Section 13 News

Section 13 0.20 Patch Notes

[h2]Patch Schedule[/h2]

PDT: 10 AM, October 11, 2024
EDT: 1 PM, October 11, 2024
CEST: 7 PM, October 11, 2024
ICT: 12 AM, October 12, 2024
KST: 2 AM, October 12, 2024

Agents!

We wanted to thank you for your continued love and support! Your feedback and suggestions have been key in helping us improve the game as we approach the official launch in 2025. We’re excited to share the latest updates and improvements based on your feedback. Please let us know through Discord or Steam if you have any questions, feedback, or suggestions.

With this update, we are retiring "Blackout Protocol" and hope for your continued support as we work to bring Section 13 to the best possible version. Unfortunately, all player save files will reset and the game will require a Steam game update to enjoy the new and improved Section 13.

Check out the patch notes below:

[h2]New Content[/h2]

Cargo Elevator Level as seen in the demo
More variations of the Office level’s design
Added the Sanitation Tunnels, a new procedurally generated level
Mid-bosses will drop Cell Samples, enabling agents to adjust the difficulty to their liking
- Added UI to the mission start screen to show the effects from changing the difficulty level
- Added UI to the game menu when pressing Esc to show the difficulty level and effects
Added two new tactical gear: Hot Shot & Cold Brew
Added sound effects for egg spawners
Introduced a new enemy: Banshees
Added Steam achievements based on player feedback
New visual novel sequences for Scalpel and character changes in the Hub

[h2]Changes/Improvements[/h2]

Changed Scapel’s active ability: upon killing an enemy with the skill, she enters Astral status for 5 seconds instead of healing herself
Reworked the Fear System
- Dark areas increase fear levels, while well-lit areas reduce it
- Maxed-out Fear induces panic attacks, leading to lowered attack and defense
  - During the panic attack, players must step into the light to reset their Fear meter
- Removed all Panic mechanics and Panic features from enemies
Adjusted agent passive abilities:
- Red
  - (Adjusted) Reload speed +20%
  - (Adjusted) Weapon swap speed +100%
  - (New) Damage taken +10%
- Boy Scout
  - (Unchanged) Max HP +25
  - (Adjusted) Melee weapon damage +100%
  - (New) Movement speed -10%
- Scalpel
  - (New) Critical rate +10%
  - (Unchanged) Critical damage +30%
  - (New) Max HP -15
Interrupting a nearly-completed reload will now grant a boost to reload speed for the next reload
Revamped the Exosuit fight:
- Removed the timer and the middle pillar to enhance the battle experience
- Diversified falling objects and varied grenade-throwing patterns for more unpredictability
- Exosuit will now be stunned and take extra damage when crashing into walls
- The second phase will no longer feature a falling floor
  - However, players will be restricted to the inner circle by a barrier
- Exosuit will spawn other enemies
  - The spawned enemies will not drop loot when killed
Made enemy tactical gear and weapons deal friendly fire damage to other enemies
Killing an enemy with a single shot using a silenced weapon will no longer alert other enemies
Disposer now pushes other enemies aside when charging at agents
Removed the point and color system for the Synaptic Enhancements as they are no longer tied to unlocking weapon perks
Adjusted how credits and Data Nugs are dropped
- No reward drops for enemy friendly fire or environmental kills
- Kills with exploding barrels detonated by agents will drop rewards
Limited the maximum number of permanent goods (up to 500 Data Nugs, and 20 STAR Pins)
Reworked the Inventory UI to now only display permanent items, such as permits and access codes
Moved the display of session-based items, such as the Severed Hand, to the top left of the screen
Made adjustments to weapons
- Temporarily removed the Plasmoid Launcher to be improved
- Improved visuals of the Arc Cannon
- Adjusted the Photon Cannon weapon perks
Adjusted Body Modifications
- Changed the body modification effect values
Improved the Armory within the Command Center
- Added the ability to test out unlocked weapon perks by choosing perks within the Armory and practicing within the gun range or the simulation room
- Added indicators for locked weapons
- Added the option to toggle the cost of locked weapons on and off
Improved the ammo UI to show when a player has unlimited ammo
Added the ability to skip the audio loading screen with a single press/click instead of holding input
When picking up weapon attachments, you can now skip the presentation by pressing the spacebar/Enter key or by clicking the left mouse button

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]
Improved the investigative item drops
- No ammo drops when in unlimited ammo mode
- Two of the same items will no longer be displayed
[h2]Known Issues[/h2]
Killing the Exosuit with indirect attacks currently does not unlock the
“Hard Shutdown” achievement. We plan to fix this in a future patch.
Some Body Mod options that do not have numerical values (e.g., losing ammo when panicked) currently do not utilize the full text box. We plan to fix this in the next patch.

Section 13 0.20 Patch Notes

[h2]Patch Schedule[/h2]

0.20 Patch and Beyond

Hello, this is Jaeeun Park, Creative Director of Section 13.

In the past month, we released Section 13’s new demo, which showcased some of the results of our ongoing work on the game.

We’ve been hard at work all year, and a lot about the game has grown and changed based on your extensive feedback. Today we’d like to share the current state of development and details about the upcoming 0.20 update.

Although we still have a long way to go, we hope that by providing more updates, we can continue to take in the community’s feedback and steadily make improvements to Section 13. In this dev log, we’ll discuss recent changes, new content, and things to come in the future.

[h3]New Content[/h3]
Some of the most exciting new content is the addition of several new levels to the game.

Those of you who have played the demo may have already seen the unlockable Cargo Elevator, which provides a shortcut from the Parking Level, in the form of a wave-based survival minigame. We’ll now be adding this area to the live game.

We’re also adding the Sanitation Tunnels: a truly modular and procedurally generated area that we discussed a bit earlier this year. The Sanitation Tunnels unlock the first time the player defeats the Exosuit, via an entrance that can be discovered in the Parking Lot level, and offer players an alternate route to the lowest levels of Section 13 that’s different each time you visit.

We’ve also added a really fun new map variant to the Office level, which both new and returning players can encounter simply by playing.

[Some layouts of the Sanitation Tunnels level]

Next, we’ve added a new enemy type, the Banshee.

Upon sighting the player, the Banshee lets out a scream, alerting all nearby enemies, and possibly even spawning new enemies if there are spawn points like manhole covers nearby (another new addition to the game). Keep an eye out for their red hair and AoE effect, and take them out first, or things can get bad pretty quickly!

[Banshee's scream is almost palpable]

We’ve also added a new narrative intro that doubles as a tutorial, which some of you may have already experienced through the demo. The goal of this intro is to better ground the player in the setting and characters, while giving players new to top-down shooters (or unfamiliar with our game’s particular spin on the genre) a chance to get acclimated.

In future updates, this introduction will be modified and expanded upon. We’ll also be adding several entirely new story-rich systems for the game’s final release, which will allow players to fully explore the mysteries of Section 13 and the world of S2P.

[The narrative intro is the early glimpse of the complete story experience at official launch]

Lastly, we’ve added some new tactical items (throwables). So keep an eye out for incendiary and freezing grenades while you play!

[h3]Changes Related to Combat and Controls[/h3]
The biggest change from our Blackout Protocol days is a major adjustment to basic movement speed.

While Blackout Protocol emphasized slower, more methodical gameplay, Section 13 is now faster and more responsive. We've focused on simplifying controls and speeding up the action, allowing for combat that behaves more intuitively and doesn’t present such a high bar to entry.

Additionally, the game is now much less stingy with dodge-rolls, and the way they behave gives players more options. Dodge-rolls now push through crowds of QT’s (instead of hitting them like a brick wall), provide i-frames during the rolling animation, and the player will be able to dodge twice before the cooldown triggers. The cooldown has also been shortened while playing on default difficulty.

However, we’ve parameterized every one of these elements, which means the game can adjust them at higher difficulties. On the highest levels, players will find the experience becomes a lot like the game’s previous incarnation, with limited ammo to manage, tighter cooldowns on dodge-rolls, high-damage enemies, etc.

Lastly, as discussed previously, we’ve simplified the Panic system.

For enemies, it’s been removed. For players, Panic has been renamed to Fear. The system has been streamlined, given clearer UI. Agents will still enter a panicked state when their Fear reaches beyond the threshold, but we plan to gradually expand Synaptic Enhancements to give the system some optional risk vs. reward elements, instead of being purely punishing.

To recap:

Increased Movement Speed: Basic movement speed increased by approximately 30%.
Changes to Dodge-Rolling: Players on default difficulty can now roll twice consecutively before cooldown triggers. Cooldown time increases at higher difficulty.
Reserve Ammo Unlimited: On default difficulty, reserve ammo is now unlimited (though the player still has to reload when their clip runs out). On higher difficulties, ammo functions normally.
New Partial Reload: If a reload fails with less than 30% of the animation remaining, the next reload is twice as fast.
Weapon Perk System Overhauled
Panic System Overhauled

[h3]Systems Changes Relating to Long-Term Play[/h3]
First, we've implemented a new difficulty system orienting around a new collectable item, Cell Samples, in order to better address difficulty progression over time.

Previously, difficulty (and thus tougher combat situations) was tied to player progression, which was not always perceived in a tangible manner. This resulted in a poor experience for a lot of players due to the difficulty not scaling properly, and sometimes leading to repetitive experience across multiple runs. It was also badly communicated and totally automatic (meaning, not optional).

We’ve removed that system entirely, smoothing out the difficulty curve overall. Now, completing a full run at each difficulty level unlocks the next, and difficulty can be set manually at the start of every run.
We’ll be continually tuning the difficulty curve, and we welcome your feedback on that!

[Left: You will find information on the difficulty modifiers before you enter the base; Right: The Cell Samples can be found in the Safe Room at the end of the Exosuit battle]

There have also been changes regarding persistent upgrades.
In the previous version of Blackout Protocol, if players failed to reach the Safe Room at the end of every level, they would lose any uninvested resources, which was quite punishing.

Now, at the end of every mission attempt, win or lose, players will retain persistent resources, and be able to spend them at their Command Center, the new central hub.

This change allows players to avoid the frustrating feeling of being stuck in the same place, making progress through the game smoother and more gradual.

New Difficulty System Using Cell Samples
Persistent Growth Overhaul; Upgrades in the New Hub Area (Command Center)
New Currency (STAR Pins) and New Unlock System for Weapons
Name Badges Removed; Steam Trophies Added

[h3]Changes to Single-Run Progression[/h3]
In Blackout Protocol, progression within an individual run was dependent entirely on Synaptic Enhancements, with weapon perks being determined pretty much at the start of the run. It was volatile, random, inflexible, and reduced freedom of choice.

In Section 13, we’ve addressed this by offering two new systems: Body Modification and Weapon Customization.

[A rare Body Mod case of having only positive effects!]

[The new Weapons Bench UI for adding/rerolling perks]

We’ve also added new shops (Chillax Corners) which will randomly appear at set points in each level, allowing players to grab a different weapon and try new modifications, as long as they have the money.

Players can also now search objects throughout the game to find both single-run and persistent growth items, adding some incentive to fully explore each level.

New Body Mod System
New Weapons Bench System for Adjusting Weapon Perks
New Reroll System for Restricted Areas
New Lootable Objects
New Random Shop System

[h3]Some Content Temporarily Disabled[/h3]
As part of the 0.20 update, some content and systems will be temporarily disabled, until we finish development on them and are satisfied they’re jibing nicely with all the other changes.

Player Character: Beaker (Planned to be brought back in Early 2025)
Weapon: Plasmoid Launcher (Planned to be brought back in Early 2025)
Multiplayer Functionality (Planned to be brought back in May 2025)

In addition to the things discussed in this post, we have other changes and new content currently underway. We encourage you to play the game and share your feedback. Because we’re still a small development team, it may be difficult for us to act on all of it (or do so quickly), but rest assured we read everything and are working hard to further improve the game.

Thank you,
Jaeeun Park

Streaming Section 13 Update!

Agents,

Pull out your big guns, because Section 13 Update is coming to the main app on October 11 at 10 AM PT! This update will include changes and improvements from the demo, which will be coming down as the main app is updated.

Simultaneously with the update, we’ll be streaming live on our Twitch and YouTube channels, as well as on our Steam page. If you want to catch a glimpse of the changes and updates that we’ve made, we’ll be sharing as many as we can show within the stream! Who knows what Section 13 will have in store for us.

Keep an eye out for the patch notes and dev log that we’re preparing to share as well!

Notice Regarding the End of Demo

Agents,

We would like to inform you that the public demo of Section 13 will be taken down at 10AM on October 11th (Pacific Time). This is because we will be bringing the Section 13 experience to the main app, with new and improved content. We will be sharing more details about the patch soon.

Meanwhile, if you haven’t already, please fill out the demo survey and share your thoughts with us. Your feedback helps shape the game’s future, so we want to hear from you. If you enjoyed the demo, let us know what was great so that we can expand further in that area. If you didn’t enjoy something, let your voice be heard so that we can improve!

We are working hard to bring you a more exciting gameplay experience, as well as news about our plans leading up to the official launch. Stay tuned!

- ODS Team

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