Cyber Knights: Flashpoint News

Knights and cybered mercs, we've got a new blast of cybernetics for you with today's update and some challenging new developments out of one of the fiercest fighting forces on the streets - the FSC. We've also fixed some bugs with enemy scaling in the new grenadier enemies, completed a second round of tweaking on loot Blueprint distribution and fixed some missing text when installing cybernetic implants.

Another day, another update. Our Early Access pledge is not to go slow or let the game sit but to be working constantly to improve and expand. If you like the way we are going about it, please take a moment to leave us review - nothing could be more helpful!
 

[h2]Cybernetics Tier 4[/h2]
With Update #146, we've expanded the standard service for implanting cybernetics from Power Level 3 to Power Level 4. This can be achieved by helping your Street Docs and Splicers score an Influence Limit Break and building up a few Favors to make sure you can steer them to the latest and greatest.



The new service level unlocks new offerings - which include 4 new implants: Synth Muscle 2, the TitanHeart, RegenCore and an upgrade for your Vanguards, the Chameleon S-Mesh. Notably, the TitanHeart and RegenCore are the first released implants in the cyberheart slot, so it is time to go shopping! There are so many more implants to come, so keep an eye on this space as the services keep growing and other new service ladders come online soon.


The RegenCore brings unique bonuses not previously available to implants, reducing overall Injury Time which will be key for heavy combat characters or teams that like to go loud, especially when combined with a Triage Clinic.
 
We've also fixed a very old bug with missing text in the offer screen from a contact when implanting a cybernetic.


[h2]Free Streets Compact - Going their own way[/h2]
For a while we've been working on friendly and aggressive grenadier classes, covering both corporate, milsec, syndicate and the gang factions. This has left the Free Streets Compact (FSC) out in the cold with the new enhancements. They have jealously been watching the street gangs each receive 2 faction-unique enemies.

With Update #146, we've addressed some major shortcomings in their overall enemy scaling. As a faction, they had a very limited range to scale their soldiery, so Update #146 makes them a full-blown enemy capable of fielding more powerful and tough enemies like you'll find in other factions.

In addition to that, the FSC is also heading its own way with enemy variety. They've resolved not to copy those measly street gangs and pack on the matched grenadiers. Instead they'll be adding their own completely different flavor for street-tier enemies. With this update, they now have Po-Bots (the stolen and refurbished mecha infantry) appearing in their different reinforcement groups. This puts them a major step up in terms of difficulty as a faction, as even one Po-Bot on the field can provide a very challenging target to take down.

We're excited to see where the anti-corporate FSC takes their enemy variety next!


[h2]Further Improved Loot Distribution[/h2]
After the patch 2 days ago, we've been watching the Blueprint loot drop analytics feed very closely and have made some additional adjustments. Thanks to feedback from players (hat tip, @flashbackflip) and the data that has been gathered for the weekend play sessions, we've further improved how weapon type is picked for the drop, further pushed weapon mod Blueprints up in chance to drop and reduced some of the changes we made to reduce the rolls for Epic and Legendary rarities in low Power Levels (now, unlikely but not impossible).

[h2]v1.8.103 - #146: Free Streets Strike Back - 9/21/2024[/h2]
- Cybernetic services for Street Doc and Splicers can now extend to Power Level 4, granting new implants in Heart slot
- +4 new implants: SynthMuscle 2, TitanHeart Sys 2.0, RegenCore Sys 1.0 and upgrade Chameleon S-Mesh
- Improved scaling that was lacking the Free Streets Compact (FSC) enemies
- Po-Bot stolen and refurbished infantry drones now appear regularly in FSC reinforcement units
- Fixed bugs with scaling for Gangs and Syndicates, sometimes low Power Level (2) would accidentally roll high Power Level enemy (8)
- Further improved scaling and variation in Blueprint looting distribution
- Fixed missing text in offer to install implants

Let's kick the weekend off with another update to Cyber Knights - more enemy types, more maps, better loot distribution and more! This time the 3 gangs have come to play, each demanding their specialize type of grenadier. The Los Zagales Slaggas are melting down armor, the Blue Ox Brutewain are stalling you out and the Fenian Detonators are throwing the boom!. And we've added Wreckspire to its 4th proc-gen combo

It's going to be another busy month with new content, features and fixes coming non-stop. We hope you're enjoying Early Access and we are here constantly to take feedback and work on improving the game. We hope you'll take a minute to leave a review - remember you can always edit it later.


[h2]3 New Gang-Specific Enemies[/h2]
Following up on the megacorporate Suppressants and Syndicate Blooders, the street gangs are each heading their own separate ways with their specialized grenadiers.

The previously released Los Zagales Patchmax threw grenades to hype up and speed up their gang soldiers and they are now joined by the Slagga a grenadier carrying an explosive mixture that temporarily deactivates the reactive materials of modern armor. Not only will you suffer some nasty Pure Damage but you'll lose 1 Protection Point immediately if a Slagga's Armor Melter hits you.

The previously released Fenain F-Dusters threw grenades to buff Damage and Accuracy with their fabled Redmist, making their soldiers extra deadly in a red berserk haze. They are now joined by the most deadly of street grenadiers - the Detonators. These maniacs hack together explosive devices that pack a massive Pure Damage punch, but cannot be thrown very far and have the smallest blast radius of all. Still - don't let one get you in their throwing arc, its going to hurt!


These streets grenadiers are less worried about friendly fire as well, so don't think standing next to one of their pals is any form of protection!

The previously released Blue Ox Bulwark threw grenades to make their paramilitary ranks soak up hits and gunfire like it didn't matter and just keep punching. They are now joined by the Brutewain who hurl stall grenades, packs with a sticky, movement resistant substances that reduces Move Speed and Initiative, helping pin their targets into place for the rest of their unit to close in on.

With these 6 gang-specific types of friendly and aggressive grenadiers now live, the 3 gang factions have each split their separate way and are really starting to stand out as separate forces to be reckoned with, each with their own concerns. We're excited to keep pushing variation along faction lines with more faction-specific enemies, and the big megacorps will each be receiving their first corp-specific special forces enemy.

Also, now that we do have a lot more enemy types in the game, we're going to come back to work a bit on the progression of their appearance. Right now, they're all piling in pretty early and you can find yourself facing nasty combos at too low of Power Levels (2 X Wildfire and a Slagga is ... bad news).


The aftermath of a melter grenade is not pretty - our Soldier is now wearing fully degraded armor and vulnerable.


We've also completed a pass on the VFX used for all of the grenade types for enemies, tweaking and improving as we can.


[h2]New Proc-Gen Combo: Wreckspire X Kill 3[/h2]
We've added the 4th proc-gen objective combo now with Wreckspire. You can now drop onto this map and try to Kill 3 Captains. Based on the maps design around the central highground, this one leans more toward a fast and furious fight than a stealth escapade like Forward Op or other maps. Be wary of the captains getting the high ground or backing up their Sniper from the surrounding ruins. Then scramble for your exit - each merc to their own escape!

We've also improved and fixed a few things in Wreckspire for all of the different proc-gen combos it appears in, tweaking issues with extraction points, where reinforcements can come from (more places now!) and connecting security devices to Terminals when they are there.


[h2]Better Blueprint Loot Distribution[/h2]
A huge thanks to everyone commenting on Darial's helpful threads about Blueprints and loot distribution this week. The feedback is always supremely helpful and we're happy to be able to move on it quickly. We've improved the loot distribution system with today's update, first targeting the mistakes in the math that were causing Armor and Melee Weapon Blueprints to be wildly over-represented in the loot tables. A much more exciting curve should now be present with weapons and weapon mods far more prevalent. We've also done some work to work on the progression of Exotic and Legendary Blueprints not showing up too early in the game just by pure lucky rolls.

In loot fixes, we also resolved a bug where the objective Files - the entire Substrate Stabilizer set - could appear in random loot boxes. Cool concept but those files aren't ready for it, now fixed.

[h2]v1.8.101 - #145: Melt, Stall and Boom! - 9/20/2024[/h2]
- Added new 3 aggressive grenade enemy abilities - heavy damage, armor melta, stalling!
- Added Slagga (Los Zagales) enemies who throw armor melting explosives that automatically Shred 1 Armor
- Added Detonator (Fenian) enemies who hurl street-cooked explosives to cause maximum Pure Dmg (120)
- Added Brutewain (Blue Ox) enemies who throw stalling grenades (debuff Move Speed and Initiative) to let their paramil forces close in
- Added new proc-gen map and objective combo: Wreckspire X Kill 3 Captains
- Improved extraction options and security devices connection to terminals in Wreckspire proc-gen missions
- Improved Blueprint loot distribution so that Armor and Melee weapons aren't majorly ahead of the rest
- Fixed issues with characters stuck unable to go on a mission, stuck in treatment, stuck tagged as Injured
- Fixed bugs with Substrate Stabilizers appearing in regular loot
- Fixed bugs with logs in enemy grenade tosses

Knights and mercs, we've got another update coming in hot. We're back on the drum beat of enemy variety but now we've moved on from enemies throwing buffing and healing grenades into the other type - nasty debuffing and damaging grenades hurled straight at you! We've also added the Wreckspire map to the Q-Gap Spike proc-gen objective, marking a new combo and a first step (at 41 combos) toward the goal of 50 proc-gen combos. A new backpack and some fixes to hair, bug fixes and more, round out the update.

We've got a lot more coming this month as we're working on some major content dumps, improvements to the sightline and security UIs and more, more. So, if you're enjoying the progress on the game or just keeping an eye on us, be sure to leave a review to help us keep up this pace!


[h2]New Enemies: Suppressants and Blooders[/h2]
Megacorporate forces operating within their own facilities choose to use Suppressants when crowd control or tactical suppression is needed. Hurling semi-non-lethal Stunbombs, a Suppressant can really mess you up, reducing your AP and your Move Speed while dealing a modest dose of Pure Damage. And, if the target isn't dropped by their grenade, Suppressants have full authorization to resort to their tactical shotgun - "Get down and stay down."


In addition to the new Suppressants, all of the Syndicates have gained Blooders, a particularly nasty enemy type known to litter battlefields with shrapnel grenades. Combined with Shocktops and Whistlers, the trio is really putting some backing behind the claim that Syndicates are to be feared and not crossed. The Blooder's hurled munition will explode with deadly force, dealing up to 60 Pure Damage and then causing a 3 Turn bleeding wound at 20 Dmg / Turn. Find some Bandages and don't let a Whistler see or shoot you during this time. Double bleeds are never good!


[h2]New Proc-Gen Map Combo[/h2]
The new objective type for Wreckspire is Q-Gap Spike, putting you on a mission to hack a buried terminal that has been hidden on this rooftop battleground. We have really enjoyed testing this one here, as Wreckspire is a great map for Snipers - yours and theirs! - and can lead to some really intense gunfights over control of the central high point. It is excited to see Wreckspire coming to play in its 3rd objective and now that we've got this one locked in, we'll be pushing up to get Bodyguard, Kill 3 Captains and Battle Striker objectives added without much delay.

We also are continuing to make minor improvements to Dusted Hover-Evac, as it is getting so much more play we're taking that feedback as we go to make each pass better and better. What a great map!


[h2]New Medic's Backpack + 2 Hair Fixes[/h2]
While the Combat Medic class hasn't been released yet, the enemy still has the E-Medics and you might designate someone on your team to carry all the medkits. If you do, this new backpack is just for them!


We've also resolved issues with these two hair styles that were massively over shiny and looked metallic or ... something bad. And they both had the same issue where the "short shave" part of the hairstyle was included as part of the mesh. The option to have short shave under your hairstyle is coming soon, so we needed to separate those.

[h2]Fixed Merc Limit Breaks + Traits[/h2]
We've fixed an issues that allow mercs with Loyalty below 60% to still have the option to raise their Traits to level 3. Increasing your Traits to level 3 and 4 is locked by 60% Loyalty, so this fix has corrected the rules for locking them up. Get that Loyalty up for the best Trait gains, temp Traits and Attribute increases.

[h2]Fixes for Mass Trauma Kit and Nuke I (FAS)[/h2]
We've made some fixes to some files and items with this update. The File Set for Nuke I (FAS) was still misrepresenting itself and in some places claiming you were working on Nuke II (FAS).

Also, the item Mass Trauma Kit was disconnected from its ability and so showed an empty description for what it could do.

[h2]v1.8.99 - #144: Suppressants Rain Down - 9/18/2024[/h2]
- Added new aggressive grenade enemy abilities - boom-boom, debuffing, concussion!
- Added Suppressants (corporate) enemies who use non-lethal concussion grenades to reduce Move Speed and AP
- Added Blooders (Syndicate) enemies who use shrapnel grenades to cause Pure Dmg and Damage over Time
- Added new proc-gen map and objective combo: Wreckspire X Q-Gap Spike
- Added new combat medic's backpack option
- Fixed bug allowing Limit Break to raise a Trait to level 3 with Loyalty below 60%
- Fixed bug with item Mass Trauma Kit not having any effect
- Fixed name mismatch for File Set to compile Nuke I (FAS)
- Improved 2 female hair that were overly shiny/metallic and had short shave built into the hair mesh
- Tweaking and balancing Dusted Hover-Evac level and different possible start / exits / enemy configuration
- Fixed typos and dialog mistakes

Update #143 opens a new weeks with a solid patch, balance improvements, better Haven Smokeout, better Siege proc-gen objective and more. Thanks to everyone playing, posting and firing off the F10s that are helping us to continually improve the game. We're looking forward to another great week of updates and this is a nice way to kick the week off.

If you like the way we are running the Cyber Knight's Early Access - please take a moment to share that or how you're enjoying the game in a review. We are a tiny team, and we need your support. Thank you!


[h2]Four Mercs on the Smokeout[/h2]
Octane's first mission is Haven Smokeout - which is of an older mission, designed as far back as late 2022. The decision to limit it to 3 mercs was made in mid 2023 and never re-reviewed. We continue to hear from players how this mission is challenge, a sudden spike in difficulty or that the secondary objective is so hard to hit. We've adjusted the mission a ton of times but always missedt he glaring odditi - Cyber Knight's missions are for 4 mercs (with the future option of more) but sending 3 is an oddity and an unfair additional challenge for your first real mission in the gam.e

Now, 4 mercs go ono the Smokeout!


[h2]Siege Objective gains Hot Intercept[/h2]
The proc-gen Siege objective has always felt a little wrong at just how much your team has to scramble to try to advantageous positions before the wave of enemies crashes against your defenses. The storyline does justify and discuss this - that it isn't clear exactly where the enemy assault squad will make their strike and that you'll need to deploy rapidly to meet the threat. However, with Update #143, we've adjusted the rules to give all merc teams deploying into a Siege mission an automatic Hot Intercept Leverage. This is always applied and without any cost or need for you to do anything.

The result is that on the first turn of the Siege, your entire team gains +3 MP. We tried giving you a full turn before the enemy arrives but it turned out to be too odd and too OP. The +3 MP bonus feels good - you've got a little more room to get where you need to be and preserve your AP for Overwatch, hurling the Shock Mine field or buffing or whatever crazy plan you've cooked up.


[h2]Hover Dusted-Evac Fixes[/h2]
Hover Dusted-Evac is now popping up everywhere and its great to see so many players enjoying the new level. The feedback has been great and we're excited to increase the footprint of the other newly added levels to keep up with Dusted. As we make those strides to get the new maps into more rotations, it will be a great moment where the game's map set expands and we see less and less chances for repetition as you run multiple missions.


Getting the map out there in a big way has also exposed a number of other bugs that the map had, so we've resolved everything reported with this update. There was a bug with the Kill 3 Captains objective where you could win the mission immediately and a second bug where some of the fences on the far end of the map could only be jumped in very specific places. Resolved!


[h2]Respec Cyber Classes[/h2]
With this update, we've also improved the rules shared in the respec confirmation pop-up. If you opted into a multi-class by installing a cybernetic implant (i.e. Hacker, Agent EX, Scourge or Vanguard) then this is a cyber class. Respec'ing will not remove the class because it would have to remove the cybernetic implant. Respec'ing will unspend all the points on that class tree and leave you only the root of the tree.

However, if you want to remove the cyber class then you want to uninstall the cybernetic implant. The text is now clearer about that, stating: "f you have multi-class into a cyber class by installing an implant, you must remove that implant in the Cyber Surgery screen in order to remove that class."


[h2]Hacking Zone[/h2]
We fixed a minor (but annoying) bug where you could feasibly move the camera outside of the play zone within the hacking map and then ... the camera would get stuck outside and not come back inside. The bounds were reversed, keeping you out instead of keeping you in. Now fixed!

[h2]Bug and Typo Fixes![/h2]
No F10 is ignored, so thank you to everyone who is posting them up even if they are small, minor, little typos or mistakes. We keep fixing, fixing, fixing! We fixed some issues with Injured or Legwork tag in barracks sticking around too long. We fixed some dialog typos and 2 places where the Contact and Knight's name could be flipped.

Thanks to everyone playing, posting F10s, posting on the boards or typing up a review.

[h2]v1.8.97 - #143: Besieged Advantage - 9/16/2024[/h2]
- Adjusted Octane's first mission, Haven Smokeout, to allow 4 mercs instead of 3
- Added automatic Leverage to all Siege proc-gen missions, Hot Intercept, adds +3 MP for first Turn
- Fixed bug in Dusted Hover-Evac Kill 3 Captains objective combo where you could instantly win
- Fixed bug in Dusted Hover-Evac where certain fence lines could not be crossed
- Clarified rules in Respec pop up: if you multi-class into a cyber class by installing an implant, remove implant to remove class
- Fixed camera bug with Hacking mission where the camera could get stuck outside of the map
- Fixed some caching bugs that could cause "Injured" or "Legwork" tag to stick around on barracks
- Fixed typos and dialogs where names were flipped

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