August 8, 2026

This build expands DEFLECT's combat, build variety, controller support, run pacing, and presentation while polishing the Steam launch experience.

NEW & EXPANDED

- Added 12 Circuit Evolutions that transform focused builds into new playstyles with their own effects and visual identity.
- Added 24 authored encounters with precision, survival, speed, combo, elite, and boss objectives plus live HUD tracking and bonus rewards.
- Added Strike, a complete 30-wave mode that crosses three seeded zones before a final confrontation with OMEGA.
- Added the Heat Deck: 10 optional difficulty conditions with clear rules and proportional score and Essence rewards.
- Expanded Crossroads to 15 routes alongside 8 Shrines, 10 Pacts, 8 Rigs, a broader Trait pool, and smarter build-aware loot.
- Added Rivals, allowing eligible runs to chase reachable Steam leaderboard scores with escalating silver and gold feedback.
- Added five music-reactive audiovisual scenes: Cosmic Pinball, Neon Aquarium, Beat Brawl, Midnight City, and Orbital Carnival.
- Added The Last Return, a complete 13-chapter lore transmission following all seven Reapers from Surface to OMEGA.

CONTROLLER & INPUT

- Added complete controller navigation across menus, drafts, inventory, settings, profiles, leaderboards, and local co-op setup.
- Added controller rebinding, a controller-driven on-screen keyboard, and a right-stick virtual cursor for point-and-click interfaces.
- Steam Input now identifies Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, and Steam Deck controllers and displays matching button glyphs.
- Tutorial instructions automatically adapt to the active input device.
- Added a mouse, keyboard, and controller option to leave the tutorial early. The flight computer may have a few follow-up questions.
- Fullscreen mouse confinement now prevents accidental clicks onto another monitor while releasing correctly for Alt+Tab and F11.

COMBAT, PACING & PRESENTATION

- Added Last Light: lethal hits slow the world, ease the camera toward the wreck, and play a smoother multi-stage destruction sequence before the run summary.
- Enemy projectiles now use behavior-specific visual shapes, making different threats easier to identify during dense encounters.
- Tactical warnings retain the center lane while secondary rewards and status messages move into a compact signal feed.
- Every sector now has a distinct background signature, deeper soundtrack curation, and a short arrival transmission.
- Campaign and Endless can bank ordinary even-wave rewards and pay the owed choices together, allowing longer uninterrupted combat stretches without removing build power.
- Local co-op now pauses both arenas every five waves for simultaneous player-authored upgrades, Evolutions, or boss Relics.
- Coordinated true PERFECTs in local co-op charge a shared Dual Link pulse that protects and rewards both players.
- Boss Relics and Shrines now use dedicated presentation ceremonies that clearly separate rewards, sacrifices, and final choices.

BALANCE & RULE CLARITY

- Automatic catch states are now labeled EMPOWERED. Manually timed true PERFECTs retain their premium damage, score, encounter, and Evolution rewards.
- Overdrive keeps its damage, velocity, and bonus pierce but no longer widens the guard or grants automatic PERFECTs.
- Damage above a boss hit cap now converts into visible stagger pressure and score instead of disappearing.
- Daily runs now use Vanguard, Threat 0, no Heat, no anomalies, and no equipped gear so everyone begins under the same rules.
- Progression pacing has been retuned so core Reapers and playstyles arrive earlier while Mastery, Heat, equipment, and cosmetics support the long-term chase.

FIXES & POLISH

- Hardened the packaged Steam leaderboard integration so it resolves the physical Steam API library correctly and no longer falls behind an unavailable-library diagnostic.
- Removed the distracting ruler-like guides from the combat background.
- Kept the control legend on the main menu and removed it from secondary screens to reduce visual clutter.
- Improved controller focus recovery, held-button protection, splash skipping, menu back behavior, and navigation across layered interfaces.
- Improved death-camera easing, explosion pacing, sector transitions, boss readability, and reward presentation.

Thank you for playing DEFLECT. Keep sending it back.