The Anacrusis News

We've released a quick hotfix for Steam that solves the following issues.

• Removed the option for offline play from the game. Private games are functionally equivalent in a peer-to-peer world. (If you want to play by yourself and not invite friends into your game, please set your Steam status to Offline or Invisible for the time being.)
  
• The Weekly Challenges work again.
  
• Rich Presence on Steam more accurately reflects party composition and game state. It's more reliable too.
  
• The First Time Player screen won't prevent you from entering the main menu anymore.
  
• The list of available game modes is stored locally now, so you can switch between them.
  
• Various small fixes (typos, graphical inconsistencies, etc)
  

If you're on the Xbox or Microsoft Store side and still having problems, we have multiple people dedicated to solving those issues, and hope to have an update in certification soon. We keep fixing one problem and finding two more, so it's taking longer than we hoped. Rest assured that we're really sorry it's taking as long as it is, and we're working as fast as we can to fix the problems. So you know, the issues that are showing up here in Steam will also be part of the next patch for the Microsoft platforms, as soon as we can release it.

We have a big patch for you all today, and some huge changes for the game. Update six is adding a ton of new weapons to the game, our first beta release of Episode 4, Holdout Mode version 3, some massive performance improvements, and moving the game from a dedicated server-based architecture to a peer-to-peer setup.



Let's talk about the big change up front--we're moving from a dedicated server back end to peer-to-peer hosted games. We've been testing this extensively over the last few months, and we think it's a pretty significant win for all of our players, especially folks in regions that were far from our dedicated servers. If you're in Asia, Australia, South America, or Africa, playing multiplayer games with friends in your region will feel much better. Even if you were just a few thousand miles from a dedicated server playing with friends in your city, your experience should be noticeably better.

The bad news is that the shift to peer-to-peer requires that we temporarily disable a couple of key features--multiplayer on the Microsoft platforms (Xbox and Microsoft Store) and progression on the Infinity Pass.

For the Infinity Pass, you won't be able to progress until we update the game. You'll still be able to equip and use anything you've previously unlocked while you wait for the patch, but new unlocks will be paused until the next update. Once that happens, you'll be able to pick up your progress on the Infinity Pass where you left off.

Unfortunately, multiplayer on the Microsoft platforms (Xbox and Microsoft Store) isn't working properly while we sort out some back end issues. We're really sorry for the downtime and resolving it is our number one priority and we'll keep this post updated with progress as we work through the issue next week.

With the big changes aside, it's time for the patch notes.

[h2]The Patch Notes[/h2]

There’s a ton of other good stuff in this update, so here are the high points.

[h3]Weapon Modifications[/h3]

We got the message. You all want guns. LOTS of guns! To dramatically increase the number of available weapons, we’ve added a modular weapon system to The Anacrusis. We broke each of the base weapons, Plasma Rifle, SMB, and Blaster, into 5 pieces and built multiple versions of each piece. Those pieces, the receiver, grip, sights, magazine, and barrel, each have unique characteristics and can be combined in different ways to add a massive amount of variation in the available weapons.

To see what components are on each weapon, we’ve added a new user interface widget that highlights the components that make up the weapons you find. Players can press Tab for a more detailed look at their weapon breakdown.

The weapons modification system is our first pass on this system, and we’re excited about how it turned out. That said, it is a first pass and we expect to experiment with everything about it in the coming months--including but not limited to how we distribute the modifications, whether we distribute individual mods or only bundle them in weapons, whether you can remove or share mods, and more.

[h3]Episode 4 Beta[/h3]

We’ve released what we’re dubbing the Super Beta version of Episode 4 with this update. In Episode 4, our heroes learn that the aliens don’t have faster-than-light technology. They realize that destroying the Isolode’s FTL drive will prevent it from falling into the aliens' hands and help protect the rest of humanity from the threat.

[h3]Performance [/h3]

We’ve made significant updates to the game’s performance on all platforms. We’ve optimized the alien horde, which dramatically reduced microstutter on all systems. Everyone should see a much smoother feeling experience, whether you’re playing on a launch Xbox One or a top-of-the-line PC.

We’ve also made some significant progress on load times, optimizing them for both spinning platter machines and SSDs. If your load times were more than 90 seconds before, expect to see them drop into the 10-20 second range on most hardware, including the Xbox One.

[h3]Holdout Mode 3.0[/h3]

We’re shipping our third major revision to Holdout mode since it launched earlier this year. Instead of an infinite challenge, this iteration is a quicker game with 5 rounds. The first four rounds each end with a capture point and crescendo, after which you have a moment of peace to heal, rearm, and collect perks and other rewards. The fifth round is a boss fight at the end, with a bigger, badder, much more dangerous super Brute.

[h3]The Smaller Changes[/h3]

• Horde Material update - Dramatically improves the variation found in the alien hordes
  
• AI Backend Rewrite - Specials are able to interact with each other better, which will allow us to add new enemies and behaviors more easily in the future
  
• Alpha support for recording in-game demos. - This is very early and operated with console commands only. There’s a stickied post in the Steam forums with the full instructions.
  
• Sound design changes - We did a pass on all sounds to ensure that the volume levels were appropriate and that the in-game effects, weapon effects, music cues, and more were aligned with our goals.
  
• Mod support (Steam Only)- We’ve added preliminary mod support to the Steam version of The Anacrusis, including support for custom gun charms, custom hats, custom player skins, and custom maps
  
• Minigun - A new special weapon has been added to the game. The minigun is a slow spin-up, high rate-of-fire weapon that’s perfect for clearing a hallway filled with common or going toe-to-toe with the new brute boss in Holdout.
  
• Update 5 special weapons (Stasis SMB, Router, and Sunshot Blaster) have been added to the general special weapon spawn pool.
  
• There are a variety of new visual effects added to the game, including visible options for the health scanner as well as signage in the opening airlocks, capture point indicators in the holdout mode, and a lot more more.
  
• Added new reload animations for Plasma Rifle and SMB
  
• Added animations that give weapons motion when players look around
  
• Game Instructor - Significantly restricted conditions for the "Don't rush ahead" hint to enforce a large minimum distance from other players
  
• Game Instructor - Bumped up the cooldowns on "ping for your team" and "use matter compiler" hints
  
• Game Instructor - Made the "open this airlock" end-of-level hint less "sticky", i.e. we don't keep showing it when you've lost sight of the airlock door for a while
  
• New title screen and main menu shows The Anacrusis barge and illustrates how the survivors actually get to the Isolode from The Anacrusis
  
• Fixed a family of bugs where the HUD would incorrectly reflect the state of the survivors after a wipe or reset
  

We found a handful of bugs in Update 5 that we wanted to get a handful of fixes and updates in before we’ll have Update 6 ready later this summer.

We also have big news on the Steam Deck front! We got word back from Valve that we've moved from "Unsupported" to "Playable"! We have a handful of additional fixes that we'll need to make to move to Verified status, but expect that to come in the few updates.

Without further ado, here’s the MODerately Extravagant Hotfix!

• In certain circumstances, a bug was preventing common aliens from spawning in Episode 2, map 1. We’ve fixed the bug, and additionally, we removed the free bagels from the Episode 2 break room, as they were making the aliens logy
  
• We fixed a crash that, in rare circumstances, could crash the game if the entire team died and the team wiped in Episode 3
  
• Fixed several bugs that caused sporadic problems with in-game quest tracking. We believe that now your current progress should always be directly reflected in-game
  
• All players should now see the headgear that they and other players have selected in game
  
• All players should now see the gun charm that they and other players have selected displayed in game
  
• Fixed a WinGDK crash that occurred for some players on launch
  
• Fixed a rare error that caused certain player skins to not display properly for some players
  
• Fixed an error that causes players to see their selected headgear while in the first-person view after transitioning between levels or joining a game. To be honest, we thought this one was pretty funny, but we fixed it despite that
  
• Fixed a gun charm error that caused additional weapon charms to float in space, approximately 3 meters in front of the player
  
• Fixed a holdout bug that prevented matter compiler re-rolls from resetting if you restarted the Holdout from inside the game
  
• Removed a cheese spot in the Ep3 holdout map
  
• Pulled in the latest version of our Community Campaigns, The Cosmos Bridge and StrayBay, and from our mod creators
  

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h2]Player-Created Mod Campaigns[/h2]
This is a huge update for The Anacrusis, something we’ve been working toward since well before launch. With Update 5, we’re finally ready to share our first two user-created mod campaigns! That’s right, with Update 5, you’ll be able to play Cosmos Bridge, by Jim Partridge, and Stray Bay, by CJ Sharkey! The mod campaigns are available on all platforms and just like the rest of the game, they support full cross-play, so you can play with your friends regardless of platform!

(If you’re interested in creating mod content for The Anacrusis, join our Discord and use the !modtools command after you join (sorry, Steam at our Google form link). We’re adding new folks to the beta for the tools every day now.)

To celebrate, we’re kicking off our first Steam sale and a Steam Free Weekend. That means it’s a great time to get your friends into The Anacrusis. Because we have full cross-play, whether you’re on Steam, Xbox Series X or S, Xbox One, or the Microsoft Store, you can play with your friends on whatever platform they play on. And everyone who completes episodes during the free weekend will get some special treats--custom sunglasses for each character as well as the fabled cat turret skin!

We kicked off the first week of this patch cycle with an internal game jam, where we broke up into several different teams and each worked on some new aspect of the game. Some of that work will ship in future updates, but this update, we’re shipping…
[h2]New Weapon Modifications! [/h2]
We built a bunch of new weapons modifications in the game jam, and we love the way they work, but we aren’t exactly sure where they fit in the game. To help us understand better how they fit in our combat sandbox and get the earliest-possible feedback from players, we wanted to get them out where you can play with them ASAP. Some may become main weapons, some may be special weapons, and some might be majorly reworked, but for now you can access a handful of them in special matter compilers you’ll find in the Episode 1 and Episode 3 finales as well as in Holdout mode.

• Phatsma - This one’s simple, it’s a souped up plasma rifle that adds area of effect damage on hits
  
• Stasis SMB - When you shoot an SMB round through a stasis field, it slows anything you hit waaaay down (but it also does a bit less damage)
  
• Router - This plasma rifle variant fires a big ball of energy that bounces between enemies. It’s like a ping pong ball of doom that is highly-effective against a horde, but weaker against specials
  
• Sunshot Blaster - Sometimes you just need to light a bunch of aliens on fire. That’s the Sunshot’s time to shine!
  

[h2]Holdout Changes[/h2]

• We’ve redesigned holdout to provide a quicker, more-intense experience. To that end, players only get one life per game. Just don’t die, because if you do, there’s no way to get back in the game
  
• Holdout mode is now time-based rather than wave-based
  
• Added a new holdout map: EP3 Escape
  
• Added capture events to holdout. When the zone pops up, find it and get in to capture and get special weapons, mods, grenades, and perks
  
• Gated some audio that’s specific to holdout mode
  
• AI will no longer prioritize their own lives in holdout. They wont pickup meds or special items the player might be hoarding for later
  

[h2]Suggestions From the Community[/h2]

• Added a “What's New!” screen
  
• We’ve added a first-pass vote kick system so you can remove malicious players from your game. When you kick someone, they’ll be unable to rejoin that server and all vote kicks are logged. With great power comes great responsibility
  
• Can complete more than one quest per game
  
• Added more static and physics-based props to Episodes 1 and 2. We’ll hit Ep3 soon
  
• The smaller, mini-pulse is now directional and costs less charge, but it only hits targets in front of the player. Additionally, we’ve added visual FX and animation to support both the full-strength pulse and the mini-pulse
  
• We’ve updated the analog stick control for controller players based on feedback. We’d love to know what you think about these changes, but you’ll need to reset your settings to default to get them
  
• Defaults for controller sensitivity and button layout has been reworked based on player feedback. We’d love to know what you think about these changes, but you’ll need to reset your settings to default to see them too
  
• We’ve updated the skybox to have planets. We haven’t named the planets yet. We were thinking Steve I and Steve II
  

[h2]The Rest of the Changes[/h2]
There’s a bunch of smaller changes that go into every patch, so here’s a mostly complete list.
[h3]
Adjustments to Bots[/h3]

• Player Bots better understand health and health resources. They won't use Health Scanners when they have large amounts of temp health
  
• Adjustments to Weapons
  
• The SMB can now one-shot common with a headshot out to 22 meters
  
• Added a Cat skin for the auto-turret
  
• Added geometry to the bottom of the auto-turret, which is visible if it’s placed on ledges
  
• Adjustments to Enemies
  
• Major internal rework of enemy AI to support more behaviors in the future
  
• Brute should not charge if a target is already in melee range
  
• Reduce the range of the grabber to 25 meters, and make it decide to get into range if it is not.  This also fixes an issue where it was melee attacking at close range without doing damage.  Now it will only melee if it has a target grabbed
  
• Set the max distance a grabber's arms can travel to 30m.  This is 5m more than the max range that the grabber can initiate the attack
  
• Common will no longer vibrate when in a large horde near the player
  

[h3]Game Instructor Changes[/h3]

• Fixed a few cases where Instructor hints would pop up when the "Disabled" setting was enabled
  
• The “Choose a perk from the Matter Compiler” hints will now go away after you’ve selected a few Matter Compiler perks
  
• New hint: "Go up" at the bottom of the mall
  
• New hint: "Try going this way" should help get you back on track if you don't make progress towards the end of the level for a while
  

[h3]
Animation Changes[/h3]

• Aliens are more likely to play a death animation than go straight to a ragdoll when killed
  
• Doubled the number of potential death animations aliens choose from
  
• Added weapon-specific death animations for shotgun/blaster
  
• Improved common death reactions
  

[h3]Potpourri[/h3]

• Updated the Main Menu 3D background
  
• Server stability and performance fixes
  
• Removed chromatic aberration visual FX on adrenaline effect. This should reduce motion sickness for a large number of people. Please let us know if you still feel motion sickness when playing the game
  
• Optimized performance of the cloth sim on the survivors' outfits
  
• Fixed the head geometry exploding during certain animations, like walking through goo when injured or observing downed players
  
• Disabled mouse smoothing
  
• Added [redacted]
  
• Added [redacted] for [redacted]
  
• The Director will more aggressively target players that have become separated from their teammates, especially if part of the team has reached the ending airlock
  

[h3]Bugs[/h3]

• Fixed a bug that caused some voice lines to be cut off early
  
• Bug fixes and adjustments to voice lines
  
• Fixed several audio-related crashes
  
• The player’s view should no longer get 'stuck' near or over enemies while trying to look around when using an analog controller
  
• Player bots will now consume temp health if using temp health makes more sense than using a medkit
  
• Vortex grenade will now break the Grabber’s grab if they’re in the affected area
  
• We’ve made several fixes which should improve stability in our in-game voice implementation
  
• In some instances where a player was unable to re-enter matchmaking after disconnecting the lobby they’ll be able to rejoin
  
• In certain scenarios, players would place two turrets directly on top of each other. That won’t happen anymore
  
• Fix for an issue where players are not able to buy the choice rewards for the formal skins on the season pass
  
• Fixed a massive performance slowdown when reviving a dead survivor
  
• Fixed occasional stuck loading on a black screen when entering any level
  
• During reload animations, ammo will be put into the magazine at an appropriate moment during the animation, rather than when the animation fully completes
  
• Hit Indicators will now reliably show crits
  

But wait, there's more! On Monday, May 2, we'll roll out Update 4.1 with even more fixes, tweaks, and updates, all brought to us by feedback from our fantastic community! Here's what's in 4.1:

[h3]AI Bot Improvements[/h3]

• Improved AI logic for deciding when to pulse using the new pulse changes
  
• Player bots will pulse grabbed survivors to free them. (This works for players too!)
  
• Player bots will occasionally look around when idle
  
• Player bots will now make some effort to avoid enemies that encroach on their personal space
  

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• Fixed player bot behavior when multiple survivors are gooed, grabbed, or downed
  
• Fixed proximate cause of infinite ammo laser rifle. Players can begin the spin-up period for the laser rifle while it's being equipped
  
• Player Bots will consume health boosters when they need health
  
• Bots are much better at recovering from being stuck now. If you do notice a bot that's become stuck, it's not a bug. It's due to a flaw in the underlying structure of the universe.
  
• Fixed Ultrawide support - We believe that the game should display properly on even the widest of displays now. Please let us know and share your ultra- and ultra-ultra- wide screenshots in the Discord. (Please, no ultra-ultra-ultra wide screens, though. That would just be gratuitous.)
  
• Fix for matter compiler rerolls not going beyond 1. We know we've said this before, but we're pretty sure we've found everything that was breaking this, for real this time. Please let us know if you're still affected after 4.1 lands on Monday.