June has roared by in a flurry of work and progress. The alphas received two big new updates, from which we are gathering piles of great feedback and play statistics. Our goal is to finish implementing the final feature sets in July, which will help get the entire team free to create content and polish for another big (months long!!) push stretching for that 40+ hour goal for the game.

Launch Planning

We'll start with the most exciting news first: were closing in on a launch window! All of our backers' alpha participation has been hugely helpful in driving this forward the gameplay feedback, rapid bug squashing, and clever ideas that have flooded into the Discord have been excellent. While we havent set a specific date yet, we can now say with confidence that Cyber Knights: Flashpoint will release to Steam Early Access in early 2023.

Security System Rebuild

A big improvement to the game this month was a rebuild of the games central security AI. The original security system was feeling too inflexible between levels and the security escalations being tested were limited to more enemy reinforcements arriving. With the rebuild, weve allowed every level to define its own security parameters some levels can have lax security while others are touchy and quick to react; the worst can pop off escalations every turn. In addition to customizing the pacing of security escalations level-by-level, weve also greatly expanded the tools security AIs have at their disposal to make your life... interesting. Reinforcements are still a key event, but the AI now has the ability to reset all disabled security devices, to increase its own security escalation rate, to enable the lethal setting on some security features or to buff all its troops. This has opened up a wide area for future expansion that will help differentiate megacorps and street gangs, giving each their own escalation profiles and powers.

Started Official UX Design

Weve put off diving into serious design of the games UX and UI for a while, primarily focusing on the most important part -- the gameplay. The UI is already complex and jammed full of functionality but as of mid-June weve started the official process of working through a from-the-ground-up assessment and wireframe of the games UX, style, colors, fonts and elements. It will still be a little while before any of these exciting results hit the alpha, but it is energizing to see these elements looking so good, even if it's only in design mockups right now.

Packing the Level Pipeline

As weve rounded the corner into summer, the focus is shifting from wrapping up the games system implementation and critical major reworks (thanks Alpha team!) toward full-tilt content production. We are now packing the games level pipeline with new missions. As this pipeline fills up, were starting to get an idea of how much content we can crank out for the game at full speed and it is looking very promising.

Steam Integration

Weve completed integration of the Steamworks SDK; a quiet milestone for the engineering team but an important one! All the boxes are now checked to be able to make demos available for events like Steam NextFest and, eventually, to launch the game into EA on Steam.

Animation Expansion: Movement & Mantling

As part of the Animation Expansion stretch goal, weve completed a number of new animations that are helping movement around the level environments feel more natural. These include much needed animations to make sliding into cover feel more fluid and a skidding slide movement for characters ending their movement in the open field. The most impactful new animation allows your characters to mantle (climb) over small obstacles like fences and barricades. This will be coming soon to the alpha and will greatly open up movement paths throughout levels. Especially sneaky characters are going to love this, as a way to get behind or around enemy positions. It is also highly useful in dynamic firefights where your characters need to switch to the other side of a barricade for better cover...

Reward and Stretch Goal Progress

For completeness, we include the progress bar infographic in each and every update. If you have any questions about rewards or stretch goals, check out the graphic or reach out to us. The art team has started designing the concepts for the Omega Style reward. We will show off these unique concepts in the next update! Our next big move in reward town is to gather details and backstory for the Creator and Backstory Edition rewards, where backers will create in-game characters who can be recruited to your squad.