USC: Counterforce News

USC:CF v0.40.0a, build 231002

NEW

• Over 50 new icons for equipment items!
  
• New map/environment type: Spaceship
  
  
  
  • Two new unique map types are now available in Single Mission mode: "Recon vessel" and "Ring space station"
    
  • Single Missions in this environment yield extra Insulators, Batteries, and Electrical components
    
  • New visuals, previously only seen and playable in the Tutorial, plus:
    
• New GAMEPLAY MECHANICS: hull breach/decompression
  
  
  
  • Happens when an outer wall of a Spaceship environment is destroyed
    
  • Warning lights and sounds, as well as grid overlay info will signal this
    
  • Currently there's no method available to repair the hull once it is compromised, but specific tools will be added at a later time
    
  • All connected areas will start to lose atmosphere each Turn; a small room is decompressed instantly, while a larger area will be decompressed through a few Turns
    
  • During decompression, movement AP cost for ALL units is increased by 4 (!)
    
  • After decompression (no more air left), all fires will be instantly put out (and new ones cannot start), any incendiary and acidic damage/effect is nullified, and ALL units starting their Turn in the area will receive 20 Cryo buildup (this is applied before Cryo buildup is halved)
    
  • The aliens will NOT try to destroy outer walls
    
  • Closing a door in a decompressed area will restore atmosphere in the sealed room instantly
    
• New Operation: "Onboard invasion", taking place on a space station in the new environment
  
• New item: High-Caliber Auto-Turret
  
  
  
  • A versatile ballistic turret making use of the HCB ammunition
    
  • Has free-pattern single shot, a more powerful star-pattern single-target burst, and sweep-pattern multi-target burst attacks (yes, 2.5x damage at point blank range ;D)
    
  • Get it by completing the new Operation, or as a craftable for a nearly perfect run on at least Hard difficulty in Defend the Base!
    
• New object in Defend the Base: High-Caliber Auto-Turret. See above.
  
• New object in Defend the Base: Biosign Radar. Automatically scans the whole area for biosigns every Turn.
  
• New object in Defend the Base: MediPad. Provides continuous healing and hazard treatment for a friendly unit standing on it.
  
• New object in Defend the Base: Barricade. A movable, fireproof, half-height defensive object that provides cover and can withstand a fair amount of damage.
  
• A few new decorative objects, with much more to come! (This is the reason for the size of the update, as new graphical assets have been added.)
  

BALANCE CHANGES

• Defend the Base!
  
  
  
  • Adjusted the number of enemies per difficulty level (1.25x, 1.1x, 0.9x, and 0.8x of former base value, respectively, for Beginner, Standard, Hard, and Ultimate)
    - Structure scanner
    
  • Base AP cost reduced to 15 (down from 20)
    
• Biosign scanner
  
  
  
  • Base AP cost reduced to 10 (down from 30)
    
  • Range increased to 15 (up from 10)
    
  • Deep scan range increased to 10 (up from 5)
    
• Bulleteer (SMG) "Triple Fire":
  
  
  
  • Reduced base AP cost to 9 (from 10)
    
  • Increased effective range to 10 (from 8)
    
  • Increased accuracy to 7 (from 5)
    
  • Reduced spread to 12 (from 15)
    
  • Increased random damage to 35 (from 25)
    
  • Increased impact force to 30 (from 25)
    
  • It is now slightly more effective against structure (walls, doors)
    
• Single Missions in the Mines or Planet surface environment will now yield an additional 7 Insulators (base value)
  

FIXES

• Fixed a critical bug where a Defend the Base! game could become corrupted if you started it after exiting a mission with any active nests in it
  
• Fixed a bug where if you left items in the Stash while playing an Operation, a dialog would pop up between Phases asking you if you wanted to continue, where if you chose "No", the game would lock up (fix: the dialog will not pop up between Phases at all, now)
  
• Fixed a bug where passing multiple movable objects by in succession would cause lagging briefly
  
• Fixed a bug in Hardcore mode where the game would hang on saving the game when you failed a mission (on the last marine being killed)
  

Hey Marines!

We're thrilled to share a sneak peek of the new environment following the Defend the Base! major update: the spaceship!

Get ready to explore two unique map types in Single Mission mode: Recon vessel and Ring space station. This environment and these map types offer new visuals but also a whole new level of gameplay dynamics and tactical depth. In this spaceship environment, Single Missions will reward you with extra materials.



But that's not all! Brace yourselves for new gameplay mechanics: hull breach and decompression!

Gear up to embark on the spaceship and face its new challenges. Keep an eye out for more information regarding the new content!

The USC: Counterforce team

USC:CF v0.30.3a, build 230909

FIXES

• Fixed a bug where the Tier 5 Defend the Base! reward (additional max. Squad Points) was not scaling properly with difficulty & session type
  
• Fixed a bug where splitting a crafted item stack would create a non-crafted item stack that can be sold for Squad Points instead of materials
  

USC:CF v0.30.2a, build 230906

MISCELLANEOUS

• Added missing Simplified Chinese translation to Defend the Base! Encyclopedia entries and all new interface elements (including the Weapon Prototypes system). Thank you very much for your patience!
  

USC:CF v0.30.1b, build 230904 (hotfix)

FIXES

• Fixed an UI bug where unnamed Weapon Prototypes were shown on the Acquisitions panel when completing a game in a non-Single Mission game mode. NOTE: as of now, only completing Single Missions (in the given timeframe) award you Weapon Prototypes.
  

USC:CF v0.30.1a, build 230904

This is a minor update containing fixes for some issues.

BALANCE CHANGES

• Changed the number of possible enhancements on lower quality Prototype Weapons
  

FIXES

• Fixed a bug in missions where Marines could be random-deployed inside holes in walls (esp. Operation "Escape the mines!", Mission #1)
  
• Fixed a bug where single-width double doors could be operated while they were blocked, causing any unit (including Marines) to be crushed
  
• Fixed a bug where you could close a blocked door from a console, causing any unit (including Marines) to be crushed. (Note: you can still spend APs to interact with the console, but any blocked door connected to it won't close.)
  
• Fixed a bug where when deselecting a marine while the animation of killing an enemy via Detonate (Nuclear hand cannon) was still playing (did not affect playability)
  
• Fixed a bug in the Tutorial where if you reloaded more than once with Fixy when fighting the Alpha Reaper, you ran out of APs, but couldn't end the turn to get more (now you can only reload once, as instructed)
  
• Fixed a bug in the Tutorial where the Alpha Reaper moved erratically in very rare cases, blocking progression
  
• Fixed a bug where DTB info overlays could stay visible when going into another game while an overlay was still active
  
• Fixed a visual glitch where DTB info overlays could be briefly seen when loading a game in some cases
  

MISCELLANEOUS

• The game will now properly detect and let you set 4:3 and 5:4 aspect screen resolutions. IMPORTANT NOTE: Players may have to configure their screen resolution settings again (then it will be saved)!