Cyber Knights: Flashpoint News

Before the next heist, what do you really want? One more update! Update #111 drops 2 new outfits, fixes issues with used (1/2 Uses) Blueprints selling for $1K, sorts buying list to best offers first, adds the Token count to the pop-up confirmation for respec, and improves the loot tables and some of the Blueprint stats and variety throughout the game.

Thanks to everyone sharing feedback, encouraging us to keep up the pace and especially to those 5 players who left a review since our last update :hype:


[h2]New Style Options[/h2]
We're continuing to work on expanding the options for appearance and your individual style, so with this update we've added 2 new outfit choices - an armored sheathe and a stylish dress with some fly boots. More options will be coming later this month as we press on ear decorations, more skin detail options, more masks and glasses.


[h2]Used Blueprints - for $1K?[/h2]
We fixed a minor math rounding error once you used one of a Blueprint's uses. If a Blueprint was sitting at 1/2 Uses, ... well 1/2 is as good as 0 right? It's worth $1K now! Lol, woops - that was bad math. Now the Blueprint pricing is fixed properly, and you'll get 50% of the value, as each use is truly worth it's weight in cubes.

[h2]Sorting Buying Offers[/h2]
When you're shopping and looking to buy something new, we've now sorted the offers from contacts to put the best price first. While there can still be some subtleties beneath the price alone, this helps most purchases be less of a look-and-seek.


[h2]Respec Tokens[/h2]
Respec'ing requires a SImStream Trainer token, so when considering confirming a respec you want to know how many tokens you have left. Thanks to some F10s on this subject, we've now added the token count to the pop-up confirmation window.

[h2]Reinforcements on Sigma 7 and 9[/h2]
If you were facing Sigma 7 and 9, either could make first Escalation calls for reinforcements. While we want to highlight the differences between the different Sec AI, this isn't the right place to do it, so we have resolved the issue. Outside of some rare situations (... you quietly killed everyone with Sec Level 0), Reinforcements never appear as the result of the first Escalation.


[h2]On-Going Balance Improvements[/h2]
We shared when the NANOFAB major milestone was hit that was we added over 300 new pieces of equipment and blueprints to the game that the balance would be a bit shaky for a while and that we had a list of to-do tasks to keep shaping the balance back toward optimal.

We're continuing to work on that each release, and this Update fixes some issues with medical item blueprints as well as increasing the variety and range of Blueprints that will appear in some looting situations. We've also fixed missing descriptions for a number of nano-drug blueprints.

If you have any questions about crafting, check out the NanoFab page on the Cyber Knights wiki.

[h2]v1.8.15 - 7/17/2024[/h2]
- Added 2 new outfits options for characters - stylish and ninja
- Fixed issue with 1/2 used Blueprints selling for $1K
- Sorted buy offer list to put best price first
- When confirming Respec, the confirmation window now lists how many Simstream Trainer tokens you have left
- Fixed issue where Reinforcements could be called on 1st Escalation in Sigma 7 and 9
- Improved balance on Trauma Kits and improved variety of blueprints in loot
- Corrected descriptions for NanoFab pharmaceuticals
- Fixed bug that made deleting appearance from the library hard
- Fixed bug with empty blue square and invalid Talent sometimes appear in character status pop up
- Fixed bug with Credits screen

All right, sit down and buckle up - this omnibus Update #110 has a lot of things in it. We've been busy these last few days as we prepare for the release of Head Hunters major milestone. Let's check it - we've got Steam Deck improvements and fixes, balancing for economy and blueprints, better tactical thinking for enemies and better equipment for corp enemies, allowing Contacts to buy Blueprints at Power Level 4-6, sorted offers in buy/sell windows buy best price, and a lot, lot more.

Huge thanks goes out to all the players sending in F10s! We're processing, categorizing and fixing them quickly so please keep sharing your feedback.

And if you like the pace of development around here, please do leave a review :D


[h2]Steam Deck Improvements[/h2]
If you are using the Steam Deck we're excited this patch goes out to you as it will fix your issue with the (Y) button sometimes getting stuck when trying to move a character. This is now fully fixed and with the latest update to the default configuration, you should be very good to go with the Steam Deck.

In addition, the latest round of changes to get Steam Deck compliance caused issues with Steam Deck and Steam Input. If you want to use the Steam Input layer with the Steam Deck, you can turn this back on in the options screen by "Unlock Steam Deck Inputs" - hopefully this works for everyone picking a non-standard gamepad configuration. Thanks to everyone for the F10s and your patience with us as we get this ironed out :D


[h2]Blueprints & Economy[/h2]
There will be ongoing, very important work, to balance and tune the game's economy now that all the major parts are in play. Some of the changes may be a bit painful now but we have to look forward to a better balanced future and make these changes while we're in Early Access.

With Update #110, we've made the following adjustments:

• Price of crafting a Blueprint has generally increased - some things are far more expensive while things like Items may be cheaper, depending on the item. Crafting level 6 Armors for $200K is too cheap (etc), this has been improved.
  
• Price of selling Blueprints has generally increased - Blueprint prices now take into account the number of uses remaining in the Blueprint. Some things sell for less, but most sell for more. Those with 2 uses are going to sell for more and then drop half their value if you use 1/2.
  

[h2]Sorted Sell Offers[/h2]
Whenever you are selling something, we've now nicely sorted the list for you so that the best offer is first - favors, if available, and then highest money offer next. If you're looking to sell fast and not make a lot of decisions, this will help you pick up the pace a little.

On this front, mult-buy and multi-sell are coming soon as well as a bulk sell option to really clean out your inventory and cold storage with very few clicks. Thanks for your patience as we continue to improve these key systems.


[h2]Upgrading Enemy Tactical Thoughts[/h2]
With this update, we've improved how all enemies think about some of their short distance tactical repositions. On their turn, even if they have a valid target (like you!) they like to consider making a short run for a better position. This movement however was missing a critical limit - that it shouldn't cost them their attack! So, enemies will be a bit smarter, and move a bit less, once they are engaged in a proper fire fight with you, willing to shift positions to get better cover or an asymmetrical sight line but not shifting so much that they can't return fire that turn.

In addition, enemies who are "chasing" something - that is, need to move a long distance to reach something - are more determined about their pursuit. Too often, enemies in this state would "go for direct cover" and not go very far. Now expect to see more "Advancing!" and "Charging!" as enemies close the gap with more determination. You can imagine why we've ended up with this improvement as we test and prep the upcoming Head Hunters release!

[h2]Improved Corporate Equipment[/h2]
The corporate security details just got a new flush of equipment starting around Power Level 4 and up. They've been equipped with a better curve of upgraded weapons and armor where before they would so rarely see an upgrade, expect them now to punch harder and take harder punches as you get into the upper half of the Power Level scales.


[h2]Better Scrolling / Scrollbars[/h2]
Across the game we've made scrollbars clickable and selectable to use as a way to get faster navigation. Thanks to everyone putting in F10s about this, the latest solution addresses some of the auto-scrolling issues, lets controller players reach the bottom of all scroll areas with only text, and gives everyone a faster way to move up and down scroll areas.

Once we have some time for the new feature to settle and be tested, we'll work on improving their appearance a little more to integrate them into the UI more cleanly.


[h2]Fixed Crafting / Safehouse Issues[/h2]
Thanks for all the F10s! In rapid fire - if you're buliding a NanoFab bench, you can now see what type. Level 5 Detox no longer misreports the Stress it will heal, we fixed flavor text on Command HQ to stop mentioning mission bonuses incorrectly.

If you're crafting, we fixed a mix up between SMG and AR optics and body intrinsics. Also, if you get a random booster Intrinsic, it will be shown in green when you're looking at the final weapon so it is more clear.

[h2]v1.8.13 - 7/16/2024[/h2]
Steam Deck Improvements
- Fixed bug where (Y) would suddenly stop responding to move a character
- Added "Unlock Steam Deck Inputs" for Steam Deck to allow use of Steam Input system most effectively

- Improved AI tactical combat decisions
- Improved AI's ability to run to a far away point of interest or enemy with more determination
- Improved AI's calculation when in range to make an attack, not to make a short reposition that spends too many AP to attack
- Corporate enemies better equipped with weapons and armor (PL 4-10) and better stat progression
- Improved enemy armor progression for multiple types from Power Level 5+
- Favor value now displayed prominently in Contact's detail page
- Fixed issue preventing Contacts with upgraded Blueprint purchasing services (1-6, etc) from not buying high level Blueprints
- Price of selling Blueprints increased, price of crafting blueprints increased!
- Sorted offers when selling things to Contact to put the best offer first
- NanoFab now shows what type of bench it is building
- Fixed issue with SimStream Detox level 5 not correctly showing Stress reduction
- Name for random bonus Intrinsic mods added by crafting are now in green to stand out from regular
- Fixed crafting weapon random bonus Intrinsics for SMG body mod and AR optics were switched incorrectly
- Fixed issue that could occur equipping cyberdeck when you had 2 of the exact same type
- Fixed attachment positions for Kaza Raildart
- Fixed all scrollbars to be selectable, clickable and draggable - improved controller scroll to bottom of text only areas
- Fixed bad flavor text about Command HQ saying it grants Mission payment bonuses
- Fixing bugs with F10 window leaking input through during Matrix and Enemy Turn
- Fixed typos, thanks for reports!

We're keeping the forge hot here at Trese Brothers HQ with another update tonight! With so many major updates and expansions hitting over the last month, we're working on catching up with the mountain of F10s you all have lovingly submitted, so stay tuned, lots more polish, improvements both big and small and fixes are coming.

Update #109 has fixed the issue with equipping some Cyberdecks, rewritten the reinforcement placement rules for the better, fixed issues with the Security Escalation that could - at some times - skip Escalation altogether, improved the balance of Benders and Divergents so they have a smoother curve of progression, and fixed some amazing bugs reported by the community include a pretty old and nasty one with Extraction. So let's dig in!


[h2]Deck Equip / Unequip[/h2]
Last night's update introduced an issue with equipping decks that is semi-random from game to game ... sometimes decks just won't equip! This is now fixed, our apologies.


[h2]Reinforcement Rules Update[/h2]
Reinforcements are undeniably the worst kind of Security Escalation and so their exact placement and rules have a big impact of pacing, fairness, fun and believability of your heists. With Update #109 we've rewritten the rules used to calculate and pick from among the many possible reinforcement points within any given level.

The most visible change in this rules rewrite is to avoid ever dropping reinforcements into an active extraction area if you are close to it. The italics clause is key - if you're far away, like 25m+ then enemies may still appear there are make your day difficult. Perhaps you could re-route to another extraction point. But the days of running between a bewildered set of guards as you extract your team should be behind the game now.

We also fixed some lingering issues with the system that could lead to Escalation turns were no action was taken by the security AI.


[h2]Extraction Bug[/h2]
Thanks to everyone submitting F10s about the extraction bug! If you extracted a character who was Bleeding Out, was poisoned, had any form of Damage Over Time or Healing over Time, then the next turn they could re-appear in a broken state inside the extraction box and cause some major havoc. Now fixed!


[h2]Bender and Divergent Curve Smoothing[/h2]
We were excited to introduce some difficulty to take down enemies a few patches back, but we've revisited them with this update to use a new enemy templating and rule system that will help us build out enough depth in their enemy profile to support the type of scaling the game needs.

As Benders and DIvergents increase in Power Level themselves, all of their targets advanced through a progression of 6 Talent power levels, allowing the Bender to become more and more difficult to hit as you increase your team's power level. It's an exciting template we plan to be using on other enemies as we roll into the next waves of unique and different baddies.


[h2]Starting Wireghost Services[/h2]
We've adjusted the Wireghost Contact's starting services to use Matrix Programs 2, down from Power Level 3. As we've added the Contact Limit Breaks, some of the services were artificially high due to their inability to change, so now we're evening out the new game to ensure that all of your Contact's have the right room to grow.

[h2]v1.8.11 - 7/12/2024[/h2]
- Improve reinforcement spawning routines to be more fair & fun, avoid too-close extraction points
- Improved Sec Escalation rules to fix issue where sometimes no card would be drawn
- Improved Wireghost Contact starting services - sells Power Level 2 Programs at start instead of 3
- Improved balance and progression for Benders and Divergents (smoother ramp of +Evasion Talents)
- Fixed bug with Extracted merc re-appearing after a turn if they were Bleeding Out or had DOT or HOT
- Fixed bug preventing Hackers from equipping certain Cyberdecks randomly
- Added missing description and powers description for Divergents enemy pop up
- Fixed UltraTek bio-formula thief from being tagged as law-abiding in corp
- Cleaned up incorrect stats for NanoFab in bottom right of Manage Room

Knights, the streets might be quieting down for the night but an update chopper is about to land. Grab your weapons, we've got a heist to run! Tonight's Update #108 enables unequipping cyberdecks gracefully, fixes a longstanding bug with Cybersword's Slashslide, improves the Safehouse room details, starts the process of tuning and tweaking the 300 pieces of equipment just released for hacking makes another minor but important upgrade for Steam Deck. And you can zoom and rotate the camera while inspecting a Matrix terminal's connected devices!

Apologies about the second multi-GB update in a row ... the build box did a flip on this one. We aim to keep these below 1 GB as often as possible, but this one just came in super-sized.

Thanks to everyone playing, posting, sending in the F10s and especially for leaving a review! So much more good stuff is coming, so keep your ear to the ground for the next update chopper.


[h2]Remove Cyberdecks[/h2]
To keep up with Soldiers (who can remove their guns and armor!), Hackers can now remove their cyberdecks. This can make swapping between Hackers or testing out an upgrade easier for your Hackers. But just like Soldiers, they will refuse to go on a mission if they are not equipped with a Deck, so don't do something silly like unequipping it and selling it.


[h2]Slashslide Targeting[/h2]
We've fixed a bug with how the Cybersword's Slashslide Talent acquired targets. As a melee attack in which you move from target to target for your attacks, it does not matter if an enemy or character is blocking the line of sight from the original point of attack. However, the bug was requiring full line of sight (which is blocked by characters and enemies) to any target in Slashslide. This meant you could often line up the perfect slide line, hitting and hopefully killing 3 in one glorious instant ... only to discover the first one blocked the second and third and you got ... one lame attack. Now you'll get 3!

So, very, glad, to, fix, this. Rah rah, Zasha!


[h2]Safehouse Improvements[/h2]
With Update #108, we've made so improvements to the safehouse room displays and details about each upgrade level. We've improved the rules for SimStream Detox so that its 3rd level has a clear benefit. We've also adjusted the display for the SimStream Detox room so that its Stress reduction is clearly stated now in its states.

We fixed a bug with the level displayed in room level displayed inside Cold Storage when browsing digital files, it was not the level shown when you're managing the room or at the main safehouse view. Now, its correct.

We also fixed a bug that could happen on the Timeline if a mission was at 4-6 hours remaining but there was another event at 0 hrs remaining. Thanks to everyone submitting F10s!


[h2]Fixing/Tweaking Crafted Weapons, Armor, Items![/h2]
With the addition of over 300 new pieces of equipment and consumable items to the game, there is going to be some clean-up and tuning work for little while here! Tonight we fixed an issue with HE Micro Grenades being identical to Micro Grenades - they both linked the same Talent and effect.

More will be coming as we pour over the equipment tables and get more reports from players. Again, thanks to every player who is playing and posting.


[h2]Rotate and Zoom Camera while Previewing Devices[/h2]
From inside or outside of the matrix, if you're inspecting a terminals list of connected doors and security devices you can now zoom and rotate the camera with the regular controls. This is a big help since the automatic camera angles may not be what you want to see, or you may need additional context about enemies and characters nearby that you can only get by achieving a specific camera angle.

Thanks for every F10 about this!


[h2]Steam Deck and Controller Scene Transition[/h2]
We've addressed a minor but important issue where immediately after the Steam Deck booted into the game, you would see mouse and keyboard keybinding glyphs. Once you touched the controller, you'd get the right glyphs but it was ugly there fore a minute.

In addition, we've improved handling between scene transitions for Steam Deck and controller. The game was previously always reverting to showing mouse and keyboard glyphs again whenever a scene was loaded but now we've fixed this to remember the last used input device and keep using those glyphs in the new scene.

[h2]v1.8.9 - 7/11/2024[/h2]
- Hackers can unequip their cyberdecks for easier swaps or upgrades, but cannot go on mission without one
- Fixed Slashslide unable to acquire target due to another enemy or player in the way
- Fixed HE Micro Grenades not having special effect
- Improved new game layout to show more of each character's backstory if space is available
- Fixed bug with buying/selling where Contacts might be duplicated
- Improved Safehouse SimStream Detox - now shows expected Stress relief and Level 3 was not clear about its bonus
- When previewing security devices attached to a Matrix Terminal, you can now rotate the camera as usual
- Improved scene transitions for Steam Deck and Controllers so that keybinding glyphs don't revert to keyboard/mouse
- Corrected bug with Cold Storage showing the wrong room level when browsing digital goods
- Improve game's ignoring of mouse and keyboard input when not focused on some platforms
- Fixed icon shown in armor for movement speed to be the regular move speed icon
- Fixed freezes that could occur on timeline