Update On Progress… Live on Experimental
Civilian Evacuation Mechanics Progress Update
This month’s update is focused on two major pieces of the rebuild: Civilian Evacuation and San Francisco North. Civilian Evacuation is entering Experimental as an early preview, and San Francisco North is being included as an early incubator look at the future Bay Area map. Both are playable early because they are now far enough along to communicate the direction of the rebuild, even though both still have work ahead of them.
Construct an Intake euthanization facility to dispose of infected and uninfected civilians as you see fit. But every atrocity has consequences. Kill enough civilians, and the survivors will hear of your crimes, form militias, and come for revenge.
For the full original overview of the Civilian Evacuation Mechanics check out this article
[dynamiclink href="https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/979640/view/541134496998621257"]
Civilian Evacuation
Civilian Evacuation is one of the largest gameplay systems being added to Cepheus Protocol. The goal is to make civilians part of the strategy instead of background population. Players will be moving civilians out of danger, routing them through evacuation systems, processing them through intake, and eventually tying those decisions into income, infection control, reputation, and long-term zone stability.
Active Intake is limited to two facilities at a time for now. As testing expands, this limit may increase while we continue balancing loading, staffing, and facility throughput. To run Intake efficiently, you will need to hire personnel and maintain a steady flow through the system.
Gilbroz Gaming recently actually did a highlight of the new systems check it out!
[dynamiclink href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXY2EsropZ4"][dynamiclink href="https://youtu.be/FfN-OauqnxE?si=NvIkvVlEwNmb_Mbd"][dynamiclink href="https://youtu.be/99Rx47jE7yY?si=0MunSq8yKfoW-ReT"]
You can view the below Live Stream to see the current overview of the systems in place and experience a deep dive!
[dynamiclink href="https://youtu.be/HIWdLicMvMo"]
Hire security teams to passively defend structures within their area of influence. They help protect your evacuation infrastructure, allowing you to commit your population fully to the war effort. They dynamically patrol your base within that area of influence responding to threats as they arrive.
Why This Preview Matters
Civilian Evacuation adds a new strategic layer to Cepheus Protocol. You are not just clearing infected and holding territory anymore. You are also managing the people trapped inside the outbreak. You can just kill them all too..
Civilian Evac adds a new strategic layer to the game, where every decision can determine the fate of the civilians. By evacuating survivors, you cut off the infected from a vital biomass source, slowing their growth and starving them of the resources they need to spread and build armies
This preview shows the first visible version of that loop. Civilians can now move through active intake zones based on the policies you set for each zone. Depending on how you configure them, civilians can move by bus, on foot, or through both methods at the same time.
After Day 4, infected birds will begin entering the battlefield in large swarms. These packs can quickly overwhelm helicopters and infantry, forcing players to adapt their defenses.
That means buses are no longer the only path into evacuation. They are one part of a larger intake system where each zone can control how civilians are allowed to move, how they are processed, and how quickly they can be pushed through the evacuation pipeline.
For this preview, players will be able to see civilian movement, bus supported transport, ground based evacuation, intake flow, and the first pass of how these systems connect into the larger strategic map.
Some Dev ran playtests
[dynamiclink href="https://youtu.be/W0xgs95Rwz4"][dynamiclink href="https://youtu.be/1Oo-SrIgstY"]
What Is Not Fully In Yet
Intake Structure Research items (Research integration)
Hand Scanners - are the first tier of upgrades bought via DNA/Cash from the Doctrines tree. It allows you to detect infection at the intake structure and immediately be able to decide if you want to euthanize or cage for DNA. Caging for DNA allows you to passively farm DNA for 2-3 rotations till the Infected succumbs and dies.
Scanning machines - replaces the hand scanners and integrates a MRI inspired device that scans for Infection as mobs enter the intake area allowing you to speed up the flow by 50% and mirrors the process you can do above.
Save/Load there are still some issues we are tracking but its 90% there. if you encounter any save/load issues contact us on Discord with the save file details!
Bus AI- we are tracking some issues with Busses arriving at a location and doing donuts. If this occurs click the said bus and hit pause/resume and that will fix it. We are looking into this as we speak.
Some UI elements are still W.I.P and are mockups they are being worked on by our artists atm
Other Cool stuff added!
QWERTY vs azerty keyboard modes
Treasure Island as a standalone map
F1 Player list now respects colors
New No build areas added to new Evac Assets + Legacy structures
More enemy types now supported in the presets system
Tons of new Custom Options,
Infinite Ammo Mode
No Gas Mode
No Supply System Mode
Endless Horde Mode
Disabling Militia attacks or making them be able to attack you more often
Allows you make Evac harder or easier via custom tuning like Infected/Noninfected Reward Money
Increase the Evac Capacity of the Merlin
Added the ability to choose a custom color, you can save a "swab" so you can cycle between colors for different groups you play with. Even allows you to type in RGB/CMKY and sample colors from windows!
Radio Operators call in now work during Slomo/Tactical Pause!
Operators now have a Look/Aim sensitivity settings!
World Camera shakes that emit from explosions and "hero" unit weapons. Can be disabled in gameplay options!
Single click Minimap to walk/ double click to issue a run order from the minimap now + a new move preview system(Still in testing)
Resizable Landscape removal tool just scroll your mouse wheel after you open it!
Move Prediction for Infantry and Vehicles gate tweaked to open earlier and faster for units leaving/exiting.
Infected Structures now have a more obvious build time and will be effectively helpless during their construction stages now
When a zone is out of power unit recruitment buttons no longer disappear which was confusing people instead we do this now
Purge world buildings to kill all people inside a building but doing so will effect your reputation in that zone and nearby zones over time. Condemn to tell people to "clear" a structure over time and permanently mark it as off limits to safeguard your bases from Militia attacks should you commit war crimes.
AI now support "Guard" mode which will defend units when they are hurt and will auto follow them around the map.
Improved Operator visuals and separated them further from RTS. Take a look!
Iron sighting when playing as the Operator now dynamically shifts their FOV so its a bit more immersive
Coming Next Week
Next week is about finishing the remaining Civilian Evacuation pieces listed above and getting the system ready for wider access. I.E leaving experimental and entering the public branch
Civilian Evacuation
Finish the remaining intake research integration
Bring Hand Scanners and Scanning Machines fully online
Continue save/load refinement for evacuation related systems
Improve bus reliability
Polish civilian movement through active intake zones
Refine how zone policies control buses, ground movement, or both
Adjust anything major that comes up from community feedback
At that point, the default branch will receive a major update that includes all of these changes. We are currently aiming for that to happen roughly within the next week.
Rounding Out The Month
After that, the rest of the month will focus on AI formations and pathfinding.
The goal is to make larger groups move more consistently, reduce remaining movement edge cases, and improve how units behave across the map.
Starting In June
The first part of June will shift toward improving the Infection faction as a whole.
Civilian Evacuation is the current focus, but once this round of work is in a stronger place, the Infection faction is next in line for a larger refinement push.`
San Francisco North
San Francisco North is now available as an early unstable version of the larger Bay Area map.
You can jump in and play around with it, but it is not meant to replace the current stable map yet. Some features are not fully connected, some mechanics are still being integrated, and parts of the map are still rough. The goal right now is to let players see the scale, layout, direction, and progress as the map continues to come together.
Expect unfinished areas, missing detail, pathfinding issues, performance rough spots, and sections that may change as we keep building it out.
Over the next 30 days or so, our goal is to keep pushing San Francisco North toward becoming the main stable Bay Area experience. Going into June and July, we will be focusing on traversal, exterior detail, pathfinding, performance, visual polish, and making sure the larger map supports the core Pandemic experience properly.
San Francisco North is playable in its current state, but it should be treated as an early look at where the main map is heading rather than the finished version.
What Comes After This Pass
Civilian Evacuation is the current focus, but once this pass is in a stronger place, our attention will shift into the next set of major refinements.
AI Formations And Pathfinding
The next major focus will be AI formations and pathfinding.
This means improving how larger groups move across the map, how units stay organized during movement, and how they handle longer routes, tighter spaces, and larger fights.
Infected AI And The Infected Faction
After that, we will be putting more attention into Infected AI and the Infected faction as a whole.
The goal is to keep improving how the infected behave, pressure the player, interact with the map, and scale as the match progresses.
Wider Game Refinement
Alongside that work, we will continue improving the systems players interact with every session.
That includes vehicle pathfinding, helicopter behavior, performance, map flow, unit movement, general tuning, and refinements across existing systems.
Operator Polish
Operator polish is also a major part of what comes next.
Operators are meant to feel like a real part of the war effort, not a separate layer sitting beside the RTS side of the game. We will be spending more time improving how Operators move, control, fight, build, use vehicles, use turrets, recruit squads, command their own forces, and connect into the larger RTS systems.
The goal is to make Operators useful across the early game, mid game, and late game. For example, Operators should be able to push into the world, establish forward outposts, build up local forces, and create openings that RTS players/or themselves can take control of later.
We will also continue finalizing the Operator UI with the same level of attention we have been applying to the RTS side over the last few months.
San Francisco North
San Francisco North will continue moving forward during this same stretch.
It is available now as an early unstable version of the larger Bay Area map. Players can jump in and try it, but not every feature or mechanic is fully connected yet.
Going into June and July, we will keep pushing San Francisco North toward becoming the main stable Bay Area experience.
After That
Once these pieces are in a stronger place, we will continue moving through the rest of the roadmap already posted on the Steam forums.
Stable Branch And Experimental Branch
If you want the most stable experience, stay on the main branch.
If you want to see where the rebuild is heading, the Experimental branch will have the Civilian Evacuation preview and the early San Francisco North version available.
🎙️ Next CERC HQ – Livestream Details
🕔 When: Weekly Saturdays – 7 PM EST (New Time!)
💬 What is CERC HQ:
Welcome to Cepheus Protocol HQ, your ultimate weekly briefing on all things Cepheus Protocol! Join the Halcyon Winds team as we explore the latest updates, reveal behind-the-scenes development stories, and answer community questions about the game. From exciting new features to design challenges, this is your all-access pass to the evolving world of Cepheus Protocol. Tune in every week and stay ahead of the outbreak!
Co-op Progress
Total Revamp based on Community Feedback
Level Design Updates
📺 Where to Watch:
🎤 Don’t miss our Live Q&A! We’ll be answering questions from the community during the stream.
📺 Missed a Stream? No Worries!
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