Enemy Wave Spawns
This new type of encounter allows areas of the game world to have their own difficulty curve. Initially weak enemies will be present allowing Runners to clear a sector quickly. Instead of this triggering the usual respawn of the exact same foes (or wait for Runners to leave and come back) something exciting happens – enemy reinforcements arrive!

Dependant on the sector, wave after wave of enemies will show up! Each wave will bring its own challenges as enemy types change and wave compositions adjust. Fighting a small number of powerful enemies can make way for a much larger wave of weaker opponents. As Runners progress through the waves they will need to work together to survive as their foes spawn randomly through the sector making each play through that little bit different.

Outzone Sector 7
After over a decade of being sealed behind a fence, Outzone 7 is now open and accessible to players. Thanks to a leap forward in our level editing toolset, we have fixed a significant number of issues with the map file; ladders now work, pits have escape routes and doors function properly.

We want runners to explore this sector and report any issues they find, so we can ensure they’re ironed out. Bringing this piece of the game world back to the players and making further repairs is a great test for our improved toolset.
We’ll be investing time in fixing other map issues going forward, some of the initial fixes are detailed in the rest of the patch notes.

Outzone Sector 7 <3 Wave Spawns
A match made in heaven – previously inaccessible location meets new encounter type.

Everything is not as it seems in the dilapidated power plant within Outzone Sector 7. Mutants continue to roam the sector much like the rest of the Outzone but there is a hum of tension in the air.

Powerful new types of Mutants have been spotted in the sector. Burly Enforcers patrol the corridors along with the upper echelons of the mysterious group of mutated PSI Monks known as the Enlightened.

Take up arms and raid this new location to see how many waves of mutants you and your team can survive. Make sure to provide us feedback on this new encounter so we can improve it over time and bring these new mechanics to other areas of the game world.

All New Weapon Systems
Weapon damage is an essential part of Neocron’s underlying systems and plays a huge part within the game world – obviously! With the release of Neocron Evolution 2.3 we have completely re-implemented the weapon damage system. All code governing the behaviours of Rifles, Pistols, Heavy Weapons, Melee, Passive and Aggressive PSI has been entirely rewritten from the ground up.

Thus, we are now able to finely tune weapons either individually or by our newly created Weapon Families system. Having removed many bugs in weapon performance calculations, weapons are now more reliable and perform accurately in-line with our expectations when compared to our inputs.

For our Droners, stay tuned for a future update which will bring Drones in line too.

Weapon Balance
All weapon types have been adjusted to fall in line with a new weapon balance paradigm. More setups are now viable as many more weapons have feasible use cases. Aiming for the highest Tech Level weapon may no longer be the best approach. Dropping to a lower Tech Level may allow you to generate as much damage more quickly. It also finally opens the doors to setups which are not based on min-max values – more variety awaits.

Players are advised to experiment with their setup to find the perfect balance for their play style. There is a huge amount of change within weapon balance and some of this will be documented by Aegir, our balance boffin, in the coming days and weeks. The very best way of understanding the new balance is to play and get a feel for the different weapon types again. With huge improvements to the viability of melee combat for example, it might be a good time to try that melee tank you always intended to play!

Weapon Families
Weapons which share characteristics are now grouped into Weapon Families behind the scenes. This new concept allows us to control weapons on an individual or family level in a uniform manner. With rapid iteration in mind we can now finely adjust the behaviours and characteristics of all weapons in the game using our custom damage simulation tooling.

Weapon ammunition is now unique to each Weapon Family, allowing precise alterations to be made. More ammo types are available to ensure damage is more refined. Therefore, some of your weapons will need a new type of ammo. 

You can find all new ammo types for your weapons at the same vendors as before. If you cannot find the ammo you require for your weapon at an in-game store, please let us know ASAP.

Wisdom of Ceres, Rare and Epic Weapon Bonuses
To create more variance in weapon setups we have removed the previous bonuses granted to weapons in the Wisdom of Ceres, Rare and Epic weapon categories. These are now properly balanced across the entire weapon range. Regular weapons are now more viable as a result.

With the removal of a specific damage bonus, this removes the reliance on these items in PVP.

Melee Combat
It has been requested for many many years that melee combat get some tender loving care - well today is the day. Melee combat has gotten some serious improvements to damage output and playability in Neocron Evolution 2.3 and the feedback we've had during testing is that melee is now a more viable class in many combat situations.

Hybrid PSI Monks
We have removed the negative effects of PSI Monk specialisation, bringing Hybrid PSI Monks back to the table. Hybrid PSI Monks should now pose a threat in combat but thanks to changes in shield mechanics and weapon balance they should not outstrip specialised PSI Monks in defence or damage output.

Advanced Damage Indicators
Indicators used to display the damage caused by Runners to their enemies have been re-implemented. Rather than a single figure illustrating the amount of HP lost by the target, the new advanced damage indicators are split across colour-coded damage types. At a glance Runners are now able to see exactly how effective their weapons are against their foes.

By default, damage types are represented by the following colours (Red, Green, Blue, Alpha):

• Normal Damage – Red (255 50 35 255)
• Force Damage – Red (255 50 35 255)
• Piercing Damage – Red (255 50 35 255)
• Fire Damage – Orange (255 127 39 255)
• Energy Damage – Blue (0 128 255 255)
• X-ray Damage – Teal (57 200 180 255)
• Poison Damage – Green (0 210 0 255)
• Psi Damage – Purple (160 40 170 255)
• Vehicle Damage – Red (255 50 35 255)
• Heal – Yellow (255 255 35 255)

All elements of the Neocron RPOS can be coloured to match your own personal style and new advanced damage indicators are no exception. The existing rposcolor.ini file has been extended with configurable options for all new indicators.

As we further improve the visual appearance of Neocron, our new advanced damage indicators are also in high definition. You’re now provided with a crisp and clear display of the carnage you’re causing which is a lot easier to read. 

Item Window Improvements
We have implemented several improvements to the Item Window which appears when right clicking an item and selecting 'Show Info'. Weapons now show detailed information about their damage output across damage types. Through percentage indicators you can also gain an accurate understanding of your performance with the chosen weapon thanks to the all new weapon system.

Kill Tracking
New statistic systems have been implemented which collect various information going on in the game world. This includes a log of all Runner deaths in the game world and how they died. We’ll be making this information available via the Public API soon, allowing the production of kill boards and further stat analysis.

New Character Tutorial & Revamped Area MC5
Area MC5, the new player starting area, has been updated with several new missions. The new missions will explain several systems and skills to new players while also providing early XP progression. Both new and returning players are encouraged to play through these missions, this path through the lowest levels of the game aims to reduce the reliance on grinding.

From Area MC5 missions you can progress into Mr Jones’ mission line and in the future, we will be implementing the next post-Jones missions to aid your progression.

Area MC5 has been reworked completely to make the first steps in Neocron easier for new players. A new mission camp has been added. Info popups have been added. Spawns have been altered/adjusted. New decorations and additional traders have been added.

Mission System Improvements
Our new mission system technology has received several updates to improve performance. As well as removing the old maximum number of mission in the old system, the new system allows us to dynamically add missions to the game world without a patch.

Damage Logs Return
In one of our previous patches we moved damage calculation to the server to improve reliability. A casualty of this was the local damage log. We have re-enabled this with the Neocron Evolution 2.3 update. While damage calculation remains server side, we’re relaying some extra data to the client to reenable the damage log. The generated damage logs uses the original code and has not yet been updated, be aware results may vary.

Damage logging should only be used while testing your setup, as when enabled this may impact performance.

Pegasus Engine Updates

• Increased maximum Fog Distance significantly, players can now see further;
• Increased maximum permitted number of objects per sector dramatically;
• Lighting effects have been adjusted for items, NPCs, projectiles and objects which emit light;
• Particle system has been improved;
• A new dynamic light particle has been added;
• Rare weapon ‘swirlies’ now emit light onto surfaces in the game world;
• Weapon projectiles now emit light onto surface in the game world;
• Three new weapon effects have been implemented;
• Particles in gravlifts have been improved;
• Netcode update tickrate has been increased significantly;
• We're now able to customise dynamic lighting for each shot effect individually;
• Added support for 4K texture resolutions;
• Updated texture and light map support from 8/16Bit to 24/32Bit, increasing colour palette and reducing colour banding.

Technical Updates

• Server population is now reported in actual figures instead of percentages on the server selection screen;
• Improved reliability of the ‘/set kill_self 1’ command between server and game clients;
• Improved character gender identification in some programmatic situations;
• Rewritten logic governing item condition impact on weapon performance;
• Added global modifier for the severity of "broken legs";
• Refactored logic governing Damage Over Time (DOT);
• Position update rate for Drones has been increased;
• Improved underlying logic for the performance of Drones;
• Legacy code for Skill Influence for weapon damage has been replaced;
• Reimplemented Hacknet character models for players entering Hacknet;
• NPC's can now pull their dialogue strings from a resource file. In time, we will move NPCs over to this new system as it provides many benefits to be explored in the future;
• Beam weapons should now display their hits correctly;
• Shield system has been re-implemented;
• Automatic Soul Light regeneration has been reactivated;
• New "MISSED" shots have been implemented to better illustrate when individual projectiles do no damage;
• Bugs were fixed in the length of STUN, DAMAGEBOOST and CONTAMINATION effects;
• Improvements to NPC script handling;
• Netcode has been updated to factor in increased data transmission for weapon data;
• Stuns have been fixed + some general handling regarding temp. effects;
• Gatling Cannon sounds have been normalised within the Weapon Family.

Gameplay Updates

• Lowered movement speed malus for "broken legs";
• Restored generic sound and visual impact indicators when being hit;
• Added new sound and visual impact indicator effects for specific Weapon Mods;
• Added fire impact effect to fire modded laser and pulse laser ammunition;
• Adjusted effects for impact effects (explosion effect too big on certain weapons)
• Added a small explosion effect to PSI Attack (it does force damage, after all)
• Reduced impact of Item condition on weapon performance.
• Bug Fixes
• Stealth animation fixed;
• Sniper rifle zoom fixed;
• Fixed a crash in DOT logic;
• Animations for decorative Rats, Seagulls and Crows have been restored;
• Spawning of NPCs should no longer lead to occasional server desynchronization;
• Clan pointers should no longer appear for Runners not in a Clan;
• Fix applied which removes referenced resources on exiting the game, this is now faster;
• Standard Rocket Ammo should now work as intended;
• Several server side crashes were identified and fixed;
• Several client side crashes were identified and fixed;
• Positions of freezer rifles are adjusted;
• Runners now gain experience for secondary main skills while in a team.

Items

• Added 3 new sets of furniture for Runner apartments:
• Added Tech Level inventory labels to all tools without them;
• Added I, II, III inventory label to Stealth Activators;
• Added "R" inventory label to all remote tools;
• Added PE and SPY inventory labels to Stealth Tools awarded from Mr Jones missions;
• New rare Junk Knife BLACKMIST'S REMORSE has been implemented;
• New rare Stiletto SOLINGEN'S FINEST has been implemented;
• New rare line of sight heal module HOLY RESTORATION has been implemented;
• New rare poison beam PSI module CAUSTIC RAIN has been implemented;
• New rare experimental rifle SECOND LOVE has been implemented;
• New Ionic Crossbow Rifle has been implemented.

Text Updates

• Job description for the Rigger profession has been updated;
• In-game welcome mail "Death in Neocron" has been updated to remove all references to backpacks and to provide up to date information;
• Welcome Tip (Skill Advisor) in-game emails have been updated for Inquisitor, Field Medic and Preacher professions;
• Several traders were selling “PSI Spells”, instead of Modules. Renamed 'Spells' to 'Modules' where applicable;
• Info/help popups have been reviewed and their text updated appropriately;
• New info/help popups have been added to help players and guide them through the new Area MC5 tutorial;
• Info/help popups have been activated for all new characters;
• Numerous spelling errors in the English language client have been corrected;
• Numerous spelling errors in the German language client have been corrected;
• Item names referring to NExT have been corrected;
• Incorrect grammar has been corrected for research terminal missions in the German language client;
• Fixed naming of Point Red Storage;
• Naming schemes for ammo and weapon modifications have been amended.

Gameworld

• A new retailer, Neokea, has moved into Viarosso Sector 3. They offer new ranges of luxury furniture available for Runner apartments;
• Added overhauled/new cabinets to NPC trader;
• Runners can now access Outzone Sector 7;
• Fixed several issues with the Outzone Sector 7 map;
• Added new wave spawn mechanic to Outzone Sector 7;
• Fixed lighting issue in the Military Base Entrance map;
• Reset position location of the Fallen Angels Tech Core has been fixed;
• Fixed a map bug sending players to the wrong apartment lift when leaving Verizon Arcade apartments in Viarosso Sector 2;
• Removed Yakarma and "FragZone" VOX adverts;
• Flying and floating objects such as barrels, boxes and trees have been removed/fixed in the following sectors:
  
  • G_09, I_14, J_01, J_02, J_03, J_07, J_14, K_01, K_05.
• Removed tree in Industrial Area Sec. 2;
• Canyon Facility has now a Loss of Memory pill vendor;
• Apartment Broker (Plaza Sector 1) now sells furnished Plaza and Viarosso apartments;
• Minor visual changes to Military Base Sec. 1 and Biotech HQ, including decals, assets, floating objects and removed some obsolete textures;
• Changed both YO's layouts in Military Base Sec. 1 to bring it in line with the Military look, replaced some crates with different textures, removed and added blood and dirt decals, added further Apartment numbering and fixed some floating objects;
• A lighting issue was fixed in Military Base Entrance;
• Removed smugglers without any function in J10 & K15;
• Sign posts in Fortress Undergrounds are no longer chairs;
• Blue Tech Haven furniture has been replaced with the correct grey variant in Fortress Undergrounds;
• Improved spawn chance of Wood for boxes in Area MC5;
• Floating boxes and barrels have been grounded in Fortress Undergrounds.

Graphic Updates

• Overhauled doorbell textures;
• Graphic asset file structure amended for better support of new client/server tooling;
• Added various decal textures;
• Updated versions of some foliage models have been added;
• New PSI Glove models have been added for first person mode;
• Fixed some missing texture references;
• Fixed transparency for willows and reeds;
• First Person effects for being on fire were adjusted;
• Visual effects for Damage over Time status effects have been improved;
• New intro splash screens for Neocron Support Team and Pegasus Engine;
• New extro splash screen for Neocron Evolution social media;
• Revised loading and login screen backgrounds.

Missions & NPCs

• Several fixes across all Mr Jones new character mission scripts for English, French and German languages;
• Mr Jones missions have been updated in the English, German & French versions of the client, moving them to NST mission technology;
• Non-responsive NPCs in Mr Jones missions have been fixed. This includes common issues with NPCs such as the Dog, Construction Machine and Upload Terminal;
• Relocated Mr Jones mission location ‘Biological Research Lab’;
• Fixed names of Canyon Facility X1-3 keys/apartments, now correctly labelled as Montag Barracks;
• Fixed names of Canyon Facility X4-6 keys/apartments, now correctly labelled as Rodriguez Barracks;
• "Fergusson" should now always spawn automatically at the correct position;
• The 'Biological Research Lab’ has now a new home in Plaza Sec 3;
• Regants Faith Mission updated;
• Significantly decreased the amount of credits you need for the Neocare Jailhouse Missions and also doubled the amount of SL you get;
• Non-responsive NPCs in the NExT Epic Mission have been fixed;
• Twilight Guardian trade skill quick job missions no longer send the player Plaza Sector 2;
• The Bright 'n' Clean Coordinator in Area MC5 is now able to give you a mission;
• Fixed a possible exploit in Tsunami Epic mission;
• 'Enlighted' PSI Mutants mobs are now correctly labelled as 'Enlightened';
• Added several new tiers of Enlightened PSI Mutants;
• Several tiers of new Enforcer mutants have been added;
• A new variation of Drom has been added;
• City Merc Epic mission 6 has been altered/fixed. Marcel should not attack you anymore while you are still reading the dialogue;
• A trader for Hacknet items has been added to Area MC5;
• Health increased for very high level enemy NPCs;
• Health adjusted globally for enemy NPCs inline with adjusted damage output of player characters.

Drones

• Implemented initial values for drone speed and damage (as a baseline for testing and further adjustments);
• Reduced overall damage of Drones;
• Tripled range of Gatling Drones;
• Reduced effectiveness of Kamikaze Drones by half;
• Implemented set damage values for Kamikaze Drones;
• MR Drone series now uses single target homing missile again.

PSI

• APU damage reduced overall and further reduced for Halo, Lance, Ball, Bolt and Barrel types (non-rare damage was too high);
• Protector efficiency raised a bit;
• Parashock and Damageboost Sanctum duration increased to 30 seconds;
• Heal Sanctum duration increased from 30 to 90 seconds;
• Heal Group duration increased from 30 to 60 seconds;
• PPU Psi Energy requirements overhaul (for commonly used modules):
  • Crahn Holy DamageBlocker TL 96 : 125 -> 62.5;
  • Crahn Holy AntiParalyse TL 102 : 125 -> 62.5;
  • Crahn Blessed DamageBlocker TL 84 : 100 -> 50;
  • Crahn Holy Absorber Sanctum TL 102 : 93.075 -> 46.54;
  • Crahn Heat Resist Booster 3 TL 95 : 86.688 -> 43.34;
  • Crahn Supporter Booster 3 TL 95 : 86.688 -> 43.34;
  • Crahn Spy Booster 3 TL 95 : 86.688 -> 43.34;
  • Crahn PSI Combat Booster 3 TL 95 : 86.688 -> 43.34;
  • Crahn Hazard Resist Booster 3 TL 95 : 86.688 -> 43.34;
  • Crahn Drone Combat Booster 3 TL 95 : 86.688 -> 43.34;
  • Crahn Rifle Combat Booster 3 TL 95 : 86.688 -> 43.34;
  • Crahn Pistol Combat Booster 3 TL 95 : 86.688 -> 43.34;
  • Crahn Heavy Combat Booster 3 : 86.688 -> 43.34;
  • Crahn Melee Combat Booster 3 TL 95 : 86.688 -> 43.34;
  • Crahn Basic Resist Booster 3 TL 95 : 86.688 -> 43.34;
  • Crahn Construction Booster 3 TL 95 : 86.688 -> 43.34;
  • Crahn Holy Heal Sanctum TL 91 : 83.038 -> 41.52;
  • Crahn Holy Protector Sanctum TL 84 : 76.65 -> 38.33;
  • Crahn Blessed Absorber Sanctum TL 78 : 71.175 -> 35.59;
  • Crahn Basic Resist Booster 2 TL 75 : 68.438 -> 43.22;
  • Crahn Hazard Resist Booster 2 TL 75 : 68.438 -> 43.22;
  • Crahn Heat Resist Booster 2 TL 75 : 68.438 -> 43.22;
  • Crahn Holy Group Absorber TL 105 : 64.313 -> 32.2;
  • Crahn Holy Deflector Sanctum TL 69 : 62.963 -> 31.99;
  • Crahn Blessed Protector Sanctum TL 67 : 61.138 -> 30.57;
  • Crahn Holy Group Heal TL 98 : 60.025 -> 30;
  • Crahn Blessed Heal Sanctum TL 58 : 52.925 -> 26.46;
  • Crahn Spy Booster 2 TL 55 : 50.188 -> 25.1;
  • Crahn Heavy Combat Booster 2 : 50.188 -> 25.1;
  • Crahn Rifle Combat Booster 2 TL 55 : 50.188 -> 25.1;
  • Crahn Drone Combat Booster 2 TL 55 : 50.188 -> 25.1;
  • Crahn Supporter Booster 2 TL 55 : 50.188 -> 25.1;
  • Crahn Construction Booster 2 TL 55 : 50.188 -> 25.1;
  • Crahn PSI Combat Booster 2 TL 55 : 50.188 -> 25.1;
  • Crahn Pistol Combat Booster 2 TL 55 : 50.188 -> 25.1;
  • Crahn Melee Combat Booster 2 TL 55 : 50.188 -> 25.1;
  • Crahn Holy Group Protector TL 80 : 49 -> 24.5;
  • Crahn Blessed Group Absorber TL 79 : 48.388 -> 24.2;
  • Crahn Holy Absorber TL 95 : 43.938 -> 30;
  • Crahn Holy Heal TL 85 : 39.313 -> 25;
  • Crahn Holy Protector TL 71 : 32.838 -> 30;
  • Crahn Holy Deflector TL 64 : 39.6 -> 30;
  • HOLY ABSORPTION TL 108 : 33.75 -> 25;
  • HOLY PROTECTION TL 104 : 32.5 -> 25;
  • HOLY DEFLECTION TL 100 : 31.25 -> 25.

Patch R#200 & R#201

• Increased shot frequency of Raygun Pistols;
• Increased damage output of Fusion Pistols;
• Fixed a lighting issue in Viarosso Sector 2;
• Fixed further geometry issues in Outzone Sector 7;
• Fixed (removed) synaptic impairment impact of Loss of Memory pills;
• Fixed 0% synaptic impairment requirement on PSI and some INT Loss of Memory pills;
• Fixed distribution of Ionic Crossbow Rifle;
• Fixed some server side crashes;
• Fixed some client side crashes.

Miscellaneous

• Credits updated.