Patch #3 - Defense mission balancing, bug fixes and new armors

Hi all,

we collected a decent amount of fixes, changes, improvements and even some new content this week, so patch #3 is a bit more juicy.

Most importantly, we worked through all defense missions and made them more manageable. This includes a variety of changes like spreading enemy units out more, delaying the first wave of reinforcements, reducing the size of capture zones and reworking chunks to allow for better defensive positions and sightlines.

We also looked at two missions that had the AI be too passive or even avoid the player and change their behaviour. Expect the enemies in "Defeat Pirate Force" and "Decapitation Strike" to be much more ready and active.

Additionally, we overhauled all tier 2 weapons and armor to get their stats more in line with each other and have fewer outliers in terms of rarity, trade value and power.

Finally, we added a bunch of new armors for the player to use. That is namely three armor variants of the class 3 armor each with a unique twist and special use case.

For all who are looking for vehicle levels of protection on infantry units, we added the "TCR Navy Breaching Armor Suit - Heavy (BAS-H)" which will resist even heavy machine gun fire.

We will keep working as hard as possible to improve the game based on your feedback! You can also expect a roadmap about what to expect over the next year soon!

v0.6.6. +16265 -- Patch 3#

• Added Emotional Status Lines for many SLs

• Added new setting to turn off automatic turn ending

• Black Market: Entire item stacks can be moved with Shift-Click now

• Added 3 new class 3 armor variants

• Added new Class VI+ armor "BAS-H"

• Added various icons

• 'Kill X unit' objective now shows the exact location of the target on the mission preparation screen

• Performance

  • Optimized visual effects on the system map and OCI screen

  • Title screen background video is now paused while the game has no focus to save CPU/GPU resources

  • Limited framerate on most screens, even when VSync is off and framerate limit set to unlimited, to prevent GPUs/CPUs running hot. 

  • Framerate is limited even more, if window has no focus

  • Reduced default grass quality from "High" to "Medium" for now, until grass rendering is better optimized

• Disallowed unbinding "Back / Menu" hotkey to prevent making the menu inaccessible

• Added "Menu" button to some screens to make the menu accessible without keyboard

• Linux: All videos and cutscenes should play now without H264 codec and also shouldn't stutter anymore

• Objectives:

  • FIXED Second "Save civillians" objective in Terror Attack mission was configured wrong

  • FIXED Objective "Kill pirate boarding commando" will now track the unit, not the vehicle

  • FIXED Vehicles no longer end their turn when delivering civilians to the evacuation zone

  • FIXED Civilians can no longer complete Sabotage-type objectives

  • FIXED Civilians can no longer rescue other civilians

  • FIXED 'Rescue PoW' mission  had already 1 completed objective at the start of the mission

  • FIXED Data Recorder Spawn position in 'Recon Patrol' mission was wrong

• Perks

  • FIXED Perk "Full Send" is now applying to all shots after the first

  • FIXED Perk 'Bags & Belts' accessory where always unequipped after loading a save file

  • FIXED Perk 'Dash' being usable with non-Walker vehicles

  • FIXED Perk 'Firing Line' is no longer disabled by accessories

• Walkers

  • FIXED Walker sliding after canceling Smoke Launcher aiming

  • FIXED Walkers don't have a rotate skill anymore, since they don't need it and the hotkey clashed with the deploy skill

• Keybindings

  • FIXED Assigning no key to "End Turn" hotkey caused tooltips to no longer get displayed

  • FIXED Keybindings weren't assigned correctly, if keys were released in 'wrong' order

• FIXED Sachin now has the correct precision stat of 0

• FIXED Loading save games from within the tutorial now works properly

• FIXED Construct shamblers sometimes froze the game

• FIXED SL heads were culled on low graphic settings when zoomed out completely

• FIXED Human jetpack lights didn't turn off after landing

• FIXED Guns were sometimes invisible

• FIXED Carbines that had no trade value are no longer dropping from enemies

• FIXED Advanced sensors vehicle accessory values

• FIXED Flying enemy units can no longer walk on blocked tiles

• FIXED Greifinger's portrait no longer overlaps with his stats

• FIXED Morphidrin Patch leaving the player with +30 AP over maximum after expiring

• FIXED buff 'High Ground' granted by watchtowers permanentely increased weapon range

• FIXED Benzofinil drugs leaving the player with +40 AP over maximum after expiring

• FIXED Pirate PDW skill description was missing

• FIXED various typos

• Adjusted minigun stats

• Increased chance for construct loot

• Slightly reduced objective zone in 'contain migration' mission

• Rebalanced defense mission  'Secure Repair Depot'

• Rebalanced defense mission 'Protect Settlement' 

• Rebalanced 'Rescue and Disengage' mission

• Rebalanced "Decapitation Strike" mission

• Rebalanced defense mission 'Retain Spaceport'

• Slightly adjusted 'clear IEDs' mission

• Rebalanced squad weapon rarity

• Slightly delayed (REDACTED) intro mission

• Rebalanced tier 2 special weapon and squad weapon rarities and trade values

• Slightly rebalanced commando mortar and 80mm mortar

• Adjusted (REDACTED) to have less armor and more hitpoints

• Reduced the amount and density of forests

• Increased range on combat shotgun to 5 tiles

• Rebalanced the Corridor Sweeper to be a low tier pirate shotgun squad weapon

• Rebalanced some heavy armors

• Increased durability on class V and VI armors

• Rebalanced Plasma Rifles

• Some antivirus programs incorrectly classify the "GameAssembly.dll" file as malware and delete it, making the game unplayable. If that happens please whitelist the "GameAssembly.dll" and "Menace.exe".

• If the game is installed on HDD drives, loading times are bad and barks are delayed.

• Using Shift-Tab to open the Steam Overlay causes the game to think Shift is pressed permanently, until Shift is pressed and released again.

• Some letters in Polish, Russian, and Ukrainian are displayed with a different font.
  

Now that MENACE has entered Early Access, please consider taking a moment to leave a Steam review. Early Access is a collaborative process where your thoughts and feedback matter as patches and content are developed. Even if it's a few sentences about how you feel about MENACE, it'd be a great help to the team.

Be sure to check out the latest community resources and official guides.

• The Gate Rippers’ War Manual: This is a mega-compilation of guides that covers the basics of MENACE, how to use stealth, what accessories to pick, how to engage in close-quarters combat, and much more. A must-read for any prospective commander looking to excel in the Wayback.

• Squad Leaders, a Brief(ish) Overview: A fantastic overview of all the game's current Squad Leaders and what their strengths are.

• Enemy Almanac: Rogue Army: Knowing your enemy is half the battle. This guide covers the Rogue Army, what their strengths are, and how to fight them effectively.

• Official Beginner's Guide: If you're brand new to MENACE then check out our official beginner's guide that'll cover all the essentials to prepare you for the frontlines.

• Official MENACE Wiki: Do you have more questions about MENACE? We have a community-run wiki that has details and information to help you along.

You can find us on Discord, BlueSky, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Reddit for discussions, updates, and feedback. You can also subscribe to our monthly MENACE newsletter on our website.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2432860/MENACE/