This update is now live on the Empyrean Defense Steam Playtest. Thanks to everyone who’s been testing and sending feedback, many of the updates below came directly from your reports.
✨ New Features
Added ability damage popups with accompanying icons for clearer combat feedback
Introduced landmarks as neutral targets, including new interactions and mission fail conditions
Added Chapel of the First Sovereign landmark to Graywake Reach
Abilities can now interact with sites during Mission Prep (before Wave 1 begins)
World repair and shield abilities now affect landmarks
Added a controller target icon for clearer target selection
Added a loss reason indicator when failing due to landmark destruction
Supply drop crates now auto-remove after one minute if uncollected
Added a dedicated boss icon for improved readability
🔧 Improvements
Improved item drop cooldown indicators with clearer visuals and background contrast
Increased font and icon sizes in the Site Menu right panel for better readability
Improved controller navigation and focus behavior across menus and UI panels
Power meter now appears earlier if the player owns a power related site
Improved ability targeting and AoE placement on uneven terrain
Increased decal height for AoE hover indicators to better handle elevation changes
Enemy info panel now also displays landmark details when applicable
Added landmark damage edge indicators for clearer situational awareness
Enemies now prioritize landmarks when appropriate
Improved visual clarity of circular menu buttons with updated fonts
Reduced UI tooltip flicker when navigating between menu pages
Adjusted large AoE abilities to rely on terrain based targeting for consistency
Reduced enemy soldier LOD bias to improve performance during large engagements
Improved explosion effect scaling for better visual feedback
🐛 Bug Fixes
Fixed controller and mouse input conflicts causing unintended camera panning
Fixed multiple controller focus issues across pause menus, medal containers, and play menus
Fixed landmark selection not properly updating the info panel
Fixed supply crate indicators persisting after the crate expired
Fixed pause flow when losing a mission due to landmark destruction
Fixed several tooltip positioning and rendering issues
Fixed post game menu animation issues
Removed unused assets and improved memory cleanup during loading and pause screens
Development is now focused on the upcoming demo, with the tenth campaign mission, Breakpoint Reservoir, planned for the next release.
Full patch notes and development details are available on the Empyrean Defense wiki: