Fixed a bug that prevented the Network Administrator DLC toolset to be unlocked properly in the Stinger OS.

• Fixed an issue causing New Players to not receive all the items from their Welcome Kit
  
• Fixed an issue causing players to not receive their Xkeyscore bundle and Turbine C2 card when starting the Royal Gate chapter Ace Magnets
  
• Removed Operation Smoke Screen from the Mission Center menu

Players having the Ace Magnets issue will have to Abort the Mission and restart it in order to receive their items. We apologize for the inconvenience.

There is a possibility we'll revisit Operation Smoke Screen in the future, but right now it's not stable enough for release.

I have put the game at -70% for the steam summer sales. If you bought the game at full price in the last 4 weeks, contact me via anashel@aliceandsmith.com and I'll send you the difference via paypal.

Started pre-covid, our "Going Dark" project is finally completed!

• New hacking raid event / Capture the flag
  
• Linux Ubuntu + Gnome now in Beta
  
• Incognito game mode / ability to play without any third party account
  
• Complete removal of Google Analytics tracking from all our websites
  
• Closing our Facebook ad account and removal of all our ads tracking and targeting services
  
• Shutdown of all our newsletter and removal of all email address
  
• Firing our ads agency

In incognito mode, your progression is saved to your steam account. You still can play from multiple computers without losing progress. From now on we will rely purely on our community for the growth and success of this game. No more targeted ads, in fact no more advertising agency. If there is a penny to be spent on promoting our game, it will be either to help journalists or fans playing with our games. If you enjoy the game, help us by leaving a review on steam or talk about it with your friends. We will follow shortly with a major rewrite of our legal privacy policy document to now support cloaking, VPN or any form of client anonymity.

For ARG events, The Black Watchmen crossover or any integration that is required to link your game with external projects, you will still be able to keep or create an A&S Accounts. Keep in mind that A&S Accounts and Incognito Mode will not be linked. These are two entirely different login systems so progression won't be shared between accounts.




This update also introduces our hacking events engine. Powered by Unreal Engine, these 'locations' are hosted on our server stack and can be targeted as part of mission or CTF events (Capture the flag). Hacking events can host a single player mission or collective missions. They can be part of storyline missions, bounty or open world.

Some of the unique features you can expect in a hacking event:

• Persistent location that can be targeted with your Stinger OS
  
• Live 24h/7 coverage via Signal Intelligence tools and RTMP Camera Feed
  
• Reset every 4 hours, similar to a dungeon in some MMOs
  
• Each persistent location is also streamed in real-time on Twitch
  
• Ability for bystanders (twitch audience) to interact and affect the location

Using the same technology that we used to build the Paradox Interactive - PDXCON 2021 show, hacking events can include real life actors, similar to what you had during The Black Watchmen live event. For more information, you can watch a 'behind the scenes' clip where I explain the technology:


https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1032298462?t=09h02m42s

The first hacking location will open with Operation Smoke Screen, part of our Sec-9 storyline. This event, which is currently in beta, will show up in your mission center on July 2nd. It will be a free event for all NT4 owners. Hack an entire city block, control security cameras, take down the power grid and deploy agents on the ground to infiltrate an air gap network.

We have started the migration of both NT4 and Black Watchmen to Unity 2021. This comes with improvements to the overall loading time but also better compatibility with MacOS and Linux.



We now finally have a stable version of NT4 under Ubuntu 18.04 /w Gnome. If testing goes well, we hope to release the Linux edition in the coming weeks.

Interested in giving me a hand for the summer? We have a paid internship position open! Apply here >

Greetings Agents!


Following Twitch Approval, Sec-9 Closed Beta invites are now open!

Sec-9 Twitch Extension activates your Stinger OS as an overlay to the twitch stream. Not only you can enter various commands and interact with your Uplink-51 Module, you can participate in raids an attack various areas.



The Twitch Sec-9 Extension doesn't require a NITE Team 4 account. But you will need a copy of NT4 if you wish to carry out network intrusions in the Sec-9 Shibuya district.

Twitch players can send files to any NITE Team 4 agents for further investigation, password cracking, digital forensic, etc... Files sent from twitch will appear in your Stinger OS Local Folder.



Sec-9 brings a complete new persistent 3D universe using Unreal Engine. Alone or with a squad, you can crackdown part of Shibuya district in Tokyo, gather evidence and complete special bounties.


https://aliceandsmith.typeform.com/to/bM47joEH




In the last year, we have heavily invested in our engine that manages all of our MMOARG technology, including The Black Watchmen universe of which NITE Team 4 is part of. If you wish to learn more about what we are currently working on, check out our 'Under the hood' segment during the PDXCON convention:


https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1032298462?t=09h02m42s




NT4 will now support incognito sessions, removing the needs of a third party account. Our steam policy will also be updated to allow any cloaking or VPN technology. This was the last step to complete our 'Going Dark' initiative last year that involved the removal of all tracking tools, google analytics and abolition of all ads tools and networks.

Stealth mode will be roll out on June 29th.

Black Watchmen account will still be supported for cross-play and live operations. A new companion app is on it's way to provide anonymous cellphone number and private email account for all agents. Stay tuned!

Today, we are introducing a major experimental update to explore the potential of NITE Team 4 as a hacking MMO.



In the last year, we have established NT4 as a solid single-player and multiplayer game with hundreds of missions, hiveminds, bounties, etc… Today, we introduce a series of new features that are running on our persistent engine, the one behind many of our ARGs, including the Tender app from Paradox’s Bloodlines 2.


Here is a short summary of the various features you will be able to experiment:


This new series of experimental mechanics are being introduced in the world of Sec-9, a new faction you will have the chance to discover in the upcoming months. Last week, many players have reported weird hacking missions being offered on the bounty board by an elusive group named Sec-9. Set in a dystopian world not far from a mix of Ghost in a Shell and Blade Runner, this group will drive you deep in the world of mercenary hacking groups, rogue states and shadow wars where hackers like you are, by far, the most lethal assets.

WARNING: Sec-9 requires the Uplink-51 upgrade installed in your Goliath-7.



Sec-9 is an opaque organization. To gain entry, a player from the community who already has access to the Sec-9 config file will need to copy it to your Stinger OS. Once you have it, simply open the file from your Localhost and Sec-9 will become a new contact in your Uplink51 module. You will also have the required permissions to share the file to another agent and help the mission propagate throughout the community.

Agents do not need to be both online at the same time to share config files. You can ask for help in Discord and the Steam forums. We wanted to recreate the feeling of warez file sharing (May 2004) on IRC, for the older one who remembers those days...

For now, only Sec-9 config files in your Localhost can be copied between players.



Another way to gain access is via a community Twitch raid. Anyone streaming the game for 15 minutes with a minimum of 15 NT4 agents with them will gain the Sec-9 access file. Every minute, your viewer will also have the chance to roll on one of NT4 skins. If they win, a notification will be displayed in the right corner of your Stinger OS.





Early this year, we announced a migration of our backend technology with plans to delete all players info and remove our custom login system. These changes also included shutting down our newsletter and removing all Google Tracking. Basically giving us the ability to run all our operations with zero user tracking. Covid-19 has greatly affected our business, as it has affected so many of you also. We will keep you updated when we are ready to remove the log-in system.

You can read more about the Going Dark update here.




DISCORD ->
Our entire staff and more than 8,300 players are on discord and looking forward to chatting with you!
http://discord.gg/arg

TWITCH ->
Follow streamers from our community! Subscribe to our official stream category.
Nite Team 4 on Twitch
The Black Watchmen on Twitch

TWITTER ->
Feel free to reach out to us on Twitter.
@aliceandsmith
@niteteam4 - NITE Team 4
@division66 - The Black Watchmen

TELEGRAM ->
Join our fresh, newly created Telegram channel!
http://t.me/arg_world


Cheers!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/544390/NITE_Team_4__Military_Hacking_Division/

In-Game Screenshot >

Deleting all players info. Shutting down our newsletter. Removing all Google Analytics.

To start off this new decade, we at Alice & Smith have challenged ourselves to pursue a world where absolutely none of our players’ information is tracked. None!






Being an ARG Transmedia company makes this especially challenging, but here is some information on how we plan to change.

During the year, we will migrate our main authentication server and remove all user account creations. You are still going to be able to create or use your existing agent login nickname, but emails will not be used anymore. (No third party account anymore!)

We will delete all your email login data, and we will also purge all IP addresses and filter them in the future. We will update our Terms and Agreement and our Privacy Policy to not only allow Cloaking and VPN technology, but even encourage them.

Google Analytics and all other marketing tracking tools have already been removed from our site, and will be removed shortly from all our other touchpoints.

We are shutting down our newsletter and will delete all account history and tracking data.

We are reducing ingame playstream data to only gameplay and game mechanic optimisations by refactoring much of our code.

These changes WILL NOT impact your gameplay experience, your current progress, or your ability to keep your progress between multiple devices.




Our goal is to not remove the level of immersion you find in our games or projects. We still want you to receive a demonic phone call at 3 in the morning, and infiltrate the *real* website of shady heavy water vendors on the internet.

Green Level Missions, where an elected player is flown to a mystery city for a 48h immersive experience, will still require the same extensive medical and psychological evaluation. That said, we are working on a new project for our Red, Orange and Yellow clearance levels.




The concept of creating an ARG companion app is nothing new. Even in one of our earliest ARGs on Unfiction we were talking about having our own dedicated communication platform.

The Black Watchmen series became our pride along with the ARGs we have had the privilege to create for our incredible clients (Paradox Interactive, White Wolf, Hello Games, Funcom...). It is important for our work to find better ways of staying in connection with you while being able to create puzzles spanning outside the game that blend digital and physical storytelling.

Some of the features we will roll out as part of our companion app:

• ARG mission alerts
  
• A private secure email address (your-agent-name@arg.gg)
  
• Your own ARG burner phone number (VoIP real landline number)
  
• Chat integration with Google AI for puzzle help and hints
  
• Looking for Group (LFG) system for puzzle solving
  
• Geocaching, dead drop and live drop notifications (Google Map integration)

Although we are working on this app for our own needs, we plan to make it open for any ARG creators who wish to utilize it, but don’t have the infrastructure to run it.

If you’d like to follow the project, join our (new) Telegram channel here:
http://t.me/arg_app




There are many, many ways that are much more fun than email! :)

DISCORD ->
Our entire staff and more than 8,300 players are on discord and looking forward to chatting with you!
http://discord.gg/arg

TWITCH ->
Follow streamers from our community! Subscribe to our official stream category.
Nite Team 4 on Twitch
The Black Watchmen on Twitch

TWITTER ->
Feel free to reach out to us on Twitter.
@aliceandsmith
@niteteam4 - NITE Team 4
@division66 - The Black Watchmen

TELEGRAM ->
Join our fresh, newly created Telegram channel!
http://t.me/arg_world


Cheers!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/544390/NITE_Team_4__Military_Hacking_Division/

In-Game Screenshot >

This is your chance to join our incredible community and discover the world of cybersecurity, hacking and cyber warfare operations (OSINT, SIGINT, HUMINT).

If you have zero knowledge of PenTest platforms, don’t worry. The Academy starts at the very basics and will help you learn the ropes. If you are curious to learn more about Kali Linux, Wireshark, SET, MITM Attacks, or even infamous tools like XKeyscore and Foxacid, take the time to read our real-world information references during your training!









We invite everyone to help greet our new players on Discord, Twitter, and Twitch. As a veteran, do not hesitate to give them some words of encouragement and please let them feel welcome!



For our first Live Event of the decade, we plan to go back to our roots with a TBW-style Green Level event! A full 48-hour immersion experience: show up with your passport at an agreed meeting point and we fly one of you to a mystery location with the NT4 community as your only support.

More info on our next Live Event will be announced soon, starting with the opening of the Green Level application form and the unlocking of both the Orange and Yellow clearance levels.


Feel free to leave us a comment in the steam forums or join us on discord: http://discord.gg/arg

Stay tuned!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/544390/NITE_Team_4__Military_Hacking_Division/

Agents, MattRadical just started Season 1 campaign. If you have the chance, go help him out on his channel!

Join MattRadical here:
https://www.twitch.tv/MattRadical

We also increase the drop rate for Goliath-7 rewards and double the drop rate for the Legendary Goliath-7 upgrade. To win the item, just activate the twitch drop and watch the stream!

Twitch Drop activation here:
http://twitch.niteteam4.com

Join PhoenixFyrefly here:
https://www.twitch.tv/phoenixfyrefly

We also increase the drop rate for Goliath-7 rewards and double the drop rate for the Legendary Goliath-7 upgrade. To win the item, just activate the twitch drop and watch the stream!

Twitch Drop activation here:
http://twitch.niteteam4.com

Another stream is up! Join PhoenixFyrefly here:
https://www.twitch.tv/phoenixfyrefly

We also increase the drop rate for Goliath-7 rewards and double the drop rate for the Legendary Goliath-7 upgrade. To win the item, just activate the twitch drop and watch the stream!

Twitch Drop activation here:
http://twitch.niteteam4.com