Hi there. This is Dongsoo Oh, Creative Director of Blackout Protocol.
Today I'd like to give you a quick rundown of patch 0.11.2, plus a sneak peek at some of our plans for patch 0.12.
#1: Changes in this Patch
Our main focus in 0.11.2 has been adjusting the difficulty curve encountered in the first few hours of the game, as well as the probabilities involved with how new map variants are introduced. You'll notice these changes mostly in the first level (everything from the start of the game up to the level 2 lobby).
We've gone through early-game map variants with a magnifying glass, and made adjustments to spots that many new players were finding unapproachably or unfairly difficult.
We've also fixed an issue with weapon blueprint drops in the early game, to help ensure that even if players aren't making a ton of forward progress, they're still unlocking new weapons and can start their next run with more options.
Probably the biggest change we've made is adjusting how new map variants are introduced into the rotation.
Previously, the introduction of new map variants was dependent on various factors (mostly the number of sessions). Now it's tied primarily to permanent growth progression. To put it simply: the more upgrades you unlock with data nugs, the greater the chance you'll start encountering new, harder map variants.
This should hopefully smooth out the difficulty progression a lot, and cut down on those instances of players being abruptly thrust into high-difficulty scenarios they feel totally overwhelmed by.
Finally, we've also made a handful of miscellaneous quality-of-life tweaks in this patch, including:
- Clearer UI and audio feedback on weapon reloading, so players know exactly when a reload has finished.
- Faster weapon swapping, so players can respond more effectively to urgent situations, and are less likely to die because they're juggling machine guns. (This also makes using throwables mid-combat a little bit smoother of an experience.) Adjustments to how AoE damage is dealt from things like explosive barrels and grenades, to make them a little more consistent and predictable at various ranges.
- Various changes to projectile movement and explosion timing between players and enemies.
- Improved visibility on enemy throwables (e.g. the Calculator's psionic grenades), so it's easier to react to them.
#2: Upcoming Changes
We'll be making more little iterative polishes like these as Early Access goes on. But we also recognize that a lot of players still find the overall difficulty pretty cumbersome, and addressing that will require some deeper changes as well.
To that end, we're going back to the drawing board, and will be adding difficulty options in patch 0.12(scheduled for September).
For the moment, we'll be keeping general difficulty in Squad mode (multiplayer) untouched. Playing with other human beings will always introduce a certain amount of chaotic swinginess in difficulty from run-to-run, which we feel is part of the fun, so we're pretty comfortable with where that mode is sitting at right now.
However, we'll be making some changes to Rogue mode (single-player). Specifically, we'll be creating two difficulty levels: Normal and Hard. Hard is basically the difficulty level currently in the game. Normal is a new, easier level of difficulty, which we feel better reflects the intended experience, particularly for first-time users.
Both difficulty levels will have all the same content and permanent growth progression, and will continue to share progression with Squad mode.
The game's general difficulty level, and whether or not to offer difficulty options, is something we've been getting feedback from players about since Closed Beta. And, honestly, it's something we've gone back and forth about internally quite a bit.
At its heart, Blackout Protocol is intended to be a top-down tactical shooter with an engaging level of challenge. When making changes that affect the difficulty level, our #1 goal is to always keep that vision in mind, and be cautious that we're not compromising the game's core identity. (Hence why adjusting that particular element has taken us a little longer than some others: to ensure we're making the right choices, and executing them well.) We appreciate your patience while we take the time to get it right.
We hope these changes will make the game a bit more approachable to new players, while preserving what existing players enjoy about it.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Dongsoo Oh