Ahoy there!

We hope you're all ready, because the April update is now live! The whole team has been hard at work putting together one of the biggest updates to Monstrum 2 yet. There are tons major changes in this one, so make sure to get cracking and let us know what you think...

Now let's take a look at the patch notes:

New Map Content

POWERPLANT REFACTOR

• Fully replaced Power Plant with a new building
  
• The new layout has the four generators much more separated out from one another, with each in their own room. This is designed to make the area more survivable for Prisoners as the old Power Plant could easily become a death trap
  
• A smaller elevator has been installed to the side along with more ladders and vines making movement between the floors easier
  
• The doors on the outside of the Power Plant have had lights added that will correspond with the number of Power Switches completed in the first stage of the game, these doors are now visually tied in with the network of Power Cables that travel out from the first building
  
• Lights have also been added above the doors leading into the Escape Routes, these will only turn green when the Power Plant Mission is completed

POWERPLANT CONTROL ROOMS

The biggest change to the Power Plant has been the addition of two control rooms on the upper floor. We were seeing Prisoners potentially completing the Power Plant stage of the game in seconds so entering these control rooms will now be a requirement to finishing the repair on each generator.

• Generators will only be classed as complete and start up when the Generator has been fixed and then the corresponding switch in the Control Room has been interacted with
  
• Control Room Switches will not be interact-able until the Generator has been fixed.
  
• To avoid camping situations the Control Rooms are identical, contain all generator switches and only one of the Control Room switches needs to be interacted with to complete a generator
  
• The switch required in each control room will be shown to the Prisoners as a HUD Marker once the generator is fixed

GENERATOR BALANCING

We've changed the number of Generators required depending on the number of Prisoners still alive when the Power Plant mission starts, the revised numbers are as follows:

• 1 generator required for 1 Prisoner vs the Monster
  
• 2 generators required for 2 Prisoners vs the Monster
  
• 2 generators required for 3 Prisoners vs the Monster
  
• 3 generators required for 4 Prisoners vs the Monster
  

FUTURE PLANS

Apart from improving Power Plant layout and lengthening its mission a major aspect of this rework has been to make the second stage of the Sea Fort interchangeable so different buildings can be slotted into the middle stage of the game.

TUTORIALS REFACTOR

All four Tutorials have had a major rework in this update, the main goals were to make them shorter and more focused.

• Certain elements in the Tutorials that do not reappear in the main game such as the Pressure Plate Switches for Monsters have been removed
  
• The Tutorial levels have all had an art upgrade and better visual cues around all the tasking
  
• All moving Mannequins have been attached to tracks on the floor
  
• All the crucial instructional content now also appears on the players mission tracker on screen
  
• We have balanced many of the interactions throughout the Tutorials such as the number of hits to destroy mannequins and barricades to improve the pacing
  
• Audio pass has been done on tutorials
  
• The tutorials now have a distinct loading screen
  

ADDITIONAL STAGE 1 CONTENT

• Aquatics, Laboratory and Residential have had rooftop content added with a new Switch puzzle on each. These were the last Stage 1 buildings in the game to receive this treatment so now all Stage 1 games will have a total of 10 possible switches available
  
• Two new possible side balcony switches added to the exterior around the Stage 1 building
  

SPAWN AREA CHANGES

The spawning buildings have gone through a rework. Purpose of these changes is to get the Monster and Prisoners access to the start of the game at the same time as we saw that the Prisoners were able to get a head start on the Monster, especially among experienced players.

• Double door Monster Spawn building removed
  
• Single door and sliding gap Prisoner Spawn building removed
  
• Prisoners will now spawn in a holding vault
  
• Prisoner holding vault will open at the same time as the Monster’s intro cutscene finishes
  
• Monsters will spawn out on a pier off the side of the fort with no building containing them.
  

Gameplay & Balancing Changes

MONSTER RAGE MODE

To increase the intensity of the game as the Prisoners get closer to escaping, we have implemented a new mechanic named Monster Rage. The intention of this new mechanic is to find a balance of allowing newer players the chance to experience the first stages of the game but also make escaping harder to achieve for the more experienced players.

As each stage of the game is completed, the damage that each Monster does with their Basic Attack increases

Breakdown of stages:

• Stage 1 is the building where the Prisoners need to find the Power Switches
  
• Stage 2 is the Power Plant building
  
• Stage 3 is the Moon Pool or Helipad where the vehicle needs to be readied
  
• Stage 4 is the final dash to board the vehicle before it departs
  

Brute Rage Mode Primary Attack Values:

• Stage 1: 50% Damage
  
• Stage 2: 75% Damage
  
• Stage 3: 100% Damage
  
• Stage 4: 100% Damage
  

Bhagra Rage Mode Primary Attack Values:

• Stage 1: 35% Damage
  
• Stage 2: 50% Damage
  
• Stage 3: 65% Damage
  
• Stage 4: 100% Damage
  

Bhagra Rage Mode Lunge Attack Values (On Ground):

• Stage 1: 40% Damage
  
• Stage 2: 60% Damage
  
• Stage 3: 80% Damage
  
• Stage 4: 100% Damage
  

Bhagra Rage Mode Lunge Attack Values (On Ceiling):

• Stage 1: 60% Damage
  
• Stage 2: 80% Damage
  
• Stage 3: 100% Damage
  
• Stage 4: 100% Damage
  

Malacosm Rage Mode Primary Attack Values:

• Stage 1: 40% Damage
  
• Stage 2: 60% Damage
  
• Stage 3: 80% Damage
  
• Stage 4: 100% Damage
  
  
• A progress bar for the Monster Rage mode can be seen above the on-screen abilities cooldowns for each of the three monsters. Prisoners will see the state of the Monsters rage mode on screen at the bottom of the screen
  
• All players will be notified of the rage increase via a pop up as each stage is completed
  
• New Loading Screen hints added for characters referring to the Monster Rage Mode
  

MONSTER CHANGES: MALACOSM SENTINEL TRAP / TELEPORT

Malacosm’s Sentinel and Teleport Abilities have been reworked. Previously the traps could be used to completely block areas and caused a lot of problematic camping situations. Teleporting was also too slow to be a reliable strategy in chase. Our intentions with these changes is to make camping less viable of a strategy and also provide the Malacosm with a smoother information gathering playstyle!

• The Malacosm can now only spawn a single Sentinel. Placing a new Sentinel will recycle the one previously placed
  
• The Malacosm player can now teleport automatically by using the Right Mouse Button (default keybinding) and no longer requires selecting the Sentinel on-screen
  
• Teleporting is near instantaneous and the Malacosm will maintain their movement speed after teleporting
  
• When the Malacosm arrives at the Sentinel location the Malacosm will automatically be facing the nearest Prisoner
  
• All Prisoners within 20m of theSentinel will be outlined in real time for the Malacosm for 5 seconds
  
• A Loading Screen hint mentioning the Malacosms ability to place 3 Sentinels down has been amended to now only refer to a single Sentinel
  
• A new Idle animation has been added to the Sentinel
  
• Sentinels will now react to Mannequins in the Malacosm Tutorial
  

MONSTER CHANGES: MALACOSM GENERAL

The Malacosms Clairvoyance ability has had its Cooldown Time reduced from 30 seconds down to 20 seconds

MONSTER CHANGES: BHAGRA GENERAL

The Main Focus of the Bhagra balance changes was to reduce the Bhagra’s chase effectiveness when directly chasing a Prisoner through Sliding and Vault gaps. The Bhagra is very difficult to lose in a chase but these changes should help Prisoners create more distance when using the environment around them.

• The Bhagra is reduced to 50% speed whilst crawling through gaps in the wall
  
• The Bhagra is reduced to 50% speed for 1 second after jumping or lunging through a window
  
• After lunging off a ceiling the cooldown before being allowed to latch back onto ceilings has been reduced from 10 seconds down to 8 seconds
  
• In addition to these balancing changes for the Bhagra we have now also made changes that should prevent the Bhagra from getting stuck at the top of stairways and other obstacles as often. This will allow the Bhagra to chase over the ground more consistently
  

MONSTER CHANGES: BRUTE GENERAL

The main focus of the Brute’s balance changes was to eliminate the Charge and Attack Combo that could guarantee a quick kill for the Brute.

• After Charging, The Brute will not be able to use any of its abilities for 3 seconds in addition to the slowdown already in place
  
• An animation has been added to the Brute that will play when the Brute is in this cooldown period
  
• Resolved issues that were causing the Brute’s Charge to deal 0 damage.
  

MONSTER CHANGES: ALL MONSTERS

• Attack Slowdowns have been moved to after the attack has been completed instead of being as soon as the Attack was initiated. This change is to improve the reliability of the attack hitting your chosen target
  
• All Monsters will destroy boarded up walls in one hit with their Basic Primary Attack
  
• Primary Attack cooldowns during the tutorials have all been reduced to 2 seconds
  

PRISONER CHANGES:

• After being charged down by the Brute, Prisoners will get back up after 1.5s (Previously 2.5s)
  
• Fixed issue where Prisoners would get stuck on certain staircases if they were crouching
  
• Modified respawn logic to prioritise other floors from the Monster
  

USABLE ITEMS

• The Health Spray now only heals Prisoners 50 health points instead of 100, this also applies to healing allies with it. This was to improve fairness for Monsters in the early game with the new Monster Rage Mode changes
  
• Luminous green liquid added to the top of the Health Spray Item to make it better stand out from the Fire Extinguisher or Welder at a distance
  
• Prisoners can now only carry 1 camera and 1 fire extinguisher at a time
  
• Sledgehammers will destroy boarded up walls in a single hit
  

INTERACTABLES

• Sounds added to all draggable palette loaders in the game, some movement speeds have also been refined for these to better represent the weight of the item being dragged
  
• Improved ladder mounting/dismounting for Prisoners
  
• Improved camera movement whilst climbing ladders and vines
  
• Monsters can now interact with the top of a vine to start climbing down
  

GENERAL PUZZLE IMPROVEMENTS

• Added a small platform on top of the draggable stack of boxes on the Vault Rooftop to make that jump easier
  
• The Pool Table in Residential has been rotated 180 degrees so when pulling it aside it no longer clips through the nearby power cable
  
• Codes in the lower floor of Genetics all moved to be closer to the locked door and keypad they are required for
  
• On the Barracks Rooftop the two sets of pipes Prisoners need to cross have have been widened at the start, this is to solve an issue where the games vaulting system had a tendency to overshoot any Prisoner who attempted to jump up onto the pipe causing them to fall into the courtyard below
  

ESCAPE ROUTES

• Added props around the Helicopter pad to break up the final escape dash
  
• Upload the Nav Data to the Submersible Mission in the Moon Pool is now far faster to carry out
  

HIDING SPOTS

• New Prisoner animation with audio when a Monster finds them in a locker
  
• New Brute searching a locker animation with audio after a Prisoner is found
  
• New Malacosm searching a locker animation after a Prisoner is found
  
• Bhagra jump onto the locker has been altered to reduce camera movements
  
• Hiding Mini Games will only resolve once the timer reaches 0
  
• Mini Games will no longer choose a random option if no choice was pressed
  
• If you do not make a choice and your opponent does, your opponent will always win
  
• If no one makes a choice, the Monster will always win.
  

More substantial changes to Hiding Spot Mini Games are still ongoing!

AUDIO CHANGES

• Multiple security cameras alarms will no longer stack together, instead play through a single source that can be heard throughout the fort.
  
• Various new environmental audio sounds were added throughout the Seafort including but not limited to Helipad, Sub Escape, and Power Plant.
  

Bugs Fixed

• Sparks used throughout several gameplay interaction points no longer have excessive brightness
  
• Malacosm should now be able to fit under tents in helicopter escape area
  
• Malacosm attack range fixed - there was an issue due to the Malacosm being taller which made its attack less likely to hit a prisoner
  
• Yellow stairways in the game now have proper thickness on the steps
  
• Removed a hand prompt symbol that would appear on the Power Plant Generator Pipes after they were hit with the sledgehammer
  
• Fixed shadow artefacts on characters in the Store, Customization and Progress Tracker screens
  
• Adjusted two Monster Vines in Aquatics that could not be dismounted at the top due to assets above them being too close
  
• Fixed inconsistencies with the Bhagra being able to fit under certain desks
  
• Security Camera alarm audio no longer lingers after the Camera has returned to a passive state
  
• Fixed some chairs in Residential that had no collision
  
• Removed debris in Residential that could block Prisoner players from interacting with a Fuse Dispenser on the wall
  
• Numerous issues where Power Cables weren’t quite reaching the connectors at the end of the cable
  
• Fixed bug where your dead character would have a missing head when you spectate through another player
  
• Fixed bug where the Prisoner head would be invisible after dying and before entering Spectate Mode
  
• Fixed a bug where you could see your character through the wall during the intro cutscene
  
• Fixed loading hints showing an incorrect hint when loading into the tutorials, will now see Superblock lore hints
  
• Corrected the Keybinding path for the Highlight other prisoners loading screen hint
  
• Fixed an animation bug where the Brutes arm could be seen coming out of the back of the locker when he punched it
  
• Incorrect world marker icon used on Power Plant Generators
  
• Prisoners starting cell had missing door hinges
  
• Removed invisible collision over a ramp in Residential
  
• Tutorials Mission Tracker input binding icons were not changing correctly between PC controls and the gamepad
  
• Some yellow floor pads around Power Plant objectives were misaligned
  
• Fixed issue where the Bhagra would slide up a vine when lunging onto them
  
• Security Cameras will no longer have their lights on when spectating through them
  
• Fixed clipping issues in the Submarine Escape Route
  
• Fixed Graphical issue on the HUD Arrow of the Malacosms Sentinels
  
• Fixed an issue where an error would constantly be thrown when the Malacosm is climbing a vine
  
• Fixed an issue where effects that happen when an ability has ended would happen twice
  

KNOWN ISSUES

• Inconsistent localization coverage, including the new Tutorial Mission Objectives. We plan to undertake a thorough localization pass across the entire game to resolve these issues before the end of Early Access
  
• When spectating a player and they die your camera can end up getting stuck watching the dead body
  
• At times the player’s body can render through their skinned clothes
  
• Monster’s heads can still sometimes not appear during the monster cutscene
  
• The updated Bhagra locker search animation in 1st person is still in progress and the current version can be a bit intense
  
• Random disconnects - if this does happen please report them to us on our discord channel #m2-bug-and-support so we can track them down!
  
• UI Bug for when a monster dies during a game the player list can sometimes display their name in red - which is wrong! The Monster always respawns
  
• Some lights in the distance can create a weird graphical effect with the fog
  
• Sometimes Prisoners will not be visible during Locker Mini Games
  
• Toggling Vsync requires restarting the game (or transitioning from main menu to in-game/vice versa) to visually reflect your chosen setting
  
• If you open one of the pause-screen options menus (e.g. "Graphics") and you click "Back", then re-enter the options menu, you can't click on/change any settings. To fix this, just click on an options menu button (e.g. "Graphics" button), and you should be able to click the various settings again
  
• In the tutorials monster heads can sometimes be enabled but will turn off after climbing the 1st vine