Hello everyone. We are excited to present the remaining SCP updates, as well as the anticipated 1853 rework and more in this latest release. Included in 13.5 are a number of significant balance changes for the remaining members of the SCP team. The following lists fixes and improvements to the gameplay experience of certain SCPs and those playing against them. [h2]SCP Balance Changes[/h2] [h3]SCP-173[/h3] [list][*] Base health increased to 4500. [*] [i]Breakneck Speeds[/i] now starts on cooldown at the beginning of the round. [*] [i]Tantrum[/i] can no longer be used during the Sustain period. [i]Note: This is the amount of time where an eye indicator is visible on screen.[/i][/list] [i]Developer Commentary: We felt that SCP-173 was finding LCZ (Light Containment Zone) elevators in the early game too quickly. As a result, a cooldown is now applied at the start of the round for balancing. We also noticed that SCP-173 could teleport behind a target and immediately use Tantrum, leading to an unavoidable death for human classes. As this led players to have a negative experience, this behaviour has been corrected while maintaining minimal impact to SCP-173’s general ability to place Tantrum.[/i] [h3]SCP-106[/h3] [list][*] Base health increased to 2300. [*] Maximum Hume Shield reduced to 600. [*] Increased M1’s initial damage to 40 (from 30). [*] Stamina will now drain when under the [i]Corrosion[/i] status effect. [*] Removed the ability for SCP-500 to remove [i]Traumatized[/i]. [*] Reduced cooldowns of [i]Hunter’s Atlas[/i] and [i]Stalk[/i]. [*] Emerging from the floor is now 0.2s faster.[/list] [i]Developer Commentary: After reviewing our feedback forms, we discovered that additional buffs added to SCP-106 were warranted. Introducing stamina draining will reduce circumstances where SCP-106 struggles to close the distance between itself and a target during extended periods of pursuit. Additionally, Vigor now acts as SCP-106’s primary cooldown to allow for a stealthier gameplay style.[/i] [h3]SCP-079[/h3] [list][*] The ability to lock doors is now achieved at Tier 3. [*] Updated [i]Blackout[/i].[list] [*] Increased the cost to 40 AP (from 25). This cost is doubled on Surface Zone. [*] Decreased the duration to ten seconds (from 15). [*] Increased cooldown between zone-wide blackouts.[/list] [*] Reduced Tier 4’s AP regeneration. [*] Reduced Tier 5’s AP regeneration. [*] SCP-2176 now stuns SCP-079 for ten seconds. [*] Door-related buttons inside of the facility will no longer be visible to SCP-079 while the warhead is active. [*] Increased the distance at which allied SCPs can view pings.[/list] [i]Developer Commentary: We found that SCP-079’s ability to lock doors had the potential to be too oppressive during the early game and resulted in unavoidable deaths for Civilian classes. Additionally, we felt that AP costs had negligible impact in the later tiers. Following feedback from the beta, we have decided to no longer reduce XP rates from termination assists. We will be maintaining close observation on how SCP-079 performs going forward.[/i] [h3]SCP-049[/h3] [list][*] Base health increased to 2300. [*] Removed SCP-049’s innate armour bonus. [*] Increased [i]Good Sense of the Doctor[/i]’s movement speed buff. [*] Increased [i]Good Sense of the Doctor[/i]’s Hume Shield bonus upon resurrecting a target. [*] Increased the Hume Shield granting radius of [i]Doctor’s Call[/i]. [*] Corpses now expire slightly faster.[/list] [i]Developer Commentary: SCP-049’s armour introduced complexity to the character that proved ineffective in creating a noticeable difference in gameplay.We decided to buff SCP-049’s health slightly to compensate. We have also improved SCP-049’s offensive capabilities to allow for more independent gameplay, and will be monitoring these changes closely.[/i] [h3]SCP-049-2[/h3] [list][*] Can now only be re-revived once by SCP-049. [*] Instances with an HP bonus granted by [i]Good Sense of the Doctor[/i] will now revive with more HP.[/list] [i]Developer Commentary: A single SCP-049-2 instance that was repeatedly revived resulted in a total effective HP value of nearly 1500 for that specific player. The consequences result in the game not containing enough ammo to combat even a few resurrected players.[/i] [h2]Improvements and Backend Changes[/h2] [h3]SCP-1853 Rework[/h3][list] [*] SCP-1853 now grants the following buffs:[list] [*] 50% increase in item pickup speed. [*] 20% decrease in weapon inaccuracy (ADS and Hip). [*] 20% decrease in weapon recoil. [*] 35% reduction in reload/unload time. [*] 20% reduction in ADS enter/exit time. [*] 20% reduction in use times of medical items, grenades, SCP items, and candy. [*] Removes speed and stamina penalties for held items.[/list] [*] SCP-1853 now operates on a system called [i]Danger[/i], strengthening its effects when the user is experiencing a life-threatening situation. [*] [i]Danger[/i] caps at five, granting up to a 3x multiplier to its buffs. [*] The following conditions grant increases in [i]Danger[/i] for 20 seconds, accompanied by an audio cue:[list] [*] Encountering SCPs grants one [i]Danger[/i] (+0.5 for additional encounters). [*] Encountering SCP-049-2 instances grants 0.25 [i]Danger[/i] per encounter. [*] Encountering armed enemies grants one [i]Danger[/i] (+0.25 for subsequent enemies). [*] Receiving damage grants 0.25 [i]Danger[/i] for every ten health lost. [*] Being underneath the effects of [i]Cardiac Arrest[/i] grants two [i]Danger[/i]. [*] Being underneath the effects of [i]Corroding[/i] grants one [i]Danger[/i]. [*] Being an active target of SCP-096 grants two [i]Danger[/i]. [*] Alpha Warhead being actively engaged grants one [i]Danger[/i].[/list] [*] Removed the ability to stack SCP-1853. [/list] [i]Developer Commentary: SCP-1853 gained an ‘underwhelming’ reputation for the majority of its inclusion. When we tested a potential rework in our Patreon Early Access Rebalancing Session and received very positive feedback, we were inspired to pursue further improvements. The result is SCP-1853 feeling much more reactive and engaging to use, along with a noticeable increase in strength than its previous incarnations.[/i] [h3]SCP-207 Rebalance[/h3] [list][*] SCP-207’s effect now caps after three consumed items instead of four. [*] Updated speed and damage values across all stack values. [i]Note: The mentioned damage values are that of a sprinting player — walking and sneaking reduces damage appropriately.[/i][list] [*] Using one SCP-207 now results in a speed increase of 10% and a damage rate of 1.5HP/s. [*] Using two SCP-207 items now results in a speed increase of 20% and a damage rate of 2.5HP/s. [*] Using three SCP-207 items now results in a speed increase of 40% and a damage rate of 4HP/s.[/list][/list] [i]Developer Commentary: SCP-207 has been noted to provide among the most beneficial impact to gameplay for a considerable amount of time. When we first added SCP-207 in 2019, its power level was tempered by the lack of healing items throughout the map and the absence of a stamina bar in older versions. As the game has developed and healing items are now more prevalent, we revisited SCP-207 with the intention of introducing suitable and relevant adjustments— using the item should pose a risk rather than effectively containing no downside.[/i] [h3]Anti-SCP-207 Rebalance[/h3] [list][*] Anti-SCP-207’s effect now caps after three consumed items instead of four. [*] Updated speed and healing values across all stack values. [i]Note: The mentioned healing values are that of a stationary player — walking and sprinting reduces healing appropriately.[/i][list] [*] Using one Anti-SCP-207 now results in a speed decrease of 5% and a healing rate of 2.5HP/s. [*] Using two Anti-SCP-207 items now results in a speed decrease of 15% and a healing rate of 5HP/s. [*] Using three Anti-SCP-207 items now results in a speed decrease of 20% and a healing rate of 7.5HP/s.[/list][/list] [i]Developer Commentary: Following the SCP-207 adjustments, we decided to update Anti-SCP-207 as well. Due to the speed-decreasing nature of Anti-SCP-207, we have increased its HP regeneration and, additionally, it will no longer be a one-to-one reflection of its counterpart.[/i] [h3]Firearm Tweaks[/h3] [list][*] Tweaked multiple aspects of the FR-MG-0. [list][*] Increased base weight of the FR-MG-0 to 9.2kg, previously 7.2kg. [*] Decreased the rate of fire to 720rpm, previously 750rpm. [*] Reduced the penetration of the FR-MG-0 to 60%, previously 75%. [*] Increased the damage of the FR-MG-0 to 24.4, previously 22.9. [*] AP Drum attachment now increases recoil by 15%. [*] AP Drum now increases penetration by 17%, previously 15%. [*] Short Barrel attachment now increases running accuracy by 20%. [*] Short Barrel now reduces damage by 6%, previously 3%. [*] Heavy Stock attachment reduces recoil by 16%, previously 33%. [*] Adjusted recoil pattern.[/list] [*] Logicer’s Short Barrel attachment now gives a 25% hip fire accuracy bonus, previously 43%. [*] The FSP-9 will now always become a COM-18 on [i]Coarse[/i] in SCP-914.[/list] [i]Developer Commentary: As mentioned in our [url=https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/700330/view/6216734321433166372]future update news post[/url], our plans include large-scale adjustments to firearms. While these updates are still forthcoming, we are providing these smaller tweaks in the interim to assist in bridging the gap between these two updates.[/i] [h3]Fixes and Improvements[/h3] [list][*] Adjusted Adrenaline’s SCP-914 recipes. [*] Adjusted the Epsilon-11’s SCP-914 recipes. [*] Halloween and Christmas main menu theme options are now available year-round to players that have the achievement from participating in the respective Halloween and Christmas events. [*] Added the ability to upload your own custom main menu music tracks. [*] Reimplemented visual effect when a player is underneath [i]Amnesia[/i]. [*] Jailbird now applies the [i]Concussed[/i] status instead of [i]Flashed[/i]. [*] SCP-096 can no longer acquire additional targets when actively charging. [*] SCP-939’s [i]Lunge[/i] and SCP-173’s [i]Blink[/i] should no longer kill targets behind thin walls. [*] Increased the Pocket Dimension’s music volume. [*] The [i]Sinkhole[/i] status effect is now applied to players within the Pocket Dimension. [*] Fixed flashlight light sources appearing visually different between first and third person. [*] Fixed an exploit allowing SCP-106 to teleport to the wrong side of an elevator. [*] Fixed muted players becoming unmuted when reconnecting. [*] Fixed revival indicators lingering after a player’s respawn. [*] Fixed SCP-049 being able to respawn players in Overwatch mode. [*] Fixed SCP-079 being able to close doors/gates in specific scenarios while the warhead is active. [*] Fixed auto-nuke triggering at inconsistent intervals. [*] Fixed a formatting error when using the ‘Request Data’ feature in Remote Admin. [*] Cleaned up old code related to SCP-106’s Pocket Dimension exits. [*] Fixed an exploit allowing unsanitized names and text to mess with certain visual elements. [*] Fixed an occasional floating door button in the HCZ server room. [*] Fixed an incorrect monitor hitbox in TC-01.[/list] [h3]Technical Changes[/h3] [list][*] 'AdminToyBase.IsStatic' property is now a SyncVar, allowing users to disable a 'PrimitiveObject' position updating. [*] Selected filters for RA’s player list are now saved across sessions. [*] Canceling the 'SCP106TeleportPlayerEvent' no longer grants SCP-106 a M1 cooldown. This can be overridden manually. [*] Added the ‘danger’ command to Remote Admin, which returns information regarding SCP-1853’s effects. [*] By popular request, added the ‘Fog Control’ status effect, granting the ability to change a client’s current FogType. [i]Note: Not all fog types were made with this effect in mind. As a result, some fog types may not execute correctly when forced.[/i] [*] Implemented GPU instancing for primitive objects, improving performance. [*] Primitive objects now share materials when using the same colour. [*] Added ‘PrimitiveFlags’ property, allowing the toggling of certain features such as collision and visibility. [*] Removed the ability to set a primitive to a negative scale. [*] ‘Cube’ primitive objects now use a ‘BoxCollider’ instead of a ‘MeshCollider’. [*] Cleaned up other primitive related code. [*] Added the [i]Slowness[/i] status effect. This effect reduces movement speed by 1% per intensity, and can overflow into negative values. [*] Added `FogControl::SetFogType(FogType)` method for easier access to update fog for specific players. [*] Added rich text sanitization in all command responses. Note: commands may opt out of it by overriding `ICommand::SanitizeResponse`. [*] Updated category for some status effects.[/list] That’s all for today — keep an eye out for further changes to come in the near future. Have fun, and [i]see you in the dark.[/i] ~ Northwood Studios