MADNESS: Project Nexus News

**Beta [2.01b]**
[Access this build from the ``releasebeta`` Branch on Steam]
**Status:** *Released*

ADDED
-Safeguards against file corruption if you should crash while your game is saving.

FIXED
-(Maybe?) Turkish players were unable to advance past the Inner City stage. Converting a piece of text from upper to lower case would fail 100% of the time for these players specifically, but no one else, and prevented them from completing the stage.
-Sheriff doesn't teleport to his start position in his first confrontation.
-Demoniac eyes were the wrong color.
-Swamp Zed spawning was broken in Haunting.

TWEAKED
-Zed Brutes (G03LM Mk.Zed) have their armor removed. Because they don't have a takedown prompt, it's unfair to make their bodies invincible.


TESTING
-There is a soft lock at the fan in Flood Control that can sometimes happen. We've included a few safeguards to stop it, but until we can nail down what's causing it, we can't be sure it's fixed.
-It's rare but possible for a character to get caught in an infinite falling loop while using very specific spawn points. We've added safeguards that we hope will prevent this from occurring.


UP NEXT
-A couple of achievements are having trouble registering. For the ones involving waves completed or kills, don't worry - your progress isn't being ignored. You should get those achievements right away once they're fixed.

Madness: Project Nexus will stir nostalgia for people who used to play browser games via Newgrounds. It's a fully 3D entry in the Madness Combat series of Flash animations which began in 2002, and named after the Flash game released in 2012.

Read more

[Access this build from the releasebeta Branch on Steam]

FIXED
-Execution distance has been drastically reduced for enemies. It was unfair.
-It was possible to get Ghoul to slam outside the edge of the stage, making it vanish from the fight.
-(Maybe?) Some very few players had issues progressing through the third Contract mission. They were experiencing a unique error with the vampire burn death. I've made some attempts to stop that from occurring.
-Destroying the electrical box in the third Residential stage before the cutscene hint ended would soft lock the exit door.
-The writing for the first level of Ranged Dual Wield was misleading and cryptic. We cleaned it up, and also raised the maximum allowed weapon size for dual wielding at that level.
-(Maybe?) On the rare chance an enemy gets caught under the floor of the haunted house stage, we've added a zone that should kill them off so no one gets stuck.
-Bossman should appear in the correct spot behind his counter when required, and will sell you Hirelings again.
-N51 Commandos place bombs on the doors of Hard Sell again. Prepare for a treat, those of you new to the game.

TWEAKED
-Vampires cannot auto-kill you when they bite you.
-Once you begin your weapon pick-up animation, if you're interrupted by any state change, the item will go directly into your hands. Fair is fair!
-Game modes identify themselves as Solo or Solo + Co-Op on the main menu now.
-Second story Flashback tweaked to make it clear you do NOT proceed by going through the gate where the car emerges.
-Health cabinets added to first Church & Jorge fight.
-Playground: You can use the terminals if your hands are bound.

TESTING:
-A few players are getting stuck at the final door of Inner City. We've added fixes that clean up other stages and hope that applies here too. If not, there are now debugs in the Beta Branch that will help us determine exactly what is happening for these few players.

We've been working 16 hours a day since launch to get these updates to you as quickly as possible, so bear with us while we clean up the issues being discovered by a previously unimaginable number of new players! (THANK YOU for the bug reports! They are an endless help to us)

This update merges all fixes being tested in the Beta Branch:

[Beta 2.0.a]
Status: Released
ADDED: Option to disable the dream cam effect in Sleeperwalker and Christoff Cutscenes.
TWEAK: Nerfed MERC Zerkers
TWEAK: Small aim-block shelf added to Jorge's ledge in C&J's first fight that is only on when you're up top. Helps keep you from aiming down below unintended.
TWEAK: Teleporter added to Playground so you can move back and forth as a large unit.
TWEAK: Honk Zeds have a flashbang effect on explode rather than a grenade effect.
TWEAK: Crackpot laughs a lot less when casting magic.
TWEAK: Crackpot guarded by two Prophets, not two Graveseekers.
TWEAK: Reduced the grind of Flood Control and Chasms significantly, and threw in a couple of narrations between Sanford and Deimos to cut up the monotony.
TWEAK: Inched the Grab/SwordLock grapple toward being slightly in favor in the player.
FIXED: Interactive mode Throwables and Shields now usable, and you can restart your game properly


Beta [2.0.b]
[Access this build from the releasebeta Branch on Steam]
Status: Released

ADDED
Posters teaching how to press CTRL to swap between squadmates added to all Industrial stages.

TWEAKED
Fences won't block your gun from passing through them when aiming and firing.
More magazines for locker guns in Tough difficulty. If Melee weapons aren't penalized by difficulty, neither should firearms be.
Residential stage Inner City given a checkpoint before the boss swarm.
A little flavor added to the Pause menu.
Hint added to the electric box room in The Scenic Route (sewers).
Being ragdolled will prevent enemies from attacking you. Does not apply when you put yourself into ragdoll.
Two of the Tutorial rooms adjusted to be more understandable, and another room to be impossible to lock yourself in.

FIXED
Potential softlock in Sheriff fight if an enemy ends up in the wrong area.
Potential softlock in Beat the Streets outdoor area.
Spiked gates have a raised blocker to stop characters getting knocked behind them.
In very rare cases, certain help indicators wouldn't show.
(Maybe?): Trying to fix the door at the end of the first residential stage, Inner City. This is a difficult bug to reproduce, so we're trying something new here.
(Maybe?): Trying to fix the soft lock at the water room near the end of Chasms (Mining stage 2).
Ally could get stuck in the first Story Flashback cutscene.
Could backtrack from the end of Asylum stage and lock yourself out of the final room.
Bodies won't decay through the floor anymore, which will stop them being visible if they die on a floor above a room.
Zombie G03LMs could spawn with a helmet and be impossible to kill without explosives.
A bunch of other potential softlocks.

FUTURE PRIORITIES
Controller Support. This game is recommended Mouse + Keyboard, but local Co-op depends on having your controller work with the game. Right now the game only supports Xbox and compatible contollers and game pads, but we're working to figure out the current compatibility issues. This, along with the current soft locks, are our top priority.



Beta [2.0.d]
[Access this build from the releasebeta Branch on Steam]
Status: Released

FIXED
-Execution distance has been drastically reduced for enemies. It was unfair.
-It was possible to get Ghoul to slam outside the edge of the stage, making it vanish from the fight.
-(Maybe?) Some very few players had issues progressing through the third Contract mission. They were experiencing a unique error with the vampire burn death. I've made some attempts to stop that from occurring.
-Destroying the electrical box in the third Residential stage before the cutscene hint ended would soft lock the exit door.
-The writing for the first level of Ranged Dual Wield was misleading and cryptic. We cleaned it up, and also raised the maximum allowed weapon size for dual wielding at that level.
-(Maybe?) On the rare chance an enemy gets caught under the floor of the haunted house stage, we've added a zone that should kill them off so no one gets stuck.
-Bossman should appear in the correct spot behind his counter when required, and will sell you Hirelings again.
-N51 Commandos place bombs on the doors of Hard Sell again. Prepare for a treat, those of you new to the game.

TWEAKED
-Vampires cannot auto-kill you when they bite you.
-Once you begin your weapon pick-up animation, if you're interrupted by any state change, the item will go directly into your hands. Fair is fair!
-Game modes identify themselves as Solo or Solo + Co-Op on the main menu now.
-Second story Flashback tweaked to make it clear you do NOT proceed by going through the gate where the car emerges.
-Health cabinets added to first Church & Jorge fight.
-Playground: You can use the terminals if your hands are bound.

TESTING:
-A few players are getting stuck at the final door of Inner City. We've added fixes that clean up other stages and hope that applies here too. If not, there are now debugs in the Beta Branch that will help us determine exactly what is happening for these few players.

[Access this build from the releasebeta Branch on Steam]

FIXED
Execution distance has been drastically reduced for enemies. It was unfair.

TWEAKED
Once you begin your weapon pick-up animation, if you're interrupted by any state change, the item will go directly into your hands. Fair is fair!
Game modes identify themselves as Solo or Solo + Co-Op on the main menu now.