Urban Strife News

[p]As previewed earlier this month, this major patch completes our planned Tier 1 campaign content and brings in several core systems that will define the rest of the game. With it comes a full rewrite of the attachments system, major crafting upgrades, and map improvements—but also a necessary reset of save data.[/p][hr][/hr][h3]⚠️ Save Reset Warning[/h3][p]This patch invalidates all old campaign saves due to major changes in underlying systems—particularly armor, item attachments, and map logic. To experience the campaign as intended, a new game is required. [/p][hr][/hr][h2]
New Features & Content[/h2][p][/p][h3]
Modular Armor System[/h3][h3][/h3][carousel][/carousel][p][/p]

• [p]Armor is now rebalanced around modular attachments: plates, limb protection, and more.[/p]
• [p]Components are now gear items that can be added or removed without inflating total armor values.[/p]

[h3]Shelter Industry Expansion[/h3]

• [p]Optics Bench: craft scopes and laser sights.[/p]
• [p]Armor Smith: produce limb armor and ballistic plates.[/p]
• [p]Explosive Lab: fabricate homemade grenades, more recipes coming.[/p]
• [p]Gunsmith is the only WIP, but will come soon now with specific attachments.[/p]
• [p]You can still bushcraft stuff like fire bombs, medical items and simple silencers and scopes (you need a mechanic with a toolbox for the last two).[/p]

[h3]Attachment System Overhaul[/h3]

• [p]All old attachment combinations have been removed.[/p]
• [p]New system supports modularity and will receive visual upgrades soon (3D mesh + HUD).[/p]

[h3]Clue Tag System for Barons & Factions[/h3]

• [p]All barons now have at least three clues on file.[/p]
• [p]All barons now respond to clue tags, each faction has specific preference.[/p]

[h3]Fight Clan & Cage Match Mechanics[/h3]

• [p]Enter the cage, win local qualifiers, and progress to the Fight Clan Finals.[/p]
• [p]Cage fight tactics with Agility, Dexterity, and Strength-driven mechanics.[/p]
• [p]Cage fights to be expanded across the maps, with different flavors.[/p]

[h3]Tier 1 Campaign Completed[/h3]

• [p]The Scrapyard: New biker camp with Devilson family and arena events.[/p]
• [p]Supermarket & Courthouse: Fully restructured questlines with new logic, improved flow.[/p]
• [p]Bounty Hunter Camp: Linked to supermarket storyline.[/p]
• [p]Abandoned Subway Tunnels: Cult base hidden below Courthouse.[/p]
• [p]Pio Graveyard: Promoted to Tier 2 with new graverobber narrative and Freedom Train hints.[/p]

[h3]QoL Improvements[/h3]

• [p]New Keybinds: All the requested keybinds and more have now been added to game options.[/p]
• [p]Target Cursor: Cursor now shows clearly how many APs it takes to move and how many attacks you can perform at the destination; the system will soon be extended for melee[/p]

[h3]Role-Playing[/h3]

• [p]Reactive Actors: About half the cast in the base (main actors and recruits) have received reaction dialogue to the presence and the death of their relatives and/or friends - with more in the works.[/p]

[hr][/hr][h2]
Fixes & Improvements (Last Two Weeks)[/h2]

• [p]Armor attachments now work without disrupting balance.[/p]
• [p]All outdated attachment data has been cleaned up.[/p]
• [p]Traders now scale offers properly and reflect faction-specific gear flavor.[/p]
• [p]Locked doors in Courthouse have been opened or visibly barricaded.[/p]
• [p]Blocked containers have been removed from loot distribution.[/p]
• [p]Destructible windows added to trains and subway cars; navigation improved.[/p]
• [p]RPG flow and scripting issues fixed across several maps (prevents crashes and soft locks).[/p]
• [p]Lighting added to key areas on all maps to improve nighttime visibility.[/p]

[hr][/hr][p]This update lays the groundwork for the second half of the campaign. If you're starting fresh: now is the time.
[/p][h3]Coming (Very) Soon[/h3][p]We’re not done yet. Here’s what’s in the works:[/p]

• [p]Visual Upgrades
  Attachment models and their UI menus are getting a visual refresh. Cleaner, sharper, and more satisfying.[/p]
• [p]Aiming Improvements
  Expect Chance to Hit feedback and extra points for aimed shots, giving you more control and more tension in every encounter.[/p]

[p]
Got feedback? Found a bug? Join our Discord or drop your thoughts in the Steam discussions — we’re always listening. You can also use our website form to submit your saves with bug reports, that always speeds up the bug-hunting.[/p][p][/p][p]Stay safe, don't let the undead bite.[/p][p]— The Urban Strife Dev Team[/p]

[p]We’ve put a lot of work—and a lot of thought—into this update, because it marks an important milestone: it formally wraps up Tier 1 of the campaign. If we consider the prologue as the first part, we’re now two-thirds of the way through! Of course, there are still features to add and the game loop to complete, but we’ll celebrate each step as it comes.[/p][p][/p][h3]A Very Important Announcement[/h3][p]We promised to do our best to preserve backward compatibility with saved games. This was possible as long as the changes didn’t affect core mechanics—like the attachments system. That’s now changing completely (read below for the exciting improvements), which means old saves will no longer be compatible. Additionally, the full rewrite of the Tier 1 maps is now complete. It’s the perfect time to play the campaign as it was meant to be played, without the workarounds we implemented to keep legacy saves alive. To be clear: OLD SAVES WILL BE INVALIDATED. You will need to start a new campaign once the new patch is applied. Now you know.[/p][p][/p][p]So, when it's coming? After NextFest excitement settles down next week, we'll have the update ready. We'll couple it with another discount offer so if you haven't tried the game yet, it's a good time to pick it up.[/p][p][/p][p]The Scrapyard[/p][p]The cherry on top this time is the Devil’s Own biker camp—nicknamed The Scrapyard. It would be a fun place... if it weren’t for a subversive strike instigated by some unscrupulous federal agents. The devilish Firm makes its presence felt once again, albeit discreetly, poisoning the mind of the local patriarch, Rick Devilson and using him and his sons to do their dirty work.[/p][p]The Devilsons will also introduce you to the local entertainment kings: the Fight Clan—equal-opportunity providers for anyone willing to smash faces in their cage matches for coin. In this particular case - you. Just make sure you pick someone who is adept at hand to hand fighting. You'll need good Agility for evading the opponent's punches and good Dexterity to land yours. Strength also helps if you want to sap their stamina quickly but remember - this is about KOs not killing the other guy.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Fight Clan HQ[/h2][p]Win the local qualifier and you’ll earn a spot in the Fight Clan Finals—where our old friend, Jake Poppi, eagerly awaits. Take note of this location—it may become a valuable cash source later. Make sure you check the local shop, they might carry some items you always wanted and some items you never knew you wanted. No spoilers.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Supermarket & Courthouse Rewrite[/h2][p]The rewrites of the old Tier 1 maps are finally complete. The Supermarket and Courthouse questlines now follow their own distinct paths (don’t worry—they still hate each other). It’s up to you to decide who gets to see the end of the zombie pandemic.[/p][p]We’ve also fixed several reported issues—including confusing bathroom zombies and troublesome door behavior.[/p][p][/p][h2]Bounty Hunters[/h2][p]The Supermarket now leads into a neighboring Bounty Hunters' camp, where bail agents bring in those “innocent” cultists they’re paid to catch.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Abandoned Subway Tunnels[/h2][p]Speaking of “innocents,” it turns out the old subway tunnels run right under the Courthouse—and there’s a service entrance. Heading down reveals an underground camp full of cultists who are... not exactly thrilled to see you.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Pio Graveyard (Tier 2) & Graverobber’s Hideout[/h2][p]The Graveyard map has been upgraded to a full campaign map and is now officially Tier 2. A new storyline reveals the motivations behind the graverobbers’ desperate actions—with hints about a mysterious nearby Freedom Train.[/p][p][/p][p]Cage Fights for Cash[/p][p]The cage fights are undoubtedly the highlight. We’ve long wanted to introduce this classic element (remember Jagged Alliance 2 and Fallout ring fights?) ever since we developed the zombie arena. We now have a working prototype for cash-based fights—and we’re just getting started.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]New Attachments System[/h2][p]Our current attachments system was transformative—you'd craft entirely new weapons by combining base items and attachments. This quickly became a nightmare, requiring massive data tables, balance tweaks, degradation tracking, etc. It was a major hassle and kept the system limited.[/p][p]The new system is dynamic and additive. Now, adding or removing attachments is as easy as loading or unloading a weapon. The gunsmith and optics workshop can finally shine—crafting all the cool extras you didn’t know you needed.[/p][p]Even better, new crafting combines allow other shops (like the armor smith) to produce modded armor pieces. Always wanted arm bracers or shin guards for fending off zombies trying to chew on your limbs? Now you can craft those at home. Your investment in workshops is about to pay off—big time.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]Quality of Life (QoL) Improvements[/h3][p]Keybinds for Everyone[/p][p]We’ve added a lot of keys to the keybind options. Everything requested on the forums—plus all the expected functions from major titles like XCOM. Feel like we missed something? You can make suggestions here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/710230/discussions/0/591764020514533025/[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Smarter Movement Cursor[/p][p]The movement cursor now clearly displays how many attacks you can make and how many APs are required to move to your desired position — with easy-to-read green/yellow/red color coding.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Stay tuned—more details will be available in the full patch release notes. And don’t forget: if you want to finish your current campaign, now is the time. Or plan your fresh start next week![/p][p][/p]

• Bubba's recruitment flow has been rewritten to avoid unnecessary complications. He should now be available as a recruit as soon as he gives you the trader tips.
  
• A couple of key actors on the FBI map could be saved with empty scripts if you continued the campaign instead of restarting. We've implemented a fix to reset them, which should now work as intended.
  
• Traders on the FBI map could also be saved with empty inventories for players continuing the campaign. A reset has been added to trigger their restock.
  
• A potential crash caused by the Young Thief at the Gas Station being killed in a pre-patch save has been fixed. The game should now resume without crashing.
  
• An issue where right-click disassembling an item with the industry panel open could generate an invalid crafting order has been fixed.
  
• A bad waypoint on the Motel map that could cause issues with NPC scheduling has been fixed.
  

We are immensely grateful to all the players who graciously took the time to report and document these issues, and for sending in saves to help us debug them. You guys rock!

Fixed a bug that prevented players continuing the campaign from an old save from talking to certain NPCs on the FBI map.
Fixed a bug that caused melee item damage to not display correctly in the inventory.

Those who had completed the biker scouts mission in Motel were prone to a crash when loading an old save due to changes in the script. A hotfix was pushed to the public for this. Please update and report any other issues.

If you haven't reached Motel/Gas Station yet in your playthrough you aren't affected but you should patch nevertheless.