Hey hey Prospectors!  Do you have some time on your hands right now? ‘cause we have some new patch notes hot out of the oven ready to be perused! And because we didn’t have an update last week, these ones will be a bit lengthy, as we’re striving to strike out a good game balance and iron out all of our remaining issues.  As a quick heads-up, the maintenance for this update will be a bit longer than usual as well. Remember the infrastructure changes we mentioned in our last notes? We’re applying all those right now!  But before moving to the main course, let’s start this show with an, er, apologetic appetizer (alliterations are cool).  [h2]Server Issues & Compensation [/h2] If you’ve been playing The Cycle: Frontier lately, you may have noticed that we’ve been running into several server issues lately. While those will be put to rest with this update, we’re aware of how much trouble they may have caused you. That’s why we have decided to offer a small compensation to every player out there.  As such, every Prospector who have logged into the game since July 1st will receive the following for free after the update: [list][*] 150.000 K-Marks [*] 1 Scarab [*] 1 Advocate  [*] 1 Malestrom  [*] 2 Shields  [*] 1 Helmet  [/list] We apologize once more for the inconvenience and thank you all for your patience and support.  With that out of the way, time to dive in the patch notes proper!  [h2]Changes[/h2] [list] [*] Improved general fluidity and responsiveness of the heavy melee strike, so delivering very hard head bonks should be a smoother experience.  [*] Changed the text box on timer skips to make clear that you can use either K-Marks or Aurum, not both.  [*] Tweaked the looting tables for the different creatures of Fortuna III.  [*] Reworked the icons for some weapon attachments so they should be easier to differentiate from one another.  [*] Various improvements to our general UI. [/list]  [h2]Balancing & Economy[/h2] [list][*] Tweaked some crafting requirements: [list][*]Orbital Cannon Beacon [list][*]Derelict Explosives needed reduced from 6 to 3.  [*]Faction Scrips needed reduced from 200 to 80. [/list][*]Laser Drill Beacon [list] [*]Faction Scrips needed reduced from 200 to 80. [/list][*]Oil Pump Beacon [list] [*]Faction Scrips needed reduced from 200 to 80. [/list][/list][*] Increased the Faction XP & K-Mark rewards of hard jobs by 50%.  [*] Reduced the repair costs of most gear: [list] [*] Repair costs of Uncommon items reduced by 10%.  [*] Repair costs of Rare items reduced by 20%.  [*] Repair costs of Epic items reduced by 60%.  [*] Repair costs of Exotic items reduced by 75%.  [*] Repair costs of Legendary items reduced by 85%.  [*] Reduced the overall “availability” of grenades. [/list][*] Grenades have been removed from the shop and are now available in the Crafting Station for 300 K-Marks, 2 Copper Wires and 2 Hardened Metals each.  [*] Grenade rarity level changed from Common to Uncommon.  [*] Overall reduced the amount of Grenades found as loot on the surface.  [*] Reduced the amount of Grenades received as mission rewards. [/list]  [h2]Bugfixes[/h2] [list] [*] Improved general performance, especially regarding foliage and rendering distance.  [*] Fixed an issue where members of the same squad would drop on different server instances.  [*] Similarly, fixed an issue where players with a very high matchmaking rank wouldn’t be able to drop as a trio. Guess sometimes you’re just that good.  [*] You will now be able to claim your cosmetic items even when your stash is full. There’s always room for more swag after all.  [*] Fixed an issue that prevented the Crusher Caverns from resetting properly.  [*] Tweaked waterfalls a bit so they can be their actual planned pretty selves.  [*] Research in your Private Quarters shouldn’t take one second longer than indicated anymore. Think of all you’ll be able to do with that whole second.  [*] Fixed some issues that would prevent players from completing the tutorial.  [*] Fixed a small graphical artifact when using 2x optics with a Basilisk.  [*] Fixed several instances of rain pouring through ceilings, windows and otherwise seemingly solid objects. Sure, the weather sucks on Fortuna III, but come on.  [*] Fixed a weird issue where weapon charms seemed to have a mind of their own on the preview screen.  [*] Tweaked the maps a bit further: floating objects, misaligned buttons, inescapable pits, etc.  [*] Corrected some pathfinding issues for the confused wildlife.  [*] Fixed some containers being invisible until approach. No more stealth field generators for boxes!  [*] Bullets will now pierce tarps from both sides.  [*] Weapon attachments will now be fully visible from the Crafting Station.  [*] Fixed an issue that prevented equipping a new spray.  [*] The Comm Wheels will stop breaking if too many people try talking at the same time. To be fair, cutting off people is rude.  [*] Equipped weapons won’t poke their head out when throwing grenades.  [*] The Thrill Seeker is now fully usable and ready to scout the surface once more.  [*] Foaming an enemy Prospector right as they foam you should now count as actual progression for related missions. Double KOs never get old!  [*] Fixed some visual issues with the Crusher’s ranged attack.  [*] Also, killing a Crusher with a heavy melee attack won’t send it into outer space anymore.  [*] Fixed more issues with Marauders teleporting around, dealing damage to Prospectors way out of their reach or attacking opponents while turning their backs on them. Super Jeff has been nerfed.  [*] Fixed a visual issue where accepting a new mission would seem to reset progress on existing ones.  [*] Fixed an audio issue where the sound of crumbling mineral nodes would play over and over and over and over and over again.  [*] Fixed more audio issues where natural traps like bird flocks would emit their sound at the wrong location.  [*] You should know properly see the outlines of your squad mates while on the surface.  [*] Fixed an issue that would trigger an infinite loading screen when purchasing items in a shop or claiming rewards from the generators.  [*] Fixed an issue where the ramps of a Laser Drill would disappear when moving too far away.  [*] Pressing the Esc button should now work in every menu. It seems there is in fact an escape.  [*] Fixed an annoying issue where an Osiris campaign mission wouldn’t grant the Orbital Laser Beacon it’s supposed to, making the next mission a bit harder to complete.  [*] Using the “Return to Station” option should now properly update mission progress when applicable.  [*] Fixed a visual issue that would show the “Average Match Time” as 0 in the player stats. No, you’re not that fast.  [*] Fixed an issue where backpacks couldn’t be moved to the stash despite the latter not being full.  [*] Prospectors on the character selection screen after the tutorial shouldn’t appear as foamed anymore. This if not “Return of the Living Foamed” after all.  [*] Fixed an issue where insured items wouldn’t appear properly in your Private Quarters after being foamed.  [*] Fixed an issue that prevented players from interacting with Dead Drops.  [*] Changed a couple of spawning points for drop pods. You shouldn’t start your exploration session right next to angry locals now.  [*] Fixed an issue that would also apply a weapon coating when trying to equip a weapon charm.  [*] That grid visible around the evac ship? It’s gone. You’ve seen nothing.  [*] Various writing changes and localization fixes. [/list]  [h2]Misc[/h2]  [list] [*] Starting the game in Admin mode will now create an error. Please make sure you’re not launching the game in Admin mode.  [*] The Biker Queen is now called the Monarch. All hail the new paragon of badassery! [/list]  Make sure to join our Discord server (https://discord.com/invite/thecyclehttps://discord.com/invite/thecycle) and our subreddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/TheCycleFrontier/https://www.reddit.com/r/TheCycleFrontier/)       Do not forget – Fortuna favors the bold!