Patch Notes - 0.7.74 Operation Hammer Down Begins... [ Public Beta Only ]

Operation Hammer Down Begins...

With the CERC starting to engage more deadly monsters from Chelseys ranks. CERC has been officially authorized by General Spiers to use more deadly weapons and tools to combat this new threat. ːChelseyLaughː

Operation Hammer Down will officially launch when our public beta period ends in 1-2 weeks.
It will feature the following systems now live on the public beta branch:
So try them out and leave your feedback on our Discord Suggestion channel ːWinterSmileː

• Finalized Open World Map
• Doctrines
• Juggernaut
• Little Guy enemies
• Leviathan
• Revised Power Generation System

Patch Notes - 0.7.74 Operation Hammer Down Begins... [ Public Beta Only ]

Old Saves will not carry over, only play in the public beta to give feedback never play "real" games in the public beta as game sessions can and will be broken from time to time from the vast number of things we test here at any given time. I.E we dont support save files started from a public beta -> a normal build.

This is a summarized list we actually went over the steam character limit with this blog post.

When does the public beta end?

We are aiming for the public beta for Doctrines/Open World/Generator Revamp/ Leviathan|Little Guys/ Juggernaut to end in the next 1-2 weeks. As these updates will change how the game is played and increase the difficulty of the game across the board.

Patch notes

• Updated the SpawnJuggernaut console command to accept an optional 'true' command, to make him start chasing Winter after he spawns
• Added a 'SpawnInfectedMob' console command (also with the same optional 'true' command above for chasing Winter) to make a group of 20 infected appear at the mouse
• Improved the 'SpawnInfectedMob,' 'SpawnJuggernaut,' and 'SpawnLeviathan' console commands to include another argument for 'always visible': pass in true as the first argument when spawning to make them never be hidden by the Fog of War
• Also updated the 'Chase Winter' argument's effect for the Mob and Juggernaut to be longer-lasting
• Removed several erroneous infection pod meshes that were sitting in the master doing nothing
• Improved a lot of cars in the Grid 3/Grid 2 area to be more traversable for Juggernauts
• Adjusted a truck in Grid 6 that was blocking Juggernaut from crossing (it also had floating 'parking lot lines' that I fixed, too)
• Added a 'small' nav path near an ambulance in Grid 2, to prevent Juggernauts from thinking they could squeeze through
• Did similar with some lampposts for the nature park part of Grid 2
• Fixed a police car near the park in Grid 2 that had bad collision settings (blocked Juggernaut movement)
• Hooked up a Torch Socket for the base skeleton (for engineers)
• Hooked up the basic weld effect for it (the torch still needs to be moved with anim update, but the effect's back)
• Hooked up notifies to play the effect
• Quick speculative safety for a 'close editor/engine crash'
• Bypassed 'SetDestructibleMesh' by making a pre-set destructible actor for spawning for the Juggernaut rock throw
• Updated player walls with a new nav area type that infected ignore
• Added a 'parking lot nav' to fix a horde nav sticking point in Grid 5
• Moved a white truck in Grid 5 that was too close to a subway entrance, where it was causing some 'nav sticking' for hordes
• Moved a car in Grid 5 that was too close to a truck, and was blocking horde movement
• Rotated a spawn pod in Grid 5 to make its spawns more open
• Fixed up the main menu horde+roadmap buttons not being disabled when the data disclaimer is onscreen
• Cleaned up the Grenade Launcher's projectiles to no longer collide with units on the way to its target (to prevent surprise team kills. Careless team kills can still occur if you're not watching your positioning, of course)
• Also adjusted Grenade Launcher's fuse variance (so the shots are not perfectly accurate) to be +0-10% of required flight time, rather than a random addition of -.1 seconds to to .1 seconds (for near shots, the -.1 could result in self damage even to something at a moderate distance, which was silly, and very noticeable when on a rooftop)
• Increased the Infected's PawnSensingInterval from 1.0 to 1.8
• Increased the InfectedSpineTurret's PawnSensingInterval from 1.0 to 1.8
• Updated the lifespan of the Grenade throw blocked mouse widget to respect global time dilation
• Coastline cliff added
• Added logic to allow units to have a multiplier for the DoctrineXP they earn from kills (this is floored to a whole number)
• Used this to make turrets get half XP, which due to the mathematical flooring, means regular infected give no XP to turrets)
• Updated the MG Turret's gun mount position to better align its muzzle flash
• Improved navblocking around the motel in Grid 5 (especially two cars) to prevent some cases of Juggernauts getting confused around it
• New Horde Sound System for simulating sounds that will be playing for low, medium and height density mobs
• make Helicopters only ignore soldiers when landing, to prevent them from landing on other helicopters
• Updated the Wallbuilder with a 'check against objects' update to prevent construction on top of other player constructions
• Added some extra 'screenshake clear' calls for the Leviathan (on death, when finishing burrowing, etc.)
• Added some extra 'screenshake clear' calls for the Leviathan (on death, when finishing burrowing, etc.)
• Added basic particles to Levi 'combat tunneling' and 'end combat tunneling' montages
• -Added another option to 'SendNotificationToHUD': "Emergency". If true, the notification (which appears at the top left) will be blinking and with an outline, to make it stand out more.
• Used this for the Juggernaut/Leviathan spotted notifications (from both regular combat and TUGS detection)
• Fixed an issue with some Leviathans being 'stuck in melee cooldown' on spawn/load
• Updated the Leviathan's "WantsToRoar" tracker to save/load -Improved Melee Attack Trace to return an array of the actors it successfully damaged
• Used this to start on 'stick corpse in teeth' logic for units killed by Leviathan's bite attack (not yet fully working)
• Made helicopters 'sweep' when landing, to safeguard them from falling through the floor in some circumstances
• Added some basic 'rotation particles' for the Leviathan when he 'turns in place' to face a target Added new 'bCanBeSeenByThermalVision' bool, with setter function SetCanBeSeenByThermal()
• Used this to make the Leviathan invisible to thermal when underground, while still detectable by TUGS
• Added logic to rotate the Leviathan to his move target when he's moving during burrow
• Added safeties to try to stop the Leviathan from 'scooting along the ground' while emerged
• Added logic to make a minimap icon (and top-left notification) occur when the TUGS detects a Leviathan or Juggernaut
• Improved Explosives and Weapons to have a 'GiantDamage' argument, which will be applied when dealing damage to 'bGiant' enemies
• Marked Leviathans and Juggernauts as 'Giants'
• Made the Javelin (2000 damage) deal triple damage (6000) to Giant enemies
• Updated the Javelin description to note that it deals triple damage to Giant enemies
• Updated 'Rank' XP from being killed to be customizable per-unit (default 5)
• Made Spitters and BlowUpGuys give 15 RankXP
• Added the Command Post Trucks to the Leviathan's seenlist when he is sicced on a player zone
• Fixed units that have default scales other than 1.0 'compounding their size change' on save/load
• Fixed the Leviathan 'spawn roll' potentially occurring again on loading a save (which allowed potential scenario where Leviathans 'doubled up')
• Added Juggernaut and Leviathan-related customization to the Difficulty Adjuster
• Leviathans are more likely to target areas that have more structures
• Leviathans have a higher chance of spawning the more structures you have in a single area
• Fixed up Leviathan token spawning against bases (to a basic degree)
• Fixed Mortar Cerberus not being able to undeploy
• Fixed not being able to double-click to properly select a group of walls when in slo-mo
• Added more particle effects to the Juggernaut emerge
• Added particle effects to the Juggernaut burrow and 'hulk smash' melee
• Added Stryker cannon shell ejection
• Fixed up Turrets, Mortars, and Mines so they now grant Doctrine XP
• Updated Mines to give Rank XP to the engineer responsible for finishing them (this part doesn't save/load yet)
• Updated Supply Truck, JLTV, and Cerberus to not be 'rammable'
• Updated Cerberus to be able to ram things
• Added a pulsing minimap icon when you spot a Juggernaut or Leviathan
• Fixed the Weapon Market having situations where swapping weapons from the Inventory tab could get 'stuck'
• Added 'Infection Zone' tracking of buildings and turrets, so we can tell which zones the player is fortifying
• Fixed the Unit Card and Interaction Widget not properly updating when the Cerberus shifted weapon types
• Updated 'garrison dumping' (for when emptying garrison from ground vehicles, or when a helicopter carrying units is killed) to be safer: it grabs its initial position from navigation, then tells units to move once they land, rather than trying to scatter them initially (which resulted in bugs where units could be ejected 'over water'
• Updated the Juggernaut to smoothly rotate towards his Wallbuster target instead of instantly 'snapping to it', when starting up a Wallbuster charge
• Fixed Spitters not having footsteps notifying to CERC they are approaching
• Added flashbangs to the Spec Ops
• Added safeties in response to a Discord crash report (when loading horde controllers): that function should now be pretty darn safe
• Improved the Juggernaut stun reaction: if you flashbang him while he's charging at a wall, he'll stumble instead!
• You can now rotate before placement of a structure
• Added Turret UI Toggling to the ROE tab (w/ saving/loading, etc)
• Line of Sight given to all CERC building structures [CERC, Barracks, Command Center, Medical Facility, and the Motor Pool now emit vision]
• Added MULE engine sfx
• Added logic to boost threat generation on a per-character basis (Used this to make some buildings more 'enticing' for infected attackers (generators, especially))
• Adjusted Comms, Barracks, Motorpool, Command Center, TUGS, and Generator settings to make it easier/possible for infected to see and attack them
• Fixed the 'helicopters moving to center' issue
• Fix to font scaling starting at max for fresh installs
• Boosted height of ammobox 'area of effect' sprite
• Fixed ammoboxes, when loading a save always showing their 'radius' until selected again
• New Power Generation System added
• New Wiring Mode system added
• Accuracy of where you can place buildings improved
• Adjusted heat shimmer effect on engine exhaust FX.
• Angel Island revised and more textures added
• Starting Island revised and more textures added
• Weld on Engineer Fixed
• Rotation Rate of CERC adjusted to make during more responsive
• Hooked up logic to update the power cost of walls when upgrading Electric Fence to Electric Gate (or other such situations)
• Fixed power component destruction not properly updating its connections
• Added a cooldown to 'PassDamageToAI' (default .5 seconds) so the command isn't spammed when something's being shot by an automatic gun (especially juggernauts)
• Fixed Juggernaut's combat movement failing (due to a 'zheight fix' that fails due to how tall he is, which is now corrected)
• Fixed broken engine exhausts on Merlin and Charon.
• Fixed Merlin Scale
• Added 'footstep notifies' to juggernaut run anim
• Juggernauts squish sandbags/barbed wire when walking over them
• Adjusted Juggernaut animBP to no longer try to 'enter into movement' by playing the 'pop-out-of-ground' montage
• Hooked up screenshake logic for Juggernaut, for when he roars (occurs when he enters combat, and has a cooldown)
• Added a screenshake to the Juggernaut's 'chestpound/roar' anim
• Hooked up death/destruction logic to Juggernauts and Leviathans to stop their screenshaking if it happens to be going on at the time of death
• Fixed and issue with spawn nodes loading defense special infected incorrectly
• Made spawn nodes actually exit Distress Mode, so they can despawn their units (major bug fix!)
• Made it possible for a Juggernaut to spawn when a node enters Distress Mode
• Added Juggernaut summoning to Chelsey: if she enters combat, she now has a chance to summon a Juggernaut to assist her
• If Shredder Rounds are purchased, Chelsey will try to summon multiple Juggernauts on entering combat, instead!
• The Juggernauts guarding Chelsey will not despawn if the player has purchased Shredder rounds. Be prepared.
• Added a minor delay after a rock/car throw for the Juggernaut before he can do anything else
• New Tracers added for all weapons
• Added improved power-widget for displaying power status
• Added bridge destruction sfx
• Updated the 'Car Alarm' actor to no longer alter nav (since their blocking volumes do that)
• Fixed up some cars that didn't have blocking volumes to block nav in their absence
• Updated the Juggernaut to use a 'stun montage' when he's flashbanged
• Fixed a tree that was inside a police car inside of the Grid 2 park on Treasure Island
• Fixed the Juggernaut not facing his movement target in some situations (such as when spawned for a horde attack)
• He'll burrow when he despawns, instead of just disappearing
• Spec ops given flashbang
• Footstep system revised to be more accurate for infected
• Fixed duplicate road meshes
• New textures and materials for Angel Island
• Fixed a lasersight delegate bug (may have caused a crash)
• Improved Leviathan spawning : Spawning is now much more heavily weighted towards bases with a 'higher building score' - i.e. with more structures nearby. 80% of picking #1 spot, which if that fails, 80% chance of picking #2, then so on down the line until the end.
• Added Leviathan and Little Buddy minimap icons
• Updated Saving/loading to save the unit's Fire Mode (i.e. if a unit is holding fire or ignoring structures when you save the game, they will still be doing that when you load, now)
• Added a timeout to the Juggernaut's charge attack (in case he gets caught on geometry somewhere when doing it)
• Added lifespan to the Juggernaut rock debris
• Added basic particle effects for when walls get destroyed (made into rubble)
• Improved stun effect positioning (from flashbangs) that appears over enemy heads
• Added logic to make the Juggernaut correct his spawning height when he emerges from the ground, so he won't 'float above the ground' or be too deep
• Stunned state : He can drop the projectile when trying to throw a rock or car, if you stun him
• Updated a lot of cars in Treasure Island to be 'heavy obstacles,' so Juggernauts could walk over them
• Added new logic to make trees 'bend away' from a Juggernaut on first overlap - they lose their navigation on this happening
• Added an invisible explosion to the car/rock on impact, so it does some AOE damage
• Juggernaut will throw a rock of car based on the ground type
• Juggernauts now can be taken from the pool of Juggernaut Tokens in the InfectionZoneManager (which build up over time)Chance to spawn goes up by day, and is more likely if there's a stockpile of Tokens
• If a target zone has withstood attack(s) without being captured, the chance increases
• Juggernaut won't just disappear with the rest of the horde if the horde attack concludes: he'll still be around
• Fixed the DNA drop for Juggernauts (and other tall units) to be properly scaled by capsule height
• General audio priorities & attenuation adjustments
• Quick fix to prevent units from shooting while fast-roping
• Sentinel North spawn pod/cp point location adjustment to new layout
• Corrected MGL animation references
• Adding masked AOE marker material.
• Got Fog of War working in the Open World Master

Power Requirements List:
Generator: +75 (produces power)
Buildings (unless otherwise mentioned): -10
Spotlight: -5
Active Denial System (from Engineering Corps Doctrine): -25
MG Turret: -25
Missile Turret: -35
Gate: -5
Electric Fence: -15
Electric Gate: -20

Cepheus Protocol Novelization is now available on Steam Store!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1387390/Cepheus_Protocol_Novelization

Keep in mind this book takes place before, during and a bit after Pandemic mode and follows dozens of characters around the events of CP. It will hint to our year 2 content(So spoilers if you analyze it close enough). Its not for the faint of heart (Very violent deaths and all that). You can pick it up for $3.99 now!

It will also be available on the Steam Store as an DLC on October 1st if you prefer to get it there! Just keep in mind on our website we make 99% of the sale the rest goes to PayPal

Feel free to use the #💬lore-questions on our Discord to discuss the ramifications of what the book brings to the universe and how it will affect the game as we start to work in story elements presented in the novel

Public Beta Notes

Do note you can only access this latest patch on our public beta branch. Anyone can opt in and play it by right clicking on the game on their steam library going to properties and then opting into the beta from the "beta" tab on steam.

It is our intention over the next few days to weeks to fully polish up Treasure Island and the two new surrounding provinces with the feedback of our community. We have added a LOT in this new update so I apologize if something is omitted in the patch notes.

Naturally the roadmap will be affected by this extra time spent on polishing up the "Open World Map" but we believe its time well spent to ensure every section is fleshed out and provides interesting gameplay opportunities in each zone of the world.

You can track our progress as its updated daily on our Trello board here
https://trello.com/b/b5DFiVyv/cepheus-protocol-development
On this link you can track our new release targets for 2020-2021
https://trello.com/c/b8UXIihr/888-release-targets-2020-2021

The goal of this test is to gauge how you folks feel about the current layout and new direction. We want to gather as much data as possible on the likes/dislikes of the current design so we can take them into consideration as we work to finalize the world.