4/5/24 - MAJOR Chaos Chain Update 1.41.0

Attention, freelancers!

Here is the next major update for the game! Check out the full change log below!

What could this be?

*Please note that these changes are not in any particular order.*

[h2]BETA Update 1.41.0 Changelog:[/h2]

Bug Fixes:

FIXED Heavenly Gift side quest not giving the full reward as intended
FIXED a few (unused assets in this context until now, but still mentioned as things changed in the settings) invalid tileset pathing issues related to underground areas
FIXED some tileset pathing issues related to interiors
FIXED an instance where heavy rainfall would not display water splashes on the ground as intended if the setting was turned on
FIXED several instances where an item or trait was required to pass a check but did not award 10 EXP like other instances (It was kind of a grey area I had in my head where some were too easy and didn't really create much "role play" if you simply had the necessary requirement but since that is the whole point, I changed this - over 30 changes took place here)
FIXED some typos
FIXED some name inconsistencies in certain cases referring to factions/enemy types
FIXED EMT Triage ability being listed as an implant based skill
FIXED healing skills not benefiting from healing efficiency bonuses


Changes & Additions:

Added new Steam achievements
Field Triage special medical background ability now takes character recovery and healing efficiency into account as intended
Lowered the amount of medical supplies you need to donate in "Helping Hands" from 1200 to 1000 points worth
Added "Down the Drain" side quest (Started in The Slabs - this quest has multiple ways to complete, multiple variations of how it plays out, etc)
Added Defunct Waterworks area (Plot related)
Added Defunct Waterworks: Underground area (Plot related - this is a very large "Dungeon" area - hope you guys enjoy it)
Added new plot related items
Hunker Down skill now lowers target chance (The chance for the user to be targetted by enemies) by 20%
Added Inside Trader learnable talent for the player character (Max discounts +5%, max price sell bonus +5%, max purchase price increase -10%)
Added new unique character graphics (Faces and sprites)
Added snowfall weather variant (It's very light snow -  thought it would fit well to make the game world seem/feel colder)
The default carry capacity for characters is now 4 instead of 5 with an added 4 
 muscle instead of 5 
 muscle (Bags got buffed to compensate)
All pack type items that are actual bags and not other items in the pack slot now have a base of 5 additional inventory space
Did some balancing across the beginning of the game so it's not so rigid and difficult starting out (This was a common thing that I read from people so I made some changes to make certain things easier)
All shotguns now have a 10% chance to cause stunned by default (Removed 10% bleeding from all of them to compensate - this means if you use slug ammo you'll have a 60% base chance to stun your target)
Updated shotgun enemy stats to match the above changes
All enemies that have a chance to cause sickness on their target have had their % chance lowered by 2% (It was happening too often even with the very low percentages, so it's been lowered further)
Companions now have 2 different face images - one with their name on it and one without (The one with the name will be used during dialogues and the one without is used in the menu scenes)
Updated credsticks to give up to 5 more cred in all circumstances (Should be a bit easier to make money)
Updated some areas to refer to Cred as CCred (Cryptocredits)
Resourceful talent now has a 20% chance to gain 5-20 CCred each day instead of 15% for 5-15 CCred
Lowered the maximum price adjustment increase for both economic collapse mode and default by 10%
Stamina regen is now tripled while in the bedroom in your apartment area (Views: Floor 2 - Your Apartment)
All campfires and burning barrels intended as makeshift campfires now have a small radius around them (1 tile) which restores stamina at triple the normal rate
All bosses defeated in combat now award 5 extra EXP (They almost universally have special stats and bonuses that make them tougher so they require more thought to kill)
Added new unique characters to interact with
Added some new and very obvious hints to help out early game (Like for example exactly where your apartment is located)
Added a new battle and main menu soundtrack from artist and friend Necrosynthetik
Updated credits scene
Set the default player character skin to a cloaked sprite instead of the blue transparent base character
Added a new boss enemy type (Plot related)
Added a new boss enemy battler graphic
Added a new "magic" piece of equipment (Gained from the new boss)
A new boss enemy troop encounter (Plot related)
Foggy weather variant now actually looks..... foggy
Updated some item descriptions
Added kevlar inserts armor support gear
Added steel plate inserts armor support gear
Added some new encounters
Added some more generic NPCs to a few areas
Added a new loudspeaker broadcast message (Curfew)
Added ballistic armor (Improved version of ballistic jacket which is improved from ballistic vest)
Added a new mixed drips underground background sound effect
Added several new randomized environment sound effects
Added new visual effects to several interior areas (Flies, air, water drips, 
Added new item icon art
Rain drops and storm rain drops now have more x-coordinate movement as they fall (Very slight change to make the weather look a bit better)
Snow/dust drops now lose opacity slightly slower than before as they fall
Improved icon art for several existing items for clarity and detail
Added new randomized battle end dialogues
Added new lootable containers to several areas
Optimized several event saving processes to be less intrusive
Optimized some background processes to be more efficient and require less processing overall
Added a lot more environmental details to several areas (A few areas were lacking compared to others in terms of small details, this has been addressed)
Added new sound effects to several quest events
Added new roleplay dialogue choices to several conversations (More ways to progress, more options to pick from)
Improved shading on some environment assets (Also improved sharpness)
Updated some shop lists
Vex now requires 10 reputation level to join you instead of 5 (He was extremely easy to get and comes with really good equipment)
Added new enemy troop compositions
Updated random travel encounter lists
Updated enemy text list for names to show in orange for danger
Cleaned up and removed a bunch of leftover and unused assets (Over 80mb)
Added slight breaks to a looping process for weather to ensure everything has ample time to complete
Added extra checks to the weather system for displaying rain splashes to check if the scene is a map and only execute the process if that is the case (I believe this could have been causing an issue when the scene was changing from map to battle)
Lots of other misc other tweaks and adjustments

Please let me know of any bugs or issues you may encounter so I can fix them. This update will be available for download shortly.

A friendly reminder: if you're enjoying the game so far or have critiques you'd like to share, please consider leaving a review for me. This not only helps with much needed visibility, but also gives me important feedback for the game to help it become a better final product. Also, if you have questions, concerns, or requests, please visit the official Chaos Chain Steam Forums or join the official Discord Channel! I've also gone ahead and started an official Patreon Page to help bring in financial support for the game going forward.

For more info on the game, visit the store page below!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1536730/Chaos_Chain/

There's even a demo to try the game out!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2324430/

Stay Alert. Stay Armed. Stay Alive. Don't lose your humanity.

That's all for now, enjoy!

-Cryptic ːCStudiosː