Cyber Knights: Flashpoint News

Calling all shadowy mercenary groups and cyber tacticians -- welcome to our Steam Strategy Fest demo! Cyber Knights: Flashpoint is waiting to see just how well your strategy skills hold up in our squad tactics heist RPG.

We’ve got many new additions for you if you’ve played this demo before since its release in June (see below)!

If this is your first time, we're excited to share this demo that takes you to the very start of your Cyber Knight's career: the night of your surgery that implants the spinal quantum computer, giving you extraordinary powers of calculation and coordination to help you lead your squad. In the underworld of New Boston, nothing goes down easy and everyone has an agenda. Can you keep your head up in these dangerous waters?

Every job you choose to do for an underworld power-player allows you to tackle it with your own style and focus. To pull it off you've got to manage your team, bankroll, injuries and more from your safehouse so that you arrive ready to dominate the tactical battlefield of a heist with stealth (eluding enemy security and agents without a sound), combat (slashing, sniping, going loud at the right moments with full auto) and hacking (plugging the nano-wire from the back of your skull into a matrix host to descend into those glittering data streams -- not available in this demo but soon to come!).

Some of the highlights from this update:


[h2]New Mission Unlocked[/h2]
The Cube Run is now available in the demo, giving you a whole extra heist to try. As one of your first hits in New Boston, this job targets a new Warner-Braun NanoFab that is being setup as the German megacorp prepares its arrival to the New Boston economic zone. There is good money to be made if you can make the right moves and scoop the loot. But it is New Boston and 2231; secrets are hiding under every new NanoFab and megacorporate welcome mat.

[h2]Heat Balancing[/h2]
As your actions in New Boston draw the wrong kind of attention, your crew builds up Heat. Heat can affect your Contact's services (some may clam up and stop talking or selling to you altogether if you're "too hot") and can also predispose some jobs to be more difficult, as the security teams are on higher alert due to your run of espionage and destruction. Heat will cool down as time passes.

We've added some new important sources of heat, including Cameras and Radar Arrays that have been upgraded to HI-POWERED status by the security system, capable of generating +1 Heat per spotting of a merc (max +1 / Turn). In addition -- based on difficulty -- you'll gain some Heat for every job (default +2) and some Heat per Security Level you trigger during a mission (+2 / Level, max +12).

If you feel the heat just around the corner, it's probably time to let the game timeline run for a bit while you lay low in the Safehouse and work on upgrades, cyber surgeries, and weapon mods.

[h2]Extending the Lore Journal[/h2]
We added 3 new entries to the Places category of the lore Journal and beefed up the section that was there for New Boston. This journal will be a key repository of world knowledge for you and has the capability to expand and change as game events happen, so much of it will not simply be set in stone text. We're very excited to see it starting to bulk up as we move content over from our internal lore docs into the game's format.


[h2]From previous updates: heist advantages, options expansion, security AI display, visual improvements, unit AI upgrades, and much more![/h2]
Since the demo’s release in June, we’ve steadily added in more of the player-ready features from the game’s main development branch, and acted on a ton of the great feedback submitted from players’ initial runs.

Most recently, we added a big pile of options for quality like V-Sync and texture quality as well as tweaking controls like edge scrolling and camera rotation direction. We also revamped the AI's tactical decision tree to help enemy combatants more intelligent once they get in a firefight with you. You can scroll back through the previous updates on our Steam page to see details for these or other additions like heist advantages.

All of the feedback that we've received from players checking out the demo has been helping us prioritize improvements across the entire game. We read every bit of feedback submitted through the game's F10 system -- keep it coming; you can probably spot a change made based on something you shared with us in the full changelog below.


[h2]We are closing in on a release window![/h2]
Exciting news for long-time followers of the game. We have assembled the final burn-down list of tasks to complete for our EA launch! The timeline is just a few weeks longer than our estimates from earlier this year; putting us near the start of Q4 instead of the end of Q3.

While estimates are always subject to change, this shift is a minor one and confirms we're on track for a strong EA launch. Launches are always a big moment in our player community, so join our Discord to be part of the fun from the very beginning and stay in the loop on special opportunities as the game's release approaches.

[h2]0.6.135 - 8/28/2023[/h2]
- Unlocked "Cube Run" job for demo - raid a Warner-Braun NanoFab to make your own payday
- Gain Heat for every job at a rate of 2 + (2 x Sec Level) with a maximum of 12 per job
- HI-POWERED Cameras and Radar Arrays add +1 Heat when spotting mercs (max +1 / Turn per device)
- Switch Play/Fast Forward position in timeline for more natural setup, pressing FF will pause if already running fast
- Added 3 new lore entries to the journal Places group
- Fixed final bugs that could cause character or enemy lock up while moving
- Fixed reported typos, some faction names missing in recruit dialogs
- Improved labeling and titles in all mission planning screens ("Leverage")
- Improved font weights in tags and action bars


[h2]Other Changes Since Stealth Fest[/h2]
0.6.135 - Demo Update #10: Down the Pipes
- Update size will be large which is required to make the next one smaller
- Reduced overall game filesystem size by 1 GB (~10%)
- Improved AI tactical thinking when already engaged with an enemy
- Improved AI movement patterns to avoid getting too close to characters nonsensically
- Improved AI movement patterns to avoid over-grouping with each other
- Improved rules for Glancing Hits under certain distance thresholds for BF, FA and SA weapons
- Fixed bug failing to auto-restoring items (grenades, medkits) correctly from inventory stock between missions
- Fixed F10 feedback form to block keyboard input to game in Safehouse correctly
- Fixed edge cases where a moving character might end up suddenly under the stairs
- Fixed bug causing start of enemy Overwatch to lock game
- Fixed pop-up of "Stationary VIP" appearing over Wireghost's head during Smokeout job
- Fixed bugs that could lock up video player during video tutorials

v0.6.133 - Demo Update #9: Options Parade
- New option for Enabling V-Sync separate from Quality Setting
- New option for controlling texture quality (best/good/lowest) separate from Quality Setting
- New option for locking cursor to the window
- New option to disable Action Camera during combat
- New option for edges scrolling and edge scrolling area thickness
- New option for controlling camera panning speed
- New option for controlling camera rotation speed
- New option for reversing direction of camera rotation when holding key / RMB

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1021210/Cyber_Knights_Flashpoint/

Another week another Demo Update! With Demo Update #10, we've made some major progress on reducing the update file size (because, let's be clear -- we're going to do a lot of updates ... so that's improtant), vastly improved the AI's tactical thinking once it starts fighting, fixed all reported F10 freezes and crashes, improved Glancing Hit rules and more!

As always, we appreciate everyone playing, sharing feedback and hitting F10 on the game!

[h2]Steam Update Download Size[/h2]
With this update, we've gone on the attack against the download size for the game from Steam client. Unfortunately, in order to make it better, you have to change everything first. This is going to cause this update to be a very large one (clocking in for some as high as 6.6 GB) but also clears the way for the next update to be much more modest affair.

In addition to restructuring the internal bundling, we've cleaned up some assets, improved compression settings and reduced duplicates in the final game build -- reducing the overall game footprint by about 1 GB or 10%.


[h2]Tactical AI[/h2]
With Update #10, we also have a big bundle of improvements to the AI's combat tactical decisions. Once engaged with an enemy, we've improved their ability to prioritize taking cover, using Talents or attacking versus moving. Previously they were very move-focused and did a lot of running around almost every turn. With the new priority and new decision tree, they are smarter at taking and keeping cover, holding position if they are at an advantage, and making short sprints to nearby advantageous positions only before thinking about how to spend the rest of the AP on Talents and attacks.

In addition, we've helped the AI make more reasonable decisions by adding more rules about their proximity to your mercs and other enemies. While they will take positions near each other, they are far less likely to end up in a tight cluster and unless they are melee combatants, they no longer have an appetite for running up to stand toe-to-toe with you.


[h2]Glancing Rules Update[/h2]
A Glancing Hit can occur if you miss the main accuracy roll but still are within certain thresholds defined by your weapon. In this case, you caused damage but reduced by the % of your roll and still count as getting a hit. Swords, as a weapon class, for example always score Glancing Hits. It is on our list to get this shown in the UI more clearly and once the equipment screens UX is updated (soon!) then you'll be able to see the Glancing Hit rules and % for each weapon as you equip your characters.

With Update #10, we've added a new proximity rule that increases the chance of Glancing Hits as you get close to a target, as long as you're using a weapon with attack mode of FA, BF or SA which leaves SS weapons like Sniper Rifles and Revolvers in the cold but gives advantage to other classes of weapons like Pistols, SMGs, UARs, shotguns and classic ARs.

[h2]Item Refresh After Mission[/h2]
We've fixed a bug in some cases where your items (grenades, medkits, etc) were not properly refreshing from your inventory between missions. If you had used these in Rooftop, you could end up in the Haven without them. Not good. Fixed!


[h2]Fixed Freezes and F10 Safehouse[/h2]
Thanks to everyone reporting issues! We fixed a critical bug where an enemy starting Overwatch could lock up the game based depending on the part of the AI's turn it was as well as a bug where sometimes moving characters and enemies would suddenly warp under a set of stairs and get stuck.

Speaking of F10, to anyone trying to enter an F10 while in the Safehouse, you should have an easier time now. The F10 form now blocks all keyboard input to the screen behind it, so you won't find yourself hitting all the hotkeys while typing away.

[h2]If you haven't tried the demo yet, it offers:[/h2]

• Your first big heist to pull off! Find out how our turn-based squad tactics plays. See if you have the skills to use creative stealth, a variety of weapons, and the turn order itself to accomplish objectives in each map and get your crew out alive.
  
• Six squad members in your roster; each brings a unique set of talents to your crew. In the full game you'll have opportunities to recruit new members, as well as access to multi-classing, extensive skill trees, weapon modding, cybernetics -- everything you need to build out the perfect squads for your playstyle and the needs of the jobs you're taking on.
  
• A glimpse of your main character's origins as a Cyber Knight. These elites of our dark future's underworld are rare and highly sought after. Knights have capabilities no one else in this world does -- but it comes at a cost.
  
• A first look at your safehouse; in the full game you'll have access to base-building features to expand this underground hideout, providing more opportunities to upgrade your team and expand your capabilities to take on bigger jobs as you make a name for yourself.
  
• A preview of the choices you'll need to make in this shadowy world of mercenaries, secrets, and cyberpunks. How far will you go for a chance at a better life? What are you willing to risk for the extra credits or knowledge that could make a big difference for your crew? Who will you stay loyal to? Who can you trust?
  

[h2]0.6.135 - 8/22/2023[/h2]
- Update size will be large which is required to make the next one smaller
- Reduced overall game filesystem size by 1 GB (~10%)
- Improved AI tactical thinking when already engaged with an enemy
- Improved AI movement patterns to avoid getting too close to characters nonsensically
- Improved AI movement patterns to avoid over-grouping with each other
- Improved rules for Glancing Hits under certain distance thresholds for BF, FA and SA weapons
- Fixed bug failing to auto-restoring items (grenades, medkits) correctly from inventory stock between missions
- Fixed F10 feedback form to block keyboard input to game in Safehouse correctly
- Fixed edge cases where a moving character might end up suddenly under the stairs
- Fixed bug causing start of enemy Overwatch to lock game
- Fixed pop-up of "Stationary VIP" appearing over Wireghost's head during Smokeout job
- Fixed bugs that could lock up video player during video tutorials

Demo Update #9 is going live with a big list of new game options to give you more control over your game camera, quality and performance and other key aspects of user input. In addition, we've fixed a ton of bugs reported by the community, further improved victory and defeat screens and highlighted some missing details from Talents that had been trained to change different aspects of their powers.

As always, we appreciate everyone playing, sharing feedback and hitting F10 on the game!


[h2]New Options Parade[/h2]
We added 9 new options in total for this update, hitting most of the big requests we've heard from the community.

• We added V-Sync as an option, split out from top line Quality option. Helpful!
  
• We added a Texture Quality option ranging from Best to Good to Lowest which can help tune performance on your machine beyond the top line Quality option. Grand!
  
• For improved control in multi-monitor setup or if your playing in windowed mode, we've added a Lock Cursor option that will keep your cursor in the window. Especially useful for Edge Scrolling (see below). Dicey!
  
• There is now an option to disable all the special action cameras during combat. The camera doesn't move it all, it stays where you've placed it to see the action. Lovely!
  
• There is checkbox to turn on Edge Scrolling if you like that easy way of panning around the map. You can also adjust the thickness of the Edge Scrolling Area which can help tune it for you. As your mouse gets into the edge scrolling area, the panning acceleration is determined by your ratio in the area. If you're hovering near the edge of it the pan will be slower than if you run up to the window edge. So, it can be nice to tweak the Edge Scrolling Area if you like having more control over the speed. Edgy!
  
• Pretty straightforward - there are now percentage % sliders for panning speed and rotation speed for the camera. Useful!
  
• While holding RMB (or configure this to another key) then any movement of the mouse will rotate the camera. If you dislike the default direction it rotates the camera when you move your mouse left or right you can now enable this option to flip the direction of the camera's rotation. Specific!
  

[h2]In Other Areas...[/h2]
We've improved the display of earning a codename for your mercs after they've survived a mission and earned their first level up. The key part is surviving, someone tell Emille and Zasha.

We've gone through with an exciting rename of "Heist Advantages" (wha-whaa) to "Leverage" throughout the game, UI and dialog. It is a much more descriptive term that captures more of the heist feeling of the game.

We also improved the positioning of the mission map in the stage and mission Victory and defeat screens to reduce overlap of elements. It turns out centering the map in this screen wasn't that helpful.

We also just fixed a big pile of bugs, so thanks to everyone hitting F10!

[h2]If you haven't tried the demo yet, it offers:[/h2]

• Your first big heist to pull off! Find out how our turn-based squad tactics plays. See if you have the skills to use creative stealth, a variety of weapons, and the turn order itself to accomplish objectives in each map and get your crew out alive.
  
• Six squad members in your roster; each brings a unique set of talents to your crew. In the full game you'll have opportunities to recruit new members, as well as access to multi-classing, extensive skill trees, weapon modding, cybernetics -- everything you need to build out the perfect squads for your playstyle and the needs of the jobs you're taking on.
  
• A glimpse of your main character's origins as a Cyber Knight. These elites of our dark future's underworld are rare and highly sought after. Knights have capabilities no one else in this world does -- but it comes at a cost.
  
• A first look at your safehouse; in the full game you'll have access to base-building features to expand this underground hideout, providing more opportunities to upgrade your team and expand your capabilities to take on bigger jobs as you make a name for yourself.
  
• A preview of the choices you'll need to make in this shadowy world of mercenaries, secrets, and cyberpunks. How far will you go for a chance at a better life? What are you willing to risk for the extra credits or knowledge that could make a big difference for your crew? Who will you stay loyal to? Who can you trust?
  

[h2]v0.6.133 - 8/17/2023[/h2]
New Options
- New option for Enabling V-Sync separate from Quality Setting
- New option for controlling texture quality (best/good/lowest) separate from Quality Setting
- New option for locking cursor to the window
- New option to disable Action Camera during combat
- New option for edges scrolling and edge scrolling area thickness
- New option for controlling camera panning speed
- New option for controlling camera rotation speed
- New option for reversing direction of camera rotation when holding key / RMB
Other Improvements
- Correctly displayed when mercs earned their new codenames
- Upgraded Trait display on Roster to show the description and backstory reasons for Traits
- Fixed issue where "Iron Grip" and other recover/heal Talents displayed recovery as 0
- Fixed Talent display where some buff/debuff elements added new by training were not displayed at all
- Improved alignment of victory/defeat screens to avoid too much UI overlap
- Improved display of HP bar / XP bar or "Level Up" upon stage/mission victory
- Fixed bug where two timeline events could display as selected
- Interacting a legwork on the timeline that is granting a Heist Advantage starts timeline playing correctly
- Renamed "Heist Advantages" to "Leverage"

Demo Update #8 is rolling out as a follow-up to a fun and successful Stealth Fest here on Steam. With so many players spinning through the demo and posting feedback (thanks for the F10s!) we're working through the list, sorting, fixing and prioritizing everything.

As usual, our first move is an update :D

[h2]F10 Submissions going bump[/h2]
In some cases, the F10 reporter was saying that "submission failed". In these cases, we did get your F10s but we didn't get either the log file or the screenshot. We've made some adjustments that should drastically cut down on failure responses and have some steps we will take in the future to nuke them to 0%. Again, a big thanks to every player hitting F10!!

[h2]Stealth Fixies[/h2]
We had some players report odd AI behavior in which a patrolling agent would casually pass by a body of one of their own if it had been seen by someone else. This was a nice little hole in the AI reaction logic that has now been fixed! We also fixed a number of other decision points and barks the


[h2]Lootbox and Talent Improvements[/h2]
We've adjusted the size of the lootbox UI to make it easier to read, especially for more verbose items that were getting cut off. And in prep for opening up the training the class trees for a future demo update, we've added the highlighting to the Talent text which can show clearly which aspects - like Range, duration, and specific effect fields like buffing Evasion, etc - have been modified by your training choices.


[h2]Mission Polish[/h2]
The demo jobs now have more representative shapes in the mission planning tree, which is a minor touch but is a great feeling to see it coming togther. We fixed camera movement and cuts in the sequence of looking at the Command HQ, planning a Job and then picking your team to deploy. This is now much smoother without any jarring transitions. Finally, thanks to your feedback we fixed some transparency issues in the screen that could make it hard to read under certain screen sizes and mission setups.

[h2]If you haven't tried the demo yet, it offers:[/h2]

• Your first big heist to pull off! Find out how our turn-based squad tactics plays. See if you have the skills to use creative stealth, a variety of weapons, and the turn order itself to accomplish objectives in each map and get your crew out alive.
  
• Six squad members in your roster; each brings a unique set of talents to your crew. In the full game you'll have opportunities to recruit new members, as well as access to multi-classing, extensive skill trees, weapon modding, cybernetics -- everything you need to build out the perfect squads for your playstyle and the needs of the jobs you're taking on.
  
• A glimpse of your main character's origins as a Cyber Knight. These elites of our dark future's underworld are rare and highly sought after. Knights have capabilities no one else in this world does -- but it comes at a cost.
  
• A first look at your safehouse; in the full game you'll have access to base-building features to expand this underground hideout, providing more opportunities to upgrade your team and expand your capabilities to take on bigger jobs as you make a name for yourself.
  
• A preview of the choices you'll need to make in this shadowy world of mercenaries, secrets, and cyberpunks. How far will you go for a chance at a better life? What are you willing to risk for the extra credits or knowledge that could make a big difference for your crew? Who will you stay loyal to? Who can you trust?
  

[h2]v0.6.129 - 8/2/2023[/h2]
- Fixed issue with unaware/patrolling guards ignoring bodies that had been seen by other guards
- Fixed issue where F10 reports were sometimes getting "submission failed"
- Increased size of lootbox UI to make items easier to read
- Talents screen in roster is now highlighting specific Talent stats/effects that have been upgraded in training
- Improved mission planning visuals for missions
- Smoothed out camera transitions in safehouse / mission planning
- Batched repeated Sec AI messages to show more information faster
- Improved headshots of characters, fixing some characters with slightly open mouths
- Fixed transparency of panels where it should be opaque, like mission map
- Fixed some missing details in dialog for recruiting ex-Los Zagales Soldier
- Fixed/clarified tutorial text where it mentioned wrong corners, better described movement lines

Yesterday, we pushed a demo update to help improve the Heist Advantages that rolled out with the Stealth Fest demo update. While the original set of Advantages was pretty cool, the new set is even better!

[h2]Heist Advantages[/h2]
In advance of jobs and heists, as your team works to prepare for the hit, you can accumulate planned Heist Advantages. These Advantages can be the tipping point between a flawless heist and a mess of bullets and blood -- or just help you make sure it's all your bullets and their blood and not a mix at all.

The new demo update includes 4 updated Heist Advantages for the Haven Smokeout job - Violent Distraction, Sense-Net DDOS, Biochip Fritz and Unplug Cameras.

[h2]Getting Heist Advantages[/h2]
To gain heist advantages, you need to reach out to your underworld network, pay bribes, call in favors, lean on those you have leveraged or completing preemptive hacking tasks. These will either cost you money directly ($10K to bribe a traitor to pull the plug on the cameras) or Contact Favors (1 Favor to call in a local gang to cause a violent diversion to draw away Smokeout reinforcements).

[h2]If you haven't tried the demo yet, it offers:[/h2]

• Your first big heist to pull off! Find out how our turn-based squad tactics plays. See if you have the skills to use creative stealth, a variety of weapons, and the turn order itself to accomplish objectives in each map and get your crew out alive.
  
  
• Six squad members in your roster; each brings a unique set of talents to your crew. In the full game you'll have opportunities to recruit new members, as well as access to multi-classing, extensive skill trees, weapon modding, cybernetics -- everything you need to build out the perfect squads for your playstyle and the needs of the jobs you're taking on.
  
• A glimpse of your main character's origins as a Cyber Knight. These elites of our dark future's underworld are rare and highly sought after. Knights have capabilities no one else in this world does -- but it comes at a cost.
  
• A first look at your safehouse; in the full game you'll have access to base-building features to expand this underground hideout, providing more opportunities to upgrade your team and expand your capabilities to take on bigger jobs as you make a name for yourself.
  
• A preview of the choices you'll need to make in this shadowy world of mercenaries, secrets, and cyberpunks. How far will you go for a chance at a better life? What are you willing to risk for the extra credits or knowledge that could make a big difference for your crew? Who will you stay loyal to? Who can you trust?
  

[h2]v0.6.127 - 7/26/2023[/h2]
- Adjusted power levels for all Heist Advantages offered for Haven Smokeout
- Improved Advantage offers for bribes and favors
- Improved starting Contact set to be better positioned to offer these Advantages