Content update -- v0.70.0a (b240304)

USC:CF v0.70.0a build 240304

NEW

• New weapon: Energy rifle
  
  • Small arm
    
  • Uses Energy Charge as ammo
    
  • Controlled impulse: single-target, star pattern, low AP-cost attack with a relatively big damage potential
    
  • Discharge: 3x3 area, free pattern, big damage potential
    
  • Both attack modes have the potential to set targets on fire, and they also convey tranquilization as targets are mildly "electrocuted"
    
• New item: Energy shield
  
  • A more expensive alternative to the Riot shield, with added benefits
    
• New weapon subcategory/mechanic: Close Quarters Weapon (CQW)
  
  • When holding a CQW and a shield, shield defense bonuses (MDV + dmg. reduction) apply even if the weapon is not in melee attack mode
    
  • The Self-defense pistol, the Bulleteer, the Shotgun, and the QuadSeeker all count as a CQW
    
  • CQWs have a new category icon ("pistol" -- technically they are still small arms), and information about them being a CQW is displayed on all respective info panels/tooltips
    
• New UI feature: Squad overview panel
  
  • Displays status info and complete inventory for all alive units from all player squads on a single screen
    
  • Can be toggled during any mission and even during the Construction phase in DtB
    
  • Dead or withdrawn (in Ops) units aren't shown; objective extracted units are shown faded
    
  • For new players the default for this is set to 'Backspace' -- existing players, please visit the Hotkeys section and set it if you need it!
    
• You can now set a hotkey (in Settings/Hotkeys) for:
  
  • Toggling all otherwise disabled tactical view markers on/off (i.e. set under Settings/Interface what you usually do NOT want to see, and then use this key to toggle these markers on/off on a whim when needed)
    
  • Toggling all otherwise disabled outlines on/off (i.e. set under Settings/Misc what you usually do NOT want to see, and then use this key to toggle these outlines on/off when you still need them)
    
  • For new players the defaults for these are set to 'G' and 'H', respectively -- existing players, please visit the Hotkeys section and set them if you need them!
    

CHANGES

• Crafting recipes can now also be unlocked by using Gear Tokens on the Crafting tab in Squad Assembly
  
  • Previously the only way to unlock them was through playing Defend the Base! successfully for 40,000+ minerals
    
  • Costs are hefty, as crafting these items instead of buying them is considered the end-game progression for non-Campaign modes
    
  • Costs increase based on the original difficulty level the items can be unlocked via DtB
    
• Updated the icons of some supply options in DtB that were still using older graphics
  
• When jumping, markers will now be colored red if there is a hazardous aura on a target grid
  

BALANCE CHANGES

• Resistance and Protection against all elements for Marines are now hard capped at 90%
  
• Rebalanced alien attributes and numbers per species across all difficulty levels, especially on Intense and higher. The Horde should now feel a little bit less daunting, though with all the new species & mechanics added in the last 6 months, the game's still harder than before
  
• Rebalanced starting Resource Points and RPs per Wave in Defend the Base!: now you get more on higher difficulties to account for the more damage taken and ammo used, and give you a fighting chance!
  
• Slightly lowered the number of aliens on all mission configurations (4 or 6, or with 2 squads: 8 or 12 marines). The number of Shadow Envoys, Greater Shadow Envoys, and Wunderwurms is not affected
  
• Damage done by aliens has been slightly reduced for mid-tier difficulty levels (~5-10%)
  
• Elemental damage taken by marines has been slightly reduced for mid-tier difficulty levels (~5-10%)
  
• Aliens will now do considerably more damage to structures & objects in Repel the Horde! (Defense) missions (2x, either in Single Mission or as part of an Op) and in DtB (1.5x)
  
• A Gauss SNF Reactor, if present, will now provide power to all grids, even on the largest maps (not in DtB: there the range is clearly indicated)
  
• Reduced the spread of the "Sweep" attack mode of the 7.62mm Auto-Turret to 5% (down from 15%)
  
• Salvaging a prototype weapon blueprint will now grant 25% of materials (up from 20%)
  
• DtB: Increased the cost of turrets by about 33% (to 4000 and 4500, respectively)
  
• DtB: Increased structure and object value amortization rate per Wave to 20% (up from 10%), but returns will never fall below 5% of the initial object value (if undamaged)
  
• DtB: Increased the initial amount of aliens arriving in Turn 1 each Wave to 33% (up from 20%) of total aliens in the Wave
  
• DtB: Aliens arriving in Turn 1 (and only in Turn 1) will not skip their turns and begin attacking at once
  
• DtB: Aliens will have their movement AP costs reduced by 1 for one Turn after their skipped Turn on arrival (in Turn 3 and later)
  
• DtB: Aliens will be more aggressive against some crucial objects (generators, drills, etc.), and intent on causing damage, rather than just "stumbling into them" accidentally
  
• DtB: MAJOR CHANGE! Aliens will be also EXTREMELY more aggressive against structures if they have nothing better to do; e.g. if your "back wall" is completely left alone, you'll find many of them chewing through it rather than going a long way to attack you on the other side of the map
  
• Bulleteer and QuadSeeker:
  
  • Doubled the ammo consumption for all attack modes (Bulleteer: 2->4 / 3->6; QuadSeeker: 2->4 / 4->8)
    
  • Ammo capacity has been adjusted accordingly (Bulleteer: 50->60; QuadSeeker: 36->72)
    
  • This change emphasizes the bonuses from special HCB ammo subtypes and generally makes these weapons more viable
    
  • Most HCB ammo subtypes are fairly cheap, so this change should't really ruin configurations based on these weapons
    
• Grenade launcher:
  
  • Increased base damage of both attack modes by 25
    
  • Increased armor penetration of both attack modes by 10
    
• Doubled the damage of all three attack modes of the High Caliber Turret (Hammer H60)
  

OPTIMIZATION

• AI target finding logic is now much faster, especially in DtB and on other large maps. Players who have experienced some occasional lag during the aliens' movement phase should now have a smoother experience
  
• A pass of general performance optimization -- based on scenario & hardware, an average increase of 5-10 FPS is expected for all players
  
• A minor performance optimization specifically on the new Hydroponics props (2-3 FPS on average)
  
• Note: further optimization passes are to be expected until the v1.0 release
  

FIXES

• Fixed a rare critical bug when killing an enemy while simultaneously dying with the attacking unit AND being knocked back
  
• Fixed a rare critical bug causing the game to freeze if you pressed TAB (cycle units) with a turret being selected when all other units were in Defense Mode (kudos to Faubost!)
  
• Fixed a rare critical bug where if two service tunnel hatches were very close to each other, reinforcing aliens could get "buggy" in extreme cases, causing serious issues
  
• Fixed a rare critical bug that affected the 2nd & 3rd missions in the "Prisoners of the Deep" Operation
• specifically and only* when playing with 1+1 Squads
  
• Fixed a rare issue when marking grids for turret placement
  
• Fixed a bug where you could join stacks of bought and crafted consumables
  
• Fixed a bug where the Withdraw button was not displayed if you reloaded a DtB game that was in Construction phase while playing a DtB Defense phase
  
• Fixed a bug where you couldn't physically see and pick up items from a MediPad in DtB
  
• Fixed a bug where you sometimes couldn't remove a MediPad in DtB
  
• Fixed a bug where Shadow buildup from auras was "applied" to turrets (it did not actually do damage, but there was an unnecessary floating text)
  
• Fixed a bug where there were much less enemies on some spaceship maps (both in Single Mission and Operations) than intended
  
• Fixed a bug where you received Weapon Upgrades in DtB as completion rewards even if you didn't actually finish with 20,000+ minerals mined (sorry folks :P)
  
• Fixed a bug where music was not playing in subsequent missions in an Operation without reloading a saved game
  
• Fixed a minor bug where Scorpion explosions not always had a sound effect
  
• Fixed the area of damage not being displayed properly when aiming with the "Sweep" attack mode of the 7.62mm Auto-Turret
  
• Fixed the cryo effects on Reaper Mothers and Greater Shadow Envoys not rendering correctly
  
• Fixed the barricade in DtB not having an on-destroy effect
  
• Fixed some weird issues with the Wunderwurm levitation effect
  
• Fixed some issues with material rewards in Defend the Base! mode
  
• Fixed a UI bug where you sometimes got a "matching squad GUID" warning when entering the Squad Assembly screen when playing with 2 squads, resulting in the 2 squads not being loaded automatically correctly
  
• Fixed a minor UI bug where the description of some Weapon Upgrades were not displayed correctly on the Acquisitions tab on the Debriefing screen
  
• Fixed a minor UI bug where 3-digit Weapon Upgrade costs were not displayed correctly
  
• Fixed a minor UI bug where an Operation in progress was displayed as being "Aborted" if you visited the Squad Assembly screen in the meantime for some reason :) (did NOT affect rewards/actual completion)
  
• Fixed a minor UI bug where the "sell" sound was not played when selling items from the Stash
  
• Fixed a minor UI bug where the "Reroll sector" button in the DtB menu had no sound when being clicked
  
• Fixed a minor UI bug where you could interact with elements on the map in DtB Construction phase while the Briefing (mission info) panel was open
  
• Fixed a graphical issue where the Wunderwurm's aura was often a little bit misaligned/deformed
  
• Fixed a graphical issue where walls repaired during a mission (w/ field repair kit) had their backfaces and other special elements (e.g. spaceship outer wall) removed
  
• Fixed a graphical issue where some floor decals would change every time when building/removing something in DtB, or when reloading a game
  
• Fixed minor graphical artifacts on some ammo icons (HCB, M-40X)
  
• Various additional minor UI fixes