Dagger Directive News

[p][/p][p]Hi Everyone![/p][p][/p][p]We’ll keep this month's update a bit shorter as we’re busy finishing up the first content update. 

[/p][h2]MicroProse Podcast[/h2][p][/p][p]First up, we’re on the first episode of the new MicroProse Podcast!  You can listen to it in a few different places and hear a bit more about the development and future of the game:[/p][p]
[/p][p]Spotify: [/p][p]https://open.spotify.com/episode/69HJD5dCzs3Lo2o8KYWPui?si=cKNk1mpkQRyAag2DFtujeQ[/p][p] [/p][p]YouTube: [/p][p]https://youtu.be/0Emdb3RrMbM[/p][p][/p][p]Facebook: [/p][p]https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61579827980851[/p][p]



[/p][h2]Upcoming Weapons and Equipment[/h2][p][/p][p]Next, here’s another preview of a few things you’ll see, we’ll have a much larger overview of all the content when it releases.[/p][p][/p][p]AKS-74U - a compact variant of the AK-74[/p][p]
[/p][p][/p][p] [/p][p]Colt M635 - a 9mm variant of the CAR-15[/p][p]
[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]M68 - a fragmentation grenade with an impact fuse[/p][p]
[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p] [/p][h2]Upcoming AI improvements[/h2][p]
[/p][p]Finally some AI updates.  We’ve been adding to their possible weapons, tuning sight distances, reaction times, and of course fixing bugs.  One of the bigger changes coming in the next update is that they will be able to use flashlights. The flashlights will affect their vision at night. We’ll go into more detail about all of the changes in the patch notes when it releases. [/p][p]
[/p][p][/p][p] [/p][p]Check back soon for the content release![/p][p] [/p][p]Thanks![/p][p]- Dan[/p][p]
[/p]

[p]Hi everyone!


We've got a small hot fix to correct a few issues from the previous update.



August 5, 2025 - V0.5.05 Build: 725 Changeset: 4710[/p][p][/p][p]Bug Fixes:[/p]

• [p]Fixed loading from a save causing duplicate magazines to float in the air.[/p]
• [p]Fixed multiple rounds loading into the M203 and M1014 if you reload and then try to pick up additional shells.[/p]
• [p]Fixed graphics setting menu not displaying properly the first time it’s opened[/p]
• [p]Fixed XM29 not loading its magazine when loading from a save or into a mission.[/p]

[p][/p][p]


Thanks,
- Dan[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Here's another preview from the next content update:[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p]

[p]Hi Everyone![/p][p][/p][p]It’s already the end of July and here’s our development update.  Today you’ll see a new update for the game that includes a new shotgun, carrier drone, networking improvements, and bug fixes.  You can view the full change log at the bottom of this update.[/p][p][/p][h2]New Features[/h2][p][/p][h3]Carrier Drone[/h3][p]The new carrier drone opens up some new ways to play.  You can attach small items such as magazines or explosives to the bottom and deliver them to different locations on the battlefield.  Let’s say you see a patrol coming down the road and want to set up an explosive to ambush them.  Attach an explosive, fly the drone to the ambush point, and drop off the explosive to detonate later. Or maybe a buddy is out of ammo for their M249, attach a box of ammo and fly it over to them.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]M1014 Shotgun[/h3][p]Next up is the M1014 semi-automatic shotgun. It accepts any optic that uses 1913 rails and can hold a flashlight or PEQ-15 on the front.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]Throw Magazines[/h3][p]You can now toss magazines to your buddies if they are low on ammo and you're pinned down. To throw a magazine, place it into one of the item pouches, equip it, and then toss it as you would any other thrown item. This is also how you attach magazines to the new carrier drone. [/p][p][/p][h2]Multiplayer optimizations[/h2][p][/p][p]A lot of work has gone into improving multiplayer performance and stability.  We added three features to help with this.  First was  One issue you may have seen is that you can spawn into a mission and not see other players or enemies.  This was caused by a backup in the message queue.  So the first change was to increase the send rates while lowering the size of each message. Our tick rate was 10, so 10 times per second we were sending the full information on each object you own.  We changed this to instead send a little bit every single frame.[/p][p][/p][p]While spreading out the load improved reliability, we still had an issue with the volume of data.  The next step was to reduce the size of each message.  We went through each object's update message, organized the data, and added compression where we could.  The largest boost was compressing quaternions into a single 32bit number and then decompressing it on other clients.[/p][p][/p][p]Finally we set up priority based send rate adjustment.  Priority is modified during gameplay to increase the priority based on the distance from players, if the object is moving, and how much of a threat the object is to a player.  So if an object is not moving we send its position less, if players are very far away from something we send its position less often, and this can be changed per entity type which allows us to increase the priority for important objects like helicopters and enemy characters while lowering rates for less important objects like boxes or smoke grenades.  [/p][p][/p][p]Here you can see a visualization of this working.  Watch the increase in messages as the weapon falls from the shelf.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]All of this work has allowed us to play multiplayer on a simulated 2G cell phone internet connection!  There’s still improvements to be made but this should be a very noticeable improvement for everyone.  We’ll continue to tune and improve the networking, packet sizes, and update rates for objects.  So if you see something moving slowly just let us know and we’ll get it fixed.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]90s Sneak Peak[/h2][p][/p][p]Last month we showed off the road map.  The next update will be the 90s Pack!  We’re hard at work preparing this first content pack and we want to offer a sneak peak:[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]The future is looking bright!  [/p][p][/p][p]Thanks![/p][p]- Dan[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Change Log[/h2][p]July 29, 2025 - V0.5.04 - Build: 719 Changeset: 4662[/p][p]
[/p][p]Known issues:[/p]

• [p]When loading a save with the XM29 it doesn’t start with a magazine.
  
  [/p]

[p]Notes:[/p]

• [p]Added mission difficulty completion stars to the mission buttons[/p]
• [p]A mission is now selected upon entering the ship in single player. It selects your last selected mission, next mission after a victory, or the first available if one is not set.[/p]
• [p]No key assigned inputs will no longer appear in instructions as they just added more text that wasn't needed[/p]
• [p]Your own player now shows up on the compass while operating a drone[/p]
• [p]Added confirmation when deleting a save file[/p]
• [p]The player now moves faster with nothing in your hands or just a knife.[/p]
• [p]Players can now send mortar strikes from the map.[/p]
• [p]Added lens flares to flashlights.[/p]
• [p]Players are notified with a pop up in the free fly camera when they are being revived.[/p]
• [p]Improved networking performance (See the dev blog for details)[/p]
• [p]Added ping and packet loss information + icons that show in the top left corner if they are bad enough.[/p]
• [p]Replaced host star icon[/p]
• [p]Fire rates are now saved on weapons.  This applies on the load out selection menu too.[/p]
• [p]Night vision state is now saved and loaded instead of falling back to the default.[/p]
• [p]Added a new setting to reduce or remove the zoomed view look input multiplier.  Defaults to 1 to have zoomed views reduce input speed proportionally (this is how it works in previous versions).  Set to 0 to remove the reduction all together and have the zoomed view move as fast as it would without being zoomed.[/p]
• [p]Added Toggle Walk input.  You can set the key in the input manager[/p]
• [p]Shotgun swaps slower if changing weapons (equip time). [/p]
• [p]Added m1014 shotgun [/p]
• [p]Added carrier drones to transport equipment, magazines, or drop explosives.  Look at the drone while holding an item to attach.[/p]
• [p]Increased mortar strike size by 50% for both HE and Smoke[/p]
• [p]You can now throw magazines.  Place them in one of the pouches and throw like you would with a grenade.[/p]

[p]

[/p][p]Bug Fixes:[/p]

• [p]Fix for exfil helicopter not failing mission when it was destroyed.[/p]
• [p]Fix for the failed mission pop up spamming every couple seconds.[/p]
• [p]Fix for Convoy and Cache Clash missions not failing when the infil/exfil helicopter was destroyed. [/p]
• [p]Fixed error with AI navigation on clients.[/p]
• [p]Fixed radio tower particle size rendering differently in scope views.[/p]
• [p]The infil helicopter no longer leaves if there are dead players inside.[/p]
• [p]Fixed mission status saving constantly causing performance issues during the Victory menu.[/p]
• [p]Joining a multiplayer game after the mission has been defeated now shows the proper status for the joining client.[/p]
• [p]Fixed reload issue when loading a save with an M203 or various other weapons.[/p]
• [p]Fixed save issue that would cause vehicles to sometimes move back to their starting position after loading.[/p]
• [p]Fix for being able to quickly reload a shotgun. [/p]
• [p]Fix the missing shotgun sounds.[/p]
• [p]Fix for bipods not being able to be placed on certain objects.[/p]
• [p]Fix for drone sounds not turning off when the battery dies. [/p]
• [p]Fix for not being able to complete the tutorial achievement.[/p]

[p]Hi everyone!  [/p][p][/p][p]We’re a bit late on the June Dev blog (It was a busy month) but here it is!  We launched into early access on June 3rd and since then we’ve released a few updates to fix bugs and improve stability. Thanks for all of your feedback and support!  It has been a massive help in tracking down and fixing issues.

In the last patch notes we mentioned that we’re going to be taking some additional time between updates.  Rest assured that we’re nowhere near done with Dagger Directive.  Below you will find our roadmap so you can see what content we have planned.  Today will also see a couple releases; a small patch to fix a couple issues from the last update, and the demo is back!
[/p][h2]Update 1.5.02[/h2][p][/p][p]Small update to fix two issues with the last update.[/p][p][/p][p]July 3, 2025 - V0.5.02 - Hot Fix[/p][p][/p][p]Known issues:[/p]

• [p]Only the first 100 lobbies will appear in the server browser[/p]
• [p]Reloading issues with OICW[/p]

[p]Bug Fixes:[/p]

• [p]Fixed gunshots sometimes not playing when joining an in progress match[/p]
• [p]Fixed an incorrect offset that the gunshots were playing from[/p]
• [p]Increased how many sounds can play at once so sound shouldn't noticeably cut out in intense situations[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where loading and saving multiple times could compound an issue with objectives loading.
  
  [/p]

[h2]Road Map[/h2][p]We’ve had a lot of questions about what content we plan on adding or what features we’re working on.  Here’s our current roadmap.  A few notes: First the content should not change but the order of the items may change.  We’ll keep you updated if things move around.  Second, this is the larger features only so if you don’t see something it doesn’t mean we aren’t working on it, it’s just too small to go in here.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Body Armor System[/h2][p]
Armor is an existing system but we’ve heard questions about it and wanted to clarify how it currently works.  There are two types of body armor;  Kevlar and plates.  The players always have both plates and Kevlar while the enemy will have a mix.  Each projectile has different properties that affect the outcome when hitting the different types of armor.  Range, velocity, diameter, and mass is taken into account.  Slower pistol rounds will be easily defeated by Kevlar, while rifle rounds will tear through it.  Rifle rounds can be stopped by plates but have a chance to weaken the plate to the point where it becomes useless. 

Feedback and a bit of gamification have been added in to make the outcome more clear and the feature a bit more forgiving/less random for the player.  Impact effects look different when hitting armor, they appear grey or tan vs. the red blood effect you normally see.  Armor is only on the chest so you may see both red and grey impact effects.  This can happen if the bullet passes through the arm, or another body part, and impacts the chest behind it.
[/p][p][/p][p]* VFX scaled up for visibility[/p][p]
Gamification comes in with the chances.  Each hit on armor will increase the chance that the next hit penetrates.  This stops the true random effect of firing multiple shots into armor and getting very unlucky.  A shot or two getting stopped by armor can be fun.  Firing 10 shots, having all of them get stopped by armor, and then getting shot once and killed is not as much fun.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]The demo is back![/h2][p][/p][p][/p][p]As promised, we’ve re-released the demo.  If you or someone you know has been looking forward to the demo, now’s the time to try out Dagger Directive!  It’s the same missions as the previous demo, just built off the latest live version and with multiplayer disabled.[/p][p][/p][p]Demo Link[/p][p][/p][p]Thanks![/p][p]- Dan

[/p]

[p]Hi everyone![/p][p][/p][p]Update 0.5.1 is here!  This update was focused on improving objective and mission stability while also fixing bugs with multiplayer.  We’ve reworked each mission to simplify and improve the objectives.  Because of the rework, any in progress mission saves will be invalidated.  Your campaign progress saves will still be there.
[/p][p]We had hoped to get this update out last week but needed some extra time to test and polish the features. As a heads up, we will be increasing the amount of time between updates.  This will give us additional time to work on larger features such as AI improvements, the mission editor, weapon mod tools, and give us the ability to batch new weapons and equipment into larger updates.  If major issues are discovered with patches we will of course hot fix them so you won’t have to wait long for critical fixes.[/p][p][/p][h2]Objective Improvements[/h2][p] Stationary and Vehicle Target Visualization:[/p][p][/p][p]For objectives that require you to destroy stationary targets or vehicles, you’ll now see their positions marked on the map screen.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Character Target Visualization[/p][p]
Objectives that require you to kill enemy characters will display the area but not specific locations at first.  Previously you’d need to kill a percentage of the enemies, this percentage was hidden and which gave it a random feeling.  You will now have to kill all of the enemies in the area.  If enemies leave the area due to getting alerted or just wandering off, you will not have to kill them.[/p][p][/p][p]More than three left:[/p][p][/p][p]Three or less left:[/p][p][/p][p]Complete:[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Full Patch Notes[/h2][p][/p][p]Important: [/p]

• [p]In progress missions saves will be invalidated. Campaign progress will still be there.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Known issues:[/p]

• [p]Only the first 100 lobbies will appear in the server browser[/p]
• [p]Joining in progress can sometimes cause other players gunshot sounds to not work. This fixes itself over a short period of time. All other sounds and your own gunshots sounds work fine.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Notes:[/p]

• [p]Added new art for the RPG-7.[/p]
• [p]Added new art for the M8541 scope.[/p]
• [p]Quick click throws objects at max power. Holding still allows you to throw at specific power. [/p]
• [p]Added a “Delete All” button to clear all saves from the list. [/p]
• [p]Added a confirmation popup when exiting the application.[/p]
• [p]Added a confirmation popup to return to the main menu and changed the Main Menu button in the Pause Menu to use the Warning color.[/p]
• [p]Exit button in the main menu now uses the Negative color to keep it consistent with the Pause Menu.[/p]
• [p]Lowered binocular range readout and activation instructions.[/p]
• [p]Added an “Auto-Run" toggle.[/p]
• [p]Adjusted NPC volumes to not sound right next to you as much when they are nearby.[/p]
• [p]The player's character now shows up on the compass in the Free Fly Camera when dead.[/p]
• [p]Added Night Vision to the Free Fly Camera.[/p]
• [p]Added Free Fly Camera instructions.[/p]
• [p]Can now jump to players in the Free Fly Camera.[/p]
• [p]The build information now remains on in the multiplayer menu and it and the connection text is shifted a little from the side so it doesn't look cutoff anymore. [/p]
• [p]Added a button to Return to Ship when selecting a single player player.[/p]
• [p]The Continue button when selecting a single player player now greys out if there is no active mission with a valid save. Now displays valid save information.[/p]
• [p]Split the Audio settings out into its own tab.[/p]
• [p]Added a statistics board to the Bunk.[/p]
• [p]Improved the mission system. Removed multistep objectives and replaced them with single steps to reduce complexity.[/p]
• [p]Added objective area displays to the map screen.  Stationary or vehicle targets are always displayed on the map with target dots.  Character targets are hidden until there are three or less, then they will show up as target dots.[/p]
• [p]Improved the destruction objectives.  Instead of needing to destroy a hidden percentage of spawned targets, you now need to destroy all targets in the area.  If a target leaves the area they can be ignored.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Bug Fixes:[/p]

• [p]Fix for issue with dragging the first rocket round into the slot will not work.[/p]
• [p]Fix for shotgun only reloading one shell when pressing “R”.[/p]
• [p]Fix for mortar strikes not continuing to fire when the host leaves while the strikes are in progress.[/p]
• [p]Increased the "Start Mission Trigger" to fix the dead spot near the cockpit which resulted in the mission not starting.[/p]
• [p]Fix for shotgun not playing reload sounds for 4 rounds even though you may be reloading less. [/p]
• [p]Fixed NPC voice spatialization not working correctly.[/p]
• [p]Fixed Peace Keeper NPC voices having a further range than they should have.[/p]
• [p]Fix for helicopter rotor blade shadows not showing. [/p]
• [p]Fix for drone camera rotation. Added limits on the vertical rotation. [/p]
• [p]Fix for pausing all audio when the player pauses the game. [/p]
• [p]Fix for Ai getting dragged by vehicles after you killed them. [/p]
• [p]Fix for vehicles driving through each other. [/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue if no mission was selected when muting briefing through the Settings Menu.[/p]
• [p]Fixed the scroll wheel not scrolling statistics in the player select menu.[/p]
• [p]Fixed Airbase Assault's default time not being an increment of 15.[/p]
• [p]Fixed cases where players could fail to spawn when joining an in progress game and be stuck in a blank screen.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a case where hosting a game, leaving, and joining another game could result in a blank screen.[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][p]Thanks![/p][p]- Dan[/p]