Cepheus Protocol News

Patch - 1.1.14.2 [Experimental only]

These are patch notes for the newly "opened" Experimental Steam Branch. Experimental will operate as followed:

We have made new channels on Discord + Steam forums these channels are for users that like to live on the dangerous side of things and want to push feedback to us for upcoming patches. Whenever there is a patch it enters that experimental build for 1-2 days minimum if nothing fatal is found it will be pushed public.

The testing and feedback for Experimental is open to anyone to help based on their preferred engagement system Steam or Discord. This is an effort to help squash more bugs and hopefully our bug fixes that cause other issues can be caught and fixed within this time period.

Discord Steam Forums

Experimental will stay open at all times going forward.

How to Opt-in

[h3]We will be having 2 more batches of Experimental before we switch to civilians in 1.2! We hope to have done both "batches" by early next week but it just depends on how stable these two tests go.
#1. Further Optimization / Operator Finalization
#2. Medium Atlas Tower / Revised Weapon Buying information Window
[/h3]

New Operator is now in

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes)
[expand]

Tree Collision across Western Treasure Island improved to fit the physical object better to stop navigation related issues
Infection Resistances improved for CERC units
CERC units when "Converted"/ "Infected" will gain a higher damage resistance when they are turning and then revert to their CERC tables since they are armored
Pod resistance towards small firearms reduced so explosive weapons are typically always preferred like SMAWS/Flamethrowers etc.
M249 Added for the Heavy
Shotgun spread/damage rebalanced to make them actually effective in Close-Medium range
Fixed PlayerController 'sorting of units for move orders' to put helicopters 'last' when issuing move points (to be congruous with what the Formation Move Templates expect)
Fixed a problem with Spine Turrets never being constructed. And added a safety to 'kickstart' it on old saves (may not have been needed, but it should ensure spine turrets start getting built again on old saves)
Updated the 'structure name hovertips' (from hovering over structures) to disappear if that structure is destroyed, or if you pause the game
Fixed the MG Turret and Missile Turret being buildable even if you don't have enough money for them
Added speculative fix towards Ammo drops 'constantly playing ammo fill noise' even if the units near it are full on ammo
Added minor safety to RotorWash effect parameter to lower overall cost for helicopter caused winds
Blowup guys rebalanced so they are more effective in "blowing up" Destructive gibbing added
Adjusted the 'distance tolerance for breaking speed limit' on the Formation Position actor, to make move orders 'in walk mode' make units not want to break 'walking speed' (and thus potentially make too much noise?) unless they're really far from their assigned formation position
Result: Formation move orders, when not running, prefer to 'slow down (as a whole)' rather than speed up individual units, keeping the move orders from breaking 'walk' speed
Updated some Spine Turret initialization settings and AI settings to make it a bit more reliable in its targeting
Updated the new Formation Movement to respect the Formation Distance buttons
And had to include a
weird* fix for CTRL move previews
Also adjusted some helicopter 'formation position width' so they dont clip inside each other when giving move orders
Improved Circle Up formation:- Now mathematically will add 'inner circles' as required, starting when you hit 16+ units. It will then add circles outward while making sure the outermost circle is always 'full'. The 'leader position' will be at the front of the outermost circle.
(this took a decent amount of math to do)
Fixed the 'helicopter-only' move orders always moving at 'max speed' instead of trying to get into formation
Added a new set of logic to the Formation Movement Handler to try to 'lockstep' helicopters in helicopter-only-move-mode, then to 'take the foot off the brake' once they're lined up
It works in a lot of good situations, though over long move orders or around buildings they can desync. Still, it's far better than the start/stop they had before
New Infected meshes are added
Shredder Rounds DNA is now 650
Updated Runtime Audio Plugin with more fixes from my thread with them
Engine Rendering Method switched to TAA from Temporal Super Resolution (Was causing blurriness issues)
Fixed up GrenadeCapable accessing with an 'accessor' function to make it safe (fixes array-index crashes)
Refined Music Player UI slightly to allow local volume setting.
Fixed the Vee formation having a position 150 times farther away than it should
Fixed a few issues with FireMode that could cause infection pods/towers to remain invisible even when in vision range
Added logic to the Helicopter-only formation movement logic to 'slow down' if the formation needs to dodge buildings, allowing the unit to 'reform'
-Removed the 'helicopter-only move orders slow down when dodging buildings' change to formation system
Performance improvements to Widgets/UI across the board to improve game overall performance. In our testing we saw FPS improvements up to 40-60% in most cases.
Fixed an issue w/ formation movement malfunctioning (there was an uninitialized vector)
Added tick optimizations based on LOD of weapons configurable on a per weapon basis to bring down overall CPU utilization
Improved 'double-click' responsiveness to be much more reliable
Adjusted the 'double-click' run response to not cause units in formation-moves to 'slow down for a moment' if they are in Run Override (from the command button)
Improvements to Animation system to stop units moving in place when they stop for a few seconds.
Further Optimized Animation system to get more performance
Turret UI optimizations
Fixed certain graphics settings forcing a LODBias that made the game visually worse
Fixed the skeletal mesh-type buildings keeping their 'old healthbar widget' despite it no longer being used
Fixed up the healthbar height on the Custom Sign
CERC units can be seen through walls when in TPS mode
Collision to cars/trees fixed in various spots
CERC units can now be commanded by switching groups via 1-9 and then issuing an order via the directional keys on your keyboard.
Fixed Ragdolls "hiccupping" when they die sometimes via death animations
Critical point system expanded to the Spitters/Blowup guy(headshots, legs, arms & chest
Added Spitter death effects.
Updated the Formation Move Handler setup to make units more 'snappy' in following their move positions when following the Operator (and to properly detect when the Operator is running

Please note the following going forward (Restart your game/steam to get the update if needed
[/expand]
[h2]New Versioning Number system[/h2]
[expand]
We are changing the way we do version numbers to simplify them going into the future. The one will represent a "release" version and the octet following it will the title update or major patch version we are on.
1.2.1
1 = Release version
2 = Title Update (Major Update)
1 = Minior Fix/bug fixes etc
[/expand]
[h2]Letter from the Producer[/h2]
https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/3186869726433966739
[h2]New Roadmap system [/h2]
We now have a new system for our community to follow along on development. This website will break down all the major systems that are coming each patch. It will not include hotfixes/bug fixes. Sections inside TBD can be included randomly if we are ahead of schedule
Trello and the old picture Roadmap system will be removed going into the future.
https://www.notion.so/cepheusprotocol/Cepheus-Protocol-31f1b25ce00148d6844825f4a0c0bc08

[h2]Cepheus Protocol Anthology[/h2]
Experience the outbreak of the Pangu Virus from multiple perspectives across as the brave heroes of the Center for Epidemic Research and Control battle tirelessly to stop the spread of a cataclysmic alien virus that has mutated innocent people into monstrous creatures of unimaginable power
[expand]
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1707120/Cepheus_Protocol_Anthology_Season_1/
[h3]First 40 Minutes of Cepheus Protocol Anthology Season 1 [/h3]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWbDibGMrU
[/expand]
[h2]Swag Store [/h2]
The Halcyon Winds Store is now live to support development and profits go towards expanding the team. This is in response to several requests I've gotten quite a few times about those that don't want to do patreon but want to support via merch.(Posters, Jackets etc) Check it out we'll add more over the next few weeks-months! :WinterSmile: Link here

[expand]

[/expand]

Patch - 1.1.14 [Experimental only]

Experimental will stay open at all times going forward.

How to Opt-in

[h3]Expect the first Step of the new Early game [Localized Infection Spawning] live on Experimental Wednesday-Thursday for feedback![/h3]

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes)
[expand]

Added a fix to the Formation Templates to not try to 'offset' units if there's only one unit to read (so they just move to 'mouse pos', so to speak)
Formation System improved to dynamically nest/create new ones that follow tightly along other formations
Grenade/Blowup guy explosion radius improved so they are more accurate and balanced overall.
Blowupguy effect added for when they die
Fixed up Circle Up 'breaking' a vehicle position in soldier+vehicle move commands
Updated the Atlas 'vehicle box' size to better envelop the vehicle (so its length is better calculated to include the front of its cabin+bumper)
Updated formation position handling: Vehicle 'formation length' even further improved, with each 'pair' of vehicles being measured lengthwise to ensure proper positioning (without being majorly behind the soldiers, in a mixed-unit order)
Soldier 'formation length' improved to dynamically measure how far back the soldiers go, so vehicles can be properly set behind them (rather than set way behind them)
Fixed Medical facility and ServiceDepot disappearing when near the edge of the screen.
Minor decal placement fixes in TIG04
Helicopters now are in their own 'formation group' when issuing combined unit move orders, and will now be 'above' your other units (instead of 'behind')
Fixed up 'vehicle only' move orders having a 'half-vehicle-length' offset behind the mouse click position
Added some logic to make the custom sign 'customization popup' disappear if its owning sign is destroyed
Fixed PlayerController 'sorting of units for move orders' to put helicopters 'last' when issuing move points (to be congruous with what the Formation Move Templates expect)
Updated width-calculation logic to function for Formation Move Templates
Shotguns buffed to have larger spread cones to be more effective overall
Juggernaut resistance towards bullets greatly increased
Added some extra logic to make helicopters not try to go too high/too low on move completion
Improved 'direction facing' on move completion
Fixed a problem with Spine Turrets never being constructed
Added a safety to 'kickstart' it on old saves (may not have been needed, but it should ensure spine turrets start getting built again on old saves)
Updated the 'structure name hovertips' (from hovering over structures) to disappear if that structure is destroyed, or if you pause the game
Fixed the MG Turret and Missile Turret being buildable even if you don't have enough money for them
Fixed up the Field Turret buttons not properly displaying their price if you cannot afford them
Added speculative fix towards Ammo drops 'constantly playing ammo fill noise' even if the units near it are full on ammo
Added minor safety to RotorWash effect parameter sets on BeginPlay.
Lowered how much gas all ground vehicles consume when driven,
Crash fix for blowupguy killing infected near him

Patch - 1.1.13 [Experimental only]

Experimental will stay open at all times going forward.

How to Opt-in

[h3]Expect the first Step of the new Early game [Localized Infection Spawning] live on Experimental Wednesday-Thursday for feedback![/h3]

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes)
[expand]

Early pass on the 'local virtual population moving if no pods remain' logic, to make sure local populations of virtual infected do not become 'stuck' if the player wipes out their pods before the virtual infected in that area can enter the world
unlock prices changed for phase upgrades, flashlight and gas mask and nvg unlocked by default
fixed blowup guy not exploding again
texture redux for better memory
Updated Virtual Unit Movers to have movement components that better match regular units (fixes an issue with them trying to 'climb' areas which they should be able to, but couldn't, so 'virtual' groups of infected can move better now)
Adjusted a Power Plant move proxy
Adjusted the 'per level' values in the SpawnNode to be floats, for easier customization
Added a small safety to the NewBaseVehicleBP
Adjusted Seenlist logic to mark units that have been right-clicked to be targeted as 'priority targets', which are treated as 10mil threat more important in target prioritization. Doing this also will remove 'priority target' from anything else in that unit's SeenList, so 'priority targets' are not remembered if you issue different orders. They still will have more threat than usual from being right clicked, however.
Fixed several Navigation errors around Angel Island cliffs.
Virtual texture conversion for all weapons
Presidio Zone Border and Location Volume overhaul
Angel Island Location Volume overhaul
Fixed water collision so you can drag boxes over them again and order helicopters to exact points over the water
Added saving/loading for unit's "MySpawnNode" pointer (should help fix some issues with civilian evacuation 'not counting')
Conversion health of cerc changed from 2000 - 110
Pod resistance changed to better survive scar meta
Lod changes for Weapons for better optimization
Reverted spawn node settings in the SpawnNodes maps for the Master, so they stop 'overriding' values from the SpawnNodeBP. In the Future we will be tweaking how often Spitters/blowup guys appear once their AI is finalized
Disabled the CommandPost's civilian spawning loop in Chelsey System enabled maps
Used a new implementation of 'hovering over' to make the mouse 'hovering over units/buildings' more accurate and responsive
Improved Structure-handling of 'mouse over hover display' to include 'highlighting' the building
Improved turret widget to zoom in slightly when you hover over said turret, and to 'highlight' its base when hovered, too
Added a speculative fix for turrets not 'unfolding' when loading saves (seems to work, hopefully doesn't add issues)
Updated the ADS and the Field Turrets to player more nicely with the hovering-highlighting system
Fixed the 'world infection' post process effects being 'active' even if the source area is not
Added a safety to make sure units which are dropped in via parachute will run to their building's rally point
Converted system to new collision system to stop "faulty" collision
Fixed a 'distance check' in the assignment of multiple units to construction points (to prevent units getting stuck in 'infinite construction loops' between two semi-distant construction points)
Adjusted Engineer Pathing so they hopefully cannot get stuck on walls/objects they construct anymore.
Also added a final check when a unit finishes building something to make them try to 'lerp away' from whatever they built, if their ground is invalid
Adjusted the 'in world name popups' when hovering over buildings to not 'black out the screen' for one frame when popping up (they 'scale' right after being constructed: if the framerate's low enough, you'll see this for one frame. It now is going to be invisible for that first frame, to prevent assaulting users' eyes if their framerate is dropped) Result: Construction seems a lot more reliable
Revamped the saving/loading of 'world infection goop': should now be more accurate. As a side-effect, old saves will not remember where their goop was, but shouldn't be a big deal
Moved the 'Idle Engineer' button to the bottom left of the HUD, to the right of the minimap (and scaled it down)
Set up the 'saving' popup to be in a horizontal box with the Idle Engineer button, so it won't conflict with the Idle Engineer button
Adjusted the Unit Groups to start higher up, now that the Idle Engineer button has been moved
Additionally, adjusted the Unit Card scaling to not be as intense (max size is now +25%, instead of +50%), to try to prevent the cards from overlaying the minimap
A 'death icon' will appear to the right of a group name when a unit is killed. A different icon will appear if a unit succumbs to infection and converts.
Added a 'collapsed mode' for the new Unit Card Group Window setup. In Collapsed Mode, only a unified healthbar is shown. It will shift to red in color if it gets low. This healthbar only shows the average for living members. If a unit dies or is converted, the healthbar will adjust its maximum (which may go 'up' due to missing a member), but this will also be indicated as still bad due to the death/conversion icon appearing. Additionally, the Groups will remember if they were Collapsed or not
The Group Name (and the unified healthbar, in collapsed mode) will now flash red if a unit in that group takes damage.
Updated the Group Window widget naming setup:
Scalebox added and text limit increased (from 10 to 20), so you can give groups a longer name (and the name text will scale down in size to fit) Text area is limited to still allow room for ~3 icons to appear to the right of the group name (and to not block 'clicks' to that area to select the group w/o editing group name)
Properly indicate when all their units have been killed by broadcasting 'DESTROYED'
Added a basic "InfectedMorale" value to InfectionZones, with saving/loading. This value drops if a REINFORCE Unit Mover's units were all killed by the player. Morale is for the 'REINFORCE' calls to stop coming if enough reinforcements are cut off: not yet used
Updated the Reinforcement logic from the Chelsey System to no longer target zones with sufficiently low infected morale. In effect: if the player cuts off groups of Reinforcements from reaching a zone, the morale will drop. If it gets low enough, reinforcements will stop being sent. The infected's morale will build back up if you spend enough time away from an infested zone. Practically: this means if you stay in a zone and cut off their avenues of reinforcement, you can 'isolate' that zone and drastically reduce the amount of infected that will be sent to fortify it, since the infected will view that zone as a 'lost cause' due to too many losses.
Updated the Virtual Unit Movers performing 'REINFORCE' calls to no longer 'disappear' upon reaching their destination, but to stay in play as long as they have any devirtualized units remaining (that way you can kill off that bunch of infected even if the invisible unit mover made it past you, and still drop the enemy morale, rather than the morale drop not occurring because you weren't quick enough to stop the invisible unit mover from getting by)
Speculative fix to mortar crash from here: https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/986144869590368256/995422084492693614
Converted Structure Health to 'Getter/Setter' setup, to lock down situations where infection pod healthbars weren't updating properly. This did resolve that issue, it seems, and infection pods no longer have their healthbars show as ~'5% health' whenever you load a save file, despite them NOT having that amount of health.
Added a fix to helicopters sometimes getting 'stuck moving slowly' if they are given a move order with a group

Patch - 1.1.12 [Experimental only]

Experimental will stay open at all times going forward.

How to Opt-in

[h3]Expect the first Step of the new Early game [Localized Infection Spawning] live on Experimental Wednesday-Thursday for feedback![/h3]

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes)
[expand]

Blowup guys now explode when killed or when they get close to a target like they rightfully should have always
Regionalized Infection spawning is now added (A few more tweaks will be added going into Friday)
Added a 'Infection Population' tracker to the Infection Zone Widgets that appear in world. This list will show 'Unknown', 'Small', 'Medium', 'Large', or 'Extreme', rather than listing the exact amount of infected in an area. The idea behind this new change is that they can only spawn/create what's available to them in that "zone" otherwise they must request for help from nearby regions.
(They will gain a Morale system for how many units can respond till they retreat going into Friday-Monday. The threshold to determine if they are making any progress will be increased as they gain more infected since they would have a bit more "bodies" to throw at you. So in longer games where their overall population is higher in nearby zones to the zone your attacking they can afford to send larger groups to try and counter attack/defend their land. But it will be impossible to win anymore just defending and attacking one point for the entire game )
Updated the Infection Zone Widget to hopefully be more performant
Unlock prices changed for phase upgrades, flashlight and gas mask and nvg unlocked by default
Early pass on the 'local virtual population moving if no pods remain' logic, to make sure local populations of virtual infected do not become 'stuck' if the player wipes out their pods before the virtual infected in that area can enter the world
Shawnee received a damage buff/ spread decrease and target acquisition time was lowered
Removed advanced options that were setup incorrectly + fixed resetting options that weren't saving correctly
Added basic 'structure hovertip' when highlighting player structures
Added 'hover highlight' logic, to make player units get highlighted when moused over + display unit info
Further refinements to accuracy for building/capture in Angel Island
Weapon textures further optimized to lower VRAM usage
Fixed several Navigation errors around Angel Island cliffs.
Adjusting manual right click targeting to make sure units always target first enemies you right click for them to attack
Updated Virtual Unit Movers to have movement components that better match regular units (fixes an issue with them trying to 'climb' areas which they should be able to, but couldn't, so 'virtual' groups of infected can move better now)
Adjusted a Power Plant move proxy

Patch - 1.1.11 [Experimental only]

Experimental will stay open at all times going forward.

How to Opt-in

[h3]Expect the first Step of the new Early game [Localized Infection Spawning] live on Experimental Wednesday-Thursday for feedback![/h3]

Patch Notes

(Click Show details for a full breakdown of the changes)
[expand]

Weapon Textures adjusted to scale better with lower VRAM cards
New Weapon Mesh Dynamic loading system - we need users to test this and see if they encounter any issues relating to new crashes or oddities with the weapons. If this system works out we will push it further to reduce VRAM and overall RAM requirements across the board. Thus allowing a lot more computers of lower spec to play