Cyber Knights: Flashpoint News

Following up with the MAGNITUDE v2 update yesterday, we've got a big burst of new and dangerous enemies, better enemy progression and better enemy variety across the game. We've also further boosted the Field Ops Delay Mission token, evened out the balance in the Siege missions and fixed bugs from reported F10s.

Welcome to the new Knights piling into the New Boston zone! Get ready for updates and improvements. Be sure to hit F10 if you see something that is broken or could be improved.

And, if you're enjoying how we approach Early Access, please drop a review!


[h2]Enemies using Full Auto: Wildfire and FireCOM[/h2]
We've added a number of new enemy types across factions - FireCOM variations for the different corporate groups and WIldfire for the Street and Syndicate. These heavier troops carry a variety of Full Auto capable Assault Rifles and Urban Assaults and are equipped to take the Full Auto shot to hit multiple mercs on your team.

These new enemies are a good start - watch your firing angles, be more careful clumping your mercs and consider who the highest priority target is in the enemy squad.


[h2]More Abilities Coming[/h2]
We are at the bottom of a big climb, preparing to add tons of new abilities and enemy types to the game. Full Auto is the first through the gate and grenades will be piling through next (flash bang, explosive, Molotov, and healing for more effective enemy combat medics). Then we'll be moving on to persistent on map effects like traps and more.

Then it will be the season of the drone.


[h2]Further Enemy Progression Balance[/h2]
This update improves the sweep of progression available to many enemy types and factions within the game. A number of enemies were still stranded somewhere between Power Level 1 to 6 and unable to scale above that point. This update adds a ton of scaling range for Street, Syndicate, Warner-Braun and megacorporate enemies. Some enemies now also receive key armor upgrades at high (7+) Power Levels, such as Street Shotgunners picking up 1 Protection Point to help them survive closing.


[h2]Field Ops Delaying with Tokens[/h2]
We've heard from players the need for even more flexibility to delay missions some times, and the limit of 1-delay-per-mission can sometimes feel very limiting, especially when it comes down to the Cyber Knight in recovery, treatment or needing to go under for cyber surgery.

With Update #132, we've extended the ruling to allow 2 tokens maximum to be used to delay a mission. We've also tuned the delay bonus for different room levels, flattening it out so that it's basically +1 day per level and ends at +8 days.

[h2]Siege Balance[/h2]
To help the Siege objective play better and fit into the kind of timing that other missions require, we've cut back on the waves a bit. These are still some of the more difficulty missions in the game at the moment, especially if you draw the wrong faction like Brave Star. Maybe this time just let them have that chunk of Los Z turf?

[h2]v1.8.65 - Update #2: Wildfire X FireCOM[/h2]
- Certain enemy types now use Full Auto attacks to hit multiple mercs
- Added 3 new Full Auto enemy types (names, description, visuals): FireCOM enemies from corporate, Warner-Braun FireCOM and Street Wildfire
- Syndicate Whistlers also can use Full Auto attacks now (and cause multiple bleeds in the act)
- AR carrying Head Hunters will now use Full Auto
- Syndicate Whistler's far more likely to appear when facing Syndicates
- Improved scaling for enemies - high-end enemies from Street, Syndicate, Corporate, Warner-Braun all have more room to scale
- Improved variety of enemy spawn combinations significantly for all factions
- Field Ops Center tokens can now be used to delay a mission twice
- Improved balance of Siege proc-gen objective and size of spawn waves
- Fixed issue with roster sometimes getting locked only showing 3 mercs
- Fixed issues with decks sometimes not repairing properly

Big day here Knights. In the previous MAGNITUDE update back in March, a burst of proc-gen content pushed us over the top to hit a milestone of 2X the amount of content since launch. We've blazed down the features list of our roadmap since then, delivering new systems left and right, but also adding in a steady trickle of new level content and new proc-gen objectives as we went.

Today we've got a much bigger burst for you, with 2 new maps, 2 new objective types, and a total of 10 new map/objective combinations. This means we have once again doubled the amount of content in the game - x2 since update #60, x4 since launch! 🎉

With proc-gen variety greatly increased, we'll be pushing to expand the pool of hand-crafted missions over the next couple of months. Our Casting Directory story engine and the proc-gen system work hand-in-hand to give you opportunities to mold your mercs, influence your underworld network, and build your rep as a Cyber Knight. By launch your playthroughs will cover the full arc of a Knight's career from origin to retirement. For now, enjoy growing your gains from all these heists; those credits will fund a lot of safehouse construction and/or crafting.


[h2]New Map: Dusted Hover-Evac[/h2]
An old and abandoned ruin of a building leans over a road junction that might have once been bustling but now is just part of the network of under-the-level illegal commerce. Still a valuable spot and a commanding vantage point, the old Dusted Hover-Evac is a good place for a VIP to head for a hover extraction or a good place to defend if you want to own this stretch.


[h2]New Map: Wreckspire[/h2]
The junction is a crossing point between two larger towers - D07 and D08 - and if it wasn't owned by gangs and Syndicates might have hosted shops, food stalls or even a rooftop club. Maybe it did so long ago that no one can remember. A long stretch with a commanding high point in the center and many possible ways in and out makes for a deadly rooftop heister's playground.

[h2]New Objective Type: Siege[/h2]
The new Siege objective is in the inverse of the Battle Striker where you are attempting to storm a defended location, either by drawing the enemies out to you or taking the fight to them. In the Siege objective, you've holding a stretch of territory for your Contact, trying to crush an enemy assault team before they can get a foothold. You are the one in the defensive position or key stretch of territory, often surrounded or exposed from multiple angles. You've got to fight and hold the territory against enemy waves.

These are hard missions which pay well and have extra XP boosts - so be sure you take your combat A-team on the first one you try.

[h2]New Objective Type: Lootbox Hunt[/h2]
The new Lootbox Hunt sends you into a facility on a mission to find specific Files that have been hidden among the lootboxes there. You're the "last-mile pickup" system for the bribed insider who couldn't get the secrets out of the building but was able to surreptitiously hide the 3 pieces of the formula outside the highest security areas. There will be lots of ways to go about this one, if you stay quiet throughout or go loud and fast to find the loot you need.

And once you have at least 1/3 pieces of the paydata you came to get, the option to extract opens up.


[h2]More proc-gen combos[/h2]
Proc-gen missions grow in variety from a number of factors that affect them both in-level (objective, entrance & exit positions, Matrix connections) and at the strategy layer (e.g. faction origin and target).



Every new element - especially the biggest ones like maps and objectives -that we are able to add to the system continues to increase the multiplier effect.

We've got work to do to double this content set again but we're climbing a mountain and that takes time, but there are still some major new multipliers to add to the equation like mission structure, which will allow some proc-gen missions to be offered that have more than one single map and are built more like Sibling Job or Carnivore where you have to pass through an outer map to reach the true objective map.

[h2]v1.8.63 - #131: Magnitude x2 - 8/26/2024[/h2]
- Added new proc-gen map "Dusted Hover-Evac": dilapidated clinic with rooftop hoverpad rules a junction
- Added new proc-gen map "Wreckspire": ruined rooftop junction between Districts 08 and 07
- Added new proc-gen objective "Siege": hold defensive position against enemy waves
- Added new proc-gen objective "Lootbox Hunt": search lootboxes for 3 paydata files
- Added 10 new proc-gen Map X Objective combinations (4 Siege, 4 Lootbox Hunt, 2 Assassinate)
- Improved payment and XP reward for proc-gen Battle Striker missions

This morning we're rolling out a rapid set of fixes to catch up on bugs and F10s that have been hanging around this last week. It's a nice cleanup to get us ready for the next big content push! Here's what we've got for you -

[h2]Empty Lootboxes[/h2]
Some of the work we are doing in prep for a major drop of new proc-gen missions caused a bug in existing missions with lootboxes. A lot of lootboxes were coming up empty. Any mission generated before this update is installed may have empty lootboxes.

[h2]Passive Leverages[/h2]
Especially in the matrix, players were getting confused about Passive Leverages which go into effect automatically but are still displayed in the Leverage list and pretend that they can be activated. Very confusing! With this update, we've added a Passive tag so help identify them and removed the options to activate them which is not actually possible.

[h2]Dismissing Rules[/h2]
To help reduce your clicks, if you dismiss a merc, you now take all their armor, weapons, items and cyberdeck. You could have done with anyway, but it just takes a lot of clicking, so we made it automatic and simple for you.

We've also fixed a number of other issues around dismissing - you could dismiss dead characters, who knew! You could dismiss mercs who were already dismissed!?! It wasn't good, it made bugs.

[h2]Matrix Dmg and Buffs[/h2]
There was a mistake in the print of Attack program damage ranges once you got buffed with Rampage or other buffs. The damage wasn't accurately updated, which is now fixed and the values show the real range you might hit at. Yummy - digital destruction!

[h2]Matrix Buff Coloration[/h2]
Speaking of Matrix buffs, for a while all effects in the matrix have been styled as a red debuff, regardless of if they were good or bad. We've now updated the buff list (just like the physical list) to get the colors correct and make them more clear to the eye.

[h2]v1.8.61 - 8/23/2024[/h2]
- Fixed issue with empty lootboxes appearing across levels
- Improved tagging on Leverages to display Passive Leverages with a tag and stop them from looking like they can be activated
- Dismissing a merc will automatically remove all equipment, cyberdeck, etc (save you clicks)
- Prevented Dismissing already dismissed mercs (?!?), dead mercs and recruits
- Fixed incorrectly displayed damage range in Matrix attack Talents when +Dmg buff is active
- Matrix effects are now correctly colored by buff/debuff
- Fixed issue with Roster where character could be stuck after removing Cyberdeck

The latest update is hitting the streets of New Boston with a wave of improvements from community suggestions, your F10s and more. Thanks to everyone feeding us requests and suggestions, we're excited to roundtrip them and put them into the game fast and furious. We've improved how programs can be uninstalled and installed, we've improved the Matrix AP bar in the Matrix HUD, simplified the timeline buttons, fixed item carry nodes in the class tree, brought down some high-end cyberdeck repair costs and fixed one of the possible cases that could cause a freeze on map during a mission.

If you're enjoying our dedication to improving, taking community feedback and fixing your F10 bugs - please take a moment to drop a review for the game and help us continue to improve.


[h2]Flexible Program Uninstall[/h2]
The change of rules to use maximum program limit on deck has brought a lot more importance of the decision to what programs to load on to your deck. But the previous limit that a cyberdeck must always have a Scan, Sleaze, Deception, Disarm and Attack program on it is was making upgrading a deck challenging. Once you hit 10/10 programs, you couldn't easily remove Scan I to install SCan II and had to do an annoying round-robin uninstall and reinstall.

So - you asked and we've improved rapidly! Now, if you uninstall a required program, you'll now just get a confirmation warning instead of a hardstop error -


And above your installed programs for each deck, you'll see 5 icons showing Scan, Sleaze, Deception, Disarm and Attack. If they are missing, the icon lights up red indicating you're not ready to deploy to a mission with that deck.

 
But that's fine, you probably uninstalled Scan I to install Scan II. If you didn't, you'll find a helpful error message at deploy time sending you back to sort out your programs.


[h2]Matrix AP Highlight[/h2]
The Matrix AP bar has now joined the fun to keep up with IO buffer and Active Memory. If you're hovering over a Program or a Talent in your program bar, the Matrix AP that will be used by the action (either to load the program or to use the program, depending on its loaded) state is now highlighted in the bar. Now you can see how each action will affect all of your 3 action pools and the tutorial feels even nicer =D


[h2]Simplified Timeline Buttons[/h2]
The buttons to control the timeline were using a Play, Play Fast and the Play button would switch to a Pause button once the timeline was started. This setup was not the best and was causing a lot of controller and keyboard input to stop or start the timeline accidentally. Plus, once you've decided a speed you want to play the timeline in the game, you probably aren't using both.

We've improved and simplified the button set to have a Pause and a Play button. Neither changes to another type of button when the timeline is running, so there is now no chance of input jamming. If you want the timeline to run fast, this is the default setting for the new Highspeed Timeline option in your Options > Gameplay menu. If you do want it to run slow, you can disable the Highspeed Timeline option.

Thanks for all the F10s and feedback about this and we'll keep polishing elements large and small to the game to feel as smooth as possible.


[h2]Item Carry Class Training[/h2]
A bug snuck in at some point with the item carry upgrade nodes for your class tree. These expensive nodes - each costing a whopping 5 points - enable you to carry an additional item on every single mission. They may not feature in your early game builds but they are likely to be worth it in your mid to late game builds where that extra Ion Recharger or dose of Turqo Juice can make the difference.

Currently the nodes will allow you to carry a new item of any type while we evaluate the original design that some nodes would offer limited item carry by type (Tech only, etc). We are also working toward a point where each of these nodes will also come with Attribute and other stat bonuses to help round out their cost.

But when trained now, you'll see your equipment section upgrade immediately and be able to equip more items.

[h2]Cyberdeck Repair Costs[/h2]
We've tempered the math that was used for repair costs for cyberdecks as the deck prices just keep getting more expensive. This will help decks around Power Level 4 and higher to have more reasonable repair prices and ensure that you're price tag isn't hitting $100K until you're looking at serious damage.


[h2]Overwatch / Movement Freeze[/h2]
We've fixed a significant cause of freezes on the combat map where there was a one frame gap between a character starting an action (moving, shooting) where it was possible (if the timing was just right) that they could start an idle twitch animation ... which would leave them hung and the game frozen.

With this new case in mind, we're looking for other possible causes of freezes on the map which are rare but still reported in F10s. Please keep reporting them and we'll keep doing our diligent detective work to figure out what is causing them. At this point, none of them are simple code errors, its all somewhere deep down in the animation controllers, blending and timing, so we need your F10s!

[h2]Update Size Update ;)[/h2]
It looks like the improvements we made to the asset packaging managed to crunch what could often be a 4.6 to 4.9 GB update down to a 2.9 GB update. We're not done, we can crunch more! We'll keep you posted as we keep working these down in size. Our aim is to consistently keep the updates under 1 GB.

[h2]Battle Striker Early[/h2]
We fixed a bug where Battle Striker missions often ended early before the last wave of reinforcements arrived. Thanks for the F10s!


[h2]Treatment, SImstream and Injury[/h2]
We're continuing to work on improving the code and validation routines around treatment, simstream and injury. There are still issues here that can cause events to hang on the timeline, the roster counts to be wrong and more. This release fixes a few more of the issues that were reported and a few more things we found on our own.

We've also fixed a bug where you might in Treatment for a Wound like Brainburnt 1 and while trying to treat it, your Wound upgrades to Brainburnt 2. Not good! Wounds will no longer mutate while in Treatment. 

[h2]v1.8.59 - 8/22/2024[/h2]
- Rebuilt the timeline buttons - just simple play and pause button, reduced issues jamming spacebar
- Added new Option to play timeline in fast or slow mode
- Improved Matrix AP bar above IO and Active Mem to highlight like the deck stats do when hovering programs/talents
- Improved program uninstall - now warns but does not prevent uninstall of required programs (Scan/Sleaze/Deception/Disarm/Attack)
- Required programs icon bar shown above deck programs to indicate which are installed
- Cannot deploy to mission unless 5 required cyberdeck programs are installed
- Added mission description to item carry rules at the top of each classes skill tree. Costs 5 points to carry +1 item, up to 4 max
- Fixed bug where training in item carry would not always immediately enable the ability to carry more items
- Improved cost curve for repairs on high-end Cyberdecks to keep cost from getting out of hand
- Fixed bug where enemy could start moving and then suddenly stop one or two steps in
- Fixed bug with contact selection by Casting Director that was reducing variety of contacts that could proc
- Fixed bug where Battle Striker missions could end before the last set of spawns
- Improved safehouse honoring and counting different status (detox, wound, injury) to prevent being sent to other detox, wound, etc
- Fixed bug about injury or medical timeline events and roster counts sticking around after completion
- Fixed bug where a Wound could mutate (from Level 1 to 2) out from under Wound Treatment