Starforged Legacy Hotfix 02.22.26

[h2]Critical Fixes[/h2]

[p]Ship stats now display correctly. The Ship Customization screen and pause menu previously showed inaccurate values after augments, enhancements, and buffs were applied. This has been completely overhauled—stats now update in real time as you change your loadout.[/p]
- [p]Ship Customization now features live stat previews. Hovering over loadout presets shows their exact stats before you confirm the switch.[/p][p][/p]

[h2]New Content[/h2][h3]Player Tutorial[/h3]

[p]An optional tutorial now appears on your first run. It explains movement, combat basics, and core systems. The text adapts based on whether you're using a keyboard/mouse or a gamepad. Includes a "Don't Show Again" option.[/p][p][/p]

[h3]Hard Mode Overhaul[/h3]

[p]Special enemies now appear twice as often across all maps.[/p]
[p]Mini-bosses can now spawn alone starting at Map 4 (they never appeared alone in Normal).[/p]
[p]Mini-bosses spawn in group waves starting at Map 2 instead of Map 4, increasing to a 95% chance by Map 10 compared to Normal's 75% maximum.[/p]
[p]Higher-tier enemies enter the spawn pool two maps earlier, so you face stronger threats sooner.[/p]
[p]Hard difficulty now grants 20% more Credits, Materials, and Science to offset the increased challenge.[/p]
[p]Pickup drop chances are reduced by 50% compared to Normal.[/p][p][/p]

[h2]Balance Changes[/h2][h3]Augments[/h3]

[p]Critical Swarm (Swarm Missile) - Now caps at 10 stacks and grants less Critical Chance per stack. Previously caused nearly infinite projectile counts.[/p]
[p]Critical Surge (Weapons) - Critical Chance bonus and Shield restoration amount reduced.[/p]
[p]Full Charge (Beams) - Now only requires Shields to be active, not full, making it more reliable.[/p]
[p]Hardened Bullets (Projectiles) - Reworked: "On Pierce, {1} Chance to Stun." No longer increases Pierce Strength.[/p]
[p]Heated Chamber (Projectiles) - Reworked into a Pierce-to-Plasma enabler. Now: "On Pierce, applies Plasma Damage at {1} of Damage Dealt."[/p]
[p]Dreadnought Protocol (Nemesis Subsystem) - Damage buff now stacks every 5 kills instead of every kill.[/p][p][/p]

[h3]Missions[/h3]

[p]Trader Rescue health reduced from 400 to 300, with the time requirement decreased from 45 seconds to 30 seconds.[/p]
[p]Merchant Rescue health reduced from 500 to 350.[/p]
[p]Merchant Escort health reduced from 600 to 300.[/p]
[p]Kill secondary mission cap decreased from 120 to 70 (120 was unattainable).[/p]
[p]Secondary missions now grant score upon completion.[/p][p][/p]

[h2]Visual Enhancements[/h2]

[p]Projectile burst time increased for Autocannon, Cruise Missile, Standard Missile, and Railgun to better showcase the increased projectile counts from buffs.[/p]
[p]Weapon impact VFX lifetime reduced for clearer visuals during intense fights.[/p]
[p]New icons for all three Beam weapons and seven status-focused augments (Breach Detonation, Destabilizing Fire, Plasma Contagion, Overloaded Circuits, Plasma Breach, Exposed Systems, Thermal Stasis).[/p]
[p]VFX improvements include less abrasive Breach Detonation effects, a new generator charge effect for Shield Burst, new VFX for Power Surge, and better fade-out for damage explosions.[/p]
[p]Map modifier notifications now display "CHALLENGE: \[Modifier Name]" and remain visible throughout the entire map for better awareness.[/p]

[p][/p][h2]Audio Enhancements[/h2]

[h2]Quality Of Life Changes[/h2]

[p]Gamepad ship controls overhauled. The left thumbstick now directly points your ship in the direction you're aiming rather than using the old control scheme.[/p]
[p]Difficulty setting now displays in the top-right corner of the HUD during runs.[/p]
[p]Difficulty select UI added with full gamepad support.[/p]
[p]Ambush Boss now drops a weapon reward bundle instead of a chest.[/p]

[p][/p][h2]Fixes[/h2]

[p]Fixed Shield Burst to hit all enemies in the radius instead of just the closest.[/p]
[p]Fixed Shattered Momentum to work correctly.
Emergency Protocols (Ironhide's signature augment) now correctly activates when coming off cooldown if you're below 25% health. Previously only triggered on damage taken.[/p]
[p]Micro Warp Drive's Teleport ability now works with gamepad and includes a camera zoom effect on activation.[/p]
[p]Fixed Shattered Shields incorrectly triggering in the hangar and on map start.[/p]
[p]Fixed Ambush missions spawning continuous enemies when they shouldn't.[/p]