30XX update for 31 March 2021

Hello! Today's 0.17.0 patch introduces two new features -- the powerful, yet sometimes debilitating Prototype Augs, and Beta enemies, tougher versions of standard foes that will start showing up later into runs. It also adds proper music and sound to the Editor, fixes a bunch of bugs, and makes a few balance tweaks to the game.

We recognize that 30XX's scaling has been a little out of whack prior to this patch - the early levels feel great, but later levels get too easy too frequently. Having certain loadouts/RNG that makes the lategame easy once in awhile is totally okay, but it was happening too frequently - so we're tamping down a bit on player scaling. For 0.17, this means the addition of Beta form enemies (so enemies will be tougher lategame), reduced Nut droprates (so you'll actually have to choose what to buy!) and fewer "free" Augs given to players mid-level.

We'll be keeping a close eye on feedback to these changes - we don't think we're overdoing it here, but we're eager to have that conversation with the community. As always, if you've got ideas for Beta enemy behaviors, new Prototype-supporting Augs, or new Prototype components themselves, we'd love to hear them!

Beta enemies are a big work in progress in many respects - expect their colorings and some of their behaviors to change soon.

Today's Prototype Aug patch is missing a few Prototype-supporting Augs that we're still working on - we might hotfix them in if they're done quickly, else they'll be part of 0.18. There are a few parts of this patch that weren't quite ready in time for 0.17.0, so a small update in the next few days is pretty likely.

These patch notes also include the pile of fix changes introduced during the 0.16 patch cycle, mostly aimed at fixes for online play, so all of our changes since 0.16 can be read all in one place.

Thanks for playing!

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GAME CHANGES & FIXES:

• Added Prototype Augs! They're unlocked by a new entry in the Memory Index.

  • Prototype Augs in 30XX combine a blessing and a curse into one item, forcing the player to decide whether the total package is worth the risk involved.

• Added Beta forms for most enemies! Betas are generally tougher than normal foes, and have more aggressive/dangerous behaviors. Some Betas also deal extra touch damage or create 2-damage projectiles.

  • Many of the Beta form colorings are a work in progress!

• Reduced the number of nuts spewed out by minibosses and some Chest types.

  • Our goal is to keep currency feeling like a resource that enables the player to make smart choices in shops - prior to this change, it was too easy to have All The Nuts All The Time, which gets boring. Having tested this a bit on our end, we may need to go further here, but we didn't want to make too severe a change in one step.

• Reduced Salvager scaling. (Some items now salvage for less.)

  • The stats granted by Salvaging augs was a bit too strong - we want Salvaging to feel like a good way to get stats you're really hungry for, or an alternate way to get value out of an Aug that doesn't fit your build.

• Advanced Repair Kit shop cost increased to 25 (from 15). It's still probably too powerful, but this'll make it a little less likely to show up early and be an auto-buy for the player.

• Increased Crystal Shooter HP (Echocave Miniboss).

• Disabled Rite of Rebeginning in Mega Mode. (A "once per run" HP refresh doesn't make as much sense in MM - let us know what you think here - we may bring it back and tweak it.)

• Increased shop spawn rate a bit.

• Lara (Ace weapon) now costs 3 CP to use (up from 0).

  • Lara's too powerful - we're looking at ways to make it a little costlier to use instead of nerfing it outright. (We may make it scale less well with stats next.)

• Armatort's Dome (head core) now costs 3 CP to use (up from 2).

• Owlhawk's Focus (head core) now costs 3 CP to use (up from 2).

• Oxjack's Blitz (boots core) now costs 4 CP to use (down from 5).

• Added an information screen before starting the game in Wild West Maker Mode.

• Added the ability to downvote chunks in Wild West Maker Mode. (This behaves just like skipping it, so don't worry if you want to downvote a chunk you've just skipped - it's already done.)

• In Wild West Maker Mode, the "skip" function (hold Interact for two seconds) now takes the player to the beginning of the next chunk if possible (instead of the end of the current chunk) in case an impossible chunk is uploaded.

• The 30XX OST has been updated with today's new Editor music tracks.

• Fixed a bug that'd let you spend rerolls on health drops if you were at full HP.

EDITOR CHANGES & FIXES:

• Added music to the Editor. These are smooth, "loungy" remixes of the main game's music. By default, the background music depends on the level theme of the chunk you're editing, but you can set it to play a medley of all themes as well.
• Added sound effects to various Editor and UI actions.
• To accompany the above additions, you can change the Music and Sound volumes in the Settings menu.
• Implemented a "Hot" sort in the Chunk Catalog, which displays recent high-quality chunks.
• Fixed a bug where if the brush menu was opened, the layer menu would move along with it.
• Fixed a bug where if the language is set to a language with the Latin alphabet, characters from other alphabets would not show properly in a user card.
• Fixed a bug where in the settings menu, if you selected a setting with your keyboard and moved to a different setting with your mouse, incorrect values would display.
• Fixed a rare crash when browsing the chunk catalog.

RECAP SINCE 0.16: CHANGES & FIXES (all play modes, not just online):

• Fixed a 0.16.4 crash caused by charging up Crystal Wave.
• Fixed SFX for several charged Powers.
• Attempting to pick up a duplicate Core Aug will now automatically Salvage it instead (even if the Salvager Circuit isn't unlocked yet.)
• Fixed an issue causing Advanced Options to be stubborn about saving. (Autocharge shouldn't turn itself off anymore.)
• Fixed an issue that'd let you buy items in Shops without sufficient currency.
• Fixed an issue that could cause Clockzone's Miniboss to leave its track.
• Fixed a chunk that could cause a softlock without the unstuck command.
• Reduced Deepverse's Miniboss HP by 40%. (We may bump this back up if it proves too be too severe a cut - just felt like this fight lasted too long.)
• Void Double's initial cast is now much faster. (250ms, down from 500ms).
• Fixed a broken Highvault window decoration.
• Fixed an issue that could cause item Salvaging in Mega Mode to not properly take effect when reloading the game.
• Added button prompts to the tutorial.
• Effects that trigger on level start now trigger on boss defeat instead. (In Mega Mode, these effects will only trigger if you haven't previously completed that level. This fixes the Spicy Bug.)
• Fixed an issue that could cause Mega Mode to not save collected items if you died in a level, then stopped playing before trying another.

RECAP SINCE 0.16: CHANGES & FIXES (online play):

• Improved item saving & sync in Mega Mode when the client connects to a game in progress.
• Fixed an issue that could cause a player to be invisible when returning to HQ after a run in online co-op.
• Fixed certain "delayed" attacks not working properly on the client. (Some of Zen Primus' fireballs and Echobeast's falling spikes are the major ones.)
• Fixed Echobeast's summons not always rendering properly on the client (so his bounce-around-the-room attacks could hit you as the the client, but be invisible.)
• Fixed a few places where the client wouldn't correctly display boss warning pings.
• Fixed an issue that could cause the client to get locked out of miniboss rooms.
• Fixed Burning Temple's Rolly Giant not animating properly as the client.
• Fixed Clockzone's Miniboss Track not showing properly as the client.
• Fixed an issue causing the client to not be able to see their own Core Points/Max CP.
• Fixed a few more situations where resurrection capsules could show up in inaccessible places. (Thanks for keeping these coming!)
• Fixed an issue causing online players to show different Max HP/NRG values than their partner shows.
• Fixed an issue causing Contemplation Room gates to fail to close for the client.
• Fixed some sync issues with Deepverse's Laser Snakes & Miniboss as the client. Still more work to do here, but it's less broken than it was.
• Fixed an issue where Deepverse Wall Lasers would persist an extra half-second on the client.
• Improved level-load robustness in online multiplayer to help ensure that levels load successfully in scenarios where your connection to your partner isn't great.
• Improved connection robustness after a session.
• Reclassified enemy bullets as "unreliable" network messages. 30XX's network layer attempts to resend most information between you and the host if it detects packet loss. In the case of enemy projectiles, this would mean that the network message to spawn a projectile could show up later than intended (because it'd be on a packet resend, not on the first try), causing projectiles to show up at weird times as the client, potentially including after an enemy is dead. Now, in the case of packet loss, the client just gets the benefit of the doubt, and no projectile is spawned.
• Similarly, the client will now also filter out projectiles the host tells it to create from enemies that are already dead on the client's side (that the host may not be aware of yet).
• Fixed the Unstuck button in online co-op. (It'd sometimes have bad results as the client.)
• Fixed being able to interact with the Offering (midboss Aug choice award) before the miniboss is defeated.
• Fixed one player in co-op being able to interact with the Offering twice.
• Fixed an issue with Penumbra's Orb Blocks (the red/blue/green platforms that cycle when you hit a switch). Improved netplay sync, but likely still have improvements to make soon.
• Added a game version check when trying to find lobbies, or when trying to join a friend's lobby. Public lobbies will no longer be returned by lobby search if the game version doesn't match, and joining a friend's lobby will now show an appropriate error message if game versions don't match.
• Fixed an issue that'd cause the Choice Machine to not sync in online play.