Cyber Knights: Flashpoint News

The “Month in a Knight’s Life” update and its big section of in-world narrative from a Knight’s perspective was so well received that we have decided to focus this update on a similar theme. We’ve pulled a ton of headlines and story hooks from the story prep work we’ve been doing for the game and compiled them into a month of news and media simstream headlines flowing across the New Boston matrix.

Cyber Knight’s setting in 2231 has given us a unique ability to dream beyond the standard near-term cyberpunk tropes. We’re extremely excited to share this world with you in all its madness, hype and beauty.

We hope you'll join us on Kickstarter and pledge to the campaign today to pick up a heavily discounted pre-order copy, join the alpha team or more!

Of course, the news is focused on the big events and the disasters but -- what can we say, it's a mess out there in New Boston!

4/15/2231
Rising simstream star Cody Nari, who was reported missing two months ago, has been found in a residential tower in the Atlanta MetroDome. His cause of death has not been reported and rumors continue to swirl regarding an allegedly off-contract recording project Nari was said to be working on.

4/16/2231
The Jupiter Corp deep space shuttle Glacier 7 successfully docked at the Fadelight Constellation in orbit of earth, its first stop before starting its three month trip to the Mars colonies. Global performing sensation LTS visited with VIP fans on Fadelight. The band told reporters that they will be spending some of the journey in cryostasis and some working on their next holovid.

4/18/2231
A hypersonic flight bound for SFZ from New Boston went down over the Rocky Mountains with all 368 passengers. A United North American tactical recovery team is onsite investigating and a GTSB’s spokesperson indicated that UNA and GTSB were in close coordination with Navi Aerospace, the Jupiter Group subsidiary that manufacturers the NX-35 Spaceplane.

4/20/2231
The members of the synthmetal megagroup, Seven Banners Burning, have all arrived in New Boston for their upcoming seven nights of back-to-back shows at the BX HyperGarden. The controversy surrounding lead vocalist SnowFire’s comments about AI Liberation Front members arrested in New Boston has not hurt ticket sales.

Crane Technologies has once again refused to extradite the renowned scientist Berndaze Korbin, further straining tensions with the United North America’s prosecutors office. Crane Technologies continues to stick to its claim that Korbin is a Crane corporate class A citizen, regardless of the proof that she was acting as a foreign intelligence agent at her time of naturalization. The UNA lead prosecutor, Mark Blain, would not make a statement as to what further actions they may take against Crane Tech.

4/23/2231
An explosion during a routine test of a rocket booster on the Arotech Corp space launch platform in the Boston harbor reportedly left 12 dead and more than 40 injured. Arotech officials have not commented on how the incident may affect the upcoming launch of their first Mars colonizer. The company says they will conduct a full and thorough investigation.

4/27/2231
Jupiter Group has confirmed the reports of a contained meltdown at the Oneida NanoReactor on the shores of Lake Ontario. Jupiter Group’s assurances that no human habitation -- except the on-site work forces -- is within range of the fall out has done little to placate the public outcry. Public records show that the Oneida NanoReactor was an aging Gen 3 NR and had been scheduled to be phased out of operation 7 years ago in 2224. A UNNR hazard and recovery team has been dispatched to investigate the damage and evaluate the NanoReactor for reactivation.

McKellan Heavy Industries and Badenhawk Global officials met to formally set off the first explosive charges at the site for the new South Shore Dome extension. McKellan, who will be completing the dome construction on behalf of Badenhawk Global, has indicated that work will begin in earnest next week.

5/3/2231
A new wave of security vulnerabilities in the Sigma 6 security stack have been released online today by the anonymous hacker group Ginja. Matsumoto Global Technologies officials have not been available to comment at this time. Any facility still running the five year old security network is now at high risk of exploitation.

5/6/2231
Simstream star LivLarge has completed an assisted free fall from the Arotech Aro Constellation in orbit to the Earth’s surface for a recording setting distance of 256 miles. The grueling multi-week descent reported tested LivLarge’s physical and mental preparation to the max. Arotech Media has promised that the sim recording will be released on June 2nd. LivLarge is currently admitted to New Boston Bio and in stable condition.

5/8/2231
Terrorist agents from the Free Streets Compact have claimed responsibility for the detonation of the biological bomb outside of an Arotech Corp security checkpoint. City and security officials are calling on Ward 4 residents to turn in those responsible, calling the FSC attack a “hack-job by paid terrorists.”

5/13/2231
Injectors of SheerTech Revolution, the new biomedical body reinforcer by Badenhawk Global, has sold out on its first day. Pharmas across New Boston are clamoring for more product. A Badenhawk official press release states that the next transatlantic shipment is not expected to arrive until June 12th and that customers should never use less than 7 injections as indicated on the packaging.

A magnitude 3.5 radioactive nano-storm has been detected moving across Canada. Unless conditions change, the storm is scheduled to arrive by Wednesday. UNA health officials urge all residents of the outer Wards to secure their residences and stay indoors for at least 2 days. Shelters inside the New Boston Dome are already at capacity. The Boston harbor will be closed and all external construction and repair projects are suspended until the storm has passed.


Remember to power up your nano-scrubber and shutter the windows on your safehouse, Knight. A storm is coming.

[h2]Soundtrack![/h2]
We have posted one of the first full songs of the game’s original soundtrack on SoundCloud for everyone to enjoy. You can also hear more of the OST in any of the Cyber Knights video content that we’ve been sharing.
https://soundcloud.com/user-613956692/cyber-knights-flashpoint-soundtrack

Thanks again for your support and remember to pledge today!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tresebrothers/cyber-knights?ref=2c0e89

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Tonight, we are to share with you a stylized story capturing the life of a Cyber Knight over a month. The story of Operation Blackpool was written to embody the feeling of the game's loop and to shows its pen and paper roots which are worn on its sleeve. I hope you enjoy the team’s story as they prep to line everything up just right to take on Operation Blackpool that is going to test their limits. The timestamps show a realistic timeline of events for your team, and we focused on including events that you will find in the game -- like downtime between missions, bi-directional comms with contacts, purchasing armaments and gear, running side missions, getting laid up by wounds or cyber surgery and stewing in your safehouse.

We really enjoyed writing this one, please let me know what you think in the comments below!

To make the reading of the timestamped story a little easier, we’ve typed up a list of names that are mentioned below here --

Your Team

• Mirage, Stalker
  
• Pillz, Warmachine
  
• Rocket, Gunslinger
  
• Augma “the Kid”, Sniper
  
• Classic 20, Hacker
  

Contacts

• Miss Siren, Fixer
  
• Skeet, Hacker
  
• Lt. Mark Kesimir, BraveStar
  

Factions

• McKellan Heavy Industries, corp
  
• Jupiter Group, megacorp
  
• Arotech Corp, megacorp
  
• BraveStar, milsec corp
  
• Los V, gang
  
• Fennians, gang
  

[h2]Operation Blackpool[/h2]
21:00, 4/15/2231: Our contact, Miss Siren, has turned up a big one. She proved she can deliver the big payouts when we kidnapped that Arotech scientist from the North Eiser Tower about 3 months ago. She’s been quiet for a while, but this is probably why. The cash on the table offer is $215,000 but there is definitely a barb between those bills. We’re going to need a lot money to even make a run at this or it’s a suicide mission. Unfortunately, the tank is pretty low on cash flow. We’re going to have to get creative, there is no way we walk away from this one.

11:00, 4/17/2231: We’ve looked over the specs together. We can make the hit for Miss Siren. We’ve got a lot of work to do to crack the security on the McKellan lab, but Siren is willing to wait to get it done right. She’s given us two months. We’re calling this one Operation Blackpool.

18:00, 4/17/2231: Our warmachine, Pillz, is going under the knife again. We’re going to need him at full speed and strength for the Blackpool. A new layer of subdermal and MuscleHype nanomuscle grafts will make sure he can survive running point on this one. He’s going to be out for almost three weeks.

15:30, 4/19/2231: Finally got that Hacker Skeet pinned down about the security on Blackpool. He says he can get the worm we need for the network for Blackpool. But, the McKellan security system is running Sigma 11. The price for the worm is out of the question, but Skeet offered another option. He wants us to pick up some gear from a crypt-locker below street level, Los V territory. He admitted someone is probably watching it and that we should expect trouble.

23:30, 4/20/2231: We are back, mostly in one piece. We needed Pillz on this one. They waited until after we had unloaded the crate. Their sniper thought he’d take us out one by one, starting with our Stalker, Mirage. He didn’t realize just how fast she is. We were doing well until their big guy came in too fast, cyber claws out. Our Gunslinger, Rocket, had to draw blade and meet him head on. Rocket put him down and Rocket is mostly in one piece. Wish Pillz had been there, he would have can-opened their muscle boy.

02:15, 4/21/2231: Rocket is pretty bad. We’ve bundled him up and shipped him out to Dr. Fixit’s clinic, we need him back faster than we can handle here. The good Dr. says he will make it.

08:00, 4/21/2231: For once, the Hacker Skeet was prompt. He’s picked up the storage brick we nearly died to get last night. He says the Sigma 11 worm will take a week to finish. Blackpool just got a lot more likely.

11:30, 4/24/2231: Talked to our guy on the payroll in BraveStar, Lt. Mark Kesimir. His prices keep going up, probably because he knows we need him. The McKellan lab is in the BraveStar district and they’d be all over us if the on-site security AI raises an alert. Hard to argue with a lawman though. He says it will be $50,000, which we don’t have -- Pillz and Rocket set us back a bit.

20:00, 4/24/2231: It’s been three months since our Sniper, Augma “the Kid”, told me about this side job. I guess when he used to work for Arotech he had some security clearance. He stole a few things as they were kicking him out the door. I wonder if that has anything to do with why he lost his job there? Doesn’t matter -- I haven’t had a reason to follow up before but his offer has just been waiting. I don’t like hitting Arotech before Blackpool, but it’s a quick smash and grab. The fence money off it should easily pay for Lt. Kesimir’s bribe and cover any other gear expenses before we go.

22:00, 4/27/2231: That was too easy -- I don’t like it. Augma’s intel was still good and we slipped past security like the thieves we are. Still wish we had Pillz with us, he’s a big comforting hulk. Our Hacker, Classic 20, cut the security on their data-bank pretty easily. Augma has the tip on that too. It’s some kind of research lab -- even Augma doesn’t know much -- so the data will go to Hacker Skeet for a decent price.

22:00, 4/28/2231: Ratchet gave me a call today. The weapons smuggler is my best friend whenever he has a hot deal. This time it is red hot -- he’s gotten a hold of a few Crane Tech “Vanguard DragonRail” and he’s offered me the right of first refusal. The best I could do is promise to buy one. Put it on ice, Ratchet. If we survive Operation Blackpool, I hope he still has one of those monsters. Punch a hole in the side of a drone the size of your cybercat.

11:00, 4/29/2231: Good on his word, Hacker Skeet has delivered the Sigma 11 worm. All we have to do is reach an unsecured terminal and our Hacker, Classic 20, can deploy the virus. It’s a hot looking ‘sploit kit. Skeet has never let us down before -- we’re going to have to trust this will work fast.

20:00, 5/1/2231: Miss Siren called to check in -- she wants to know when we will be ready for Blackpool. I lied and said soon.

18:00, 5/8/2231: Pillz is back on his feet. He’s ready to rip. Between the new subdermal and the MuscleHype, he’s massive. He’s heard enough about how we needed him when Rocket got sliced -- he’s looking for something to crush.

13:30, 5/9/2231: Rocket is back from Dr. Fixit. He’s got a bit more chrome in him than the last time I saw him but he also has a lot more blood in him than the last time I saw him. I’ll take it as a win. The team is back to full strength. Blackpool is coming.

18:30, 5/9/2231: The Jupiter Corp security officer Kolstrad called with a new job offer tonight. Once again, he’s gunning to make a name for himself at any cost. This time he wants us to track down some Fennian gangers who attacked a Jupiter transport coming off the 182 lifts. He wants us to take them out, kind of make an example of them. The money is good: $65,000 for one night of bloody work. I told him we’ll get to it and to send over the specs. But nothing can get in the way of Blackpool now.

18:30, 5/11/2231: The bribe is in for Lt. Mark Kesimir. He’ll be managing the district the McKellan site is in on the 15th, so that’s our night. He will flag the first alert warning as a spoof. We’ve bought a few minutes after the first alarms go off before BraveStar boots are hitting the concrete. With the size of this facility, it’s only a matter of time before something goes boom and the security system wakes up angry.

04:30, 5/14/2231: Rocket went missing for the last twenty-four hours. He’s twitchy as hell and not in the mood to talk. Neither am I, so let’s chalk this one up to needing to blow some steam off after a few weeks in the clinic.

14:30, 5/15/2231: Tonight’s the night ... Operation Blackpool.


With that, we’ll leave you to dream of the hard fought battle, friends wounded or lost and the rich reward for taking on Operation Blackpool. Certainly, they worked hard to get to the starting line, but the real test is just ahead!

It was a great deal of fun for me to write this up and I hope you will share your thoughts about the story and how the gameplay is portrayed in a comment!

Pledge for a pre-order copy or more on Kickstarter now!

We’re nearing the halfway point now in the Cyber Knights: Flashpoint Kickstarter campaign and we’ve got another huge update for you. Your support and your help sharing the project keep propelling us forward and we’re gaining steam toward the major Animation Expansion stretch goal now! Let’s pet those doggos!


[h2]“Savage 700” Alpha Drive![/h2]
We are extremely excited to say that we already have 518 Knights registered for the Cyber Knights: Flashpoint alpha! We knew the community has wanted us to make this game for a long time and now with your support we’re funded and still hitting stretch goals.

We had just under 350 players in the Star Traders: Frontiers alpha from our last Kickstarter. We never dreamed we’d have an opportunity to double the size and strength of the alpha team, but now we're staring to down -- only 198 Knights to go! We want to make it happen, so let us introduce a new bonus reward challenge: the Savage 700!

Join the Kickstarter today to help us reach the Savage 700 goal!

The Star Traders: Frontiers alpha was an absolute success and improved the game on every level -- from features, to content, to performance and more. We got to preview and show off the first sets of storylines and get feedback on the feeling of the world, story pacing and writing style. We tried out some ambitious new game mechanics and some fell flat on their faces while others soared. The game changed dramatically throughout the alpha for the better.

If you can upgrade your pledge or are considering joining the campaign, take a look at the Alpha Edition ($60)! It is a unique experience in the game dev world and we hope you’ll join us and make the Savage 700 a reality! If you're upgrading or pledging, post a comment in the main comment stream to encourage others to join you and let's get savage!

Now, on to the other topic of the update!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[h2]Weapon Customization[/h2]
A mercenary’s best friend might just be their tricked out assault rifle. Or maybe the backup hand-cannon which puts down enemies who get too close. Or the slicing energy blade that sheers through drone armor like nothing else.

A soldier of fortune comes to love his or her weapon after it has saved the day, saved their life or saved a friend. They come to love and cherish a weapon when they’ve rigged up a new scope or replaced the stock so it feels perfect, downright comfy against their shoulder. It might be the chemical burns on the muzzle or the scar where that cyber ninja’s sword glanced off the casing. Either way, if you’re going to survive in this line of work, you’ll come to know, modify and love your weaponry.


[h2]Multi-point Modification System[/h2]
Each weapon type will have a series of modification points where you can change out a part or attach a new customization. Every weapon will feature the ability to attach specialized scopes to the top rail which will increase accuracy, change optimal range mechanics and more. Almost all weapons will allow for a barrel modification that can silence or suppress the noise or recoil of a shot or increase accuracy among other options. Most rifle-based weapons will allow stock replacements that can help soak recoil, increase aiming speed and more. And finally, some weapons can support an under-the-barrel attachment that provides a wide range of utility and targeting options.

The bonuses from mods will be powerful so you won't want to wait to get early upgrades
These customized attachments and replacements won’t come cheap or easy -- but their powerful bonuses will make them highly coveted. Most attachments are tech-heavy pieces that can only be used once as they integrate into the gun’s onboard electronic systems. You’ll need to know the right weapons smuggler or corporate fixer to buy such kits. And to make the complicated mods you will either need the help of a skilled gunsmith or a safehouse upgrade for your own weapons workbench.


[h2]Optimal Firing Range[/h2]
Even while shooting inside their maximum range, weapons will have different optimal range mechanics that affect accuracy. Some weapons like shotguns will have shorter optimal ranges with a rapid fall off in accuracy outside of their optimal firing zone. Other weapon types like sniper rifles will struggle at shorter ranges but excel when an enemy is within a wide range band at a safe distance.

Optimal ranges will cause a constantly adjusting dynamic on the battlefield as different combatants vie to keep their enemy in their optimal range band. Firing modes -- which adjust the optimal range mechanics of a weapon -- will also come into play as you trade accuracy for recoil, damage and other benefits or disadvantages.

All the more reason to carry a varied set of weaponry onto the field of battle! Your squad will need options when an enemy goon dodges under your sniper’s range. Time to pull out that hand cannon and put the goon on the deck.


[h2]Recoil[/h2]
Cyber Knights: Flashpoint will include a fully featured recoil system. As you move, take hits and shoot your own weapons you generate recoil points. These points burn off quickly but primarily make firing your weapon accurately more challenging. Some weapons will be more touchy about movement recoil than others -- such as a sniper rifle -- while others are strong on the go -- such as tactical shotguns and some pistols.

Inside your character's build, you’ll have tons of options on how to increase your recoil soak -- if it is a priority for you. Characters who want to move fast, take hits, and shoot as many times as possible in a turn will need to consider recoil compensation in their weapon mods and cyberware. In addition, single-use items, Talents and cyberware can provide methods to soak up recoil quickly so you’ll have many options to build characters and weapons that can operate effectively under high recoil situations.


[h2]Sneaky Silence![/h2]
During missions, you’ll have the option to operate from stealth -- by sneaking past enemy guards and disabling security or by taking out guards quietly. You’ll need weapons with suppressors attached to achieve this level of stealth but these silencers will be a barrel modifier that is available early. Each weapon will feature a volume level attribute and the tech of your suppressor mod will reduce that volume, which in turn reduces the range at which nearby guards will hear your gunfire. Therefore, with the right suppressor mod or a lighter weapon, you'll be able to achieve stealth kills without worry about other guards unless they are very close. However, with heavier weaponry, you'll still be able to achieve stealth kills, but you will need to be more wary of guards who are too close and may hear your gunfire's boom.

[h2]Reloading and Ammo Types[/h2]
Depending on how often your shooting and the firing mode you are using -- such as full auto -- you may burn through a weapon's ammo faster and thereforel need to spend Action Points to reload your weapon more often. Because we are using an action pool system instead of a strict 2 actions system, this won’t take half your turn, but it will still be an important thing to try to manage and get ahead of as you fight through tense situations.

Every weapon will be able to use a variety of ammo types. While you will have some options, we do not intend to make ammo the star of weapon customization over the multi-point mod system. Ammo types will be viable and useful, but not on the same level as weapon, grip, scope, barrel and cyberware.

[h2]Speedy 3D Model[/h2]
Let's end today's update with a high speed video of one of our artists working in ZBrush to sculpt a new character outfits.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

And let’s do this Savage 700! If you join the alpha team to help us get to the Savage 700 be sure to post a comment on the main Kickstarter page. If you've been through a Trese Brothers Alpha phase for another game, feel free to post about how much fun you had :)

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tresebrothers/cyber-knights?ref=92jvz1

Knights!

Welcome to day 4 of the Cyber Knights: Flashpoint Kickstarter! What a blazing start we’ve all had together. In the initial project rush, we’ve blown past our funding target and our first four stretch goals. Today, we’re rolling out our next wave of funding goals all the way up to our ambitious $200,000 stretch of Matrix Mk2.

We’ve still got lots of time with 27 days remaining. Please help us get the word out by continuing to share our project with your friends and gaming communities. Tell someone new every day and help us keep this project blowing up and getting bigger and better! Here are some ideas --

• Post the campaign to social media
  
• Share our interview with Rock, Paper Shotgun with gamers!
  
• Tell your gaming group
  
• If you’re an active member on a gaming community site, share it there (don’t spam)
  
• Tell a friend who is going to PAX East about us in the Kickstarter room, 10 AM to noon daily
  

Without further wait, we’ve unlocked the following 11 stretch goals! We’ve covered each category in detail below the graphic.



Enough blaze, let’s get down to the details.

[h2]Lorebook Unlocked![/h2]
The Star Traders: Frontiers Lorebook has been one of our favorite resources for the game. It’s a great introduction to the universe and its history both old and new. It introduces the factions and all the interesting ways the intergalactic society functions that are vastly different than ours. With your successful funding of the “On the Street” stretch goal, we’ve now committed to publishing an illustrated lorebook for Cyber Knights: Flashpoint that will be publicly available. Based on the current content, timeline and art we have lined up we’d expect it to be upwards of 50 pages.


[h2]One of the new street outfits!
Street, Military and Corp Outfits ($120K, $180K)[/h2]
Style is the lifeblood of cyberpunk and we want to keep cramming more visual options into the game. The game will already include 30 options for outfits along with a wide variety of facial accessories (glasses, earpods, implants and more) and the ability to shift color on outfits. We’ve already unlocked the Streets Outfit stretch which will add 2 new streets outfits. Through the $130,000 Military Outfit and $180,000 we’ll add 2 new outfits of each of those types for your soldiers of fortune who want to dress like soldiers or want to wear that high style blitz.


[h2]Doggos! ($110K)[/h2]
In 2231, decades of breeding and cybernetics have transformed some dog breeds into hunds -- cybernetic wardogs of the future. We already have two dog breeds ready for the game -- the doberhound attack dog and the pithund tank dog. Each of the breeds will come with different strengths and weaknesses -- where the doberhound is faster and a powerful attack dog, the pithund is a nigh unstoppable tank with jaws of steel.

At the $110,000 stretch goal, we will add a third dog breed to the set. If we reach the stretch, we’ll hold a poll if it should be a support/utility dog like a hound (beagle!) or a fast attack dog (shepherd). Yes -- we are going to make you choose between our dogs -- King Tut or Rigatoni.


[h2]Drones! ($120K)[/h2]
In the same mold as hunds, each drone chassis will have its own capabilities, strengths, weaknesses and armament options. We already have four drone chassis ready for the game and are excited to now have just unlocked a new scout drone to add to the set. The scout drone will have lighter weaponry, scanner talents and be more stealthy engines to avoid detection.

New on the list is an additional battle drone at the $120,000 stretch. If we’re able to add this drone it will function as a combat support drone capable of both boosting defense while using its hardpoints to lay down heavy fire against enemy targets.

[h2]Animation Expansion ($140K)[/h2]
The depth and variety of a game’s animations has a huge impact on its final beauty and polish, especially in the heat of combat. Our animation budget has so far covered the bases we need -- running, walking, crouching, leaning into cover, reloading and more. But we’d love to open up more budget to add even more important animations to the game -- like petting the dog. Some of the additional animations would change gameplay in interesting ways if we can afford them -- lifting and dragging bodies (unconscious targets, dead guards) or vaulting over barricades (giving even more movement flexibility).

This expansion would benefit both the mission combat map as well as the safehouse. Improved idle animations, doggo pets, relaxed walking and hand gestures would all be welcome additions for safehouses and cutscenes. In addition, this stretch goal frees up some additional budget for better animation blend trees to improve the 3d aspects of directional animation, like the character taking a bullet or being killed by a grenade. We’re confident the current animation budget will look good, but with this additional funding we can really polish it and take the game’s characters to the next level.


[h2]Skyrise Environment ($150K)[/h2]
Every mission environment in Cyber Knights: Flashpoint will bring a unique set of props, level design, enemy types and security systems. The 3D environments we’ve shown so far are all the industrial environment which covers warehouses, industrial facilities and secure bunkers. Another environment already in development is the urban environment which covers the underground tunnel systems, open street fights and dilapidated slum habtowers.

The Skyrise Environment stretch goal will let us add a completely different environment. Instead of infiltrating a corporate facility, data lab or a gang den, you’ll be breaking into a luxury residence. These high lifestyle residences may be inside an arcology or just high in one of the towers, hundreds of stories above the street level of the NBZ. This new environment type will open up a new set of guards, security system behaviors, map challenges, loot and mission types. In the Skyrise missions, you’ll capture high value targets, steal data, liberate corporate citizens or assassinate executives who’ve outlived their usefulness.



[h2]Soundtrack Expansions ($160K, $190K)[/h2]
Studio Viking has already helped us compose an impressive soundtrack for the game but having more music -- especially music tailored to environments -- goes a long way to keep a game feeling fresh and deep. At each of these two stretch goal levels, we will be able to increase our budget to work with our composer to add 3 tracks (per stretch) to the game’s soundtrack -- which of course will be available to all $25 Soundtrack Edition backers. The first expansion will focus on the Skyrise and have a softer feel of a lux residence. The second will focus more on the industrial synthrock music you might find blaring out of the sound system of a criminal safehouse.


[h2]Matrix Mk2 ($200K)[/h2]
Like to save the best for last? Yes, yes we do! While we are very excited about the current design of how hacking will work in the game, we know that it could take a bigger role. Cyberspace has always been at the heart of cyberpunk fiction and if we can, we want to make the hacking capabilities within Cyber Knights even more amazing.

First, let’s talk Hacking Mk1 (without this stretch goal) -- because it's already pretty awesome. Your hacking-enabled characters will seek out terminals, access panels and other hackable objects that are scattered across a mission map. If your hacker can reach these you’ll be able to access the hacking mini-game. Once connected to the terminal, you’ll spend your turn’s Action Points on trying to break through different security protocols -- hopefully while your Stalker team member hangs nearby and uses their Action Points for their turn to overwatch and guard your six. You’ll use a mix of cyberware and Job Talents to break through the computer security and depending on difficulty it might take you multiple turns and attempts. If you’re successful, you’ll be able to download and steal any valuable data on the system or control something in the real world through network functions -- such as shutting down or taking over security systems and door locks.

Now, let’s all collectively drool over Hacking Mk2! Hacking Mk2 will deepen the existing design. During missions, the gameplay will be very similar except that the actual hacking of an enemy terminal will have more depth.

• When your hacker accesses a hackable target, you’ll gain access to the root node of an internal node-map for that system. Each node on the interconnected map will contain valuable data to steal, system functions like opening a door or dropping the alarm level and of course, the ever-present IC security protocols. In the same way as Hacking Mk1, your hacker will spend their AP each turn overpowering the security and moving between nodes on the map to access the different goals in the matrix system node-map. Adding this additional depth to each terminal will open up a lot of exciting variation -- small shallow terminals with easy maps all the way up to the quantum mainframe with highly challenging maps that your hacker must conquer while the enemy security closes in and the rest of your team is fighting for their lives.
  
• New safehouse upgrades that will allow your hackers to run matrix hacks from within the Safehouse to gain pre-mission advantages. Hacking will no longer be only a mission feature but something you can do independently from your safehouse! If you don’t want to hack yourself or want your team to focus on other capabilities, you can pay Hacker Contacts to do this work for you.
  
• With additional depth in the hacking system comes additional depth in the hacking gear. Your computer equipment and programs are going to get a boost in the variety and tactical capabilities to support the new node-map based hack experience.
  

If you’re looking for a visual of what inspired us to design Mk2, check out this amazing video of the original Sega Shadowrun hack. Watch long enough to see the node-map behind the visual navigation, the different types of nodes -- data, functional, IC -- and the sheer awesomeness of what could be Cyber Knights: Flashpoint Hacking Mk2.
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

We hope you’ll comment to let us know what you think about the new stretch goals and which you find to be the most exciting! Share your excitement here and let’s keep the momentum going together! Also, remember to tell a friend and share the campaign.

Thank you for your support, and we will sign off with a pile of art and gifs!
Andrew and Cory Trese

Hello! Before I had a chance to get to writing this news update, a lot has happened. We've already funded the Kickstarter campaign in under 12 hours and passed our first stretch goal. We have heard for years that our community wanted us to make another Cyber Knights game but now you’ve shown us just how serious you were about it.

We've also had some exciting appearances in the press with a Rock, Paper Shotgun interview and a shout out by Linux Gaming Consortium (full Linux support, day 1).

Before we talk more stretch goals, we want to take a moment to just reflect on the community's amazing support. We've been fortunate to build a big community on Steam with Star Traders: Frontiers and Templar Battleforce and we are so thankful that you have all helped blow this project up! We are blown away. Thank you all for the encouragement and positive energy!

If you're new to Trese Brothers or don't like to do Kickstarter, we hope you'll Wishlist the game on Steam instead!

We've included the Stretch Goals graphic below. This first wave of stretch goals! This first set includes a mix of bonus rewards for every backer, new character outfits and drones and ends with the “Valkyrie Zero” story expansion at the $100,000 mark. We’re keeping the $150,000 and above stretch goals hidden for now as we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves.



Thank you for your support,

Cory and Andrew Trese