Cepheus Protocol · published · build 22026889
This week was overwhelmingly focused on Save and Load.
A significant amount of time went into stabilizing the system, resolving reported issues from Discord and Steam, and expanding coverage across edge cases. The Operator in particular required more time than expected due to the complexity of his systems.
Operators are highly dynamic. If an Operator levels up during a run and you later load a save, the system replaces the saved instance with the most recent version of that Operator. If an Operator no longer exists, they are properly deleted and refunded.
In multiplayer, the logic mirrors this behavior. When a save is loaded:
• Operators are reassigned back to their original RTS players when possible
• If a corresponding client cannot be found within a reasonable time window, the Operator is refunded
A substantial amount of R&D went into making sure this flow behaves predictably and does not create duplication, loss, or ownership issues. We continued expanding Save and Load support across systems and hardening the logic.
We are actively working through reported bugs and feel we are approaching a point where the Save and Load system can be functionally marked complete within the next few days. Once that milestone is reached, we can shift focus back to larger gameplay priorities.
Client side prediction for vehicles of all calibers is now implemented.
In internal and external testing, including high ping scenarios between players in the United States and overseas regions such as Poland, vehicle movement is significantly smoother and more visually stable in cross region sessions.
We are continuing to monitor this closely and will iterate further over the next couple of patches. The goal is consistent responsiveness and visual fidelity regardless of geographic latency differences.
With Save and Load nearing completion, attention is shifting toward preparing for Civilian Evac.
This includes:
Pathfinding fixes
Performance optimizations
General bug cleanup
Infected Birds
Additional quality of life improvements
One example currently being reviewed is improving building upgrade logic. Upgrading a long wall segment into a vehicle gate is one example we are looking at but also simple stuff like Operator scopes so they can zoom in and out.
We appreciate the continued patience while we push through this stabilization phase.
Also in this patch
Cleaned up description for Custom attack interval to make it more clearer what it does
Fix for turrets failing to spawn their weapon if they were saved while still under construction, then you finish constructing them after loading the saved game
Added Hellfire Missile to Sparrow as a T1 counter towards armor
Added LAW as to the Engineer as a T1 counter towards armor
Fixed a Loading issue that could duplicate Chelsey and/or her pod
Fixed a MLRS visual sync bug where after reload sometimes they would desync
Fixed Zone Widgets, when loading a save, not properly displaying the Infection Level % that they were at immediately after load (loading a zone that was at 100% might have caused it to never display the % again, but no more!)
Updated handling of Unit destruction to turn on 'can be damaged' for structures that are loaded as 'invulnerable' from old saves due to rubble mode bug
Fixed up rubble mode walls to properly load in rubble mode
Updated structure upgrading to send out a warning when trying to upgrade a structure that's in Rubble Mode, instead of silently failing
Updated destroyed player walls to be selectable (so you can clear them)
Updated 'DestroyStructure' button to work on rubble walls, and to not refund their price (since they're destroyed)
Adjustments to Custom Game Settings widget (and children sliders/toggles) =Scale/size/wrap-at values adjusted to make them fit better in thinner resolutions via either scaling or wrapping earlier instead of 'overlapping' one another
Fix for the Custom Game Settings 'Starting Doctrine Points' slider initializing incorrectly from the Custom Starting Money value
Fixed Sparrow broken after hellfire upgrade bug report
https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/1474227783248121991/1474227783248121991
Added Custom Game options of Infection Spread Rate 0.5->3.0
Added Save/Load support for weapons so if you save during a reload they will resume that load at the exact frame they were on previously
Added CERC Population Max up to 200. Exercise caution in lower spec machines as this will "push" your system to the edge and require higher spec machines if you are hosting.
Resolved a source of the 'client Fog of War not initializing correctly when loading saves/late-joining' (i.e. GameStateRef not being valid when clients receive OnCERCChanged)
Set up Exit Saving to exit TacPause, if you were in that state, so the game won't be in a 'frozen' limbo state until you remove TacPause after exit-saving
Set up the Load Game button on the Pause Menu to not function (and have a hovertip describing why) while loaded into a game in multiplayer
Updated Operator save/load for 'client operators' at save time to properly track and load their weapon attachments
Fix for clients seeing 'more than one' of Recruits when loading into a save that had recruitment tickets already
Fix for Operator loading for clients so that the mesh for their Operator will sync up
More improvements to Operator recruitment save/load: recruitment ticket for an Operator will now 'remember' who it belonged to, and if that player is there when loading the map, the ticket will 'reassign' to that player, and properly behave
Updated Operator recruitment tracker to try to reconnect with the recruiting Player on load, if that player is present at load time. If they are not, the recruitment tracker will refund instead
Updated the Pause Menu/Main Menu to support an 'are you sure' popup, with a 'Save and Exit' button available on it when appropriate
Set up savefiles to track their autosave count, so they'll keep iterating autosaves where they left off (instead of relying on a global autosave incrementor)
Autosaves are now 'per-campaign' rather than global, so if you have the Autosave Count set to 3, every campaign will have up to 3 autosaves for it (so if you play some multiplayer in between your solo sessions, you'll still have an autosave to return to, but you'll need to clear your old saves more often)
Set up grenade save/load: grenades (or demo charges from Spec Ops) now save/load!
Grenades 'in-air' now remember that they were, and reinitialize after game loads
Also set up aimed abilities to not try to re-activate when loading/syncing, so 'extra grenades' don't appear when loading a save if you saved while someone was in the throw-animation
Set up call-in cooldowns to save/load for the ability system
Fixed a bug where the juggernaut would fail to throw a car or it improperly falls out of his hand when not stunned
Updated Motor pool preview to require open airspace above.
Added a predictive gate opening system for vehicles that opens gates early based on each vehicle’s projected trajectory.
Lowered Mutt and Mule max move speed by half
Added base client side prediction for helicopters and ground vehicles to help solve visual jitter when clients have high ping
Fixed drivers not getting XP from vehicles they are controlling,
Tripled Unit leveling requirements for all units outside Operator
Added rallypoint save/load (currently only host player saves data right now, but it is set up to support other players later when we get to that)
Set up Zones to start saving/loading their last population count
Started on 'unit custom settings' reader, set up a different hovertip button on loading games to list out the custom unit settings in that save
Updated save/load menu 'custom infected options' display to show disabled enemies
Most combat in Cepheus Protocol is hitscan, so the majority of gameplay is unaffected by saving mid-action. A small number of transient objects still require additional handling if you save at the exact wrong moment.
Updated save TBD list:
Queue attack order
Call in system (airstrikes and support)
Tow
Flare
Stun system
Save other player data (rally points)
As we move through February, the focus is on getting everything caught up to where the rebuild is intended to be, while continuing to stabilize and improve the core experience.
Immediate priority going into next week
Finalizing remaining Pandemic save support, specifically transient gameplay objects
Cleaning up any remaining edge cases surfaced by live usage
Locking down save stability so it becomes a dependable baseline going forward
Following that addressing feedback from this poll
Pathfinding improvements and fixes
Bug fixing across Pandemic and core systems
Small quality of life changes that improve flow and usability
Once those pieces are in a good place, we will shift focus toward Civilian Evacuation, targeted for late-February. This work is already underway, and the goal is to address the feedback and discussion outlined in the existing Steam thread below.
We will be sharing more details soon, including a live stream announcement about a week in advance. Keep an eye on Steam and our Discord for updates as we move through February.
Link to Civilian Evacuation Steam thread
🕔 When: Weekly Saturdays – 3 PM EST (New Time!)
📺 Where to Watch:
Co-op Progress
Total Revamp based on Community Feedback
Level Design Updates
🎤 Don’t miss our Live Q&A! We’ll be answering questions from the community during the stream.
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