Cyber Knights: Flashpoint News

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!


[h2]New Map for Assassinations - District HQ[/h2]
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.

[h2]Improved VIPs and Bodyguards[/h2]
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.


[h2]Double Count Corpses[/h2]
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.

[h2]New Game Silencer Pile[/h2]
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

[h2]v1.8.37 - 8/1/2024[/h2]
- 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

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!


[h2]New Proc-Gen Objective and Map[/h2]
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.

[h2]Improved Bodyguard & VIP Behavior[/h2]
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.


[h2]Upgraded Cybernetics Screen[/h2]
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.


[h2]Remove Cybernetics for Limited Respec[/h2]
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.


[h2]Upgrade to Matrix Link 2[/h2]
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!


[h2]Proc-Gen Name Upgrade[/h2]
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

[h2]Improved Stun vs. Security Tally [/h2]
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.

[h2]v1.8.35 - 7/30/2024[/h2]
- 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

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! 

[h2]Remixed Sec Escalation SFX[/h2]
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!


[h2]Better Barracks Tagging[/h2]
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.


[h2]Agent EX Signal Graft[/h2]
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.


[h2]Journal for D-Cartel[/h2]
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.

[h2]Matrix Current Node[/h2]
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.


[h2]Range Clarity[/h2]
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.


[h2]Better Options Screen[/h2]
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

[h2]Favor Limit Breaks[/h2]
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.

[h2]v1.8.33 - 7/28/2024[/h2]
- 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

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!

[h2]Contact Limit Break Buttons Clickable[/h2]
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.

[h2]More Faction Lore[/h2]
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.


[h2]Crafting Rules for Revolvers[/h2]
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.


[h2]Matrix UI Improvements[/h2]
"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!

[h2]SFX Upgrades[/h2]
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.


[h2]Controllers and Appearance[/h2]
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.

[h2]Safehouse Timeline Pauses[/h2]
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.

[h2]X-Hive Cybernetic Install Times[/h2]
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.

[h2]Story Fixes: Dockyard Smuggler and Sibling Job[/h2]
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.

[h2]v1.8.29 - 7/24/2024[/h2]
- 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

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.


[h2]Contact Limit Breaks with Agency[/h2]
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!

[h2]Key Jamming in Limit Breaks[/h2]
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).


[h2]Matrix Rebalance[/h2]
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.

[h2]Big Scrubs[/h2]
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.


[h2]Safehouse Room Token Rules[/h2]
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!


[h2]Cyberdecks Equip![/h2]
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!

[h2]Fixed Missing Mission Dialog[/h2]
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!

[h2]v1.8.27 - 7/23/2024[/h2]
- 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