It must be a Monday and we've got the big update we couldn't button up over the weekend ready for you now! This one comes with a bundle of improvements to Matrix Host scaling (host rating color and Q-Sec AI), a new mission flag to pre-warn about matrix difficulty, the hotly requested "stayed crouched which planning sprint" QoL, improvements to enemy offensive capabilities in scaling, making the Bio-Recycle items available from day 1 and improving the map repeat protection from 2 to 5.
We're hard at work making Cyber Knights: Flashpoint better, bigger, and more polished each week. We couldn't do it without you—thanks for the posts, playing, and your F10s.
We hope you'll take a moment to leave a review if you are enjoying the game and our relentless update pace.
Matrix Power Level Scaling
Over the last few weeks, we've been resolving many math issues and issues with the correct flow of properly scaled Power Level for missions throughout all the subsystems that rely on it. For example, we fixed a bug where higher-difficulty games were getting less Team Power Level for missions than lower-difficulty games (they should get the same).
Some of these fixes ended up exposing and fixing a Power Level flow bug that was preventing Matrix Hosts from scaling correctly and always turning up as Blue Hosts + Bronze Boa Q-Sec AI. So, this has been fixed in the last update but it has caused a sudden spike of really hard hosts appearing (Red Host + Gold Viper Q-Sec AI is a rude thing to encounter after so many Blue + Boa!!!).
With this update, we've gone back into the scaling system that had been set up before and re-adjusted all of the scales and weights to ensure that there is a ramp-up of difficulty and no major cliffs. High Power Level teams are still going to be hitting higher level Matrix Hosts, so we'd love to hear how it feels to you but the ramp is much more reasonable for lower Team Power Level and should play much better - challenge increases but isn't insane.
Unless you play on Chrome, gl wp gg ːsteamhappyː
Highest Rated Host Flag
To help give a warning about the matrix host levels included in a level, proc-gen missions are now displaying a flag on a mission for the highest-rated host. If there are two hosts, you only get data about the highest-rated one (might be a Yellow and Red but you get a warning for Red) but at least you know how bad it might get. In the case of hack-only missions, this is very helpful as it gives you an immediate warning about the type of host you're considering going up against and you might pick a different hacker, stock up on consumables, or skip it altogether.
Auto-Duck vs. Cameras and Plotting Moves
Last week we introduced a series of fixes to ensure that auto-duck is a highly consistent feature. Auto-duck causes your mercs to immediately crouch in any situation in which it will help them stay hidden. If an enemy is on patrol and they are standing behind some crates, they will auto-duck and dive out of view so the patroller can walk past. The goal is - you do not need to manually manage crouching.
With Update #184, we've pushed this feature to full coverage now by adding all the same auto-duck features against cameras. If a Long-Range Camera sweeps as it is changing positions and your merc is standing behind a set of crates (or in any situation) where crouching would avoid them from being spotted, they will auto-duck and get out of view. The camera will sweep over none the wiser.
In addition, we've added the highly-requested (!!!) ability to plot/preview a sprinting move while staying crouched. This allows you to preview a movement - either sprinting or crouching - without accidentally standing up and being spotted by the enemies.
Enemy Scaling
We're continuing to hammer on enemy scaling - expanding the range of how and how far enemies can scale against your mercs. In most cases, your team will eventually end up with power levels - between Talents, cyber, weapons, armor, etc - that exceed what the enemy can eventually post up against you. So, a lot of this scaling work is focused on the enemy Power Level ranges above 5+, but it's key work to make the entire progression go smoothly and stay challenging.
With Update #185, we've rebuilt the offensive capabilities of the enemy sets, allowing them to scale better up to Power Level 10, equip better weaponry, and punch harder.
Bio Recycler now available
With Update #185, we've changed the configuration around for Bio Recycler items. This powerful starting item is now available for sale in the "Medical Items Level 1" service. Meaning it is immediately available out of the gate. We've raised its price by 50% and increased its AP cost to 2.
To replace the original option coming forward to easier services, we've added new options - the Bio Dissolver and Liquefy 2200. The Bio Dissolver is sold in "Milsec Items Level 2" and now has a 3rd charge to clean up even more corpses. The B-Liquefy gel is sold in "Anti-Security Items Level 1" and costs 0 AP to use but keeps the 2 charge maximum.
This will help out-of-the-gate players have more options for corpse disposal without having to reach for the Scourge, Hacker, or Vanguard always. We're excited to see how the new options help you change the composition of starting teams and item carries.
Increased Protection against Map Repeats
With more maps coming online every week, we've increased the existing protection against map repeats (which was "don't repeat the last 2 maps") to "don't repeat the last 5 maps" if possible. This should really help cut down on any feelings of repeated map appearances and is more and more effective as each new weekly map release drops.
Cheating Enemies on Fast Forward
There was a code path in the option for automatically fasting forwarding all enemy turns that could result in certain enemies using a lot of AP ... like 15 or 20 AP sometimes if they moved around without any interruptions. They weren't using AP so they'd keep going until something stopped them. Bad bad bad, fixed fixed fixed!
v1.9.45 - Update #185: - 12/9/2024
- Improved/reduced speed of Matrix scaling especially for Hack-only missions
- Matrix hosts now generate higher than Blue + Bronze Boa, become more challenging as your Team Power Level and mission payments ramp
- Added tag to proc-gen missions and hack-only missions that show the color of the highest rated host (i.e. "Yellow")
- Added auto-duck system against cameras and long-range cameras
- Added ability to plan a sprint move while crouching if you need to auto-duck
- Improved enemy progression and threat level - enemies scale better to Power Level 10, get better weapons at PL 5+
- Increased protection against repeating mission maps from "last 3" to "last 5" as the map pool keeps growing
- Bio Recycler (but costs 2 AP) now available in the "Medical Items Lvl 2" service, one Limit Break up
- New Bio Dissolvent (-1 AP, +1 charge) and Bio Liquefy (-2 AP cost) available in Milsec Items and Anti-Security Items
- Fixed bug where an enemy might take multiple movements and use more than reasonable AP if Fast Forward
- Fixed issues with doors in buildings blocking sight lines above them in the Urban HQ mission map
- Fixed duplicate dialog popping up during Kill 3 captains missions