Introduction
In the latest update, players can now earn Steam achievements for the DLC, adding an extra layer of challenge and bragging rights. But that’s not all! The Simulacrum game mode has undergone some major improvements. Waves will now skip if nothing has spawned for too long, preventing any dull moments. Additionally, the number of credits given out at once has been limited, creating a more balanced experience. And for those seeking a greater challenge, expect to encounter more elite monsters and fewer normal ones. The Artifact of Kin will also ensure that monsters always spawn, even if they’re considered “cheap.” The developers have addressed some pesky bugs that caused the game mode to get stuck, so get ready for a smoother and more exciting Simulacrum experience.
But wait, there’s more! The Void Seeds have also received some attention. No longer will they spawn monsters over time or when the Teleporter starts, eliminating any unexpected surprises. The area indicator for Void Seeds is now clearer, making it easier to navigate through the chaos. And speaking of chaos, the Void Seeds will now scale at a slower pace throughout the run, providing a more balanced and manageable challenge. Elite affixes, such as Overloading and Mending, will also appear less frequently for Void monsters. And brace yourselves, because Void Seeds now spawn Void Caches with Sacrifice enabled, offering even greater rewards. Plus, if you find yourself with only a few enemies left, the map will now mark their locations for your convenience. The developers have listened to player feedback and made these changes to ensure a more enjoyable and less confusing Void Seeds experience. So get ready to dive back into the game and conquer the Void like never before!
The goal of this patch is to address bugs from the release of Survivors of the Void, alongside community-driven balance and design changes. Read up! For some context, check out our previous Dev Thoughts:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/632360/view/3114807061130869250
* General
- Added Steam achievements for the DLC!
* Simulacrum
- Waves now skip if nothing has spawned for 60 seconds
- Waves now have a limit of how many credits can be given out at once
- Waves will now spawn slightly more elites, and slightly less normal monsters
- Artifact of Kin will always spawn monsters, even if they are considered ‘cheap’
- Developer Notes: Simulacrum has a few edge cases where the director fails to spawn monsters – and as a result, the gamemode no longer advances. We added a few different checks to address situations where the game gets stuck. Not only that, but simulacrum tended to spam a lot more normal monsters instead of elites – so now, it’ll spawn a little bit more elite-y.
* Void Seeds
- Void Seeds no longer spawn monsters over time, or when the Teleporter starts
- Void Seeds no longer occasionally spawns normal, non-Voidtouched monsters
- Void Seeds now have a more clear area indicator
- Void Seeds no longer spawn ‘naked’ Void Infestors
- Void Seeds now scale a lot slower over the duration of the run
- Void Seeds now spawn elite affixes (like Overloading and Mending) less frequently for its Void
monsters - 🌧 Void Seeds now spawn Void Caches with Sacrifice enabled
- 🌧 Void Seeds now mark remaining enemies on the map if there are 3 or less
- Developer Notes: Void Seeds are chaotic and strange by design – but that same chaos and strangeness can lead to a bit of frustration in what the heck is going on. We’ve clarified behavior, and fixed some weird edge-case scenarios that led to it being more confusing. We’re still taking a look at trying to reduce the frequency of it spawning right on top of you at stage start.
* Void Portal
- Minimum Stage Count: 3 ⇒ 6
- Developer Notes: It’s pretty much impossible to beat The Planetarium at stage 3, so it was just bait. Now it only spawns when a player could reasonably beat the objectives.
* Prismatic Trials (Live with SotV release)
- Prismatic Trials now has Survivors of the Void permanently enabled, even for non-DLC owners
* Eclipse (Live with SotV release)
- Eclipse is now available in multiplayer
* Ignite (Live with SotV release)
- Ignite effects, like Blazing elites and Artificer’s Flame Bolt, now deal 50% of its damage over time as ignite
- Developer Notes: Previously, ignite damage was calculated off of a weird version of base damage, which was inconsistent across enemies. Not only that, but Artificer’s ignite was handled quite differently than the Blazing elites. Now, ignite effects always deal half the damage of the impact – which makes it match Overloading elite damage as well.
* Void Fog (Live with SotV release)
- Void fog damage now ignores armor, Tougher Times, Armor Plating, and Planula
- Void fog damage now slowly ramps up over time as long as you remain in the fog
- Developer Notes: The Void Fog is important for a lot of content, especially in SotV – and has to remain threatening for the events to work. We found that Tougher Times, Armor Plating, and Planula made some of this content arbitrarily too easy. We also wanted to avoid being able to go ‘infinite’ in the fog with a lot of healing-over-time, so now it ramps up slowly.
* Artificer
- 🌧 ‘Flamethrower’ now scales the number of damage ticks with attack speed
* Void Fiend
- 🌧 ‘Drown (Corrupted)’ now scales the number of damage ticks with attack speed
- 🌧 ‘Suppress (Corrupted)’ no longer marks you as the attacker for its self-damage – meaning it won’t proc items on yourself like Crowbar, etc.
- 🌧 Transitioning into Corrupted mode now grants 0.5 seconds of invincibility
* Void Fields
- 🌧 Percent Health Damage: 5% per second ⇒ 2.5% per second
- Developer Notes: We wanted to make Void Fields more oppressive in SotV, as a mobility/heal check before you can access the guaranteed portal into the Planetarium. It was too much, so we are reducing it.
* Stages
- Planetarium music now advances every phase
* Void Infestors
- 🌧 Void Infestors now slowly decay health over 30 seconds
- 🌧 Void Infestors no longer can convert ‘mechanical’ targets, like Drones or Engineer Turrets
- Developer Notes: While it was cool the first time, having Void Infestors instantly kill your hard-earned drones made drones even worse. Now, they’re a decent ally to help pick off those bugs. Not only that, but an infestor that’s stuck running around the edge of a map would prevent you from finishing the Void Seed, which was annoying – now they slowly lose health over time.
* Items
- Spare Drone Parts no longer grants Col. Droneman to Engineer Turrets
- 🌧 Fixed ‘Remote Caffeinator’ DLC equipment being locked permanently
- 🌧 Fixed weird momentum/velocity behavior after falling out-of-bounds and teleporting back
- 🌧 Fixed ignite effects from Fire affixes and the ‘ignite’ damage type dealing 2x the damage over 4x the duration
- 🌧 Fixed Volcanic Egg disjointing its position over time
- Fixed clients who disconnect and then reconnect being stuck spectating
- 🌧 Fixed Railgunner’s Goobo Jr. AI using only its Primary ability
- 🌧 Fixed Ignition Tank’s descriptions being inaccurate to its behavior
- Fixed hosts not being able to create new multiplayer games if they disconnect and reconnect their internet
- 🌧 Fixed Merc’s expose being consumed by non-Mercs
- 🌧 Fixed Simulacrum’s Enigma wave having the wrong strings
- 🌧 Fixed Void Devastator not having its boss item assigned, causing it to not drop or be targetable by Trophy Hunter’s Tricorn
- 🌧 Fixed Newly Hatched Zoea not consuming Defense Nucleus
- 🌧 Fixed a stray jump pad in Sulfur Pools that leads nowhere
- 🌧 Fixed ‘crusty’ pixels around buff icons
- 🌧 Fixed Distant Roost having less interactable credits than Titanic Plains, causing it to spawn less interactables
- 🌧 Fixed Rusted Key always granting a red item
- Fixed consecutive weak point tracking resetting whenever ANY player missed, not just the player trying to earn the achievement
- Fixed Will-o-the-wisp/Voidsent Flame having reversed damage coefficients
- Fixed Prismatic Trials being playable in multiplayer by starting a singleplayer prismatic trial, backing out, and then hosting a multiplayer game
- Fixed cans not animating properly with Remote Caffeinator
- Fixed Snowy, Natural, and Sandy Golem skins not being fully implemented
Ice to see you :¬)
We’re keeping an eye on:
- Reports of new crashes as of SotV release
- Category Chests dropping limited items
- Other potential softlocks in Simulacrum