Aug 9, 2023

Playtest Update, Massive Improvement for servers, and loading times

Reign Of Dwarf Playtest - Tarmack

:wave: Hey hey @everyone New patch is coming along here is a quick ChangeList of the upcoming news. :wave:

- https://discord.com/channels/670344940378652673/1045757165010427934/1138948385416683540 Projectiles (siege) splash damages are now in properly.
- https://discord.com/channels/670344940378652673/1045757165010427934/1138928284667748394 Shields coliders, and other improvements related to it
- https://discord.com/channels/670344940378652673/1045757165010427934/1138913233047138354 Better textures, little balances on sub biomes and other small stuff
- https://discord.com/channels/670344940378652673/1045757165010427934/1138913233047138354 Attempt to fix the issue with Health Bar being sometimes out of date
- https://discord.com/channels/670344940378652673/1045757165010427934/1138866009638445096 New ui for inspecting things with Health and other stuff like so.
- https://discord.com/channels/670344940378652673/1045757165010427934/1138861937648750663 improvements on server side to stress it less on, unused data

Oh and also, loading times should now be On Crack Speed

There is a bunch of other stuff that have been done, too minor to list them all.
If you want to have a look :eyes: check it here : https://discord.com/channels/670344940378652673/1045757165010427934

See you on the next post :he_dwarf_beard_serious:

Aug 9, 2023

0.11.0 Major Patch Notes - Solo Mode and More!

Section 13 - ODS GeeK

[EDIT on 8/10 PT - Added a known issue regarding text spilling out of box]

Patch Schedule

PDT: 10 AM, August 10
EDT: 1 PM, August 10
CEST: 7PM, August 10
ICT: 12 AM, August 11
KST: 2 AM, August 11

Agents,

We’re bringing the first major patch after Early Access started: Version 0.11.0!

The team has been working very hard to make this patch happen–we included dozens of bug fixes and, most importantly, some of the most highly-requested changes you–our community–asked for. These include the introduction of a solo mode, additional keybinding options, and weapon balance changes.

Dongsoo Oh, the creative director for Blackout Protocol, discusses his thoughts behind many of the changes in the third devlog, so please take a look at it if you want to learn more about how your feedback is helping us shape the game!

Without further ado, please find the changes in the upcoming patch below:

Community-Requested Changes and Fixes

Introducing a new mode for Agents playing solo, called Rogue Mode (Beta)

Rogue Mode can be played while online or offline
Enemy HP is reduced to 80% compared to Squad Mode
Data Nug drops are reduced to 75% compared to Squad Mode

We plan to increase this to match the Squad Mode’s Data Nug drops when Rogue Mode exits its beta

Synaptic Enhancements for squads will not drop in Rogue Mode
Some enemies that are hard to solo will not appear in Rogue Mode
Rogue Mode is still in its beta, and we plan to continue making improvements based on Agent feedback. Once you try out the Rogue Mode in 0.11, please share your thoughts either on Steam forums or Discord

Added more buttons to keybinding options

Mouse: Front/Back buttons (thumb buttons)

Numpad: Numbers 0-9 as well as . + - * / keys on the numpad

Adjusted weapon balance

Flamethrower: Adjusted the hitbox and increased the weapon damage

Minigun: Increased the damage

Plasmoid Launcher: Increased the damage

Arc Cannon: Increased the damage, adjusted the rate of fire, increased the clip size, and increased the ammo capacity

Sawed-Off Shotgun: Increased the ammo capacity

Adjusted weapon swap behavior using the mouse wheel

Now, scrolling up cycles through weapon slots clockwise (1→3→2→1) and scrolling down cycles through weapons slots counter-clockwise (1→2→3→1). Previously, it would always cycle through clockwise regardless of scrolling direction

Changes

Added a new icon that shows when data is being saved

Added badges for beating the Exosuit on Rogue/Squad Mode

There are 2 types of badges: one is for Rogue Mode, the other is for Squad Mode

The badge will change in color based on the number of times you beat the Exosuit
Unfortunately, we are unable to provide the badge retroactively to Agents who beat the Exosuit prior to this patch

Added a Weapons Printer in the Safe Room you reach at the end of Deep Storage
Adjusted the damage and stopping power of the Skirmisher’s ambush attack
Reduced the Panic threshold for some enemy QTs
Improved how the Astral status is depicted in the game
Improved various audio/visual effects

Bug Fixes

Fixed the issue where, if two Agents tried to open a single crate at the same time, no input controls worked for one of the Agents
Fixed the issue where the game could freeze when unlocking permanent enhancements after unlocking a weapon blueprint
Fixed the issue where the game could crash if the host left while the guest was loading into the session
Fixed the issue where the Arc Cannon’s hitbox did not function properly
Fixed issues where you could get stuck in the map or pass through areas you were not supposed to
Fixed issues with some weapon perks

Issue of SMG weapon perk to remove silencer not working properly
Issue of Tactical Crossbow weapon perk to grant pierce chance upon ADS triggering even while not in ADS
Issue of weapon perks that give pierce chance did not work properly sometimes

Fixed the issue where dropped weapons could be stuck under terrain in certain areas
Fixed the issue where moving to the next level reset the clip size, even when you had the increased clip size weapon perk
Fixed the issue where the Agent Surveillance Report window would not show for non-host Agents with high network latency
Fixed the issue where fallen teammates’ bodies could not be reached in some cases in the challenge room
Fixed the issue where incorrect dialogue was triggered near the Lobby’s infodesk
Fixed the issue where no sound effects would play when dropping/picking up items
Fixed the issue where you could not change agent characters by clicking the arrow button in the Lobby menu
Fixed the issue where you could open the outdated version’s title screen
Fixed the issue where you could input controls during a cutscene
Fixed the issue where information on the enemy that killed you would sometimes not show in the Agent Surveillance Report screen
Fixed several issues that occurred when the Exosuit was in certain locations at the start of boss battle phase 2
Fixed the issue where the Exosuit could lose invincibility between boss phases
Fixed the issue where the Lobby screen’s room list did not refresh if you changed some settings by clicking with the mouse
Fixed the issue of the tutorial not showing in languages other than Korean or English
Fixed the issue where there were certain dead zones in the UI when you tried to keybind controls to mouse buttons
Fixed the persistent issue where dead enemy bodies reappear after disappearing
Fixed the issue where the Claymore would sometimes not create noise upon detonation

While the sound effect was working fine, it was the noise trigger that was not working properly

Various text and localization fixes
Other miscellaneous fixes and optimizations

Known Issues

Due to issues with fanning the hammer perk on the Revolver, we have temporarily disabled that perk so that it does not show in the game. We plan to add it back once we address the issues with it
We are aware of text spilling out in some cases in the weapon swap UI. We will be working on addressing it

Please note that if you are playing at this time, your game will not be interrupted. You will be prompted to download the patch the next time you open Blackout Protocol. It is possible for teammates to play with mismatched game versions, which could potentially impact gameplay. So please install the update as soon as possible for the best experience.

- ODS Team

DISCORD | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE | TWITCH

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2111870/Blackout_Protocol/

Aug 9, 2023

Devlog #3: Solo Mode and Balance Changes

Section 13 - ODS GeeK

Hello, this is Dongsoo Oh, Creative Director of Blackout Protocol.

We have a few big updates coming soon.

#1: New Single-Player Mode

Blackout Protocol version 0.11 marks the addition of a dedicated solo mode, which we're calling "Rogue" mode. This is a one-player variant of the base game, playable online or off, with some tweaks to overall balance to make that doable.

One of the most common pieces of feedback we got after release was the level of difficulty players experienced when playing alone. We've worked hard to address that feedback quickly and thoroughly.

That said, there may still be a few rough edges that could use some additional polish, so we've put a "Beta" tag on Rogue mode for now. Persistent upgrades are shared across Rogue and Squad modes. At the moment, we've reduced Data Nug acquisition rate to 75% for Rogue mode, while we fine-tune the difficulty, but we'll be removing that down the road when the mode exits beta.

Rogue mode is intended for solo play, so it's obviously a bit more approachable than trying to play Squad mode alone. But I wouldn't go so far as to say it's "easier". Our intent to present a similar level of challenge and fun for both modes. A lot of our efforts have gone into rebalancing or removing unreasonably steep difficulty spikes, where many players felt like they had hit a brick wall and the only way past was to grind for upgrades.

We hope that those of you who tried to play alone previously and shared your feedback with us will give the new mode a shot, and enjoy what we've put together. We welcome your suggestions and feedback. (Steam forum, Discord)

#2: Weapon Balancing

This patch update also includes some rebalancing to various weapons.

Our main focus this go-around was on AoE weapons. As the core gameplay of Blackout Protocol entails facing large numbers of enemies, it's important that Agents incorporate them into their toolkit, and that AoE weapons be competitive and versatile enough to allow that.

Previously, our balancing of AoE weapons' DPS was a bit on the conservative side, with relatively low damage per-target, premised on the idea that players would be hitting a large number of targets at any given time. As a result, using an AoE weapon against one or two isolated targets could result in DPS that felt a little underwhelming. We've eased back on that thinking a bit, and made a few changes that will hopefully let AoE weapons be more usable in a variety of situations.

These adjustments include changes to base damage, firing speed, clip size, and ammo capacity. Targeted weapons include the Arc Cannon, the Sawed-Off Shotgun, the Flamethrower, and the Plasmoid Launcher. You can read more detailed specifics in the patch notes.

For the Arc cannon and the Plasmoid Launcher, we are also considering potential changes to how these weapons work. While we are in the process of coming up with further improvements to these weapons, we're also open to any cool ideas or suggestions our Agents have, so please feel free to share.

In addition, we've made some changes to the minigun, which isn't exactly an AoE weapon, but is designed to be used against big groups. Specifically, we've buffed the base damage considerably, to compensate for the fact that it's a tricky weapon to use well.

Finally, we’ve made some tweaks to enemy stats. Previously, some enemies had a maximum Panic threshold that was a bit high compared to their max HP. The result was that Psionic weapons felt like they were comparably a lot weaker than other weapon types.

We've addressed this issue by lowering the max Panic values of various enemies. We've also made a few other changes that should make panic-breaking enemies feel a little more impactful.

However, the strength of various playstyles in Blackout Protocol is highly dependent on the pool of available Synaptic Enhancements a player encounters during a run, and the synergies that result from their combinations. This means that achieving balance between different weapon types takes more than just tinkering with the weapons themselves. We'll be making additional changes in this area on a rolling basis, both by tweaking current enhancements, and adding new ones.

We hope you'll look forward to that, and continue sending us your thoughts on weapon balancing as we go along.

#3: Badges!

Lastly, we added a badge that you can unlock by clearing all currently available content. The badge will be visible on your player ID—on the in-game HUD and in the lobby.

(As a small note: For those of you who have beaten the game already, we would ideally love to grant the badge retroactively. Unfortunately, we weren't tracking that data prior to this patch, so you’ll need to clear the game again. Sorry about that!)

Our goal is a game that feels rewarding to players who like challenging experiences, and we hope this small addition satisfies that. We’re also working on Steam achievements, so you can expect those at some point in the future.

It's only been a few weeks since we launched in Early Access, but between all of your feedback and our own internal discussions, it feels like the time has flown by. As I've said in previous devlogs (devlog 1 & devlog 2), your feedback is something we genuinely pay very close attention to, and it's already having huge impacts on the game's overall direction, as I hope this patch helps demonstrate.

Thank you again for your support, and we look forward to making BP even more fun as time goes on.

Dongsoo Oh, Creative Director