[2019] UPDATE 23 - HORRORS OF HOXXES & PRICE INCREASE ON MARCH 28

Hello, Miners!
What a party! Thank you so much for all that participated, sent in fantastic contest entries, and got down to some right ol’ dirty cavedelvin’ with us during the celebrations. Now, though, we’re all out of Dark Morkite, there’s no more confetti in our hair, and we’ve gotten right back to work. That’s right, it’s Update Time, and we think we got a good one for you! First things first though:

THE PRICE INCREASE LOOMS As we mentioned during the One Year celebrations, we’ll be raising the price of the game to $29.99/€27.99€/£24.99 on March 28th! And as we said, if you got friends looking for a sign on whether or not to join up, now’s a really good time to make that plunge. To delve into the darkness. To dig deep into their pockets and...eh, you get the idea.

THERE’S SOMETHING... NEW... IN THE DARK With Update 23: Horrors of Hoxxes, we chose to focus on one of the most often requested improvements for the game (ourselves included): More aliens! Well, more aliens you shall have - alongside a ton of other stuff, we’ve got a bunch of new Hoxxes natives for you to pump full of lead, as well as some much-needed facelifts for some of our old friends.

Have a gander at the list at the end of this post for the full notes or dive in as un-spoilered as you please! Either way, we’re pretty proud of this one.

AND BEYOND!
Checkmark on 23: Check! Onwards to 24! We still have some design ahead of us before we can fully commit to the headlines on this one (some key members of the team are out of town, attending conferences), but 24 will likely be a less feature-oriented Update, and more focused on polish and improvement of current stuff while we put work into more long-term stuff in the background. So far it looks like Update 24 will bring things like yet more Mods to unlock, at least one new enemy type, and a bunch of UI improvements such as revamped Mission Load and Mission Complete screens, but we’ll have something concrete to share with you soon.

That’s pretty much it for now. All that’s left is to wish you all some lovely trips down into the dark to meet all your new...friends… :>

Until then,
ROCK AND STONE!
- The Ghost Ship Crew

Update 23 Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyAWOamsv7o

--- PATCH NOTES ---
A GAZILLION NEW ENEMIES

• GLYPHID MENACE
  
  • This distant cousin of the Glyphid Acidspitter is both smarter, faster, and more aggressive. It’ll burrow into the ground between firing off devastating volleys of corrosive goo, making for a high-priority target when spotted.
• GLYPHID WARDEN
  
  • This mysterious Glyphid sends out regenerative waves of spores to its nearby kin, reinvigorating and buffing them. Better take it out quick.
• GLYPHID BULK DETONATOR
  
  • A sickening horror of the deep. It’s Bulky and it Detonates. You’ll know it when you see it - and then you’ll likely die. You have been warned.
• NAYAKA TRAWLER
  
  • The first species encountered of this awful breed of Hoxxes wildlife. The Trawler has been observed in the Sandblasted Corridor Region and it burrows through sand at high speeds, aiming to catch prey in its’ extended maws as it passes. Don’t stand in front of it.
• GLYPHID GRUNT SLASHER
  
  • A more durable and fast version of its weaker cousin, the Grunt. Plus...its long-bladed legs deal thrice the damage. Nasty buggers!
• GLYPHID GRUNT GUARD
  
  • Another variation of the Glyphid Grunt. This one is heavily armored and has twice the health but is a bit slower than a normal Grunt.
• RADIOACTIVE GLYPHID PRAETORIAN
  
  • In the Radioactive Zone, Praetorians have mutated and now do radiation damage! Better keep your distance.
• RADIOACTIVE GLYPHID EXPLODER
  
  • Exploding with radiation! ‘Nough said!
• RADIOACTIVE GLYPHID SWARMERS
  
  • They glow in the dark and are radioactive - they’re small enough that the radiation they emit isn’t enough to affect a healthy dwarf, however.

ENEMY TWEAKS

• GLYPHID DREADNOUGHT OVERHAUL
  
  • New behavior: If the players are hidden in a small hole, the Dreadnought will now destroy the terrain until it gets to them. Can’t stop me now!
    
  • New attack: Swarmer Egg. Besides the fireball, the Dreadnaught will shoot a projectile full of swarmers. If hits the players, it will also cover them with pheromones, turning them into the target of new enemy swarmer spawns.
    
  • Regenerating armor. Make sure to attack it while it’s vulnerable. Health values have been modified to conform to this new system.
    
  • An all-new Boss Health Bar lets you know when you are facing a serious challenge. For the moment it’s only for the new and improved Dreadnought, but it’s almost like we have plans to use it for more things in the future, isn’t it? :>
    
  • Fixed the bug that would allow you to trap the Dreadnought using the Gunner’s shield
    
  • All its attacks and behaviors have been tweaked. The Dreadnaught is now more aggressive, more responsive, and more dangerous. Management wishes you luck.
    
  • More Nitra is spawning in elimination missions since you will need more ammo to take down a Dreadnought.
    
  • Fix so 2 Dreadnoughts can’t spawn in Point Extraction at the same time
    
  • Supply Pods won’t instakill a Dreadnought anymore - it still deals a good chunk of damage though.
    
  • Dreadnought's fireball damage reduced
    
  • Tweaks to Dreadnought's behavior for solo play
• Q’RONAR SHELLBACK
  
  • Rolling periods are now shorter so it will open up more often to shoot (which almost means more chances for players to shoot it).
    
  • Armor resistance and base health reduced.
    
  • It can only be found in Salt Pits now. Radioactive Exclusive Zone didn’t feel like a healthy place to settle down.
• CAVE LEECH
  
  • Received a much-needed model and animation overhaul. Now grabbier than ever!
• NAEDOCYTE SHOCKERS
  
  • All new model and animations.
• BET-C BATTLE MULE
  
  • BET-C’s grenades have proper models and improved shaders
    
  • BET-C now moves away if there are players too close to her for a few seconds
    
  • BET-C no longer turns into an unkillable murder machine if the parasites die too quickly
• MISCELLANEOUS ENEMY TWEAKS
  
  • Enemies now only use melee attacks that are in range to actually do damage
    
  • Grabber only screams if its target is valid
    
  • Chance of getting a generic scripted wave increased compared to special scripted waves
    
  • Tweaked all the Glyphids blood particles. They are now much more visible
    
  • Glyphids have received several new attack animations
    
  • Glyphid Warriors have been renamed to Glyphid Grunt, because that’s what everyone kept calling them. Also, it fits. :>

MISSION TWEAKS

• DIFFICULTY
  
  • Difficulty reduced a bit on 2-3 player games on Hazard Level 3-5
• ELIMINATION MISSION
  
  • The location of the cocoons will no longer be displayed using an icon, now they appear on the terrain scanner
    
  • Cocoons are more evenly distributed throughout the map
    
  • New debris has been added in the vicinity of the Cocoons, in case you had trouble spotting the 15 ton, pulsating, gurgling, alien egg
• SALVAGE MISSION
  
  • Defense Zones have been increased a bit in size
• EGG COLLECTION
  
  • Reduced Egg Collection goals depending on Cave Complexity from 5, 8, 10 to 4, 6, 8
• POINT EXTRACTION
  
  • Slightly increased spawn rates
    
  • Wave music added to the announced waves

CLEARER GEM FRAGMENT INDICATION

• The glowing bits around embedded crystals like, Aquarq, Jadiz etc. now only glow when said item is close. No more returning to already mined spots!

MORE GEAR MODS We are still in the process of adding mods to all the gear and we are slowly getting there. After this update, only the Pick Axe and the Grenades are left to do.

• LMG GUN PLATFORM
  
  • Number of turrets, target prioritization, build speed, scan angle. You are a special snowflake and now your automated killing machine can be too.
• SATCHEL CHARGE
  
  • Have you ever thrown down a Satchel Charge only to regret it immediately? Well, now you can install a kill switch for safe disarming and retrieval. Plus many other mods like carve size and fear effects.
• FLARE GUN
  
  • More flares? Longer burn time? Auto-reload? Illuminate the situation with these and other mods.
• SHIELD GENERATOR
  
  • Customize the size, duration and recharge time of your happy place.

Please note: You have been refunded credits and minerals invested in previous upgrades!

STATUS EFFECTS ON HEALTH BAR Enemies’ health bars now display status effects such as being electrocuted, etc. They also show temperature variations so players can now know how far from bursting into flames or freezing they are.

VANITY

• MK5 ARMOR SETS
  
  • Management has approved the introduction of an all-new set of armor for the most experienced employees to procure - the mighty Mark 5!
• 1ST PERSON ARMOR
  
  • All first-person animations now display the correct armor!
• SUPPORTER GEAR MORE GOLDIER
  
  • By popular request, the Supporter Upgrade Armor and Weapons have gotten a material overhaul - now more goldier than ever!

BOSCO QUALITY OF LIFE IMPROVEMENTS

• It will now try to position himself below cave leeches, and not above them
  
• It will be less glued to the floor when fighting except versus cave leeches
  
• It will not fire if something other than enemies is blocking his line of sight
  
• Doubled the frequency of Bosco checking if he should get out of the way

NEW MISCELLANEOUS MODELS, SHADERS, AND ANIMATIONS

• New Mallet model for all your building and repair needs
  
• New Beacons for Supply Pods
  
• New third person animations make it easier to see if a teammate is currently checking the Terrain Scanner
  
• Attempt to fix light bug on Stasis Grenade

MISCELLANEOUS

• Fix crash related to people joining and being immediately grabbed
  
• Added a third-person animation to players looking at the Terrain Scanner
  
• Fix spelling error in Mini-gun upgrade
  
• Fix DisableMasterEQ setting to work correctly
  
• Work on reducing server list backend load
  
• The Cryo Cannon’s feedback sounds have been made louder and easier to hear
  
• The One Year Celebration is over! If you missed getting the One Year Celebration hat while it was available, tough beans!
  
• Also, Management has returned beer prices to normal. Drink responsibly (because it’s expensive!).
  
• Sand and Ice geysers should no longer blow you out of the Drop Pod
  
• Fixed Mixer Praetorians not working properly
  
• Fixed Mixer spawning 4 times the amount of enemies it was intended
  
• Fixed Mixer viewer name not properly working
  
• Introducing new enemies to Mixer integration: Mactera Spawn, Mactera Grabber, Mactera Bomber, Acid Spitter, Web Spitter, and Shellback
  
• Introducing new assists to Mixer integration: Resupply of ammo
  
• Introducing mixer integration in the Space Rig: Buy the streamer beers, explode confetti
  
• Exploders’ footsteps sound volume increased
  
• Reduced the spawn amount of radioactive crystals
  
• Better attenuation for the jukebox
  
• Scout Grenade IFG FX tweaked
  
• Chatbox: System Messages now green and bold, general line height slightly lowered.
  
• Mission success music reactivated
  
• Fix Linecutter performance
  
• Fixed a bug that caused players with Ironwill to not show as downed in their player portraits after dying
  
• Fixed trader terminal assignment showing that you completed it one mission too early
  
• Tweaked sounds for shield
  
• Fixed the cave leech sense bug that caused the sensing UI to get stuck on a players screen

Change lists from Experimental Builds

• Build 25352: https://steamcommunity.com/app/548430/discussions/9/3398435622567712661/
  
• Build 25416: https://steamcommunity.com/app/548430/discussions/9/3398435622571678213/
  
• Build 25488: https://steamcommunity.com/app/548430/discussions/9/1850323802566934904/
  
• Build 25530: https://steamcommunity.com/app/548430/discussions/9/1850323802569947221/