USC: Counterforce News

Hey Marines!

Missed the Halloween goosebumps? No worries, USC: Counterforce is at a discount! We recently released our Halloween major update, adding new enemies and the flamethrower!

[h3]25% Off - Limited discount during Turn-Based Carnival[/h3]
It’s never too late to give yourself the chills! Dive into a mission you wish you were never assigned to… We're offering an exclusive 25% discount on USC: Counterforce during the Turn-Based Carnival from today to November 21! Grab a copy of the game and exterminate the aliens!

[h3]Update Highlights - Halloween update[/h3]
Lock and load! New terrifying aliens have joined the horde! But fear not, you now have a flamethrower to burn them to the ground! Let's start the fireworks with this weapon and discover new features! With new tactical possibilities, upgraded weaponry, and new features, the game will test your abilities and strategies!

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


The USC: Counterforce team

Hey Marines,

[h2][h3]We've made adjustments to our roadmap to ensure USC: Counterforce reaches its full potential and delivers an immersive, engaging, and challenging experience. As a result, there will be fewer updates until the full release. We want to be completely transparent with you and share our reasoning.[/h3][/h2]

Since the game's Early Access release, we've added new content such as Defend the Base! mode, the spaceship environment, new gameplay mechanics, a new operation, new weapons and items, new enemies, and community suggestions.



[h3]Focusing on the Campaign:[/h3]
One of the key aspects of USC: Counterforce is its Campaign. We have decided to shift our primary focus towards developing and polishing this core feature. We believe that the Campaign is the backbone of the game, and we want to make it an engaging and exciting open-ended Campaign mode with a non-linear storyline.

[h3]Quality over quantity:[/h3]
By taking a step back from more frequent updates, we can allocate more resources to improving USC: Counterforce, optimizing gameplay, polishing, balancing, and fixing any existing issues, on top of the scheduled updates and Campaign.

[h3]Listening to feedback:[/h3]
Your feedback is invaluable throughout the development process. While we may have fewer updates, we still actively want to engage with you, taking your feedback into account and publishing patches. By reducing the update cycle, we can carefully assess and implement the suggestions and answer questions you may have while focusing our energy on the Campaign.

[h2]Updated Roadmap[/h2]



That being said, get ready for an intense end of the year! A new deadly weapon, a new alien, and a Xmas event that promises to be anything but resting for your marines. It's shaping up to be a bloody Christmas! As we step into the new year, explore a new environment featuring a new operation, a new alien will join the horde and we're cooking up a special Lunar Year event for you!

[h3]We will keep you informed of our progress and development milestones as we work towards the full release of USC: Counterforce.[/h3]

Stay tuned for more updates as we work diligently to bring you an exciting and challenging experience with the Campaign. We want to thank you, your support means a lot to us and we believe that we can make the best game possible with your contribution.

The USC: Counterforce team


PS: If you missed it, we're participating in the Turn-Based Carnival starting tomorrow on Steam and the game will be at a discount!

Hey Marines!

A new major update is live now and your commandos’ nightmare has just begun! New aliens are joining the horde and are going to make them wish they never stepped foot on this cursed planet M8322.

This major update to celebrate Halloween comes with a new weapon, the flamethrower, and new enemies: Reaper Mother, her Leech eggs and hatchling Leeches, Organ Shepherd and Greater Shadow Envoy. This new content will be added permanently to the game.



[h2]New aliens[/h2]

• Reaper Mother: This entity surpasses its Reaper kin. Its size and its strength set it apart along with its ability to lay Leech eggs once per turn. This ability forces you to redirect your focus on it if you do not want to be overwhelmed, adding a new layer of complexity to the fight.
  
  
  
  • Leech egg: They do not appear on the battlefield by default. They are laid only once per turn, when a Reaper Mother engages the player. Provoking a Leech egg requires inflicting damage on it, as proximity alone won't trigger its emergence. You must proceed carefully, as these eggs will inevitably hatch on the third turn after being laid, unleashing high HP Leeches, but with little to no armor.
    
  • Leech: These feisty creatures are not on the map, but appear from eggs. They exhibit traits similar to Skitters, but distinguish themselves with exceptionally high life-stealing capabilities. Their attacks deliver a double whammy of paralysis (tranquilization) and extra bleeding, making them dangerous foes that demand precision and resourcefulness to defeat. This new breed of enemy intensifies the encounter with their Reaper Mother.
    
• Organ Shepherd: This gruesome fleshy monster is the aliens' attempt to mimic humanoid physiology. Agile and capable of paralyzing and bleeding attacks, this creature's tactics vary depending on the situation. It may target a single victim when in melee range or strike a group of targets within the proximity of two grids. In addition to its deadly melee capabilities, it wields a spit attack similar to the Alpha Wormpig's, afflicting paralysis and bleeding effects. The Organ Shepherd stands as a tough adversary, being completely impervious to tranquilization, forcing you to adapt and find alternative ways to deal with it.
  
• Greater Shadow Envoy: This terrifying foe meets all the criteria of an apex predator. It outshines all previous enemies you have met so far in terms of power. Its area-of-effect melee attack is so potent that it can ignite Shadow fires on the grids it impacts, further complicating your survival plan and escape. With high fire resistance, this menace will make you despair and hope for a quick death.
  

[h2]New weapon and hydrazine mechanics[/h2]

• The challenges posed by these new threats call for new ways to exploit the battleground. Hydrazine is also available in squad management and found during missions. It can now be spilled on adjacent grids that do not have ground effects like radiation pools or fire. Even on an enemy grid if the situation permits! Spilling Hydrazine consumes both 1 ammo stack and 8 Action Points (the cost scales with Field Expertise skills). Spilled Hydrazine pool causes explosions if lit on fire. It deals damage ranging from 50 to 100, with an additional 200 fire damage and Armor Penetration of 20. This explosion also has a 50% chance of affecting adjacent targets, creating opportunities for you to turn the tide in their favor.
  
• To combat these new threats, you can now wield the infamous flamethrower! This heavy weapon utilizes Hydrazine as ammunition. This weapon offers two powerful attack modes. The first, "Line Ignite", enables you to unleash flames in a line spanning five grids, making it a critical choice when dealing with multiple targets. However, it's essential to note that this attack mode doesn't work in areas with no atmosphere (in the case of hull breaches). The second attack mode, "Disperse", allows you to spray Hydrazine on the ground, creating a 3x3 area of upcoming fiery chaos. Due to the inherent nature of these attacks, neither can be utilized in Defense Mode, you must use this weapon carefully.
  

Read the full patch notes here.

Equip your flamethrower and study these new foes. Stay tuned for more information on the upcoming content during Early Access!

The USC: Counterforce team 🎃

USC:CF v0.41.0a, build 231027

NEW

• New enemy: Reaper Mother
  
  • Stronger than a Reaper
    
  • May lay a Leech egg once every Turn, depending on some factors (difficulty, current Turn)
    
• New enemy: Leech egg
  
  • Not present on maps by default--may be laid by a Reaper Mother that has engaged the player, and not before
    
  • Can only be "provoked" by doing damage to it, not by proximity
    
  • Will always hatch on the 3rd Turn after being laid
    
  • Has high HP, but very low to zero Armor
    
• New enemy: Leech
  
  • Not present on maps by default--hatches from a Leech egg
    
  • Akin to a Skitter, but does not have progeny
    
  • Has very high life steal
    
  • Its attacks convey paralysis (tranq.) and extra bleeding
    
• New enemy: Organ Shepherd
  
  • Agile, "humanoid" alien (probably an attempt by the aliens to mimic human physiology--not a 100% successfully :D)
    
  • Has paralyzing and bleeding attacks
    
  • Attacks a single target in melee range, or a group of targets when in proximity (range of 2)
    
  • Also has an AoE spit attack akin to that of an Alpha Wormpig, but primarily with tranq. and bleeding effects instead of acid/poison
    
  • Has a mildly tranquilizing and poisonous 3x3 AURA (see below)
    
  • Completely immune to tranquilization
    
• New enemy: Greater Shadow Envoy
  
  • Apex predator, much stronger than anything encountered before
    
  • Its area of effect melee attack also starts Shadow fires on the affected grids
    
  • High fire resistance
    
  • "Now comes the running and screaming!"
    
• New feature: Disperse Hydrazine
  
  • Hydrazine (ammo) can now be used from the inventory (in Squad Assembly, RMB loads it in an applicable weapon; during a mission, RMB activates it for dispersion)
    
  • It can be dispersed (spilled) on adjacent grids that doesn't yet have a ground effect (radpool, fire, etc.)
    
  • Can be also spilled on a grid with an enemy if the grid is otherwise applicable (you can't spill on a burning enemy for your own health)
    
  • Dispersing costs 1 ammo stack and 8 APs (scales with Field Expertise)
    
  • Hydrazine pool explosion has a damage of 50-100, +200 fire, ArP 20; 50% for adjacent targets
    
• New weapon: FLAMETHROWER
  
  • Heavy weapon, available by default
    
  • Uses Hydrazine as ammo
    
  • 1st attack: Line ignite -- throw flame in a line of 5 grids through multiple targets; doesn't work in no-atmo areas
    
  • 2nd attack: Disperse -- spray Hydrazine on the floor in a 3x3 area... and get ready for the fireworks!
    
  • Due to the nature of these attack modes, neither can be used in Defense Mode
    
• New feature: aura effects
  
  • Stepping on a grid, or starting a Turn standing inside an aura's area will convey its effects
    
  • They persist around their source, and move with it; they don't leave a trail
    
  • Auras can only be cleared by eliminating their source (in case of aliens, killing them)
    
  • Note: for now, only the Organ Shepherd and Shadow Envoys have an aura, but more enemies, objects and usable gadgets will follow based on this feature
    

CHANGES

• Shadow Envoys now have a 5x5 shadow damage aura (but it doesn't heal aliens, unlike the shadow flames); for Greater Shadow Envoys, it is somewhat stronger
  
• The "Detonate" attack mode of the Nuclear Hand Cannon is now properly marked as, and behaves as >>not usable<< in Defense Mode
  
• The minimum cost of a weapon prototype is now 10 scraps and 10 reusable parts, even for the lowest quality items
  
• Improved the randomization of weapon prototypes so that really weird (and useless) combinations can't happen anymore (e.g. a CryoBlaster with fire damage, etc.)
  
  • Please note though that not all prototypes (not even higher level ones) are guaranteed to be "useful"--this is intended, and you can sell the bad ones for some materials!
    
• Reduced the intensity of the atmosphere loss (decompression) alarm sound
  

BALANCE CHANGES

• Incendiary grenade
  
  • Incendiary (fire) damage increased to 250 (up from 150)
    
• Hydrazine barrel
  
  • Stack size of Hydrazine procured from it reduced to 3 (down from 5)
    

FIXES

• Fixed a bug in the second Tutorial mission where the Alpha Reaper could still sometimes behave in a way that it blocked progression ("attack it with Fixy")
  
• Fixed an UI bug where the magenta color for tranquilization did not immediately apply to all respective UI elements in some cases
  
• Fixed atmosphere markers being shown inconsistently with different LoS/FoW parameters (now they are only shown if the grid is in active Line of Sight)
  
• Fixed inconsistent volume and/or activity of some ambient sounds
  
• Fixed a non-intended delay after opening doors if the door animation speed was set to less than 0.5 in Settings
  
• Fixed some minor text formatting issues in Simplified Chinese
  

Marines,

To celebrate the Halloween update, kormakrtv and the developers at Angry Cat Studios will be live on Twitch!

[h3]Livestream: October 27, at 5PM GMT+2 on Twitch[/h3]

Join us there and ask all your questions, we will be more than happy to reply and show you the game!

The USC: Counterforce team