Cyber Knights: Flashpoint News

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


[h2]Steam Deck Improvements[/h2]
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


[h2]Blueprints & Economy[/h2]
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.
  

[h2]Sorted Sell Offers[/h2]
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.


[h2]Upgrading Enemy Tactical Thoughts[/h2]
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!

[h2]Improved Corporate Equipment[/h2]
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.


[h2]Better Scrolling / Scrollbars[/h2]
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.


[h2]Fixed Crafting / Safehouse Issues[/h2]
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.

[h2]v1.8.13 - 7/16/2024[/h2]
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!

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!


[h2]Deck Equip / Unequip[/h2]
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.


[h2]Reinforcement Rules Update[/h2]
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.


[h2]Extraction Bug[/h2]
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!


[h2]Bender and Divergent Curve Smoothing[/h2]
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.


[h2]Starting Wireghost Services[/h2]
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.

[h2]v1.8.11 - 7/12/2024[/h2]
- 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

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.


[h2]Remove Cyberdecks[/h2]
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.


[h2]Slashslide Targeting[/h2]
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!


[h2]Safehouse Improvements[/h2]
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!


[h2]Fixing/Tweaking Crafted Weapons, Armor, Items![/h2]
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.


[h2]Rotate and Zoom Camera while Previewing Devices[/h2]
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!


[h2]Steam Deck and Controller Scene Transition[/h2]
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.

[h2]v1.8.9 - 7/11/2024[/h2]
- 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

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.


[h2]Controller & Steam Deck Binding Reset[/h2]
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 🤞


[h2]Full Auto Bullet Pips[/h2]
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.


[h2]Overwatch Bullet Pips[/h2]
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!


[h2]Blueprints and Cubes as Secondary Objectives[/h2]
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!


[h2]Full Stats during Mission[/h2]
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!

[h2]Fixed Bugs![/h2]
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


[h2]v1.8.5 - 7/10/2024[/h2]
- 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