Pathfinders!
The Newbie One is here!
We’ve got a new intro section,
new melee actions,
rebalancing, and more!
Tonnes of changes have been implemented and issues fixed, now’s the time to acquaint you, the Pathfinders, with them!
However, before you start scrolling down, be sure to check out the trailer:
The initial game sequence (after clicking the Play button in the Main Menu) is reworked completely and upgraded: first, the Intro movie is played, then, instead of being transitioned to the Devil’s Gambit, players play the custom Tutorial mission (always as Duke), after which they select the Hero and go to the Devil’s Gambit, where the new, updated onboarding sequence with 5 Onboarding missions awaits them.
1st Hour Overhaul / unlocks and rewards flow
The whole onboarding sequence (Vault, Enhancer, Party Features, Crafting) is updated to improve the initial experience and learning curve. New five Onboarding missions are introduced to help players get acquainted with game mechanics and mission objectives in a more organized, streamlined manner. After completing those 5 missions the more advanced systems, like the Get-A-Job system, are unlocked. Loot drops and rewards are also re-balanced for a better experience. Also, players will now unlock the second planet, Bannik, faster.
Cinematics
We’ve added 3 cutscenes to the game:
A 2.5D Intro cutscene that plays right after clicking “Play Game”.
3D Tutorial Intro cutscene which plays at the beginning of the Tutorial mission.
3D Devil’s Gambit cutscene which plays when players enter the Devil’s Gambit for the first time.
Tutorial mission
Is this your first time playing Space Punks? Join Duke as he tries to make it to Devil’s Gambit in the tutorial mission – featuring a bombastic explosion of the first robot you decommission, questionable motivations of a cat-like hologram, and a treacherous Annihilator who… you know what, why don’t you see it for yourself?
Game Optimisation
We continue working on game stability and performance. This time we put out effort into increasing FPS and making it more stable:
The shooting system was improved so high fire rate weapons and mods don’t generate FPS drops
Graphical assets were optimized to reduce overall pressure on rendering
Enemies’ physics, animations, and AI were overhauled to produce fewer calculations for the same effect
The level generator is less performance-demanding now, redundant calculations were removed
Physics optimization pass on to enemies and other missions and HUB assets were made
Feature presentation
The goal was to better inform the player about the new features in the game. We improved overall visibility and the excitement of unlocking features. To achieve that we fixed a collection of bugs, game design issues, and UX /UI failures in Enhancer, Vault, Canteen, and Fame Road. Also, we added a new ‘Unlocked Feature’ popup and a ‘Help’ view.
Hero selection
We improved the navigation system and user interface elements. Now we have two hero selection screens. One of them is after the tutorial and the second one is in Canteen. To help the players understand the sections of hero selection we have added the help option with tooltips.
Quest Giver & Rewards Screen
The goal was to present the quests and rewards in the game without any errors and in a clear manner. We refined user interface elements, corrected bugs, and exchange incorrect information.
Guidance & Notifications
Our goal was to inform and guide the player flawlessly for the first hour. We improved the flow, look, and timings of notifications. Bugs related to notifications have been fixed.
Missions that follow 1st-hour missions
Storm Grinders’ mission objective has been reworked. The player no longer drives the machine, simply powers it with a fuel cell to work.
Heroes stats unification
We no longer differentiate the base stats (Health, Shield, Speed) of our Heroes. The stats are unified and removed from the Hero Selection screen.
Hub improved looks
The goal was to improve the look of some of the vendors and to add 3D models representing the NPC, which the player needs to interact with for better immersion. 3D NPC models have been added Fink (Crafting), Satrapi Drone (Enhancer), Carrasco (The Crack), and Ellington (Quest giver). Three vendors changed their place: Carrasco (The Crack), Dr. Lugubelenus, and KI-42.
Matchmaking improvements
Matchmaking criteria are updated so that the wait time is reduced and the maximum Power Level difference between the players in the party is smaller.
Combat improvements
Melee’s combat depth is improved by adding three new attacks. The player can now fend off enemies with a spin attack when surrounded, finish a sequence of attacks with a special combo attack and push small enemies or hazard barrels. Pushed enemies will trigger hazards (if triggerable), loot crates, and a destructible environment.
Push attempt on large enemies will break off their attacks with a severe hit reaction. The same severe hit reaction can be applied to large enemies when multiple players are shooting the same target.
Improved visibility of contracts
We made some tweaks and added a dedicated notification section for contracts, so you can have a better overview and easier tracking of your progress!
Mission Summary Screen Sequence
We completely redesigned Mission Summary Sequence which is now more impactful & meaningful for a player. With a new way of showing received badges, experience, leveling up, and receiving mission loot, we made sure every aspect of the finished mission is clearly visible. In addition to that, we changed the way of showing all mission statistics for a player in comparison to other teammates to make it a little bit more interesting & competitive. Along with that players now have more time to browse through mission loot, and check out items’ rarity, stats & descriptions. We also improved visibility & overall User Interface & Experience.
Rebalancing power level – Missions Rewards vs Crafting
We make a few steps to make gear from crafting better than gear from drops/rewards and improved the crafting experience.
The first step was removing software from gear that drops and rewards. Previously common gear which dropped from the chest could have legendary damage software inside, making it more powerful than a common item from crafting.
The second step was to fix the issue with the same stat ranges for gear from drops/rewards and from crafting. Now gear from crafting uses different range setups, so gear from crafting have always higher stats than gear from rewards/drops if they have the same rarity.
The third step was to add an option to unlock the blueprint at a higher level. Now when a player will unlock the blueprint with specific requirements (unlock Bannik, resource Requirement from second or third planet, etc) these blueprints will have after unlocking already higher upgrade level. For example, when a player will unlock a blueprint that requires Mutagen, it will have an upgrade level of 10 and a power level of 35.
The last step was to update campaign rewards. Now campaign rewards from Stopan will give the player enough resources to upgrade one blueprint from level 1 to 10, and analogically campaign reward from Bannik gives the player enough resources to upgrade one gear from level 10 to level 20.
Trophies removal
As of now, the game will not have Trophies, until further notice. We might consider reworking this system in the future and adding it back to the game.
Bug fixes:
Hoardspace is a dangerous place, we know. But don’t worry, we’re here for you.*
General:
The animation for the Xbox RB and LB pad buttons on the skill preview is correctly implemented.
There are no button prompts indicating the possibility to pause credits.
The info bar in the bottom-right corner shows proper useful branch details.
Gameplay:
Photon Fred does not get stuck while reloading, all animations are played correctly regardless of the player’s current state.
Players who unlocked party features join the party after accepting the invitation.
The player is always able to shoot their weapon when holding down the fire button.
UI values reflect real gameplay values, for Players’ XP multiplier.
The camera is steady while approaching rocks in the Spor.
The player receives the proper amount of XP that directly corresponds with their current level, for the Cristal Flow mission.
Amount of elite enemies spawned near a barricade in the Crack is limited.
Finn’s dash pushback effect works on all non-boss enemies.
The vulnerabilities of Boomers can be exploited properly.
The puzzle activation point and model are rotated so they are no longer inside the rock model.
Common resources do not drop during timed missions.
Enemies pushed off the map either instantly die or are blocked by collision.
All party members are loaded into the lobby correctly.
A player can detonate Duke’s rocket at any time by re-activating the skill.
All types of drops are shown in the resource feedback right after being acquired.
Contracts displayed during the starting phase of the mission show the actual progress of the contracts.
The player is not able to rotate the character during the revival process.
The player cannot sprint while shooting.
Hub:
The player is able to accept the invitation while being in the Vault.
No invisible collision can be found in the Hub area.
Information about the finished upgrade of the punch card in notifications disappears after seeing it in the crafting vendor.
The timer of the Legendary Punch Card shows the actual countdown.
The long description of the mission on Star Map can be scrolled using a gamepad without an issue.
Adrenaline Rush description properly shows time active and stamina regeneration.
A number of skins change after selecting a character.
Tooltips are displayed in the crafting, and the materials tab is fully visible.
Talent descriptions do not clip outside of the screen when playing on a high-resolution screen
All text lines fit correctly in their respective speech bubbles.
A yellow flag is displayed for the campaign activities.
Contracts are displayed correctly on the summary screen.
Notifications about finishing the quest and the possibility of receiving the reward as well as information on activity with Virgil are properly displayed.
All of the features in the Enhancer are visible straight away without the need to restart the window player is in.
The crown remains on the team leader’s avatar while searching for a game.
Eris’s hair does not shake erratically after re-entering the Vault.
The Pop-up “Contracts Auto Claimed!” is more user-friendly.
The platform does not jitter after the end of crafting.
When a player scraps an item there is always a scrapping progress bar.
When a character gains a higher level, the information on the required level updates correctly
In the workbench, a scrollbar is present next to all scrollable lists in the game.
There are no overlapping UI elements in the Vault interface.
Items equipped on other heroes display correctly the equipped state on the hover cards
Missions:
The laser pole does not become invisible.
The player is able to pass through an area on Spor without being blocked by invisible walls.
Paths on the Maxi-map/Mini-map are displayed consistently and properly inform the player about possible paths they can traverse.
The ready icon is always updated properly for all players hitting the Ready button in all relevant areas.
The ‘Deliver a battery for sausage boy’ objective icon points accurately to the area where the battery is supposed to be dropped off in the Rescue Robot mission.
All missions/game modes require the F button to start.
Tire trail quality as well as building on Stopan got improved.
The mission objective icon on the Airflow missions does not shake erratically when approaching it.
Jet Burner has VFX when a player shoots at it.
Preview of contracts displays properly updated progress of contracts.
HUD isn’t visible on the chest screen during claiming the reward for all daily tasks.
The already-dead player still doesn’t see the synergy mark on the ground.
That’s all for now! See you in Hoardspace, Space Punkerinos!