Cyber Knights: Flashpoint News

[h2]End of Month Wrap Up[/h2]

(Description of challenge below)

Hello, Knights! Over the last month you all have been sharing pictures and stories as you "Go Loud" on your heists in New Boston. If you would like to catch up on the fun, you can check out the Steam discussion thread and hop over to our Discord to check out #go_loud_challenge.

A few highlights from the month:

Dheran wrote up detailed and fun After Actions Reports including serving up one big meanie extra crispy with their energy rifle!

gear_head went loud by tossing grenades to take all multiple guards all at once. A good strategy to open your path and allow you to move quickly as the reinforcements are coming!



And a shout out to val whose sniper left behind *quite* the body count as they picked off enemies from a distance.

Thank you to all of you who shared about your how your Knights and team of mercs made it while forgoing stealth in New Boston! Though this challenge is over, feel free to tackle it any time and share how it goes for you!

Stay tuned for more community events in the future!

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Hello, Knights! It's time for another CKF Community Challenge. Last time we challenged you to go quiet using only Swords to get through your heists. This time we are going the other way and want you to go in guns blazing in our "Go Loud" challenge.



There are two requirements for this challenge:

- Complete a mission (or missions) going loud by turn 2 (going loud means using guns, grenades, anything that makes noise).
- No silencers or suppressors are permitted.

You can use swords and any other weapons, but you must make noise with a loud weapon by turn 2 at the latest.



As always, we want to see and hear about your adventures tackling the challenge so here are some ideas for what we’d love to see:

- Screenshots of squad during the mission, the guards after you are done with them
- After Action Reports of your missions, challenges you faced
- Your strategies for telling with going loud immediately in a mission
- Any other creative ways you want to share to tell us about the operating in the underbelly of New Boston with only loud boom-boom: memes, interpretive dance, gifs, etc



No matter what you choose to share, please share at least one screenshot of your squad mid-mission so we can see what they got up to!

We’ve opened up a discussion here on Steam in the General Discussion forum for aIl of your posts. If you post in our Discord, head to #go_loud_challenge to join in on the conversation!

After a big story Update like #40, it always feels best to kickback a major quality and F10 fixer like Update #41: Kickbacks. This one fixes stats on the Sniper rifle mods -- including improving the default suppressor noise reduction (cheers!) -- remembering filters in the market, adding Heat and Headhunter display to mission planning, fixing Ironman issues with Restart Mission and Retry Turn, fixing the defective Take All button, and melee-says-one-target bug (again!) and more. It's a huge pile of F10 fixes straight for your posts, roundtripped through our team and kicked back to you in the form of glorious fixes and improvements. So, let's take a look!

If the rapid pace of development feels good, if having your F10s directly addressed is nice -- it makes us warm and fuzzy inside to get reviews! If we're doing Early Access right, consider 👍 - you can always edit it later and add more as the game continues to develop.

[h2]Sniper Mod Improvements[/h2]
With Update #41, we've fixed some issues with the new sniper weapon mods that you can get through the Southie Strut storyline and improved one of the basic mods you can get on the first day of the game. First, the XCAN Suppressor for Sniper Rifles now reduces sound by another -5m. Second, the new Rostock Suppressor is even better by an additional -5m. And finally, we fixed the Vector R-Driver to ensure it doesn't reduce sound, it just increases range.

[h2]No More Slidey-Slide[/h2]
We've applied another round of fixes to the enemy's decision making and movement rules. This set should completely eradicate all cases where the enemy or character doesn't move correctly but instead of just "slides" across the floor.


[h2]Heat and Headhunters[/h2]
While the significant impact of both Heat and Headhunters are still pending, they're importance will be growing over the following weeks as we keep improving on the strategy layer. They are now visible from within the Mission planning screens, as that is one of the times they will be most important once they start kicking.
 
[h2]Outline, HUD and Hover Updates[/h2]
With Update #41, we've ensured that the distance to an enemy target in their hover is updated as you try different movement positions.

We've improved the rendering of character and enemy outlines to be smoother and cleaner which is a nice boost. We've also fixed some issues where sometimes an outline would get stuck on someone, like on a weapon and just hang around for a long time.

Finally, after 3 attempts at fixing it (and fixing some part of it), we believe we've put the bug where your melee weapon in the corner says you can attack 1 enemy but when you click on them it says they are Out of Range. These are now better synchronized to use the exact same set of checks.


[h2]Market Filter Memory[/h2]
We've improved the market to remember basic filter types like Rarity when swapping between types of equipment that are sold -- weapons to weapon mods, for example. Now if you pick things you Can Sell or exclude Common goods, that will be remember whenever you return to the market and swapping between equipment types.

[h2[Neural Toner +10 Matrix Action Points[/h2]
To all the excited mercs who laid on the cyber surgery table and had the Neural Toner installed for the extra +10 AP.... we are truly sorry. This one may not be for you. Neural Toners are a Hacker's implant and grant +10 Matrix AP...


[h2]Buttons: Restart Mission and Take All Fix[/h2]
We had to fix or remove a few buttons in Update #41. If you're playing on Ironman difficulty, we've now correctly removed your option to Restart Mission. And, while the Take All button appeared in Lootboxes even with 1 item left a few updates ago, it is now correctly functioning.

[h2]v1.2.37 - 1/14/2023[/h2]
- Improved / fixed stats for Sniper mods: XCAN Suppressor, Rostock Suppressor, Vector R-Driver
- When switching categories in the market, filters like Rarity are kept
- Heat and Headhunter Threat/% now displayed in all mission planning screens
- Fixed bug allowing Retry Turn and Restart Mission even in Ironman difficulty
- Fixed "Take All" button to work at Lootbox with only 1 item
- Distance to enemy is updated in hover when checking different movement locations
- Fixed matrix bug where repeating scan on an already scanned 2/2 node would still increase Q-Sec Tally
- Fixed (again!) bug causing melee range mismatch when trying to attack versus count you can attack in bottom left
- Fixed bugs where some movement warnings (pressure plates, laser fences, motion detectors) could be left on screen incorrectly
- Fixed odd appearance of movement warnings sometimes near a rotated laser fence or pressure plate
- Fixed bug allowing you to attempt to yield if next merc only has 1 Initiative
- Fixed typos in difficulty descriptions, new story dialog
- Fixed bug where sometimes the red or green outline would stay incorrectly on player or enemy weapons when outlines disabled
- Fixed Neural Toner displaying +10 Action Points when it is +10 Matrix Action Points
- Fixed issue where some parts of red/green outline would stick around incorrectly
- Fixed monsters sliding around the place at start of move or randomly when surprised by something
- Improved text overflow display in mission victory screen for payments
- Improved text overflow display in timeline events

Tonight with Update #40, we're excited to be dropping a new storyline, with an optional new mission type the Live-Wire Negotiation, and a bunch of cool rewards that can expand your options in buying weapons and weapon mods. We've also rebalanced the Matrix missions for proc-gen (last update, they got a little ... out of hand), repriced cyberdecks and a number of weapon mods, fixed Secondary Objectives that were related to Sec Level to be clearer, plus we fixed a nice sized pile of your F10s.

If you're enjoying the pace of updates and new content added, please leave a review! Remember you can always update a review, so if we're headed in the right direction, please drop a 👍is highly appreciated now.


[h2]New Story / 2 Possible Jobs[/h2]
With Update #40, we're excited to roll out another storyline, this one continuing to fill in the Treat of '31 story era with additional storylines rising from the arrival of the Warner-Braun megacorp in New Boston. I won't go into much detail about the story - but you need to be above Power Level 2, the Treaty of '31 Era must have started and you'll get word from a Gun Runner contact. This is a story that will get cooler and deeper as more character and recruit options open up to players, so looking forward to how you are able to see it from different angles even now.

The results of the story are pretty variable based on your choices, who might be in your crew, and how the job goes. One possibility runs through a new type of mission, a Live-Wire Negotiation that sees your meeting face to face with a powerful underworld contact to cut a deal on the fly or decide to try to fight your way out.

If you play your cards right, you can gain access to multiple new Power Level 3 Weapons and Weapon Mods, including new types of SMGs and Shotguns with new special rules. Scrapfor it, Knight!


[h2]Matrix Revamp v2[/h2]
With Update #39, we released a revamp of how proc-gen hacking only missions were generated. Pretty quickly, we heard a lot from players that this hadn't hit the mark and it lacked progression and felt like too much RNG. With Update #40, we've fixed a lot of the RNG elements and pushed the proc-gen mission creator to create a more smooth (but still surprising at times) progression of challenge in the hosts that your hacking. This also has resulted in some increases in the Turn Limits for the hacking missions, where a regular hack only mission might have stipulated 2 Turns only, against a Red Sec Level with Wild Response Level, you could see 4 Turn maximum, etc.


[h2]Update Cleanup[/h2]
We've fixed a number of misses from Update #39 as well -

• While Neural Toner did in fact add the bonuses, they were not showing correctly. Now they do.
  
• The new cyberdecks were insanely expensive! Now fixed.
  
• Security Devices disabling from the matrix wasn't reliably allowing you to re-disable. It also wasn't disabling the number of turns the device was disabled in the matrix which was making the whole situation more opaque. Now the Turns remaining are displayed right with the Security system's title so it is nice and clear.
  

[h2]Backstories and Relationships and Missions[/h2]
With Update #40, we've added the first set of rules -- which will continue to expand -- as to how your backstory and relationships affect missions. The first set of improvements here are to block mercs from going on certain missions given their backstory and relationships.

• Mercs who hate a certain faction will refuse to go on a mission for that faction. In future updates, they will get angry if you work for that faction and happier if you snub them.
  
• Mercs who are strongly loyal to a certain faction will refuse to work against that faction. In future updates, they will get angry if you work against the faction and happy if you support it.
  
• Mercs who are deserters from a faction and are in hiding will refuse to go on a mission against that faction in order to avoid revealing they are still alive.
  

There is so much exciting ground here to work with between faction and personal relationships, so this is an area to watch develop! Stress, Hype, Loyalty and more will start to build up from tags, relationships and backstories.

And of course more as well - check the full changelog below!

Thanks for your support and reviews :D

[h2]v1.2.33 - 1/12/2024[/h2]
- Added new Treaty '31 Era storyline "Southie Strut" with 2 possible missions, new allies/enemies
- New mission type Live-Wire Negotiation sees you cutting a deal on the fly or fighting your way out
- Storyline can unlock new Power Level 3 Weapons and Weapon Mods
- New types of SMGs available, new shotgun special rules available
- Character faction relationships (Loves/Hates/Deserter) may now block mission deployment (Emille Hates Matsumoto and won't work for them)
- Rebuilt Matrix proc-gen difficulty - better progression of Sec Level and Response Level
- Higher Sec Level and Response Level in proc-gen Matrix missions increase Turn Limit for hack
- Number of turns a Security Device is disabled is shown in matrix SCU clearly
- Increased Recoil on E-Rifles, Increased Full Auto Arc for SMGs across Power Levels
- Repriced all weapon mods, some increases
- Repriced all cyberdecks, fixed extremely high prices
- Fixed bugs mission final XP did not always match the displayed XP + bonuses
- Fixed issue where secondary objectives with Sec Level used large numbers like 36 instead of Sec Level 3
- Fixed issue with Neural Toner not displaying its stats correctly
- Fixed brother/sister confusion in some cases in Sibling Breakout storyline
- Fixed report typos and map bugs

Update #39 comes roaring in with major matrix improvements, important shifts to the enemy agent thought process while pursuing suspicious events (and fixes!), updates to proc-gen for hacking only missions, updated Cybernetics, 2 new cyberdecks for sale, better save slot read out and an improved roster UI for Stress and Hype (renamed from Edge). Obviously that's a lot but there is even more, so let's get looking!

If you're enjoying the pace of improvements, the style of the game or how we do Early Access - please take a moment to leave a review to help our efforts continue!


[h2]Enemy Improvements[/h2]
We've fixed a number of issues with the enemy agents - such as stopping the random case where an enemy who heard your gunfire would teleport right next to you. We've also fixed a number of cases that could cause enemy agents to just stand around and do nothing for a few turns after starting to investigate some event.

Overall, enemies are better at prioritizing what events they know about which are most important for them to investigate. They are willing to hunt longer near an event if it is higher priority and won't give up looking so quickly. Overall, their reaction to suspicious events is improved and smoothed out and you will hopefully see less questionable behavior.
 

[h2]New Cyberdecks and Neural Toner Cybernetic Update[/h2]
Two new Cyberdecks have gone up for sale with this update, expanding your options for Hacker's build and programs. Along with the boosted I/O Speeds, Active Memory and Storage, these two beastly new decks offer Cyberdeck Rating 5 and 6.

The Neural Toner -- sold by a street doc after the Clinic Investment story has been completed - has received an upgrade that helps focus it more squarely on Hackers. The Toner now adds +10 Matrix AP boost and +100 I/O Speed. Ask your Cyber Knight for their credit card, Hackers!


[h2]Matrix Updates: Q-Sec AI Tuning, Proc-Gen Variations, New AP Rules[/h2]
Just like the meatspace Sec AI, each Matrix host has its own Q-Sec AI that determines what reactions it can take to Security Escalations. With Update #39, we've started the process of improving these Q-Sec AI's to have more variation from each other. The first step is to remove some of the higher powered responses from lower powered Q-Sec AI like those in Green and Blue hosts - which can no longer teleport your hacker or slash your Connection % with a massive Degrade action.

We've also majorly expanded the options for proc-gen hacking missions. Be careful, all proc-gen hacking missions before featured Blue hosts with Mild Response. The proc-gen system can now generate from Blue to Red and from Mild to Wild response systems. The pricing and XP of the missions follows the risk that you're being asked to take but know that you may find some of these missions suddenly a bit more stiff of a challenge than they were before Update #39.

Finally, we've added pop-ups to warn you and about the actions the Q-Sec AI is taking against you like relocating your avatar, re-activating all IC in the host and more. These should help demystify the Q-Sec AI's actions and make Hacking less opaque as we work toward an improved UI to show the back-and-forth battle in the digital streams.

We've tightened up the rules about connecting to the matrix, matrix AP boost and the cost of exiting the matrix with Update #39. This helps avoid a few exploits and oddities about the matrix cycle:

• You can only connect to the Matrix if you have at least 1 AP.
  
• You only gain the Matrix AP boosts from your deck, Traits and other sources once per Turn. Disconnecting and reconnecting no longer grants these bonuses again.
  
• When disconnecting from the Matrix, you are guaranteed to exit with at least 1 AP less than you connected. Previously, it was possible - with enough boost - to hit a matrix host, hack your boost AP and exit without any real-world cost which just isn't right.
  

[h2]Hacking Security[/h2]
If you've reached an SCU (Security Control Unit) with your Hacker's avatar and are ready to smash some security devices, you've got even more options and power after Update #39. You can now target disabled devices and kick them back to the full disabled duration. This lets your Hacker backfill for other characters - if a Vanguard hit the camera for 2 Turns disabled, your Hacker can still come by and knock it out to 5. And also it gives the Hacker a potential play of hanging near the SCU to re-up their security smashing -- hit all the devices out to 5 Turns, go to loot some data warehouses and then stop back by the SCU before leaving two Turns later to knock the devices back from 3 Turns to 5 Turns again.

You've invested a lot to be in there at that SCU, and this gives the Hacker the right level of power for that.

[h2]Talent / Item Blockers[/h2]
There were a number of minor issues hampering certain Talents from working as expected:

• The Vanguard's Projection can now be used even if you have less than 3 AP. This Talent allows you to move up to that amount of AP, but you can make shorter moves too.
  
• The Cyber Knight's Unflinching Stare now works correctly even if during enemy Overwatch or their Turn.
  
• Medi-Cloud items are working correctly again after a short outage. They display the correct grenade toss arc, can be bounced like grenades. Like a grenade's damage, the healing nano is not intelligent and will heal friend or foe within the radius.
  

[h2]Map Tweaks[/h2]
A big thanks to everyone posting minor issues they've found with different mission maps. We've fixed some sight line blockers around the pit in the Carnivore Chem-Factory Front and some barricades that couldn't be jumped over in the Sibling Breakout Cargo Field.

[h2]v1.2.31 - 1/10/2024[/h2]
- Improved Stress/Hype (was Edge) display in Roster with hover and display of Loyalty as well
- Improved Neural Toner cybernetic implant, adds focus on Hacker stats
- Improved enemy hunting behavior around suspicious events, fixed multiple cases that could lead to standing around doing nothing
- Proc-gen hack only missions now feature variety of Sec Level (Blue to Red) and Response Rate (Mild to Wild) with price impacts
- Fixed bug causing Leverages like Suppress Reinforcements to never end
- Added new matrix hosts to proc-gen generation capabilities
- Reduced appearance of "Relocate" and "Degrade" Host response on Blue Hosts
- Improved warning pop-ups for major Matrix events like Teleport
- Starting to hack a matrix terminal requires at least 1 AP
- Hacker only gets bonus Matrix AP from buffs and deck once per turn (avoids repeat connection loop)
- Added two new Cyberdecks for sale
- Hacking can now target disabled security devices to increase their disabled duration
- Revised "Attack III" and reduced Program Rating to 6
- Fixed misnamed Matrix Program AOE Attack 2 to Nuke II
- Improved sound processing for AI that are fully alerted, less meaningless alerts
- Loot All option now always appears in Loot Boxes
- Highest and Lowest Game Turn Save Slots are labeled to make picking your slot easier
- Reversed order of timeline event log so newest events appear at the top
- Fixed bug preventing Medi-Cloud items from healing at range
- Fixed bug preventing use of Vanguard's Projection Talent with less than 3 AP
- Fixed bug preventing Cyber Knight's Unflinching Stare passive Talent to activate
- Fixed bug where enemy might suddenly teleport upon hearing gunfire
- Fixed sight line issues in Chem-Factory Front in Carnivore job
- Fixed non-jumpable concrete barricades outside of prison in Sibling Breakout job

Welcome to 2024! We're still trying to catch up and getting all the engines firing at full pace. Update #38 is a culmination of some F10 hunting, crushing bugs and hitting on pain points and feedback posted up by the community. We're excited for 2024, we'll be adding and fixing thousands of your suggestions and issues - so let's get going!

If you're enjoying the pace of updates, don't forget to leave a review to help us keep moving forward. Remember, you can always update your review, so if we're heading in the right direction, let us know now!


[h2]Vanguard's Overdrive[/h2]
There have been questions about how to use the Vanguard's Overdrive Talent, which is a really clutch Talent. We've done a round of improvements on the description in game that will hopefully help. Basically, Overdrive has a chance to interrupt the action of an enemy who spots, usually because they are patrolling or moving around. If your Vanguard is spotted and the enemy hasn't previously spotted a team member (i.e. in combat mode) your Vanguard gets a big +Initiative boost. If this Initiative boost puts you as the top Initiative in the Turn, then you get an interruption and now it's your Vanguard's turn!

[h2]Echo-Jammer is Back![/h2]
For a moment, the Echo-Jammer accidentally fell out of sale on the markets. but it is now back.

[h2]Corporate Enemy Balance[/h2]
We've smoothed out the balance for a number of corporate enemy types. The entire set of KEMCO and Warner-Braun enemies have gained more distinction between Power Levels of enemy guards, In addition, enemies with heavy armor in the corporate set like Shotgunners and Blades have all had their HP modified and reduced by a solid chunk. Their armor is giving them high effective HP and they don't need so much raw HP in addition to that.


[h2]Smoother Hack Only Jobs[/h2]
With this update, we've removed some extraneous information shown during Hack only jobs. There was a red Sec AI phase being displayed between Turns as if you were breaking into some enemy facility and the physical Sec AI was ticking up. Neither of these systems are in play during a hack only mission so both have been suppressed, matching the style of pure combat missions.

[h2]Blueprint Prices[/h2]
While Blueprints can't be sold today (on the list!) some of their prices have been raising eyebrows. Exactly how much is $2400K again? A lot! We've adjusted the Blueprint prices toward a more realistic spot, though they will likely be adjusted against as they need to each take into account the exact price of the item they are able to produce and how many productions they can support before they are exhausted for their pricing to really stick.

[h2]Fixing Skips and Locks[/h2]
As the game has continued to stabilized, we're putting extra emphasis in 2024 in squeezing out the odd edge cases that can cause locks, skips or odd AI teleports. With this update we fixed a bug where Stunned enemy might teleport on their patrol path, where a character killed by Overwatch while trying to throw a grenade could cause a lock and one situation where killing an enemy who is in Overwatch could lock the game too.

[h2]v1.2.29 - 1/7/2024[/h2]
- Improved description of Vanguard's Overdrive Talent
- Restored sales of Echo-Jammer for those selling basic military and tech gear
- Improved Contact client/target display for jobs, sometimes missing name or fully empty
- Reduced HP values for corporate shotgunner and blade
- Improved enemy scaling for Warner-Braun and KEMCO Salvage corps
- Fixed extreme high prices in some Power Level 4 and 5 Blueprints
- Improved Hack Only missions to hide the physical Sec AI and null out the physical Sec Tally
- Fixed bug where Stunned enemies could teleport suddenly along their patrol route in rare cases
- Clarified tutorial from new game is a Stealth focused tutorial