Here comes Patch 0.2.0, which we’ve been working on over the past few weeks. It’s the result of your feedback and the needs you’ve so actively expressed in your reviews, discussions, and conversations on Discord. Thank you so much for your support and help with Survival Machine – without you, this patch wouldn’t be nearly as extensive! I hope the changes we’ve introduced will have a significant impact on how you experience Survival Machine and increase the enjoyment we want you to get from playing it. That’s enough of an introduction – let’s get into the details!

• Game-pad Support (Beta) - First iteration of game-pad support is live! Check the dedicated controller tab in Settings (we show Xbox tool-tips) and tell us how it feels. Auto-aim is planned for a future update.

• Machine Collision Overhaul - Re-authored cockpit, ladder, pallet, front bumper, and railing colliders; prevents falling through, window-vaulting, and “air-walking” across the machine.

• Crash & Infinite-Load Fixes - Addressed the top-reported crashes and added an on-screen message for rare infinite-load cases.

• Performance Pass - Smarter render-distance swaps on quality presets, trimmed loading times, memory spikes, and GPU stalls on Low settings

• Night Loot - Zombies now drop loot during nightly assaults, rewarding after-dark defence.

• No Hard Game-Over - New Game-Lost flow: the night ends if all core components are destroyed—players must repair them before the machine can move on, but you can’t lose anymore.

• Weakpoint Visuals - Destroyed weakpoints now switch to a broken model for clearer feedback and less confusion.

• Dynamic Music Blend - Re-tuned soundtrack logic for smoother transitions between Default, Combat, and POI themes.

• Siege Frequency Balance - On Adventure & Survival difficulties, zombie siege nights now occur every three nights by default.

• POI Variety Boost - New randomisation rules greatly reduce how often the same POI appears in a single run.

• Added full gamepad support with separate Xbox icons (beta). In the automatic setting, the game will detect whether you're using a gamepad or a mouse and keyboard. We've also left the option to choose mouse and keyboard only.

  

• Fixed a rare input lock when spamming ESC in the key-bind window while confirming changes.

• “Load Game” now highlights the most recent save, not the oldest.

• Cockpit interior, windows, and front plate now block players correctly.

• Patched gaps in ladders, railings, furnace walkway, bridge, and several POIs—no more sneaking into the void.

• Wheels no longer spin in place after the Machine stops at a blockage.

• Removed watermark plank collision on the bridge; fixed floating barrel after green dynamite

• New games always start on the Stream map before rolling into random order as intended.

• Zip-line: fixed an issue you drop early from the zip-line!

• Quest markers now clear correctly once the gate quest is finished.

• “Player is full” tooltip shows only when you try to eat.

• Added item sort-by-category and made Drop/Take-All respect that filter.

• Weakpoints now swap to a destroyed mesh once broken.

• Implemented new PoI randomization rules so locations repeat far less often.

• Night Loot: zombies now drop loot during nightly assaults.

• Game-Lost rework: the night ends if all core components are destroyed; players must repair them before the machine can move on—total game-over is gone.

• Polish to the repair UI and new construction VFX.

• Zombies no longer spawn or run mid-air; levitating hordes grounded.

• Fixed zombie pathing that let them climb machine ladders or breach secret gates unintentionally.

• Zombie names are now synchronized for all players!

• Fixed issue where zombies could stop reacting to players after extended sessions.

• Balanced pursuit logic—zombies no longer chase forever once line-of-sight is broken.

• On Easy and Medium difficulties, siege nights now occur every three nights by default.

• Autosave stability greatly improved; fixed client inventory loss and wrong character loading. Let us know if the issue still persists!

• Lobby: Invite-Friend button now updates when privacy changes; Steam Overlay no longer appears in SP lobby.

• Fixed rare case where the client would spawn inside the starter house when loading a host-only save that skipped the tutorial.

• Resolved bug causing missing quests, workbenches, or upgrades after loading certain saves.

• Addressed inventory lock that could occur when opening chests simultaneously in co-op.

• Restored missing textures in tunnels (Low) and on the optimization build.

• Structures now play hit sounds when struck by zombies.

• Fixed assorted clipping banners, drapes, grass, and roof pieces.

• Music blend improved – smoother transitions between combat and POI themes.

• Added LOD system for vehicle skins (also listed under Optimization).

• Quality-preset swaps now override render distance properly.

• General CPU/GPU tuning, fewer hitch-up spikes, faster level streaming.

• Tackled heavy frame drops in co-op

• Resolved several crash reports.

• Added back-end protections around heavy-attack, zip-line use, and autosave triggers.

• We squashed 200 + issues across UI, AI, audio, animation, collision, and quest logic. If you still encounter a problem, drop a report or screenshot—your findings help us keep Survival Machine rock-solid.

• Game-pad support is brand new still a beta —tell us if a button feels off or a glyph is missing.

• We rebuilt dozens of colliders; if you still find spots to clip out of bounds, drop a screenshot in 🐛・bug-report on our Discord or use the in-game Bug Reporter tool (F2).

• If crashes or infinite loads persist, send the in-game report or ping us on Discord with your log

Thanks for surviving with us—see you on the rails! 👷‍♀️🛠️ Dzięki

• Males can now be placed in private room's bed
  
• Added more details to the bridges settings, sort them by race, hair color, height, etc.
  
• More filter details in the slaves' list
  
• New camera controls inside cells
  
• Few optimization related works
  
• Improved UI for wide screen users & added UI scaler inside the settings
  
• Goblins now walk around the Centre hall
  
• Increased some SFX range
  
• Fixed issue with fonts not showing in the cells' details UI - Small issue still persist due to unity's functionality but it is mainly readable
  
• Fixed few other small bugs

We launched the Advanced Access yesterday and we are overwhelmed with joy at seeing so many of you enjoying the game and having fun. 

While this obviously makes us very happy, we are also aware that there are many areas where your valued feedback has highlighted room for improvement.

And some issues which we want to urgently address.

Skirmish mode

First off, the current version of the skirmish mode doesn’t match people’s expectations. 

Today we’re releasing a fix enabling 1v1 and 2vs2 vs AI.

It was a precise design choice to initially disable 1vsAI and 2vsAI because the currently available maps are not designed for less than 3 players per team. The AI will also be improved as currently it will be a bit passive on certain maps.

The developers will keep working on the Skirmish mode until it becomes a complete mode and a thoroughly fun experience, having a wider selection of balanced maps available and also allowing for bots as teammates.
Broken Arrow is a game we intend to support for many years, and improving the Skirmish mode will just be the first step.

Big Wave mission

We’re aware of an issue preventing players from completing the Big Wave mission. We apologize, but we are deploying a fix for that now.

Blackout mission

Another issue preventing some players from completing Blackout mission has also been fixed.

Connectivity Issues in Russia

We’re aware that there have been many reports of connectivity issues from players in Russia.

Although we’re working towards an improvement which should ideally help with the situation, and you can expect it very soon, this matter is beyond our control and doesn’t depend on us. 

It is related to disruptions on the local internet infrastructure and it’s been experienced on many different online games from other companies.

We hope that the problem will be solved promptly and we commit to improving it until then.

Chinese Localization

We are preparing many amendments to the current Chinese localization, which will improve its quality level.

What’s next?

The developers are working around the clock, and will keep doing so until the current issues are resolved. Also, we listed the most common issues, it’s not the entire list of problems that the devs currently have on their list.

When that list has been sorted out, it will be time for what is coming next. But we don’t want to spoil anything at this stage, since first we’ll focus on fixing the current problems. Rest assured, Broken Arrow is here to stay and we will never stop improving it and working on it.

In the meantime, please keep providing us with feedback! All kinds of feedback is valuable. If you’d, leaving a review on Steam is also very helpful.

تم تحديث وتحسين حركات الهجوم والحركة لأكثر وحشين رعبًا في اللعبة: المهرج والجزار

🔪 ما الجديد؟

• الوحوش يمكنهم الآن الضرب أثناء الحركة، مما يجعل تحركاتهم أكثر سلاسة وخطورة.

• لن يقفوا بعد الآن أثناء تنفيذ الضربة! هذا يجعلهم أكثر تهديدًا وصعوبة في التوقع.

• هذا التحديث يُعتبر باف قوي لهذين الوحشين… لذا احذر، فالبقاء أصبح أصعب!

استعد لمواجهات أعنف... من الصعب النجاة الآن.

The next character Curtis will be coming Thursday the 19th! Can't wait for you to play him.

• Added additional loading screen tips

• Tutorial controls context overlay now fades out properly once the player begins to move
  
• Fixed incorrect Favor gain popup in tutorial
  
• Fixed blank loading screen display in some areas
  
• Fixed initial tutorial menu prompt not responding to controller input

On January 6th, we made one of the scariest decisions of our lives — we deleted the entire game and committed to rebuilding it from scratch.

Why? Because you deserved better.

Over the past six months, we’ve worked tirelessly to rebuild Cepheus Protocol from the ground up. From day one, our mission was to support co-op as a core experience and to ensure we lived up to your expectations — not just our own.

That’s why we launched the weekly CERC HQ: not as a gimmick, but as a way for you to hold us accountable, to witness progress in real time, and help shape the direction of the game. It’s something few — if any — developers have done, and we’re incredibly proud of it.

We’re now approaching the final stretch of Phase 1, and we couldn’t be more excited about what’s to come. Major strides have been made across core systems, building mechanics, and UI polish.

[dynamiclink href="https://youtu.be/9SsIX6t2iNA"][/dynamiclink]

• Night Vision Passive

• Displaying passives in-world (AOE/Radius indicators)

• Fixing Right-Click Face Rotation

• Operator Jump

• Operator Vaulting

• Operator Prone

• Recoil tweaks + Attachment audit

• Gunsmith + Customization UI

• Operator Melee System

• Operator Leveling System

• Operator Improved Crouch Transition

• Operator Rewritten Parachute System (Battlefield 2042-style)

• Shotgun Fixes

• General Bug & Crash Fixes (about a dozen)

• UI Pass (Reskinning the entire UI bringin up to standards of legacy and beyond)

• Building System Enhancements

  We’re working hard to wrap this list up by next week — stay tuned, and don’t forget to drop into the next CERC HQ to see our progress in action.
  
  Once Phase 1 wraps, players will be able to host their own sessions at any time — no restrictions. Phase 2 will roll out using the same beat we’ve used all year: private and public tests that evolve into full readiness.

Curious about what we’re working on and where we're headed? 📘 Read about our Development Phases & Current Goals

Based on your feedback and extensive testing, Monterey Bay will become our "golden standard" for Horde Mode.

After Derek and I finish the final stretch of Phase 1 tasks, we'll begin implementing a new stage-based Horde mode.

Here’s the breakdown:

• As you lose parts of the city, infected spawns move up and gas towers lock down overrun zones.

• These zones are permanently lost — there’s no going back.

• You're gradually encircled and pushed back to the CERC HQ Regional Office, the final stronghold.

• Think “Rush Mode” — holding objectives rewards you with a money multiplier per infected kill.

• If a structure in your grid falls, you’ll have 60 seconds to evacuate before it becomes uninhabitable.

It’s a dynamic system designed for pressure, momentum, and tough strategic decisions as you fight to survive across an evolving battlefield.

Based on your feedback, the weekly CERC HQ livestream is moving to 3 PM EST.

This updated time better aligns with both EU and US players and will allow more of you to attend, ask questions, and contribute to development directly.

— The Cepheus Protocol Team