Cyber Knights: Flashpoint News

We're excited to bring you a major new content update today, Update #112, the launch of the Head Hunters system. If one of your squad members earns the hatred of a powerful contact, that contact may hire Head Hunters to bring you down.

Head Hunters create high-pressure situations that are forced to resolve over a short period of time, one way or the other. Once a Head Hunter has been given a bounty on your head, you're in a pressure cooker - it is you, or them, or dodging them enough times that the Contact relinquishes the bounty. From the moment the bounty is set until the moment is ends, you have to be on your A-game to stay one step ahead of them and always ready for hard fight for your life.


Head Hunters are unique enemy squads that have a % chance to appear mid-mission and try to terminate your squad. They're independent from other enemies on the map and will quite happily cut through them to get to you, potentially throwing your heist into chaos and setting off security escalations that add to your difficulties.

You might be able to make use of the distraction to quickly wrap up your objectives and get out, but Head Hunters are relentless in their pursuit of you and will only try again on some future heist. There are two ways to stop a Head Hunter - kill their leader or avoid them enough times that the Contact cancels the bounty. If you chose to fight, their second-in-command and other henchmen will still fight on for the rest of the mission, but you'll end the threat of them ambushing you on future jobs, and burn the contact that hired them with additional Exposure as well. If you choose to flee, you may be able to escape them a few times and end the bounty without being forced into a high-stakes battle.


[h2]The first of hunters to come[/h2]
We're starting out with three possible teams that can be sent against you, with more to come. Head Hunter teams have a unique leader, a second-in-command, and several goons. Head Hunters each have their own unique flair, with a combat style to match. You can end up with multiple Head Hunters hired to go after you, though you'll never see more than one team within a single mission.

[h3]Macha Gold[/h3]

Two highly trained sniper teammates cover Macha Gold and his second, Ostrek, while they advance to close-range so they can corner and kill their bounties personally. Relying on Cybersword techniques, Aegis Shield and a powerful cocktail of combat drugs mixed up for their team by Ostrek, these Head Hunters close quickly, mixing long and short range death. Arrogant, in love with his name, and sure that he is the top of the heap, Macha Gold loves to talk trash.

[h3]Razorback & Armistice[/h3]

The roar of shotguns follow Razorback and Armistice wherever they lead. The two were corporate soldiers in the Pacific Rim during the Quiet Wars and have continued their career in the private head-taking sector. Backed by Gego and Sledge, this 4-member team is extremely fast moving and all carry assault shotguns, ready to lay waste to their enemies' armor and health. Ex-corporate, these two are buttoned up, serious and grim. They aren't having any fun but they're making bank.

[h3]Baby Jack[/h3]

Leading a company of ex-special ops milsec soldiers who are out to make a living, Baby Jack doesn't take anything too seriously except the tactics. His squad is a balanced mix of weapons, armor and abilities that forms a cohesive unit, capable of fighting in a wide range of configurations and ranges. Baby Jack likes to have a laugh and brag about his kills.

We're looking forward to seeing Discord and Steam discussions on your strategies for handling each of these teams.

[h2]When hunted, stay speedy.[/h2]
Be warned, if you have Head Hunters after you, it's more important than ever to move quickly in missions. Heists that require completing objectives before unlocking exits can become unescapable if you get too tied down fighting to ever accomplish those objectives.

We're working on adding cut-and-run options into the game to choose to abandon a heist early, but in the meantime, play smart. If Head Hunters intercept your mission, you won't know until they spawn in 4-6 turns into it. Don't be afraid to use the Restart Level option to try again if the fight doesn't work in your favor, or Restore Before Mission (which will reset the chance of Head Hunters appearing on that mission) if you find yourself trapped in a game-ending scenario.


[h2]Use Counter-Intel[/h2]
Some times you're on a really high-stakes heist and you simply can't afford disasterous interruption. To stay one step ahead of Head Hunters, you work on building a Counter-Intel Pod in your Safehouse which will give you options for temporarily throwing them off your trail.

High Heat increases the chance that a Head Hunter will strike, so use your Tokens to mitigate Heat. And, you can also spend Tokens to gain yourself short windows of time when Head Hunters are completely blocked by your blast of misinformation and counter-intel chatter.

So, if you're going on a mission with a Head Hunter looming, be sure to have your team up to full strength for the challenge or rely on your Counter-Intel pod to buy you some time.

[h2]Cyberdecks and Intrinsic Blueprint Details[/h2]
We've added extra sections to the inventory screens for cyberdecks and Weapon Mod Intrinsic Blueprints. Cyberdecks now list all their installed programs and Intrinsic Blueprints list exactly to which weapon types they can be attached.

[h2]We're featured in TactiCon this week, and on sale to celebrate![/h2]
We're very pleased to be a featured game in this week's TactiCon festival, celebrating strategy and tactics games of all kinds. They have a schedule of talks and panels worth checking out.



And in case you missed it, you can find one of our own interviews talking about Cyber Knights, our studio, tabletop RPGs and more with game reviewer ACG here:

[previewyoutube]https://www.youtube.com/live/lbk_V6OfckA[/previewyoutube]
If you're up for it, click through and give the video a 👍 or leave a comment; it helps us out!

[h2]v1.8.19 - 7/18/2024[/h2]
- Added new infamous Head Hunters system!
- If you cross the wrong Power Player in New Boston, Head Hunters may be sent after you
- Once a bounty has been set, an infamous Head Hunter may interrupt your missions and try to take your head
- Head Hunters will fight their way through local security if they have to reach you - chaos, gunfire, loud!
- Kill the Head Hunters or escape them 3+ times in order to cancel the bounty and weak the Contact who sent them
- 3 infamous Head Hunters added today with more clamoring for a chance: Macha Gold, Baby Jack, Razorback
- All previous Head Hunters assigned by Octane, Henninger or others will now swing in to action
- Cyberdecks now list their programs installed in their inventory detail and hover
- Blueprints for Intrinsic Weapon Mods list the types to which they can be applied
- Improved and fixed typos in event logs

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