The year of 2020 is coming to a close (imagine that!) but we didnt want to miss the chance to give you another update on our progress and to thank every single backer for your support of our project. With your backing, we are making our dream heist cyberpunk RPG. It has been a very busy December! We're working through the game now in big sweeps, deepening systems, improving concepts and expanding and hardening the saved game format. There is still so much work to do before it is ready for first alpha contact, but the progress shows daily. Through December weve been working to build out more depth for the enemys security systems, laid the foundation for Matrix Mk2 Hacking system and started another major pass on the missions system that is the cornerstone of the heist-style gameplay-- pre-mission advantages, mission rewards and requirements and all the rest. But, Are you saying "But murdercat, I can't wait for this game!"? Here's a chance to put your mouseclicks where your mouth is: you can vote for us in RPG Site's Most Anticipated RPG of 2021 poll. RPG Site has been covering RPGs since 2006; we just got our first coverage from them this year, and it's been great to get on their radar. If you have 20 secs to click-through and give us a vote, we appreciate the help! Also, this holiday season the entire Trese Brothers catalog is part of Steams Winter Sale, offering the best prices of the year for gifts to gamer friends or to snag that one you haven't tried yet.

• We recommend starting with Star Traders: Frontiers, our award-winning space sandbox RPG that players have called "Firefly meets Dune."
• If youre looking for a big dose of challenging tactical combat to get ready for Cyber Knights, then Templar Battleforce might be the xeno-crushing, mech-stomping battler youve always wanted.
• Miss classic fantasy RPGs? Heroes of Steel is our early-days "hidden gem," inspired by old-school Gold Box games like Pool of Radiance.

Matrix Mk2 Prototype

Work has officially begun now on the Matrix Mk2 prototype, by far the largest addition to the games scope funded by the Kickstarter stretch goals. Weve been working to design the system, the character jobs, cyberware, decks, software, IC enemies and more over the last few months. It is a critical system due to how tightly it is tied to the game's real world as well as to the mission objectives. Every hackable matrix access point lets you link into an entirely separate matrix map and exposes digital challenges that might the physical world in very important ways -- letting you smash up security, open that blast door or in the worst case, die when a IC fries your brain stem. The first prototype is high on substance and low on graphics but our early hacker characters are now gliding from node to node across connections, seeking out data stores to steal valuable data and blueprints or control nodes to reach back into the physical world and remove obstacles for their team.

Character Customizing

Even as the art team is approaching the finish line for all of the game's assets, the wonderful creative and skilled team members are finding ways for us to create even cooler results and options. At the moment, there is some extra focus on heads, cybernetic overlays and head customization. The short video below is very early but shows off some of the ideas the team is currently testing with our 3D asset stack -- [previewyoutube=_WhxHOCyPNQ;full][/previewyoutube] The short video shows some of the options were working to bake into your character design studio -- adjusting chin, nose and eye size as well as adding cybernetic overlays, as well as facial tattoos or paint, plus facial animations (which will be used very judiciously lol) and every conceivable coloring options including eye color (glowing, red, terminator, whatever), eye makeup (none, some, purple!), skin color, tattoo or paint colors, and even lip color. Not to mention adding hair, beards, helmets, hats, masks and eyewear ...

Next Level Security

In November and December, we have been expanding the stealth and security aspects of the game in all sorts of exciting ways. Our first step here was to expand the range of security devices as well as add new capabilities, integrate dynamic elements and determine how they could be defeated by the player. New devices like pressure sensors, laser mesh fields and thermo-radar arrays have now come online. Branching out from cameras, we added listening posts which pick up the sound of nearby gunfire and create areas where you can still operate but must be careful of your weapon choices and weapon mods. Motion detectors pick up fast moving objects, creating areas where you can go but must move slowly and therefore risk being caught in the open. Our second focus was to improve the security team response and the security alarm level meta. Weve now transitioned from the prototypes immediate response model to a staggered response model where enemies and security devices have a slight delay before they are able to report their security events (seeing a dead body, one of your characters, getting shot) up to the security AI. This window dramatically improves the feel, giving your team the opportunity to synchronize ambushes and clean up loose ends before the call goes over the radio. This also means the arrival of additional reinforcements are now delayed as well. And finally, weve rebalanced the security meta and doubled the count of the major and minor alarm levels which helps slow down the extreme security responses (instead of always calling Brave Star now...!) and let us be much more granular with the security alarm values. For example, being picked up by a motion detector is far less serious than being spotted by a guard and the extra room in the scale helps model that. The larger scale also helps enable a dynamic element where security systems will turn on as you pass different major alarm thresholds. If a patrol comes across a body and punches the alarm level higher, certain security doors may hardlock and laser meshes may flicker to life to block off other restricted areas.

Scheduled Executive Producers #4

In November, we held the third Executive Producers meeting and looked closely at the games multi-job system and a stealth jobs ability to slip through security and patrols. Weve sent out the invites now for the fourth Executive Producers meeting which will take a deeper dive into advanced security systems and the Matrix Mk2 prototype. We cant wait to share another snapshot with the EPs and gain invaluable early feedback.

Reddit /r/PCGaming AMA

In early December, we posted an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on the PCGaming subreddit and were happy to get awesome reception, spread the word about the game and answers tons of questions not only about Cyber Knights: Flashpoint but about game dev, our game worlds, the business side of what we do and more. If youd like to catch up on all that, check it out on Reddit.

Reward and Stretch Goal Progress

With each update, we include the progress bar infographic to make it easy to check on our progress and where we are at with all commitments, rewards and stretch goals. With this update, weve completed the final art stretch goal slotted before alpha! The new corporate outfits are coming in looking very gilded and with a strong power-suit air. For those mercs looking to cut a classy style or for all the high-powered megacorporate connectors you might meet, these new outfits are mint.

We are excited to say, that closes out the final art stretch goal before alpha except the 3D faces for our Backstory tier backers and above. It's a major notch in the progress tracker.
Here comes 2021! Let's go!
Every week, Cory is working on different aspects of the game on the Trese Brothers Twitch channel on Tuesday or Thursdays at 4PM EST. Recently, he's been showing off the progress on the Matrix Mk2 prototype, so we hope you'll join up to see the fun in action!