Cyber Knights: Flashpoint News

Update #142 wraps up this cycle of additions with the Dusted Hover-Evac mission map and will open the chapter on the next map getting a lot more play and objective options. While we're adding new proc-gen playable combos rapidly these weeks, we've also got a lot cooking at Trese Brothers HQ with a big content bundle (what is Warner-Braun up to?), a major feature set upgrade (sight cones and security visualization) and more.

With Update #142, we've added the Kill 3 Captains objective for Dusted Hover-Evac, fixed a mission victory bug with the Southie Strut story mission, fixed additional problems for older missions (created pre-Update #141) for Head Hunters, fixed a bug with Heat from HI-POWER Cameras, and fixed 2 more rare cases that could cause freezes in the game.

If you like the way we are conducting CKF's Early Access period and like how the game is shaping up, please take a moment to leave a review and help our small indie studio continue the work!

Theka awaits...
[h2]Kill 3 Captains at Dusted Rooftop[/h2]
The Dusted Hover-Evac is everywhere! Three enemy captains may now have taken command of the rooftop and dug in. Maybe they know you're coming, they have arrayed their forces in a pretty defensive stance against an attack. Good luck, Knight. This is how you earn those U-Dahs.

With the team's big emphasis on content this season, we're continuing to push on proc-gen map X objective combinations, bringing the total now to 41. This pushes Dusted Hover-Evac to actually be the most used map, with 8 objectives that it can appear on.


The next step is to circle back to some of the really awesome maps (Wreckspire, Interchange H and Urban HQ) that only appear in 1 or 2 Objective types and bring them up to par. Bringing this set of 4 missions maps into the fold in a big way will drastically help reduce how many times you end up in the Sewer or the double bridge Trucker HQ. We're excited that we are on a path and moving forward consistently that will put the days of seeing the same map on repeat into distant memory.


[h2]Head Hunter Fixes[/h2]
We fixed Head Hunters in Update #141, but it turns out our fix didn't cover all the cases of missions that were created before Update #141 went live. We've now further adjusted the code to better cover this out-of-date missions and to help you get the right Head Hunter talking and appear.

If you do have an old mission or a mission where the Head Hunters are already loaded in ... you can Restore Before Mission back to the safehouse and rerun the whole mission or you can just play forward. This is resolve for future missions, if you've already got a borked or zombie HH on the ground, we can't save them.


[h2]Fixed HI-Heat from HI-POWER[/h2]
A bug snuck through where you could earn more than +8 Heat from HI-POWER Cameras. This is now fixed with the maximum correctly applied. Apologies for anyone who got burned.


[h2]Fixed Southie Strut Victory[/h2]
There was a bug with the Southie Strut path through the Herr Schweinchenn missions that could result in the team being trapped in the mission level and unable to go home to the safehouse even after all the enemeis were dead. "I just want to gooo hoooooome," wail the mercs.

Lol - we fixed it. Reload the game and you'll get victory and we cleaned it up for future games so that victory will appear immediately after killing the last enemy, nice like a Battle Striker.

[h2]Another Grenade Freeze[/h2]
We found and fixed another freeze that could occur in the game when an enemy would try to throw a grenade. They'd stop their movement, not actually switch their weapons and then freeze. This has accounted for 50% of the 9 game freezes that have been reported since #138. Bugs that can cause the game to freeze are now very rare so we're continuing to isolate the few last causes and crushing them out.

Another one - if you were changing weapons and you started an attack in the middle of that animation, you could get a freeze. This is now fixed as well.

[h2]v1.8.95 - #142: Rooftop Hunt - 9/13/2024[/h2]
- Added new proc-gen map and objective combo: Dusted Hover-Evac X Kill 3 Captains
- Fixed lingering Head Hunter issues for missions created before Update #141 (not appearing, wrong HH)
- Fixed mission bug with Southie Strut storyline, mission not always completing when all enemies dead
- Fixed bug that allowed Heat from HI-POWER cameras to exceed 8 (max)
- Fixed bug that could cause enemy turn to hang after movement before Bulwark, Patchmax or F-Duster tossed a grenade
- Fixed bug that could cause player turn to hang if started an attack in middle of switching weapon animation
- Fixed one hairstyle where you couldn't set secondary color

This morning's update landing in the New Boston zone includes a pack of new appearance options - hairs and one mustache - and a big set of fixes that hit every F10 we've had reported about Head Hunters all in one go. We also fixed bugs with Cyberdecks needing repeat repairs, improved the rules around certain items (Patch X-Kit) to fix targeting bugs and improved issues in the Dusted Hover-Evac (which is now getting a lot of play)!

If you like how we run our Early Access - 3 days, 3 updates! - please take a moment to leave a review. We can't jam new proc-gen map combos every day, but we've got a constant drip of new for you. Let's dig in!


[h2]3 and 3 New Hairstyles + 1 Mean Mustache[/h2]
We're excited to roll out some new hairstyle looks tonight with 6 new hairstyles in total. We've got one matching hairstyle (long dreads) and multiple hairstyles that allow for two color modifiers. It is always exciting to see the stack of possible visual appearances increase and these will be trickling into Contacts as well in future weeks.

We've got more coming this month with both facial piercings (lip, eye, nose) and more facial cybernetic enhancements.

Some of these larger / longer hair styles can clip with some of the outfits. While we've completed major upgrades on the lighting engine and character facial textures, we are excited someday to complete a big update on hair texturing. But today isn't that day :D

Finally, we've added a mustache and flat top haircut that can give some new cool looks, especially for military or milsec minded characters.

Also, among the set are the first dual color hairstyles that could be combined with beards, so we had to tweak a few things to make sure you're still controlling the beard and hair color through the primary hair color or by changing the beard. We may get to a point where we split beard off as truly a separate color control in the future.


[h2]Head Hunter Bug Smash![/h2]
Since their debut in July, we've been tracking a number of Head Hunter issues for resolution. Some of them have escalated recently with the big influx of new players and with the new spawning system changes. These infamous legendary Head Hunters will come after you when sent by a Contact who is seeking revenge for an unpaid debt or a wrong perpetrated by your team or Knight.

So, we've tackled them all at once and repaired any saved games automatically that had data issues. Here is the list of things we fixed for Head Hunters:

• Sometimes there would be Head Hunter dialog and then no one would appear
  
• Sometimes there would be Head Hunter dialog and then the Head Hunter would appear by themself
  
• Sometimes there would be Head Hunter dialog that just said "ERROR MISSING QUIP"
  
• Sometimes there would be Head Hunter dialog and the wrong Head Hunter would be talking
  
• Sometimes a dead Head Hunter would talk or even appear on the map to take another swipe at you
  
• Sometimes a Head Hunter would mock you with "Running worked last time" but this was the first time you ran into them
  

That was a big pile of interconnected little bugs. We had to do write some saved game cleanup (all automatic, no saved game very invalidated!) and fix some sloppy wiring with a few of the Head Hunter cases (specifically, Henninger) - but now it should all be working after Update #141.

Thanks to everyone for putting in the F10s! We couldn't do it without you.

[h2]Cyberdeck Repeat Repairs[/h2]
We fixed a set of minor display issues around cyberdecks needing repeat repairs. This was a caching bug and generally going out to the main menu would fix it but now we are correctly purging the cache to make a deck repaired is always shown as repaired, even if held by a cached character.

[h2]Healing and Repairing Talents / Items[/h2]
We've fixed a targeting limitation bug with repairing items or talents (like Patch X-Kit) or healing items (like medkits) that could sometimes refuse to operate if the current character's armor was undamaged or the current character did not need healing. All of these cases have been corrected to focus the check on the target of the ability, not the owner.


[h2]Dusted Hover-Evac Sewer[/h2]
We've fixed an issue that was preventing sight lines and firing lines from crossing over the big central sewer depression in the Dusted Hover-Evac map. This had a big impact - sometimes to your benefit - but it was a major mistake on our part. Now fixed!


[h2]v1.8.93 - #141: Head Hunters Ride! - 9/12/2024[/h2]
- Added 6 new hair options, 1 new mustache
- Fixed issues with Head Hunters including (1) dead Head Hunter appears (2) Head Hunter appears alone (3) no Head Hunters appear
- Fixed "ERROR MISSING QUIP" bug with some Head Hunters sent after you by Syndicate boss
- Fixed issues with Cyberdecks not always repairing correctly or Damaged tags hanging around
- Fixed issues with items healing or repairing armor's Protection Points rejecting use ("not needed")
- Fixed map issue in Dusted Hover-Evac where sewer pit was blocking lines of sight

Knights and mercs - gather round. There is a new hotspot for looting in town at the old clinic. You know the one with the crumbling rooftop and the sniper hideout? Well, they've been stashing things there and we're about to get paid to hit it hard.

With Update #140, we've added 2 new proc-gen combos where you can run Scav or Lootbox Hunt missions on the Dusted Hover-Evac level, hit 40 proc-gen combos total now, better displayed consquences for skipping missions, sorted Legwork to the top fo dialog choices and improved Sniper's Strike Zone Talent to give more long-range Overwatch canceling options.

When we started Early Access, our intention was to provide continuous, nonstop improvement to the game without delays or long waits. If you think we're hitting the mark and like the direction the game is heading, remember to drop a review and tell a friend! Remember, you can always edit it later.


[h2]Dusted Hover-Evac gains 2 new Objectives[/h2]
With Update #140, we've improved the map options for proc-gen objectives Scav and Lootbox Hunt to include the Dusted Hover-Evac level. Reaching the true tipping point for proc-gen map X objective saturation is still a long way off, but every addition to this helps push the game farther, reducing repetition in your proc-gen game play. We'll be adding one more objective type to the Dusted Hover-Evac map and then moving on to fill out some other maps that don't appear in enough objectives (Wreckspire followed by Interchange H).

The bug looked like this ^^ Now fixed!
We also fixed a bug with the Dusted Hover-Evac level wh1ere certain stretches along the rooftop had a invisible barrier that blocked sight and grenades. Now fixed!


[h2]Hitting 40 Proc-Gen Combos (Map X Objective)[/h2]
With the 2 new proc-gen combos and adding Dusted Hover-Evac to the options for Scav and Lootbox Hunt missions objectives, we've now brought the total proc-gen combinations to 40. It's an exciting base camp 2 (post MAGNITUDE v2), but we're looking on to base camp 3, 4 and then the peak.

To break down the current combo allocation today -

• There are 11 maps are used by proc-gen (Req Site, Trucker HQ, One-Ladder Sewer, Street Palisade, Corner Holdout, Slumroad Junction, Lockdown Station, Interchange H, Urban HQ, Wreckspire, Dusted Hover-Evac)
  
• There are 10 objective types (Hack, File Hunt, Scav, Lootbox Hunt, Kill 3 Captains, Q-Gap Spike, Escort VIP, Assassinate VIP, Battle Striker and Siege)
  
• The highest map variety is in Q-Gap Spike (8 maps) and Kill 3 Captains (7 maps)
  
• Scav and Lootbox Hunt each have 5 maps
  
• The September proc-gen goals look something like this: (1) to integrate Wreckspire, Urban HQ and Interchange H into 5 objective types each (total +11 new proc-gen combos, top 50 combos), then (2) add +2 new maps and (3) add +1 new objective
  

[h2]Mission Expiration Consequence Warning[/h2]
We've added a clear warning to the mission expiration pop up about the consequences of such a choice. Your Contacts come to you with work they think only you and your team can complete, and if you can't step in and make it happen, thy have to go to their B-choice. If you ignore or refuse to work for a Contact, they will accumulate Exposure and negative Limit Breaks are coming there way. This can be one way to weaken a Contact, but if you're trying to build up a friend, it is important to help them out when they coming knocking at your door.


[h2]Sniper's Strike Zone Breaks Overwatch[/h2]
Sniper's persistent map area debuff Strike Zone has been upgraded now to cancel enemy Overwatch when it is activated, giving the Sniper a powerful tool to help teammates at long distance for 0 AP without having to fire their rifle (3 AP). Alongside its powerful debuff, an enemy who has Overwatch up when the Talent is used will be knocked out of Overwatch stance. Notably, its rule states: "Cancels enemy Overwatch when first activated" which indicates that it doesn't prevent enemies in that area from re-activating Overwatch on a later turn.

If you haven't run one yet, check out all of the Sniper's powerful abilities on the wiki.


[h2]Legwork Always On Top of Dialog Options[/h2]
To help ensure it is always most visible as an option, Legwork offers are now the top sorted response in any set of dialog choices. They used to fall at the bottom, below Accept / Delay / Reject but now are #1 always. It's a nice, minor change. Yay for polish!

[h2]Calibration Capture Leverage Duration[/h2]
This leverage misstated its duration as 3 Turns when it was actually 2 - now corrected in text!

[h2]v1.8.91 - #140: Crumbling Parapets - 9/10/2024[/h2]
- Added new proc-gen map and objective combo: Dusted Hover-Evac and Scav (loot everything!)
- Added new proc-gen map and objective combo: Dusted Hover-Evac and Lootbox Hunt (find 3 specific files!)
- Added warning to mission expiration confirmation that a Contact will gain +10% Exposure
- Sniper's Strike Zone Talent cancels enemy Overwatch when it is first activated (but does not prevent future OW)
- Corrected display of duration for Calibration Capture Leverage - first 2 Turns
- Legwork offers are always sorted to the top of dialog options
- Fixed issues along balcony in Dusted Hover-Evac map that blocked sight or grenade throw
- Fixed reported typos, thank you!

This is a quick Sunday night update - rapid fire from yesterday's to address a few hot button F10s and a real ugly missing string that cropped up in Hacking. We've also included some rebalance to yesterday's update for HI-POWER Escalation to ensure it is feeling right.

Thanks for your support during Early Access, helping us improve the game with your feedback and F10s and for leaving a review to help spread the word and bring more heisters to New Boston!


[h2]Scan Label Restored, other Labels Fixed too[/h2]
First off, the Scan label in the Matrix was broken as of last release, making the matrix really hard to play! We've now resolved this, restoiring the "Scan 1/2" (etc) label in.

There have been a lot of labels broken and then rapidly fixed across the game in the last two weeks. We are quietly working on a bunch of upgrades, fixes and tweaks to get the game's codebase and string base ready to officially start translation. We are doing as much QA as we can, but a few minor breaks are slipping through. Thanks to everyone for F10'ing anything you see and helping us fix it quickly.


[h2]HI-POWER Escalation Rebalance[/h2]
Last update was exciting for pushing the HI-POWER Escalation more into the Sec AI's meta (it has a meta! so meta!) but we received some F10s over the weekend showing cases where if it really upgraded all the devices of a single type to HI-POWER ... it was drunk on power. Suddenly 15 Prox-Mines were HI-POWER. Too much!

So, last update we made a change to force HI-POWER to only upgrade a single type and to upgrade all the devices of that type. With Update #139, we've rolled back half of that. HI-POWER now always targets a single type of device (Laser Mesh, for example) and then upgrades a specific number of them, depending on the Sec AI type.

For the Sigma 5, 6, 7 and 9 Sec AI types - the count of HI-POWER devices goes 3, 4, 4, and then 5 at Sigma 9.

Currently, it is important to note (and not highlighted in the last update) that Gang and Syndicate Sec AI don't have the option to HI-POWER their devices. So, only a Milsec or Corp camera has the power to increase your Heat. We'll be working on further refining this, as it seems likely that we want Gangs and Syndicates to HI-POWER mines but not other devices types.


[h2]Wounded Status in Victory[/h2]
We're now correctly showing Wounded status in the victory and defeat screens, so you don't have to check the roster afterwards. If a character is heavily injured, keep an eye out for the Wounded tag as well.


[h2]Wounded in Legwork[/h2]
When consider which mercs to send on Legwork, who is Wounded is relevant. If a merc has a Wound, they get a warning on the right side of their Legwork entry now.

[h2]v1.8.89 - #139: Rapid Fire - 9/8/2024[/h2]
- Victory summary screen correctly shows Wounded status as well as Injury time
- When considering mercs for legwork, their wounded status is also shown
- Adjusted rules of HI-POWER, not all devices but X of same type (4 Prox-Mines)
- Sec AI SIGMA 5, 6, 7 and 9 increasingly HI-POWER larger numbers (3, 4, 4, 5) of devices
- Reminder: only Sigma Sec AI can use HI-POWER Escalation, not gangs or syndicates
- Fixed "Matrix.Scan" bug in Matrix hiding the scan level

Down below the level, the Knights and their teams are planning their next heist. Maybe Update #138 has your new heist in it! We've added a new proc-gen combo of an existing map and objective (Dusted Hover-Evac X Q-Gap Spike), improved the Sec Escalation rules for HI-POWER devices, buffed Prox Mines again, improved the visibility and consistency of HI-POWER Radar Arrays and Camers generating Heat, fixed a ton of small appearance clipping and positioning issues, improved performance on Trucker HQ and fixed 2 cases causing possible freezes on map (now, extremely rare).

We are hard at work expanding the game with both front-line releases (as seen here, new stuff today!) and bigger projects in the background (new shader for sight cones, translation project, a big story/mission dump for Treaty '31 Era) - so if you like what we're working on, our pace of updates, or just how we are running Early Access, we hope you will help us today by leaving a review.


[h2]Dusted Hover-Evac X Q-Gap Spike[/h2]
With Update #138, we're following up on the good work of the major MAGNITUDE v2 milestone, and adding another proc-gen map and objective combination. Some of the maps, like Dusted Hover-Evac, Wreckspire, Urban HQ and Interchange H are all used in woefully few objectives (Siege, Assassin VIP) and so some of our next improvements to the variety in the system are to pull these maps into more objective offerings.

With Update #138, we've crossed Dusted Hover-Evac's exciting rooftop design with the Q-Gap Spike mission objective where you need to reach a protected CPU, spike it and escape. Once this is released, it looks like we will add Dusted Hover-Evac to 3 or 4 more proc-gen objectives quickly and then do the same for Wreckspire next. At that point, we'll start looking again at adding new maps.


[h2]Sec Escalations and HI-POWER[/h2]
We've made a big rules change to how the Sec Escalation that upgrades devices to HI-POWER works. Previously, when the Escalation ran, it would upgrade 3-5 devices to HI-POWER, but it was a random set of devices, often this Radar Array, that Prox Mine and this Laser Fence. It made it hard to track what had really happened, where and why you should care.

The new HI-POWER Escalation simply upgrades all devices of a single type to HI-POWER. So, every laser fence in the facility suddenly jumps up to HI-POWER mode and does 80 Pure Dmg instead of 20. This can especially dangerous with Prox Mine fields, which (as discussed below) are also upgraded in damage. But the entire field (any that are currently active, not jammed) will upgrade to HI-POWER and cause a lot more damage.

To be clear, as stated above, jammed devices do not get upgraded. So, if you've got a Laser Wire knocked out and the Escalations sweeps through on Laser Wires, that jammed one is not affected. It is possible another Escalation will target it later.


[h2]Prox Mines (Dmg!) and Cameras (Heat!)[/h2]
With this change to HI-POWER mode we've also upgraded Prox Mines damage to be higher. They are still causing Ballistic Damage which is blocked by your armor, so your tanks can soak it up and keep moving. They are a bigger threat to lighter armored targets. The upgrade is from 80 Ballistic to 100 Ballistic and when in HI-POWER mode, from 160 Ballistic to 200 Ballistic.

Previously, Cameras Radar Arrays could be upgraded to HI-POWER mode and once HI-POWER, any time they spotted a merc they would grant +1 Heat. This was poorly communicated, not shown correct in hovers and cameras were only rarely picked for upgrade to HI-POWER. With this update, they can accrue an extra +10 Heat for the level, so keep an eye out for HI-POWER Radar Arrays and Cameras even after things have gone loud.


[h2]Coming Soon: HI-POWER Visualization[/h2]
With the new and dangerous affects of HI-POWER mode and the increased option for the Sec AI to amp up devices, we know the very next thing we need is a visual indicator of what devices are extra dangerous (extra crackling, hissing and spitting on the Laser Fence, changing in color or VFX) to help you spot them so you can make quick decisions about when to route around them, spend a charge to disable or just take the hit and run through them.

[h2]Era '31 Legwork[/h2]
We've adjusted the dialog choices and chain at the introduction to the Treaty '31 Era to ensure that you can no longer exit the conversation until you've at least been offered the options to run the legwork there.


[h2]Appearance Improvements[/h2]
We've developed a new authoring tool to help speed up the process of tweaking and improving how appearance options fit together. This has let us make some sweeping fixes to reduce clipping or misplaced accessories - fixing a ton of things from glasses to hair styles to the cybernetic forehead jack. Thanks to everyone posting F10s and with this new tool in hand, we're in a better position to add more appearance options to the game as they are easier to setup with all the different characters now.

Part of the changes to the appearance was to standardize the side of the head the cybernetic forehead jack is on - now it is on the left. It was previously not always on the same side, based on the individual head. If this new side doesn't fit your character design as well, please be patient with us as we will be rolling out the option to have it on the right soon along with some other face cybernetics.

[h2]Trucker HQ Performance[/h2]
If you ever had performance issues on the Trucker HQ level or felt like it was running a bit slower than others, you were right! We've found and fixed a big bug in that level where a second, unauthorized game camera was rendering all the time, causing a major reduction in FPS. It runs much better right now!


[h2]Counter-Intel Hacking Missions[/h2]
If you're getting missions from the Counter-Intel Pods, you'll notice a nice change - we've got icons now :D

[h2]v1.8.87 - #138: Dusted CPU Spike - 9/7/2024[/h2]
- Added new proc-gen map and objective combo: Dusted Hover-Evac and Q-Gap Spike
- Sec Escalation HI-PWER Surge now upgrades all security devices of a specific type to HI-POWER (All laser meshes)
- Proximity Mines upgraded to 100 Ballistic Dmg and 200 Ballistic Dmg when HI-POWER
- Cameras and Radar Arrays correctly upgrade to HI-POWER and add +1 Heat when spotting from this state (max 8)
- Improved start of Treaty '31 Era to be clear that a legwork is an option
- Added missing icons to Counter-Intel pod token offer to start hacking mission
- Significant performance boost to Trucker HQ level which had mistakes which caused it to be slowest level in game
- Improved positioning of 40+ of appearance elements - hair, glasses, forehead plug cybernetic
- Fixed rare-but-possible freeze during enemy movement or enemy grenade throws
- Fixed strings that were broken in a push to prep for translation (Training, Wait for Recovery)