HiveCorp news & patch notes

Hello Mercenaries!

After a long and grueling period for us, we’re finally able to release v0.3!

Gameplay:

• Extermination mission Deserted has been added (no voice over).
• Ultimate gauge now starts at 75% and loads much faster.
• Unlocking primary weapons now requires total kills instead of weapon specific kills.
• Pickup base range increased.
• Base movement speed slightly increased.
• Spawnling Spits now fly 40% slower. Instead of a fast traveling speed they spawn a poison pool on impact.
• The Health Regeneration buff now ticks 4 times a second (was 1 tick per second). This makes the duration stat more valuable as the threshold for an extra health tick has become lower.
• The total amount of health regenerated is now 24 health (was 15 health).
• Muzzle Flash talent for Gun has been buffed, now travels much further than before.
• Space Ripple has been buffed.
• Sling Shot has been buffed.
• Jet Fuel (Shotgun talent) now burns twice as long.

Quality of life:

• Several tooltips have been updated.
• A short input delay has been added to the level up screen to prevent players from accidentally choosing the wrong upgrade.
• Some font sizes have been increased for better visibility on Steam Deck.

Tech stuff:

• Drastic memory optimization.
• Several sound concurrency issues have been resolved.
• Major parts of the code have been refactored to prevent crashing and improve performance overall.

We hope you like these changes, there are more on the way so please stay patient with us! Thank you all for the much needed support! /Anjou & Veldt

Hello Mercenaries,

Me (Anjou) and Veldt would like to start off by apologizing for the delay in updates lately. We are most certainly still working on HiveCorp although it has been a while since we added new content. We are developing HiveCorp during our free time, which makes it harder to continuously update the game. And being just 2 developers while tackling all game related issues is a challenging task to say the least, so please be patient with us. We are right now working on the last bits and pieces for an update that we are planning on releasing next week.

The patch will include the following:

• The next Extermination map “Deserted” together with a new Ghost Agent for you all to fight.
• A short delay has been added after leveling up. This will prevent players from accidentally choosing an unwanted upgrade.
• Immortality shield no longer working at infinite range after completing the shielder quest.
• Players will now start with 90% overload charge, and the overload will now also load much faster.
• All around polish for sfx and vfx.
• Fixes for sound concurrency issues.
• Clarification on several Equipment tooltips.
• A bunch of smaller performance improvements.

Up next

Next for HiveCorp is having all the Extermination maps released together with a final challenge map, which will be the end of the story for HiveCorp. Alongside these content drops we will be actively fixing issues and trying to improve the overall feel of the game (balancing etc.). Best of luck out there, mercenaries! /Anjou & Veldt

Patch v.0.2

Hello, Mercenaries! Check out Known Issues And Solutions for more information on the current state of the game.

Changes

Major - The first Extermination mission is now available to play (earlier called Ultimate). Let us know what you think about it, and how you would like to see it improved. - Main Menu has been overhauled. - We’ve added color schemes to the character that can be bought and changed in the Main Menu loadout (by using the in-game currency). Equipment & Loadout - Cluster Rockets now travel in a straight line instead of curving. Fires towards the nearest target. - Tesla Backpack now fires its first shot towards the nearest enemy. - Super Magnet’s base range has been increased by 100%. Combat - 9 more Elites have been added to the game. - 2 new Ultra Weapons have been added to the game (Annihilator & Eradicator). Other - 23 new Achievements. - Fixed retroactive activation for several Achievements that wasn't registered in earlier versions. - Slightly increased the rate crystal drop rate amount. We’re continuing our effort to make this game run as smoothly as possible for all our players, and we are deeply sorry for any inconvenience it has been causing some of you out there. Please continue to report anything that’s hindering you from playing our game! Thank you all for your patience! /Anjou & Veldt, Counterspell Studios

Fixes

- Achievements will now register as intended in a new queue system. - Minerals and Crystals will now be counted towards total stats again. We will add all the minerals and crystals you’ve spent in a future patch, so no mineral or crystal will be wasted! - Total waves completed now works as intended.

Patch v.0.1.0.4

Hello, Mercenaries! Check out Known Issues And Solutions for more information on the current state of the game.

Changes

Major - Fixes to Monarch’s AI controller that could cause crashes for some players. - Fixes to Monarch’s “On Death code” which could cause crashes for some players. - Fixes to the Score Screen which could cause crashes after the end of mission timer had run out for some players. - Added overall stability to various parts of the game. - Trailblazer mission has been slightly nerfed to prevent people from being locked in on the first biome. - A Backup system is now saving copies of your save game. Read more about it in our Community. - 19 new Achievements have been added and implemented into the game. Equipment & Loadout - Explosive Shots talent has been fixed and buffed, now explodes as intended! - Tesla Backpack now shoots more/longer lightning on rank 1. - Sling Shot, Subzero, Space Ripple and Friction max ranks reduced to 4 (was 8). Their damage has also been greatly increased. - Warmonger perk now grants Primary Talent points as intended. - Rocket Boots now make you immune to Chill. - Cluster Rocket’s size has been vastly increased. - Experience Buff (Knowledge) duration increased by 100%. - Bio-Enhancement Protocol now grants both a small heal AND a Regeneration buff when upgraded. - Hellfire, a new Ultra weapon has been added to the game. It’s up to you to find the right combination. Combat - Mosquito and Gunnar have been revamped, be careful out there! - Sentinels hitbox/hit-scan has been slightly reduced. - Poison pools VFX have been improved and should now be more prominent. - Enemies that explode now come to an almost halt before exploding. Other - Game Mode and Version now displayed in the top-right corner on HUD. - Warp Blade’s SFX is back in the game. - Melter VFX updated, bubbles! - Fixes to the Score screen which didn’t show the correct rank sometimes. We’re continuing our effort to make this game run as smoothly as possible for all our players, and we are deeply sorry for any inconvenience it has been causing some of you out there. Please continue to report anything that’s hindering you from playing our game! Thank you all for your patience! /Anjou & Veldt, Counterspell Studios

Patch v.0.1.0.3

We’ve managed to implement further fixes for some major issues. Check out Known Issues And Solutions for more information on the current state of the game.

Changes

Major - Implemented a fix for very rare crashes caused by players connected to internet via a VPN (Unreal works in mysterious ways). - We’ve implemented fixes for crashes caused by the game trying to read/write to no longer existing objects. Combat - Rifle has been greatly buffed to be able to compete with Gun and Shotgun. - Pole Position (Rifle Talent) has been fixed and should now fire off as intended. - Barrage is now working as intended and can spawn from chests. Please continue to report anything that’s hindering you from playing our game! Thank you all for your patience! /Anjou & Veldt, Counterspell Studios

Hard at work

We're working as hard as we can to root out what's causing the game to crash for some players. And thanks to your help we've managed to pin-point some of them and added fixes that SHOULD reduce, hopefully completely remove, the chance for crashes to occur. If you're still experiencing crashes after this fix: - Update your drivers - Re-install the game - Restart your computer

Patch notes

Major: - Implemented a fix for a crash that could occur when the post run Score Screen was supposed to pop up. - Added overall stability and safety checks to the game. We'd like to also take this chance to clearly state that we're not experiencing these crashes on our end. We therefore ask you to be patient with us and also send over any information you got, the more detailed your report is, the better! Sorry for any inconvenience this is causing you! /Anjou & Veldt, Counterspell Studios

Hotfixes

First of all we would like to say thank you for all of your support that made this release happen! Thank you for your continued support as our studio learns and gets better each and every day!

Regarding crashes

We're sorry to hear that some people are experiencing crashes. Getting this fixed is our highest priority! Therefore we're rolling out a hotfix that includes multiple fixes for all reported crashes. Don't hesitate to reach out to us should you face issues with the game! From what we can tell, progress is not lost even though the game crashes for some players.

Patch notes

Major: - Implemented fixes for a crash that occurred when score screen was about to be opened for some players. - Implemented fixes for a crash that could occur after defeating the boss on Paleography. Balance changes: - Buffed Primary Weapon Rifle, we felt it was underperforming in relation to other Primary Weapons. - Buffed Synapsis Interface to grant 10% XP per rank instead of 5%. Other/minor: - Permanent upgrade Projectile now shows percentage as intended. - Updated Tooltips in Primary Weapon talents. - Updated Dialogue texts. While this hotfix might have fixed some issues, we will be continuously monitoring our community and our Discord should anything new come up. Good luck out there mercenaries! /Anjou & Veldt, Counterspell Studios

Hello, Mercenaries!

We're more than exited to announce that we are releasing the Early Access version of HiveCorp TODAY! The Early Access version contains: - 4 campaign missions - 4 Survival biomes - 3 Primary weapons - 4 Overload abilities - 18 Equipment weapons - 19 Equipment modifiers

Road to v.1.0

During the Early Access version we will continue to address known and unknown issues with the game. We will be posting announcements on our discord so go ahead and join us there. Our plan going forward is to produce the final 4 ultimate missions while refining and polishing other aspects of the game. Now get out there Mercenary, and scrap some bots!

Demo version 3 is out

Hello Mercenaries! A huge thank you to all of you that played our Demo v.2! Your feedback guided us towards major improvements of our game! First of....

Talents

A lot of you asked for more depth than just picking a random equipment. That's why we developed Primary Weapon Talents. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43630858/1a966f52c33152039d864149fbd2e0613422878c.png Your primary weapon will now be upgraded every 4th level, increasing your primary weapon's damage as well as granting you a talent point. Talent points can then be spent on talents that greatly improves your Primary Weapon. Some talents will be locked by it's counterpart, while some can be upgraded regardless of any other talents chosen (as shown in the picture above). In the Demo you will be able to try out what our new Gun has to offer. Note: Talents are still being developed, most likely this system will have undergone some minor changes before Early Access is out.

Polish

A lot of you felt the VFX and SFX was a bit underwhelming for some parts of the game. Therefore we've reworked many of the sounds and effects to really sell the sci-fi feeling we strive for!

Tooltips

It's always hard to relay enough information using as few words as possible. We've started working on our descriptions and tooltips to make it easier for both new and experienced players to really grasp the mechanics of the game. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43630858/0e6d5c588ca891aef40ef5fbda02eb48ff7d8609.png It's far from perfect, but hopefully our updated descriptions will make it slightly more clear as to what each upgrade does.

Bugs & Fixes

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43630858/eb7a833474b9a85ff00ea5d74fe1e73ba6f6e973.png There's still some weird stuff going on, but we're working super hard on tackling all issues. We've been able to fix some of the stuff that was addressed in Demo v.2. If you still run into one of these bugs, head on over to our Discord and let us know. We want you to be able to play our game!

Fixes

• VR will no longer start when you start the Demo.
• Initialization and loading of save game files have been optimized. This will hopefully avoid any future corrupted save game files.
• Monarch will no longer move after being downed.
• Monarch's blue void orbs should no longer spawn inside of objects.
• Random crashes after killing Monarch or entering the Score screen have hopefully been fixed and should no longer occur from now on. If this happens to you, let us know where and when it happened.

Aright, enough chit-chat! Get on out there and scrap some robots! /Anjou, Counterspell Studios

Hello Mercenaries

First of all, we at Counterspell Studios would like to thank all of you for trying out our demo. Your feedback and videos are invaluable for us as developers. And it has been such a blast watching all of you trying your best to beat the demo!

Demo patch notes

As we’re working on polishing and adding more content to HiveCorp, we also try to keep our Demo as up to date as possible.

Enemies

• The demo boss Monarch has been slightly down-tuned.
• Enemy spawn rates have been adjusted to scale better.
• The kill VFX/SFX of Elites, Special units and Champions have been updated for better player feedback. They also drop slightly more loot.

Upgrades

• Added a couple more permanent upgrades to spend resources on.

Mechanics

• We’ve added Killchains. Killchains is a way for you to measure your current power. Killchains will reward you with minerals and buffs depending on how high your current killchain is. Killchains will be broken if you get hit or if the killchain timer runs out.
• Lootchests now pop-up near your character instead of spawning outside of the screen. Lootchests now also animate while they are being opened.
• The VFX/SFX for buffs found in lootchests have also been updated.

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What we are working on

As more and more players are trying out our game we stumble upon more and more content that either needs to be added or fixed.

Issues we are working on

• Enemies getting stuck inside or near trees on Trailblazer.
• A way to more clearly show that your Overload is ready to be cast.
• A way to force keybinds to be shown without being intrusive or cluttering.
• Improving the “first time experience”. We’re analyzing videos and reading playtester feedback to figure out a better way to present HiveCorp’s various mechanics and controls.
• We want everyone to be able to play our game, regardless of language. That’s why we are planning on localizing HiveCorp to more languages than English. More about this in a later update.

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About Counterspell studios

Counterspell Studios is a small two-man indie studio based in Stockholm, Sweden. We love playing games as much as we love making them. We're now on a mission to build up our own indie studio and figured that the best way in doing so, is from the ground up. That's how we got started on making our very first game HiveCorp. HiveCorp has been developed in our spare time during 2022-2023. We hope you will love it as much as we love making it! If you do like it, you can wishlist it here on Steam. We need every bit of help we can get to reach out and continue making games! And hopefully one day in the future do this full-time.

Fight on!

Anjou, Counterspell Studios