicate - the masters of the UNA's train network, riders of the rails, train-hobos - to negotiate the flow of new and powerful combat and hacking drugs into the New Boston Zone. The storyline contains multiple missions with new challenges - seeing cross-faction fighting in the middle of a mission map, challenging extraction objectives and more VIP hunters dropping in to mess up your day. You can read more about the Power Play system at the holiday milestone update here: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1021210/view/516322831358755690

Smoke Grenade Reactions

For a long time, Smoke Grenades have been a powerful tool that deal in absolutes. The enemy agents stupidly ignore them, and the utterly baffle attempts at pursuit or detection. Update #199 takes the first step in softening the power of Smoke (Agent EX) and Smoke Grenades. Our goal is to keep them fun, exciting and strong - they are a delay tactic, they sow chaos and confusion, they cover escapes and give you advantageous terms for a gunfight. However, if its smokes - something must be on fire! Enemy agents in the Unaware state who see smoke will now report it to the Sec AI (+2 Tally, up to a maximum of +4 Turn for multiple agents) and become Suspicious (so they will not report Smoke again). Then they will proceed to hunt in the area, searching for the cause of the smoke or disturbance. This is Step #1. Step #2 will be to make adjustments to how smoke affects detection and combat to remove absolutes (you cannot see through or into smoke) to instead powerful rules (your visibility is reduced to 2m inside smoke). As we know this is a topic dear to many player's hearts, we will be putting up a preview thread to list all of the proposed rule changes in the next few days for everyone to comment on!

Fixing Appearance Clips

With Update #199, we closed over 25 F10s that referenced specific small issues with the cosmetic stacks - either clipping, odd placements, hair not covering the entire head and more. This was a great cleanup but there is always more to do in this area. Our next cleanup effort will be looking at specific cosmetics that are not "good" at taking colors, the colors don't affect them too much or (in the case of short shaves) go crazy.

v1.9.79 - 1/11/2025

- Added new Power Play storylines; high-risk negotiations with the Ricksham can bring new combat/hacking drugs into the NBZ - Enemy agents now react to Smoke (Grenades, Agent EX) by increasing Tally by +2 and hunting in the nearby area - Fixed model clipping at back of head for some characters wearing beret hats - Fixed model clipping at back and sides of head for ponytail and other hairstyles - Fixed reported typos, dialog clarifications

[ 2025-01-12 18:32:27 CET ] [ Original post ]

Mercs and Knights - Update #198 is a short one with a focus on getting us back on track for our Weekly Map Release schedule! We have a new map - Broken Highway - and two other small improvements to deliver today with better objectives in your bodyguard missions, improved Sec AI rules about buffing their forces and a fix to how Ignore Recoil is formatted for armor and cyberware. Also, we fixed a huge number of minor typos and issues in story and lore text, so thanks for all of your F10s! If you like the constant stream of new, improved, polished and added during your Early Access, please remember to leave a review!

New Weekly Map: Broken Highway

We missed a week over New Year's due to vacation and flu, but we're back on track now, and the maps will flow. Our 10th weekly map release is Broken Highway, a long stretch of open highway where warring factions constantly trade hands and soak in blood. A warningthe highway is wide, cuts through the map, and provides no cover! Stay off the road if you can, working its edges and crossing it quickly when you must.
With all the new maps - and Broken Highway - we are dedicated to supporting every proc-gen objective (all 8) with absolute maximum variation inside each option (there are more than 32 ways to play this level!!) The new 8 proc-gen combos offered with this map brings the total to 121 proc-gen combos and represents another 6% increase in map variety. Broken Highway also includes support for the Assassinate VIP objective which brings the mission maps supported for that objective type up to 10 and is no longer really an underserved objective type (victory day!).

Objective Update for Bodyguard Missions

The bodyguard missions needed a small update to their objectives to properly indicate when the escort had successfully Extracted from the map. This tweak is now delivered to all bodyguard missions, present or future.

Ignore Recoil Bonus Correction

There was a mistake in the display of the Ignore Recoil stat when it was shown on Armor or Cybernetics, where it would read as +0.3 which doesn't make sense in the Recoil system. When properly formatted, it should read as Ignores Recoil +3 which means that the armor or cybernetic grants an immediate 3-point reduction to Recoil all the time - making moving or firing a little less impactful to your next shot.

Sec AI is Picky

Previously, if the Sec AI ran an Escalation that buffed their team, these buffs could be applied to Head Hunters, any enemy faction on the map as well as the local faction forces. We have adjusted these rules to ensure that only the local faction that the Sec AI is supporting is buffed.

v1.9.77 - 1/10/2025

- Added new proc-gen map "Broken Highway": a wide open stretch of dangerous highway constantly contested by warring factions that supports +8 new proc-gen combos (Heist a CPU, Steal 3 Files, Scavenger, Kill 3 Captains, Bodyguard, Assassinate, Siege and Battle Striker - Fixed display for Recoil bonus on armor and cybernetics incorrectly using +0.3 instead of +3 - Improved objectives for all bodyguard missions to correctly mark when VIP is safely extracted - Sec AI buffs will not help enemy factions or Head Hunters - Fixed one missed controller guidance in the tutorial for Steam Deck

[ 2025-01-10 15:43:47 CET ] [ Original post ]

Before we release the next map, we've got an update fully focused on closing F10s and polishing the game. We've got so much cooking, it's good to take a moment just for bug fix and QoL at times before the next big release cycle starts. Update #197 fixes issues with armor, buff stacking, improves the tutorial for Steam Deck and controllers, improves the Benches tag in the safehouse, fixes mod attachment issues and makes Revolver's special rules about mods more clear. Thanks to everyone playing, posting up F10s and leaving a review on the game! We're working on improving and adding to the game in large and small ways - so if you like what you're seeing, be sure to leave that review!

Armor Initiative and Move Speed

With Update #197, we've fixed some older issues with armor bonuses failing to join into the buff and debuff displays for your characters. Armor's Move Speed and Initiative modifiers were not being counted into these summaries for display and in addition, the Initiative penalty or bonus was not being used during combat missions when Initiative was rolled (while Move Speed was correctly used). Both the display issue and the rules issue are now resolved with Update #197.

Buffs Stacking Bug

In mid-December a regression crept into the codebase that allowed some buffs to stack. This has now been fixed, and buffs will no longer stack. You cannot have two copies of Coordinated Charge buff on you at the same time, offering double the bonuses, sorry! If you've been relying on that, apologies, this new reality will seem harsh, but it is fair. If you re-use a buff on an already buffed character, it will refresh the duration on the buff.

Steam Deck and Controllers in Tutorial

It was brought to our attention last week that the new tutorial has a major, glaring fault. It did not customize its text and instructions if you were playing on a controller or Steam Deck! We have hurried up to fix this, ensuring that all mention of controls (press this, click that) are now swapped over dynamically to provide controller keybindings, such as press (X). We've also added a few extra lines of helper text in the case of Steam Deck or controller to point out some of the basics right away.

Benches Built Tag

The tag in the safehouse over rooms that said "1/2 Benches" and was causing so many F10s has now been updated to read "1/2 Benches Built" as that is what it is showing you. You can build new benches if you want!

Mod Attachment Fixes

With Update #197, we've resolved the visual issues that were happening with the new Rook Prototype Weapons (see Power Plays) new shotgun model and new UAR model. Their scopes and barrel attachments will now correctly attach to the model and look cool! In addition, we've changed the display for how Revolver shows mods that are incompatible. Previously, when you were trying to equip a new Scope or Body Attachment for a Revolver, we automatically hid all incompatible mods like Silencers and Ammo Extenders. This could be confusing, so now we've brought them back but when you select them, the Equip button switches to Incompatible and their special rules column includes the rule listing about Revolver limitations.

Map Fixes

There will always be more map fixes :D New maps are flowing so the fixes must flow too! We've fixed issues with Lockdown Station and the Gold Key room having objective files inside it, with auto-extraction zones in a few maps including - most popular - Wreckspire, and places in Urban HQ where Prox MInes were spawning in the walls.

v1.9.75 - Update #197: Gleamer Polish - 1/8/2024

- Armor Move Speed and Initiative Penalty correctly displayed in all status summaries, used in Initiative Roll - Fixed bug that allowed buffs to stack - buffs do not stack, using a second copy of a buff will refresh duration - Improved Tutorial with Steam Deck and Controller focused steps discussing defeault keybindings - Clarified safehouse "1/2 Benches" tag as "1/2 Benches Built" - Improved handling of Revolver mod limitations when working in inventory - now shown as incompatible with rule displayed - Fixed 3D attachment of mods to new Rook Prototype UAR and Shotgun models - Fixed issue where auto-extract was often not happening in Wreckspire mission map at elevator - Fixed bug where Lootbox Hunt files could end up in Lockdown Station's Gold Key room (bug with that specific map) - Fixed Proximity Mine starting inside barrier in Urban HQ mission map

[ 2025-01-08 20:59:58 CET ] [ Original post ]

Happy New Year, Knights! Things have run a bit slowly here at the start of 2025 with a third of our team on holiday, a third of our team sick and a third working away. But we're getting things moving again with Update #196, celebrating with new outfit options, new hairstyles, +15 new matrix host templates, improved Matrix host progression that includes the size of the host, boosted mission pay, tweaks to the balance of Truck Job and fixes for old F10s and reported bugs. A huge welcome and thanks to everyone who is playing and joined up during the WInter Sale! We've had an amazing influx of input, feedback and reviews and we appreciate every bit, scrap and steamthumbsup This will be a big year for Cyber Knights getting all grown up and launching on Steam, so let's go steamhappy!!

New Cosmetic Options

To ring in the New Year, we've added 2 new outfit options for your characters as well as 4 more hairstyles. It's always exciting to see this catalog grow - and it will keep growing - so a few more of the looks shown in the game's concept art have stepped out into the game world. Look sharp, mercs!

+15 Matrix Hosts and Host Size Progression

There have been a lot of ways that Matrix Hosts scale along with the Power Level of the challenges you are facing - upgrading their Color and their Q-Sec AI until they are Red Pit Vipers or worse. Also, the IC that spawn into matrix hosts increase in threat and toughness as the challenge level goes up and the Escalations that the Q-Sec AI get more and more threatening as well. One area that has not been affected by the current challenge level (which your Team Power Level modified by all difficulty and mission specific settings) is the matrix terminal map itself. These maps could be generated large or small regardless of your point in the game, which has been a weak spot for the Hacking subsystem and the game. After a deep analysis and talking to a lot of players, we've realized that some of the players who have hit the Matrix and skid to a full stop did so because their first hack was a 25-node sprawling monstrosity of a system. With Update #196, we've connected another set of systems - plugging the Matrix Host's Power Level into the matrix map generator to ensure that we are getting hosts that make sense in size as well as power for your point in the game's progression. We are looking forward to hearing your feedback on this big change!

Mission Pay Bump

As a gift for the holidays (j/k, because of balancing) we've bumped the pay for Missions from Power Level 1-5 again by a slight margin, from 8% to 15%. These pay raises in missions can help fund a little extra EQ for your mercs, help you squeak out a safehouse room or save up for that Cyberdeck with a ribbon on top -- but all in all, they help the cash flow in the early game and make it a little less depending on looting. Happy heisting!

Truck Job Balancing

With a big influx of new players, we've heard a lot of great feedback about balancing, progression and difficulty spikes. With the last update, we made some adjustments to the Dead Drop Hit job that was an unexpected spike and have made some (more minor) changes to the Truck Job with Update #196. We'll follow up with update to starting enemy layout and counts with some additional changes to the introductory dialog to make your options and the timing pressure more clearly emphasized by your Face at the start.

Weapon Crafting Bugfix

There was an old and odd bug in crafting weapons with the NanoFab where the exact placement of your weapon mod blueprints could reduce the number of Intrinsic rolls that were made. Specifically, if you locked in 2 blueprints for weapon mods in the first 2 spots of the craft, you wouldn't get a 3rd intrinsc. This oddity has been resolved for future crafts!

Other Bugs and F10s!

No saved game is left behind and no F10 is forgotten. Thanks to everyone for sending in F10s, last week fixed bugs and made improvements off F10s that were submitted in March and July of 2024 to improve the game. So keep sending that feedback, thank you!

v1.9.73 - #196: Happy New Year - 1/5/2024

- Added 2 new outfits options for characters - street and corp style - Added 4 new hairstyle options - Adjusted rules for generating matrix hosts to take size into account in comparison to challenge Power Level (lower level hosts are smaller) - Added 15 new matrix templates for hosts across a variety of size and complexity - Bumped Mission Payment for Power Level 1-5 by 8%-15% roughly - Improved balance of Truck Job with better starting enemy layout and counts - Minor tweak to Nuke II (HOT), reduced Connection Dmg to -6% - Fixed old bug causing some Weapon crafting configurations to not roll Intrinsics due to placement of mod blueprints - Fixed rare old issue with possible dead character in legwork - Fixed misleading program files in Code Compilation Files sets that create Nuke II (HOT)

[ 2025-01-06 02:15:36 CET ] [ Original post ]

Happy New Year, Knights of New Boston! Thanks to everyone for a great year of playing, improving and expanding the game. Early Access would not be any fun without you and your feedback, so thank you for showing up and sharing so much with us this year - your time, your energy, your encouragement and your bugs. What better way to round out the year than a new update? Update #195 opens new critical pathways to gain Influence with your Contacts to help them Limit Break, fixes issues with the Rook Prototype Weapons Power Play service, adds some new awesome weapon models and looks to the game, improves the Power Slice bonuses for the new high-level blades available through the Fadelight Blades Power Play storyline, and makes some other smaller improvements to the display of Glancing Hit rules and fixes an ancient and odd "why do I have 20 Favors with my enemy?" bug. Happy New Year! We hope you'll leave a review as we roll into 2025.

High Rarity Blueprints Boost Influence

As a Cyber Knight in the New Boston underworld, you're ability to execute your high-risks heists are highly dependent on your network of Contacts being able to source and sell you the right gear, equipment, medical services, cybernetics and more. So, it is just as important that you pick and chose allies among the underworld Contacts and help those Contacts climb in power, Influence and reach. There are multiple ways to help your Contacts grow in Influence - including running missions they offer, completing additional secondary objectives on these missions, completing Legwork they offer and selling them Epic or Legendary Rarity Accounts. Accounts has been the only flow from looting to Influence but Update #195 expands the pathways in new ways to connect a lot more of the world's valuable loot to your Contact's Influence. Accounts are basically locked to the Matrix, so getting these to "feed" your Contacts required Hacking. Now with the addition of Epic and Legendary Blueprint sales adding +10% to the buyer Contact's Influence, there are new options stemming from both the matrix and regular lootboxes. Unlike Accounts, either high Rarity of Blueprint sell for +10% only but you have a lot more chances to draw these Blueprints, so it easily makes up for the difference. If've you been sitting on a cache of high-end Blueprints, it might be time to flush the ones you don't want and help some of your best allies LImit Break a few times. Our next step here will be to introduce additional Epic and Legendary Item Blueprints into the game, as those are very hard to find and limited mostly to combat drugs. This will add additional ways to get Influence to harder to reach Contacts like Doctors.

Rook Prototype Power Play Weapons

The major Power Play milestone that recently went live included the Rook Prototype Weapons storyline. The result of this storyline was unfortunately a service from your Contact that was disconnected from any weapons being sold! This is now fixed with all service levels and weapons now correctly connected.
We've also updated the 3D models for a number of the higher-end weapons being sold with new shotguns and UARs appearing in the game.

Improved Blade Power Slice Abilities

For straight blades - and especially the higher Power Level blades sold in the Fadelight Blades Power Play storylines - some of the Power Slice abilities have been oddly weak compared to lesser blades. This is now resolved with Update #195, giving a powerful upgrade in Pure Dmg delivered with each new blade you can afford.

Glancing Hit Rules - Easier Read

We've adjusted the Glancing Hit rules shown in your weapon's detail block to include the % in the title so that you don't need to look into the text block to know if its 80%, 60% or 0% (melee).

v1.9.71 - #195: Influence Flows - 12/31/2024

- Selling Epic or Legendary Blueprints to an interested Contact increase their Influence +10% - Fixed issue with Power Play "Rook Prototype Weapons" service not offering weapons - Improved some of the Rook Prototype Weapons, improved 3D models - Improved Blade Power Slice balance - Nine, Zero, Nightsong, Tigerfang and others all gain better Power Slice Pure Dmg - Improved display of Glancing Hit rules for weapons so that the % is shown in the title for easiest read - Fixed very old bug that could grant enemy Contacts +20 Favors inexplicably - Fixed minor map issues with recently released maps

[ 2024-12-31 21:12:54 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights! We're here to wrap up the weekend and almost the year with Update #194 which includes a 9th weekly map release, major rebalance to Dead Drop Hit, a ton of improvements and critical fixes to Leverage, better UI for Contact buy and sell services, map fixes and more. Every week the game is growing, gaining features, improving balance and progression and getting a little more QoL polish. We hope you're enjoying the Early Access process we've got going - relentless updates, never invalidate a saved game. Please consider leaving a review - our small team needs your help to spread the word!

New Weekly Map: River Street Bridge

Here we are on our 9th week of our weekly map release goal with the new map - River Street Bridge. This new map has a central, large bridge splitting the street district. The river cutting the district, the central bridge and the other ways across it will play key roles in all of your missions. With the River Street Bridge, we are dedicated to supporting every single proc-gen objective (all 8) with absolute maximum variation inside each option (there are 32!! ways to play this level). The new 8 proc-gen combos offered with this map brings the total to 113 proc-gen combos and represents another 6% increase in map variety. River Street Bridge also includes support for the Assassinate VIP objective as well, which brings the mission maps supported for that objective type up to 9.

Dead Drop Hit Rebalance

The storyline where you attempt to recover some E-Rifles leads you to the Dead Drop Hit job which has become a bit infamous for being unbalanced and too hard for the point in the game it appears. We've made some helpful changes to get it where it needs to be - a nasty, fun fight instead of an unexpected and crushing spike in difficulty. The changes include upgrading the mission to allow 4 mercs to go, adjusting the starting area to give some more cover options for your defensive position and tweaking the starting spawn counts on enemies. Finally, we've pushed the minimum Team Power Level that this story will appear at up to 3. That is exciting because that also means we've pushed the E-Rifle rewards up to Power Level 3 E-Rifles instead of Power Level 2. This is a change that will benefit all saved games - new and old - so enjoy your bumped up E-Rifles, Knights!

Major Leverage Fixes

With Update #194, we've fixed a widespread set of issues with Leverage where they were often actually running for 1 Turn less than they promised. This hit a wide range of Leverages, including both passive and active Leverages. Now all the Leverages will run as long as they promise! We've cleaned up the language and game terms used throughout the set to really get consistency and be sure the Leverage is using all the right terms to match the rest of the game. In addition, we've improved Alarm Malfunction so that it simply removes an amount of Sec Tally equal to one Escalation and drops the Sec Level by 1, which means the next time the Sec AI would usually Escalate, it is skipped. This is equivalent to Spiking an APU in the Matrix, so its pretty powerful delay action. Finally, we've fixed an issue where a Leverage that disabled security systems might also cause the sleeping security devices to wake up when the duration ended. This was a big issue in some levels using sleeping devices, so this is a critical bug to fix to push Leverages to their most useful slot.

Contact Buys and Sells

With this update, we've split a Contact's services into two groups for clarity - what they Sell and what they are willing to Buy. This helps us cut down on repetitive words ("Buys ...") and also show the dual nature of some services (if a Contact sells any type of weapons, they always buy all used weapons back). As the services lists are getting more in depth and starting to change with Power Play options, it is important to make sure the UI helps clarify what you've got and what you might be working on. We'll keep improving these UIs to help cut down the amount of checking and screen transitions you need to get the most important info for strategic decisions.

Map Fixes Galore

With this update we fixed places in Slumroad Junction where doors in exterior buildings were blocking line of sight and we fixed and tuned up the rotation and placement of a ton of spawning locations for enemies and your merc team across a wide set of maps. Every release, we're improving, tweaking and tuning the map set so a huge thanks goes out to anyone sending in F10s that help us improve!

v1.9.69 - #194: New Map Release "River Street Bridge" - 12/29/2024

- Added new proc-gen map "River Street Bridge": a street region straddling a bridge soaked in blood of the last centuries battles that supports +8 new proc-gen combos (Heist a CPU, Steal 3 Files, Scavenger, Kill 3 Captains, Bodyguard, Assassinate, Siege and Battle Striker) - Improved Contact list and hover to separate Buys and Sells services more clearly - "Dead Drop Hit" mission now allows 4 mercs instead of 3 (it came from a simpler time...) - Improved cover positions and reduce enemy starting spawn counts in "Dead Drop Hit" to even its difficulty - Adjusted requirements for "Dead Drop Hit" (fetch E-Rifles) mission to not proc before Power Level 3 - Improved rewards - E-Rifles from "Dead Drop Hit" upgraded to Power Level 3 (all games, new and forever) - Further improved progression of maps via proc-gen to avoid harder maps on earlier Power Levels - Fixed Alarm Malfunction so that it correctly reduces Sec Level by 1 and prevents next Escalation - Fixed Leverage bug with disabling security devices that could result in sleeping devices being woken - Fixed duplicate dialogs at the end of Siege missions - Fixed tagging issue in Roster where damaged Cyberdeck ("Cyberdeck 90%") would cause "Loadout" to be shown as well - Fixed map issues in Slumroad Junction with doors blocking lines of sight from rooftops - Fixed typos in Hacking Tutorial

[ 2024-12-30 00:49:10 CET ] [ Original post ]

Tonight, it is a Winter Sale Bug Smash! With 34% off, we should kill 34 bugs, right? Well, we focused on some of the most popular F10s in the last month and went on a bug smashing spree! It's not quite 34, but we're hard at work polishing up the game and cleaning up small bugs so your play is smoother, faster and always fun. A huge welcome to all the new Cyber Knights pouring into New Boston during this Winter Sale! Thanks for checking out the game, for your support, for your posts and for your reviews!

Hit F10 for Bugs or Feedback!

We have a wonderful in-game bug and feedback reporting tool, just hit F10 (or left stick click on controller) to send in your reports. These come with so much context, log data and an immediate screenshot that it greatly reduces the time we need to spend to resolve the issue and get it back to you in update. So, thank you - especially during Early Access - for helping feed our fire of improvements. You'll see we are a constant update machine here, always improving. So help us do that with an F10 today! So - what big bugs got smashed?

Reloading Games with Map Area of Effects

There was a bug that the movement of map areas of effect like Tox-Cloud, White Noise, Line Crawler and more was lost if you exited the game and reloaded it. Sometimes the areas wouldn't move or sometimes they would move but not like they did before you left the game. This is now all resolved, with the movement being made at the end of a Turn and being committed to the saved game at that time. Now, reloading the game will restore these flawlessly.

Leverage Duration, Clarification, Bugs

We've fixed a highly reported bug that Leverages were widely misreporting their duration. Leverages would claim to do something until the end of next Turn and then expire promptly at the end of the current Turn. We've resolved this with all of the Leverages correctly adjusting their duration to run for the right amount of time - now, if it says until the end of next Turn, that's what you'll get! We've also cleaned up a ton of non-standardized language in the Leverage descriptions and ensured that the descriptions shown during the mission and in the Field Ops Center are always synchronized and don't have the opportunity to drift apart.

Camera Range Discrepancy

We fixed a bug that was causing some cameras to actually have range to spot your mercs that exceeded the visual meta display. Just in that last meter beyond their red display, you'd still get spotted. Now fixed!

Secondary Kills Counting to Objectives

There was a class of issues for the kill count goal where "secondary" kills were not counted toward the goal. Secondary kills could be caused by Poison, any damage-over-time, corpse Detonation, Grenades, and anything else that wasn't a direct attack. These all now count toward kill goals.

Color Picking

We've compressed the color picker and fixed issues within it for controllers scrolling through the picks. This reduces all the scrolling that was needed to use this UI and helps ensure controllers can use the picker correctly.

Proc-Gen Legworks Prompt

We've improved the dialog prompt on the timeline for the proc-gen Legwork storylines, which were saying "I need a Favor" but now will say "I need a merc on a Legwork" to be really clear what they are asking about.

Wounded Tags on Skipped Recruits

If you decided not to take on a recruit - such as someone rescued from a prison break - and they had a Wound, this Wound would show forever on your Barracks as a red tag. Now fixed!

Map Fixes

We also fixed a huge host of map issues. The door that was stuck in Gated Enclave with "move closer" can now be reached. We fixed a ton of spawn locations, VIP locations, starting rotations, and issues to see over doorways from rooftops on Interchange H.

v1.9.67 - Update #193: Holiday Bug Smash - 12/26/2024

- Fixed issues with Tox-Cloud, White Noise, Line Crawler not correctly restoring their movement from last Turn when game is reloaded - Fixed all Leverage duration mismatches - where buggy, the Leverage lasted 1 Turn too short, now fixed to last correct number of Turns - Improved consistency of terms and rule descriptions in all Leverages - Leverages offered in Field Ops center area now sorted by Power Level - Fixed issues with secondary kills (poison, damage over time, Detonation, etc) not being counted toward final kill secondary objectives - Fixed bugs with some Camera and Long-Range Camera overlays on map being shorter than the actual range of the camera's detection - Shrunk size of color box for appearance color customization, more colors visible at once and improved controller/keyboard support - Timeline prompts for proc-gen Legwork are now clearer (stating need for Legwork, not a Favor) - Fixed issue where Wounded tag could appear on Barracks if you ignored a recruit who was wounded (usually a recruit from a rescue mission) - Fixed enemy reinforcement and VIP spawn locations, inoperable door, starting rotations and more in Gated Enclave - Fixed issues with inability to see over doors from rooftop on Interchange H mission map

[ 2024-12-27 04:23:31 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome again to the Winter Sale and now the drop of the Power Play storyline system! We're amped to roll out this new piece of the story engine which pushes the strategy layer and Contact simulation another big step toward completion. The new Power Play storylines begin to deliver on Contacts changing of their own accord, becoming unique due to the events of your career and truly becoming different in each playthrough. We've also more tightly bound Contact Traits to secondary mission objective offerings. Let's dig into Update #192! (If you enjoy all the work we're putting into the game, there's no better present you could give us this holiday season than leaving a Steam review!)

Risky Power Plays

As power shifts in the underworld, your Contacts have chances to make risky Power Plays to open up new opportunities, change their place in the world, or crush a rival. Until now, the Contacts in your network have been relatively static. They could only upgrade existing services, raise or lower their existing Traits, or go into hiding if they're under heavy pressure. Contacts surging in Influence may now attempt a Power Play, which means they will match with a special type of storyline that offers a chance to majorly expand their underworld footprint. These Power Plays (and later, their mirror: Compromised) will offer some of the storylines that allow Contacts to change and become unique in each Knight's career. The first wave of Power Plays make new types of services available depending on Contact's backstory, the services they offer now, and their Traits. Contacts with Traits like "Gun Nut" or those already involved in smuggling weaponry might ask for your help to access new megacorp prototypes or develop a new smuggling network with a contact in the near orbit. These services coming through Power Plays raise the roof on the maximum level for weapons you can purchase, going as high as Power Level 8 through some of the Power Play storylines.
Power Play storylines come with a lot of risk, regardless of the outcome. The Contact is always going to take on Exposure (a lot more if the Power Play flops) and failed missions may damage your relationship.

New Challenges: VIP Hunters and Second Wave Bodyguards

We're excited to roll out some new mid-mission challenges with these Power Play missions. We've now introduced the capability of VIP Hunters and second wave Bodyguards. VIP Hunters have some strong similarities to Head Hunters, except they are weaker and are specifically hunting an important VIP you are bodyguarding. Like Head Hunters have a lock on your Knight, VIP Hunters have a lock on the VIP you are bodyguarding and will move rapidly and aggressively in pursuit of this character. Unlike Head Hunters, they are a part of the local faction so they will not be slowed up by an ongoing firefight with existing security agents. Second wave Bodyguards are late spawning bodyguards who will join the map and move rapidly and aggressively to defend their VIP. This can often create a new vector of fast-moving and dangerous enemies rushing to the center of the conflict. It may put your stealth presence under threat or may force you to open up a second flank. Or if you let them, they may reach the VIP first and bolster their defensive encirclement.

Contact Traits Driving Secondary Objectives

With this update, some Contact Traits are now taking a front seat in driving the secondary objectives they are interested in offering. Those Contacts who have the Impatient Trait are significantly more likely to want you to hit Turn limit goals while Contacts with the Ruthless and Bellicose Traits will be interested in punctuating their heists with high kill counts and Contacts with Calculating or Paranoid Traits are most interested in low Security Level thresholds. This system will continue to grow as we can offer more types of secondary objectives for missions, but even with only Speed, Low Security Level, and Killing for now, it feels very impactful and helps to make your Contact Traits stand out.

New Contact Traits and Tags

In addition to gaining new services, Power Plays often result in Contacts gaining new Traits and backstory Tags as they adjust their way of thinking about how to deal with the New Boston underworld. This will further impact the next steps in their story and open them up to new possibilities from the Casting Director story engine that weaves your contacts and squad members into storylines.

Negative Reflection: Compromised

Once the Power Play storyline set is rounded out, we will swap efforts to its negative equivalent, Compromised. Whereas Power Plays originate from high Influence and positive Limit Breaks, a Contact can fall into the Compromised state due to Exposure Limit Breaks and altogether struggling. While Compromised storylines haven't been released yet, they will be a negative reflection of what can happen when on a Power Play. Contacts will be at risk of being killed, imprisoned, or forced to reduce their overall clout and position in the underworld. And, depending on how you feel about this Contact, if they are an ally, you may be the one trying to prevent their death or free them from prison, or if they are an enemy, you might be the last face they see. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1021210/Cyber_Knights_Flashpoint/

Reminder: this is our last big Early Access discount!

With the game entering its home stretch of EA on our road to a spring 2025 release, we thought we should give wishlisters a heads up that this will be our last sale at 34%-off for quite a while. The game has grown tremendously throughout EA and has an incredibly packed pipeline of content, final features, and launch polish coming in the new year. With over a hundred hours of playtime already available today, we think it's well worth the full price we've set for the game. Of course, we all love a good Steam sale, so that's not to say you won't be able to find Cyber Knights on sale anymore; but after this sale, we intend to keep it to a more modest discount up to and for some time after launch. I know the EA journey is not for everyone, and while I do think that we offer one of the best versions of it (with a ton of opportunities for your feedback to directly shape the game), I wanted to at least make sure that those of you who have been waiting eagerly for the game to be fully ready -- but are also on a budget -- know that this is the last, best discount for a while. But regardless of when you purchase or at what discount, please know my brother and I truly appreciate your support. Happy holidays!

v1.9.65 - Update #191: Major Milestone: POWER PLAYS - 12/23/2024

- All new Power Play storylines are high-risk moves by your Contacts in the underworld that can have major impacts - The first set of new Power Play storylines allow Contacts to gain new services, such as selling higher Power Level weapons (4-8 PL) - New Power Play missions are risky for your Contacts, failing the multi-part legwork/missions will result in major Exposure - More Power Play storylines and Compromised storylines (the bad mirror image of Power Plays) will be coming online soon - Added new mid-mission challenge types: VIP Hunters and second wave Bodyguards - Added new Contact Trait (Bellicose) and Tag (Near-Orbit Smuggler) as results of storyline options - Contact Traits can have a direct impact on Secondary Objectives for all missions (Contacts with Bellicose Trait are 300% more likely to Kill secondary objectives)

[ 2024-12-24 15:15:53 CET ] [ Original post ]

Tonight's deck sweeping update is a quality of life update focused on cleaning up F10s and reports coming in from the community. We've got a great set of fixes and some improvements including flipping all disabled security devices outlines gray, making items hidden by filtering obvious, adding +8 new matrix host templates, improved Matrix HUD controller support and more. A big welcome goes to all the new Knights joining us in the New Boston zone! We're here every day, working to improve the game, so please say hi here or on Discord :D Thanks to everyone playing, posting, sending in feedback and posting reviews!

Outlining Disabled Security Devices in Gray

With Update #191, we've updated the visual distinction for disabled security devices. They now outline with gray when disabled as opposed to staying outlined in red. This helps them stick out when outlines are toggled on and just makes the map easier to read. My Vanguard has knocked out the camera and the laser wires in the screenshot above - now outlining as gray - they fall more into the background compared to the red, living guard I need to deal with.

Filtering Indicates Hidden Item Counts

As more filters come online for more types of things - Contacts, Best in Class, characters who need training - it has been too easy to realize that a filter is on and that some of the items are hidden. With update #191, we've improved the filtering UI to include a designation of how many items are currently being hidden by a filter in the filter button. In addition, if everything is hidden then the text that is shown will specifically state that the list is empty due to filtering.

Added +8 Matrix Hosts

We're constantly working to expand the list of matrix host templates that are used throughout the proc-gen level set. Update #191 has added another 8 new matrix host templates that are focused on giving more variation to the hosts that control doors and security devices at the same time. These new hosts provide cool and odd formats, include the latest new Access Gate node and offer both SCU and RCU targets.

Matrix HUD Updates for Controller

A big thanks (again!) to @Brian for so much very specific feedback about how to improve controller support in the Matrix HUD. With this update, we've improved the toggling capability, fixed issues where toggle would skip the IC List if the only options were Nuke or Spiking, improved the highlight on the matrix log button and more. We've also fixed an issue with toggling back to the matrix tree would take you back to the node where you started the turn, not the last node you had selected.

Big List of F10 Fixes!

There is always a lot to wrap up in a sweeping of the decks quality-of-life update!

• If a mission had a stage with a "No Hacking" tag it could appear in the summary incorrectly even if there was a different stage that had Hacking. Now fixed!
• Power Slice (the special Talent added for carrying a sword) was not working very well with reloading games. Spent chargers were re-appearing. This is now all fixed.
• We've fixed rare issues with both inability to swap weapons and equip some items after a mission.
• The Underworld Hub High-Risk Transporter should finally be available for real.
• The Heartbreak Rush mission in the Warner-Braun Treaty '31 Era did not have any Q-Sec Tally ... this is fixed!

v1.9.63 - Update #191: Deck Sweeper - 12/21/2024

- Filter UIs now show "(X hidden)" in the filter button so that it is clear how many items are being hidden - All disabled security devices have a gray outline to make their state more visually obvious - Added 8 new Matrix host templates for expanding RCU and SCU matrix options - Fixing issue with "No Hacking" flag that could appear at the same time as "Hacking (Loot)" for a mission summary - Improved controller support in Matrix HUD - Fixed loading game issues with Power Slice Talent refreshing charges - Fixed issues with inability to equip items or equipping items like Sigma 6 Sploitkit that aren't meant to be equipped - Fixed rare issue that could prevent swapping weapons during a mission - Fixed second level bug preventing High-Risk Transporter from being available in Underworld Hub (if you had already met Dr. Knife) - Fixed bug with Heartbreak Rush storyline hacking mission now having any Q-Sec Tally

[ 2024-12-21 05:37:29 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome to the Winter Sale and the drop of our latest weekly map release! We're excited to keep the streak of new maps for 8 weeks in a row, and this week hits hard with Gate Enclave, adding new Leverage that can allow you to purchase a Red Key in advance of a mission, continued rebalancing for Matrix hosts (by Power Level, rewards, faction and Q-Sec Tally thresholds) and finally fixing the new Contact to the Underworld Hub offering, the High-Risk Transporter. We'll aiming to have another big update for you on Monday, ready for some great playtime over the holidays. If you enjoy all the work we're putting into the game, there's no better present you could give us this holiday season than leaving a Steam review!

Steam Winter Sale's here and it's our last big Early Access discount!

With the game entering it's home stretch of EA on our road to a spring 2025 release, we thought we should give wishlisters a heads up that this will be our last sale at 34%-off for quite a while. The game has grown tremendously throughout EA and has an incredibly packed pipeline of content, final features, and launch polish coming in the new year. With over a hundred hours of playtime already available today, we think it's well worth the full price we've set for the game. Of course we all love a good Steam sale, so that's not to say you won't find be able to find Cyber Knights on sale any more; but after this sale we intend to keep it to a more modest discount up to and for some time after launch. I know the EA journey is not for everyone, and while I do think that we offer one of the best versions of it (with a ton of opportunities for your feedback to directly shape the game), I wanted to at least make sure that those of you who have been waiting eagerly for the game to be fully ready -- but are also on a budget -- know that this is the last, best discount for a while. But regardless of when you purchase or at what discount, please know my brother and I truly appreciate your support. Happy holidays!

New Weekly Map: Gated Enclave

We are now on week 8 of a streak for new weekly map releases and it has been so good for the variation and map count in the game. This week, we've got another new style of map challenge coming online with the Gated Enclave. This interior map straddles a Red Key Door that splits the map in two. While trying to hit your regularly scheduled objective, you'll also be hunting for the Red Key in security lockers, hacking terminals to open the door or considering a bribe in advance of the mission to remove that obstacle from your heist. With the Gated Enclave, we are continuing to support every single proc-gen objective (all 8) with absolute maximum variation inside each option (there are 32!! ways to play this level). The new 8 proc-gen combos offered with this map brings the total to 105 proc-gen combos and represents another 7% increase in map variety. Gated Enclave includes support for the Assassinate VIP objective as well, which has gone from having an underwhelming list of mission maps a few weeks ago to have a bevy of options. As usual, working on a new map comes along with fixing issues in the recently released maps. We've reconfigured a number of Siege combat missions, fixed issues in the Flooded Tunnels with enemies starting inside the walls (!?!) and issues in Sector 01 Interchange where you might start with your team entirely spotted by a camera.

Matrix Host Balancing

We're continuing the all angle press on Matrix host balancing. After the updates a few weeks ago to bring Matrix host Power Level scaling online, Matrix hacking got significantly more challenge and we've been working our way back to where it needs to be with a series of rapid-fire improvements. This week, we're getting into more of the nitty-gritty of the progression. But its the detals that really matter here! Here is a list of things that we have improved:

• We've adjusted the faction limits on Matrix host color - for example, Street Gangs should never rightly be deploying Red Hosts, it doesn't make sense they would have such powerful Q-Sec defenses
• For Hack-only missions of any type, we've better improved the bonuses to your Turn Limit and mission pay based on the Matrix Host color. Previously you were getting a +12% pay bonus for going up against a Red host over a Blue ... which is not in any way reasonable.
• We've improved the curve for host colors, ensuring that Red and Ultra don't accidentally roll in the 5-7 Power Level band.
• The Q-Sec Tally thresholds for Escalations on Red Hosts and other really high-powere hosts were crazy low. If it only takes 10 Q-Sec Tally to cause an Escalation, you may be Escalating every single action.

A huge thanks goes out to all of our Hackers who are sharing feedback and encouraging changes, suggesting cool vectors on which to make the changes. Hack the planet!

v1.9.61 - #190: Weekly Map Release "Gated Enclave" - 12/19/2024

- Added new proc-gen map "Gated Enclave": an interior map split across two areas where the action often requires breaching a Red Door that supports +8 new proc-gen combos (Heist a CPU, Steal 3 Files, Scavenger, Kill 3 Captains, Bodyguard, Assassinate, Siege and Battle Striker) - Fixed bug preventing High-Risk Transporter from being available in Underworld Hub (if you had already met Dr. Knife) - Price and Turn Limit increases more reasonably for high power hosts, such as Red Matrix Hosts - Matrix host color rating better balanced - Reds appear more rarely and later in Power Level progression - Matrix host color rating is adjusted by target faction - street gangs cannot get access to Red level hosts - Adjusted Q-Sec Tally for Escalation for all host colors, more than doubling - Fixed map issues with enemies spawning in walls, starting in camera field of view and more - Fixed mentions of Stress as 1%, fixed tons of typos

[ 2024-12-19 19:01:29 CET ] [ Original post ]

When we say, "constant improvement" sometimes we just mean "daily improvement!" There are quality-of-life fixes, bug fixes, progression, and balance updates in this update that didn't feel like they should wait another day. With Update #189, we've kicked Brave Star into high gear by allowing their soldiery to scale up to Power Level 10 (previously they were locked to PL 2), improved consistency and late-game scaling of equipment, armor, and stats for all enemies at PL 6+, fixed Carnivore Sewer's special benefit, prevented objective files from appearing in the same node in Matrix File Hunt, improved Scourge's Nervo-Tox Shell, fixed Gun Runners who might be stuck and refusing to join in on new storylines and fixed issues with Best in Class filter memory, default value (now false) and added it to cybernetic surgery to boot. No small update! Thanks for everyone supporting, sharing the game, hitting F10, and posting on the forums. A special thanks goes out to everyone who posted a review this week! Our small team thanks you.

Brave Star Rising

Brave Star has always been a tough and dangerous faction. Their starting Power Level soldiers are strong, armored, carry good equipment, and might be backed up by S-Class Brakka mecha infantry. All this combines to make them a formidable opponent ... except they stopped scaling after Power Level 2! With this update, we've fixed this progression issue for the entire faction and now their agents of all kinds - including the Brakka mecha infantry drones - scale up to Power Level 10. If you're facing off against Brave Star right after this update, check your weapons, double-check your plan, and don't take anything for granted.

Carnivore Sewers

There is a special offer for the Carnivore Sewers level to reduce the Security Level back to 1 after the stage is over. This was broken sometime a long time ago it seems but has finally been fixed. Apologies to everyone who took the special route and ended up with extra Sec Tally for it.

Best in Class Filter Improvements

First, we've added Best in Class to cybernetic surgery - another way to cut down on too many items and look at the best offerings available. Second, we've fixed a mistake on our part where Best in Class was set as on by default for some players, which caused a lot of confusion. Finally, we've added scoped filter memory so that your settings for Best in Class isn't incorrectly carried around. The six scopes are Inventory or Equipping, Market, Cyberdeck browsing, Cybernetic Surgery, Cold Storage, and the NanoFab. Each currently remembers its own setting for Best-in-Class filter. We are working to figure out how to best expand this to other filter types as well to help keep local data about what filters you're using and help you not need to reset them repeatedly.

Stuck Gun Runners

While investigating an F10 about boring Gun Runners doing nothing, we discovered 4 story paths through common storylines that could result in a Contact - and possibly both your Gun Runners - getting stuck in an expired storyline. In this case, these Contacts would refuse to take future roles offered by the Casting Director and just become ... stuck. This update fixes this issue for existing saved games and future games alike. Rah rah to the Gun Runners! Let's go!

Scourge's Nervo-Tox Shell

When fired against a primary target, nearby targets can suffer a powerful Stunning debuff from the Scourge's Nervo-Tox Shell. This was not canceling Overwatch immediately, which was a mistake in the application of Stun. Now this is resolved and any debuffed target drops Overwatch.

Siege Hot Intercept Restored

For a minute, the automatic Leverage Hot Intercept on the Siege proc-gen mission types was not applying correctly every time. This is now resolved.

Objective Files on Hosts

If you are searching for 3 objective files across a matrix host, they will no longer accidentally pile up in a single node due to pure RNG. Now, if possible, they will always appear on separate data nodes.

v1.9.57 - Update #189: - 12/16/2024

- Added missing scaling for Brave Star faction, now scaling out to 10 Power Levels - watch out! - Improved scaling, weapons HP, and armor across all 10 Power Levels for all enemies - especially at PL 6-10 - Fixed bug with Carnivore Sewers path that was not correctly resetting the Sec Level to 1 - Fixed issue where multiple objective Files could end up in the same Data Node in Matrix File Hunt missions - Corrected display of "No Hacking" tag on specific stages while larger missions does require Hacking (such as Carnivore Sewers) - Scourge's Nervo-Tox Shell debuff to nearby enemies now cancels Overwatch - Split filter memory for Best in Class in 6 scopes (inventory, market, cybernetics, blueprints, cold storage, and cyberdecks) - Added Best in Class filter for cyber surgery (filters out Synth Muscle 1 for Synth Muscle 2 only) - Fixed issue with Best in Class filter being set on by default - Fixed multiple issues with storyline paths (such as letting DEAD DROP HIT expire) that could lock contacts into expired storylines - Fixed Siege Leverage "Hot Intercept" not triggering correctly - Fixed missing text in Matrix HUD when toggling between HUD sections

[ 2024-12-17 14:53:44 CET ] [ Original post ]

We're back for a rapid one-two punch of updates with some important fixes to the new Sector 01 Interchange map, a big upgrade to how Items are handled during missions (no more backpack!), much clearer signposts for HI-POWER Security Devices in their hovers, fixes for the Best in Class Filter, and more. When we've got something this good ready to go, it would be a shame to sit on it, so we're shipping this 50 MB package of goodness tonight! If you like the pace of updates, the new maps or just seeing your feedback translated directly into the game - please be sure to tell a friend, share the game, and leave a review!

Auto-Automatic Items

With Update #188, we've removed the Backpack button from the HUD and now all Items automatically join your Talent list immediately. This is so much better and easier for discovery of items, remembering what you've got and being able to test out and preview the Item's range and effect without having to go through the two-step process with the backpack. Not to mention that taking it out of your backpack marked the item for consumption at the end of the mission, meaning that checking your medkit's range cost you the medkit even if you didn't use it.
The new auto-automatic system is simpler, gives you all the control to preview, and only consumes items that are used. If you use a charge of any item during a mission, it will be marked as consumed. Items are (as of a few updates ago) also marked in a nice orange tint which makes them stick out against your regular old Talents. Bye-bye backpack, we barely knew ye.

Sector 01 Interchange Fixes

With this update, we've resolved the issue with the broken terminal in the center of this map. It was misconfigured in the final ramp to launching the map yesterday, sorry for the pain we've caused on that one! We also fixed issues with a specific Assassinate VIP starting point that could lead to an automatic defeat in this new mission map. Finally, we fixed a few "open field" reinforcement spawn locations in Rooftop Ziggurat. Enemies should never be appearing out of thin air without a door, elevator or ladder to mark their possible entry points, so if you see this happening, please F10! And thanks to the players who did!

HI-POWER Designation

If a device upgrades to HI-POWER we have now clearly marked it as such in the hover. This helps make it more clear without having to read the entire text of the hover. We're working toward having full visual VFX upgrade for HI-POWER for all the devices, but for now this is a good step in the right direction.

Best in Class Filter vs Other Filters

It turns out the Best in Class filter wasn't the best team player! It was hiding things that shouldn't be hidden as long as filters like Ready to Equip were enabled. With this update, we've rewritten how the filtering works to allow for a dual pass filter (filter once, then filter again) which allows Best in Class to be in the second pass, and therefore it shows what is best in class of what is left from the first filter. Tldr; it works now! Also, if you enable Best in Class in the store, it will be remembered in your inventory. This isn't ideal as it is easy to miss and we will be working toward scoping the different areas in which filters should be remembered better.

v1.9.55 - #188: Auto-Automatic Items - 12/15/2024

- All items automatically unpack onto your Talent bar, with an orange tint - Items are only consumed if 1 or more charges is used during the mission, backpack is removed from Team button bar in the top left - Added clear "HI-POWER" designation to the hover of any security device that has been upgraded - Fixed issues with "Best in Class" and "Ready to Equip" filters not playing together well - Fixed issues in new "Sector 01 Interchange" where matrix terminal was causing locks - Fixed one Assassinate VIP start point that could lead to auto-defeat in "Sector 01 Interchange" - Fixed bad reinforcement spawn points on Rooftop Ziggurat

[ 2024-12-16 04:20:34 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome to the weekend and the latest weekend update! We're excited to keep the streak of adding one new map a week rolling with Sector 01 Interchange, adding a new Leverage that lets you take an extra merc on a mission, adding new Contact to the Underworld Hub offering, improving Hovertruck Operator services, adding (my new favorite) Best in Class filter for Weapon, Weapon Mods and Armor, We're hard at work expanding and improving the game every week with multiple updates. If you like the relentless pace and the direction the game is going, we hope you will leave a review!

New Weekly Map Release

We are now on week 7th of our New Weekly Map Release schedule, and we have hit it 7 for 7 so far! We're excited to keep this rolling, as the map count in the game has improved so rapidly in the last two months. This has been a huge boon to playability and replayability. This week, we've got another unique map style coming online - the Sector 01 Interchange is a triangular bridge structure built over an old interchange. This cramped, close-in zone does not give a lot of forgiving wiggle room, and will push both stealth teams - it is a small space to stay stealthy - and combat teams - it is hard to establish zones of control when the fight is so in your face - both. With the Sector 01 Interchange, we are continuing to support every single proc-gen objective (all 8) with absolute maximum variation inside each option (there are 32!! ways to play this level). The new 8 proc-gen combos offered by the Sector 01 Interchange, brings the total to 97 proc-gen combos and represents another 8% increase in map variety. Sector 01 Interchange includes support for the Assassinate VIP objective as well, which has a rapidly growing list of maps, but it is a key point to keep improving. As usual, working on a new map comes along with fixing issues in the recently released maps. We've fixed several issues with spawning enemies and Siege missions across the set.

5 Merc Option for Siege and Battle Strike

With Update #187, we've added a new Leverage offering for all Siege and Battle Striker missions. Of course, you can get a wide variety of powerful Leverage from the Field Ops room in your base, but this one costs a Favor from someone willing to provide on-demand, high-risk transport for an extra merc. With the new "Rapid Transport" Leverage, you can bring a 5th merc along for Siege and Battle Striker missions, which is a huge boost to your ability to steamroll the enemies. Of course, you'll have to know the right person, like a Hovertruck Operator (see the next heading). We've also improved the display of the Siege "Hot Intercept" Leverage. This is automatically applied to all Siege missions to give you a bonus on that first Turn scramble (+3 MP). Previously it said "Applied" as if you had purchased it, but that was confusing so it now states "Automatic".

Underworld Hub + Updated Hovertruck Operator

With this update, we've improved the services offered by all Hovertruck Operators. These key transportation focus contacts are going to be offering a lot more interesting Leverages in the coming weeks, starting with the new Rapid Transport one for Siege and Battle Strike. To feed that hunger for Favors, you'll need to know the right transporter and be able to pile up the Favors. Hovertruck Operators are now interested in purchasing Item Blueprints as well as Gang and Syndicate Files. In addition, you can now get an introduction to an additional Hovertruck Operator through the Underworld Hub Contacts service.

Best in Class Filter

We've added a new "best" filter for weapons, weapon mods, and armor. This filter looks through the available list of equipment by class - such as Shotguns, SMGs, and Blades - and then only shows the equipment in that class that is the top Power Level for that class. In this way, you can see the best equipment only - if your best Shotgun is Power Level 4 but your best SMG is Power Level 2 and your best 3 Blades are all Power Level 3, you'll see these and hide any inferior equipment. This new filter is killer for shopping - helping you focus only on the best and hiding all the chafe. If you want to go budget shopping you can look at the rest but Best in Class helps laser focus on what you really want, the choppas, the best, the highest Power Level. With this new filter in place, we're going to take another hard look at remembering filtering settings more actively. The original attempt at this remembered things too widely (if you set something in the Weapons Store, looking at Armor Inventory used the same filter) which could lead to confusing situations. A better shot at it will remember specific filters set in specific scopes (Armor Inventory only).

Contact Traits

With Update #187, we've added 2 new Contact Traits - Paranoid and Quantum Obsession. Along with these, we've improved the description of all Traits with extra service interest, like Gun Nut. These Traits - like Gun Nut, Addict, Paranoid, and Quantum Obsession - will all influence the types of services that a Contact may expand into during their Power Play Limit Breaks (coming very soon!). A Gun Nut is going to be very interested in getting into selling guns whereas someone with Quantum Obsession will want to get into slinging programs. We've fixed a bug where the German-Connection Trait was considered negative and was improving during Exposure Limit Breaks.

F10 Bug Kill!

We've hit a lot of extra F10s this week as well. In some cases, especially with Scourge's Callus buff, you could exceed 100% Soak and end up displaying "-12 HP" when taking a hit. This is now fixed and armor maxes out at 95% soak, meaning you can never stop the damage entirely with Armor. There was another issue with duplicate dialog appearing on gunning down a VIP in an assassinate mission and the text shown for auto-crouch was something like "Mission.Ping.GetDown" - all fixed now.

v1.9.51 - Update #187: - 12/14/2024

- Added new proc-gen map "Sector 01 Interchange": a cramped trio of bridges over an interchange providing high-stakes, rapid challenges that supports +8 new proc-gen combos (Heist a CPU, Steal 3 Files, Scavenger, Kill 3 Captains, Bodyguard, Assassinate, Siege and Battle Striker) - Added new Leverage offering for Siege missions - Rapid Transport allows deploying a 5th merc - Siege Leverage "Hot Drop" is now marked correctly as "Automatic" as it is always granted on Siege - Added new "Best in Class" filter for Armors/Weapons/Weapon Mods - rapidly show only things with the highest Power Level in class - Added new High-Risk Transporter to Underworld Hub Contact connections - Added 2 new Contact Traits: Quantum Obsession and Paranoid - Improved Contact Trait descriptions for interest in services (Gun Nut, etc) - these are potential possible services by Limit Break Power Plays - Fixed bug allowing Armor soak % to exceed 95% and cause negative damage (wut!?) - Fixed bug where German-Connection Trait was classified as negative for Contact Limit Breaks - Fixed bugs with Bio-Recycle giving 3 Talents in the bar - Fixed missing text for auto-duck where the game was saying "Mission.Ping.GetDown" - Fixed duplicate dialog on taking down Assassinate VIP target

[ 2024-12-15 01:19:20 CET ] [ Original post ]

Early Access improvements across the board continue with today's Update #186. We have a new map and objective proc-gen combo (Decommissioned Core X Assassinate VIP), improved program/talent/item coloring in the HUD, big improvements to navigating the Matrix HUD with keyboard or controller, ability for Matrix Talents to exceed screen size and still scroll to them, some very important progression and balance updates, and another round of polishing for Blueprint crafting. It is a heavy haul of an update with a lot going on! We've detailed it all below for you to read in detail. Thanks for playing and posting and our small team especially thanks you if you choose to leave a review!

VIP Down in the Decommissioned Core

With Update #186, we're continuing to buff the mission map list available for the Assassinate VIP proc-gen objective. The Decommissioned Core is a larger interior structure with many paths through it, so you'll have to contend with distance and limited sight lines (Snipers are crying) to take out the VIP on the move. Try to stay stealthy as long as you can, or else the VIP will start moving quickly and then it's going to be a loud, explosive footrace to the end. This update also includes a ton of other fixes for new maps, including some big rework in Flooded Tunnels about enemy starting positions, counts, and siege setup. We've also fixed a few places where Matrix Terminals had SCU that were not linked to any devices.

New HUD Colors: Talents, Programs, Items

To help increase the visual distinction between Talents, items, and Programs - we have added a slight color shift to these lists in the mission and matrix HUD. Talents retain the original blue coloration, while Items have taken on a gentle orange tint and Programs are now an oceanic green-blue.
We're moving toward automatically placing all items on your Talent bar all the time, so shifting color will help set them apart. It is nice to have them pop more in the Matrix and make a clear break between program (load / unload) and talent (use!).

Matrix HUD is Nav, Scroll for Too Many Programs/Talents

We've adjusted the Matrix HUD to allow you to scroll (with the D-pad, mouse wheel, etc.) to reach any additional Programs, Talents, or Items that go off the edge of your screen. Along with this, we've improved the navigation in the HUD so that it is more open and easier to move between the different button groups. And finally, we've made the navigation in the matrix tree directly linked to the connections between the nodes, so you can walk the three with a keyboard or controller without having to try to free scroll around. Also, if your program list is sorted to have Sleaze 2 first and Sleaze 1 second, then your actions under the IC will follow the same sort - Sleaze 2 first and Sleaze 1 second. We were previously failing to honor your sorting decisions in these action buttons. Thanks to @brian and all of our Steam Deck players sending in F10 input and helping us improve here!

Blueprint Crafting UX

We're hard at work improving the NanoFab UX to make the rules for Blueprint crafting clearer. A few updates ago, we started with some text updates and now we've moved on to some larger UI improvements. With Update #186, we've split out the costs for crafting into the top right of the screen to plan a Blueprint craft. This gives us more space below to pick your Cube allocation and also lets us show discount and time reduction % directly inline. It is a small but important step in the right direction that lets us reduce 2 to 3 lines of text from the old blueprint rules shown below the crafting recipe. This is in prep to help us focus that text solely on describing the type of recipe you're currently crafting and the Intrinsic bonus rules for that recipe.

Difficulty and Progression Adjustments

We are at a (good) point in the cycle where difficulty and progression are now more and more of the focus of the community and our team. The game has many hours of content, hundreds of pieces of equipment, and a growing list of maps and, not surprisingly, will benefit from an ongoing focus on balance, progression, and difficulty. So, with this update, we've made a few changes to help in these areas!

• Progression: We have adjusted the mission payment scale, "squeezing" it a bit. The lower-level missions are now better pay and the highest-level missions had 5-10% trimmed off their top-line pay (when the missions start hitting for $1.5m each).
• Difficulty: We've adjusted the Casual and Easy Difficulties for all new games - they come with negative values to Power Level scaling for matrix and mission, meaning that these elements of the game will stay lower challenge longer before starting to ramp up. Casual has a -2 Power Level applied to Matrix and Missions while Easy is a -1 and then Normal is +0, bog standard.
• Difficulty:We've widened the range of Power Level boosts you can do up to -5 to +5. This can help if there are parts of the game you're not loving, and you want to breeze them. You can hit Matrix with a -5 Power Level and keep it simple for the entire game.
• Progression: We have adjusted the proc-gen map rules to cull the harder maps from appearing too early in the game. Maps like Rooftop Ziggurat and Flooded Tunnels are too big and hard for a Team Power Level 1 team to be riding into without care. These harder, larger maps now slowly appear over a scale from Power Level 1 to 4.

Other Fixes

We've also taken time during this release to hit a lot of small issues around key bindings, odd things with controllers, and other small bugs. Check the full release notes below!

v1.9.47 - Update #186: - 12/11/2024

- Added Decommissioned Core to Assassinate VIP objective for new proc-gen combo (now 89!) - Many improvements to enemy start locations for the new Flooded Tunnels map, fixed terminal bugs, unliked SCUs in Matrix - Improved proc-gen to prevent high-challenge maps from being selected early (before Team Power Level 1-3) - Improved starting Casual and Easy Difficulties - with -2 or -1 Mission and Matrix Power Levels - Widened difficulty options for Mission and Matrix Power Level adjustments from -5 to +5 from -4 to +4 - Squeezed mission payment scale - lower-level missions pay a little more, higher level pay a little less - Improved Matrix / Talent HUD with new tints - talents are blue, items are orange, programs are green - Improved Talent hover in HUD to be clearer about the number of Turns until the next recharge - Improved Matrix Talent list in HUD to horizontally scroll is too many items to show on screen at once - Improved Matrix HUD navigation - more easily move between sections, matrix node map navigation follows node paths cleanly - Improved NanoFab blueprint recipe screen, giving cost its own space, making discounts more obvious, improved help text - Improved Matrix action list under IC to match the sorting of your program list (if programs Sleaze 1, 2 then actions Sleaze 1, 2) - Hovers over contacts in sale/purchase offers now over the entire row, not just contact face - Improved timeline prompts for all proc-gen missions to highlight and identify their objective type (spike CPU, bodyguard, siege, etc.) - One-time services (E-Rifle) are much more tolerant to low Trust issues - will still offer to sell - Improved Cold Storage screen for Accounts, Blueprints, and Files where Sell is primary (A or spacebar) is now yellow button - Fixed issues with multi-class screen and hard-to-find training button in the bottom right (removed) - Fixed issues with Font Scaling and training screen display of implants overrunning - Fixed issues with the controller (B) key in the load screen - Fixed issues with controller/keyboard Mint hotkey (space/A) breaking after changing files - Added enemy description for FSC mecha infantry Po-Bots

[ 2024-12-12 18:59:18 CET ] [ Original post ]

It must be a Monday and we've got the big update we just couldn't button up over the weekend ready for you now! This one comes with a bundle of improvements to Matrix Host scaling (host rating color and Q-Sec AI), a new mission flag to pre-warn about matrix difficulty, the hotly requested "stayed crouched which planning sprint" QoL, improvements to enemy offensive capabilities in scaling, making the Bio-Recycle items available from day 1 and improving the map repeat protection from 2 to 5. We're hard at working making Cyber Knights: Flashpoint better, bigger and more polished each week. We couldn't do it without you - thanks for the posts, playing and your F10s. We hope you'll take a moment to leave a review if you are enjoying the game and our relentless update pace.

Matrix Power Level Scaling

Over the last few weeks, we've been resolving a lot of math issues and issues with the correct flow of properly scaled Power Level for missions throughout all the subsystems that rely on it. For example, we fixed a bug where higher difficulty games were getting less Team Power Level for missions that lower difficulty games (they should get the same). Some of these fixes ended up exposing and fixing a Power Level flow bug that was preventing Matrix Hosts from scaling correctly, and always turning up as Blue Hosts + Bronze Boa Q-Sec AI. So, this has been fixed in the last update but it has caused a sudden spike of really hard hosts appearing (Red Host + Gold Viper Q-Sec AI is a rude thing to encounter after so many Blue + Boa!!!). With this update, we've gone back into the scaling system that had been setup before and re-adjusted all of the scales and weights to ensure that there is a ramp up of difficulty and no major cliffs. High Power Level teams are still going to be hitting higher level Matrix Hosts, so we'd love to hear how it feels to you but the ramp is much more reasonable for lower Team Power Level and should play much better - challenge increases but isn't insane. Unless you play on Chrome, gl wp gg steamhappy

Highest Rated Host Flag

To help give warning about the matrix host levels included in a level, proc-gen missions are now displaying a flag on a mission for the highest rated host. If there are two hosts, you only get data about the highest rated one (might be a Yellow and Red but you get a warning for Red) but at least you know how bad it might get. In the case o hack-only missions, this is very helpful as it gives you immediate warning about the type of host your considering going up against and you might pick a different hacker, stock up on consumables or skip it altogether.

Auto-Duck vs. Cameras and Plotting Moves

Last week we introduced a series of fixes to ensure that auto-duck is highly consistent feature. Auto-duck causes your mercs to immediately crouch in any situation in which it will help them stay hidden. If an enemy is on patrol and they are standing behind some crates, they will auto-duck and dive out of view so the patroller can walk past. The goal being - you do not need to manually manage crouching.
With Update #184, we've pushed this feature to full coverage now by adding all the same auto-duck features against cameras. If a Long-Range Camera sweeps as it is changing positions and your merc is standing behind a set of crates (or in any situation) where crouching would avoid them from being spotted, they will auto-duck and get out of view. The camera will sweep over none the wiser. In addition we've added the highly-requested (!!!) ability to plot / preview a sprinting move while staying crouched. This allows you to preview a movement - either sprinting or crouching - without accidentally standing up and being spotted by the enemies.

Enemy Scaling

We're continuing to hammer on enemy scaling - expanding the range of how and how far enemies can scale against your mercs. In most cases, you're team will eventually end up with power levels - between Talents, cyber, weapons, armor, etc - that exceed what the enemy can eventually post up against you. So, a lot of this scaling work is focused on the enemy Power Level ranges above 5+, but its key work to make the entire progression go smoothly and stay challenging. With Update #185, we've rebuilt the offensive capabilities of the enemy sets, allowing them to scale better up to Power Level 10, equip better weaponry and punch harder.

Bio Recycler now available

With Update #185, we've changed the configuration around for Bio Recycler items. This powerful starting item is now available for sale in the "Medical Items Level 1" service. meaning it is immediately available out of the gate. We've raised its price by 50% and increases its AP cost to 2. To replace the original option coming forward to easier services, we've added new options - the Bio Dissolver and Liquefy 2200. The Bio Dissolver is sold in "Milsec Items Level 2" and now has a 3rd charge to clean up even more corpses. The B-Liquefy gel is sold in "Anti-Security Items Level 1" and costs 0 AP to use but keeps the 2 charge maximum. This will help out of the gate players have more options for corpse disposal without having to reach for the Scourge, Hacker or Vanguard always. We're excited to see how the new options help you change the composition of starting teams and item carries.

Increased Protection against Map Repeats

With more maps coming online every week, we've increased the existing protection against map repeats (which was "don't repeat the last 2 maps") out to "don't repeat the last 5 maps" if possible. This should really help cut down on any feelings of repeated map appearances and is more and more effective as each new weekly map release drops.

Cheating Enemies on Fast Forward

There was a code path in the option for automatically fasting forwarding all enemy turns that could result in certain enemies using a lot of AP ... like 15 or 20 AP sometimes if they moved around without any interruptions. Basically, they weren't using AP so they'd keep going until something stopped them. Bad bad bad, fixed fixed fixed!

v1.9.45 - Update #185: - 12/9/2024

- Improved/reduced speed of Matrix scaling especially for Hack-only missions - Matrix hosts now generate higher than Blue + Bronze Boa, become more challenging as your Team Power Level and mission payments ramp - Added tag to proc-gen missions and hack-only missions that shows color of highest rated host (i.e. "Yellow") - Added auto-duck system against cameras and long-range cameras - Added ability to plan a sprint move while crouching if you need to auto-duck - Improved enemy progression and threat level - enemies scale better to Power Level 10, get better weapons at PL 5+ - Increased protection against repeating mission maps from "last 3" to "last 5" as the map pool keeps growing - Bio Recycler (but costs 2 AP) now available in "Medical Items Lvl 2" service, one Limit Break up - New Bio Dissolvant (-1 AP, +1 charge) and Bio Liquefy (-2 AP cost) available in Milsec Items and Anti-Security Items - Fixed bug where an enemy might take multiple movements and use more than reasonable AP if Fast Forward - Fixed issues with doors in buildings blocking sight lines above them in Urban HQ mission map - Fixed duplicate dialog popping up during Kill 3 captains missions

[ 2024-12-09 20:03:48 CET ] [ Original post ]

It must be Thursday and we're rolling out a new update with a full rebuild of our character's ragdolls, adding missing ambient SFX to the game, visually linking doors to their trigger panels to reduce confusion, fixing auto-duck bugs and more! A big thanks again to everyone playing and posting feedback - we're hard at work during our Early Access phase and on our way to 200 updates here! Every few days, the game takes a lunge forward, getting better or larger - so let's keep grinding together. We've got a new Weekly Map Release coming up and more content to follow it as well. Did you notice we do Early Access a bit differently? We vow to keep EA a crazy, relentless march to the finish line. You've got feedback? Post it and watch the game get better constantly. If you're having fun or like the direction of the game, please leave a review to help us keep trucking.

Ragdoll Rebuild

We're excited to have finished a big background project that has been in the works for a while - the ragdoll rebuild. The old ragdoll setup - triggered when anyone dies and the physics engine takes over - was not the best looking, so it is grand to roll out the new one.
What have we done? We've adjusted all of the character joints and colliders in use to try to improve the realism of the ragdoll as it goes to the ground and as it finds its resting position. We've removed the awkward T position ragdolling that was so common on in the other system. We've also configured weapons to drive some percentage of the final physics force that is applied, so a Sniper Rifle kill should feel and look different than a Pistol execution or even a Revolver boom-boom.
There were some times along the way where we thought we might be dealing with aliens or something escaped from a cyber lab.
And unfortunately, any bodies that are currently lying on the ground when you get the update will be corrupted, stretched and munged. All new bodies you drop to the floor will be good. So this is a temporary setback.
The completion of this task also comes along with a number of improvements to character models, especially around necks and the connection of head-neck-body not having any gaps, clipping or overlaps.
Of course, there is always more to do! Ragdolls are fun to play with and we could clearly spend a lot more time tweaking and improving but for now we're excited to share the second-generation ragdoll and let you get back to heisting! For example, we know that there are issues with lower back flexibility in the ragdoll ... we've appealed to the megacorps to fund a robo-masseuse to help us straighten that out for the next iteration. If you do see anything odd, please F10!

Environmental Ambient SFX

We've restored the ambient SFX for areas which was accidentally lost early in the Early Access process to some coding mistakes. This ambient SFX helps give background noise and atmosphere to the room spaces and is part of the SFX volume slider. While the ambient is back, the level spaces we're working in have changed a lot since we started. We are working on a review of the SFX vs. the areas we're playing in to see how to adjust and improve them.

Connecting Doors to their Terminals

We have now added the same blue line connecting doors to their trigger panels as we have between Matrix Terminals and security devices and doors. This allows you to quickly see where you need to go to open any given door and hopefully can reduce any confusion about how to get a door open.

Auto-Duck Fixes

Auto-duck is a longstanding feature that removes the need for you to manage your crouch / sprint state. I an enemy happens to be moving toward a standing merc and crouching would help the situation, then your merc immediately does that. We've been processing a number of F10s about situations in which auto-duck wasn't working and fixed all of the known cases now. One case was caused by 2 mercs in the enemy's view that both needed to auto-duck but only one of them would. This is a lovely feature that reduces your need to manage state on your mercs so we hope everyone can get back to using it with confidence. We are working on the paired issue - the inability to plot a sprinting move while crouched - now and will get it fixed soon.

Stressed Tag in 3 places

We've added the Stressed Tag to the roster and the safehouse barracks list as well. It was appearing in mission deploy screen but that is not always where you need the valuable heads up that a negative Limit Break might be brewing.

Building Fixes

While working on ragdolls we kept having ragdolls slip through parts of the edge of the raised buildings and fall down a floor. This lead us to finally finding and fixing the whole that has made buildings so troublesome - this allowed both corpses to fall through and be discovered but also for enemies sometimes to shoot up through the invisible hole even though you should not be a valid target.

Other F10 Cleanup

We hit a few other nice QoL F10s for this update. There are still lingering issues with +25% Font Scale but we're getting them as they come in - this time we fixed issues with the Talent LImit being hidden on the class tree at that Font Scale. Using Leverages in the HUD left an odd "Button" text showing - now fixed. Sometimes if you swapped mods on your weapons and then went to the Appearance tab, you would visually see the old mods - now fixed. And if you were targeting with Agent EX Glitch it would let you drag the target circle as far as you wanted which isn't consistent with how other ranged targeting circles work. it is now limited to the range of the Talent and fixed.

v1.9.39 - #183: - 12/4/2024

- Rebuilt all character ragdolls for more realistic and visually appealing joints and deaths - Added blue line from door to door trigger on hover to make connection more clear - Added missing environmental ambient SFX by different mission map themes and safehouse - Fixed issue that could prevent merc from correctly auto-ducking when enemy is moving - Added "Stressed" tag to Roster and Safehouse Barracks overlay to match Mission Deploy screen - Finished all dual pistol/revolver animations for all characters - Fixed major sight line holes and spaces where bodies could fall through building rooftop edges - Fixed Agent EX Glitch Talent allowing target to be shown beyond maximum range - Fixed issue with +25% Font Scale preventing Talent Limit from showing in Class tree - Fixed issue with appearance not always updating after swapping mods on weapons - Fixed odd gray text "Button" appearing in HUD sometimes

[ 2024-12-05 19:30:11 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello, Knights! It's time for another CKF Community Challenge. Though honestly this is less of a challenge and more of a show and tell. In the spirit of the holiday season, we want to hear what gifts you would craft and give your mercs. There are only two requirements for this: - Your gifted items must be ones you craft - Your merc must use the crafted item you give them
Since this is a very different sort of community 'challenge' what you choose to share may be different from other challenges, some ideas: - The story of why you chose that particular item for that particular merc - your head canon for the relationship between your CK and mercs - Any other creative ways you want to share to tell us about your team: memes, interpretive dance, gifs, etc
Hope your appreciate my terrible photo editing job! :D No matter what you choose to share, please share screenshots of your merc with their gift equipped and in use!
Weve opened up a discussion here on Steam in the General Discussion forum for aIl of your posts. If you post in our Discord, head to #giving_gifts to join in on the conversation!

[ 2024-12-05 19:19:32 CET ] [ Original post ]

Another update is coming down the pipe to New Boston streets - and this one lands with a new Scourge recruit in the Underworld Hub, a big buff to Soldier's Plaster-Cross Talent, a rebuild of some of the rules and UI for minting FIle Sets, better display for Armor with 0 Protection Points, tweaks to the Hackers class tree and a big bundle of F10s fixed. A huge thanks to every Knight joining us on the streets of New Boston during the Autumn Sale! We hope you'll share the game with friends by leaving a review. We're a small but relentlessly updating studio with a focus on making sure this Early Access is always moving forward, so if you like the updates, hit the review button steamhappy!

New Scourge in Underworld Hub

Last week we hit the Underworld Hub with another 3 new recruiting options - Agent EX, Gunslinger and Sniper - and now we are following up with the 4th - the Scourge. This nearly completes the starter set for the Underworld Hub with only Hacker being unavailable there (though there are multiple options in storyline to recruit one). But now - in saved games new or old - you can recruit a new character whose base class is Scourge. This brings the total in-game recruit count up to 12 which exceeds what you can possibly bring on to your team by 2 and starts to feel like we've passed the Early Access "not enough options" issue we had with recruits.

Other Recruit Fixes

In all saved games - old and new - we've repaired some of the relationships between the recruit and their enemies or friends. Some of them had odd text about Jupiter Group that didn't make any sense. In all cases these are now fixed for future and existing games. We've also fixed some issues that recruits could cause where they incorrectly "hung on to" a story actor even after they were recruited which would prevent that story actor from jumping in on other future stories. This is fixed in all games.

Soldier Plaster-Cross

WIth Update #182, we've come back to add more power (more power!) to the Soldier's Plaster-Cross Talent. Previously, while this Talent could lend a boost to an Assault Rifle, UAR or SMG's Burst Fire attacks, it left a lot of room open - even when fully upgraded - for the attack to not Armor Shred and feel like it was a miss. With the latest rounds of updates, the Soldier gains +25% Armor Shred at the base and then can invest in 2 more upgrade nodes to gain +25% Armor Shred each time, basically giving you a surefire way to Shred Armor on a target at least once every few Turns. We've also tagged on a 6th upgrade node for those soldiers going all in on Plaster-Cross allowing you to bring the recharge rate down even farther.

Hacker Attribute Bonuses

We've upgraded the Hacker class tree to stop giving Strength bonuses. This was a mistake in their design that was never justified and all 3 of those +1 Strength bonuses are now swapped over to +1 Reaction.

File Set Minting Rules / UI Updates

We've made some nice changes to how File Set minting generates the Power Level of the resulting File as well as improved the UI to be more clear about the rules of Minting right where you need them to be. First up, when you Mint a Set to create a new file, the resulting Power Level is now the average of the input Power Levels. This gives you a solid hook you can rely on - putting in higher Power Level files will guarantee a better output value and then you can gamble with Rarity which is rolled proportionally to the input File Rarity (if you put in 2:2 Rare and Common files, you get 50%/50% Rare or Common output). We've reinforced both of these rules in the dynamic rule text directly above the file choice, listing the value of the resulting file, the Power Level you will get by average and the % chance for each Rarity to be rolled. In addition, we've added a bunch of missing labels in the Cold Storage UI for subtypes that can help identify what you're looking at.
Thanks to everyone helping us buff up this UI and these rules!

Armor with No Protection Points

Another UI area that was causing some friction was Armors that have 0 Protection Points. These Armors have an advantage - they cannot be Shredded. The confusion was in their listing of 2 Armor values, even though they only use the lower of the two values at all times. We've adjusted the UI to be more clear but still kept the ability to compare these Armors to other Armors with 1+ Protection Points so you can see the spread of value.

Renamed Radar Array to Long-Range Camera

Radar Arrays was a confusing name it turns out, as these are really just Long-Range Cameras that play by all the regular Camera rules and are affected by all the Talents that affect Cameras. To help reduce expectation that Radar Arrays have a separate rule set, we've renamed them.

v1.9.37 - #182: Scourge This Way Comes - 11/30/2024

- Added new Scourge recruit to the Underworld Hub - now all but Hacker available via Underworld Hub - Total of +12 recruits now available through storylines or Underworld Hub - New contact type available, Street Splicer with 4 new cybernetic offerings - Improved Soldier's Plaster-Cross Talent, tripling possible Armor Shred % bonus (now 25%+25%+25%) - All Hacker class nodes that added +1 Strong have been swapped to +1 Reaction - Improved Cold Storage File Sets minting UI to list Rarity % chances and Power Level results - Upgraded File Set minting rules to use average Power Level of input Files during a Mint to determine output file Power Level - Improved display of Armor with 0 Protection Points showing that it only has a low (degraded) soak % - Fixed incorrect story connections in relationship tags for 3 new Underworld Hub recruits - Fixed other lingering story issues with some Contacts getting locked out of future story events by old ones - Added missing labels for subtypes (Weapon Blueprint, Account, File Set) to Cold Storage UI - Renamed Radar Arrays to Long-Range Cameras to be clear that they just work under the same Camera rules - Improved fade into missions, fixed bug were Sec Level could be stuck at 999 until player's turn

[ 2024-12-03 01:57:23 CET ] [ Original post ]

Another heist on the streets of New Boston and another update coming down the pipe. Thanks to everyone playing and posting F10s, reviews and sharing the game. And welcome to all the new Knights joining us during the Autumn Sale - we've got a lot more coming your way. Today's update adds a new mission map option to the Assassinate VIP mission type, improves on the Fast Forward system (less finicky hotkeys) and an option to Auto Fast Forward all the time, improving Limit Breaks and fixing bugs, rebuilding the Timeline Event History to remove paging and upgrade to high performance endless scroll, and finally fixing some reported F10s with existing mission maps. A big thanks to everyone posting up a review this week! Our tiny dev team is grateful for you steamhappy

New Assassin VIP Map Combos

With Update #181, we've started the drive to add more mission maps to the pool for the Assassinate VIP proc-gen objective. This objective has the lowest variety with a paltry 2 maps (with the other types ranging from 8 to 14) so it is a big goal to bring Assassinate VIP up to par before we add the next objective type of the map set.

Improved Fast Forward + Auto FF Option

With some help from @Stormfox we identified some annoying input issues with the ESC key to fast forward enemy turns, sometimes leading to being unable to fast forward turns if you hit the key at the wrong time. We've wrapped all of this up - if you push the hotkey (or click) for Fast Forward enemy turn at any point, then it will immediately engage and fast forward all possible future moves. We've also taken the moment to expand this out to an Auto Fast Forward option which removes all need for your input. If you're playing with this option engaged, any enemy whose movement is determined not to have immediate impact (seeing you, discovering a dead body, etc) will be immediately fast forward without any requirement to hit ESC (etc).
It always feels good to be able to play faster when you're in the mood, so we're excited to deliver this option for those players putting in short or long hours with Cyber Knights!

Contact Limit Break: Ordering & Hiding

We've improved the rules for how Contact LImit Breaks are processed to put some ordering to them. The ordering is based on the turn on which the Contacts have their Limit Break with enough Influence or Exposure to score it. This is helping to reduce the feeling that some Contacts can get "stuck" in limbo land without their Limit Breaks coming. An important note - this will take a little while to even out for existing games. The data for existing Contacts with Limit Breaks was randomized, so that backlog of Limit Breaks will have to clear first before you start to see a more orderly progression. We've also fixed an issue that was caused by any time that the Contact Goes Into Hiding option appeared in the Negative Limit Break list. This would always put the Contact into hiding no matter how many Favors you spent or other options were available. This is now resolved!

Timeline Event History Scrolling

With Update #181 we've also completed another performance and UI improvement related to large scrolling tables. This time, we've hit the Timeline History screen and removed its sub-optimal paging UI and replaced it with a high performance endless scroller. In addition, we've made more fixes to how icons are generated, placed and their size to make the event list a little more fun to look at and read an address some issues where not all the crafting results got good icons.

v1.9.35 - #181: Assassin Rising - 11/29/2024

- Added Trucker HQ map to Assassinate VIP objective for new proc-gen combo (now 80!) - Added new option to Fast Forward enemy turn automatically if enemy is deemed to have no immediate impact - Fixed Fast Forward enemy turn issue where hitting ESC too early in their turn could lock you out of skip their turn - Fixed Contact Limit Break bug causing Contact to go into Hiding even if you spent a Favor and picked something else - Contact Limit Breaks are now ordered by game turn the Limit Break became ready, greatly reducing the chance a contact is "stuck" - Improved format and icons used for Timeline Event History - fixed crafting events that lacked icon - Removed paging from Timeline Event History, now high performance endless scrolling - Fixed invisible scope not appearing on ARs, etc - Fixed issues with extraction objectives in Rooftop Ziggurat Heist CPU missions

[ 2024-11-29 20:02:40 CET ] [ Original post ]

The shadowy underworld of New Boston is getting another big update! We're kicking off a 5th week of the New Weekly Map released schedule with ... a new map! And 3 new recruits from your Underworld Hub to allow you to recruit every class in game from either the hub or a storyline. We've also made some improvements to legwork rules and joined a new RPG bundle. Check it out, it's Update #180 and we're 34% off to celebrate! If you're enjoying the game or our relentless pace of updates and improvements, please take a moment to leave a review.

Recruit Agent EX, Gunslinger and Sniper from Underworld Hub

With a big burst of 3 new recruits available through the Underworld Hub, you can now recruit all classes through either storylines or via the safehouse Underworld Hub. Of course, the people who end up down here, willing to join a Cyber Knight's crew ... they've all got baggage, bad blood, someone hunting them. No one makes it this far into the shadows without a tattered record. But now - in saved games new or old - you can recruit characters whose base class is Gunslinger, Agent EX or Sniper. We're working toward Scourge to round out the U-Hub and allow it to recruit 100% of the classes without any need for storylines.

New Weekly Map: Border Crossing

We are now hitting Week 5 of our New Weekly Map Release schedule and we've got another map! With the Border Crossing mission map, the heist is playing out in the shadow of a corporate territory border, and the action is spread across an elevated interchange that has fallen into disrepair and disuse. The Border Crossing map has some awesome routing and elevation challenges and offers some of its optional extraction points locked behind a barrier. It is a map that can feel both small and large at the same time and we're excited to see it in action!
The Border Crossing map offers 7 new the proc-gen combos (map X objective) and brings the grand total of proc-gen objectives to the total to 79 proc-gen combos and represents another 6% increase in map variety (this is dropping with every new map, it's so good!). Our next move in adding more proc-gen content will take a dive into expanding the mission maps available for Assassinate VIP and then we'll be on to looking at completely new objective types. As usual, working on a new map comes along with fixing issues in the recently released maps. We've fixed issues with new matrix terminal layouts (like missing CPUs) and Resupply Station variants where the target terminal was simply missing, and broken terminals in the Blown Out Flat mission map.

Legwork Timing vs. Difficulty

We fixed an issue with the Story Speed scale in Difficulty making Legworks take a lot longer to run. The intention of the scale option is to allow you to play at a more relaxed pace but it was negatively affecting Legworks, making them harder and in some cases, down right useless. This fix exempts Legworks from the Story Speed scale which means they will run in the regular time even if the rest of your events are running faster or slower. We also fixed a bug that was causing Legwork to gain a hidden +50% bonus on lower difficulties and could make it look like you were succeeding at Legwork 100% of the time steamhappy

Lootbox Updates

Finding loot should be fun - but that is hard if you don't know what you're picking up! With weapons, armor and mod looting just around the corner, we've made some improvements to the lootbox UI to better show off what you've found and to build the hype at the time of looting and not later when you're sorting it all out in the safehouse. We're not done here yet as we want to get to a point where you can see even more details about anything you're picking up, including its full stat block. So - stay tuned as we grinding another go round.

We're part of a new RPG Steam bundle!

If you're like us, you can never get enough of great RPGs. We're excited to announce we've partnered with two other great studios to create a Cyberpunk & Dark SciFi RPGs Steam bundle. With this kind of bundle, you only pay for the games you don't already own! It includes: Colony Ship, an in-depth cRPG set in a generational starship traveling for hundreds of years to reach Proxima Centauri. This ship is old, its original government cast aside in a violent mutiny, the current passengers one of the unfortunate generations living in a now grim ship sailing through the void, with no chance of living long enough to see the ship's still-distant destination.
Navigate contentious factions with multiple ways to handle quests, including challenging turn-based tactical combat, branching dialogue trees, and ten different potential party members that can add to your story. Gamedec, a cyberpunk detective RPG that challenges you to solve crimes inside virtual worlds. 22nd century Warsaw City awaits you, as do numerous virtual worlds that look and feel as real as our own. This non-combat RPG offers a multifaceted investigation and dialogue system, where your choices evolve your character as well as helping you discover clues.
Explore a future where "real" has become relative and "life" and "death" have many meanings. Learn what kind of investigator you are, and what justice means to you. And our own squad tactics heist RPG, Cyber Knights: Flashpoint. Did you know the New Boston Zone is one of just 112 cities remaining on Earth? Our post-eco-collapse, 23rd-century cyberpunk setting is a place of mean streets and violent corporate intrigue. Your crew of mercs, hackers, and malcontents are willing to do what it takes to earn yourselves a better future; the megacorps stole it from all of us -- you're one of the few who could steal a piece of it back.
You've seen working hard to make this one of the most in-depth tactical RPGs out there, with extensive skill trees, multiclassing, cybernetics, moddable weapons, stealth options, hacking, and more. If you love these kind of games and settings, please enjoy this new bundle! And spread the word! https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/47312/Cyberpunk__Dark_SciFi_RPGs/

v1.9.33 - 11/27/2024

- Added 3 new recruits to the Underworld Hub: Gunslinger, Agent EX and Sniper - Now all classes are available as recruits through storylines or Underworld Hub - Added new proc-gen map "Border Crossing": a major corporate territorial border crossing and supports +7 new proc-gen combos (Battle Striker, Siege, Heist a CPU, Steal 3 Files, Scavenger, Kill 3 Captains, Bodyguard!) - Extended details for each loot item in lootbox so you can understand what you're getting when you're getting it - Slowing down the game story no longer negatively effects Legwork (making them slower) - Fixed bug that could sometimes make Legwork invisibly too easy to succeed - Fixed some matrix host templates featuring SCU and RCU - Removed broken terminal from Battle Striker objective with mission map Blown Out Flat

[ 2024-11-27 20:03:12 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights of New Boston - last night we went fishing in the black soup with the latest update and we were able to catch and fix 1 of the 2 final bugs that can cause the game to freeze up. In order to keep fishing for the last case, we've got a new update out tonight with more debugging, the 1st case fixed and some new balance tweaks to help it go down easy. We've improved enemy Initiative stat to be a part of their progression, added Attribute bonuses to 2 Traits that were missing them, improved the value of XP and $$ secondary objectives, and started some improvements on the NanoFab help text. Thanks for all the F10s and reviews - you're helping our small team keep up its pace of improvement. Please give us a shout and help share the game with a review if you're enjoying this Early Access period!

Enemy Initiative Progression

Many enemies - especially captains and drones - were being left behind in the Initiative department in their progression. This allows your merc team to basically "run the table" on Initiative and reduced the difficulty of the game and the power of some Talents, cybernetics, etc. With this update, we've brought the enemy forces back into it with boosted to Initiative throughout their progression. You'll find that especially mecha-soldier drones are going to now give a much more competitive run for first-to-act.

Secondary Objectives: XP and $$

For those secondary objectives offer money or Experience, we've boosted them by +5% each, now allowing them to roll from 15% to 25% of the regular reward total as a secondary. This is a healthy improvement and may end up taking another step upwards to 20% to 30% to ensure that these are competitive against staying to loot more, especially those in Security Level and Turn limits.

Traits without Attributes

A few very old Traits in the game - like Scrappy and Agile - were missing a progression of Attribute bonuses. We've addressed those in this release.

Starting on Crafting Guidance

We've got some really great threads going on our Discord at the moment and one is all about improving the NanoFab system, tweaking it and/or improving the help text in game. Our first set of improvements here are to make some nice text adjustments to the help text to make them more clear. The next set of improvements will be to clear up the UI, reduce unneeded text and let more elements be reactive (stating the % of Intrinsics when your crafting recipe prevents you from rolling an Intrinsic is not helpful, etc).

NanoFab Event History

We fixed a bug where NanoFab events in the history never showed the right icon for what was crafted.

Overwatch Lock Fixes: T-Position and Blades

We fixed the two game locks that result from Overwatch. First, some Talent validation code got broken sometime back with Agent EX and you could try to Overwatch with a blade now. That was not a good idea and the game locked up! Now, the Talent no longer allows melee Overwatching (it will re-appear with Cybersword Preempt). Second, there were cases where you could end up a T-position when using Overwatch with a character who was just carrying and using a blade. This is now resolved. If you get a game lock of any sort, please always send an F10. We're down to 1 final known lock where an enemy gets stuck in a running loop but goes nowhere and we're working on isolating it and finalizing the fix this week.

v1.9.31 - #179: Black Bay Fishing - 11/26/2024

- Enemies gain Initiative Bonus as part of their progression, running the Initiative tables is no longer guaranteed - Added Attribute bonuses to Traits Scrappy and Agile - Increased amount of secondary objective XP and $$ rewards by 5% (now +15% to +25% of regular mission reward) - Fixed issue with NanoFab crafting not showing the equipment icon in the timeline history - Fixed issue where character using sword and Overwatch could end up in T-position and lock game (thanks for F10s!) - Fixed issue that allowed melee weapons to engage Overwatch (and then promptly lock the game) - Fix issue with reinforcements freezing a new turn - Fixed High-Stakes marker on missions being too widely applied - Improved some of the help text for NanoFab armor and weapons

[ 2024-11-26 05:09:12 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights, we have a late Sunday night update here to get us ready for the new week. This one includes some progression adjustments on higher difficulties (Matrix challenge), clear marking when mission is from a hand-written storyline vs. proc-gen, 4 new visuals for weapon mods, improved balance of UAR, SMG and AR, fixed a ton of small mistakes in Weapon Mods and Intrinsic Mod Blueprints. We've also made a set of control scheme improvements in the Roster for Steam Deck and controllers and added a ton of new debugging to your F10s in case you hit one of the 2 rare cases that can still cause an enemy's turn to lock up in game (hit F10, we will fix!) Thanks to everyone playing, posting, and sharing the game with a review. Our tiny team couldn't do it without your support!

Continued Progression Tuning

There has been a lot of chatter and feedback on our channels recently about progression, optimal styles of play, how to squeeze the most of our your money or base, loot tables and more -- all good healthy feedback showing that the game is really delivering the experience and helping us to highlight places we can tune that experience. With this update, we've kept pulling the thread from the last couple updates about Power Level progression and high difficulties. We found some inconsistencies in how loot tables were rolled for higher difficulties as well as a clear bug where Mission Power Level boost and then Matrix Power Level boost were both being applied to Matrix hosts. This pushed Matrix hosts upwards in difficulty rapid on higher difficulties, faster than they should have climbed. The process is continual to improve the game's progression and to round on the key systems missing (Power Play, Compromised, more storylines, dying Contacts, etc). Thanks for joining us on this wild Early Access ride to help us tune it better and better!

Marked High-Stakes Story Missions

We've addressed a question about proc-gen vs. narrative missions we receive from some players with this update. Missions that are from one-off, non-repeating storylines are now marked in the timeline as High-Stakes with a yellow icon and a helpful hover. This can help you spot missions that are linked to a one-time storyline and spot those that lack the icon as proc-gen or repeatable elements.

New Weapon Mod Visuals

We're always excited to expand the look and feel of the game's weapons and this update drops 3 new scope graphics from our kit as well as a new high-level suppressor. We'll be working on finalizing the art processing on these elements to keep pushing more variation in the team's armaments, including new looks for weapons and all new mod visuals.

UAR and Weapon Balances

With Update #178, we've made some definitive upgrades to the class of UAR weapons to ensure they clearly fill the role of Kings and Queens of Full Auto. All UAR at Power Level 1+ have increased their Full Auto shot, making them more capable of unloading a full burst into more than one target or handing out more damage to a set of 4 targets at once. Higher Power Level UARs have also gained 2-5m in maximum range and ticked up optimal range to reduce their range restrictions as the weapons become more powerful. On the flip side of that, Kaza Raildarts (and those that will follow in the Raildart template) have had their range trimmed by 2-3m. We've also tweaked the angles for Overwatch and Full Auto cones for all UAR, SMG and AR to ensure you've got a nicer progression here as these weapons are capable of covering a wider arc.

Improved Weapon Mod Progressions

We've fixed a heap of weapon mod issues! A ton of these were simply higher Rarity or Power Level mods that were not connected correctly with their bonuses and so mimicked the stats of a lower level mod of the same type. We've fixed 3 Shotgun body mods, 3 Pistol body mods, multiple higher Power Level intrinsic mods and We've also finished the rename for melee weapons from IO-Batt to Ion Batt by fixing a number of mods that still had the old name, going from IO-Booster to Ion Boosters.

Continued Steam Deck / Controller Improvements

We've been verified on the Steam Deck, but our work is not done. We've completed a round of improvements in the roster around how the game maintains your current selection when diving into a sub-screen. This is most notable around changing equipment - previously if you selected a character, and then changed their primary weapon, when you returned to the Roster your selection would be in the left hand list of mercs, not at the primary weapon. Now the game maintains that selection whenever possible. Second, we've fixed issues with some of the floating hover elements on Steam Deck, like weapons and weapon mods, where the hover was aligned on the wrong side of the element and just dove off screen.

Final Freezes - Debugging to Isolate

There are 2 reported freezes left in the game -- both are intermittent and very hard to reproduce. Either one of your mercs goes into a T-position when about to take an Overwatch reaction shot, or an enemy starts moving and then doesn't move and stays stuck in place while looping the running animation. We're on the hunt and can't wait to fix the pair of these. With Update #178, we've added a huge heap of additional debugging information to your F10 reports that should help us track down the root causes of these two remaining freezes. If you see them, please hit F10 in the latest update!

v1.9.27 - 11/24/2024

- Marked high-stakes story missions in the timeline vs. proc-gen missions to help make the difference clear - Added new visual variety for weapon mods: 3 new scopes and 1 new suppressor - Reduced range of Kaza Raildarts by 2-3m, increased range of higher PL UAR by 2-5m - Increased/Rebalanced Full Shot count for all UAR above PL 1, ensuring UAR claim best FA slot - Tweaked and increased Overwatch cone and Full Auto cone angles for UAR, SMG and AR throughout Power Level progression - Improved Shotgun Body Mods: Harrier Grip, Thunderbolt Grip, Nightshade Grip - Improved Pistol Body Mods: APEX Ammo, Klinger-Floki Reloader, Malkuur Advanced Ammo - Improved some high Power Level Intrinsic Mods: Vapor Optics and Quantum Rifled Barrel - Reclassified Shotgun Barrel mod Showstopper D-Rail correctly as Legendary Mod - Fixed some duplicate Weapon Mods like DesMoines Tactical and Quicksilver Mechastock for Sniper Rifles - Fixed some weapon mods still using name IO-Booster instead of Ion Booster for melee weapons - Fixed Matrix Power Level scaling bug where power level adjustments include Mission Power Level and Matrix Power Level (together) - Improved controller input for Roster, now remembers last selected button when returning from subscreen (faster to change out EQ) - Fixed bugs on different screen resolutions where larger hovers (like weapon) could end up completely off screen - Added a heap of new debug to F10s to isolate and fix final 2 game freezes - AI stuck running in place, T-position at Overwatch attack

[ 2024-11-25 05:19:44 CET ] [ Original post ]

Another week, another 3 updates, another new map released! Resupply Station is the 4th map of the new weekly map releases (is it still new!?) and is a wide-open and exciting map that forces some new styles of play, and rewards long range weapons, speed and daring strategies. We've also addressed the raging bug that was trapping Knights in the Urban HQ Assassinate missions, addressed issues with Team Power Level not going up correctly for any difficulty when the Team Power Level was 0 and more. If you like new maps and think we should do more, please take a moment to consider reviewing the game! Help us spread the word about this improving and expanding game and the hard work that our small team is putting in.

New Weekly Map: Resupply Station!

It is now Week 4 of our Weekly Map Release schedule and we're here to deliver once again. With the Resupply Station, we're looking at a sprawling outdoor environment with a lot of open sight lines, wide open movement lanes and lots of empty open space. This map can be challenging in a lot of ways, with some of your extraction points secured behind a forcefield, and the large spaces and broken up cover making it tough both on stealth teams and teams in a gunfight needing to find the next scrap of cover. We're excited as it brings a strong dose of variety to the map design and sets you up for some new and harrowing heists. The Resupply Station offers 5 new the proc-gen combos (map X objective) and brings the grand total of proc-gen objectives to the total to 72 proc-gen combos and represents another 7% increase in map variety (this is dropping with every new map, it's so good!). With a new map next week, the planned increase in variety for the Assassinate VIP map set and a new objective type coming - we should blow past the original goal of 80 proc-gen combos easily.
Every since we announced the Weekly New Map challenge we've been hard at work to deliver. We've hit 4 weeks in a row now and it is really helping the game grow rapidly. We certainly are going to have some misses, especially around the holidays, but it is rapidly expanding the mission map set and combo options (going from 48 to 72 in 4 weeks!).

Fixed Assassination at Urban HQ

\ The fix that we made yesterday for "Unknown" VIP in Urban HQ assassination missions had some unexpected consequences in missions made after the fact. Our focus was a bit too much on fixing the existing set of missions that were in play already and we missed on future missions. This update fixes both - resolving the issue for anyone who is stuck in the middle of an Urban HQ Assassinate VIP mission without an exit (or not yet having killed the VIP). This clears the road for new maps to come to the Assassinate VIP proc-gen objective, which is going to be a big boon.

Higher Difficulties and Team Power Level

Over the last two updates, we've made changes to how Team Power Level increases are calculated. Thanks to @Phreak, we caught on to a mistake in the math as to who Team Power Level bonuses were calculated for higher difficulty games - in where the Mission Power Level was higher which results in a slower gain in Team Power Level (because you need to beat more missions to move from Team Power Level 3 to 4 than Team Power Level 1 to 2). It was a chain of multiplications that resulted in unexpected result - higher difficulty games increase in difficulty scale slower than lower difficulty games and therefore "level off" or are "easier" than they should be. We addressed most of this issue in the last update, and Update #177 catches up on one thing we missed, that while your team is below Power Level 1, everyone was getting extremely slow Team Power Level gain!

Fixed Missing Recharge Turns

If you were using Font Scale above 0%, the recharge rate for Talents was disappearing in the class tree. This one took a little while to find but now we're going to be more attuned to watching the font scale on incoming F10s, so we can quickly identify issues that are simply bugs because of scaling.

v1.9.25 - #177: New Weekly Map "Resupply Station" - 11/21/2024

- Added new proc-gen map "Resupply Station": a wide open transport hub that will push your team for speed, stealth or battle and supports +5 new proc-gen combos (Heist a CPU, Steal 3 Files, Scavenger, Kill 3 Captains, Bodyguard!) - Fixed bug with getting stuck in Assassinate VIP mission with Unknown - reload game to continue / escape - Fixed issue with Chrome / high difficulties gaining very low Power Level while Team Power Level was 0 - Fixed issue with Recharge Turns not appearing in class tree once Font Scaling was above 0%

[ 2024-11-21 19:06:02 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights and mercs - we're excited to drop Update #176 with a roadmap milestone being knocked off the list with Steam Deck Verifcation, some new visual accessories and a big set of really important F10 fixes from your reports, prioritizing what is most important and most reported by the community right now. This Update #176 helps clear the decks for another weekly map release, maybe as soon as tomorrow. We're working hard to constantly improve the game based on your feedback, so please send it in and you'll see the game improving weekly. If you're enjoying the insanity of our Early Access phase and the constant pace of updates, please take a moment to leave a review!

Steam Deck Verified!

It's official, with our latest round of improvements we are now Steam Deck verified! Many thanks to the players in the forums, on reddit and in our Discord who have been giving us feedback on both our default controls and the Steam Deck experience. We're continuing to work on improvements here and there (e.g. the filtering in cold storage, squashing any bugs reported through the in-game click left stick system), but the overall playability is feeling great. Verification signifies we've now checked off the final few details with text size (adjustable in the Options menu as well) and every keybinding in the game properly showing controller prompts (all fully rebindable). And Cyber Knights provides a native Linux build, so great performance with no need for Proton. As most of you know, we're on a hot streak with...

• a new map being added each week
• the new Gunslinger class (bringing us to 44 total possible character class combinations!)
• last season's big push of major feature additions
• being right on the threshold of Overwhelmingly Positive reviews

...so Steam Deck Verification (and our ongoing rollout of new content) feels like a great way to wrap up the fall season. If you know any Deck players, please do tell them about our game!

New Aviators and Backpack

With Update #176, we've added 2 new cosmetic options to the game, working to round out the glasses and backpack categories with specific player requests. Some of our Knights were asking for classic aviators, so we've delivered those as well as updating the tinting and material properties of the existing aviator-like glasses we have the game.
Aaron is styling with the new shades and the new pack

Juice that Blue!

We've fixed a bug with Blue Juice that was prevent it from being used multiple times in a single round. You can now juice it harder and get up to +60 AP in a single round. Use your charges wisely though, as you don't want to end up with a ton of wasted AP and not enough IO to drive your actions. It can help to have surge Turns with the Blue Juice, but there is still a lot of value in taking the Blue when you need it to wrap a turn up right.

Enemies Skipping through Overwatch

We've fixed a bug where enemies who were far away at the start of their turn could feasibly skip through Overwatch. In some cases, they were failing to run the movement checks to see if they were going to encounter something and just ended their turn with a high-speed (and confusing and annoying) teleport. In a similar area, we've improved the log message in the case where one of your characters has their Overwatch canceled by an enemy debuff. We'll be working on making this clearer with some animation and camera time to focus on the debuffs the enemies are dishing out, but some of the captains have a Marked Target debuff that can knock down Overwatch and reduce your Evasion - a painful counter to your own Marker Sights. In this case, the log will now list "Mochi's Overwatch canceled by Marked Target debuff" to be as clear as possible.

Sight Lines and Hearing Alerts

Introduced in the last update, we lost all the overhead alerts about which enemies would hear your attacks if you swapped weapons. This is now resolved as well as fixing some other issues with the sightlines that are drawn to enemies when swapping weapons. If you had a Some of them would appear from you

Unknown Assassin Target

If you were hitting an assassination mission in Urban HQ where the target was "Unknown" you were not the only one. The entire map was bugged and none of the VIPs ever arrived properly identified. We've resolved this issue for future runs of that mission. And now with that final big Assassinate VIP bug down, we're turning some more attention to adding more maps to the queue for that objective type, as it is the least represented in the map set today. So, look forward to more Assassinate VIP fun!

Tightened up Cameras

We've fixed camera issues that were similar to proximity mines - in that if you moved short distances or only grazed the cameras arc of vision, you might be able to squeeze through without being seen. This small window of error has now been removed.

v1.9.23 - #176: Omnibus Underworld - 11/20/2024

- Steam Deck Verified (but the improvements will continue!) - Fixed bug with Blue Juice not giving AP bonus second time in the Turn, updated description to be clearer that it can be used multiple times - Fixed bug where enemy alerts about who will hear your weapon attack were not showing - Fixed bug where swapping weapons while planning a movement could result in incorrect sight lines draw to enemies - Fixed bug where enemy might suddenly teleport or move a distance through an Overwatch cone incorrectly - Improved log entry when enemy uses a debuff to break your Overwatch - Fixed bug with higher difficulty giving lower Team Power Level adjustments which makes the game progress slower (and easier) - Fixed widespread issue with "Unknown" target in Assassinate VIP in Urban HQ mission map - Added new slim backpack option for the lightweight heister or the heister who wants to carry water ;) - Added new classic aviators glasses for appearance customization - Improving tinting and reflective properties of existing aviator style glasses - Improved a number of mask options to avoid clipping and sit correctly on masculine faces - Fixed bug where camera might not see mercs moving a short distance or crossing the camera arc only slightly - Fixed bug with Scourge recruit showing up too early in your roster during storyline - Fixed bug where enemy status pop up was not showing an enemy's weapon - Improved display of safehouse room building errors so that they display nicer over bright background 3D - Fixed many minor map issues with new maps and proc-gen maps

[ 2024-11-20 16:00:17 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights and mercs - welcome to the weekend Update #175 which mixes performance boosts with doors-go-boom and a really big pile of fixes for your community F10s, including a lot of key map updates. This update includes some new ways to change the environment with explosions, map updates for a number of the new maps and objective crosses, improvements to the rules on secondary objectives, improved timeline clarity and better tattoo rendering. If you're enjoying the updates - please take a moment to help us share the game with a review.

Doors can go Boom!

On our quest to get the game fully ready for drones, we needed drones to explode. And we thought, if we're making drones explode ... we should make doors explode (and a few other things, like bridges, but more on that later...). So, with this update we're excited to roll out a (most cinematic) update where doors can now be blown open. The first place this is landing in the game is in the Carnivore mission, and I won't say much more than that for spoiler purposes. The ruined doors are less wide open, so they can be better used for cover and are more restricted for cover but make a lot more sense in situations like these. We're excited to get past this initial integration and then get this into the game and storylines in other interesting ways. If you happen to be in the way of an exploding door, expect to take some Pure Damage!

FPS Performance Boost + FreeSync / G-Sync

With Update #175, we've improved our rendering pipeline, enabling uncapped frames and supporting modern solutions like AMD FreeSync and NVIDIA G-Sync. With this change, we expect that most hardware (in which the CPU and GPU are reasonably aligned in power) will see a performance boost and sometimes a very significant FPS boost as well. To get the very best performance from FreeSync and G-Sync set V-Sync to disabled and set screen mode to "Fullscreen". We hope this update sees the game running even more buttery smooth for you!

Secondary Objective Improvements

With Update #176, we've hit a number of bugs and needed improvements to the secondary objectives. We fixed an issue where Lockbox count (Looted X/Y) was not always updating on time and would lag behind by a lootbox or two until you changed character turns. We also fixed an issue with the Send a Message objective would fail to print the actual kill count into the victory screen and instead give nonesense code text. Finally, we've adjusted the objective generator to be more strict about avoiding objectives that are simply too close to each other. This will be especially good as the list of possible secondary objectives keeps increasing but for now - even with 3 types - it is important to avoid situations where you basically bag 2 objectives by doing one of them (kill 10 ... kill 12).

Map Updates

There has been a lot of map activity recently with big waves of new proc-gen combos (all the Bodyguard combos) and new maps every week. We're catching up on issues with maps, objectives, pathing and more in this release.

• We fixed a bug in the new Decommissioned Core where some of the terminals were just backwards and inaccessible.
• We fixed a bug in Sewers map X Bodyguard objective where the exits were laughably close to the start point.
• We fixed a bug in Wreckspire where one of the 2 extraction objectives would not appear or activate.
• We tweaked a number of starting and spawning locations to improve the 4 new maps.

Load Game Performance

On the performance topic, we've made some tweaks to load game performance to speed up the loading of the table in the case that you have more than 10 saved games. For those players out there with 100+ saved games in your list (we see you!) this should help you get the UI open fast as ever. Also, we fixed a rare bug that could be caused by input jamming (clicking and hitting spacebar alot) that could cause a game to load twice and have extra performance drag on the way into the mission.

Tattoo Rendering

Finally, in preparation for upcoming additions to the face detail texture appearance option set (currently offering smooth or freckled), we've improved how tattoos are rendered over the face. Previously, they became basically "hard matte" and ignored a lot of the texture detail from anything below them. This update allows them to basically keep the texture detail - roughness and extra surface details - of what is below them while still painting in a single tattoo color. This makes tattoos look a little more natural but will be especially important to allow tattoos and scars to cross correctly.

v1.9.21 - #175: - 11/17/2024

- New exploding door capability, debut in Carnivore missions - Performance boost for frame rate in almost all configurations, enabling Free Sync / G-Sync solutions instead of V-Sync - Fixed secondary objective for "Looted X/Y lockboxes" not always updating - Fixed typos in Send a Message secondary objective (kill goal) not showing kill count - Fixed bugs with timeline where character might be finished with treatment / recovery but still locked - Enhanced performance for Load Game list especially if you have a lot of games - Fixed bugs with blank keybindings sometimes appearing when using Alt-Tab - Fixed bug where you could accidentally double load a game, causing performance drop when loading - Fixed impossible to reach backwards terminal in Decommissioned Core mission map - Fixed issue with Sewers map when bodyguarding a VIP - cleaned up too many exits, too close - Fixed issues with Wreckspire map sometimes having an extraction point listed in objectives but not active - Improved secondary objectives to avoid overlapping objectives that are too close to each other - Balanced and improved recently added maps - Improved tattoo roughness rendering (less "hard matte") in prep for additional facial detail options

[ 2024-11-18 01:49:08 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome new Knights! The Gunslinger's 34% off sale is stll raging, so let's celebrate with a new weekly map release! In Update #174, we're releasing our 3rd map in the weekly series - the sprawling and fortified Decommissioned Core. We've also completed some key rebalancing to Safehouse Tokens and Simstream Trainer Stress, fix bugs with Proximity Mines sometimes not going boom(!), fixed Gunslinger bugs with Gun Kata, Twin Irons and Cover Me, improved the matrix program HUD and more. It's a lot, so let's get digging in to the details. But before we do, we'll remind you to please consider taking a moment to leave a review on CKF. We're a small team working hard to improve constantly (near daily!?) and if you think this is an awesome Early Access or are just enjoying the game, please share that with a reviewsteamhappy

New Map: Decommissioned Core

It is now Week 3 of our new Weekly Map Release schedule and we're here to deliver again. The Decommissioned Core is a big research facility, with multiple wings, lots of cool routing options and copious entry and exit points and an extended heist space that will push you to make the call to stay a little longer and take the risk or get out with what we have. The Core offers 5 new the proc-gen combos (map X objective) and brings the grand total of proc-gen objectives to the total to 67 proc-gen combos and represents another 12% increase in map variety. When we set out in Early Access to enable the proc-gen system, we aimed to get to 80 combos and now it is looking like we will blow past that in the next week weeks along. This Weekly New Map challenge has been chugging along and we're excited to hit the first 3 milestones. We certainly are going to have some misses, especially around the holidays, but it is rapidly expanding the mission map set and combo options (going from 48 to 67 in 3 weeks!).

Safehouse Token and Rule Balancing

With Update #174, we've made some neccessary changes to some of the balance of Safehouse tokens and the rules around the Simstream Trainer's generation of Stress.

• Tokens from the Underworld Hub are less effective at raise Legwork success chance %. The bonuses have been trimmed by small amounts (5-10%) and will help keep your base Legwork % chance important.
• Tokens from the Counter-Intel Pod are less effective at wiping out Heat. The reductions have dropped by 5-10 points in the middle and late tiers and help ensure that Heat is not always something you can simply blow off with Tokens instantly.
• Every time a merc is put into the Simstream Trainer, they gain +10% Stress, no matter how many missions you run during their time in the pod. This creates incentive to run as many missions as possible to get the best XP to Stress ratio for your merc. We've adjusted the rule for the +10% Stress to take Stress Res into account, so that mercs who have high (or low!) chance to resist Stress will fare better with the Simstream.

Proximity Mine Fixes

We fixed a set of bugs around proximity mines where they might not explode if you moved through their range quickly enough or a short enough distance. Now they are on a hair trigger and will detonate no matter what if you tread across their line. The only thing that blocks their boom-boom is if a proper wall (something you can't throw a grenade over) is between you and the mine - then they will not fire until you are in direct proximity.

Gunslinger Bugs

We've resolved 2 big issues with the Gunslinger. First, Gun Kata and Twin Irons could lock the game up or leave "hanging pistols" in the air in a number of different circumstances, such as switching weapons while either Talent was selected. This is now resolved, and the dual weapon attack Talents should be safe to use in all cases. Second, the Gunslinger's Cover Me Talent was still reporting "You will be shot" even if you were using it through an Overwatch cone. That's clearly the point ... you won't be shot. So we've suppressed the movement alert correctly.

Matrix HUD - Program Shows IO Size

We've made a very nice improvement - thanks community F10s! - to the Matrix Program hover. You can now clearly see the program size required for a program in the hover. It is also displayed in the left corner with your deck's action bars but it is nice to see the clear and simple number over each Program without having to do any fancy thinking or math steamhappy

Spacebar or (A) Sweep

We're working through screens where it is more comfortable to just use spacebar or (A) -- the default UI submit -- for things. This now includes the Load Game screen (now fixed) as well as the pause menus for both mid-mission and safehouse, allowing you to load a game from the list once it is selected using the spacebar or (A). There are lingering places where Enter or Right Trigger are required to activate the primary function of the screen, and we're now on a slow but steady quest to figure out ways to reduce those throughout the game where it is not needed.

Controller and Font Scaling

We've continued address minor bugs around controllers and font scaling. We fixed the Sec Level in the HUD breaking at +25% Font Scale once it reaches 10, we fixed issues in the NanoFab where hitting 10 Red Cubes would move the buttons slightly and make your clicks miss and we fixed an issue with the chat bubbles in the safehouse being navigable which messed up moving around rooms on controllers. A huge thanks to everyone who is feeding us a constant stream of polish suggestions - I hope you can see that we are using them!

v1.9.11 - #174: - 11/12/2024

- Added new proc-gen map "Decommissioned Core": a fortified but decommissioned, research and development site that supports +5 new proc-gen combos (Heist a CPU, Steal 3 Files, Scavenger, Kill 3 Captains, Bodyguard!) - Counter-Intel Pod Heat Reduction Tokens reduce less Heat (10/20/25/30/35/40) - Underworld Hub Legwork Boost Tokens add lower bonus (10/20/25/30/35) - Stress Res now applies to the Stress added by SimStream Traier - you have a chance to resist it - Fixed bug where Proximity mine would not go off if you crossed through it just a bit - now only Walls prevent prox-mine boom - Program Size for IO / Active Memory is shown in Matrix Program/Talent bar on hover - Gunslinger: Fixed bug where Cover Me Talent would still warn "You will be shot" from Overwatch threat - Gunslinger: Fixed bug where swapping weapons with Twin Irons or Gun Kata active could cause game lock - Restored spacebar or (A) to load game from main menu, also now select and then spacebar or (A) to load from game pause menus - Chat bubbles over characters in the safehouse no longer interrupt d-pad navigation of the safehouse rooms - Fixed bug in NanoFab where the -/+ buttons to change cube counts could move when cube count went from 9 to 10 - Improved camera transition to / from rooms or missions in the safehouse - Fixed issue with Sec Level in top right of HUD not doing well under +25% Font Scale - Fixed issue with not being able to select hacker sometimes in the mission deployment screen

[ 2024-11-14 02:47:32 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights, another update is landing in New Boston and it is adding a new type of secondary objective, big QoL improvements to the mission deployment screen and handling of hack-only missions, new protection against repeated proc-gen mission objectives, and a bundle of improvements for controllers and the Steam Deck. We're busy daily with new things for you - so thanks for playing, posting and leaving a review if you like the pace of updates 'round here.

New Secondary Objective: Send a Bloody Message

With Update #173, we're following up on the objective system overhaul in Update #172 to add the first new secondary objective type in a while. You'll see this objective type showing up across a number of proc-gen objectives. Your employer doesn't just want the job done, they want a message sent as well - a bloody message. The objective sets a target for a number of enemies to kill in order to gain the offered reward. Often, this objective grates against other secondaries offered, like completing the mission under a specific Sec Level, but you'll have to pick one or the other or get creative in how to balance them both.

Mission Selection: Big QoL!

We're excited to drop a big quality of life improvement on mission deployment. It may feel small at first, but over a few hours of play it makes a huge difference to the speed and smoothness of prepping for missions. First up, the list of mercs in the mission deploy screen now uses slots to maintain their order. If you have 4 mercs, you can remove merc 2 and 3 without merc 4 changing positions. This is classic turn-based tactics setup, nothing special here - but without it everything feels messy. Also, this will let us control order which will be used in future levels where certain slots are for specific things (slot 4 is a sniper's position, or a disguise, etc). Second up, if you are prepping for a hack-only mission, we immediately look for a Hacker to fill the slot. And if you want to change the character, we only show Hackers, not other characters who can't take the mission. This is a nice speed improvement for swapping to hack only missions. And third up, the real winner - we remember regular missions and hack-only missions separately. So, you can assign a team of 4 to your Cube Run, swap in to your hacking mission and see Librarian is ready to take the mission and then swap back to Cube Run and ... ta-da, the 4 mercs you had previously picked are there and ready. This feels great and is a big win for supporting missions with different types of requirements more smoothly.

Blocking Proc-Gen Objective Repeats

To join the recently added rules to prevent mission maps from re-appearing back-to-back in proc-gen missions, we have also now added rules that will prevent proc-gen objectives from appearing back-to-back if the RNG turns against you (Scav ... Scav ... Scav ...?). As the proc-gen objective set and proc-gen map set has grown and the combos are now over 60, we have more than enough content in the set to add both of these restrictions.

Cold Storage Blueprint Locks

Your Cold Storage upgrade level limits the number of Blueprints you can use during a NanoFab craft. This was previously shown as an error at the end of the process after you'd filled up the different mod Blueprint options. We've updated the UI so that the locked mod Blueprint slots are shown as locked at the start with an explanation of how to unlock them (Upgrade Cold Storage!)

Steam Deck / Controller Scheme Improvements

With the help of @Brian on Discord (thanks!) we've made a set of really helpful improvements to the control scheme and Steam Deck controller scheme to make the game play faster and smoother. We've still got some more feedback to process and changes to make but this first set is really helpful.

• We are continuing to reduce places where the game wants you to use Right Trigger or ENTER to activate the UI elements when it isn't necessary. Load Game screen is another example, when you've selected game to load, you need to (RT) instead of (A) ... this is fixed, (A) or [Space] will do just fine thank you.
• The Switch to Talent Bar (X) option was really a toggle between Talent bar, Team bar (End Action) and no selection. This could lead to unreliable feeling results hitting (X) and the risk of accidentally ending your action when you didn't mean to. With Update #172, we've locked (X) to hop your selection to the talent bar only. Then, from there - see the next item -
• We've opened up D-pad navigation from the Talent bar so that you can go in any direction. Hitting up will take you to the team bar and End Action button and going off the right edge can take you to the collapse combat log button. This really opens up the navigation in the HUD in a positive way.
• So to get to End Action, you can always push (X) and then hit (up) on the d-pad. This is the same number of button presses (most of the time) but removes all cases where you have to really look where the selection is because it might be somewhere unexpected.
• If you switch weapons in the HUD, your selection is no longer removed. You can swap weapons and then d-pad to the right to get back to your Talents.
• Loot All from a lootbox is now (X) or [T] to make it easier to access from the main set of 4 buttons.

v1.9.9 - #173: Lethal Planning Session - 11/11/2024

- Character selection for missions improved, characters now go into slots 1-4 and don't "slide down" the row - Hacker selection for hack-only missions is remembered separately, only hacker characters are offered for selection - New secondary objective "Send a Message by killing X" to gain rewards in proc-gen levels - Proc-gen objectives now also have protection against repetition to match map protection - Modification Blueprint Slots (1-4) in NanoFab now correctly lock if they require higher Cold Storage level - Prevented storylines Cube Run and Carnivore from appearing before Power Level 3 (too early) - Improved line of sight when on raised area with fence or barricade along the edge - Improved Roster and Mission Deploy warnings about not carrying enough items Controller improvements: - Switch to Talent Bar (X) always jumps to Talent bar, except if all Talents are disabled, then End Turn - Navigation from Talent Bar to other parts of HUD now open - navigate any direction (X to Talent Bar, Up to End Turn) - When switching weapons in the HUD, selection is not dropped from the HUD (switch weapons, easily pick Talent) - Space or (A) is now used to load game more quickly (was Enter / RT) - When looting items, Loot All keybinding now defaults to (X) or [T] for desktop for faster use

[ 2024-11-11 22:47:04 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome all the new Knights in New Boston! With Update #172, we're hitting a very specific feature set - the secondary objective system as we are preparing to add new types of secondaries to the game and need everything in tip-top shape. We've made sure that you can always see what reward hangs in the balance now, upgraded the looting objective to count lockboxes, ensured that you cant get duplicate objective requirements, allowed mission maps to have more influence over the Turn and Sec Level limits (bigger maps increase it) and clarified the text in a ton of objectives as well. And more - now that we have a rapidly growing number of maps in proc-gen, we've added the system to avoid allowing them to repeat. Let's dig in! If you're enjoying the game or our update cycle, please be sure to leave a review!

Secondary Objective Rewards Visible

Previously, only the goal was visible and so you could forget esaily what you were working to achieve. Now the exact specifics of every reward is included in the objective displayed mid-mission. It's far easier now to make that snap decision about your Turn limit for the $50K or that extra lootbox.

Looting Objectives

We've updated all the missions in the game (story and the proc-gen Lootbox Hunt where you have to steal 3 files and the Scavenger missions) to use a new objective system for looting. Now you'll see a much more helpful "Looted 3/9 Lockboxes" objective in your list and it will tick up as each lockbox is hit and mark as complete when you've looted everything that can be looted.

Improved Objective Generation and LImits

We've made some rule changes to how secondary objectives are calculated. First, we've updated the rules to ensure that two objectives will never appear with the exact same requirements ("Complete before the end of Turn 7") as that is a no-choice option for you as a leader of your team. Second, we've also updated the map metadata for every mission map so that it can better inform the decisions being made about what secondary objectives to offer and if they should have adjusted ranges and limits. Larger maps are able to increase their goals while smaller maps can keep them exciting and challenging.

Avoiding Repeated Maps

As the map catalog for proc-gen missions has grown out to 15 now, we have enough in circulation to add a limit to prevent repeated maps. Now, a map that is selected (such as the Trucker HQ) for one proc-gen mission will not appear again for at least the next 2 proc-gen missions unless some scenario occurs in which there is no other choice. Also, currently as some proc-gen missions and story missions share maps, it is possible that your story missions and proc-gen missions could create these back to back scenarios still, but they will be rare enough it is not currently a priority to untangle the difficult not of avoiding that.

Fixed Stuck Item Equipping

From Update #171 and v1.9.5, there was a linger case where equipping items could get stuck and no matter what you seemed to do, an item was always popping out of your inventory. Maddening! This is now fixed, sorry for the bug.

v1.9.7 - #172: Objective Overhauls - 11/10/2024

- Added secondary objective rewards into the display mid-mission so you know what you're working for - Updated all Scav and Lootbox Hunt objectives (and story levels too) that include looting objectives - "Looted 3/9 lockboxes" - Added system to proc-gen map selection that prevents the same map from being picked for the next 2 picks (if possible) - Improved wording in secondary objectives for Turn limit - "if complete before end of Turn 7" - Standardized the Matrix-only mission objectives to complete in a turn limit to use the same language - Improved secondary objectives in all proc-gen levels by giving mission map more control over Sec Level and Turn values - Secondary objectives can no longer ever produce duplicate conditions (two objectives at "complete before end of Turn 7") - Prevented Siege proc-gen missions from rolling up incompatible Turn Limit secondary objectives - Fixed issues with some item slots seeming to bump other items of when being equipped

[ 2024-11-10 17:54:01 CET ] [ Original post ]

Way back in Update #164, we promised to keep to a new map release schedule - one new map a week until launch! Update #166 dropped the first new map last week and we're here with Update #171 to drop the second new map - the crumbling rooftop ziggurat. The new Gunslinger class released yesterday is no excuse not to pile on another map, so let's do it! We've also put in some key fixes to Head Hunters (the dreaded -1 HH and back-from-the-dead HH). We're excited to be rolling with this new Weekly Release schedule for new maps and to hit the first back-to-back weeks. We are sure to miss weeks along the way, but keeping this weekly drumbeat as often as we can will ensure the game has a huge pool of maps and content for every heist team to hit. Thank you for your reviews to help us keep going!

New Map: Rooftop Ziggurat!

It is week two of our new "Map a Week Until Launch!" challenge and we are here to deliver again. The Rooftop Ziggurat is a new rooftop map with crumbling but still defensible raised platform - the ziggurat. The map is large, featuring distinct areas, creative pathing, and an extended heist space that will push your teams. Thie 7 new proc-gen combos (map X objective) added by Rooftop Ziggurat push the total to 64 proc-gen combos and represents a 12% increase in map variety.
You will find the new Rooftop Ziggurat appearing in (1) Scavenger (2) Lootbox Hunt (steal 3 files), (3) Q-Gap Spike (spike a CPU), (4) Kill 3 Captains, (5) Bodyguard (6) Battle Striker and (7) Siege! And, as we plan to keep hitting this release goals, the next map is already in testing and polish phase to drop next week with a similar amount of new proc-gen objective varieties!

Gunslinger Catch-up

Last night we pushed the Update #170 which includes a ton of fixes and clarifications for the Gunslinger class. Also, we resolved some issues with equipping items that crept in as we fixed item slots to be ordered. This allows you to explicitly put something in your second slot, as opposed to having it "slide down" from the second slot to the first every time. We previously just finished that work with Weapons so you could control primary and secondary, now it has been added for items and the last fix will come for missions shortly, allowing you to set specific slots instead of everyone "sliding down" to the first open spot which makes for an awful UI pattern of misclicks.
A huge thanks to everyone who contributed Gunslinger inspiration and ideas as well as everyone putting in F10s to help us keep improving.

Head Hunter Fixes

We've resolved the issue where your Head Hunter count could ever register as negative - it will pop up to 0% next time you open your saved game if you had this bug. We've also addressed the root conditions that could cause this bug to appear - that a dead Head Hunter is selected to be sent after you again. A huge thanks to everyone sending F10s about it!

v1.9.5 - #171- 11/9/2024

- Added new proc-gen map "Logistics Hub": transportation connector that supports +7 new proc-gen combos (Siege, Battle Striker, Heist a CPU, Steal 3 Files, Scavenger, Kill 3 Captains, Bodyguard!) - Fixed bug where Head Hunters value could show as negative in HUD - Fixed conditions that could cause a Head Hunter to be sent after you twice even though already dead

v1.9.3 - #170: Gunslinger Patch - 11/8/2024

- Fixed all of the Gunslinger class tree small nodes (they were mislinked to Scourge!) - Added dual wielding pistols for masculine characters models - Clarified description of Ricochet Talent to be clear it works with any Single Shot weapon (Revolver, Sniper) - Fixed Ricochet having a 0m range displayed, its range is set by the weapon used - Fixed issues with Item Slots where you can now equip items into slot 1, 2, 3 4 and they don't "slide" down but stay put - Fixed bug where weapons were not appearing in inventory or store - Fixed bug where Gunslinger's Twin Irons and Gun Kata would allow attack if second weapon had no ammo - Fixed bug where Gunslinger's Twin Irons and Gun Kata would make noise of the less loud weapon - Fixed bug where Gunslinger's Twin Irons cost 0 AP - Fixed placeholder # left in Talent description for total number of reaction shots in Overwatch, Deathwatch and Linkwatch - Fixed text alignment for XP in current level when numbers get large enough

[ 2024-11-09 13:39:51 CET ] [ Original post ]

While Cory has been pumping out new maps for the Weekly Map release (btw, expect a new map tomorrow!), I've been working on the newest character class for the game: the Gunslinger. The Gunslinger's Gunlink spinal implant hardwires them to their chosen weaponry, allowing them to move and fire with something more than reflex, something more than instinct. Like the fabled duelists of the Old West, the Gunslinger walks with a quiet confidence, their guns ready to speak for them.
We're excited to push the class list to a big round 8 - meaning there are now a whopping 64 viable multi-class combinations + 8 more for the Knight, totaling 72 total class combos. It is especially exciting to drop in a new combat focused class that is an excellent choice for anyone carrying a Pistol as a backup multi-class for combat and utility. It's another big milestone for the game and if you're enjoying the pace of progress, new content and updates please leave a review for our team!

Slinger's Talent Tree

This is a combat-focused class, with 16 talents offering a wide range of build possibilities and synergies with other classes. Some talents can be used with any weapon, like the initiative-manipulating Quick Draw talent, manipulating Initiative to ensure you act first in the next Turn. But most of the Gunslinger's talents are designed for use with at least one Pistol, or even more specifically in some cases, a Revolver.
These talents allow a Gunslinger to attack an enemy who has them under Overwatch without triggering it, to fire their revolver like it's a Full Auto weapon, to reload as they fire, and more. One especially cool talent allows you to target hard cover around an enemy and Ricochet your bullet off it to hit an enemy you don't have direct line-of-sight too. That'll catch 'em by surprise!
There's more: the Gunslinger can dual wield! Using dual pistols or revolvers (or one of both!) lets you make use of talents like Gun Kata, firing a shot from each weapon into every visible target within a wide cone (which you can upgrade up to a full 360 arc).

Animation Updates Pending

Note that as this is still Early Access, we're releasing the Gunslinger without all of the dual wielding attack animations completed. You won't see any dual wielding animation yet, all characters will just shoot as if they have one pistol. We are aiming to wrap up the animations in a week or two, but we didn't want to delay your chance to try this class just for that.

Shifting Metas

This is exciting to see what meta shifts are going to hit with the new class. It is also a time for us to go back over the next few weeks and revisist the original combat classes (Soldier, Sniper, etc) and their weapon set to ensure that the meta stays tightly competitive. We'll be sharing more about this in the coming days!

How to Get a Gunslinger

A new Gunslinger, Sid, has been added to the Fighter column (Soldier by default) in New Game, so you can trade Sid for Aaron or Aitana. You can also multi-class your other characters into the Gunslinger class if they haven't taken a class yet (or just Respec). Gunslinger is a cybernetic class, requiring cyber surgery installing a GunLink spinal implant to be able to able to multiclass into it. There is a lot to explore here, new multi-class combinations to build and oh so many places to bounce bullets off. We'll let you get to it, slingers!

Raised Level Cap

To go along with the Gunslinger, we've also raised the level cap to 32 now which grants +1 maximum Talent limit. We used a "stored XP" model in Cyber Knights, so if you've been running missions at level 26, all the XP you acquired was kept and you may immediately increase levels. Enjoy your new options and another raise will be coming before the end of the year as the enemies get a new batch of Power Levels and variations to match.

v1.9.1 - #169: Gunslinger - 11/8/2024

- Added new class: Gunslinger - New starting character option in the Soldier slot - Sid who was "Born to a Gun" - Raised character Level Cap to level 32, +1 Talent limit - Fixed Knight's starting Traits so that Ballistic Co-Processor and Trigger by Wire are available to all backstories - Improved descriptions of buffs where you can use them on "yourself or a teammate" instead of just saying "a teammate" - Fixed issue with Stealth Crit Dmg bonuses printing as Crit Dmg bonuses in Talent effects

[ 2024-11-08 14:23:56 CET ] [ Original post ]

We've got a huge week ahead of us, Knights! Any day now, the Gunslinger is about to kick down the doors and light this place up with a hail of bullets and we've got a new Weekly Map Release coming up later in the week. In prep for these big content drops, we've got a steady patch release here that fixes some bugs with last week's level, polishes out some more Talent bugs, and fixes other F10s and issues. If you're ready for the new content and enjoying the pace of continued updates and polish, please take a moment to leave a review!

Updated Feedback Form to Prompt Email

We've updated the feedback form ("F10") to encourage leaving an email address if you don't have a Discord or don't want to share it. Of course, this is up to you to share it. But as an example, we received an F10 from a player yesterday about a keybinding they didn't like and a request to add keybinding to the game ... without a Discord username or an email, we can't reach out and explain that yes keybinding is already in the game! So, if you don't Discord then please consider leaving an email. It would only be used to contact you with a follow-up question or an answers to your bug/feature request. If you provide an email you do not opt into any list or anything - we're not that kind of studio lol.

Mission Updates

The new process for Logistics Hub worked really well - we've got an exciting new map on our hands for 7 proc-gen combos. But it did have its share of bumps, the last of which we are ironing out with today's update. We've fixed issues with a few final broken terminals found in the Scavenger, Lootbox Hunt and Kill 3 Captain objectives. None of these were ever mission critical, so we've fixed them for future missions and made code adjustments to be sure it cannot happen again. Second, we've fixed the cases where some of the lootboxes in the new level could end up very nearly empty, maybe just 1 item hiding in the back corner steamsad And, we fixed a bug caused by adding the new map that could make the dialogs for Kill 3 Captains on any map double up.

Pressure Plate Oddity

Accidentally the game's center of a pressure plate - what you need to target for your Talents - got moved about 10 meters off to one side. Oops! Now fixed in Update #168.

Soldier Talent Burn

Following up on Update #167, we've hit the Soldier Talents now with a big range of fixes.

• Splatt-Patt was never reporting the full extent to which it upgraded your firing arc and failing to display the full Recoil recoup that it offered. We've redone the system for expanding Firing Arcs in prep for Gunslinger and Splatt-Patt has been a beneficiary.
• AP costs for Full Auto only Talents like Splatt-Patt and Covering Fire were always showing up wrong, very often showing 2 AP when they cost the regular 3 AP for any Full Auto weapon. This is now resolved, they always show 3 AP correctly.
• We've made minor improvement to Soldier's Overwatch 3rd node to ensure it is worth the investment, adding an extra +5% Ballistic Dmg.

Other Bugs

We've fixed a heap of other bugs but notable items include sorting not working in the NanoFab or all subscreens, the fact that all Items and Item Blueprints claimed that their AP cost was 444 and issues where sometimes timeline events would just appear at 50% opacity and look grayed out for no reason.

v1.8.49 - #168: Dometop Launch - 11/5/2024

- Update feedback form (F10) to encourage email address if not using Discord - Fixed issue with multiple confirmation dialogs when killing a captain in a proc-gen Kill 3 mission - Fixed bug with Pressure Plates displaying a targeting point far away from the security system itself - Fixed issue with new "Logistics Hub" level having mostly empty lootboxes and lingering "Terminal Broken" cases - Fixed Soldier's Splatt-Platt not correctly displaying the correct values for recoil recovery or increased Full Auto firing angle - Improved Soldier's Overwatch 3rd upgrade to cause +15% Ballistic Dmg instead of +10% - Fixed Soldier's Splatt-Patt and Covering Fire sometimes misreporting that they cost 2 AP instead of 3 AP as they are Full Auto only attacks - Fixed all sorting not working in NanoFab Blueprint selection screens - Fixed bug with all Items and Item Blueprints showing use cost of "444 AP" - Fixed bug that could result in a timeline even oddly grayed out (low opacity)

[ 2024-11-05 14:05:28 CET ] [ Original post ]

Update #167 is completely dedicated to fixing a few issues with Terminals and Lootboxes in the new Logistics Hub map and fixing Talent issues. Lots and lots of little Talent issues! With Update #167, we took the fight to the F10s reported around Talents and closed over 50% of them in this update. We're excited to slate the work to tackle the other 50% of reported issues and get the class trees in tip-top fighting shape! If you're enjoying the steady stream of improvements, please take a moment to leave a review!

Logistics Hub Fixes

There were two types of issues reported for Logistics Hub. First, in some cases terminals were reporting "this terminal is broken" and refusing to launch the matrix UI. And second, sometimes in the Steal 3 Files objective, some of the Files simply never made it into a lootbox. Both class of bugs have been fixed - but only for future iterations of your missions. If you have a mission where you can only find 2/3 files, you'll need to just extract with that victory in hand and the next time the map draws, you'll be able to find 3/3.

Talent Burn!

We ripped into the F10 pile for Talents - hitting all the little and big things we could in a single blast. There are so many fixes - from typos to effects that were ignored - all bundled into this update, so we'll discuss the biggest ones but please check the full changelog below for the exhaustive set of changes. All the Talents using Damage over Time - especially Tox-Cloud and BIo-Coat Bullet - were reported a lot to be inflating their damage per Turn. We've fixed the inflation issue and now the numbers show correctly, smaller. A fully upgraded Tox-Cloud was showing 100 but is really 75 HP / Turn. In the same vein, we fixed the Vanguard's K-Protocol that was overreporting the Security Tally reduction and causing a lot of confusion.
We fixed the Knight's Ult-Pump +1 Turn Duration node so that it really works as well as their Interference Spike +1 Max Charge node which wasn't working either.
We fixed a number of cases where the text described an upgrade buff as a debuff or a debuff as a buff, such as in the Knight's Quantum Assault Talent. We fixed other disconnected upprades that didn't do what they promised like EMP 4 and EMP 5 and Downed Shield's last upgrade node.

Nest Dropping

We fixed an issue where Sniper's Nest Talent was being dropped if an attack missed.

Soldier's Run and Gun

Also, we improved Soldier's Run and Gun Talent to add a generic ranged weapon accuracy after moving instead of only Assault Rifle (AR) accuracy which was very limited.

v1.8.47 - #167: Talent Burn - 11/3/2024

- Fixed issues with new "Logistics Hub" map that could lead to Terminals being broken or Matrix SCU having no connected devices - Fixed issues with Lootbox Hunt / Steal 3 Files where some of the files could not appear in Logistics Hub (and more rarely, in other maps as well) - Fixed class tree bug where Talents healing or doing Damage / Turn were showing incorrectly high values once upgraded (Tox-Cloud showing 100 HP/Turn instead of 75 HP/Turn) - Clarified description of Tox-Cloud Talent that the Damage / Turn does not affect Drones - Fixed upgrade of Knight's Interference Spike Talent that had no description (+1 Max Charge) - Fixed upgrade of Knight's Quantum Assault Talent that describes the upgraded debuff as if it will debuff the Knight - Fixed upgrade of Knight's Ult-Pump Talent that claimed to add +1 Duration but then did not actually do anything - Fixed upgrades of Vanguard's K-Protocol inflating the number of Sec Tally reduced - all trained it is -5 Tally - Fixed 6th upgrade of Hacker's Downed Shields that broke the Talent's description - Fixed Cybersword's EMP upgrades on the bottom row that had no description (+10% Dmg, -1 Recharge Turn) - Fixed bug with Nest buff dropping after making successive attacks if they missed - Improved Soldier's Talent Run and Gun to give +10% Ranged Accuracy instead of +10% AR Accuracy - Fixed broken Contact Dr. Omatte strange appearances in future games - Fixed bug preventing +/- Red or Gold cubes in Nano-Fab crafting UI - Fixed issue where Wreckspire and Dusted Hover-Evac levels could use the same description and names - Fixed some Cyberdeck programs having the wrong icon

[ 2024-11-03 12:09:10 CET ] [ Original post ]

Back in Update #164, we promised a new weekly map release schedule and Update #166 has arrived to delivery on that promise. This update includes a new mission map - Logistics Hub - that is playable on 7 proc-gen objectives, a big UI improvement with a Font Scale option, fixes for Biomimic movement warnings, more obvious Free Respec period and a ton of really important F10 fixes from the community. We're excited to start this new map release schedule and to try to march it all the way to launch, ensuring the game has a huge pool of content for every heist team to hit. So thank you for your reviews to help us keep going!

New Map + 7 Proc-Gen Combos

It is week one of our new "Map a Week Until Launch!" challenge and we are here to deliver. The Logistics Hub is an exciting new map. Build straddling a key road between two transport interchanges, the hub features both an interior building area and exterior power field. It has great pathing challenges, very different spaces and tons and tons of way to play it. This new map dropping into the proc-gen set pushes up to 57 total proc-gen combos and represents a 14% increase in map variety. You will find the new Logistics Hub appearing in (1) Scavenger (2) Lootbox Hunt (steal 3 files), (3) Q-Gap Spike (spike a CPU), (4) Kill 3 Captains, (5) Bodyguard (6) Battle Striker and (7) Siege! And, to follow up on our Weekly New Map release schedule, the next m1ap is in testing and polish phase to drop next week with a similar amount of proc-gen objective varieties! Finally, in proc-gen land, we fixed a bug with Wreckspire where Kill 3 Captains objective had a broken terminal.
You won't see this ^^ anymore And also we fixed a bug in Lootbox Hunt where multiple objective files could appear in the same lootbox, making this level type too easy.

Font Scale Option - up to +25%

We have added a major UI option with Update #166 - a simple Font Scale slider in your options menu. This lets you slide the font size from -25% (why!?!) to +25%. We are starting with this range of font scale adjustments and getting live testing before we look at possibly expanding the limits further. This is a HUGE update to the game's UI that touched every single screen and widget and UI blippy. So, if you see issues at 0% or 25% please report them.
You'll see with the Font Scaling that the UIs mostly hold to their shape except when they are built to dynamically scale (usually vertically, scrollbars, etc). By increasing font size, screen elements may be a bit more cramped feeling but that is a natural result of making the text bigger without making the screen bigger :D And for Steam Deck we now default to +25% Font Scale!

More Obvious Free Respec

In the cases when your Respec is free (at the beginning of the game or just after a recruit joins the team) the UI is now much louder to call attention to the Respec button and to make it clear it is FREE.

Biomimic + Prox-Mines and Pressure Plates

Both Prox-Mines and Pressure Plates were incorrectly showing movement warnings if you had Biomimic running. This is now resolved, both will go quiet in that case, as your buffs let you skip over them safely without detection.

No More Tilting!

There were some issues with stairs, depending on the way the merc or enemy wanted to face at the end of their movement could result in odd tilts. This is now fixed, we stand up straight around here!

Weapon Unequip / Mod Equip

We fixed two really important bugs in the stack of weapons and weapon mods with Update #166. Previously, there was no real weapon ordering - if you unequipped your primary weapon then the secondary would slide forward and take the primary slot. It wasn't great and makes it hard to really control what happens next or to really equip a weapon as primary without unequipping both. This is now fixed, you have 2 slots and they are maintained separately.
If you unequip primary weapon, then you'll be standing around without a weapon ^^ Also, we fixed some bugs that could result in some really odd weapon mod attachment situations. Some faulty code allowed a weapon mod to be attached to two weapons or attached twice to the same weapon accidentally. That's a mess obviously. It only happened rarely but we've fixed the bug and expect that this will address a number of issues that have been being reported in F10s that were just really confusing!

Fixed Unknown Relationships

If a merc went into the Simstream Detox, Trainer, Treatment or Cyber Surgery, suddenly all of the relationship tags that link to them would start reporting them "Unknown". Like, haven't seen them in a few days maybe they are dead!?!? This is now fixed - the answer is "member of the team".

v1.8.45 - Update #166 - 11/1/2024

- Added new proc-gen map "Logistics Hub": transportation connector that supports +7 new proc-gen combos (Siege, Battle Striker, Heist a CPU, Steal 3 Files, Scavenger, Kill 3 Captains, Bodyguard!) - Added Font Size control to game Options - up to 25% larger or smaller - Steam Deck defaults to +25% font size for much more readable text! - Improved Respec button in training screen - says "Free Respec" in bold color when you can get a free Respec - Improved clarity of weapon class specific Accuracy to read like +5% Pistol/SMG/Revolver Accuracy - Fixed issue with Accuracy Log (top right) not ever showing weapon class specific bonuses (like +5% Pistols/SMG/Revolver) - Fixed issue where 1+ objective file could end up in the same Lootbox in Steal 3 Files objective - Fixed issue with Relationship Tags showing "status unknown" if other character was in Cyber Surgery or Treatment - Fixed issue where warnings for Prox-Mines and Pressure Plates would incorrectly show while Scourge BioMimic is on - Fixed issues with Slashslide meta-visual on raised areas or first time used could be invisible - Fixed equipment issue where attempting to equip a secondary weapon if you have no primary would just equip your primary - Fixed issue where a weapon mod equipment could result in odd attachments - Fixed issue where characters or enemies could end up leaning at an impossible angle after moving - Fixed broken terminal in Wreckspire in Kill 3 Captains objective for future missions - Fixed widespread text formatting mistake where percentages (10%) were showing with a + sign (+10%) or (+-10%) - Improved colliders with Truck to resolve issues with Slashslide and melee attacks near it

[ 2024-11-01 20:18:38 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights, this is bug street - an update where we squish popular F10s and prep for the next big thing. Having just come off adding 5 new proc-gen combos for the Bodyguard objective, we're prepping some really big things (new map release this week, upcoming Gunslinger class, Steam Deck verification) and keeping up with the F10 train. This update is dedicated to bug fix and minor balance tweaks, so let's dig into what we've got. A big thanks goes out to everyone playing, posting and sending in F10s with feedback, suggestions and of course, pesky bugs. We're continually polishing the game and tuning the experience based on your timely feedback, so thank you. And, of course, as we are a really small team - every single review counts. Thank you to every Knight who has posted up a review!

Balance Tweaks

We've improved Soldier's Covering Fire, increasing the debuff against enemy accuracy from -20% to -25% making it just a little better at suppressing return fire. As it debuffs whether it hits or miss, this can be a powerful move in a retreating gunfight or when storming an enemy position, as even those pesky targets that might be 15% to hit will be debuffed. We've made some adjustments to make cybernetics that grant classes a little more similar. The Vanguard's Chameleon Sheathe, Agent EX Nano-Hive and Scourge Chem-Hive all have been reduced to a 12 day recovery time after the splicing surgery.

Power Slice Clarity

We've adjusted the descriptions for Power Slice and Improved Power Slice to be more clear that they add a duration to the debuff if and only if the weapon has a debuff in its special Power Slice rule block. If the Power Slice bonus for the weapon is just extra damage, this doesn't get a duration.

Timeline Bumps

We've fixed an issue in the timeline where a character who was recovering or in a Simstream Detox or Trainer might have their duration extended if a new mission or storyline appeared. Now, it will happen the other way around, the mission or story will get an extra Turn to avoid overlapping with your merc's recovery times. This is a nice boon to help things align, you basically win ties in the timeline :D

Respec Token Theft!

We fixed a bug where Respec'ing would steal a Simstream Trainer token even if the merc was a new recruit and the confirmation window explained that it wouldn't cost you a token. Then the sneaky sneak would steal a token anyway! Now fixed.

Movement AP Theft!

In some edge cases, but most commonly when using Talents like Lightfoot and Projection, you could be charged more AP for your move than you were shown when planning the move. AP theft! We've fixed the rule here to only calculate the cost of AP one time and then to charge that exact amount of AP to you if the move is executed.

Better Hiding Access Gates

In the matrix, some sharp-eyed hackers realized you could spot Access Gates because even when they weren't scanned, their connection lines were marked as gray. We've fixed this issue with Gates, and the status of their connections is only revealed once they reach Scan 1/2 at least.

Floating Bullet Holes

We had a rash of reports about magical bullets holes that were forming on the side of BioScan fields, in Laser Mesh wires, Linecrawler VFX and more. We've fixed the mistakes in the physics collision matrix that was allowing firing lines to hit those objects and register them as collisions. Bullets now find something more solid to slap into.

Cybersword Start

For a long time, who knows how long (?), the Cybersword has started with a floating point in an upgraded to the Choppa Talent. It didn't help you or hurt you, but it was a wasted point until you Respec. New Cyberswords will gain a second charge of Slashslide instead (the power!). Veteran Cyberswords might want to check if they should respec. And that's it - a mountain of bugs we will flow to thee!

v1.8.143 - #165: Bug Street - 10/30/2024

- Improved debuff to Accuracy from -20% to -25% for Soldier's Covering Fire - Reduced install time for Vanguard's Chameleon Sheathe, Agent EX Nano-Hive and Scourge Chem-Hive to 12 days - Improved description of Improved Power Slice to be clearer that the debuff Turn bonus is used only if the weapon has a debuff - Fixed issues where the timeline might move an Injured character or character in Simstream back 6 hours if a mission had same ending - Fixed bug with Respec consuming Simstream Trainer token even when used on a new recruit - Fixed issue where Access Gate nodes were visible in Matrix before being scanned due to grayed out lines - Fixed issues with bullet holes appearing on laser wires, BioScan field and more silly things - Fixed issue with special movement Talents like Lightfoot and Projection where sometimes the final AP cost was higher than previewed - Fixed bug with Cybersword starting level points - random floating point was spent on Choppa without the Talent, now spent to for +1 Slashslide charge

[ 2024-10-30 18:25:38 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights of New Boston, another update is hitting the streets hard. Today we're announcing a new ambitious goal for a weekly release schedule for a new map, dropping 5 new proc-gen combos for the Bodyguard objective type that vastly increase its map variety (even though they are not new maps), and fixing the meta-visual issue that was wreaking havoc on Mac OS, Linux and Steam Deck. We've also bumped the Sell action over to default submit (spacebar, (A)) in Cold Storage for better consistency with the market and inventory. Thanks to everyone playing and especially to those leaving a review and helping us vault over 500 reviews last week! Here's to more updates, more maps and more reviews!

New Map Schedule

We're excited to share that the map design, development and completion process has moved far enough forward that we're hitting the acceleration point now. We have major pile of maps ready for final dressing, objective assignment and testing and we're finalizing the process to fast track them into the game. With this new process in place, our goal will be to release a new mission map every week from now until full launch. This is a goal, we are sure to miss it this week, but we're confident that we are going to hit it on the majority of weeks starting with the new map next week and rolling from there. With the additional 5 new proc-gen combos for Bodyguard objective (see below) we've already crossed the 50 proc-gen combos (map X objective) and are very excited that this new map release schedule is going to blow that dinky little number out of the water. The first new release map is testing right now with 7 objective types linked so that is a big boost (7 / 50 = 15%).

+5 Bodyguard Proc-Gen Combos

The Bodyguard objective has been one of the underserved objectives for a while with only 2 maps matching it. With Update #164 we've kicked Bodyguard into high-gear with its possible map matches, adding 5 new proc-gen combos. These maps matches, which are (from the top left, clockwise in the graphic) Wreckspire, District HQ, H-Interchange, Sewers and Req Site) are all pre-existing in the set, so there are no new maps here. But if you have to protect a data courier on the move, you're going to see a lot more variety in map type, shape and size. And, to ensure that Bodyguard stays spicey and fun, we've covered it better in our process for new map releases, ensuring it won't be left behind again.

Meta-Visuals & Sight Lines for Mac OS and LInux

The major update last week to redo the meta-visuals for just about everything in the game had issues on some Linux and Mac OS machines, resulting in giant pink and purple boxes - looking like this -
It's cool enough that it made us think about how we could do special tactical overlays in the map for something weird or cool someday (thermo vision?) but also just totally broken and unplayable on Steam Deck, Mac OS and Linux. In the end, due to the difficulty with fixing the prickly shader issue, we had to roll back these platforms to the October 17th release. We're glad to roll out the Update #164 today that restores the functionality and all other features and content for these platforms to the latest.

Cold Storage - Sell with Space

We've finally completed the upgrade to Cold Storage to match the other major inventory screens so that you can sell things with the spacebar or (A) by default. This allows very rapid selling with keyboard only if you want to try to move some items (before Bulk Sell feature finally arrives) and just increases consistency across screens. Thanks to everyone who posted o-so-many F10s about this steamhappy we're happy to deliver!

Triage Clinic PL 4

We've made a small but nice tweak to the final level of the Triage Clinic room, increasing the Wound Res to 30% from 25%. This room continues to be enduringly popular among early and late merc teams, so we know it becomes even more important as your enemies become harder and the risk of Wounds is even greater.

v1.8.141 - #164: Bodyguard Rising - 10/26/2024

- Fixed issue with meta-visuals in Mac OS, Linux and Steam Deck creating huge pink and purple boxes under some GPUs - Added 5 new proc-gen combos for Bodyguard mission objective (Wreckspire, District HQ, H Interchange, Sewers, Req Site) - Now with 50 Proc-gen map X objective combos and new maps coming very soon! - Announced new weekly map release schedule goal - Cold Storage Sell now default action (Space, A) and Use File defaults to (C) - Improved Triage Clinic Lvl 4 to 30% Wound Res from 25% - Fixed issues with inconsistent application of HDR to all game cameras

[ 2024-10-26 19:21:42 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights, a new update is filtering down from the top of the dome to the streets, to the shadows, seeping through the pavement. Surely it will reach your underground safehouse soon. With Update #163, we've added new options to the New Game Knight screen including weapons packages and your pick of starting cybernetic, further improved and tweaked the meta-visuals update, smoothed out the Safehouse timeline animation and provided a 3rd Fastest speed, and fixed a lot of bugs from your F10s! We are hitting so many different angles of polish and improvement for the game and we're super excited for what is next. It goes something like (1) more mission maps (2) Gunslinger class and (3) more story! Check out the Gunslinger Preview thread that is ripping along on Steam right now with great ideas about how to make that class extra fun and cool. We're 3 reviews short of 500 steamhappy! If you're enjoying the game or how we are running our Early Access (always improving!) please take a minute to leave a review.

Weapon and Cybernetic Packages for New Knight

With Update #163, we've added 2 new sets of options to the New Game Knight screen. These allow your Knight to pick from a set of 4 starting weapon packages to better customize their starting load out. You can pick from a stealth pack (Sword and Silenced Pistol), a mid-range loud pack (Shotgun and Silenced SMG), a versatile pack (AR and Silenced Pistol) and the long range pack (Sniper Rifle and Silenced SMG). On top of the new weapon choices, all Knights used to start with Dermal Plating installed. This was limiting and while it made you a tank it also reduced Move Speed. With all the new choices in the New Game V2 screen, and especially those that let you lean your Knight toward a Hacker, we needed to give you the freedom to pick your our starting implant. So, with Update #163, you can also pick one of 4 cybernetics - among Dermal Plating, Matrix Link, Display Link and Neural Accelerator.
One of the key cybernetic options available to your character is that of the Matrix Link which lets you start with your Cyber Knight multi-classed into the Hacker class. This goes along with some of the Hacking-focused Trait options you can pick above and gives a cool new angle to what your Cyber Knight brings to the team from the get go. Along with this update, we've tweaked, tuned and improved a lot of starting cyberware progressions for the better. For example, Synth Muscle has been buffed with more Attribute bonuses and the first level no longer has a Wound Res penalty and we've removed the Stress Res penalty from Matrix Link. We've added more HP and Wound Res to the Dermal Armor progression while reducing its Move Speed debuff to 6% to 12% max and added more Accuracy bonus to Display Links.

Smoother Timeline + New Options

We've done a really nice polishing pass on the animation for the Safehouse Timeline. It is smoother than ever before and we've cut out all the possible "jump back" that could happen where an event would scroll forward and then suddenly leap backwards. We still have work to do to improve the experience when new events appear on the timeline (it's a big jumpy and you might want to pause) but this is a really nice improvement on the smoothness of the main clock of the game.
We've also added a 3rd speed - Fastest - to the options for Timeline Speed. Accelerated is comfortable and plays rapidly, Standard is comfy and on the slower side and well, Fastest is just fast. It rips along and does very little attempt at making animation so much as moving turns forward.

Improving Meta-Visuals

For the meta-visuals, we've made some nice upgrades to follow up on the big update and improve in some situations where things were not working as expected First up, if an enemy was standing near a drop that was 4m or above, their sight lines were not displayed below. This is now resolved with the sight lines painting onto the lower geometry up to 6.2m below. The situation with enemies facing upwards elevation (such as stairs) is no better than it was in the old system and there is no visual aid except relying on movement alerts to know if you will be seen by an enemy in this position or not.
We've also adjusted and increased the opacity on the sight cones which is important to make them functional in areas with varied light - especially red and orange lighting conditions.
In addition, the new visualization for Talent ranges are very helpful for placing map area of effects like Lookahead or Tox-Cloud except that the range calculations on these areas was not updated to ignore height and effectively use a column instead of a sphere. This lead to the meta-visual range finder showing situations in which an enemy would be targeted - near the edge, as shown above - and yet they could still be missed. We've now updated the math to ensure that the visuals are unerring.

Bug Fixes!

Thanks for all the F10s. We had another round of high Power Level Cyberdecks escape the lab (how!? again!?!) and we've stuffed them back in the box. Unless you bought them lol. Also, when removing required programs from the deck, sometimes the names were wrong (you're removing Attack but it warns about Sleaze). We fixed a long standing issue with a trio of fuel barrels that refused to ever show the cover shield, now resolved. Some of the enemies in the new Blown Out Flat level could appear in inaccessible areas, trapped forever. In the Hacking mission level - the Weigh Station - the camera bounds were flipped, allowing you to leave the leave but never get back in.

v1.8.139 - #163: New Knight Packages - 10/22/2024

- New Game Knight - now select from 1 of 4 weapons sets for your starting Knight - New Game Knight - now select from 1 of 4 cybernetic implants for your starting Knight, including MatrixLink to multi-class Hacker from start - Improved smoothness of Safehouse timeline animation, expanded option for speed to be Standard, Accelerated or Fastest (less animation, more speed) - Fixed issue with new meta-visuals for sight cones where they disappeared if there was a 4m or more drop - Improve new meta-visuals for sight cone to be more visible in brighter / redder lighting environments - Improved map area of effect rules (for Talents like Lookahead and Tox-Cloud) that were not following the new rules (these also still need new meta-visuals) - Buffed Synth Muscle (more Strength/Speed, removed -Wound Res %) and Matrix Link (removed -Stress Res %), buffed Dermal Plating series (more HP, Wound Res, better Move Speed), added +1% Accuracy to Display Link - Fixed issue with triple fuel barrel stacks not showing cover shield correctly - Fixed issue with program names being swapped when uninstalling required programs - Removed Cyberdecks in Power Level 8 and 9 that had leaked into market - Fixed enemy starting in inaccessible area in Blown Out Flat level - Fixed camera bounds issue in Hacking Weigh station level - you could pass through and never return

[ 2024-10-22 19:57:37 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights, a big update has arrived tonight. This one has been months in process, slowly moving forward to complete the heavy lifting of rebuilding the game's meta-visualizations for Talents, Full Auto, Overwatch, enemy Sight Cones and security devices. It's a huge scope but we're glad to have arrived here with a big update tonight for all of our heisters. We've also scored a win for Steam Deck verification with this build, added movement alerts for prox-mines, improved the skip enemy turn system and made a huge bundle of small but important updates to mission maps to be sure they play as expected. If you enjoy the updates, improvements and expanding content - please take a minute to leave a review. The small team here appreciates every one!

All New Meta-Visualizations Sticks to Geometry

All of the range and sight widgets or meta-visuals in the game have received a big update with Update #161. Before these were shown as 2D colored and semi-transparent objects that floated in the level at the plane where they originated. This leads to a lot of difficulties, making it hard to understand where boundaries are, making it hard to understand happens once elevation changes are involved and can paint a lot of meta-visuals onto the game that are not necessarily real (as these 2D objects mostly just ignored geometry). A big thanks to the team who worked hard on rewriting this - it has been some of the steepest work and definitely the hardest shader work we've done for Cyber Knights.
But we are excited to share the results which are a big step forward. We're not 100% done (are we ever?) but everything included here is an upgrade on what we had before. The changes are vast - so we'll try to list the most important ones were with demonstrative screenshots.

Security Devices and Walls

In the old system, security devices were not using intelligent visualizations that knew about walls. Therefore, the old widgets just clipped right through walls and showed up on the other size. This didn't make any sense and was ugly! Security device meta-visuals now respect walls correctly. To test other areas where they might not see you due to high or lower cover, you'll want to rely on movement alerts.

Talent Range Circles

All Talent ranging circles were also just 2D. They had the advantage of showing through geometry but they were still stuck at a specific plane where the character was making it really hard to tell sometimes if another character or enemy was going to be in range. This could be especially painful when trying to pick a movement destination and not being sure if a target for the Talent you would use would be close enough. Now all Talent ranges draw directly over the geometry. This makes it so much easier to tell if a target is inside our outside of the range. This has always required a chance in how Talent range is calculated, which makes the range (marginally longer). Instead of using a true distance including vertical (which would create a sphere around the character and be very hard to visualize) we measure Talent range only in the X,Z plane without any vertical distance calculation. Therefore, the Talent visualization is a giant cone not a circle that is overlaid on the geometry. This gives some advantage to the Talent user but it also ensures the visualizations are always correct.

Improvements for Elevation

Sight cones, Overwatch and Full Auto cones were especially bad with elevation in the previous versions. If they were pointed at higher elevation, they disappeared as they just went under the floor. if they were pointed at lower elevation, they ran out into the sky and were very hard to understand against the lower level geometry. This is an area where we can still improve, but these new meta-visuals are already much better. If these sight cones are pointed at lower geometry, the result is really nice. In the case of pointing at higher geometry, you can see the edge lines effectively but lose a lot of the exact visualization of what can be see / Overwatched / shot and need to rely on movement alerts at that point.

Low Cover vs. Sight Lines

In the old system for stealth, if an enemy's sight lines hit something like a barricade that provided low cover then the entire sight line on the far side would allow a sneaking character to move through it. That created silly situations like this where a guard standing at a low wall was very, very bind. We've now updated this sight system with some new rules where the sight line will return to full visibility after 5 meters roughly, unless it is farther than 60% down the enemy's sight distance. So, if an enemy is standing far away from a barricade, they will lose full sight on the other side of it, but an enemy standing close to a barricade only has a limited blind spot. This still lets you create long a barricade right in front of the enemy - if you can move quietly enough! - but adds a new complexity a lot of stealth situations that used to be (silly but) easier.

Prop Updates

We did some work with this update to focus on certain sets of props, like the shelving units shown above, that were not about what height they were. Now the shelves are clearly "crouch to sneak behind" height except where there are items up top where they block sight. Helpful improvement in the first area of the game as well as across many other levels!

Prox-Mines Warning

Oddly, Prox-Mines were missing a proper movement alert. These alerts now appear, warning that you're going to be damaged on this movement path. Very nice!

3/4 Steam Deck Verification Update

We've made some nice progress toward final Steam Deck verification with this update, moving from 1/4 items in the checklist as green to 3/4 items as green. We have now exposed 100% functionality available through your controller, improved the consistency of display of controller widgets instead of sometimes letting the keyboard and mouse appear. This comes along with an updated F10 system that allows you to pop the feedback form in game with a left stick press and then use virtual keyboards to input any text you'd like to send along all from a controller the steam deck. The last standing knock against the game's verification status is the small text size, so we have pivoted and are starting to work on that project.

Better Skip Enemy Turn

We have made some major improvements to Skip Enemy Turn, expanding the number of cases that you can simply skip massively. In the previous version, once real fighting started the amount of enemy turns you could skip began to drop pretty rapidly as the system simulates their move and anticipates things that might interrupt them. An enemy turn can only be skipped (for now) if they are determined to have no interruptions. With this update, we've fixed issues with mis-detection of interruption sources like dead bodies, which were being counted even if the enemy was Alerted and was going to run over the body without comment or stopping. This new level of awareness in the detection system is letting us skip a lot more turns and makes the game faster and more fun to play.

Map Improvements

In addition to the big meta-visual upgrade, we also took some time to rip through the list of F10s reporting on minor issues with maps and fixed about 50% of all report issues. This resolves issues with odd pathing, barricades that aren't really there, places you can't squeeze through that look like you should be able to, lootboxes not provide cover, and different types of props that you could simply walk in to.

v1.8.137 - 10/20/2024

- Rebuilt visualization of all geometry shown on the map - sight cones, Talent ranges, Full Auto, Overwatch, security devices - Visualizations stick to the geometry instead of floating over it, making it easy to track areas of effect - Visualizations handle up and down elevation more gracefully (down is still better than up) - Piece of low cover in enemy sight cone does not set rest of sight cone to yellow (blocked by cover), resets after 5m - Security devices visualization now stops correctly at walls instead of bleeding through - Prox-Mines now give a movement alert when your movement will cause damage - Improved Steam Deck verification report - only text size legibility prevents verification - Fixed confusing shelving unit prefabs that were never clear if they were sneaking (crouch) or sprinting (standing) cover - Vastly improved skip enemy Turn, once combat starts 50%+ more turns will be skippable - Fixed many small issues in level geometry (squeezing through small areas), cover (lootboxes!), walking into things (small gray tables) - Can now squeeze between 3 barrel fuel tanks, issues with props placed making it look like you could squeeze through but couldn't

[ 2024-10-21 01:06:27 CET ] [ Original post ]

This Update #161 is dedicated to doing things faster. Everything in your Inventory, Market, NanoFab and Cold Storage is now fasterrrrr. You can submit F10s faster because we remembers you Discord username and you can make new games faster because we remember your Attribute selections from the last time. We've added a new appearance option to tweak lip color and we've also adjusted the default Screen Move to wide screen to help players on larger, wider screens like 4K who are encounter the game feeling like it is just too small to play. And finally we've fixed another set of issues with the Scourge and the UNA Hacker recruits. These two - so much trouble!

Performance for All Item Grids

We've enhanced the scrolling and pooling solution for our big data tables in the safehouse - Cold Storage, Inventory, Market and NanoFab. One some of these screens, players were seeing 500-1000 items piling up and the load times were tanking. This new update should make those screens as snappy as they ever were, regardless of the size of the lists. Of course, the next thing needed here is a lovely Bulk Sell tool that will help you filter these huge lists and then sell things rapidly in large packages to your Contacts instead of being asked to sell them one at a time (madness I tell you!). Stay tuned for that - now that the performance is ironed out, that's next.

Lip Color

You can now set (and reset) the lip color of your characters. Go bold, go dark, go smokey and if you want use the cancel button to drop back to the default skin tone. This feels like a nice add to have some more color controls for your characters - enjoy playing with it. Some of the contacts are due an upgrade after all these new appearance options.

Remembering Choices

In the F10 form, we are now nicely remember anything you enter into the Discord field. If you are Discord, it is extremely helpful for us to be able to reach out to you with more questions about a ticket or to follow up afterwards, so we appreciate you adding your details. And of course, for typing it so many types (madness I tell you!) Now, type it on last time please and we remember forever :D
Also, to help smooth out new Knight creation, once you've created a Knight once we remember your Attribute choices and just use them again next time through.

TV Screen Mode by Default

We've upgraded to TV screen mode by default which assumes that you'd like the elements on your screen to stay about the same relative size as they would in a 1920x1080p resolution. This indicates that the elements will grown physically larger as your screen gets larger. In the PC screen mode, the elements will stay exactly the same physical size as they would on a 1080p, which means they become smaller relative to your screen size. Blah blah, whatever - we need a better name but this a better default for Steam Deck, 1080p screens and large and wide screen as well. You can always swap to back PC mode -- let us know how this change feels (if you see any difference).

More Recruit Fixes

There have never been a more troublesome set of recruits than the Treaty '31 Scourge and Hacker. Upon their release, there were a few bugs, which we fixed in a few days. But the fall out and need to keep cleaning up from those bugs has been ... annoying constant. A big thanks to everyone sending in F10s, we hope these are the last 2 fixes for characters who got stuck in one way or another.

v1.8.135 - #161: Rip Roar - 10/17/2024

- Major performance boost for all Inventory, Cold Storage, Market and NanoFab screens with lists of things - Added appearance option to adjust lip color and new option for some colors to revert back to default - Swapped default "Screen Mode" to "TV" (where the UI keeps its proportions as screen gets bigger) vs. "PC" (where the elements stay same size on larger screens, feels smaller) - New Game now remembers the Attributes you set for your last Knight so you can start more quickly - Feedback form (F10) remembers the Discord username so you don't have re-add it - Fixed bug with Scourge recruit sometimes appearing directly into roster as if already on the team - Fixed issue with delaying choice for UNA Hacker recruit could leave hacker stuck on roster

[ 2024-10-17 20:49:19 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights of New Boston - this one is a patch to catch up on some bugs that snuck in about prisoner handling. We're working on some new and exciting story levels with cool happenings, but this caused an issue where prisoners were appearing out of their cell or not at all. We've also further pushed the Sells Cyberdeck service out to levels 5 and 6 and correctly aligned all the Power Level decks out to that point. And finally, we fixed a few lingering issues that could occur with Legwork and the new recruits from Era '31.

Prisoners Escaped!

If you started a level with a goal to save a prisoner but discovered that prisoner was either (1) not visible at all or (2) standing right in the middle of your crew ... this is the bug. In all the F10 cases we've seen, fixed and tested this is unfortunate, silly look but you can still play out the entire level. Just be aware, if you free the prisoner by opening their cell, they will become active right where they are standing, they will not move to the cell. If you do have a hung game or you can't restart the mission after this patch, please reach out to us and we can help.

Sells Cyberdeck

First up, we made a mistake in the service name for Sells Cyberdeck last update. Suddenly a "Sells Milspec Cyberdeck (4)" appeared on your Ghostwire contacts, and that has now been corrected to "Sells Cyberdecks (4)". In addition to that, we've slotted the Jupiter Victus and the UltraTek Galaxy decks into their respective - and new - service levels at 5 and 6. Your Ghostwire contacts and anyone else willing to sell you a cracked deck now have one of the longest service ladders in the game, so keep the happy, feed them Favors and accounts and see if you can get your way up to those high level decks.

Era '31 Fixes

When Era '31 came out there were a few bugs we missed - that you could put assign a Potential Recruit to a Legwork, and that 2 of the same proc-gen Legworks could end up running at the same time. Both of these happened to players and while we closed the bugs allowing them to happen, there was possible downstream data corruption that we've cleaned up in this update. [olist]

If you assigned a Potential Recruit to a Legwork, when that Legwork finished it would get stuck at 0h. Fixed!

It was possible to end up with a character who had run one of the doubled Legworks who is permanently stuck "On Legwork" even though there is no Legwork anymore. Fixed! [/olist]

v1.8.133 - 10/16/2024

- Fixed critical bug where prisoners were not appearing in their cells - reach out if you have a hung game and can't restart mission - Adjusted power Levels of Cyberdecks Jupiter Victus and UltraTek Galaxy to 5 and 6 - Expanded Sells Cyberdecks for Contacts up to level 6, allowing sale of Victus and Galaxy decks - Fixed bug where Ghostwire service for selling Cyberdecks appeared twice as "Sells Cyberdecks" and "Sells Milspec Cyberdecks" - Fixed aftermath bugs of legwork bugs that existed right after ERA '31 story release - 2 bugs that could hang legwork or character on invisible legwork

[ 2024-10-16 14:52:50 CET ] [ Original post ]

Tonight's update is a quick one, so I will keep this quick as well. We've made some important updates to the feedback form for Steam Deck and controller support, added a 4th service level for Program Sellers with new program options, reduced IO Size for Deception II and Disarm II and fixed Decoy (HOT) not coming out fully hot. Let's dive right into this small update -

F10s from Steam Deck

Forever, we've lovingly called the in-game feedback and bug reporting system "F10s". We've got a bug moji on our Discord and everything. But that has left a key feature off Steam Deck (as you couldn't submit or get the keyboard up in the form) or if you're playing with a controller. With Update #159, we've finished rebinding the default Steam deck / controller config to let you submit Feedback (aka F10!) with the left stick click. This can now be seen from all the HUDs and main menu as well, so fire away with info about how we can make your experience better. This has also required us to rewrite the feedback form using the game's widgets and styles, which may have impacts on keyboard players as well. Please let us know if there are issues or where we can further improve. Finally, for big picture mode or Steam Deck, you'll get the nice on-screen virtual keyboard which is one of the key requirements we had to hit on our road to Steam Deck Verified. We've got one last big item to tackle - which is UI scale and font size! Let's go!

Decoy (HOT)

Last update missed a step to finalize the link of the new HOT effect to the new Decoy (HOT) programs. now you'll really get your bonus IO.

Sells Programs 4 + Attack IV

We've also expanded the Sells Programs services from Contacts to have a 4th level you can reach via Limit Break. This level is rare air and offers Decoy III (not HOT) and a new program Attack IV. This massive attack program is very one-hit-kills with the amount of Damage it is dealing, and combined with a higher charge count makes a powerful tool to smash IC in a node when the time comes.

v1.8.131 - 10/14/2024

- Upgraded Contact Sells Program service to have a 4th level, now selling Attack IV (one-hit-kill) and Decoy III (not HOT) - Reduced IO size for Deception II and Disarm II to 100 qb - Relinked Decoy (HOT) to the correct bonuses, now grant +IO Speed qbps - Updated F10 feedback form so it can be used by controllers and Steam Deck - Updated default keybindings for controllers and Steam Deck so that left stick click brings up feedback form

[ 2024-10-15 03:28:31 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome to the dusk of the weekend in New Boston! We're continuing the tour of second-round balance and improvements and tonight are hitting on pricing in the weapons, mods and armor categories. We've also added a sick new map - the burnt out floor of a flophouse in a street habstack - for proc-gen rotation, improved coherence for Cyberdeck sales, upgraded some Decoy programs to Decoy (HOT) and improved the Hype, Stress (etc!) affects of boosting and burning merc and contact relationships. We always love rolling out something new and this is a key balance patch for the game's early economy. More will be following! if you are enjoy the game and our dedication to continued adds and improvements during Early Access, please take a minute to leave us a review. Remember, you can always edit it later!

Major Power Level 1-4 Price Drops

With this update, we're catching up on some much needed price rebalancing for Power Level 1 to 4 weapons, weapon mods and armor. The old pricing baselines came from a time in the game when there were few other things to spend money on and so the prices fit better. But now with the competition for safehouse upgrades, cyberdecks, programs, more cybernetic implants and more - these prices were due a big drop. Weapons dropped the most, ranging from 25% to 50% drop for some early game upgrades. Weapon Mods were already modestly price and dropped a bit, mostly around Power Level 2 and 3. Armors also had some modest reductions in the earlier Power Levels to help make those first upgrades easier to afford. Items on the other hand got modest gains, where the baseline prices for a Power Level 2 and 3 Item jumped by 10-20%. Item prices of course are small potatoes ($8K became $10K) and these price adjustments also boost the sale value for Item Blueprints on the far side, so this has its benefits as well. We are still working on a package of upgrades for weapons to help reinforce and boost the stat differences between the levels to further justify the expense to upgrade, but this price drop should help.

New Proc-Gen Map: Blown Out Flat

We've added a new map to the proc-gen rotation for the Battle Strike objective and anticipate adding it to other objective types throughout next week. This Blown Out Flat is a destroyed floor of a cheap habstack, utterly abandoned and dilapidated. The best kind of place for criminal dealings, gang warfare and hiding valuable illegal loot. The Blown Out Flat is on the smaller, more compact side of missions, so it is lovely to roll out additional variety in map types.

Cyberdeck Service to Power Levels

We've made some adjustments Contact services for selling Cyberdecks. We've extended the service ladder to having 4 levels and adjusted the placement of the Cyberdecks sold within those levels so that their is a clear and consistent match of Service Level to Power Level. This has moved one deck between levels and also another deck that was previously rated as Power Level 5 has been downgraded to Power Level 4. Get those limit breaks with your deck sellers and get back up to the latest!

Decoy Utilities go HOT

HOT is one of the designations for program variations. All HOT programs include IO buffer bonuses. With Update #158, we've upgraded the Decoy programs available from any Contact who offers the special Utility Program service to be Decoy I to III with the HOT designation. So, in addition to volunteering to be the first unloaded, these programs can now buff your IO. Some of you will find - depending on where you bought your Decoy programs before - that you now have these upgraded programs in your Inventory or already installed on your decks.

Improved Hype / Stress or Influence / Exposure Changes

We are prepare for the relationship flows of Hype, Stress, Loyalty, Discontent and for Contacts Influence and Exposure. This coming upgrade will cause relationships from merc to merc or Contact to merc to be more powerful, as big changes maybe ripple outward. If a merc likes a Contact and you treat that Contact badly, the merc may Stress over it. But that's all coming soon, in the next few updates. For now, the change in Update #158 is to further reinforce the changes to all of these values for your story actions. If you Burn or Boost a merc or contact by a story choice, the hit is going to be stronger. You'll get over all more Hype or Stress, or suffer more Discontent, Exposure etc, where some of these story choices were not feeling so impactful (+10% Exposure or +10% Stress was just not ... enough). Going along with this, we fixed a bug where helping the UNA hacker could result in a Burn with your Face's relationship instead of a Boost (as queued by the dialog). And, on that subject as well, we fixed Hype and Stress sorts for Roster, as they were backwards. If you sort by Stress, you probably want the high Stress characters at the top, right?

v1.8.129 - #158: Markdown Flat - 10/13/2024

- Major price reduction for Weapons, Mods, Armor for Power Level 1-4, from 10% to 50% reduction - Added new proc-gen map "Blown Out Flat": destroyed floor of street habstack with starting Objective Battle Striker - Aligned Cyberdeck Power Levels with Sells Cyberdeck service levels, new Service Level 4 now added to sell most powerful decks - Upgraded Decoy programs sold by Utility Program service to Decoy (HOT) with bonus IO - Improved Stress/Hype/Loyalty/Discontent and Influence/Exposure changes for Burning / Boosting relationships with story actions - Fixed bug where refusing to hire the UNA Hacker could cause Loyalty loss with your Face instead of (correct) gain - Fixed issue where Haven Smokeout Wireghost could be invisible, not spawn or refuse to flee - Fixed ERA story bug where Scourge recruit oddly started at level 1 - Fixed sort in Roster for Hype and Stress so that highest Hype or Stress is at the top

[ 2024-10-14 01:46:18 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights of New Boston - we've got another update here for you with further improvements to the matrix, fixing up a few small bugs in the recent glut of new matrix maps, a new scheme for how ignored / dismissed Recruits are handled, a fix for anyone with a stuck Scourge recruit, improved consistency of Hacking tags on missions and more. A big thanks to everyone playing, posting and hitting F10 this week! We've seen a huge wave of new players come onboard so it is so helpful to get fresh eyes on Early Access. Keep an eye on this page, more updates and more good things are coming. If you enjoy the game and our special way of doing Early Access, please take a moment to leave a review! Remember you can always edit it later.

Spiked Nodes React!

This has been a visual goal for a while but with the addition of the new Access Gate it is more important than ever to be able to see the status of the node while you're planning your path. There are a few other places we need to have the UI and visual react to spiking - like the pop out node description to the left of the node - but we're excited to take this first enhancement and run with it. CPUs that have been spiked become more unstable, reddish and stretch and distort as the quantum structure struggles to maintain coherence after the spike. Access Gates and APU - now defeated and lifeless - become gray and lit only by flickering light, their security functions now extinguished.

Ignored and Rejected Recruits

In the original setup for recruits, if you ignored or rejected them they would be purged from the game, completed removed. There were exceptions to this in the plan, like the sibling from the KEMCO Salvage storyline who would transition back to a character known to be living on the streets of New Boston, a relation to one of your mercs and a potential story character for future arcs. We've now upgraded all non-Underground Hub recruits to work this way. Any recruit that you encounter and decide not to accept is moved into the Dismissed state, which leaves them (hidden unless you filter) on your Roster, and marks them as great story pickup for future story arcs.
This helps build up your history of characters in the city who you've been in contact with and who might someday be a better fit for your team. While you can't go back to them today and re-request the option to recruit them, that is way we are heading. This set of dismissed mercs will become your backup pool (assuming they aren't picked up by some story first). Notably, Underworld Hub has a slightly different setup where an ignored recruit simply goes on a long cooldown and then will recur in the Hub. So, we did not change that process with this update. This is a rare type of update that only affects games from this point forward. We can't do anything to fix the issue that in older games these recruits were purged. It isn't damaging to games, and all new added recruits will fill into this pool in old and new games, so it has some impact but will be long-term minor and is currently no impact (as you can't re-recruit these folks).

Stuck Scourge

If you happened to ignore the Scourge recruit during the recently added ERA storylines and let the timeline expire without interacting with it, a bug occurred where instead of getting the final recruit prompt and being forced into making a Yes/No decision, the Scourge just quietly stuck around as a Recruit but with no further way to interact. The next time you load your game the issue will be resolved and the recruit option will be back.

Missions Missing Hacking Tag

There were a number of missions missing the Hacking tags, which would let you know it could be valuable to bring a Hacker along. We've done a sweep of these and believe they are fixed across the board.

Reload issues

We're grinding down any F10s right now that are reported as reload issues- where something isn't quite right if you go back to the main menu and reload your game. This update fixes an issue where VIPs using the Vita-Shield buff (invulnerability) would get the buff back even if you had shot it down.

The River inDusted Hover-Evac

We fixed a map issue that was preventing anyone - player or enemy - from seeing across the bridge or river in the back of the Dusted Hover-Evac level.

v1.8.127 - #157: Lights Out - 10/11/2024

- Matrix CPU, APU and Gates now visually respond to being spiked, changing their node appearance - Fixed issues with 2 of the new hosts having disconnected data nodes (thanks for the F10s!) - Improved some of the routing and pathing options in the new hosts after review - Fixed bug where ignoring the recruit of the ERA storyline Scourge could result in a hung state - option to recruit will reappear now - Improved scheme for ignoring / dismissing story or timeline recruits - new Dismissed Recruit status allows them to appear in future stories or repeat recruit offerings - Fixed some invisible walls blocking sight over river / bridge in Dusted Hover-Evac - Fixed multiple missions missing the Hacking flag that have matrix terminals - Fixed duplicated victory/defeat text at the end of HEARTBREAK RUSH job - Fixed issue reloading level with VIP shield returning unfairly - Fixed issues with expensive / cheapest sort in cold storage, inventory and market when categories were mixed

[ 2024-10-11 15:05:19 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome all new Knights from Steam Turn-based RPG fest! We're here working hard on Early Access with a constant stream of updates. There is a lot left to do to wrap up our Early Access roadmap but it is more content and smaller feature sets than huge milestones now. We've been excited in these last few updates to be doing "rounds" in the game, hitting a wide spectrum of areas for balance, improvement and expansion. With Update #156, we've come around to matrix hacking to add a new node type and a big blast of new matrix host templates to explore. We've also removed the clickability of characters from the safehouse, fixed a bug with the ERA Hacker recruit if you chose to Delay the recruit and more. Thanks to everyone playing, posting and leaving a review! We're running hot with an update every 2.3 days, so send us feedback and any bugs you hit and we are working hard to improve constantly. If you like the style, please leave a review!

Matrix Access Gate

The newest node type to join matrix hosts is the Access Gate - a quantum lock structure designed to allow unauthorized users to enter it but then never to leave. Gates appear as glowing rings, knotholes that you have to pass through if you plan to further infiltrate the host. They present mini-challenges along your path, requiring you to stop and Spike the gate in order to unlock it and enable node connection again.
Once you've entered the Access Gate, you cannot leave until all IC are destroyed, the node is Scan 2/2 and you execute a Gate Spike. While Access Gates have far less IC than the CPU, this can still present a challenge, and often requires a Hacker to stop short of the Gate to reload some programs set or end their Turn to refresh the IO. Since you cannot exit a Gate without spiking it, there is a heightened risk of ending your hacking run in a Hard Disconnect here - if some IC is blocking loading programs but you didn't get enough Attack loaded to take it out, for example. There is no option to decamp from the Gate and return when you're ready, you'll have to pull the plug. Finally, we've started work on some upgrades to the matrix visuals that will allow nodes to show differently based on their internal state (Spiked, has Files, etc). So - this is coming, Gates that are unlocked with display different, Spiked CPUs will show that visually, etc.

Added 10 new Matrix Hosts

The new matrix hosts are spread across the spectrum of different missions and sources - from those generated in your Safehouse, to CPU Spike missions to those showing up on the ground in missions holding SCU or RCU. All 10 of the new hosts feature one or more Access Gate, so you'll start to see this new node type filtering into your missions immediately now.

Treaty '31 Era Hacker: Delay Hung Recruit

We had a bug with the Treaty '31 Hacker recruit - if you chose to delay their recruit from the Safehouse, then they would end up on your Roster as a permanent possible recruit without any way to move forward. After reloading your game in Update #156, this will be resolved the Hacker will be interested in talking again about recruitment - to accept, delay or reject. We also fixed an issue where recruits who were previously dismissed could be selected for Legwork. Through this, it is possible that you might have recruited them if you picked this option ... that's one way to get on the team?

Safehouse Character Buttons

Having chatted with enough players, we understand (and feel the same way) that the character buttons over the safehouse 3D is not helping. More clicks to these buttons are misclicks that intentional far. There will be a point where the characters animate, traverse the safehouse, take the elevator, so we've left the name labels in but we've removed character's function as a button. In the (currently rare) case that the character has a speech bubble overhead, you can click directly on the speech bubble (not the larger character) in order to pop up their messages.

Alerted Reinforcements, Hidden Team

If you run into a situation where you team is fully hidden but the reinforcements who have just arrived are all Alerted and come after you, please hit F10. We found and fixed 2 of these misconfigurations thanks to some recent F10s about it. We appreciate all your hard work helping us improve the game daily! And, as always we fixed some other smaller issues - see below -

v1.8.123 - #156: Quantum Access Gate - 10/7/2024

- New matrix node type: Access Gate, a quantum lock structure that prevents unauthorized exit until spiked (go in, must spike before you leave) - Added 10 new matrix hosts maps to templates across entire set (Spike CPU, File Hunt, SCU and RCU hosts) featuring Gates - Fixed bug where delaying the recruit of the ERA storyline UNA Hacker could result in a hung state - option to recruit will reappear now - Removed clickable character button from safehouse - Fixed bug where recruits you dismissed or skipped could appear in Legwork offers - Fixed bug where all enemy reinforcements could be coming out as aggressive in Wreckspire - Fixed bug where one set of enemy reinforcements could be coming out as aggressive in Sewers level - Fixed possible legwork mismatch for "Going Offworld" proc-gen Legwork story - Fixed issue where Recoil could go negative on some weapons with the right weapon mods attached - Fixed typos and name switches

[ 2024-10-08 19:05:46 CET ] [ Original post ]

There is smoke pouring out of the NanoFab, someone is in there crafting like crazy! If you aren't in there crafting like crazy, maybe this update will help you get that forge roaring. With Update #155, we're completing a series of balance improvements around Blueprints, max uses, sale prices, and crafting times that should increase the fun and progression of the NanoFab and possibly entice more mercs to give Item crafting a second look - or, if not yet, soon. We've also fixed a ton of other F10s submitted, so thank you for all your help, posts and encourgement! If you are enjoying Cyber Knights and our special way of doing Early Access - the game is never idle! - please take a moment to leave a review and help us continue.

Tox-Cloud, White Noise Stick to the Floor

All of the moving buff and debuff zones were not playing very well with elevation changes. If a zone was created on a rooftop, it could then float out into the air instead of sliding down to the ground. Or if you created a buff zone near a building or platform it might just go into the platform instead of rising up to ride along the top of the area. With Update #155, we've resolved both cases. In short, moving buff zones will now stick to the floor, rising and falling as needed. Thanks to everyone who put in F10s about this, it has been a hot topic for a while!

Melee Weapon Blueprints show Power Slice Rules

Melee weapon blueprints have always had an issue where they kept their Power Slice special rule hidden until the crafting was complete. This bug has now been resolved and the special rules for any and all weapons are now visible up front with your Blueprint.

Crafting Time Adjustments

Update #155 sees the completion of a number of crafting time changes, some shorter and some longer. Weapons were taking too long, armors were too quick and Rarity and Power Level were not having enough of an effect on the crafting time in many cases.

• All weapon crafting times have been reduced, anywhere from 2 to 4 days with Blueprint Rarity having a larger impact on crafting time
• Some weapon mod crafting times have been reduced by up to -1 day and some have been increased by +1 day, depending on the type and Rarity of the blueprint. In total, this is near neutral or overall shorter.
• Some armor crafting times have been extended in the case of high Rarity Blueprints

Item Blueprint Improvements

Item Blueprints have been hit with a wave of improvements to make them more compelling - both to dump onto the open market or consider using.

• The cost of crafting Item Blueprints has been reduced, depending on a number of factors anywhere from 10-40%
• The price you can get selling Item Blueprints to your Contacts has increased by up to 5X
• All Item Blueprints now come with 5/5 uses in your NanoFab. This allows you to build up a small stash if you find something valuable - perhaps a rare designer hacking drug you can't buy yet or ever - you can at least craft 5 doses of it. The limit before of 1 crafting run per Item Blueprint made this very impractical to imagine that we could provide very many exciting unique Items via Blueprints because you'd end up with a single (just 1!!) consumable and ... probably horde it for the last boss ;)

Head Hunters and VIP Stun Break

Head Hunters and special VIP targets all have the ability to Stun Break. Every turn they are Stunned, they gain a 75% chance to skip the Stun and take their Turn. This does not remove the Stun effect, so mulit-Turn Stun debuffs can still have effect on these targets, but it is lesser and more random when it might strike. In the case of Stun Break, we have now added a clarifying log to the combat log so it is clear what happened and what the chance is (75%).

ERA Scourge Recruit Level

For future games where you encounter the Treaty '31 Scourge recruit, we've fixed the issue where this character always landed at level 1. Now, the Scourge will follow all the regular recruit level rules, just like the Treaty '31 Hacker you could recruit.

Fixed Switched Save Slots UI

As of Update #154, the save slot options you were presented in the pause menu were flipped. If you were supposed to have Auto Saves Only then you got Free Saves Only. This is now all cleaned up in both the mission and safehouse pause menus.

v1.8.121 - #155: Smoke in the NanoFab - 10/6/2024

- Tox-Cloud, White Noise and any moving buff/debuff zone now changes elevation correctly to track "floor" - All Blueprints for weapons and especially melee weapons show all special rules like Plas-Edge - Reduced crafting times for Weapon, Blueprint Rarity has larger effect on craft time - Rebalanced crafting times for Weapon Mods and Armors, ranging from -1 to +1 days based on Blueprint Rarity - All Item Blueprints new expanded to 5/5 uses - if you find something good, you can craft a small stock - All Item Blueprints sell for about 5X the cost (based on Blueprint uses remaining) - Reduced cost to craft Item Blueprints by 10-40% depending on Power Level - Fixed issue with Auto Save Slots and manual Save Slots appearing in wrong difficulties - Added helpful log when Head Hunter or VIP breaks Stun (75%) and takes their Turn anyway - Fixed ERA story bug where Scourge recruit oddly started at level 1 - Fixed issue with some raid proc-gen missions that played the ending dialog 3 times in a row - Fixed possible scenario where recruiting Scourge in ERA stories could freeze

[ 2024-10-07 16:41:47 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome to the weekend of Turn-based RPG Fest on Steam! Welcome to all the new Knights rolling into the New Boston zone. We are here all the time if you have questions for us and we are working hard to improve the game off your feedback. With Update #154, we've rolling out the first big step toward finish the Contact Limit Break system with Compromised and Power Play tags - which will basically allow Contacts to step up into a higher tier of power for their future Limit Breaks. We've also added a new proc-gen Legwork story with new Contact types involved and new merc skills and backstories that will be called on to pull it off. Finally, a heap of nice F10 bug fixes, so thank you! To everyone playing, we thank you! Please, consider taking a moment to leave a review, especially if you enjoy how we are conducting our Early Access phase - always busy, always improving!

Power Play and Compromised

Not all Contact Limit Breaks are committed equal! When your Contacts Limit Break for good or bad, new options are appearing that allow them to take on a Power Play position or to become Compromised. These two tags can be added by story as well (see story Tag results from Snitch Snuff Obligation storyline, Octane's Kingmaker's Hand tag, or the Illicit Nexus tag) but can also be added by Limit Breaks directly.
Once a Contact has a Power Play (or another variation of the tag) or Compromised tag, then their matching Limit Breaks are about to be more exciting or risky. In Update #154, we are rolling out simply the system for Power Play and Compromised tags, but we will follow directly with a couple of big new options that are key to the entire underworld simulation working. While these are not in the game yet, the Power Play / Compromised system is first required for some of the following effects to come online:

• Compromised Contacts will able to die. If they are friendly, you'll usually get some opportunity to try to save them, but if you can't or won't, then that will be there end.
• Power Play Contacts will be able add entirely new services. Maybe a Power Play Gunrunner can start offering a new series of weapons or a Doper might gain access to the Blue Juice supply through the Ricksham. This will both help Contacts you prefer to work with gain access to services to round out their offering but also allow your allies to gain completely new services that no one else has.
• Compromised and Power Play Contacts will be able to gain new permanent Traits.
• If they don't like you, Power Play Contacts will be able to send Head Hunters after you.

Be careful though, as these tags - whether or not added by story or the Limit Breaks - can be removed by the other Limit Break type. An Exposure Limit Break might remove the Power Play tag or might remove Octane's Kingmaker's Hand Tag (!?!). In the same way, if you have know a Contact who becomes Compromised, an Influence Limit Break can give them the chance to get out of that before something dramatically bad happens.

New Proc-Gen Legwork

In Update #151, we added a system for proc-gen Legwork, allowing contacts who are less likely to offer regular missions a new way to offer you work that benefits them their underworld affairs and therefore you can gain in return, Favors and Influence, as well as learn more about the New Boston and 2231 story. With Update #154, we've added a third proc-gen legwork option with some new angles, new types of contacts who are interested in it and it will call up on different mercs to attempt it. The new premise is about bribery at a spaceport, so keep an eye out for Contacts involved in smuggling hi-tech space or who are obsessed with getting offworld to proc this storyline.

Contact Limit Breaks Order

We've fixed a key bug that was causing the options you were offered to change whenever you spent a Favor. The intention is that spending a Favor will add a new option but not change anything that was already selected. In Update #153, this rule broke but it is back now again and paired with even better insurance that if you spent a Favor - even on an Exposure Limit Break - you will get an additional option.

Tri-Anks Fix

We fixed the Tri-Anks cybernetic implant that had an unexplained special code effect.

Equipment and Roster Fixes

If you sent a merc to treatment for a wound the Treatment tag wasn't showing up immediately - now fixed! If you looked at Blueprints in the NanoFab list, they didn't remove their "new" yellow dot - now fixed! If you compared two weapon mods and one had better optimal range, it was displayed with the flipped color and annotation (as if shorter was better) - now fixed! If you were carrying an E-Rifle there was some ugly text and image overlap in the HUD - now fixed!

v1.8.119 - 19/5/2024

- Added third proc-gen Legwork offered by Contacts in smuggling, hi-tech or who are obsessed with space/gleamers - Added new Contact Limit Break options for Add/Remove Power Play and At Risk status for Contacts - Added new Contact Limit Break options for Exposure breaks to lose up to 5% Trust (might be lesser of X evils) - Fixed issue with Contact Limit Breaks where spending a Favor for a new option would change existing options - Fixed issues with throwing grenades and item not being removed from Talent list - Fixed issue with Treatment tag not appearing immediately on roster after sending to Wound Treatment - Fixed issue in NanoFab Blueprint listing not properly managing new yellow dot upon viewing - Fixed incorrect comparison Optimal Range bonuses for weapon mods (higher is better for max optimal) - Fixed issue with overlapping elements in weapons with limited reloads (E-Rifles) - Fixed unexplained ability in Tri-Ank 1 cybernetic implant (Special Code -5)

[ 2024-10-05 11:31:52 CET ] [ Original post ]

This one has come out rapidly on the heels of Update #152 because of a critical bug with legwork created in #152 getting stuck on the timeline. You could see a lot of events pile up at 0h and never complete. With this patch in place, everything will complete back-to-back without the need to really advance the turn. In way of apologizing for the bug, we've also completed a nice big set of QoL improvements and bug fixes for other parts of the game as well. it's late after a long day of polishing the game - so we're kicking this patch and QOL fix without too much fanfare or screenshots.

Legwork Fix

If you're seeing events pile up at 0h hours, Update #153 is for you!

Favor for Nothing?

There were some cases in Contact Limit Break where you could spend a Favor to try to "steer" there decision to something else and you would not receive an additional option. This has now been fixed with new options becoming more prevalent and also ensuring that the Favor spend is not offered if you won't gain from it. The Contact Limit Break options to increase Power Level and Trust % are going to show up more regularly now. Also, Contacts who are in Hiding due to an Exposure Limit break will not offer missions.

New Proc-Gen Map Combo

In the grind to expand the proc-gen content, we've enabled another map and objective cross - this time allowing the Interchange H level to play out the Siege objective. This helps the Interchange H map appear in 3 objective types and to expand the possible maps Siege can happen on to 5. The map can make for a very dynamic siege on the move, depending on which direction reinforcements are coming from, you may need to shift with the wind to find a new defensible position.

Improved Mods Display

We've expanded the capability to display extra weapon mods to just encompass all mod counts. In the rare and lucky case that you have 4 Intrinsic mods added due to crafting, we've ensured that the UI can show them all.

Auto Save Slots

There was a bug where Auto-save slots were not being displayed if the difficulty save mode was Automatic Only. This is now fixed.

v1.8.117 - 10/3/2024

- Fixed critical bug where all new Legwork hangs at 0h and won't finish (:facepalm:) - Fixed Contact Limit Break bug that would steal your Favors and not give more options - Contact Limit Break options to increase Trust % and Power Level now offered more readily - Added new proc-gen map and objective combo: Interchange H and Siege Objective - Improved support of displaying weapon mods, always show all crafted/intrinsic mods, don't stop at 3 - Fixed bug preventing auto-save slots (Restore before Mission, etc) from showing when difficult setting was "Automatic Only" - Fixed issue with Trait Adrenaline Junkie unfairly causing Stress when the mission was Hack-only (1 Hacker) - Fixed bug where Contacts in Hiding would continue to offer missions / storylines - Fixed bug in Dusted Hover-Evac X Kill 3 Captains objective where you could auto-extract at start - Fixed a heaping pile of typos and minor text mistakes

[ 2024-10-03 03:59:20 CET ] [ Original post ]

As Steam's Turn-Based RPG Fest rolls on this week, we're back with another update to fix some of the issues that snuck out the door with Monday's ERA storyline update, add a new proc-gen legwork option, improve legwork results and fix other minor bugs. Hopefully this will clear the deck from story bugs and we'll be back to adding new new new. As always - thank you for playing our game or wishlisting if you're waiting. If you have given the game a try and like the way we are conducting Early Access (152 updates!?!?) and are enjoying the game, please leave a review. The small team here thanks you!

ERA Story Fixes

We've turned around two important fixes for the ERA content with Update #152. The first was that during one of the stories, two mercs could end up becoming friends but ... each is friend only with themself. How funny yet lonely :D This is now resolved in all games old and new, they are friends with each other! The second major issues was - depending on a few factors - the recruitable characters could have some key implants switched. The Hacker had the Scourges special implant ... thievery! Give that back! And ... fixed in all games, old and new. Third, there were some points in the story where a character's Loyalty was boosted but a code bug prevented it from happening. This will have positive affect with a few other storylines in the game as well as this Loyalty bump was globally being skipped in certain storyline paths. Fourth, we fixed a heaping pile of small dialog mistakes, flubs and name switches. Thanks for the F10s to help us clean up and improve here.

Proc-Legwork

In Update #151, we added a system for proc-gen Legwork, allowing contacts who are less likely to offer r regular missions another way to offer you work that benefits them, offers Favor and Influence and tells more of a story about how the New Boston Underworld works. With Update #152, we've added a second proc-gen legwork option with some different twists in it, new options and a new premise around a megacorporate employee who is illegally supplying your Contact who is involved in medical, drugs, crafting or hovertruck transport with stolen goods and data.
In addition, we've pushed proc-gen Legwork (which we see as something that has a very healthy road for expansion) to be on its own "story schedule." In Update #150, it shared the schedule with regular story Vignettes, so drawing a proc-gen legwork would bump a story vignette back a bit and proc-gen legworks (few in number) were competing with the larger pool of vignettes and not appearing enough. So, we've pushed them to their own throttled story schedule and you should see them more regularly.

Legwork Results / Favors

In addition, we've done more work to improve event logs around Legwork to capture all the changes in world / contact / character state in the log event. And, finally we've bumped the standard Legwork result of gaining +1 Favor up to +2 Favors which feels a lot more valuable and makes it worth the time for your merc and your risk. In addition, we've reinforced the negative result of taking Injury Time as a result of Legwork. If you end up with Injury, you always make a Stress roll as well (resisted by Stress Res) to suffer an extra +10% Stress.

v1.8.115 - 10/2/2024

- Fixed issue with mercs becoming friends with themselves in latest Era storyline - Fixed issue with Scourge and Hacker recruit sometimes having swapped implants (!?!?) - Fixed issue with some moments in the story failing to grant Loyalty bonus as described - Adjusted proc-gen Legwork schedule so that it doesn't compete with story vignettes - Added second proc-gen Legwork offered by Doctors/Splicers/Dopers/Crafters/Hovertruck Operators - Standard legwork bonus for Favors has been raised from +1 Favor to +2 Favors - When failing legwork and taking Injury time, make +10% Stress roll - Improved logging of Legwork success / failure and results - Fixed rare bug that could cause a reinforcement squad not to appear at all for megacorporate enemy - Fixed a heaping pile of typos and minor text mistakes

[ 2024-10-02 15:27:53 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome to Steam's Turn-Based RPG Fest! We're going to have a crusher of a week with a ton of new content coming online and we are kicking it off with a blast of new stories for the Treaty '31 ERA in New Boston. These new storylines include new recruits, new challenges, new types of map interactions and of course, chances to make new enemies, allies and form bonds within your team and beyond that will last into the rest of your career. We've also added an exciting proc-gen Legwork system that has been cooking for a while and more. Thanks to everyone playing, wishlisting and reviewing Cyber Knights. We're in Early Access right now and we're BUSY. So, if EA isn't your think, wishlist us. If you're in playing, please take a minute to leave a review when you get far enough to help share your experiences with others. If you have an issue, hit F10 in the game to send in a bug report or feedback.

ERA Storylines

As in our previous RPG, Star Traders: Frontiers, the major story events of the world and New Boston are organized into "Eras". These major story happenings stem from a compelling event and then having lasting ripples and tremors that can have major story effects on your team and contacts. The first ERA, the Treaty '31 Era starts with the major political and economic shift that allows the major German conglomerate Warner-Braun to establish sovereign territory in New Boston and operate within its economic zone. For a treaty city that has had a mostly static megacorporate landscape for the last 30 years, this is a major shake up and the power players on both sides of the line are scrambling to find their new footing. This ERA sets the context of a lot of the proc-gen missions that you can play in the game and a number of the existing storylines. But with Update #151, we've added another big batch of storylines that can stem from it. Of course, as is always our goal, this content will immediately be added to all saved games - old and new. For older saved games, the storylines might feel a little disconnected from where your team is at, as they are designed to be filtered into the game during the beginning of the Treaty '31 ERA, but they should play very nicely.

New Recruits, New Traits

The ERA '31 content includes the possibilities to pick up 2 new recruits to help round out your squad. This is a continual growth point for the game, which does not yet feature proc-gen recruits. These new recruits are both accessible via larger storylines and come with their own hefty backstories and baggage. We'll leave you to the fun of finding them!

Proc-Gen Legworks

With this update we've released the first set of proc-gen Legworks. These non-mission tasks that your team takes let you investigate, intimidate, steal, bribe and manipulate the underworld and its denizens in ways that aren't exactly tactical. Up until now, Legworks have all been part of larger storylines or associated with missions. With Update #151, we've rolled out the first repeatable Legwork, which is a new pathway to gain Favors and Influence with Contacts who are less likely to ask for missions from you. This Legwork can attached to be and be offered by Contacts like Street Docs, Splicers, Dopers, Drug Runners and Moneylenders. After a generous cool-down, it may reappear in the game again with slightly changed parameters and probably offered by a different contact. More of these will be coming which will give you more chances to keep your team busy, actually be too busy for your own good, and to earn those key Favors for later.

Enemies Dropping Keys

We're excited to add a new possible wrinkle to levels that involve Red, Blue or Gold key doors. The new mission content for the ERA '31 storylines includes a map in which enemy captains can drop a Red Key on death. While there are other ways to get the Red Key door open, surprising and quietly killing or just guns-blazing steamrolling either of the enemy captains may be your your way of getting the key and progressing farther into the mission. We will not be using this feature for regular or valuable loot, it will be reserved for keys and other story relevant items. Especially in a turn-based game, we don't to require you to be spending turns running around picking up stuff off the ground.

New Cyberware Services / Implants

Some of the storylines in the new ERA Treaty '31 content may introduce you to splicers who offer new services for implanted cybernetics. These services will branch off their own way, providing different set of options, improvements and increase in service level via Contact Limit Breaks like all services. The service levels currently offer 6 new implants, among which you'll find 2 entirely new classes of implants added - HeadMem and Recoil Tri-Anks). Both fit into slots that are already in use (fast brain and legs) which ups the competition in these areas for what you'll build out. HeadMem allows Hackers to consider other balance angles on how to run their deck and Recoil Tri-Anks offer the foundation of a Recoil solution for non-Soldiers or ... offer to make your Full Auto Soldier even more ridiculous than they already are!

On-going Map & Balance Tweaks

We're continuing to review the maps, patrol paths and reinforcement points for all levels in the set. We've made some tweaks to Wreckspire and Dusted Hover-Evac starting setups as well as fixed issues with reinforcement points that were oddly placed or only producing 2 enemies in a number of levels. For the recent add to the Free Streets Compact (FSC) faction, we've adjusted the Po-Bot's HP totals, which were too high for their "refurbished drone" status.

v1.8.113 - 9/30/2024

- Added 3 new storylines that fill in the Treaty '31 Story Era - new missions, new allies, new enemies - Two new recruits stemming from Treaty '31 stories - Additional Treaty '31 stories and a capstone story will follow soon - Added proc-gen Legwork system, some legworks can occasionally repeat, new paths to gain Favors/Influence with Contacts - First proc-gen Legwork offered by Doctors/Splicers/Dopers/Moneylenders - Added new cybernetic service for Imported Implants and 6 new implants, 2 new types (HeadMem, Recoil Tri-Anks) - Adjusted / reduced the recovery time for some classes of cybernetics by 10-20% - Added 2 new Hacker-focused character Traits - Synth Weaver and Fortified Receptors - Added new ability for specific enemies to drop Red/Blue/Gold Key on maps when they die - Improved description of Sniper's Deathwatch reaction shots - Improved balance and HP pools for FSC Po-Bot enemies who were too tough - Fixed some reinforcement points that were spawning odd 2 enemy groups

[ 2024-09-30 19:32:26 CET ] [ Original post ]

Sunday is a nice lazy day for an update! We're excited to be hitting a point in the balancing cycle to be coming back to some systems and giving them a second pass of improvements. Probably all of these major areas will get a few more passes before they've really settled, but this is great time to be really tweaking and tuning. In the last few updates, we've been hammering on loot and Blueprint distribution and Account selling for Influence and today it is time for Secondary Objective rewards. We've rebalanced the requirements (Sec Level or Turn count atm) and increased the rewards (more Favors, more Influence, more XP, etc) and tweaked the weighting for all the reward types (better Blueprint distribution, Influence more likely). It should be a nice upgrade to help make these stick out and be very attractive to work harder to get. Thanks to everyone stepping up to post an F10, post a thread on the Steam forums, join our Discord and especially for posting a review. We are a tiny indie studio, so your energy, your shares, and just talking to you goes a long way to keep us moving forward at this pace!

Secondary Objectives: Extended, Boosted, Re-weighted

We've hit a number of big points within the secondary objectives system. These are to help balance out the options, rewards and limits that are in place today but also to prep the system for new types of secondary objectives and rewards that will be coming online in the following month. First, we've increased the top range of all of the rewards. Where you could only get 10% extra payment or XP before, it can swing as high as 20% now. You can get +2 Favors instead of just +1, and the Influence Bonus can go as high as +30%. The variation in rewards is nice to see but when they hit high, it is great to put extra spotlight on the value of that objective. We've also adjusted the weighting when picking what reward should be paired with which objective. For Blueprint rewards, we've cut Item Blueprints completely out of the rollers (they were rare, but did exist) and put the priority on Weapons and Weapon Mods with Armor being a bit rarer now. Also, we've pushed the chances that Favor and Influence are picked as secondary objective rewards over Contact Trust. This dovetails nicely with other work to provide more paths to additional Influence - when you see a +30% extra Influence bonus on a secondary objective to stay under Sec Level 2 ... and the mission comes with a standard +10% Influence ... if you can pull this mission off in a stealthy style, you'll net basically half a Limit Break in one swing! Get the Vanguards!
We've also addressed a number of places where the map wasn't providing enough detail to the secondary objective system to help it adjust limits - like how many Turns you need to CPU Spike a matrix host in the Trucker HQ ... you need more Turns! Hopefully the adjustment will make these challenging but always within the envelope of possible. As mentioned above, the next time we return to secondary objectives will be to add more variation in the objective types which will be exciting to see other types of demands that can be side-loaded into mission for that extra spice and challenge.

Fixing Account Issues

There were a number of different issues with selling Accounts that could cause the Influence gains of +20% not to work. In Update #149, the full +20% only applied if you traded the Account for Favors and also if you sold repeatedly to the same Contact, the Influence boost could be erased. We've resolved all of these issues with #150 for a much smoother Account handling experience and also improved the UI so that the type of account you're selling is front and center on the sale window.

Better Job Expiration Logs

The event log for an expiring job now includes the Contact who offered it along with the name, making the log significantly more useful in tracking the action.

Looting Hack Missions

Some looting hack missions continued to reference CPU Spiking in their dialog even though there was no need to spike any CPUs. This is now resolved in Update #150.

v1.8.111 - 9/28/2024

- Improved secondary objective mission rewards - larger rewards, better variation, improved max Turn limits - Rewards for secondary objectives have more variation and can go higher (+10-20% XP/Profit, +10-30% Influence, or +1-2 Favors) - Chances of rolling bonus Favors or Influence for secondary objective reward higher than bonus Trust - Adjusted weighting for secondary objective mission reward Blueprints - Weapons and Weapon Mods most likely, Armors more rare, never Items - Improved/fixed some cases where Secondary Objective for Turn Limit was basically impossible on some maps - Sale offer for Epic/Legendary Account states which one it is, fixed bug where Influence boost might not be granted - Expired mission log event now includes name of the job and the contact, if there was one - Fixed dialog at end of Hacking for Loot mission that said you Spiked the CPU

[ 2024-09-29 13:17:04 CET ] [ Original post ]

Update #149 comes as another step forward in working on balancing out the game's overall progression. We've switched momentarily from loot to contact Limit Break rules to boost how you can get Influence from Accounts to do, to open up more pathways on existing Contact types and to prep for some new pathways coming. We've also added easy access to Armor Blueprint sales from the start of the game so you can cash in on these and 2 lower Power Level Cyber Heart implants that are easy to access without needing to grind a splicer to Level 4 service. A huge thanks to everyone taking the time to share feedback with us during these critical months of Early Access. We're continuing to improve, grinding and polish the game every day. If you're enjoying the game, please take a minute to leave a review to help us continue our work. Remember, you can always edit it later.

Legendary Accounts Boost 20%

With Update #149, we've kicked in a differentiator between Epic and Legendary Accounts. While the recipient Contact will gain Influence, we've now stepped Legendary Accounts up to a +20% Influence boost while Epic is staying at +10%. We are hard at work preparing the other paths that are needed to ensure that all Contacts have multiple way to assist and back them up to gain Limit Breaks, so some new and exciting pathways are coming, but we wanted to get Accounts straightened out first.

Service Upgrades for Many Contacts

With this update, we've gone back through the contact catalog and looked for those types that were just missing something - Blueprints, File or Accounts or whatever type of service was needed. We've upgraded 7 contact types, which will become immediately available in all existing and new games.

• Street Doc and Splicer both now have more interest in Files and Accounts. Splicer's like the corporate versions and Doctors are interested in Files as well, a great way to generate Favors if you can find the right files
• Gang Bosses are now interested in buying Armor Blueprints, giving everyone an easy channel to sell these immediately in the game
• Overboss, Underworld Fixer, Night Club Owner all have gained interest in different Accounts and Files
• Dockmaster contact now is a veritable hub of different types of trade - selling items, buying Blueprints, Files and Accounts.

Again, as always these changes will snap into effect as soon as you load your game, so check out what new options you have to pile up Favors and increase influence where it is needed most.

New Lower Level Cyber Hearts

In Update #146, we added a 4th service level to the Street Doc and Splicer cybernetic catalog including implants in the cybernetic heart slot for the first time. We're working to improve ways to help your splicers Limit Break to climb this cybernetic services ladder but we also don't want to miss the opportunity to fill in and expand the earlier service levels. With Update #149, we've added a Sys 1.0 version of both the TitanHeart and the RegenCore that provide their unique effects (HP and Wound Res boost for the TitanHeart and Injury reduction for the RegenCore) at more moderate Power Level 2 stats. These become available one each at the service levels 2 and 3, so most players should be able to get access to them readily and expand your overall cybernetic bristle.

Fixed Dusted Hover-Evac Kill 3 Bug

We fixed an issue with the matrix terminal that could appear on the rooftop in some of the variations of the Kill 3 objective for Dusted Hover-Evac level. Previously this terminal would freeze up the game and require a force quit. Now it pops a nice message stating that it is broken (BUG) and lets you get back to playing immediately. The terminal is fixed for future iterations of the mission, but if you have a mission where it is bugged it cannot be fixed but it is optional, so just skip it and move on.

v1.8.109 - #149: TitanHeart - 9/26/2024

- Added 2 new cybernetics to lower service tiers: TitanHeart Sys 1.0, RegenCore Sys 1.0 - Selling high Rarity accounts to Contacts has more impact, +10% for Epic Account, +20% for Legendary - Improved existing routes to help Contacts achieve limit breaks in all new and existing games - Improved Contact purchase services for Street Doc, Splicer - easier to sell Accounts and Files - Improved Contact purchase services for Gang Boss, now interested in Armor Blueprints - Improved Contact purchase services for Overboss, Underworld Fixer, Dockmaster, Night Club Owner - Fixed issue in Dusted Hover-Evac where terminal could lock-up on Kill 3 Captains - if you hit it, skip terminal

[ 2024-09-26 22:41:53 CET ] [ Original post ]

Update #148 comes ripping out of the gate with a key UI change that helps demystify some of the results of weapon crafting, a nice change to the Roster UI, removes the Sec Tally penalty for using Vanguard's Lure, adds a new proc-gen map and objective combo, improves ability for controller players to see hovers, adds a nice matrix log when you scan the CPU and more! It is Early Access - and all we know how to do is keep moving forward, fast. We're building, testing and pushing content at a pretty good pace (daily??) and we hope you'll take a moment to consider giving the game a review. Remember, you can always edit it later!

Crafted Weapon Mod Visibility

Update #148 finally reveals all game details about all weapon mods that are added by crafting, of any type, even in the high order slots (4-6). This update eliminates the mystery about any bonus Intrinsic mod that is rolled for the weapon, as well as making it easy to remember the stats of any Intrinsic Blueprint you crafted onto the weapon itself.
Up to a maximum of 6 mods are now shown for each weapon, if they exist. We hope this will answer so many of your questions about what booster Intrinsic mods do and more. The next major step is to add a crafting results pop-up for those complicated crafts that include booster Intrinsic rolls so that the results can be shown directly without having to go diggin in your inventory.
In order to make space for this larger loadout, we've moved the messages panel (which was kind of hard to find in the bottom right) into the top spot at the start of the Main Info tab, making it as front and center as we can.

Vanguard's Lure + Agent EX Shadow = 0 Tally

We've made a big balance changes to Vanguard's Lure and Agent EX's Shadow Talents, further allowing them to maintain their silent and stealthy approach even while working directly against the enemy patrollers and security. Vanguard's Lure Talent and EX's Shadow Talent always caused +1 Tally when used, which could be canceled by killing the guard or by K-Protocol, but it was a small, challenging cost to tamp down when you want to use Lure repeatedly to manipulate and soften enemy positions. This moves empowers the stealthy aspects of these two classes for the better, especially when stacking up on multiple charges.

New Proc-Gen Battle Striker Map

We're now switching our attention to the 2 maps in the proc-gen rotation that appear the most rarely of all - Interchange H and Urban HQ. Before Update #148, these two maps only appeared for Assassinate VIP objectives, basically making them invisible in the larger rotation. With Update #148, we've started assaulting their isolated position with new proc-gen combos - bringing Interchange H into the Battle Strike objective group. This latest drive of proc-gen combos is also focusing on the two most under-served objective types - Bodyguard and Battle Strike - each of which had 2 maps each before. We won't rest until they're buried in maps - so let's go!

Gamepad Hover

With Update #148, we've added a global hover assist for controller players. If you leave an item selected for half a second that has a hover, then the hover will appear. This is a big help in areas like the character load outs in the roster that really need hover data to be truly functional. Let us know how it feels! If it is too heavy for some players, we could add an option to disable the feature but it does show some critical information.

CPU Scanning Log

When you scan a CPU from a nearby node, the matrix UI gives basically no indication that you did something special. There is only one type of node that can resist a remote scan, so you don't have a bug, you have an obvious tell - that's a CPU. The important thing is that you have to go into the CPU blind (Scan 0/2) but it is intended to be a clear indicator that you've got a CPU on your hands. We're going to be working on the visual and UI feedback around this point, but we've completed the first step with this update - to add a Matrix log entry stating that you've hit the CPU and that it resists remove Scans.

Wreckspire Fixes

We've fixed a few issues with Wreckspire patrols, security devices and one important bug with the terminals appearing during the Kill 3 Captains objective sometimes not allowing a hack but instead freezing the hacker's turn.

T-Pose Blade

We fixed a very old bug with this update where a character wielding a melee weapon would go into a T-Pose instead of making an attack animation if the enemy was higher or lower elevation (on stairs, etc). This issue is related to aiming code and animation that helps those with guns point their weapon up or down but was causing a real mess with swords.

v1.8.107 - 9/24/2024

- Adjusted roster display - moved character messages to the top of Main Info tab - Improved weapon display in load out to show all weapon mods (up to 6) including all types added by crafting - Vanguard's Lure Talent and Agent EX Shadow Talent no longer cause +1 Tally when used - Added new proc-gen map and objective combo: Interchange H and Battle Strike objective - Adjusted UI to show hover for elements when using keyboard or gamepad after 1/2 second delay - Added a matrix log entry when attempting to scan CPU remotely "CPU located but resisted remote Scan" - Fixed broken terminals in some Wreckspire in Kill 3 Captains objective - Fixed animation bug where sword attack would not swing if target was above or below - Fixed mismatch in program name in warning when unloading a required program - Fixed error entering cyberdeck screen for the first time

[ 2024-09-25 00:00:10 CET ] [ Original post ]

Monday is a good day for a major clean-up patch! We're just crushing a ton of F10s into a single big quality of life and well, ... quality ... patch here. We're constantly adding new things, so there is always a trail of cleanup, polish and finishing to apply. This update fixes the Chameleon S-Mesh added last update, fixes Cameras seeing bodies that were Bodybagged, adds more Filters for Files, improves how NanoScrub value is shown in the HUD when there are work in process builds or upgrades, fixes a bug preventing E-Rifles from getting more ammo and lots and lots of other things! It's a busy one. If you are enjoying the game and like the way that we're running our Early Access - not waiting a month for a new patch - please take a moment to share in a review. Remember, you can always edit later.

Chameleon S-Mesh

If you've got a Vanguard who has earned their scars and their stripes, then its time for the S-Mesh upgrade. It isn't cheap but it comes with a powerful boost to Evasion and even more Stealth kill power. This is fixed from last update where the S-Mesh was just an expensive copy of the Chameleon Sheathe steamfacepalm

Bodybag on Camera

We've fixed a mean bug that hurt your stealth styles - Cameras and Radar Arrays could spot bodies that were hidden by your Vanguard's Bodybag. This could cause a real unexpected and unfair mess. Now resolved!

Primary Weapon Reset

Up until this update, the weapon your character was holding in the safehouse and the weapon they would start the next job holding was simply the weapon they were holding at the end of the last mission. Now to give proper preference to your first slot weapon, you'll always be seen holding that primary weapon slot and start all missions with that weapon as the active weapon. So, order your weapons accordingly so you can start with your starter weapon to help avoid needing to swap early on. During a job, including a multi-Stage job, the active weapon is maintained, but it is reset each time a mission ends. This also gives you more control over screenshots and what weapon a character (like a Sniper) is shown holding in the pre-mission screens and appearance tab.

File Filters

We've needed a few more options for how to slice and dice your Files for a while and this update brings 2 new filters - No Use Action and Not Created by Set. In addition, we've broken the 6 filters now into 3 separate groups to allow for clearer logic in how they apply. This helps the File filters stick to the rules we've established elsewhere for filters - within a grouping, you are using OR logic and across groupings, you are using AND logic. A nice example is filtering weapons - you have the Weapon Type filter and can easily get Sniper Rifles OR Assault Rifles OR Pistols by selecting those three filter types. Then you can AND that with Heavy Weapons filter which will cut all the Pistols out. So the groups are now Set Usage, Set Creation and Use Actions. Hopefully we can all find this more useful as we try to slice and dice our files for sale, minting and use. It is now easy to get filter sets that read like "Not Used by a Set" AND "Not Created by a Set" AND "No Use Action" or just "Has Use Action".

Nano-Scrub in Progress

The Safehouse HUD has not done a great job showing Nano-Scrub capacity that was committed to a project already in the works. You might see 44/52 on the top bar, but there is an upgrade going that will consume 6 additional Nano-Scrub, so you're really at 50/52. We've upgraded the Safehouse Nano-Scrub to show the current value + work in progress value compared to the total, showing like 42+6/52 now. We've also resolved some issues in the safehouse where the text overlaying the safehouse rooms could suddenly become oddly large.

E-Rifle Mod Advantage

We've fixed E-Rifle mods that claimed to add extra reloads but were not effectively doing it. Now you can bump your E-Rifles to have even more runs of reloading their limited ammo, effectively getting a lot more shots.

Locked Characters and Sorting

Characters like the new Cybersword recruit from the Underworld Hub could become stuck and sometimes on levels not gain XP or a code name. This is now resolved, as well as a number of issues with sorting your mercs in the Roster where the Face or a Recruit would not be given a fair sort.

Fixed Heaps of Other Bugs

This is a hefty bug fix, so check out the full length change log below for all the updates. We owe a big update to everyone putting in F10s! We've got a lot, so clearly we can't get to every one today or tomorrow but we're dedicated to polishing and perfecting - so no F10 is thrown out or ignored. But each in their own good time ;)

v1.8.105 - #147: PatchMAX - 9/23/2024

- Fixed incorrect effects for new Chameleon S-Mesh implant (now +25% Stealth Crit Dmg, +8% Evasion) - Fixed bug where bodies hidden by Bodybag could still be seen by Cameras and Radar Arrays - Reset primary weapon after mission victory and defeat - Improved filters for Files with 2 new options (Not Use Action, Not Created by Set) - When an upgrade or install is building in the safehouse, the NanoScrub value in top HUD shows the additional points - Fixed bugs with E-Rifle mods not correctly giving extra ammo - Fixed bugs with removing and then re-adding mods to weapons in certain click orders - Fixed issues with "Highest Turn" displayed on the wrong save slot in some screens - Fixed bug preventing sale of cyberdeck - Fixed scaling oddities in Safehouse where text overlaying rooms could suddenly become too large - Fixed bugs with hovers in Blueprint display, sometimes the hovers did not match the stat - Fixed comparing Blueprints output quantity - Fixed bug where certain treatment options could be grayed out on the Turn you recovered from injury - Fixed issues with some recruit characters ("Sven") not gaining codename or XP - Fixed safehouse room build panel always being full height even if there were only a few options - Added additional checks in New Game to prevent possible start of game with Attributes at 0 - Fixed issues with Recruits in certain Roster sorting routines - Fixed issues with Face in certain Roster sorting routines - Improved mission offer display, hiding "Against" header if there is no target contact

[ 2024-09-23 15:50:49 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights and cybered mercs, we've got a new blast of cybernetics for you with today's update and some challenging new developments out of one of the fiercest fighting forces on the streets - the FSC. We've also fixed some bugs with enemy scaling in the new grenadier enemies, completed a second round of tweaking on loot Blueprint distribution and fixed some missing text when installing cybernetic implants. Another day, another update. Our Early Access pledge is not to go slow or let the game sit but to be working constantly to improve and expand. If you like the way we are going about it, please take a moment to leave us review - nothing could be more helpful!

Cybernetics Tier 4

With Update #146, we've expanded the standard service for implanting cybernetics from Power Level 3 to Power Level 4. This can be achieved by helping your Street Docs and Splicers score an Influence Limit Break and building up a few Favors to make sure you can steer them to the latest and greatest.
The new service level unlocks new offerings - which include 4 new implants: Synth Muscle 2, the TitanHeart, RegenCore and an upgrade for your Vanguards, the Chameleon S-Mesh. Notably, the TitanHeart and RegenCore are the first released implants in the cyberheart slot, so it is time to go shopping! There are so many more implants to come, so keep an eye on this space as the services keep growing and other new service ladders come online soon.
The RegenCore brings unique bonuses not previously available to implants, reducing overall Injury Time which will be key for heavy combat characters or teams that like to go loud, especially when combined with a Triage Clinic. We've also fixed a very old bug with missing text in the offer screen from a contact when implanting a cybernetic.

Free Streets Compact - Going their own way

For a while we've been working on friendly and aggressive grenadier classes, covering both corporate, milsec, syndicate and the gang factions. This has left the Free Streets Compact (FSC) out in the cold with the new enhancements. They have jealously been watching the street gangs each receive 2 faction-unique enemies. With Update #146, we've addressed some major shortcomings in their overall enemy scaling. As a faction, they had a very limited range to scale their soldiery, so Update #146 makes them a full-blown enemy capable of fielding more powerful and tough enemies like you'll find in other factions. In addition to that, the FSC is also heading its own way with enemy variety. They've resolved not to copy those measly street gangs and pack on the matched grenadiers. Instead they'll be adding their own completely different flavor for street-tier enemies. With this update, they now have Po-Bots (the stolen and refurbished mecha infantry) appearing in their different reinforcement groups. This puts them a major step up in terms of difficulty as a faction, as even one Po-Bot on the field can provide a very challenging target to take down. We're excited to see where the anti-corporate FSC takes their enemy variety next!

Further Improved Loot Distribution

After the patch 2 days ago, we've been watching the Blueprint loot drop analytics feed very closely and have made some additional adjustments. Thanks to feedback from players (hat tip, @flashbackflip) and the data that has been gathered for the weekend play sessions, we've further improved how weapon type is picked for the drop, further pushed weapon mod Blueprints up in chance to drop and reduced some of the changes we made to reduce the rolls for Epic and Legendary rarities in low Power Levels (now, unlikely but not impossible).

v1.8.103 - #146: Free Streets Strike Back - 9/21/2024

- Cybernetic services for Street Doc and Splicers can now extend to Power Level 4, granting new implants in Heart slot - +4 new implants: SynthMuscle 2, TitanHeart Sys 2.0, RegenCore Sys 1.0 and upgrade Chameleon S-Mesh - Improved scaling that was lacking the Free Streets Compact (FSC) enemies - Po-Bot stolen and refurbished infantry drones now appear regularly in FSC reinforcement units - Fixed bugs with scaling for Gangs and Syndicates, sometimes low Power Level (2) would accidentally roll high Power Level enemy (8) - Further improved scaling and variation in Blueprint looting distribution - Fixed missing text in offer to install implants

[ 2024-09-22 13:18:05 CET ] [ Original post ]

Let's kick the weekend off with another update to Cyber Knights - more enemy types, more maps, better loot distribution and more! This time the 3 gangs have come to play, each demanding their specialize type of grenadier. The Los Zagales Slaggas are melting down armor, the Blue Ox Brutewain are stalling you out and the Fenian Detonators are throwing the boom!. And we've added Wreckspire to its 4th proc-gen combo It's going to be another busy month with new content, features and fixes coming non-stop. We hope you're enjoying Early Access and we are here constantly to take feedback and work on improving the game. We hope you'll take a minute to leave a review - remember you can always edit it later.

3 New Gang-Specific Enemies

Following up on the megacorporate Suppressants and Syndicate Blooders, the street gangs are each heading their own separate ways with their specialized grenadiers. The previously released Los Zagales Patchmax threw grenades to hype up and speed up their gang soldiers and they are now joined by the Slagga a grenadier carrying an explosive mixture that temporarily deactivates the reactive materials of modern armor. Not only will you suffer some nasty Pure Damage but you'll lose 1 Protection Point immediately if a Slagga's Armor Melter hits you. The previously released Fenain F-Dusters threw grenades to buff Damage and Accuracy with their fabled Redmist, making their soldiers extra deadly in a red berserk haze. They are now joined by the most deadly of street grenadiers - the Detonators. These maniacs hack together explosive devices that pack a massive Pure Damage punch, but cannot be thrown very far and have the smallest blast radius of all. Still - don't let one get you in their throwing arc, its going to hurt!
These streets grenadiers are less worried about friendly fire as well, so don't think standing next to one of their pals is any form of protection! The previously released Blue Ox Bulwark threw grenades to make their paramilitary ranks soak up hits and gunfire like it didn't matter and just keep punching. They are now joined by the Brutewain who hurl stall grenades, packs with a sticky, movement resistant substances that reduces Move Speed and Initiative, helping pin their targets into place for the rest of their unit to close in on. With these 6 gang-specific types of friendly and aggressive grenadiers now live, the 3 gang factions have each split their separate way and are really starting to stand out as separate forces to be reckoned with, each with their own concerns. We're excited to keep pushing variation along faction lines with more faction-specific enemies, and the big megacorps will each be receiving their first corp-specific special forces enemy. Also, now that we do have a lot more enemy types in the game, we're going to come back to work a bit on the progression of their appearance. Right now, they're all piling in pretty early and you can find yourself facing nasty combos at too low of Power Levels (2 X Wildfire and a Slagga is ... bad news).
The aftermath of a melter grenade is not pretty - our Soldier is now wearing fully degraded armor and vulnerable.
We've also completed a pass on the VFX used for all of the grenade types for enemies, tweaking and improving as we can.

New Proc-Gen Combo: Wreckspire X Kill 3

We've added the 4th proc-gen objective combo now with Wreckspire. You can now drop onto this map and try to Kill 3 Captains. Based on the maps design around the central highground, this one leans more toward a fast and furious fight than a stealth escapade like Forward Op or other maps. Be wary of the captains getting the high ground or backing up their Sniper from the surrounding ruins. Then scramble for your exit - each merc to their own escape! We've also improved and fixed a few things in Wreckspire for all of the different proc-gen combos it appears in, tweaking issues with extraction points, where reinforcements can come from (more places now!) and connecting security devices to Terminals when they are there.

Better Blueprint Loot Distribution

A huge thanks to everyone commenting on Darial's helpful threads about Blueprints and loot distribution this week. The feedback is always supremely helpful and we're happy to be able to move on it quickly. We've improved the loot distribution system with today's update, first targeting the mistakes in the math that were causing Armor and Melee Weapon Blueprints to be wildly over-represented in the loot tables. A much more exciting curve should now be present with weapons and weapon mods far more prevalent. We've also done some work to work on the progression of Exotic and Legendary Blueprints not showing up too early in the game just by pure lucky rolls. In loot fixes, we also resolved a bug where the objective Files - the entire Substrate Stabilizer set - could appear in random loot boxes. Cool concept but those files aren't ready for it, now fixed.

v1.8.101 - #145: Melt, Stall and Boom! - 9/20/2024

- Added new 3 aggressive grenade enemy abilities - heavy damage, armor melta, stalling! - Added Slagga (Los Zagales) enemies who throw armor melting explosives that automatically Shred 1 Armor - Added Detonator (Fenian) enemies who hurl street-cooked explosives to cause maximum Pure Dmg (120) - Added Brutewain (Blue Ox) enemies who throw stalling grenades (debuff Move Speed and Initiative) to let their paramil forces close in - Added new proc-gen map and objective combo: Wreckspire X Kill 3 Captains - Improved extraction options and security devices connection to terminals in Wreckspire proc-gen missions - Improved Blueprint loot distribution so that Armor and Melee weapons aren't majorly ahead of the rest - Fixed issues with characters stuck unable to go on a mission, stuck in treatment, stuck tagged as Injured - Fixed bugs with Substrate Stabilizers appearing in regular loot - Fixed bugs with logs in enemy grenade tosses

[ 2024-09-20 19:05:42 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights and mercs, we've got another update coming in hot. We're back on the drum beat of enemy variety but now we've moved on from enemies throwing buffing and healing grenades into the other type - nasty debuffing and damaging grenades hurled straight at you! We've also added the Wreckspire map to the Q-Gap Spike proc-gen objective, marking a new combo and a first step (at 41 combos) toward the goal of 50 proc-gen combos. A new backpack and some fixes to hair, bug fixes and more, round out the update. We've got a lot more coming this month as we're working on some major content dumps, improvements to the sightline and security UIs and more, more. So, if you're enjoying the progress on the game or just keeping an eye on us, be sure to leave a review to help us keep up this pace!

New Enemies: Suppressants and Blooders

Megacorporate forces operating within their own facilities choose to use Suppressants when crowd control or tactical suppression is needed. Hurling semi-non-lethal Stunbombs, a Suppressant can really mess you up, reducing your AP and your Move Speed while dealing a modest dose of Pure Damage. And, if the target isn't dropped by their grenade, Suppressants have full authorization to resort to their tactical shotgun - "Get down and stay down."
In addition to the new Suppressants, all of the Syndicates have gained Blooders, a particularly nasty enemy type known to litter battlefields with shrapnel grenades. Combined with Shocktops and Whistlers, the trio is really putting some backing behind the claim that Syndicates are to be feared and not crossed. The Blooder's hurled munition will explode with deadly force, dealing up to 60 Pure Damage and then causing a 3 Turn bleeding wound at 20 Dmg / Turn. Find some Bandages and don't let a Whistler see or shoot you during this time. Double bleeds are never good!

New Proc-Gen Map Combo

The new objective type for Wreckspire is Q-Gap Spike, putting you on a mission to hack a buried terminal that has been hidden on this rooftop battleground. We have really enjoyed testing this one here, as Wreckspire is a great map for Snipers - yours and theirs! - and can lead to some really intense gunfights over control of the central high point. It is excited to see Wreckspire coming to play in its 3rd objective and now that we've got this one locked in, we'll be pushing up to get Bodyguard, Kill 3 Captains and Battle Striker objectives added without much delay. We also are continuing to make minor improvements to Dusted Hover-Evac, as it is getting so much more play we're taking that feedback as we go to make each pass better and better. What a great map!

New Medic's Backpack + 2 Hair Fixes

While the Combat Medic class hasn't been released yet, the enemy still has the E-Medics and you might designate someone on your team to carry all the medkits. If you do, this new backpack is just for them!
We've also resolved issues with these two hair styles that were massively over shiny and looked metallic or ... something bad. And they both had the same issue where the "short shave" part of the hairstyle was included as part of the mesh. The option to have short shave under your hairstyle is coming soon, so we needed to separate those.

Fixed Merc Limit Breaks + Traits

We've fixed an issues that allow mercs with Loyalty below 60% to still have the option to raise their Traits to level 3. Increasing your Traits to level 3 and 4 is locked by 60% Loyalty, so this fix has corrected the rules for locking them up. Get that Loyalty up for the best Trait gains, temp Traits and Attribute increases.

Fixes for Mass Trauma Kit and Nuke I (FAS)

We've made some fixes to some files and items with this update. The File Set for Nuke I (FAS) was still misrepresenting itself and in some places claiming you were working on Nuke II (FAS). Also, the item Mass Trauma Kit was disconnected from its ability and so showed an empty description for what it could do.

v1.8.99 - #144: Suppressants Rain Down - 9/18/2024

- Added new aggressive grenade enemy abilities - boom-boom, debuffing, concussion! - Added Suppressants (corporate) enemies who use non-lethal concussion grenades to reduce Move Speed and AP - Added Blooders (Syndicate) enemies who use shrapnel grenades to cause Pure Dmg and Damage over Time - Added new proc-gen map and objective combo: Wreckspire X Q-Gap Spike - Added new combat medic's backpack option - Fixed bug allowing Limit Break to raise a Trait to level 3 with Loyalty below 60% - Fixed bug with item Mass Trauma Kit not having any effect - Fixed name mismatch for File Set to compile Nuke I (FAS) - Improved 2 female hair that were overly shiny/metallic and had short shave built into the hair mesh - Tweaking and balancing Dusted Hover-Evac level and different possible start / exits / enemy configuration - Fixed typos and dialog mistakes

[ 2024-09-18 20:33:31 CET ] [ Original post ]

Update #143 opens a new weeks with a solid patch, balance improvements, better Haven Smokeout, better Siege proc-gen objective and more. Thanks to everyone playing, posting and firing off the F10s that are helping us to continually improve the game. We're looking forward to another great week of updates and this is a nice way to kick the week off. If you like the way we are running the Cyber Knight's Early Access - please take a moment to share that or how you're enjoying the game in a review. We are a tiny team, and we need your support. Thank you!

Four Mercs on the Smokeout

Octane's first mission is Haven Smokeout - which is of an older mission, designed as far back as late 2022. The decision to limit it to 3 mercs was made in mid 2023 and never re-reviewed. We continue to hear from players how this mission is challenge, a sudden spike in difficulty or that the secondary objective is so hard to hit. We've adjusted the mission a ton of times but always missedt he glaring odditi - Cyber Knight's missions are for 4 mercs (with the future option of more) but sending 3 is an oddity and an unfair additional challenge for your first real mission in the gam.e Now, 4 mercs go ono the Smokeout!

Siege Objective gains Hot Intercept

The proc-gen Siege objective has always felt a little wrong at just how much your team has to scramble to try to advantageous positions before the wave of enemies crashes against your defenses. The storyline does justify and discuss this - that it isn't clear exactly where the enemy assault squad will make their strike and that you'll need to deploy rapidly to meet the threat. However, with Update #143, we've adjusted the rules to give all merc teams deploying into a Siege mission an automatic Hot Intercept Leverage. This is always applied and without any cost or need for you to do anything. The result is that on the first turn of the Siege, your entire team gains +3 MP. We tried giving you a full turn before the enemy arrives but it turned out to be too odd and too OP. The +3 MP bonus feels good - you've got a little more room to get where you need to be and preserve your AP for Overwatch, hurling the Shock Mine field or buffing or whatever crazy plan you've cooked up.

Hover Dusted-Evac Fixes

Hover Dusted-Evac is now popping up everywhere and its great to see so many players enjoying the new level. The feedback has been great and we're excited to increase the footprint of the other newly added levels to keep up with Dusted. As we make those strides to get the new maps into more rotations, it will be a great moment where the game's map set expands and we see less and less chances for repetition as you run multiple missions.
Getting the map out there in a big way has also exposed a number of other bugs that the map had, so we've resolved everything reported with this update. There was a bug with the Kill 3 Captains objective where you could win the mission immediately and a second bug where some of the fences on the far end of the map could only be jumped in very specific places. Resolved!

Respec Cyber Classes

With this update, we've also improved the rules shared in the respec confirmation pop-up. If you opted into a multi-class by installing a cybernetic implant (i.e. Hacker, Agent EX, Scourge or Vanguard) then this is a cyber class. Respec'ing will not remove the class because it would have to remove the cybernetic implant. Respec'ing will unspend all the points on that class tree and leave you only the root of the tree. However, if you want to remove the cyber class then you want to uninstall the cybernetic implant. The text is now clearer about that, stating: "f you have multi-class into a cyber class by installing an implant, you must remove that implant in the Cyber Surgery screen in order to remove that class."

Hacking Zone

We fixed a minor (but annoying) bug where you could feasibly move the camera outside of the play zone within the hacking map and then ... the camera would get stuck outside and not come back inside. The bounds were reversed, keeping you out instead of keeping you in. Now fixed!

Bug and Typo Fixes!

No F10 is ignored, so thank you to everyone who is posting them up even if they are small, minor, little typos or mistakes. We keep fixing, fixing, fixing! We fixed some issues with Injured or Legwork tag in barracks sticking around too long. We fixed some dialog typos and 2 places where the Contact and Knight's name could be flipped. Thanks to everyone playing, posting F10s, posting on the boards or typing up a review.

v1.8.97 - #143: Besieged Advantage - 9/16/2024

- Adjusted Octane's first mission, Haven Smokeout, to allow 4 mercs instead of 3 - Added automatic Leverage to all Siege proc-gen missions, Hot Intercept, adds +3 MP for first Turn - Fixed bug in Dusted Hover-Evac Kill 3 Captains objective combo where you could instantly win - Fixed bug in Dusted Hover-Evac where certain fence lines could not be crossed - Clarified rules in Respec pop up: if you multi-class into a cyber class by installing an implant, remove implant to remove class - Fixed camera bug with Hacking mission where the camera could get stuck outside of the map - Fixed some caching bugs that could cause "Injured" or "Legwork" tag to stick around on barracks - Fixed typos and dialogs where names were flipped

[ 2024-09-16 15:47:33 CET ] [ Original post ]

Update #142 wraps up this cycle of additions with the Dusted Hover-Evac mission map and will open the chapter on the next map getting a lot more play and objective options. While we're adding new proc-gen playable combos rapidly these weeks, we've also got a lot cooking at Trese Brothers HQ with a big content bundle (what is Warner-Braun up to?), a major feature set upgrade (sight cones and security visualization) and more. With Update #142, we've added the Kill 3 Captains objective for Dusted Hover-Evac, fixed a mission victory bug with the Southie Strut story mission, fixed additional problems for older missions (created pre-Update #141) for Head Hunters, fixed a bug with Heat from HI-POWER Cameras, and fixed 2 more rare cases that could cause freezes in the game. If you like the way we are conducting CKF's Early Access period and like how the game is shaping up, please take a moment to leave a review and help our small indie studio continue the work!
Theka awaits...

Kill 3 Captains at Dusted Rooftop

The Dusted Hover-Evac is everywhere! Three enemy captains may now have taken command of the rooftop and dug in. Maybe they know you're coming, they have arrayed their forces in a pretty defensive stance against an attack. Good luck, Knight. This is how you earn those U-Dahs. With the team's big emphasis on content this season, we're continuing to push on proc-gen map X objective combinations, bringing the total now to 41. This pushes Dusted Hover-Evac to actually be the most used map, with 8 objectives that it can appear on.
The next step is to circle back to some of the really awesome maps (Wreckspire, Interchange H and Urban HQ) that only appear in 1 or 2 Objective types and bring them up to par. Bringing this set of 4 missions maps into the fold in a big way will drastically help reduce how many times you end up in the Sewer or the double bridge Trucker HQ. We're excited that we are on a path and moving forward consistently that will put the days of seeing the same map on repeat into distant memory.

Head Hunter Fixes

We fixed Head Hunters in Update #141, but it turns out our fix didn't cover all the cases of missions that were created before Update #141 went live. We've now further adjusted the code to better cover this out-of-date missions and to help you get the right Head Hunter talking and appear. If you do have an old mission or a mission where the Head Hunters are already loaded in ... you can Restore Before Mission back to the safehouse and rerun the whole mission or you can just play forward. This is resolve for future missions, if you've already got a borked or zombie HH on the ground, we can't save them.

Fixed HI-Heat from HI-POWER

A bug snuck through where you could earn more than +8 Heat from HI-POWER Cameras. This is now fixed with the maximum correctly applied. Apologies for anyone who got burned.

Fixed Southie Strut Victory

There was a bug with the Southie Strut path through the Herr Schweinchenn missions that could result in the team being trapped in the mission level and unable to go home to the safehouse even after all the enemeis were dead. "I just want to gooo hoooooome," wail the mercs. Lol - we fixed it. Reload the game and you'll get victory and we cleaned it up for future games so that victory will appear immediately after killing the last enemy, nice like a Battle Striker.

Another Grenade Freeze

We found and fixed another freeze that could occur in the game when an enemy would try to throw a grenade. They'd stop their movement, not actually switch their weapons and then freeze. This has accounted for 50% of the 9 game freezes that have been reported since #138. Bugs that can cause the game to freeze are now very rare so we're continuing to isolate the few last causes and crushing them out. Another one - if you were changing weapons and you started an attack in the middle of that animation, you could get a freeze. This is now fixed as well.

v1.8.95 - #142: Rooftop Hunt - 9/13/2024

- Added new proc-gen map and objective combo: Dusted Hover-Evac X Kill 3 Captains - Fixed lingering Head Hunter issues for missions created before Update #141 (not appearing, wrong HH) - Fixed mission bug with Southie Strut storyline, mission not always completing when all enemies dead - Fixed bug that allowed Heat from HI-POWER cameras to exceed 8 (max) - Fixed bug that could cause enemy turn to hang after movement before Bulwark, Patchmax or F-Duster tossed a grenade - Fixed bug that could cause player turn to hang if started an attack in middle of switching weapon animation - Fixed one hairstyle where you couldn't set secondary color

[ 2024-09-13 20:21:13 CET ] [ Original post ]

This morning's update landing in the New Boston zone includes a pack of new appearance options - hairs and one mustache - and a big set of fixes that hit every F10 we've had reported about Head Hunters all in one go. We also fixed bugs with Cyberdecks needing repeat repairs, improved the rules around certain items (Patch X-Kit) to fix targeting bugs and improved issues in the Dusted Hover-Evac (which is now getting a lot of play)! If you like how we run our Early Access - 3 days, 3 updates! - please take a moment to leave a review. We can't jam new proc-gen map combos every day, but we've got a constant drip of new for you. Let's dig in!

3 and 3 New Hairstyles + 1 Mean Mustache

We're excited to roll out some new hairstyle looks tonight with 6 new hairstyles in total. We've got one matching hairstyle (long dreads) and multiple hairstyles that allow for two color modifiers. It is always exciting to see the stack of possible visual appearances increase and these will be trickling into Contacts as well in future weeks. We've got more coming this month with both facial piercings (lip, eye, nose) and more facial cybernetic enhancements.
Some of these larger / longer hair styles can clip with some of the outfits. While we've completed major upgrades on the lighting engine and character facial textures, we are excited someday to complete a big update on hair texturing. But today isn't that day :D
Finally, we've added a mustache and flat top haircut that can give some new cool looks, especially for military or milsec minded characters. Also, among the set are the first dual color hairstyles that could be combined with beards, so we had to tweak a few things to make sure you're still controlling the beard and hair color through the primary hair color or by changing the beard. We may get to a point where we split beard off as truly a separate color control in the future.

Head Hunter Bug Smash!

Since their debut in July, we've been tracking a number of Head Hunter issues for resolution. Some of them have escalated recently with the big influx of new players and with the new spawning system changes. These infamous legendary Head Hunters will come after you when sent by a Contact who is seeking revenge for an unpaid debt or a wrong perpetrated by your team or Knight. So, we've tackled them all at once and repaired any saved games automatically that had data issues. Here is the list of things we fixed for Head Hunters:

• Sometimes there would be Head Hunter dialog and then no one would appear
• Sometimes there would be Head Hunter dialog and then the Head Hunter would appear by themself
• Sometimes there would be Head Hunter dialog that just said "ERROR MISSING QUIP"
• Sometimes there would be Head Hunter dialog and the wrong Head Hunter would be talking
• Sometimes a dead Head Hunter would talk or even appear on the map to take another swipe at you
• Sometimes a Head Hunter would mock you with "Running worked last time" but this was the first time you ran into them

That was a big pile of interconnected little bugs. We had to do write some saved game cleanup (all automatic, no saved game very invalidated!) and fix some sloppy wiring with a few of the Head Hunter cases (specifically, Henninger) - but now it should all be working after Update #141. Thanks to everyone for putting in the F10s! We couldn't do it without you.

Cyberdeck Repeat Repairs

We fixed a set of minor display issues around cyberdecks needing repeat repairs. This was a caching bug and generally going out to the main menu would fix it but now we are correctly purging the cache to make a deck repaired is always shown as repaired, even if held by a cached character.

Healing and Repairing Talents / Items

We've fixed a targeting limitation bug with repairing items or talents (like Patch X-Kit) or healing items (like medkits) that could sometimes refuse to operate if the current character's armor was undamaged or the current character did not need healing. All of these cases have been corrected to focus the check on the target of the ability, not the owner.

Dusted Hover-Evac Sewer

We've fixed an issue that was preventing sight lines and firing lines from crossing over the big central sewer depression in the Dusted Hover-Evac map. This had a big impact - sometimes to your benefit - but it was a major mistake on our part. Now fixed!

v1.8.93 - #141: Head Hunters Ride! - 9/12/2024

- Added 6 new hair options, 1 new mustache - Fixed issues with Head Hunters including (1) dead Head Hunter appears (2) Head Hunter appears alone (3) no Head Hunters appear - Fixed "ERROR MISSING QUIP" bug with some Head Hunters sent after you by Syndicate boss - Fixed issues with Cyberdecks not always repairing correctly or Damaged tags hanging around - Fixed issues with items healing or repairing armor's Protection Points rejecting use ("not needed") - Fixed map issue in Dusted Hover-Evac where sewer pit was blocking lines of sight

[ 2024-09-12 13:46:01 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights and mercs - gather round. There is a new hotspot for looting in town at the old clinic. You know the one with the crumbling rooftop and the sniper hideout? Well, they've been stashing things there and we're about to get paid to hit it hard. With Update #140, we've added 2 new proc-gen combos where you can run Scav or Lootbox Hunt missions on the Dusted Hover-Evac level, hit 40 proc-gen combos total now, better displayed consquences for skipping missions, sorted Legwork to the top fo dialog choices and improved Sniper's Strike Zone Talent to give more long-range Overwatch canceling options. When we started Early Access, our intention was to provide continuous, nonstop improvement to the game without delays or long waits. If you think we're hitting the mark and like the direction the game is heading, remember to drop a review and tell a friend! Remember, you can always edit it later.

Dusted Hover-Evac gains 2 new Objectives

With Update #140, we've improved the map options for proc-gen objectives Scav and Lootbox Hunt to include the Dusted Hover-Evac level. Reaching the true tipping point for proc-gen map X objective saturation is still a long way off, but every addition to this helps push the game farther, reducing repetition in your proc-gen game play. We'll be adding one more objective type to the Dusted Hover-Evac map and then moving on to fill out some other maps that don't appear in enough objectives (Wreckspire followed by Interchange H).
The bug looked like this ^^ Now fixed! We also fixed a bug with the Dusted Hover-Evac level wh1ere certain stretches along the rooftop had a invisible barrier that blocked sight and grenades. Now fixed!

Hitting 40 Proc-Gen Combos (Map X Objective)

With the 2 new proc-gen combos and adding Dusted Hover-Evac to the options for Scav and Lootbox Hunt missions objectives, we've now brought the total proc-gen combinations to 40. It's an exciting base camp 2 (post MAGNITUDE v2), but we're looking on to base camp 3, 4 and then the peak. To break down the current combo allocation today -

• There are 11 maps are used by proc-gen (Req Site, Trucker HQ, One-Ladder Sewer, Street Palisade, Corner Holdout, Slumroad Junction, Lockdown Station, Interchange H, Urban HQ, Wreckspire, Dusted Hover-Evac)
• There are 10 objective types (Hack, File Hunt, Scav, Lootbox Hunt, Kill 3 Captains, Q-Gap Spike, Escort VIP, Assassinate VIP, Battle Striker and Siege)
• The highest map variety is in Q-Gap Spike (8 maps) and Kill 3 Captains (7 maps)
• Scav and Lootbox Hunt each have 5 maps
• The September proc-gen goals look something like this: (1) to integrate Wreckspire, Urban HQ and Interchange H into 5 objective types each (total +11 new proc-gen combos, top 50 combos), then (2) add +2 new maps and (3) add +1 new objective

Mission Expiration Consequence Warning

We've added a clear warning to the mission expiration pop up about the consequences of such a choice. Your Contacts come to you with work they think only you and your team can complete, and if you can't step in and make it happen, thy have to go to their B-choice. If you ignore or refuse to work for a Contact, they will accumulate Exposure and negative Limit Breaks are coming there way. This can be one way to weaken a Contact, but if you're trying to build up a friend, it is important to help them out when they coming knocking at your door.

Sniper's Strike Zone Breaks Overwatch

Sniper's persistent map area debuff Strike Zone has been upgraded now to cancel enemy Overwatch when it is activated, giving the Sniper a powerful tool to help teammates at long distance for 0 AP without having to fire their rifle (3 AP). Alongside its powerful debuff, an enemy who has Overwatch up when the Talent is used will be knocked out of Overwatch stance. Notably, its rule states: "Cancels enemy Overwatch when first activated" which indicates that it doesn't prevent enemies in that area from re-activating Overwatch on a later turn. If you haven't run one yet, check out all of the Sniper's powerful abilities on the wiki.

Legwork Always On Top of Dialog Options

To help ensure it is always most visible as an option, Legwork offers are now the top sorted response in any set of dialog choices. They used to fall at the bottom, below Accept / Delay / Reject but now are #1 always. It's a nice, minor change. Yay for polish!

Calibration Capture Leverage Duration

This leverage misstated its duration as 3 Turns when it was actually 2 - now corrected in text!

v1.8.91 - #140: Crumbling Parapets - 9/10/2024

- Added new proc-gen map and objective combo: Dusted Hover-Evac and Scav (loot everything!) - Added new proc-gen map and objective combo: Dusted Hover-Evac and Lootbox Hunt (find 3 specific files!) - Added warning to mission expiration confirmation that a Contact will gain +10% Exposure - Sniper's Strike Zone Talent cancels enemy Overwatch when it is first activated (but does not prevent future OW) - Corrected display of duration for Calibration Capture Leverage - first 2 Turns - Legwork offers are always sorted to the top of dialog options - Fixed issues along balcony in Dusted Hover-Evac map that blocked sight or grenade throw - Fixed reported typos, thank you!

[ 2024-09-10 17:24:36 CET ] [ Original post ]

This is a quick Sunday night update - rapid fire from yesterday's to address a few hot button F10s and a real ugly missing string that cropped up in Hacking. We've also included some rebalance to yesterday's update for HI-POWER Escalation to ensure it is feeling right. Thanks for your support during Early Access, helping us improve the game with your feedback and F10s and for leaving a review to help spread the word and bring more heisters to New Boston!

Scan Label Restored, other Labels Fixed too

First off, the Scan label in the Matrix was broken as of last release, making the matrix really hard to play! We've now resolved this, restoiring the "Scan 1/2" (etc) label in. There have been a lot of labels broken and then rapidly fixed across the game in the last two weeks. We are quietly working on a bunch of upgrades, fixes and tweaks to get the game's codebase and string base ready to officially start translation. We are doing as much QA as we can, but a few minor breaks are slipping through. Thanks to everyone for F10'ing anything you see and helping us fix it quickly.

HI-POWER Escalation Rebalance

Last update was exciting for pushing the HI-POWER Escalation more into the Sec AI's meta (it has a meta! so meta!) but we received some F10s over the weekend showing cases where if it really upgraded all the devices of a single type to HI-POWER ... it was drunk on power. Suddenly 15 Prox-Mines were HI-POWER. Too much! So, last update we made a change to force HI-POWER to only upgrade a single type and to upgrade all the devices of that type. With Update #139, we've rolled back half of that. HI-POWER now always targets a single type of device (Laser Mesh, for example) and then upgrades a specific number of them, depending on the Sec AI type. For the Sigma 5, 6, 7 and 9 Sec AI types - the count of HI-POWER devices goes 3, 4, 4, and then 5 at Sigma 9. Currently, it is important to note (and not highlighted in the last update) that Gang and Syndicate Sec AI don't have the option to HI-POWER their devices. So, only a Milsec or Corp camera has the power to increase your Heat. We'll be working on further refining this, as it seems likely that we want Gangs and Syndicates to HI-POWER mines but not other devices types.

Wounded Status in Victory

We're now correctly showing Wounded status in the victory and defeat screens, so you don't have to check the roster afterwards. If a character is heavily injured, keep an eye out for the Wounded tag as well.

Wounded in Legwork

When consider which mercs to send on Legwork, who is Wounded is relevant. If a merc has a Wound, they get a warning on the right side of their Legwork entry now.

v1.8.89 - #139: Rapid Fire - 9/8/2024

- Victory summary screen correctly shows Wounded status as well as Injury time - When considering mercs for legwork, their wounded status is also shown - Adjusted rules of HI-POWER, not all devices but X of same type (4 Prox-Mines) - Sec AI SIGMA 5, 6, 7 and 9 increasingly HI-POWER larger numbers (3, 4, 4, 5) of devices - Reminder: only Sigma Sec AI can use HI-POWER Escalation, not gangs or syndicates - Fixed "Matrix.Scan" bug in Matrix hiding the scan level

[ 2024-09-09 04:04:00 CET ] [ Original post ]

Down below the level, the Knights and their teams are planning their next heist. Maybe Update #138 has your new heist in it! We've added a new proc-gen combo of an existing map and objective (Dusted Hover-Evac X Q-Gap Spike), improved the Sec Escalation rules for HI-POWER devices, buffed Prox Mines again, improved the visibility and consistency of HI-POWER Radar Arrays and Camers generating Heat, fixed a ton of small appearance clipping and positioning issues, improved performance on Trucker HQ and fixed 2 cases causing possible freezes on map (now, extremely rare). We are hard at work expanding the game with both front-line releases (as seen here, new stuff today!) and bigger projects in the background (new shader for sight cones, translation project, a big story/mission dump for Treaty '31 Era) - so if you like what we're working on, our pace of updates, or just how we are running Early Access, we hope you will help us today by leaving a review.

Dusted Hover-Evac X Q-Gap Spike

With Update #138, we're following up on the good work of the major MAGNITUDE v2 milestone, and adding another proc-gen map and objective combination. Some of the maps, like Dusted Hover-Evac, Wreckspire, Urban HQ and Interchange H are all used in woefully few objectives (Siege, Assassin VIP) and so some of our next improvements to the variety in the system are to pull these maps into more objective offerings. With Update #138, we've crossed Dusted Hover-Evac's exciting rooftop design with the Q-Gap Spike mission objective where you need to reach a protected CPU, spike it and escape. Once this is released, it looks like we will add Dusted Hover-Evac to 3 or 4 more proc-gen objectives quickly and then do the same for Wreckspire next. At that point, we'll start looking again at adding new maps.

Sec Escalations and HI-POWER

We've made a big rules change to how the Sec Escalation that upgrades devices to HI-POWER works. Previously, when the Escalation ran, it would upgrade 3-5 devices to HI-POWER, but it was a random set of devices, often this Radar Array, that Prox Mine and this Laser Fence. It made it hard to track what had really happened, where and why you should care. The new HI-POWER Escalation simply upgrades all devices of a single type to HI-POWER. So, every laser fence in the facility suddenly jumps up to HI-POWER mode and does 80 Pure Dmg instead of 20. This can especially dangerous with Prox Mine fields, which (as discussed below) are also upgraded in damage. But the entire field (any that are currently active, not jammed) will upgrade to HI-POWER and cause a lot more damage. To be clear, as stated above, jammed devices do not get upgraded. So, if you've got a Laser Wire knocked out and the Escalations sweeps through on Laser Wires, that jammed one is not affected. It is possible another Escalation will target it later.

Prox Mines (Dmg!) and Cameras (Heat!)

With this change to HI-POWER mode we've also upgraded Prox Mines damage to be higher. They are still causing Ballistic Damage which is blocked by your armor, so your tanks can soak it up and keep moving. They are a bigger threat to lighter armored targets. The upgrade is from 80 Ballistic to 100 Ballistic and when in HI-POWER mode, from 160 Ballistic to 200 Ballistic. Previously, Cameras Radar Arrays could be upgraded to HI-POWER mode and once HI-POWER, any time they spotted a merc they would grant +1 Heat. This was poorly communicated, not shown correct in hovers and cameras were only rarely picked for upgrade to HI-POWER. With this update, they can accrue an extra +10 Heat for the level, so keep an eye out for HI-POWER Radar Arrays and Cameras even after things have gone loud.

Coming Soon: HI-POWER Visualization

With the new and dangerous affects of HI-POWER mode and the increased option for the Sec AI to amp up devices, we know the very next thing we need is a visual indicator of what devices are extra dangerous (extra crackling, hissing and spitting on the Laser Fence, changing in color or VFX) to help you spot them so you can make quick decisions about when to route around them, spend a charge to disable or just take the hit and run through them.

Era '31 Legwork

We've adjusted the dialog choices and chain at the introduction to the Treaty '31 Era to ensure that you can no longer exit the conversation until you've at least been offered the options to run the legwork there.

Appearance Improvements

We've developed a new authoring tool to help speed up the process of tweaking and improving how appearance options fit together. This has let us make some sweeping fixes to reduce clipping or misplaced accessories - fixing a ton of things from glasses to hair styles to the cybernetic forehead jack. Thanks to everyone posting F10s and with this new tool in hand, we're in a better position to add more appearance options to the game as they are easier to setup with all the different characters now. Part of the changes to the appearance was to standardize the side of the head the cybernetic forehead jack is on - now it is on the left. It was previously not always on the same side, based on the individual head. If this new side doesn't fit your character design as well, please be patient with us as we will be rolling out the option to have it on the right soon along with some other face cybernetics.

Trucker HQ Performance

If you ever had performance issues on the Trucker HQ level or felt like it was running a bit slower than others, you were right! We've found and fixed a big bug in that level where a second, unauthorized game camera was rendering all the time, causing a major reduction in FPS. It runs much better right now!

Counter-Intel Hacking Missions

If you're getting missions from the Counter-Intel Pods, you'll notice a nice change - we've got icons now :D

v1.8.87 - #138: Dusted CPU Spike - 9/7/2024

- Added new proc-gen map and objective combo: Dusted Hover-Evac and Q-Gap Spike - Sec Escalation HI-PWER Surge now upgrades all security devices of a specific type to HI-POWER (All laser meshes) - Proximity Mines upgraded to 100 Ballistic Dmg and 200 Ballistic Dmg when HI-POWER - Cameras and Radar Arrays correctly upgrade to HI-POWER and add +1 Heat when spotting from this state (max 8) - Improved start of Treaty '31 Era to be clear that a legwork is an option - Added missing icons to Counter-Intel pod token offer to start hacking mission - Significant performance boost to Trucker HQ level which had mistakes which caused it to be slowest level in game - Improved positioning of 40+ of appearance elements - hair, glasses, forehead plug cybernetic - Fixed rare-but-possible freeze during enemy movement or enemy grenade throws - Fixed strings that were broken in a push to prep for translation (Training, Wait for Recovery)

[ 2024-09-07 19:45:32 CET ] [ Original post ]

Day time, night time, the heisting must continue. And where do we put all of our loot? In our fancy new backpacks! With Update #137, we've taken a quick moment to add some cool new visual appearance options - the first 2 backpacks - fix an important map issue with hovertrucks pinning characters on rooftops, resolved issues with high level HTE/XTE grenades, fixed hotkey issues in the Talent bar, fixed E-Rifle bugs and more. Thanks to everyone playing, posting and sharing feedback as we keep working on expanding Cyber Knights: Flashpoint. Hit us up with a review if you like the pace of our unique Early Access style! https://steamcommunity.com/games/1021210/announcements/detail/4604455077835253474?snr=2___

No Soldier Community Challenge!

We're excited to share another community challenge, cooked up by the heisters over on Discord on @Liviana. The rules are simple and have a huge impact on the strategies you might employ in the game. It feels very different and it's a fun way to force yourself to push other classes into your main combat roles (if you were relying a lot on Soldier)! We hope you'll check it out and join in on the fun.

Tactical Backpacks Deployed!

You can now pick from one of two optional backpacks to help give your heister that tactical feeling when they deploy to a heist. More outlandish and interesting options will be coming, and this will be a useful way for us to further visually differentiate enemy types from each other - but for the first dip, we've got 2 military style backpacks ready for your use.
And as one would want to do, you can even customize their primary and secondary colors to match your outfit all your other cool accessories. I'm loving the look and the weight it adds to the character models.

District HQ x Assassinate VP: Rooftop Fix!

A few players were finding their rooftop sniper character getting pinned on the rooftop in the District HQ level when the hover truck dropped. We've made some fixes to expand the size of the rooftop to help ensure that characters can't get stuck up there, boxed in by the hover truck. Thanks to everyone sending in F10s!

HTE vs XTE Grenades

These grenades were mixed up, basically both sharing the same effect from the HTE Grenade. We've resolved the bug, now pushing the Power Level XTE Grenade in a new direction. Its massive damage is balanced out by the size of the payload and how much less of a distance you can hurl it.

E-Rifle Ammo Stats

E-Rifles limited reload capacity was only being shown when it was the active weapon, otherwise it would be shown as 0/0. We've resolved that with this update, the 4/4 reloads per mission is now shown regardless of which weapon is selected.

Fighting Freezes

We're hot on the trail of 2 cases that can mysteriously cause the game to lock up. One persists that when an enemy starts to move, they may stop, revert to idle animation and the game locks up as it is sure they are still moving. The second is an enemy starts to throw a grenade it and it lands but nothing happens and the game locks. Each update, we are adding more debug details to your F10s to help track these issues down. They are pretty rare, but if you do see them please F10 them right away! We are excited to crush out these last 2 cases and put this behind us :D

v1.8.83 - #137: Stylish Backpack - 9/5/2024

- Added new appearance option: Backpacks! Pick from 2 military feeling styles with more coming - Fixed map issue on District HQ where your mercs could get pinned on the rooftop by VIP arrival - Fixed issue with Item XTE Grenade using the ability from HTE Grenade, now its own grenade! - Fixed issue with Talent hotkeys in the Talent bar sometimes going 0, 1, 3 and skipping a number - Fixed issue with E-Rifle sometimes showing 0/0 for its limited reload stats - Fixed issue with enemy grenade tosses sometimes locking up the game - Improved text for confirmation dialogs on load/save

[ 2024-09-05 16:12:57 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello, Knights! It's time for another CKF Community Challenge. Our previous challenge was all about leaving your Vanguard back in the safehouse and giving your Agent EX a chance! For this challenge, we are asking you to leave your Soldier at home. Soldiers, or at least some soldier talents, have become a mainstay in almost every group out there, so it's time to mix it up!
There are two requirements for this challenge: - You cannot take a Soldier on any mission - You cannot multiclass anyone into any Soldier talents For a true challenge, apply these requirements to a fresh start, brand new game. This is not required however, you can just pick up from wherever you are and just no longer use a Soldier or any Soldier talents via respec.
As always, we want to see and hear about your adventures tackling the challenge so here are some ideas for what wed love to see: - Screenshots of your squad and their talent trees - After Action Reports of your missions, challenges you faced - Tell us about the challenge posed by not having a Soldier, were there any? Were you surprised in any way? - Any other creative ways you want to share to tell us about your heists with your multi-classed mercs: memes, interpretive dance, gifs, etc No matter what you choose to share, please share screenshots of your Soldier-less squad on a mission! Weve opened up a discussion here on Steam in the General Discussion forum for aIl of your posts. If you post in our Discord, head to #nosoldier_challenge to join in on the conversation!

[ 2024-09-03 20:09:47 CET ] [ Original post ]

It's a holiday weekend and with such so many new players in the game, we've just got another nice bug fix and quality of life patching coming out tonight. This one hits on the latest F10s, improves grenade throwing animation and VFX for enemies, re-adds the warning confirm to deploy with less than max mercs, and tweaks and improves the balance of Siege (easier, higher Power Level requirements). Without further chatter - let's dig in.

Confirmation for Deploy

In the transition to the new Matrix Tutorial, we had lost the confirmation required to deploy to a mission with less than maximum mercs. This can be a big mistake if you don't intend to do it, so the confirmation can help avoid that. It's back!

Siege Balance

We've started with Siege balance tonight. These can be pretty hard levels, especially depending on the faction. The balance we applied here is threefold - first, we have made Siege's have a higher Power Level minimum before they begin to appear (PL 3)and an even higher minimum to allow them to proc against milsec factions (PL 5, definitely the hardest form). Second, we have reduced the starting enemy head count from 11 to 10. Minor but its 10% reduction. Third, we have reduced the size of the subsequent wants that are sent from anywhere to 18% to 40% depending on some (per wave) RNG and placement of enemies. Altogether, hopefully this can help prevent the siege proc-gen missions from being a deadly, early, surprise.

Team Power Level on Pause Menu

Your Team Power level is now available while in mission on the pause menu. This one just helps make key information more readily available, if you're asking for help at a certain point in the game, knowing your Team PL is often one of the early questions.

Enemies Throw Better

There were a few mistakes with the visual elements on enemy grenade throwing. First, the throwing timing was off for when the grenade left the hand, making for a low arc and just feeling ... bad. Now it feels way better as we've aligned it like your mercs. Second, the VFX for the result were accidentally switched in the game's data set. Now targets who are buffed will get a very clear buffing VFX played on them, as the colorful cloud of hype-dust spreads out. Third, we fixed a possible case where the throw could lock the game up. This was pretty rare but could happen if the timing was right (or ... not right!)

v1.8.77 - #136: - 9/2/2024

- Re-added missing warning when deploying with less than full merc team - Tweaked enemy and wave counts in Siege: reduced starting enemy count by 1, reduced wave size by up to 25% - Improved Team Power Level minimums for Siege proc-gen missions, especially for those vs. milsec - Added Team Power Level stat to pause menu in missions - Fixed issues with enemies throwing buff cloud grenades - VFX were flipped, animation timing was off - Fixed Sec Level hover sometimes showing rules for Q-Sec Level instead (matrix vs. physical) - Fixed button label in Contact Limit Breaks not changing by selection (Confirm Favor / Confirm Upgrade) - Contact Faces correctly shown in Counter-Intel Token-for-Favor offer - Fixed issue with mercs sometimes starting floating in Corner Holdout X Siege Objective

[ 2024-09-02 04:39:10 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome all new Knights to New Boston - glad to have you this week. This is an old city but let's keep plastering it with updates! It is late, so I will be brief - we've had so many new players checking out the game, and so much awesome stuff added over the last week that we're taking a pause for a moment to focus on bug fix, quality of life and F10 fix tonight before we blast on with more content. So, this update hits on many of the hottest F10s from this weekend so far! Thanks for submitting your F10s, posting feedback and especially for posting up reviews! Every one helps us keep trucking forward.

E-Medics and Grenade Simulation

We've fixed a bug where some E-Medics could lock up the game by throwing a grenade. Not pretty, call a medic! This is now resolved. In addition, we've tweaked the math models for how grenade targeting is done to help the thrower hone in on their primary target and do less really odd tosses. Finally, throwing a grenade did not always cancel your Focused Fire. Focused Fire is maintained only if you keep shooting at the same target without taking another action that requires AP or moving. So, throwing a Grenade definitely should, but there were some cases where it did not (oddly, depending on remaining charges of the grenade?)

Venom Trap AP Cost

The Scourge's Venom Trap was costing 2 AP to use and showing an odd message above the Talent bar sometimes when used. We've fixed the whole bug which was basically a double-attempt to execute the Talent.

PXE Grenades

PXE Grenades finally have corrected damage listed in their Talent, causing 320 Ballistic Damage and outclassing the old standard Frag Grenade.

Stun Tally Modification

There was a bug in the previous version where Stunning a target didn't automatically update the Sec Tally tracker, so it could look like yellow Tally did not get removed. They were removed the next time anyone asked for the Sec Tally to be updated but ... we fixed it. Now it is instant.

Roster Tagging

We've fixed (again?) another set of issues with dead, dismissed and missing mercs getting counted into the Tags on the Roster.

Update Size ... update

Two weeks ago we completed a couple of near max size updates to the game in order to re-organize some of our assets. So far, we're seeing really good results with all but 1 update (which actually, tweaked asset organization, so we know it would be larger) being significantly under 1 GB. This is a great trend for a game that updates a lot! We're going to keep after this so that we're only asking you to downloading MB from our near-daily update madness.

v1.8.75 - #135: Black Soup Bay - 8/31/2024

- Fixed issue with some E-Medics freezing on trying to throw N-Stim Cloud - Improved math for grenade throw simulation to be more on target with tosses - Fixed bug with PXE Grenade not correctly listing high Ballistic Damage output - Fixed bug with Scourge's Venom Trap Talent causing it to consume 2 AP instead of 1 AP - Fixed issues with Atomic Stutter and other Stun abilities not always immediately updating Sec Tally - Fixing issue where sometimes throwing a Grenade did not cancel your Focused Fire buff - Fixing possible double-team spawn in Corner Holdout X Kill 3 Captains Objective - Fixed issue with Delaying Job from Field Ops Center sometimes not counting toward max 2 delays - No longer showing outside/inside optimal range in Accuracy breakdown if accuracy effect is 0% - Fixed more bugs where dead/dismissed/hidden mercs could still be counted in roster tags - Fixed typos in proc-gen mission briefs, missing text strings in UI

[ 2024-09-01 05:09:54 CET ] [ Original post ]

Another day, another push of new content. Today in the New Boston zone we're further raising the bar for enemy variety with 4 new enemies paired with all new capabilities to throw buffing and healing (for now) grenades. This also starts to push the street factions into more distinct directions and improves enemy and enemy Talent scaling throughout the set. Maybe you're just settling in to how Wildfire and FireCOM mixed up the battlefield - well now welcome F-Duster, Patchmax, Bulwark and the E-Medic! If you're enjoying the pace of updates and the way we are keeping Early Access interactive and exciting, please take a moment to leave a review. There is no better way that you could thank us for our work.

New Enemy Abilities

So enemies can now throw grenades! This is exciting upgrade for them and giving them a lot more future potential to do cool, dangerous and just awful things. We've opted to start with nice things! Enemies can now toss grenades that target and heal everyone (mercs or enemies) near the impact point, just like your own Medi-Cloud items. In addition, enemies might also throw a buffing grenade full of noxious combat stimulants that can power you up good for the fight at hand. We'll let friendly grenades fly for a bit before we let them throw the boom-boom kind. Time to adjust your team to new realities of warfare in the depths of New Boston, 2231.

3 Enemies for 3 Street Gangs

The release of 3 new enemy types - the Fenian F-Duster ("Fairie Duster"), the Los Zagales Patchmax and the Blue Ox Bulwark - buffs the ranks of the street gangs with exciting new street chemists who mix and match their designer stims to push their soldiers to the limit. The Los Zagales Patchmax delivers a powerful stimulant that raises Action Points, Move Speed and Initiative (while reducing Evasion) giving these street warriors the edge they need to get the jump on you or your crew. The Fenian F-Duster delivers a bear-style stim which raises Accuracy and Critical Rate. This Redmist drives the Fenian fighters into a frenzy and makes the much more dangerous. If you see one of those F-Duster bombs go out, make sure you neutralize its targets before they start unloading on you. The Blue Ox Bulwalk hurls defensive stims, keeping their paramilitary forces on their feet in the fight even if they are taking a massive beating. The Hardmist seeps into their brains and bodies, helping them soak up to 40% more Damage, increasing their Cover Bonus but reducing their Move Speed. We're excited to see the factions stepping out in separate directions with this update and this came along with some adjustments to the underlying data model and code supporting enemy selection which is going to make it easier for us to make more faction variations in the future with less cost.

New Corp Enemy Type

Within the corporate tiers, we've added a new E-Medic enemy type who is tasked with trying to buff and healing their corporate soldiers. Their medium-ranged N-Stim can heal targets with 5m of its naon-cloud release point. From the backlines, firing a heavy Revolver, these E-Medics can be dangerous in their own right but We've also upgraded the KEMCO corp's KEM Doc enemy who carries a shotgun and a medkit that could be used at 2m. This upgrade allows the KEM Doc to also throw a more limited set of N-Stim healing grenades.

KEMCO Scaling

Speaking of KEMCO, we've completed another pass of pushing different enemy sets to have better scaling properties. Now KEMCO's forces have joined the fun and are able to effectively scale like most of the other factions with new weapon and armor upgrades, upgraded Talents and more.

Overwatch Tuning

Exactly what mix of enemies have the Overwatch Talent is a pretty important balance factor within the game, so we will keep improving and tweaking this. The addition of these 4 new enemies who don't Overwatch will help as well and we've made some other minor tweaks to the exact charge counts and recharge rates for enemies' Overwatch Talents throughout the list.

Corporate Captains Heal

Some corporate captains have been granted a medkit carry and can now heal themselves if they aren't taken out fast enough.

v1.8.71 - #134: Drifting Hype Clouds - 8/29/2024

- Added new friendly grenade enemy abilities - healing clouds and buffing combat drug clouds - Added F-Duster (Fenian), Bulwark (Blue Ox) and Patchmax (Los Zagales) enemies who each buff in different way - Upgraded corporate combat medics in multiple factions to throw short range healing cloud grenades - Improved scaling for all KEMCO corporate personnel and guards, added healing abilities to KEM Doc enemy type - Further improved balance of Overwatch availability in enemy Talent mix - Some corporate captains gain ability to use a medkit during combat - Fixed bug where camera would stop following AI after using Skip Enemy Turn a few times - Fixed some causes of the freeze on during map missions

[ 2024-08-30 22:46:34 CET ] [ Original post ]

It's late in the New Boston zone and the game is on sale but that doesn't mean we can't drop a new update with new content, right? Update #133 comes with a new recruit option in your Underworld Hub, new unique Utility Program service for a Wireghost you might know, tuned the balance of the new enemy Talents, even better rules for Skip Enemy Turns and fixed a ton of UI related F10s. Let's see what we've got tonight! If you're enjoying the pace of updates and new content - we've got more coming for you. And please take a moment to leave a review, our very small team appreciates every single one and it help us keep this train moving.

New Underworld Hub Recruit

A new Vanguard option has joined the Underworld Hub, which gives you the basic set of Soldier, Vanguard and Cybersword. Clearly, we'll be building out from here, and Sniper and Scourge are on the next list. This one includes a completely new and unique Trait, new backstory, new contact connections and more. Dial up a token and take a look at your new potential team mate. As we continue to expand the game's content in Early Access, one critical area is the recruiting pool. With the addition of a new Vanguard recruit option to the Underworld Hub, the possible recruits have now reached 6 including:

• 2 street recruits that are brought forward by other mercs
• 3 recruits from the Underworld Hub
• 1 storyline recruit from Salvage Job

We are working to continue to expand this list to the point where (1) you'll be picking which recruits to take over just recruiting everyone and (2) you will not have concerns about being unable to refill your ranks in the case of merc death. At this point in Early Access, our focus is on high quality and hand-crafted recruits, because everyone is helping us further push the game in very good ways. The last two recruits have multiple completely new Trait type and effects between them that open up a lot of interesting angles for the next round of Traits. They also have new backstory tagging, new Contact connections who offer up different services and story angles for future updates. We will get to a point where recruits can be created by proc-gen, but doing so without taking time to further expand the Traits, Tags, Backstory and Connection options will lead to some pretty dry results. So, for now we're using recruiting adds as a roadmap to expand certain parts of the game and will keep after that.
Watch this recruit count - it's going to go UP.

Carnivore Wireghost: New Utility Programs

We don't want to spoil anything, so we'll keep this brief. If your time with the Carnivore mission resulted in your scoring a new Wireghost Contact, that Contact now has a unique service selling some new Utility programs that are not available via regular Wireghost. Every Contact's slate of services is given a baseline by their Contact Type but then can gain or lose services based on story events or backstory and each one upgrades a differently compared to the next based on Hype and Exposure Limit Breaks. So, this gives this specific Wireghost a unique twist - and one that can be upgraded twice with Limit Breaks as well.

Update Size

The last couple updates have all been delightfully small, weighing in from 200-400 MB. In order to possibly further trim that, or just ensure that it stays that low, we made another round of changes to the asset organization to break up a few of the remaining large groups. This has resulted in a trickle down effect and another big update size - 3.3-ish GB. All for a better future!

Overwatch Tuning

After the latest update with the FireCOM and Wildfire, some enemy factions start using Overwatch a bit too much like a blanket on the field of battle. We've tuned their options to get this Talent a bit - hopefully achieving a better balance. We're looking forward to hearing your feedback.

Trait Balance

We've improved the merc Below the Level Trait to give better XP bonuses, it was starting to low and never getting high enough. We've also down-balanced the Contact Trait Eager Buyer by a small amount, slowing down its progression through levels 2 and 3.

Confirm Overwrite and Load Save Slots

With Update #133, we've ensured that the overwrite and load buttons for all save slots always pop up a confirmation. This is a big action, can results in loss of something you're trying to play and deserves a confirmation. Previously, only one of the two buttons had confirmation - odd but now fixed! We've also adjusted the hotkeys used for overwrite and load so that they are consistent between the pause menu in the safehouse and the main mission map. To get the keys sync'd, you might have to adjust your defaults, so the results here will depend on how many customized keybindings you've done.

Timeline Pause Button

We've fixed a hotly reported F10 that sometimes the timeline pause button could end up disabled even as the timeline was playing, leaving you no way to pause the timeline! The state management there has been cleaned up. We also had to put out a hotfix last night that had some really nice things in it - so we will include its details here -

Wreckspire Fix

There was a bug that could cause your team to appear multiple times at the start of a Wreckspire Siege level. This should not happen again. If you are unable to continue a level due to this bug, please just reload the saved game.

Better Skip Turns

We've improved skipping enemy turns. Siege and Battle Strikers were driving the playtest team insane so we bet you feel similar. Now you can skip enemy movement even when they are repositioning for combat.

Fixed Wildfire Talents

Sometimes the Wildfire were taking healing Talents instead of Full Auto. Fixed!

Hack Tutorial: No more Heat

The hack tutorial was accidentally generating Heat. No more!

v1.8.69 - #133: Recruit Pool - 8/28/2024

- New Underworld Hub Recruit - Vanguard! - New type of Traits that react to going on missions or not - Added 2 new Contact Types along with recruit offering - If you get a Wireghost Contact coming out of Carnivore mission, they now have special Utility Program offerings (with 2 limit breaks) - Added 3 new Utility Programs (Data Filter II and III, Trace Vector III, Decoy III) - Minor down-balance to Contact Trait "Eager Buyer" -3-4% resale boost to levels 2 and 3 - Improved Trait Below the Level XP bonus - Tweaked starting charges and recharge rate for Corp/Milsec enemy Overwatch Talent - less blanketing of the field - Fixed bug where timeline Pause button could become disabled even when playing - Fixed inventory issue where some equipment counts could be wrong - Added confirmations to all Overwrite/Load save slot buttons, hotkeys now consistent - Fixed issue displaying "Remove Mods" button even if all mods were locked by crafting

v1.8.67 - Hotfix - 8/27/2024

Fixed issue with Wreckspire where you could end up with multiple copies of your team Skip significantly more enemy turns Fixed issues with Wildfire's Talents Preventing Hacking tutorial from causing Heat Fixed odd reinforcement spawn point in Street Palisade

[ 2024-08-29 04:45:36 CET ] [ Original post ]

Following up with the MAGNITUDE v2 update yesterday, we've got a big burst of new and dangerous enemies, better enemy progression and better enemy variety across the game. We've also further boosted the Field Ops Delay Mission token, evened out the balance in the Siege missions and fixed bugs from reported F10s. Welcome to the new Knights piling into the New Boston zone! Get ready for updates and improvements. Be sure to hit F10 if you see something that is broken or could be improved. And, if you're enjoying how we approach Early Access, please drop a review!

Enemies using Full Auto: Wildfire and FireCOM

We've added a number of new enemy types across factions - FireCOM variations for the different corporate groups and WIldfire for the Street and Syndicate. These heavier troops carry a variety of Full Auto capable Assault Rifles and Urban Assaults and are equipped to take the Full Auto shot to hit multiple mercs on your team. These new enemies are a good start - watch your firing angles, be more careful clumping your mercs and consider who the highest priority target is in the enemy squad.

More Abilities Coming

We are at the bottom of a big climb, preparing to add tons of new abilities and enemy types to the game. Full Auto is the first through the gate and grenades will be piling through next (flash bang, explosive, Molotov, and healing for more effective enemy combat medics). Then we'll be moving on to persistent on map effects like traps and more. Then it will be the season of the drone.

Further Enemy Progression Balance

This update improves the sweep of progression available to many enemy types and factions within the game. A number of enemies were still stranded somewhere between Power Level 1 to 6 and unable to scale above that point. This update adds a ton of scaling range for Street, Syndicate, Warner-Braun and megacorporate enemies. Some enemies now also receive key armor upgrades at high (7+) Power Levels, such as Street Shotgunners picking up 1 Protection Point to help them survive closing.

Field Ops Delaying with Tokens

We've heard from players the need for even more flexibility to delay missions some times, and the limit of 1-delay-per-mission can sometimes feel very limiting, especially when it comes down to the Cyber Knight in recovery, treatment or needing to go under for cyber surgery. With Update #132, we've extended the ruling to allow 2 tokens maximum to be used to delay a mission. We've also tuned the delay bonus for different room levels, flattening it out so that it's basically +1 day per level and ends at +8 days.

Siege Balance

To help the Siege objective play better and fit into the kind of timing that other missions require, we've cut back on the waves a bit. These are still some of the more difficulty missions in the game at the moment, especially if you draw the wrong faction like Brave Star. Maybe this time just let them have that chunk of Los Z turf?

v1.8.65 - Update #2: Wildfire X FireCOM

- Certain enemy types now use Full Auto attacks to hit multiple mercs - Added 3 new Full Auto enemy types (names, description, visuals): FireCOM enemies from corporate, Warner-Braun FireCOM and Street Wildfire - Syndicate Whistlers also can use Full Auto attacks now (and cause multiple bleeds in the act) - AR carrying Head Hunters will now use Full Auto - Syndicate Whistler's far more likely to appear when facing Syndicates - Improved scaling for enemies - high-end enemies from Street, Syndicate, Corporate, Warner-Braun all have more room to scale - Improved variety of enemy spawn combinations significantly for all factions - Field Ops Center tokens can now be used to delay a mission twice - Improved balance of Siege proc-gen objective and size of spawn waves - Fixed issue with roster sometimes getting locked only showing 3 mercs - Fixed issues with decks sometimes not repairing properly

[ 2024-08-27 15:54:31 CET ] [ Original post ]

Big day here Knights. In the previous MAGNITUDE update back in March, a burst of proc-gen content pushed us over the top to hit a milestone of 2X the amount of content since launch. We've blazed down the features list of our roadmap since then, delivering new systems left and right, but also adding in a steady trickle of new level content and new proc-gen objectives as we went. Today we've got a much bigger burst for you, with 2 new maps, 2 new objective types, and a total of 10 new map/objective combinations. This means we have once again doubled the amount of content in the game - x2 since update #60, x4 since launch! With proc-gen variety greatly increased, we'll be pushing to expand the pool of hand-crafted missions over the next couple of months. Our Casting Directory story engine and the proc-gen system work hand-in-hand to give you opportunities to mold your mercs, influence your underworld network, and build your rep as a Cyber Knight. By launch your playthroughs will cover the full arc of a Knight's career from origin to retirement. For now, enjoy growing your gains from all these heists; those credits will fund a lot of safehouse construction and/or crafting.

New Map: Dusted Hover-Evac

An old and abandoned ruin of a building leans over a road junction that might have once been bustling but now is just part of the network of under-the-level illegal commerce. Still a valuable spot and a commanding vantage point, the old Dusted Hover-Evac is a good place for a VIP to head for a hover extraction or a good place to defend if you want to own this stretch.

New Map: Wreckspire

The junction is a crossing point between two larger towers - D07 and D08 - and if it wasn't owned by gangs and Syndicates might have hosted shops, food stalls or even a rooftop club. Maybe it did so long ago that no one can remember. A long stretch with a commanding high point in the center and many possible ways in and out makes for a deadly rooftop heister's playground.

New Objective Type: Siege

The new Siege objective is in the inverse of the Battle Striker where you are attempting to storm a defended location, either by drawing the enemies out to you or taking the fight to them. In the Siege objective, you've holding a stretch of territory for your Contact, trying to crush an enemy assault team before they can get a foothold. You are the one in the defensive position or key stretch of territory, often surrounded or exposed from multiple angles. You've got to fight and hold the territory against enemy waves. These are hard missions which pay well and have extra XP boosts - so be sure you take your combat A-team on the first one you try.

New Objective Type: Lootbox Hunt

The new Lootbox Hunt sends you into a facility on a mission to find specific Files that have been hidden among the lootboxes there. You're the "last-mile pickup" system for the bribed insider who couldn't get the secrets out of the building but was able to surreptitiously hide the 3 pieces of the formula outside the highest security areas. There will be lots of ways to go about this one, if you stay quiet throughout or go loud and fast to find the loot you need. And once you have at least 1/3 pieces of the paydata you came to get, the option to extract opens up.

More proc-gen combos

Proc-gen missions grow in variety from a number of factors that affect them both in-level (objective, entrance & exit positions, Matrix connections) and at the strategy layer (e.g. faction origin and target).
Every new element - especially the biggest ones like maps and objectives -that we are able to add to the system continues to increase the multiplier effect. We've got work to do to double this content set again but we're climbing a mountain and that takes time, but there are still some major new multipliers to add to the equation like mission structure, which will allow some proc-gen missions to be offered that have more than one single map and are built more like Sibling Job or Carnivore where you have to pass through an outer map to reach the true objective map.

v1.8.63 - #131: Magnitude x2 - 8/26/2024

- Added new proc-gen map "Dusted Hover-Evac": dilapidated clinic with rooftop hoverpad rules a junction - Added new proc-gen map "Wreckspire": ruined rooftop junction between Districts 08 and 07 - Added new proc-gen objective "Siege": hold defensive position against enemy waves - Added new proc-gen objective "Lootbox Hunt": search lootboxes for 3 paydata files - Added 10 new proc-gen Map X Objective combinations (4 Siege, 4 Lootbox Hunt, 2 Assassinate) - Improved payment and XP reward for proc-gen Battle Striker missions

[ 2024-08-26 15:14:30 CET ] [ Original post ]

This morning we're rolling out a rapid set of fixes to catch up on bugs and F10s that have been hanging around this last week. It's a nice cleanup to get us ready for the next big content push! Here's what we've got for you -

Empty Lootboxes

Some of the work we are doing in prep for a major drop of new proc-gen missions caused a bug in existing missions with lootboxes. A lot of lootboxes were coming up empty. Any mission generated before this update is installed may have empty lootboxes.

Passive Leverages

Especially in the matrix, players were getting confused about Passive Leverages which go into effect automatically but are still displayed in the Leverage list and pretend that they can be activated. Very confusing! With this update, we've added a Passive tag so help identify them and removed the options to activate them which is not actually possible.

Dismissing Rules

To help reduce your clicks, if you dismiss a merc, you now take all their armor, weapons, items and cyberdeck. You could have done with anyway, but it just takes a lot of clicking, so we made it automatic and simple for you. We've also fixed a number of other issues around dismissing - you could dismiss dead characters, who knew! You could dismiss mercs who were already dismissed!?! It wasn't good, it made bugs.

Matrix Dmg and Buffs

There was a mistake in the print of Attack program damage ranges once you got buffed with Rampage or other buffs. The damage wasn't accurately updated, which is now fixed and the values show the real range you might hit at. Yummy - digital destruction!

Matrix Buff Coloration

Speaking of Matrix buffs, for a while all effects in the matrix have been styled as a red debuff, regardless of if they were good or bad. We've now updated the buff list (just like the physical list) to get the colors correct and make them more clear to the eye.

v1.8.61 - 8/23/2024

- Fixed issue with empty lootboxes appearing across levels - Improved tagging on Leverages to display Passive Leverages with a tag and stop them from looking like they can be activated - Dismissing a merc will automatically remove all equipment, cyberdeck, etc (save you clicks) - Prevented Dismissing already dismissed mercs (?!?), dead mercs and recruits - Fixed incorrectly displayed damage range in Matrix attack Talents when +Dmg buff is active - Matrix effects are now correctly colored by buff/debuff - Fixed issue with Roster where character could be stuck after removing Cyberdeck

[ 2024-08-23 16:12:20 CET ] [ Original post ]

The latest update is hitting the streets of New Boston with a wave of improvements from community suggestions, your F10s and more. Thanks to everyone feeding us requests and suggestions, we're excited to roundtrip them and put them into the game fast and furious. We've improved how programs can be uninstalled and installed, we've improved the Matrix AP bar in the Matrix HUD, simplified the timeline buttons, fixed item carry nodes in the class tree, brought down some high-end cyberdeck repair costs and fixed one of the possible cases that could cause a freeze on map during a mission. If you're enjoying our dedication to improving, taking community feedback and fixing your F10 bugs - please take a moment to drop a review for the game and help us continue to improve.

Flexible Program Uninstall

The change of rules to use maximum program limit on deck has brought a lot more importance of the decision to what programs to load on to your deck. But the previous limit that a cyberdeck must always have a Scan, Sleaze, Deception, Disarm and Attack program on it is was making upgrading a deck challenging. Once you hit 10/10 programs, you couldn't easily remove Scan I to install SCan II and had to do an annoying round-robin uninstall and reinstall. So - you asked and we've improved rapidly! Now, if you uninstall a required program, you'll now just get a confirmation warning instead of a hardstop error -
And above your installed programs for each deck, you'll see 5 icons showing Scan, Sleaze, Deception, Disarm and Attack. If they are missing, the icon lights up red indicating you're not ready to deploy to a mission with that deck.
But that's fine, you probably uninstalled Scan I to install Scan II. If you didn't, you'll find a helpful error message at deploy time sending you back to sort out your programs.

Matrix AP Highlight

The Matrix AP bar has now joined the fun to keep up with IO buffer and Active Memory. If you're hovering over a Program or a Talent in your program bar, the Matrix AP that will be used by the action (either to load the program or to use the program, depending on its loaded) state is now highlighted in the bar. Now you can see how each action will affect all of your 3 action pools and the tutorial feels even nicer =D

Simplified Timeline Buttons

The buttons to control the timeline were using a Play, Play Fast and the Play button would switch to a Pause button once the timeline was started. This setup was not the best and was causing a lot of controller and keyboard input to stop or start the timeline accidentally. Plus, once you've decided a speed you want to play the timeline in the game, you probably aren't using both. We've improved and simplified the button set to have a Pause and a Play button. Neither changes to another type of button when the timeline is running, so there is now no chance of input jamming. If you want the timeline to run fast, this is the default setting for the new Highspeed Timeline option in your Options > Gameplay menu. If you do want it to run slow, you can disable the Highspeed Timeline option. Thanks for all the F10s and feedback about this and we'll keep polishing elements large and small to the game to feel as smooth as possible.

Item Carry Class Training

A bug snuck in at some point with the item carry upgrade nodes for your class tree. These expensive nodes - each costing a whopping 5 points - enable you to carry an additional item on every single mission. They may not feature in your early game builds but they are likely to be worth it in your mid to late game builds where that extra Ion Recharger or dose of Turqo Juice can make the difference. Currently the nodes will allow you to carry a new item of any type while we evaluate the original design that some nodes would offer limited item carry by type (Tech only, etc). We are also working toward a point where each of these nodes will also come with Attribute and other stat bonuses to help round out their cost. But when trained now, you'll see your equipment section upgrade immediately and be able to equip more items.

Cyberdeck Repair Costs

We've tempered the math that was used for repair costs for cyberdecks as the deck prices just keep getting more expensive. This will help decks around Power Level 4 and higher to have more reasonable repair prices and ensure that you're price tag isn't hitting $100K until you're looking at serious damage.

Overwatch / Movement Freeze

We've fixed a significant cause of freezes on the combat map where there was a one frame gap between a character starting an action (moving, shooting) where it was possible (if the timing was just right) that they could start an idle twitch animation ... which would leave them hung and the game frozen. With this new case in mind, we're looking for other possible causes of freezes on the map which are rare but still reported in F10s. Please keep reporting them and we'll keep doing our diligent detective work to figure out what is causing them. At this point, none of them are simple code errors, its all somewhere deep down in the animation controllers, blending and timing, so we need your F10s!

Update Size Update ;)

It looks like the improvements we made to the asset packaging managed to crunch what could often be a 4.6 to 4.9 GB update down to a 2.9 GB update. We're not done, we can crunch more! We'll keep you posted as we keep working these down in size. Our aim is to consistently keep the updates under 1 GB.

Battle Striker Early

We fixed a bug where Battle Striker missions often ended early before the last wave of reinforcements arrived. Thanks for the F10s!

Treatment, SImstream and Injury

We're continuing to work on improving the code and validation routines around treatment, simstream and injury. There are still issues here that can cause events to hang on the timeline, the roster counts to be wrong and more. This release fixes a few more of the issues that were reported and a few more things we found on our own. We've also fixed a bug where you might in Treatment for a Wound like Brainburnt 1 and while trying to treat it, your Wound upgrades to Brainburnt 2. Not good! Wounds will no longer mutate while in Treatment.

v1.8.59 - 8/22/2024

- Rebuilt the timeline buttons - just simple play and pause button, reduced issues jamming spacebar - Added new Option to play timeline in fast or slow mode - Improved Matrix AP bar above IO and Active Mem to highlight like the deck stats do when hovering programs/talents - Improved program uninstall - now warns but does not prevent uninstall of required programs (Scan/Sleaze/Deception/Disarm/Attack) - Required programs icon bar shown above deck programs to indicate which are installed - Cannot deploy to mission unless 5 required cyberdeck programs are installed - Added mission description to item carry rules at the top of each classes skill tree. Costs 5 points to carry +1 item, up to 4 max - Fixed bug where training in item carry would not always immediately enable the ability to carry more items - Improved cost curve for repairs on high-end Cyberdecks to keep cost from getting out of hand - Fixed bug where enemy could start moving and then suddenly stop one or two steps in - Fixed bug with contact selection by Casting Director that was reducing variety of contacts that could proc - Fixed bug where Battle Striker missions could end before the last set of spawns - Improved safehouse honoring and counting different status (detox, wound, injury) to prevent being sent to other detox, wound, etc - Fixed bug about injury or medical timeline events and roster counts sticking around after completion - Fixed bug where a Wound could mutate (from Level 1 to 2) out from under Wound Treatment

[ 2024-08-23 01:01:09 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome to the late night scene in New Boston. The lights are low but there's still an update to be had. This update follows up on the major milestone HACK THE PLANET and all the new cyberdeck and matrix improvements along with the long-awaited Matrix Tutorial. With Update #128, we've improved (and raised) the max programs rating on most decks, fixed issues preventing you from repair cyberdecks sometimes, fixed a duplicate hotkey in the deck screen, and fixed all reported typos and clarifications requests in the matrix tutorial. If you're enjoying the constant push in quality, content and features - please take a minute to leave a review and tell a friend!

Update Size Reduction

As the game has evolved and more and more levels and assets have been enabled, the asset packing organization has slipped a bit. We've had too many updates recently in the multiple GB when they shouldn't need to be that large. Unfortunately, to do anything about this, we need to push an update where we improve the organization but that makes a ton of changes in the build ... and results in a big update. We know another 4.6 GB update is painful, so we're sorry and hopefully this is the one that will bring us back down to sub 1 GB updates more regularly.

Improved Max Program Counts

We've taken the first needed balance step after the big update - raising max program counts on decks and improving the progression of max program counts for decks so that you are always seeing some improvement as you pay big dollars for new decks.

Deck Repair Stuck

If you hit a situation where your cyberdeck was no longer offering the repair option even though you had damage, this is now fixed. Please proceed to repairing! We've also fixed an issue where Start Repair and Delete Program were overlapping on hotkeys which could be a real pain in some situations.

Matrix Tutorial Feedback

First, we are super excited that the tutorial has gone over so well! We've heard a lot of positive feedback about learnig things and hacking things and hacking all the banks and things - so it seems to be going great :D And thanks for the mountain of F10s! We've parsed them all and fixed every typo reported and addressed every clarification request. We will be adding an option to replay the tutorial in a saved game on demand, so that will be nice as a way to replay in the future.

File Set Minting and Rooms

We've removed the requirement when minting a File Set to have a specific room. Minting V-Chips required the Underworld Hub and minting Programs required the Hacking Station. This was cool but also tough sell because it puts specific requirements on how you build your base. Consider that you have to make choices and therefore chose not to have some room, which might be the Hacking Station for example, it no longer fits to prevent you from minting a Program in that case.

Slashslide and 0% Accuracy

Sometimes, when your Cybersword did a Slashslide, the second and third targets would be attacked with 0% Accuracy (which you could only see in the log), which would cause a very weak glancing hit. We've fixed the bug here - so Slide on!

v1.8.57 - 8/21/2024

- Improved progression of Max Programs for decks, rises faster - Fixed bug where Cyberdeck could get stuck with Damage that was irreparable - Fixed bug where Repair Cyberdeck and Delete Program shared same hotkey - Fixed many typos in Matrix Tutorial, adjusted lines - thanks for all the feedback!! - Removed requirement for Hacking Station to mint Programs and Underworld Hub to mint V-Chips - Fixed issue where attacks after the first in Slashslide might have 0% Accuracy and just get weak glancing blow - Fixed issue with mercs MP bonuses not showing correctly after Mad Dash Leverage applied - Fixed issue with all buffs/debuff icons shown in red in merc status, now buffs are shown with green icon - Adjusted asset packing organization to improve update size in the future

[ 2024-08-21 05:58:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hackers unite! The planet awaits, let's hack it! We're excited to roll out the Matrix Hacking Tutorial today, checking off one more major milestone from the roadmap. The HACK THE PLANET major milestone also comes with some other major changes to how cyberdecks and hacking work - allowing you to transfer programs freely and now cyberdecks take lasting damage that is costly in time and money to repair. In order to make the best tutorial possible, we've made a lot of improvements to the matrix and its UI as well. Jump in, getting hacking! If you are enjoying the pace of progress and the commitment to completing our milestones, please take a moment to leaving a review to help our small team continue forward!

Matrix Tutorial At Long Last!

After along way - and many improvements to the Matrix systems - we're excited to finally roll out the full Matrix tutorial. The tutorial will be available in any game immediately - and might contain some valuable tips and info for veteran and new players alike.
The tutorial is offered the first time you try to deploy a hacker to a mission. It will only be offered once per game. And you can disable the tutorial (and all future offers), from your Options > Gameplay menu. Once you've run the tutorial or if you just want to skip it - turn it off.
The tutorial will set you up on a solo hack, guide you through the basic process of hacking, help you deploy a CPU Spike, steal some paydata and disable some security devices. All of this is done with a special character "Tutorial Ahab" (a BIG shout out to Ahab for all the work on the wiki Hacking guides on hacking that were featured heavily in planning and writing this tutorial). Therefore, with your Tutorial-only character, there is no gain or loss for taking the tutorial - you can't suffer damage and the loot is deleted at the end of the mission. So - hacker, go forth and learn! Let us know your feedback. Final note, the tutorial is a procedure set of steps intended to be followed. It is not built to react to you going off script wildly. If you want to run the tutorial and learn to hack, plox follow the instructions and read the pop ups :D

Transfer Programs between Decks

With the HACK THE PLANET major milestone, we've also enabled easy transfer of programs between decks. Programs are valuable investments, critical pieces of software that you can buy or steal (via Files & File Sets). These chunks of quantum software can be moved between cyberdeck hardware now by using the Uninstall button. The program is dropped back to your available programs list and can be installed on a new deck. Note (see below) you cannot uninstall programs if your deck is damaged or currently in repair.

Deck Damage & Repair

Cyberdeck Damage is no longer automatically and instantly repaired at the end of a mission at the cost of $0. If your deck takes damage during a hacking run due to destructive feedback signals from the IC or the Q-Sec Escalations, that damage comes home with you. It persists into the next mission and makes you more vulnerable to deck burn out.
However, when you're ready - because you have some hacker downtime or can swap in another deck - you can start a repair on your deck. This will take some time and money - and get more expensive as your deck is more expensive - but will restore your deck to 100% Health.
You cannot deploy to a mission with a Deck that is currently in repair, so be careful picking when to stop your hacking and take some repair downtime.

Max Program Count

To better facilitate easy program swapping and the new deck balance, we've opted to use a Max Program Count for cyberdecks instead of Storage Size metric that was being used before. This puts a hard cap on number of programs you can load on a deck and will require you to do a bit more planning. Still, the maxes are generous, ranging from 8-12. All the more reason to upgrade decks and transfer your new programs to them. If you were hoarding programs from before this update (which makes a lot of sense since you can't transfer them ...) your deck will still have all the programs. You won't be able to add new ones and you can now uninstall programs, so hopefully you can spend some time rebalancing your deck for now and the future.

Cyberdeck Pricing

With the cost of repairs now a real thing for cyberdecks, we've rebalanced the price of all decks, bringing them down. You can also transfer programs which makes swapping between decks a much cheaper operation. Finally, we've modified how deck resale value works to ensure that if you are selling a damaged deck, you'll get proportionally less for it.

Tons of Matrix Improvements

To make the best Matrix tutorial possible, we had to improve the matrix! We're excited that the tutorial comes with a ton of changes and benefits for everyone. So let's look at the list!
We've rewritten all of the IC descriptions to be clearer and exclude exact numbers about what each IC is doing.
We've re-organized the HUD to bring all of the action pool elements - Matrix AP, IO and Active Memory - together down in the corner near your programs. This lets your eye look only one place when trying to figure out the limits of what you can do and planning your next move.
We've rebuilt the display of Sec Tally per Action (for hacking) and Sec Tally per Turn (for meat-space) to be clear and to avoid you needing to count tiny yellow squares all the time. The new HUD element also just helps reinforce how the rules work.
If you disable an IC, the Q-Sec Tally penalty icon and text now go gray, reinforcing the rule that if the IC is disabled then you do not get Q-Sec Tally added if they are destroyed. The stealthy hacker disables before killing. In the same vein, if an IC or other factor is preventing connection to neighboring nodes, the connection lines are grayed out.
We've redone the matrix host Ratings (now Blue, Green, Yellow Orange, Red, Ulta) to be ordered like the actual spectrum of colors. Also, we're trying out a rename for the host response system, the Q-Sec AI going from Bronze Boa, Silver Rattler, Gold Viper, Platinum Cobra to Diamond King. We've rebalanced 2 starting Hacker Talents - Hardshell is less powerful starting only with +20 Temp Cyberdeck Health instead of +30 and Overclock is more damaging to your connection, starting at -3% Connection per turn instead of -2%.

Toggle Snap to Cover during Movement

We have added the much requested toggle for snap to cover during movement. Cyber Knights features a gridless movement system but we also include the snap-to-cover helper to make it easier to get your mercs into good positions around corners and near to important cover. But, sometimes that is annoying. You don't want to snap, you know exactly where you want to be. In these cases, you can just toggle of Snap now while moving and put your movement position where you want it without any help or friendly interference.

Auto-Select Equipment

When changing equipment, we've improved the following equipment screen where you can browse for your replacements. This screen was not auto-selecting the item you are replacing, which was confusing. Now, if you click to replace your sniper rifle, that exact sniper rifle will be selected in the list of weapons that could replace it, making it much clear what you're up to and also make it just one click or keypress away to start comparing the current rifle to other weapons.

Better Tagging and Dismiss Rules

We've fixed a set of issues with the safehouse and roster tagging. Before this update, the tags for Simstream Trainer, Detox, Wound Treatment and Injury Treatment were all lumped into a single "Treatment" Tag. We've now broken out the "Simstream" tag separately to make this more clear when you're looking at the entire safehouse and then once you dive into the Roster you can see all 4 tags separately so it is clear from the list who is where and why without having to try to figure out exactly which of the 4 treatment types we're talking about. We've also made some fixes to how Dismissing works in regards to benches and cyber surgery. If you kick someone off the team now, they are correctly removed form the Detox, their cyber surgery is canceled, etc so that they aren't hanging around consuming a valuable spot even though you've booted them.

Charged Strike Renamed Power Slice

With the last update we did a bit of renaming clean-up for what was Conduit Edge and Charged Strike. Unfortunately, "Charged" is not the best word to be using (are we running at an enemy? are we using Talent charges?) so we've renamed again. Also, the use of IO-Batt for the melee weapons charges was conflict with IO for Matrix, and that's not helpful - so we've renamed that too! Here is the list of changes:

• Charged Attack has become Power Slice
• Improved Charged Attack (previously Conduit Edge) has become Improved Power Slice
• IO-Batt charges have become Ion Batt Charges
• IO-Charger item has become Ion Recharger

Wired Safehouse Rooms

We've made some visual improvements to safehouse rooms - adding more trash, junk and wires. They feel more alive and deeper now. We'll keep working on the look here but this is a nice polish pass.

Contact Hover in Selling Window

If you are considering who your things to - especially your high Rarity Accounts that will cause Influence changes - then you'll be happy to know you can now hover over a Contact's head in the seller/buyer pop up to see their full hover. This can make it easy to know when to stop selling your Epic Accounts to a Contact when they reach 80% Influence without having to hop between screens again.

v1.8.55 - 8/19/2024

- All new Matrix Hacking Tutorial will be offered next time you try to deploy to a mission with a hacker (once per game) - Disable Matrix Hacking Tutorial in options or during New Game - New feature: Uninstall and transfer programs between Cyberdecks - Cyberdeck damage persists between missions, if deck is damaged enough you can start a repair at the safehouse (time, money) - Programs cannot be uninstalled while a deck is damaged - Cyberdecks now have maximum program count instead of storage size - Rebalanced / reduced price of most cyberdecks - Rewrote all IC descriptions, effects and trigger clauses to be more clear and specific - Improved display of Sec Tally / Turn in meat-space and Q-Sec Tally / Action in matrix - Improved display of Q-Sec Tally penalty for destroying an active IC - Improved order of Matrix Ratings to match color spectrum: Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, Red Ultra - Connection lines between matrix nodes now gray out if connection is blocked - Re-organized and improved Matrix HUD - AP joins IO and Active Memory in bottom left - Hacker's Hardshell starts at +20 Temp Cyberdeck Health instead of +30 - Hacker's Overclock starts at -3% Connection per turn instead of -2% - Cyberdeck Resale value is impacted by damage - New toggle for movement snap to cover - turn off for exact placement, on for best cover placement - Auto-select the piece of equipment you are changing when you click it (click Sniper Rifle, see weapons but Sniper Rifle starts selected) - Added Contact Hover to sell window to give easiest access to Influence and Service details - Fixed issues with roster and character tagging - new tag Simstream splits from Treatment, even more accurate counting - Fixed bugs when dismissing characters who are in benches (cyber surgery, detox, etc) - Fixed bugs with Motion Detectors often seeing over low cover - Fixed bugs with dead bodies sometimes being seen through Vanguard's Refract - Completed trio of renames: IO Batt => Ion Batt, IO-Charger => Ion Recharger, Charged Attack => Power Slice

[ 2024-08-19 21:31:26 CET ] [ Original post ]

Data is streaming down the pipe, but so is the lethal feedback. Will you get the bio-formula locked-in before your chips fry? Tonight's update adds 5 exciting new host templates for Matrix Hunt proc-gen mission objective, clarifies some matrix rules in hovers, reveals mission power levels during mission planning, improves the new contact hover, fixes reported issues with multi-buy and multi-sell, adds new lore and more. If you're enjoying the pace of updates, attention to improvement based on community feedback or any way we are handling Early Access, we hope you'll share game with a friend and leave a review!

5 New Host Templates + better Rules Clarity

We've added 5 new matrix host templates that will be immediately picked up and used by the new Matrix Hunt proc-gen mission type. These new and exciting hosts will give you some new playgrounds to romp on, facing some new challenging setups. We're super excited to be working toward adding a few new node types which will also help shake up matrix map design meta significantly. In addition to the new host templates, we've clarified rules in the game's hovers to try to help:

• To Spike a CPU or APU, you must use your Scan program enough times to get to Scan 2/2 and you must destroy all IC using an Attack Program (or any kind of Damage). Note that Disabling the IC is not enough.
• In the top right area, the Q-Sec Tally is shown in yellow pips. This is the amount of Q-Sec Tally added to the Tally every time you take any action, such as loading or using a program or connecting to a new node. This Q-Sec Tally per action cost can be increased by IC, by Q-Sec Escalations, by the node type or by other factors as well. This is a key stat to be watching because it determines how rapidly your actions will land you into another Q-Sec Escalation.

We also fixed a bug where hack-only missions had very few loot Files, Blueprints and Accounts. If you saw multiple nodes with only 1 or 0 digital downloads in them, then you hit this bug.

Sight Lines on Kill

With Update #126, we've fixed an old bug where sight lines to enemies could sometimes linger even after a kill was made. This helps clean up the UI faster and reduces the feeling of clutter -- all good things for the tactical map, which we're continue to work on making it snappier and more responsive with less wasted frames or pixels.

Mission Names and Power Levels

We've made some updates to the mission planning list in Update #126. The first change is to include a mission's rough power level in the list, so you can see what type of opposition you are facing. This will be most directly affected by your Team Power Level + difficulty and any boosts or reductions that the mission author called for the in the mission specifically. Hopefully this is helpful! Second, we move fields around, shortened some tags and made space to give a full line to mission titles so the best names aren't getting truncated. If a mission title lacks space to display it all, it will auto-resize its font size a bit until it does fit as well.

Contact Services in Hover

We heard immediately that with the new Contact hover we got it half right! You can now see the Exposure and Influence in the hover but you were not able to see services and which ones might be maxed out. Now you can with services tags just being added directly to the hover and the hover being expanded into all screens in mission planning now.

Selling Clarity

In the original multi-buy and multi-sell update, the Buy/Sell option was disabled while you were modifying the slider and you needed to reselect a Contact before you could proceed with the transaction. This lead a lot of players to feeling like they were stuck or just generally confused. With this update, we now have persistent "current Contact" shown in the list of Contacts, even if you go to mess with the quantity slider, this current Contact persists, allowing the Buy/Sell button to stay enabled at all times (unless you can't afford this, chumbo?)

Cybersword "Improved Charged Attack"

As a first step to help improve the clarity and usefulness of their unique Talent, Cybersword "Conduit Edge" Talent has been renamed "Improved Charged Attack". Any merc who picks up a melee weapon gets a free Talent called "Charged Attack" that uses the melee weapon's IO-Battery charge to invoke special powers, extra damage and debuffs - all based on the weapon. This Charged Attack Talent doesn't give any extra bonuses and can't be used repeatedly (has one charge). If you are a Cybersword, you have the option to train Improved Charged Attack which replaces Charged Attack completely. Improved Charged Attack has better max charge, allowing you to strike with 2 IO-Batteries in rapid succession and give special buffs to the effects defined by the weapon, such as increasing the debuff duration from the weapon's debuff or further increasing its Pure Dmg bonus. This Talent has caused a lot of confusion and while this helps, this will not be the end of changes coming for Improved Charged Attack. We've also fixed an issue with hovering hitboxes in the class tree that should make the tree more useable with a mouse.

Faction Entries

With Update #126, we added a lore entry of the Que Milieu Syndicate as well as fixing a duplicate paragraph for Blue Ox (the missing content was restored). We're continuing to add more lore to the journal, which is also exported to pages like the Factions page on the Cyber Knights wiki.

Appearance Import Oddities

We've fixed number of odd bugs around appearance import and exporting sometimes creating outfits and appearances that were non-functional, or did not update in other parts of the game. These bug stemmed from use the mouse in the UI and generally not clicking or key pressing the "Load" button. For controller and Steam Deck players, this wasn't really an issue as the general way to accept the outfit change was the load button.

v1.8.53 - 8/14/2024

- Added 5 new matrix hosts maps to templates for Matrix Hunt proc-gen missions - Correct rules displayed in Matrix Q-Sec UI in the top right, explaining Tally per Action rules - Fixed issue with hack-only matrix hosts having very limited loot (Files, etc) - Fixed duplicate paragraphs in Blue Ox journal entry, added entry for Que Milieu Syndicate - Renamed Cybersword's Conduit Edge to Improved Charged Attack for better clarity - Correctly clearing sight lines on tactical map after killing an enemy - Improved distance display in enemy hover under 10m to include 2 points of precision (2.06m) to help be clearer about range limits - Contact hover now includes services tag list and is available in both mission planning screens - Improved buy and sell quantity - last contact selected before modifying the slider is the one used if you hit buy/sell key - Added better filters for NanoFab Blueprint selection - if using weapon bench, then see weapon filters, etc - Fixed issue with K-Protocol and Leverage reducing Sec Level or Tally playing alarm SFX in a stack - Improved class tree, reduced size of certain hover areas that were too large - Fixed issues with loading an appearance from Library sometimes leaving appearance tab broken

[ 2024-08-15 05:01:22 CET ] [ Original post ]

Another night on the New Boston town, another heist, another big update! With Update #125, we've added a new proc-gen hacking mission objective, improved late game economy balance, fixed tagging issues and performance boost for Roster, fixed looping Exposure Limit Breaks, better updated the HUD after killing an enemy and Grenades cost 2 AP again! There is so much good stuff in this one, check the release notes. If you're enjoying the pace of updates and improvements in Early Access, please take a moment to leave a review!

New Matrix Hunt Proc-Gen Mission

In proc-gen land, we're excited to roll out an all new hacker-only mission focused on finding and downloading files. The Matrix Hunt mission type sets you up - on the clock - to break into a host and find 3 valuable paydata files scattered across the host's nodes. Much like Kill 3 captains, your payment hinges on each file found where you can gain 33% per file. It only takes 1 file to be called a Victory but the real money is with all 3. It's awesome to see new objectives filtering into the hack-only missions as well as the meatspace maps and missions. The current iteration of this mission is styled such that it is a great fit for your Street Docs, Nu-Vudu practitioners and drug runners, contacts who haven't been as present in the proc-gen circuit up to this point, giving a new way to get them Influence points.

High Power Level Missions

There are still big movers in the game's economy settling down. The ability to make upwards of $5m on a single phase mission in the high-end Power Levels is still running too high. While we're probably not done adjusting this (as more multi-stage missions will arrive), we've tuned this down into the $4m zone, which is still, frankly, a lot.

Better Roster Tags, Filters, Performance

Ohhh the barracks character roster got faster! We're excited to roll out a huge performance boost, if you had any delay in that screen popping up it should be absolutely crushed. This makes a huge difference if you were trying to filter by character level, which was laggy before but now is buttery smooth. We've also fixed a number of places where mercs who shouldn't be counted for tags - Dead mercs were being counted as Wounded (even though Dead beats Wounded in Dead-Wound-Scissors) and recruits were being counted as Training Ready (even though you can't train them).

Endless Limit Break Loop

If you're stuck in an endless Limit Break loop with a Contact, we've probably fixed your issue tonight. We're not sure why some many players ended up with this bug being for Henninger, but here we are fixing the Exposure Limit Break loop so you can get back to your games.

Updating Attack/Hear Numbers on Kill

There was no system in place to keep the bottom left numbers - for how many will hear my attack or how many can I attack from here - current after an enemy was killed. This did lead to a lot of "off by one" feelings with the numbers shown on your weapon tiles. We've plugged this bug!

Contact Hover Details

We're working on rolling out a new Contact hover that will be useful everywhere it goes to get a peak a Contact's big stats without having to drop back to the Contact list. For now, it is solely available in mission planning but needs to be visible in more places and also include the services tag list.

Fixed and Slimmed Filters

We slimmed down the appearance of the Power Level filters so that they eat up less vertical screenspace. We also fixed how Contact filters were working so that they are filtering as you'd expect compared to the rest of the set.

Recruit Offers

Now that recruit offers in the Underworld Hub are getting more interest, we've improved the UI to make the sub-offers more clear when they aren't available to pick. The Soldier and Cybersword recruits now visually leap out of the group, ready to pick. Good thing more are coming!

Safehouse Uninstall Rules

We've fixed 2 nagging bugs about uninstalling a safehouse room. You could - in previous release- destroy a safehouse room even if its benches were active. This would leave a crafting item in eternal limbo or leave a character in the detox stuck for a while. Now, it is prohibited to remove a room if any bench is busy - so finish up first! Second, uninstalling or canceling a room's construction was removing it from the build list "for a while." This was a caching issue we've resolved now.

Grenades AP

For anyone who was enjoying throwing grenades for 0 AP, we are sorry. The 2 AP cost has returned!

v1.8.51 - 8/13/2024

- Added new type of proc-gen hacking mission objective - Matrix Hunt - find 3 paydata files each pays 33% - Fixed bug sometimes prevent Agent EX Talent named Armor EX from being allowed to run - Added helpful Contact hover to mission planning - Reduced mission payments for missions at Power Level 7-10 - Big performance boost to Roster, fixed slow filters for Character Level - Fixed tag counts for Wounded Roster not to include dead or dismissed mercs - Fixed tag counts for Training in Roster not to include potential recruits (who you cannot train) - Fixed issue with Exposure Limit Break possibly looping infinitely and jamming timeline - Improved sight lines in mission map, fixed bugs with sight lines and melee weapons - Fixed issue where attack/hear counts were not updating in HUD after death of target - Fixed issue with Grenades suddenly not costing AP to throw - Improved Initiative timeline action in HUD if there are too many enemies to fit (does not cover Sec Level) - Fixed Contact list filters Friendly and Enemy not working well - Fixed bug in Safehouse where destroying / canceling an in progress room could make it disappear from the build list for a while - No longer allowed to destroy a room if any of its benches (Crafting, Detox) are occupied - Made disabled token offers in Safehouse rooms (like Recruits) more obvious - Reduced size dedicated to Power Level filters in all inventory/market screens

[ 2024-08-13 04:42:23 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today's update focuses on expanding the possible recruit roster, some exciting new Traits that come along with that, catching up on a security device missed in the gray outlines from last update and finalizing the fixes for a few bugs we caused in releasing Update #123. If you're enjoying the pace of updates and how we are running Early Access, please consider leaving a review. you can always edit it later.

Underworld Hub: 1st Cybersword

The Underworld Hub recruiting option offers a number of advantages - you can recruit higher level characters here and also you can pick the class you're interested in instead of hoping that your connections come up with someone who fits you from the street. However, the recruits available from the Underworld Hub are very limited - in fact, up until Update #124, only one Soldier recruit has been offered. We're excited to start the process of blowing that recruit pool up with options, and the first to join is a new Cybersword. Thanks to the Kickstarter backer who created this exciting new character. As more recruits filter into the hub over the following months, you'll be able to swell your ranks, better arrange the classes on your squad, try out new Traits and Backstories and replace losses. Finally, we fixed the icons shown with each recruit offer in the Underworld Hub so it is visually clear.

Embarking into new Trait Territory

With the new Cybersword recruit joining the hub, we've broken ground on two new types of Trait effects that we haven't seen in the game so far. The Traits available for the new Cybersword are good "foot in the door" Traits for these two new types, as more will follow. The first is that character Traits can affect crafting rules, in this case reducing NanoFab pricing in certain situations. The second is that character Traits can react to actions within a mission

Disabled Proximity Mines

Prox MInes felt left out after yesterdays update to vision systems, allowing you to hover over disabled cameras, radar arrays and motion detectors.

Restored File Sets and Item Blueprint Names

With Update #123, we broke File Sets so they no longer appeared (thanks Power Level filter!) and broke Blueprint names for item Blueprints (thanks multi-sell!). We hotfixed the issue with File Sets but have included the fix for the Blueprint names with this update. Sorry for both of these!

v1.8.47 - 8/10/2024

- New Underworld Hub Recruit - Cybersword! - New type of Traits that takes effect after mission based on mission events - New type of Traits that can affect NanoFab pricing - Fixed incorrect icons in Underworld Hub recruiting offers - correct class icons - Added gray outline for disabled Proximity mines after they have been enabled by Sec AI but disabled by Talent, Leverage or Hack - Fixed issue with Blueprints for Items all having bad names like Blueprint.3.313 - Fixed issue with File Sets all disappearing

[ 2024-08-11 12:47:22 CET ] [ Original post ]

The weekend is about to get rolling in New Boston, so naturally its time for an update We've hit a hit swathe of big F10s with this update - an exciting follow up to yesterday's story release. We've added display of ranges for disabled security devices, add a much needed quantity slider for buy and sell, adding a Remove Mods button for weapons, added new filters for Power Level and Weapon Weight to all inventory and market screens, fixed a critical bug with Contact Limit Breaks and high level Traits, and a ton of other issues as well. We're working hard on improving the game based on your bug reports and feedback and suggestions. Thanks for your F10s and your posts to the forum to help us getting these improvements straight into the game with hesitation. If you like how we are running Early Access, please take a moment to leave a review!

Preview Ranges of Disable Security Systems

If you disable a security device, it can become pretty difficult to know what it will do when it turns back on and exactly how much range you have to stay clear of its sight cone. For laser wires and pressure plates, this is easy but the information was simply hidden for vision systems like Cameras, Radar Arrays and Motion Detectors. With Update #122, if you hover over a disabled security device - specifically Camera, Radar Array or Motion Detector - you will see the widget appear in gray, semi-transparent lines to give you the sense of what its capabilities are.

Quantity for Buy & Sell

With Update #122, we've added a much needed slider for quantity when buying or selling equipment.

• For buying, this simply indicates how many you wish to purchase. There is no bulk discount, but this simplifies buying 20 HE Grenades for your team if you are using a lot of them. Note, this also means that Items which used to be sold in sets of 4 are now sold 1 at a time, except you can slide for quantity. Pricing is now a lot simpler!
• For selling, this slider only appears for equipment types that stack cleanly like Items, Weapon Mods, Armor. You can easily slide up the quantity to sell up to the maximum number of the equipment you have to sell. You're pure money offer will just rise with the quantity sold. Favors are offered if an individual sale results in a Favor offer, not from the group sale price. Which leads to the last bullet -
• Purposefully, there is no gameplay advantage to using either UI pathway.

This is a great and much needed improvement. We are not done yet, the next step is to add buil pricing which will allow faster and easier sell of mixed types and things that don't stack cleanly (files, blueprints, accounts).

Remove Mods

For faster removal of mods and reconfiguration of equipment, there is a new Remove Mods button that will strip mods from a weapon in a single click. Just select the main weapon, and you'll find Remove Mods in its button bar in the top right. Notably, if you have locked mods on a weapon due to crafting them in, they will not be removed by this feature. This improvement also ensures that when a weapon is sold any of its unlocked mods are automatically removed and dropped back into your inventory.

Power Level & Weapon Weight Filters

Power Level filters have now been added across the board, enabling you to filter rapidly for specific Power Level bands, such as 2 to 4. This can help you while shopping to remove clutter of lower level items or help you sort a larger inventory for specific things. In addition, we've added the Weight filter for weapons, which are either Heavy or Light.
this is how it looked when things went BUMP

Contact Limit Breaks for Traits

We've fixed a critical bug affecting Contact Limit Breaks for Traits. Sometimes instead of upgrading 1 Trait Level, the Trait would upgrade 2 levels. This could lead to the situation where a Trait upgrades from 3 to 5 in a single hop ... but 4 is the maximum level! The trait just hopped off the end. Tonight's fix stops the bleeding - Trait upgrades are back to 1 level at a time and more carefully respect the maximum level of 4. The next step here will be to do some careful repair of Contacts who have these dead Traits, fixing them back to what they were before. We'll be coming bac to this but for now, the critical bug is fixed.

Power Utility Error Message

Power Utility flows in 4 chains through your Safehouse. The first link is the Command HQ. The second links in the 4 chains are the rooms adjacent to the elevator, and then third link in each of the 4 chains is the room not adjacent to the elevator. No part of the chain may have a higher Power Utility than the next link up the chain. This was not clearly communicated in the error message in the outer room - that it might not be able to raise your Power Utility because the room closer to the elevator has a Power Utility that is lower.

Always Visible Cover Shield

Sometimes the cover shield display near your movement location was clipping into geometry in an ugly way and sometimes it would completely disappear into geometry making it impossible to tell what type of cover you were scoring here. With this update, we've improved the shader on the cover shield so that it will always be visible through any geometry, even if you are on the far side of some object.

Lingering Special Effects

We fixed a bug with Brainworm, White Noise, Disorient and a few other abilities where the special effect was lasting beyond the duration. This is now cleaned up and all working as expected.

v1.8.45 - 8/9/2024

- Disabled cameras, radar arrays, motion detectors all show grayed out range if hovered over - Added quantity slider to buy / sell; anything that stacks cleanly (items, weapon mods, armor, programs, decks) can be multi-sell - Removed old scheme of items selling in packs of 4, all items are bought and sold with easy quantity slider - Added Remove Mods button to weapons to quickly strip mods - Added new filter group Heavy/Light for weapons - Added min/max Power Level filter to Contacts, Inventory, Cold Storage and Equipping - Added min/max Character Level filter to Roster - Improved error message when trying to upgrade Power Utility on a room but the room closer to the elevator has lower Power - Improved cover shield to show through geometry and always be visible so it isn't half hiding (or completely hiding) in things - Fixed bug where Contact Limit Breaks for Trait upgrades could result in deleted Trait - Fixed issues with Brainworm, Disorient, White Noise and other special effects not ending at the right time - Fixed issue with calculation of price during crafting that could block craft even though you have enough money - Fixed bugs with controllers using filters, selection could jump into the grid incorrectly - Fixed bug with Clean Room description being nonsense directly after it started a build task

[ 2024-08-10 05:13:23 CET ] [ Original post ]

It is late summer in New Boston and the content is coming in waves, like the black sludge slapping up against the quays in the Boston Harbor. With Update #122, we've added a new storyline to the game, an echo of the Carnivore Job you may have already encountered, which also triggers a new source that can send a Head Hunter after you. In addition, we've fixed one of the last major bugs in the mission map - the dreaded Overwatch freeze or walking in slow motion bug - added Matrix LInk 1 to the cybernetics available at the start of the game, made Wounds more expensive and time consuming to Treat, fixed Vanguard's Refract and improved lighting conditions in a number of levels. If you're enjoying the pace of updates, please take a moment to leave a review on the game. We're working hard to blow up the game's content this month, so let's blow up our review count too!

Carnivore Echos

If you've encountered the Carnivore Job already or not, you'll be on the hunt for a corrupt cop you can get on your payroll. This can be a big pay off in jobs, Leverage and storylines later, as well as getting access to some milsec specialist items. In addition, you might make some enemies. The Carnivore Echos storyline follows up on the loose ends from the storyline and possibly other storylines - such as Snitch Snuff out - and opens new doors to future interesting encounters. With this update, you'll have another story-driven chance for a Head Hunter team to start pursuing you, so keep your weapons loaded and your blades sharp.

Overwatch Freeze or Slow-Mo Walking Freeze

There were a number of ways this nasty bug could manifest. We've been hunting it for months without every successfully landing a reproduction case. So a big thanks for out to @Revan from Discord who posted up a game that reliably hung every single turn. After a few hours with the F10, we were able to uncover the sneaky root cause (an animation trigger that was not getting reset, so the game was waiting for someone to finish moving who was never moving in the first place...) and put in a fix. This is the last known freeze that could occur on the mission map steamhappy As always, if you see something, hit F10 and we're going to get right to work fixing and improving!

Vanguard's Refract Fixed

We broke Vanguard's Refract in Update #121 with the camera patch. It is back better than ever. It now has movement assistance points along it that will help you movement snap into positions so that you don't accidentally cross it. Also, Refract now longer causes Grenades to bounce, as it blocks sight but not physical objects.

Select from Multi-Monitor

You can now select which monitor the game should play on from within the game's options screen. The list is a 1-indexed array (there is no 0), so pick your option and the game will remember that for you in future loads.

Ready to Go Matrix Link

Up to this point, you had to complete the investment in Dr. Ashe's Clinic or find another cybernetic splicer in order to get access to Matrix Link 1 or 2. This made multi-classing into Hacker unfairly more difficulty than Scourge or Agent EXj, as we added those cybernetic implants to the starting set when those classes were released. So, now Hacker multi-classing is available immediately, if you have the time, will and the money.

Wound Treatment and Res Debuffs

We've improved the balance for Wound Treatment - it is harder and more expensive to take care of Wounds, which makes it more likely that they will have time to worsen into higher level issues for you. Also, we've given all Wounds a small Stress Res debuff, and some wounds like Flashbacks, a larger Stress Res debuff. Being Wounded at will now have more of a snowball effect, leading to more Stress points and more chances for negative Limit Breaks.

Snitch Snuff - Frozen VIP

We fixed a bug caused by some adjustments to the navigation rules about how close you can get to hovertrucks that were causing the VIP in Snitch Snuff not to be able to go to their exit in one of the two exit options. Watch out - that VIP can book it!

Lighting Improvements

We're always working on improving lighting, props and environmental feeling in the levels. With this update we've made some nice adjustments to a few levels in the street theme that will help them feel more dark and gritty, including Haven Smokeout.

v1.8.43 - 8/8/2024

- Added new storyline echo after Carnivore Job - Storyline adds new source of Head Hunters coming after you - New monitor select dropdown in Options screen lets you pick which monitor the game should play on - Fixed bug that could freeze game during Overwatch fire or leave an enemy walking in place and game frozen - Matrix Link 1 now available from Dr. Ashe at start of new game - Increased price of Treating Wounds, increased debuff to Wound and Stress Res from all Wounds - Fixed issue with Vanguard's Refract suddenly not working - Fixed issue with Snitch not fleeing in all setups for Snitch Snuff mission - Improved lighting and materials in some levels and environments

[ 2024-08-08 21:38:40 CET ] [ Original post ]

The artificial sun is setting in the New Boston dome and the team is gearing up, checking weapons, shining up the cyberdeck. It's time for another heist, it's time for another update. As we have hammered through roadmap milestone after milestone in June and into July, we've piled up an astronomical number of F10s. Small bugs, important bugs, little suggestions, big ideas. Currently, we are working on finalizing the Matrix Tutorial milestone and building out new content for the game -- but alongside that effort we're laying down some Major Bug Lt. Squash. Let's see how many we took out tonight! If you're enjoying the constant improvements to the game, we hope you'll take a moment to review the game. There is no better way to thank our small team for their efforts, and you can always edit it later to say "I can't believe they just kept updating" =D

Lure and Stuck AI

We've fixed two big AI issues with this update. The first is with Vanguard's Lure. If you were using it close to an enemy, sometimes they might move to it and then just keep "Hunting!" through it and beyond, often leading to your Vanguard getting caught in the act. This isn't the promise of the Talent ... so we fixed this behavior to be sure that - even when thrown very close - the enemy will go to the Lure spot and end their turn their as they should. The second important bug was related to enemies skipping their Turns after being attacked. In these cases, you'd shoot an enemy and they'd rotate toward you and ... then on their next Turn they would do absolutely nothing. There are a number of circumstances that have to happen for this to occur but it's been plaguing some enemies and making them look really daft.

Vision System Rebuild

Cameras, Radar Arrays and Motion Detectors were the first 3 security devices ever added to the game. They've built up a lot of historical bugs and with Update #121, we've taken the time to rebuild a lot of their guts to address these bugs en masse in a single go.

• Cameras and Radar Arrays will now see multiple characters who pass through them on the same Turn. They had an old issue where they would only trigger one per Turn, period. Not great. Now, they will trigger once per character spotted per Turn - fair and challenging. So, if Ghostman and then Jellybean run through the camera back-to-back, you'll be properly dinged twice now.
• We've fixed issues with Cameras and Radar Arrays not being very accurate at spotting your mercs while they are rotating between turns. Now, their sweep is much more successful at spotting anyone who is seen during the movement.
• Cameras and Radar Arrays could also refuse to see a body for a while. They would usually eventually spot it, but it could lay in plain view for a bit - especially if they were just turning back on from being diabled - and not spot it.
• All vision systems have been improved to better handle smoke - being inside the smoke especially, which they were not great at following the rules.

This fix has closed out a huge number of old F10s about Camera, Radar Arrays and Motion Detectors. A big thanks to everyone who submitted F10 tickets!

Proximity Mine Fix

Proximity Mines were taking damage from the explosion point into consideration when rolling their damage, like a grenade. But they trigger when you enter their zone, so you were always at the max distance ... so, the damage was always low. They have been corrected now to deal full damage which is still Ballistic Damage and so reduced by armor. Still, expect these to have a bit more bite, especially if they have switched into lethal mode.

Overhead Noise Warning during Attack

While we've had useful attack warnings in the hovers over enemies' heads for a while, they were only visible while idling or planning a move and disappeared if you planned an attack. This could make it difficult to remember if a specific enemy was going to hear your attack and even more opaque if you changed weapons during your targeting - "who is going to hear?" was not an easy question to answer. We have now added the same warning icon over all enemy heads during the attack prep phase where you are checking out accuracy, considering your shot and might change weapons or Talents. This gives you clear guidance on who will hear the attack without having to hit ESC or (B) to back out and check the overhead warnings again.

Better Clicking in Class Tree

The class tree is now far more mouse-friendly, allowing you to click on another node at any time during your journey to upgrade a node. If you're looking at Red Dot's upgrades, you used to have to click the close button or hit ESC before you could click on Coordinated Charge. Now, the click goes through correctly and you can one-click to open another node and check it out.

Timestamp Corrections

The saved slots in the game were using an inconsistent timestamp compared to the main save and it was overall just confusing. We've resolved this now and the timestamps should all be correct, to your timezone and useful. Let us know if you have any issues.

Improved Hospital Rooftop "Plan B"

With Update #121, we've made some improvements to the looting and enemy spawning on the rooftop. We're working our way steadily through the game to improve enemy starting locations, patrol paths and loot groups to make sure everything is varied per play through and feels good. With this update, the loot is a bit more reliable on the very level so there are less changes of "spikes" in value and the surprise arrival of the T-REX may also arrive in some different points and positions which can make things moderately different every time you restart. It is still the first level, so we've not going to hard on this one.

v1.8.41 - 8/6/2024

- Fixed issue that could cause AI in combat to skip their turn stupidly - Fixed issue with Vanguard's Lure where, if thrown close to the enemy, the might keep hunting that same turn - Rebuilt vision systems (Camera, Radar Array, Motion Detector) and fixed tons of old bugs - Improved all vision systems reaction when inside smoke - Improved ability of vision systems to spot separate characters moving through them on same turn - Improved ability of vision systems to spot characters when they rotate between turns - Improved combat logs produced by vision systems when spotting characters - Improved ability for vision systems to spot dead bodies - Added new overhead hover on enemies when targeting, showing who will hear the shot/attack - Fixed issue where proximity mines always did low damage - watch out! - Fixed District HQ starting position that started inside camera view angle - Fixed building in District HQ that you could sink into the wall when taking cover - Fixed issue with last time played date being incorrect in saved game slots - Fixed saved game name would not correctly match if you renamed Knight in new game - Fixed issues with Crafting cost being incorrect and blocking the start of crafting - Fixed issues with Start Crafting button being enabled incorrectly on sub-Blueprints - Fixed issue trying to click Talents but click going through to Lootbox (etc) underneath - Fixed Grenades were bouncing off Refact wall from Vanguard's class tree - Fixed sometimes hotkey graphics were too small for the hotkey ("Shift") - Renamed market filter category from "Blade" to "Melee" - Improved click handling in class tree, when viewing upgrades can still click on other node to focus - Fixed issue with Connection % dropping to 0% at the start of a turn and not getting dumped from Matrix - Fixed issue with Health-over-Time healing not always updating the initiative track correctly - Improved description of difficulty options for saving games and death modes - Improved enemy position, patrol variability and loot in Hospital Rooftop level ("Plan B") - Fixed oddity with Send to Detox button sometimes saying Send to Destresser

[ 2024-08-06 18:36:42 CET ] [ Original post ]

Part of our 10+ year journey as game developers has been constantly working to improve every aspect of our games with each new release. If youve been with us for a while, youve seen, and heard, this evolution in each game. For soundtracks, our studio has progressed from buying non-exclusive tracks from online markets to hiring our own team and lovingly composing original soundtracks from scratch. Today, were taking an exciting new step forward for both our studio and Cyber Knights: Flashpoint with the release of Reactive Music: dynamic, engine-controlled music layering that reacts to your gameplay, building tension when youre close to being discovered or amping up the excitement as your shoot-out intensifies. [previewyoutube=lZjO8WKQEuI;full][/previewyoutube] ^^^ Not trying to play well here at all, just trying to illicit big changes from the reactive music's tension system

A major tech upgrade made possible by our Kickstarter backers

Because of the success of our Kickstarter, we were able to upgrade Cyber Knights audio engine early on to use Wwise, a much more feature-rich interactive audio solution for games, made by Audiokinetic. Its made it easy for us to integrate SFX across Cyber Knights tactical encounters with all of your squads abilities and interactions. Now, working with our composers and sound designers at Studio Viking, weve rigged up the games soundtrack with dynamics unparalleled in any previous Trese Brothers release. Were no longer just looping songs from a static soundtrack - by using Wwise with Unity, the games audio engine can process and mix individual instruments, movements and tempos rather than just starting and stopping static tracks.

A better heartbeat (and melody) for the game experience

This means the music will now match itself to game events as theyre happening real-time in your heist. As the gameplay tension rises, guards start to become suspicious, a body is found or the first shots are fired - the game feeds this into the music engine as a tension rating and musical mode that cues the reactive music component on how to mutate, change tempo, add and remove musical instruments and intensify the mix to match your gameplay moment. As the tension increases and wanes within a level - as more reinforcements arrive, or as Head Hunters kick down the door, or you kill the last guard who knows youre in the building - the music can dramatically shift to follow the rise or drop in threat.

Roadmap milestone + more audio polish

This is a huge step up for the games sound experience. This not only completes the Reactive Music major milestone on our roadmap, but adds all of the other tracks (and their component elements for Reactive Music to use) from the games soundtrack that werent yet included in the game, increasing the variety of in-game music by more than tenfold. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2645330/Cyber_Knights_Flashpoint_Soundtrack/ We have also received a lot of feedback about the sound effects and the music in Cyber Knights: Flashpoint. This patch addresses some of them and we are working to incorporate more of that feedback into upcoming patches. Weve adjusted several audio effects, mixes and made platform improvements that should help resolve several of the higher priority issues.

Added 5 new Matrix Hosts

We've improved the catalog of matrix templates again for solo hacker missions as well as matrix hosts used in across the proc-gen missions with SCU and APU available. Every push to increase these helps us strive for a point where every proc-gen map, objective, matrix host combination is reaching a tipping point of uniqueness as these catalogs continue to grow.

Talent Rebalance: Coordinate Charge & Deflection Shield

With this update, we've completed some needed rebalance for Soldier's Coordinated Charge and Cybersword's Deflection Field. First, we've reduced power on Coordinated Charge, removing the ability to get a second max charge. With the recharge rate, ability to extend duration, this Talent can already be almost omnipresent so this helps bring it back into a fairer spot within the meta. In addition, the final upgrade that gives +1 MP no longer adds +5% Move Speed, leaving the total achievable Move Speed at +25%. Cybersword's Deflection Shield has received a 6th upgrade node which can enable you to drop the shield for 0 AP and only an IO-Batt charge from your blade. This can be really helpful in those clutch situations where the AP are just too tight, so consider this new upgrade!

Decoy Upgrades

The Decoy II and III programs' have both received an improvement, a minor buff to their armor and a reduction in program rating so they are viable on more decks. Decoy II is up to +4 Armor (which matters all the more now that Hacker's brains are bleeding more!) and has had a Program Rating reduction and Decoy III is at +6 Armor with an even bigger Program Rating reduction. Enjoy making those IC and the Q-Sec Escalation miss!

Better Power Level 2 Prices

Thanks to all the players sharing feedback and chatting with us in Discord. With your help, we've improved the pricing matrix for low level armor and weapons you can get at the beginning of the game. All of the prices have come down a bit, so remember to go shopping when you've got some U-Dahs after your latest heist.

Story Repercussions

We've improved the story events if you ignore the starting Vanguard's Cube Run mission. Don't do it - it is not exciting, and the Vanguard just gets mad. But before we had missed the consequence here and nothing was said and no one cared. That said - go on the mission! z

v1.8.39 - 8/2/2024

- Added reactive music system - game music now responds to rising stealth and combat tension, varies music intensity - Major increase in variety of music in missions - Added 5 new matrix hosts maps to hack-only and proc-gen missions - Down-balanced Soldier's Coordinated Charge - removed option to get +1 max charge, total move speed bonus is +25% - Improved Decoy II and III with more Deck Armor, reduced Program Ratings - Added 6th upgrade option for Cybersword's Deflection Field to reduce cost to -1 AP - Fixed issue with Chameleon Sheathe implant blocking Stealth Armor from being equipped - Minor price reduction for Power Level 2 weapons and Power Level 2 an 3 Armors - Improved starting Vanguard's reaction to ignoring Cube Run mission - Tightened up timeline on all proc-gen missions, reduced by 1-2 days

[ 2024-08-02 22:18:11 CET ] [ Original post ]

Two days, two new maps! We're excited to roll out Update #119 with another map to play for the new assassinate VIP objective type. In June and July we smashed roadmap milestone after milestone but now we're getting ready for the late summer deluge of content - maps, missions, stories, recruits and more. Time to make this game deep! So with Update #119, we're rolling out new proc-gen map, improved the bodyguard behavior once a VIP goes down, fixed a lingering bug with double-counted corpses, fixed a sneaky longstanding bug with extra Silencers being generated if you were swapping characters in new game and made a list of quality improvements to the H Interchange map rolled out yesterday. If you're enjoying the pace of updates and improvements to the game, please consider leaving a review as a way to thank our small team and push us to keep going!

New Map for Assassinations - District HQ

With Update #119, we're excited to roll out another new map - the District HQ - which appears one of the options in the new assassination proc-gen objective type. This new map has a cool city district style that is really beautiful and you'll find some new unique rooftop challenges here as the enemy forces have had a time to fortify this zone against attackers. We've also fixed all reported issues with yesterday's release of the new map and assassination objective. There was one VIP landing zone where the ZIP was trapped and couldn't move and another funny situation where you contact was congratulating themself about the assassination gone well. Finally, we fixed a bunch of starting camera positions that were rotated into geometry or rotated so that you couldn't see the characters.

Improved VIPs and Bodyguards

Our first big round of improvements toward getting VIPs and bodyguards to coordinate their actions went pretty well. They are much better at sticking together and bodyguards are now resolute in their fast movement to take tactical positions in a circular fashion around the VIP and protect them. With this update, we've fixed some of the bodyguard behavior after the VIP is dead to be sure they don't mill around stupidly and instead try to take retribution on the attackers. We'll keep working on improving this set of intelligence and especially are excited to add some new Talents to the bodyguards' bags to help make them better defenders.

Double Count Corpses

We fixed a bug - thanks for the F10s! - introduced a few updates ago that could cause a body to be "double counted". An enemy would discover a corpse and then the Sec AI would receive multiple reports of fatalities on that turn. This is now resolved - each body is counted exactly once when it is first discovered and if the discoverer is killed on the same Turn, the body reverts to be undiscovered.

New Game Silencer Pile

We're excited to fix a sneaky, longstanding bug and a mystery that has been blamed on the EQ system for quite some times. Some players find that they have silencers in a pile in their inventory at some point in the game. Sometimes 14/14 ... that makes no sense, there are only 4 equipped on my characters! Sometimes 56/56 ... wut? The true cause of this was actually switching characters in new game could leave silencers hanging around. If you tested out enough team combos, it could leave a lot of silencers around! We're excited to have this fixed for future new games :D

v1.8.37 - 8/1/2024

- Added new proc-gen map "District HQ" for mission objective Assassination - Added more variety for mission names, especially bodyguard missions - Further improved behavior for VIPs and bodyguards - better guarding routine - Fixed issue with one VIP/bodyguard arrival where they are stuck on the rooftop and don't move - Fixed funny Contact thanking themselves for completing the assassination mission lol - Fixed bad starting camera angles in new H Interchange map - Improved lighting and fixed some flickering elements in new H Interchange map - Fixed new game issue where changing characters could result in extra Silencers later - Fixed reported typos

[ 2024-08-01 22:44:20 CET ] [ Original post ]

The New Boston streets have never been so dangerous - because your Knight and your mercs about to to get paid to go hunting. With Update #118, we're rolling out new proc-gen map, new proc-gen objective and new cybernetics screen with a ton of fixes and features that were previously missing, such as removing a cyber class you accidentally multi-classed. We've hammered through a huge number of major milestones in June and July and we've got 2 more just slipping out of July into early August - Reactive Music and Hacking Tutorial are days away from landing. And now begins the late-summer content binge - let's do it! If you're enjoying the pace of updates and improvements to the game, please consider leaving a review as a way to thank our small team and push us to keep going!

New Proc-Gen Objective and Map

With Update #118, we're excited to be back on the new map train! The H Interchange map is now released with a new proc-gen objective of assassination. You've been offered a high priority hit but the target is only at risk for a very short window - you need to get into position, be patient and then hit hard before they can escape. With a new map and a new objective now added, our next proc-gen step will be to add another new map with the assassination objective and then to circle back to bring everyone into the fold - adding assassination objectives to existing maps and adding existing objectives to these new maps. We'll rampage through a short cycle here, hopefully making some big waves in the amount of proc-gen playable content before pivoting to stories, recruits and contacts.

Improved Bodyguard & VIP Behavior

With this update, we've also put extra hours into rigging up the behaviors for bodyguards and VIPs so that they are more actively taking their rolls. VIPs will move quickly at a walk toward their extraction point until they become alerted, at which point they will run. Bodyguards aim to never be caught flat footed, so they run and move quickly to keep up with asset and take tactical advantageous positions nearby.

Upgraded Cybernetics Screen

Update #118 brings a complete revamp to the cybernetics screen for your mercs. Before, the screen was presented in a pretty dry inventory of 6 slots you can fill with cybernetics. Now we've upgraded the screen to present you with the 12 possible slot types (arms, legs, deep-brain, fast-brain, heart, etc) that can be augmented with cybernetics.
We've also improved the language and clarity for all the conflict and fail case pop-ups to be more clear. Some of the messages were just plain wrong (saying the implant would conflict with another implant you had when really it was blocked by requiring to train a 3rd class, etc).
Also, implants that provide a new multi-class cyber class are tagged to be more obvious within the lists.

Remove Cybernetics for Limited Respec

With Update #118, we've also added a highly requested ability to undo class training in a cyber class that has a cybernetic requirement, such as Vanguard or Scourge. Now you can select any implant and simply uninstall it. We skip over the gross procedure and getting the vat grown replacements and just get you back to the game. If your Cyber Knight doesn't want that Dermal Plating - pull it. If you regret multi-classing your Hacker into Agent EX, pull the Nano-Hive and bingo, you're clean slate Hacker again. This uninstall procedure does not require a SimStream Trainer token as it is only a partial respec, only removing the class nodes trained from the specific tree of the class you're removing. We discussed making this cost money, a week, and a cyber surgery bed at with a Contac but - for now - have opted for free and instant. You've already paid a hefty price to get that implant installed, so our team found this feature is mostly used to undo mistakes as there is very little or no gameplay advantage from doing it. And if your starting class came with an implant -such as Emille starting with a Chameleon Sheathe and Vanguard - you cannot remove it.

Upgrade to Matrix Link 2

We've fixed the conflict bug that was preventing the upgrades of required cyber class implants, such as Matrix Link 1 to Matrix Link 2. Get your hacker, get your fistful of cash and get yourself to the clinic now!

Proc-Gen Name Upgrade

We've really enjoyed all the players posting the best mission names to the Best Mission Names threads on our Discord, the names that everyone helped suggest and the generator has done an amazing job of creating some cool stuff. We've gone back into this little content engine with a new round of updates, better expanding the set and letting both the map and the objective have more of an impact. We hope you post up the new results too :D

Improved Stun vs. Security Tally

We've fixed a number of issues related to Stunned enemies reporting to the Sec AI, that Security Tally would still appear in yellow in the HUD even if they were Stunned and that some types of events could still end up being reported. All of this is now cleaned up and we've standardized the handling of Stunned as a priority status across the stack so that the Sec AI and the individual agent intelligence adhere to the rules everyone would expect.

v1.8.35 - 7/30/2024

- Added new proc-gen mission objective for Assassination - Added new proc-gen map "H-Interchange" - Improved behavior for VIPs and bodyguards - much better in Snitch Snuff mission too - All new cyber surgery screen makes slot options much clearer - Now uninstall any implant from cybernetic screen, including cyber-class implants to remove that class training - Fixed conflict preventing Hackers from upgrading from Matrix Link 1 to Matrix Link - Improved and clarified text in all cybernetic surgery conflict tags, added Multi-Class tag to highlight those - Improved Tally display and Sec AI reporting rules for stunned enemies - they do not see, they do not report - Widened range of custom/flexible difficultly, opening up ranges for those locked at 75-125% to 50-150% - Fixed issue with helper extraction dialog playing at the end of every hack only mission, now plays first time only - Fixed issues with landed hovertrucks not correctly blocking sight lines

[ 2024-07-31 18:27:29 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights and mercs - we're back with another update and some key improvements and a big bundle of F10 fixes. Our next update will introduce a new map and a new exciting proc-gen objective type, but first we need to get this patch on the street to address some of your requests and bug reports. We've remixed SFX, improved barracks tagging, added more lore entries, tweaked how range display works in hovers, improved the visual of where your hacker is in the matrix and done some stunning (lol) re-org of the options screen into tabs. Let's dig in! If you're enjoying how our team is running Early Access, please take a moment to leave a review. A review now is a big help for us to keep going and remember, you can always edit it later!

Remixed Sec Escalation SFX

We've heard from a number of players that some of the SFX are remixed too loud. We made some changes in an update earlier this week but are back with special focus now on the Sec Escalation SFX that can play at the end of the turn and is way out-of-band too loud. Hopefully this update really pulls it to a better level. Let us know about any SFX issues you have, we're continuing to work to improve! We've also greatly reduced the intense SFX that was played when you opened the color picking window in appearance. Wow, that was a bit much!

Better Barracks Tagging

With Update #117, we've added a new "Training" tag at the top level of the barracks, letting you know if you have mercs ready to train. We've also fixed a longstanding mistake in counting, where someone recovering from cybernetic surgery would count as -2 Ready Mercs. This has likely been the cause of most of the F10s about bad counting, so we're excited to see this behind us.

Agent EX Signal Graft

We fixed the mistake with Agent EX's Signal Graft Talent which protects you from triggering certain types of security devices. These devices were still giving movement alerts even with the Talent active. Now we've resolved that and if the device won't trigger than you won't get an alert in your movement path.

Journal for D-Cartel

We're continuing to round out the journal lore entries for factions and added the D-Street Cartel, aka the D-Cartel, with this latest update. In addition, the Faction page on the Cyber Knights wiki has been updated with all the latest details from the in-game journal as well.

Matrix Current Node

We fixed two bugs with the recently added Matrix hacking current node selection. First, it always follows you now. It was not accurately following the hacker and second it also follows the hacker being forcefully teleported in the host to another node by either an IC or the Q-Sec Escalation.

Range Clarity

When hovering over a target within 10m we now add an extra decimal value for extra clarity. We were having players see "2m" in the hover and think that they should be in range with their 2m melee weapon but the range is really 2.5m and you're not in range. You can also always check the bottom left corner for helpful values about number of targets in range of your current position or movement destination with either weapon.

Better Options Screen

As the game has gained more and more options, things have become increasingly hard to find. More players have asked when we will add the feature to rebind keys for example :D So, to help make the big types of options and features clearer, we've split options out into tab groups. I know... breaking huge ground here, what a novel thought, we're the first, it's amazing! ... when the rest of the industry catches up, you can thank us :P

Favor Limit Breaks

We've fixed a few more bugs with Contact Limit Breaks and Favors. We fixed issues where the Power Level Limit Break could lock the screen up, where spending a Favor would sometimes not add a new option and still eat the Favor.

v1.8.33 - 7/28/2024

- Remixed SFX for Sec Level raise and Escalation played often at end of turn - Added new lore Journal Entries for D-Cartel - Improved tag set and counting rules for Barracks tags, added "Training" tag - Fixed issue with double-counting mercs in cybernetic surgery that caused tag counts to be wrong - Movement alerts for security devices no longer incorrectly appear for Agent EX's Signal Graft Talent - When showing range in hovers less than 10m, a decimal is added for clarity (2.5m) - Improved organization of (too long) options menu to be in tabbed groups - Graphics, Sound, Controls, Gameplay - Fixed issue when selling something worthy of a Favor to a contact with 0 Favors, was incorrectly listed as "1 Favor worth $80K" - Fixed issue with Contact Limit Break and the Power Level offer - Fixed overly big SFX when opening appearance color changing window - Fixed issues where animator selector on current node in Matrix wasn't following hacker or didn't teleport - Fixed issue where hitting ESC or (B) on Contact Limit Break would leave game locked up - Improved controller support for start button, preventing it from opening menu in the middle of screens it shouldn't - Fixed issues with program image appearing for Intrinsic Weapon Mod blueprints

[ 2024-07-28 21:50:50 CET ] [ Original post ]

June and July here in New Boston have been crazy as we marked down 6 major roadmap items in rapid succession - Agent EX, Contact Limit Breaks, Fast Forward Enemy Turn, New Game Knight V2, NanoFab Crafting and Head Hunters... woah that's a lot to even type it up! After such maniac activity and with more on the way (Matrix Tutorial and Reactive Music are right around the corner now ...) we need a few updates to hit F10s, fix bugs and add QoL updates suggested by the community. So, enjoy this big patch with all its new improvements before we start dropping new maps and stories. If you're enjoy the pace of updates and our dedication to continual improvement - our team is working very hard to make this Early Access something special. We hope you'll consider leaving a review!

Contact Limit Break Buttons Clickable

We got hit with a lot of F10s from last update because the "Confirm Upgrade" in the Contact LImit Break window was not clickable ... that's annoying. Now it is! Also, if your Contact is at a point in their progression where they can't find any more valid Limit Break options with your Favors, then your Favors aren't consumed for nothing anymore. That's nice too.

More Faction Lore

We've added faction lore entries for the 3 major gangs in New Boston - Fenian, Blue Ox and Los Zagales, helping explain their history and differences in approach to their underworld dealings.

Crafting Rules for Revolvers

There was a bug in crafting that allowed the crafting of Revolvers with Silencers and mods that increased ammo capacity. That is now correctly blocked.

Matrix UI Improvements

"Where am I?" is never a question you should have to ask when looking at a Matrix map. With Update #116 we've ensured you can see your location with a clear and animated selector ring around your current node. You won't miss it! We've also increased the panning speed of the camera as you traverse ndoes.
And second, we've improved the experience for stealing digital goods when hacking. You used to have a faceless list of files, blueprints and accounts without any excitement - but now you can see Power Level and Rarity. Now you can get hype!

SFX Upgrades

We've made a ton of small but important tweaks to the SFX volume and mixing for this update - about 35 changes total including bringing the volume of the Sec Level alarm into band with the rest of the game. This was a stand-out by far the loudest sound in the game, so it's very nice to have it pulled in.

Controllers and Appearance

There was an annoying bug if you were using a controller where your selection could get stuck on a certain item and constantly jump back there once a second ... it made it very hard to setup appearances and really change colors. Big thanks to @Si1entProtagonist for giving us the clear reproduction steps to fix it.

Safehouse Timeline Pauses

When medical, cyber, treatment or detox events complete in the safehouse now the timeline pauses. This is such a popular request, we considered making it an option but then decided to try this first. If you hate it, please let us know and we can make it an option.

X-Hive Cybernetic Install Times

The two hive implants - Nano-Hive and Chem-Hive - had wildly different cybernetic surgery recovery times. We've pulled them together in the middle with 10-11 days of recover time each.

Story Fixes: Dockyard Smuggler and Sibling Job

We fixed the situation for all new and veteran Cyber Knights who picked Dockyard Smuggler background. This game with a Faction Barred tag that prevented doing any work with the Fenians. This unfairly limits the story trajectory of the smuggler who really just has one enemy in the Fenian gang. We've swapped out the tags for Ex Faction which removes the Barred tag. We fixed a bug where you could unexpectedly get an offer to recruit the sibling in Sibling Job before going on the mission. Now resolved.

v1.8.29 - 7/24/2024

- Added new lore Journal Entries for Fenian, Blue Ox and Los Zagales - Enforced rule that Revolvers can't have Silence mods or mods that add Ammo capacity during crafting - Improved Matrix UI - animated selector is shown under the current node where the Hacker currently is - Improved Matrix Looting UI - files, accounts and blueprints now show their Rarity and Power Level before download - Medical, Detox, Cybernetic Recovery, Injury Recovery all pause the timeline in the safehouse now - Fixed issue where recruit option was offered in Sibling Job before mission was run - Fixed issue where Contact Limit Break confirm upgrade button could not be clicked - Fixed issue where Contact Limit Break would let you spend Favors even if no additional option could be added - Fixed cybernetic surgery recovery time for Chem-Hive and Nano-Hive - Fixed issue with some character relationship tags not printing and bug with Octane or Henninger Head Hunters tags - Fixed issue with Dockyard Smuggler being barred from future Fenian missions for new and veteran Knights - Fixed issue with controller trying to set appearance sometimes getting stuck on one item and constantly jumping to it - Fixed issue with Sec Level increase SFX being too loud - Adjusted and tweaked multiple SFX to improve sound stage

[ 2024-07-24 20:44:18 CET ] [ Original post ]

The underworld is always moving in New Boston, shifting in the shadows. With Update #115, you can use the clout you've built up with your Contacts to take a bit more of a guiding role to your closest allies - Contact Limit Breaks now offer you some agency. In addition, we've made major balancing changes to Matrix hacking (more charges for Deception and Disarm, less IC), added multiple new levels of Nano-Scrubbers, added token rules directly to the safehouse room descriptions, fixed UI and story bugs and more. If you appreciate how we are running Early Access - always updates, always improvements- please take a moment to leave a review to share your experience with others.

Contact Limit Breaks with Agency

Your Contacts are gaining Influence of your hard work - running missions for them, gathering and selling them high-rarity accounts, dutifully completing their storylines - you might feel entitled to having some agency on how they spend that Influence. Well, Update #115 lets you express some of your preferences if you have the Favors to call it in. When a Contact (assuming that you're not their enemy) gains an Influence or Exposure (!!) Limit Break, they still check over their state, goals and current stats to select an upgrade or downgrade. However, now you can call in a Favor to add new options to their upgrade or downgrade. If you don't have favors, this is still a passive event - you get the single option picked by the Contact and you have to accept it. If you do have Favors to call in, you can spend up to 2 Favors to add 2 new options and then pick among them. Having Favors with your Contact lets you express your preference in what they do, but without full control.

• Perhaps your Gun Runner hits an Exposure Limit Break and is about to hide for 30 days. You can spend a Favor to get another option and instead push them to upgrade a negative Trait or perhaps take a negative temporary Trait.
• Your Gun Runner gets an Influence Limit Break and resolves to upgrade one of their Traits that affects pricing. But you've got Favors in the bank and really need some weapon ugprades, so you can spend some Favors for new options. Maybe first new Favor adds an option for a temporary Trait to raise Misison pay but the second Favor draws the option to upgrade their Street Weapons service from Power Level 3 to 4. Bingo, that's the money.

We're excited to deliver this second level of Contact Limit Breaks, completing more of the game's strategy layer and pulling more of the different threads together. Getting and having Favors with your most important Contacts just got a lot more interesting and important!

Key Jamming in Limit Breaks

We're happy to have fixed the key jamming issues for Limit Breaks. Many players are controlling - pausing and playing - the timeline with the spacebar which can lead to some input jamming. When a Hype Limit Break pops, you were just one press of the spacebar away from having picked the first option and ... done. With Update #115, both Contact and Merc Limit Breaks now select an element above the list, meaning spacebar will not proceed until you click or scroll down (or D-pad down for controllers).

Matrix Rebalance

We've started a focus period of improvements to the Matrix. A big priority this week for us is to wrap up the Matrix tutorial, but along with that are coming a lot of other great improvements. First, tonight we've redone the rules for how many IC will start in each node. This mostly fixes an error in the previous calculation that didn't take into account the node type - which has its own maximum - but instead just used the global maximum of 6 (yikes!). The result is nodes should have less IC in them and the IC counts should be more interested and varied between nodes. This will really start to show the biggest differences as your team passes Power Level 5.
Second, we've added +1 charges to the entire run of Deception and Disarm programs, starting with Disarm 1 and Deception 1. This is a major change to how much IO you need to use these programs and helps hacking move faster and more smoothly on a turn-to-turn basis.

Big Scrubs

With Update #115, we have added 6 more levels of Nano-Scrubbers to your safehouse. These huge beasts - sometimes called a beacon of hope in a polluted world - are capable of scrubbing a lot. These new upgrades should let you handle a based packed with more high level rooms and crafting, all for a hefty price of course.

Safehouse Room Token Rules

All rooms that generate tokens now list the specific set of actions a token can be used for as well as the levels at which they can be used, such as: The Tokens granted by the Underworld Hub can be used to boost Legwork chance, reduce Legwork duration, recruit new mercs (level 2+), find new Contacts (level 3+) and can be traded for NBS Cubes (level 4+). We're excited to keep improving here, finding the right balance between immersive in-world description and a need to have clarity about the rules. Thanks to all the players asking questions and posting suggestion on this one!

Cyberdecks Equip!

There was a bug any time you 2 or more of the same type of Cyberdeck that you really couldn't get them all equipped. This update fixes that issue as well as permanently unstacking Cyberdecks. You want to see each individually, as they have different programs loaded and the stack is not a good way to represent such specific pieces of equipment. Anyway - equip on good hackers, the bug is fixed!

Fixed Missing Mission Dialog

In a number of the scavenger raid missions from proc-gen, there were odd empty dialog boxes at the start and end of a mission. These are now all fixed!

v1.8.27 - 7/23/2024

- Contact Limit Breaks are now active; spend Favors to gain more options beyond the first to help Contact's upgrade to your preference - Improved UI in Contact and Merc Limit Breaks to avoid accidentally hitting spacebar (confirm) and not making a choice - Improved Matrix balancing: redid all IC counts for nodes - Improved Matrix balancing: +1 Charge for Deception and Disarm programs across the board - New Safehouse Modules: Nano-Scrubber level 9 to 16 (a beacon of hope in a polluted world) - Improved safehouse room descriptions to include specific abilities granted by tokens including level requirements - Fixed a number of scavenger/raid missions that lacked intro or exit dialog - Fixed bug preventing equipping of cyberdeck when you had more than of the same type, cyberdecks no longer stack - Fixed issue with Power Level 7 and 8 megacorporate captains locking up level

[ 2024-07-23 14:59:36 CET ] [ Original post ]

Since this bug is pretty gnarly, we wanted to put out a quick update about. We just released a hotfix - so restart Steam client to be sure to get it - that fixes a bug that was introduced in Update #113 last night. If you have any issues with missions freezing on the first turn or when reinforcements are arriving, please be sure to restart Steam client and get this latest update. All should be fixed now and very sorry for the bug!

[ 2024-07-21 18:42:30 CET ] [ Original post ]

It's Saturday and you just got an update. With this big bug fix update, we're focusing on hitting the most popular and troublesome F10s in the set this week, grinding on that polish-stone until it shines. Back at HQ, we're working on the next set of storylines and 2 new proc-gen maps and a new mission objective - Assassination - so stay tuned for more content additions! To everyone playing, posting and hitting F10 - thank you! We hope you're enjoying the game, are here to chat and work hard to improve it. If you like what we've got cooking, please leave a review.

F10 as Camera WASD!?!?!

Ok, major mistake on our part - F10 was accidentally set as the default keybinding for panning the camera forward instead of ... W. :facepalm: We fixed it in the defaults, but depending on when you started playing and if you've changed anything, you may need to go into the main menu > options > keybinding and reset defaults or rebind it specifically to W (or whatever).

Bodies and Security Tally Rules

We've fixed a few longstanding issues with how body timer security Tally is generated and displayed. First, you will now see the Security Tally for a body that is about to expire appearing in the top right Tally bar. We need to finish the display where these are itemized you can better track these back to their source, but this should majorly cut down on "surprise Escalations" that didn't look they were going to happen and then ... did.


Second, we've fixed an issue with dead bodies becoming known to the system by guards who are about to die. If guard A saw dead body B but then you killed guard A by the end of the Turn (as one does), then dead body B would be incorrectly counted as seen, Sec Tally would be added and the body timer would be canceled. This is now all correctly unwound in the case of deaths. If guard A and guard C saw dead body B but you only killed A, then B would still be known to the system and Sec Tally generated - because guard C got through the Turn alive. But if you wiped both A and C, then B goes back to being unknown correctly with a running body timer. A lot to say - it works as it should at last!

Head Hunter Talents, Healing Items

With Update #114, we've granted some of the Head Hunter teams an additional +1 Talent slot which will give them more powers to use against you in the field. A little stiffer challenge, a little more unpredictable. We've also given Head Hunters, and a few other enemy types, a big boost by fixing a bug that was causing them to use their medkit items even when they were at max HP. You might have seen Head Hunters arriving and spamming healing, gaining "0 HP" each time and then ... well, not having any medkits for when the fighting starts! This is now fixed. Also, basically all buff Talents from an enemy printed to the log that they were "Loyalty Mantra" which is not the case. This is now fixed.

HP Details in Status Window

Both enemies and characters now have a full HP stat block in their mid-mission window.

Power Level 1-3 Sniper Scopes

Some of the Blueprints for low level Sniper scope mods were overpowered and we've brought them back within the curve while still keeping them interesting.

Matrix Camera Lockup

If you disconnected from the matrix after inspecting security devices from the matrix HUD, the camera was locking up until you ended your turn or hit ESC. This is now fixed!

v1.8.25 - 7/20/2024

- Fixed issue where default pan camera forward was set to F10, not W :facepalm: - Security Tally for dead bodies appears as yellow Tally correctly on the turn they will expire - If an enemy discovers a dead body but then is killed in the same Turn, the body reverts to unknown - Most Head Hunters and team get +1 Talent slot; more abilities, more challenge! - Fixed enemies using their medkit items early when they are not injured - Fixed enemies always claiming they were using Talent "Loyalty Mantra" when they were using so many other things - Added current / max HP details to character and enemy status window mid-mission - Improved balance of low Power Level (1-3) Sniper Scopes - Fixed issue with Wasteland Coyote's background tag just reading "for" - Fixed issue with camera locking up after inspecting security devices inside matrix - Fixed issues with scrollbars in matrix and character status windows - Fixed issues with Respec sometimes reporting -1 tokens - Improved display of controller center-screen cursor during pause menu, F10 menu

[ 2024-07-21 05:21:38 CET ] [ Original post ]

Head Hunters have been unleashed on the New Boston zone and the bravest and craziest among them are hunting Cyber Knights - hunting you! The reaction from players has been so awesome to this new major milestone, we're psyched. The feeling of time-boxed pressure to deal with or escape the Head Hunters and that fact that, for a time, it makes you play the game different, use different equipment, bring a different squad, and plan for the Head Hunters to jump you at any given moment is extremely exciting. While things have launched very successfully with Head Hunters, we wanted to make some rapid improvements in places where we missed on certain features of nice-to-haves, so this update addresses a number of those issues. If you're liking the pace of development, please leave a review!

Fast Improvements

We've made some balance and weapon tweaks to Head Hunters based on feedback - thanks to everyone sharing their combat stories. We've improved how the Head Hunter "Stun Break!" works so that when they roll it, they really can act for the Turn. We've fixed Brainworm vs. Headhunters so that it will not allow you to use it against them at all, saving you the charge and the AP as they are immune. We fixed issues where you might get a dialog about Head Hunters in victory or defeat even if they didn't show up. Dead Head Hunters no longer have body timers and won't cost you Security Tally.

Other Improvements

Throughout the game, we've improved how we handle highlighting of names, factions, and professions so that the highlighting is more clear, consistent and shows up in more places like Timeline events.
We've also fixed the little blue man who appeared in your timeline when crafting items. RIP little blue man, we never really knew ye.

v1.8.23 - 7/19/2024

- Continued to balance and improve Head Hunters and their teams! Thanks for the early feedback - Fixed issue with proc-gen maps that was cutting 2 maps out of rotation - Street Palisade, Holdout Corner - Fixed issue with Head Hunter "Stun Break!" not really breaking Stun effectively - Fixed issue with Head Hunters immune to Brainworm but Talent firing anyway - Fixed issue with Head Hunters reporting a miss in mission victory / defeat even if they didn't show up - Fixed issues with Head Hunter bodies having body timers - Improved highlighting of names and factions through dialog and timeline to be more consistent and clear - Fixed issue with little blue man in the timeline when crafting items

[ 2024-07-19 20:03:53 CET ] [ Original post ]

We're excited to bring you a major new content update today, Update #112, the launch of the Head Hunters system. If one of your squad members earns the hatred of a powerful contact, that contact may hire Head Hunters to bring you down. Head Hunters create high-pressure situations that are forced to resolve over a short period of time, one way or the other. Once a Head Hunter has been given a bounty on your head, you're in a pressure cooker - it is you, or them, or dodging them enough times that the Contact relinquishes the bounty. From the moment the bounty is set until the moment is ends, you have to be on your A-game to stay one step ahead of them and always ready for hard fight for your life.
Head Hunters are unique enemy squads that have a % chance to appear mid-mission and try to terminate your squad. They're independent from other enemies on the map and will quite happily cut through them to get to you, potentially throwing your heist into chaos and setting off security escalations that add to your difficulties. You might be able to make use of the distraction to quickly wrap up your objectives and get out, but Head Hunters are relentless in their pursuit of you and will only try again on some future heist. There are two ways to stop a Head Hunter - kill their leader or avoid them enough times that the Contact cancels the bounty. If you chose to fight, their second-in-command and other henchmen will still fight on for the rest of the mission, but you'll end the threat of them ambushing you on future jobs, and burn the contact that hired them with additional Exposure as well. If you choose to flee, you may be able to escape them a few times and end the bounty without being forced into a high-stakes battle.

The first of hunters to come

We're starting out with three possible teams that can be sent against you, with more to come. Head Hunter teams have a unique leader, a second-in-command, and several goons. Head Hunters each have their own unique flair, with a combat style to match. You can end up with multiple Head Hunters hired to go after you, though you'll never see more than one team within a single mission.

Macha Gold

Two highly trained sniper teammates cover Macha Gold and his second, Ostrek, while they advance to close-range so they can corner and kill their bounties personally. Relying on Cybersword techniques, Aegis Shield and a powerful cocktail of combat drugs mixed up for their team by Ostrek, these Head Hunters close quickly, mixing long and short range death. Arrogant, in love with his name, and sure that he is the top of the heap, Macha Gold loves to talk trash.

Razorback & Armistice

The roar of shotguns follow Razorback and Armistice wherever they lead. The two were corporate soldiers in the Pacific Rim during the Quiet Wars and have continued their career in the private head-taking sector. Backed by Gego and Sledge, this 4-member team is extremely fast moving and all carry assault shotguns, ready to lay waste to their enemies' armor and health. Ex-corporate, these two are buttoned up, serious and grim. They aren't having any fun but they're making bank.

Baby Jack

Leading a company of ex-special ops milsec soldiers who are out to make a living, Baby Jack doesn't take anything too seriously except the tactics. His squad is a balanced mix of weapons, armor and abilities that forms a cohesive unit, capable of fighting in a wide range of configurations and ranges. Baby Jack likes to have a laugh and brag about his kills. We're looking forward to seeing Discord and Steam discussions on your strategies for handling each of these teams.

When hunted, stay speedy.

Be warned, if you have Head Hunters after you, it's more important than ever to move quickly in missions. Heists that require completing objectives before unlocking exits can become unescapable if you get too tied down fighting to ever accomplish those objectives. We're working on adding cut-and-run options into the game to choose to abandon a heist early, but in the meantime, play smart. If Head Hunters intercept your mission, you won't know until they spawn in 4-6 turns into it. Don't be afraid to use the Restart Level option to try again if the fight doesn't work in your favor, or Restore Before Mission (which will reset the chance of Head Hunters appearing on that mission) if you find yourself trapped in a game-ending scenario.

Use Counter-Intel

Some times you're on a really high-stakes heist and you simply can't afford disasterous interruption. To stay one step ahead of Head Hunters, you work on building a Counter-Intel Pod in your Safehouse which will give you options for temporarily throwing them off your trail. High Heat increases the chance that a Head Hunter will strike, so use your Tokens to mitigate Heat. And, you can also spend Tokens to gain yourself short windows of time when Head Hunters are completely blocked by your blast of misinformation and counter-intel chatter. So, if you're going on a mission with a Head Hunter looming, be sure to have your team up to full strength for the challenge or rely on your Counter-Intel pod to buy you some time.

Cyberdecks and Intrinsic Blueprint Details

We've added extra sections to the inventory screens for cyberdecks and Weapon Mod Intrinsic Blueprints. Cyberdecks now list all their installed programs and Intrinsic Blueprints list exactly to which weapon types they can be attached.

We're featured in TactiCon this week, and on sale to celebrate!

We're very pleased to be a featured game in this week's TactiCon festival, celebrating strategy and tactics games of all kinds. They have a schedule of talks and panels worth checking out.
And in case you missed it, you can find one of our own interviews talking about Cyber Knights, our studio, tabletop RPGs and more with game reviewer ACG here: [previewyoutube=lbk_V6OfckA;full]https://www.youtube.com/live/lbk_V6OfckA[/previewyoutube] If you're up for it, click through and give the video a or leave a comment; it helps us out!

v1.8.19 - 7/18/2024

- Added new infamous Head Hunters system! - If you cross the wrong Power Player in New Boston, Head Hunters may be sent after you - Once a bounty has been set, an infamous Head Hunter may interrupt your missions and try to take your head - Head Hunters will fight their way through local security if they have to reach you - chaos, gunfire, loud! - Kill the Head Hunters or escape them 3+ times in order to cancel the bounty and weak the Contact who sent them - 3 infamous Head Hunters added today with more clamoring for a chance: Macha Gold, Baby Jack, Razorback - All previous Head Hunters assigned by Octane, Henninger or others will now swing in to action - Cyberdecks now list their programs installed in their inventory detail and hover - Blueprints for Intrinsic Weapon Mods list the types to which they can be applied - Improved and fixed typos in event logs

[ 2024-07-18 17:21:08 CET ] [ Original post ]

Before the next heist, what do you really want? One more update! Update #111 drops 2 new outfits, fixes issues with used (1/2 Uses) Blueprints selling for $1K, sorts buying list to best offers first, adds the Token count to the pop-up confirmation for respec, and improves the loot tables and some of the Blueprint stats and variety throughout the game. Thanks to everyone sharing feedback, encouraging us to keep up the pace and especially to those 5 players who left a review since our last update :hype:

New Style Options

We're continuing to work on expanding the options for appearance and your individual style, so with this update we've added 2 new outfit choices - an armored sheathe and a stylish dress with some fly boots. More options will be coming later this month as we press on ear decorations, more skin detail options, more masks and glasses.

Used Blueprints - for $1K?

We fixed a minor math rounding error once you used one of a Blueprint's uses. If a Blueprint was sitting at 1/2 Uses, ... well 1/2 is as good as 0 right? It's worth $1K now! Lol, woops - that was bad math. Now the Blueprint pricing is fixed properly, and you'll get 50% of the value, as each use is truly worth it's weight in cubes.

Sorting Buying Offers

When you're shopping and looking to buy something new, we've now sorted the offers from contacts to put the best price first. While there can still be some subtleties beneath the price alone, this helps most purchases be less of a look-and-seek.

Respec Tokens

Respec'ing requires a SImStream Trainer token, so when considering confirming a respec you want to know how many tokens you have left. Thanks to some F10s on this subject, we've now added the token count to the pop-up confirmation window.

Reinforcements on Sigma 7 and 9

If you were facing Sigma 7 and 9, either could make first Escalation calls for reinforcements. While we want to highlight the differences between the different Sec AI, this isn't the right place to do it, so we have resolved the issue. Outside of some rare situations (... you quietly killed everyone with Sec Level 0), Reinforcements never appear as the result of the first Escalation.

On-Going Balance Improvements

We shared when the NANOFAB major milestone was hit that was we added over 300 new pieces of equipment and blueprints to the game that the balance would be a bit shaky for a while and that we had a list of to-do tasks to keep shaping the balance back toward optimal. We're continuing to work on that each release, and this Update fixes some issues with medical item blueprints as well as increasing the variety and range of Blueprints that will appear in some looting situations. We've also fixed missing descriptions for a number of nano-drug blueprints. If you have any questions about crafting, check out the NanoFab page on the Cyber Knights wiki.

v1.8.15 - 7/17/2024

- Added 2 new outfits options for characters - stylish and ninja - Fixed issue with 1/2 used Blueprints selling for $1K - Sorted buy offer list to put best price first - When confirming Respec, the confirmation window now lists how many Simstream Trainer tokens you have left - Fixed issue where Reinforcements could be called on 1st Escalation in Sigma 7 and 9 - Improved balance on Trauma Kits and improved variety of blueprints in loot - Corrected descriptions for NanoFab pharmaceuticals - Fixed bug that made deleting appearance from the library hard - Fixed bug with empty blue square and invalid Talent sometimes appear in character status pop up - Fixed bug with Credits screen

[ 2024-07-17 18:11:16 CET ] [ Original post ]

All right, sit down and buckle up - this omnibus Update #110 has a lot of things in it. We've been busy these last few days as we prepare for the release of Head Hunters major milestone. Let's check it - we've got Steam Deck improvements and fixes, balancing for economy and blueprints, better tactical thinking for enemies and better equipment for corp enemies, allowing Contacts to buy Blueprints at Power Level 4-6, sorted offers in buy/sell windows buy best price, and a lot, lot more. Huge thanks goes out to all the players sending in F10s! We're processing, categorizing and fixing them quickly so please keep sharing your feedback. And if you like the pace of development around here, please do leave a review :D

Steam Deck Improvements

If you are using the Steam Deck we're excited this patch goes out to you as it will fix your issue with the (Y) button sometimes getting stuck when trying to move a character. This is now fully fixed and with the latest update to the default configuration, you should be very good to go with the Steam Deck. In addition, the latest round of changes to get Steam Deck compliance caused issues with Steam Deck and Steam Input. If you want to use the Steam Input layer with the Steam Deck, you can turn this back on in the options screen by "Unlock Steam Deck Inputs" - hopefully this works for everyone picking a non-standard gamepad configuration. Thanks to everyone for the F10s and your patience with us as we get this ironed out :D

Blueprints & Economy

There will be ongoing, very important work, to balance and tune the game's economy now that all the major parts are in play. Some of the changes may be a bit painful now but we have to look forward to a better balanced future and make these changes while we're in Early Access. With Update #110, we've made the following adjustments:

• Price of crafting a Blueprint has generally increased - some things are far more expensive while things like Items may be cheaper, depending on the item. Crafting level 6 Armors for $200K is too cheap (etc), this has been improved.
• Price of selling Blueprints has generally increased - Blueprint prices now take into account the number of uses remaining in the Blueprint. Some things sell for less, but most sell for more. Those with 2 uses are going to sell for more and then drop half their value if you use 1/2.

Sorted Sell Offers

Whenever you are selling something, we've now nicely sorted the list for you so that the best offer is first - favors, if available, and then highest money offer next. If you're looking to sell fast and not make a lot of decisions, this will help you pick up the pace a little. On this front, mult-buy and multi-sell are coming soon as well as a bulk sell option to really clean out your inventory and cold storage with very few clicks. Thanks for your patience as we continue to improve these key systems.

Upgrading Enemy Tactical Thoughts

With this update, we've improved how all enemies think about some of their short distance tactical repositions. On their turn, even if they have a valid target (like you!) they like to consider making a short run for a better position. This movement however was missing a critical limit - that it shouldn't cost them their attack! So, enemies will be a bit smarter, and move a bit less, once they are engaged in a proper fire fight with you, willing to shift positions to get better cover or an asymmetrical sight line but not shifting so much that they can't return fire that turn. In addition, enemies who are "chasing" something - that is, need to move a long distance to reach something - are more determined about their pursuit. Too often, enemies in this state would "go for direct cover" and not go very far. Now expect to see more "Advancing!" and "Charging!" as enemies close the gap with more determination. You can imagine why we've ended up with this improvement as we test and prep the upcoming Head Hunters release!

Improved Corporate Equipment

The corporate security details just got a new flush of equipment starting around Power Level 4 and up. They've been equipped with a better curve of upgraded weapons and armor where before they would so rarely see an upgrade, expect them now to punch harder and take harder punches as you get into the upper half of the Power Level scales.

Better Scrolling / Scrollbars

Across the game we've made scrollbars clickable and selectable to use as a way to get faster navigation. Thanks to everyone putting in F10s about this, the latest solution addresses some of the auto-scrolling issues, lets controller players reach the bottom of all scroll areas with only text, and gives everyone a faster way to move up and down scroll areas. Once we have some time for the new feature to settle and be tested, we'll work on improving their appearance a little more to integrate them into the UI more cleanly.

Fixed Crafting / Safehouse Issues

Thanks for all the F10s! In rapid fire - if you're buliding a NanoFab bench, you can now see what type. Level 5 Detox no longer misreports the Stress it will heal, we fixed flavor text on Command HQ to stop mentioning mission bonuses incorrectly. If you're crafting, we fixed a mix up between SMG and AR optics and body intrinsics. Also, if you get a random booster Intrinsic, it will be shown in green when you're looking at the final weapon so it is more clear.

v1.8.13 - 7/16/2024

Steam Deck Improvements - Fixed bug where (Y) would suddenly stop responding to move a character - Added "Unlock Steam Deck Inputs" for Steam Deck to allow use of Steam Input system most effectively - Improved AI tactical combat decisions - Improved AI's ability to run to a far away point of interest or enemy with more determination - Improved AI's calculation when in range to make an attack, not to make a short reposition that spends too many AP to attack - Corporate enemies better equipped with weapons and armor (PL 4-10) and better stat progression - Improved enemy armor progression for multiple types from Power Level 5+ - Favor value now displayed prominently in Contact's detail page - Fixed issue preventing Contacts with upgraded Blueprint purchasing services (1-6, etc) from not buying high level Blueprints - Price of selling Blueprints increased, price of crafting blueprints increased! - Sorted offers when selling things to Contact to put the best offer first - NanoFab now shows what type of bench it is building - Fixed issue with SimStream Detox level 5 not correctly showing Stress reduction - Name for random bonus Intrinsic mods added by crafting are now in green to stand out from regular - Fixed crafting weapon random bonus Intrinsics for SMG body mod and AR optics were switched incorrectly - Fixed issue that could occur equipping cyberdeck when you had 2 of the exact same type - Fixed attachment positions for Kaza Raildart - Fixed all scrollbars to be selectable, clickable and draggable - improved controller scroll to bottom of text only areas - Fixed bad flavor text about Command HQ saying it grants Mission payment bonuses - Fixing bugs with F10 window leaking input through during Matrix and Enemy Turn - Fixed typos, thanks for reports!

[ 2024-07-16 15:42:47 CET ] [ Original post ]

We're keeping the forge hot here at Trese Brothers HQ with another update tonight! With so many major updates and expansions hitting over the last month, we're working on catching up with the mountain of F10s you all have lovingly submitted, so stay tuned, lots more polish, improvements both big and small and fixes are coming. Update #109 has fixed the issue with equipping some Cyberdecks, rewritten the reinforcement placement rules for the better, fixed issues with the Security Escalation that could - at some times - skip Escalation altogether, improved the balance of Benders and Divergents so they have a smoother curve of progression, and fixed some amazing bugs reported by the community include a pretty old and nasty one with Extraction. So let's dig in!

Deck Equip / Unequip

Last night's update introduced an issue with equipping decks that is semi-random from game to game ... sometimes decks just won't equip! This is now fixed, our apologies.

Reinforcement Rules Update

Reinforcements are undeniably the worst kind of Security Escalation and so their exact placement and rules have a big impact of pacing, fairness, fun and believability of your heists. With Update #109 we've rewritten the rules used to calculate and pick from among the many possible reinforcement points within any given level. The most visible change in this rules rewrite is to avoid ever dropping reinforcements into an active extraction area if you are close to it. The italics clause is key - if you're far away, like 25m+ then enemies may still appear there are make your day difficult. Perhaps you could re-route to another extraction point. But the days of running between a bewildered set of guards as you extract your team should be behind the game now. We also fixed some lingering issues with the system that could lead to Escalation turns were no action was taken by the security AI.

Extraction Bug

Thanks to everyone submitting F10s about the extraction bug! If you extracted a character who was Bleeding Out, was poisoned, had any form of Damage Over Time or Healing over Time, then the next turn they could re-appear in a broken state inside the extraction box and cause some major havoc. Now fixed!

Bender and Divergent Curve Smoothing

We were excited to introduce some difficulty to take down enemies a few patches back, but we've revisited them with this update to use a new enemy templating and rule system that will help us build out enough depth in their enemy profile to support the type of scaling the game needs. As Benders and DIvergents increase in Power Level themselves, all of their targets advanced through a progression of 6 Talent power levels, allowing the Bender to become more and more difficult to hit as you increase your team's power level. It's an exciting template we plan to be using on other enemies as we roll into the next waves of unique and different baddies.

Starting Wireghost Services

We've adjusted the Wireghost Contact's starting services to use Matrix Programs 2, down from Power Level 3. As we've added the Contact Limit Breaks, some of the services were artificially high due to their inability to change, so now we're evening out the new game to ensure that all of your Contact's have the right room to grow.

v1.8.11 - 7/12/2024

- Improve reinforcement spawning routines to be more fair & fun, avoid too-close extraction points - Improved Sec Escalation rules to fix issue where sometimes no card would be drawn - Improved Wireghost Contact starting services - sells Power Level 2 Programs at start instead of 3 - Improved balance and progression for Benders and Divergents (smoother ramp of +Evasion Talents) - Fixed bug with Extracted merc re-appearing after a turn if they were Bleeding Out or had DOT or HOT - Fixed bug preventing Hackers from equipping certain Cyberdecks randomly - Added missing description and powers description for Divergents enemy pop up - Fixed UltraTek bio-formula thief from being tagged as law-abiding in corp - Cleaned up incorrect stats for NanoFab in bottom right of Manage Room

[ 2024-07-13 04:55:50 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights, the streets might be quieting down for the night but an update chopper is about to land. Grab your weapons, we've got a heist to run! Tonight's Update #108 enables unequipping cyberdecks gracefully, fixes a longstanding bug with Cybersword's Slashslide, improves the Safehouse room details, starts the process of tuning and tweaking the 300 pieces of equipment just released for hacking makes another minor but important upgrade for Steam Deck. And you can zoom and rotate the camera while inspecting a Matrix terminal's connected devices! Apologies about the second multi-GB update in a row ... the build box did a flip on this one. We aim to keep these below 1 GB as often as possible, but this one just came in super-sized. Thanks to everyone playing, posting, sending in the F10s and especially for leaving a review! So much more good stuff is coming, so keep your ear to the ground for the next update chopper.

Remove Cyberdecks

To keep up with Soldiers (who can remove their guns and armor!), Hackers can now remove their cyberdecks. This can make swapping between Hackers or testing out an upgrade easier for your Hackers. But just like Soldiers, they will refuse to go on a mission if they are not equipped with a Deck, so don't do something silly like unequipping it and selling it.

Slashslide Targeting

We've fixed a bug with how the Cybersword's Slashslide Talent acquired targets. As a melee attack in which you move from target to target for your attacks, it does not matter if an enemy or character is blocking the line of sight from the original point of attack. However, the bug was requiring full line of sight (which is blocked by characters and enemies) to any target in Slashslide. This meant you could often line up the perfect slide line, hitting and hopefully killing 3 in one glorious instant ... only to discover the first one blocked the second and third and you got ... one lame attack. Now you'll get 3! So, very, glad, to, fix, this. Rah rah, Zasha!

Safehouse Improvements

With Update #108, we've made so improvements to the safehouse room displays and details about each upgrade level. We've improved the rules for SimStream Detox so that its 3rd level has a clear benefit. We've also adjusted the display for the SimStream Detox room so that its Stress reduction is clearly stated now in its states. We fixed a bug with the level displayed in room level displayed inside Cold Storage when browsing digital files, it was not the level shown when you're managing the room or at the main safehouse view. Now, its correct. We also fixed a bug that could happen on the Timeline if a mission was at 4-6 hours remaining but there was another event at 0 hrs remaining. Thanks to everyone submitting F10s!

Fixing/Tweaking Crafted Weapons, Armor, Items!

With the addition of over 300 new pieces of equipment and consumable items to the game, there is going to be some clean-up and tuning work for little while here! Tonight we fixed an issue with HE Micro Grenades being identical to Micro Grenades - they both linked the same Talent and effect. More will be coming as we pour over the equipment tables and get more reports from players. Again, thanks to every player who is playing and posting.

Rotate and Zoom Camera while Previewing Devices

From inside or outside of the matrix, if you're inspecting a terminals list of connected doors and security devices you can now zoom and rotate the camera with the regular controls. This is a big help since the automatic camera angles may not be what you want to see, or you may need additional context about enemies and characters nearby that you can only get by achieving a specific camera angle. Thanks for every F10 about this!

Steam Deck and Controller Scene Transition

We've addressed a minor but important issue where immediately after the Steam Deck booted into the game, you would see mouse and keyboard keybinding glyphs. Once you touched the controller, you'd get the right glyphs but it was ugly there fore a minute. In addition, we've improved handling between scene transitions for Steam Deck and controller. The game was previously always reverting to showing mouse and keyboard glyphs again whenever a scene was loaded but now we've fixed this to remember the last used input device and keep using those glyphs in the new scene.

v1.8.9 - 7/11/2024

- Hackers can unequip their cyberdecks for easier swaps or upgrades, but cannot go on mission without one - Fixed Slashslide unable to acquire target due to another enemy or player in the way - Fixed HE Micro Grenades not having special effect - Improved new game layout to show more of each character's backstory if space is available - Fixed bug with buying/selling where Contacts might be duplicated - Improved Safehouse SimStream Detox - now shows expected Stress relief and Level 3 was not clear about its bonus - When previewing security devices attached to a Matrix Terminal, you can now rotate the camera as usual - Improved scene transitions for Steam Deck and Controllers so that keybinding glyphs don't revert to keyboard/mouse - Corrected bug with Cold Storage showing the wrong room level when browsing digital goods - Improve game's ignoring of mouse and keyboard input when not focused on some platforms - Fixed icon shown in armor for movement speed to be the regular move speed icon - Fixed freezes that could occur on timeline

[ 2024-07-12 03:52:01 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights - meet at the command table in the HQ, its another update! Coming hot on the heels of major milestone NANOFAB we're pushing out Update #107 to with some very exciting UI polish for combat, better secondary objectives for blueprints and cubes, and a reset of controllers to default configuration. Sorry about that, an Early Access mistake on our part - please see below to read about the bug it fixes. Thanks to everyone playing, posting and sharing with your friends! We're so excited to see everyone's crafting creations popping out of those Fabs. If you're enjoying the pace of updates and improvements and how your suggestions/ideas are landing in the game - please do leave a review.

Controller & Steam Deck Binding Reset

With Update #107, we've fixed a deep and very old bug in our configuration for our input system and controllers. It is the root cause of all the most reported bugs for controller at the moment - places where (B) stops actually canceling things or where pop-up windows have empty blue square for cancel and the keyboard binding for submit. However, in order to fix this critical and ancient bug - we have been forced to reset your controller configurations to the default. Our apologies, we tried all other options, but this was the final results. If you are a keyboard and mouse player, you're unaffected - we've only reset controllers. We hope you'll forgive us during Early Access this reset and we hope never to have to repeat it

Full Auto Bullet Pips

With Update #107, we've added a key factor to Full Auto the targeting UI. Every Full Auto weapons has a number of bullets that it will fire in this mode, ranging from 4 to 9. Each bullet rolls all of its Accuracy, Damage, Critical and Armor Shred individually (you can only Shred once per target, but it is more chances of getting that Shred!). Bullets are allocated equally between targets and you can never fire more than 4 bullets at a single target. So - the UI is now updated to show yellow bullet icons over each target so it is really clear who is getting what. This also helps make the exact benefits or loss clear when increasing or reducing targets.

Overwatch Bullet Pips

In the same moment, we've added bullet pips overhead for any character or enemy who is using Overwatch. This is helpful for your own team, to know how many more shots you might have but it is key intel on a situation if you're pinned in an enemy Overwatch field. It's a bit peaking behind the curtain, but use the information well. If the enemy has a single shot, maybe you can risk taking an action but if they've got you pinned with 3 Overwatch shots ... consider your other options!

Blueprints and Cubes as Secondary Objectives

With Update #107, we've improved the balance and progression of secondary objectives that grant NBS Cubes and Blueprints. You'll find more variety of the offered rewards including a wider range of Rare, Epic and Legendary Blueprints and now also the option to offer Weapon Mod blueprints. For NBS Cubes, the secondary objectives were previously limited to offering Blue Cubes which is nice but not as fun as sometimes offering Red and Gold as it now does. Weigh your new secondary objectives well and make it happen, Knight!

Full Stats during Mission

We've added the full stat block including Initiative roll, AP, MP and your combined set of all effects to the mid-mission status window. Enjoy!

Fixed Bugs!

We also fixed a ton of other F10s you put in - so thank you! Weapons that had odd stocks, vertical grips and magazines appearing all over the place have been fixed. We flipped the sort for Newest equipment in your inventory, it was sorting the wrong direction. We've

v1.8.5 - 7/10/2024

- When targeting enemies with Full Auto, bullet pips are shown over each enemy to show exact spread of Full Auto Shots - When character or enemy is in Overwatch, number of remaining reaction shots is shown over character - Fixed Steam Deck and controller bugs with (B) not working and/or submit/cancel keybindings shown as empty blue squares - All Steam Deck and Controller bindings have been reset (one time, sorry!) - Added full breakdown of buffs, debuffs, Initiative, AP and MP from the roster to mid-mission status - Improved secondary objectives providing Blueprints to have more variation, Cube objectives to offer Blue/Red/Gold - Improved text and labels in SimStream Trainer to be more clear - Fixed issues with odd mod assembly - stocks, magazines, and foregrips all appearing in odd places - Fixed bug allowing teleportation on some door panels - Fixed incorrect level shown in Cold Storage room - Fixed Newest sort in inventory was flipped

[ 2024-07-10 15:58:01 CET ] [ Original post ]

For a long time, you've stolen shiny looking Blueprints on your heists into corporate territory. These manufacturing matrices are infused with printing nano, capable of being processed by a NanoForge - the giant nano-3D-printer of 2200s - to fabricate high technology devices to the molecular level. All you need is some Nano-Bearing Substrate Cubes - large plastic gallons filled with blue, red or gold pellets - to dump into your loud, power-hungry and nanite-dust-puking NanoFab. With major milestone NANOFAB, we've unlocked a new Safehouse room that shares the name and grants the ability to craft your Blueprints into real live weapons, weapon mods, armor and items. And the loot tables are massively updated, pouring Blueprints and NBS Cubes into your heists - adding over 10 new items, 50 new Armors, 150 Weapon Mods and 50 new Weapons through Blueprints for the mid-to-late game. Our Early Access roadmap is on fire ... Head Hunters are next! If you like the pace of updates and improvements and the continued expansion of the game, please leave a review!

NanoFab Room

NanoFab crafting is not cheap or easy and most Knights will not start on it early in their career. Powerful blueprints are hard to find, you need a steady supply of NBS cubes and all of this costs credits. But once you've got a few million under your belt and you're ready, convert one of those toxic waste dumps in your Safehouse into a shiny new NanoFab. For those Knights riding the edge for long and dangerous careers in the NBZ, the proc-gen mission system and the NanoFab crafting system mix together to help extend the fun, depth and options of your career. The extended ramp of your own equipment power will allow us to further extend the difficulty ramp on missions in the future and redefine what perfecting your team means with late-game gear.

Ongoing Balance and Contact Services

NanoFab crafting is a major new feature we're excited to splashdown in the New Boston zone. If you look at the continuum of equipment in the game, your Contacts and their services start at the bottom with Power Level 1 and 2 services and can currently stretch up to Power Level 4. Blueprint crafting picks up around Power Level 3 and can stretch to Power Level 6. There is a lot of ongoing balance work to ensure that the two systems stretch together and each stays relevant through the right part of the game. Our work is not done here, it is just starting. Crafting is a big weight on one side of the scale that will - for a time - throw things off balance. We'll be making some big steps to bring the city back into balance over the next month as Contacts expand service offerings, can Limit Break into new services altogether and more stories are added that help them expand and alter their offerings to keep up with new Blueprint goodness.

Craft 'em

Each NanoFab can support up to 5 crafting benches once fully upgraded. Each bench can perform a single crafting operation and is built by type - Weapon, Weapon Mod, Armor and Item. Once your bench is constructed, you can start to create your equipment with the Blueprint, money and NBS Cubes required. Each type of crafting allows for some different rules, and some allow for supplemental blueprints to be added:

• Item and Weapon Mod crafting are the simplest. You need money, Cubes and the Blueprints and each crafting run produces a clean result of the equipment.
• For Armor, you can use a supplemental Blueprint - a second Armor Blueprint - to merge the nanoproperties of the armors together to create unique and powerful combinations, push Evasion bonuses onto Heavy Armor, push HP bonuses on to Stealth armor and more. In addition, using Gold Cubes in crafting increases the chance that a random Intrinsic booster effect will be crafted into the Armor, making it even more resilient.
• Weapons are the most complicated of crafts. You can craft a weapon blueprint without any supplements, or you can include up to 4 supplemental blueprints. You may include blueprints for real Weapon Mod Blueprints (like a Sniper Rifle Scope) which become fused to the weapon permanently (can never detach) but grant a chance of rolling a random Intrinsic booster effect for each Weapon Mod fused. Or you can supplement with a new type of Intrinsic Blueprint you will find out on your heists that just adds to the weapon's stats without fusing to any slot but lacks the extra roll for an Intrinsic booster.

We've included helpful instructions below the crafting plan screen for each type individually to guide your crafting adventures and we're excited to hear your feedback!

Or Sell 'em

Over the last few updates, we've buffed up the ranks of Contacts interested in buying your blueprints, so if you aren't ready or don't want to craft a blueprint, sell it! You won't make extra money crafting a blueprint to get the real item and then selling the real item; you're better off selling the blueprint.

Improved Matrix Balance

With this update, we're continuing to address issues with how the Matrix Q-Sec selects its Escalations. We found and fixed a bug that was feeding the Q-Sec Tally (a large number, like 25) into the selection process, and was therefore ignoring all the cards that shouldn't execute below a certain Q-Sec Level (like 4). Anyway - the result is good, Q-Sec Escalation actions like Wake Global IC no longer appear before Q-Sec Level 4, and about 50% of the Q-Sec Escalations only turn on as you progress through Q-Sec 1-3. We've also made a minor adjustment to the HP for IC at higher Power Levels. This won't be a huge change for your hackers, but HP has been reduced 10-20% as the IC ramp up to Power Level 10. As always, please let us know what you think!

Improved Enemy Talents

Enemy types - as in: distinct, cool and functionally different - hinge massively on their Talents and equipment choices. As we march into summer we are working on a wide variety of new enemy capabilities and types for the game. With this update we've added new Talents to allow enemies to heal themselves and repair their own armor. This can help put pressure on taking out tough enemies, who if you don't finish off quickly or take them down by surprise, may get themselves back on their feet with a medkit or a patch kit. Some enemy corporate captains, Brave Star captains and some of Brave Star's infantry drones have these healing and patching capabilities. So don't waste time when taking out these leaders; their high armor and HP values make them difficult to bring down already but now they are even more of a priority target.

Improved Timeline Stopping

We've fixed some issues with how the timeline might stop if there are interrupting events. This should prevent things like a dialog and a Hype Limit Break from appearing at the same time. It also fixes an issue where sometimes a mission wouldn't warn that it was about to expire if it was in a certain configuration or timeline events, or another mission had recently warned.

v1.8.1 - 7/8/2024

- New Safehouse Room NanoFab allows creation of up to 5 crafting benches - Crafting benches take Blueprint, money and NBS Cubes to create resulting item - Combine Blueprints from Weapons and Weapon Mods or multiple Armors to create completely unique results - Added over 300 new items, weapons, mods and armors to the game via Blueprints - Blueprints range from Power Level 1 to 6; Contact services will be expanding to catch up soon - Improved Talents for corporate captains, corporate infantry drones, Brave Star faction - Some enemies now capable of using medkits to heal themselves, others using Patch-X kits to restore Armor Protection - Fixed Matrix Q-Sec Escalations were not using their minimum Q-Sec Level limits correctly; Global IC now only appears at 4+ - Small adjustment for balance for high Power Level IC, reduced their HP by 10-20% - Improved Safehouse timeline timing and pausing around pop-up events; preventing Dialog and Limit Breaks at the same time - Fixed issue with Safehouse timeline mission expiration warnings not always working - Fixed formatting issues with over use of "When Matrix Hacking," in class tree and other places

[ 2024-07-09 16:04:08 CET ] [ Original post ]

The New Boston streets are buzzing with rumors of updates, rumors of new bristling weaponry and mods, rumors of new UX improvements, rumors of more! With today's update, we've made some exciting balance changes to Contact Limit Breaks, rolled out 3 new service upgrades for Gun Runners, added 2 new Contact Types that purchase Item Blueprints and completed a series of UX upgrades and Steam Deck improvements to help everyone using floor Talents, inspecting matrix terminals or checking the pause menu for keybindings. Thank you all for playing, posting and leaving a review! We're a very small studio working hard to polish and improve the game as much as possible in this Early Access - so please consider taking a moment to share our work with other gamers by clicking Review!

Contact Limit Breaks: Go for Services!

We've made a big balance chance to how Contact Limit Breaks picks what to upgrade. Too often, the Limit Break would end up with a less exciting upgrade which simply wasn't as fun or exciting. Now we've pushed the weighting to be more in favor of taking Service Upgrades if they are available. If a Gun Runner can upgrade with their Influence to sell you better guns, then they are going to be significantly more eager to pick that choice from the weighted table. They still have their other options - Traits and temporary Traits - and more will be coming online too, but prioritizing service upgrades can really help ensure that you're getting more actionable Limit Breaks for your Contacts early on. We've also fixed a bug with how the Contacts were drawn for Limit Breaks. They were always being pulled in the same order, basically sorted by their age, and the young ones were always picked first if they had a break. This led to some Contacts who were even created during new game sort of being stuck "at the end of the line" ... looking at you, Potato :eyes:.

Gun Runner Service Upgrades

To pair with the improvement to Limit Breaks focusing on services, we've added 3 new service upgrades with Update #105:

• Gun Runners can upgrade their Street Guns service up to level 4, which adds 8 total new weapons at Power Level 4 across the spectrum of types.
• Gun Runners can also upgrade their Weapon Mod service to Power Level 3 which adds 7 new mods, focusing on ARs, Snipers, Blades and with one for Shotguns.
• Imported Weaponry from your Warner-Braun connected Gun Runner can upgrade to Level 4, at which time, you'll be offered a new Blade and new Assault Rifle in addition to what was already there.

More Blueprint Buyers

We've further expanded the options for selling Blueprints - with Dopers and Bio-Tech Researchers joining the pool that is now interested in purchasing Item Blueprints. This should cover a wider range fo groups that have different starting characters or made different story choices so far.

Floor Talent Clarity

Talents that target a specific location on the floor - like Lure, Glitch, Slashslide and Overwatch - have long lacked the standard display for Talents within the game. We've adjusted that with this update to include the AP bar (so you know you're spending 0, 1, or 2 AP, etc) as well as the keybinding hint (click for desktops or (Y) as default for controllers). This is a big help especially for players new to the game to understand how this class of Talent is used compared to others, and even more helpful for controllers.

Photo Mode Remembers

Photo mode now correctly remembers the last location and exact rotation between uses. So, if you hit (P) and setup the perfect shot, you can hit ESC - either by accident or because you want to go back to playing - without losing "your shot." Hit (P) again and the photo mode will resume exactly where you had set it up before.

Control Scheme & Steam Deck Improvements

With Update #105, we've fixed an issue where (A) or (spacebar) was being used to trigger terminal inspection. This didn't cross very well with planning and executing a movement to the terminal as you might trigger inspection by accidentally hovering over it. We've switched this to (H) or (right-stick click) which is usually Toggle Outlines, but in the context of hover over a terminal, triggers inspection.

Steam Deck Updates

For Steam Deck and controllers, we've also improved the transition from one scheme to the other by only showing the controls that are bound in the game's pause menu. We've also tuned up the detection of the switch to be faster and more accurate. We're still working on situations where it can get stuck in one mode or another but this is a marked improvement. We've also hidden the controller white dots cursor whenever a window comes up and fixed a bug where playing with a mouse and Edge Scrolling on didn't work great when swapping to a controller.

Simstream Token Display

The Simstream Trainer gathers tokens to allow you to respec your crew. If you're using them, then knowing when they are ready or sitting idle is important. The Simstream Trainer had missed having the token display added but now that is fixed. Thanks to the community for the F10s on this!

v1.7.21 - 7/5/2024

- Big increase in weighting to pick Service upgrades whenever available for Contact Limit Breaks - Improved sequencing of Contact Limit Breaks - some Contacts were stuck waiting in line - Gun Runners can further upgrade Weapon Mod service to PL 3, adding 7 new mods across AR, Sniper, Blade, Shotgun - Gun Runners can further upgrade Weapon service to PL 4, adding 8 new weapons across types - Improved W-B Imported Weaponry service upgrade to include new AR and Blade at PL 4 - Additional Contacts - Dopers and Bio-Tech Researchers - are interested in buying Item Blueprints - Added missing AP bar and keybinding hint for Talents that target floor - Lure, Overwatch, Slashslide, etc - Added token tag for Simstream Trainer to show its token generation - Improved keyboard bindings for renaming / text box windows - now correctly ENTER to save - Improved photo mode - remembers that last position, rotation and restores it when toggling in with (P) - Correctly refreshed right side of inventory/market if you sold the last item - Fixed bug with some filters and sorts (highest level gear) if you started removing weapons/armor - Fixed issues with mouse cursor + edge scroll when using a controller

[ 2024-07-05 20:22:47 CET ] [ Original post ]

The New Boston zone truly never sleeps - utterly covered in the protective dome, its day and night cycles are primarily simulated and controlled district-by-district. So, it's always Update Time somewhere! With tonight's update we have a new room in the safehouse (aha, sweet competition for space!), improved value of Contact Trust, another round of polish for the Steam Deck experience, and a rapid fix for suddenly disappearing DisplayLink cybernetics. Thanks to everyone playing, posting and leaving a review! We're a small studio, so please consider taking a moment to share our work with other gamers by clicking Review!

New Safehouse Room: Triage Clinic

The Triage Clinic is a boon for merc squads that like to go loud, always find the heist ending in a fire fight or just love hunting for those battle striker missions. Whoever comes home shot up and bloody goes straight into the triage clinic, and while it is not medical ward at one of your Street Docs or Corp Splicer's clinic, immediate treatment and stabilization can help both reduce Injury Time and increase the chance of resisting long-lasting Wounds from developing. The starting Triage Clinic reduces Injury Time by 25% and grants a +10% Wound Res to all rolls to resist wounds at the end of a mission.

Trusty Favors

As we continue to push on the strategy layer and your Contact connections, we've boosted the value that Trust has on your Contacts favors, nearly doubling it. Work with those you Trust and when they do something nice for you, it will be bigger and there will be more cred in it for you.

Steam Deck Improvements

With this update we've improved how the (X) button is handled in the matrix to make a more clear and useful loop between the parts of the HUD. Also, we fixed an issue when using (X) that would cause the currently active element to get stuck if the first Talent in your list was disabled. Now it will skip to the first enabled Talent or just skip Talents altogether and jump to End Turn.

Disappearing DisplayLink

With the last update, we accidentally made all DisplayLink cybernetics disappear. They have returned! Sorry for the short and sudden removal ... I bet that hurt. Here, want them back? That might hurt too!

Other UI Bugs

We've also fixed a number of minor UI issues reported with F10s - places where clicking with a mouse wasn't working in the dialog screens and places where the UI was overlapping in victory screens. Also, upgrading Agent EX White Noise Talent no longer benefits Marker Sights (what?!)

v1.7.19 - 7/3/2024

- New safehouse room - Triage Clinic can reduce Injury Time and adds Wound Res for all mercs returning from missions - Doubled the effect of Trust % for Contacts on the value of their Favors - Fixed bug where all DisplayLink cybernetics suddenly disappeared - Fixed issue with Agent EX White Noise upgrades increasing Soldier's Marker Sights duration - Fixed overlapping UI issues in victory screens when merc earns codename - Fixed issue where clicking on some buttons in dialog, legwork selection would not select (had to use key) Steam Deck Improvements - Improved use of (X) key to jump between HUD sections in the matrix - Fixed issue where using (X) would get stuck if the first Talent in your list was disabled

[ 2024-07-03 21:27:36 CET ] [ Original post ]

It's late night on the New Boston streets and things are quiet - until the update hover truck drops in. Roaring engines, new improvements, more level points for you! and you! and you! - plus Blueprints can now be sold widely, more Contacts are buying accounts, service maximums are more clear, better Matrix Escalation balance, you can detach mods again (woops!) and another big round of Steam Deck improvements. You know - just another New Boston day, another big update! If you're enjoying the pace of improvement and how we do things over here at Trese Brothers, please leave a review. We are a small team, working hard for your reviews - if you like it, review it!

Steam Deck Progress

We plan to have continual Steam Deck progress for a while here, angling toward a better control scheme. Update #102 is taking a big step forward with resetting the default controller bindings to be more immediately playable and easy to use.

• Swapped Set Movement Destination to (Y) - it is easier to find and you can hold it down and drag your movement destination around by panning the camera.
• Swapped Toggle Highlights to (Right Stick Click) and added Decrease Full Auto Targets to (Left Stick Click) so you can control the Full Auto targets directly
• Fixed issue with (RT) being required to open Leverage and Item lists in HUD, use default select (A)
• Improved ability to preview terminal's security devices - center cursor plus (RT) to inspect

These changes are coming right out of the group chatting on our Discord in the Steam Deck Blitz thread and aren't likely to be the final changes, but please let us know how these changes feel and what else we can do to improve or if you found bugs, let's get them fixed on your Deck! In order to use the latest default controller bindings - go to Options > Keybindings - Missions > Reset Defaults.

Better Level Point Progression

Bonus! You get extra Level Points today for all your characters who have at least reached level 10! We've improved the curve, smoothing out a minor oddity at level 9 & 10, and then added an extra +1 Level Point for every 5 levels achieved. So, that's extra points at 10, 15, 20 and 25 - adding up to +4 Level Points for max'd out characters.

Blueprints for Sale!

Blueprints have not been mature enough for a long time to really go up for sale, but as we are narrowing in on the upcoming crafting release, the time has come. Now a variety of Contacts can purchase Blueprints, limited by Type and Power Level. Contacts like Gun Runners will be interested in buying your Weapon and Weapon Mod Blueprints, while Corporate Researchers others will want to get a hold of your Item Blueprints. Most Contacts start being able to purchase Blueprints up to Power Level 3 and will need further Limit Breaks to upgrade their services to purchase higher level and even more valuable Blueprints.

Better Service Listing

With Update #102, we've improved the display of Contact Service's list to be more clear when a Contact has maxed out a service. With the addition of Influence Limit Breaks being able to raise a service's level and trigger the sale of new weapons, armor, items, implants (etc) this is key to help further identify Contacts you want to focus on helping, selling to and supporting. Maxed out Services are highlighted in yellow.

More Account Interest

More Contact types are now interested in purchasing Accounts from you, giving you the option to feed more Influence to them. For Contact types like Street Doc, Dopers, Gang Bosses, it is now easier to raise their Influence with high Rarity Account sales, but check their specific services for what they are seeking and keep an eye out for matching missions. For example, your Street Docs can make use of Street Accounts - those from Gangs - so, consider extra time and effort to plunder and hack on missions running up against gangs if you're trying to push your Street Docs up to Cybernetic Implants level 3.

Matrix Escalation Rebalance

As we continue to improve the matrix - and especially tune its balance for high Power Levels - we've made some changes with Update #102 that should help make the late-game matrix play more interesting and offer some more strategies. First, we've adjusted how the Wake All IC Q-Security Escalation was weighted and drawn. It was used as a backup for a number of other cards that might not apply, causing it to be drawn far more often than it should be. It has now been pushed back to a realistic weighting among all the other options and should occur significantly less frequently, especially on nodes where the are already 3+ IC. Secondly, we've adjusted the weighting of other Q-Security Escalation options, including to punch up the 3 types of lethal feedback the host can dish out - to your Hacker's HP, your deck and your Connection %. For your Hackers HP, the hits can now also come with a lot more bite, ranging from 10 to 30 Damage on the most deadly hosts - and then reduced by half your Deck Armor directly (8 Deck Armor = 4 HP saved).

Detach Mods

For a minute there, the ability to remove mods from weapons was completely gone. We've fixed this, bringing it back!

v1.7.17 - 7/2/2024

- Improved level points curve, +2 pts at checkpoints 10, 15, 20, 25 and smoothed out odd bump at level 9/10 and - New Contacts willing to buy Blueprints by type - Gun Runners buy Weapon Blueprints, Researchers buy Item Blueprints and more - More Contacts willing to buy Accounts (Street/Syndicate/Corporate): Street Docs, Dopers, Gang Bosses, Detectives, Sector Commander - Wider range of Contacts can boost Influence with high Rarity Account sales to drive Limit Breaks - Contact Services are now highlighted in Yellow if they cannot be upgraded further by Limit Breaks - Matrix balance improvements - adjusted weighting of Matrix Escalations (more Dmg responses, less Global Wake IC) - Matrix lethal feedback escalation can cause meaningful amounts of HP loss (10-30 HP, less 50% Deck Armor) - Fixing bug preventing from detaching mods from weapons - Prevent special effects (+5% Legwork for all mercs) from appearing in buffs and debuffs list - Fixed Mintable Attack III (FAS) program to have Program Rating 7 Steam Deck Improvements - Improved Steam Deck default controller config - use Options > Keybindings > Reset Defaults - Moved Set Movement Destination to (Y) - easier to find and hold down to drag your movement destination - Moved Toggle Highlights to (Right Stick Click), Decrease Full Auto Targets to (Left Stick Click) - Fixed issue with (RT) being required to open Leverage and Item lists in HUD, use default select (A) - Improved ability to preview terminal's security devices - center cursor plus (RT) to inspect

[ 2024-07-03 04:59:47 CET ] [ Original post ]

A new update is hitting the streets of New Boston to go with the 34% off Summer Sale event! We've got big improvements to photo mode to help you capture awesome screenshots, better treatment for Glitch and Slashslide to give you info about your movement destination, the ability to unequip weapons and armor (yes, finally), improvements for Steam Deck coming directly from our deck players right now, and a clear lock / placeholder message for the 3 Talents that aren't done - Taunt, Preempt and Stemlocker (yes, finally). Thanks to everyone posting feedback, playing and leaving a review! We're a small, hard-working team who lives by your feedback and reviews so please help us out and spread the word!

Enhanced Photo Mode

We snuck in another big step toward completing the Enhanced Photo Mode roadmap item with this release. There are a few more slaps of icing to put on this cake and then we'll be done with it. With the updated photo mode, now whenever you engage photo mode (default P) all the UI will be hidden. In addition, by holding down right click (by default) to rotate your camera with the mouse, you can now rotate vertically and horizontally to get cool new angles of your characters and team. By coming freely pan, full rotation and zooming you can get some new and awesome angles, checking everything out down on the ground floor or from directly overhead. We're excited this will let us all snag cooler screenshots of the game - but let us know what else you'd like to see.

Improved Slashslide and Glitch

Slashslide and Glitch took a big step forward in this update, being treated more like movement now. As you consider the targeting for either of these Talents, the numbers for your weapons in the bottom left corner - how many could I attack from this new position, how many would hear that attack? - are updated live. This is the first step to getting these Talents respected as movement, the next will be to get all the sightlines added as if you were moving. Then we'll be fixing the lingering issue with Slashslide and line of sight.

Unequip Weapons, Armor, Items

We've finally added the basic feature to let you unequip weapons, armor and items. You can now remove these in order to give them to another merc without needing to have an extra to facilitate the swap.
If a merc is not carrying 2 weapons and wearing armor, they will refuse to go on a heist.

Steam Deck & Controller

After the big GENESIS update, we're continuing to put pressure on improving Steam Deck as we head back toward a re-verification with Steam. We've got some work to do still but things are running so much better on the deck now. We're also luck to have a good group of players sharing feedback in our Discord and helping us know what our next steps are - join in on the Steam Deck Blitz forum thread on Discord if you have ideas! With this update, we've improved the organization and exactly what is listed in the game's pause menu for key bindings, providing extra helpful items for controllers. Previously, important items like setting a movement destination were just not shown (:facepalm:) We also fixed both Leverages and Items to use the standard accept binding (A) to activate the selected item. Players have been helping us hone in on places where the key required for actions are not consistent (especially with (A) and (RT) atm) and we're going to keep hammering these until its smooth. We also fixed a big bug that prevented the safehouse rooms from rendering properly on smaller screens, including the Steam Deck.

Placeholder Talents

We've finally given clear labeling and locked the 3 placeholder Talents in the game -- Hacker's Stemlocker, Vanguard's Taunt and Cybersword's Preempt. Sorry for all the confusion, we should have done this earlier.

v1.7.15 - 7/1/2024

- Upgraded Photo Mode (P) now use right click to rotate vertically and horizontally while panning/zooming - Improved Talents Glitch and Slashslide - when targeting the bottom left counts for attack/hear update - Adjusted balance of Ex-Detectives Lasting Injuries Trait, removed +5% Stress Res - Improved Dockyard Smuggler's Handshaker Trait with +5% Kinetic Pure Dmg Upgrade - Can now unequip weapons, armor and items from players for easier swapping - Fixed selection/click handling issue in class training tree with upgrade nodes - Fixed bug where player might have incorrect red sight lines (enemy will see you!) drawn at start of level - Correctly locked and updated text for the 3 placeholder Talents - Taunt, Stemlock and Preempt Steam Deck and Controller Improvements - Improved keybinding/controller binding list shown in game menu to include everything more clearly - Section covers movement actions (set (R stick-click) / accept movement destination (RT)) and Select Talent List (X) - Swapped the accept button in the HUD Backpack to use an item to (A) - Fixed issues with Safehouse room rendering on smaller screens like Steam Deck

[ 2024-07-01 20:46:05 CET ] [ Original post ]

We've got Update #101 tonight landing in the New Boston zone, following up on the GENESIS update. We're soaking up community feedback through the forums, Discord and F10s and excited to keep updating and improving rapidly through Early Access. Please keep sharing with us - you're the engine that drives us to improve and improve again. As usual, after a big roadmap update, we need a few polish updates, so tonight Update #101 improves the Legwork system, some minor tweaks to Haven Smokeout, fixes New Game V2 bugs and a ton of fixes to issues and feedback posted by the community. If you're enjoying the pace of updates, the 5 major milestones we hit in June and playing the game, please remember to post up a review.

Haven Smokeout Adjustments

Thanks to all the players posting up feedback on Haven Smokeout mission, we've made adjustments to the map and reinforcement rules. In addition, we've adjusted the secondary objective for the mission to be within 15 Turns instead of 12 Turns, giving everyone a little more breathing room. Let us know how your heists go and how the adjustments play out.

Legwork Team Visibility

With Update #101, we've improved the Legwork system to be much clearer about what mercs are eligible for the legwork based on their backstory, traits, and skills. The upgrade shows all mercs who are eligible for the legwork but then disables them if they are Injured, just a Recruit, in the Simstream Detox or Trainer, getting Medical Treatment, committed to another Legwork or Injured. All of these mercs are now shown but unavailable for selection, which takes a lot of the mystery about why you may have less mercs ready for the Legwork than you expected.

Better Cold Storage Tabs

With Update #101, we've redone the icons for the digital good types in Cold Storage and re-ordered them as well - now Accounts, Blueprints, Files and File Sets. This helps to move sets out to the end, get the icons to be far more visually readable and distinct.

Cybersword Adaptive Restruct

We've fixed a minor issue with Cybersword's Adaptive Restruct Talent not costing 1 AP to use. Now, bringing your Armor back up a Protection Point will cost you 1 AP, unless you further upgrade the Talent.

New Game Talents Tab

We fixed a bug with the new game Talents tab - once you opened the Face's page, all of the other characters had their Talents tab locked. Fixed.

Fixed Other Bugs

Thanks to everyone posting F10s, we've fixed a ton of typos, small issues and other small bugs.

v1.7.13 - 6/29/2024

- Haven Smokeout, secondary objective extended to 15 Turns (from 12) - Improved Legwork offering to show all eligible characters, even if they can't (cyber surgery, detox, treatment, etc) - New icons and new order for the tabs in Cold Storage (Accounts, Blueprints, Files, File Sets) - Fixed Cybersword Talent Adaptive Restruct to cost 1 AP to use by default - Fixed bug with Ex-Detective Backstory for your Knight causing them to be invisible, speak as "Unknown" - Fixed bug in new game that made the View Talents tab disabled after viewing the Face - Fixed issue with Battle Strike missions ending early if you killed all enemies very quickly - Fixed reported typos in dialog and new game - Fixed some odd floating objects in safehouse rooms 3D - Fixed odd bug with non-existent Contact in the list

[ 2024-06-30 02:49:29 CET ] [ Original post ]

Update #100(!!) is here with full cRPG character creation for your Cyber Knight, and more. Enjoy 34%-off for the Steam Summer Sale!

New Game v2

Desire for more fine-grained control over your Knight's stats has been a consistent drumbeat of feedback we've heard from you all, and now the new New Game experience is ready to offer it! You can now choose your own background, traits, and attribute bonuses for your Knight, dive into visual customization if you want, then select your starting squad members. Backgrounds come with some inherent stat bonuses, open up new trait options for more, add tags that our Casting Director story engine uses to select storylines for your Knight, and offer context for your roleplaying, explaining how your character started down this path of underworld connections that eventually lead to becoming a Cyber Knight. We'll add more background options over time. You then have 12 points to spend on your 4 Attributes: Reaction, Strength, Will, and Tech. You can spend up to 6 points on one attribute and no more than 5 on any other single attribute. Traits you select may also grant attribute bonuses.
Finally, Traits grant special stat bonuses and can grow over time as your Knight achieves limit breaks and can potentially choose trait upgrades as a reward (check the Cyber Knights wiki for trait upgrade stats). You can choose one background-specific trait and one Knight-specific trait during knight creation. Thanks to all in our Discord who shared feedback on this system's preview! It's a great addition to the game, emphasizing the Knight's role as your main character. Experienced players will consider their long-term planned build to find the best synergies, and (if needed) re-spec their Knight's starting talents once they reach the Safehouse You can also now view starting talents for your team members during squad selection, helping new players make more informed choices about if they want to start with an Agent EX or Vanguard, a Sniper or a Scourge, etc.

New keybindings for talents, Reload, Yield & Delay

We've added new, configurable keybindings for selecting talents, reloading, and Yielding or Delaying in the initiative order. You can now by default press 1-9 to select your talents rather than needing to mouse down to the action bar, press R to reload, Y to Yield, or U to Delay. We helped enemies go faster with the Skip Enemy Turn feature in update #98, now it's your turn!

Controller & Steam Deck improvements

This update brings major improvements to playing with a controller or on Steam Deck. We've smoothed out navigation, scrolling, screen transitions, and made it so that the Steam virtual keyboard now appears for all controller types.
We have a final round of Steam Deck testing to do and a new default controller configuration to set up for it in the next few days, and then we'll submit for Steam Deck verification. If you're playing on a Steam Deck now, we'd love to hear any feedback or suggestions for the new default controller configuration.

Summer Sale deals, help us spread the word?

It's awesome to reach update #100 already, and you know more updates (including another major feature addition) are right around the corner. If you're enjoying Cyber Knights, we'd love your help getting the word out about it! Please give the game a shout-out to your friends (maybe check your Steam friends list to see who's played similar games like XCOM 2 or Shadowrun) and suggest us to anyone you see looking for great games in the Steam Summer Sale! Cyber Knights is 34%-off, a great deal for a game with as much replayability as we're building into it. We're pumping the sales now during EA, but will be scaling back discount %s as we get closer to full launch. And if you're looking for more deals during the Steam Summer Sale, all our previous games are on sale right now too! Great time to pick up the Best of Trese Brothers bundle for more deep RPGs and tactics games to dive into: https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/37813/Best_of_Trese_Brothers/

v1.7.9 - 6/27/24

- All new cRPG style Knight Creator in new game - select your background, assign attributes, pick your Traits, perfect your look - Once you've optimized your Knight for your desired playstyle, assemble your team as usual and hit the ground heisting - View starting Talents for your team characters (like Vanguard, Agent EX) to make more informed choices - Tag now shown over the Command HQ showing the max and count of active tasks - Major improvements and bug fixes to playing with a controller - navigation, scrolling, screen transitions fixes - Steam virtual keyboard now appears for all controller types - Steam Deck, Big Picture Mode, controller in normal mode - Added 10 new configurable keybindings for Talents (default 0-9) - Added new configurable keybinding for Reload (default R) - Added new configurable keybinding for Yield (default Y) and Delay (default U) - Improved description of Scourge's Talent Reknit, removing all confusing language about duration - Fixed some bad copies of SMG RapidFire that were for sale on market

[ 2024-06-27 19:05:14 CET ] [ Original post ]

Update #98 follows up on 2 major milestone releases - DOMINION and GO FAST - to continue to press forward on other areas of the game. Tonight's focus is on new enemies, improved enemy weapons and armors, new armor setup for enemy corporate captains and new varieties of reinforcement groups arriving across the faction lines. Thanks to everyone posting F10s, posting feedback to the community and to everyone who left a review to push us up and over 300! We're short on days but we still have a busy June ahead of us as we try to close out our (self-inflicted) challenge to close all these major milestones by the end of the month. To be honest, we've already hit 4 milestones which is crazy and we should be able to get #5 but the other 2 are going to slip into July by a few days to a week.

New Enemy Types, Clearer VFX

Two new enemy types have been added, both armed with portable nano-capsules capable of releasing small fields of nanites that can form up to affect an incoming bullet just enough to alter its course from a hit to a miss. At the street and gang level, these Benders are cruder in their art, but the trained corporate Divergents boast a hi-tech and more expensive kit and are capable of putting up bigger Evasion buffs more often. We're super excited to get on the track here of adding new enemies of all sorts - with new abilities, weapons and special moves. This is a great time for the enemy catalog to go from woefully shallow to something deep and much more exciting. If an enemy uses an debuff against your team or a buff on their team, we've improved the VFX for these rarer and important events to be constant. They are light visual touches but they should help draw attention to the buff/debuff and can help prompt you to check the status pop up for the character or enemy to learn more about the specific effect in play.

Continued Improvement on Enemies

We've continued to press this week on better progression across the board for the enemies in all factions. We've rolled out upgraded armor and weapons for a number of enemies as they scale into higher Power Levels and most notably, corporate Captains can now get armor as high as 3 Protection Points, making them significantly harder targets to take down, especially in Kill 3 missions. Also, we've rebuilt some of the reinforcement groups that can be rolled for different factions, so expect to see a more varied response teams, mixing the new enemy types, some snipers and other enemies in where they didn't previously appear.

Improved Attributes

In prep for the next major milestone of New Game V2 (Knight Creator) we've improved some of the effects of Attributes. You now gain +2% Dmg to Drones per point of Tech and +1% Dumpshock Res per Will instead of +1% to every 2 Will. Small changes, but helping to bring the Attributes into a tighter balance.

Improved Traits

A number of Contact and merc Traits got a lift with this update. Thanks to everyone reporting issues with Traits via F10 and for the balancing suggestions as well.

• Merc Traits Grit, Scrappy, Bouncer and Bull-Built all now give nicer HP bonuses
• Contact Trait Detailed Oriented has gained bonus for buying Files and big Exposure Res bonus
• Contact Trait Calculating has been reclassified as a positive Trait
• Fixed bugs in progression with the MilSec Merch Trait

Custom Difficulty: -1 Tally Rules

If you modified your custom difficulty setting to apply a -1 to the designed rate of Security Tally this did work except if the Security Tally was +1, in which case it was ignored. That was some silly nonsense which we have now fixed, it is always -1 unless it would force the Sec Tally negative and then time would start going backwards or something.

v1.7.7 - 6/24/2024

- Improved enemy buffs and debuffs to more commonly have a constant VFX so they are more noticeable - New type of street and corporate enemy - Benders and Divergents - Benders / Divergents employ fast moving and flanking tactics, start with bonus Evasion and can buff for even more - Improved armor and weapon progression on corporate captains - now boasting 1-3 Armor Points - Rebuilt some corp, syndicate and street reinforcement groups to have more exciting variations - Improved Attribute effects - now +2% Drone Dmg per Tech (up from +1%) and +1% Dumpshock Res per Will (up from 0.5%) - Improved merc Traits Grit, Scrappy, Bouncer and Bull-Built to have better HP bonuses - Fixed issue with Security Tally modifier in Difficulty; when set to -1 will now set level with +1 to +0/Turn correctly - Improved Detail Oriented Trait to have bonuses to buying Files and big Exposure Res bonuses - Reclassified Contact Trait "Calculating" as a low positive Trait - Fixed issues with progression in Contact Trait "Milsec Merch"

[ 2024-06-26 02:43:39 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello, Knights! It's time for another CKF Community Challenge. Our previous challenge was all about multi-classing and how you mixed and matched talents. For this challenge, we are asking you to leave your Vanguard back at base and take your Agent EX out on all missions you can. There are two requirements for this challenge: - You cannot take a Vanguard on any mission - You cannot multiclass anyone into any Vanguard talents For a true challenge, apply these requirements to a fresh start, brand new game. This is not required however, you can just pick up from wherever you are and just no longer use a Vanguard or any Vanguard talents via respec. There also may be missions you cannot do with your Agent EX depending on their backstory - you have a few options for this. As there aren't very many, you can just skip them. You can do them without a Vanguard or an Agent EX. This will likely make them more challenging, but that could be part of the fun!
As always, we want to see and hear about your adventures tackling the challenge so here are some ideas for what wed love to see: - Screenshots of your squad and their talent trees - After Action Reports of your missions, challenges you faced - Tell us about the challenge posed by not having a Vanguard, were there any? Were you surprised in any way? - Any other creative ways you want to share to tell us about your heists with your multi-classed mercs: memes, interpretive dance, gifs, etc
No matter what you choose to share, please share screenshots of your Vanguard-less squad on a mission! Weve opened up a discussion here on Steam in the General Discussion forum for aIl of your posts. If you post in our Discord, head to #agentex_challenge to join in on the conversation!

[ 2024-06-25 18:12:39 CET ] [ Original post ]

This major milestone unlocks a much needed option to increase the pace of play by skipping through enemy turns that aren't exciting to watch or are not directly impacting your team. This isn't likely the final improvement we can make to pace of play but it is definitely the biggest so far. We've also added much needed step out mechanics for grenades as well as the Agent EX's Shadow and Glitch Talents. This greatly increases the value and versatility of these Talents and lets you use them with the same asymmetrical advantage around corners that you are used to with weapons. Even better news, we're not done! June is still ticking and we've got 3 more major milestones to hit. Let's go, New Knight V2 and Crafting!
We did say the end of June would be BUSY! So here we are with back-to-back major milestones (DOMINION and now GO FAST), each a much needed feature that has been in the works and testing for months now arriving at last. If you like this maniac pace of updates and improvements, please hit the review button! There is no better way to thank our team steamthumbsup

Skip Enemy Turns

In any tactical game, playing at your own pace is a key part of enjoying yourself. For some players, enemy turns in Cyber Knights: Flashpoint have always dragged on, especially as there can be a lot of enemies who are walking, patrolling, hunting your mercs without finding them and this can soak up time. With this major milestone update, we've finally hit the goal of adding a Skip Enemy Turn option for you to decide how fast or slow you want to play. With this new feature, whenever an enemy is taking their turn, a prompt shows above the enemy turn banner inviting you to skip ahead, fast forwarding the rest of their turn. If you do so (default, ESC or (B) on controller) the enemy's movement for the Turn will be rapidly displayed as a red movement destination and then their Turn will be over and on to the next thing! If the enemy is deemed to have some important impact on the Turn, such as finding a body, spotting a merc or running into your Overwatch firing zone, the turn will not be skippable. Therefore, this fast forward feature is most helpful during patrolling, hunting and enemies sent by the Sec AI to investigate troublesome events on the map. Once the firing starts, there will be less skippable enemy turns. We're excited to hear your feedback on the feature and how to improve. It drastically increases the speed of play but we could dig deeper and try to squeeze more if you, our players, are hungry for it. For example, we might:

• Add an option to skip every enemy turn possible without requiring you to hit a key. Without a doubt this sacrifices battlefield and tactical awareness for speed but let us know if you'd want this.
• Further improve the types of turns that can be skipped, including combat turns.

Hit us up on our Discord, the Steam forums or in F10s - you know we are here to chat and eager to improve, so let us know what you'd like to see to further polish this lovely new feature.

Step Out for Grenades, Glitch, Shadow

We're very excited to make Grenades, Glitch and Shadow so much more natural to use. The days of having to risk an extra AP to step around a corner to throw your grenade are finally gone. With step out nicely integrated - just like firing your weapon - your merc will automatically step out around corners to get the best line of sight toward whatever you're targeting.
For Glitch and Shadow which don't bounce when they hit something impassible but are fully stopped, this is even more important to make the Talents useful at sharp angles around corners. It's a huge improvement to bring all the Talents that rely on line of sight or throwing arcs up to the same standard so there isn't a confusion or surprises as you try to execute your team tactics.

Targeting Improvements for Slashslide, Glitch, Shadow

We've improved the targeting rules for Slashslide, Glitch and Shadow to prevent them from being used directly on top of another merc of enemy. In the case of Slashslide and Glitch this prevents the ... glitchy ... result where you and the enemy are occupying the same space, clipping together. Assuming they survive! And for Shadow, this avoids the very hard to predict behavior where you can't be sure which way the enemy AI will interpret the Shadow wants them to look.

Sync Talent Upgrade 6

We've added a 6th upgrade node for the Cyber Knight's Sync Talent which grants another +10m range. This will help for those players that know they like to split their team up but still want the advantages of the power strategies like Knight using Precomputed Advantage on themselves as their last action for the Turn, smashing a 25 Initiative for the next Turn and then using Sync to get the entire team to the front of the starting line for the Turn. That extra +10m helps everyone stay in the quantum rider's envelope and get those advantages.

v1.7.3 - 6/21/2024

- Skip enemy turns by hitting cancel (ESC, B) - movement is previewed and skipped - Skip enemy turns especially speeds up gameplay during enemy patrols, hunting and when moving to investigate - If enemy is "in the action" their turns cannot yet be skipped - Turns of enemies considered far enough away to have no impact are still skipped without camera focus (see options) - Cornering / Step Out now works for Grenades, Glitch, Shadow, Slashslide - Improved targeting rules for Slashlide, Glitch, Shadow and other Talents to avoid targeting directly on top of merc/enemy - New Cyber Knight upgrade node for Sync Talents offers third +10m range - Fixed issue when purchasing treatment where the availability of space at the clinic (1/2, etc) was not shown - Fixed lock up after setting Flexible Difficulty in Safehouse - Fixed hovers over NBS Cubes in Safehouse HUD

[ 2024-06-22 01:43:42 CET ] [ Original post ]

This major milestone unlocks another major part of the game's strategy layer as the New Boston underworld and its Contacts come alive in all new ways. It is great to see the roadmap design advancing with this - now your favored Contacts thrive while those you hate or work against wither. Up until now, most of your actions have focused on their inward impact - money for equipment, Experience for Training, new recruits. And while you've been able to meet new Contacts and alter their Traits and Services through storylines, all of your game decisions weren't also echoing into the wider underworld and into your network of Contacts. Now, your decisions regarding Contacts, running or ignoring their missions, selling them high Rarity Accounts and following their storylines all have [i[outward impact and will feed their dynamic evolution - changing their Traits, Services and more in ways unique to your game. Exciting times to be alive in New Boston! Let's check it out -
At the beginning of June, we threw down the gauntlet to ourselves to try to wrap up this ambitious set of roadmap milestones before the end of the quarter. We are smashing away now with the Agent EX recently out and the Contact Limit Breaks dropping today ... we're still in this fight with 10 days to go! If you like our style of Early Access and how hard our team is working to deliver improvements, gameplay depth, new features and content to you on a very regular basis, we hope you will say "Thank you" to the team by leaving a review! It doesn't have to be long, and you can always edit it later.

Contact Limit Breaks!

Contact Influence and Exposure Limit breaks work in similar ways to your merc's Hype and Stress Limit Breaks. Through your actions, story choices, relationships and changing Eras of the game, your Contacts will gain and lose Influence and Exposure and as their Influence and Exposure top 80%, they will have have a Limit Break and change for the better or the worse.

• Contacts can upgrade their services - like the Power Level of Weapons, Armor or Items - that they sell. With this update, a bunch of services can now be upgraded by Limit Breaks, with a sum total of over 30 new pieces of equipment coming into the game. This will be a rapidly expanding area as well with new upgradable services coming online for other disciplines as well.
• Contacts can upgrade their positive or negative Traits. Your Partnerships can deepen, their issues and hardpoints can grow and worsen.
• Contacts can get temporary positive or negative Traits, like the Hi-Priority Trait that adds +25% to all mission payments for 30 days.
• Exposed Contacts might duck into hiding for a while, disappearing off the scene for up to 30 days and unwilling to buy or sell anything.

Accruing Influence and Exposure

With LImit Breaks coming online, you'll naturally have more interest in the ways your Contacts gain Exposure and Influence. With this major milestone update, we've also plugged in some systems that were waiting for this day, so the new ways to get Exposure and Influence have come online:

• Completing missions for Contacts has always given Influence
• Mission secondary objectives have been expanded to include possible boosts to Influence (more on this below)
• Failing missions for Contacts now causes Exposure
• Ignoring a mission offered by a Contact now has a chance of causing Exposure
• Accounts of Rarity Epic or Legendary will grant a +1 Influence boost to the Contact you select
• More storylines include Influence and Exposure changes depending on how they play out
• Contact's Exposure Res Trait bonus directly reduces the % chance of gaining Exposure
• Contact's Influence Boost has been upgraded to be at % chance to double all Influence gains (huge!)

Contact Service Clarity

To help with making this clear, we've improved the Contact display of services to include their maximum level. This lets you compare, for example, Dr. Ashe to Dr. Knife to see who is selling higher level medical gear or that your recently upgraded Gun Runner who got a cool Limit Break for gun sales is now selling the best weapons on the street.
This also works well with the Sellers filter we added in the last update, so if you see a Limit Break from Origami Joe for Weapons, you can go check out specifically what he is selling today.

High Rarity Accounts

Consider carefully where your Epic and Legendary Accounts are sold these days as each one will add a +1 Influence bonus to the lucky Contact, whether sold for money or for favors.

High Power Level Mission Payments

As crafting is cresting the horizon (in June!?!?), the late game economy needs work. In order to begin to bring the late game economy into balance, we're cutting some of the mission payments to help bring them inline. The $2m and $5m missions in the late game throw things a bit out of whack. For missions at Power Level 5 and above (meaning, Team Power Level 5+ if you're on a balanced difficulty) the payments start to take a dip. Where you used to get $600K as the starting point for a Power Level 5 mission, you'll now start calculations at $500K. For PL 7, you've dropped from starting $2m to starting $1.2m and Power Level 10 went from a (whopping!) $25m to $4m. Storyline bonuses, conditions, secondary objectives, Contact Traits all still apply, so these are just the starting points of the negotiation :D

Secondary Objective Reward Update

With this major milestone update, we've improved the variety of secondary objective reward offerings, which previously only included extra money or extra XP. Now these secondary objectives can include gaining Favors from your Contact, additional boosts to their Influence or their Trust % with you. This extra variety is great to mix up the rewards, and it plays to the new Contact Limit Break feature that is rolling out with this update as well. The next set of updates for secondary objectives fill focus on expanding the types of goals you are asked to achieve beyond "go fast" and "go quiet" with a lot of exciting other options that will add cool complications.

Item Sales in the Underworld

For a little while, Item sales in the underworld have gotten pretty twisted around. Doctors were selling Grenades, Gun Runners were selling Bandages and no one was selling Bio-Recyclers or Dazzlers. In prep for the Limit Break update and the ability for these sellers to upgrade what they sell, we've cleaned house and straightened everything out nice. We've also cleanly split Street Military Gear (sold by Gun Runners, Gang Bosses, etc) and MilSec Military Gear (sold by Corrupt cops, security officers, etc). These distinctions are especially important as each service will evolve differently as the Contacts hit their limit breaks, and MilSec Military Gear heads off into more techy gear while Street Military Gear focuses on more boom-boom grenades.

Fixed "Kill All Enemies" Objectives

There has been a nagging issue with any objective that was to kill all of the enemies. Your victory was never registered until the end of the Turn which might mean you missed a secondary objective or just had to click End Turn a bunch of times. This is now resolved - your victory will be swift and it will be severe. Before the last ragdoll thumps on the floor, the game knows and is ready to award you victory.

v1.7.1 - 6/20/2024

- Contacts now achieve Influence Limit Breaks and suffer Exposure Limit Breaks (either at 80%+) - Contact Limit Breaks can increase levels of positive and negative Traits - Contact Limit breaks can grant Temporary Traits (+25% Mission Payment, +25% Price of buying Files) - Contact Influence Limit Breaks can upgrade services, like upgrading weapons sold or items sold - Limit Breaks can add 10 new weapons, 13 new weapon mods, 4 new Armors, 5 new/upgraded items - Contact Exposure Limit Breaks can send Contacts into hiding for up to a month - Selling Epic or Legendary Rarity Accounts to a Contact will increase their Influence by +1 - Complete Missions and Stories with Contacts to increase Influence, more options to feed Influence are coming - Failing missions or ignoring missions from Contact has chance of causing Exposure increase - Improved Contact Trait bonus Influence Boost to be % Chance to gain extra Influence - Expanded rewards possible for secondary objectives in proc-gen missions to Favors, Influence and Trust - Reduced money rewards for Missions at Power Level 5 or above - bringing late game economy toward balance - Fixed all Items Services to make a lot more sense and separated Street Military Gear from MilSec Military Gear - Fixed issue with battle missions with "Kill All Enemies" not immediately ending when last enemy is dead - Fixed issue with swapping weapons where second equipped weapon would not be shown - Fixed issues with Leverages Lazy Shift, Bribed Shift and Unexpected Fly-over showing that they buff enemies - Improved description of Legwork "Under our Thumb" to be more clear - +1 Favor per month - Removed useless Reo-Flexsuit Armor from sale

[ 2024-06-21 00:42:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

Update #96 is another big bundle of improvements straight from the communities F10s. We are keeping the updates flowing and starting to pull in the big dev branches for our June roadmap milestones. Next up will be Contact Limit Breaks, and this update specifically paves the way for that and pushes some needed improvements to systems in advance of its arrival. Thanks to everyone posting F10s, posting feedback to the community and to everyone leaving a review as we march to 300 reviews!

Improved Filters

To help with filtering in all cases, we've improved the clarity of the grouping UI, making the titles really pop and adding space between the groups. They are much more readable now, thankfully. We've also improved weapons filter specifically by removing 3 dead-end filters for dogs, cats and drone weapons.

Sellers Filter

We've added a new filter to the market to allow you to filter specifically by a seller. If you've ever wanted a clear view into what Origami Joe is selling versus your other weapons dealers, or you want to know what a new V-Chip Contact is offering, now it is easy to slice and dice the market by one or more sellers with a filter. This will be really helpful shortly with Contact Limit Breaks and Contacts upgrading their service offerings.

Salvage Job Bug

We fixed an issue with the Salvage Job sibling who might have suddenly started demanding that you recruit him or her AGAIN. Sorry about this issue, should now be cleaned up as of this update.

Melee Weapons and Recoil

A very, very old rule was hanging around in the combat engine that made blades and all melee weapons ignore 50% of the Recoil your character currently had. This was from before the time of Glancing Blows and greatly reduces the importance of Recoil for melee weapons, reduces the value of Strength, and all Talents, Traits and Cyberware that help compensate for Recoil. We had to remove the rule - melee weapons now use the standard Recoil rules that all weapons use. Before you reach for your pitchfork, keep in mind that melee weapons always get a Glancing Blow, so this change may cause you to get more Glancing Blows at the worst.

More Agent EX Fixes

We've improved the VFX for the EX's Smokescreen Talent as well as Smoke Grenades. it just looks cooler now with more dense smoke in a shape that more clearly fills the area as well as not disappearing after a few second! We've removed a confusing combat log about using Glitch Talent, which wasn't needed.

Looting Updates

Big changes to looting will be coming very soon with crafting release. Along with this we're working improve the looting tables and setup for many missions. In this update we hit a number of proc-gen missions and the starter Forward Op mission.

v1.6.43 - 6/18/2024

- Upgraded UI styles for filters to clearly separate groups and make headers pop - Added new filter for market to filter by Contact Seller (what does Origami Joe sell?) - Removed unused weapon filters for dogs, cats and drones - Improved visuals for Smoke Grenade and Agent EX Smokescreen Talent and no longer disappear - Removed combat rule that caused melee weapons to use 1/2 Recoil penalty for attacking - Improved loot in Forward Op early game mission and proc-gen missions using the same map - Fixed bug forcing repeat recruitment offer to Salvage Job sibling, even after recruited - Removed confusing combat log after using Agent EX Glitch Talent

[ 2024-06-19 05:07:33 CET ] [ Original post ]

We're excited to be back with another day of fixes and improvements to catch up on the week of no updates. Update #95 hits the streets with some important upgrades to Account and File pricing, improvements to Contact Traits to make them be more impactful, a nice new File Set minting preview that helps clarify what swapping files is doing for your result chances, and a big set of improvements to Agent EX and other areas of the game based on your F10s for the day! If you're enjoying the pace of Early Access around here and the on-going improvements to your game, please do remember to leave us a review. We're a tiny studio and we live on the things. You can always edit it later :D

Improved Digital Prices & Contact Traits

For files and accounts, we've fixed a number of pricing bugs that were preventing Power Level from having the correct impact on the prices of each type. These should now be more reactive to higher Power Level and offer increased prices from your Contacts should be forthcoming. In addition, we've fixed a number of bugs in how Contact Traits were handled that were causing a lot of the price change Traits still not to work as expected. We've been grinding on these and getting everything working right because we're playing the Contact Influence/Exposure Limit Breaks, so these are going to be getting even more important. But for now with Update #95, they're going to help you see even more divergent prices between your Contact offers.

Minting Preview

When changing the files going into Minting a File Set, you can now see a preview of the possible ranges of value for the resulting file - for example, from $35K to $139K. This depends on the inputs (their Rarity and Power Level) and the output they could create (which is randomly selected from the input Rarities and Power Levels).

Stuck Agent EX Roster

For any players who were having their new game Agent EX's roster not load completely, we fixed the issue with their relationship tag to the Wireghost Dancehall that was causing the bug. You can now see all of their tags and their correct equipment.

XP Bar Relative

The XP bar in the roster used to be a progres bar relative to your total XP to your next level, showing a percentage from 0 to your next XP goal, like 1000. We've fixed the bar to work like every XP ever LOL :D and be relative to your progress toward completing your current level (say, from 800 to 1000). Winning!

v1.6.41 - 6/17/2024

- Improved File and Account pricing to be more sensitive to Power Level - Improved File Set minting UI to include the range of prices possible from the mint based on your Rarity/Power Level inputs - Fixed bugs with Contact Traits that were preventing Contacts from offering significantly different prices - Fixed bug with loading Agent EX Sren's roster page due to misformatted relationship tag with Dancehall - Improved Cybersword's Adaptive Restruct Talent description - Fixed possible story dead-end in Salvage Job that leaves sibling as Recruit in roster but cannot talk to them - Fixed XP bar percent in roster to be relative to the current level (800-1000) of all XP (0-1000) - Fixed tutorial issue where sometimes non-tutorial characters (like Emille) would be referenced in dialog

[ 2024-06-17 04:58:41 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome back New Boston! We had a short break here so this is the first update since the Agent EX was dropped. Update #94 focuses fully on patching EX issues, so thanks to everyone for putting in F10s. We've been pleased just how stable the new class has been, how much play time the EX are getting and just how fun the class is to play and integrate into both new and existing teams. So thank you for playing, posting to the forums, hitting F10 if you see something and especially to everyone who left a review this week!

Underworld Hub Recruit Levels

With Update #94, we've resolved the issues that were leaving all recruits at level 1 all the time. Now, Underworld Hub safehouse room will accurately predict the level of the characters it can find and any recruits introduced by other members of the squad or contacts will also have a higher level. This level is based on some math related to your Team Power Level, so as that increases expect to see improved recruit level options.

Full Auto in the Class Tree

Soldier and Agent EX both have +X% Full Auto Damage nodes but these were not displaying or actually elsewhere, like in the combat stats summary block or when damage by Full Auto was estimated or applied. So, this is a nice new bonus you weren't getting before. Also, we've improved 2 of the Soldier's nodes to go from +2% to +3% Full Auto Damage. We've also fixed one of the bottom left Agent EX class tree nodes that only gave +1 Reaction, it now grants +1 Reaction and +2% Evasion.

Other Agent EX Fixes

We've improved the VFX for Shuriken Wave to give it a feeling of a wave and individual enemies getting hit. We've also simplified the damage calculations for it - S-Wave was incorrectly applying cover and distance reductions to damage like a Grenade and making it quite weak. We fixed a bug that could cause Agent EX to lock up when trying to re-use certain Talents (due to their VFX being badly cleaned up). And finally, we fixed a bug where Glitching across different elevations could result in odd rotations and positioning.

v1.6.39 - 6/16/2024

- Fixed starting level of recruits offered by Underworld Hub and by other characters/contacts - no longer always Level 1 - Improved some bonuses in class tree small nodes for Agent EX, Soldier gains 2 X +1% Full Auto boosts - Fixed issue with Full Auto Dmg bonuses from class tree not appearing in Combat Stats block - Fixed bugs where repeated use of some Agent EX Talents could lock game randomly - Improved VFX for Shuriken Wave, fixed issues reducing Pure Damage to targets incorrectly - Fixed bug with Agent EX Glitch where changing elevation would cause odd final rotation - Fixed reported typos, thank you!

[ 2024-06-16 05:00:36 CET ] [ Original post ]

Update #93 brings the second new character class to the game, Agent EX, a high-tech killer with phenomenal mobility, tech-warping cybercontrol, and bonuses for dual SMGs. For new games, the Agent EX can replace the Vanguard in your squad, giving you a character with more limited options for dealing with security systems and manipulating enemy guards, but greater offensive capability and a more specialized set of stealth options. Players that want to run and gun will find the Agent EX can thrive chaotic combat, but may need to invest more in other squad members sec-device-disable talents to deal with laser wires or mines. Players that enjoy using the element of surprise will find it harder to stealthily clear the way for their entire squad with Agent EX, but with clever use of their abilities can frequently position the Agent for deadly ambushes.

The Talent Tree

Like the Scourge, Agent EX is the second and final class to require a type of Nano-Hive implant. At the forefront of dangerously experimental cybernetics, the Nano-Have infuses and links the Agents body to a nanite swarm. This allows the Agent to glitch short distances at undetectable speeds, gives them a variety of infiltration talents, and makes them a nightmare for enemy drones.
Mobility is a core focus of Agent EX, with 12 nodes of +1 Reaction bonuses available throughout their tree, their Glitch talent, and passive talents like:

• Adrenaline Flow - When taking damage from an attack, instantly reduce damage by 50% and gain +1 Move Points.
• Supremacy - When the Security Level rises, gain +10% Evasion, +1 Move Points and +10% Move Speed for remainder of the turn.

SMG specialization is assisted through node bonuses of up to +6% Pistol/SMG accuracy, +15% Full Auto damage, and talents like:

• Dual Reload - Fully reload both of your carried Dual SMGs for 2AP.
• Aimlock - If this Dual SMG attack hits, start an Aimlock Streak so that the next attacks gain +25% Ballistic Pure Dmg upgrade, +25% Armor Shred.

Destroy drones with node bonuses of up to +6% accuracy vs drones, +25% damage vs drones, and two powerful talents:

• Leech - Designate an area (10m radius) within 15m, and while any drone is inside the area they are debuffed with -50% Move Speed and suffers 25 Pure Dmg per turn, which is recouped by the Agent EX.
• N-Coat Bullet - Delivered by bullet, nanites burrow into and infect drone systems. If this attack hits the enemy drone, debuff your target with -100 HP / Turn and -25% All Ranged Accuracy until end of the next turn.

And finally, cloak and corrupt your way past enemy defenses with talents including...

• White-Noise - A hissing, popping White-Noise zone that is 8m across is created within 2m. The zone will slowly move in the direction it is initially released but will not pass through walls. Any enemy within the field is debuffed with the inability to hear the sounds of any movements (but can hear gunfire) for up to 2 turns.
• Line Crawler - Disable a Level 1 Security Device within 12m for next 2 turns. At the start of the next 2 turns, there is a 40% chance of disabling the next nearest Security Device (of any level).
• Shuriken Wave - A whirling, searing cloud of nanites strike all enemies within 10m of your current position, causing 50 Pure Dmg and debuffing with -10% Evasion and -10% Move Speed for remainder of the turn. Cancels enemy Overwatch.

...and more!

How to Get an Agent EX

Existing squads can multiclass a squad member into Agent EX by undergoing cybersurgery to install a Nano-Hive implant. For now, this option is immediately available without investing any extra in Dr. Ashes clinic. Keep in mind you can't respec out of cyber-classes at this time. New squads can select an Agent EX in place of a Vanguard at squad creation. This new character template, Sren, comes with a unique set of traits, starting contacts, and background that the story engine can hook into as we continue to add more content. And well add more Agent EX characters as recruits down the road. Weve had a ton of fun with Agent EX in playtesting, and can see many ways it could shake up the meta for how our most experienced players are building their squads. Thank you to the players in the Steam forums and our Discord who offered feedback on the class preview! As always, during Early Access we may tweak talents to balance as data comes in. And if you spot any bugs, please F10 to report in-game; in-game reports help us prioritize and fix them quick.

v1.6.37 - 6/10/2024

- Added new class: Agent EX (EXpiremental, EXtreme!) uses their nano-hive implant to create a tech-warping cloud of DNA-bonded nanites - Higher Loyalty results in higher Hype left over after Hype Limit Break - Improved Vanguard Glasswalker Talent icon, Smoke Grenades - Smoke Grenades now have a clear border shown around their hazy smoke area - Fixed bug where moving map buff/debuff zones like Tox-Cloud could blip through walls or out of bounds after 2 Turns - Improved calculation of damage shown when making attacks to be more accurate around Pure Dmg - Clarified rules for Vanguard's Lure and Soldier's Red Dot - enemies immediately become Suspicious - Fixed issue with Soldier's Iron Grip granting Kinetic Pure Dmg Upgrade bonus - Vanguard's Projection Talent buffed to 4 AP movement as starting point, can upgrade from there - Fixed issue with Vanguard's Synapse Short debuff reducing Pure Dmg Upgrades instead of Ballistic/Kinetic Dmg directly - Renamed Vanguard's "Static Spectre" Talent to "Counter Static" - Fixed hyper repetitive Combat log about "Starting Preplan Turn" that was a dev-only message - Fixed bug that could allow a Hype Limit Break to appear over top of a dialog sometimes

[ 2024-06-10 16:38:36 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome to June! The sweltering heat out in the Wards outside of the dome hasn't set in completely yet but it won't be long. Things are about to get hot for our roadmap and for major game feature completion. Usually, we tend to avoid posting specific goals, so don't think of this as a promise but as a fun challenge for the team here. We've got a major traffic jam at the launch pad for features and content - so many things that are 80-90% done are piling up that need that last test, polish and content/feature push to be done. So, let's see how many of these we can drop in June! New evolving Contacts with Influence/Exposure Limit Breaks, the fast, deadly and chaotic Agent EX class[/]b, the New Game V2 experience with the Knight character creator, major increase of speed of play with Fast-Forward Enemy Turns, huge content explosion with Crafting Blueprints in your Safehouse NanoFab and the Matrix Tutorial. steamsadsteamhappysteammockingsteamfacepalmsteambored Is it possible? Let's go June!
For tonight, we have a big bug fix update to catch up with the week's F10s, prep for the upcoming roadmap items and help improve the in-game instruction for Safehouse rooms like the Simstream Trainer and Detox. If you're looking forward to seeing what we can get done in June, like the pace of updates or are just enjoying the game - please take a moment to leave a review!

Further Enemy Upgrades

As we keep improving the starting base of enemies in the game, we're now rolling new weapons, some new armors and a few Talent variations for enemies. You'll see most higher level enemies start to hit a little harder, some will have higher Crit % and others will have weapons that boast better Shred %. Once we've got the basic set all tuned up and corrected, with everyone scaling nicely in power levels, weapons, armor and Talents the next step is to start adding new types and variations altogether -- so, enemy variety is finally on the horizon.

Knight Attribute Boost - Prepping for New Game V2

As we prep for the Knight Character Creator, we're rolling out some balance changes. All of the Knights in your existing games just gained +8 Attribute points total across their starting set, all granted by the Backstory Trait. We refuse to allow saved games to be left behind, so we're smoothing out the path in advance of New Game V2 to make sure that old Knights aren't left out in the cold with an unfairly low number of Attribute points. In the Knight Creator, you'll be able to spend 12 Attribute points and gain 8 points in bonuses from picking your Backstory and Traits.

Contact Traits Affect Prices!

We've fixed an issue with Contact Traits that prevented them from having any meaningful impact on prices of buying and selling goods. Now you'll see these coming into play, so enjoy the new price variations across the board. We're working on new Traits and new options within Traits that will help make this even more interesting.

Simstream Trainer and Detox

With this update, we've put some helper text into both the Simstream Trainer and Detox benches when they are unoccupied to help explain the expected flow. These will probably get a bit more detailed over the next few releases, but this is a good starting point. We've also updated a game rule that prevents the Cyber Knight from going into the Simstream Trainer.

Matrix HUD Updates

The matrix Talents in the HUD now correctly display AP cost even if it is 0 and also include the details about their recharging turns. We've improved how Matrix previewing of Security Devices works on a host. The eye button in the top left is now always enabled if there are Security Devices enabled and you can use it at any time to preview those devices in the real world. Once you reach a SCU, you can use the "Show" button on a specific device to see the short list and pick which device you want to disable. We fixed a reported bug in some sequences of play where the Leverages list would refuse to open with the Matrix.

UI Polish

We've improved how scrolling panels react to mouse entering and exiting the panel throughout the game. This stops a whole class of odd scrolling that was occurring where the panel would (to help controllers) want to auto-scroll to the selected element and ensure it is in view. This wasn't great UI feature to include for mouse play, so we've disabled it for that type of input. If you add a multi-class, you'll immediately return to the class tree of your new class, not the original one. The Notes, Pay Rate and Dismiss areas of the roster were hidden accidentally a few updates ago, they are now back.

v1.6.35 - 6/6/2024

- Enemies upgrade with new weapons, armor, Talent variations - Added +8 Attributes total to all Cyber Knight backstories in prep for New Game V2 attribute spend - Contact Traits now properly affect all prices including offers to purchase used goods - Added helper text into screens for Simstream Trainer and Detox to be more clear what - Improved rules - Cyber Knight can never go into the Simstream Trainer - Improved all scrolling views in game for mouse users, no more auto-scroll or odd scroll up/down - Added enemy animated reaction when taking a debuff - Matrix Talents improved to show AP cost even if it is 0 AP and show recharge turns in hover correctly - UI polish: after training multi-class, training screen opens that class tree - Safehouse camera is more active, willing to zoom to locations for Barracks and Cold Storage - Fixed Rarity on NX-Longsight AR - it is Rare, not Legendary - Fixed bug causing Roster Notes, Pay Rate and Dismiss to be hidden - Fixed bug in Matrix that could prevent the Leverage list from opening - Fixed bug with Yield Turn preview if the merc wasn't the highest Initiative - Fixed overlaps in some base building UIs and Simstream benches

[ 2024-06-07 01:28:12 CET ] [ Original post ]

Update #91 rolls out to the streets of New Boston with improved safehouse Simstream Trainer rules, an important (if boring) tutorial update, rebalanced cybernetic bonuses, movement alerts for all types of buff/debuff zones on the map like Tox-Cloud, inventory/equpping improvements and fixes for heaps of bugs. We are hard at work during Early Access, prioritizing constant improvement and expansion of the game. We're hitting around an average of an update every 3 days with fixes for your F10s, new features or new content and always something getting better. If you like the pace we're keeping here, think this is how Early Access should be done, and like that fact that none of these updates invalidate a saved game, please take a moment to leave a review.

Move Alerts for Poison, Morass and More

Any on-map area that will have an effect on your player like Tox-Cloud, Morass or Aero-Shrap Shell will now visually alert you at the point at which you will pass into its field of effect. While a lot of these abilities are from the Scourge branch, Sniper's JTAC Talent, Soldier's Entrench and items like Smoke Cloud and Medi-Cloud also have this helpful alert so it is clear where you are passing in and out of their boundary.
Thanks to everyone who put F10s in about this one and we are glad to see it wrapping up. The ability for the movement simulator (which plans and checks movement for interruptions or special things before it occurs) is the last piece that was blocking us from moving forward with Skip / Fast-Forward Enemy Turns, so we're going to be getting to that major milestone soon now.

Simstream Simplified

There was a rule when base building first came out that you only got Simstream Trainer XP if you ran a mission and the Cyber Knight went with you on the mission. We've removed this limit, which doesn't fit well with the rest of the design allowing for missions without the Knight. It's a helpful simplification. Sorry this wasn't clearly explained to start with and glad we could simplify here. In the next update, we'll be working toward updating the UI in the Trainer and Detox to be more clear about the rules at the point at which you are picking a merc.

Cybernetic Improvements

We've made a few balancing tweaks to cybernetics this week - we've improved Dermal Plating 1 and 2 to increase their HP bonuses to +50 and +75 HP respectively as well as granting Dermal Plating 2 a Built-In Armor bonus that reduces all types of Damage, including Pure. Dermal Plating comes along with a hefty Move Speed debuff (which, you can make up elsewhere) but its bonuses are now more fetching to help balance that out. The Knight's Quantum Rider also gained a +2 Initiative bonus, helping the Knight stay one step ahead and get a better chance to use their Initiative timeline manipulation Talents.

Tutorial Decoupling

Back when we added the new stealth and combat tutorial, we made the mistake of using the characters that you had picked and designed in your squad in the tutorial. This was cool - you get to work with your team right away to learn the ropes. However, this tied out hands in silly ways - making the tutorial either require updates for every new character added to the game or forcing us to vastly limit the character options for the Soldier and Vanguard slot. With Update #91, we've removed that limitation by adding 2 new tutorial-only characters who hang with you while you learn the ropes. Aptly named Tutorial Anne and Tutorial Joe, these are temp characters for the tutorial only. Now, we can move forward with the new upcoming Agent EX class and slot them painlessly into the Vanguard's new game column as a new options. :hype: Boring, but very important for future options in new game :D

Inventory Continued

There is a lot of work to do to keep improving inventory and equipping screens, mostly in small ways. But we're continuing to make progress, this week fixing an issue with stacking that was affecting certain characters more than others. If you change your armor and other team members are wearing the same armor, you will see what armor you have equipped instead of it being hidden. The same goes for multiple hackers on the team who share the same deck type. We also fixed a bug that was occurring where a Hacker might end up with 2 cyberdecks and not be able to do anything about the hidden second.

Tox-Cloud Rules

We've fixed a bug in restoring Tox-Clouds and Morass areas where they could end up not where you expected on retry turn or just loading from the menu. In a few cases, this resulted in some badly poisoned mercs - sorry! We've also clarified the description of Tox-Cloud to be clear that while it is moving, its center will not pass through a wall.

v1.6.31 - 6/4/2024

- Removed Simstream Trainer requirement that a Knight had to be on a mission to gain XP thru trainer - Solo missions (hack-only missions) do not grant Simstream Trainer XP, which is now noted on victory screen - New tutorial update: Tutorial Anne and Tutorial Joe decouple Tutorial from your squad - Improved Dermal Plating 1 and 2 with more HP (50/75), Built-In Armor buffs (5%) for DP 2 - Knight's Quantum Rider gains +2 Initiative bonus - New movement alerts for all types of on-map areas of effect like Tox-Cloud, Morass, Medi-Cloud and more - Added note to Tox-Cloud's description to be clear it will not pass through walls - Fixed bug with retry turn or reloading when Tox-Cloud or Morass areas are in mission - Fixed issue with buff/debuff data in Matrix not including all upgrades from class tree - Fixed bug in inventory where equipped shared by multiple characters (8/8 SecurTek Lightsuits) would not appear when changing armor - Fixed issues with unswitchable cyberdecks - Fixed issue with Child of the Belly not automatically starting if its timeline event ends - Improved buffs/debuffs from Leverages to correctly show in hovers / status pop up - Improved display of cybernetics to include Built-in Armor, improved hovers and Pure Dmg hover

[ 2024-06-04 21:50:07 CET ] [ Original post ]

When the IC are coming in hot, digital streams are screaming and the quantum temp is getting close to "cook your brain" levels - it's time to deploy the Decoy program! And Juice, punch some Juice. This update drops a new cyberdeck program - Decoy - to the markets as well as improves the balance of the Hacker's drug of choice, Juice. We've also improved enemy progression, re-added the missing Pistol Silencer 2, remove fraction AP in Tactical Surge (I know! ... cue screaming, ...now steamsad), fixed File filters to be always remembered and more. So, let's check out Update #90! If you're enjoying the pace of updates and the game as we're shaping it throughout Early Access, please take a moment to share the game with a friend and leave a review. Our small studio lives on them :D

New Program: Decoy

The latest cyberdeck program to hit the digital streets is the Decoy utility program. Decoy I and Decoy II are now available. While this unassuming Utility program offers a small buff to Cyberdeck Shield (temp health) and Armor (damage resistance) its real power is in volunteering to be the first program to be unloaded. If an IC or the Matrix Q-Security Escalation results in an attempt to unload a program, Decoy always goes first, protecting your real programs from being booted out of Active Memory. As part of the deal we even got a nice new icon for Nuke programs! A big thanks to the crew on our Discord and other channels suggesting awesome ideas for new Programs!

Enemy Progression

We've started the official grind on enemy progression, rolling out about 40 new tiers that enemies can appear at as you grow in Team Power Level and take on harder and harder missions. Enemies of all sorts have better access to increased HP, better armor, a small set of new Talents and improved options like Critical % to hit in some cases like the Whislter Cult from the Syndicates. So - upgrade those weapons and armors, mercs!

Blue and Turqo Juice Rebalance

We fixed a few things with the initial Juice offerings. These hacker drugs are mind-expanding and powerful but expensive, so their abilities have to justify it. For Blue Juice, we added a new charge (+1 to 3 total) and improved the buffs to have no duration, it is instant +20 Matrix AP. This makes it less valuable over multiple Turns, but allows you to use it multiple times in a Turn, so you can burn all 3 charges for +60 AP in a single blast. For Turqo Juice we added an additional charge (+1 to 2 total) so that you can use the item in multiple hot moments. It is very powerful IC blocker, and does not trigger IC responses when taking it, so consider using it the second before you need to take some action and would be slapped by the IC. Including Traps! Juice on, cowboys and cowgirls.

Missing Silencer 2

For a short minute the Pistol Silencer 2 (WhisperLite) disappeared from the markets. It has returned! We're hard to work on some major expansion in preparation for crafting and this one got bumped in the process. Also, there was an issue with a similar cause where some enemies who should have had Protection Points to buff their armor suddenly didn't. This is now fixed too.

Nerf Tactical Surge

We've removed the complicated +0.5 AP you could gain from Tactical Surge. Its other buffs are more than enough to stand on their own and from a design standpoint, we've made the call that team buffs can't add fractional AP. We know it hurts, but rip the band-aid off now in EA, it's for the best of the game.

File Filters Now Remembered

They weren't getting remembered in every situation. Now fixed!

Matrix Snoop Confusion

We've improved the description of Matrix Snoop Leverage option and ensured it only appears in missions that have matrix hosts. It is a passive Leverage, so it happens automatically but only affects the first Stage of a mission.

Talent Fixes

We've patched a few issues with Talents as well:

• Hacker's RIPR Compression was restoring incorrect amount of IO.
• Cybersword Lightfoot was canceling itself as soon as you set a movement destination.
• Fixed the first Hacker's class tree upgrade on the right side, it was missing a +3 Matrix AP buff.

v1.6.29 - 5/31/2024

- Added Decoy I and II programs for sale - Utility program volunteers to be first to be unloaded by IC / escalation - Improved ability for enemies to scale with Power Level, more enemy types scale farther with upgrades to Armor, HP, Talents - Improved balance of Blue and Turqo Juice - more charges, Blue Juice has no duration, instant AP add - Fixed Blue Juice and Turqo Juice missing details when looking at item on character roster - Knight's Tactical Surge no longer grants extra +0.5 AP in upgrade nodes - Fixed issues with Matrix Snoop Leverage, improved description to be clear it reveals hosts on the first Stage only - Fixed first small upgrade on right side of Hacker's class tree to be +1 Will and +3 Matrix AP - Fixed issues with proc-gen missions where Matrix Snoop might incorrectly appear - Fixed issue with lots of enemies armor Protection Points being stuck at 0 - Fixed issue with Cybersword's Lightfoot Talent always canceling when setting movement destination - Fixed issue with File filters not always being remembered - Fixed issue with Hacker's RIPR Compression Talent restoring wrong amount of IO - Fixed issue with safehouse timeline where paging to the right caused events to space out oddly - Fixed issue with Pistol Silencer 2 disappearing from markets

[ 2024-05-31 20:57:15 CET ] [ Original post ]

It's night again on the streets of New Boston so it must be time for an update! We've got a new storyline, new minor faction, new type of Hacking combat drug, updated lore entries for the megacorps, big improvement roster combat stats display, better filters, fixed inventory ... the list is long! Let's dive in! But first, thank you for playing, posting and leaving a review. We are a small studio and we wouldn't be here, making these games without your support, so thank you.

New Legwork-based Storyline

Not every storyline is a mission and this new storyline is based around a legwork named "Child of the Belly." You'll be approached by a contact with a favor to ask and from there, you can figure the rest out on your own! It's not a night for spoilers around here. This is why they hire you, Knight!

Megacorporate Journal Entries

We've added lore entries for the big 6 megacorporations - Jupiter Group, Matsumoto Global Technologies, McKellen Heavy Industries, UltraTek, Rook Technologies and Warner-Braun Global. We'll be working our way through editing and finalizing the entries for the rest of the mil-sec, Syndicate and gang players soon.

Roster Combat Stats and Buffs/Debuffs

With Update #89, we've added a new block of data to each character's roster entry. This includes the Initiative (full equation with bonuses), Action Points and Move Points (including any decimals you can't use) as well as a single, consolidated list of all buffs and debuffs from all sources (cyberware, class tree, Traits, Wounds, etc). Hopefully this full stat dump will be helpful to everyone!

Pips Flashing

We have improved the animation of your Action Point (AP) and Move Point (MP) pips in attack, movement and when using a Talent. In the animation, the pips that are going to animate are also highlighted white for all frames during the animation, which is a big help when you are changing targets or destination move locations rapidly and want to be able to see the exact cost without waiting for the animation flash. It's a minor polish but that's to all of our players helping us layer on this extra bit of good!
Ahhh simple inventory bliss LOL

Inventory Improvements

We fixed a bug in inventory that was keeping the weapon mods and weapons of the latest selected character still visible even if the filter "Ready to Equip/Sell" was checked. This means that multiple weapons and mods with 2/2 (not ready to equip!) were appearing in the list. This helps the inventory make so much more sense, truly showing only what you have on the shelf.

File Prices and Filters

File Prices are now affected by Power Level in a small fashion. Each Power Level raises the price a few percentage points. You're still going to be most interested in Rarity as the big bump in price, but you'll find a clear difference now between a 1 and 5 Power Level file. With Update #88, we added 4 awesome File filters (Not Used by Set, Used by Set, Created by Set, Has Use Action). But, these were joined together using the AND logic, meaning to find a file with a Use Action you actually had to [X] Not Used by Set AND [X] Has Use Action. We've improved the situation here to switch to an OR logic, so the filters are much more readily useable. And we've made the filters remembered when you change screens or tabs, helping you keep your current context if you're checking out File Sets, for example.

Improved Safehouse Tutorial

We're continue to work on all F10s we receive about the Safehouse and how to improve. We've made some nice updates to the tutorial to help cut down on repetition reminders and to make sure that the right reminders are coming at the right time. Also, we've rewritten all the hover text, explanation and button labels for sending a merc to the detox. Hopefully this is helpful in cutting down some confusion. There is a lot more to do here to smooth everything out after such a big update, so we're continuing to work our way through it all.

v1.6.27 - 5/292/2024

- Added new legwork-based storyline - "Child of the Belly" - Storyline introduces new Syndicate and new Hack-only combat drugs - Added journal entries for lore for the big 6 megacorporations of New Boston - Added display in roster for merc's Initiative, Action Points, Move Points and sum of all buff/debuffs from all sources - Improved highlight of AP/MP pips flashing when considering move/attack/action so they are immediately clear - Switch File Filters (Not Used by Set, Used by Set, Created by Set, Has Use Action) to OR logic instead of limiting AND - Improved File Filters to be remembered when switching tabs or screens - File prices more directly affected by Power Level - Fixed issue with inventory where weapons of last character viewed in roster would ignore filters - Improved messages about Detoxing in roster - Fixed missing Hacking tag on some proc-gen missions - Improved Safehouse Base Building tutorial, fixed repeat pop-ups, improved segment about Cryo Upgrade - Fixed issue with Tag display where there was a missing faction name - Fixed issue with ghost "Contact.Name.-1" appearing contact list sometimes

[ 2024-05-30 04:35:01 CET ] [ Original post ]

It's late Friday night and updates are brewing in New Boston. This is when the heisters like to make their hits, so let's dive in. With Update #88, we've buffed 2 Hacker Talents focused on more stealthy style of hacking - Scapegoat and Spoof - as well as adding 4 new filters to help you sort out and manage your files and their relation to sets. We've fixed a longstanding issue about items selling for $1K and the odd price mismatches in the grid and sell UI, well as fixing issues with first turn buff Leverages and resolving any lingering bugs caused by the loadouts screen. If you're enjoying the pace of updates and improvements, please take a minute to share the game with a review. We're working hard to keep Early Access a constant forward motion and we'll be putting up a preview thread for the next class added to the game next week.

Hacker Scapegoat and Spoof

Both Scapegoat and Spoof received starting Duration buffs. These both started with a very slim duration, making it hard to use them advance and leaving some possibility that the tokens could simply expire. An extra turn for each, and with duration boosters among their upgrades, makes them a more versatile play. In addition, the Scapegoat passive Talent which blocks Q-Sec Tally added by destroying an IC that is not disabled (often with Nuke or Null Op) now has an addition starting token. We're testing out this balance and considering if it needs even more token buffs in the upgrades tree.

File Filters

We've added a set of 4 new filters for files to help you organize and prioritize for sale, keeping and use.

• All Files that are not included in a set can be shown or hidden using the "Not used by Set" filter.
• All files that are part of a set can be shown or hidden by using the "Used By Set" filter.
• If a File was created by minting a set, you can now use the "Created by Set" filter to find these result Files quickly.
• Finally, if a file has a Use action, like a V-Chip or a File that can create a mission, these are now easy to locate using the Has Use Action filter.

These new filters should cover the use cases we've heard from players across our channels. Thanks to everyone sharing how you're approaching files in Discord, Steam and in F10s!

Inventory Pricing, Items No Longer $1K

When you're in your inventory, you're likely checking on something to equip, sorting out weapon mods or planning to sell something. We've worked on smoothing out the selling experience and preview prices for all types of equipment and fixed the bug that was forcing all items to sell for exactly $1K. There are 3 places prices are shown in the Inventory - a preview price in the grid, a preview price in the Sell button and a final price offered by each individual contact. For items, all 3 of these prices were different until Update #88. Before Update #88, the grid price was showing the preview for what you'd pay to buy it, but you already own it ... so now it is nicely updated to preview the sell price as early as possible. Items were also incorrectly using the price of their bundle (Buy 5 for $15K) instead of individual prices ($3K). Anyway, its nicer and you can make some money, if not riches, by selling items now. We're glad to see this set of issues resolved and are working toward multi-buy and multi-sell with a quantity slider. That will be wildly helpful here.

Loadout Issues

If you were having any loadout issues - such as missing armor - making the character roster screen or inventory screens act oddly or freeze, we've fixed a set of issues that came along with the big release of the safehouse. Your games should be automagically healed, so just boot them up and play on.

First Turn Buff Leverages

A big thanks to everyone reporting specifics with your F10s about any Leverages that aren't working. It is great to see everyone using these so much. This update includes a fix to ensure that Leverage buffs aren't lost incorrectly during a retry turn or retry mission.

v1.6.21 - 5/24/2024

- Buffed Hacker's Scapegoat Talent with +1 Turn duration and +1 token, switch a duration upgrade to recharge rate - Buffed Hacker's Spoof Talent with +1 Turn duration - Added 4 new filters for Files in Cold Storage - Not Used by Set, Used by Set, Created by Set, Has Use Action - Cyber Surgery tag in roster shows time for recovery inline - Improved inventory pricing display to ensure the price shown in the grid, the Sell button and the contact list all match - Fixed issue with Items always selling for only $1K - Fixed issue with File "Use" button only appearing in "Files" tab but not "All" tab in Cold Storage - Fixed issues caused by loadout screen last week, issues with not wearing any armor - Fixed issues with first-turn buffs from Leverages - Improved matrix hover for auto-dump nodes

[ 2024-05-25 03:55:12 CET ] [ Original post ]

Update #87 continues to press on community F10s, quality of life requests and bug reports. We've got some major things cooking back at HQ and some milestone items coming up, but for now we're making sure everything in the latest massive base building update is working as it should be. We've fixed a number of issues, improved the matrix to prep for the tutorial and made some much needed changes to the UI pattern in dialog to ensure that confirm-is-confirm. If you're enjoying the pace of updates, please consider leaving a review. Thank you! [previewyoutube=HXn6OSRzvIQ;full][/previewyoutube]

Hacking YouTube Tutorial

As we are still working on getting everything ready and done for the proper in-game Matrix Tutorial, we've taken a moment to record a brief and focused YouTube tutorial for anyone looking for help here. Learn to hack to drop the alarm level, control security devices, get valuable paydata, and complete CPU spike missions.

Confirm to Advance Dialog

With Update #87, we've fixed the longstanding issue where TAB was by default used to advance dialog instead of the regular UI confirmation, spacebar. This issue stemmed from the regular concern over controller and keyboard players hitting space rapidly and accidentally selecting the first dialog option without realizing it in a rush of mashing buttons. To address this, we've moved the selection for keyboard and controllers to a prompt above the choices - so, hit (A) or (space) to advance the dialog and when a choice comes, you can't make a choice until you use your D-pad or arrow keys to navigate down.
In the same vein, there is a dead spot on the screen that refuses to accept "click to advance" clicks during dialogs. This area is the area where the choices will appear and is there to prevent you from spamming clicks into an area where dialog choices are going to be shortly, and then accidentally mashing your way through a choice. The dead zone is now highlighted in a darker color to make it clear so you can click elsewhere.
We've also added an attribution arrow to the last line of shown dialog to help it be more clear as the speaker jumps back and forth between sides.

Hacker Details in HUD

We've improved the hacker's details in the top left of the matrix HUD with Update #87. This includes breaking out Cyberdeck Shield and Cyberdeck Armor to give them their own own icons, hovers and space above the 3 health bars for your hacker (HP, Cyberdeck, Connection Health). We've also added a set of new hovers to cover these re-organized fields.

Safehouse Leverages

If you were using the Field Ops or Hacking Station rooms in your safehouse to gain additional leverages, you might have found that a few of them were not working as advertised. In some cases, they were but were giving no indication to the player. Regardless, we've fixed the lot of them, including Pemex Doubler, RIPR DX and Bespoke Deck Armor. We've also fixed an issue where the passive on-first-turn type of Leverages were not being shown in the Command HQ when you returned there to finish your mission planning. This was making them feel even less likely to be useful. Please F10 any additional issues you have, but we're seeing the whole set working and displaying better now.

Underworld Hub: Legwork Hustle Up

The Legwork Hustle Up capability of the Underworld Hub in your Safehouse was not working. A math error with rounding things off to whole numbers snuck in near the end of testing and set everything back to the same duration it had before! This is now fixed. We are working on better feedback for using tokens, but the first priority is to crush any bugs in the actual mechanical parts before getting some dialog in there from the Face.

Double IO Bug

We fixed a bug that was sometimes causing IO buffs from Programs or Talents to be counted twice or to reapply on the following turn. IO is so important and comes from many sources - your deck, your cybernetics, your Talents and your programs - so getting every point counts.

Targeting Click and Cancel Bug

We fixed an old bug that could cause the click to target an enemy to instantly cancel the attack targeting. In this case, the target circle would flash on screen and then disappear. This is now resolved, hurrah!

v1.6.19 - 5/21/2024

- Improved dialog and story choice display - confirm (spacebar by default), attribution arrow, smooth scrolling - Improved Hacker HUD in the top left corner to show Cyberdeck Shield and Armor separately - Fixed reported issues with Safehouse-driven Leverages - Improved Command HQ's mission planning by showing Passive Leverages on a mission - Fixed RIPR DX, Pemex Memory Doubler - Fixed issues with matrix Armor buffs like Bespoke Deck Armor not reducing damage correctly - Fixed issue with IO Speed buffs sometimes being double-applied - Fixed issue with Underworld Hub not correctly reducing Legwork duration - Fixed issue that could cause game to ignore clicks on enemy targets or immediately cancel targeting

[ 2024-05-21 21:02:54 CET ] [ Original post ]

Down in the Belly under the New Boston Dome, Update #86 has touched down. We've got a lot of exciting new things with this one - new bonuses for the Tech attribute, improved display for APU/CPU spiking, new milsec items you can purchase, all the Hybrid-Utility programs can now be installed and used and more. Let's dig into the details! We're busy with Early Access - lots of updates, lots of milestones coming up quick. We hope you are enjoying the pace of fixes, improvements, hotfixes and new content. If so, please take a moment to leave a review of any length - every one helps! And remember, you can always edit your review at any time.

New Hacker-Only Tech Bonuses

The Tech Attribute has gained a big (needed) boost for Hackers, now adding Matrix-specific bonuses. If you have the Hacker class (as your primary or multi-classed) you will gain +1 Matrix AP per 1 Tech and +1 Cyberdeck Armor per 5 Tech, which protects both the Hacker and the cyberdeck. This makes the choice to go after extra Tech points in different class trees more interesting and firmly pushes Tech into the realm of being the Hacker's key stat.

Load Up those Hybrid-Utilities!

In Update #85, we fixed all the issues that were nagging Hybrid-Utility programs and now we've rolled out a new set of Program Ratings that allow some of them to be used in existing decks. So, check the new Ratings and consider juggling some of your programs around to make space for these new biggies - they're powerful and interesting options in your digital kit.

Unique Milsec Items Return

The different MilSec and Brave Star contacts you can connect with throughout the game now (once again) have more unique offers for consumable items that they can sell, including Dazzlers and Concussion Grenades. This opens up some new angles for building out your item load out, so check out what you might want to swap around.

Clear Display of APU/CPU Spiking

While APU and CPU spiking have been working correctly for about a month, they were lacking any helpful UI support to indicate what they had done. This has been causing a ton of F10s and confusing players, as it simply seems like they don't do what they promise or what is reported in the logs. The big Sec Level or Q-Sec Level value in the HUD will now immediately react to an APU or CPU Spike. It will gray out indicating that it is below the real level of the Sec Level and no Escalations will occur until the Sec Level exceeds the old Sec Level. For example, if your Q-Sec Level is 8 and you Spike the CPU, then the Q-Sec Level will drop to 6 and the Matrix Host can't take an Escalation action until the Q-Sec Level reaches 9. This is also all shown in the hover over the grayed out Sec Level, so check that out too for specifics once you see it in game.

More Matrix Hovers

As we've mentioned, we're hard at work on the matrix tutorial now. In order to make it the best it can be, we're sprucing up the matrix in general. With this update, we've added and improved a number of hovers through the Matrix screen - especially around the Q-Sec Level in the top right and all the deck details in the bottom left (IO, Active Mem, Storage). We hope it's helpful!

Armors Debuffed

As we build out the full progression of armor and weapons for the game, we've adjusted some of the early game armors to have a bit lower protection ratings. These have dropped anywhere from 2% to 5% for some armors, especially Power Level 1 armors. Take a check through your gear and see if you want to upgrade today. We've also simplified the armor categories in this update, crushing everything down to Light, Heavy and Stealth. There will be distinct groups within those based on stats and styles, but they don't each need their own high level category in the filter.

V-Chip Contact Fixes

We resolved an issue where the Contacts you gained through a V-Chip were not appearing in the initial conversation. While everything else was functioning correctly, this made them harder to track down in your list of Contacts and to recognize them as they appear in the newly offered services.

Hid Loadout Button

v1.6.17 - 5/19/2024

- Improved Tech attribute - for hackers now grant +1 Matrix AP per 1 Tech and +1 Cyberdeck Armor per 5 Tech - Adjusted Hybrid-Utility program ratings to work with existing decks available in the underworld - Improved Sec Level UI response to spiking CPU or APU to gray out Sec Level when an escalation will be skipped - Improved Sec Level hover to include exact details of when Escalations will resume for spiked CPU or APU - Improved hovers in matrix for IO, Deck Storage, Q-Sec Level - Down balance on starting armors, dropping 2% to 5% protection - consider upgrading your armor - Simplified Armor category filters (Light, Stealth, Heavy) - Fixed issue with missing milsec items for sale from Milsec and Brave Star Contacts - Fixed bugs with V-Chips having conversations where the new contact did not show up and name was blank

[ 2024-05-19 22:10:48 CET ] [ Original post ]

Down in the underbelly of New Boston, welcome Update #85! We've got a small bump to the level cap, new Matrix program types (Hybrid-Utilities), and tons of matrix improvements. We've also improved the display and text shown with accounts, and fixed the mostly highly reported 2 game locks that occur during missions. One of our next major milestones is the matrix tutorial, so we're pressing hard on a few feature adds, bug fixes and improvements on the entire Matrix to make sure we're tutorializing the best foot we can put forward. Check out the latest! If you're enjoying the pace of updates, please take a moment to leave a review!

Level Cap Bump for Extra Talent

When we raised the Level cap to 25, it was a nice +5 level points for all of our mercs and Knights out there but it fell 1 level short of the mathematically determined milestone for a new Talent limit point. That is not the most fun result - so we've bumped the max Level cap by +1 to make it 26 and let max level characters train into one more Talent or Passive.

Hybrid-Utility Programs

The newest type of program has arrived today which is a Hybrid-Utility. While these programs have Program Ratings that are too high to install on any existing deck and they have large memory footprints to boot, they are both a Utility (granting a buff as long as they stay in active memory) and regular active programs (allowing active use, like Attacking or Sleazing). These program types can currently only be achieved by minting File Sets of code files, compiling new high-power programs like Attack III (FAS) and Nuke II (HOT). If you have previously compiled these programs, check out your Deck Mgmt, the programs will now appear as they should. Each type of Hybrid-Utility comes in a series like FAS or HOT (with QCK, HWD and RIP to follow). FAS Programs are IO accelerators that make it easier to load other programs, at the cost of connection health. HOT Programs are damage boosting programs that make it easier to destroy, at the cost of hacker health. We're excited to see how HOT and FAS programs play into your hacking strategies. One straightforward way to use these Hybrid-Utilities is to load-and-hold them for as long as you can, using them only as a last resort so that you can get as much benefit from the Utility side of their hybrid nature as possible.

Matrix Buff / Debuff Visibility

All Matrix buffs on your Hacker are now clearly visible in the top left corner along with the turn duration for each effect. This is a big help tracking the buffs of Utility and Hybrid-Utilities, as well as your Talents and buffs from Leverages as well.

Hacking Leaking to Meat-space

We fixed 2 big issues with Hacking and returning to meat-space. The first is that some of your Hacking AP might come with you and you could actually increase meat-space AP by hacking. This is now fixed, and your resulting Action Points after hacking are equal to whichever is lower of the two:

• (AP you started the Hack with) - (Hacking AP spent / 10)
• (AP you started the Hack with) - 1 AP

So, at minimum a Hack will cost you -1 AP or more if you take action in the matrix host. Also, we fixed issues with the AP hover on the character going a big crazy after hacking where it would show very large numbers. We also fixed a class of bugs about disconnect / reconnect in the same Turn for hackers.

Fixed Overwatch Freeze and Movement Glitch

A huge thanks to everyone reporting F10s! In Update #84, we improved the situation with Overwatch, squeezing out cases that could cause a freeze, but it's clear we didn't catch all of them. Thankfully, we also added a ton of extra checks and logging so we could get a handle on this difficult bug in production. With the newest crop of F10s that have come in since Update #84, we've found and fixed the root issue. Hopefully, #85+ will no longer see possibility of freezes during intense Overwatch gunfights. Finally, we fixed a movement glitch that could sometimes result in a character suddenly moving a distance after targeting an enemy and canceling it to test out a move. Thanks to everyone who found and reported this odd issue with an F10!

v1.6.13 - 5/17/2024

- Increased Level cap to 26 to grant +1 Talent Limit - New type of Program - the Hybrid-Utility grants an active program ability (Attack, Nuke, Scan, etc) AND a buff as long as it stays loaded - Compile source code through File Sets to create new Hybrid-Utility programs - Hybrid-Utilities of HOT type boost damage while loaded - Hybrid-Utilities of FAS type boost IO speed while loaded - All matrix buffs are now visible in top left of the Matrix HUD with hovers and turn duration - Improved handling of Utility and Hybrid-Utility program buffs when force unloaded by IC or host - Fixed Matrix bug where possible hacking AP leaks back into meat-space or meat-space character hovers - Fixed Matrix bug where some buffs could persist and double-up during connection and disconnect cycles - Increased price penalties for Contact Traits Fast-Splice and Hack-Saw - Accounts stolen after this update will include lore name and description - Fixed issue where ignored recruits might hang around on the roster, inactive but visible - Fixed bug where movement could suddenly glitch after targeting enemy and move merc - Fixed bugs with Overwatch reaction to Full Auto attacks, bugs that can cause Overwatch to freeze game

[ 2024-05-17 19:52:03 CET ] [ Original post ]

Exciting times ahead as we come roaring out of the major safehouse base building milestone and careening back into the regular order of updates, improvements, new content and more! With Update #84, we've raised the level cap by 5 levels, added 2 new Power Level 3 armors for sale from the newest contacts, improved Soldier's Blast Radius, and fixed a huge heap of F10s from the community! A big thanks goes out to everyone reviewing, playing and posting. Hit F10 if you see anything odd, we are hard at work improving and fixing.

Level Cap Rises

With Update #84 and the big expansion of the safehouse, it is the right time to lift the level cap to 25. You'll gain an additional +1 Level Point per level. The next cap raise will include additional Talent LImit allowance. For those players who have been grinding past the current cap, you will find that your XP is kept and used. You may suddenly find your mercs are Level 22 or even Level 25 if you've played out enough missions. Enjoy the new points!

Blast Radius Buffs

The Soldier's Blast Radius Talent has had its upgrade tree simplified a bit to be a single row updates and gained some additional buffs. The new improvements push the max range you can gain for any type of thrown grenade, medi-cloud or shock mine to +8m up from +6m. Also, the total damage buff is increased by extra +20%. Those who invest their Level Points in grenades ... go BOOM.

New Armors

We've added 2 new Power Level 3 options - one Heavy and one Light - for armor. These can currently be purchased from your new Fixer Contact. The heavy armor features 3 Protection Points, making it awfully hard to chip down to its low %s and the Light armor keeps the same 2 Protection Points but shifts its max and min Protection % upwards. Check out the Underworld Hub to meet some new power players and expand your available services.

Safehouse Improvements

If a room generates Tokens and it has the maximum number on the shelf, the tag for that will go green now, making it easier to spot. This makes it easier to know where you've got room to spend.
We fixed a bug with the Simstream Trainer that was adding more than +10% Stress pre use. When a merc goes in, now they get a flat +10% Stress. They gain a percentage % of XP of all missions run while they are in the trainer, so it is to your benefit to stick them in there and then run as many missions as you can for the +10% Stress. We simplified the filters in the Inventory / Equipping / Market screens to be more fitting to the task you are doing. We're working toward further simplification that will help focus the screens specifically on the task at hand. Previously, these screens were trying to each do everything and it was making them much harder to use. We're excited for this big step forward and to keep pushing these into better shape. Also, this resolves a number of bugs about different Programs not appearing in inventory.

APU / CPU Spike Clarity

We've improved the text around APU and CPU spiking to be more clear about which one affects which. APU affects the real-world meat-space Sec AI while CPU affects the Matrix host's Q-Sec Tally. We know we still have work to do here as the actual displayed Sec Level in the HUD in both meat-space and matrix does not reflect the drop in Tally, so this is going to keep confusing players until we improve the UI. Coming soon hopefully.

Recruit Durations

We've double the duration on all recruit offers from story and Sibling Job. You'll have more time if you need to make adjustments to your Barracks now to accommodate these new mercs. Furthermore, we've added an option to continue to delay your recruit choice after the Sibling Job if you had to delay directly after the mission was over.

Overwatch and Targeting

We're working on some of the most populous F10s in buckets. This update fixes a ton of minor issues with targeting, movement destinations and Overwatch. We have fixed some inconsistencies with targeting, the character's reaction and rotation after targeting not being consistent and the attack Talent sometimes not always being selected correctly. Also, we've fixed issues where the direction of your Overwatch cone could shift when taking reaction shots. With this bug fixed, Overwatch correctly keeps to the exact range and direction you set and never changes during reaction shots. Finally, we've made some progress crushing down on the bug that can cause the game to get stuck in slow motion during an Overwatch reaction shot. We've found 2 possible causes, patched them and added additional logging so that any future F10s about the issue will help us pin it to the wall. This was actually related to the same reason that sometimes unarmed characters or prisoners would loop for a while and then suddenly go into a T-Pose. That's fixed now too!

Hates and Desertion Tags

If you were having any issues with Hates or Deserter backstory tags preventing you from going on missions that seemed to make no sense, this is resolved.

Sticky Toggle Highlights

Your choice of playing with highlights on or off, by default using the (H) key, is now remembered between levels and level retries. Thanks for the F10s!

v1.6.9 - 5/15/2024

- Increased Level cap to 25 - Added 2 new Power Level 3 armors available from new Fixer Contacts - Increasing benefits of Soldier's Blast Radius grenade buffs: extra +2m range available, extra +20% Dmg - Fixed Soldier's Blast Radius upgrades to be a single progression, last upgrade costs 2 points - Fixed/improved matrix text for APU / CPU Spiking to be clearer about each (APU=real world Sec Tally, CPU=Matrix Q-Sec Tally) - Fixed issue with Desertion or Hatred sometimes blocking a character from an inexplicable mission - Double duration on all story-based recruit offers including Sibling Job - Added continued delay option when considering recruit from Sibling Job at safehouse - Simplified/improved filters in inventory and market, removed duplicate "Can Sell" filter vs. "Ready to Equip/Sell" - Corrected icon for Reaction attribute boosts in Class skill tree to match roster Attribute - Fixed issue with Simstream Trainer adding too much stress, adds +10% Stress per use, run more missions for more XP per Stress - Fixed price displayed in file set grid to show the base price of the possible file set result - Fixed log for group buffs misreporting number of buffed by -1 - Fixed bug where Overwatch cone could change rotation after each attack - Fixed issues with prisoners or other unarmed characters randomly going into T-Pose - Fixed level issues where you might be able to see a skybox beyond edge of level

[ 2024-05-15 18:06:03 CET ] [ Original post ]

Last week, we snuck Update #81 and #82 into the big safehouse update new post but now we're getting back to regular order and we're going to have a lot of patches and new things coming this week. The safehouse base building roadmap item is complete and it's time to roar the engines on to the next thing! But for a little longer, we're hitting all the bugs and quality of life improvements we can from your Steam posts and your F10s. If you like the latest improvements, big feature adds and pace of updates, please support our Early Access efforts by leaving a review. Remember - you can always edit it later.

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Safehouse Room Fixes

We've hit a bit list of most popular F10 issues in the safehouse with Update #83.

• If you were having screen freezing using the Inject Matrix Loot leverage option, that is now all working correctly.
• The Counter-Intel Pods now show the HUD details for Heat and Head Hunters, which is pretty important info for the types of actions you can take there.
• You can access the Command HQ even if there are no missions, so you can get to the build/upgrade screen. Keep mind, any time you want to jump directly to the build/upgrade screen, hold down the [R] key (or whatever you have bound) while clicking on the room in the safehouse. This jumps you straight to build/upgrade. Not well documented, but we'll work on that. Save a click, hold [R].
• For token offers that have lists in a pop up like recruits and contacts, if the offering is not available it is correctly styled and darkened row.
• Some old saved games showed a 3rd utility that doesn't exist. Fixed!

Custom Difficulty: Game Speed

Game Speed in your difficulty settings now correctly applies to all safehouse tasks. We've also improved the text/hover for both story and game speed to be clear that increasing the value (from 100% to 125%) makes things go faster. So, if you want shorter build times, you want to raise the value to 125%.

Lock on Level Start with T-Pose

Some players were getting games into certain states that could result in a mission being loaded with their characters in T-Pose and the game hard locked. These games will now just resume and play forward under Update #83. Apologies for the hard-lock pause, but you're back on track!

Cybernetics

We had a few issues with cybernetics, all fixed now. We've improved the implant for MatrixLink 2 and also you can now correctly upgrade any cyberware that is required for a class, such as from MatrixLink to MatrixLink 2 for the Hacker. Also, putting mercs into the Simstream Detox was causing them to show that they had an invalid cybernetic called "Implant.Name.-1", now fixed.

File Set Minting

When you Mint a File Set, the result is always a new File. Then you can chose to Use that file to call in its special action, like creating a mission, compiling code for a Cyberdeck Program or connecting with a Contact by their V-Chip. But, this is a separate Use action because you can also chose to Sell that more expensive resulting file. The file that is created is now marked as new with a nice yellow dot to help you find it. Also, we've fixed issues with the Inventory back button and other parts of the Ui locking up after attempting to create a Hacking Mission from a file.

Tutorial Improvements

We've continued to make improvements to the tutorial text and how it picks when and what to offer as advice. We've improved the system never to offer advice if you're at your maximum tasks, so it won't pester you if you can't do anything. A number of prompts received additional clean-up and clarification. Also, if you don't want the safehosue tutorial, just disable it either with a new game or through the options menu directly.

v1.6.7 - 5/13/2024

- Fixed issue using "Inject Matrix Loot Accounts" Leverage locking up screen - Improved MatrixLink 2, fixed bug preventing upgrading to this new implant - Files that are newly minted from a set get the "New" yellow dot - Counter-Intel Pods displays Heat and Head Hunters details in the HUD - Even if you have 0 missions, you can enter Command HQ in order to upgrade it - If a token offer for recruiting or contacts is not available, the row style is grayed out correctly - Fixed issue where level could lock up before HUD is loaded, mercs in T-Pose - Old saved games that were showing a 3rd type of Utility on Command HQ no longer have this bug - Fixing invalid implant ("Implant.Name.-1") appearing on characters who were in Simstream Detox - Reduced possible Safehouse HUD overlaps on certain resolutions and UI scales - Improved safehouse tutorial prompts - Fixed reported typos - thank you!

[ 2024-05-14 02:28:53 CET ] [ Original post ]

This major milestone update unlocks safehouse base building! A huge addition to Cyber Knights: Flashpoints strategy layer, adding to your safehouse gives you new ways to exploit your underworld network, give your squad the edge on heists, and shape your roster to your playstyle. With rooms like the Field Ops Center youll be able to arrange powerful leverage for specific jobs, route additional rewards into the target facility before your squad hits it, or orchestrate a delay to your deadline for completing it -- buying valuable time for an injured merc to recover, to bankroll better gear by completing other jobs, or to recruit a new merc whose skills you need. Rooms like the Simstream Detox and Simstream Trainer help you keep your crew in peak condition, burning off stress accumulated from missions, or plugging them into lifelike recreations of the missions to help off-duty squad members keep up with a share of XP gained. These and many more capabilities can be gained depending on the rooms you select and upgrade. Of course, secret underground construction and installation of advanced, sometimes illegal tech doesnt come cheap.

Building out the Safehouse

This release comes with the first set of seven new rooms to choose from, with upgrades for all of them and for the three core rooms of your safehouse: the Barracks, Command HQ, and Cold Storage. Future updates will bring more rooms including a workshop for weapons, armor, and gear crafting in the near-term, plus rooms for class-specific features still to come later down the road. This update also rolls in the new lighting engine changes the rest of the game has enjoyed the benefits of, and were looking forward to bringing more cool visual perks to the safehouse as we continue down the road to full launch. We won't be adding Fallout Shelter levels of character animation, but we do intend to add more character movement and life within the safehouse. After all, when the Hunder class is added we have to make sure you can pet the dogs.

Gameplay Changes

With the new safehouse capabilities come two significant changes to the current gameplay:

• Your roster size is now controlled by your barracks upgrade level. You can now seek out specific kinds of recruits through the Underworld Hub room, so you have more control over whos in your crew -- but mercs are not an infinite resource. Be smart about when to make space for more.
• Free respecs are now only available for a squad members first 10 days. After that, youll need a Simstream Trainer. The build youve chosen on a squad members talent tree defines their role within your crew. During early EA weve let everyone change that at will, but its time to settle into a more balanced system; no more changing your hacker into a Matrix god just before a hacking mission, then multiclassing them into a full auto soldier build just before a combat mission. Youll still be able to freely respec any squad member for the first 10 days after they join or the game starts, so youre not locked into their defaults; after that youll need to use a Simstream Trainer room to call in an instant respec.
• Combine files into more valuable sets in your cold storage module. Some of the most valuable Files are now those that are pieces of a larger set, which you can mint in your Cold Storage module under the Sets tab. The new Files you will mint have higher sale prices than the sum of their pieces, and some can be converted into powerful new Matrix HOT or FAS Programs, others can be transformed into the coordinates of a Matrix host to hack or even used as a V-Chip to connect with new valuable contacts.

Were very excited to see how you use the safehouse, as we continue to expand and improve it. Unlocking the safehouse is a huge milestone for Cyber Knights, adding the final core feature to the game and marking our halfway point through Early Access. Well share a roadmap update soon, and as always you can find us in the community Discord or Steam forums to ask questions / share feedback.
Your safehouse is the hub all of the games other systems tie into. Its your crews base of operations and refuge in a dark future. Becoming a Cyber Knight has given you the ability to lead a crew like few others can and put you on a path through a dangerous underworld that can only end by climbing out or burning out. What will make the difference? Your skills. Your squad. Your safehouse. Have fun.

v1.6.1 - 5/8/2024

- All new major milestone: safehouse base building - Clean out, upgrade and manage your safehouse - your base of operations and home - Install up to 7 unique rooms to create your underworld strategy, manage your team, make new connections - Cold Storage now includes "File Sets" tab allowing you to combine files you've gathered into even more valuable sets - Added new Traits, new recruits, new cyberware, new contacts - More Traits make merc qualify as eligible for Legwork - Fixed bug where Cyber Knight's Rewind Talent could refresh Item charges - Fixed issue where backstory Traits would incorrectly report level "1", as if they could level up

[ 2024-05-08 18:06:11 CET ] [ Original post ]

Update #79 is hitting the streets of New Boston with another major set of features to help you perfect your class training builds - share them, auto-train them, save them and re-use them with a few clicks - a very exciting set of community and efficiency set of features coming together to make the game more fun to play. Also, we've added new tactical benefits of saving AP, fixed some level issues and a longstanding issue with Stealth Crit % bonus from Silence. If you like the pace of improvements and updates, please take a moment to leave a review to help us keep moving forward -- fast -- during Early Access!

And, something soon -

We're excited to share on Twitter and other channels this morning that We are just one week away from adding Cyber Knights' final core feature: safehouse basebuilding! https://twitter.com/TreseBrothers/status/1785722797810982956 Now - what do we have today?

Import, Export and Saving your Builds to Library

As a starting point, we've brought the same set of sharing and saving features we added for Appearance to your class builds. You can now export your class build to an easy to share string like this -- ---BEGIN CYBER KNIGHTS CLASS BUILD--- qmugiIn7+SoUcpKaFCRmpgFgAkZGhOvhCjY/R/KTyQP73h72n7G0OQKj7imdeEIB ---END CYBER KNIGHTS CLASS BUILD--- And you can import a class build someone else has shared. And then, you can save either your own custom class build or your imported class build with a name to your Library so that it can be shared between all of your saved games. What are some great uses of this feature? 1) sharing your coolest builds with friends or as a guide 2) easily saving and restoring your Stealth Vanguard and Murder Vanguard builds with a few clicks 3) rapid and easy respec 4) less clicks, less repeated choices 5) perfecting your builds, science!, sharing, community, lettuce! But really, its all about Auto-Training. [previewyoutube=VmN4tfyvGkc;full][/previewyoutube]

Auto-Training your Build

Once you have a class build imported or loaded from your library, your character remembers that build and the Auto-Training button will appear in the left hand column. A class build is a specific set of nodes trained in a specific order, including any multi-classing choices. Check out the video above to get a full run down on this feature and some of the awesome ways you can use it. Clicking auto-train will show you the next set of nodes in the build you've loaded and if you can train them or not. (1) Auto-Train build can be small or long. Here is a build for "insta Knight" that is the first move I always use for my new Knights - ---BEGIN CYBER KNIGHTS CLASS BUILD--- f4TFg4TzTYsLNtK1kIAZM5IRTdhiMR8NTbICLIPQ2fzefSn479Jwp232FlkYLce6 ---END CYBER KNIGHTS CLASS BUILD--- (2) Auto-Train builds can do multi-classing, so build your perfect Vanguard-Cybersword (3) the build is remembered, so once you've used all your Level Points, the Auto-Train build is there for you. When you come back to the screen with more Level Points, just click Auto-Train to keep following the build (4) import a class build from a guide, such as this awesome set: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3237229329 Here's a video run down on how to use a build like this across a number of levels and with total flexibility on how to follow the class builds - [previewyoutube=m_2wAxuQnMo;full][/previewyoutube]

Unused AP becomes +Initiative

For those mercs that are chilling at the end of their Turn, either waiting for the next action or just being careful not to get too loud or rowdy before it gets loud, there is a new bonus for ending your action with unused Action Points. For each unspent Action Point remaining when you end your Turn, you get a flat +1 Initiative bonus in the next Turn. The ghosting preview of your position in the next Turn respects this bonus, so you can check it out easily and see where you land as you spend down your AP. This isn't an overpowering bonus, but a tactical consideration. For those mercs that aren't taking action at all or can afford to sit still, the +6 is a very large Initiative bonus and is going to place them very high if not first in the order. There is no bonus for unused Move Points. In order to ensure that Take Cover (which will fire automatically) didn't become a disadvantage within this system, it has gained a +1 Initiative bonus as well.

Silence Buff Stealth Critical %

We fixed a bug with the buff from Silence to your Stealth Crit % chance not appear in the accuracy breakdown in the top right. This is an old one but a popular F10, as all our stealth ninjas really want that extra +20% Critical! Now you've got it. Enjoy your silent kills.

v1.5.25 - 5/1/2024

- New class build management features: import, export and save to shared library - Easy import/export through clipboard to share your class builds with others - Easy save to library to re-use your class builds in other games or for new teams - Once a class build is loaded, click Auto-Train to considering training the next nodes - Complete flexibility to follow your Auto-Train build, train other nodes or load a new Auto-Train and try something else - Cleaned up and improved navigation in class training screen - Fixed class tree bugs that could result in frozen class tree nodes - If Ending Turn with unused AP, gain a +1 Initiative bonus per AP in the next Turn - Take Cover gains a +1 Initiative to stay competitive - Fixed issue with Silence Crit Stealth Chance buff not appearing always in the right hand corner Accuracy breakdown - Fixed display issue where Stress or Hype could exceed 100% (OVER-hypeeeeee!) - Fixed out of place prop group in Lockdown Station - Adjusted some trigger areas in tutorial to ensure you can't accidentally slip past them

[ 2024-05-01 21:25:58 CET ] [ Original post ]

As we are rev'ing the pedal toward the big base building update, we're still working to keep the quality of life and bug fix train chugging along. Today we've got a nice update hitting the most hotly reported F10s, so thank you for posting them up! If you like the direction we're heading and the pace of updates, please take a moment to leave a review.

Overwatch & Cornering

We fixed a bug that could cause your Overwatch character to step back into cover after setting Overwatch cone, meaning they'd be facing a wall and therefore not able to see any targets moving in their cone of Overwatch ... so they wouldn't shoot. Few things are more tilting in an TBT game! Now fixed. We've also improved a longstanding issue where your character didn't visually step out when considering to shoot a target. This would similarly leave them facing a wall which wasn't a great look, often jamming their gun into the geometry of the wall, only to step out when they made the shot. This is now fixed and importantly, when just considering targets, this is a "test" so the merc does not really step out and become visually spotted until they make the attack.

Item Effects

The effects of items like Shock Mine, Concussion Grenade and Dazzler have been oddly absent from your merc and enemy status pop ups. We've now resolved this situation and the effects appear along with the duration. This also ensures they appear correctly in the hover on the map with an icon and duration too. For stun heavy builds, this is a big boon!

Secondary Objectives Again

We fixed a bug that was prevent secondary objectives about Sec Level and Turn limit not to always display. This is so helpful especially on proc-gen missions where these extra objectives are almost always present.

v1.5.23 - 4/29/2024

- Fixed bug with merc Overwatch around corners leaving merc facing the wall and enemies moving through cone - Fixed bug where targeting Overwatch could suddenly pick a distance farther than you clicked - Fixed bug where Shock Mine, Concussion Grenade and Dazzler Stun Effects were not listed in enemy detail screen - Fixed bug preventing secondary objectives about completing mission with Turn or Sec Level requirements from being shown - Fixed visual bug where mercs testing out a target would not step around a corner but instead would face the wall - Fixed bug a where secondary objectives about Sec Level below a certain value failed when Sec Tally exceed that value

[ 2024-04-29 17:36:02 CET ] [ Original post ]

Evening! We've got an important update for Mac OS players going out tonight. For part of our Mac OS player base with specific hardware and OS combination, there has been a nagging bug with some of the images in the game not always showing up. A very annoying set of images -- the Talent bar! We're excited to say we've fixed the Mac OS specific issue in the shaders to ensure these images appear in all versions of Metal and Mac OS. So, if you were seeing missing images at different points in the game, thank you for your patience, thank you for your F10s! There is a 50 MB hotfix patch waiting for you in the Steam client. From a rare set of F10s, this may also have affected a very slim percentage of Linux players, but if you had a no-icon Talent bar during missions, that might be you! Thanks again for your patience and glad we could fix this one at last.

v1.5.21 - 4/28/2024

- Fixed Mac OS issue with missing images in Talent bar, team button bar, safehouse programs and a few other places

[ 2024-04-29 01:46:57 CET ] [ Original post ]

Tonight we are pushing a hotfix that will resolve a few important issues. First, sorry for the download size - this one fixes the "glowing white square" issue in materials that was appearing on so many levels. Therefore, it's impact in GB downloaded is not small!

Snitch Snuff: Safehouse Lockup

Second, if you had any issue after completing the new heist mission where the Safehouse ends up frozen after your return, one of the optional branches that runs after the mission was bugged. If you reload y our game, you'll be all set to play forward.

Mac OS Retina Screen Mode

Finally, we've fixed some of the text strings in options to be more clear when they are useful. We've updated the Screen Mode drop down to indicate where it might help to change your settings if you have a Retina screen on Mac OS. We're working on some improvements in these areas and Retina-detection will help make this more automatic for new players, but for the moment, if you're playing on a small Mac screen and the text is blurry, switch up to "TV / Retina" screen mode in options.

v1.5.21 - 4/26/2024

- Fixed different types of scattered papers that were showing as big white square on the floor - Fixed possible bug after Snitch Snuff mission that could result in safehouse lock up on load - Clarified screen mode in Options screen: "PC / Non-Retina" or "TV / Retina" or "Handheld / Mobile" - Fixed broken option text in Options screen

[ 2024-04-27 03:48:31 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome to Update #77, where we have a new storyline and heist to pull with exciting new set of objectives. The new storylines focuses on an Obligation Call - a short cycle, high difficulty mission to complete the Obligation you've sworn to a Contact. Keep it in mind, if you're making promises, you'll have to pay the piper eventually. We've also added a nice improvement to weapon display to show their firing modes, fixed a sneaky bug with Overwatch that had crept in and fixed some inconsistent behavior with timeline events around medical and injury time healing. So - let's take a look! We're excited to be making continual progress toward the next major roadmap item. If you like our pace or the direction we are heading, be sure to leave a review on Cyber Knights!

New Heist: Obligation Call

Obligations are promises you make to Contacts in the underground. They are the reverse of how a Contact can owe you a Favor and will redeem it later for cash or to help you. So, when a Contact who you owe an Obligation calls it in, you've got a tough choice to make. Jump and do whatever they need without payment or burn the relationship to the ground and suffer the consequences. This new heist is the first Obligation Call storyline, which gives the Casting Director a lot of free rein to find someone who you owe an Obligation and matches a wide profile of Contact. Then things get interesting. With Obligation Calls, you're almost always on a razor sharp timeline. Will you keep your Obligation? Remember that if you don't, the burning of the relationship will flow outward into the network of relationships, so anyone who liked or disliked the Contact in question will follow suit with their own Stress and Hype. You'll need a squad about Power Level 2 and a Contact to whom you own an Obligation, but you start with a few of those - so most squads should be ready to rock on this one.

Weapon Firing Mode Labeled

We've added the missing firing mode names to the top of the columns in the weapon display - Single Shot, Semi-Auto, Burst Fire and Full Auto weapon modes. While Single Shot, Semi-Auto and Burst Fire all provide the same ability (attack a single target) they offer different special rules (like Rapid Fire lighter weapons and Precision Fire for most Burst Fire) and some Talents only work with different firing modes like Single Shot weapons. Hope it is helpful for your Talent and weapon planning!

Fixed Overwatch Ignored Bug

There was a hotly reported Overwatch bug introduced 2 updates ago. It could cause mercs and enemies both to be simply ignored by Overwatch even if they were taking action, moving or attacking in full view of the Overwatching character. Sorry for that - we know in some cases your mercs got a good break and in others, you just got screwed over a bit. This is now resolved!

Timeilne / Roster Bugs

We hit another one of the most reported F10 issues with the medical timelines for wound or injury treatment being inconsistent or sometimes getting stuck. Sometimes the numbers didn't add up correctly or a treatment could just stay on the timeline without ending and drift farther and farther into negative territory. In addition, we found and a rare bug that could leave mercs in the special Extracted state even when they returned to the safehouse. This would cause mercs to first be on your roster but as soon as any change was made like training them they would disappear until you reloaded the game. They will not just re-appear.

Fixed Carnivore Cop Bug

If you've played through Carnivore, you may have ended up in a state where the cop in charge of the SWAT is not showing in your contact list, and if he or she was, they were missing a critical story tag about the events that transpired in the Underground Datacenter. All that is fixed in all current and future games now, check your Contact ilst.

High-End Missions are ... free?

For the players who have played their squads out to the max and found that there was a sudden drop off in payment (to $0) and XP (to 0 XP) for jobs ... we've fixed it for you! And we love that you're enjoying the game so much :D

v1.5.19 - 4/26/2024

- New Heist: Snitch Snuff Out is an "Obligation Call" - a contact who you owe an Obligation needs your help *right now* - Weapon firing mode (Single Shot, Semi Auto, Burst First or Full Auto) now shown above each stat column - Fixed issues with Overwatch ignoring merc's attacks and certain movement situations - Fixed issue with enemy Overwatch cone sometimes being 1m offset from the enemy's position incorrectly - Fixed issue with recovery time from Wound Healing being inconsistent, getting stuck or failing to heal the wound - Fixed rare extraction-related bug that could cause mercs to temporarily disappear off the Safehouse roster - Fixing bug where proc-gen missions dropped to $0 and 0 XP at high enough Power Level - Fixed issue with nonsensical Leverage offered for Battle Striker proc-gen missions - Fixed issue with objective text sometimes duplicated in rewards list for missions - Fixed issue where second cop in the Carnivore storyline could end up not being known in Contact List

[ 2024-04-26 16:05:31 CET ] [ Original post ]

Update #76 is built completely around a new feature set - importing and export appearances or saving those appearance settings to a shared Library that can be accessed from any of your saved games or whenever you are creating a new game. This is a great convenience feature, especially if you are replaying a lot and have specific looks for their Knight or mercs that you like to rapidly restore. With a few clicks, you can migrate the look of your Team A to a new game team or to Team B in a different saved game altogether. But, from here this is very exciting launchpad for other types of content that can be saved and then later be shared or restored across saved games. Even as we release the appearance import/export/library feature set, we are already working on import/export/library features for your favorite class build. Got a spec you always want for you Vanguard? Soon you'll be able to save and restore that without having to manually recreate it each new saved game. Or post your best specs to the guide your writing for others to load directly. If you like the pace of updates, attention to player-focused features and constant improvements - please do take a moment to leave a review for Cyber Knights: Flashpoint!

Shared Library

You can now save and load your character appearances to your Library. Your shared Library is stored in the Steam Cloud, is not affected if you deleted individual saved games and can be accessed in any saved game to save and load appearances. The library is also directly accessible when setting up a new game team.
With a few quick clicks you can now name and save any appearance you like, delete old appearances you aren't using any more or load the one you need for this team member. In addition, if you happen to make a mistake while the Import/Export panel is open, you can always hit "Undo Changes" to rollback to the appearance you had before you opened the panel.

Import / Export with Clipboard

Using the new Import/Export option within Appearance tab in new game or in roster, you can quickly get a text version of your character's appearance. You can save it offline or share it with the community to check out and use for their own characters. The appearance data has a simple little envelope around it so you can be sure you have everything you need if you share it.
For example, here is a modified version of Dade I like to use in New Games. Just copy the entire block including the BEGIN and END lines to your clipboard and click Paste from Clipboard in the game to check it out. ---BEGIN CYBER KNIGHTS APPEARANCE--- CNa+b2vknDU2Dyz0kn9ak1DnD37zMtz4Ha/qyKNkCpR/Q2/5+iWxklJAoa95YjYVYBI0z93fzHpOKDMt153K4QpVS2DYAkGmbQOoee5NXnJyRtHbvLooo7M6es2xgM3q/Sj0q0Ceyn633mw18Pk07qMUsThYO2enzaHkImjaYQazcX+XOHEUHZStYJY3M4LD85/BeWMVeZaHZtWLuu3iKvT+GTVq/xpgz1tY2ACSiQhVsXbFU6haD+v3KlvcaRlCG0Aul66hVKg2/3EZj6CjfQ7jxSUbouQx61+fAEd1NRUy+mWWu5vLeCe2CzIjqgobCS8HHlphgVTg1DjK51VBMwDzb603GVV+EP2EkU6u5+U94qGve03Kvm76F3L1sX5xKEcB90CX407zsZPtzfCkyD668Hi4MwQm3j4t+m+NptzDQQUQD7gJcKEwJiqfvi6L3ycDLL8IdBzkKCAMVL363ys0OSdPsO6rrXUVnXPWOADgNd8hSbi+SOfdd1AccYM+2YqPQV/9gzU482Kd7e5xN888UsVXafRtmjZhuJimgt6zh2JXSyFgAv+s4YiopzEijkFYXBXzMnMVnqGTSG0sDg== ---END CYBER KNIGHTS APPEARANCE--- It's a great and simple feature set that paves they way for more complicated data structures in the library.

Starting Warchest

New Games will now start with $25K in the bank instead of $15K, opening up the options for early game Leverages you can purchase.

Common / Rare Equipment

With this update we've fixed a few minor issues with equipment of all kinds - weapons, weapon mods, armor, items, programs and cyberdecks - to ensure that nothing but Common and Rare items are being sold (with it mostly being Common items). These are "Common" on the blackmarket, not common in the open market where all of these wares are highly illegal. Rares can appear ... rarely in the market. And Epic and Legendary items can never be purchased, they can only be stolen, borrowed "for a time", disappeared, snatched or generally heisted. Rare equipment will be the switch hitters, they can show up in either category - bought or stolen. As we keep moving forward on loot improvements, this will become more critical as (Rare, Epic and Legendary) weapon, weapon mods and armor start to filter into the loot options alongside items.

v1.5.17 - 4/22/2024

- Added new appearance management features: import, export and save to shared library - Easy import/export through clipboard to share your appearance setup with others - Easy save to library to re-use the appearance in other games or when starting a new game - Increased new game starting bankroll to $25K - Fixed minor data inconsistencies - anything sold by a Contact is always of Rarity Common or Rare, higher values reserved for stolen things - Improved hotkeys in dialog to always show ESC (default) to skip instead of hiding it sometimes

[ 2024-04-22 19:51:50 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome to Update #75 in the New Boston Zone, where we smash your F10s and polish the game up some more. Just because we're working around the clock on the next major roadmap update doesn't mean you shouldn't have improvements to the game every other day during Early Access! So here we are - with the most requested F10s fixed. Thanks to everyone playing, sharing feedback and especially posting F10s! We hope you'll take a minute to share the game and if you like the direction we're headed or the pace in which we are going, please take a moment to leave a review. Now, let's look at what we've improved for you in Update #75 - but if you missed Update #74's major face textures improvements, don't sleep on that one either :D

Secondary Objectives Automated

If a mission offers a special reward like extra money or XP or anything if you finish within a certain Turn or Sec Level limit, that is now always shown in the secondary objectives. We previously had a system in place that required the author to put them in, but that wasn't going to be easy or reliable enough for all the mission scenarios and especially for proc-gen. Now we detect them and inject them as needed so they are always present. Thanks to everyone putting in F10s about this!

Spike Reasons

If you are in a CPU or APU and can't spike it, we now show the exact reason inline with text and a warning icon. The causes are because your Scan is not 2/2 yet or there are surviving IC in the node, but sometimes that can be pretty opaque and was tripping up a lot of hackers. Even after the new matrix tutorial arrives, this will still be very helpful to have the reason always shown.

Matrix Files and Account Placement

We've made a major pass of improvement to the routines that selected Files and Accounts to place within matrix systems. This should both make sure that data and financial nodes never end up empty but also ensure that the Files and Accounts you can find there are correctly linked to the right faction, make a lot more sense and are possibly much more exciting and valuable than what you were finding before. We're always grinding to improve all these aspects of the game, so thanks to everyone submitting F10s here!

+2 Matrix Host Templates

As we prepare for new types of Hacker-only missions, we've dropped in 2 new matrix host templates to keep the possible list of hosts you can encounter in proc-gen hacking missions ever growing.

CPU Spiking Improvements

We've improved the rules for CPU Spiking which specifically reduce the Q-Sec Tally levels. The new rules are clearer and more valuable to the player in all situations. The Q-Sec Tally level is reduced by 200% whatever Tally is required to raise an Escalation. If its 35 Tally per Escalation then you can see a drop of 70 Tally. Unless you were below 70 Tally to start, this will buy you 2 "free" Escalations where the system passes the Escalation point but takes no action. It doesn't wake IC, or cause lethal damage or anything - it just sleeps on it. So, reaching the CPU and Spiking it can buy you a big gap of time where you are free to run rampage over the system now. There are even helpful log messages that detail the loss of Q-Sec Tally and the number of free Escalations you'll get. The Sec Tally UI doesn't respond intelligently yet, but that is on our list. We're going to circle back to APU after this and tune up some of its numbers to make sure it is taking the same kind of approach.

Overwatch Targeting

For those players who were struggling with getting their perfect Overwatch angle and distance but finding that OW only targeted if your cursor was over floor tiles ... we've fixed your F10s! Overwatch will now target in whatever direction and distance you point, regardless of what you're pointing at. This gives you freedom to get the best cone and direction no matter the terrain or a crevasse or a wall or anything.

Yield and Delay Preview Fixes

Both Yield and Delay previews were bugged in that they would lie about the final placement of your merc if a merc and an enemy shared the same resulting Initiative after the action. Your mercs always win ties against enemies, so if you both have 7 then the preview now correctly shows - for Yield and Delay - that your merc will take the first action.

Headshot Retakes

With Update #75, we've adjusted the lighting setup for the camera used to capture your character's 2D headshots. With the new skin detail pass, the lighting there as too bright and we've toned it down for its best look. All default portraits and contacts in the game are immediately updated to update your custom squad members, you'll need to grow through the roster, open the Appearance tab and for each character hover over some options. You don't need to set any, and you'll see the portrait change. Sorry we couldn't automate this one!

Roster Tags and Updates

We've fixed a number of cases where the tags in the roster were not updating fast enough if you took action related to Wound or Injury Treatment. Now they all update on the spot and also they all use abbreviated timestamps ("12d and 4h" instead of longform "12 days and 4 hours") which fit a lot better in the small space. Thanks to everyone submitting F10s and helping us improve!

v1.5.15 - 4/20/2024

- Secondary objectives tied to rewards for complete in less than X Turns or less than Y Sec Level always displayed in Objectives list - Added inline explanation with warning icon explaining why you can't spike APU/CPU (not Scan 2/2, not all IC destroyed) - Improved routines for placing Files and Accounts are placed in data and financial nodes, improves variety and prevents empty nodes - Added 2 new matrix host templates for Hack Only proc-gen jobs - Improved rules for CPU Spiking - reduces Q-Sec Tally by 200% Tally required to Escalation, gaining 2 "free" Escalations - Improved Overwatch targeting mouse input that prevent targeted it toward impassible areas - Fixed issues with Delay and Yield preview that could show wrong result (player after enemy) - Injury and Treatment Tags in roster uses shortened date format (11d 4h) - Treatment Tag in roster correctly updates when status changes - Fixed issue with Mission timer sometimes reading "Immediately left" - Improved performance of Talent list and effect list in character hovers

[ 2024-04-20 17:02:16 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome to Update #74 where everyone is just suddenly a lot more stylish and good looking! Today, we've got a big visual upgrade to the material and texture stack for faces, fixes for your Stressed out Hacker and an unwinding of a bug that was reading Contact Power Levels as one big upgrade instead of pinning the upgrades to each individual Contact. Our next major roadmap milestone is chewing up the majority of the team's time and none of that work can be released until base building is ready. But it is coming closer by the day now! Between now and base building, we'll have a series of additional updates with new heists and new recruits as we prep that colossal release for prime time. If you like the pace of updates, continual improvements and the direction we are heading with Cyber Knights please take a moment to leave a review and help us continue this frantic and exciting pace of Early Access!

Upgraded Faces!

With Update #74, we've completed a major upgrade to the detail and quality of all character face textures in the game. This upgrade has a number of pieces that come together to form the look, including (1) increasing the texture quality of all faces, (2) adding subsurface detail and roughness to the faces to help them act more like real skin (3) adding small shadows to all faces to help highlight areas and prevent the face from feeling flat (4) adding a new Face Details cosmetic choice that will expand with more types of facial detail options. The results feel great! The results speak for themselves. Without leaving behind the unique style that we set out to hit for Cyber Knights: Flashpoint, we've still achieved a big upgrade here.
This one follows on the big lighting engine update as one of the other highest priority and most discussed visual upgrades from the game. We've heard so much about the character look from both players who are playing Cyber Knights: Flashpoint and those who are taking a look from a distance.
This upgrade affects characters in all cases which they appear, making improved headshots as well as making them look cooler in dialog and on missions. To make changing skin color easier, we've moved it be an option of the Face selection and the new Face Details option has 2 choices within it right now - smooth skin and freckled skin, but this category has a lot of cool potential to include scars, burns and more.

New Facial Hair Options

We also added 2 new facial hair options giving you some variations of a lighter, unshaven look. The classic 5'oclock shadow is looking good!

Matrix Stress Reduction

A few updates ago, we punched up the Stress generation capabilities of the matrix, high damage lethal feedback and also Dumpshock. We've heard a lot of feedback that we went overboard and your Hacker's rapidly skyrocketed to the most Stressed out team members. This was related to (1) issues with how Lethal Damage was calculated an passed to the Stress generator before being blunted by your Deck's defenses and (2) Dumpshock just granting 50% too much Stress. Both are resolved in this update and should be significantly more inline with the Stress that other team are suffering for their job as part of the heist team. Sorry for the Stressed out Hackers, they will recover in time! Try to use a Hype Limit Break or two to get them back on track.

Ballooning Contact Power Levels

Thanks to great F10s, we found and fixed a bug where any Power Level increase to one Contact was actually a Power Level increase to all Contacts! This was causing the entire Contact list to end up with 10+ Power Level after a little while. Notably, this is not a form of data corruption or loss, this was just a bad query to the saved game that would read all Power Level increases to any Contact when asking for those of a specific Contact :sweat: so you'll see your games immediately snap back to the right values as Update #74 lands. This is fixed just in time for the upcoming Exposure and Influence LImit Breaks.

Carnivore Fixes

We've made a few small fixes to Carnivore, including swapping the objectives for the extraction points which were switched. Thanks to everyone putting in F10s! Enjoy the new update, mercs! We'll see you in a few days with more :D

v1.5.13 - 4/18/2024

- Improved all face textures, detail and roughness to look less plastic and just better - Added new appearance option "Skin Detail" - current options for smooth and freckled skin with more coming - Moved skin color option under face for much easier selection when modifying appearance - Reduced Stress caused by hard disconnect in the Matrix by 50% - Fixed issue with previewing short beards just disappearing constantly - Fixed issues where sometimes character or contact eyes would be a dead gray - Fixed bug where each Contact's Power Level was calculated by summing all bonuses to all Contact Power Levels (oops!) - Fixed issue where extraction objectives in second stage of Carnivore were switched - Fixed bug listing the wrong Trait level after Hype Limit Break mutation (1 instead of 2) - Improved performance in appearance tab

[ 2024-04-18 21:35:07 CET ] [ Original post ]

Here comes Update #73, another big polish and improvement update with some nice new things to boot. While we motor toward the next set of major roadmap milestones, we're still hard at work improving every aspect of the game with all haste - as any good Early Access project should! If you're enjoying the pace of updates or think we're just heading in the right direction, please take a moment to leave a review. Every review helps us keep going, go faster and do more.

New Sec AI Escalations

With Update #73, we've pushed some new Sec AI Escalation options that are exciting and dangerous. As we continue to grow the options and deepen the rules for Sec AI Escalations, the differences between the 6 Sec AI (gang, syndicate, Sigma 5, 6, 7 and 9) we have in the game today will become more and more apparent. We've added a new chain of Escalation options for any map that features a disabled minefield of Prox-Mines. The first time that the Sec AI spends an Escalation turning on Prox-Mines it will turn on 3 (as usual). However, now if it is returns to enable Prox-Mines after that it will jump to enabling 5 at a time. This can help situations where - with larger prox-mine fields - the Sec AI could burn Escalation after Escalation slowly turning them on 3 at a time. We've also added an all new Escalation type - the Active Bio-Sweep. This Escalation searches for bodies that have active timers and reduces their timer by 1 to 2 Turns each. The older Sigma Sec AI - 5 and 6 - each only reduce the timer by 1 turn while the new, cutting-edge Sigma 7 and 9 each can reduce the timer by 2 each. The Escalation happens after body timers expire for the Turn, so the worst that can result from this Escalation is at the end of the next Turn, more bodies will have been rushed to expiring their timers. Notably, gang and syndicate Sec AI never do Active Bio-Sweep. We're very excited to keep expanding these catalogs and interlinking them with chains and rules so that the Sec AI becomes more exciting adversary to face.

Added 2 New Eyes

We've added two new types of eye - a Terminator-style eye with a hot glowing center and a glowing eye with only a targeting symbol shown over the pupil without an iris. It's exciting to round out this category with some new options and now that we've hit 8 different eye looks, we'll be moving on to other categories to continue to add new cosmetic options and looks.
We have also fixed an issue with the snake and burning sun eyes that was causing them never to achieve darker hues. They always stayed very light in color. Now you can go deep red or green if you please!

Spoof and Red Dot Talents

With Update #73, we've made some nice improvements to Hacker's Spoof and the Soldier's Red Dot. Spoof - with is a passive buff that can block Matrix Q-Sec Escalation - has gained a new upgrade node costing 2 points that will add a second token. This allows a single use of Spoof to block up to 2 Escalations over 4 Turns, if you're fully upgraded. Red Dot - has not been correctly connected to its upgrade nodes since ... the beginning of the Talent? Anyway, we've fixed the bug and now Red Dot has all of its correct upgrades available. We also increased the distance of the Talent and fixed its text formatter to correctly display the debuff that it hits the target with, which you can also upgrade with the "new" upgrade nodes. If you're using your Soldier as an occasional bait for a trap or to pull a security target off course with Red Dot, you'll find these new improvements helpful.

Death Res Simplification

Death Res (previously called Death Save, but that's confusing as we have Stress Res and Wound Res) has been simplified in this update by removing it from all in-game effects. Death Res is set by your Difficulty setting and only by your Difficulty setting. All buffs, Traits and combat drugs that increased Death Res have had it removed. We've also moved Death Res up into the "Death and Saves" section as this is where it is most relevant and improved the hovers on both Death Mode and Death Save. We've got a thread going on our Discord about further updates and simplifications coming for Death Res if you want to check out the rules change preview and chime in.

Better Traits: Grit and Below the Level

Grit and Below the Level both lost bonuses to Death Res with this update, so they've been improved in new ways. Grit now adds Wound Res and Below the Level adds XP % bonus.

Utility Programs

We've improved the description for Utility programs and fixed a bug that was preventing their hover from showing in the Matrix Talent bar.

Weapon Mods Improvements

With Update #73, we've fixed a mistake with the Ether Reflex Sight for AR/UAR/E-Rifles, where it was reducing the maximum optimal range of the weapon. Now it correctly reduces the minimal optimal range. For changes to the arc fire (Overwatch or Full Auto) we now use a + and - sign to correctly denote bonuses and debuffs. And we've fixed a bug that was preventing certain fields, especially if the value was negative, from highlighting correctly in compare.

v1.5.11 - 4/12/2024

- New Sec AI Escalation option: Active Bio-Sweep all body timers are reduced 1 Turn (Sigma 5 or 6) or 2 Turns (Sigma 7 or 9) - New Sec AI Escalation option: Minefield Pulse (wakes 3 prox mines), if run again then Minefield Surge (wakes 5 prox mines) - Added 2 new eye designs - terminator glow and target reticle and improved tinting of snake and burning sun - Improved Hacker's Spoof passive Talent with a new upgrade node that adds +1 Spoof Token - Fixed bug which was hiding Soldier's Red Dot's debuff ability and upgrade nodes in the class tree, increased range - Fixed issue where Trace Vector and other Utility programs did not show description correctly hovering in Matrix Talent bar - Rebalanced Trace Vector 1 and 2 utility programs - Removed changes to Death Res from all Traits, Wounds and buffs/debuffs - this is a Difficulty-only value - Moved Death Res in custom difficulty to be next to Death Mode, vastly improved hovers - Rebalanced Grit to have +Wound Res and Below the Level to have +XP% bonuses as they lost Death Res - Fixed bug preventing weapon mods to properly show compare colors on some stats like Noise and negative Dmg - Fixed Ether Reflex Sight for AR/UAR/E-Rifle to reduce minimum Optimal Range - Fixed weapon mod display of changing Arc degrees to include +/- - Fixed issue with using Faked Vitals and Body Bag on the same target causing negative numbers in hover - Fixed lingering mention of -1 Point to train multi-class in training screen - Fixed lighting issues in Haven Smokeout mission

[ 2024-04-12 20:29:07 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome to Update #72, with some new eye designs for your characters, an important meta change for Heat to truly be 100/100, an improvement for the rules about longterm ignoring Wounds, better matrix options in the TRUCK JOB and a bunch of level and lighting engine fixes. If you are enjoying the pace of constant updates and improvements, or feel like we're just heading the right direction please take a moment to leave a review! Apologies again for the size of the review, the main contributor is rebaking lights across the game as we keep making tweaks to improve everything / fix a few final bugs.

New Eye Designs - Is that a cat or a snake?

With the lighting engine in the rear view mirror, we're returning to character improvements. We'll be working on improved skin texturing and roughness, small face and eye animations to help bring characters out of their wooden stare and more. Tonight, we have 3 new eye designs - either contacts or cybernetic. The power button, burning sun and the cat eyes. Or lizard eyes? Something.

Heat is 100/100 Max

For those players running hot squads and cycling proc-gen missions who were turning up the Heat, we've got you. The Heat scale is now correctly clamped between 0 and 100. This will be important meta fix for the upcoming safehouse base building and reduce the possible "run-away" feeling with Heat that once you go so high it just stopped mattering ever. Remember, base building will also offer options to reduce Heat in large chunks, so if you're a high Heat team, this hard cap at 100 should help and then you'll be getting more tools to use in the future.

Festering Wounds

With this update, we've added a slow-burn system around Wounds. Untreated Wounds will slowly, over time gain a percentage chance of increasing in their level. It is good to see a doctor if you've been permanently injured. If allowed to fester over large period of time, these wounds can become far more debilitating that they are at level 1. This is purposefully a slow-burn type of system. You will not see sudden upgrades in Wounds popping off left and right. This is more like, "don't ignore a Wound for 50 days".

Truck Job Matrix

You can gain a lot of advantages on the recently added TRUCK JOB through the matrix host. To help push variety in this level and keep the matrix side of the challenge, well, ... challenging, we've added new variations to the matrix hosts that be be proc'd into the TRUCK JOB.

Map & Lighting Cleanup

We're still cleaning up a good number of very minor issues with lighting and maps. The most common seems to be some papers on the floor glowing white in some cases. Hopefully we've eliminated that bug with this update, but it remains to be seen until the release gets out into the wild to be truly sure. We've also fixed a number of issues where something invisible was blocking pathing and causing odd paths around something that clearly wasn't there. We've resolved this for the next update in levels like the Sewers and Foward Op and also established a better footbridge in Slumroad Junction over an area on the stairs that really looked like you could pass there but you couldn't.

v1.5.9 - 4/10/2024

- Added 3 new eye designs - cat, power button, burning sun - Adjusted zoom rules for appearance tab, will now zoom in on face or eyes selection - Fixed rules for Heat so that it never exceeds 100/100 - Merc Wounds will slowly increase level on their own over time without treatment - Fixed another set of odd invisible things blocking navigation in Sewers and Foward Op maps - Fixed misleading navigation area around stairs in Slumroad Junction - Fixing a few mistakes where character names were hardcoded into dialog in Tutorial and didn't respond to changes you made - Fixed issue with one map and Kill 3 combo that could result in instant victory - Fixed long diagonal connection in one of the proc-gen SCU matrix host templates - Increased variations of matrix hosts available in the Truck Job - Fixed odd horizontal line hovering in safehouse

[ 2024-04-11 03:58:39 CET ] [ Original post ]

Update #71 follows on a big weekend with the TRUCK JOB heist hitting the streets and so many new Knights joining the New Boston zone. We're excited to return to the regular update schedule this week and smash some fixes, smash your F10s and smash on to the next heist release. Sorry about the big download size on this one. The build server had a caching issue and the only way to move forward was to flush it and the build size suffered for it. If you're liking the game, the pace of updates and our style of Early Access, please take a minute to leave a review! https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1021210/view/4176599795022391616 We've also started a new community challenge this week to see your best multi-class builds! This one is a lot of fun to test out new things and new metas that maybe haven't been explored before. You in?

Truck Job Floaters

If you were running the TRUCK JOB and saw the mechanized infantry simply "floating" through stuff, you weren't the only one. Scary, right! Well, now fixed.

Retargeting Annoyances

We've rebuilt how a character steps out around cover to give the character more options (now 8 options instead of just 4) which will help you get the best sight lines to enemy targets or when trying to get a good Overwatch cone setup. This also has a big impact on any time that the targeting got confused when planning movement (saying that you could hit 1 in the bottom left but when you got there it was 0). This was due to the less step out spots and allowing the step out spots to be influenced by rotation. Technicalities, but big ones! And finally, this fix fully resolves all of the annoyances around retargeting that were going. Sometimes, when trying to shoot an enemy multiple times in a row, suddenly you'd be stuck with an "No Sight Line" result until you hit ESC or reclicked on them, or you'd just lose the targeting altogether. These issues are now fixed, thankfully.

Biomimic and BioScan Fields

We fixed the issue with the Scourge's Biomimic bug that was not always working in a Bio-Scan Field, depending on the ordering of who entered the field last. Now it always works and a Biomimic'd Scourge is excluded for any and all merc counts.

Enemy Spawning

We've resolved the issues with enemy spawnng in odd positions and rotations, kind of a bad jumble. They are back to being nicely organized and fanned out from the main spawn location. Only if they need to find other locations due to something blocking them will they get more organic.

Enemy Spinning

Sometimes the enemy AI would just start a rotation action and not really try to turn much or at all. This kind of twitchy is now cut out completely and the enemies will only go for a rotation action when it is sensible. It looks nicer and actually cuts down on a good deal of thinking cycles and raycasting required every time a turn was done.

Pathing and Lighting Issues

There are a few types of textures we are fighting in certain levels -- usually paper on the ground -- that can in some cases be painted with a white background. We're working through addressing these as they are new bugs caused by the new lighting engine. We'll get them all fixed soon. We also fixed a number of odd pathing issues in the Forward Op mission map[.

Typos and Duplicate Journal Entry

We fixed a heap of typos and also a duplicate entry in the journal for Water Desalination. Thanks to the F10 crew for posting these up!

v1.5.7 - 4/84/2024

- New Power Button Eyes option - Fixed issue with mechanized infantry in Truck Job walking/running through objects - Fixed issues where sometimes target or sight line would be lost after making attack on a target until canceled / retargeted - Fixed bug with Scourge's Bio-Mimic not deceiving BioScan Field if Scourge is the last merc to enter - Improved AI behavior to avoid repeated rotations that sometimes don't go anywhere - Fixed issue with start enemy positions for reinforcements not being well organized - Fixed duplicate lore text paragraphs in Water Treatement and Desalination section of journal - Fixed odd pathing issues in Forward Op mission map

[ 2024-04-09 03:15:22 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello, Knights! It's time for another CKF Community Challenge. Our previous challenged focused on engagement style and challenged you to "Go Loud" as you completed levels. This time we are focusing on classes and multiclassing. There are three requirements for this challenge: - Multiclass everyone who runs heists and missions - Split your talents as evenly as possible between each merc's two classes * Your talents must be split evenly, you may assign your level points unevenly - Each merc must be a different class combo
As always, we want to see and hear about your adventures tackling the challenge so here are some ideas for what wed love to see: - Screenshots of your squad and their talent trees - After Action Reports of your missions, challenges you faced - Tell us how multiclassing affected your strategies and which multiclass combo was your favorite - Any other creative ways you want to share to tell us about your heists with your multi-classed mercs: memes, interpretive dance, gifs, etc
No matter what you choose to share, please share screenshots of your squad's talent trees so we can see what fun combinations you came up with! Weve opened up a discussion here on Steam in the General Discussion forum for aIl of your posts. If you post in our Discord, head to #multiclass_challenge to join in on the conversation!

[ 2024-04-06 19:53:12 CET ] [ Original post ]

Update #70 hits another major roadmap item by adding Mac OS support, adds a new and exciting heist in the TRUCK JOB, and adds the first mission with other linked missions attached to it. We've got a killer calendar of updates laid out for April, and all roads are now leading toward the next major roadmap milestone - base building. Thanks to everyone playing, posting and supporting our ongoing efforts by leaving a review

Mac OS Support

With Update #70, we've smashed another major roadmap item by adding Mac OS support to the game. This one has been a long journey but we made a commitment as far back as the Kickstarter to deliver to all 3 platforms on Steam. The lighting engine was the last domino in a long line of dominos to fall that were blocking Mac OS support, so here we are! The only requirements are a Silicon chip (M1 or higher) and recent version of Mac OS (12 / Monterey or higher). The game runs buttery smooth on the Apple hardware and chips, so enjoy that! Thanks to everyone on Mac who wishlisted and is now checking out the game - welcome to New Boston. We hope you'll share a review once you've had a chance to play.

New Heist: Start of the Boost

With Update #70, we've added a new heist from a corporate contact who approaches your Face with a plan. We'll skip on the spoilers but the heist leads to a set of linked missions (see below) and foot-race with a transport truck. Your squad needs to be at least Power Level 3 before the TRUCK JOB will proc. During Early Access, we're working a host of storylines and this is another one that is a good opener with more coming soon. After the TRUCK JOB, the on-going storyline will wait paused on your timeline for the next content release to extend the storyline.

Linked Missions

The TRUCK JOB includes the first example of links missions. It's exciting to roll out the first linked missions as this is a key construct in building multi-part and complicated heists that let you approach them in many different ways. Linked missions are shown with the chain icon in the mission, with the parent mission always listing first in the list and its children appearing below it with a yellow arrow in their names. Linked missions can have different effects, such as making certain paths through the parent mission available, or in this case, completing the linked mission unlocks an advantageous Leverage in the parent. In future cases, the linked mission(s) will unlock options that are required to start the parent mission at all, where one or more stages of the parent might be locked until some of the linked missions are completed.

Better Currency Formatter

The successful heisters in New Boston are racking up the cash and the formatter was getting hard to read as you hit multi-million dollar stacks. With the updated formatter, we've kept the same precision ($1.11M) but flipped from $10K to $100K to $1M to $1.11M to $10.25M.

Randomize Codename

We've added a handy Randomize button to the renaming pop-up. In the case that you've earned a codename (getting your first level from a successful mission) you can now randomize to your hearts content and try out the hundreds of codenames the game can make up for you. I've always loved this kind of exploration and taking inspiration from the random ones, so I hope you enjoy it too.

Loophole Heist Extraction Bug

We've fixed a bug at the end of the Loophole Heist where the extraction points would not allow individual extraction and only 1 of the 2 would allow team extraction. This went out as a hotfix yesterday, but we're mentioning it here in case anyone was stuck with that. It was a result of a mistake in merging the big lighting upgrade branch that wasn't caught. Our apologies for any hiccups, extra Damage or dead mercs this may have caused.

Fixed F10s!

We've fixed a big bundle of your F10s with this update, ranging from ensuring that all parts of the movement path and destination appear through geometry to the hover over a corpse not disappearing sometimes when you dissolve it. We fixed a really popular F10 where the story event for the Gun Runner's E-Rifle didn't immediately disappear when you purchased the weapon. Also, Traits granted by Hype Limit Breaks will display that they are "Expiring Soon" instead of showing a negative number of Turns. We fixed the tutorial issue with the door right at the start that has a misleading hover that through some players. and generally cleaned up issues with the major new lighting upgrade. There are a few places left with odd textures or bakes (paper on the ground with an all white background) that we're working through.

v1.5.5 - 4/5/2024

- Added support for Mac OS with Silicon chips (M1 and higher) - All new storyline and Truck Job heist with second pre-heist mission to prepare for the main one - Updated currency format for the ballers with lots of U-Dahs - $10K, $100K, $1M, $10.52M - Added Randomize codename button to Rename pop-up for name cycling fun - Moved destination circle now appears through geometry like the rest of the movement line - Fixed bug where certain story offers (like Gun Runner's offer for E-Rifle) stick around in timeline incorrectly - Temporary Traits that are expiring soon now state "Expiring Soon" instead of "-1 day" - Fixed issue with ESC screen and matrix sometimes causing a lock up - Fixed issue preventing individual extraction from the second stage of Loophole Heist - Fixed issue where dead body hover could stay on screen immediately after dissolve - Fixed misleading hover on door in the tutorial that claims it will open if you approach (it will not) - Fixed minor lighting and shading bugs

[ 2024-04-06 13:13:46 CET ] [ Original post ]

[previewyoutube=29MO-l9FWt8;full][/previewyoutube] In Cyber Knights, the New Boston dome is the ever-present setting. It is more than 10 miles wide in diameter and at its peak stands over 1 mile tall. This massive structure rests on super-foundations and the ceiling arch is supported by the large buildings, the nearly mile-wide "towers". Layer upon layer of metal and concrete make the dome, slice upon slice of street, hab-sector or industrial zones stacked upon each other. Below ground, out in the Wards, high in the towers, escaping off of rooftops - it is your playground, your heist targets, the home of your enemies, friends and safehouse. It needs to have the right vibe. And so we're excited to roll out a major milestone off the roadmap with the VIBE update, the all-new lighting engine!
Technically outside of the official Q1 end by a few days, but we're going to notch this one where it stood. And with the lighting engine roadmap items struck down, we can at last finish up Mac support. Onwards to the truly big beasties of Q2 - safehouse base building and blueprint crafting!

New Lighting Engine & Post Processing

The new lighting engine includes a new post processing color grading system that is helping to push the right vibe for our dark future cyberpunk setting - dark, shadowed, gritty but still vivid. We hope you'll jump into a heist and check out the new look because every scene, mission and corner of the game has been improved. This is a huge update with innumerable changes, so there are sure to be follow-on fixes that tweak certain areas, lights, objects that stick out as odd or that need roughness or metalness changes. If you do see anything weird just hit F10 to send us a report; well be making ongoing adjustments as always. Throughout Early Access, we're working on many, many different projects. Visual and animation improvements is a big area for these, so even with the lighting engine improvements we're continuing to push in other areas that will improve the game's visuals.

HUD Bar Spacebar Issue Fixed

With the last update there was an issue where using some of the buttons in the HUD bar - specifically items or advantages - could result in the focus getting stuck up there. Then the next time you tried to move with spacebar, you'd actually be pushing one of those buttons or ending your turn. Bad! Fixed now.

Photo Mode Improvement

To make photo mode better, we've hidden the last few UI elements that were hanging around on screen when it was enabled. This includes the blue circle around character's feet which was the most annoying.

Camera No Longer Sticking

In some cases if you chose to skip all during a scripted scene, the camera would just jam right where it was when you skipped instead of cutting ahead to the character or enemy who is about to take their turn. This is now fixed and we've made some minor improvements to the camera position before the black curtain rises at the start of a level to make sure the camera is always focusing on the right character with them in an unobstructed view.

v1.5.1 - 4/2/2024

- Upgraded all levels and scenes to new lighting engine (lighting is more diffuse, more indirect contribution, better ambient occlusion) - Upgraded all levels and scenes with new post processing (ACES color grading for shadowed, grittier, vibrant world) - Fixed issue with photomode (default "P") where character selection UI stayed visible - Fixed bug where using items or Leverages could leave selection in button bar and trying to move might end turn or be ignored - Fixed odd white square appearing in the character hover (now is corrected to be >| icon indicating they are in the next turn) - Fixed issue with camera getting stuck in odd positions after skipping scripted scene

[ 2024-04-03 14:04:55 CET ] [ Original post ]

Monday - a good day as any for an update! Welcome to Update #68 where we've put some extra focus on cleaning up the relationships, backstories and story tags that define your characters and recruits. We're heading into new and exciting territory with the story system and the Casting Director and it was important to take this minute to correct any last issues in the foundation before rolling forward. This update does not include the new lighting engine (a visual-only improvement to the look of the game). We said in Update #67 that it was "next update" but there always seems to be one more technical hurdle. It will come very soon, but we wanted to get this RPing quality update out to everyone. If you're enjoying the pace of improvements and steady progress the game is making during Early Access we hope that you will leave a review. Nothing is more important to a small indie developer that having you help us share the game, so we appreciate it!

Must Feed Casting Director!

The Casting Director is the heart of our proc-gen story system. The Director is in charge of picking what new stories to spin into your cyberpunk world and who should fill the available seats in those storylines. It does this by looking at the cast of characters, mercs, recruits and contacts that are within the game.

Starting Character Relationship Fixes

The first big set of updates all come to your starting characters. These characters rolled out of new game with strong backstories and a set of contacts they know. But that data was poorly represented and shown in the roster or the contact screen. With Update #68, we've retagged everything. This is for both old games and new games. If you load up your previous save, we've done some adjustments to correct the tagging and display for relationships to be bi-direction and to include additional data about why the relationship exists, at the very least helpful pointers back to the backstory. This also sets up new games very nice, but you don't need to start a new game here.

Recruit Backstories, Relationships and Contacts

In the same vein, the backstories, contacts and tags assigned to the recruits you can find in the game have been less than correctly represented. First, there was a bug that 33% of the time, a recruit could pick the wrong faction and backstory and you'd basically end up with a recruit in your safehouse who did not match the dialog at all. This is now fixed. Second, the new contacts that were being created by recruiting all look like Dr. Ashe... oops. This is currently fixed only for new recruits but we're working on how to resolve this in older saves as well. Third, the backstory Trait, personality tagging, relationship tags with the new contacts, Contact Traits and Tags were all just lacking. Some of it was there but it wasn't as fully-fledged and rich as the Casting Director would like it to be. For new recruits, you'll find a much better set of RPing tagging and data is included after you've met and discussed with the recruit.

New Traits

We're in a cycle of constantly adding new Traits for characters and contacts. We kind of aim to add one or two every time we work on a new recruit, contact or story character. With this update, we've added both Bull-Built (heavy focus on Strength and HP) and Bril (adding Willpower and bonus % to all XP gained!).

Sec AI Avoids Repeat Reboot

While it may have been a boon to see the Sec AI pick something less than optimal, it could also be unfairly difficult or annoying if the Sec AI rebooted security devices twice in a row. Especially if you just spent your turn undoing the reboot ... only to have it re-rebooted! The Sec AI will no longer pick Reboot Devices back to back for Security Escalations. We're continuing to work on adding new options for the Sec AI and improving the sequencing and rule set for what options are available, so please post any F10 bugs, oddities or suggestions you might have.

APU Spiking

We fixed a bug where spiking the APU in a matrix host could result in a Security Escalation at Lvl 0. This bug could basically make the act of spiking the APU a punishment and is now resolved, thankfully. Now the math behind the rules have been improved. The APU reduces your Sec Tally by 10 points and can gain you one "free Escalation". That is, if you're at Sec Level 2 and the Tally is 4/10 then spiking the APU will take you back to Sec Level 1, Tally 4/10. But when you pass into Sec Level 2, the APU has been corrupted and that Escalation is skipped. We need better representation of this in the visuals, but it has a demonstrable powerful effect now at any Sec Level.

v1.4.47 - 4/1/2024

- Fixed all relationships for starting characters with their contacts (retroactively); bidirectional with details - Added new Traits Bull-Built (Strength and HP), Bril (Willpower and extra XP) - Improved Tags and Traits for all recruits and their known contacts (new recruits only) - Fixed issues where recruits could end up from the wrong faction, without Traits or contacts connections - Prevented Security AI from unfairly rebooting jammed security devices 2 Turns in a row - Fixed Matrix bug where spiking the APU could result in a Security Escalation "Level 0" incorrectly - Fixed tattoo and facial hair shading which had become too light

[ 2024-04-01 16:03:56 CET ] [ Original post ]

Knights, gather round the command HQ - it is Update #67. We've got free multi-classing and bonus Training Points (+1 or +2) for you, a quick but helpful Matrix Basics guide, mission Objectives now showing up in the Matrix, and fixes to your most recent crop of F10s. This is probably the last update - a nice solid QoL patch - before we drop the new lighting engine. Sorry, the 2.8 GB update size is due to prep for the lighting engine drop! We're were showing off the new lighting engine and post processing results on our Discord earlier this week and are just making final tweaks to everything to make it look its best before rolling it out to you. If you're enjoying the progress and pace of updates, please leave a review. Every single one helps us keep this Early Access training moving and you can always edit it later.

Matrix Basic Guide

We've added a new page to the gameplay basics section that includes a basic primer for the Matrix. It is not a replacement for the Matrix Tutorial but a stopgap measure we should have taken a while ago. It is short and to the point, aiming to get you started and into the basics of matrix hacking. The tutorial is coming, right after the lighting engine - but for now, check the in-game help.

Multi-class for Freeeeeeeee!

We've adjusted the rules for how mutli-classing cost you Training Points. Previously, the first node of any class (the class icon in the tree) cost you 1 point. This wasn't clear, was a bit confusing, and required you to have 1 free Training point to complete a multi-class action. We have removed this cost, so the act of multi-classing is now completely free and costs 0 Training Points. This also means the act of having any class is free and costs 1 less Training Points. So, all characters got +1 Training Point returned to them. Yay! And if you happened to have multi-class, you'll find suddenly you have +2 new Training Points to spend. Don't spend it all on one node ;) To support this change, we've modified the starting character training a bit with small extra bonuses and Talents. The Sniper gets Pathfinder Talent, Vanguard gets extra range for their Lure, and Cybersword gets a second charge of Slashslide, etc. As part of this process, we've also adjusted how the Cyber Knight spent their points and freed up a total of 4 Training Points when you reach the safehouse. This gives the Cyber Knight more freedom to take new Talents (like Tactica Surge or others) without forcing a respec, which most players weren't doing. This +1 from the class node and dropping a trained upgrade node from the Security Dampen Talent gives the Knight a lot more flexibility to immediately pick up a new Talent before going on their first mission which just feels right.

Objectives in Matrix HUD

As the game's matrix objectives and secondary objective layer keeps getting deeper in the story and proc-gen heists both, it has become clear we needed the Objectives list on the Matrix HUD. We have shimmied it in above the Matrix Log so that it can be always present on screen when you're working through your objectives and racing to get everything done in time.

Fixed Matrix Bugs

We also fixed a number of smaller Matrix issues that have been bothering players. The first was that if you had enough Talents and Programs in your Matrix Talent bar, you could end up in a situation where the Talent hover simply clipped off the right side of your screen. This is now resolved and hovers stay within the bounds correctly. The second fixed issue is that there if there were IC that increased the Action Point cost of certain actions like using Programs, their penalty cost was getting counted twice, making this unfairly hard. This is now resolved.

Fix Spawning Bugs

The last update included some important improvements to enemy spawning routines to ensure they never stacked and instead found some nearby empty space to occupy. This fix worked really well in most cases, but we've received from F10s for specific spawning points in the game where the enemies would still end up stacked or end up inside a nearby building which they could not possibly get out of. We've cleaned up the algorithm here to pick the spawning location and included additional checks to be sure we get a truly valid nearby position. If you see any last lingering issues with spawning locations, please just hit F10 and we will resolve but it looks like -- from our side -- its fixed.

v1.4.43 - 3/28/2024

- Added a gameplay basics entry for Matrix Basics - a short bootstrap to get any player started - Reduced training point cost for first node of all classes to 0 points, all characters recoup +1 or +2 (if multi-classed) Training Points (yay!) - Multi-class is free, no training point cost associated with the action - Starting characters get slight boosts in starting training (Vanguard longer range Lure, Soldier longer range Marker Sights, Sniper gets Pathfinder Talent) - Adjusted Soldier's Marker Sights to make AOE upgrade a little more expensive - Mission objectives are now included in matrix HUD above the matrix log - Fixed matrix bug where AP penalty by IC was counted twice making program use extra expensive - Fixed bug with Talent hovers that were going off the edge of the screen, now respect boundary - Fixed issues with spawning enemies where they still might stack on top of each other or end up inside inaccessible areas - Fixed jumbled Hacker class description in multi-class screen

[ 2024-03-28 22:01:39 CET ] [ Original post ]

EDIT: Update #66 had a bug in it that could cause the camera to get stuck in some of the action camera shots if your attack resulted in a kill. A hotfix has now been pushed, If you don't see v1.4.43 on your main menu, restart Steam to be sure to get the fix. Update #66 take a big swing at some of the most popular F10 bugs and some of the best feature suggestions we've received recently. We're excited to keep moving forward with a constant stream of updates, and especially ironing out the remaining bugs that can slow down a good run. If you're enjoying the pace of updates and our turning your F10s into fixes and improvements, please take a moment to leave a review!

Empty Lootboxes Go Gray

If a lootbox is empty, its highlight color will now immediately be gray instead of a bright golden yellow. This is a huge help for turning on highlight with "H" (by default) and checking where you may still need to loot. There isn't much more to it, but it's so useful! So thanks to the wise player who dropped in thsi great F10 :D

Details and Hover for Dump Shock and Combat Drugs

Key buffs and debuffs that were missing from the hover over your character's heads as well as the extended status screen you can access by double click on a character's head in the Initiative timeline. Especially for the debilitating Dump Shock, knowing how long it will last and its total effects is a big help to Hackers who have taken a boot to the side of the head in the form of lethal feedback from the matrix IC.

Improved Mission Tagging

The new mission tags for Gold Key Loot Areas got us looking and talking to players about other tag improvements. We've taken quick action to improve the set and give more detail about the different stages of missions that can help you plan the best heist, especially with multi-stage heists like Carnivore and Sibling Breakout. First, we've combined what was previously two tags "Stealth (optional)" and "Combat (optional)" into a single tag "Mixed Stealth and Combat" that sums it up nicely - any mix of stealth and combat abilities can be used to succeed at this mission stage. In many cases, combat may be required if the plan starts to fall apart. This is nice to get one tag back, as we've also added new tags. With Update #66, we've added Red Key Door and Blue Key Door tag to all mission stages that include them. This can be extra helpful when the keys are useful across multiple stages (like Sibling Breakout) or only appear in a late stage (like Cube Run). In addition, once Leverages start popping up that offer hacked, counterfeit or stolen keys, these tags will be extra helpful in helping you decide if those Leverages match well with your chosen path through a heist.

Targeting Inconsistencies

We've fixed about 80 F10s about different cases of targeting inconsistencies with this patch. There were multiple issues, but we've completed a deep dive on the code paths to find where there were inconsistencies and figured out some really minor - but highly impactful - issues that could cause enemies right at the edge of your range to come in and out of range based on swapping weapons, firing modes or even just hitting TAB (by default) to page to the next target. This also has the effect of fixing the small remaining set of cases where a melee weapon indicates it can make an attack in the bottom left but still can't when the time comes to swing. It's a huge step up in consistency of attacking, so thanks to everyone for helping guide us to these big fixes.

Fixed Lockdown Station Auto-Defeat

In the most recently added proc-gen map, Lockdown Station, some times a Kill 3 objective could result in a map starting without any players on it and an immediate defeat. If you're stuck there or have experienced it, this bug is now fixed.

v1.4.41 - 3/25/2024

- Dump Shock and Combat Drug debuff/buffs show up correctly in merc hover and mid-mission status screen - Lootboxes that are empty highlight in gray instead of gold to make them easier to ignore on map - Improved mission tagging - now includes tags for Blue and Red Key Doors where they appear - Combined "Stealth (optional)" and "Combat (optional)" tags into single "Mixed Stealth and Combat" tag - Improved stage description for Sibling Breakout South Hover Pad to be more clear about its advantage (ez access to Blue Key) - Fixed bug in Lockdown Station level with Kill 3 captain objective that could lead to auto-defeat - Fixed issues with enemy being in range changing when swapping weapons, modes or UI paths of starting attack - Fixed issue with save slots not always updating when Knight is renamed

[ 2024-03-26 04:48:33 CET ] [ Original post ]

Update #65 is a huge pile of improvements including new Gold Key leverage option, new mission tags identify Gold Key Loot Areas, a huge pile of Matrix improvements including letting you use Leverage's directly from inside the Matrix, and a lot more. Let's check it out below! If you're enjoying the progress, wild pace of updates and on-going improvements please take a moment to leave a review and help us keep going. You can always edit the review later or at full launch.

Gold Key Loot Area

We've heard some natural confusion about the inaccessible Gold Key loot area in the new level, Lockdown Station. To help make this more clear, we've added a new tag to the mission list to give you warning that there is a Gold Key loot area within a level.
So, what is a Gold Key Loot Area?

• Gold Key areas are locked areas that always contain high-value loot. They may be heavily guarded from the outside but won't have guards inside them.
• If you hover and check the Gold Key Loot Area's rules, you'll see a warning that once you deploy into the job, there is no way to gain access to the Gold Key area.
• The hover in the job is also more clear now that you cannot access this area and no matter how many lootboxes you pop open, you will not find the key. The only way to obtain a Gold Key is through Leverage.

Which was missing when we released Lockdown State :facepalm:
So we've fixed that and enabled the Leverage which we had accidentally left in the "dev-only" state. Check with your Contacts who can offer this Leverage for a Favor to see if you can get a Gold Key before hitting the site. If you can, make an extra stop and reap the golden rewards.

List of Matrix Improvements

With Update #65, we've hit a bit list of improvements with the Matrix. One of the first improvements we've completed is to condense the grid by about 20% to help get more on screen at once. The new matrix grid is still separated enough to be easy to read and use but also a bit closer to reduce your need to zoom in and out so much. We have also improved the timing of opening and closing the matrix screens - when starting a hack, resuming a Hackers turn, or going to look at Security devices or Doors from the Matrix. Everything runs faster, and its nicer for it. We fixed a bug where the Matrix host's Escalation might try to unload programs that were not loaded. And we fixed an issue with the Hacker's Trunkpatch which was not immediately reducing Q-Sec Tally and updating display as described.
We've improved the hover for Matrix programs to be clear about the AP cost of loading a new program. This was a hidden cost before, but the 5 AP cost is now clearly visible before you load the program. Then, the second AP cost which is highlighted once the program is loaded is the cost to execute the program code. We've also fixed a bug that was charging you 5 AP to unload a program, which was not intentional and not helping for those players making mistakes with load and unload.

Using Leverage from Matrix

In prep for some upcoming Matrix active Leverage options which you can use to affect a Matrix host or specific node, we've added the ability to call in Leverage directly from the Matrix action bar. For now, this is useful to allow you to use Leverage without having to disconnect from the Matrix, if you have a character who needs to Scramble Protocols or the like. In a near-term update, we'll be rolling out new Leverage types that are a matrix-specific and make this Leverage-in-Matrix ability even more important.

Contact Sorting

With this update, we've added 2 new sorting options for Contacts - by Contact Type and by Faction. Both of these are A-Z and are really useful to help you find somewhere you're looking for if you can't remember their name. For simplicity, we've only offered A-Z options for both of these, because you can just scroll to the end of the table if you're looking for UltraTek.

Map Codenames

If you're looking to discuss a map with other players or with the dev, it can be a little difficult because the maps use different names during proc-gen and storylines that aren't always the same. To help with this possible point of confusion, we've exposed the map's codename, such as Lockdown Station, in the ESC menu, in the top right.

Better Hovers

We've improved the font colors, sizes and background opacity to make hovers over doors, security devices, interactive panels, lootboxes and hacking terminals easier to read. Thanks to everyone posting up F10s!

Fixing Spawn Piles

Don't worry - we're not quadrupling the reinforcement counts, we were just testing this fix! In Update #65, we've resolved the issue where multiple enemy spawns could end up on top of each other instead of finding some nearby empty space.

v1.4.39 - 3/24/2024

- Added Gold Key leverage offer for all missions going to Lockdown Station - gold keys cannot be gained except via Leverage - Clarified Gold Key Loot area, highlighted mission tag now appears if one exists in a level - Added mission level "codename" to the ESC menu so you can always know the level's meta name ("Lockdown Station", "Trucker HQ") - Added new Contact sort options for A-Z Contact Type and A-Z Contact Faction - Added option to use Leverage directly from inside Matrix, such as Suppress Reinforcements without disconnecting; opens the way for more Matrix Leverages - Improved matrix Program hover to show both the AP cost to load the Program and AP cost to use program separately - Condensed matrix map brings all nodes 20% closer together and reduces need to zoom so much to see everything - Reduced delay when exiting matrix screen to main map screen to change turn, disconnect or check security devices - Fixed bug with Hacker's Trunkpatch Talent not immediately reducing Q-Sec Tally and updating display - Fixed matrix bug where you were charged AP cost of loading a program to unload it - Fixed matrix bug where host's Escalation response might try to unload programs that were not loaded - Fixed matrix bug where Q-Sec Level and other HUD stats might not always update on jacking in - Fixed issue with enemy spawning where enemies could end up stacked - now they will find a nearby available location - Fixed some matrix host bugs with diagnol connections - Improved readability of hover for security devices, loot, doors etc on map - Prevented issue where Wound Traits could appear in Hype Limit Break options - Fixed bug where Cyber Knight's Rewind Talent was reseting matrix program charges - Can no longer modify cyberdeck or programs for any hacker who is waiting to be recruited - Fixed bug in hovering over empty or unavailable item slot in roster showing randomized item

[ 2024-03-24 20:01:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome to Update #64, Knights. New Boston is rolling tonight with an all new map to play - Lockdown Station, 7 new matrix hosts to try to hack, meaner Dumpshock results that hit both Stress and Injury Time and a big pile of fixes for your F10s! Thanks to everyone playing and posting feedback on the Steam forums and F10! We couldn't keep up this pace of updates without your help, your shares and your reviews!

New Map: Lockdown Station

The new Lockdown Station map has joined the proc-gen pools to create 3 new objective combinations. Lockdown Station is a particularly security heavy site providing some new challenges with overlapping and difficulty security devices and - at least at the start - lighter patrol presence. You can encounter Lockdown Station with a Scavenger objective, as a target of a Q-Gap Spike or in Kill 3 Captains objective. We had planned to get this map out during the Spring Sale to pair with the big MAGNITUDE update that added +10 map and objective combinations, but testing took a bit longer and here we are with +1 new map and +3 new map and objective combos.

Matrix Host Go Boom and Host Balance

We've added 7 new matrix host templates across different types of missions including hack only missions and for hosts that might be guarding SCU or you need to spike their CPU. These new hosts include some exciting new setups, some challenging CPUs and more. With Update #64, we've also fixed a bug that was created a sudden fall off in matrix host security and response level. If a mission had high enough Power Level it could suddenly go over a cliff in the difficulty math and end up with Green or Blue low level host responses.

Dumpshock Gets Teeth

Dumpshock has a nasty debuffing effect which can last for a few turns. With Update #64, we've improved its penalties such that it can cause Stress and also even small amounts of Injury time. Taking these types of major brain-frying hits during a hack is never good and now it has proper touch in all the systems related to getting beat up or shot up. Now your Hackers can feel like proper Soldiers, needing some downtime after a particularly gnarly hack.

Cyberware by Days

We've adjusted all of the cyberware install durations so that they are even on the day (12 days instead of 11 days and 16 hours). A minor fix but it's very nice for calculations and the UI simplicity. In addition, we fixed a bug where cyberware recovery time was not advancing by the game time that a mission took to complete. Usually less than a day, still it is important to clock this time for those sitting back at the safehouse.

Tox Cloud Speed Fix

We've fixed issues with the Tox Cloud that were accidentally introduced last update. Last update fixed its saved game persistence issues but suddenly Tox Clouds started going faster and faster every turn. This is now resolved and they keep their nice steady pace and remember their position after a retry turn ore reload of the save.

v1.4.37 - 3/22/2024

- Added new proc-gen map, Lockdown Station, which supports Scavenger, Kill 3 Captains and Q-Gap Spike objectives - Added 4 new host templates to proc-gen matrix hack only missions - Added 3 new large host templates for SCU access and spiking CPU missions - Improved balance of dumpshock, better Stress generation and can even cause Injury time - Expanded camera zoom range from 10m-45m to 5m-60m (get closer or zoom out even more) - Rounded off all cyberware install times to an even day count, no more 12d 6h - Improved balancing for matrix host Security Level and Response Level for non-hack only proc-gen missions - better scaling - Fixed bug with accelerating Tox Cloud moving faster each turn - Fixed issue where high Power Level hacking missions could suddenly fall off in Security and Response Level - Fixed issue where some safehouse timeline events were not advanced by mission passing time, such as cyberware recovery - Fixed issue with extracted characters creating a dead zone preventing line of sight - Fixed issues with texturing properties for tattoos that made them seem very metallic

[ 2024-03-23 03:58:23 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome to Update #63, a nice quality of life update in the breather before more content piles on. We've got some really nice QoL improvements with new hovers for weapons, mods, armor, items, cyber and cyberdecks as well as +11 new lore files to check out and nice tweak to the default filter settings in inventory to make it easier to for everyone. Check it out below! Thanks to everyone playing and posting up a review :hype:! Remember, if you think we're heading the right direction, you can post a review now and edit it later.

Flexible Equipment & Cyber Hovers

One of the main even for Update #63 is the addition of flexible hovers capable of showing a wide range of complicated details - weapons, weapon mods, armors, items, cyberdecks and implants. These hovers are featured on the main roster screen as a rapid way to check stats and as a way to see cybernetic implant stats. In addition, within the mission if you double click on a character on the Initiative timeline, you'll bring up their status screen and you can now hover on their weapons, armor or items there to see all the details. The items are new add, they were previously not shown but thit is a nice place to check the exact Talent stats without unpacking them first. Also, all hovers of all types got a nice yellow border to help them stand out from what they are hovering over. Ahh, nice!
These aren't perfect yet - there is still some overkill information in the cybernetics ones, for example - but we're excited to get this into your hands to gather feedback.

Inventory Default Filters

We've improved the inventory default filters to only show what is really in the team's inventory and carried by mercs. The situation where weapons carried by other mercs were filling half the inventory screen - even though they aren't in the armory - was confusing and now resolved. We've also fixed a few bugs with those available filters not being remembered when switching tabs which was making inventory harder to use. We're still looking for the right name for the filter, perhaps "on the shelf" when it comes to the inventory.

More Lore Files

We've added 11 new lore entries that will appear in files. Four of these are in Civic Dossiers of any faction while the other 7 are locked by specific faction. It's exciting to inject another set of lore into the game, including some snippets about the Quiet Wars of the last 22nd century, space achievements and the sweeping history nanotech in Cyber Knight's lore. We're going to keep working this angle until all the files have something interesting to read about, so stay tuned for more!

Story Fixes

We've also hammered out a number of small but troublesome issues in the Sibling Breakout storyline. There was a case where the dialog could hang if you made choices that stressed out the main sibling (like delaying or refusing to recruit). In addition, there has been an issue (reported oh so many times!) of the sibling talking to themselves if you escaped the prison. This was caused by taking an unexpected route through the level that didn't trigger the dialog where the prisoner sees you for the first time until the prisoner has escaped and often triggers it themself :facepalm: Fixed!

v1.4.35 - 3/20/2024

- Added hovers to weapons, armor, items, implants and cyberdeck from main roster page or from character status during mission - Improved default filters for inventory to only show what is on-the-shelf and hiding what is held by merc - Fixed bug where availability filters were not remembered between tabs in inventory - Added +10 new lore entries including files about Quiet Wars, Arthur Pell, space age achievements, Nanotech Research Archives 2, 3 and 4 - Fixed issues in Sibling Breakout that could result in sibling talking to themselves - Fixed bug that could hang story dialog if you choose not to recruit sibling after Sibling Breakout - Fixed bug where Tox Cloud could be in the wrong position after retrying a turn - Fixed missing paragraph about Water Desalination in journal

[ 2024-03-21 03:39:19 CET ] [ Original post ]

With the Spring Sale still on, we're working on a few more updates before the discount wraps up. So Update #62 is a big one, following hot on the heels of the MAGNITUDE update and its more-than-doubling of proc-gen mission variety. We've fixed the final trickle of bugs reported about these new proc-gen combos, added +4 more tattoos, +25 unique and faction-specific of faction-type-specific lore blocks to your looted digital files, added a heap of new lore Journal entries, rebuilt the proc-gen looting system, finalized the fixes with moving short vs. long distances, and fixed a heaping mountain of F10s reported by the player base. As we keep dropping updates, a big thanks goes out to everyone playing and posting up a review as we near 200 ! If you like the direction we're heading, a review now goes an extra long way to help us getting there and you can always edit it later.

+4 New Tattoos

We've added another 4 tattoos after we received a request for some more horizontal designs. These new designs include nice variations of the under-eye stripe, giving you some choices about the thickness of the stripe, length and positioning.

Digital File Lore Injection

With Update #62, every digital file that you pick up will have some lore text description what it contains once decrypted. These shorter blurbs cover every type of file but are heavily reused (all Personnel File III's use the same text regardless of faction). On top of the more common text, we've also added 25 larger chunks of lore details to the files, sometimes linked to a faction class (Patient Dossiers I made by a megacorp is a compilation of medical records about individuals exposed to nano-radiation) while other files are linked to a specific faction (UltraTek Patient Dossier's I is about a census of the 400+ retroviruses active in the population of New Boston). it is an exciting new angle to feed the world's deep lore into the game and the new file sets cover topics like - space race, quants, retroviruses, the merger of Mars Corp and Vintago Energy to create Jupiter Group, McKellen Heavy Industry's relationship to gang leadership and more. This is going to a growing area of the game, so enjoy browsing and checking out the lore found in the files as you acquire and find more!

New Journal Entries

We've completed a push of new journal entry content, focusing on wrapping up the Places category. With new entries for Downtown, the 4 major Avenues below Downtown, Water Desalination entry and a new entry under tech covering the modern combat armor - Adaptive Armor - it's a solid expansion to the long-form lore content available in the journal today. Next, we'll be drilling in on each of the factions.

Proc-Gen Loot Rebuild + new Research Files

With Update #62, we've torn down the old setup for how loot was assigned for proc-gen missions and rebuilt it based on the objective type you're running and the faction you're running against. This new set of data is driving more exciting and valuable loot in proc-gen plays with a lot more variety between runs. It makes the biggest difference on Scavenger missions but loot is a constant source of side income even on the other types of jobs you're pulling off. Keep an eye out of the new Research Report files and the lore they contain as well!

Movement Tuning

In Update #61 there was a mix up and bad merge of code that failed to fix the movement issue we've been tracking where you could squeeze a bit of extra movement out of your AP if you broke it up into many short 1 AP movements. This was not fun to do but could yield some extra meters if you took the time and clicks for it. The same bug also resulted in the AP dots (the larger blue dots in your movement) to not sync correctly to the AP cost of your movement. With this update we've corrected the math so no AP is worth more than another AP, regardless of how far or short you are moving and the dots are always correctly positioned at the point where an extra AP is charged.

Accuracy in Hover

Update #62 fixes a long-term sneaky bug that was hanging around with the accuracy shown when hovering over an enemy. This Accuracy never took Optimal Range into account and was also calculated from your current position instead of correctly calculated from your movement destination, if you had one set. Overall, the accuracy in the hover is now significantly more correct. In testing we found cases where the real Accuracy could be 0% but the hover would show 96% (sniper rifles !!!).

Talent Fixes

We've fixed an issue where using Vanguard's Bodybag would cause the corpse to start lying about when its body timer would expire, suddenly claiming it would pop "next Turn." We've also fixed the description of the Scourge' Detonation Talent to be more clear - it will only activate when an enemy enters the radius, but as it is an explosion anyone inside the area, including friends, is damaged.

Map and Story Fixes

We've resolved issues with proc-gen missions. With the Slumroad Junction map + Q-Gap Spike objective, you could start with extremely high Sec Tally per Turn - now resolved. There was still one case where Sewers + Scavenger mission could result in auto-fail - now resolved. We improved the Cube Run introductory dialog to be in the right order and make sense. And more, more, more - check the full changelog below.

v1.4.33 - 3/18/2024

- Added new Research Report group of files (1 to 7) which are high value and rarer - Lore injection - added lore entries for 25 files based on faction or faction type (megacorp, syndicate) - All files now show a short description of their contents, even if not yet paired with extended lore piece - Added journal entries for Downtown, the Avenues, Water Desalination, and Adaptive Armor - the modern combat armor of 2231 - Added 4 new tattoos including horizontal styles and cleaned up / improved some other tattoos - Rebuilt loot rollers for all proc-gen mission by faction and faction class, much better loot and more clearly linked to faction - Fixed issue with gaining advantage by making small moves (for real this time), AP dots are now accurate in move planning - Fixed issue with Accuracy shown in hover over enemy did not take Optimal Range into account when previewing a move - Fixed issue where Vangaurd's Bodybag Talent would always cause body hover to state the body timer would expire next Turn - Fixed description for Scourge's Detonation Talent - only enemies trigger the corpse explosion but anyone nearby is damaged - Fixed issue where Slumroad Junction map + Q-Gap Spike objective started with Tally Per Turn too high - Fixed issue with Corner Holdout map + Scavenger objective leading to auto Defeat; return to safehouse and play forward - Fixed mission victory could show character Injury Time at stage victory instead of full victory - Fixed Cube Run mission ordering for intro dialog and objective highlighting - Fixed issue with all save slots showing the same last event data incorrectly - Fixed issue where cursor could disappear even with "Disable all Controllers" if you have controllers plugged in - Improved message on loading save slot from load game which will overwrite current game progress

[ 2024-03-19 15:17:58 CET ] [ Original post ]

Update #61 follows hot on the heels of the big MAGNITUDE update and its veritable explosion of proc-gen mission variety. We've fixed all reported bugs with the new mission combinations, added +11 new tattoos, finished the rebuild of the Load Game screen and fixed your bugs and F10s. We're excited to celebrate a big sale week with a lot of updates, so let's keep this thing moving! Thanks to everyone playing and posting up a review as we near 200 ! If you like the direction we're heading, a review now goes an extra long way to help us getting there and you can always edit it later.

Because we needed some neck tattoos

We've introduced +11 new tattoos (because we had to outdo +10 new proc-gen combos!) with this update. This includes a few variations of neck tattoos, some tribal tattoos and other cool new designs. Check out the new ink for your squad, and if these aren't in your wheelhouse than be sure that many more will be coming as we keep building out the full set of looks. We also improved a few of the existing tattoos to help make them stick out more or clean up odd bits.

Updated Load Game Screen

With Update #61, we've updated one of the last old screens in the game - the Load Game screen to match the UX design we've been marching too. You can now see your Knight's by their face, name and last real-world time they were played. When selected, you can see the AUTOSAVE (your currently game) and all saved slots associated with it. You can load any you wish but will be warned on deciding to load a save slot that your AUTOSAVE will be overwritten. It's a wealth of new details about each saved game that should help us all keep our piles and piles of games straight :D If you are missing portraits for any of the games, our apologies - we couldn't cover every single case back to the start of Early Access. In that case, load the game, pick your Knight from the Roster and go to the Appearance tab. You'll be all set, everything gets updated.

Movement Improvements

We've fixed an old but important issue where you could squeeze a bit of extra movement out of your AP if you broke it up into individual 1 AP movement. This was not fun to do but the need to maximize can be pretty strong. We've resolved the issue and corrected the math so no AP is worth more than another AP, regardless of how far or short you are moving. Within the HUD, we've ensured that the movement waypoint widget rises to the top of the stack when you're previewing movement so it doesn't get stuck behind other elements or character hovers. This is especially helpful for melee characters who are often charging in close to enemies.

Don't Shrap Yourself!

We fixed an issue with the Scourge's Aero-Shrap Shell Talent where sometimes one of the resulting shrapnel areas could land right on top of the Scourge and smack you with some damage as payback for your awesome Talent use. This is now fixed, Scourge never gets hit.

Proc-Gen Fixes

A few issues have been reported with the proc-gen combos that we added in MAGNITUDE and we hit most of them last night in a series of rapid-fire hotfixes. We've cleaned up all remaining issues reported with today's patch. A BioScan Field near the starting area, a captain on a Kill 3 mission inside an inaccessible building, unhackable terminals in Trucker HQ + Q-Gap Spike and Sewers Scavenger missions auto-failing.

v1.4.31 - 3/15/2024

- All new load game screen - access all save slots, main save, see portraits and event details - Added 11 new tattoos designs - Fixed issue with gaining advantage by making small moves - Improved HUD layering to ensure that movement waypoint is shown over top of hovers - Fixed issue with Scourge's Aero-Shrap Shell sometimes hitting the Scourge - Fixed issues unable to hack matrix hosts in Trucker HQ and Req Site - Fixed issue with BioScan right at starting position in Truck HQ Q-Gap Spike - Fixed issue with Sewers Scavenger mission is auto-failure; return to safehouse and play forward - Fixed Slumroad Junction map issues where sometimes enemy could end up inside a building - Fixed issue with characters standing in Extraction zone when it turns on

[ 2024-03-15 23:36:02 CET ] [ Original post ]

It's a boom economy for Cyber Knights. With this update we have now doubled the amount of proc-gen missions available, creating 10 more combinations between existing maps and proc-gen objectives. Combined with a milestone we hit in January doubling the amount of unique story missions (many of which are multi-stage), there's more opportunities than ever for your crew to earn some serious credits. If you're enjoying the on-going updates and improvements for Early Access, remember you can leave a review now and always edit it later.

+10 Proc-Gen Combos

The proc-gen mission system in Cyber Knights combines maps + objective types + enemy factions + a ton of other factors to create unique heist experiences. With Update #60, we've integrated 10 new map + objective combos, greatly increasing the amount of playable content in the proc-gen system. You may have played bodyguard for a data courier before in the Slumroad Junction map, but now you can be paid by one of your Wireghost contacts to get a data courier through the Trucker HQ where the bridges are held against you by a bristling set of Blue Ox toughs, completely changing the pacing of the level as you need to hit the bridge guards hard and reach the extraction before things completely go off the rails. You may have raided the Streets Palisade to hack a buried quantum data-bloc, slipping through or cutting down security to open the path for your hacker. But now your payday from the Blue Ox may rely on you slogging down into the sewers, battling in close quarters against the Que Milieu Syndicate to reach a really buried matrix host to spike before fighting your way out again. Your mission choices are now feeding into the Influence of the Contacts you are choosing to work for, pushing them toward reaching 8+ Influence and being able to take actions in the simulation, mutate their positive Traits or even upgrade their underworld services to your benefit. And soon (not quite ready, still balancing), those you're working against will be suffering Exposure gains, pushing them to mutate negative Traits, downgrade their Power Level, taking negative actions in the story or increase their risk of death. As your options for jobs explodes, who you work for is mattering even more.

Roadmap "Coming Soon"

The team is working on multiple fronts back at Trese Brothers HQ - loading the game up with more content as well as finalizing a number of major roadmap items. We are in testing, integration and final visual tweaks on a lighting engine and post-processing layer upgrade that will help play up the look of cyberpunk world of New Boston - gritty, dark but still vibrant and glowing.

Mac OS support

We're very pleased to say we've cleared some challenging hurdles that have been blocking a working Mac version. With those out of the way, the new lighting engine is one of the last elements needed to finish it, so these two roadmap items will come nearly hand-in-hand. We know our Mac player community and Kickstarter backers are eagerly waiting to try out the game, so this will be a grand day.

Safehouse Base-Building

Finally, we have completed the functional work for safehouse base building. There is a ton more work, testing and balance to get it player-ready, and some time needed for our own team to put it through its paces and complete a first round of tweaks, UI improvements and any minor functional changes. But it is clearly on the horizon now. Due to the amount of content that will be coming in the release of base building, we're now marking this as a Q2 2024 item on the roadmap. This includes blueprint crafting in a safehouse workshop, giving you the ability to use the high-value blueprints you can find on missions. Being able to create your own weapons, armor and items will give you new options to avoid the expensive market and create uniquely rare and valuable items. And the plan is that as blueprint crafting opens up, so will a set of contacts you can sell your blueprints for cash to, so you can sort through your stash and chose which you want to keep for nano-fab and which you want to sell for hard U-Duhs.

Motion Detector Warnings

The movement alerts for motion detectors were not correctly taking Line of Sight into their warnings and posting up incorrect or too early warnings. This is now resolved and all checks include line of sight as well as your speed and distance to get the best results possible.

High Armor Targets!

If you happened to run into a Street Charger like this with 121% Armor, they stole some items from the lab. It was not intentionally, and they repaired their armor above the maximum rating. Some players figured out how to shred their armor or pile on the Pure Dmg until they were dead ... but now we've fixed this issue. High armor targets are coming with higher level enemies, drones, etc. But not like this, not like this.

Inventory / Market Fixes

We've fixed a number of small issues with the inventory and market. First, if you had rescued the Wireghost in the Carnivore mission, after the latest round of updates to Contact Trust and Influence, he stopped selling cyberdecks and programs. We've resolved that minor bug! Second, if you are checking out weapon mods with optimal range changes, the +/- are now included all the time so it is clearer if the mod is increase or decreasing your optimal range band. Finally, we fixed a bug that could cause the UI to lock up if you were comparing weapons when buying or selling those weapons. Oops!

v1.4.25 - 3/14/2023

- Added 10 new proc-gen mission combinations, doubling amount of playable proc-gen missions - SCU in Q-Gap Spike matrix terminal in Street Palisade map now controls multiple security cameras - Added missing +/- signs to weapon mod changes to Optimal Range - Fixed movement warnings for Motion Detectors to respect line of sight - Added ability for hover to show hotkey associated with a button or action (i.e. ENTER shown on End Turn) - Added helpful message to Legworks if there are no available characters - Fixed issue where new Wireghost Contact from Carnivore was not selling new cyberdecks and programs correctly - Fixed issue with invincible enemy who was using an item to increase their Armor Protection Points beyond max - Fixed Matrix issue where you could Jam a device that the Sec AI hasn't woken up yet - Fixed secondary objectives for "less than 3 Sec Level" to fail on 3 correctly - Fixed controller issue that could cause the mouse cursor to disappear - Fixed Damage and Bleeding out messages overlapping on screen to make them unreadable - Fixed inventory and market issues that could lock the UI if buy/sell during compare - Fixed issue where sometimes Blend's hologram styling could stay after buff ends - Fixed issue where too much loot in a mission could break the formatter

[ 2024-03-14 18:00:31 CET ] [ Original post ]

As we round the bend before the next big content push, we've got another strong update full of bug fixes, balance improvements and tuning for the story and contact simulation. This one touches on preventing back-to-back reinforcements, improved new game contact stats, improving Scourge's Dissolve to be more flexible, avoiding some less than awesome combinations in Hype Limit Breaks and more. If you're seeing progress in the right direction and like the foundation of the game we're rapidly filling in during Early Access, we hope that you will take a moment of leave a review!

Improving Sec AI Responses

Update #59 includes another improvement to the choices the Sec AI can make, specifically throttling calls for reinforcements to help avoid the back-to-back arrivals of enemies leading to them stacking up on top of each other. We've added some capabilities here that will allow us to further flex the Sec AI's cool by creating specific requirements, ordering and chains of responses. More on that later, but for now we've made the first tuning in the area to avoid the less-than-nice reinforcements pile up.

Starting Contact Stats

We've improved the Contact starting stats to correctly reflect the changes in Trust to being out of -100% to 100% and also the new Influence/Exposure stats. In addition, we've fixed an issue where you owed some odd characters one or more Obligations without any sensible cause, suchas the Syndicate Soldier Hartzek. As Zasha killed his son during a UKF fight, there shouldn't be any Obligations, only enmity.

Scourge's Dissolve and Dissolve Timing Fix

For a while, there has a been an issue where corpses could stay around visually even if they were dissolved or bio-recycled. The corpse wouldn't really be there in the game, wasn't noticed by other enemies patrol and would disappear on reload but it was a confusing visual artifact. We've fixed the timing issue which was related to dissolving the corpse during its hand off from dying enemy to ragdoll to resting corpse. Also, to give you as much flexibility as possible, we've removed the restriction from the Scourge's Dissolve that was blocking Dissolving already discovered bodies. A body will alert any guard who spots it, so even if one guard has seen it in the past it doesn't mean it might not be a thorn in your side again. Now, you can Dissolve at will.

Hype Limit Breaks: Stress Reduction

We've improved the options that get selected for Hype Limit Breaks when you have high Stress to ensure that only one of Cut Stress (-5 Stress) and Flush Stress (reset Stress to 0%) appear in the list. There were cases where both were appearing which really limits the other cool options you should be able to pick from. Now only one spot can ever be dedicated to Stress reduction.

Cube Run Over-Achiever

If you were regularly over-achieving in the Cube Run mission, you might have hit a few snags. As you only need 2/2 Terminals to enter the lab, those who went for 3/2 triggered a case that we hadn't tested well enough and the extraction point promptly disappeared. :facepalm: Now its fixed!

v1.4.23 - 3/12/2024

- Adjusted all starting contact's Favor, Obligations, Trust % and starting Influence scores - Improved Sec AI ability to throttle and chain certain security events - prevents back-to-back reinforcements - Removed restriction on Scourge's Dissolve that prevent it from being used on already discovered bodies - Fixed issue where sometimes bodies would not visually disappear if dissolved within 10 seconds of death - Fixed issue where comparison color for Pure Dmg in weapon compare was flipped - Fixed Hype Limit Break bug where both Flush Stress and Cut Stress could appear together - Simplified intro to proc-gen Hack CPU missions after you've completed it once - Removed incorrectly previewed extraction points on Heist CPU proc-gen level - Fixed some pathing and prop issues in Streets Palisade - Fixed bugs in Cube Run if you went for 3/3 terminals when you only need 2/2

[ 2024-03-12 19:12:03 CET ] [ Original post ]

Update #58 introduces a number of improvements to Contacts including the Influence and Exposure tracks, offers a solution and improvements for anyone having issues with unwanted controller input (joysticks, racing wheels, HOTAs etc), rebalances when some of the latest proc-gen missions can appear, improves Medical services and goes after some of the hotter F10 community reports for quality-of-life fixes. Thanks to everyone playing and sending in feedback during our Early Access period! What an amazing crew - New Boston is lucky to have you. We hope you'll invite your friends and share the game with a review as well.

Controller Settings

We have received some player reports about hardware support challenges when players wish to play with Mouse & Keyboard while multiple hardware controllers are attached, especially racing wheels and flight yokes. 1) We are working with our Rewired implementation in Unity to reduce controller conflicts and this update attempts to reduce the interaction between those hardware controllers and the game. The game is in Early Access and we appreciate the feedback and this support is a work in progress. Please let us know how it works for you. 2) We have added a new Option checkbox "Disable All Controllers". This option should be used if you have controllers you do not wish to remove in the control mapper and is available from the main menu > Options. 3) For players where controllers are interfering with the game, or making the main menu difficult to use we've added a new command line option -disableJoysticks that will force all hardware joysticks to be turned off at startup 4) This game is not designed for Steam Input and uses Raw Input (on Windows) or Native Input (on Linux and OSX) so please do not override the Steam Input configuration for Cyber Knights: Flashpoint. If you are having problems with an XInput device or another gamepad, make sure that your Steam Settings > Controller page is not forcing any devices to route via Steam Input. This can cause confusing bindings, so if your are having problems with odd default mappings (for example, pressing the A button Ends Turn) then you need to use Steam Settings > Controller to turn off Steam Input for your controller type

Bundle of Contact Updates

With Update #58, we're moving Contacts into a better position for their next major expansion - getting dynamic, evolving and taking more actions in the game world. We've adjusted the Contact list and detail page to be easier to read, We've revamped the scale for Contact Trust to be from -100% to 100% with 0% being neutral. This is a sweeping set of updates across the board that give us a wider range to play with in stories, services and all the parts of the game that rely on this stat.
Next, we've simplified the structure for the rewards for the primary Contact on a mission. The Contact now always stands to gain +1 Influence, +1 Trust and some amount of Power Level, utterly dependent on their Power Level and the Power Level of the mission they are offering, so ... "some" Power Level is as specific as we can be :D Any secondary objectives that offer Influence or Trust are offering extra on top of the +1 Influence, +1% Trust and +Power Level that is core reward like payment now. In addition, we've updated the visual for Influence and still somewhat unused Exposure stat for Contacts. Like your merc's Hype and Stress, these stats can grow independently of each other. As either exceeds 8+, a Limit Break is in the making. For now, we're rolling out the set of UI changes, adjustments to the Trust rules and the consolidate mission reward structure. Once that dust settles, the Limit Break actions with their exciting list of possible consequences be coming soon.

Improved Medical Services

Medical services are slightly more expensive (now clocking in at $5K and $10K at the two levels available) but able to now reduce the healing time of Injury by 25% and 40% respectively. This helps these services stand out a bit more compared to resting at home and rehabbing on your own.

Your F10s

We've taken a tour through the game and fixed a number of places - especially the Hype and Stress bars in roster - where the hitboxes for the hovers on these UI elements were hard to hit. We've also taken a pass through those rules to ensure they reflect the latest state of the system. If you fail a secondary objective offering cold hard cash, it will not explain which one you failed in mission victory. We've also simplified the display in pre-mission and mission victory for the states (+1 Influence, +1% Trust, +Power Level) that the Contact always stands to gain.

v1.4.19 - 3/9/2024

- Improved controller support, new option to disable all controllers, command-line option -disableJoysticks - Adjusted Contact display of Influence and newly revealed Exposure stat to match merc's Hype/Stress and Limit Breaks - Improved display of contacts, main contact stats and services - Upgraded all Contact Trust scores to be out of 100%, larger values, easier to manage incremental gains - Simplified basic Contact gains for missions: +1 Influence, +1% Trust, +Power Level - Improved medical treatment balances: more cost (+$1-4K) for faster healing (+5-15% recover decrease) - Better Power Level minimums for some of the proc-gen maps and combos to avoid unfairly hard setups - Fixed missing explanation of failed secondary mission objective if it was for $$$ - Fixed issue where contact services were repeated multiple times in contact detail - Improved balance and consistency of Hype/Stress/Loyalty/Discontent changes via stories - Improved hover hitbox for roster widgets like Loyalty/Hype/Discontent/Stress display - Fixed bug that could cause freeze at extraction point in Forward Op mission

[ 2024-03-10 04:36:59 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome to Update #57, in which we've added another proc-gen mission map and a new objective as well that you team can try to take on. After the last new objective type Battle Strike, we've come back to the class sneak-fight-hack formula with Q-Gap Spike, where you assigned to infiltrate an enemy faction hardpoint and spike the CPU of a matrix host that is purposefully not entangled with any other quantum networks for its own safety. They didn't plan on you paying a visit! If you're liking the pace of development, improvements or think we're heading in the right direction (as you can always edit your review later), please take a moment to post a review

New Proc-Gen Objective: Q-Gap Spike

With Update #57, we've pushed the proc-gen mission options for generation of endless missions open a bit wider. We're ripping now, adding 3 new objective and 3 new maps in the last 1.5 weeks. We're headed for 1 more objective and 1 more map, giving us 7 objectives and 7 maps. From there, we've got 7 by 7 and it will be time to start interconnecting more of the maps and objectives. We should be able to get into the 30+ range for results when asking for a proc-gen mission, just considering objective X map. The new Q-Gap Spike objective asks a lot of your team and gives you the classic formula of sneak (if you please), fight (when its time) and hack (fast!). In addition, we've added a new map the Street's Palisade map which is a great playground for different types of missions. Bent in an L shape, it provides some sneak or siege combat style challenges as you try to enter the center area, and a messy maze of a inner sanctum. Streets Palisade is currently the only map in the set that supports Q-Gap Striker, but we'll be fixing that quite soon as it is perfect for other objectives like Kill 3 and Q-Gap Striker will fit so nicely on other maps. As soon as this new mission hits the street we're going straight back to the foundry to prep the next new map and another new objective to get to 7x7. Let's go proc-gen power!

Battle Striker Pricing

We've updated Battle Striker to tune its price to the faction you are fighting. Coming up against Brave Star grants a much bigger purse now compared to the all-out battle with a lesser street gang.

Heat Effects

Systems are beeping and bopping all over the place as more and more parts of the core game come online. Hype Mutation is up and working, at the HQ, we're testing and balancing out base building, and now we've got our first official effect of Heat. Do not worry, more will be coming but so will new ways to manage, mitigate and spike your Heat with the safehouse. Heat now reduces your merc's Stress Res (and any Stress Res granted by difficulty) by a ratio of 5 Heat to -1%. This is not a huge impact but does subtly push the tension that would be present in running a high Heat operation and how it could weigh on a merc team constantly in the cooker.

Fixed AI / Sec Device Bugs

We've fixed one of the most prevalent causes of an enemy saying "Security in my ear" and then promptly ending their Turn. We're continuing to monitor and improve the AI but there is still a lot of work to do to get its response model ready to handle every situation it can end up in the flexible stealth model of Cyber Knights: Flashpoint. We've resolved a mismatch of Turn duration for disables shown in the Matrix SCU - the Matrix node promised 5 Turns disabled but upon disconnecting, only 4 were shown. We've now ensured they are correctly synced, and in this case the right answer is "next 4 Turns" which is until the end of this Turn plus 4 more Turns.

Projection + Silence

There was a bug where if you combined Silence with Projection, you started making noise again. You were SO sneaky, you're noise went all the way around the circle and came back again lol. Now fixed.

Camera Adjustments

We've made a round of improvements to the camera angles picked during any little cut-scenes run by the story or the Sec AI. This should result in drastically fewer cases where the thing you're trying to look at is blocked by a wall or external boundary area.

v1.4.17 - 3/7/2024

- Added new proc-gen Q-Gap Spike mission type which sends you to sneak/fight into a zone to hack a CPU - Added new proc-gen map, Streets Palisade - Heat now reduces merc Stress Res at a rate of 1% every 5 Heat - Improved pricing for Battle Striker mission types to be more faction-based (Brave Star vs. Street Gang) - Fixed mismatch between Sec Device disable duration when hacking and after disconnecting - Fixed main case causing some AI to skip their turns with "Security in my ear" - Fixed bug preventing conversation at end of Sibling Breakout - Improved Loyalty / Stress changes at end of Sibling Breakout for positive results - Improved positioning of camera during cut-scenes - Fixed bug when using Projection and Silence together that could cause you to be heard - Fixed formatting issues with Victory/Defeat screen and long mission titles - Fixed minor mistakes in Hype upgrade event logs

[ 2024-03-07 19:17:32 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome to Update #56! We're adding QoL improvements, fixing your F10s and pushing another round of improvements into the Hype/Stress system before the next map and mission arrives. There is a lot of great stuff in this one, so read on, good Knight. If you're enjoying the pace of updates, improvements and liking the direction we're heading (as you can always edit it later!), please take a moment to leave a review

Limiting Battle Striker vs. Brave Star

The latest proc-gen mission type of Battle Striker has a wide variety of factions that it can run against, based on the types of contacts you are working with. It turns out - as enemy variety and power levels are growing - that one of those combinations was against Brave Star which could have put you into a very difficulty fight very early in the game if you happen to end up with the mission. We have now limited the Battle Striker missions by putting some Power Level restrictions on faction target and you won't end up against Brave Star below Power Level 2 again.

Hype Limit Break Improvements

We're catching up on a number of minor improvements to the Stress / Hype system after Updates #55 big add of player-driven mutation choices. We've fixed the limit break events to only if you have 80%-100% Stress or Hype (it was happening at lower values before) and removed the Flush Stress option (which removed all Stress) if you Stress is 30% or less. We've also increased the high Stress upgrade paths to allow for an increase in demanded Pay Rate % if your Discontent is higher than 50%.

Weapon Mod Clarity

With this update we've added a line to every weapon's description block that includes the names of any and all mods that are attached. This also appears during comparisons so it can be much easier to find, equip or sell modded weapons now.

New and Improved Timeline Events

With Update #56, we've added missing timeline events for mission victory and mission failure. These are badly needed as missions are such milestones and guideposts to help make sense of the entire timeline and what happened when. They will only start appearing after you install Update #56, sorry it's impossible to backport them. We've also improved the event logs to have the ability to show substats like money earned (mission) and XP granted (legwork, missions) to give extra clarity to some events and historical data you can check later.

Fixed your F10s!

On the appearance front, we've fixed a ton of minor issues with hats and glasses and different faces. We've also resolved an issue that was preventing the slouchy beanie hat from responding correctly to coloring. A big thanks to everyone reporting typos, we know it takes time but we fix every single one. We've also improved Shock Mines and Dazzler items to be sure they always cancel Overwatch correctly when used on enemies. Stunned Overwatch wasn't doing anything anyway, but they could end up staying in the stance which was confusing.

v1.4.15 - 3/5/2024

- Prevented some variations of Battle Striker mission (vs. Brave Star!) from appearing too early in the game - List of installed mods now shown in weapon detail and can be seen in comparison - Added timeline event logs for mission win or loss, including payment and XP gained - Timeline event logging for Legwork now includes XP gained - Further tweaked Hype/Stress upgrade paths - high Stress and Discontent can cause increased Pay Rate % - Hype Limit Breaks and negative mutations only occur when Hype/Stress reach 8-10 - Adjusted Flush Stress hype upgrade offer to only appear if Stress is 2+ - Removed Hyped tag from mission preamble, kept Stressed out tag - Fixed issue with buff/debuff areas not displaying full sum of all effects of upgraded Talent (such as Morass) - Fixed stunning items like Shock Mine and Dazzler to always correctly cancel Overwatch - Fixed lots of minor cosmetic details, overlaps, glasses placement - Slouchy beannie hat now responds to color changes - Fixed a ton of reported typos

[ 2024-03-05 20:43:53 CET ] [ Original post ]

Update #55 rolls out the Stress and Hype system upgrade we've been working towards, putting agency of your character's Trait mutations (and more) into your hands so you can have an active roll in driving their development from Hype cycles. We've also rebalanced a number of Talents, improved IC spawning in the Matrix and completed some nice UI tweaks for everyone playing from your F10s. If you're enjoying the pace of new features, updates and content (another mission and mission map are coming) we hope you'll take a minute to post up a review!

Upgraded Stress/Hype Mutations

There are still many systems in Cyber Knights: Flashpoint that are a skeleton of the design, but as we travel the Early Access path, we're bringing them up to full power as fast as we can. With Update #55, we're excited to launch an upgrade of the Stress / Hype system to where it has longed to be. Mission victories, taking damage, seeing an ally die, completing Legwork, and more in Cyber Knights can cause your squad members to accumulate both Stress and Hype. When either reaches a peak amount (80-100% with an increasing chance of triggering), that squad member gets a new benefit or disadvantage. Until now, these have all been positive or negative random trait mutations. Now we've not only expanded the effect possibilities, but you the player get to choose a specific upgrade you want for your characters when they reach peak Hype! The possible upgrades include:

• Raising your Loyalty, reducing Discontent or wiping your Stress
• Raising positive Traits and lower negative Traits
• Gaining permanent bonuses to your Attributes
• Gaining 30 day temporary bonuses of different kinds, including XP or AP boosts

When an upgrade's available, it will appear on the timeline as an "Excessive Hype" event. You can delay choosing an upgrade as many times as you like while reviewing stats and making the right decision for your merc's advancement. However, while the upgrade decision is waiting, their Hype bar is frozen, unable to gain any more. So it's to your benefit to make a decision without extended delay. Stress disadvantages will continue to be randomly determined (no delaying a decision indefinitely with this one) but also has an expanded set of options to draw from when Stress peaks - including increasing Wound levels or increasing Discontent. Discontent and Loyalty are new, higher-level meters that can be raised as a result of reaching peak Stress or Hype. The higher these meters go, the more they open up better / worse trait mutations, new story opportunities, and other effects on Stress & Hype. With this update we've added Stress and Hype generation at more places throughout the game -- legwork, mission results, secondary objectives, taking Wounds and more. The system will continue to expand with character relationships, ways to reduce Stress through the Safehouse, and other factors coming in to play, but it's ready to contribute to your squad members' stories now. Have fun with the new system!

Talent Tweaks

With this update, we've rebalanced the Scourge's Dissolve Talent to have a 6 Turn recharge rate, up from 4. There is still easy access to additional charges to offset the waiting time, so be sure to upgrade Dissolve more thoroughly if you plan to use it. Along with this, we've adjusted the Scourge's starting training package so that they have an extra Dissolve charge and their Bio-Mimic Talent right out of the gate and don't have 3 lingering training points when they first arrive in the safehouse. This helps them be more fun and uniquely useful in the starting mission as well. We've also fixed a bug with Sniper's Weak Spot that was not showing the additional Damage scored by the Talent in the damage preview. Finally, Soldier's Entrench has had 5% of its Built-In Armor bonus shaved off the top. We've also fixed a bug with the ordering of how Built-In Armor was applied, which caused it to be additive with your Armor's Ballistic or Kinetic Protection, easily allowing 100% Protection. Built In Armor's power is that it applies across the board to Ballistic, Kinetic and *even* Pure Dmg to further reduce Damage after regular armor has been applied. If you take 100 Dmg, Armor reduces it to 50 Dmg, then Entrench's 20% reduces that to 40 Dmg.

UI and Roster Improvements

Clicking on a weapon, weapon mod, armor or item will now take you directly into the equipment screen instead of requiring a second click for confirmation or a keypress. Whew, that's nicer! We've fixed sorting for high and low gear level to make sure it takes all weapons, weapon mods, armor and items into account by Power Level. With this update we've increased the fidelity of movement warnings as there were too many edge cases where they were so close to either trigger or not triggering a warning and the wrong fact could be reported. So, the granularity of the checks is now lower, which should get us closer to perfect.

Matrix Improvements

We've completed a pass of improvements the IC spawner rules that place IC into matrix hosts based on their Security and Response Levels, Power Levels, enemy faction and other factors. This has resulted in some positive improvements to the chances of running into high level Traps as well as a better mix of Active and Passive IC through many hosts. Some types of traps like Slapfish specifically have now bee pushed to only appear on hosts of Orange or higher.

v1.4.13 - 3/2/2024

- Major upgrade to Hype/Stress system - more sources of both, choose your own Hype upgrades - Hype upgrades include Trait mutation (positive or negative), Attribute bonuses, 30 day bonuses, changing Loyalty/Stress/Discontents - Improved new game training for Scourge, added +1 charge of Dissolve and trained Bio-Mimic - Fixed Sniper's Weak Spot not previewing Talent damage correctly when targeting enemy - Click weapon/armor/mod/item in roster immediately takes you to equipment screen, no more second click - Improved smoke cloud rules with line of sight not working near the boundary edge - Increased fidelity of movement warnings - more precise checks, less edge case mis-reports - Added +2 more Turns to Scourge's Dissolve Talent recharge rate - get more upgrades! - Fixed sort by gear level in roster to correctly sum weapons+armor+items for sorting - Improved IC balancing in Matrix, including pushing some difficult IC types up to Orange+ - Fixed bug sometimes causing an additional program to be unloadable in matrix - Fixing hotkey tip for +/- Targets in Full Auto stacking on itself first time it appears - Improved injury time text formatting in victory screens - Reduced Soldier's Entrench starting Built-In Armor bonus from 25% to 20% - Fixed issue with Built-In Armor incorrectly applying - Added helpful hovers to timeline buttons

[ 2024-03-03 05:13:36 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome to Update #54, where we've got another expansion to the catalog of proc-gen missions and objectives that your team can get involved in. it's exciting to roll out the first pure combat proc-gen mission and this one has some more meaningful variations in difficulty based on who you are working for (rival gang vs. rival gang or Syndicate vs. mil-sec). We've also made improvements the Hacker's Rampage Talent, improved Stress/Hype/Discontent/Loyalty in prep for a big update that is coming any day for that, and fixed a nice pile of F10s! If you're liking the pace of development, improvements and the direction we are heading with the game please take a moment to post a review

New Proc-Gen Battle Striker Missions

With Update #54, we've added another type of proc-gen mission and another new proc-gen mission map. This time the new objective is completely combat focused with the Battle Striker. Go in hot and fight to the end against an array of deadly enemies and a few waves of reinforcements coming in hot. Bring your combat squad to this one, as the enemy is dug in to a fortified area and ready for you. In addition, we've added a new map the Corner Holdout which is a great map for contested area and plays with elevation in new ways. Corner Holdout is currently the only map in the set that supports Battle Striker missions, but we are working on making more bi-directional connections in the set here - both adding more maps that support Battle Striker and Bodyguard and missions and Corner Holdout is perfect for a few of the other objective types like Kill 3 and Scavenge. As soon as this new mission hits the street we're going straight back to the foundry to prep another new map and another new objective. Let's go proc-gen power!

Hacker's Rampage

We've updated Hacker's Rampage Talent in 2 ways to improve it. First, we've nerfed the %s on the Hacker's class tree that added to Matrix Damage. These were just too powerful and overwhelmed what Rampage could offer. These bonuses have been cut from a 25% total to 12% total through the tree. In the same stroke, Rampage has gained a 6th upgrade now and now can offer 45% Matrix Damage bonus as well as a +10 AP boost to help you keep slaying in the digital datastreams.

Stress => Discontent || Loyalty <= Hype

There is a big update just around the corner to improve your player agency and fun around how Hype and Stress translate into evolving mutations for your character. In preparation for that, we've adjusted all the starting values for all characters - everyone now starts with some of each value. There is no randomness, we're never a fan of any reason for you to reroll new games, so these are static set by the character and backstory. We've also improved and given more teeth to the story impacts to these stats. For example, your characters may directly gain Loyalty or Discontent during important storylines like Sibling Breakout, where the merc was only gaining Stress before which is not powerful enough of an impact if you leave them hanging. Finally, we've fixed bugs with how Traits that could grant Minimum Loyalty so that they really work now and enforce this minimum.

Your F10s!

A huge thanks to everyone sending in F10s, posting here with feedback on the boards or joining us on Discord. We fix a heap of minor bugs with every update, so it makes a huge difference. We fixed issues where far away enemies' sight cones would suddenly appear, with Trait names and levels, and places where Trait Fearsome suddenly became Trait Ferocity, or Extractions could hang in some situations.

v1.4.9 - 2/29/2024

- Added new proc-gen battle striker mission type which is pure combat, attack and overwhelm an enemy force - Added new proc-gen map, Corner Holdout - Improved Hacker's Rampage, starts at +15% Dmg, can add +10 AP, and added 6th upgrade to push Damage bonus to 45% - Reduced Hacker's class tree bonuses adding directly to Matrix Dmg (from 25% across 4 nodes to 12% across 4 nodes) - Improved starting Stress/Discontent/Loyalty/Hype for all characters - Improved story choices impacts on Stress/Discontent/Loyalty/Hype - Fixed bug with Trait Fearsome mutating into Ferocity - Improved use of Trait name and Trait Level (Grit 1 vs. Grit) where helpful - Fixed bug that would cause far away / invisible enemy sight cones to appear - Fixed some issues that could cause Extraction to hang, thanks for the F10s!

[ 2024-02-29 23:17:38 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome to all the new Knights heisting and rampaging across the New Boston zone! It's update time! With Update #53 we've focused on improving the balance and challenge of the latest mission that was added and hitting on the most highly reported F10s for this big sale and Scourge celebration week. We're excited to be hammering out updates following up on the big Scourge release, so if you like the progress or think we're heading in the right direction please take a moment to leave a review and help us keep going!

Improving Bodyguard Mission

While we're prepping for the next mission add, we've also circled back to take quick action on player feedback about the bodyguard mission. We've adjusted the layout and types of enemies to raise the challenge a little bit - some enemy captains have appeared, more snipers are showing up correctly in the high ground - and also added a few security devices and long range Radar Arrays to deny your team easy access to the zone.

Buff and Debuff with Summed Upgrades

Thanks to all the players reporting with F10 that the buffs and debuffs shown on character and enemy status screens were missing some stats. These buffs and debuffs were printing out with only the starting stats for the Talents and skipping all upgrades. We've now resolved this and the buffs are printing their full sum of all class tree upgrades. Thanks for hitting F10!

Avoiding Enemy Name Duplication

Thanks to all the players pointing out that occasionally the enemy naming system could spit out a series of duplicates. We've now resolved this and guaranteed that no enemy will ever have a duplicate name on any level - at the start or while spawning reinforcements.

Weapon Mod Detaching

We've fixed a few issues related to weapon mods not appearing when you attempt to detach them unless you changed the filters. They are now always visible and should be easy to attach and detach. We've also fixed a larger issue with weapon mods that were left attached to weapons that were sold. These weapon mods kind of floated off into the ether, neither in your inventory or properly gone. In the short term, we've fixed this by gently shoving them all back into your inventory. Sell them or use them, they really are yours.

Talent Updates and Fixes

With Update #53, we've continued to fix and improve the Talent set for Scourge. We fixed an issue where Brain Worm reported that its range was 0m. We've also renamed the buff "Shred-Resistant Armor" to "Shred-Immune Armor" as that is much more clear about what it does (when this buff is on, nothing can shred your armor). It also turns out that the Brain Worm from before Update #53 was giving enemies Shred-Immune Armor, and that's not right! Fixed :D We fixed the upgrades for Bio-Coat Bullet that just said "Target immediately" and nothing else.

Scourge on the Wiki

You can also now check out all the Scourge's Talents (and a ton of other awesome content) on the on the community wiki. A big thanks to the wiki champions in the community who are improving and expanding this wiki every day. let's hear it for steamhappy @Ahab and @DrSpendLove steamhappy !!

v1.4.7 - 2/27/2024

- Improved balance/challenge of new bodyguard mission - better enemy variety, added more security devices - Fixed enemy / character status not showing buff/debuff with full upgrades from class tree - Enemies no longer ever appear with duplicate names - Fixed issues with trying to replace/detach mods and getting empty list - Renamed buff for "Shred-Resistant Armor" to "Shred-Immune Armor" for clarity (cannot be shredded while buffed) - Fixed bug with Scourge's Brain Worm Talent causing Shred-Immune Armor buff - Fixed Brain Worm reporting "0m" range for Scourge - Fixed empty "Target immediately" upgrade node for Scourge's Bio-Coat Bullet - Fixed missing icons in cyber surgery screen - Fixed debuff for Evasion not showing as negative (showed 10% Evasion when it was -10% Evasion) - Added missing icon for Data Courier / VIP job

[ 2024-02-27 17:05:31 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome to Update #52 as we continue the march to expand the game in every way throughout Early Access. With the Scourge newly landed, it is time to return to new mission content, new proc-gen missions and new story missions! Welcome all the new Knights to New Boston this big Scourge + Sale week. We're excited to have you in the safehouse and ready to get back to a non-stop schedule of updates and improvements. So, if you like where the game is now, see its potential or think we're heading in the right direction with updates-updates-updates, please be sure to leave a review !

New Proc-Gen Bodyguard Missions

With Update #52, we've expanded the roster of both available proc-gen mission objectives and proc-gen mission maps. The new objective -- playing bodyguard for a data courier - gives you a new set of challenges as you vie to help rapidly move a courier (fully under your control) through a dangerous and contested area. The new map, the Slumroad Junction, is a large and threateningly open area ringed by high-ground, buildings and other vantage points that make it an especially challenging space to navigate. At the moment, only Slumroad Junction map supports bodyguard missions, but some of the next updates will expand these available combinations in both ways -- more maps will support bodyguard objectives and Slumroad Junction will support other proc-gen objectives like Kill 3 Captains. In this way - by adding maps and objectives - we will continue to gain multiplicative growth in the possible outcomes for proc-gen content. We've got a huge amount more to add, so let's keep it moving!

On Kill Passive Talents and Full Auto

There was a bug with passive Talents that proc'd on killing an enemy target, on getting a critical hit, or any kind of attacking passive Talent that would prevent them from activating when you were attacking in Full Auto mode. For example, if you used Full Auto to shoot 3 targets and one of them died, your Knight's Steamroll Talent would not fire because of the Full Auto nature of the attack. This has now been resolved and all passive Talents will work with Full Auto unless specifically stated in their description.

Scourge Cleanup Continued

The Scourge class has arrived in full-force and we've heard they are a ton of fun to play. This release we haven't made any important changes to their builds but we have cleaned up and number of small text formatting issues in their class tree.

F10s Fixed!

We've been working our way through the big pile of F10s (hit "F10" in the game to report a bug or send in feedback at any time!).

• We fixed an issue that could cause game crashes if Talents that Shred Armor were used against targets with 0 Armor.
• We've resolved some inconsistency in the naming and presention of Laser Wires - which were sometimes called Laser Mesh or Trip Wires.
• Some of the Hacker's Talents were printing confusing damage ranges once they were upgraded, this is now resolved.
• In the Sibling Breakout mission, leaving the mission while the main merc or their sibling was in Bleeding Out status could cause an incorrect story event following the mission, this is now resolved - escaping while Bleeding Out is still escaping.

v1.4.5 - 2/25/2024

- Added new proc-gen bodyguard mission type, protect a data courier on the move - Added new proc-gen map, Slumroad Junction - Fixed bug preventing passive Talents from activating when attacks are made with Full Auto (such as Knight's Steamroll) - Fixed Knight's Steamroll upgrades to have a single line and the 3rd booster is at the end of the line - Fixed possible crash caused by using anti-Armor Talents against no armor targets - Fixed issues with damage range display for Hacker's Null Op once upgraded - Fixed inconsistency of Laser Wires naming - Fixing story issues that could occur in Sibling Breakout if sibling or main merc were Bleeding Out at end of mission - Continued to clean up issues with the Scourge class tree - Fixed typos and minor class tree issues

[ 2024-02-26 03:46:31 CET ] [ Original post ]

Update #51 brings our first new character class to the game, a tanky shotgun specialist that uses their nano-hive implant to manipulate organics, fool biometrics, and create deadly poison effects: the Scourge. With multiclassing, this increases the number of playable classes to 28 combinations! Tons of opportunities to find new character build combinations and try new tactics with your squad. We've seen some strong possibilities in playtesting and can't wait to see what you all come up with. UPDATE: the first hotfix is now live for Scourge, see the bottom for the updated change log

The Talent Tree

The Scourge has access to many talents that cause enemies to suffer ongoing poison damage and other toxic debuffs each turn.

• Bio-Coat Bullet makes a special attack with your gun and poisons an enemy on hit.
• Tox-Cloud releases a swarm of chemical-producing nanites to create a large zone that will slowly move each turn, poisoning any enemies or teammates that pass into the cloud.
• Venom Trap is a throwable trap that will poison the first enemy to trigger it.

Scourges can train a passive talent, Purge, to avoid the effects of their own poison and enemy damage-over-turns effects, but other squad members will need to be careful to avoid tox-clouds and other area-of-effect talents like Morass, which slows down units and reduces their armor and evasion.
Shotguns are a specialty for the Scourge. Their attribute and small bonus nodes linking these talents include bonuses to close-quarters accuracy and ballistic damage, and they have two talents that offer special attacks for shotguns. Callous is another talent useful in close range fights, sacrificing movement speed for a significant buff to your or a teammate's armor.
Other buffs in the Scourge's arsenal include:

• Metabolize, increasing the duration of combat chems and chance of multiple uses.
• Reknit offers quick healing in a pinch (although the recipient may not like it).
• Bio-Mimic engulfs the Scourge in nanites, imitating the biosignature of enemy guards well enough to trick many security devices.

Tricking security devices isn't the only manipulation a clever Scourge can pull off. Using the most terrifying capabilities of 23rd-century nanotech, you can target an enemy's brain and neural link, disorienting them or even causing them to temporarily turn against each other.

Ready to play?

With this update, there are two easy ways to get a Scourge into your squad:

• You can multiclass any member of your squad into the Scourge class by installing a Chem-Hive cybernetic implant. For now, you can install the Chem-Hive with Dr. Ashe without any investment needed. Remember that you can't respec out of cyber-classes at this time, so once you dive into this deadly side of nano-hiving, you're in.
• A new starting Scourge, August, has joined the character template line up in new game, giving you additional options to swap between Zasha, Liat and August. This is the only way currently to get a pure single-class Scourge into your group, but the Scourge is one of the best multiclass options out there so either single or multiclass option is very viable.

In the next couple of days, we'll be adding a new recruit storyline is in the works that will bring another Scourge character into the game as well as a new contact that can provide the specific Chem-Hive implant they use and other exciting cybernetic enhancements.
We may tweak Talents as data comes in, and of course if you spot any bugs our own testing hasn't caught, please F10 to report in-game; we'll fix it quick. Big thanks to all the players in the Steam forums and our Discord who offered feedback and ideas for this new class concept!

Full Trese Brothers sale to celebrate!

If Cyber Knights has been waiting on your wishlist, it's a great time to pick up the game, with more big updates right around the corner. For all of you already supporting us in EA, thank you! It makes a big difference to the final quality of the game. We have the full Trese Brothers catalog on sale right now (including the Android and iOS versions of our previous releases), and just released a new "Best of Trese Brothers" Steam bundle for a bonus discount on any games you don't already own. More squad tactics in Templar Battleforce, turn-based ship and crew combat in our sci-fi captain RPG Star Traders: Frontiers, and old-school fantasy tactics in our party-based RPG Heroes of Steel. https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/37813/Best_of_Trese_Brothers/

v1.4.1 - 2/22/2024

- Added new class: Scourge uses their chem-hive implant to manipulate organics, fool biometrics, and create deadly poison effects! - Implant a Chem-Hive from Dr. Ashe's higher level cybernetics to get a Scourge - Now up to 28 multiclass combinations - Improved balance of all Shotguns, adding Dmg and up to +2m range, Ironback increased ammo but +1 AP to reload - Improved default filtering settings for equipping (show what can be equipped now) and all inventory (show all) - Updated all class descriptions - Fixed issues with Extraction and Wound healing in the timeline

First Hotfix is live!

v1.4.3 - 2/22/2024 - Fixed mistake with Chem-Hive being Deep Brain (conflict with Hacker) instead of Fast-Brain (no class conflicts) - Fixed Chem-Hive should have -5% Stress and Wound Res instead of +5% - Swapped Scourge class tree location of Dissolve and Bio-Coat Bullets (may need to respec) - Swapped Scourge class tree location of Venom Trap and Tox-Cloud (may need to respec) - Fixed missing upgrades for Callus Talent - Fixed issues with upgrade display for Metabolize % chance to skip consuming Combat Drug use - Adjusted the ordering of some Tox-Cloud upgrades in the second row - Fixed missing debuff improvements in Nervo-Tox Shell upgrades - Fixed incorrect mention of +25% Pure Dmg in Hacking Talents and Aero-Shrap Shell - Fixed typos and name issues in new starting Scourge August's backstory - Fixed issue with Soldier appearing in wrong position of rooftop after tutorial

[ 2024-02-22 18:34:11 CET ] [ Original post ]

With over 14,000 games released on Steam last year, there's a lot of noise to sort through to find the good stuff. We wanted to highlight a game we've been following for a while, that's already completed its EA journey and launched to critical acclaim just a few months ago. [previewyoutube=pEXwwgTwBPo;full][/previewyoutube] Colony Ship is an in-depth cRPG with turn-based tactical combat, ten different potential party members, a detailed skill-based character system, multiple ways to handle quests, choices & consequences, and branching dialogue trees. It's the kind of RPG we love, and they've delivered at a really high level of quality.
It's a dystopian sci-fi RPG for fans of games like the classic Fallout titles or more recent hits like Wasteland 3. Like us, Iron Tower Studios values serving a core audience over making more generically mainstream games. They're known for hardcore, text-heavy RPGs with interesting worlds to explore and great storytelling. Colony Ship has challenging combat where a lot of different builds are possible, but it also allows for pacifist runs using your speech skills to avoid combat entirely.
We encourage you to check it out. Splattercat has a great video showing the gameplay experience if you want a preview, and their lead developer Vince is active in the Steam forums answering questions. This one's worth a look. https://store.steampowered.com/app/648410/Colony_Ship_A_PostEarth_Role_Playing_Game/

[ 2024-02-20 15:04:09 CET ] [ Original post ]

Last weeks' big extraction rules updates touched every single level in the game. Today we got some F10s about issues about specific order of things (characters dying after everyone else extracts but there still is a prisoner...) that can cause issues with the extraction system. Also, there were occurrences with the smoothed out camera controls where the camera was not resuming its overhead perspective after hacking or certain melee attacks. Just so smooth ... lol. Anyway, these are also now fixed in this hotfix. A huge thanks to players posting F10s so we can fix the bugs and also to everyone leaving a review!

v1.3.23 - 2/12/2024

- Fixed issue with successfully deploying from Sibling Breakout stage 1 - empty dialog, stuck at exit - Fixed issue preventing next/previous page through bodies for body hiding/dissolving Talents - Improved hover message for Bodybag Talent, dead body still shows body timer so you know how long til someone comes looking - Fixed issues with Hyped / Stressed Out tags appearing at wrong times in mission deployment - Fixed incorrect "Injured" count in tags over roster when mercs go into treatment, added specific Treatment tags - Fixed confusing hover over Send for Treatment button in roster when already in treatment

v1.3.21 - 2/11/2024

- Fixed issue where prisoners on levels could prevent team extraction (Carnivore, Sibling Breakout) - Fixed bug with movement destination not always following where you clicked - Fixed issue with camera not resuming correctly after some melee attacks - Fixed issue with camera not resuming correctly after hacking

[ 2024-02-11 19:22:02 CET ] [ Original post ]

Update #50 - it's just a number but it's a nice one! We're excited how our Early Access journey has progressed so far. We've knocked down multiple major milestones from the roadmap, added content, systems and more to the game in constant stream of improvements. While we're working toward what is next, we've prepped a very nice quality of life update here that smacks down a lot of the F10s coming in, improves some UI elements, tweaks the tutorial and more. What is next is the bodyguarding objective for proc-gen missions and a whole new class, currently named codenamed Toxkit (the current working name), We've just opened up a thread for you to share ideas and inspiration around the Toxkit class, so we hope you'll join us there! If you feel like we're heading in the right direction with Early Access as we hit Update #50, please take a minute to leave a review!

Secondary Rewards

We've improved the rewards for proc-gen by making XP rewards clearly a percentage (+10%) over a hard number (+7 XP). We also fixed issues where in some scenarios the Sec Level rewards were not being granted.

Injury Time / Wounds

There were a few issues and misses on balance here. One issue was that if a character had recovered from an injury in the past, they were far less likely to get injured again. We've resolved a number of issues and are in a more reliably correct place with injury time and wounding rules.

Smoother Camera

We cleared up about 5 different cases that could cause the camera to hitch at the start or end of moving. Everything feels a lot smoother now!

Proc-Gen Fixes

The extraction rules update did a bit of a number on the sewers proc-gen level it seems. We've fixed a slew of minor bugs from enemies spawning right next to your start location to your crew having 3 dialog lines every time they take out an enemy captain. We fixed the occurrence of a blank screen if talking to the Warner-Braun VP sometimes.

ESC in Victory / Defeat

We shifted the keybinding for returning to main menu away from ESC in the mission victory and defeat screens as way too many of us are accidentally exiting from that screen. It now defaults to ENTER. And a lot more check out the full change log!

v1.3.17 - 2/11/2024

- Converted secondary objective rewards for XP to +10% XP instead of +7 XP - Fixed cases in which secondary reward for low Sec Level might not be rewarded - Improved balance of Injury Time from damage - Fixed bug where Injury Time of 1-day or less was immediately healed - Improved smoothness of all camera panning, removed tiny hitch at end of some pans - Fixed case in proc-gen Sewers level where an enemy might spawn looking straight at your team - Fixed bug that could put up a blank dialog when Warner-Braun VP is offering proc-gen mission - Fixed bug with over chatty dialogs when killing enemy in Kill 3 proc-gen missions - Fixed issue with Hacker class recommending Neural Accelerator when it wanted Neural Toner - Fixed a bug with one of Soldier's Plaster-Cross upgrades actually upgrading Pop-Slot - Removed all-to-easy to hit ESC from Victory / Defeat, now defaults to ENTER to return to main menu - Improved and shortened some tutorial lines about Full Auto and Alert Status - Updated description for Chameleon Sheathe cybernetic implant

[ 2024-02-10 06:30:17 CET ] [ Original post ]

After the big feature update of individual extraction which touched every single level in the game, we're coming back around to fix bugs, F10s and smooth out a few things. Thanks to everyone for reporting issues with F10, for posting in Discord and chatting on Steam. We're about to reach Update #50 here with some really big things on the docket this month. We're working hard for to improve the game daily through its Early Access period and hope you'll help us keep up that pace by posting a review.

Wound Saves

We have adjusted the rules, percentage rates and timing at which Wounds Res is checked during play. Previously, this was checked when your Injury was fully healed which lead to an unfortunate feeling of "Oh, I'm finally healed and ready to ... oh I'm Wounded." Sad! With the updates, the Wound rolls are now made at the end of a mission and tied more closely to your Injury coming out of the mission. Your Wound Res is more directly impacted by number of Turns you are Injured and the Wound will appear immediately in the safehouse. For future improvements, we're going to get a section in the scrolling victory panel that will let us show more detail for each merc and their individual outcomes.

Proc-Gen Sewers Issues

There were a few issues with the proc-gen sewers level after the last release. Evidently, the new extraction feature didn't sit well with that specific level :D All are fixed -

• You were not getting the payment for each kill in the Kill 3 proc-gen premise.
• Objectives were not updating correctly for Sewer Kill 3
• In some proc-gen cases, you could start inside the extraction zone and immediately win
• In other proc-gen cases, there was no extraction zone. If you're stuck like this, reload your level after the update to get out.

In other proc-gen fixes, we've improved an exit zone in the Truck Stop that was badly marked and giving players headaches. Hack-only missions were also having issues with early extraction, now fixed.

Head Hunters - Show your Numbers!

With a recent update to the HUD to get Heat and Head Hunters show in the mission screen as well as main timeline, a bug crept in that disconnected the Head Hunter display from the real numbers. Everyone should find that their Head Hunter counts are now back and correct.

Crit Chance in Accuracy Breakdown

The Critical Chance calculations in the Accuracy Breakdown have been wrong for a while. We fixed one cause a few updates ago and now have tackled the second. They should all be nice, neat and make sense in a mathematical way at last!

Pop Slot Action Points

We've fixed a bug that was constantly complaining there were not enough action points to use the Soldier's Pop-Slot.

v1.3.11 - 2/8/2024

- Improved Wound rolling to be rolled at the end of a mission instead of later in the safehouse - Fixed issue with payment not always being granted in Sewers Kill 3 proc-gen mission - Fixed issue with new Sewers Kill 3 proc-gen level appearing too often from the generator - Fixed issue with exit not appearing in all Scav versions of Sewers proc-gen level - Fixed issues with Head Hunter count not correctly updating - Fixed bug with Soldier's Pop-Slot Talent always reporting "Not Enough Action Points" incorrectly - Fixed bug with Crit Chance % often being wrong in accuracy breakdown - Fixed inability to extract early from hack-only proc-gen missions - Fixed issue with Sigma 6 Sploitkit not loading in inventory - Adjusted problematic exit zone in Truck Job - Fixed missing faction subject in proc-gen offer ("BLANK is constantly harassing our movements...")

[ 2024-02-08 19:10:23 CET ] [ Original post ]

Update #48 brings a major rule change to the game about how, when and where you can extract from a level. The new individual extraction rules add new flexibility and excitement to your extraction choices, at times let your squad "scatter" for their exit and more. We cover the full rule set below. This update also includes a new proc-gen map and objective combo (Sewers + Kill 3), as well as secondary objectives for all proc-gen missions, better rules for Legwork's XP bonuses, an update to the time and cost of healing Wounds, a series of tutorial improvements and fixes for the bugs in Shock Mines and Nano Stimkits. It's a huge update, packed to the brim so let's look at each item! If you think we're headed in the right direction with Cyber Knights's Early Access process, we hope you'll leave a review to help us continue our work!

Extraction Rule Update

We're very excited to roll out the new individual extraction rules for all levels. While previously, the game required your entire team to gather in a single location to exit the level, now each merc is allowed to extract when they reach the extraction point -
Once your character reaches an extraction area, you can click Extract in their button bar. All players will get a one-time warning about this rule change in the game to help reduce confusion about the new rules. Each extraction is individual extraction - this means when your merc reaches the exit point, a button in the to bar next to Yield enables. This button is the Extraction button.

• It is a one-way exit from the level. When the merc clicks the button, they immediately disappear.
• once extracted you don't have to skip that merc's turn anymore, no one can shoot you, and you can't be spotted by enemies. You're completely gone from the level.
• Once you leave, you cannot come back. If another merc who hasn't extracted is in trouble, you've already left and can't come back to help.
• However, you don't have to click it. You can hang around the extraction point if you wish until the team is closer or it is the right moment to leave.
• If all living mercs are extracted, you win.
• If at any time, all living mercs who have not yet extracted are in the extraction point, you win.

Individual extraction supports multiple exits not all levels will support multiple extraction points but some do, For example, the Aug-Clinic Rooftop has a single extraction point (the elevator) but Forward Op allow your mercs to go to "scatter" in separate extraction points to each find their best exit from the heist. This is a big win for speed of play and injects new excitement into multi-exit levels where you can now consider splitting your team or sending off one merc on their own to risk an objective and hope they can make it all the way to the exit point.

New Proc-Gen Objective + Map

With Update #48, we've added a new combination of objective type and map. The power of proc-gen continues to be in the crossing of these two entities, and this release adds the ability for the sewers map to send you hunting 3 gang leaders to gain your payday. While this is a small add in scope for the number of proc-gen mutations, we're in progress testing the next objective type (playing bodyguard on the go) and a new map as well which, combined, will be a very nice sized expansion to the scope of proc-gen today.

New Proc-Gen Secondary Objectives

All proc-gen missions have now gained secondary objectives that offer additional XP and money rewards for completing missions under certain thresholds. These extra incentives may give you are reason to push a little faster or quieter. Currently, the supported set of secondaries focuses on completing missions under certain Sec Level or under a certain Turn limit but more types will be coming.

Tutorial Improvements

We've continued to listen close to feedback and adjust the tutorial. With this update, we've refined a lot of the text of the prompts, seeking to make them short and clear. We've also moved the lootbox so that it is more easily accessible and less time is spent just running around.

Security Tally Clarity

There have been a number of F10s about unexplained Security Tally appearing. We've found that these are almost exclusively from dead body timers running up. To help, as a first step, we've added a log entry to the combat log when a timer expires and listed exactly how much Sec Tally is added. The further step here will be to get the Tally to show up in yellow in the Sec Tally bar on the Turn it will happen so you can be pre-warned about upcoming Escalations correctly. We also fixed a few places where secondary objectives were listing their Security Level maximums ("less than Sec Level 2") in Sec Tally ("less that 36 Sec Tally") which is just confusing.

Shock Mine and Nano-Stimkit Fixes

Both of these items were bugged and now both are fixed! A bug crept in during January that caused Shock Mines to be far more powerful than intended and honestly very OP. If thrown as a grenade, they would shock all enemy targets instead of just one. We've fixed the bug and updated the description to be more clear it is a single target. We will try to catch up with the VFX to show a single arc of electricity striking a single target. Nano-Stimkits were bugged as they only refused to stim up any character who had HP damage even though they don't do any healing themselves. Now fixed!

XP for Legwork

We've adjusted the calculating used to provide Experience for attempting, failing and passing Legwork. Before this was randomly generated off a static range of XP, now we are granting a range of XP equal to a % of your next level's XP. The range goes from 2% to 6% of the XP needed to gain the next level. This is a great boost for Legwork which now grant a meaningful amount of XP - in the best case, success - regardless of your level.

Wound Healing

The price and timeline for healing wounds has now increased from the bottom-barrel values it started at. For a while, there was no wound healing, so when we added it to the game, we gave a 2 month grace period to get that pile of wounds healed up cheap. If you haven't then now you'll be paying the price.

v1.3.9 - 2/7/2024

- All extraction converted to individual extraction rules - extract by button in team bar (top left) - Added pop-up for all players (one time) and into end of tutorial explaining new extraction rules - Proc-gen raid and Kill 3 missions all gain randomized secondary objectives (Sec Level, Turns for extra XP or profit) - Internal rules changes to secondary Sec Level objectives may result in some missions with "less than 36 Sec Level" objectives - Moved lootbox in tutorial to be easier to directly access - Further improved tutorial dialog and prompts - Combat log now includes entry for when a dead body's body timer expires and +2 Sec Tally is added - Increased time and cost of healing wounds to more reasonable values - Increased XP rewards for Legwork up to 4-6% of next level requirement for successful Legwork, 2-3% for failed - Improved and increased naming variety for proc-gen missions and stages - Removed nonsense 2% Default Crit Chance from accuracy breakdown - Fixed additional cases where enemy could waste 1 turn "Security in my ear" - Fixed bug with Soldier's Recoup Talent that could activate even on misses - Fixed issue where Soldier's Roll With It Talent upgrade 5 was causing -10% Optimal Range (wut?) - Fixed issue where Nano-Stikmit refused to activate unless the merc was wounded (but it doesn't heal!) - Fixed bug / updated description of Shock Mine to highlight that it never hits more than 1 target - Fixed some enemies spawning inside crates in Sewers proc-gen levels - Fixed issue in Cube Run where trying to abort the mission still went forward into stage 2

[ 2024-02-07 18:48:36 CET ] [ Original post ]

We had 2 updates in the space of 24 hours as we are chasing every little reported issue with the tutorial to the ground and buffing it out until this one shines. We've fixed and improved everything from defeat to specific dialog lines, cleaned up a few more bugs or rare misses within the tutorial script and also caught up with some additional changes to hovers for the new armor rules and movement alerts to better represent the updated Alert Status rules and surprise attack rules. If you like the progress or got a chance to try out the new tutorial - please leave a review! We are smashing hard on tutorial update so we can be done with it and move on to new features and content, so let's buff it right out and keep on truckin.

Updated Movement Alerts for Alert Status Changes

To match the new rules for Alert Status we have adjusted how sight and hearing movement alerts work. If your character is Hidden or Hunted, these alerts are now shown correclty even if the guard is Alerted, as they still care about your presence and detecting you. Also, we no longer post an alert is the enemy is not going to respond, so if you are Spotted and they are Alerted, we are not showing the visual warning anymore because the guard is just going to keep shooting you and not change any state by seeing you (again).

Other Key Fixes

We fixed the bug that was causing the game to lock after the Vanguard reappears last night. We fixed a bug that could cause the Overwatch guard not use Overwatch about 25% of the time. We now offer Retry Mission on any difficulty for the tutorial if your team gets wiped out. We fixed some ugly broken lighting in the scene. We fixed, we fixed typos, we rewrote sections based on your feedback. Thank you! A huge thanks to everyone shooting in the F10s, you're helping us make big progress. Check the change logs below for both patches as there have been 2 about 15 hours apart.

v1.3.5 - 2/1/2024

- Added exit summary of most key points at tutorial victory - Fixed movement alerts and enemy behavior when enemy is Alerted by player is not Spotted - Fixed issue where Overwatch guard in Tutorial wouldn't Overwatch 25% of the time - Fixed issue with camera swinging into the walls during tutorial explanation scenes - Fixed duplicate dialogs that could appear in some sections - Fixed broken lighting layer in tutorial from hotfix (woops) - Fixing issues with damage taken, items used not being restored after tutorial - Fixing defeat during the tutorial to always offer a retry - Added ESC to return to main menu from defeat

v1.3.3 - 2/1/2024

- Fixed issue where Vanguard could lock game near lootbox in tutorial - Fixed issue where you could not Retry Turn / Level on higher difficulties in the tutorial - Fixed issues that could be caused by skipping tutorial sections and the UI highlight ending up in the wrong place - Fixed duplicate dialog that could be caused by switching to pistol before Full Auto section - Fixed issues with clipping into Red Door frame near end of tutorial - Fixed typos and confusing sentences, thanks F10s!

[ 2024-02-01 23:49:42 CET ] [ Original post ]

The GROK-KIT major milestone releases an all new combat and stealth tutorial and a host of improvements, rule changes and fixes to support it being successful and awesome. The new tutorial boasts 2 characters, covers all the major combat and stealth mechanics and uses tips that highlight and call-out the HUD and UI to demonstrate, highlight and point out details and actions. We're excited for the tutorial to help welcome new Knights into New Boston and, perhaps teach a thing or two to the veteran players. If you like the improvements and the pace of improvement overall, we hope you'll take a moment to share the game with a friend or leave a review.
With the first major milestone wrapped up for Q1 2024, we still have an ambitious schedule ahead of us with big features, upgrades, new platforms and more. The public roadmap is a fluid document, and we're updating it as we go to track progress and noting changes in the Roadmap Announcement so you can always check there for the latest detais.

All New, Expanded Tutorial!

Cyber Knights' in-depth combat mechanics give you lots of options. We want to make sure new players understand the mechanics, while at the same time not annoying experienced players with lengthy explanations always showing up in the interface. Short tooltips can only do so much (though we're continuing to improve these too); a good tutorial is key for giving an overview and explaining how things like initiative, chance-to-hit, stealth, etc. work in Cyber Knights specifically. This update brings a brand new, expanded tutorial that covers all of our essential combat & stealth mechanics. Movement and sightlines, manipulating the initiative order, accuracy and glancing hits, weapon noise, guard alert states, and more. Matrix hacking will get its own tutorial a bit later, but this one aims to cover everything you need to know to about Cyber Knights' tactical gameplay. We'd love your feedback on it! Even if you've been playing for a while, you might find some details you didn't know in here. Try it out and help us make sure it's in great shape for new players, so that down the line we all have a great community to share builds and talk tactics with as we continue to add to the equipment, classes, and challenges in the game. The Matrix tutorial script has been drafted now and we're starting to work through the exact particulars of what needs to be covered and in what order - so stay tuned for that exciting addition as well.

Rules Updates and More

As we wrapped up the tutorial, it felt like we had something really good on our hands because it demanded that we improve the game, UI and rules in a number of ways. So, thanks to the tutorial, we've got some new rule changes, balance changes, HUD updates, bug fixes and more to discuss!

Rule Change: Armor Shredding

The rules for how Armor Protection is reduced by Armor Shred has been updated with this milestone release. Here is a summary of the changes: [olist]

Armor had 3 stats for protection - a Full Protection value (such as 60%), a Degraded Protection (20%) and Protection Points (2). Note - due to the conflict with AP we renamed Armor Points to Protection Points.

Each time an attack Shreds Armor, the Protection Points are reduced by 1.

In the old rules, if and only if your Protection Points were reduced to 0, your Armor switched to the Degraded Protection value. Using the example above (60%/20%/2 PP) you were (previously) at 60% until your Protection Points reached 0.

In the new rules, as your Protection Points are reduced, your Armor Protection is reduced proportional to the number of Protection Points and the difference between Full and Degraded Protection. Using the example above, (60%/20%/2 PP) you'd be at 60% until an Armor Shred reduces you to 1 PP, at which point you're at 40% Protection, and a second Armor Shred would reduce you to 20%. [/olist] This is to the disadvantage of armor wearers. However, it is good for all Talents and Items that recover Protection Points as they are far more valuable. It is also better for Armor Shredders like Shotguns, E-Rifles and the right Blades which can see immediate results from any Armor Shred hit. It is also great for our ability to design and add different types of interesting armors for you to buy and especially for enemies to wear.

Rule Change: Enemy and Merc Alert Status

First, with the help of our awesome Discord (and big shout out to @DoomFluffy), we've simplified the overly complicated 5 Alert Statuses the game kept for enemies and mercs down to 3 Alert Statuses each. Your mercs are Hidden (never been seen or tripped any security devices), Hunted (someone is looking for these droids) or Spotted (seen by the enemy and probably in a firefight). Enemies are Unaware (bored), Suspicious (looking around) or Alerted (aware of intruders, trying to start a firefight). While this change is really in the display, labels used and the iconography in the merc / enemy hovers, it greatly simplifies the tasks of explaining how Alert Statuses work to not have 5 and 5! To help make this as clear as possible, your mercs Alert Status are now visible in their hover at all times like an enemy. The rule change comes down to when you can qualify for a Surprise bonus. Previously, the enemy had to be Unaware. But this mean if your Soldier starts a firefight, anyone who becomes aware of the Soldier can no longer be Surprised by the Vanguard who has taken all that time to hide behind those crates! Therefore, the Surprise rule now states you get +25% Accuracy bonus against an Unaware target OR if you are in Alert Status Hidden. This is a big boost for sneaky characters, snipers, patient killers (as your Alert Status drops every Turn if there are no living, Alerted enemies), and your team in general as there are more changes for Surprise attacks.

Accuracy Breakdown Improved

A number of new additions have popped up in the accuracy breakdown in the top right, thanks to the tutorial work. If you're guaranteed a Glancing Hit due to weapon type (melee), your Glancing Threshold (80% usually, 60% for Precise Burst) or just being really close (proximity) then this is noted in the Accuracy Breakdown. Also, your Armor Shred % are included there as well, including any buffs or bonuses. Finally, we fixed a bug in the Accuracy Breakdown that wasn't showing the weapon's name in the weapon accuracy row.

Full Auto Targeting

There was an issue introduced with Full Auto targeting that prevented you from effectively moving the cone of fire between different targets. The cone stayed kind of stuck on the highest Accuracy target in your shot. This is now fixed, switching to a new target will shift the center of the Full Auto cone. Also, we've made sure the keybinding to increase and decrease targets (default, Pg Up/Down) is noted in the Ui circle. This is a powerful tool if you want really precise control over your Full Auto or perhaps want to just use its burst damage ability against a more limited number of targets or even a single target. We fixed the bug where sometimes you'd have to hit Pg Up / Pg Down multiple times to see a change as well.

Floppy, Flop Ragdolls

During this work, while we were shooting lots of guards to test the tutorial we noticed some odd extra floppy ragdoll behavior. A little investigation found that when an enemy was shot but didn't die, they stashed the physics forces from those shots until later, when they did die! Then they applied all the physics forces at once and FLOPPY FLOPPED around the place. Lol ... well, we've fixed this bug so the ragdolls should have less extreme moments at least! This is most noticeable and funny when 2 mercs are shooting the same enemy target from different angles. I had Aitana lay into a guard with Full Auto and then the Vanguard Razza kill the guard from a 90 degree angle from Aitana. Then the guard went [i[flying in the wrong direction ... as if Aitana had made the kill. Cartwheels of joy!?

Rebuilt New ESC Menu[/h2[ We got a nice new pause menu! Things are better organized, with the Retry Turn / Restart Mission being grouped with the Save Slots on the right and the regular menu - along with some new external links - on the left. Nice upgrade, that!

v1.3.1 - 1/30/2024

- All new and upgraded Tutorial (stealth & combat) - Armored degrades protection % every time is loses an Armor Point - Compressed 5 previous Alert Status into 3 for enemies (now, Unaware | Suspected | Alerted) - Compressed 5 previous Alert Status into 3 for characters (now, Hidden | Hunted | Spotted) - Merc hover now includes their Alert Status, improved/simplified Alert Status icon in character/enemy hovers - Mercs in Hidden Status always qualify for Surprise bonus regardless of target's Alert Status (advantage sneakers and snipers) - Rebuilt pause menu for main mission mode - better save slots, retry options, keybinding display - Added hint for keybinding to Add/Reduce targets in Full Auto (Pg Up / Pg Down by default) - Fixed issue with Add/Reduce targets for Full Auto sometimes needing to be hit twice to take effect - Fixed issue causing estimated Recoil for attack change slightly every time you target - Added Glancing Hit rules to the Accuracy breakdown in HUD - Added Armor Shred % to Accuracy breakdown in HUD - Fixed issue in Accuracy breakdown in HUD where weapon name wasn't shown - Fixed a few last places where Armor Crit % was used instead of Armor Shred %s - Fixed issue with Full Auto targeting refusing to budge from highest Accuracy % target, making it hard to get best shots - Fixed issue where Focus Fire label was incorrectly shown while targeting enemies out of range - Fixed issue where Vanguard's Lure would let you activate it even if none of the guards were going to respond - Fixed issue where physics forces were building up on enemies over multiple attacks to cause ridiculous ragdoll antics - Fixed issue where a movement destination could be accidentally set during automatic camera transition to an attack target - Reduced slight input delay after setting an attack target

[ 2024-01-31 21:03:13 CET ] [ Original post ]

Update #45 brings a new story event, improvements to cyber surgery replacement, class tree improvements and new upgrade nodes, some key UI tweaks requested in your F10s and more. We had a few days break from updates because back at Trese Brothers HQ, we're hard at work on the next major roadmap milestones. Coming up will be a complete Tutorial refresh for stealth and combat (and Matrix to follow after) as well as an improved lighting engine, Mac OS support, and safehouse base building. We've got an ambitious schedule for Q1 2024 but are excited that we'll start really checking some of these big boxes soon. If you're liking the progress and think we're heading in the right direction, please leave a review to help us continue! You can always edit it later to add more details or thoughts.

New Story, Growing Depth

With Update #45, we've added a new echo story event that can come after your Syndicates Debts origin storyline. The long-arm of the D-Cartel law is not easily avoided, so you'll find yourself scrapping to avoid consequences. As always, this will appear in new and existing games. We're continue to work on growing the depth of the story simulation to the point where the Casting Director and the contact simulation can really start swimming. Without enough options in the hopper, the paths that Director can pick are limited. In addition, new key factors are coming into play from more angles -- Obligations and Head Hunters are all burgeoning on the horizon. With the latest storyline, you may find yourself with a few more of both burdens, and soon these will be joining the game both as a sudden and demanding story mission and as a dangerous and surprising threat mid-mission. With Update #45, we also fixed an odd little story "miss" where your Knight wasn't being healed along with the story event where the Face and Knight discuss it.

Cyber Surgery with 6 Implants

We've fixed a common issue players were having where once you reached 6 implants on a character, you could no longer replace them. Now, while the other limitations are still in place, you have the option to try out new builds, swaps and upgrades for your heavily cybered mercs.

Class Tree Improvements

With Update #45, we've completed another big quality sweep on the class trees. There are so many small details, and we appreciate players who are pointing them out, discussing Talent and upgrade balance and helping us tune and tweak the trees.

• We've improved the Knight's Interference Spike Talent to allow a second charge if trained to its max
• The final upgrade for Soldier's Savagery that increases the duration to 2 now costs 2 leveling points
• We've fixed a ton of formatting issues where you'd get a sudden negative stat (such as -10% Evasion) instead of the expected positive (+10% Evasion) if a Talent didn't include that stat (Evasion) in its original bonus set. This affected Aegis, JTAC, Entrench and more.
• We fixed the upgrade node to the Hacker's Overclock that stated it was reducing the AP cost by -5 when Overclock already costs 0 AP.

UI Tweaks

With this update, we've improved the dialog interaction to allow you to click anywhere on screen (not only some central, unexplained hitboxes). We've also fixed the Contact screens to show a reasonable number of decimal places (unless you need to know that Origami's Power Level isn't 7.00 its ... 6.998888854). Finally, we fixed the Delay button being enabled if you had 0 AP but still had MP. In order to Delay you must have Action Points left.

Map and Pathing Improvements

In some levels where lootboxes were optionally added, they could "ghost" and still cause pathing issues around them. This is now resolved for lootboxes, terminals and other objects that had the same issue. Under the hood, we've expanded the optional system to now include Terminals, which is going to make for some exciting new arrangements of levels and challenges possible. We've also resolved a number of odd corkscrewing actions that re-appeared on stairs after we improved their colliders and mesh rules.

v1.2.45 - 1/26/2024

- Added new story event: the Long Arm of D-Cartel Syndicate - Raised the level point cost of Savagery's duration booster to 2 - Added 6th training upgrade for Knight's Interference Spike to add a second charge - Fixed formatting issues for many Talents including Aegis, JTAC, Entrench turning a potential buff shown in yellow into a debuff - Fixed issue with Overclock upgrade giving -5 AP cost when AP cost was already 0 - Fixed issue with Replace in cyber surgery not working once you had 6 implants - Fixed issue in some levels where inactive lootboxes or terminals could cause pathing issues - Improved dialog interaction - click anywhere to advance dialog - Fixed bug allowing Delay option with 0 AP when you have unused Move Points - Fixed extreme decimal places shown in Contact Power level - Fixed small miss with timing of Cyber Knight healing at start of game - Fixed some issues with corkscrew pathing on stairs

[ 2024-01-26 20:31:25 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello weekend! Update #43 is here with new cybernetic implants, a new stand-alone inventory screen, improved cyber surgery tags and rules, improved enemy thinking for Carnivore mission (no more standing around!) and other cases and some great improvements to the Matrix to help avoid mistakes while hacking. If you're enjoying the steady stream of updates and seeing improvements, we hope you'll leave a review to encourage more, more more!

New Cybernetics

With Update #43, we've added 3 new cybernetics, both offering an improved version for your Bone Grafts and all new types: the Display-Link and Neural Accelerator. The upgrade to Di-Aluminum Bone Grafts adds extra Strength, Hit Points and Wound Resistance at the cost of a little Move Speed. Display-Link implants integrate into the optic nerve, transforming the function of the eye to include real-time data streams superimposed onto the natural sight, including instantaneous trajectory calculations and tactical analysis. These types of implants grant bonuses to ranged Accuracy, Critical %, Crit Dmg Bonus and are very common among Soldiers and Snipers. For the Hacker, Neural Toner implants fine-tune neural pathways and intensify synaptic responses to create a high-velocity synergy between the brain and a Matrix-Link, Now we've added the other option, the Neural Accelerator implants optimize pathways in the amygdala and brainstem to supercharging physical reaction speed. Neural Accelerators add to stats like Evasion, Initiative, Tech and Reaction and are great for anyone constantly on the move and in the heat of combat.

Cyber Surgery Improvements

As new cybernetics and new types of cybernetics are rolled into the game, we've made a much needed first round of upgrades to the cyber surgery screen. First, you can now replace a cybernetic implant with another one. By going into cyber surgery, picking an implant and picking Replace, you're able to swap it out with another. This is a more restrictive process because if it is a class-specific implant like the Chameleon Skin it cannot be replaced except with another Chameleon Skin. This enables things like replacing the Cyber Knight's Dermal Plating with Chameleon Skin to allow for a Cyber Knight + Vanguard multiclass.
In addition, when browsing to add new implants, we've fixed all the conflict cases to be more clear - if you're installing a new implant, you can't install Dermal Plating for example because you have a Chameleon Skin already in the Skin Slot and you can't install a Chameleon Skin because you already have that exact implant.

New Inventory Screen

The investigation as to why there was never a stand-alone Inventory screen in the first place has conclude. All fingers point back to an UltraTek design team claiming that "Inventories aren't cool anymore" back in 2227. From there, multiple SVPs signed off on the change and the megacorp resolved to usher in a brighter future. Now, in 2231, that design team and all those SVPs have had their citizenship revoked and were recently unceremoniously dropped off on a street corner in the worst part of Ward 4. And now, we have an inventory screen lol.
From the top header, your Inventory can be easily accessed to browse and sell all your gear. You can still see notation of how many you own (let's say 3) and how many are carried (let's say 2) shown as 2/3, but none of this is mixed in with what is for sale. We've swapped up some filters - the Market now offers only an "Already Owned" filter so you can consider repeat purchases. And the inventory offers a "Can Sell" which lets you find things you own that you want to sell quickly. If you go from the Market to Inventory or Inventory to Market, your category is remembered, so you can quickly drop between shopping and checking what you have. In addition, we've toned down the ability of the market to remember filters, as it was a little over-aggressive. Now, when you leave the screen the filter is forgotten. We'll continue to work on this, but for now a temporary memory (as you swap between types) is helpful enough.

Carnivore Improvements + Enemies Standing Still

We've fixed a big issue that could occur near the end of the Carnivore mission. What should have been a highly challenging arrival of some late joiners turns out to be a non-issue as they just ... stood around ... for Turn after Turn ... doing nothing! This didn't always happen but when it did it was very non-climactic in a story moment that should have been very climactic :D Now this is fixed, so watch out - they are coming in hot. The fix has also addressed a number of other edge cases where enemy might end up standing around all silly like.

Matrix Unload Confirmation

There is a rare case where you might want to unload a program in the Matrix. But clicking to unload is a bit too easy and usually would be a mistake for a player. We've added a confirmation pop-up to unload a program to help you avoid misclicks. We've also fixed a little visual glitch in Matrix hacking on the second Turn where loaded programs are shown just offscreen a bit.

v1.2.43 - 1/20/2024

- Added 3 new Power Level 2 cybernetic implants: Di-Aluminum Bone Grafts, Display-Link, Neural Accelerator - Improved cyberware clinic display, tags and conflict text - Fixed rules for upgrading and replacing cyberware - Fixed issues with stacking cyberware in the same slot - Added stand-alone inventory screen matching market - Browse and sell your owned equipment from inventory screen - Adjusted filters - Inventory has "Can Sell" to quickly find items you can sell - Adjusted filters - Market has "Already Owned" to items for sale you already have in your inventory for repeat purchases - Fixed issue with Market filters being remembered too aggressively, now forgotten on closing screen - Fixed issue with some buttons along top of Market were not clickable in their upper half - Fixed issue in Carnivore where some enemies were staying in their starting positions - Fixed a number of other situations in which enemies could not move / skip their turn - Improved appearance tab to avoid flashing of colors while mousing over color palette - Added matrix confirmation dialog if you click to unload a program - are you sure? - Fixed matrix bug where loaded programs were shown off screen at start of second hacking turn - Fixed issue with Legwork where all character levels were shown as 0

[ 2024-01-21 02:43:44 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome to all the new Knights who joined this week during the sale - the New Boston Zone is here to chew you up and spit you out if you don't keep your cards right. Exciting to see so many new players piling in, posting, and hitting F10 for everything you'd like to see in the game. To that end, we've got a big update here with #43 - a rewrite and clarification about the rules for CPU and APU Spiking in the matrix, now allowing duplicate program builds for your Cyberdeck, new proc-gen matrix host templates, improved safehouse UI for story conversations, timeline event icons to help read the timeline better and more. Thanks to everyone leaving a review! Remember you can always edit your review, so if you feel like we're heading the right direction (and at the right pace!) with 43 updates, please drop a review to let us know!

Spiking CPU and APU

Update #43 improves and clarifies the rules around spiking CPUs and APUs.

• Every Matrix Host has a CPU, the heart of the system. Spiking it can complete mission objectives, will result in a reduction of the Q-Sec Level by 50% (Q-Sec Level 4 becomes 2) and a zeroing out of all current Q-Sec Tally. This reduction likely takes the Q-Sec Tally below an Escalation that has already happened (you Escalated at Q-Sec Level 4, spiking the CPU takes you back to Sec Level 2, Tally 0) then the Escalation will not be repeated (to your advantage).
• Matrix Hosts that have APUs are directly tied into the Sec AI's brain. Spiking an APU will reduce the Sec Tally by 10 points immediately. If this reduction takes the Sec Tally below an Escalation that has already happened (you Escalated at Sec Level 2, spiking the APU takes you back to Sec Level 1, Tally 5) then the Escalation will not be repeated (to your advantage).

Duplicated Program Builds

With Update #43, we've fixed the limitation (and bug) that prevented you from installing exact duplicates of the same program on a matrix cyberdeck. Previously, installing Attack I twice over would make the second one impossible to use during a hack. This issue has been unwound and now your hacker builds have more freedom than before to develop new strategies.

More Proc-Gen Matrix Hosts

We've completed the design and testing for another 2 matrix host templates for proc-gen hacking missions, continuing to expand the digital catalog of missions you can end up on. The meatspace proc-gen mission catalog is next up for an expansion.

Safehouse Story Conversations

With Update #43, we've updated the result when clicking directly on a character in the safehouse. If there are story conversations available, they now display immediately in a pop-up window for easy access to chatting. The window has a hotkey and clickable option to proceed to their Roster entry. If there are no story conversations to be had, then we skip you into the Roster immediately. We've been holding off a bit on safehouse story conversations with characters until we could get this update done, as the click > roster > find conversations list was not the most comfortable flow. We've also improved that flow a bit, adding a matching icon and story conversation count to this area in the roster so that you can visually match it to the conversation icons in the safehouse and timeline to help reinforce the connection.

Timeline Event Icons

It may look minor at a distance, but updating all the timeline icons to a specific type icon - healing, cyberware, mission, legwork, etc - is a very nice change for the safehouse timeline. When checking out a larger list of icons - especially once the details are "below the fold" - its nice to have some instant visibility into what type of events we're talking about here.

F10 Round up

We also completed a big round-up of your F10s -

• Vanguard's Refract was too short to block a lot of Security Cameras, now taller!
• Sometimes dead mercs persisted in the Mission assignment screen. Zombie sighting confirmed!
• Weapon mods were not clear enough (using + and -) whether adjustments to Reload AP cost were good or bad
• Sometimes we used Armor Crit % and sometimes we used Armor Shred %, now clearer
• Added a missing combat log when we are fired on by enemy overwatch

And certainly more! Check the full change log for everything.

v1.2.41 - 1/17/2024

- Revised Matrix Hacking's APU and CPU Spike Routines - CPU Spike reduces reduces Q-Sec Level for matrix host by half and zeroes out the Tally - APU Spike reduces Sec Tally in real world by -10 - Hacker Cyberdeck can now use duplicate programs (Attack I and Attack I) without issue - Added 2 more Matrix proc-gen host templates - Added additional Combat Log entry for hostile overwatch attacks - Added timeline event type icons to the timeline bar - Increased height of Refract wall to better block cameras - Upgraded story pop-up when directly clicking on a character (instead of defaulting to Roster) - Upgraded roster's notation of story conversations to match icon and count from safehouse - Fixed very short Legwork in new Southie Strut storyline - Fixed Matrix Host attempting to unload unloaded programs - Fixed "Armor Crit" vs. Armor Shred confusion - Fixed issue always showing all characters as Level 0 in Legwork selection - Fixed save slots bug when using default faces without customizing character - Improved display of Reload AP to reduce confusion - Fixed bug allowing hacking of some security devices even if not enough AP - Fixed issue where recently dead mercs could show up in mission planning lists

[ 2024-01-18 16:20:09 CET ] [ Original post ]

Update #42 follows in the footsteps of #41: Kickbacks with a whole lot of F10s fixed, improvements, closing a final memory leak in appearance and more. Your Knights are descending on New Boston and playing a lot right now, so we're taking extra time to cater to your F10s right now. If you like updates and you know it, leave a review!

Go Loud! Community Challenge

Also - we are excited that @Liviana has just share the latest community challenge for Cyber Knights: Flashpoint. The previous challenge was swords-only and was a real exciting affair, a while ride of blood and keen edges. This one is a bit louder, boom, boom, go go go! Hope you'll join in the fun and share your team and after-action-reports! https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1021210/view/6770665671988890022

Appearance Updates / Close Memory Leak

For a while, we have had reports of a memory leak in the appearance tab if a player worked in there for 10-15 minutes. It has finally bubbled up to priority and we found he offending textures that were being created and then leaked. This is now fully closed up and the memory bucket is no longer leaking! A big thanks for players hitting F10 on this one! As part of the work here, we've improved the quality of the headshots for new game characters even if you are using lower Texture Quality. Unfortunately, before the face shots were getting pretty munged until you customized. Now, they're nice and clear. Extra bonus, we fixed some lighting conditions between the New Game and Safehouse so that the headshots created in either screen will be consistently lit and presented. Finally, we've updated some of the lighting to get a better and cleaner look for all the portraits. This feels like an eternal quest - we're just going to keep improving the character visuals and portrait captures. Some of the next items include a rim light shader tweak that will help punch them up more and better texturing for skin.

Proc-Gen Adds

With Update #42, we've added another 2 hosts to the Hacking-only proc-gen missions. As the pool grows, your chances of encountering the same host multiple times is starting to slip into the shadow. We'll keep improving here until its a long forgotten memory. For raid proc-gen missions, we've updated the objective to be more clear with its language between Lockbox (as seen in the hover) and lootbox (a meta hallucination). When raiding, you want to "Loot the lockboxes" and "Extract your team" before it gets too hot.

Matrix Locker IC

The Locker IC lost its powers after the big SCU update allowing you to re-up the security device disables. Now, its back with full force! If a Locker IC is present and enabled in a node, you will be unable to disable any devices until you've dealt with the troublesome little pest.

Weapon Mod Adjustments

We're catching up on a few fixes from Update #40's new weapon mods. The Rostock Suppressor will now correctly slot into the barrel of your Sniper Rifle. The MaxCap Magazine mod is now correctly priced - it was so cheap! While talking pricing, we've adjusted a few more cyberdeck prices to get everything where it needs to be.

Legwork 0%

We've fixed a bug that was keeping Legwork chance shown at 0% when the merc was able to do the Legwork due to certain types of faction relationship or backstory tag.

v1.2.39 - 1/16/2024

- Fixed memory leak in Appearance customization - Improved quality and lighting of headshots during Appearance customization - Improved quality of default headshots for new game characters if your settings are lower, not using Best Texture Quality - Improved clarity of raid proc-gen mission Objectives, fixed language around Lockbox vs. Lootbox - Added 2 more Matrix proc-gen host templates - Fixed bug with Locker IC not preventing security device disabling - Fixed odd visual overflow of Matrix AP near the Connect/Scan button - Added Message Icon / Count in the Roster screen to help highlight character messages there - Fixed bug causing Rostock Suppressor to attach to scope mod slot - Fixed pricing for MaxCap Magazine Mod - Fixed Legwork success chance displayed as 0% when using a faction background/relationship - Fixed cyberdeck pricing oddity that made Nikklon Cylor 11.0 the cheapest of all

[ 2024-01-16 18:58:16 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello, Knights! It's time for another CKF Community Challenge. Last time we challenged you to go quiet using only Swords to get through your heists. This time we are going the other way and want you to go in guns blazing in our "Go Loud" challenge.
There are two requirements for this challenge: - Complete a mission (or missions) going loud by turn 2 (going loud means using guns, grenades, anything that makes noise). - No silencers or suppressors are permitted. You can use swords and any other weapons, but you must make noise with a loud weapon by turn 2 at the latest.
As always, we want to see and hear about your adventures tackling the challenge so here are some ideas for what wed love to see: - Screenshots of squad during the mission, the guards after you are done with them - After Action Reports of your missions, challenges you faced - Your strategies for telling with going loud immediately in a mission - Any other creative ways you want to share to tell us about the operating in the underbelly of New Boston with only loud boom-boom: memes, interpretive dance, gifs, etc
No matter what you choose to share, please share at least one screenshot of your squad mid-mission so we can see what they got up to! Weve opened up a discussion here on Steam in the General Discussion forum for aIl of your posts. If you post in our Discord, head to #go_loud_challenge to join in on the conversation!

[ 2024-01-15 18:22:18 CET ] [ Original post ]

After a big story Update like #40, it always feels best to kickback a major quality and F10 fixer like Update #41: Kickbacks. This one fixes stats on the Sniper rifle mods -- including improving the default suppressor noise reduction (cheers!) -- remembering filters in the market, adding Heat and Headhunter display to mission planning, fixing Ironman issues with Restart Mission and Retry Turn, fixing the defective Take All button, and melee-says-one-target bug (again!) and more. It's a huge pile of F10 fixes straight for your posts, roundtripped through our team and kicked back to you in the form of glorious fixes and improvements. So, let's take a look! If the rapid pace of development feels good, if having your F10s directly addressed is nice -- it makes us warm and fuzzy inside to get reviews! If we're doing Early Access right, consider - you can always edit it later and add more as the game continues to develop.

No More Slidey-Slide

We've applied another round of fixes to the enemy's decision making and movement rules. This set should completely eradicate all cases where the enemy or character doesn't move correctly but instead of just "slides" across the floor.

Heat and Headhunters

While the significant impact of both Heat and Headhunters are still pending, they're importance will be growing over the following weeks as we keep improving on the strategy layer. They are now visible from within the Mission planning screens, as that is one of the times they will be most important once they start kicking.

Outline, HUD and Hover Updates

With Update #41, we've ensured that the distance to an enemy target in their hover is updated as you try different movement positions. We've improved the rendering of character and enemy outlines to be smoother and cleaner which is a nice boost. We've also fixed some issues where sometimes an outline would get stuck on someone, like on a weapon and just hang around for a long time. Finally, after 3 attempts at fixing it (and fixing some part of it), we believe we've put the bug where your melee weapon in the corner says you can attack 1 enemy but when you click on them it says they are Out of Range. These are now better synchronized to use the exact same set of checks.

Market Filter Memory

We've improved the market to remember basic filter types like Rarity when swapping between types of equipment that are sold -- weapons to weapon mods, for example. Now if you pick things you Can Sell or exclude Common goods, that will be remember whenever you return to the market and swapping between equipment types. [h2[Neural Toner +10 Matrix Action Points
To all the excited mercs who laid on the cyber surgery table and had the Neural Toner installed for the extra +10 AP.... we are truly sorry. This one may not be for you. Neural Toners are a Hacker's implant and grant +10 Matrix AP...

Buttons: Restart Mission and Take All Fix

We had to fix or remove a few buttons in Update #41. If you're playing on Ironman difficulty, we've now correctly removed your option to Restart Mission. And, while the Take All button appeared in Lootboxes even with 1 item left a few updates ago, it is now correctly functioning.

v1.2.37 - 1/14/2023

- Improved / fixed stats for Sniper mods: XCAN Suppressor, Rostock Suppressor, Vector R-Driver - When switching categories in the market, filters like Rarity are kept - Heat and Headhunter Threat/% now displayed in all mission planning screens - Fixed bug allowing Retry Turn and Restart Mission even in Ironman difficulty - Fixed "Take All" button to work at Lootbox with only 1 item - Distance to enemy is updated in hover when checking different movement locations - Fixed matrix bug where repeating scan on an already scanned 2/2 node would still increase Q-Sec Tally - Fixed (again!) bug causing melee range mismatch when trying to attack versus count you can attack in bottom left - Fixed bugs where some movement warnings (pressure plates, laser fences, motion detectors) could be left on screen incorrectly - Fixed odd appearance of movement warnings sometimes near a rotated laser fence or pressure plate - Fixed bug allowing you to attempt to yield if next merc only has 1 Initiative - Fixed typos in difficulty descriptions, new story dialog - Fixed bug where sometimes the red or green outline would stay incorrectly on player or enemy weapons when outlines disabled - Fixed Neural Toner displaying +10 Action Points when it is +10 Matrix Action Points - Fixed issue where some parts of red/green outline would stick around incorrectly - Fixed monsters sliding around the place at start of move or randomly when surprised by something - Improved text overflow display in mission victory screen for payments - Improved text overflow display in timeline events

[ 2024-01-14 22:35:48 CET ] [ Original post ]

Tonight with Update #40, we're excited to be dropping a new storyline, with an optional new mission type the Live-Wire Negotiation, and a bunch of cool rewards that can expand your options in buying weapons and weapon mods. We've also rebalanced the Matrix missions for proc-gen (last update, they got a little ... out of hand), repriced cyberdecks and a number of weapon mods, fixed Secondary Objectives that were related to Sec Level to be clearer, plus we fixed a nice sized pile of your F10s. If you're enjoying the pace of updates and new content added, please leave a review! Remember you can always update a review, so if we're headed in the right direction, please drop a is highly appreciated now.

New Story / 2 Possible Jobs

With Update #40, we're excited to roll out another storyline, this one continuing to fill in the Treat of '31 story era with additional storylines rising from the arrival of the Warner-Braun megacorp in New Boston. I won't go into much detail about the story - but you need to be above Power Level 2, the Treaty of '31 Era must have started and you'll get word from a Gun Runner contact. This is a story that will get cooler and deeper as more character and recruit options open up to players, so looking forward to how you are able to see it from different angles even now. The results of the story are pretty variable based on your choices, who might be in your crew, and how the job goes. One possibility runs through a new type of mission, a Live-Wire Negotiation that sees your meeting face to face with a powerful underworld contact to cut a deal on the fly or decide to try to fight your way out. If you play your cards right, you can gain access to multiple new Power Level 3 Weapons and Weapon Mods, including new types of SMGs and Shotguns with new special rules. Scrapfor it, Knight!

Matrix Revamp v2

With Update #39, we released a revamp of how proc-gen hacking only missions were generated. Pretty quickly, we heard a lot from players that this hadn't hit the mark and it lacked progression and felt like too much RNG. With Update #40, we've fixed a lot of the RNG elements and pushed the proc-gen mission creator to create a more smooth (but still surprising at times) progression of challenge in the hosts that your hacking. This also has resulted in some increases in the Turn Limits for the hacking missions, where a regular hack only mission might have stipulated 2 Turns only, against a Red Sec Level with Wild Response Level, you could see 4 Turn maximum, etc.

Update Cleanup

We've fixed a number of misses from Update #39 as well -

• While Neural Toner did in fact add the bonuses, they were not showing correctly. Now they do.
• The new cyberdecks were insanely expensive! Now fixed.
• Security Devices disabling from the matrix wasn't reliably allowing you to re-disable. It also wasn't disabling the number of turns the device was disabled in the matrix which was making the whole situation more opaque. Now the Turns remaining are displayed right with the Security system's title so it is nice and clear.

Backstories and Relationships and Missions

With Update #40, we've added the first set of rules -- which will continue to expand -- as to how your backstory and relationships affect missions. The first set of improvements here are to block mercs from going on certain missions given their backstory and relationships.

• Mercs who hate a certain faction will refuse to go on a mission for that faction. In future updates, they will get angry if you work for that faction and happier if you snub them.
• Mercs who are strongly loyal to a certain faction will refuse to work against that faction. In future updates, they will get angry if you work against the faction and happy if you support it.
• Mercs who are deserters from a faction and are in hiding will refuse to go on a mission against that faction in order to avoid revealing they are still alive.

There is so much exciting ground here to work with between faction and personal relationships, so this is an area to watch develop! Stress, Hype, Loyalty and more will start to build up from tags, relationships and backstories. And of course more as well - check the full changelog below! Thanks for your support and reviews :D

v1.2.33 - 1/12/2024

- Added new Treaty '31 Era storyline "Southie Strut" with 2 possible missions, new allies/enemies - New mission type Live-Wire Negotiation sees you cutting a deal on the fly or fighting your way out - Storyline can unlock new Power Level 3 Weapons and Weapon Mods - New types of SMGs available, new shotgun special rules available - Character faction relationships (Loves/Hates/Deserter) may now block mission deployment (Emille Hates Matsumoto and won't work for them) - Rebuilt Matrix proc-gen difficulty - better progression of Sec Level and Response Level - Higher Sec Level and Response Level in proc-gen Matrix missions increase Turn Limit for hack - Number of turns a Security Device is disabled is shown in matrix SCU clearly - Increased Recoil on E-Rifles, Increased Full Auto Arc for SMGs across Power Levels - Repriced all weapon mods, some increases - Repriced all cyberdecks, fixed extremely high prices - Fixed bugs mission final XP did not always match the displayed XP + bonuses - Fixed issue where secondary objectives with Sec Level used large numbers like 36 instead of Sec Level 3 - Fixed issue with Neural Toner not displaying its stats correctly - Fixed brother/sister confusion in some cases in Sibling Breakout storyline - Fixed report typos and map bugs

[ 2024-01-13 02:12:15 CET ] [ Original post ]

Update #39 comes roaring in with major matrix improvements, important shifts to the enemy agent thought process while pursuing suspicious events (and fixes!), updates to proc-gen for hacking only missions, updated Cybernetics, 2 new cyberdecks for sale, better save slot read out and an improved roster UI for Stress and Hype (renamed from Edge). Obviously that's a lot but there is even more, so let's get looking! If you're enjoying the pace of improvements, the style of the game or how we do Early Access - please take a moment to leave a review to help our efforts continue!

Enemy Improvements

We've fixed a number of issues with the enemy agents - such as stopping the random case where an enemy who heard your gunfire would teleport right next to you. We've also fixed a number of cases that could cause enemy agents to just stand around and do nothing for a few turns after starting to investigate some event. Overall, enemies are better at prioritizing what events they know about which are most important for them to investigate. They are willing to hunt longer near an event if it is higher priority and won't give up looking so quickly. Overall, their reaction to suspicious events is improved and smoothed out and you will hopefully see less questionable behavior.

New Cyberdecks and Neural Toner Cybernetic Update

Two new Cyberdecks have gone up for sale with this update, expanding your options for Hacker's build and programs. Along with the boosted I/O Speeds, Active Memory and Storage, these two beastly new decks offer Cyberdeck Rating 5 and 6. The Neural Toner -- sold by a street doc after the Clinic Investment story has been completed - has received an upgrade that helps focus it more squarely on Hackers. The Toner now adds +10 Matrix AP boost and +100 I/O Speed. Ask your Cyber Knight for their credit card, Hackers!

Matrix Updates: Q-Sec AI Tuning, Proc-Gen Variations, New AP Rules

Just like the meatspace Sec AI, each Matrix host has its own Q-Sec AI that determines what reactions it can take to Security Escalations. With Update #39, we've started the process of improving these Q-Sec AI's to have more variation from each other. The first step is to remove some of the higher powered responses from lower powered Q-Sec AI like those in Green and Blue hosts - which can no longer teleport your hacker or slash your Connection % with a massive Degrade action. We've also majorly expanded the options for proc-gen hacking missions. Be careful, all proc-gen hacking missions before featured Blue hosts with Mild Response. The proc-gen system can now generate from Blue to Red and from Mild to Wild response systems. The pricing and XP of the missions follows the risk that you're being asked to take but know that you may find some of these missions suddenly a bit more stiff of a challenge than they were before Update #39. Finally, we've added pop-ups to warn you and about the actions the Q-Sec AI is taking against you like relocating your avatar, re-activating all IC in the host and more. These should help demystify the Q-Sec AI's actions and make Hacking less opaque as we work toward an improved UI to show the back-and-forth battle in the digital streams. We've tightened up the rules about connecting to the matrix, matrix AP boost and the cost of exiting the matrix with Update #39. This helps avoid a few exploits and oddities about the matrix cycle:

• You can only connect to the Matrix if you have at least 1 AP.
• You only gain the Matrix AP boosts from your deck, Traits and other sources once per Turn. Disconnecting and reconnecting no longer grants these bonuses again.
• When disconnecting from the Matrix, you are guaranteed to exit with at least 1 AP less than you connected. Previously, it was possible - with enough boost - to hit a matrix host, hack your boost AP and exit without any real-world cost which just isn't right.

Hacking Security

If you've reached an SCU (Security Control Unit) with your Hacker's avatar and are ready to smash some security devices, you've got even more options and power after Update #39. You can now target disabled devices and kick them back to the full disabled duration. This lets your Hacker backfill for other characters - if a Vanguard hit the camera for 2 Turns disabled, your Hacker can still come by and knock it out to 5. And also it gives the Hacker a potential play of hanging near the SCU to re-up their security smashing -- hit all the devices out to 5 Turns, go to loot some data warehouses and then stop back by the SCU before leaving two Turns later to knock the devices back from 3 Turns to 5 Turns again. You've invested a lot to be in there at that SCU, and this gives the Hacker the right level of power for that.

Talent / Item Blockers

There were a number of minor issues hampering certain Talents from working as expected:

• The Vanguard's Projection can now be used even if you have less than 3 AP. This Talent allows you to move up to that amount of AP, but you can make shorter moves too.
• The Cyber Knight's Unflinching Stare now works correctly even if during enemy Overwatch or their Turn.
• Medi-Cloud items are working correctly again after a short outage. They display the correct grenade toss arc, can be bounced like grenades. Like a grenade's damage, the healing nano is not intelligent and will heal friend or foe within the radius.

Map Tweaks

A big thanks to everyone posting minor issues they've found with different mission maps. We've fixed some sight line blockers around the pit in the Carnivore Chem-Factory Front and some barricades that couldn't be jumped over in the Sibling Breakout Cargo Field.

v1.2.31 - 1/10/2024

- Improved Stress/Hype (was Edge) display in Roster with hover and display of Loyalty as well - Improved Neural Toner cybernetic implant, adds focus on Hacker stats - Improved enemy hunting behavior around suspicious events, fixed multiple cases that could lead to standing around doing nothing - Proc-gen hack only missions now feature variety of Sec Level (Blue to Red) and Response Rate (Mild to Wild) with price impacts - Fixed bug causing Leverages like Suppress Reinforcements to never end - Added new matrix hosts to proc-gen generation capabilities - Reduced appearance of "Relocate" and "Degrade" Host response on Blue Hosts - Improved warning pop-ups for major Matrix events like Teleport - Starting to hack a matrix terminal requires at least 1 AP - Hacker only gets bonus Matrix AP from buffs and deck once per turn (avoids repeat connection loop) - Added two new Cyberdecks for sale - Hacking can now target disabled security devices to increase their disabled duration - Revised "Attack III" and reduced Program Rating to 6 - Fixed misnamed Matrix Program AOE Attack 2 to Nuke II - Improved sound processing for AI that are fully alerted, less meaningless alerts - Loot All option now always appears in Loot Boxes - Highest and Lowest Game Turn Save Slots are labeled to make picking your slot easier - Reversed order of timeline event log so newest events appear at the top - Fixed bug preventing Medi-Cloud items from healing at range - Fixed bug preventing use of Vanguard's Projection Talent with less than 3 AP - Fixed bug preventing Cyber Knight's Unflinching Stare passive Talent to activate - Fixed bug where enemy might suddenly teleport upon hearing gunfire - Fixed sight line issues in Chem-Factory Front in Carnivore job - Fixed non-jumpable concrete barricades outside of prison in Sibling Breakout job

[ 2024-01-11 04:19:04 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome to 2024! We're still trying to catch up and getting all the engines firing at full pace. Update #38 is a culmination of some F10 hunting, crushing bugs and hitting on pain points and feedback posted up by the community. We're excited for 2024, we'll be adding and fixing thousands of your suggestions and issues - so let's get going! If you're enjoying the pace of updates, don't forget to leave a review to help us keep moving forward. Remember, you can always update your review, so if we're heading in the right direction, let us know now!

Vanguard's Overdrive

There have been questions about how to use the Vanguard's Overdrive Talent, which is a really clutch Talent. We've done a round of improvements on the description in game that will hopefully help. Basically, Overdrive has a chance to interrupt the action of an enemy who spots, usually because they are patrolling or moving around. If your Vanguard is spotted and the enemy hasn't previously spotted a team member (i.e. in combat mode) your Vanguard gets a big +Initiative boost. If this Initiative boost puts you as the top Initiative in the Turn, then you get an interruption and now it's your Vanguard's turn!

Echo-Jammer is Back!

For a moment, the Echo-Jammer accidentally fell out of sale on the markets. but it is now back.

Corporate Enemy Balance

We've smoothed out the balance for a number of corporate enemy types. The entire set of KEMCO and Warner-Braun enemies have gained more distinction between Power Levels of enemy guards, In addition, enemies with heavy armor in the corporate set like Shotgunners and Blades have all had their HP modified and reduced by a solid chunk. Their armor is giving them high effective HP and they don't need so much raw HP in addition to that.

Smoother Hack Only Jobs

With this update, we've removed some extraneous information shown during Hack only jobs. There was a red Sec AI phase being displayed between Turns as if you were breaking into some enemy facility and the physical Sec AI was ticking up. Neither of these systems are in play during a hack only mission so both have been suppressed, matching the style of pure combat missions.

Blueprint Prices

While Blueprints can't be sold today (on the list!) some of their prices have been raising eyebrows. Exactly how much is $2400K again? A lot! We've adjusted the Blueprint prices toward a more realistic spot, though they will likely be adjusted against as they need to each take into account the exact price of the item they are able to produce and how many productions they can support before they are exhausted for their pricing to really stick.

Fixing Skips and Locks

As the game has continued to stabilized, we're putting extra emphasis in 2024 in squeezing out the odd edge cases that can cause locks, skips or odd AI teleports. With this update we fixed a bug where Stunned enemy might teleport on their patrol path, where a character killed by Overwatch while trying to throw a grenade could cause a lock and one situation where killing an enemy who is in Overwatch could lock the game too.

v1.2.29 - 1/7/2024

- Improved description of Vanguard's Overdrive Talent - Restored sales of Echo-Jammer for those selling basic military and tech gear - Improved Contact client/target display for jobs, sometimes missing name or fully empty - Reduced HP values for corporate shotgunner and blade - Improved enemy scaling for Warner-Braun and KEMCO Salvage corps - Fixed extreme high prices in some Power Level 4 and 5 Blueprints - Improved Hack Only missions to hide the physical Sec AI and null out the physical Sec Tally - Fixed bug where Stunned enemies could teleport suddenly along their patrol route in rare cases - Clarified tutorial from new game is a Stealth focused tutorial

[ 2024-01-08 04:10:28 CET ] [ Original post ]

It's Update #37 with a big set of improvements to looting, loot allocation, new things to loot and more money for your loot. Call 'em Digis, Credits, U-Dahs, U-Dubs, Dollars, Bucks, Creds, Lettuce - this update is all about loot and your money, your big stack. Update #37 also resolves all issues with empty lootboxes or data nodes, improves weapon pricing, fixes Heat generation for combat missions, adds a new journal entry, changes up the Combat Drug providers and hits a nice sized pile of your F10s! If the steady stream of updates, rapid pace of advancement and quick turnaround on your F10s is feeling good to you, we hope you'll chose to leave a review to help us keep going. Remember, you can always update your review later but if you feel like we are on the right track a helps immensely!

Loot Overhaul + No More Empty Things

With Update #37, we've sunk significant time into improving the loot allocation, rules and results in both the physical world and in the matrix. First, we cleaned up a ton of mistakes and bugs that could lead to empty matrix data nodes and sometimes even empty lootboxes. Many were related to Team Power Level, so as your team progressed, the game would actually start to try up loot and matrix files. Not fun - now it is fun! Let the loot rain down. Also, the loot that is generated is now more directly in line with the Power Levels of the missions you are running, so you'll see more exciting files, items and more the farther you play into the game. This helps overall make missions like the raid proc-gen missions more reliably profitable and if not always highly profitable at least discovering higher level Items that your team may prize for use instead of sale. The good thing is - lots more expensive things to buy are coming soon :D

New Cred Chip Loot!

With the new loot overhaul, one of the major additions is a very nice, very smooth Cred Chip. That is hard cash straight into your vault at the end of the mission without any questions. The Cred Chips can range from $1K to $50K at this time and have a big impact on missions, especially helping to make raid missions more likely to turn a solid profit. More types of new loot are also in the works that will further shake up what options you may find in physical lootboxes, so stay tuned.

Weapon Pricing

After the update of all of the Power Level 2 and 3 weapons from in Update #36, we've returned to this zone to slash some prices. About 20% has been taken off the top for Power Level 2 and 3 weapons, making them faster and more fun to upgrade once you are taking on some missions. All part of a healthy round of economic balancing tied into the loot to make the game smoother, line your pockets with U-Dahs and help you keep the underworld economy running hot.

Combat Drug Seller Swap Up

As we are working our way through the underworld contact and services matrix -- weapons, medical, balance, pricing, the works -- we've adjusted the two points of sale for combat drugs you can get out of the gate in the NBZ. They were previously swapped - the Vudu Doc was a better source of Combat Drugs than the Doper, which we've now flipped to even things out per their places within the underbelly of the city. We've also fixed a mistake where the Legendary Medi-Cloud item was on sale for your basic Street Doc for a hot minute.

Straight Combat Missions

For those missions - like DEAD DROP - that are 100% combat, we've fixed the fact that they were generating Heat from an invisible Sec Tally kept in the background. Now these missions will generate a flat Heat score of +8.

Bio-Chipped Journal Entry

We've added a new entry to the journal next to Nano-Fabbing about Bio-Chipped weapons and the restrictions the UNA places on them and why jailbreaking them is such a big deal for a gun runner. We'll keep piling in more lore as we can with each release until those sections are overflowing with the world's lore.

F10 Catch Up

We have a lot of F10s to catch up on from the end of the year holiday season. We will be working through these as fast as we can and appreciate everyone taking the time to submit them. We've fixed the broken sorting for High Edge in Roster - it was nonsense. Thanks to everyone reporting the odd case where you could fall through the bridge in the Truck Stop proc-gen mission. A few AI even were spotted trolling around down there. This is now resolved! Also, in the Truck Stop, we've fixed a few exit trigger areas that had strange gaps against the wall or wouldn't activate if you were behind a shelving unit, etc. Some of the toughest characters didn't always start the Rooftop level at 100% HP and now they do! Also, if you received cyberware during a break between missions, you're sure to always start the next mission with the right HP.

v1.2.25 - 1/4/2024

- Major overhaul to looting allocation rules - better loot is being dropped, better matched to mission Power Level - New Cred Chip loot type immediately converts into $1K, $5K, $10K all the way up to $50K - Fixed issues with empty lootboxes and empty matrix nodes as your team gained in Power Level - Improved profitability of raid missions coming out of proc-gen or story - 20% reduction for all weapon prices in Power Level 2 and Power Level 3 ranges - Missions that are forced combat like Dead Drop just add +8 Heat flat - Adjusted Vudu Doc / Doper Contacts offering of Combat Drugs - Doper now has more options, Vudu Doc less - Fixed bugs with Combat Drugs that could yield extra AP/MP on Retry Turn - Fixed issue with Medi-Cloud Power Level 3, 4 and 5 were being sold by Contacts, not intentional - Fixed issues with single firing mode weapons (pistols, snipers) sometimes getting odd data printed after attaching a mod - Fixed issue with Dead Drop job not correctly displaying its client - Fixed Roster sort by High Edge not working - Fixed movement bugs in Truck Stop proc-gen level that might cause you to fall through the bridge - Fixed some of the exit areas in Truck Stop proc-gen which were uncomfortably placed or sized - Fixed issue with some character's HP not being 100% at start of rooftop level - Fixed last 3 placeholder icons in appearance for short shave beards - Added journal section about bio-chipped weapons

[ 2024-01-05 04:01:17 CET ] [ Original post ]

Update #36 is more bristling than most - full of good balance changes, upgraded weaponry, reworked medical items, easier to use Lure, helpful new 0 AP display for Talents, improved Tutorial and some key upgrades to the enemy agent reactions to grenades and spotting dead bodies. Exciting progress on so many fronts - so let's dive in! Want more updates? Leave a review! Remember, you can always update your review later but if you feel like we are on the right track a helps immensely!

Gun Runners Refreshed

With this update, we're starting to round out a big package of updates and improvements to the strategy/underworld layer for the game. The first focuses on weapon upgrade balancing and Gun Runner contacts. The main improvement is that Gun Runners now sell a clear upgrade path with Power Level 2 weapons. Overall, a few weapons were removed (for the moment) from circulation (until you Gun Runners can upgrade their weapon services) including weapons like the hromehawk AR, Warthog, Nine-Edge, Stumwhelger M23, K37 Mauler, AutoMag. If you happened to have purchased these before, you'll find they've been upgraded to Power Level 3 weapons, so well done. For those weapons that are still actively for sale, there is the Power Level 1 tier -- which includes some of your starting weapons -- and a clear upgrade to Power Level 2 weapons. Power Level 2 upgrades are not fancy, they are functional and valuable -- the weapons add to their Damage types, some increase Armor Crit %, others add more Full Auto shots. With more Damage comes more Recoil. We're glad to have left the previous set behind -- those weapon upgrades were trying to be too fancy, offering lateral upgrades and trade-off specializations. For upgrades from Power Level 1 to 2, this was overkill -- that will be great for Power Level 5+ variations, but for your first weapon upgrade, you want a clear step up. Still, in terms of combat gear progression, we expect to keep seeing players first upgrade Weapon Mods as the first go to.

Medical Supplies and Items Rebalanced

There have been some key changes to Item rules in Update #36. First and perhaps largest change is that all Items require at least 1 AP. This is a key ground rule -- especially for low Power Level Items -- that will allow cool flexes with cybernetics, Talents and high-powered Items later on. We have established a better floor with the rule, from which we can make cool exceptions. This includes changes to -- all Combat Drugs, Bio-Stitch Bandages and one type of IO-Charger. We know you may be screaming nerf, but this is the best for the future item and item-modifier meta for the long-term. Second, we've upgraded First Aid kits -- increasing both their HP healing values and granting 2 charges for the Power Level 4 and 5 variations. Alongside the nerf of Bio-Stitch Bandages to require 1 AP, the medical item balance is much better off now. Some of the next steps in this department will be to high Power Level Bio-Stitch options available that grant 4+ charges while still keeping to lower heal-per-charge values.

Enemy Decision Improvements

A few improvements to the enemy agent decision trees have been added to Update #36 to continue to tune up enemy response. First, we fixed a gap where enemies would only spot the body of a dead ally when their Turn came around in the Initiative Timeline. Now, enemies will immediately spot and report dead bodies. The second set all deals with grenades and Shock Mines. If an enemy is Damaged or Debuffed by a grenade they will correctly upgrade to aggressive (as they have been attacked) instead of standing around confused. If a Shock Mine is thrown like a Grenade (thrown at the feet of an enemy and immediately going off) then they respond as if it was a Grenade and go into aggressive mode. If an enemy walks into a Shock Mine used like a mine (left there and they trigger it while moving) they will upgrade to Alerted (knowing their are intruders but unsure where they may be).

Talent / Item AP Always Shown

Previously, Talents and Items that cost 0 AP did not show any icon or value for AP. This hid their power in a way and also left some confusion about their activation requirements versus other Talents. Now, all Talents show their AP but those with 0 AP cost have a grayed out, easier to ignore version of it. This helps them really stand out -- Talents like Tactical Surge, iron Grip, Marker Sights -- all bring a special extra level of power to the table simply for their surge capability, using at the very end of your Action with 0 AP left or used back to back without cost to gun, grip, aim and gun again.

Clearer Lure

Lure continues to be a Talent that has some confusion when players first try to use it, so we're working to improve that situation still through basic UI cues. With Update #36, a small red circle now appears under an enemy agent who would be affected by the Lure, helping reinforce the idea that the inner circle that follows your mouse is the area that the Lure will draw from and help make it clear if an enemy is near the border of the Lure's area, whether or not they will be targeted. In short, it's very similar to Grenades but without the damage indicator.

Tutorial Upgrades

With Update #36 we've made another round of improvements to the tutorial and the Gameplay Basic sections. First, in the tutorial we've started to push the guiding text into highlights of actual HUD elements instead of through more clunky character dialog that doesn't play at the same time as the UI. The first prompt suggesting Jamkit be used to knock out a security camera is now explained with Jamkit directly highlighted. If this improvement pans out, we'll be sweeping the rest of the tutorial to move everything into HUD highlights.
Second, we've added annotated images to and updated the Gameplay Basics section on Action Points. For any players checking the Gameplay Basics for help, this section provides a ton more very clear and pointed explanation.

Hover Priority

Up until now, attempting to hover over any interactive element -- a merc, enemy, terminal, lootbox, security device, etc -- would just give hover priority to the nearest element. With Update #36, we've improved the hovering situation to put priority on players and enemies. if an enemy is behind a Laser Mesh, the hovering will now prioritize the enemy's hover and focus over.

v1.2.21 - 12/30/2023

- Updated Gun Runners Diego and Origami Joe to sell clearer set of weaponry upgrades - Street weapons for Sale Power Level 1 and Power Level 2 are clear upgrade, less weapons for sale, better offering - Check your weaponry, some weapons have been upgraded to higher Power Levels - Some weapons previously for sale (Chromehawk AR, Warthog, Nine-Edge, Stumwhelger M23, K37 Mauler, AutoMag) no longer immediately available - Enemies now correctly spot a dead body falling into their sight cone, don't wait until their turn - When damaged or debuffed by a grenade, enemies now correctly upgrade to aggressive - Enemies getting hit by a Shock Mine will emerge in Alerted state - Non-passive Talents always show AP cost even if it is 0 AP for clarity (of their high value) - Improved and rebalanced Item Action Point costs - all items cost AP to use - All Combat Drugs and Bio-Stitch Bandages now cost 1 AP to use - First Aid Kits at Power Level 4 and above gain a second charge and higher HP healing totals - Power Level 3 IO-Charger now costs 1 AP to use but adds a buff - Fixed bug where Talents and Items targeting dead bodies could not next/previous targets - Fixed bug sale prices with Bio-Stitch Bandages - Added glossary entry explaining Pure Dmg Upgrade rules - Fixed incorrect message about witnessed vs. heard grenade explosion

[ 2023-12-31 14:45:22 CET ] [ Original post ]

Update #35 keep the Winter Sale running hot with still the best price of the year, new appearance options for your mercs, new items for sale from your underworld corrupt cop friend, improved Contact Traits Indebted and Partner and more fixes and improvements straight from your F10s! If you're enjoying the pace of improvements and the speed of support for issues, please leave a review! You're always able to update your review later but if you feel like we are on the right track a helps immensely!

New 'Dues, New Hues

The marketing department made me write it; I swear. But its true - we've added 6 new haircuts total for your characters to check out and try. And we've also added a new row of browns to the color picker for any appearance item's colors.

New Military Items for Sale

During the Carnivore storyline, it is referenced multiple times that the corrupt cop is willing to sell military gear under the table for a higher price. This contact service was never correctly connected to the contact in the story. With Update #35, we've resolved that for existing games (it will immediately appear) and new games running Carnivore. The new milsec item options include higher power IO-Chargers, Frag Grenades and access to other rare items like Echo Jammers and Patch X-Kits. It's good to have a corrupt cop on the payroll, indeed.

Indebted and Partner Traits

Those Contacts who get the Indebted or Partner Trait are now delivering on their promise of +1 Favor per 30 days. These are added with a new Timeline Log but otherwise quietly. In existing games, they will add on the next 30 day tick, and new games they'll just add from the start. Especially for the Doctor, this is a nice way to pile up some free good will and a nice reward for your investment in the clinic.

Clarity on Passive Talents

Passive Talents (and all Talents actually) were hiding their charge count when they had no more charges ready for use in the character pop-up mid-mission. We've now fixed that issue so that the charge count is always displayed and you can see also the number of turns to recharge. This can give you a lot more clarity about the coming and going of passive Talents. If you have questions about Passive Talents, the best place to check is your character's pop-up in the middle of a mission. Click once on the portrait in the Initiative Timeline to focus the camera on them and the second time to open their status.

Loading Lock Up, Passive Talent Lock Up

Thanks to the awesome F10s coming in from the community, we've fixed two more issues that could cause mid-game freezes requiring a Turn restart. The first could effect a number of Passive Talents like the Sniper's Fleeting. If the Talent activated (for Fleeting, you killed an Unaware target) but then failed in a secondary check of its more complex requirements (for Fleeting, you can't currently be standing in an enemy's sight cone) the game could lock up on this case. Very excited to have this fix deployed to the field as it undoubtably will help other Talents too. The second could occur if a minor map change was made that might affect a character and they end up in a non-playable area. This is now always checked when reloading a mission and characters are moved to the nearest playable area.

Class Tree Cleaning Continues

Even with only 6 classes currently active in the game, the class trees are immense data structures. We've got an entire bucket of F10's dedicated to issues with them, but the list getting shorter and shorter and into small and smaller issues. With this update, we've:

• Fixed redundancy in
• Fixed Hacker's Null Op munging up the damage values
• Fixed Sniper's Skullshot was stating a buff was going to an enemy when really it is yours
• Fixed one node in Splatt-Patt that was giving multiple effects

v1.2.19 - 12/28/2023

- Added 6 new haircuts for new appearance options - Added brown color scale to the appearance color pick list - New items for sale if you make friends with corrupt Brave Star cop - Added new items - power level 3 Frag Grenade and IO Charger - Fixed missing item sales services for corrupt Brave Star contact from Carnivore - Contact Traits "Indebted" and "Partner" now grant +1 Favor every 30 days - Fixed bug that could cause character to be unable to move after loading level that was modified - Fixed bug that could cause game freeze after failure to use some passive Talents like Sniper's Fleeting - Fixed Sniper's Fleeting description to be clearer, adjusted upgrades for more Accuracy against Unaware/Suspicious targets - Fixed bug in character status pop up during missions that did not show Talent charge pips if none were left ready - Fixed display of Null Op Hacking Talent previewing damage of upgrade nodes - Fixed text in Skullshot upgrades to be clear about who is getting the +25% Critical buff - Fixed multi-effect upgrade nodes in Soldier's Splatt-Patt - Fixed odd position of Select/Options button in appearance selection - Fixed all reported typos - thank you!

[ 2023-12-29 01:04:05 CET ] [ Original post ]

Let's keep the Winter Sale cheery with another update! Update #34 hits on a ton of F10s and requests from the community -- fixing a critical story issue that was reducing story content available in the game, adds dark mode to the F10 menu, improves multiple reactions and decisions from the enemy agents, correct the special rules for Revolver mods, making Matrix AP clear and always visible in hacking and more. If you're enjoying the updates, we've got more coming! We hope you'll tell a friend and leaving a review. You're always able to update your review later but if you feel like we are on the right track a helps immensely!

Missing Story / Recruits

Some players have been reporting less-than-expected story counts and a lack of recruits. Due to holiday travel, we haven't been able to address this quickly enough but it is now fixed with Update #34. About 50% of the game's stories and all recruit options could possibly be effected, depending on the age and stage of the game when the bug was introduced. Stories like Sibling Breakout and Cube Run were on the skip list. In all cases, all games are now fixed and regardless of age or stage, the stories/recruits will begin to appear as the timeline is run. Sorry for this ugly bug!

Enemy Agent Improvements

Update #34 includes a sweet set of changes for enemy agents. These changes always require a lot of vetting and testing, so they've been percolating here for a while as we need to make sure the decision tree changes are good for the AI in all its forms over a lot of scenarios. This work is in preparation for allowing you to skip or fast forward enemy turns, so that is coming but not ready yet. For Update #34, we've -

• Resolved some issues that would cause an enemy agent to repeatedly skip turns at an investigation point once they had reached it.
• Resolved some issues that would cause an enemy agent to suddenly teleport to an investigation point.
• In some cases, enemy agents could end up lying down on the ground in a bugged state that made them really hard to deal with. Fixed.
• Enemy agents were really silly when hit by a grenade and not already aggressive. Their reaction is much more reasonable now, in that they will head toward the point of grenade tossing to investigate. If you're throwing grenades from out of sight, you still have a chance to scoot and lead the guard Alerted instead of Spotting you.

F10 Dark Mode

Dark mode FTW - F10s now have a far more pleasing dark mode styling, easy on meat eyes and easy on cyber eyes too.

Matrix AP

In Update #34, we've made two changes to make your Matrix AP more clear. We've labeled in the center screen where you've got the action options like Scan and Hack. We've also added an ever-present AP bar to the top left that shows your Matrix AP at all times. These changes should help make it more clear as you're burning through your AP and your turn is starting to dwindle down to only a few last actions.

Revolver Special Mod Rules

While they are able to equip regular Pistol Mods for their scope, barrel and body mod - Revolvers still have a few special rules that limit their mod options. Specifically, they cannot attach a barrel mod suppressor that reduces the noise of their shot and they cannot attach a body mod that increases their ammo capacity. These rules are now correctly enforced during weapon modding.

Loadout Bugs

There were a few issues with loadouts when changing carried items from the roster. These could lead to have more items than you were supposed to be allowed to carry for certain characters. These issues have now been resolved - thanks to the group of players who all sent in highly detailed F10s.

v1.2.17 - 12/26/2023

- Fixed Casting Director bug blocking about 50% of stories and recruitments steamfacepalm - Fixes issues with Revolvers equipping mods that silence/suppress or extend ammo max - Fixes issues with loadouts, item assignment and roster - Fixes issue where enemy agents would sometimes go to an investigation location and just skip turns there - Fixes issue where enemy agents were clueless when investigating a grenade thrown as the opening attack - Fixes issue where sometimes enemy agents teleport suddenly to an investigation point - Fixes issue where sometimes enemy agents could end up lying down and bugged - Improved Matrix hacking label of Matrix AP and added AP bat to top right - The F10 Feedback menu converted to dark mode - Multiple items of the same type carried by a character are grouped in backpack dropdown - Further improvements to motion detectors and radar arrays - Fixed issues with missing strings in movement alerts for security devices - Fixed certain types of 4m fences that could resist being jumped in some levels (like Tutorial) - Fixed typos in Gameplay Basics section

[ 2023-12-27 05:56:46 CET ] [ Original post ]

Merry Winter Sale, mercs and Knights! It's the best time of the year to jump into the New Boston Zone with the best deal of the year. These heists won't heist themselves! Update #33 brings some updates to your class trees, a new Talent for the Soldier and the Hacker and a pile of class tree fixes from your F10s. Thanks to everyone playing, posting feedback and sharing the game with a friend. Happy holidays - hope you'll leave a review on Cyber Knights this season!

New Soldier Talent: Plaster-Cross

Your Solider now has a new option to handle heavily armored targets with Plaster-Cross. Parallelling Splat-Patt as a firing technique enabling more powerful and wider range of Full Auto fire, Plaster-Cross is a special firing technique for Burst First firing mode that greatly increases drilling through and destroying the reactive materials of modern combat armor and increases the Armor Crit % significantly against targets. Got a hard nut to crack? Lay into them with your AR and Plaster-Cross to soften up their armor before unleashing Full Auto destruction.

New Hacker Talent: Upchain

Your Hacker can now exploit in the last seconds of an enemy drone's existence as its circuits and systems collapse under gunfire or slicing blades with their Upchain Talent. The unauthorized burst into the drone control system can send out shockwaves of disruption to all nearby drones and hit all nearby drones with a powerful debuff reducing Initiative and AP. The Hacker's new passive Talent is the sole Talent to activate on the death of an enemy drone and is helping to continue to build out the options your team will have to face off with dangerous enemy drones as they prepare to become more prevalent in the enemy's security forces outlay.

Simplified Soldier's Red Dot

The Soldier's Red Dot Talent had an overly restrictive clause that needed a Full Auto weapon to use. This didn't make a lot of sense, so we've reduced the restriction to only require a ranged weapon.

Cybersword's Lightfoot

There were cases where the Cybersword's Lightfoot Talent was incorrectly disabled in the Talent bar even though you had the charges and the AP/MP to use it. We've resolved the situations so that it's always enabled when it should be.

Class Tree Cleanup

In Update #33, we've done some cleanup for the class trees to help ensure all the icons and text are fully correct. We've fixed a few places where the wrong icon was used in upgrade node. We've also worked on correcting some of the text for the upgrade nodes, where the wrong syntax was listed -- where a buff was being upgraded but the text would say the "target(s) suffer X effects" as if it was a debuff.

v1.2.15 - 12/23/2023

- New Soldier Talent: Plaster-Cross Talent, now adds Armor Crit % and Ballistic Dmg to single Burst Fire attack - New Hacker Talent: Upchain debuffs nearby drones whenever an enemy drone is killed by the team - Removed hidden Full Auto requirement from Soldier's Red Dot Talent, now simply requires a ranged weapon - Fixed incorrect Strength icons to Reaction icons in Knight's class tree - Fixed issues where Cybersword's Lightfoot Talent was wrongly disabled in Talent bar - Fixed issues where upgrades in class tree would state "target(s) suffer X effect" when the Talent was a team or self buff - Fixed mistakes and typos in new Gameplay Basics sections

[ 2023-12-23 16:42:30 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome to the Winter Sale and our best discount of the year - save 33% on Cyber Knights: Flashpoint today! You'll get the game and a river of free updates, coming fast and shiny. Update #32 officially cracks into the Tutorial Roadmap milestone (a good start but more coming), improves and adds the rest of security devices to movement alerts, fills in missing item descriptions and Smoke Grenade rules, gets Overwatch visualization to respond correctly to sight blockers and cover and more. It's a huge QoL patch straight from your F10s! So, let's get to it. If you're enjoying the pace of updates and improvements to the game, be sure to leave a review!

Tutorial Starter Refresh

While our work is far from done with improved tutorials, with Update #32, we've officially started on the road and have marked the item as "underway" in the roadmap. For both the tutorial level (below the rooftop) and the rooftop there is now an ever-present button for players of any skill level to access "Gameplay Basics" which gives access to the top 6 basic gameplay features you'll need to know to get started, including movement, movement alerts, using items, Action Points and Initiative.
At the beginning of the tutorial we use a new highlight system to point out the button to make sure players know to start there with that button. This is the first of use of the HUD / UI highlighter but the next steps for the tutorial improvements will for this new feature to creep across all of the content and replace (disconnected) character dialog to directly highlight and detail the parts of the screen and actions you can/should be taking. We also did a big pass of improvements on the dialog tutorial and sequencing. It's a bit tighter and highlights more important points but is still due more improvements. Finally, this let us remove all of the tutorial video content from the game which was getting no play time but soaking up more than 1 GB of game size. A nice bonus!

Overwatch and Full Auto Indicate Lines of Sight

For enemies and players alike, your Full Auto and Overwatch cones displayed on the map now respond correctly to environmental elements that block line of sight and to cover as well. While you can shoot targets in the yellow hashing, this sometimes can explain why you may have reduced accuracy if the target is near cover-granting element. This is especially helpful for just showing areas that are completely out of sight so you can shift through enemy overwatch where possible without getting tagged.

Movement Alerts Cleanup

With Update #32, we've fixed a few gaps in the movement alerts system. This system has been a huge success and we're pushing to have full coverage over all security types and to close some gaps where things are not all working as expected.

• Motion Detectors, Pressure Plates and Laser Mesh all now give movement alerts
• All movement alert icons are now shown in yellow to get off the overloaded red color and to match the alerts shown in the enemy hovers
• We've fixed issues where "You may be seen" was incorrectly reported when you were crouching and would be staying low behind cover.
• We've fixed issues where you could be reported that you'd be shot even outside of the range of an enemy overwatch cone.
• Sometimes multiple movement alerts at the exact same location would stack, this is now improved to be more clear.

Smoke Grenades and Item Descriptions

We've fixed Smoke Grenades broken description making it clear they created a sizeable cloud of smoke that blocks sight and security devices alike. No attacks can be made out of, into or through smoke except for melee attacks which are not effected. Go cyber ninja, go! A tip for smoke grenades, turn on highlight (default H)! Sorry, other grenades no longer bounce off smoke grenade's smoke. steamfacepalm Also, for a number of items we fixed places where their rules had been entered into their themed description and have now included their proper in-world explanation.

v1.2.13 - 12/20/2023

- Improved tutorial / rooftop access to "Gameplay Basics" with updated top 6 items in Basic Gameplay - Added "Gameplay Basics" button to HUD in Tutorial and on Rooftop for quick access to explanation of movement, combat and gameplay fundamentals - Reduced total game size by more than 1 GB - Overwatch and Full Auto area of affect display now take into account cover and blocked sight - Added movement alerts for Motion Detectors, Pressure Plates and Laser Wires - All movement alerts are recolored yellow, red is overloaded in visual - Improved "You may be seen" movement alerts to be more accurate in regards to cover - Fixed movement alert bug that could indicate you'd be shot out of range of enemy Overwatch - Fixed issue where multiple movement alerts stacked vertically but was unclear - Fixed issue with Knight's Sync Talent not clearly updating Initiative Timeline - Fixed issue with grenades bouncing off smoke grenade clouds - Improved use of mouse in appearance, removed constant flickering as mouse moves between items - Improved display and readability of Combat Log, clearer fonts, stronger background gradient - Fixed issue where mission stage options were not red even when locked in Victory/Defeat - Fixed Custom Difficulty pop up window to correctly respond to screen scaling - Fixed issue with Zero Interrupt Talent in Matrix printing names of unscanned IC to the logs - Fixed Talent description of Smoke Grenade to be clear about it rules, duration effect - Improved item descriptions in game, removing places where rules were listed in themey description section - Reduce number of items in inventory/market where names were cut off by ellipsis - Removed confusing numbers on the end of some First Aid Kit item names

[ 2023-12-21 13:19:24 CET ] [ Original post ]

Update #31 bumps the level cap up to level 20, fixes the proc-gen issue with empty Matrix data nodes, adds a new powerful Trait and some Tags to the starting Sniper, improves the flow of the Clinic Expansion storyline and completes another big sweep on appearance items cleanup, this time making all the hats fit so nice. If you're enjoying the pace of updates and progress in the game, please take a moment to leave a review!

Level Cap Raised

With the new proc-gen system released in December, merc groups were starting to hit the previous level cap of 14. With Update #31, we've raised the roof a bit up to Level 20. Reaching this character level is past what the enemy AI is capable of fielding to meet you and will exceed things like available gear and cyberware in the game by a lot. We're working hard to catch up in those areas.

Missing Matrix Files

The proc-gen updates caused a lot of hosts to be generated that were missing files in their Data Warehouses, Manufacturing Vaults and any kind of data-focused node. With Update #31, we've fixed that key bug and you can now hack on, download on, and profit.

Liat Tags and Traits

For all new and existing games using the starting Sniper (default name, LIat) we've upgraded your Traits to include Longshot (very good bonuses for Sniper) and some additional Tags about your history with the Free Streets Compact that will help out down the line with upcoming stories. This affects all games, so good for everyone!

Clinic Expansion Improvements

With the Clinic Expansion, you now get a clear timeline event appearing if you invest in the upgrades. This makes it obvious just how long you have to wait to get your new cyberware and upgraded medicals. In addition, we've adjusted the start of the storyline to offer a real delay option, allowing you to put off the conversation / decision / legwork for up to 2 months if you want to.

Further Appearance Focus

We've been putting in extra time on fixing all the clipping, geometry overlaps and little things that make some of the appearance combinations not look as nice as they should. With Update #31, we're clear on all hats with all heads now, across the board. We're still cleaning up some of the feminine hairstyles for some very minor tweaks and then will move on to eyewear.

Carnivore Fixed II

If you were in the slice of games that completed the Carnivore job but still didn't have the Corrupt Cop in your Contacts list, you should be all set after you visit the safehouse now.

Rooftop Terminal

Too many players were getting confused by the (confusing!) Terminal on Plan B Rooftop level. You don't have a hacker, so this was a bad thing to have present. It has now been replaced with a lootbox.

v1.2.11 - 12/18/2023

- Raised level cap from 14 to 20 - Fixed issues with empty data nodes in Matrix hosts for proc-gen and any other missions - Improved options in Clinic Expansion storyline, now has delay option - Improved result of paying for the Clinic Expansion, a timeline event now broadcasts when the upgrade will be complete - Improving Liat's starting Tags and added "Longshot" Trait for new and existing games - Fixed prop of large tarp covering crates not blocking sight correctly - Fixed overlaps and geometry clipping with all types of hats and heads - Fixed some games where Corrupt Cop had still not shown up after Carnivore - Replaced confusing Matrix Terminal on rooftop with a lootbox

[ 2023-12-19 05:41:01 CET ] [ Original post ]