Cyber Knights: Flashpoint News

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!

[h2]Middle Mouse Button Click to Pan[/h2]

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.

[h2]Zoom Sensitivity Slider[/h2]
Under Options > Gameplay, you can now adjust the sensitivity on zoom in and out. Go fast, go slow - up to you!

[h2]Swap Weapons Hotkey[/h2]
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!

[h2]End Action Hotkey Behavior Change![/h2]
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.
 
[h2]Rickshamp Drips Coyote Drop Off[/h2]

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.

[h2]Better Contact Traits[/h2]

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.

[h2]Under Equipped Tag[/h2]

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).

[h2]v1.9.115 - Update #212: Options and Hotkeys - 2/8/2025[/h2]
- 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

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!

[h2]New Weekly Map: Restricted Fab[/h2]

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) ...

[h2]Ghoul Appears[/h2]

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.

[h2]Fixed Anti-Security Service Stuck[/h2]
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!

[h2]Proc-Gen Fixes[/h2]

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.

[h2]v1.9.111 - Update #211: - 2/5/2025[/h2]
- 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

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.

[h2]Improved Attribute Bonuses[/h2]

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).

[h2]Fixed Power Play Hang Ups[/h2]

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!

[h2]Shader Optimizations[/h2]

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.

[h2]Other F10s![/h2]
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.

[h2]v1.9.107 - Update #210: Shader RIPs - 1/31/2025[/h2]
- 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

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 ːsteamhappyː

[h2]New Weekly Map: Cyber Clinic[/h2]

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!

[h2]New Matrix Node: Sluice[/h2]

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.

[h2]Further Updates and Fixes for Syndicate Debts[/h2]

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!

[h2]F10 Fixes![/h2]
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.

[h2]v1.9.105 - Update #209 - 1/29/2025[/h2]
- 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

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 worry—you know our pace of updates—there 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.

[h2]Syndicate Debts Story Branches Fleshed Out - Pause Nodes Removed![/h2]

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.

[h2]And Bug Fixes![/h2]
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
  

[h2]v1.9.101 - Update #208: Syndicate Storylines - 1/28/2025[/h2]
- 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