Section 13 News

Devlog #2: Weapon and Synaptic Enhancements Balancing

Dear Agents!

Today's Minor Hotfix Patch includes a bugfix on the synaptic enhancements "Bloodshot" and "One Way", which are two of the strongest and most commonly-used in the current build.

For "One Way", there were some instances where it was triggering improperly, without its conditions being properly met. This has been fixed.

For "Bloodshot", we noticed players were incorrectly losing their boost stack under certain conditions. This has been fixed, so "Bloodshot" will actually be a bit stronger now.

Our plan for patches isn't just limited to bugfixes, but also includes adjusting overall balancing between weapons, perks, and synaptic enhancements. To share some of our current to-do items and the thinking behind them...

[h3]#1: Firearm Builds are Outperforming Others[/h3]
We've noticed that the current balance between weapon types and synaptic enhancements tends to create a preference for Firearm builds over others, which isn't our intent.
To address this, we’re planning to adjust the balance of Bionics and R&D weapons, and add some new synaptic enhancement for these types.
Since "One Way" gives a DPS boost based on having two weapons of the same type, adding more options for other weapon types should also make that particular enhancement a little more versatile.

[h3]#2: Psionic Weapons[/h3]
Psionic weapons and enhancements don't seem to have quite the same extent of issues as Bionics and R&D. But right now, Firearms are simply more efficient, so there's not much reason to use Psionics.
Therefore, after we adjust issues mentioned in the first point, we'll be focusing on re-tuning Psionic weapons to make them a little more competitive.
We'll also be monitoring synaptic enhancements for all weapon types on an ongoing basis, and adjusting low performers as needed to keep the meta generally balanced.

As we shared in our first Devlog, our current priority is adding a dedicated single-player mode, and development for that is already underway. But we're also looking at a wide range of improvements, of which weapons balance is just one example, which is why we wanted to share this update today.

Making these sorts of changes to a co-op multiplayer game inevitably requires some testing, so it's difficult to share an exact timeline for release. But rest assured, we're working as fast as we can to ensure that players who are enjoying the game already will soon enjoy it even more, and hopefully we can bring a few others into the fold.

As always, our door is open for your thoughts, feedback, and ideas.

Thank you,
Creative Director, Dongsoo Oh

PS — I mentioned in a previous post that part of the reason we chose an SCP-like setting was that it gave us some creative wiggle-room when it comes to what kinds of weapons make sense for this world. Since we're already looking at adding new toys, if you have any fun ideas, you're welcome to share them with us. We've opened a post on the discussion board for this topic, so please feel free to drop by!

DISCORD | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE | TWITCH

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2111870/Blackout_Protocol/

0.10.4 Minor Hotfix Patch Note

[h3]Patch Schedule[/h3]

PDT: 7 PM
EDT: 10 PM
CEST: 4 AM
ICT: 9 AM
KST: 11 AM

Agents,

We are deploying another minor hotfix to address some of the issues. As we are going through the list of issues, we will be deploying hotfixes and patches frequently until we can ensure players can all comfortably enjoy the game.

Please see detailed list of fixes.

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

Fixed a bug where Tier 5 Blueprints were coming out from the game - now Tier 5 blueprints won't drop as they are not supposed to be in the game yet. If you have already obtained them and unlocked using Weapon Printers, later once we update Tier 5 weapons, you won't need to unlock them again!
Fixed a bug where Tier 3 and above Sawed-Off Shotgun Blueprints were not working - regardless of players unlocking higher rank version of the weapon, only worked as Tier 2 has been now solved
Fixed a bug with the result screen showing wrong playing time
Fixed a bug where "Successful shots have a 20% chance to create a 0.5m explosion, dealing 15 Physical Damage." causes 100% explosion effect, also reduced amount of screen shake
Fixed an issue Synaptic Enhancement "One Way I and II" working for not eligible combination of weapons have been fixed
Fixed an issue where successful shot recovering HP getting reset (not working) for certain cases
Fixed an issue Astral status continuing when agents are downed

Please note that if you are playing at this time, your game will not be interrupted. You will be prompted to download the patch the next time you open Blackout Protocol. It is possible for teammates to play with mismatched game versions, which could potentially impact gameplay. So please install the update as soon as possible for the best experience.

- ODS Team

DISCORD | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE | TWITCH

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2111870/Blackout_Protocol/

0.10.3 Minor Hotfix Patch Note

[h3]Patch Schedule[/h3]

PDT: 7 PM
EDT: 10 PM
CEST: 4 AM
ICT: 9 AM
KST: 11 AM

Agents,

We are deploying a minor hotfix to address some of the issues. As we are going through the list of issues, we will be deploying hotfixes and patches frequently until we can ensure players can all comfortably enjoy the game.

Please see detailed list of fixes.

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

Now you will see an interaction text to the car which you can push by pressing "E" at the parking lot level and optimized overall level design
Fixed an issue where you randomly seeing weapon selection menu when progressing to next leve
Fixed an issue with players not able to reset saves
Now you are able to chat when you are downed
Fixed an issue where if you fell down from the Exosuite level after you clear him, you couldn't complete the mission as you could not get revived. Now you will be able to safely complete the mission

0.10.2 Patch Notes - July 25 2023

[h3]Patch Schedule[/h3]

PDT: 12:45 AM
EDT: 3:45 AM
CEST: 9:45 AM
ICT: 2:45 PM
KST: 4:45 PM

Agents,

We bring you this first patch of Blackout Protocol (Version 0.10.2) to address the hotly debated issue of game balance. Before we get into what and how we are tweaking it, we’d first like to share the original idea for the game. We knew there were many great action roguelite in the market and as a fan of these games ourselves, we wanted to create a game that can be more challenging to the fans of the genre.

In these past few days of Early Access, we realized that each person's acceptance of what feels challenging versus what feels impossible is quite different, and the difference is even greater when it comes to solo. We also learned that the difference could be seen as a more frustrating wall due to the configuration of the difficulty change curve as the game progresses, which is not yet perfect.

We also learned that the fluid game difficulty curve that changes as the game progresses accentuates the difference, making you feel like you’re hitting an impenetrable wall. The curve is work in progress, and this is definitely not the result we were aiming for.

We understand that each player has a preferred group size when playing co-op games, and have no intentions to force players who prefer to play solo into a group. So in the next patch, we will provide appropriate difficulty curves for solo players. Read more about that HERE.

But first, in this patch, we are first going to address the difficulty spike that occurs at the Lobby level.

As these Early Access pass, we hope to strike the right game balance so that Blackout Protocol can be remembered as that game that was super satisfying to complete.

Please find the list of fixes and changes in this patch below:
[h3]Changes[/h3]

Performed general optimization work for better gameplay experience
Optimized the Lobby map’s difficulty to provide the intended level of difficulty spike and challenge
Reduced the enemy aggro radius when landing shots with silenced weapons
Lowered the overall difficulty in the Swarm Defense Mode
Improved the way the glass doors open in the Office level
Improved the depiction of the Astral state
Adjusted the number and the location of explosive barrels in the Lobby level

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

Fixed the issue where the save file could be lost
Fixed the issue where the input would lock up under various circumstances
- We are temporarily removing the control room cutscene in the Isolation Chamber level to address issues. Once everything is fixed, we will bring it back!
Fixed the issue where the game could randomly change language settings and reset all data
Fixed the issue where Agents got disconnected even when the host did not close the session
Fixed the issue where, when moving to the next level, the host could be stuck at a black screen if the guest agent(s) disconnect
Fixed the issue where Violet’s dialogue triggering incorrectly
Fixed the issue where Agents could get hard-stuck in various places
- Parking Lot map right-turn layout
- Parking Lot map power generator area
- Office level, getting stuck behind the door when another Agent opens it
Fixed the issue where Agents could enter an exit they should not be able to
Fixed the issue where Agents could fall through the ground in the Isolation Chamber level
Fixed the issue where there could be an invisible wall in the Isolation Chamber
Fixed the issue where some of the more difficult Parking Lot variations were not showing for some Agents
Fixed the issue where you could not change characters with the mouse in the Lobby UI
Fixed the issue with controls not working properly in the Lobby list UI
Fixed the issue where the 2-second stun perk was not working for the Plasmoid Launcher
Fixed typos and text issues

Devlog #1: Solo Mode, Difficulty, and Future Plans Based on Agent Feedback

Hello, Agents,

This is Dongsoo Oh, Creative Director of Blackout Protocol.

It's the Tuesday morning after our first Early Access weekend, and we've received a ton of player feedback. Those of you have shown positive support for the game's direction have given us a fresh boost of encouragement, and those who shared constructive feedback are helping to lay the foundation for the game's future improvements. We're carefully listening to it all.

Here are some of our thoughts on the biggest items...

[h3]#1: Solo Playability[/h3]
One of the main pieces of feedback we've received is regarding solo play.

As many of you are aware, Blackout Protocol was designed as a third-person co-op experience first and foremost. However, we know that many fans of roguelike games prefer striving to conquer challenges by themselves. In addition, a lot of players are buying Steam Decks now, so how best to support a solo offline experience is actually something we've been mulling over for a while. (Players who participated in some of our earlier beta tests will recall that we've tried out a few different approaches in the past, including difficulty options and auto-balancing for group size.)

All of which is to say: we've decided to add a dedicated solo/offline mode to Blackout Protocol.

Solo play mode will see a few changes from the existing 3-player co-op mode, including adjustments to the synaptic enhancements encountered during a run, and some minimum stat rebalancing to make a solo run a little more achievable. But the overall level of difficulty will still remain on the high side. Our hope is to offer enough challenge to encourage experimentation and replay.

Players who clear the final stage (in either solo or co-op mode) will receive one of two special badges according to the mode, signifying their achievement on their in-game player ID.

[h3]#2: Difficulty Curve[/h3]
We'll also be making some adjustments to the game's current design, in the area of overall difficulty and map variation.

Our initial goal was to create a few memorable spikes in difficulty as players get deeper and deeper into Section 13, as we feel the triumph of overcoming seemingly insurmountable hurdles is part of what makes this genre great. We've tried to pace out these challenges at a reasonable cadence, both within the context of a single run, and over the course of multiple runs. But it's clear that some of these hurdles are maybe a little steeper than we intended, so we plan to patch in in a few tweaks.

We've given special attention to a particular problem spot for a lot of players (the lobby in level 2), so it'll hopefully feel a little more doable. If you felt the previous difficulty level was just outside your reach, I'd encourage you to give the game another shot after the patch coming in a few hours.

We also had a bug in the system that decides map variation/difficulty. We believe this bug, plus the difficulty spike in the lobby, conspired to create a nasty feedback loop that made the game feel extra repetitive and boring.

We're addressing this bug as well. You should encounter more map variations across multiple sessions once the the patch is love, with difficulty spikes that offer a wider range of experiences. If you felt your time with the game was a bit repetitive and lacked content, I hope you'll give it another look.
Finally, we've made some adjustments to the noise levels of various weapons, and how enemies respond to them. Normal firearm weapons and tactical gear like grenades will still alert and attract enemies, but weapons with silencers should become more effective at providing an alternative approach.

I should mention that these particular adjustments were made with solo players in mind, so I'd encourage you to give the stealthy approach a try and make use of it.

[h3]#3: Future Plans: Surprise Enemies, Camera Adjustments, and Session Length[/h3]
We'd like to mention that our team has no sneaky intentions when it comes to forcing artificial difficulty on players mid-run. If you see enemies spawning into a level, on-screen, with no animation, that's a bug. We're working to stamp out this issue everywhere we're aware of it, but if you come across it during a run, please let us know.

Various other improvements are also in the works. These include minor polishes to perspective and camera angle across various map routes, to reduce moments where the camera is obstructed by in-game objects. Another of our plans is regarding session length – specifically, a shortcut to the Deep Storage Level. In the current version of the Parking Level, you might notice a cargo elevator on your left as you approach the Power Station. In our original roadmap, the plan was always to add a shortcut there, allowing players to speed up content they've thoroughly mastered. But right now, it takes even an expert team almost an hour to complete the current build, so we're accelerating this particular item on the agenda.

We'll have more details to share in the future and continue to work as fast as we can to stamp out any other gameplay-disrupting issues, so please report anything obviously strange on Discord or the Steam discussion boards. (Video is always helpful.)

Thank you for your support. We'll continue working to provide a game that's unique, memorable, and a worthy challenge.

Dongsoo Oh
Creative Director, Blackout Protocol

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2111870/Blackout_Protocol/