Hey everyone.
The last update put a controller in your hands; this one rebuilds the places you use it most. The deployment terminal in the LAB was redesigned from scratch and now handles everything in one place, multiplayer included. The Endless Protocol got a proper identity, from the way it introduces itself down to what happens if the game crashes mid-run. LAB storage was rebuilt to match the tool shop. And nearly every one of these screens was tuned for the Steam Deck: we are working toward full Steam Deck validation, and that work makes the game better on every platform.
Your reports keep steering the priorities: the hole in the middle of Level 0, the Partygoer crowds cornering players on Level Fun and the missing jump on gamepad are all fixed below. Keep them coming.
Here is everything that changed:
Deployment Terminal Overhaul
One board for everything • The LAB deployment terminal was redesigned from scratch: a mission board with your target zone, threat assessment, squad and training in dedicated cards, and your stats in a shop-style header. The old splash screen is gone; you land straight on the board.
Multiplayer built in • Browsing, creating and joining squads now happens directly on the terminal: session browser, squad lobby and a short join code you can share, with a streamer-safe mask so it never leaks on stream. The squad roster no longer shows duplicate entries.
No accidental disbands • Destroying a session is now hold-to-confirm, with a clear warning of what it does.
Smarter navigation • The board remembers where you were: leaving a sub-view returns focus to the card that opened it, and the zone and threat selectors start on your current pick instead of the first card.
Squadmate view • On squad members' machines, the terminal now shows a proper M.E.G. standby screen instead of a dead board while the host drives.
Endless Protocol Rework
A proper introduction • Endless now opens on a hazard gate that spells out the rules before you commit, followed by a briefing walking you through deployment, resupply and escalation. Threat readouts across these screens use qualitative wording and badges instead of raw numbers.
Terminal-style tiers • Threat tiers are now full terminal cards showing your starter kit up front; locked tiers show a padlock with the rank they require.
Circuits escalate • Runs now rotate through different levels as a circuit progresses, and the threat surges every time you complete one, so long runs keep climbing instead of flattening out.
Crash insurance • If the game shuts down uncleanly mid-run, your Endless run is restored to its last archive point on the next boot. No more losing an entire run to a crash.
Mode transfer • Switching between Classic and Endless now plays an analog interference sequence with status lines decoding as the transfer completes, and the screen ignores stray inputs while it happens.
LAB Storage Redesign
Shop-style cards • LAB storage now matches the tool shop: clear item cards, two distinct zones for what is secured in the LAB versus on you, and every slot drawn explicitly, including empty ones and rank-locked ones with the rank they need.
Faster transfers • On controller, one button moves a single item, another moves a whole side, and closing is one press; with the mouse, Shift+click moves a full stack.
Nothing disappears • If your save ever holds more than your slot count, stored items are never hidden or lost.
Steam Deck & Controller
Jump on A • Jump was missing from the gamepad layout entirely; it now sits on A, crouch moved to X and holstering to the D-pad.
Bodycam zoom • Zoom moved to D-pad Up/Down; on the old layout, zooming out also holstered the camera. While filming, the D-pad drives the camera instead of stow and emotes.
Everything on the stick • The new terminal, its multiplayer screens, join-code entry, LAB storage and every Endless screen are fully navigable on controller, with the Steam floating keyboard opening on text fields.
Prompts behave • Button prompts no longer flip between keyboard and controller when the gyro or trackpad twitches, and you can hot-swap between an external pad and the Deck's built-in controls both ways.
Deck readability • Training cards are much bigger on the small screen, the settings menu got a compact Deck layout, and stray decorative symbols that could render as blank squares were removed everywhere.
Bug reports • The in-game bug report screen was redesigned, works fully on controller, opens fullscreen on Deck and now confirms when your report is sent.
End-of-Run Screens
Asset Recovery • A dedicated screen now details what happened to your relics and bags at the end of a run, including exactly what was lost when you abandon.
Film XP counts • XP earned from filming now feeds the results screen properly: it fills the rank bar, adds into the total and triggers rank-ups and unlocks right there.
Creatures & Levels
Missing creatures after training • Finishing the first-boot training silently disabled creature spawns for the rest of the session; every level launched afterwards was empty. Fixed.
Level Fun crowd control • Partygoers spawn at a much calmer pace on Level Fun; crowds were cornering players with no way out. Pacing is now tuned per level, so other levels are untouched.
Level 0 holes • Structural walls were being removed by the hiding-spot cleanup, leaving holes in the map. They stay put now.
Level 19 attic • The thermal scanner now marks only the real exit hatch instead of every decoy position.
Fixes & Localization
Typing in settings • The mouse cursor no longer disappears while typing in a settings text field.
FogHorn • Its record overlay and sound-switch toast now follow your interface theme, and its two tool hints are properly translated; they were French for everyone.
Recovery room screens • The wall screens in the recovery room between missions are now fully translated in all 25 supported languages.
Training prompt • The start-training prompt no longer overflows in some languages, and the D-pad moves cleanly between its buttons.
Localization • All the new terminal, storage, Endless and training strings ship translated in the 25 supported languages.
The terminal rework closes the biggest gap on the road to full Steam Deck validation. Take the new board for a spin, push an Endless circuit as far as it goes, and tell me what you think.
Mat