German translation to follow.
Join the discussion on the Neocron Evolution 2.3 release notes here.
Enemy Wave Spawns
This new type of encounter allows areas of the game world to have their own difficulty curve. Initially weak enemies will be present allowing Runners to clear a sector quickly. Instead of this triggering the usual respawn of the exact same foes (or wait for Runners to leave and come back) something exciting happens – enemy reinforcements arrive!
Dependant on the sector, wave after wave of enemies will show up! Each wave will bring its own challenges as enemy types change and wave compositions adjust. Fighting a small number of powerful enemies can make way for a much larger wave of weaker opponents. As Runners progress through the waves they will need to work together to survive as their foes spawn randomly through the sector making each play through that little bit different.
Outzone Sector 7
After over a decade of being sealed behind a fence, Outzone 7 is now open and accessible to players. Thanks to a leap forward in our level editing toolset, we have fixed a significant number of issues with the map file; ladders now work, pits have escape routes and doors function properly.
We want runners to explore this sector and report any issues they find, so we can ensure they’re ironed out. Bringing this piece of the game world back to the players and making further repairs is a great test for our improved toolset.
We’ll be investing time in fixing other map issues going forward, some of the initial fixes are detailed in the rest of the patch notes.
Outzone Sector 7 <3 Wave Spawns
A match made in heaven – previously inaccessible location meets new encounter type.
Everything is not as it seems in the dilapidated power plant within Outzone Sector 7. Mutants continue to roam the sector much like the rest of the Outzone but there is a hum of tension in the air.
Powerful new types of Mutants have been spotted in the sector. Burly Enforcers patrol the corridors along with the upper echelons of the mysterious group of mutated PSI Monks known as the Enlightened.
Take up arms and raid this new location to see how many waves of mutants you and your team can survive. Make sure to provide us feedback on this new encounter so we can improve it over time and bring these new mechanics to other areas of the game world.
All New Weapon Systems
Weapon damage is an essential part of Neocron’s underlying systems and plays a huge part within the game world – obviously! With the release of Neocron Evolution 2.3 we have completely re-implemented the weapon damage system. All code governing the behaviours of Rifles, Pistols, Heavy Weapons, Melee, Passive and Aggressive PSI has been entirely rewritten from the ground up.
Thus, we are now able to finely tune weapons either individually or by our newly created Weapon Families system. Having removed many bugs in weapon performance calculations, weapons are now more reliable and perform accurately in-line with our expectations when compared to our inputs.
For our Droners, stay tuned for a future update which will bring Drones in line too.
Weapon Balance
All weapon types have been adjusted to fall in line with a new weapon balance paradigm. More setups are now viable as many more weapons have feasible use cases. Aiming for the highest Tech Level weapon may no longer be the best approach. Dropping to a lower Tech Level may allow you to generate as much damage more quickly. It also finally opens the doors to setups which are not based on min-max values – more variety awaits.
Players are advised to experiment with their setup to find the perfect balance for their play style. There is a huge amount of change within weapon balance and some of this will be documented by Aegir, our balance boffin, in the coming days and weeks. The very best way of understanding the new balance is to play and get a feel for the different weapon types again. With huge improvements to the viability of melee combat for example, it might be a good time to try that melee tank you always intended to play!
Weapon Families
Weapons which share characteristics are now grouped into Weapon Families behind the scenes. This new concept allows us to control weapons on an individual or family level in a uniform manner. With rapid iteration in mind we can now finely adjust the behaviours and characteristics of all weapons in the game using our custom damage simulation tooling.
Weapon ammunition is now unique to each Weapon Family, allowing precise alterations to be made. More ammo types are available to ensure damage is more refined. Therefore, some of your weapons will need a new type of ammo.
You can find all new ammo types for your weapons at the same vendors as before. If you cannot find the ammo you require for your weapon at an in-game store, please let us know ASAP.
Wisdom of Ceres, Rare and Epic Weapon Bonuses
To create more variance in weapon setups we have removed the previous bonuses granted to weapons in the Wisdom of Ceres, Rare and Epic weapon categories. These are now properly balanced across the entire weapon range. Regular weapons are now more viable as a result.
With the removal of a specific damage bonus, this removes the reliance on these items in PVP.
Melee Combat
It has been requested for many many years that melee combat get some tender loving care - well today is the day. Melee combat has gotten some serious improvements to damage output and playability in Neocron Evolution 2.3 and the feedback we've had during testing is that melee is now a more viable class in many combat situations.
Hybrid PSI Monks
We have removed the negative effects of PSI Monk specialisation, bringing Hybrid PSI Monks back to the table. Hybrid PSI Monks should now pose a threat in combat but thanks to changes in shield mechanics and weapon balance they should not outstrip specialised PSI Monks in defence or damage output.
Advanced Damage Indicators
Indicators used to display the damage caused by Runners to their enemies have been re-implemented. Rather than a single figure illustrating the amount of HP lost by the target, the new advanced damage indicators are split across colour-coded damage types. At a glance Runners are now able to see exactly how effective their weapons are against their foes.
By default, damage types are represented by the following colours (Red, Green, Blue, Alpha):
- Normal Damage – Red (255 50 35 255)
- Force Damage – Red (255 50 35 255)
- Piercing Damage – Red (255 50 35 255)
- Fire Damage – Orange (255 127 39 255)
- Energy Damage – Blue (0 128 255 255)
- X-ray Damage – Teal (57 200 180 255)
- Poison Damage – Green (0 210 0 255)
- Psi Damage – Purple (160 40 170 255)
- Vehicle Damage – Red (255 50 35 255)
- Heal – Yellow (255 255 35 255)
All elements of the Neocron RPOS can be coloured to match your own personal style and new advanced damage indicators are no exception. The existing rposcolor.ini file has been extended with configurable options for all new indicators.
As we further improve the visual appearance of Neocron, our new advanced damage indicators are also in high definition. You’re now provided with a crisp and clear display of the carnage you’re causing which is a lot easier to read.
Item Window Improvements
We have implemented several improvements to the Item Window which appears when right clicking an item and selecting 'Show Info'. Weapons now show detailed information about their damage output across damage types. Through percentage indicators you can also gain an accurate understanding of your performance with the chosen weapon thanks to the all new weapon system.
Kill Tracking
New statistic systems have been implemented which collect various information going on in the game world. This includes a log of all Runner deaths in the game world and how they died. We’ll be making this information available via the Public API soon, allowing the production of kill boards and further stat analysis.
New Character Tutorial & Revamped Area MC5
Area MC5, the new player starting area, has been updated with several new missions. The new missions will explain several systems and skills to new players while also providing early XP progression. Both new and returning players are encouraged to play through these missions, this path through the lowest levels of the game aims to reduce the reliance on grinding.
From Area MC5 missions you can progress into Mr Jones’ mission line and in the future, we will be implementing the next post-Jones missions to aid your progression.
Area MC5 has been reworked completely to make the first steps in Neocron easier for new players. A new mission camp has been added. Info popups have been added. Spawns have been altered/adjusted. New decorations and additional traders have been added.
Mission System Improvements
Our new mission system technology has received several updates to improve performance. As well as removing the old maximum number of mission in the old system, the new system allows us to dynamically add missions to the game world without a patch.
Damage Logs Return
In one of our previous patches we moved damage calculation to the server to improve reliability. A casualty of this was the local damage log. We have re-enabled this with the Neocron Evolution 2.3 update. While damage calculation remains server side, we’re relaying some extra data to the client to reenable the damage log. The generated damage logs uses the original code and has not yet been updated, be aware results may vary.
Damage logging should only be used while testing your setup, as when enabled this may impact performance.
Join the discussion on the Neocron Evolution 2.3 release notes here.