Chaos Chain News

Salutations, dwellers...

This is a PREVIEW (so far) of the change log for the next major update to the game. I don't know precisely when the update itself will be live, but I can say it will be within the next few weeks. THESE CHANGES ARE NOT LIVE YET!

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

[h2]Update 1.6.8 Change Log:[/h2]

Bug Fixes:

• Attacks that cause mettle damage will no longer play the same critical sound effect as attacks that cause health damage (They have been given their own unique sound for criticals)
  
• Fixed some typos
  
• Fixed some incorrect enemy stats
  
• Fixed some item price calculations
  
• Fixed Smoke Cover state ending sometimes after only 1 or 2 turns
  
• Fixed some title tracks being extremely loud
  
• Fixed some interior areas having camera scroll issues (The maps were too small, so I expanded them a bit to fix the issue, I simply added more black space around the actual map itself)
  
• Fixed item selling prices adding the current price adjustment instead of subtracting when the player is selling items
  
• Fixed Data Dealer achievement triggering even when the data you attempt to sell is completely worthless
  
• Fixed a bug where if you had acquisition popups toggled off, if you turned it back on, it would show the most recent changes to the stats all at once (They no longer queue, they just get ignored)
  
• Fixed Say My Name achievement not triggering if popups were disabled
  
• Fixed some item prices/stats that didn't match
  
• Fixed an old line of code that was outdated at this point, but caused the player character to be able to suffer from the Glitched status and even take interference damage, despite having no cyware
  

Changes & Additions:

• System hacking percentages can now be reduced to a minimum of 5% and raised a maximum of 95%
  
• Updated system hacking info screens
  
• Base amount of world modifiers based on difficulty increased by 1
  
• Added Heat to the game - new mechanic (Min: 0, Max: 10)
  
• Prices are now adjusted 2% higher per level of heat
  
• Added Heat level to the HUD
  
• Updated reputation record screen in the PDA to show Heat
  
• Updated reputation record screen in the PDA to show total and true rep (True rep is fame - infamy, total rep is fame + infamy)
  
• Updated the new day function to have a chance to remove 1 heat per game day (66% Base Chance - 1% / Heat Level - Extra 33% Chance if Heat Level = 10)
  
• Added Heat Penalty I (Protagonist: Target Rate +15%, +1% Action Point Regen) [Heat]
  
• Added Heat Penalty II (Protagonist: Stress Dmg Intake +30%, +10% Experience) [Heat]
  
• Added Heat Penalty III (Fixer Heat Reduction Cost +60%, Protagonist: +15 Initiative) [Heat]
  
• Added Inconspicuous talent (Lowers heat by 2 points max per game day instead of only 1)
  
• Updated tutorial with Heat explanation
  
• Renamed info brokers to fixers (More fitting for who/what they represent)
  
• Added possibility to pay to lower heat at a fixer (25 default cost, 40 is the higher cost if you have a very high heat level)
  
• Using violence against human enemies/characters will now raise heat by 1 point during combat (Except for hopeless souls, they are basically more like wild animals at this point anyway)
  
• The absolute value of your reputation score (+/-) will now be added to the price of sold items and deducted from the price to buy items as a percentage of 1 to 1 (You sell items for 1% more for each reputation point and buy items for 1% less for each reputation point - Neutral characters will not receive as large of a bonus directly from this - This IS intended, they can get larger rewards from quests given that their alignment is more flexible)
  
• Added "Backburner" world modifier (Start with 3 Heat, but also start with an extra 30 cred and 30 experience)
  
• Added "Fading Rep" world modifier (Start with 3 randomly distributed points of fame and infamy, but each game day there is a 10% chance to lose a point of either fame or infamy)
  
• Added "Desperate Times" world modifier (At the end of each round of combat, both the enemy team and your own squad will lose 1 Mettle)
  
• Added handling to prevent fame/infamy from dropping below 0
  
• Updated fixer dialogues
  
• Added some new Steam achievements
  
• Updated "Head in the Clouds" part 5 objective text and finished the work on this story section
  
• Added "Slow Descent" main story section
  
• Added "Slow Descent P2" main story section
  
• Added "Slow Descent P3" main story section
  
• Added some new plot related areas
  
• Added new dialogue for main plot related characters
  
• Added numerous new skill/stat checks and roleplay dialogue options
  
• Attacks that cause health damage now get an additional 0-3 points of mettle damage as well (Originally, the attack would deal 0.67% of the health damage as mettle damage to simulate morale, but I found that most of the time, it was minimal, this should help - Enemies have significantly less health and mettle values than the player, so it should translate to enemies retreating more often and so on)
  
• Updated some areas
  
• Added some new icon art
  
• Updated some current icon art
  
• Added CQB status (Works similarly to damp status when it's raining outside, but this is added automatically when inside: all characters gain +40% guard rate so hunker down is more effective, but also take 20% increased explosive damage)
  
• Added Intrusion Chip cyware (Aux implant, allows system breaching without needing a hackpad)
  
• Added Opticams cyware [Inv: 1, Optics Imp., \C[26]CyWare\C[0], -10% Interference Res] (+5% Blinded Res, +10% Experience Rate, -1% Mettle Regen)
  
• Added Glitter Bomb [Inv: 2, Special] Single Use. (1-3 Mettle Damage, 43% Shock, -3% Evasion, -3% Critical Evasion, -3% Ranged Evasion - All Enemies, 5 Turns, +3 Initiative On Use)
  
• Added Glitter Bomb use animation
  
• Added Glittered status effect (Weaker but longer lasting form of painted target)
  
• Added Glittered status effect animation
  
• Added Throw Glitter Bomb enemy skill
  
• Shock Baton default attack skill now costs 0 ammo to use, but still needs the ammo equipped (Battery pack)
  
• "Real" food item consumables now heal 5% health with each use as they are "clean" sources of nutrition (Water, canned food, MREs, etc - Pretty much anything that is actually meant to be consumed for nourishment - This change does NOT affect prices)
  
• Balanced a few weapon stats (Very minor adjustments)
  
• Updated enemy skill lists
  
• Updated some enemy stats
  
• Updated some shops
  
• Updated container loot drop lists
  
• Updated enemy loot drop lists
  
• Drako now starts with a Brunetta Sentry pistol and 20 rounds of ammo instead of a switchblade
  
• Added new companion: Chronic (Contract Killer - He can be found in The Eclipse: Basement)
  
• Added Chronic's sprite and face graphics
  
• Added Edge: Cold Blooded (Chronic: "Whatever it takes, I get the job done." (+5% Trauma Resistance, +5% Bleeding Chance, +5% Stunned Chance, +5% Trauma Chance) [Edge])
  
• Added Flaw: Blind Rage (Chronic: "Everything goes black and something else takes over." (-5% Shock Res, -5% Confused Res, +10% Stress Dmg Intake) [Flaw])
  
• Added Background: Contract Killer (Chronic: (+1% Instant Kill Chance, +5% Critical Chance, +1% AP Regen, +5% Shock Chance) [Background])
  
• Recruiting companions will now potentially affect reputation (Very slightly) depending on their overall disposition and alignment (Not indicated directly in game, but you can get a good idea by talking to them)
  
• Reduced the font glow size slightly to make text appear sharper (Especially on larger monitors)
  
• Slightly changed the hue of the font glow to make it easier to see and to help with blur
  
• Updated some grenade stats
  
• Added some extra title music tracks to the list
  
• Replaced the old message when loading a save "Gained a Memory Chip" with the popup text method instead
  
• Increased vignette effect around the edges and the corners of the screen
  
• Slightly reduced overall fog intensity and increased vision range
  
• Mouse position is now set to the middle of the screen and just above the first menu option upon opening the main menu
  
• Reduced the line visibility in the fog of war slightly (When you passed by a light source, it was quite visible before and annoyed me constantly)
  
• Reduced the image size of the fog of war system so that the processor is not having to render as large of an image (Should help keep performance up)
  
• Fast traveling via the metro will now autosave once you reach your destination
  
• Updated some tooltips in the menus to reflect some of the changes, especially related to heat
  
• Updated reputation variable handling (Behind the scenes, writing this so I remember)
  
• Added a total reputation variable (Behind the scenes)
  
• Cleaned up some old code that was no longer required/found several better and more efficient ways of implementation
  
• Lots of other minor changes and tweaks to improve the overall quality of the game
  

If you have questions, concerns, or requests, please visit the official Chaos Chain Steam Forums or join the official Discord Channel!

Again, THIS IS A PREVIEW OF WHAT I'VE BEEN WORKING ON. THESE CHANGES ARE NOT YET LIVE.

-Corrosion ːCStudiosː

Salutations, dwellers...

The next companion who will be joining the game as part of the next major update is called Chronic!

Chronic's Bio

Chronic's Starting Loadout

Chronic's Starting Augware

Chronic's background as a contract killer gives him the following benefits: (+1% Instant Kill Chance, +5% Critical Chance, +1% AP Regen, +5% Shock Chance)

His unique edge is "Cold Blooded": "Whatever it takes, I get the job done." (+5% Trauma Resistance, +5% Bleeding Chance, +5% Stunned Chance, +5% Trauma Chance)

As usual for companions and characters, they also have a flaw. His is "Blind Rage": "Everything goes black and something else takes over." (-5% Shock Res, -5% Confused Res, +10% Stress Dmg Intake)

I'll have more info for the next update soon!

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

-Corrosion ːCStudiosː

Salutations, dwellers...

Heat. Not as in temperature, but as in trouble!

Heat is a new mechanic (can be seen on the Hud on the top right in the picture attached) that will be added to the game as part of the next major update. It is a measure of the intensity of your actions.



Basically speaking, the more trouble you cause and the more violent you are, the higher your heat level will be. To lower it, simply lie-low for a while, or pay a fixer to lower it for you.

The game world in Chaos Chain is dynamic: nearly all actions have risks and rewards associated. It's a deep RPG that's meant to allow creative roleplay options. Killing everything first and asking questions never is technically possible, but probably not the best or most reasonable option. People will not generally like someone who goes around killing indiscriminately. Enemies will know that you're a major threat, merchants and vendors will be opposed to giving you discounts, and things can get pretty chaotic.

To show a preview of some of the changes associated with this new feature:

• Added Heat to the game - new mechanic (Min: 0, Max: 10)
  
• Prices are now adjusted 2% higher per level of heat
  
• Added Heat level to the HUD
  
• Updated reputation record screen in the PDA to show Heat
  
• Updated the new day function to have a chance to remove 1 heat per game day (66% Base Chance - 1% / Heat Level - Extra 33% Chance if Heat Level = 10)
  
• Added Heat Penalty I (Protagonist: Target Rate +15%, +1% Action Point Regen) [Heat]
  
• Added Heat Penalty II (Protagonist: Stress Dmg Intake +30%, +10% Experience) [Heat]
  
• Added Heat Penalty III (Fixer Heat Reduction Cost +60%, Protagonist: +15 Initiative) [Heat]
  
• Added Inconspicuous talent (Lowers heat by 2 points max per game day instead of only 1)
  
• Updated tutorial with Heat explanation
  
• Renamed info brokers to fixers (More fitting for who/what they represent)
  
• Added possibility to pay to lower heat at a fixer (25 default cost, 40 is the higher cost if you have a very high heat level)
  
• Using violence against human enemies/characters will now raise heat by 1 point during combat (Except for hopeless souls, they are basically more like wild animals at this point anyway)
  
• Updated fixer dialogues
  

Killing in Chaos Chain is sometimes either almost or is in fact completely unavoidable. So, you have options to take a more "subtle" or "diplomatic" stance for some time, let a few days pass, or go pay off a fixer to use his leverage to get the heat off your back!

The next major update is coming soon! Stay tuned for more info!

Thanks for reading!

-Corrosion :CStudios

Salutations, dwellers...

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

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

[h2]Update 1.6.7 Change Log:[/h2]

Bug Fixes:

• Removed a leftover testing event from Rusty's Pawn
  
• Fixed several typos
  
• Fixed some text color inconsistencies in various dialogues
  
• Fixed an endless loop related to the main character's out of combat healing with condition
  

Changes & Additions:

• Improved performance in large outdoor areas
  
• Merged some always-running timers and functions to be more efficient (Specifically, I merged the out of combat passive health regeneration mechanics - There were two separate functions running constantly in the background: the main character's healing from condition and the out of combat healing for party members with health regeneration above 0% - The merging of these systems will mean that the main character will heal a bit slower over all, but it will be more efficient in terms of performance, it will optimize the game a bit more so not as much processing power is being used for timers, and it will also keep things more organized)
  

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

If you have questions, concerns, or requests, please visit the official Chaos Chain Steam Forums or join the official Discord Channel!

That's all for now, enjoy!

-Corrosion ːCStudiosː

Salutations, dwellers...

Hey everyone, I wanted to leave a development status update today after the recent patches and updates that have been released over the last few days. This post is kind of long, but I wanted to post my current thoughts about where we're at.

TLDR: Game's development is going good, next up on the to-do list is main quest stuff and expanding the play area with more districts afterwards and then populating those with more gameplay content such as side quests, activities, etc. The next major update is going to take some time, so bear with me.

Long version:

For the most part right now, I believe the game is in a really good spot. It runs quite smoothly, I've fixed every bug that I have found that were encountered in my own testing and those that others have reported, and in general, I'm happy with the balance and the overall gameplay at the moment. The combat is intuitive enough, straightforward, and deadly, and it also has some interesting features that I've developed over time. The side quests are plentiful and diverse enough at this time that I feel like I can safely move away from them for now and then return to making more, once we have more playable areas (districts mainly are what is needed at this point) and room for expansion for various other subplots. The atmosphere, at least in my opinion, feels spot on.

I have been surrounding myself for the past year and a half with books, movies, tv shows, games, and pretty much anything else you can think of to get ideas for the genre and to make sure that the "Cyberpunk" theme is well portrayed and in-tact. I don't just want to copy other works though, I want to keep the game being completely my own creation. I've had a few people in the community ask me to incorporate things that are almost directly connected to just one or two other games/movies/whatever and I want to avoid that. I think that with how the game currently is, it is both unique and has enough in common with other games of the genre. I'm biased though, obviously. The cyberware/bioware systems I've implemented offer quite a bit of complexity to be put into a character's build or player's play style and the combat hacking system even further expands this. To top it off, the large variety of roleplaying options and the huge skill list bring even more to the table.

The vast majority of the features, programming, and database content are completed and good to go. There is of course the chance that things will be tweaked again over time, but at the moment, the remaining work for the game is almost all about gameplay content: locations, quests, activities, the stuff that goes along with all of those things, etc. This stuff might seem very simple given that most of the hard work is out of the way, but that is not entirely the case. Coming up with all of that stuff takes time, inspiration, and a lot of connecting the dots for making everything fit seamlessly into the game world. Then of course you have to actually build it all and that's where bugs can come in and inconsistencies and things of that nature.

The very next thing that I'll be working on is continuing with the main story plot. Now, please be aware that this is going to take me some time. Nothing is going to happen overnight. I have a lot of big plans for the main storyline, and some of the next sections in it are fairly large and have a lot of moving parts so to speak, so there will be a lot of room for issues to arise if I rush or work carelessly in an effort to be quicker. I will of course try to make good time with it, but what I'm saying is, I don't want it to be a sloppy - so please be patient with me.

You may have noticed over the recent week or so that I have been putting out mid-sized updates pretty quickly. That is because I was trying to get the game to a good stopping point for the stuff that I'm about to start working on. As I said, there will likely be a bit of time before the next major update is released, so I tried to get everything into the current build now so that you had stuff to do, experiment with, and play while I worked on the next big part of the game.

I will have more info soon, and I'll show off some of what I'm working on as I go.

If you have questions, concerns, or requests, please visit the official Chaos Chain Steam Forums or join the official Discord Channel!

That's all for now, thank you for reading!

-Corrosion ːCStudiosː