BLACK STIGMA Beta News

[h3]Person Information – Hardworker Grasper[/h3]


[Character Introduction]

• Codename: Hardworker Grasper (‘Grasper’) (Affiliation: A.B. HARDWORKERS)
  
• Role within the organization: A spy and guide for the A.B. organization
  
• Real name: Adonis [ Young Hunter ]
  

Brought into the A.B. organization by Hardworker Zero, he is a muscular young man with an agile body. After signing a secret contract with Zero, he became his shadow, taking care of many of the annoying things that happen around him. He usually recruits new talent or escorts VIPs from outside the organization to secret locations underground.

Having grown up in an orphanage he was severely bullied during his childhood, but his first love in his adolescence saved his life. He learned to control his own emotions and began playing football in Ireland, but his days on the field were cut short when he was seriously injured in an attack by thugs.

Zero appeared in front of him when his heart was broken again, and offered him to 'give up the old life, and live a new life as a member of the A.B. organization,' and Grasper followed him to join the A.B., leaving his whole life, his first love behind.


[Position]

- Infiltrator

• His experience as a football player in Ireland shows up in his missions, he prefers to quickly get into close-up melee battles or hit-and-run tactics.
  
• He has had no formal combat training, such as marksmanship or martial arts, but that doesn't seem to matter to him as he works his muscles every day.
  

[Specs]

• Age: 28
  
• Height: 173cm
  
• Weight: 70kg
  
• Physique: A good-looking young man with a lean, muscular, athletic build
  
• Sport: Gaelic (Irish) football
  
• Rival: None, He does not think to be competing against anyone
  
• Buddy: Gray Paper (Paper)
  
• Likes: Collecting/maintaining tracksuits, looking at Zero gear
  
• Dislikes: Child abuse, cowardice
  

[Character Attributes]

"I'm your guide into the underground. Come with me, there's no turning back."

• With looks reminiscent of a handsome boy from Greek mythology and a gentle smile that masks his true feelings, Grasper is a man who keeps his true intentions a secret.
  
• The name ‘Grasper’ was given to him by Zero, when he was questioning his true identity after leaving the orphanage. It's a name that fits his role at A.B. as a talent recruiter and VIP concierge.
  
• A former Gaelic (Irish) soccer player, he now works as a miner. He is the most knowledgeable person about the underground passageways that lead to A.B.'s bases.
  
• He loves to listen to music. Even when he works out, he doesn't forget to pack a wireless headset to listen to music.
  
• He tries to be polite, always using respectful words to strangers. However, you never know what he's really thinking. Sometimes, when he's angry, vulgar words may come out of his mouth.
  

[Personality]

• While he generally gets along well with people, even those in his own organization have no idea what he's really thinking.
  
• His inner thoughts are completely different from what he shows on the outside, he has more than one characteristic, and is used to putting on an act to deceive others.
  
• In his childhood, he was bullied in an orphanage, which left him with a delicate and helpless personality. However, thanks to the advice of his first love, he has been wearing his own "personality mask" since adolescence.
  

[Relationships]

• He envies Gray Paper, who knows a lot of knowledge and information and uses it freely.
  
• His first love, who influenced him a lot during his orphanage days when his personality started to become skewed, resembles Ms. Nano, which is why he is reluctant to face her.
  
• He has a complicated relationship with Hardworker Zero, and he has mixed feelings about Zero.
  - One of them is that he wants to leave Zero and the organization and go back to his life before he was a member. Although things didn't work out as he had hoped, he still had a life in his late teens where he made memories with his first love and strived for a bright future.
  - On the other side, he also wants to follow Zero's wish to forget about his past with his first love and focus on his current life as a member of the A.B. organization.
  
• Grasper and Zero have different ideas about each other.
  - Grasper -> Zero: An absolute supporter, a father figure. He is grateful for the social recognition he received from Zero at a time when his future as a soccer player was destroyed. However, he also resents Zero for isolating him from the "outside world," including his first love.
  - Zero -> Grasper: Zero sees Grasper as merely a tool for the organization's success. Zero has taken advantage of Grasper's physical and emotional wounds to use him as a puppet. However, there are times when he thinks of Grasper as an abandoned animal and shows signs of weakness.
  

[Physical Attributes]

• He has the typical Celtic, Irish appearance, with red hair and freckles.
  
• He has a not-so-large frame and is well-developed, with toned muscles all over his body.
  
• He looks the youngest of all A.B.'s main members.
  
• He is rarely seen in formal attire and has a relaxed fashion style. He rarely wears anything but training shorts, especially when he needs to use his physique.
  

[Character Object]

• Wireless Headset
  - It's one of his ways of keeping his mind off the sounds outside.
  
• The half-covered mask
  - Hints at his duality, as he is not the same on the outside as he is on the inside.
  

[Habits]

• Due to some past trauma, he exercises daily to keep the body strong and fit.
  

[Hobbies]

• Working Out
  
• Shopping for workout clothes, headsets, and collecting exercise equipments
  
• Organizing the workout playlist of music
  

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https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2067830/view/3862464213272431908

[h3]Person Information – Hardworker Zero[/h3]


[Character Introduction]

• Codename: Hardworker Zero (‘Zero’) (Affiliation: A.B. HARDWORKERS)
  
• Role within the organization: Second in command of the A.B. organization
  
• Real name: Виктор (Viktor) [ victor ]
  

A man in his late fifties, he has been with the HARDWORKERS the longest. He was originally a Master in A.S. for nearly 30 years, but under a secret pact with the second head of A.S. and mentor Mr. Anyone(Anyone), he joins the rest of the HARDWORKERS members in a new group the A.B..

He has led the core of A.S. the HARDWORKERS into Mr.Anyone's arms from the beginning at the A.S. to A.B.. Naturally, the A.S. leadership views Anyone and Zero as an eyesore, as they were directly responsible for the departure of the HARDWORKERS.

But for some reason, Zero himself has declared that he will not be involved in any disputes with the A.S.. As a result, despite several anti-A.S. missions in A.B., Zero has been absent from the scene.


[Position]

- Marksman

• Decades he spent as a killer has given Zero outstanding marksmanship skills. His experience with countless firearms and his sturdy muscles allow him to fire even the most powerful pistols with the largest bullets without flinching.
  
• In addition to marksmanship, he is also skilled in close-range combat with his special railgun that has been modified into a weapon. Enemies who manage to get past Zero's bullets are met with hits from his gauntlet-like reinforced railgun and dozens of nails from his railgun.
  

[Specs]

• Age: 57
  
• Height: 181cm
  
• Weight: 90kg
  
• Physique: Sturdy and heavy/ Wears thick gear
  
• Sport: boxing, weightlifting, judo, and various other sports
  
• Rival: Mr. Ten(Ten)
  
• Buddy: None
  
• Likes: Fighting, provoking, or arguing people
  
• Dislikes: anything that bores him, peace, calm, people who are not confident
  

[Character Attributes]

"You're thinking too much young man, isn't it easier to get rid of the ones that get in the way?"

• Despite his large size, he loves to grow cacti. He once thought about running a flower shop with his grown daughter, but it was an unrealistic fantasy.
  
• Perhaps because his real name is "Viktor," which means victor, he has always valued winning and success as the most important thing in life. This has made his life as a psychopathic hitman, devoid of morality and humanity, easy for him.
  
• He uses dazzling techniques and skillful maneuvers and has developed a powerful arsenal of weapons that only he can wield. Some of these weapons have high recoils and are unwieldy, and Gray Hand(Hand) has spent months researching and making them.
  

[Personality]

• He is an extreme realist and doesn't empathize well with others, and his focus on efficiency often leads to quick, but unethical, closure.
  
• Although he is thoughtful and cautious, he firmly believes that negotiation and compromise can eventually be overcome by overwhelming violence. These values have led him to be criticized for his frequent use of violence when he was a Master of A.S.
  
• While most people around him considered him to have a personality spectrum that made him addicted to violence, in reality, his behavior was merely a result of his view of all human beings as a means to an end.
  

[Relationships]

• He has rescued Twin from a human trafficking ring in the past. As a result, he has maintained a friendly relationship with Twin.
  
• He is a secret supporter of the Hardworker Grasper, and spends a lot of time with him. He's even given Grasper several missions himself, which makes it seem to others that the two men have a close relationship. However, Zero's view of Grasper is a mixture of family-like affection and treating him like a tool.
  
• His biological daughter, Ms. Nano, resents him to no end. Not only did her father, her only blood relative, abandon her, but he also abandoned the A.S. organization she joined.
  
• He is a good match for field missions with Hardworker Crush, who fights in a reckless and fierce manner.
  

[Physical Attributes]

• A Russian man with a hard-lined face and a thick beard
  
• He seems lean on the outside, but his body is covered in sturdy muscles honed by decades of construction work and assassination missions.
  
• He wears an assortment of equipment that appears to be various tools but has been modified for combat.
  - He wears a durable and powerful nailgun that has been modified to fire nails like a gauntlet
  - Wears a special welding mask for protection and concealment
  - And has steel armor pieces attached to his heart and limbs to withstand bullets and knives.
  

[Character Object]

• Cactus
  - This represents his menacing first impression, symbolizing the tough environment of his upbringing. It was also the first gift he received from his daughter.
  

[Habits]

• He has a habit of touching his beard. He is very fond of the well-groomed beard.
  

[Hobbies]

• Builds/modifies combat gear
  
• Various Sporting Experiences
  
• Especially enjoys ground-based martial arts like judo/jiu-jitsu sparring with Grasper
  

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https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2067830/view/3862464213272431908

[h5][ Intro ] [/h5]

Hello, Masters. I'm Kwon Dae Ho, the Executive Producer of Black Stigma.

In this developer's note, we want to talk about one of the most talked about VOC from the Global Testing Tour, the balance of the combat, or more precisely, the 'balance of shooting'.



As this is a PVP game, the balance of the combat is the most important and sensitive issue for our testers. We had to carefully consider the improvements before sharing our thoughts about this topic, because of this, we're only now tackling the topic of balance, despite it being the topic with the most complaints, to more carefully organize our improvements.



[h5][ Issues on Shooting Balance found in Global Testing Tour ] [/h5]

At Black Stigma, we've tried to do various things to provide in our shooter games, and we'll continue to do so, but we wanted to make sure that the shooter at the center of the game was perfect for this test. However, in retrospect, we feel that we could not fulfill the needs of our testers during this test.

We have located the three following reasons for our shortcomings.

a. Headshots felt relatively anemic compared to other games.

b. Each master had little variations of characteristics on handling firearms.

c. Bullets felt less powerful and provided little tension in gunfights.

To address each of these issues, we're introducing the following four improvements.



[h5][ Key Changes in Shooting Balance ] [/h5]

1) Headshot damage will be improved.

Most shooter games will deal the most damage for headshots. Black Stigma also has the highest damage set to the head, but not as much as other games our users had experienced.

< Weakest handgun shot of game A, Body(4 shots) while Head (2 Shots) so it had 2 times the damage >

< Weakest handgun shot of game B, Body(8 shots) while Head (2 Shots) so it had 4 times the damage >

< Weakest handgun shot of Black Stigma, Body(6 shots) while Head (4 Shots) so the shots feel different >



In response, we're going to dramatically increase the damage of headshots to match the experience of headshots in other games. We're currently tuning our test builds with headshots that do about 3 times the damage of torso shots. We won't know the final number until we're done tuning, but it's likely to be around 300%, which is what we've seen in other games.

< Shooting screenshot in the latest build of Black Stigma, You can observe the differences of headshot efficiency(before/after 300%) the weakest handgun(left)and the strongest handgun(right)>

It will differ depending on the firepower of your firearms and the presence of head armor, we expect it to deliver more of the exhilarating headshot you've experienced in other games.



2) You won't be able to use guns that have a higher Control Power number than you.

In this testing, we gave each Master a different value of Control Power to differentiate their shooting style. We wanted to showcase the individual characteristics of each Master's fighting style, whether it be in a suppression/infiltration role or an all-out assault/protection role, depending on their Control Power.

However, we've seen masters with low control power equip heavy firearms and play in one shooting style at the expense of accuracy penalties.

< Except for 'Twin' that doesn't have the right-click aiming system, high Control Power guns such as LW Eagel L6 or Hollow Ten was included in the high preference weapons top 3 for all Masters. >

We felt that this didn't fully capitalize on Black Stigma's identity as a 'hero shooter' genre, and we wanted to strengthen the Control Power constraints.

You'll no longer be able to choose a gun with a higher Control Power than your Master. We believe this adjustment will allow players to maintain their shooting style, but instead of having a similar shooting experience with different characters, players will experience a distinctly different style of shooting action based on their Control Power.
This decision will also be reflected in the gun customization we'll be introducing in the future, giving players the freedom to customize their guns to fit their style of play.



3) The bigger the character, the higher the Control Power.

As the title suggests, we want to give larger characters higher Control Power and smaller characters lower Control Power.



These measures were added as part of our efforts to increase the rate of gunfights. Because larger characters have relatively large hit boxes, so they have a disadvantage in a regular gunfight. We implemented this as a balancing measure to compensate for that.



4) The damage absorption rate of armor will be decreased.

From a 'familiarity' standpoint with other games, there was something else we missed in this test besides headshots. The armor effects on hits. We did some comparative analysis with other games to see if Black Stigma's armor effects were too strong.



In conclusion, we decided that the armor effectiveness in the test version was a bit high compared to other games, and we decided to reduce it. The reduction is generally 2/3 of what it used to be, so that it feels more in line with armor effectiveness in other games.





[h5][ Expected results of Improved Shooting Balance ] [/h5]

We prepared these improvements to the shooting system to make gunfights feel more intense, but also to make Black Stigma feel more friendly to a wider audience.

In our next test version, we'll showcase Black Stigma as a shooter that's easier for you to get into.

Also, as part of the shooting rebalance, Active Skills will be impacted. We will be introducing specific changes to Active Skills in our next developer note, and we look forward to your continued interest and support. Thank you.



Sincerely, Producer Kwon Dae Ho



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▶ [Season.2] Research Report – A.B. : HARDWORKERS
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1277530/view/3909752009364095320

▶ [Season.2] Research Report – A.B. : HARDWORKERS
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