USC: Counterforce News

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  • Dead or withdrawn (in Ops) units aren't shown; objective extracted units are shown faded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
  

Hey Marines,

A new major update is live now! Spring approaches and the sun shines a little longer to fill your marines with hope as we bring a fair share of new gear and mechanics to fight back the alien threat! Enjoy the Steam Spring Sale, the game is discounted (40% off) from today to March 21!

Special delivery for your marines (signed with your feedback)! This major update brings two new weapons, a new mechanic, UI improvements, and more unlockable items with the Gear Tokens.



[h2]New weapon & new shield[/h2]

We organized a vote on Discord and Twitter to let you choose the next weapon you’ll experiment with, and you chose the Energy Rifle! The arsenal of the USC commandos has received yet another significant upgrade with this weapon and a new shield!

• Energy Rifle: A marvel of high-tech engineering designed to give your marines the upper hand on the battlefield. This expensive and "electrifying" small arm, available without unlocking, is a powerful weapon. It deals a lot of damage and can set aliens on fire. This weapon comes with two attack modes:
  
  • "Controlled impulse", a single-target attack in a star pattern with a low AP cost and significant damage potential.
    
  • "Discharge", a 3x3 area with a free pattern attack, capable of inflicting substantial damage.
    
• This weapon doesn't deal electric damage (because this damage type doesn't exist in the game), but rather Tranquilization and Fire damage! So fear not, you can fire at will even in flooded areas of the Hydroponics environment!
  
  
• Energy Shield: A more expensive alternative to the Riot shield, with added benefits: better protection from Shadow damage and better defensive values.
  

This Energy Rifle relies on Energy Charge ammunition. With these two new additions to your gear, you'll be prepared to exterminate even the toughest of aliens!

See? No problem zapping aliens around in the flooded areas!


[h2]Community-based features and balance[/h2]

Thanks to your suggestions, we designed and added a new mechanic using a set of small arms with a shield. This mechanic is called "Close Quarters Weapon" (CQW).

• It allows your marines to wield a small arm while holding a shield. They will now benefit from defensive bonuses even when not in melee attack mode.
  
• The CQW weapons are the following: Self-Defense Pistol, Bulleteer, Shotgun, and QuadSeeker. All the weapons that are classified as CQW have a "pistol" icon (they are still considered "small arm" weapons).
  

Make the most of this new mechanic to adapt your strategy and operate differently on the battlefield!



To continue expanding the possibility of unlocking gear with Gear Tokens, you can now also obtain crafting recipes but at a considerable cost, since these are end-game progression items for non-Campaign modes.
As a reminder, Gear Tokens can be obtained by completing a game in any non-Campaign mode, and the amount received depends on the difficulty level. You can still acquire items by completing the corresponding challenges while also obtaining Gear Tokens.

The Defend the Base! mode has been reworked and balanced, with aliens now being more aggressive towards structures, creating shortcuts, and destroying crucial objects to hinder your objectives. The initial design of the first AI wave has been reintroduced with balance tweaks, with aliens attacking again during the AI first turn. AI can skip turns on arrival, reducing movement AP costs by 1 for one turn. More aliens will arrive during the first turn of each wave, and turrets are slightly more expensive. Structure and object value amortization rates per wave have been increased, making it more important to plan your initial base accordingly, as relocating is now more costly.



[h2]UI improvements[/h2]

The UI has also undergone improvements, and we designed a new in-mission feature:

• The Squad Overview Panel. It provides a comprehensive view of all active (alive) units across multiple squads, allowing for better coordination and resource management during missions.
  
• The panel is also available during the Construction phase in Defend the Base! mode, providing the much needed information to make better decisions about what supplies to order, etc.
  
• We have also added the possibility to change to hotkeys for the UI and information display of this new panel and other tactical view markers and outlines in the Settings > Interface and Settings > Misc. menus, respectively. Customize and adapt the interface to suit your playstyle!
  

Read the full patch notes here.

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1574870/view/4148449764369304233


Get the game at a 40% discount from today at 7 PM (CET +1) to March 21 at 7 PM (CET +1)! Upgrade your marines' gear with the Energy Rifle, use a shield with a Close Quarters Weapon, and customize the UI!

All clear for now! Keep your eyes peeled for further updates on USC: Counterforce and the challenges that lie ahead!

The USC: Counterforce team

Hey Marines!

Time to do some math! We’re going to break down the weapon prototype system. You can improve your gear with prototypes. When you successfully complete a Single Mission within the given bonus deadline, you receive 1 or 2 randomized Prototype Weapons. These are enhanced versions of a weapon already available to you in Squad Assembly, with some additional and/or modified properties.

The number of Prototypes you get depends on the mission Difficulty AND your Performance Score. To know your exact chance of getting a second Prototype (one is guaranteed under the conditions stated above), multiply the Difficulty level (0–6; 0 for Beginner, 6 for Ultimate) with your Performance Score (0–100). If this value is less than 250, you will only get 1 Prototype. If the value is between 250 and 449, you have a chance for a second one, proportional to how close you are to 449. If the value is 450 or above, you are guaranteed to get 2 Prototypes.



Each Prototype you get is first assigned a Mark (I–IX) and an overall Quality Level (1–100). The Mark of a Prototype determines what kind of properties it can potentially have. The Quality Level determines the quality range of each of its properties and also factors into how many properties the weapon will ultimately have.

Mark is a random value between Difficulty + 1 and Difficulty + 3. On Beginner, you can only get a Prototype up to Mark III. On Ultimate, you will get a Mark VI in the worst case.

[h3]Quality (Q) is calculated by the following formula:[/h3]

• Q = 15 + Difficulty × (Performance Score / 10) + [a random integer between -25 and (Performance Score / 2)], clamped between 1 and 100
  

The number of enhancements (properties) is a random value between (Mark / 3) × (Q / 100f) and (Mark / 2) × (Q / 100f), plus 1. The maximum number of properties is 5. (The “f” after 100 here denotes that we’re keeping the fragments in the result for that operation; otherwise, we’re always flooring the results.)

Then, for each enhancement the weapon will have, its exact type and individual quality are determined. This individual quality (q) is a random value between Q / 2 and Q (the weapon’s Quality Level).



Below you find a table of all the possible enhancements (properties). In this table, Mark refers to the minimum Mark a weapon must have for the chance to get the corresponding enhancement. Min. and Max. show the minimum and maximum values between which the enhancement’s effect will get its actual strength, based on its quality (q = 1: minimum; q = 100: maximum; 1 < q < 100: linearly proportional value). Values are generally added to the weapon’s respective property value.


* Applied to the weapon’s default respective property.

The crafting cost of a Prototype depends both on its Mark and its overall Quality Level. The common four materials are always required, but Portable batteries are only needed for Mark IV and above, Electrical components for Mark V and above, Asura-49 for Mark VI and above, and Deothonit for Mark VII and above only.

Note: Don't worry! The game will handle the math behind the prototype system. Your task is to acquire these prototype weapons and eliminate the enemy.

Example:

You complete a mission on Intense difficulty (3) and gets a Performance Score of 80. 3 × 80 = 240, which is less than 250, so they will only get a single Prototype. They have the chance for a Prototype between Mark IV and Mark VI – let’s say they get a Mark V. The Quality Level (Q) is 15 + 3 × (80 / 10) + [a random integer between -25 and (80 / 2)]. Let’s say this random roll is 11; so, Q is 15 + 24 + 11 = 50. Oh, and they get an Assault rifle—this was also determined randomly.

The next part, to get the number of enhancements is a bit trickier. We’re going to floor the results of the Mark divisions, but use fragments for the Quality divisions (that’s what the “f” after 100 denotes): random between (5 / 3) × (50 / 100f) and (5 / 2) × (50 / 100f), plus 1 thus becomes random between 1 × 0.5 and 2 × 0.5, plus 1. So, the random part is between (we’re flooring again for the final result) 0 and 1 – and we’re then also adding 1. Thus, if we’re lucky (50% chance in this instance), this Prototype can have 2 properties. Let’s say we are!

It’s a Mark V, so we can get any of the properties up to Impact force. Let’s say we get that, and Ammo capacity for the second one. For each property we get a random quality (q) between 25 and 50: say we got 33 and 40. The range for Impact force is between 10 and 20; q = 33 means it will have a final value of 13. Ammo capacity is between 1.1 and 2.0; with q = 40, it will be ((2.0 – 1.1) / 100f) × 40 + 1.1 = 0.009 × 40 + 1.1 = 0.36 + 1.1 = 1.46. (We calculated the value that is 40% “halfway” between 1.1 and 2.) The default ammo capacity of the Assault rifle is 40, so this will have a capacity of 40 * 1.46 = 58.4, floored to 58. And each attack with it will have +13 Armor Penetration compared to whatever it would otherwise be.

[h3]Summary: The higher the completed mission's difficulty results in a higher Mark rank Prototype blueprint that can be crafted of the looted materials. Using these weapons means extra abilities are applied during combat! So, you can assemble a more effective Squad, and thus, you can complete higher difficulty levels.[/h3]

Now you're all set! Stay tuned for more updates on the game development. We're not done sharing sneak peeks at what we're working on and what's waiting for you!

We read all your comments and feedback, so feel free to share your thoughts and help us in making USC: Counterforce the best game possible!

There's no more time to waste, Commander! A lot of bugs are waiting for you. Dismissed.

The USC: Counterforce team

Hey marines,

The Steam Remote Play Together Festival has started, and we have set up our biggest discount yet!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1574870/USC_Counterforce/


Get the game now to enjoy the latest content that we brought in January, including a new alien and an environment with new game mechanics.


[h3]Since the release of the game in Early Access, we’ve worked tirelessly to bring you:[/h3]

• Defend the Base! mode
  
• New enemies: Organ Shepherd, Reaper Mother, Greater Shadow Envoy, and Acidya
  
• New environments: Spaceship and Hydroponics Labs
  
• New weapons: Flamethrower, Bio-rifle
  
• Many new items and visual improvements
  
• Round of polishing and balancing
  

[h3]Limited-time event![/h3]
Crafting materials and Profile XP are doubled if the mission is successfully completed. So if you need resources to craft and improve your gear, now is the time to stack them! This event will last until February 26, 5 PM CET.

The USC: Counterforce team

USC:CF v0.60.1a, build 240202

BALANCE CHANGES

• Movement AP penalty in water is reduced to +2 (down from +3). Aliens now also have a +2 penalty (up from +1). (Jumping costs remain intentionally unaffected.)
  

FIXES

• Fixed a bug where the game would lock up if you stood beside a movable object at the very edge of a map (was more prevalent in DtB games)
  
• Fixed a bug where you couldn't pull an object in DtB if an otherwise non-blocked Deploy pad was behind your unit
  
• Fixed a bug where the pushing/pulling of objects on hazardous ground with the "Completely disallow unsafe paths" option enabled was not blocked as intended, possibly leading to weird issues