Cepheus Protocol

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Dev Update

Patch Notes 2025.10.11.1 – public-playtest

Current State of the Rebuild

A few times each week, our developers host public play sessions where we record real gameplay to showcase the genuine state of the game. It’s a fun, open venue for players and fans to join us, talk about development, and enjoy the experience together.

https://youtu.be/AMYP0xzYK5s?si=re2dzFd0g1l1N6H2https://youtu.be/_PvN4xPXGQc

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Patch Notes:

  • Fixed infection response so they can trigger calls for help when helicopters attack units + infected structures,

  • Fixed it so structures can request help now as well

  • Speculative crashfix for UnbindFromAnimNotify_AbilityTrigger causing a crash if you fired a flre a helicopter and then get off before it ended. Safeties added to anim notify for ability system (including clearing the binding when unit swaps anim BPs)

  • Various crash fixes

  • Tweaked how constructing/repairing units path find to locations.Some polish is still needed to refine some edge cases for closed in areas.

  • Fix for Turrets being treated as ‘less threatening’ than non-armed structures causing infected to ignore them sometimes

  • Adjusted Infected rotation settings per Robert’s request (so they can hit turrets better)

  • Improvements to Threat logic to fix threat not properly generating when something has no threat limit

  • Improved melee units to get extra threat towards injured structures

  • Improved units to not get reduced threat towards armed structures (turrets)

  • Vision Grid improvement to better enable units to ‘see’ Guard Towers (extra ‘trace point’ for checking against them) so infected can see these towers over non-see-thru walls. Units would ignore targets in certain key situations when say building a guard tower near a wall to shoot over it.

  • Ported Blowup guy explosion to the ExplosiveDamageCheck system to make it more efficient.

  • Fixed some Centroid issues that Krieg discovered during a discord playtest that makes it a lot more bulletproof for crazy complicated bases

  • Fixed some Infected failing to melee sometimes under some conditions

  • Fixed a client crash that would occur relating to the lack of the game state when a server was shutdown

  • Fixed an issue where rubble CERC walls would fail to deregister sometimes from the fog of war system

  • Fog of war system optimized on the server/offline side of things to be less strict about some distance checks between AI calcs

    Extra safeties to try to stop RTS HUD from remaining visible while in Operator mode

  • Single row razor wire now has 350hp and cost 200 and double row has 650hp health and cost 400.

  • Buffed the range of the shawnee weapons by 30% and damage by 20%

  • Sparrow now has a 15% range buff and 10% damage buff.

  • FFAR: increased projectile speed to 6500min to 13500max (was 4500-8000)

  • MGL: explosion damage increased from 200 to 380. min damage 100 to 150

  • Smaw: increased projectile speed to 8000min to 12000 max (used to be 2500)

  • increased damage to jug by 5%

  • Snipers: ranges increased by 10% to clearly out range ARs etc.

  • Jug car throw: explosion radius lowered from 500 to 250

  • Jug base melee: decreased unit damage slightly. still unforgiving but less likely to 1 shot operators.

  • Fixed mgl crouch

  • Buffer Juggernaut Range + Spitters. Jugs can throw the same range as the Helicopters now. Spiders can see helicopters at the same range but still have to enter the “range” of their spit. Blow up guys have reduced damage to allied units when exploding

  • Applied crash fixes for Construction crash

  • Gas towers now give 10k Pandemic ONLY

  • Infection pods 3K Pandemic ONLY

  • spine turrets 250 Pandemic ONLY

  • Spitters 120 ->250 Pandemic ONLY

  • Standard Infected 25->50 Pandemic ONLY

  • Brute Infected 25->100 Pandemic ONLY

  • Blowup Guy 76->170 Pandemic ONLY

How to Opt In

Here’s how to opt into the Cepheus Protocol public playtest on Steam:

  1. Open Steam and go to your Library.

  2. Right-click Cepheus Protocol and select Properties.

  3. In the left panel, click on Betas.

  4. From the dropdown menu, choose public-playtest.

  5. Close the window. Steam will automatically begin downloading the playtest branch.

Once the download is finished, you’ll be running the public playtest version.

Recap for those late to the party

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/979640/view/537736957039477252https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/979640/view/537735054151909377

What’s Coming Next

Immediate priorities are:

  • Balancing the new Builder Drone and Juggernaut AI

  • Wrapping helicopter polish (directed landings, pads, operator features, desync fixes)

  • Fixing AI issues with enemy prioritization and tactical decisions

  • Frequent bug fixes as we get reports

  • Chelsey’s AI

  • Juggernauts are undergoing testing at the moment

  • Population Meter re-implemented at the bottom-left of the UI for tracking infection strength

Once helicopters and AI stability are locked in, focus will shift to Custom Game Options so players can tune pacing and difficulty. Vehicle driving AI and pathfinding are next in line, but we may hold off depending on the volume and severity of bug reports.

October Goals

We are aiming to flip the rebuild into the default experience by the Halloween Sale, with older versions still available as an opt-in. The exact timing will be based on stability, bug reports, and community feedback — our goal is to get as many people as possible playing on the rebuild once it’s ready.

October priorities include:

  • Implement the AJAX(HUMVEE) as a test bed for vehicle driving. Work with the community to establish a good “core” vehicle driving. After its “done” we start porting over all the wheeled vehicles and follow up with the Abrams and co.

  • Extensive Bug hunts / Performance tweaks

  • A save/load system for Pandemic

  • Bay Area map updates: Treasure Island and Angel Island are under renovation, with rollout expected around Halloween. Stay tuned! We will aim to release this map in segments going into XMAS. Starting in stages

    1. Treasure Island->

    2. Angel & Alcatraz Island ->

    3. San Francisco North

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On top of these big-ticket items, there are many smaller details and fine-tuning tasks underway — some not listed here but discussed in recent CERC HQ broadcasts. October will be a mix of large features and constant iteration as we refine the fundamentals.

🎧 Last Time on CERC HQ…

Cepheus Protocol | CERC HQ | #69

This week’s update is a no-holds-barred breakdown of Pandemic mode’s evolution, centered around the rebuild of Treasure Island and a total systems overhaul. Robert walks through the new layered rollout strategy for map expansion, beginning with a playable slice of Treasure Island set to launch around Halloween. With Unreal Engine 5’s precision fixes, the team can finally realize their original vision for a scalable, destructible, and immersive RTS battlefield.

Level design gets serious upgrades, including foliage placement, bridge logic, and terrain verticality—while the devs debate whether to support multi-tiered underpasses for gameplay. On the AI side, huge strides are made in how infected evaluate targets, spread, and adapt to player fortifications. Pathfinding gets tighter, blowup enemies are rebalanced, and new debug systems give devs visibility into AI logic mid-match.

Operators get more integration with RTS elements—riding helicopters, building structures, and coordinating in full co-op squads. Helicopter physics and weapon balance receive a full pass, alongside early work on ground vehicle deployment starting with the Ajax. Meanwhile, discussions begin on evolving infected variants and bringing dynamic civilian factions back with better AI direction systems.

Chelsea’s overhaul is still coming. Juggernaut and Builder units continue to be tested. And yes, feedback from Discord and Steam is actively shaping next steps.

🔥 Highlights

  • Treasure Island rebuild set for Halloween rollout with layered map expansion

  • Fully revamped AI threat logic, pathfinding, and zone targeting

  • Debate over under-bridge traversal and visibility in RTS gameplay

  • Helicopter balancing complete: physics, flight feel, and weapon tuning

  • Operators now ride, build, and interact deeply with RTS mechanics

  • Juggernaut and Builder infected updated with smarter behaviors

  • Upcoming work on vehicle AI, bridge destruction, and custom doctrines

  • New debug tools help devs analyze AI decisions during play

  • Feedback-driven dev cycle with live balance adjustments

  • Community Q&A covers everything from faction AI to turtling tactics

🛠️ Patch Preview

Expect nerfs to blowup units, tweaks to helicopter refueling, and tighter threat evaluation logic. The Ajax vehicle rollout begins soon, and feedback is requested for bridge logic, underpass use, and unit camera control. It’s shaping up fast—get ready to test hard and break things.

https://youtu.be/_vPNXsx32RQ

🎙️ Next CERC HQ – Livestream Details

🕔 When: Weekly Saturdays – 3 PM EST (New Time!)

📺 Where to Watch:

💬 Topics We’ll Cover:

  • 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.

📺 Missed a Stream? No Worries!